CHAPTER TEN
They arrived in camp just several minutes after the headlights on the jeep had completely died out. It was but a few hours after nightfall, and Liz said a silent prayer of thanks that they had made it up the mountain at all.
As they entered camp, the wind had died down and the curtain of snowflakes falling had thinned a bit. The team was met with much enthusiasm by Captain Michel Chavez and a huge amount of his comrades. Max looked around at the conditions there. They appeared to be not much better than those in Justice. The storm was taking it's own toll of an already intolerable situation.
"Welcome home, Commander," Chavez laughed and embraced Larek heartily, as his men began helping to unload the baggage and provisions from both vehicles. His captain apologized for the unnatural weather conditions as if he had had any control over it.
Larek introduced him to those surrounding the jeep, then led him over to those still standing by the Hummer. Larek's face beamed as he touched Max's arm. Max pulled the soaking wet hat from his head. "This, Michel, is..." before he could finish his words, the man before him had fallen slowly down onto one knee. "I cannot begin to express how long I have looked forward to this meeting, Sire." Max couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
Kal standing beside him, looked on with pride, as Chavez continued, "It is not everyday one meets their king." Kal threw Max a thought. You will need to get used to this.
Max returned his thought with a sideward look.
Max explained to the man before him, "This isn't something I've quite gotten used to... as yet." With a slight tone of embarrassment, he looked down at the top of the head of the man so taken with this moment. "I am as well happy to meet you, and to have finally made it here to meet with the Federalist troops. We were running into a bit of a problem with our transportation." Without looking at her, Max reached back and grabbed Liz's hand, sensing that she was standing close but back at bit behind him. "Chavez, this is the Lady Ava," he said pulling her farther to the front of the group.
Chavez, who had by now returned to his feet at Max's motion for him to rise, bowed low at the waist. He took Liz's hand and kissed the back lightly. "I am deeply honored, My Lady. I had worked very closely by your father's side in his last days. He never gave up the hope that you would return. He loved you dearly." Ava felt her heart twinge at the mention of her father, a man she wished she had taken the time to know better many years before. Larek sensing the emotional confusion within Liz, quickly stepped in. "Michel, we badly need of warm dry clothes and the ladies could certainly use a bit of rest."
"Certainly you do. Follow me," he turned and then further explained to his Commander that they had received word from their intelligence just a half hour before, that a weak and foreign signal had indeed been intercepted by the Eosians and forwarded on to the seat of power on Adia."
Larek shared a frown with Chavez at hearing the news and everyone else's attention had been held by the small man dressed in white camouflage. "He has been informed of a foreign air ship in our quadrant. Whatever you have planned, I would advise you to work with speed."
Looks of disappointment were exchanged between the members of the team, each realizing that their advantage of surprise could now be all but gone. "More than you know, Michel. More than you know," Larek said to him lowly.
Kal walking behind the group, verbally disagreed. "He won't have recognized the Horizon in any way. And we must remember that he believes Larek to be dead."
Chavez nodded his head in agreement. "Oh most definitely. It was one of the most joyous days at Leoch," he said angrily. "I believe he threw an extravagant party in your honor, Larek." Liz felt sick to her stomach thinking of the sick bastard celebrating. "But most important," Chavez continued, "there has not been the slightest rumor that he is expecting the Prince's return."
The captain turned the corner of the neatly laid out camp. Huge tents huddled in circular sections. "Lady Ava, we can have the ladies share a tent, or we could have the couples that I see here, double up. Which ever will be more convenient for your short stay."
Liz smiled at Max, "I think we ladies can share shelter and the men can do the same for now." Max leaned down hugging her and whispered something in her ear, and she blushed in the bonfire glow around them.
Chavez nodded. "I will see to it that the runners are ready for you at dawn," he looked from Max to Larek.
Max explained, "Michel, we need to know everything there is to know about Rochell."
Again the man nodded in response. "I have already begun that mission for you, Sire." Let's gather in my quarters..." Chavez paused and then corrected himself with a chuckle of relief, "...the Commander's quarters, that is." The men followed the two Adians, who were joking and shaking hands with each other, yet again. As Katain, Liz and Maria stood watching, Larek's voice was heard, "I am so happy, Michel... I am so happy to be home again."
The ladies were then escorted to their large and surprisingly roomy tent. Liz took one more look skyward before going inside with the others. It had stopped snowing.
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It was quiet inside the tent. An opportunity for a few hours of rest after the men crew had gathered to discuss Rochell and it's probability as a sanctuary for them all while dealing with the problems that needed their immediate attention on Adia.
Max was surrounded with sleeping bodies as he sat propping himself up on his cot. He was home... he thought to himself. But not really. He let go with a heavy sigh. Antar was gone, and he could never go home again. But his home was wherever Liz was… wherever Ava was. He still sometimes found it incomprehensible that an entire world had been completely vaporized into nothing. So many lives that hadn't made it to safety in time. Men, women and children...even the children, the thought echoed in his heart. This maniacal evil man had to be stopped and he had to be stopped now, at whatever cost. They all now knew what was coming in a short three years, and the damage in the meantime was already occurring and building all around them. Things would be consistently growing worse now.
They had their work cut out for them. He thought about the young boy back in Roswell, New Mexico. That awkward boy who had tried so hard to make a life there, despite all the insecurities he had carried with him all those years. It had been about nothing else, he knew that now. He hadn't found his purpose until he had finally connected with Ava again there in that little town, now so far away from them all. It had been destiny that had reunited them in the third grade, and it was destiny that had brought them… together, to this spot on the mountain top of a world they all had loved dearly, so long ago. He thought of the prophecy. Did they have a chance of making their destiny prove the prophecy true? He closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the day driving him to sleep. There was much to do. They now had the means, with the Federalist armies behind them. But before anything else, there was Emily. Larek had had a plan.
Inside the castle walls there were many who were sympathizers to the old world. The Federalists therefore were kept on the inside track with the goings on at Leoch. After speaking openly to Chavez about their priority situation, Max had convinced him to join with their small group in order that the little girl be brought to safety again.
The only thing that Chavez had known was that a youngster was being held captive at the castle; he had had no idea as to why. He had assumed, naturally, that the child was Antarian or Adian. No one knew of her exact identity at the camp, not until they all had been filled in at the meeting on the horrific details.
Larek had asked of the twins at Leoch, and if their cover was still intact there. He was assured that it was, and that they had, in fact, been personally put in charge of watching over the little one who they referred to only as Aurora. Of course, short of keeping an eye on things transpiring there, there hadn't been much they could do to keep Jared at bay. The latest word had been that the little one was special in some unknown way, and Chavez had been told only days before that Jared had no intentions of seriously harming her. Max gulped at the word seriously as he thought back on the meeting just hours before.
They were leaving at daybreak for Rochell, and Larek had promised that they would have reinforcements from the troops at Dannon. It was decided that a convoy of twenty-five men would make camp farther down on the mountain where Rochell was located; keeping a safe distance so as not to alarm the Adian monks there at the monastery/observatory.
It had also been learned at the meeting that Jared had an unnatural phobia to the monks; which was why Rochell had gone untouched during the wars, even back during Kivar's reign. The monks themselves, of course, stayed to themselves; wanting and needing nothing to do with the outside world.
Many opinions were offered for Jared's fear of these peace loving people, but the most believing was that he feared their religious connection. While thinking himself close to becoming a god himself, he also in his psyche was terrified of their possible retribution and how that could affect his overall plans, most especially with the granolith. So he did his best to ignore their existence, allowing their admittance to the castle on only one day a year... on St. Mirad's Day.
While on the exterior Jared's actions and desires were that of a staunch atheist, it was becoming clear to the Horizon crew that he was, underneath, very much a god-fearing man. Of course, Larek had also reminded Max that Eos was never known for it's esoterical beliefs. In fact it was just the contrary. One couldn't mutilate their enemies in the most torturous of ways and still claim to believe in any power greater than their own, of course, other than that of their demented king.
Max rose slowly from the cot, trying as best he could not to make a sound to disturb the others. He was surprised when Kal met him coming in from the outside. "Hey," Max responded in a whisper. "What are you doing?"
"I just got in touch with Ava on ship. A few troops of soldiers arrived there and unloaded much of the supplies from the hull. Everything went fine," Kal whispered back, as he settled himself into his own cot and covered up tightly with a few blankets. "Snowing has stopped, the sky is clear and full of stars," he said with a smile. "Great sight. Oh, Ava's up… I mean Liz," he corrected himself. "Then again," he mused, "it's so much more Ava then ever before. She's infuriated at what Jared has done. I believe she's ready to kill him with her own bare hands."
"Where is she?" Max asked, as Michael stirred in his sleep. "She was coming back from the head." Max started to question, then realized where Kal was speaking of. "She's back in their tent now, I think. I told her that you were all finally sleeping over here. I guess I lied."
Max looked around and grabbed his jacket and hat. Stuffing his gloves into his pockets, he looked at Michael and John sprawled out around him. Marshall and Jonathan had opted for the floor of the tent.
"Is Larek awake?" Max asked quietly, as he started for the door.
Kal yawned, "Didn't see him. Don't wander off, my king," he warned. Max snorted and let the flap fall as he met with the chilly air outside.
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"Liz... Liz," Max was standing outside the tent housing the three women, calling in a hush. He waited, figuring that had she been awake, she would have responded. He thrust his hands deeper into his pockets after tying the fleece lined hood tighter at his neck. Kal had been right, he thought, gazing up into the span above the silhouetted trees. Funny, he thought to himself, I could be standing in New Mexico right now and think I was seeing the very same thing. He looked closer as his breaths appeared on the air before him.
No, he thought again. It was totally different. First of all, he could partially see Adia now as Trinity rotated to the east; and Eos was also visible, although it resembled more of a burned out blob, compared to the shades of blues and greens radiating off of Adia. He scanned the sky looking for something else familiar. He had no idea which way Earth was sitting at this moment, knowing it would be but a speck of light in the darkened sky.
"It's over there... in the west," the voice startled him from behind. "Don't look that way long, or you'll get homesick like I did earlier." He turned and their arms interlocked through the bulk of their jackets.
"Look at this," she whispered with such sadness, "it's horrendous isn't it? These people... our people, they are living by a thread while that bastard continues the destruction. Why, Max?" her voice cracked with emotion. "Why would he do such a thing?"
Max tucked a few stray hairs back into her cap. "For power... for control. I don't know," he sighed. "Once Emily is safely out of his reach, I will destroy him."
Liz heard the hatred in Max's voice, centuries of hatred seemed to resound in her ears. "Max, I can not let my people be crucified like this any longer. I will not. If I need to die trying, it will end."
"It has to," Max answered thinking of what was predicted in the short years ahead. He kissed her forehead, allowing his lips to rest there on the soft warmth of her skin.
Larek took a second to check out his door into the camp court, before retiring for much needed sleep; even though he was quite certain it wouldn't come. His eye was caught by Zan and Ava standing together in each other's arms, just outside the tent where the ladies were sleeping. He stood hidden there for a few seconds, peering out while his mind raced.
Larek, my man, he sighed to himself. This is exactly as it is meant to be. For all the past weeks on the Horizon and even before that at the ranch, he had felt himself leaving go. It was a fearful thing for him to accept. He had always loved her, and he knew that he always would. His promise was still intact, after failing so miserably at it the first time on that morning long ago. That was another time, he thought to himself. But now? Now is now, and the hands of time must always move on.
For the last seven hours, since leaving the Horizon, he had found himself thinking not only of Ava; but of the bright red hair and deep green eyes of the woman he had left behind on the ship. There was room in his heart for them both, he thought to himself, trying to reason away his doubts and fears.
There was alot to be done here, he drew a deep breath. In this moment in which he now stood, he had no idea what his future would hold, but his heart now was telling him what he now was wishing it would hold. Only time would tell. He let the flap fall from his hands, closing off the outside world. He would still give his life to protect her, but he was now finally ready to hope that he would never have to.
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Emily sat at the small table by the window, a plate of food sat untouched before her. "Aurora, you have to eat something. You'll make yourself weak and sick if you don't, and Jared will not be happy with any of us," Chalone whispered in a low voice to her.
The little one only continued to stare out the window. "I want to go home," she said slowly. The medicine always made things seem like they were happening in slow motion. Emily knew that Jared was stopping her from using her powers with the pale green liquid she was being given twice a day.
"I know you do, dear. But that's not possible just now," the young girl looked frustratingly around the room. "I know. If you eat just a little something, we'll play the board game you like so much."
"I don't want to play anything. And I'm not going to eat a thing, so you can go tell that ugly man that he's just going to have to let me go home now. And my name is Emily." She was close to tears. "I don't want to stay in this room any longer. I want to go out in the sunlight." Just outside the window beautiful flowers were blooming around the castle. She knew there were other children about, she had heard them from time to time. Far off she could see the mist on the mountains over a huge lake not far from the castle grounds.
Chalone stood up pulling the tray towards her. "I will ask Jared for permission to take you for a short walk, if you promise me that you will eat something come later today. Will you do that for me?"
Emily rubbed at her nose. "Maybe." The older girl carried the tray to the door, looking back at the pale child sitting silent. She closed the door behind her and Emily heard the turn of the lock.
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"She has a sister," Tess exclaimed as Jared washed himself in a basin in one of his main bedrooms, in the opposite wing of Leoch from where Emily was being held. "I'll go back to Roswell and I will find her," Tess insisted. "We are so very close to succeeding with the code. As soon as the new wormhole is stable and we return to the west coast city for the icon, it will be a simple task to find the other key."
"We don't know that it is her sister who is the other key, Tess. It could be anyone in her family. There are gaps in the code. What good has it done us to have the final page and yet still not have the entire deciphering code?" Jared tried to remain calm, but lately this subject had been pushing him to the breaking point. He had gotten all the information he could from the child.
What had seemed within his grasp at times, seemed to be slipping away. He rubbed his eyes and tried hard to focus. He took several cleansing breaths as he looked back into the stone cold eyes before him. "I have too much on my mind," he stated. His anxiety had been overwhelming him lately. He knew that any day now the wormhole would be open once again, and now that he knew the whereabouts of the icon, he had been near the breaking point about the elusive code.
"My King," she said breathlessly touching his face gently. "Let me take some of your pressure from you. You send your men to retrieve the granolith from the University and let me bring you the last puzzle piece. I will find her."
He closed his eyes and began to relax, when suddenly a loud ruckus was heard out in the hall. There was a sharp pounding on the door and swiftly one of his guards rushed into the room. "Your highness, you should know that there's a revolt in the courtyard. A handful of radicals from Milinga have started a fire there. We're tying to contain it the best we can."
"NOW WHAT?" his voice boomed, as Tess jumped back startled. "Shoot them! Why do you come here and bother me? It is your job to shoot any resisters." He turned his back to the door and again splashed water up onto his flushed face. "Will they never learn?" The guard quietly left the room, frowning at the woman fawning over his King.
"Let me fix you a drink to calm your nerves," she said moving to the other side of the room. "You must not let things get the better of you. Within days our technicians will have the portal open once again. It will be easier this time to gather all that we require."
She filled a glass from one of several golden decanters on the sideboard. Before turning around, she silently took a small bottle from her skirt pocket and let several drops fall into the liquid. She turned around to him with a smile, "Jared… My King. The universe will soon be at our fingertips. What problem are the resisters? Patience is a virtue. Our time is coming near." She walked, holding the goblet out to him. "We are about to gain so very much."
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Retribution ~ (Seq to S&M/H&N) ~ {COMPLETE}
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Forum Moderators
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Long before dawn broke over the camp, Max was already awake with most of the others. Together with Michael, he walked around checking the runners. Larek had been right, they certainly were new and improved; now able to each hold five passengers comfortably, seven in a squeeze.
Liz and Maria walked up to join the others, being the last to arrive. "Everything okay?" Max asked, kissing her on the cheek.
Liz smiled glancing toward Maria. "Everything's fine. It's better than fine, I'm going home."
"Good. Now," Michael announced, "those of us here will be splitting up into five groups and combining with Larek's men. I want everyone fully armed."
Larek nodded in agreement, then took a few steps forward. Ten of his finest men stood alert behind him. "We have access to five of our best runners. John is taking one and going back to the Horizon for the others there. We will attain five thousand feet and wait for him. For obvious reasons he will not land unescorted onto the terrain below."
Everyone knew what it was that Larek was referring to. Not only was JB picking up those who had stayed behind on board, he was also delivering a very special package back from where it had started. They had all agreed beforehand that it was not necessary for others here at camp to know about the icon.
"We will all meet at the outpost, fifteen kilometers below the monastery," Larek continued. "By 800 hours we should be safe within the shelter of the lands around Rochell. I need the very best of you to pilot the ships. For those of you from the Horizon, it's nothing complicated...I believe Michael called it... user friendly. Liz bit her lip, smiling at the earthly reference in such a foreign place.
"So are we going to fight over this," Liz whispered out of the side of her mouth as she hugged tightly to Max's arm. His answer was swift and resigned, "Nope. It's all yours."
She grinned at him, "Great. Who's with us?"
As it turned out, Liz and Larek were the only two of the group that wanted to pilot. Kal had then announced that he thought it best, not only that the Federalists soldiers take their places behind the wheel of the two remaining runners; but also that Max and Liz not fly together in the same ship.
This was not well accepted by either of the two, but arguing about it had done them no good whatsoever. "I have to agree with Kal on this one," Michael replied. "We need now to be careful, we cannot take the chance that one of the ships could go down with both heirs aboard. We've all come too far to be foolworthy about things now." And so it was decided.
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Max sat in the co-pilot seat, with Larek at the helm. Katain and Jonathan occupied the two remaining seats right behind them. Larek caught the worried look crossing Max's face. "She'll be alright."
"I know...I know she will," Max frowned. "I guess I just always thought that we'd arrive on Adia.. together."
"You are together, she'll just be a few minutes behind you in landing is all," Jonathan replied. "It's not like you two will be separated for any real length of time."
Katain looked at the Landau who had spent so much time in the Duncan household through the years, and silently wondered how he could claim to love Jessie so much, and yet not understand what it was that Max was feeling.
Max nodded, "I know...it's silly."
Katain spoke up as the ship took its turn, abruptly leaving the ground with a surprising jolt. "No, it is not silly at all, Max. It holds a lot of sentiment for you two, and rightly so, and for all of us as well. It's just not a wise thing to take a chance of losing both of you in one drastic possibility." She sighed, "Soon we will not need to worry about Jared's defenses. We will get Emily out, and then we blow the monster to bits."
Larek grinned at her straight forwardness, as her heavy accent hung in the air. He glanced over at Max, "What a gal." He winked back at her.
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Kal was deep in conversation with Liz and Marshall discussing how the runners they found themselves in were not an unusual site these days in the skies over Adia. In fact, many citizens of this world used them for transportation, much as only the royals had years back. In fact, he was explaining, Jared's troops themselves used them occasionally.
Their co-pilot, Marcel, further explained, "The five ships will be splitting up and descending from different directions. We'll be less conspicuous than staying in a group of five."
Liz kept her eyes focused on the tail end lights of the small ship directly in front of her, the ship where Max shared controls with Larek. Her hands steady on the controls, even she was amazed at her calmness. "I suppose that the monks themselves do not use this form of transportation?" she asked Marcel.
"It's not beyond them to...if in an emergency; but normally, no. They only leave the grounds of the monastery on the third holy day of every moon. It's known as St Mirad's Day. I believe Zan and Larek intend on gaining entrance into Leoch on that day."
"I remembered St. Mirad's Day, when Max filled in the details of the plan last night. The holiday festivities within the castle grounds should be a good cover for us. But is it soon?" Liz asked, still keeping her eyes on the road.
Marcel nodded. "It is a colossal task you intend to tackle, but yes the holiday is in a short five days."
"Missing that day would mean that we'd have to delay everything for another month, and that's just not gonna happen," Kal shook his head without a doubt in his mind. "Not one of us has the patience to wait any longer." Kal cleared his throat. "This weapon that Chavez has spoken of, where is it located?"
The color paled slightly from Marcel's rosy cheeks at the mention of the weapon of mass destruction within Jared's grasp. "We have two places under surveillance presently. We've lost many men and women trying to discover the true location from that of its dupe. When the time comes, you must be sure that the weapon has been disarmed. We're quite sure that it's in it's finishing stages now, and once it's active, Jared will have control of it at all times. Nothing and no one can harm him until we are certain the weapon has been disarmed or dismantled."
"There's a lot to do in five days," Kal muttered to himself.
Marcel sat watching Liz curiously. "The resemblance is amazing," he said. "How much do you remember?"
She looked over at him and took a deep breath. "Since arriving on Trinity, I've..." she smiled at the familiar face beside her. "I remember it all now," she said, still with a sense of awe.
"I still have a hard time realizing who you are...and Zan.." he shook his head. "I feel I'm dreaming."
Liz nodded. "Yeah, me too, sometimes." She squinted at the computer board in front of her. "What is that?" Liz asked suddenly, being caught off guard and seeing the light of a ship on radar, coming in quickly from the left.
Marcel, calmly checked the radar and digital analyzer. "It's only Kolt. We are all set at the same frequency, all five ships. An alarm would sound if we were being approached by an unfamiliar." As the words left his mouth, the runner in front of them shifted into
hyper mode at seeing that the fifth member of their convoy had now joined them safely. Liz did the same, doing her best to keep up with the lead ship.
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Inside the runner, John sat at the controls, content now in the fact that some of the Federalist troops were standing guard protecting the ship back on Trinity. Serena sat in the co-pilot seat, smiling and exclaiming that she had no intention of taking to the controls. Nicole sat behind them, with Serena in her lap. Raymond, Angelique and Jessie sitting in the other two rear seats. Ava sat, bracing herself for balance, on the floor. The small interior was fairly crowded, as the icon sat crated and secured at the rear of the small ship.
Nicole's ears were buzzing as John increased speed, moving in closely behind Larek. "Now that we've met up with the others, why are we splitting up?" she asked with concern. "Shouldn't we all stay together."
"No sense in making a larger target in case someone on the ground gets suspicious," John explained. "But there's really no need to worry. We're just taking all the precautions we can."
Sierra was giddy with excitement, clutching her Raggedy Andy doll. "I like this ship. It's cute," she giggled, squirming around restlessly on her mother's lap.
John smiled, thinking how he himself had been only ten when he first had taken a runner out. "When things settle down, little one, maybe one of us will teach you how to drive."
Nicole frowned. "It's a bit different from riding your scooter, honey."
Sierra answered with an unhesitating childlike confidence, "I could do it."
Ava spoke up from the rear. "John? Why would I be remembering this?" He glanced back at her. "Are you?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"Everything in here looks a bit too familiar," she said reluctantly. "Maybe your instincts are kicking in," Serena thought out loud. "How bout you Jessie?"
"I have never seen anything here before in my life," Jessie answered laughing nervously. "But do you think that maybe we'll start remembering things that our ancestors experienced...ya know, like when we remembered how to use our gifts?"
"I don't have an answer to that," John stated honestly. "It's possible, I suppose. You do have their genes, so anything is possible."
Nicole couldn't drag her eyes away from the vision straight ahead of them, looming so large there. "It is beautiful from up here," she half whispered.
"I think you're going to find that there's much that's worth saving here," John answered.
Everyone fell quiet in the small ship, thinking of the task before them. "Once we arrive at Rochell, most of you will remain there. Once Jared discovers that we are here, he'll be looking toward Trinity. Rochell will be the furthest thing from his mind, I'm sure." Serena sighed knowing just how much they were counting on that being true.
"Angelique, you're very quiet. Are you okay?" John asked with concern.
The old woman seemed more relaxed than Serena had seen her during the entire trip. "I am far better than I have ever been in all my ninety years, Kolt," she exclaimed, as Raymond squeezed onto her hand and smiled.
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"Ship 1 and 5 will now be splintering off from us," Marcel explained as he played with the lighted dials on the controls in front of Liz. "Just a little farther ahead now and we will fall back and change course as well." He paused a few seconds. "Now.." he commanded. Liz threw the thruster to the right, jutting them off away from the others. A crackling came faintly over the computer bank speakers. "See you on the other side," the familiar voice said. "I love you." It was Max.
"Ava, out," Liz replied feeling that her hand had just slipped from his, and then on cue another voice broke through crackling. "Rath, out." There was a bit more static until yet another faint transmission came across. "The four musketeers are home..."
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The mountain housing the sanctuary of the ancient observatory and monastery of Rochell was breathtaking as the ships one by one landed. The last runner touched down as Liz turned the controls over to Marcel. "How far do we need to travel?" she asked.
"Not far,” he shook his head. “Just over past that tree line," he pointed to the beginning of a forest not five hundred yards ahead of them. "You should be able to make out the dome that sits atop the monastery."
Just as he spoke, Liz spotted a golden glow through the treetops, and a succession of flashes hit her hard. Ava was very small and with her father. A man dressed in a dark brown robe was leaning down to kiss her cheek. In one hand he held a large silver journal. As the flash faded, she instantly recognized the book. It was one so very similar to the one Tess had taken from the library shelf in Roswell years before.
"Brother Ambrose," she remembered just above a whisper.
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Long before dawn broke over the camp, Max was already awake with most of the others. Together with Michael, he walked around checking the runners. Larek had been right, they certainly were new and improved; now able to each hold five passengers comfortably, seven in a squeeze.
Liz and Maria walked up to join the others, being the last to arrive. "Everything okay?" Max asked, kissing her on the cheek.
Liz smiled glancing toward Maria. "Everything's fine. It's better than fine, I'm going home."
"Good. Now," Michael announced, "those of us here will be splitting up into five groups and combining with Larek's men. I want everyone fully armed."
Larek nodded in agreement, then took a few steps forward. Ten of his finest men stood alert behind him. "We have access to five of our best runners. John is taking one and going back to the Horizon for the others there. We will attain five thousand feet and wait for him. For obvious reasons he will not land unescorted onto the terrain below."
Everyone knew what it was that Larek was referring to. Not only was JB picking up those who had stayed behind on board, he was also delivering a very special package back from where it had started. They had all agreed beforehand that it was not necessary for others here at camp to know about the icon.
"We will all meet at the outpost, fifteen kilometers below the monastery," Larek continued. "By 800 hours we should be safe within the shelter of the lands around Rochell. I need the very best of you to pilot the ships. For those of you from the Horizon, it's nothing complicated...I believe Michael called it... user friendly. Liz bit her lip, smiling at the earthly reference in such a foreign place.
"So are we going to fight over this," Liz whispered out of the side of her mouth as she hugged tightly to Max's arm. His answer was swift and resigned, "Nope. It's all yours."
She grinned at him, "Great. Who's with us?"
As it turned out, Liz and Larek were the only two of the group that wanted to pilot. Kal had then announced that he thought it best, not only that the Federalists soldiers take their places behind the wheel of the two remaining runners; but also that Max and Liz not fly together in the same ship.
This was not well accepted by either of the two, but arguing about it had done them no good whatsoever. "I have to agree with Kal on this one," Michael replied. "We need now to be careful, we cannot take the chance that one of the ships could go down with both heirs aboard. We've all come too far to be foolworthy about things now." And so it was decided.
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Max sat in the co-pilot seat, with Larek at the helm. Katain and Jonathan occupied the two remaining seats right behind them. Larek caught the worried look crossing Max's face. "She'll be alright."
"I know...I know she will," Max frowned. "I guess I just always thought that we'd arrive on Adia.. together."
"You are together, she'll just be a few minutes behind you in landing is all," Jonathan replied. "It's not like you two will be separated for any real length of time."
Katain looked at the Landau who had spent so much time in the Duncan household through the years, and silently wondered how he could claim to love Jessie so much, and yet not understand what it was that Max was feeling.
Max nodded, "I know...it's silly."
Katain spoke up as the ship took its turn, abruptly leaving the ground with a surprising jolt. "No, it is not silly at all, Max. It holds a lot of sentiment for you two, and rightly so, and for all of us as well. It's just not a wise thing to take a chance of losing both of you in one drastic possibility." She sighed, "Soon we will not need to worry about Jared's defenses. We will get Emily out, and then we blow the monster to bits."
Larek grinned at her straight forwardness, as her heavy accent hung in the air. He glanced over at Max, "What a gal." He winked back at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kal was deep in conversation with Liz and Marshall discussing how the runners they found themselves in were not an unusual site these days in the skies over Adia. In fact, many citizens of this world used them for transportation, much as only the royals had years back. In fact, he was explaining, Jared's troops themselves used them occasionally.
Their co-pilot, Marcel, further explained, "The five ships will be splitting up and descending from different directions. We'll be less conspicuous than staying in a group of five."
Liz kept her eyes focused on the tail end lights of the small ship directly in front of her, the ship where Max shared controls with Larek. Her hands steady on the controls, even she was amazed at her calmness. "I suppose that the monks themselves do not use this form of transportation?" she asked Marcel.
"It's not beyond them to...if in an emergency; but normally, no. They only leave the grounds of the monastery on the third holy day of every moon. It's known as St Mirad's Day. I believe Zan and Larek intend on gaining entrance into Leoch on that day."
"I remembered St. Mirad's Day, when Max filled in the details of the plan last night. The holiday festivities within the castle grounds should be a good cover for us. But is it soon?" Liz asked, still keeping her eyes on the road.
Marcel nodded. "It is a colossal task you intend to tackle, but yes the holiday is in a short five days."
"Missing that day would mean that we'd have to delay everything for another month, and that's just not gonna happen," Kal shook his head without a doubt in his mind. "Not one of us has the patience to wait any longer." Kal cleared his throat. "This weapon that Chavez has spoken of, where is it located?"
The color paled slightly from Marcel's rosy cheeks at the mention of the weapon of mass destruction within Jared's grasp. "We have two places under surveillance presently. We've lost many men and women trying to discover the true location from that of its dupe. When the time comes, you must be sure that the weapon has been disarmed. We're quite sure that it's in it's finishing stages now, and once it's active, Jared will have control of it at all times. Nothing and no one can harm him until we are certain the weapon has been disarmed or dismantled."
"There's a lot to do in five days," Kal muttered to himself.
Marcel sat watching Liz curiously. "The resemblance is amazing," he said. "How much do you remember?"
She looked over at him and took a deep breath. "Since arriving on Trinity, I've..." she smiled at the familiar face beside her. "I remember it all now," she said, still with a sense of awe.
"I still have a hard time realizing who you are...and Zan.." he shook his head. "I feel I'm dreaming."
Liz nodded. "Yeah, me too, sometimes." She squinted at the computer board in front of her. "What is that?" Liz asked suddenly, being caught off guard and seeing the light of a ship on radar, coming in quickly from the left.
Marcel, calmly checked the radar and digital analyzer. "It's only Kolt. We are all set at the same frequency, all five ships. An alarm would sound if we were being approached by an unfamiliar." As the words left his mouth, the runner in front of them shifted into
hyper mode at seeing that the fifth member of their convoy had now joined them safely. Liz did the same, doing her best to keep up with the lead ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the runner, John sat at the controls, content now in the fact that some of the Federalist troops were standing guard protecting the ship back on Trinity. Serena sat in the co-pilot seat, smiling and exclaiming that she had no intention of taking to the controls. Nicole sat behind them, with Serena in her lap. Raymond, Angelique and Jessie sitting in the other two rear seats. Ava sat, bracing herself for balance, on the floor. The small interior was fairly crowded, as the icon sat crated and secured at the rear of the small ship.
Nicole's ears were buzzing as John increased speed, moving in closely behind Larek. "Now that we've met up with the others, why are we splitting up?" she asked with concern. "Shouldn't we all stay together."
"No sense in making a larger target in case someone on the ground gets suspicious," John explained. "But there's really no need to worry. We're just taking all the precautions we can."
Sierra was giddy with excitement, clutching her Raggedy Andy doll. "I like this ship. It's cute," she giggled, squirming around restlessly on her mother's lap.
John smiled, thinking how he himself had been only ten when he first had taken a runner out. "When things settle down, little one, maybe one of us will teach you how to drive."
Nicole frowned. "It's a bit different from riding your scooter, honey."
Sierra answered with an unhesitating childlike confidence, "I could do it."
Ava spoke up from the rear. "John? Why would I be remembering this?" He glanced back at her. "Are you?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"Everything in here looks a bit too familiar," she said reluctantly. "Maybe your instincts are kicking in," Serena thought out loud. "How bout you Jessie?"
"I have never seen anything here before in my life," Jessie answered laughing nervously. "But do you think that maybe we'll start remembering things that our ancestors experienced...ya know, like when we remembered how to use our gifts?"
"I don't have an answer to that," John stated honestly. "It's possible, I suppose. You do have their genes, so anything is possible."
Nicole couldn't drag her eyes away from the vision straight ahead of them, looming so large there. "It is beautiful from up here," she half whispered.
"I think you're going to find that there's much that's worth saving here," John answered.
Everyone fell quiet in the small ship, thinking of the task before them. "Once we arrive at Rochell, most of you will remain there. Once Jared discovers that we are here, he'll be looking toward Trinity. Rochell will be the furthest thing from his mind, I'm sure." Serena sighed knowing just how much they were counting on that being true.
"Angelique, you're very quiet. Are you okay?" John asked with concern.
The old woman seemed more relaxed than Serena had seen her during the entire trip. "I am far better than I have ever been in all my ninety years, Kolt," she exclaimed, as Raymond squeezed onto her hand and smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ship 1 and 5 will now be splintering off from us," Marcel explained as he played with the lighted dials on the controls in front of Liz. "Just a little farther ahead now and we will fall back and change course as well." He paused a few seconds. "Now.." he commanded. Liz threw the thruster to the right, jutting them off away from the others. A crackling came faintly over the computer bank speakers. "See you on the other side," the familiar voice said. "I love you." It was Max.
"Ava, out," Liz replied feeling that her hand had just slipped from his, and then on cue another voice broke through crackling. "Rath, out." There was a bit more static until yet another faint transmission came across. "The four musketeers are home..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mountain housing the sanctuary of the ancient observatory and monastery of Rochell was breathtaking as the ships one by one landed. The last runner touched down as Liz turned the controls over to Marcel. "How far do we need to travel?" she asked.
"Not far,” he shook his head. “Just over past that tree line," he pointed to the beginning of a forest not five hundred yards ahead of them. "You should be able to make out the dome that sits atop the monastery."
Just as he spoke, Liz spotted a golden glow through the treetops, and a succession of flashes hit her hard. Ava was very small and with her father. A man dressed in a dark brown robe was leaning down to kiss her cheek. In one hand he held a large silver journal. As the flash faded, she instantly recognized the book. It was one so very similar to the one Tess had taken from the library shelf in Roswell years before.
"Brother Ambrose," she remembered just above a whisper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER TWELVE
The sight of Rochell sitting high above them with pale pink clouds floating atop it's golden dome, made Maria think of medieval times, and also of the European History class she had once only barely paid any attention to at all once upon a time in her other life. She didn't know much about the life of a monk, but she was impressed at the serenity that seemed to surround the grounds and the grandeur of the old place. Bramble bushes that had slowly through the years twined themselves up onto the dark brown stone, were now bright with flower blooms...yes, she noticed immediately, the extremely vibrant colored flowers.
Kal was at the lead with John and Serena by his side. Following closely behind Liz and Max, was Larek carrying Sierra on his shoulders. Nicole was just several steps behind them. Katain was bringing in the back, making sure that all the others kept in stride, most especially Raymond and Angelique. The older woman now carried a walking stick fashioned by a dense knurly branch from a fallen tree back by the landing sight. The forest trail was steep and fairly rugged, mostly dirt and boulders. As they approached closer to the compound the dirt trail was slowly changing to a path of stepping stones made of a solid blue swirly matter.
"There they are! Look!" Sierra yelled out excitedly at catching her first glimpse of the colors up the side of the monastery. "My flowers," she beamed proudly.
Liz looked back over her shoulder and smiled to Sierra's mother. Liz sent the little redhead a happy thought. Yes, Sierra, they certainly are your flowers. And they are just as beautiful as you have always colored them. The little one grinned back at her.
"They will be expecting us," Marcel informed some of the group who had not been made aware of the latest developments since the landing of the Horizon. "It's important that you remember at all times that they are very private men. This ...place," he paused, "...it is a mystical place. It is a sanctuary. It has been said that the gods have visited here...more than a few times. Until they become accustomed to all of their new guests, it would be wise if either Captain Chavez or myself do the talking. Guests are not something they are used to here at all. We have both recently spoken of our situation to Brother Jasper. He is the one in charge here. One other thing that might help… speak to them only when you are directly spoken to. It's about respect."
While continuing up the path Liz turned back to Marcel, "What of Brother Ambrose? There is a Brother Ambrose, right?" she said remembering her flash and memory of the meeting back when she was a small child.
Marcel nodded. "There was a Brother Ambrose here at one time, but it's my understanding that he died a while back. At least that was the word that filtered down into Milinga years ago."
Liz felt the disappointment inside her. Several minutes before this uphill trek began, she had confided to both Max and John of the vision that had appeared to her after landing on this mountain top. Their curiosity about the book in the vision had been peaked, as was Liz's.
"Max, this is all tied together," she explained in a low voice, as they tried their best to keep up with Kal ahead of them all now. "And now... the flowers...Sierra's flowers...it's like this is another puzzle for us to figure out. Sierra remembered those flowers in her subconscious all this time; they were part of her soul. I know this is a very special place, Max. I just wish I could remember more from when I was here last."
He could only shake his head too, as a familiar feeling seemed to be coming over his body as well. "Liz, maybe it's not another puzzle at all," he whispered to her. "Quite possibly it's the same puzzle. The one that we started with, all the pieces we've been searching for...the prophecy and the purpose of the granolith. And if that's true, if the answers are here, then we might be able to find out how and when this prophecy began. There might be something that could help us to know more about what it is we have to do here. It would make sense that these people and their religious connections could hold some interesting answers for us."
Larek swung Sierra down off his shoulders, and slung his rifle over to the other side. As her feet hit the path, she ran ahead straight toward Zan and Ava. Slowing his pace a bit, he reached his arm back to help Nicole span two large boulders blocking the path. Her hand in his felt instantly electrical, and the warmth of his skin seemed to sooth her soul. Confusion again rose quickly in her mind. Her head spun in a way that worried her. It wasn't just her infatuation with him; it seemed to her to be more than that. It had a feel of coming from the outside, and not just the inside. Their eyes met for a brief moment and then Larek turned looking away, checking again up ahead of them.
Nicole took a breath and smelled the fine scent of the wild flowers along their path. She felt like Alice in Wonderland as she looked closer and suddenly swore she saw them sparkling back at her. She could still feel the strength of Larek's hand, warm around hers, and finally she knew she needed to speak. Something, anything... "I was so relieved to see John this morning, and when he told us that all of you were okay, well...we were all so relieved." She couldn't keep the sound of her voice from shaking. Damn, is that the best thing you could say, Nicole? she thought to herself. She tried again to calm her heart rate and deal rationally with the small talk. "After spending so much time on board together... well, we really did miss all of you."
Stop babbling, she screamed at herself. Wait, was it her imagination or had his gentle grip around her hand just tightened a bit? Stop acting like a school girl, Nicole Landau, she thought to herself. My god! He can't hear me, can he?? No, no, she answered herself trying to calm her own frantic thoughts. They can only hear each other , she reminded herself in a suddenly much calmer thought. That was one of the things Serena had explained to her in the hours earlier, back before leaving the ship.
He smiled down at her. She watched as his face lit up seeming to blush slightly, and Nicole couldn't drag her eyes from his. For a few precious moments, he held her stare and it seemed to her that he wanted...or needed to say something; but then his eyes shifted suddenly past her, farther back on the trail. She didn't have to turn around; she knew where his eyes now fell. Her stomach flipped up into her throat and she felt her face growing crimson. "It's only a bit farther," he called out loudly toward the back of the group. "Katain? Is Angelique alright?" Nicole stopped suddenly and turned, now worried about her children's great grandmother.
"Oh I'm alright. Don't be worrying about me, Larek," Angelique yelled back up to him, slightly breathless. Katain smiled at the strength of the woman whose arm she now held in her steady grasp. Angelique nodded her head, "Between the lovely woman at my right, and the handsome man to my left," she smiled up at Raymond, "I will make it with little problem."
Larek absentmindedly left go of Nicole's hand, and suddenly she again felt a truth to the situation she had just allowed herself to fantasize about. She was alone here; her and her daughters were alone here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Nicole walked on behind Larek, her conscience drifted back to the hours earlier before leaving the Horizon. She and Serena, along with Ava and Jessie, had been discussing many things while the others were gone. It had ended up being a twenty questions night, or 'everything you ever wanted to know about an Antarian or Adian' seminar. Serena did her best to answer all the questions she could about Antar from what she had learned through the years with John and Kal. There had been talk of Zan and his father and mother, and even of the podchamber and the royal treasure placed there in the mountain at Roswell.
Then Nicole had taken a chance to steer the subject lightly onto Larek and Ava, the Ava of long ago. She hadn't been able to help herself. He had been on her mind every minute since they had left the ship. The story had already been somewhat formed in all of their minds during the last weeks aboard the Horizon and even before at the ranch in Roswell. "That was very long ago. It doesn't have very much to do with now at all," Serena stated clearly.
She had then explained that from what John had told her, and Kal as well, Larek and Ava had been inseparable all during their childhood. Apparently life as a royal had its drawbacks, and they had both formed a pact in their early years. A pact that they would never leave each other's side. A few years had passed and then Zan, the son of the King who at the time held domain over all three worlds, had became close with the two royals living at Leoch, bringing along his dearest friend Rath with him on visits. Serena had then paused for a moment, and saw that each one of the women was listening intently.
"By the time they were all approaching their thirteenth year, it was obvious that not only were the four always seen together, but Zan had fallen head over heels in love with the Adian Princess. It wasn't long before Ava's thoughts too were only of him. They were desperately in love, and it was obvious to all. However there was a portion of time in which the Antarian King was at odds with some of the radicals who were rising up on Adia against the establishment. Commerce between the two worlds as well as civil partnership was halted. The two were forbidden to ever see each other again."
"And Larek?" Nicole had asked, shyly. "He loved her greatly didn't he?"
Serena was as honest as she knew how to be at the time, looking back into her bright eyes. "In a word, yes. They both knew of the trouble that could and would arise if she chose to continue the relationship with the son of the Antarian king. Ava spent many years of emotional misery at the loss of the love of her life. Larek was there for her, which unfortunately only made his feelings for her so much deeper than they had already become." It was Serena's understanding that the two had discussed their relationship at length many times, but all the time Ava remained loyal to Zan, although in her heart she was coming to terms with the possible fact that she and Larek might have a future life together. "Eventually of course, Zan's father came to his senses. Trade and harmony was restored between the two worlds," Serena had explained. "And Ava was finally allowed to pursue her dream."
Things were silent in the room for a while. "On the day of the wedding..." Jessie started slowly and then stopped. She had thought about that day so many times, but now with Serena here, she could ask something that she had never known for sure. Serena nodded for her to go on. "I've just often wondered," Jessie continued. "How old were they when Kivar took their lives?"
Serena drew in a big breath puffing her chest out slightly and quietly exhaled. "It was the end of Ava's eighteenth year. I believe that Zan had just turned nineteen, as had Rath. Of course their chronological figuring here is quite different from earth. For instance," she stated, being glad to be able to change the subject. "Did you know that you all will age a good twenty times slower here than you would back home? Take Larek as an example, he was a mere eighteen the day of that wedding, and yet today one would have no problem thinking him to be only in his early thirties. They don't calculate years of life in the same way that we do. Even once on earth, John and Kal both continued to age slowly... much to my chagrin," she added with a smile and everyone in the room had laughed.
A short time later, everyone had retired for the night, knowing that John would be arriving for them in the morning, everyone was anxious. Nicole had lagged behind that night, helping Serena to clean up the galley. "Serena..." she started, as the dark haired Indian woman looked at her knowingly. "I don't know what it is that I'm going to do." She looked around the kitchen as if trying to form some rational thoughts. "I have these feelings...and well, I've been foolish to let them take over me the way they have." She toyed with the tray of silverware placing it into the sanitizer.
"This is about Larek?" Serena asked, being well aware of the young woman's feelings for a while now, quite possibly sooner than Nicole herself. "Yes," Nicole answered painfully.
"It's very healthy for you to feel the way you do," Serena smiled at her. Then seeing the sincerity in her eyes she knew that this was important to her, if only to have someone to try to rationalize things for her.
"Truthfully? Nicole, I'm not at all sure that he has the ability right now to truly care for anyone. I mean love anyone. Need, yes. Attracted to, yes. But I don't want to see you get hurt, Nicole. You've already been through enough with Lucas. You need someone who isn't afraid to give back everything that you need right now, and everything you will need in the future. He is a soldier of Adia. He's a Federalist with a very long road ahead."
Nicole nodded her head. "I know all of that. My mind is screaming it at me constantly," she answered quietly. "...and I've watched him, I mean... I know that he's responded to Katain. What I mean is, I know that Katain cares a great deal for him too," Nicole said in a whisper.
"Yes, she does," Serena, said as calmly as she could. "... and I know it looks like he cares in the same way...for reasons I won't get into; but the truth of the matter is that I know as sure as I'm standing here that it doesn't mean the same things to him as it does to her. I also know that Larek believed that they were both entering into this...whatever it is...on the same footing...for the same reasons. I think that Katain at first believed that she too was at the time, but," Serena again sighed and rolled her eyes. "From everything I know the man has spent most of his life running and hiding from his feelings. Both of you are very special to him, there is no doubt about that; but, I don't think even he knows what he wants to allow into his life right now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sounds of the trail brought Nicole back to the present, just as the group stopped outside the wooden fence surrounding the monastery. Michel Chavez's voice rang back in the group now gathering together. "Wait here," Chavez motioned to the back of the group. "John?"
"Yes,” John’s answer was quick as he kissed Serena on the cheek and nodded to Max and Liz, before walking off with Chavez to gain entrance to the monastery. Everyone else made themselves as comfortable as possible in the shelter of the overgrown bushes and trees, and waited.
"Hopefully this will go smoothly," Max explained to the others gathered. "Once we're settled in this haven, Larek and Chavez will be contacting two of their operatives within the castle grounds. Two women there have been taking care of Emily. The two are arranging with Jared for Emily to have some time outside of the castle, on the grounds. They feel that the courtyard will be as far as he will allow her to go from his grip."
Everyone was silent as Max continued unfolding the plan. "We have no access to the courtyard, with one exception. Through shapeshifting, John and Kal will become Eosian guards. The rest of us will meet just outside the castle walls. Larek, Katain, Liz and I will situate ourselves as close to the entrance gates as possible."
Max looked from one to the other before him. Katain sat in the grass, Marshall, Jessie and Serena at her side. Larek had taken Jonathan and Marcel off to patrol the surrounding areas, in the event that someone at Leoch had witnessed the runners landing up on the mountain. Nicole and Sierra sat off to the side quietly listening, with the two older members of their party.
Max continued. "As I've said, these woman have seen to Emily's care up until now. They have been reducing the dosage of a drug that Jared has been giving Emily. It's something that apparently inhibits her powers. At any rate, by tomorrow afternoon we are hoping that she'll have some usage back to her traveling. For her own safety, she is not being told that we have arrived for her as yet. Before her outing late tomorrow afternoon, they will inform her of what is going on. Should there be any problems getting her out, or if John and Kal are somehow discovered, she will hopefully be able to transport herself to Liz and I, outside the gates."
Nicole sat in silence and smiled. She knew Emily could do it. Hope was again returning to her, in that this plan had a very good chance of being successful. She couldn't allow herself to doubt it.
Liz spoke up. "But if things go wrong...the four of us," she corrected herself, "hopefully the six of us, with Kal and John, will be doing everything that we can at that moment to get her out. We have one shot at this until Jared and his men find out what is happening. Should we have to, we will pull out all stops to get her to safety. You will not hesitate to do anything and everything you have to do to make that happen." Liz wasn't nervous about what it was that had been decided, she wasn't worried for herself or the others; the only fear in her heart now was for Emily. Both of these children had to be saved, no matter what the cost; she couldn't allow herself to think otherwise. Max gripped onto her hand and tightened his hold there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larek and Jonathan finally returned to join the others who were still waiting for word from inside the monastery. The two men told the good news that everything around the compound perimeter looked completely normal. Larek then pulled Max and Liz aside, "Come, I have something to show you both," he said giving Liz a sheepish grin.
Max left Kal in charge, and the two followed Larek along the perimeter of Rochell's stone and wooden fences. They climbed up much higher ground towards the rear of the monastery.
Larek came to a stop, easily hopping up onto a small plateau of rock jutting out over the mountain ledge. Max was soon up by his side, lending a hand and pulling Liz up the last large stretch and into his arms. She stood there breathless as her lungs battled with the atmosphere of this world. Once her head stopped spinning, she glanced over her shoulder and down into the valley below them. A huge lake of pale blue water stretched out before them leading to a reawakening of one of Ava's most cherished memories.
"My Lady. I give you home," Larek exclaimed gallantly, standing smugly with his arms crossed high on his chest and a proud loving blush to his face. "And very soon it will be ours again," he added most assuredly.
Liz's hands now covered her mouth and her eyes began to glisten, as all the emotion within her reached a pinnacle. She wasn't sure that she would ever again be able to catch her breath, as she felt Max's reassuring arm tightly encircle her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. There below her was a sight that Ava had never expected to see again. The Castle Leoch stood in all it's majesty, white with red turrets against the land of the dark green forests, which for centuries had surrounded the small kingdom of the Adian royal family. "I- I," the words wouldn't come; only the tears did, fast and hard.
Twenty minutes later after all the emotions of the moment had been shared and then temporarily shelved between the three dear friends, Larek again began going over the details of the plan for the next day. "Once inside Rochell, which hopefully will be later on today," he looked back in the direction from which they had just come, wondering for a split second how Michel and John were doing, "we should be able to reach someone back at the camp at Trinity. I'm hoping that there is news of the exact location of Jared's weapon and more news from Siobhan."
They both looked at him with question. "She's the Federalist," he explained. "She's one of the twins I mentioned. Her sister is Chalone. They've lived undercover at Leoch for the past seven years; again I can not begin to tell you the strides we have made with their help, both during Kivar's rule and now with Jared's. Once we have the added information as to the whereabouts of this so-called weapon of his, we will be able to move on with phase two of this mission," he said tossing a small stone over the precipice.
"We have only five days until St. Mirad's Day," Max added. He continued to glance over at Liz out of the corner of his eye as he spoke. She stood alone still mesmerized by her home down below. Max turned all his attention back to Larek. "The plan of strategy for the Federalist armies has to be put into place within the next two days, Larek. The timing here will be critical," Max stated, rubbing at his forehead. "Getting into the castle should not be the problem, but being sure that the troops will have the proper positions well covered throughout Milinga and Frasate..." Max couldn't help the look of worry that passed over his face. "There are two hundred miles and some six thousand people between Leoch and those two cities. Not to mention the vulnerability of Trinity at that particular moment. Timing is crucial, or did I already say that?" He tried to smile.
"Yes you have. And you are absolutely right. It's all about the timing," Larek agreed. "We will all be there for you," Larek said strongly, as he grabbed Max's arm to reaffirm his support. "The Federalists are all about their king," he winked at him with a dimpled grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evan Prost had just finished up with a high level meeting within the installation at Yucca Flats. The entire team of the Gemini Project had been relocated back into the home folds of the Aquarius Project.
He removed his jacket and hanging it on the back of his chair, and he watched as the sun was setting in the side window of his office. He stared at the light filtering in the last sunlight of the day. He watched the small dust particles floating on the still glowing rays; and his mind traveled directly to another solar system, another galaxy so far from this spot.
A loud noise in the hallway disrupted his thought pattern, bringing him back to the now, and the here of his little world. The meeting had gone fairly well, all things considered, he thought to himself. The Horizon would now have already reached its homeland, and all the rest now was unfortunately out of his hands. Just what was to become of them all in the next years, lay in the lap of a handful of alien beings now so far from here. It was so far away that it almost seemed as if it didn't matter at all. But in fact, it did. It mattered greatly.
This civilization of mankind was teetering on the brink of something very large, indeed larger than life itself; and yet there were only a small group in the entire world who knew of the possible consequences. Everyone else continued to go about their normal daily routines, as if they had all the time in the world to live out their tiny but precious little lives.
Part of the meeting consisted of debriefings with the President's Chief of Staff. All the pertinent information had been passed on directly to the White House. This had always been an inside job, Evan reminded himself. The Congress of the United States had been thoroughly kept in the dark as to anything having to do with the Gemini Project. It was and always had been funded through The Defense Department, and Evan couldn't help but wonder what would happen now.
Five decades of study, research and planning had finally come to a head. They had succeeded in their objective. He smiled to himself. Well when history was written about all this, and we can only hope that someone will be around to do just that, he thought to himself, it's pretty fucking fulfilling to know that I had a front row seat to the most important project in the history of the world.
He leaned back in his chair, looking at a folder now sitting atop his desk for his attention. The label read, Alex Madison. The General opened the folder with a slight ironic smile as he slowly glanced down at the top page. It read - Request for Appeal Petition.
He pulled a Havana from his shirt pocket. He had been saving this one for a special occasion. Clipping the end, he lit the little lighter in the shape of a space capsule, and puffed a few times. Reaching for his pen, he scribbled the word Denied across the formal petition. Looking over and out his window as the sunlight now disappeared into dusk, he said a prayer of thanks for the men and women of the Horizon, both past and present.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John and Chavez had finally returned after two hours in consultation with the hierarchy within the monastery. The good news was that they had finally been granted the sanctuary that they were seeking behind the sacred and ancient walls. The bad news, as they had feared, was that there were to be no arms allowed within its perimeter. This after all was a place of peace.
They were given space to store their arms inside another building on the property. The thought of being in this world's turmoil and unarmed was a thought that was difficult for both Larek and Rath to comprehend. No one seemed pleased, even though they understood all the reasons why they could not bare arms inside the monastery itself. Once they had found the building, they realized that although it might have at first seemed close to the larger building, it was still a distance in the event of an emergency; and if the ability to protect themselves was needed. It was decided then that two would stand guard in shifts. The small building that was once the observatory was almost a miniature of the monastery itself, but now overgrown with brambles, weeds and sad neglect..
Once inside, each one took their turn placing their weapons into a pile by the door. Liz let her head fall back, peering up the musty and spindly staircase into the interior pitch dark above them. This is where the telescope was , she thought to herself. She remembered standing in this very spot as a child as she held Brother Ambrose's hand. She heard his voice in her head.
She felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as the room began to spin, slowly at first; and then it picked up speed, faster and faster...until everything faded quickly to black, and she felt herself floating down to the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sheriff Valenti pulled into his driveway at lunchtime and was concerned to see Kyle's mustang sitting there. He had seemed fine when he had left for the garage earlier that morning. As he entered the livingroom, he saw Kyle stretched out on the couch remote in hand, but the TV was not on. "Dad?" he said somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect you home for lunch."
"Obviously," Jim threw his truck keys into the dish on the side table by the door. "You sick, Son?" he questioned as he crossed the room.
"Nah, not really. Just didn't feel much like working today. Things were a little slow, so I decided to do half a day," he realized he was holding the remote pointing it at a blank screen. "I guess I was just zoning out, ya know."
Jim nodded his head and sat down on the ottoman next to the couch. "You haven't had any more of those headaches have you?" he asked reaching over and feeling his son's forehead for fever.
Kyle brushed his hand away and snorted, "Dad! I'm fine, really I am. No, no headaches. Not for a month or so now. I've just been tired lately that's all. No big deal."
His father looked on with knowing eyes. "This is about the kids, isn't it?" He then stood up, thinking how he himself had them on his mind so much lately.
Kyle shook his head confessing to his father's educated guess. "I looked at the calendar in work this morning and realized that they've been gone now for almost a month and a half. I can't help but wonder...wonder if they even made it." Kyle played with the fringe on the afghan thrown over his legs. "They could all be dead right now and we would never ever know."
Jim took a big breath. "We have to believe that they are where they are meant to be right at this moment."
Kyle frowned, then tried to force a crooked smile, "Is that your way of saying that if they're dead, then Buddha wanted it to be that way?"
Jim Valenti didn't know how to answer that. "Buddha, God, name your savior. None of us have any control over our fate, Kyle. You know that. They were doing everything that they possibly could do on their own, but the final decision in all this was never going to be up to them. Whether they succeeded or not, it was a journey that had questionable hope from the beginning, all things considered."
Kyle shook his head, not wanting to accept his father's own reasoning. "No, I can’t believe that. That would mean that everything...everything they went through, and everything we went through, was all for nothing. I can't believe that,” he repeated. “I can't believe that any higher power would choose to stop this from having a happy ending. I've spent most of my life being cynical, but since they've left Roswell, I've had to hold onto some shred of optimism, otherwise ...." He grew silent.
"I know, Son. This has been such an incredible experience for all of us. But we have to accept things as they are. We both have the finest memories.. experiences that no one else in this world could possibly understand," Jim reminded him as he walked into the kitchen.
Kyle listened as his father's voice faded from the livingroom. In a low voice, almost just to himself he said, "I miss her. I miss them all. Hell, I even miss Evans." Then forcing himself to an upright position on the edge of the couch he rubbed his face with his hands. "This is futile. All these questions that will never have answers."
Jim returned into the room, two sandwiches in hand. "Here, eat this. It's ham and swiss."
Kyle had no appetite, but took the sandwich anyway, knowing that forcing himself to eat it would be much easier than listening to his old man complain if he didn't. With a mouthful, Kyle got to the root of the problem. "Liz's birthday is at the end of the month. I noticed the date when I was looking at the calendar this morning."
His father stopped midchew, trying to swallow what remained in his mouth as he listened to his son talking. "I keep thinking back about her birthday, back when we first started dating. I took her to the movies. We had a really good time." Kyle grew quite, then laughed as his eyes filled up, "..and I don't even remember what we saw."
Jim heard the hurt in his voice and moved to the couch beside him. "Listen to me, Kyle. I know that you don't want to hear this, but, we just have no choice but to wait and see what happens. And yes, there's a huge chance that they won't be returning. You must have realized that when they left. You just wouldn't let yourself admit it. But now, we have to live our lives, Kyle ...I mean really live our lives. You have to start socializing again. Get yourself into that Technical College in Alamogordo. We both know that Liz and Maria would want you to be the best you can be. Maybe you owe them that. If you can't do it for yourself right now, then do it for them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz opened her eyes trying to focus on something. Her head was still swirling, but slowly the spin slowed and stopped. She was laying in a very tiny room, atop a fairly hard mattress. The ceiling was full of cracks and crevices and the furnishings were sparse. She heard Max's voice before she was able to actually focus on his face to the right of the bedside. "Liz," he kissed her pale hand. "Hey," he said in a thankful whisper at seeing her color return.
"What the hell happened to me?" she tried to sort through all the things in her head. She saw Max's loving face staring into her's, but it was Kal's voice that she heard. "You fainted. Hit the floor pretty damn hard too." Liz tried to muster a smile but felt the numbness on the back of her head and the queasiness in her stomach, as she looked to the left of the bed to see Kal sitting there. "I think you'll be just fine now. Want to fill us in on what happened before you passed out?" Kal asked patting her left hand. "Katain heard you say something that she couldn't quite make out right before you joined the dust on the observatory floor."
Liz squinted, "What time is it? How long was I out?"
Max looked to Kal, "Maybe an hour or so. We brought you right into the monastery. Brother Jasper led us up here. We're on the second floor. Apparently there's a lot of these small rooms up here." Max handed her a brilliantly colored flower and she grinned. "From Sierra," he smiled.
Liz took the flower in hand, as her ears still continued to ring. "I'm not sure what happened really. I had a memory of being in the observatory..back when I was little. Again it was when I was young just like the first vision, maybe six or seven. I knew that the telescope was up those rickety steps, because I remembered being up there...with Brother Ambrose. He was talking to me..but,..it's all a blur now. Anyway the room started spinning and then I felt....dizzy," she looked up into Kal's eyes and then quickly away.
"I see. Dizzy," Kal answered. "Well it was fairly raunchy smelling in there. Musty doesn't cover it, I felt a bit shaky myself. It's been deserted apparently since the death of Brother Ambrose. It seems that he died about a year after...the wedding."
Liz's eyes darted back to Max. "What about Emily? Have we heard anything new?" Liz knew that Chavez had intended on contacting someone at camp as soon as they had gained admittance into the monastery.
"Larek has received word that Emily will be taking a well deserved walk in the gardens of the courtyard at 1300 hours tomorrow. Siobhan and Chalone will both be with her." Max grinned, "We'll have her back by this time tomorrow."
Liz gave a sigh of relief, and then reality set in again. "And then Jared will know that we are here," she said quietly, shaking her head with understanding.
Max touched her forehead with his hand. "You feel warm."
Liz shook her head with certainty. "No, Max. I'm fine now, really I am." Again Max looked to Kal for an answer.
"I think you can get up now, we'll just keep a close eye on you for the rest of the night," Kal replied to Max's unasked questions. "Brother Jasper is arranging for us to sit for supper soon now. We'll have our very own private diningroom. He's doing his best to keep us separated from the rest of the order, and maybe that's best for now."
Liz sat up slowly, balancing herself on the side of the bed. She reached up to touch the back of her head and felt a small bump there. Max was concerned as he watched every move she made. "You sure you're okay?" She gave him a smile and touched his cheek. "I'm better than okay. Really, please I hope no one is going to make a big thing of this."
Kal heard a lot of Ava coming through. "Kitten, as long as you say you're okay...then you're okay." Kal knew he would be watching her more closely now too, but for his own reasons.
Liz stood tall by the bedside. "See, I'm not even wobbly. Now, let's go join the others. We have a big day tomorrow, and I want to hear everything everyone has to say about it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sierra, you need to lay your head down." Nicole was doing her best convincing in the small room she now shared with her daughter. Two small cots and an old wooden dresser sat against the wall. There was little room for anything else. "You can't rest and get a nap if you don't close your eyes."
"I'm not tired. Is Liz okay? Is she hurt?" Nicole sat on the bed next to her. "She's okay now. You'll see her at supper I'm sure."
"What's for dinner?" the little one asked wide eyed. Nicole shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. But I'm sure it will taste much better once you've had a small nap." She winked at her.
Sierra giggled and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Well...we'll see about that," Sierra replied as she tried not to yawn.
Nicole raised her eyebrows at the little one's comment then laughed. "Sleep."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael and Larek sat at the front of the building, Larek puffing long draws from a pipe. "It's not something I indulge in often," he responded to the face Michael made at the smoke blowing by him. "It's jamon. The finest weed grown on Trinity. John said it tastes very much like your cherry tobacco."
"Not my cup of tea. Now I could throw back a few cold ones about now," the Rath in Michael exclaimed staring up at the late afternoon sun. "I'm going with you when you head back to Milinga. Hope that's alright with you."
Larek wasn't surprised at all at his request. Once he had explained to the men that one of the two places where Jared was suspected of hiding the weapon was in the caverns just outside of Milinga, he had seen Rath's eyes light up. "I have no way of judging just how long I will be gone," he explained, tapping and emptying the pipe onto the ground.
"No problem. I want to be there, man. And I know for a fact Max is planning on going too," Michael added.
"Kal has already shown an interest in coming along. It is important, Rath, that you realize this is only a fact finding mission. Once we've established that this is the location of the genuine weapon and not the fake Jared has tried to pass off in the past, then we will formulate a plan to go back in and destroy it. Destroying the weapon..."
"...must coincide with St. Mirad's Day," Michael finished the fact for him. They both looked up to see Marshall and Katain coming up the path from the observatory. The two joined them, as Larek hopped up to sit atop one of the high boulders at the gate.
"John, Serena and Jonathan are down below keeping watch at the observatory. Marshall and I will go back to replace them at 1800 hours, we'll stay for the night, then two can take over at first light," Katain explained.
"I thought Max was taking watch with you tonight," Larek asked Katain. She explained, "I think he'd feel more comfortable staying with Liz, just to be sure everything is okay. She surely cracked her head on that floor."
Michael winced remembering the sound. "I just saw both of them going in to talk to Brother Jasper a few minutes ago. She looked okay." Larek listened to Michael's words with great relief.
"Everyone else inside?" Marshall asked lowering himself to sit on the ground. Michael nodded, "I'd really like to look around in there, but I feel pretty awkward. Lots and lots of old books."
Katain shook her head agreeing, "Yes, and there's catacombs too. I could sense them under the ground floor."
Larek looked her. "I imagine that the monks would frown upon us digging around. Although I am sure the history of this place is fascinating. Whatever you all plan on doing here, be sure to get permission from the hierarchy first. The last thing we need now is to upset the gods," he winked as he slid down to the ground. "I'm going to check on Liz."
Michael motioned to him, "Hold up, I'm coming too." Then turning to the Duncans he said in a quick, low voice, "Don't go down there without me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily stood staring at the dress before her. "It's pretty," she said in reply to Siobhan's excited look. She was feeling much better now that the sisters had told her that she was going to be allowed to go out in the courtyard the following day; and Emily was certain that she could feel her strength returning. Just knowing she was going to be breathing fresh air again was all the medicine she needed for now.
"It's a beautiful shade, and it goes so wonderfully with your hair, Aurora," Chalone was rambling in the background of Emily's thoughts. "We will fix your hair high on top of your head...whatever you want."
Sierra listened half heartedly. Right now her mind was on the small goblet that held her medicine. It was sitting on the table by the window. "Do you think you could eat something now? Do you feel hungry?" Their eyes were pleading with her.
"Yes, I want fries and a milk shake," Emily grinned, knowing full well that they had no idea what she was talking about.
The mirror images looked strangely at each other. "I am very sure that that is not possible. Try again, Emily," Chalone teased, but it only took a second for Emily to realize that the girl had just used her real name, it was the first time since the three had met. Emily looked startled for a second, being caught completely off guard. Looking from one to the other, she laughed and then a look of deep concentrated thought crossed her small face. "Surprise me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheriff Valenti pulled into his driveway at lunchtime and was concerned to see Kyle's mustang sitting there. He had seemed fine when he had left for the garage earlier that morning. As he entered the livingroom, he saw Kyle stretched out on the couch remote in hand, but the TV was not on. "Dad?" he said somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect you home for lunch."
"Obviously," Jim threw his truck keys into the dish on the side table by the door. "You sick, Son?" he questioned as he crossed the room.
"Nah, not really. Just didn't feel much like working today. Things were a little slow, so I decided to do half a day," he realized he was holding the remote pointing it at a blank screen. "I guess I was just zoning out, ya know."
Jim nodded his head and sat down on the ottoman next to the couch. "You haven't had any more of those headaches have you?" he asked reaching over and feeling his son's forehead for fever.
Kyle brushed his hand away and snorted, "Dad! I'm fine, really I am. No, no headaches. Not for a month or so now. I've just been tired lately that's all. No big deal."
His father looked on with knowing eyes. "This is about the kids, isn't it?" He then stood up, thinking how he himself had them on his mind so much lately.
Kyle shook his head confessing to his father's educated guess. "I looked at the calendar in work this morning and realized that they've been gone now for almost a month and a half. I can't help but wonder...wonder if they even made it." Kyle played with the fringe on the afghan thrown over his legs. "They could all be dead right now and we would never ever know."
Jim took a big breath. "We have to believe that they are where they are meant to be right at this moment."
Kyle frowned, then tried to force a crooked smile, "Is that your way of saying that if they're dead, then Buddha wanted it to be that way?"
Jim Valenti didn't know how to answer that. "Buddha, God, name your savior. None of us have any control over our fate, Kyle. You know that. They were doing everything that they possibly could do on their own, but the final decision in all this was never going to be up to them. Whether they succeeded or not, it was a journey that had questionable hope from the beginning, all things considered."
Kyle shook his head, not wanting to accept his father's own reasoning. "No, I can’t believe that. That would mean that everything...everything they went through, and everything we went through, was all for nothing. I can't believe that,” he repeated. “I can't believe that any higher power would choose to stop this from having a happy ending. I've spent most of my life being cynical, but since they've left Roswell, I've had to hold onto some shred of optimism, otherwise ...." He grew silent.
"I know, Son. This has been such an incredible experience for all of us. But we have to accept things as they are. We both have the finest memories.. experiences that no one else in this world could possibly understand," Jim reminded him as he walked into the kitchen.
Kyle listened as his father's voice faded from the livingroom. In a low voice, almost just to himself he said, "I miss her. I miss them all. Hell, I even miss Evans." Then forcing himself to an upright position on the edge of the couch he rubbed his face with his hands. "This is futile. All these questions that will never have answers."
Jim returned into the room, two sandwiches in hand. "Here, eat this. It's ham and swiss."
Kyle had no appetite, but took the sandwich anyway, knowing that forcing himself to eat it would be much easier than listening to his old man complain if he didn't. With a mouthful, Kyle got to the root of the problem. "Liz's birthday is at the end of the month. I noticed the date when I was looking at the calendar this morning."
His father stopped midchew, trying to swallow what remained in his mouth as he listened to his son talking. "I keep thinking back about her birthday, back when we first started dating. I took her to the movies. We had a really good time." Kyle grew quite, then laughed as his eyes filled up, "..and I don't even remember what we saw."
Jim heard the hurt in his voice and moved to the couch beside him. "Listen to me, Kyle. I know that you don't want to hear this, but, we just have no choice but to wait and see what happens. And yes, there's a huge chance that they won't be returning. You must have realized that when they left. You just wouldn't let yourself admit it. But now, we have to live our lives, Kyle ...I mean really live our lives. You have to start socializing again. Get yourself into that Technical College in Alamogordo. We both know that Liz and Maria would want you to be the best you can be. Maybe you owe them that. If you can't do it for yourself right now, then do it for them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz opened her eyes trying to focus on something. Her head was still swirling, but slowly the spin slowed and stopped. She was laying in a very tiny room, atop a fairly hard mattress. The ceiling was full of cracks and crevices and the furnishings were sparse. She heard Max's voice before she was able to actually focus on his face to the right of the bedside. "Liz," he kissed her pale hand. "Hey," he said in a thankful whisper at seeing her color return.
"What the hell happened to me?" she tried to sort through all the things in her head. She saw Max's loving face staring into her's, but it was Kal's voice that she heard. "You fainted. Hit the floor pretty damn hard too." Liz tried to muster a smile but felt the numbness on the back of her head and the queasiness in her stomach, as she looked to the left of the bed to see Kal sitting there. "I think you'll be just fine now. Want to fill us in on what happened before you passed out?" Kal asked patting her left hand. "Katain heard you say something that she couldn't quite make out right before you joined the dust on the observatory floor."
Liz squinted, "What time is it? How long was I out?"
Max looked to Kal, "Maybe an hour or so. We brought you right into the monastery. Brother Jasper led us up here. We're on the second floor. Apparently there's a lot of these small rooms up here." Max handed her a brilliantly colored flower and she grinned. "From Sierra," he smiled.
Liz took the flower in hand, as her ears still continued to ring. "I'm not sure what happened really. I had a memory of being in the observatory..back when I was little. Again it was when I was young just like the first vision, maybe six or seven. I knew that the telescope was up those rickety steps, because I remembered being up there...with Brother Ambrose. He was talking to me..but,..it's all a blur now. Anyway the room started spinning and then I felt....dizzy," she looked up into Kal's eyes and then quickly away.
"I see. Dizzy," Kal answered. "Well it was fairly raunchy smelling in there. Musty doesn't cover it, I felt a bit shaky myself. It's been deserted apparently since the death of Brother Ambrose. It seems that he died about a year after...the wedding."
Liz's eyes darted back to Max. "What about Emily? Have we heard anything new?" Liz knew that Chavez had intended on contacting someone at camp as soon as they had gained admittance into the monastery.
"Larek has received word that Emily will be taking a well deserved walk in the gardens of the courtyard at 1300 hours tomorrow. Siobhan and Chalone will both be with her." Max grinned, "We'll have her back by this time tomorrow."
Liz gave a sigh of relief, and then reality set in again. "And then Jared will know that we are here," she said quietly, shaking her head with understanding.
Max touched her forehead with his hand. "You feel warm."
Liz shook her head with certainty. "No, Max. I'm fine now, really I am." Again Max looked to Kal for an answer.
"I think you can get up now, we'll just keep a close eye on you for the rest of the night," Kal replied to Max's unasked questions. "Brother Jasper is arranging for us to sit for supper soon now. We'll have our very own private diningroom. He's doing his best to keep us separated from the rest of the order, and maybe that's best for now."
Liz sat up slowly, balancing herself on the side of the bed. She reached up to touch the back of her head and felt a small bump there. Max was concerned as he watched every move she made. "You sure you're okay?" She gave him a smile and touched his cheek. "I'm better than okay. Really, please I hope no one is going to make a big thing of this."
Kal heard a lot of Ava coming through. "Kitten, as long as you say you're okay...then you're okay." Kal knew he would be watching her more closely now too, but for his own reasons.
Liz stood tall by the bedside. "See, I'm not even wobbly. Now, let's go join the others. We have a big day tomorrow, and I want to hear everything everyone has to say about it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sierra, you need to lay your head down." Nicole was doing her best convincing in the small room she now shared with her daughter. Two small cots and an old wooden dresser sat against the wall. There was little room for anything else. "You can't rest and get a nap if you don't close your eyes."
"I'm not tired. Is Liz okay? Is she hurt?" Nicole sat on the bed next to her. "She's okay now. You'll see her at supper I'm sure."
"What's for dinner?" the little one asked wide eyed. Nicole shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. But I'm sure it will taste much better once you've had a small nap." She winked at her.
Sierra giggled and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Well...we'll see about that," Sierra replied as she tried not to yawn.
Nicole raised her eyebrows at the little one's comment then laughed. "Sleep."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael and Larek sat at the front of the building, Larek puffing long draws from a pipe. "It's not something I indulge in often," he responded to the face Michael made at the smoke blowing by him. "It's jamon. The finest weed grown on Trinity. John said it tastes very much like your cherry tobacco."
"Not my cup of tea. Now I could throw back a few cold ones about now," the Rath in Michael exclaimed staring up at the late afternoon sun. "I'm going with you when you head back to Milinga. Hope that's alright with you."
Larek wasn't surprised at all at his request. Once he had explained to the men that one of the two places where Jared was suspected of hiding the weapon was in the caverns just outside of Milinga, he had seen Rath's eyes light up. "I have no way of judging just how long I will be gone," he explained, tapping and emptying the pipe onto the ground.
"No problem. I want to be there, man. And I know for a fact Max is planning on going too," Michael added.
"Kal has already shown an interest in coming along. It is important, Rath, that you realize this is only a fact finding mission. Once we've established that this is the location of the genuine weapon and not the fake Jared has tried to pass off in the past, then we will formulate a plan to go back in and destroy it. Destroying the weapon..."
"...must coincide with St. Mirad's Day," Michael finished the fact for him. They both looked up to see Marshall and Katain coming up the path from the observatory. The two joined them, as Larek hopped up to sit atop one of the high boulders at the gate.
"John, Serena and Jonathan are down below keeping watch at the observatory. Marshall and I will go back to replace them at 1800 hours, we'll stay for the night, then two can take over at first light," Katain explained.
"I thought Max was taking watch with you tonight," Larek asked Katain. She explained, "I think he'd feel more comfortable staying with Liz, just to be sure everything is okay. She surely cracked her head on that floor."
Michael winced remembering the sound. "I just saw both of them going in to talk to Brother Jasper a few minutes ago. She looked okay." Larek listened to Michael's words with great relief.
"Everyone else inside?" Marshall asked lowering himself to sit on the ground. Michael nodded, "I'd really like to look around in there, but I feel pretty awkward. Lots and lots of old books."
Katain shook her head agreeing, "Yes, and there's catacombs too. I could sense them under the ground floor."
Larek looked her. "I imagine that the monks would frown upon us digging around. Although I am sure the history of this place is fascinating. Whatever you all plan on doing here, be sure to get permission from the hierarchy first. The last thing we need now is to upset the gods," he winked as he slid down to the ground. "I'm going to check on Liz."
Michael motioned to him, "Hold up, I'm coming too." Then turning to the Duncans he said in a quick, low voice, "Don't go down there without me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily stood staring at the dress before her. "It's pretty," she said in reply to Siobhan's excited look. She was feeling much better now that the sisters had told her that she was going to be allowed to go out in the courtyard the following day; and Emily was certain that she could feel her strength returning. Just knowing she was going to be breathing fresh air again was all the medicine she needed for now.
"It's a beautiful shade, and it goes so wonderfully with your hair, Aurora," Chalone was rambling in the background of Emily's thoughts. "We will fix your hair high on top of your head...whatever you want."
Sierra listened half heartedly. Right now her mind was on the small goblet that held her medicine. It was sitting on the table by the window. "Do you think you could eat something now? Do you feel hungry?" Their eyes were pleading with her.
"Yes, I want fries and a milk shake," Emily grinned, knowing full well that they had no idea what she was talking about.
The mirror images looked strangely at each other. "I am very sure that that is not possible. Try again, Emily," Chalone teased, but it only took a second for Emily to realize that the girl had just used her real name, it was the first time since the three had met. Emily looked startled for a second, being caught completely off guard. Looking from one to the other, she laughed and then a look of deep concentrated thought crossed her small face. "Surprise me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Both Max and Liz sat inside what amounted to a study on the ground level of the monastery. Brother Jasper sat across from them behind a rather ornate desk considering that everything else in the room could only be classified as minimal in design. Max couldn't help but stare at the rows and rows of books and manuscripts that took up most of the main wall. Each one held tightly together by the others sitting on old wooden shelves obviously fashioned together a very long time back.
"I sit here now in complete amazement," the middle-aged looking man in brown remarked. "Your presence back in this world is truly a gift from the gods and so very unexpected after all this time. There once were many here who based all of their beliefs in your returning. I'm now ashamed to admit that I was never one of them."
The two each nodded at him not quite sure how to respond to his confession. After exchanging a smile with Max, Liz did her best to try. "We're still at times amazed ourselves. The truth is that we're only here because of the love of so many. I just want to personally thank you for giving us this safe haven. We have a few things to accomplish in the next few days, and we surely couldn't do any of it without the love and generosity you've extended to us here."
"Word travels fast in such an environment as ours, and you may be sure that your presence has been welcomed by all within these walls," Brother Jasper exclaimed. "Whatever your needs, we will do our best to abide by your wishes." He sat tall in the immense wooden chair with the intricately carved arms. "We will not however be directly involved in anything that should happen in the world down below. It is not our place."
"We understand." Max replied honestly. "For now, we really don't need much but shelter and an occasional meal here. That is if you have enough, otherwise a few of us can go back and bring any needed items up from our camp," Max added, looking closely into the Brother's eyes. He had the feeling that this man before him had no need of hearing his words, there was a definite atmosphere to the room as the three then sat quietly together. Max was trying hard to pick up on his thoughts, but having no luck.
"You have inquired of Brother Ambrose," he remarked, looking to Liz. "I'm afraid that the much loved man is no longer with us. He's been gone for some time now. Did you remember him?" His face seemed tense.
Liz's mouth broke into a smile. "Yes, I think I do. I had the feeling that I had met him… here… when I was quite young. He left a very strong and loving impression on me, that's for sure. I wonder if you might tell us where he's buried. I'd like..." she corrected, "...we'd like very much to pay our respects."
"Some time ago the Order of the Navirs stopped our usual burial practices. The deceased members of the order are now cremated and their remains are taken into the lower levels for eternal rest," he stirred a bit in his chair.
"Brother Jasper, would it be possible for us to have access there... to the lower levels? I know that it's highly irregular. But it might be useful to us, in some ways," Liz asked with the most respect in her voice that she could muster. She was getting a bit of a negative vibe from the man across the desk; but then, she reminded herself, they had all just invaded the serenity of a very private place, so quite possibly she was being too hasty in her first impressions.
"Two by two," he replied after some thought. "You may enter the catacombs, but only two at a time. It is very sacred ground." Liz nodded her head to him. "We understand. Thank you," she answered with sincerity.
The man behind the desk stood up, leaving the impression that their meeting was now over. "I've arranged for a few of our brothers to see to your supper table for the remainder of your stay," he paused a moment. "Would you have any idea how long that may be?"
Max answered without hesitation. "We need to stay at least five days, until right after St. Mirad's day. By then we will have had a chance to finish with some long unfinished business."
Brother Jasper smiled. "...and God speed with... your business."
Max then stood up taking Liz's arm. As she rose to her feet, she again felt a slight stirring deep inside of her. Looking back at the man in the dark robe, she noticed his eyes steady on her. "Brother Jasper," she added, "thank you, and I hope that we will soon have the chance to speak again. I think we may have a lot to discuss." Max noticed that his face fell somewhat and the shine momentarily left his eyes, as his two guests quietly left the room.
Once in the hallway Max whispered, "Well that was strange. I got the feeling that there's more going on here, that he's... hiding something?"
Liz looked straight into back into his eyes. "I don't think it's so much hiding, as he may feel he's protecting this place." Liz had no idea what Ava's thoughts had meant, but she had no doubt that she would be finding out; and if she had anything to do with it, it would be soon. It had to be soon, she thought to herself as the two stepped out into the sunlight, meeting Michael and Larek on their way inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So am I the only one who remembers being here when we were younger?" Liz asked, settling down onto the grass, as the group again gathered outside in the fading light. Max and Michael both shook their heads. Liz looked anxiously to Larek. "Are you sure that my father didn't bring you here at any time that you remember?"
"Sorry, Sparrow. Unless it's buried somewhere deep in my subconscious, I have never been here before, only heard the stories while growing up. I remember his name, but I do not remember ever meeting Ambrose personally," Larek shrugged then frowned at seeing her disappointment. "It's probably nothing. It's possible that your father just wanted you to see this marvel of a place, is all. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Well maybe when we go downstairs, I'll remember more," Liz said absentmindedly.
Michael's eyes widened at hearing her words. "Downstairs?" he questioned, realizing she was talking about the catacombs that lay below the monastery. "I'm coming with you," he said excitedly. "Did you check with the head honcho?"
"Yes, he's allowing just two of us at a time," Liz answered and nodded.
"I think that you and Max should go, then Michael and Maria and then Larek and I," Katain offered an idea.
"What about the rest of us?" Marshall asked; he then got a better idea. "Nevermind, I'd rather go with John, at least he may have a better idea what it is that we'll be looking at down there."
"Hmm, good point," Liz answered. "I'll talk to him. I think John and I should go first. Then John and Max, and so on.
Michael looked unhappy. "I say we wait and then during the night we just... go in." He smiled as Katain winked back at him.
"Of course it goes without saying, that that is secondary to us right now," Liz stressed. "Seriously, Michael."
"I know that. We are here first to rescue Emily, second to destroy Jared and third to find out any of the other missing information," Michael replied emphatically.
The conversation then again switched to the coming events the following day. Larek had ordered Chavez to pull in more than the original twenty-five troops promised to Max, and have them set up camp a mile and a half below the monastery, on the far side of the mountain out of sight of Leoch. Once Emily was safe tomorrow, then Larek would move down to Milinga later before nightfall so that they could investigate and decide the positioning of the remaining troops from Trinity for the main assault.
Liz stared down at her feet thinking of Emily and wondering just how this young girl would come through all of this, not just physically, but psychologically. Liz had no idea what Jared may have done to her when first holding her captive. There could be no doubt that Jared now had Emily's DNA. It was only a matter of time before he would also realize… if he hadn't already, that he needed the second key as well. Everything they were planning tomorrow had to be done quickly. Both Emily and Sierra would then be taken back to camp on Trinity, where they would be much safer than here in the same world as the madman.
Her thoughts cleared suddenly, as she heard Max raise his voice. "I'm coming to Milinga, Larek, and that's all there is to it."
Larek's face was turning red. "My lord, it's better that you stay here with the others and let Rath and Lan go along with me. We will find out what we need to know for the positioning of the troops for the holiday. We will be checking out what we'll need to know to destroy the weapon, but not until then."
His words were drowned out by Katain's voice, "I'm going too," she said strongly with conviction. "I have night vision, Larek. I'm an asset to you."
Marshall raised his hand, somewhat comically. "Am I even here?' he asked, laughing. "Just a reminder, Commander, I have the same gifts as my sister."
"Oh for the love of all that is mighty!" Larek's frustration level showed all over his face, as he spun around to Katain. "Let the Federalists do this! Zan, this is our mission," he turned back quickly to Max. "I knew I never should have even offered Rath and Lan along, but I did it out of courtesy... out of courtesy to you. But I will not allow my King to put himself in the middle of a possible hornets nest before we have a chance to deal directly with Jared in five days! And you?" his voice was still loud turning back to Katain. "If I have his Second in Command with me, then I need someone here that I can trust to do his job," he nodded over to Michael. "I need you here with Zan." Katain sighed but knew he was right.
"We'll do this however way you think is best," Max relented reluctantly. "I just feel responsible sending any of you out to god only knows what out there. I don't want to argue with you. You've, of course, been doing this a whole lot longer than I have. The mission in Milinga belongs to the Federalists. The mission at Leoch belongs to me." Max wanted there to be no doubt about the last part of that statement.
Larek nodded to his King and then became so very quiet, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "Trust me," he said in a very hushed whisper, "you will all be in harm's way soon enough."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Error... Error... The monitor flashed on the main computer board back aboard the Horizon. Coby angrily threw several switches and keyed in a new set of numbers. Closing his eyes that were now barely focusing, his mind ached.
Placing his hands back on the keyboard he slowly pulled up the entire sequence of strange numbers signs and squiggles that were separating the decoded computer data. Again and again he pulled up page after page. One, two ... One, two... One, two... The gaps were still there, so uniform, so exact.
No damn it!, his mind screamed out, he spun himself around in the chair. He picked up a tablet and threw it across the room in frustration. What the fuck are we missing?
He looked out the observation window onto the white landscape below. The snow had long stopped falling now, and the sky was clear; and here he still sat... alone, no farther along then he had been six hours before. Somewhere in his mind he had hoped of figuring all this out while the others were gone. He knew he had five days to try. Five days and all the coffee he could drink to keep him alert. But no matter how he tried, he just couldn't bring up anything new. "It's here. I know it's right here in front of us." He laid his head down on the console, and felt himself drifting off. Coffee or no coffee, the mental exhaustion was about to do him in.
Meanwhile lines of letters and numbers continued to run up the screen. He lifted his head a bit, leaning up onto one elbow. One last time he punched in a random set of letters and numbers, his finger jerked and he hit a key three times instead of twice.
"Damn!" he jumped at his clumsiness. All that coffee had his hands shaking badly. He rubbed his eyes again, "Time for sleep, Obi wan."
As he reached over to shut off the monitor, the screen suddenly began changing colors and got his immediate attention again. His error at the computer keyboard had triggered a reaction from it's hard drive. One Two Three ... One Two Three ... One Two Three it now read, plainer than the nose on his face.
"Holy shit!" he whispered hoarsely out to the empty control room. "There's not a sequence of two ... it's not two keys," he stood knocking the chair over behind him. "... there's three. There's freak'n three!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milinga was a small town, most of it's residents lived on the outskirts of the city bustle. Many had made their living in the marketplace, selling whatever foods they were still able to grow on their lands. The last shortened growing season had been a disaster. Everyone was feeling it, from the grower, to the seller, to the consumer who was forced to sit at empty tables at mealtime or to scrounge for anything they could get their hands on. The town had changed so drastically from the day that Kivar had first taken power on Antar. Of course Milinga was no different from all the other cities of Adia.
One pittance that Jared had thrown to the masses of Milinga, was the ability to work in the mines just outside of the city. He needed many workers in order to extract the minerals that were so much in abundance within the caves. Some of the more dedicated workers had been given the chance to work on Jared's special projects. Without their knowing, they had entered into a oneway agreement with the Eosian emperor. The combining of the Adian minerals with specialized chemicals shipped in from Eos resulted in a highly combustible and extremely radioactive material. Constant exposure to the byproduct of this marriage of materials was in mostly all cases fatal. It was a slow and painful death.
After months or work... and death, the project was near completion, and Jared stood proud as most of the final touches were being implemented. Just one last step now. A fuel rod was arriving from Eos within days.
His head began to pound again. He didn't understand this deep pain that seemed to be plaguing him more and more often now. It could only be the excitement of the project, he thought to himself, trying hard to ignore the sharp twinges behind his eyes. "Soon," he said, his smile spreading, "…it will be soon now."
Turning to one by his side, he gave the order. "Send a message to Tess. Tell her that I am ready now for her little trip. There are a few things she needs to bring home to me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following day John and Kal stood before the group, having just successfully shapeshifted into two of the most frightful looking Eosian guards. "You'll fit right in, " Max said, patting Kal on the back.
"It is more than a bit scary, isn't it?" Serena said, staring and trying to find John's eyes somewhere there in the guard now before her.
Max looked around the room, "Does everyone remember how this will go?" The simultaneous nods assured him that they didn't need to go over everything again. Everyone was present in the room where lunch had just been served to them, with the exception of Nicole, Sierra and Angelique, who had chosen to stay in their rooms.
"Remember, depending on how clear her system may be of the drug, she may just be able to transport all three of you out of there," Liz said hopefully, remembering the tenacity of the young girl.
"Don't worry Kitten, we're getting her out of there one way or another," the familiar voice of Kal came from the dirty looking beast standing before her.
Liz smiled. "I know, Kal.. I know you will. But should either of you not be able to get her to safety, Max, Katain, Larek and I will be positioned just outside the main gate. Let us know, and we will be inside the castle walls within mere seconds. The rest of you will be farther down on the east wall with Michael in charge. It doesn't matter whom she ends up with. Whoever it turns out to be, we all know that the objective is to get her quickly and safely back here to the monastery. Chevez will be taking her to the Horizon along with some of the rest of you, until things here are safer." Liz looked around at each pair of eyes, looking back at hers. "Please, each of you, be very careful. The longer we can delay knowledge that Emily has been rescued from Jared, the better for all of us."
Larek had been sitting quietly in the background. "Chalone and Siobhan will be dressed alike. They each are brunettes, they'll be wearing pale blue dresses with white wraps. You should have no trouble spotting them, as they will have Emily in hand."
Liz looked at him with concern. "Larek, what of your people? Won't Jared know that they've deceived him? Can you take the chance of leaving them inside Leoch after Emily's back with us?"
His eyes showed his worry. "We will be playing that quite by ear, Sparrow. There is a chance that Jared will believe that they were not involved, as I've said, they have been loyal staff there on the inside for a long time. But should the need arise, my troops will see to their safety later." Standing to his feet, he bowed slightly to Max. "I'm going to check on Nicole and Sierra. If you have nothing else for me..." He looked to Max.
Max sensed the tension in his voice. "Larek, I'm staying here with Liz and the others when you, Michael and Kal go on to Milinga tonight. You were right… earlier. I'm sorry." Max waited as Larek stood silent, but listening. Max added, "But I am hoping that you'll see the wisdom of taking Katain along. Her night vision could come in handy, and... well, she can certainly help to kick ass if it should become necessary," Max tried to joke with his dear old friend. "I can't deal with any animosity between us, Larek. Please accept my apologies. I never should have doubted your judgment. This is all new to us, and I don't know what the hell we'd be doing in any of this without you."
A smile cracked the dimple at the side of Larek's mouth as he reached out to shake hands. He pulled Max into an embrace. "Not a problem, Zan. Let's just get this done today and then... have ourselves a bang up holiday."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both Max and Liz sat inside what amounted to a study on the ground level of the monastery. Brother Jasper sat across from them behind a rather ornate desk considering that everything else in the room could only be classified as minimal in design. Max couldn't help but stare at the rows and rows of books and manuscripts that took up most of the main wall. Each one held tightly together by the others sitting on old wooden shelves obviously fashioned together a very long time back.
"I sit here now in complete amazement," the middle-aged looking man in brown remarked. "Your presence back in this world is truly a gift from the gods and so very unexpected after all this time. There once were many here who based all of their beliefs in your returning. I'm now ashamed to admit that I was never one of them."
The two each nodded at him not quite sure how to respond to his confession. After exchanging a smile with Max, Liz did her best to try. "We're still at times amazed ourselves. The truth is that we're only here because of the love of so many. I just want to personally thank you for giving us this safe haven. We have a few things to accomplish in the next few days, and we surely couldn't do any of it without the love and generosity you've extended to us here."
"Word travels fast in such an environment as ours, and you may be sure that your presence has been welcomed by all within these walls," Brother Jasper exclaimed. "Whatever your needs, we will do our best to abide by your wishes." He sat tall in the immense wooden chair with the intricately carved arms. "We will not however be directly involved in anything that should happen in the world down below. It is not our place."
"We understand." Max replied honestly. "For now, we really don't need much but shelter and an occasional meal here. That is if you have enough, otherwise a few of us can go back and bring any needed items up from our camp," Max added, looking closely into the Brother's eyes. He had the feeling that this man before him had no need of hearing his words, there was a definite atmosphere to the room as the three then sat quietly together. Max was trying hard to pick up on his thoughts, but having no luck.
"You have inquired of Brother Ambrose," he remarked, looking to Liz. "I'm afraid that the much loved man is no longer with us. He's been gone for some time now. Did you remember him?" His face seemed tense.
Liz's mouth broke into a smile. "Yes, I think I do. I had the feeling that I had met him… here… when I was quite young. He left a very strong and loving impression on me, that's for sure. I wonder if you might tell us where he's buried. I'd like..." she corrected, "...we'd like very much to pay our respects."
"Some time ago the Order of the Navirs stopped our usual burial practices. The deceased members of the order are now cremated and their remains are taken into the lower levels for eternal rest," he stirred a bit in his chair.
"Brother Jasper, would it be possible for us to have access there... to the lower levels? I know that it's highly irregular. But it might be useful to us, in some ways," Liz asked with the most respect in her voice that she could muster. She was getting a bit of a negative vibe from the man across the desk; but then, she reminded herself, they had all just invaded the serenity of a very private place, so quite possibly she was being too hasty in her first impressions.
"Two by two," he replied after some thought. "You may enter the catacombs, but only two at a time. It is very sacred ground." Liz nodded her head to him. "We understand. Thank you," she answered with sincerity.
The man behind the desk stood up, leaving the impression that their meeting was now over. "I've arranged for a few of our brothers to see to your supper table for the remainder of your stay," he paused a moment. "Would you have any idea how long that may be?"
Max answered without hesitation. "We need to stay at least five days, until right after St. Mirad's day. By then we will have had a chance to finish with some long unfinished business."
Brother Jasper smiled. "...and God speed with... your business."
Max then stood up taking Liz's arm. As she rose to her feet, she again felt a slight stirring deep inside of her. Looking back at the man in the dark robe, she noticed his eyes steady on her. "Brother Jasper," she added, "thank you, and I hope that we will soon have the chance to speak again. I think we may have a lot to discuss." Max noticed that his face fell somewhat and the shine momentarily left his eyes, as his two guests quietly left the room.
Once in the hallway Max whispered, "Well that was strange. I got the feeling that there's more going on here, that he's... hiding something?"
Liz looked straight into back into his eyes. "I don't think it's so much hiding, as he may feel he's protecting this place." Liz had no idea what Ava's thoughts had meant, but she had no doubt that she would be finding out; and if she had anything to do with it, it would be soon. It had to be soon, she thought to herself as the two stepped out into the sunlight, meeting Michael and Larek on their way inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So am I the only one who remembers being here when we were younger?" Liz asked, settling down onto the grass, as the group again gathered outside in the fading light. Max and Michael both shook their heads. Liz looked anxiously to Larek. "Are you sure that my father didn't bring you here at any time that you remember?"
"Sorry, Sparrow. Unless it's buried somewhere deep in my subconscious, I have never been here before, only heard the stories while growing up. I remember his name, but I do not remember ever meeting Ambrose personally," Larek shrugged then frowned at seeing her disappointment. "It's probably nothing. It's possible that your father just wanted you to see this marvel of a place, is all. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Well maybe when we go downstairs, I'll remember more," Liz said absentmindedly.
Michael's eyes widened at hearing her words. "Downstairs?" he questioned, realizing she was talking about the catacombs that lay below the monastery. "I'm coming with you," he said excitedly. "Did you check with the head honcho?"
"Yes, he's allowing just two of us at a time," Liz answered and nodded.
"I think that you and Max should go, then Michael and Maria and then Larek and I," Katain offered an idea.
"What about the rest of us?" Marshall asked; he then got a better idea. "Nevermind, I'd rather go with John, at least he may have a better idea what it is that we'll be looking at down there."
"Hmm, good point," Liz answered. "I'll talk to him. I think John and I should go first. Then John and Max, and so on.
Michael looked unhappy. "I say we wait and then during the night we just... go in." He smiled as Katain winked back at him.
"Of course it goes without saying, that that is secondary to us right now," Liz stressed. "Seriously, Michael."
"I know that. We are here first to rescue Emily, second to destroy Jared and third to find out any of the other missing information," Michael replied emphatically.
The conversation then again switched to the coming events the following day. Larek had ordered Chavez to pull in more than the original twenty-five troops promised to Max, and have them set up camp a mile and a half below the monastery, on the far side of the mountain out of sight of Leoch. Once Emily was safe tomorrow, then Larek would move down to Milinga later before nightfall so that they could investigate and decide the positioning of the remaining troops from Trinity for the main assault.
Liz stared down at her feet thinking of Emily and wondering just how this young girl would come through all of this, not just physically, but psychologically. Liz had no idea what Jared may have done to her when first holding her captive. There could be no doubt that Jared now had Emily's DNA. It was only a matter of time before he would also realize… if he hadn't already, that he needed the second key as well. Everything they were planning tomorrow had to be done quickly. Both Emily and Sierra would then be taken back to camp on Trinity, where they would be much safer than here in the same world as the madman.
Her thoughts cleared suddenly, as she heard Max raise his voice. "I'm coming to Milinga, Larek, and that's all there is to it."
Larek's face was turning red. "My lord, it's better that you stay here with the others and let Rath and Lan go along with me. We will find out what we need to know for the positioning of the troops for the holiday. We will be checking out what we'll need to know to destroy the weapon, but not until then."
His words were drowned out by Katain's voice, "I'm going too," she said strongly with conviction. "I have night vision, Larek. I'm an asset to you."
Marshall raised his hand, somewhat comically. "Am I even here?' he asked, laughing. "Just a reminder, Commander, I have the same gifts as my sister."
"Oh for the love of all that is mighty!" Larek's frustration level showed all over his face, as he spun around to Katain. "Let the Federalists do this! Zan, this is our mission," he turned back quickly to Max. "I knew I never should have even offered Rath and Lan along, but I did it out of courtesy... out of courtesy to you. But I will not allow my King to put himself in the middle of a possible hornets nest before we have a chance to deal directly with Jared in five days! And you?" his voice was still loud turning back to Katain. "If I have his Second in Command with me, then I need someone here that I can trust to do his job," he nodded over to Michael. "I need you here with Zan." Katain sighed but knew he was right.
"We'll do this however way you think is best," Max relented reluctantly. "I just feel responsible sending any of you out to god only knows what out there. I don't want to argue with you. You've, of course, been doing this a whole lot longer than I have. The mission in Milinga belongs to the Federalists. The mission at Leoch belongs to me." Max wanted there to be no doubt about the last part of that statement.
Larek nodded to his King and then became so very quiet, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "Trust me," he said in a very hushed whisper, "you will all be in harm's way soon enough."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Error... Error... The monitor flashed on the main computer board back aboard the Horizon. Coby angrily threw several switches and keyed in a new set of numbers. Closing his eyes that were now barely focusing, his mind ached.
Placing his hands back on the keyboard he slowly pulled up the entire sequence of strange numbers signs and squiggles that were separating the decoded computer data. Again and again he pulled up page after page. One, two ... One, two... One, two... The gaps were still there, so uniform, so exact.
No damn it!, his mind screamed out, he spun himself around in the chair. He picked up a tablet and threw it across the room in frustration. What the fuck are we missing?
He looked out the observation window onto the white landscape below. The snow had long stopped falling now, and the sky was clear; and here he still sat... alone, no farther along then he had been six hours before. Somewhere in his mind he had hoped of figuring all this out while the others were gone. He knew he had five days to try. Five days and all the coffee he could drink to keep him alert. But no matter how he tried, he just couldn't bring up anything new. "It's here. I know it's right here in front of us." He laid his head down on the console, and felt himself drifting off. Coffee or no coffee, the mental exhaustion was about to do him in.
Meanwhile lines of letters and numbers continued to run up the screen. He lifted his head a bit, leaning up onto one elbow. One last time he punched in a random set of letters and numbers, his finger jerked and he hit a key three times instead of twice.
"Damn!" he jumped at his clumsiness. All that coffee had his hands shaking badly. He rubbed his eyes again, "Time for sleep, Obi wan."
As he reached over to shut off the monitor, the screen suddenly began changing colors and got his immediate attention again. His error at the computer keyboard had triggered a reaction from it's hard drive. One Two Three ... One Two Three ... One Two Three it now read, plainer than the nose on his face.
"Holy shit!" he whispered hoarsely out to the empty control room. "There's not a sequence of two ... it's not two keys," he stood knocking the chair over behind him. "... there's three. There's freak'n three!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milinga was a small town, most of it's residents lived on the outskirts of the city bustle. Many had made their living in the marketplace, selling whatever foods they were still able to grow on their lands. The last shortened growing season had been a disaster. Everyone was feeling it, from the grower, to the seller, to the consumer who was forced to sit at empty tables at mealtime or to scrounge for anything they could get their hands on. The town had changed so drastically from the day that Kivar had first taken power on Antar. Of course Milinga was no different from all the other cities of Adia.
One pittance that Jared had thrown to the masses of Milinga, was the ability to work in the mines just outside of the city. He needed many workers in order to extract the minerals that were so much in abundance within the caves. Some of the more dedicated workers had been given the chance to work on Jared's special projects. Without their knowing, they had entered into a oneway agreement with the Eosian emperor. The combining of the Adian minerals with specialized chemicals shipped in from Eos resulted in a highly combustible and extremely radioactive material. Constant exposure to the byproduct of this marriage of materials was in mostly all cases fatal. It was a slow and painful death.
After months or work... and death, the project was near completion, and Jared stood proud as most of the final touches were being implemented. Just one last step now. A fuel rod was arriving from Eos within days.
His head began to pound again. He didn't understand this deep pain that seemed to be plaguing him more and more often now. It could only be the excitement of the project, he thought to himself, trying hard to ignore the sharp twinges behind his eyes. "Soon," he said, his smile spreading, "…it will be soon now."
Turning to one by his side, he gave the order. "Send a message to Tess. Tell her that I am ready now for her little trip. There are a few things she needs to bring home to me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following day John and Kal stood before the group, having just successfully shapeshifted into two of the most frightful looking Eosian guards. "You'll fit right in, " Max said, patting Kal on the back.
"It is more than a bit scary, isn't it?" Serena said, staring and trying to find John's eyes somewhere there in the guard now before her.
Max looked around the room, "Does everyone remember how this will go?" The simultaneous nods assured him that they didn't need to go over everything again. Everyone was present in the room where lunch had just been served to them, with the exception of Nicole, Sierra and Angelique, who had chosen to stay in their rooms.
"Remember, depending on how clear her system may be of the drug, she may just be able to transport all three of you out of there," Liz said hopefully, remembering the tenacity of the young girl.
"Don't worry Kitten, we're getting her out of there one way or another," the familiar voice of Kal came from the dirty looking beast standing before her.
Liz smiled. "I know, Kal.. I know you will. But should either of you not be able to get her to safety, Max, Katain, Larek and I will be positioned just outside the main gate. Let us know, and we will be inside the castle walls within mere seconds. The rest of you will be farther down on the east wall with Michael in charge. It doesn't matter whom she ends up with. Whoever it turns out to be, we all know that the objective is to get her quickly and safely back here to the monastery. Chevez will be taking her to the Horizon along with some of the rest of you, until things here are safer." Liz looked around at each pair of eyes, looking back at hers. "Please, each of you, be very careful. The longer we can delay knowledge that Emily has been rescued from Jared, the better for all of us."
Larek had been sitting quietly in the background. "Chalone and Siobhan will be dressed alike. They each are brunettes, they'll be wearing pale blue dresses with white wraps. You should have no trouble spotting them, as they will have Emily in hand."
Liz looked at him with concern. "Larek, what of your people? Won't Jared know that they've deceived him? Can you take the chance of leaving them inside Leoch after Emily's back with us?"
His eyes showed his worry. "We will be playing that quite by ear, Sparrow. There is a chance that Jared will believe that they were not involved, as I've said, they have been loyal staff there on the inside for a long time. But should the need arise, my troops will see to their safety later." Standing to his feet, he bowed slightly to Max. "I'm going to check on Nicole and Sierra. If you have nothing else for me..." He looked to Max.
Max sensed the tension in his voice. "Larek, I'm staying here with Liz and the others when you, Michael and Kal go on to Milinga tonight. You were right… earlier. I'm sorry." Max waited as Larek stood silent, but listening. Max added, "But I am hoping that you'll see the wisdom of taking Katain along. Her night vision could come in handy, and... well, she can certainly help to kick ass if it should become necessary," Max tried to joke with his dear old friend. "I can't deal with any animosity between us, Larek. Please accept my apologies. I never should have doubted your judgment. This is all new to us, and I don't know what the hell we'd be doing in any of this without you."
A smile cracked the dimple at the side of Larek's mouth as he reached out to shake hands. He pulled Max into an embrace. "Not a problem, Zan. Let's just get this done today and then... have ourselves a bang up holiday."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Liz's heart was beating so fast her chest was beginning to hurt. The sight of her birthplace, especially up so close now, was an emotional experience bar none. She had to fight hard to keep her feelings intact.
The four of them now stood just outside the huge main gates, looking up at the majesty towering far above them. These were the same gates that had always remained open until Kivar had come into power so many years ago. Now it was Max's understanding that they were closed most hours and fully guarded all of the time.
Katain and Larek stood hand in hand dressed in the acceptable garments of the day, posing well as just your ordinary Adian couple. Many other citizens of Adia were scattered around the area. Many people used the main road to the castle gate to sell and hawk their trade items. Since they were no longer allowed within the gates regularly, they normally set up shop just outside them. They fussed around one table in particular, covered with shawls and clothing.
Max and Liz positioned themselves within sight of the other two but closer to the gates themselves. Max was content in the knowledge that Michael and the others were not far down the wall, waiting as they were.
"You look so cute in that getup," Max smiled down at her.
Liz made a face and rolled her eyes as her hand gently touched upon the stonewall at her side. "I feel as though I'm wrapped in a burlap bag," her face grew sad. "I can't believe the poverty here now, Max. Most of these people look like they haven't eaten in days."
"Four days left, and then we will change all of this and the course of history forever. Things will be the way they once were here," Max grabbed tighter to her hand and pulled her close as they both remembered better happier times. "Burlap suits you, My Lady. But I promise you so much more," he smiled and kissed the top of her head.
Her face broke into a grin. "Look's like Larek has things under control," she looked over at him, his hat pulled low over his brow.
"Let's hope so. The last thing we need is for one of these people, or worse, one of Jared's guards, to recognize the Commander's face regardless of his dress," Max strained his neck to check on the two. Liz closed her eyes and tried hard to feel Emily's presence through the two foot thick wall before her.
A short distance away, Larek was keeping a good eye on Max and Liz's position as well. One of Jared's honor guards suddenly appeared in the crowd and began walking a bit too close for comfort, and Larek quickly pulled Katain in front to block the guards view. He planted a long kiss on her lips. The guard walked on past none the wiser.
"We don't do that nearly enough," she said breathlessly, as he pulled back checking on the guard. She then frowned as her eyes followed his to the guard who was now far past them.
He looked back quickly into her face in response to her words that had just registered. "I know," he answered. "It's just not… always... possible," his eyes got caught in hers. "Katain," he started to explain, but his unspoken thought was left hanging in the air. The uncomfortableness of the situation was just as obvious now to Katain.
"Larek," she said, placing a finger up to his lips. "It's okay. I was only partly serious. I understand more than you think I do." Her eyes were kind, but still flickered with emotion.
"I just haven't had the time to talk to you about anything… I mean… about my feelings..." he stammered. "It's never been my intention to hurt you. What's happened between us on the Horizon," he said, "…has been complicated now and I owe you an explanation. I care very much about you, you know that; but..." This time his words were interrupted by a high loud whistle. Looking up and over in Max's direction, he saw him motioning to the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the walls of Leoch a very excited Emily was flanked by the two twin sisters. Emily looked vibrant out in the bright light of the day. Her dark green dress sparkled in the rays of the Adian sun. Her hair was piled high on her head with small white flowers scattered on one side, which immediately made her appear older than her young years.
They had walked around now for several minutes, and the child was loving every second of it. After being cooped up inside a room for the better part of seven weeks, it was a privilege and she was very thankful to whoever had made it possible. The three laughed together, as the two young women walked her steadily more and more toward the closed and guarded main gate. Eosian guards seemed to be everywhere the three looked, no doubt they had been forewarned of the child's outing by Jared.
"Look at these," Emily exclaimed excitedly pointing to the rows and rows of flowers trimming the wall. "These flowers are so colorful, and they smell like cherries," she said giggling, "Yum..."
Two of the closest guards turned and watched the small child, taking several steps in their direction.
Siobhan spotted their eyes and quickly knelt down beside the little girl, who was now in the process of gathering and making a bouquet in her arms. "Emily," Siobhan said, looking from side to side to be sure that no one was close enough to overhear. Emily looked up with a flower at her nose. She breathed in a deep fragrant breath and waited for the girl to finish. "Emily, on the other side of this wall are people who have come for you. But you have to use your powers to get to them. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Commander Larek is out there, with many of your friends. But you have to do this quickly."
Emily looked at her stunned as she slowly rose to her feet dropping the flowers into a pile at her feet. "Are you letting me go?"
"Yes, Emily you're going home now," Chalone spoke in a hush. "We are both friends of Larek, we are members of the Federalist camp," Chalone tried to explain as she noticed one of the guards looking in their direction again; and she was also aware that Jared's eyes were on all three of them at this very moment. Without turning to look, she had no doubt that he was standing at one of the top floor windows watching the goings on below.
"Is Mommy here too?" Emily's eyes were wide, and Siobhan saw her trembling. Two additional guards were just to the left of them now. They seemed to be surrounded.
"The people on the other side of this wall will take you to your Mommy, I promise you," Chalone continued whispering to her. "We cannot just walk through the gate, they will not open them for us. That is why Larek has sent you a message. He wants you to travel to them, Emily, and you must do it now," she said straightening herself back up, as two of the closer guards began walking toward them more quickly now.
"Do it now, Emily," Siobhan ordered through clenched teeth. She turned to her sister and the twins grabbed at each other, pretending to be laughing at something.
Emily's face grew pale as she realized what the two had just explained to her. She saw the guards approaching and closed her eyes tightly. She pictured Larek on the other side of the wall. As the vision became clear in her mind, she knew that he was not there alone; Max was there too… and Liz.
Two guards approached the three quickly reaching out for the child. Emily screamed out in defiance as they snatched out for her, pulling at her.
"What are you doing?" one of the guards yelled out, as Emily tried desperately to pull her arm from his grip. The twins looked at each other in horror. "Now Aurora!" Chalone screamed out to her. Siobhan felt a stirring in the air that grew increasingly stronger. Turning toward the child, both sisters mouths now dropped open as she ever so slowly vaporized in front of their eyes, taking the two guards with her.
The castle courtyard erupted into chaos as a few handfuls of troops began scurrying around looking for two of their comrades who had disappeared into thin air.
Siobhan screamed out over and over again, as her sister took her into her arms. "Jared! Jared!" Chalone screamed out at the top of her lungs. "Aurora! She's gone!"
In a matter of seconds the area was filled with guards and soldiers. They hurried to organize themselves. "Breach! Breach! There's been a breach in the castle courtyard," was heard resonating throughout the yard, and the order came quick to open the gates to the outside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once fully materialized outside the wall, Emily was terrified to see that the two guards from inside were still clinging tightly to both of her arms. Her eyes frantically searched the crowd around her. She opened her mouth to scream, and a large hand quickly covered it. "Emily! No! It's us. It's Kal and John." She looked up again at them both, knowing that the voice coming from the ugly man at her arm was certainly Kal's. "How?" she started to ask in a frightened voice.
"Don't talk now," John exclaimed, "we all have to get out of here. And we have to get out of here quickly." He sent out a mental message to Michael, hoping that Max would pick up on it as well.
A crowd had started to gather at seeing and hearing the large gates of the castle begin to open, ever so slowly. Suddenly Liz and Max were pushing their way through the crowd one person at a time. As the crowd parted, she saw them. In an instant, Emily set off running and jumped into Liz's arms. Max helped to steady them both; the smile on his face could no longer be held back. "Liz! Max! I didn't think you'd ever come!" she cried into Liz's shoulder.
All the time, Kal was pushing them backward, away from the direction from where they had just come. "We have to hurry, those troops that will be coming through that gate any minute... are coming for us..."
Larek appeared suddenly out of the crowd, and seeing Liz he motioned to her, and Liz passed Emily into his arms like a small doll. "Emily! Oh sweetheart!" he kissed her head.
"Larek, thank you," Emily cried, still not fully believing the familiar faces she was now seeing before her. She held onto him with a death grip to his neck, as they started running back. "Where's my Mom?" her voice shook.
"She's here... just a little ways from here. You will see her soon, little one," he said as he kissed her several times again on the cheek. "You're alright now… you're all right now," he said into her ear as she looked anxiously behind them.
All the while the team was running. At this point they knew that it didn't matter any more that they remain inconspicuous. The only thing important was that they now get to safety. No one in the crowd around them attempted to stop them.
Max glanced back over his shoulder to see that the gates were now completely open. He hurried everyone more, knowing that the guards would not be far behind them now. As the seven of them caught up with the others farther down the wall, there was no time for small talk; but the relieved looks on each face at seeing Emily, told it all. Each one continued quickly in a long winding line toward the area behind Leoch where they had hidden the two runners they had arrived in just an hour or so before.
As blasts of fire shot just over their heads from the troops behind, Michael and Kal dropped to the back and returned cover fire of their own. They reached the runners, just as the first group of soldiers came around the corner of the back wall. Jonathan and Katain held them off the best they could, as Kal and Liz jumped in to pilot the ships. John did his best to help the others into the runners, already now hovering right above the ground.
They heard Jonathan scream out as a blast caught the side of his arm. He immediately began running back at the troops full force.
Liz looked out frantically from her seat aboard the first runner. Five or six soldiers fell to the ground with mortal wounds as Jonathan put his powers to full use. Katain was screaming at him and continued trying to pull him back towards the now leaving air ships. As she finally succeeded in breaking through his emotional fury, he came to his senses and turned back, running and pulling her after him. The two stumbled several times, finally reaching the ships and jumping in without a second to spare.
Both runners rose into the air and hung there for a split second, as twenty odd men on the ground stared up, not sure of what it was that had just happened. The ships headed out at top speed in the opposite direction from Rochell. It would take them twice the time to get back to the monastery, but it was the only diversionary tactic they had planned for their exit.
Michael gasped several times for breath in the second ship, as Katain saw to Jonathan's injured arm. As Michael finally succeeded in catching his breath he said what everyone already now knew. "Well, I think he knows we're here now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maria sat opposite Nicole on the bed in Maria's room. Sierra sat playing on the floor. Nicole was tapping her foot incessantly. Maria reached over catching her attention, and Nicole realized that her anticipation was making everyone in the room more nervous.
"Sorry," she said in a low voice. "They're okay, I know they're okay," Nicole said to Angelique who was standing at the window. Maria watched her closely for any signs of an approaching ship.
"Nicole, help me with these, will you?" Maria asked trying to distract Nicole. They were rummaging through fifteen or twenty pictures that Maria had spread out on the blanket. "We only need a few more," she stated, "and then we'll have another page in the album complete." The last thing Maria wanted to be doing right at that moment was playing with the stupid pictures, but she had originally felt it was a good way of getting everyone's mind off of what they all feared was happening at Leoch at that very moment.
Nicole picked up a snapshot. "This is a good one," she said half-heartedly and handed a picture of Max and Liz over to Maria. "Oh, yeah. I like this one too. I took this one with the Polaroid the day before we... went off world," she sighed, realizing that this distraction was not working well.
The Polaroid was long out of film now and Maria had so wished that she had brought more film before leaving home. Coby had played with this particular shot on the computer a few weeks before they had landed on Trinity, claiming that it was one showing the new Zan and Ava right before embarking on their journey to return home.
"Let me see," Ava said curiously. She grinned at seeing the image. "Yep, that is most definitely the new and improved versions of Ava and Zan."
Maria smiled down at the photo. They both looked so happy, she thought to herself; although she remembered how she had to prod and threaten them to get them to laugh and smile that day. She had said that maybe if this one turned out well, they could hang it in the castle, so that her name as photographer would forever be remembered there in their little world.
"Okay," Maria announced, "whether they like it or not, it's official then, this one day soon will hang on a wall …right next to Emily and Sierra's puzzle." Nicole looked up at her and laughed out loud, shaking her head at Maria.
Maria smiled back and squeezed her hand. "See, I told you that gathering these pictures now was a good idea. And once we get back home... once all of us get back home, we'll look at this album and smile again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz's heart was beating so fast her chest was beginning to hurt. The sight of her birthplace, especially up so close now, was an emotional experience bar none. She had to fight hard to keep her feelings intact.
The four of them now stood just outside the huge main gates, looking up at the majesty towering far above them. These were the same gates that had always remained open until Kivar had come into power so many years ago. Now it was Max's understanding that they were closed most hours and fully guarded all of the time.
Katain and Larek stood hand in hand dressed in the acceptable garments of the day, posing well as just your ordinary Adian couple. Many other citizens of Adia were scattered around the area. Many people used the main road to the castle gate to sell and hawk their trade items. Since they were no longer allowed within the gates regularly, they normally set up shop just outside them. They fussed around one table in particular, covered with shawls and clothing.
Max and Liz positioned themselves within sight of the other two but closer to the gates themselves. Max was content in the knowledge that Michael and the others were not far down the wall, waiting as they were.
"You look so cute in that getup," Max smiled down at her.
Liz made a face and rolled her eyes as her hand gently touched upon the stonewall at her side. "I feel as though I'm wrapped in a burlap bag," her face grew sad. "I can't believe the poverty here now, Max. Most of these people look like they haven't eaten in days."
"Four days left, and then we will change all of this and the course of history forever. Things will be the way they once were here," Max grabbed tighter to her hand and pulled her close as they both remembered better happier times. "Burlap suits you, My Lady. But I promise you so much more," he smiled and kissed the top of her head.
Her face broke into a grin. "Look's like Larek has things under control," she looked over at him, his hat pulled low over his brow.
"Let's hope so. The last thing we need is for one of these people, or worse, one of Jared's guards, to recognize the Commander's face regardless of his dress," Max strained his neck to check on the two. Liz closed her eyes and tried hard to feel Emily's presence through the two foot thick wall before her.
A short distance away, Larek was keeping a good eye on Max and Liz's position as well. One of Jared's honor guards suddenly appeared in the crowd and began walking a bit too close for comfort, and Larek quickly pulled Katain in front to block the guards view. He planted a long kiss on her lips. The guard walked on past none the wiser.
"We don't do that nearly enough," she said breathlessly, as he pulled back checking on the guard. She then frowned as her eyes followed his to the guard who was now far past them.
He looked back quickly into her face in response to her words that had just registered. "I know," he answered. "It's just not… always... possible," his eyes got caught in hers. "Katain," he started to explain, but his unspoken thought was left hanging in the air. The uncomfortableness of the situation was just as obvious now to Katain.
"Larek," she said, placing a finger up to his lips. "It's okay. I was only partly serious. I understand more than you think I do." Her eyes were kind, but still flickered with emotion.
"I just haven't had the time to talk to you about anything… I mean… about my feelings..." he stammered. "It's never been my intention to hurt you. What's happened between us on the Horizon," he said, "…has been complicated now and I owe you an explanation. I care very much about you, you know that; but..." This time his words were interrupted by a high loud whistle. Looking up and over in Max's direction, he saw him motioning to the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the walls of Leoch a very excited Emily was flanked by the two twin sisters. Emily looked vibrant out in the bright light of the day. Her dark green dress sparkled in the rays of the Adian sun. Her hair was piled high on her head with small white flowers scattered on one side, which immediately made her appear older than her young years.
They had walked around now for several minutes, and the child was loving every second of it. After being cooped up inside a room for the better part of seven weeks, it was a privilege and she was very thankful to whoever had made it possible. The three laughed together, as the two young women walked her steadily more and more toward the closed and guarded main gate. Eosian guards seemed to be everywhere the three looked, no doubt they had been forewarned of the child's outing by Jared.
"Look at these," Emily exclaimed excitedly pointing to the rows and rows of flowers trimming the wall. "These flowers are so colorful, and they smell like cherries," she said giggling, "Yum..."
Two of the closest guards turned and watched the small child, taking several steps in their direction.
Siobhan spotted their eyes and quickly knelt down beside the little girl, who was now in the process of gathering and making a bouquet in her arms. "Emily," Siobhan said, looking from side to side to be sure that no one was close enough to overhear. Emily looked up with a flower at her nose. She breathed in a deep fragrant breath and waited for the girl to finish. "Emily, on the other side of this wall are people who have come for you. But you have to use your powers to get to them. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Commander Larek is out there, with many of your friends. But you have to do this quickly."
Emily looked at her stunned as she slowly rose to her feet dropping the flowers into a pile at her feet. "Are you letting me go?"
"Yes, Emily you're going home now," Chalone spoke in a hush. "We are both friends of Larek, we are members of the Federalist camp," Chalone tried to explain as she noticed one of the guards looking in their direction again; and she was also aware that Jared's eyes were on all three of them at this very moment. Without turning to look, she had no doubt that he was standing at one of the top floor windows watching the goings on below.
"Is Mommy here too?" Emily's eyes were wide, and Siobhan saw her trembling. Two additional guards were just to the left of them now. They seemed to be surrounded.
"The people on the other side of this wall will take you to your Mommy, I promise you," Chalone continued whispering to her. "We cannot just walk through the gate, they will not open them for us. That is why Larek has sent you a message. He wants you to travel to them, Emily, and you must do it now," she said straightening herself back up, as two of the closer guards began walking toward them more quickly now.
"Do it now, Emily," Siobhan ordered through clenched teeth. She turned to her sister and the twins grabbed at each other, pretending to be laughing at something.
Emily's face grew pale as she realized what the two had just explained to her. She saw the guards approaching and closed her eyes tightly. She pictured Larek on the other side of the wall. As the vision became clear in her mind, she knew that he was not there alone; Max was there too… and Liz.
Two guards approached the three quickly reaching out for the child. Emily screamed out in defiance as they snatched out for her, pulling at her.
"What are you doing?" one of the guards yelled out, as Emily tried desperately to pull her arm from his grip. The twins looked at each other in horror. "Now Aurora!" Chalone screamed out to her. Siobhan felt a stirring in the air that grew increasingly stronger. Turning toward the child, both sisters mouths now dropped open as she ever so slowly vaporized in front of their eyes, taking the two guards with her.
The castle courtyard erupted into chaos as a few handfuls of troops began scurrying around looking for two of their comrades who had disappeared into thin air.
Siobhan screamed out over and over again, as her sister took her into her arms. "Jared! Jared!" Chalone screamed out at the top of her lungs. "Aurora! She's gone!"
In a matter of seconds the area was filled with guards and soldiers. They hurried to organize themselves. "Breach! Breach! There's been a breach in the castle courtyard," was heard resonating throughout the yard, and the order came quick to open the gates to the outside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once fully materialized outside the wall, Emily was terrified to see that the two guards from inside were still clinging tightly to both of her arms. Her eyes frantically searched the crowd around her. She opened her mouth to scream, and a large hand quickly covered it. "Emily! No! It's us. It's Kal and John." She looked up again at them both, knowing that the voice coming from the ugly man at her arm was certainly Kal's. "How?" she started to ask in a frightened voice.
"Don't talk now," John exclaimed, "we all have to get out of here. And we have to get out of here quickly." He sent out a mental message to Michael, hoping that Max would pick up on it as well.
A crowd had started to gather at seeing and hearing the large gates of the castle begin to open, ever so slowly. Suddenly Liz and Max were pushing their way through the crowd one person at a time. As the crowd parted, she saw them. In an instant, Emily set off running and jumped into Liz's arms. Max helped to steady them both; the smile on his face could no longer be held back. "Liz! Max! I didn't think you'd ever come!" she cried into Liz's shoulder.
All the time, Kal was pushing them backward, away from the direction from where they had just come. "We have to hurry, those troops that will be coming through that gate any minute... are coming for us..."
Larek appeared suddenly out of the crowd, and seeing Liz he motioned to her, and Liz passed Emily into his arms like a small doll. "Emily! Oh sweetheart!" he kissed her head.
"Larek, thank you," Emily cried, still not fully believing the familiar faces she was now seeing before her. She held onto him with a death grip to his neck, as they started running back. "Where's my Mom?" her voice shook.
"She's here... just a little ways from here. You will see her soon, little one," he said as he kissed her several times again on the cheek. "You're alright now… you're all right now," he said into her ear as she looked anxiously behind them.
All the while the team was running. At this point they knew that it didn't matter any more that they remain inconspicuous. The only thing important was that they now get to safety. No one in the crowd around them attempted to stop them.
Max glanced back over his shoulder to see that the gates were now completely open. He hurried everyone more, knowing that the guards would not be far behind them now. As the seven of them caught up with the others farther down the wall, there was no time for small talk; but the relieved looks on each face at seeing Emily, told it all. Each one continued quickly in a long winding line toward the area behind Leoch where they had hidden the two runners they had arrived in just an hour or so before.
As blasts of fire shot just over their heads from the troops behind, Michael and Kal dropped to the back and returned cover fire of their own. They reached the runners, just as the first group of soldiers came around the corner of the back wall. Jonathan and Katain held them off the best they could, as Kal and Liz jumped in to pilot the ships. John did his best to help the others into the runners, already now hovering right above the ground.
They heard Jonathan scream out as a blast caught the side of his arm. He immediately began running back at the troops full force.
Liz looked out frantically from her seat aboard the first runner. Five or six soldiers fell to the ground with mortal wounds as Jonathan put his powers to full use. Katain was screaming at him and continued trying to pull him back towards the now leaving air ships. As she finally succeeded in breaking through his emotional fury, he came to his senses and turned back, running and pulling her after him. The two stumbled several times, finally reaching the ships and jumping in without a second to spare.
Both runners rose into the air and hung there for a split second, as twenty odd men on the ground stared up, not sure of what it was that had just happened. The ships headed out at top speed in the opposite direction from Rochell. It would take them twice the time to get back to the monastery, but it was the only diversionary tactic they had planned for their exit.
Michael gasped several times for breath in the second ship, as Katain saw to Jonathan's injured arm. As Michael finally succeeded in catching his breath he said what everyone already now knew. "Well, I think he knows we're here now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maria sat opposite Nicole on the bed in Maria's room. Sierra sat playing on the floor. Nicole was tapping her foot incessantly. Maria reached over catching her attention, and Nicole realized that her anticipation was making everyone in the room more nervous.
"Sorry," she said in a low voice. "They're okay, I know they're okay," Nicole said to Angelique who was standing at the window. Maria watched her closely for any signs of an approaching ship.
"Nicole, help me with these, will you?" Maria asked trying to distract Nicole. They were rummaging through fifteen or twenty pictures that Maria had spread out on the blanket. "We only need a few more," she stated, "and then we'll have another page in the album complete." The last thing Maria wanted to be doing right at that moment was playing with the stupid pictures, but she had originally felt it was a good way of getting everyone's mind off of what they all feared was happening at Leoch at that very moment.
Nicole picked up a snapshot. "This is a good one," she said half-heartedly and handed a picture of Max and Liz over to Maria. "Oh, yeah. I like this one too. I took this one with the Polaroid the day before we... went off world," she sighed, realizing that this distraction was not working well.
The Polaroid was long out of film now and Maria had so wished that she had brought more film before leaving home. Coby had played with this particular shot on the computer a few weeks before they had landed on Trinity, claiming that it was one showing the new Zan and Ava right before embarking on their journey to return home.
"Let me see," Ava said curiously. She grinned at seeing the image. "Yep, that is most definitely the new and improved versions of Ava and Zan."
Maria smiled down at the photo. They both looked so happy, she thought to herself; although she remembered how she had to prod and threaten them to get them to laugh and smile that day. She had said that maybe if this one turned out well, they could hang it in the castle, so that her name as photographer would forever be remembered there in their little world.
"Okay," Maria announced, "whether they like it or not, it's official then, this one day soon will hang on a wall …right next to Emily and Sierra's puzzle." Nicole looked up at her and laughed out loud, shaking her head at Maria.
Maria smiled back and squeezed her hand. "See, I told you that gathering these pictures now was a good idea. And once we get back home... once all of us get back home, we'll look at this album and smile again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
*lyrics by Jann Arden
Every breath I ever took,
every tear I ever wept,
every star I wished upon, seems nothing until now.
Every prayer I ever said, has been strangely answered now.....
By the time both ships had landed on the mountain of Rochell, and its exhausted occupants had walked up to the monastery, Nicole had already been pacing outside for some time.
The tears clouded her eyes as she first saw the group coming up the path, and then spotted the red hair of her oldest daughter. She ran to them, not seeing clearly at all where she was running to. Mother and daughter hugged and cried together; then examined each other intently as the group made their way into the shelter of the building.
"Emi-ly," Nicole's voice cracked as she clung to her daughter.
"I'm okay, Momma," Emily said in her bravest voice, but the fear of the confrontation was still on her face.
Once inside the building, Jessie ran to Jonathan at the first sight of his arm, and Serena was in John's arms in a matter of seconds.
"There are no words…how can I ever thank you… all of you," Nicole sobbed still hugging Emily by her side.
"I missed you so much, Mommy," the little one sobbed repeatedly, over and over.
Sierra appeared from around the corner with her Aunts Ava and Maria. The three were full of smiles at the scene they saw before them.
"EMILY!" Sierra screamed out, running to her sister. "I'm so glad you're home," she whispered as her sister kissed her on the cheek.
"Don't worry. I'm fine now, Sierra." Emily turned looking up at Larek, "Where are we? Will he come here for us?" They heard the fear still present in her voice.
"We are safe here for the moment, Reds," Kal reassured her. He sat close by next to Liz, while Max was deep in conversation with Michael.
"There are a few nice men, who are very good friends of mine," Larek explained to both the girls. "They are going to take you and your sister back to the Federalist camp on Trinity. They will take very good care of you there," he mustered a smile at both small girls. "You'll be safe there." His eyes then wandered up meeting those of their mother, and his smile faded. "You both, and your Mommy, will be leaving after dark tonight. Aunt Ava, Great-grandmother and Jessie will be going with you."
Emily sensed the tension in the group gathered around her, as her sister was oblivious to it all, bouncing up and down by her side pulling on her hand. "Come on Emily! Come with me. I have so much to tell you!"
At the back of the group, Jessie looked with surprise at Jonathan. "I'm not going anywhere without you Jonathan."
He sighed, being fully aware that this was coming. "Jessie, it's important that you be with the others. Ava is going too. I'll be there as soon as is physically possible. You know that we still have important work to do in the next days; and it's imperative right now to get Emily and Sierra out of harms way, because Jared knows we're here now. We need you to help take care of the others." She clung to his arm. "This is not what I want, Jonathan."
Serena, overhearing them, stepped into the quiet discussion at the back of the room. "Jessie, I'm going too, and you know that the last thing I want to do is be away from John; but we have to go. Your grandfather is going too, and I'm sure that Katain and Marshall will have less to worry about here knowing that you'll be with him."
Jessie looked at her and her eyes filled up. "Jessie, we'll all be together again very soon." Serena did her best to believe the words that were coming from her mouth. Regardless of all the emotions involved, she knew this was for the best for everyone.
Kal turned his attention to Liz who was sitting quietly waiting for Max to finish up his business with Michael. "You okay?" Kal asked patting her hand on her knee.
"Yes," she answered with half a smile. "Just a bit tired. It was just the stress of it all. I was so worried for her. But I'm fine now. I'm just so thankful that she's safe." She looked over at him, and he responded. "Kitten, I only have your word to go on," he managed a smile, this time holding both her hands in his.
She looked down at her hands. "I love you Kal, and we both know that it's virtually impossible to keep secrets from you or John. There is nothing wrong," she insisted. Liz felt a brief connection with him, as he again reaffirmed his feelings. "I'm worried about you."
"Worried? Kal really I'm fine," she said feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Since we've gotten here, the flashes are not that bad, really they're not. There's absolutely no need for you to worry about me. I am a big girl now." Kal nodded, now hearing such a perfect blend of Liz and Ava by his side. He kissed her on the cheek before going inside.
Max had finished up with Michael, and smiled as he walked the distance between them. Stretching and wrapping his arms around her at the same time, he exclaimed, "Let's go eat. Nothing like a day back at the castle to wake up your appetite," he joked winking at her.
They both grew quiet for a moment, as he hugged onto her harder, both knowing what neither was saying. In a short four days, they would need to meet Jared head on. He was many, and they were but a few. Refusing right now to shatter her good mood, she nodded in total agreement. "You don't have to twist my arm on that one, I'm starving too." The two royals walking in an embrace that was not ready to be broken, together climbed the few steps leading into the monastery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things grew very dark within the monastery once the light had begun to fade outside. Once that light was gone, candles were the main lighting throughout, with an occasional torch light on the main floor. A very eerie glow cast high shadows everywhere.
Michael grabbed at the light, nodding to Katain who quietly nodded back, double-checking down the corridor behind them. She lit a long candle from Michael's fire.
Maria moved in closer to him. "I still say this is a bad idea," she said in hush. "...and just why again are we doing this at night??"
"Well then go back up to the room, Maria," Michael looked at her sideways. She stood still deciding what to do, "All I mean is, why not during the daytime? Liz and John are coming down here early in the morning. Why not wait ‘til then?"
"Look Maria," Michael began to seal his case. "Katain and I are leaving for Milinga in just a few hours, and I want to do this now. Rightfully as King, Max has the right to see anything that may be here, especially if there's anything down here about our past. And besides, Brother Jasper said two at a time were okay."
Maria's eyes deliberately shifted from Michael to Katain and then down to the front of herself. "...ah, I think we're three, Michael."
He frowned at her with impatience, "I’ll just tell him that you wouldn't let me out of your sight. So I had to bring you too. How's that?" he groaned at her. Maria snorted and Katain chuckled. "Let's go."
The stairs were steep and a dry dusty air hit them in the face, as Michael opened the door which had been drop bolted by a large metallic- like bar. Michael laid it gently on the floor and started down the stairs, with Maria bumping into the back of him. Katain quietly closed the door over behind them.
The torchlight danced on the ceiling that was not that far above their heads. "I feel like I'm in the medieval version of Nancy Drew," Maria said quietly.
The hall was long and narrow with curious symbols, most fairly familiar to both Rath and Katain. "There's a few symbols here too that I recognize from Harding's version of that book," Michael stated, still whispering.
"Don't they ever sweep down here," Maria muttered as she tried to calm herself in her normal DeLuca way. She lightly kicked up dust clouds at her feet.
Katain passed her candle to her. "This is a mausoleum, Maria. It's not a place were the living hang out for any length of time. It's like seeing a cemetery from underneath," Katain explained, moving up by her side.
"Well, what exactly is it that we're looking for?" Maria asked, shrugging her shoulders as a chill ran up her back.
"Anything ...everything," Michael answered, moving farther on ahead. "Don't lag too far behind." The hall curved to the right and a cold draft rustled the hair on the back of their necks, flickering the flame. "Is there only one way in and out of here?" Katain asked.
Michael shrugged, "I have no idea. I would imagine there must be another exit." He switched the torchlight to his other hand, raising it high. "Liz said that in her vision, Ambrose was holding the book, we're assuming that it may have been the real book, and not the imitation that Tess and Harding created."
Maria interrupted him, "Michael, look." Straight ahead now, the hall expanded into a larger open cavern. Stacked high on each side were large squares within the stonewalls, each one marked with what obviously was a name and a description of some kind.
"This must be where the ashes of some of the former residents of this place have been interned," Katain said in a low voice, as if they might hear her.
Katain suddenly placed a hand over her right ear and winced. "Ouch," she yelled out. "Something...", she stopped as her attention was drawn to the far wall. "Do you hear that?" she asked Michael. "That buzzing noise?" He shook his head and watched her closely. She walked to the far end of the stone room, just to the right of an adjoining tunnel entrance. Placing her hands up above her onto the wall, she felt at the cold rock. Silently she worked, moving her hands slowly along the stone. As she got closer to the floor, she pushed onto the center brick of three whose color differed slightly from all the others. There was a swooshing sound and a large part of the wall began to creak and move inward. Dirt and debris flittered down from the ceiling around the entrance.
"Wait here," Michael ordered as he moved forward. Katain let him pass in front of her and enter. She then followed him, with Maria close behind her. The three wandered around in the mostly open space for several minutes without speaking.
"Why would this be so well hidden," Michael finally asked, this time in a louder voice than any of them had used so far. Maria walked almost in tiptoe to a long wooden table pushed up against the wall on one side of the expanse. The table was piled with things laden with years of dust. Atop the table were urns, candles and candlesticks and beautiful colorful pottery. Maria brushed some of the more broken pieces aside and picked a small mug sized vessel up into her hands.
"We shouldn't be touching any of these things," Katain insisted to her. "Rath, we need to get Max and Liz in here," she added, turning back to Michael.
Suddenly they both heard a low gasp come from Maria. "M-Michael," she managed to stutter as she began waving frantically over her shoulder. "Is this what we're looking for?"
Michael reached her side and his eyes followed the direction of her wide-eyed gaze. An oval gray orb sat on the table; but it was what lay next to the orb that had taken Maria's breath away. It was a large bronze shaded book, quite a bit larger than the bogus book he had seen years before. The composition was metal-like with four thick rings used as a binder, and the distinctive Adian symbol was carved deeply into its cover.
Michael picked it up carefully and felt the weight of it in his hands. In fact, he felt the weight of it throughout his entire being. Something strange had just happened. He felt as though something had reached deep inside of him and set every one of his emotions on fire.
"Is that like… Tess's old book?" Maria asked, peering around his arm as the firelight danced and reflected off its surface.
"No…" Michael gave a heavy sigh. "No, I think this one may just be the genuine article," he carefully laid it back down, placing it within the same imprint of dust that it apparently had sat in for ages upon ages. "What the hell else is in here?" he asked himself out loud. "And how the hell did you know where the entrance was," he turned to Katain.
A look of confusion came over her face. "Michael, I have no idea. My head started ringing and something was buzzing... and an instinct inside of me …led me… it led me to that wall. What is in this book?"
"I don't know," Michael said quickly. "But I'm not touching anything else down here until Maxwell sees this place," Michael turned and began to lead the way back out. "Come on. We're going to need more light down here... and we're going to need John."
"And ya know... just in case anyone starts asking questions, you can tell them that it was just you and Katain down here. I don't want any of us drawing any flack from Jasper. Tell everyone I was sleeping," Maria exclaimed. "I wish I had stayed in bed. This place gives me the creeps."
"Remember that the next time I wanna go someplace without you," Michael said sarcastically. The three walked through into the larger room again. Turning to Katain and motioning to the door of the hidden chamber now standing wide open, he asked, "How do we close this?" Before she could come up with a suggestion, the wall slid closed again, sealing off the hidden room as it had been just minutes before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later with a late supper behind them, Larek walked outside for air and found Nicole standing alone there. "Hey," she whispered quietly. "How's Jonathan? Is he alright?" she asked, standing and brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt.
"He'll be fine. Just a nasty little burn on his arm, is all. He's lucky they didn't kill him, what with him playing hero and all," Larek commented, as he walked over to her.
Nicole nodded her head, "I know how upset Jessie was when she saw..." She stopped, not wanting to think about it.
"How is Emily?" Larek asked with a grin that he couldn't keep from his face.
Her grin then matched his. "She's doing good," she exclaimed. "Little Sierra is just beside herself. She's been playing the tour guide here and filling Emily in on all the wonderful news of the Horizon." Her smile faded to something a bit more serious, with a sigh. "Larek, you've given me back my daughter, and there are no words for what I'm feeling inside."
"No words are necessary. I am very happy to have her safe again, too, Nicole," he looked to the ground now, feeling her presence so clearly beside him.
She continued to hear in her head the sound of her name when he had spoke it. Another silence followed. The thought occurred to her that if she didn't say something he might walk away. "...But now you're leaving?" she questioned quickly. "Tonight?"
"Yes," he nodded, "to Milinga with Kal and Michael... and Katain." He immediately felt uncomfortable and could feel that she did too. Her eyes looked away from him. "This is about the weapon, right?" she asked trying not to allow Katain's name to bounce around in her head for too long. "It's just so dangerous for you all to go there now, especially since Jared is aware that we are here."
He nodded in total agreement with her and then smiled, "It's what I do, Nicole."
There was a silence that seemed to grow louder as the words in his head screamed out at him. He had no idea where to start. "Nicole… sit, please," he motioned to a small stone bench behind her. She followed his lead as he too sat down.
He took several minutes trying to form his thoughts into some kind of coherent phrases, but wasn't having much luck. Nicole realized that even this silence between them, as deafening as it seemed to be at the moment, had a warming effect on her heart. Larek finally spoke up, "This is only a reconnaissance mission," he explained. "We're only going in to check on location, we should be back by morning light."
"But Jared knows that we are here now… here on Adia," she answered, repeating her worry. "He's going to be on alert for you, Larek... on alert for all of you.” She couldn't help herself, she felt the worry making her sick inside and knowing that she too would be leaving here within hours to return to the camp on Trinity only made things worse.
"Understand this," he said turning to face her. "This is nothing different from the way things have been here for a very long time now. It's no more dangerous than anything else that we Federalists have been forced to do since the beginning. We have to do this, just as Marcel has to take the rest of you to safer ground. The camp at Trinity is the safest place at the moment, and even that will not be safe for long should we fail here on Adia several days from now."
She knew everything he was saying was true, but she still couldn't stop from thinking of all the things that could happen. "I don't want to leave here tonight," she exclaimed in a low voice. " ...I mean, I know for the sake of my daughters… I have to, but," she looked over at him and sighed. "What I need to say… is that if there were a way, I would stay here just to be sure of your safe return in the morning." She spoke from her heart as she felt her face blush slightly in the semi darkness. There was a chance that she might never have the time to tell him what she was feeling deep inside. "I know that I'm not the one that ... I know that Katain..."
"Stop," he said clearly. "Nicole, please listen to me," his hand slowly and hesitantly found hers. He held it there in his, but looked away from her face, out into the darkness of the night. He spoke then with a complete honesty that surprised even him. "If there were a way... I would want you to stay, too," he looked back at her, deep into her green eyes that seemed to him at that moment to reflect all the starlight above them. "But there isn't a way right now..."
"I'm sorry," she interrupted him. "Your life is none of my business... and your love life is even less..."
Without any control in the next instant, he found his lips on hers; gently at first in a sweet kiss that filled his very being. He pulled back, not sure of her reaction. He searched her eyes and found himself lost there. "Nicole..." he tried to speak, he could still taste the sweetness of her mouth on his lips. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he felt he needed to tell her. Her hand touched his face gently and he completely lost track of what he was thinking. She kissed him back before he could continue, and his arms wrapped tightly around her, as her hand found the softness of his hair. This time their kiss was more urgent, more necessary to both of them. Tears came to her eyes, as she felt the warmth of his tongue between her lips, searching. Her mouth filled with him, longingly, welcomingly.
Very slowly she pulled back to look into his face and then stood up quickly. She wanted to run, but he was quick to be there right beside her, pulling her back to him. "Please, please don't go yet," he found himself pleading, something that Larek had only done once before in his life, so very long ago. "I can't seem to keep you out of my head," his whispered voice was so full of emotion and confusion. He held onto her hands tightly. "If you run, then... I'll run, and that's not what either of us want, is it?"
She could only search his face again, this time seeing all the years of confusion there in a flash. "Larek… I don't know what to do…"
"Shh…" he whispered. "Just know this, I cannot stop what is happening to me or to you, anymore than I can stop what I'm feeling. I don't understand it, but I can't pretend that I don't... that I don't..." he stammered. Do I love you? his mind asked the question that he hadn't wanted to face, knowing that she would have no answer for him.
She thought she felt her heart stop, and she reached up still caressing at the strain and questioning of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Nicole... Nicole," he repeated in a hush, feeling the softness of her fingers on his skin. He opened his eyes with a sigh and wiped away a tear that had spilled down and over onto her cheek.
"All I want is to be with you. I am drawn so strongly to you ...I can not explain it," he repeated in a whisper. "But, I can't deny it anymore. I no longer want or need to deny it." He pulled her close and their lips met again, but with so much more mutual understanding, hunger and need than the last time.
They moved slowly but together, several steps back, and she felt the hard surface of a tree now at her back as his kiss grew more forceful. Her lips softly brushed around his ear, and she felt the roughness of his unshaven face. He held her face between his strong but shaking hands; his lips moved more gently now, on each cheek and then down to her bare neck. She felt she was forever lost in the touch of his mouth, his lips on her skin. His sweet deliberate kisses found their way down farther onto that soft skin of her chest. "Larek…", she whispered hoarsely, as everything seemed to be spinning. "Anything…" he answered ever so faintly.
"Just let me love you..." she said softly by his ear. The five words from her had an effect on him that drove him nearly out of control. Kissing the soft slope of her breasts, her arms held him tighter against her now as her movements guided him. Her head fell back slightly, as brightly colored lights seemed to flash behind her now closed eyes. "God, I love you," he said breathlessly. She opened her tear filled eyes on a million stars in the heaven above them, and silently sobbed as she held on him tighter.
"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered breathlessly, still questioning. She lifted his chin as the light of an Adian moon shone down on his face, and the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "You could never hurt me, Larek. You will always be with me, no matter what else happens to us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Michael decided to go ahead and check on the runner that they would be taking to Milinga. Maria had done her best not to bite through her bottom lip as he hugged her goodbye. "I'll be alright," he said without a doubt to his voice. "We're just sneaking in, looking around and then gettin' out."
He smiled until she smiled back at him, hugging him again, knowing full well that there was little in this world that was not now dangerous. "You go do good, Sweetie. And I'll see you at Trinity when this is all over." He turned to leave the room and she quickly called to him, "Michael?" He looked over his shoulder into the candle lit room. "I love you, Michael."
He walked back into the room and kissed her. "I love you too," he nodded and Maria saw a tinge of sadness on his face. "I always have and I always will."
Once outside, he walked toward the rear of the monastery grounds and for a second he thought he caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Checking closer he wrote it off to fatigue, when he could see no sign of movement or light among the trees. Suddenly he was certain that he heard someone coming up from his right. Spinning and throwing his hands in front of him, she screamed out of the darkness, "Michael!" Katain stood not twenty feet now in front of him.
"Jesus Katain!" he yelled out at her. "I almost fried you. I never saw you there. Why the hell didn't you say something?"
"I'm sorry. I could see you fine, I forgot that you have a bit of a problem with darkness," she replied.
He put his arm around her shoulder, "Damn, next time give me some warning." She nodded to him, feeling foolish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young boy of around ten, bowed his head as Max answered the soft rapping at their door. "Sire, Brother Jasper wishes to see you and the Lady in his study as soon as possible."
Max was a bit surprised and glanced back at Liz stretched out comfortably on the mattress. She shrugged at Max at hearing Jasper's request. "Tell him we'll be there," he replied back to the boy dressed in a long brown robe and bare feet. He bowed and stepped back from the door, leaving down the hall. "Hmm, wonder what this is about?" Liz said swinging her legs over the bed and pulling on her boots.
"I hope he hasn't found out that Michael took Katain and Maria down into the catacombs tonight, or that they found that secret little room. Damn Michael, he has no patience. He deliberately did what he wasn't supposed to do." Max found himself getting angry all over again just remembering their conversation of a few hours before.
Liz shook her head, "Whether it's Rath or Michael, it makes no difference. It's who he is, Max. I really should have bet you that he'd be going down there tonight. I saw the look in both his and Katain's eyes when I mentioned it. Forget about it. It's over and done with now. And at least now we know what to look for... and where the book is. And you do realize that there's a chance Brother Jasper doesn't even know about that room." She laced up her last boot.
Max nodded and frowned, "Truthfully, I don't even care about the book right now. The only thing on my mind now is Jared..."
"So you really think that Brother Jasper is going to ball us out for insubordination?" she couldn't help but laugh a little, and was pleased at herself for switching the subject back so well.
"You are in a very good mood, my beautiful lady," Max smiled, grabbing her mischievously and kissing the side of her neck.
"Yes. I. am," she said emphatically. "Emily is safe, and soon... her and Sierra will be even safer. Michael and Larek are leaving to find out everything-we-ever-wanted-to-know-about-a-weapon-of-mass destruction, and I cannot wait to face Jared down." He buried her face in his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She managed to get serious for a moment. "I know all this being happy is a bit premature," she confessed the truth, "...but I was just so relieved to see Emily again. And I'm trying desperately to hold on to all the optimism I can."
"Me too," Max said, but a bit of worry seeped into his tone anyway. "We have won a battle, but unfortunately the war still remains. Now, let's get on down to see what the man has on his mind…so we can quickly get back up here and pick up where we left off before the boy so rudely interrupted us," he winked at her, pecking her on the tip of her nose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the adrenaline and success of hours before, they were giggling like school children in the darkened hallway as Max knocked twice at Brother Jasper's door.
They had just passed Maria and Serena in the upstairs hall. Max had asked if Michael and the others had left for Milinga yet, since he hadn't seen Larek around. Maria had informed them both that Michael and Katain were just about ready to leave, but they were presently waiting on Larek. "I'm pretty sure Michael knows where the man is hiding out, he just isn't saying," Maria raised an eyebrow to Liz.
Serena was on her way to gather together those leaving for Trinity with last minute instructions. Liz and Maria embraced as Liz promised that they would meet the others at the runners to see them off. Max had explained to Serena that those returning to Trinity would be splitting up into two runners. Two of Larek's men would be piloting the ships.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A strong male voice from behind the huge wooden door, told them to enter. Max held the door as Liz walked in first. "Brother Jasper," Max said. "Good evening. You wanted to see us?" Several candles brightened one section of the room. The rest of the room remained in heavy shadows.
"Thank you for coming so quickly. I apologize for the hour, but we have just received a visitor who I felt you would surely want to see," Brother Jasper turned motioning with his hand to a darkened doorway at the far end of the room.
Max's eyes followed Jasper's direction, as Liz hesitantly moved closer to his side. She quickly looked from Jasper to Max and then back to the someone who was slowly entering the room. A small hooded figure in a deep purple cloak came ever so slowly from the shadows into the candlelight.
The figure took the few remaining steps out into the dim light and dropped back the hood of her cloak. "...My Son."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*lyrics by Jann Arden
Every breath I ever took,
every tear I ever wept,
every star I wished upon, seems nothing until now.
Every prayer I ever said, has been strangely answered now.....
By the time both ships had landed on the mountain of Rochell, and its exhausted occupants had walked up to the monastery, Nicole had already been pacing outside for some time.
The tears clouded her eyes as she first saw the group coming up the path, and then spotted the red hair of her oldest daughter. She ran to them, not seeing clearly at all where she was running to. Mother and daughter hugged and cried together; then examined each other intently as the group made their way into the shelter of the building.
"Emi-ly," Nicole's voice cracked as she clung to her daughter.
"I'm okay, Momma," Emily said in her bravest voice, but the fear of the confrontation was still on her face.
Once inside the building, Jessie ran to Jonathan at the first sight of his arm, and Serena was in John's arms in a matter of seconds.
"There are no words…how can I ever thank you… all of you," Nicole sobbed still hugging Emily by her side.
"I missed you so much, Mommy," the little one sobbed repeatedly, over and over.
Sierra appeared from around the corner with her Aunts Ava and Maria. The three were full of smiles at the scene they saw before them.
"EMILY!" Sierra screamed out, running to her sister. "I'm so glad you're home," she whispered as her sister kissed her on the cheek.
"Don't worry. I'm fine now, Sierra." Emily turned looking up at Larek, "Where are we? Will he come here for us?" They heard the fear still present in her voice.
"We are safe here for the moment, Reds," Kal reassured her. He sat close by next to Liz, while Max was deep in conversation with Michael.
"There are a few nice men, who are very good friends of mine," Larek explained to both the girls. "They are going to take you and your sister back to the Federalist camp on Trinity. They will take very good care of you there," he mustered a smile at both small girls. "You'll be safe there." His eyes then wandered up meeting those of their mother, and his smile faded. "You both, and your Mommy, will be leaving after dark tonight. Aunt Ava, Great-grandmother and Jessie will be going with you."
Emily sensed the tension in the group gathered around her, as her sister was oblivious to it all, bouncing up and down by her side pulling on her hand. "Come on Emily! Come with me. I have so much to tell you!"
At the back of the group, Jessie looked with surprise at Jonathan. "I'm not going anywhere without you Jonathan."
He sighed, being fully aware that this was coming. "Jessie, it's important that you be with the others. Ava is going too. I'll be there as soon as is physically possible. You know that we still have important work to do in the next days; and it's imperative right now to get Emily and Sierra out of harms way, because Jared knows we're here now. We need you to help take care of the others." She clung to his arm. "This is not what I want, Jonathan."
Serena, overhearing them, stepped into the quiet discussion at the back of the room. "Jessie, I'm going too, and you know that the last thing I want to do is be away from John; but we have to go. Your grandfather is going too, and I'm sure that Katain and Marshall will have less to worry about here knowing that you'll be with him."
Jessie looked at her and her eyes filled up. "Jessie, we'll all be together again very soon." Serena did her best to believe the words that were coming from her mouth. Regardless of all the emotions involved, she knew this was for the best for everyone.
Kal turned his attention to Liz who was sitting quietly waiting for Max to finish up his business with Michael. "You okay?" Kal asked patting her hand on her knee.
"Yes," she answered with half a smile. "Just a bit tired. It was just the stress of it all. I was so worried for her. But I'm fine now. I'm just so thankful that she's safe." She looked over at him, and he responded. "Kitten, I only have your word to go on," he managed a smile, this time holding both her hands in his.
She looked down at her hands. "I love you Kal, and we both know that it's virtually impossible to keep secrets from you or John. There is nothing wrong," she insisted. Liz felt a brief connection with him, as he again reaffirmed his feelings. "I'm worried about you."
"Worried? Kal really I'm fine," she said feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Since we've gotten here, the flashes are not that bad, really they're not. There's absolutely no need for you to worry about me. I am a big girl now." Kal nodded, now hearing such a perfect blend of Liz and Ava by his side. He kissed her on the cheek before going inside.
Max had finished up with Michael, and smiled as he walked the distance between them. Stretching and wrapping his arms around her at the same time, he exclaimed, "Let's go eat. Nothing like a day back at the castle to wake up your appetite," he joked winking at her.
They both grew quiet for a moment, as he hugged onto her harder, both knowing what neither was saying. In a short four days, they would need to meet Jared head on. He was many, and they were but a few. Refusing right now to shatter her good mood, she nodded in total agreement. "You don't have to twist my arm on that one, I'm starving too." The two royals walking in an embrace that was not ready to be broken, together climbed the few steps leading into the monastery.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things grew very dark within the monastery once the light had begun to fade outside. Once that light was gone, candles were the main lighting throughout, with an occasional torch light on the main floor. A very eerie glow cast high shadows everywhere.
Michael grabbed at the light, nodding to Katain who quietly nodded back, double-checking down the corridor behind them. She lit a long candle from Michael's fire.
Maria moved in closer to him. "I still say this is a bad idea," she said in hush. "...and just why again are we doing this at night??"
"Well then go back up to the room, Maria," Michael looked at her sideways. She stood still deciding what to do, "All I mean is, why not during the daytime? Liz and John are coming down here early in the morning. Why not wait ‘til then?"
"Look Maria," Michael began to seal his case. "Katain and I are leaving for Milinga in just a few hours, and I want to do this now. Rightfully as King, Max has the right to see anything that may be here, especially if there's anything down here about our past. And besides, Brother Jasper said two at a time were okay."
Maria's eyes deliberately shifted from Michael to Katain and then down to the front of herself. "...ah, I think we're three, Michael."
He frowned at her with impatience, "I’ll just tell him that you wouldn't let me out of your sight. So I had to bring you too. How's that?" he groaned at her. Maria snorted and Katain chuckled. "Let's go."
The stairs were steep and a dry dusty air hit them in the face, as Michael opened the door which had been drop bolted by a large metallic- like bar. Michael laid it gently on the floor and started down the stairs, with Maria bumping into the back of him. Katain quietly closed the door over behind them.
The torchlight danced on the ceiling that was not that far above their heads. "I feel like I'm in the medieval version of Nancy Drew," Maria said quietly.
The hall was long and narrow with curious symbols, most fairly familiar to both Rath and Katain. "There's a few symbols here too that I recognize from Harding's version of that book," Michael stated, still whispering.
"Don't they ever sweep down here," Maria muttered as she tried to calm herself in her normal DeLuca way. She lightly kicked up dust clouds at her feet.
Katain passed her candle to her. "This is a mausoleum, Maria. It's not a place were the living hang out for any length of time. It's like seeing a cemetery from underneath," Katain explained, moving up by her side.
"Well, what exactly is it that we're looking for?" Maria asked, shrugging her shoulders as a chill ran up her back.
"Anything ...everything," Michael answered, moving farther on ahead. "Don't lag too far behind." The hall curved to the right and a cold draft rustled the hair on the back of their necks, flickering the flame. "Is there only one way in and out of here?" Katain asked.
Michael shrugged, "I have no idea. I would imagine there must be another exit." He switched the torchlight to his other hand, raising it high. "Liz said that in her vision, Ambrose was holding the book, we're assuming that it may have been the real book, and not the imitation that Tess and Harding created."
Maria interrupted him, "Michael, look." Straight ahead now, the hall expanded into a larger open cavern. Stacked high on each side were large squares within the stonewalls, each one marked with what obviously was a name and a description of some kind.
"This must be where the ashes of some of the former residents of this place have been interned," Katain said in a low voice, as if they might hear her.
Katain suddenly placed a hand over her right ear and winced. "Ouch," she yelled out. "Something...", she stopped as her attention was drawn to the far wall. "Do you hear that?" she asked Michael. "That buzzing noise?" He shook his head and watched her closely. She walked to the far end of the stone room, just to the right of an adjoining tunnel entrance. Placing her hands up above her onto the wall, she felt at the cold rock. Silently she worked, moving her hands slowly along the stone. As she got closer to the floor, she pushed onto the center brick of three whose color differed slightly from all the others. There was a swooshing sound and a large part of the wall began to creak and move inward. Dirt and debris flittered down from the ceiling around the entrance.
"Wait here," Michael ordered as he moved forward. Katain let him pass in front of her and enter. She then followed him, with Maria close behind her. The three wandered around in the mostly open space for several minutes without speaking.
"Why would this be so well hidden," Michael finally asked, this time in a louder voice than any of them had used so far. Maria walked almost in tiptoe to a long wooden table pushed up against the wall on one side of the expanse. The table was piled with things laden with years of dust. Atop the table were urns, candles and candlesticks and beautiful colorful pottery. Maria brushed some of the more broken pieces aside and picked a small mug sized vessel up into her hands.
"We shouldn't be touching any of these things," Katain insisted to her. "Rath, we need to get Max and Liz in here," she added, turning back to Michael.
Suddenly they both heard a low gasp come from Maria. "M-Michael," she managed to stutter as she began waving frantically over her shoulder. "Is this what we're looking for?"
Michael reached her side and his eyes followed the direction of her wide-eyed gaze. An oval gray orb sat on the table; but it was what lay next to the orb that had taken Maria's breath away. It was a large bronze shaded book, quite a bit larger than the bogus book he had seen years before. The composition was metal-like with four thick rings used as a binder, and the distinctive Adian symbol was carved deeply into its cover.
Michael picked it up carefully and felt the weight of it in his hands. In fact, he felt the weight of it throughout his entire being. Something strange had just happened. He felt as though something had reached deep inside of him and set every one of his emotions on fire.
"Is that like… Tess's old book?" Maria asked, peering around his arm as the firelight danced and reflected off its surface.
"No…" Michael gave a heavy sigh. "No, I think this one may just be the genuine article," he carefully laid it back down, placing it within the same imprint of dust that it apparently had sat in for ages upon ages. "What the hell else is in here?" he asked himself out loud. "And how the hell did you know where the entrance was," he turned to Katain.
A look of confusion came over her face. "Michael, I have no idea. My head started ringing and something was buzzing... and an instinct inside of me …led me… it led me to that wall. What is in this book?"
"I don't know," Michael said quickly. "But I'm not touching anything else down here until Maxwell sees this place," Michael turned and began to lead the way back out. "Come on. We're going to need more light down here... and we're going to need John."
"And ya know... just in case anyone starts asking questions, you can tell them that it was just you and Katain down here. I don't want any of us drawing any flack from Jasper. Tell everyone I was sleeping," Maria exclaimed. "I wish I had stayed in bed. This place gives me the creeps."
"Remember that the next time I wanna go someplace without you," Michael said sarcastically. The three walked through into the larger room again. Turning to Katain and motioning to the door of the hidden chamber now standing wide open, he asked, "How do we close this?" Before she could come up with a suggestion, the wall slid closed again, sealing off the hidden room as it had been just minutes before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later with a late supper behind them, Larek walked outside for air and found Nicole standing alone there. "Hey," she whispered quietly. "How's Jonathan? Is he alright?" she asked, standing and brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt.
"He'll be fine. Just a nasty little burn on his arm, is all. He's lucky they didn't kill him, what with him playing hero and all," Larek commented, as he walked over to her.
Nicole nodded her head, "I know how upset Jessie was when she saw..." She stopped, not wanting to think about it.
"How is Emily?" Larek asked with a grin that he couldn't keep from his face.
Her grin then matched his. "She's doing good," she exclaimed. "Little Sierra is just beside herself. She's been playing the tour guide here and filling Emily in on all the wonderful news of the Horizon." Her smile faded to something a bit more serious, with a sigh. "Larek, you've given me back my daughter, and there are no words for what I'm feeling inside."
"No words are necessary. I am very happy to have her safe again, too, Nicole," he looked to the ground now, feeling her presence so clearly beside him.
She continued to hear in her head the sound of her name when he had spoke it. Another silence followed. The thought occurred to her that if she didn't say something he might walk away. "...But now you're leaving?" she questioned quickly. "Tonight?"
"Yes," he nodded, "to Milinga with Kal and Michael... and Katain." He immediately felt uncomfortable and could feel that she did too. Her eyes looked away from him. "This is about the weapon, right?" she asked trying not to allow Katain's name to bounce around in her head for too long. "It's just so dangerous for you all to go there now, especially since Jared is aware that we are here."
He nodded in total agreement with her and then smiled, "It's what I do, Nicole."
There was a silence that seemed to grow louder as the words in his head screamed out at him. He had no idea where to start. "Nicole… sit, please," he motioned to a small stone bench behind her. She followed his lead as he too sat down.
He took several minutes trying to form his thoughts into some kind of coherent phrases, but wasn't having much luck. Nicole realized that even this silence between them, as deafening as it seemed to be at the moment, had a warming effect on her heart. Larek finally spoke up, "This is only a reconnaissance mission," he explained. "We're only going in to check on location, we should be back by morning light."
"But Jared knows that we are here now… here on Adia," she answered, repeating her worry. "He's going to be on alert for you, Larek... on alert for all of you.” She couldn't help herself, she felt the worry making her sick inside and knowing that she too would be leaving here within hours to return to the camp on Trinity only made things worse.
"Understand this," he said turning to face her. "This is nothing different from the way things have been here for a very long time now. It's no more dangerous than anything else that we Federalists have been forced to do since the beginning. We have to do this, just as Marcel has to take the rest of you to safer ground. The camp at Trinity is the safest place at the moment, and even that will not be safe for long should we fail here on Adia several days from now."
She knew everything he was saying was true, but she still couldn't stop from thinking of all the things that could happen. "I don't want to leave here tonight," she exclaimed in a low voice. " ...I mean, I know for the sake of my daughters… I have to, but," she looked over at him and sighed. "What I need to say… is that if there were a way, I would stay here just to be sure of your safe return in the morning." She spoke from her heart as she felt her face blush slightly in the semi darkness. There was a chance that she might never have the time to tell him what she was feeling deep inside. "I know that I'm not the one that ... I know that Katain..."
"Stop," he said clearly. "Nicole, please listen to me," his hand slowly and hesitantly found hers. He held it there in his, but looked away from her face, out into the darkness of the night. He spoke then with a complete honesty that surprised even him. "If there were a way... I would want you to stay, too," he looked back at her, deep into her green eyes that seemed to him at that moment to reflect all the starlight above them. "But there isn't a way right now..."
"I'm sorry," she interrupted him. "Your life is none of my business... and your love life is even less..."
Without any control in the next instant, he found his lips on hers; gently at first in a sweet kiss that filled his very being. He pulled back, not sure of her reaction. He searched her eyes and found himself lost there. "Nicole..." he tried to speak, he could still taste the sweetness of her mouth on his lips. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he felt he needed to tell her. Her hand touched his face gently and he completely lost track of what he was thinking. She kissed him back before he could continue, and his arms wrapped tightly around her, as her hand found the softness of his hair. This time their kiss was more urgent, more necessary to both of them. Tears came to her eyes, as she felt the warmth of his tongue between her lips, searching. Her mouth filled with him, longingly, welcomingly.
Very slowly she pulled back to look into his face and then stood up quickly. She wanted to run, but he was quick to be there right beside her, pulling her back to him. "Please, please don't go yet," he found himself pleading, something that Larek had only done once before in his life, so very long ago. "I can't seem to keep you out of my head," his whispered voice was so full of emotion and confusion. He held onto her hands tightly. "If you run, then... I'll run, and that's not what either of us want, is it?"
She could only search his face again, this time seeing all the years of confusion there in a flash. "Larek… I don't know what to do…"
"Shh…" he whispered. "Just know this, I cannot stop what is happening to me or to you, anymore than I can stop what I'm feeling. I don't understand it, but I can't pretend that I don't... that I don't..." he stammered. Do I love you? his mind asked the question that he hadn't wanted to face, knowing that she would have no answer for him.
She thought she felt her heart stop, and she reached up still caressing at the strain and questioning of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Nicole... Nicole," he repeated in a hush, feeling the softness of her fingers on his skin. He opened his eyes with a sigh and wiped away a tear that had spilled down and over onto her cheek.
"All I want is to be with you. I am drawn so strongly to you ...I can not explain it," he repeated in a whisper. "But, I can't deny it anymore. I no longer want or need to deny it." He pulled her close and their lips met again, but with so much more mutual understanding, hunger and need than the last time.
They moved slowly but together, several steps back, and she felt the hard surface of a tree now at her back as his kiss grew more forceful. Her lips softly brushed around his ear, and she felt the roughness of his unshaven face. He held her face between his strong but shaking hands; his lips moved more gently now, on each cheek and then down to her bare neck. She felt she was forever lost in the touch of his mouth, his lips on her skin. His sweet deliberate kisses found their way down farther onto that soft skin of her chest. "Larek…", she whispered hoarsely, as everything seemed to be spinning. "Anything…" he answered ever so faintly.
"Just let me love you..." she said softly by his ear. The five words from her had an effect on him that drove him nearly out of control. Kissing the soft slope of her breasts, her arms held him tighter against her now as her movements guided him. Her head fell back slightly, as brightly colored lights seemed to flash behind her now closed eyes. "God, I love you," he said breathlessly. She opened her tear filled eyes on a million stars in the heaven above them, and silently sobbed as she held on him tighter.
"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered breathlessly, still questioning. She lifted his chin as the light of an Adian moon shone down on his face, and the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. "You could never hurt me, Larek. You will always be with me, no matter what else happens to us."
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Several hours later, Michael decided to go ahead and check on the runner that they would be taking to Milinga. Maria had done her best not to bite through her bottom lip as he hugged her goodbye. "I'll be alright," he said without a doubt to his voice. "We're just sneaking in, looking around and then gettin' out."
He smiled until she smiled back at him, hugging him again, knowing full well that there was little in this world that was not now dangerous. "You go do good, Sweetie. And I'll see you at Trinity when this is all over." He turned to leave the room and she quickly called to him, "Michael?" He looked over his shoulder into the candle lit room. "I love you, Michael."
He walked back into the room and kissed her. "I love you too," he nodded and Maria saw a tinge of sadness on his face. "I always have and I always will."
Once outside, he walked toward the rear of the monastery grounds and for a second he thought he caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Checking closer he wrote it off to fatigue, when he could see no sign of movement or light among the trees. Suddenly he was certain that he heard someone coming up from his right. Spinning and throwing his hands in front of him, she screamed out of the darkness, "Michael!" Katain stood not twenty feet now in front of him.
"Jesus Katain!" he yelled out at her. "I almost fried you. I never saw you there. Why the hell didn't you say something?"
"I'm sorry. I could see you fine, I forgot that you have a bit of a problem with darkness," she replied.
He put his arm around her shoulder, "Damn, next time give me some warning." She nodded to him, feeling foolish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young boy of around ten, bowed his head as Max answered the soft rapping at their door. "Sire, Brother Jasper wishes to see you and the Lady in his study as soon as possible."
Max was a bit surprised and glanced back at Liz stretched out comfortably on the mattress. She shrugged at Max at hearing Jasper's request. "Tell him we'll be there," he replied back to the boy dressed in a long brown robe and bare feet. He bowed and stepped back from the door, leaving down the hall. "Hmm, wonder what this is about?" Liz said swinging her legs over the bed and pulling on her boots.
"I hope he hasn't found out that Michael took Katain and Maria down into the catacombs tonight, or that they found that secret little room. Damn Michael, he has no patience. He deliberately did what he wasn't supposed to do." Max found himself getting angry all over again just remembering their conversation of a few hours before.
Liz shook her head, "Whether it's Rath or Michael, it makes no difference. It's who he is, Max. I really should have bet you that he'd be going down there tonight. I saw the look in both his and Katain's eyes when I mentioned it. Forget about it. It's over and done with now. And at least now we know what to look for... and where the book is. And you do realize that there's a chance Brother Jasper doesn't even know about that room." She laced up her last boot.
Max nodded and frowned, "Truthfully, I don't even care about the book right now. The only thing on my mind now is Jared..."
"So you really think that Brother Jasper is going to ball us out for insubordination?" she couldn't help but laugh a little, and was pleased at herself for switching the subject back so well.
"You are in a very good mood, my beautiful lady," Max smiled, grabbing her mischievously and kissing the side of her neck.
"Yes. I. am," she said emphatically. "Emily is safe, and soon... her and Sierra will be even safer. Michael and Larek are leaving to find out everything-we-ever-wanted-to-know-about-a-weapon-of-mass destruction, and I cannot wait to face Jared down." He buried her face in his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She managed to get serious for a moment. "I know all this being happy is a bit premature," she confessed the truth, "...but I was just so relieved to see Emily again. And I'm trying desperately to hold on to all the optimism I can."
"Me too," Max said, but a bit of worry seeped into his tone anyway. "We have won a battle, but unfortunately the war still remains. Now, let's get on down to see what the man has on his mind…so we can quickly get back up here and pick up where we left off before the boy so rudely interrupted us," he winked at her, pecking her on the tip of her nose.
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With the adrenaline and success of hours before, they were giggling like school children in the darkened hallway as Max knocked twice at Brother Jasper's door.
They had just passed Maria and Serena in the upstairs hall. Max had asked if Michael and the others had left for Milinga yet, since he hadn't seen Larek around. Maria had informed them both that Michael and Katain were just about ready to leave, but they were presently waiting on Larek. "I'm pretty sure Michael knows where the man is hiding out, he just isn't saying," Maria raised an eyebrow to Liz.
Serena was on her way to gather together those leaving for Trinity with last minute instructions. Liz and Maria embraced as Liz promised that they would meet the others at the runners to see them off. Max had explained to Serena that those returning to Trinity would be splitting up into two runners. Two of Larek's men would be piloting the ships.
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A strong male voice from behind the huge wooden door, told them to enter. Max held the door as Liz walked in first. "Brother Jasper," Max said. "Good evening. You wanted to see us?" Several candles brightened one section of the room. The rest of the room remained in heavy shadows.
"Thank you for coming so quickly. I apologize for the hour, but we have just received a visitor who I felt you would surely want to see," Brother Jasper turned motioning with his hand to a darkened doorway at the far end of the room.
Max's eyes followed Jasper's direction, as Liz hesitantly moved closer to his side. She quickly looked from Jasper to Max and then back to the someone who was slowly entering the room. A small hooded figure in a deep purple cloak came ever so slowly from the shadows into the candlelight.
The figure took the few remaining steps out into the dim light and dropped back the hood of her cloak. "...My Son."
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jared sat alone in his room. The castle around him was quieter now, but his anger had not abated. They were here... here on Adia. He had tortured the truth out of several citizens outside the walls who had recognized the Commander of the Federalist Army. His trusted guards had told him the entire story of their getaway in two Trinian runners.
It had been Zan and Rath, Lan and Kolt, he was sure. But was it possible that Larek was alive and well, and leading them? But Tess had told him that she killed Larek after he had slaughtered his men in the Podchamber. Could she have deliberately lied to him? There would be no reprieve for her if he were to find out she had. No one lied to him… no one.
He pushed himself to his feet, feeling slightly dizzy. What was happening to him? What was this pain in his head? Several of his medical staff had examined him at length lately and could find nothing physically wrong. He hadn't felt himself in quite a while now.
He managed to walk to the sideboard and poured himself a drink, as he looked down at a small bronze box with an Eosian symbol scratched into it's surface. It had arrived along with the fuel rod just that afternoon. Placing the goblet down, he smiled and picked up what amounted to a remote control device, designed to activate a very powerful little tool of his, a tool that had come to be known as the Guardian. Never before had he known of anything so powerful, so complete.
They had had problems at first, when the project had first been undertaken. It was learned that the chemical, once mixed with the Adian minerals, created a very toxic situation. It was so powerful, he thought as a grin spread on his face, that it had actually killed many, without even being activated. He laughed to himself. He couldn't explain the feeling that came over him now as he stood with his hand on the box. This, together with the icon fully activated, and the universe would be at his fingertips. Everything he ever wanted would be his.
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Evan Prost had just finished spreading his lunch out atop his desk at Aquarius. Italian hoagie with hot peppers and onions, his favorite. The small TV up on the filing cabinet flashed the beginning of the football game. The Broncos and the Redskins at Washington. His lunch hour was set. He checked his watch, four minutes ‘til kickoff.
It had been a relatively quiet day for a Saturday, just a few minor reports that had to be written up and some finishing touches on a new research project of his. Things had been pretty boring during the last month. He looked out the window and watched the threatening clouds rolling in. The Flats were in for one hell of a storm, he thought to himself. He thought about the umbrella he had left in the back of his car out in parking lot F. Well hopefully things would blow over by the time he was ready to leave at three.
The announcer remarked that there were two minutes left ‘til the start of the game. Evan popped the tab on his Diet Pepsi, just as the phone on his desk rang out. "Fuck!" he said, wondering if he should even bother to answer it. Angrily he picked up the phone.
"You got CNN on?" It was Fannel's voice. "No, but I'm about to hang up on you and watch the game," he answered, somewhat relieved that it was only Fannel. Then curiosity got the better of him. "Why?"
"Oh, it's better than the game, Evan. Put it on. Seems we've had some company over at Stanford. Somebody left there pretty pissed off," his voice shook a bit. Evan grabbed at the remote as he set down the soda can. The words CNN now flashed across the bottom of the screen. He caught the reporter mid sentence. "…the counties fire companies have all responded. We now go to Paul Wilcox on the scene. Paul, any more news on how this explosion and raging fire started?"
"No, not really, Kelly. Things have been a little frantic here, as you can imagine. As soon as we can get close enough, I'll be bringing you an update with as much information as I can."
The young blonde woman on screen shook her head, so obviously saddened. "And so to recap, there's been a massive explosion on the campus of Stanford University. All we know at the moment is that Building D, the Quantum Physics Building, has been completely destroyed and the fire is raging to two other buildings on campus. We have a confirmation on seventeen dead so far, and the count of injured is still mounting. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of kin. It is believed that most of those dead and injured were professors and students who had gathered for a seminar in the building. Stay tuned to CNN for further updates."
Evan clicked off the remote and the TV went to black screen as he stared off in space. Then realizing that Fannel was still holding on the line, he cleared his throat. "Anything from NORAD… anything in Utah?"
"Nothing," Fannel answered. "We have a team that's still checking out locations that we've suspected in the past. I'm thinking this one was brand new. God only knows where it is. There was some small activity a few hours before the blast, just outside of Vegas. They're still checking that one." He was quiet on his end.
Evan was deep in thought. "Whatever we took out of that basement and delivered to the Horizon... it must have been pretty damn important… to more than just our crew," he said quietly. "I think you better get over here."
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"Sire, we've just had word from your troops on deployment." A member of Jared's honor guard was now standing in the room, after having almost pounded down the door. "Tess has failed to find the icon, but she sent a message that she's going on to Roswell for the other child." Jared stumbled backward almost missing the chair behind him. Of course it's not there, the little voice in his head told him. They are here and so is the icon. They would have never left it behind. And the child...?
"Tell her that the other key is not there!" he bellowed to the already alarmed soldier. "I WANT HER BACK HERE… NOW!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The small room in the monastery suddenly seemed so much smaller to Liz, as Max’s hand tightened on hers. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. But it was true. Max seemed unsteady on his feet.
"My son, you have truly returned," the older woman, stood before them. Brother Jasper excused himself and left the room. "Please don't be angry with me. I had to come."
"Mother? How? I thought you were dead," Max replied still in disbelief. "Larek never mentioned..."
"Larek did not know. I've lived in exile yet still within the castle," her aged face smiled. She turned her attention to Liz. "Ava, my dear. I can not tell you how surprised I am to see you... to see you both." Liz could only nod, as so many memories of the face before her returned. "How did you know we were here?" Liz asked hesitantly. "Who told you?"
"Word travels quickly within Leoch. After the girl was rescued today, there were whispers that not only had the Federalists managed to extricate the child, but that Zan had returned to lead the assault." She wavered a bit, and Max took her arm leading her to a chair. "I just had to see for myself. I managed to talk shortly to Siobhan... she's..."
"I know who she is," Max answered. He had no more trust for his mother now than Zan had ever had. Liz stood steadfast in the same spot, as the woman continued, "Ava, I cannot thank your family enough for allowing me to stay at Leoch after..." her eyes fell to the floor. Max slowly paced as Zan's memories assaulted his mind. "Mother..."
"Yes my son," she whispered, in all innocence.
"Who knows you're here?" Max's voice was not kind. His mother fanned herself and unbuttoned her cloak. "No one, well except for my servant. He brought me here." Max couldn't believe what was happening. The woman's eyes seemed to glaze over, and her speech changed to a slight slur. "No... you see, no one else knows a thing, dear. I swear to it. We were certain to cover our tracks. Jared has no idea that we've even left."
Liz felt a pang of guilt for the old woman who had waited so long in hopes of seeing her son again, and went to stand at her side. "Are you absolutely certain, Malow?"
"Well of course I am. I would never do anything that foolish," she insisted. Liz looked up at Max. Now what, she thought to him.
Malow interrupted her thought. "Ava, your dear father would be so proud right now. Everything we had hoped for has come true." She turned to her son. "You've come home to save us from the slaughter. And your young bride is here... and Vilondra and Rath? Are they with you as well?"
"No mother, Vilondra is not with us. She betrayed us... for the second time in our lifetimes," Max said as he quickly was losing his patience, remembering how his mother had played such a big part in the original downfall of Antar after his father had died.
Malow smiled at Liz. "The resemblance is startling with you both. I still see the faces I remember all so well. Ava," her face frowned. "I am so sorry that you and my son were not given the opportunity of finishing your vows that horrible day. I've always regretted greatly that your glorious day did not come to pass." Liz watched and listened closely and something unsettling stirred inside her.
Max interrupted, "She is my wife now. She always has been, Antarian and Adian ceremony not withstanding." He turned his back and stared out the small round window behind the desk…outside into the darkness.
"Well of course, dear," Malow stated wistfully. "A deeper shared love one could never find. You have returned now, you will free us from these treacherous bonds. Jared and his quest must be destroyed. I have been forced all these long years to take exile yet stay within the castle walls with the evil ones. A few rooms so graciously offered by your dearly departed father, Ava. May his soul rest in peace." She suddenly looked perplexed. "Had I already said that?" She looked around the room as if lost.
I think she's approaching senility, Max thought to Liz.
I think you're right. The only thing she knows right now is that her son has returned from the dead, Liz thought back to him.
I'm sending her back, on a wing and a prayer, he thought again.
Liz walked to his side by the window, leaving the small woman playing childishly with the closure on her cloak. "Max, can we trust to send her back now?" Liz asked, her eyes questioning his statement. "What if in her ramblings she mentions where she's been?"
He looked back at the woman he had once long ago called his mother. "Liz, you don't understand. She can't stay with us. I can't allow it."
Liz's face showed the shock of hearing him say the words out loud. "Max… I know that you and your mother didn't get along but… she's your mother, no matter what she's done. Look at her, she's almost a child." He turned back to the window as tears began to fill his eyes. "Max," Liz repeated, "please talk to Brother Jasper. Maybe he'll allow her to stay. Maybe there's someone who can watch after her here."
"Zan?" Malow called to him. "Shouldn't we all be going back to Leoch now? It's getting very late, and you need to get to bed." Max looked at Liz, as if all their questions had just been answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone now stood in the dark next to the two runners that would take most of the original team back to Trinity. Just as Michael was losing patience and preparing to go find Larek, he walked out of the shadows toward the group. "Thanks for joining us," Michael snipped, patting him on the back jokingly. "How'd it go?"
"Where's Mommy?" Sierra asked with a worried look on her face, as she held tightly to Emily's hand.
"She's coming, sweetheart. I just… saw her inside," Larek explained, giving a look back to Michael.
Marshal, Katain and Jonathan stood off to the side saying their goodbyes to Jessie and Raymond. Larek did his best not to meet her eyes. He needed to talk to her, and he knew that there would be plenty of time for that on their way to Milinga in a short while.
"Mommy!" Emily cried out with excitement at seeing Nicole now approaching the group.
"Hi sweetie," Nicole said as she gathered her daughters around her.
"We're leaving now," Sierra announced. "We're going back to Trinity. We're going home." Nicole looked up at the others and smiled, then over to Larek. A slight blush fell on her cheeks as a guarded smile crossed his lips. He winked at the three of them.
"Okay lets get this show on the road," Angelique spouted. They all laughed nervously. The last minute goodbyes were sad, but each and everyone tried to end on a happy note.
Serena stood with John in a tight hug. Kal walked up to the two of them and John put his head down. "What?" Serena said softly looking between the two.
"Serena, before you go I wanted to ask you if you had talked recently to Liz?" Serena looked from Kal back to John. "Sure, I have. Why what's going on?" she asked with concern. John started, "Kal's been worrying over her."
Serena's eyes widened. "Why?
"I've sensed something's happening or about to happen. I just can't shake the feeling. I held her hand today and… well.." he seemed a bit embarrassed.
"You read her thoughts?" Serena finished for him questioningly.
"No, not exactly. Call it Antarian intuition. It was a very strong feeling I got," Kal said, talking very low. "Speaking of Liz, where are they?" Serena asked looking around with concern.
"We've had a bit of a new development," John confessed to her. "Malow is here."
Once again Serena's eyes widened. "Oh, my god! …But you both thought she was dead," she turned to Kal.
"Even Larek apparently didn't know, and he's been right here in this world," Kal answered with surprise. "She's been kept under a house arrest of sorts at Leoch all this time. She's been free to come and go, but her mental state had, up ‘til tonight, not made her wanderings a threat." Kal ran his hand through his hair.
"So now what?" Serena asked. "Maybe we should take her with us to Trinity?"
Kal shook his head from side to side. "Max can't seem to make up his mind what he should do. She needs constant attention. Until the seasons change on Trinity, she would never make it there and she can't go back to Leoch. The cat would be out of the bag as soon as she started raising the Adian flag in the castle courtyard." It would be funny if it weren’t so serious, Serena thought.
"For now she's going to stay here with the Order. They're going to take care of her. Max and Liz just arranged it. Afterall, she once was their Antarian Queen, even if in name only," John explained. "But getting back to Liz..."
“It's a little late to ask about all this now, John. We're leaving." Serena was beside herself with worry now. Malow arriving when Max already had so much on his mind? And Liz? Kal was rarely wrong with his hunches.
John continued, "We just thought maybe she may have mentioned something to you."
"No, she didn't. I do know that there's been a few times in the last weeks that she's not felt well, but then none of us have been feeling ourselves since being here. Have you asked Max?" Serena questioned. "Wouldn't he be the first to sense something?"
"Not under the circumstances," Kal replied, biting his lip. Serena looked at Kal strangely.
Michael yelled out to the group, "All aboard who's going aboard." Maria clutched at his arm. She hadn't expected Michael to still be here when she was leaving. The team to Milinga had been scheduled to leave before them. "At least I have another chance to kiss you goodbye... and to say again... be careful, Michael." He hugged her as the last of the Trinity group climbed aboard.
"Wait… Wait!" Liz yelled out, as the two of them came running up out of the darkness. "I'm sorry we're so late," she exclaimed. "We had something to take care of, but I'm glad we didn't miss you." Both Max and Liz climbed aboard the runners giving their hugs and goodbyes to all. Serena grabbed her into a hug, and whispered in her ear, "Be safe." Liz's eyes began to fill up as she nodded back to her.
"Zan, you're going to come to Trinity too right?" Sierra asked, as Emily stared into Liz's face, fully aware of what was going to happen while they were gone. Liz touched Emily's cheek. "Don't worry little one," she said, reading Emily's thoughts. "We will meet you on Trinity very soon," Max answered.
"Yes, we'll all be together again very soon. Hey… I'm gonna help you finish that puzzle remember?" Liz said to her with a smile.
Sierra squealed and grabbed her around the neck. "I will miss you Ava," she rubbed her nose against Liz's. "That's the way the Eskimos kiss," she grinned.
Max leaned down to her, "I want one too." Sierra giggled uncontrollably as her nose touched his. "See you soon, Zan," she said with a big smile.
Those who were leaving were all on board as the others now stood alone, watching the doors close.
Max reached down for Liz's hand. Their destinies seemed so much closer now, and all those still on the ground felt it. Larek stood alone, staring as the ships disappeared over the treetops.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared sat alone in his room. The castle around him was quieter now, but his anger had not abated. They were here... here on Adia. He had tortured the truth out of several citizens outside the walls who had recognized the Commander of the Federalist Army. His trusted guards had told him the entire story of their getaway in two Trinian runners.
It had been Zan and Rath, Lan and Kolt, he was sure. But was it possible that Larek was alive and well, and leading them? But Tess had told him that she killed Larek after he had slaughtered his men in the Podchamber. Could she have deliberately lied to him? There would be no reprieve for her if he were to find out she had. No one lied to him… no one.
He pushed himself to his feet, feeling slightly dizzy. What was happening to him? What was this pain in his head? Several of his medical staff had examined him at length lately and could find nothing physically wrong. He hadn't felt himself in quite a while now.
He managed to walk to the sideboard and poured himself a drink, as he looked down at a small bronze box with an Eosian symbol scratched into it's surface. It had arrived along with the fuel rod just that afternoon. Placing the goblet down, he smiled and picked up what amounted to a remote control device, designed to activate a very powerful little tool of his, a tool that had come to be known as the Guardian. Never before had he known of anything so powerful, so complete.
They had had problems at first, when the project had first been undertaken. It was learned that the chemical, once mixed with the Adian minerals, created a very toxic situation. It was so powerful, he thought as a grin spread on his face, that it had actually killed many, without even being activated. He laughed to himself. He couldn't explain the feeling that came over him now as he stood with his hand on the box. This, together with the icon fully activated, and the universe would be at his fingertips. Everything he ever wanted would be his.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evan Prost had just finished spreading his lunch out atop his desk at Aquarius. Italian hoagie with hot peppers and onions, his favorite. The small TV up on the filing cabinet flashed the beginning of the football game. The Broncos and the Redskins at Washington. His lunch hour was set. He checked his watch, four minutes ‘til kickoff.
It had been a relatively quiet day for a Saturday, just a few minor reports that had to be written up and some finishing touches on a new research project of his. Things had been pretty boring during the last month. He looked out the window and watched the threatening clouds rolling in. The Flats were in for one hell of a storm, he thought to himself. He thought about the umbrella he had left in the back of his car out in parking lot F. Well hopefully things would blow over by the time he was ready to leave at three.
The announcer remarked that there were two minutes left ‘til the start of the game. Evan popped the tab on his Diet Pepsi, just as the phone on his desk rang out. "Fuck!" he said, wondering if he should even bother to answer it. Angrily he picked up the phone.
"You got CNN on?" It was Fannel's voice. "No, but I'm about to hang up on you and watch the game," he answered, somewhat relieved that it was only Fannel. Then curiosity got the better of him. "Why?"
"Oh, it's better than the game, Evan. Put it on. Seems we've had some company over at Stanford. Somebody left there pretty pissed off," his voice shook a bit. Evan grabbed at the remote as he set down the soda can. The words CNN now flashed across the bottom of the screen. He caught the reporter mid sentence. "…the counties fire companies have all responded. We now go to Paul Wilcox on the scene. Paul, any more news on how this explosion and raging fire started?"
"No, not really, Kelly. Things have been a little frantic here, as you can imagine. As soon as we can get close enough, I'll be bringing you an update with as much information as I can."
The young blonde woman on screen shook her head, so obviously saddened. "And so to recap, there's been a massive explosion on the campus of Stanford University. All we know at the moment is that Building D, the Quantum Physics Building, has been completely destroyed and the fire is raging to two other buildings on campus. We have a confirmation on seventeen dead so far, and the count of injured is still mounting. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of kin. It is believed that most of those dead and injured were professors and students who had gathered for a seminar in the building. Stay tuned to CNN for further updates."
Evan clicked off the remote and the TV went to black screen as he stared off in space. Then realizing that Fannel was still holding on the line, he cleared his throat. "Anything from NORAD… anything in Utah?"
"Nothing," Fannel answered. "We have a team that's still checking out locations that we've suspected in the past. I'm thinking this one was brand new. God only knows where it is. There was some small activity a few hours before the blast, just outside of Vegas. They're still checking that one." He was quiet on his end.
Evan was deep in thought. "Whatever we took out of that basement and delivered to the Horizon... it must have been pretty damn important… to more than just our crew," he said quietly. "I think you better get over here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sire, we've just had word from your troops on deployment." A member of Jared's honor guard was now standing in the room, after having almost pounded down the door. "Tess has failed to find the icon, but she sent a message that she's going on to Roswell for the other child." Jared stumbled backward almost missing the chair behind him. Of course it's not there, the little voice in his head told him. They are here and so is the icon. They would have never left it behind. And the child...?
"Tell her that the other key is not there!" he bellowed to the already alarmed soldier. "I WANT HER BACK HERE… NOW!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The small room in the monastery suddenly seemed so much smaller to Liz, as Max’s hand tightened on hers. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. But it was true. Max seemed unsteady on his feet.
"My son, you have truly returned," the older woman, stood before them. Brother Jasper excused himself and left the room. "Please don't be angry with me. I had to come."
"Mother? How? I thought you were dead," Max replied still in disbelief. "Larek never mentioned..."
"Larek did not know. I've lived in exile yet still within the castle," her aged face smiled. She turned her attention to Liz. "Ava, my dear. I can not tell you how surprised I am to see you... to see you both." Liz could only nod, as so many memories of the face before her returned. "How did you know we were here?" Liz asked hesitantly. "Who told you?"
"Word travels quickly within Leoch. After the girl was rescued today, there were whispers that not only had the Federalists managed to extricate the child, but that Zan had returned to lead the assault." She wavered a bit, and Max took her arm leading her to a chair. "I just had to see for myself. I managed to talk shortly to Siobhan... she's..."
"I know who she is," Max answered. He had no more trust for his mother now than Zan had ever had. Liz stood steadfast in the same spot, as the woman continued, "Ava, I cannot thank your family enough for allowing me to stay at Leoch after..." her eyes fell to the floor. Max slowly paced as Zan's memories assaulted his mind. "Mother..."
"Yes my son," she whispered, in all innocence.
"Who knows you're here?" Max's voice was not kind. His mother fanned herself and unbuttoned her cloak. "No one, well except for my servant. He brought me here." Max couldn't believe what was happening. The woman's eyes seemed to glaze over, and her speech changed to a slight slur. "No... you see, no one else knows a thing, dear. I swear to it. We were certain to cover our tracks. Jared has no idea that we've even left."
Liz felt a pang of guilt for the old woman who had waited so long in hopes of seeing her son again, and went to stand at her side. "Are you absolutely certain, Malow?"
"Well of course I am. I would never do anything that foolish," she insisted. Liz looked up at Max. Now what, she thought to him.
Malow interrupted her thought. "Ava, your dear father would be so proud right now. Everything we had hoped for has come true." She turned to her son. "You've come home to save us from the slaughter. And your young bride is here... and Vilondra and Rath? Are they with you as well?"
"No mother, Vilondra is not with us. She betrayed us... for the second time in our lifetimes," Max said as he quickly was losing his patience, remembering how his mother had played such a big part in the original downfall of Antar after his father had died.
Malow smiled at Liz. "The resemblance is startling with you both. I still see the faces I remember all so well. Ava," her face frowned. "I am so sorry that you and my son were not given the opportunity of finishing your vows that horrible day. I've always regretted greatly that your glorious day did not come to pass." Liz watched and listened closely and something unsettling stirred inside her.
Max interrupted, "She is my wife now. She always has been, Antarian and Adian ceremony not withstanding." He turned his back and stared out the small round window behind the desk…outside into the darkness.
"Well of course, dear," Malow stated wistfully. "A deeper shared love one could never find. You have returned now, you will free us from these treacherous bonds. Jared and his quest must be destroyed. I have been forced all these long years to take exile yet stay within the castle walls with the evil ones. A few rooms so graciously offered by your dearly departed father, Ava. May his soul rest in peace." She suddenly looked perplexed. "Had I already said that?" She looked around the room as if lost.
I think she's approaching senility, Max thought to Liz.
I think you're right. The only thing she knows right now is that her son has returned from the dead, Liz thought back to him.
I'm sending her back, on a wing and a prayer, he thought again.
Liz walked to his side by the window, leaving the small woman playing childishly with the closure on her cloak. "Max, can we trust to send her back now?" Liz asked, her eyes questioning his statement. "What if in her ramblings she mentions where she's been?"
He looked back at the woman he had once long ago called his mother. "Liz, you don't understand. She can't stay with us. I can't allow it."
Liz's face showed the shock of hearing him say the words out loud. "Max… I know that you and your mother didn't get along but… she's your mother, no matter what she's done. Look at her, she's almost a child." He turned back to the window as tears began to fill his eyes. "Max," Liz repeated, "please talk to Brother Jasper. Maybe he'll allow her to stay. Maybe there's someone who can watch after her here."
"Zan?" Malow called to him. "Shouldn't we all be going back to Leoch now? It's getting very late, and you need to get to bed." Max looked at Liz, as if all their questions had just been answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone now stood in the dark next to the two runners that would take most of the original team back to Trinity. Just as Michael was losing patience and preparing to go find Larek, he walked out of the shadows toward the group. "Thanks for joining us," Michael snipped, patting him on the back jokingly. "How'd it go?"
"Where's Mommy?" Sierra asked with a worried look on her face, as she held tightly to Emily's hand.
"She's coming, sweetheart. I just… saw her inside," Larek explained, giving a look back to Michael.
Marshal, Katain and Jonathan stood off to the side saying their goodbyes to Jessie and Raymond. Larek did his best not to meet her eyes. He needed to talk to her, and he knew that there would be plenty of time for that on their way to Milinga in a short while.
"Mommy!" Emily cried out with excitement at seeing Nicole now approaching the group.
"Hi sweetie," Nicole said as she gathered her daughters around her.
"We're leaving now," Sierra announced. "We're going back to Trinity. We're going home." Nicole looked up at the others and smiled, then over to Larek. A slight blush fell on her cheeks as a guarded smile crossed his lips. He winked at the three of them.
"Okay lets get this show on the road," Angelique spouted. They all laughed nervously. The last minute goodbyes were sad, but each and everyone tried to end on a happy note.
Serena stood with John in a tight hug. Kal walked up to the two of them and John put his head down. "What?" Serena said softly looking between the two.
"Serena, before you go I wanted to ask you if you had talked recently to Liz?" Serena looked from Kal back to John. "Sure, I have. Why what's going on?" she asked with concern. John started, "Kal's been worrying over her."
Serena's eyes widened. "Why?
"I've sensed something's happening or about to happen. I just can't shake the feeling. I held her hand today and… well.." he seemed a bit embarrassed.
"You read her thoughts?" Serena finished for him questioningly.
"No, not exactly. Call it Antarian intuition. It was a very strong feeling I got," Kal said, talking very low. "Speaking of Liz, where are they?" Serena asked looking around with concern.
"We've had a bit of a new development," John confessed to her. "Malow is here."
Once again Serena's eyes widened. "Oh, my god! …But you both thought she was dead," she turned to Kal.
"Even Larek apparently didn't know, and he's been right here in this world," Kal answered with surprise. "She's been kept under a house arrest of sorts at Leoch all this time. She's been free to come and go, but her mental state had, up ‘til tonight, not made her wanderings a threat." Kal ran his hand through his hair.
"So now what?" Serena asked. "Maybe we should take her with us to Trinity?"
Kal shook his head from side to side. "Max can't seem to make up his mind what he should do. She needs constant attention. Until the seasons change on Trinity, she would never make it there and she can't go back to Leoch. The cat would be out of the bag as soon as she started raising the Adian flag in the castle courtyard." It would be funny if it weren’t so serious, Serena thought.
"For now she's going to stay here with the Order. They're going to take care of her. Max and Liz just arranged it. Afterall, she once was their Antarian Queen, even if in name only," John explained. "But getting back to Liz..."
“It's a little late to ask about all this now, John. We're leaving." Serena was beside herself with worry now. Malow arriving when Max already had so much on his mind? And Liz? Kal was rarely wrong with his hunches.
John continued, "We just thought maybe she may have mentioned something to you."
"No, she didn't. I do know that there's been a few times in the last weeks that she's not felt well, but then none of us have been feeling ourselves since being here. Have you asked Max?" Serena questioned. "Wouldn't he be the first to sense something?"
"Not under the circumstances," Kal replied, biting his lip. Serena looked at Kal strangely.
Michael yelled out to the group, "All aboard who's going aboard." Maria clutched at his arm. She hadn't expected Michael to still be here when she was leaving. The team to Milinga had been scheduled to leave before them. "At least I have another chance to kiss you goodbye... and to say again... be careful, Michael." He hugged her as the last of the Trinity group climbed aboard.
"Wait… Wait!" Liz yelled out, as the two of them came running up out of the darkness. "I'm sorry we're so late," she exclaimed. "We had something to take care of, but I'm glad we didn't miss you." Both Max and Liz climbed aboard the runners giving their hugs and goodbyes to all. Serena grabbed her into a hug, and whispered in her ear, "Be safe." Liz's eyes began to fill up as she nodded back to her.
"Zan, you're going to come to Trinity too right?" Sierra asked, as Emily stared into Liz's face, fully aware of what was going to happen while they were gone. Liz touched Emily's cheek. "Don't worry little one," she said, reading Emily's thoughts. "We will meet you on Trinity very soon," Max answered.
"Yes, we'll all be together again very soon. Hey… I'm gonna help you finish that puzzle remember?" Liz said to her with a smile.
Sierra squealed and grabbed her around the neck. "I will miss you Ava," she rubbed her nose against Liz's. "That's the way the Eskimos kiss," she grinned.
Max leaned down to her, "I want one too." Sierra giggled uncontrollably as her nose touched his. "See you soon, Zan," she said with a big smile.
Those who were leaving were all on board as the others now stood alone, watching the doors close.
Max reached down for Liz's hand. Their destinies seemed so much closer now, and all those still on the ground felt it. Larek stood alone, staring as the ships disappeared over the treetops.
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jared walked back and forth in front of the large throne that had sat at the far end of this High Hall for centuries. It was his throne now, he mused to himself, and soon there would be no one who could ever take it from him. He rubbed at his temples, and again couldn't stop himself from worrying over this ailment that seemed to be attacking his body. There were times lately when he’d been experiencing double vision, and there were other times that his powers seemed seriously delayed. Quite possibly, he thought, maybe he had not taken the proper precautions when inspecting the Guardian the last time he had gone to Milinga. He'd have to be more mindful on his next visits, he thought to himself.
He looked around him at the huge expanse of the room. The High Hall had been used only for very special occasions in the past. Coronations of all the past kings of their worlds had taken place here because of the intricate design of the surroundings of the room. It had been in this very room, years ago, that Kivar had taken absolute control; during a much heralded wedding ceremony of the boy prince. Zan, he thought to himself. The name seemed more and more to haunt him now.
Since taking control as King, he had seen to the complete refurbishing of the room back to its former state and majesty. Of course all personal items of antiquity that had once belonged to the dethroned Adian royalty had been long removed; most being destroyed by Kivar's army on that fine and memorable day.
His mind shifted back to the present. He was waiting for his precious Tess to return. She had some serious explaining to do. He had verification now from a handful of his own men that it had indeed been the Commander of the Federalists forces who had participated in the successful removal of the child from his care. Tess had deceived him, of that there could be no doubt now; and a very big part of him had found himself so very disappointed in that knowledge. Technically he had no use for her anymore, he reminded himself. He was certain that the icon and the other child were most certain to be here… within his grasp.
So close, he smiled to himself. "Very stupid move, Zan. You’ve brought them right to me," he said out loud to the empty room. He quickly turned as he heard laughter. Faint, but there just the same. It seemed to be echoing off the walls around him. A look of fear came over his face. Laughter? From where was it coming? his mind questioned. He turned in all directions now, searching; but the mocking sounds were suddenly silent again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John walked back inside, as the others stood still huddled in a small group. "Marshall," Michael began, "I am leaving you and John in charge ‘til morning. Max and Liz's safety will be in your hands." Marshall nodded, understanding the responsibility. "First thing we need you to do is to check out the runner that Malow arrived here in. Chavez is sending up a team from the camp below. They will see to the pilot. Katain checked it out earlier, he is still with his ship. Being a personal assistant to Malow, John doesn't believe that he's dangerous. He is most definitely not to be treated as an enemy soldier. Be sure that those from camp are reminded of this."
"We need you to be certain that the runner is not visible from the air," Larek added. "Keep a close eye on everything around." Again Marshall nodded, this time to Larek. "I will do just that," he replied in response to his commander's order.
"Are we ready?" Larek asked, looking in Katain and Kal's direction.
"Been ready, sir," Katain stated formally.
Larek looked over to Max and Liz. "We will see you back here by first light," he explained with a smile. Liz kissed Larek's cheek, as Max reached for his hand. "It goes without saying... be very careful, my friend," Max said. "At any signs of resistance, get out. We still have four days to find out what we need to know there."
"My sentiments, exactly," Larek exclaimed, as he finished shaking his hand. Michael and Katain had already climbed aboard. Larek followed after them, and Kal approached Max. "Listen up. I know I don't have to tell you this, but keep a close eye on Malow." Max knew what Kal was driving at. "Trust me, I intend to do just that, Kal," he sighed.
"Kitten," Kal turned to Liz and hugged her. "We'll be back before you know it. Everyone just needs to take the next few days to relax. We know what we have to do, no sense in spending a lot of time being anxious over the obvious. We're as ready as we're going to be."
Michael whistled from inside the runner. "Kal, you ready?" Kal nodded to the two standing before him. "Go get some sleep."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kal had asked Larek to pilot, since it had been such a very long time since he had traveled anywhere near to Milinga. Larek now sat at the controls with Michael by his side, Katain and Kal had moved towards the back. "How long until we get there?" Michael asked anxiously, as the ship lifted off the ground.
"So help me Michael if you even dare to ask 'are we there yet'..." Katain joked from the back at feeling the tension in the ship. Most of that tension she was all too aware was presently coming from Larek. Kal started some small talk with her about South America, Bolivia in particular. She started to speak some Spanish just to see if he could keep up with her, after he mentioned that he knew some of the language. He did well for a short time, but then held up his hand. "Alright you lost me back at 'quaint little villages'," Kal laughed.
In the front seat, Larek was unusually quiet. Michael glanced at him from time to time. "I can hear your brain whirling. Gotta clear the air, my friend," he stated simply to him. "It's not gonna help with your concentration, and it's not going to help any one of us either if you don't talk to her."
Larek kept his eyes ahead focusing out into the dark. "I am sensing that immensely at this moment, Rath," he replied in a low voice.
"So was it as difficult as you thought? I mean... all things considered.." Michael couldn't help his curiosity, considering a few of their earlier conversations on the subject of the two women.
Larek slowly broke a smile as his mind flashed back. "It was one of the easiest things I've ever done... once I stopped fighting with myself about it," he admitted.
"Sooo, you and Nicole have an... understanding?" Michael pried a bit farther not being able to stop himself.
Larek sighed, "An understanding? Yes, I guess you could put it that way, though it does sound a bit clinical the way you put it."
Michael fidgeted in his seat. Curiosity was killing him. "Come on, man, spill. What happened? I mean you don't have to go into all the sappy details, but ya gotta give me something here." The two sat quiet for a few minutes. "Larek? Just a crumb..." Michael whispered, again pleading. "I want to be happy for my old friend."
"Well, Rath, you may go right ahead and be happy for me. It would seem that all those words of yours, which once fell on deaf ears long ago, were right after all. And watch that old reference..." he conceded and then warned him, smiling in response. "I told her what I've been feeling, and... she has been feeling the very same way. That is it. I will say nothing else about it." In his mind Larek finished his statement, knowing that he had to talk to Katain. It was only fair and long over due.
Michael nodded at his thought and then grinned. "I can respect that...," he added. He turned in his seat to face the two in the back, offering his seat to her, as Larek frowned. "Katain, switch with me, will you? I have to talk to Kal about things… about Milinga," he lied hastily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max had gone to another portion of the monastery to check on his mother, before leaving her for the night. John was sitting on the front step waiting for Marshall to return from Malow's runner. Two soldiers from camp had already ascended the mountain to take the pilot back down to their camp, despite his objections at not being able to speak to Malow before leaving.
Liz was curled up on the cot in their small chilly room, covered with a few blankets. She sighed, realizing how tired she was. She remembered that she hadn't taken the usual vitamins since leaving the Horizon, she supposed that no one had remembered to bring them along. Well, she thought, that would explain my lack of energy in the last days, not to mention the altitude here.
She listened to the quiet of the building, thinking how strange it was at knowing that the Order was a large brotherhood. There had to be at least thirty monks who called this place home, but yet she rarely heard any of them at all. She looked to the window and thought. Considering all things, she guessed it to be somewhere around one in the morning. Not that time mattered that much; they still hadn't been able to do a good job of keeping Earth time straight since arriving here.
She thought about home. She thought of her father and tried to picture sunset on the little town. More and more now when she would remember Roswell, it seemed to be getting harder and harder to bring it up clearly in her mind. She forced herself to relax and after a short time, she finally was able to clear her thoughts and close her eyes. Sleep, Lizzie, she thought to herself. The next morning would prove to be exciting when she and John trekked down into the catacombs. How could it not be, she asked as she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
The book, it was down there, her mind reminded her as it drifted farther away from consciousness. She was dreaming now. Dreaming that she was standing in a darkened room, much like this one that she shared now with her husband. But it was different, not the same. The air smelled different… cleaner somehow. A kind faced man in brown robes was leaning down and smiling at her. You are certainly a precious child, he was saying. More precious than you may ever know. Come with me, he said. I have something to show only your eyes, my petite one. They walked along a glowing corridor and descended several steps. He turned, taking her hand in his.
She was being led now down a steeper flight of stairs. Do not be afraid, Ava. None of us mean you any harm. The clarity of the dream began fading. The one thing Liz was certain of was that she had not felt frightened at all; on the contrary, she felt deeply loved by this man. The dream faded completely to black now, and she stirred in her sleep. She could only faintly hear his voice in the darkness; his words were unclear to her sleeping mind.
She woke with a start, sitting up in bed sweating profusely in the still chilly room. She was alone, she felt dizzy and out of breath. "M-ax.." she called out softly. And the trembling began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's no sign of anything now at all," Fannel reported back to Evan Prost as he hung up the phone in Evan's office. "Every known area where they’ve opened a wormhole in the past has checked out negative."
"Well maybe we can be thankful for that," Evan muttered. "Let's hope they took themselves on home." The two men both sat for the longest time in an eerie silence.
Fannel finally broke through, "Do you think they ever made it, Evan? I mean, suppose they didn't. We've staked so much on this whole project, maybe too much so..."
Evan walked across the room, turning on the television. The game was now very late in the fourth quarter, and the Redskins were ahead. Absentmindedly, he answered. "All those years of intense research and study, and it all comes down to …a few kids really. I'd like to believe that things are proceeding as planned; but, of course that can only be speculation now."
"We're still watching the Whirlwind galaxy closely. That's our only barometer to the events there," Fannel lit up a cigarette.
"When'd you start that?" Evan asked with surprise, referring to the nicotine stick now in his friend's hand.
"Two minutes after they left," Fannel said with a bit of disgust at himself, as he blew the smoke out into the room. "You?"
"Well, I'm drinking more, if that's any consolation to you," Evan joked with him.
"What do we do now? Should we give a report to headquarters? Tell them what we suspect?" Fannel asked, pretty sure he knew the answer that was coming.
"Gemini doesn't exist anymore, if in fact it ever did, remember? I say we continue to keep a close watch on things. We were caught completely by surprise this time. We can't let that happen again. Next time they could be coming to stay. We can only keep monitoring for that strong magnetic field...and wait." Evan sat down in the chair, as the announcer stated the final score. He looked to the window. It was pouring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katain sat uncomfortably in the co-pilot seat, looking anywhere but at her commanding officer. Larek swallowed hard, sensing what she was feeling. The space between them was thick enough to cut through with a knife. "Just keep an eye on the gauges and let me know should anything change." She nodded but said nothing. "How long have you had this night vision," he asked her, knowing he had to start somewhere.
"Since I was around five, Sir," she replied. "Please don't do that," he asked saddened by the tone of her response. "Do what? You are my superior officer, remember?" She looked away from him.
"It isn't necessary and you know it," he replied. Her face softened and she gave in, knowing full well where the conversation was headed. "Larek, why didn't you just tell me earlier?" she asked with such a heavy sigh. "Why did I need to read it in your head?"
He tried to relax in the chair. "It wasn't something that I had let myself think about when we first left your world. That's unacceptable to you I know. This has been so uncomfortable, and very unfair to you. I've really wanted to talk to you for a while now, but it never seemed the right time. Now I know that there is no right time. I handled everything wrong, and I hope you can forgive me."
"I told you earlier this afternoon that I understood, but I needed to hear the truth in words from you," she said in all honesty.
"I know," he stated strongly. "I owe you so much more than this, and I am truly sorry," he tried to make her understand what he was feeling, but what he knew of her feelings kept getting in the way. He also knew that she was probably inside his head at that very minute.
"Do you truly care for her?" she asked looking directly at him.
There was only one slight beat before his answer. "Yes, I do," he said strongly, looking back into her eyes not wanting to hide the truth anymore for both their sakes.
"Well good, then I really should say congratulations to you," she checked back at the panel before her.
He looked at her quickly now, not knowing how to read what she had said. "No," she answered his thought, "I really do mean that. In my heart I know that it's been too long since you have let yourself truly care for anyone. You've been very unfair to yourself, Larek. Look, what happened between us aboard ship... it was wonderful, and even now I wouldn't change any of what happened between us; but, I haven't been very honest with myself about any of it. If there's any blame, it belongs to each of us equally. Deep inside somewhere I knew that we were both just reaching out to each other all along. But I let my feelings take too much of a hold on me, and that was wrong. I was seeing what wasn't there."
"No, Katain, on that point you are wrong. I was acting on genuine feelings on the ship. I was acting on loneliness; what I was feeling and what I sensed from you." He was no longer sure at this moment that he was making her feel any better, but he could be nothing but honest with her now. "I should have been more careful. I never meant to mislead you, it was all my fault. You are a very special person, and a very beautiful and enticing woman. Plus you're a soldier, and a damn fine one. I gave in to all of those qualities in you. I identified with you whole heartedly."
She nodded and raised her chin slightly. "Look, nothing I say right now...nothing either of us could say right now, is going to make this go away quickly; but it will go away," she emphasized. "You’ve needed to open your heart again. While it wasn't me, I'm glad that it is Nicole. She is very sweet and from what I've seen in the past month, she cares deeply for you."
He reached over and took her hand. "Thank you. I am not sure I deserve that much understanding." After a slight hesitation, she smiled back at him, "I will always be loyal to you, Larek."
He closed his eyes and winced a bit. "You may do me one small favor, Katain, and not say that," he replied quickly, as he furrowed his brow. She stared at him for a second, and then realized what it was that he meant. She thought back on all the years that Larek had walked through his life, and how he had allowed his loyalty for Ava to close him off from his ability to feel for anyone else.
"No," she said to him, "I will remember not to do that," she squeezed his hand and smiled back at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max came quietly into the room, noticing that the lone candle on the dresser was just about to burn itself out. He took his jacket and shirt off, and then sat down extra carefully on the double cot, not wanting to wake her. As he unlaced his boots, he couldn't keep the conversation with his mother out of his head.
Standing to unbuckle his belt and unzip his fatigues, he looked down at the face lying beside him. God how he loved her, he thought. Nothing Malow could say would ever change anything now. In the past she had never accepted his love for Ava. She had always been a manipulating and selfish woman all those years ago. So many things had now rushed back to him with seeing her again. Things that he now knew he had never wanted to remember.
"Max?" Liz asked sleepily, propping the pillow up a bit behind her head.
"I'm sorry, babe, did I wake you?" he asked. "I was trying to be quiet, but every slab of wooden flooring in this place squeaks so damn loud."
"It's okay," she answered with a sleepy smile. "I think I fell off for a little while." She stifled a yawn. "How's your mother?" she asked with true concern in her voice.
He climbed into bed quickly sharing the blanket as the cold dampness hit his bones. He shivered. "She's the same as always," he said quietly. "She's coherent one minute and completely out there the next. It's as if I've never left here. She still thinks of me as she did... before."
Liz wet her lips, thinking of the right thing to say. "I know how hard this is for you, Max. And I know that this isn't what we expected to be dealing with… especially now; but I think you just have to overlook a lot of what she says."
He looked at her as he slid his arm between the pillow and her head. She snuggled closer into the crook of his arm. "I just get furious with her so easily. I'm trying… I'm really trying to take everything into consideration, but there's a few things that..." He let the sentence hang as he pulled her over closer onto his body.
"Like what?" she asked, making herself comfortable. "You don't have to hide anything from me, Max. I've known since the beginning that your father and mother have no love lost for me."
He kissed her forehead, feeling the warmth there. His mind switched gears quickly. "Do you have a fever? You feel a little warm."
Liz raised her eyebrows in question. "I don't think so, I don't feel like I do," she said curiously feeling her own forehead. She switched the subject back again, "Getting back to Malow..."
There was a huge sigh from Max, as his fingers traced soft small circles on her lower back. "It wasn't as much my father as it always was my mother. She and Vilondra did their very best to keep us apart for so long. When my father's health grew worse, he and I finally talked it all out. There was a lot said, but mainly I remember him telling me to not let either of them sway me from what my heart was telling me. Much like your grandmother," he added, looking down at her now with her head on his chest, "he told me to follow my heart. Not in those exact words of course, but similar."
Liz smiled thinking of Grandma Claudia, and how right her words had been. She had known the whole truth, and Liz marveled now at knowing how hard it must have been for her to keep the secret for so very long.
"So your father was okay with your wishes when he died?" she asked, softly rubbing her hand on his chest under the warm blankets.
Max nodded. "I've never trusted Malow any more than I trusted Vilondra. She knew that my sister was sleeping with the enemy. She had to have always known what was coming."
Liz moved back to rest her head again on the pillow by his. "I remember my father saying he believed that she had lost her mind after your father died, because nothing else would explain why she refused to listen to the council's deep concerns for Antar," she said gently. "Everyone knew what Kivar was up to. She refused to see what was happening. I wonder how much of her ignorance was implanted by Lonnie and even Kivar himself?"
"Good question," Max whispered. "Now...enough of the past. It's time for sleep." He lifted her chin towards him and kissed her full on the lips, arousing her to beg back for more. "Liz.." he breathed her name, as he began to respond to the feelings she always pulled from deep inside of him. Several short sharp flashes suddenly sparked his mind. She was in his arms on her balcony... their first kiss; than another they were together riding in his old jeep; and another he was kissing her in the rain on a bridge high above a darkened river and last they were running for their lives as the special unit was chasing them.
"Max, what is it?" Liz saw the look on his face.
"Nothing," he said flustered and shook it off. "Just memories of us… before."
She kissed him again. He held back slightly waiting again for the flashes; but there were no more. His mouth opened then and found hers as eager as his. She broke away long enough to whisper to him, "Do you think it would be sacrilegious for us to...ya know... afterall, it is a monastery.." She joked with him, running her finger teasingly over his bottom lip.
He took her finger between his lips and tasted her. "I'm thinking that the gods would approve."
As their passion grew in the little room the candle flickered it's last flame and died, leaving the room in total darkness. As he caressed her waist pulling and guiding her, he felt his heart would burst. She was everything to him. And he realized at that moment, what he had known all along; he would give up anything and everything to stay by her side, to hold her like this and touch her like this... because she gave him life. She sparked the need in him like nothing in his life had ever done before. They had been one person for so long now and it was the moments like this one that again reminded him.
He whispered tenderly, "I love you, Liz, with everything I am. Know this, for it is the only thing that will ever be true."
The flashes then began again in his mind, as his lips brushed her soft cheek, and his tongue found the small curve of her ear. He saw Liz again as a little girl carefully putting on lipstick and adjusting her hat in the mirror....and again..Liz wearing her cupcake dress..and again...him as a child, stepping off the yellow school bus, not being able to look away from her familiar face as his heart reached out again to her...and the last......they were both in the burned out van after having escaped on foot from Pierce's men, his words came back to him as the last flash hit so hard..whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared walked back and forth in front of the large throne that had sat at the far end of this High Hall for centuries. It was his throne now, he mused to himself, and soon there would be no one who could ever take it from him. He rubbed at his temples, and again couldn't stop himself from worrying over this ailment that seemed to be attacking his body. There were times lately when he’d been experiencing double vision, and there were other times that his powers seemed seriously delayed. Quite possibly, he thought, maybe he had not taken the proper precautions when inspecting the Guardian the last time he had gone to Milinga. He'd have to be more mindful on his next visits, he thought to himself.
He looked around him at the huge expanse of the room. The High Hall had been used only for very special occasions in the past. Coronations of all the past kings of their worlds had taken place here because of the intricate design of the surroundings of the room. It had been in this very room, years ago, that Kivar had taken absolute control; during a much heralded wedding ceremony of the boy prince. Zan, he thought to himself. The name seemed more and more to haunt him now.
Since taking control as King, he had seen to the complete refurbishing of the room back to its former state and majesty. Of course all personal items of antiquity that had once belonged to the dethroned Adian royalty had been long removed; most being destroyed by Kivar's army on that fine and memorable day.
His mind shifted back to the present. He was waiting for his precious Tess to return. She had some serious explaining to do. He had verification now from a handful of his own men that it had indeed been the Commander of the Federalists forces who had participated in the successful removal of the child from his care. Tess had deceived him, of that there could be no doubt now; and a very big part of him had found himself so very disappointed in that knowledge. Technically he had no use for her anymore, he reminded himself. He was certain that the icon and the other child were most certain to be here… within his grasp.
So close, he smiled to himself. "Very stupid move, Zan. You’ve brought them right to me," he said out loud to the empty room. He quickly turned as he heard laughter. Faint, but there just the same. It seemed to be echoing off the walls around him. A look of fear came over his face. Laughter? From where was it coming? his mind questioned. He turned in all directions now, searching; but the mocking sounds were suddenly silent again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John walked back inside, as the others stood still huddled in a small group. "Marshall," Michael began, "I am leaving you and John in charge ‘til morning. Max and Liz's safety will be in your hands." Marshall nodded, understanding the responsibility. "First thing we need you to do is to check out the runner that Malow arrived here in. Chavez is sending up a team from the camp below. They will see to the pilot. Katain checked it out earlier, he is still with his ship. Being a personal assistant to Malow, John doesn't believe that he's dangerous. He is most definitely not to be treated as an enemy soldier. Be sure that those from camp are reminded of this."
"We need you to be certain that the runner is not visible from the air," Larek added. "Keep a close eye on everything around." Again Marshall nodded, this time to Larek. "I will do just that," he replied in response to his commander's order.
"Are we ready?" Larek asked, looking in Katain and Kal's direction.
"Been ready, sir," Katain stated formally.
Larek looked over to Max and Liz. "We will see you back here by first light," he explained with a smile. Liz kissed Larek's cheek, as Max reached for his hand. "It goes without saying... be very careful, my friend," Max said. "At any signs of resistance, get out. We still have four days to find out what we need to know there."
"My sentiments, exactly," Larek exclaimed, as he finished shaking his hand. Michael and Katain had already climbed aboard. Larek followed after them, and Kal approached Max. "Listen up. I know I don't have to tell you this, but keep a close eye on Malow." Max knew what Kal was driving at. "Trust me, I intend to do just that, Kal," he sighed.
"Kitten," Kal turned to Liz and hugged her. "We'll be back before you know it. Everyone just needs to take the next few days to relax. We know what we have to do, no sense in spending a lot of time being anxious over the obvious. We're as ready as we're going to be."
Michael whistled from inside the runner. "Kal, you ready?" Kal nodded to the two standing before him. "Go get some sleep."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kal had asked Larek to pilot, since it had been such a very long time since he had traveled anywhere near to Milinga. Larek now sat at the controls with Michael by his side, Katain and Kal had moved towards the back. "How long until we get there?" Michael asked anxiously, as the ship lifted off the ground.
"So help me Michael if you even dare to ask 'are we there yet'..." Katain joked from the back at feeling the tension in the ship. Most of that tension she was all too aware was presently coming from Larek. Kal started some small talk with her about South America, Bolivia in particular. She started to speak some Spanish just to see if he could keep up with her, after he mentioned that he knew some of the language. He did well for a short time, but then held up his hand. "Alright you lost me back at 'quaint little villages'," Kal laughed.
In the front seat, Larek was unusually quiet. Michael glanced at him from time to time. "I can hear your brain whirling. Gotta clear the air, my friend," he stated simply to him. "It's not gonna help with your concentration, and it's not going to help any one of us either if you don't talk to her."
Larek kept his eyes ahead focusing out into the dark. "I am sensing that immensely at this moment, Rath," he replied in a low voice.
"So was it as difficult as you thought? I mean... all things considered.." Michael couldn't help his curiosity, considering a few of their earlier conversations on the subject of the two women.
Larek slowly broke a smile as his mind flashed back. "It was one of the easiest things I've ever done... once I stopped fighting with myself about it," he admitted.
"Sooo, you and Nicole have an... understanding?" Michael pried a bit farther not being able to stop himself.
Larek sighed, "An understanding? Yes, I guess you could put it that way, though it does sound a bit clinical the way you put it."
Michael fidgeted in his seat. Curiosity was killing him. "Come on, man, spill. What happened? I mean you don't have to go into all the sappy details, but ya gotta give me something here." The two sat quiet for a few minutes. "Larek? Just a crumb..." Michael whispered, again pleading. "I want to be happy for my old friend."
"Well, Rath, you may go right ahead and be happy for me. It would seem that all those words of yours, which once fell on deaf ears long ago, were right after all. And watch that old reference..." he conceded and then warned him, smiling in response. "I told her what I've been feeling, and... she has been feeling the very same way. That is it. I will say nothing else about it." In his mind Larek finished his statement, knowing that he had to talk to Katain. It was only fair and long over due.
Michael nodded at his thought and then grinned. "I can respect that...," he added. He turned in his seat to face the two in the back, offering his seat to her, as Larek frowned. "Katain, switch with me, will you? I have to talk to Kal about things… about Milinga," he lied hastily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max had gone to another portion of the monastery to check on his mother, before leaving her for the night. John was sitting on the front step waiting for Marshall to return from Malow's runner. Two soldiers from camp had already ascended the mountain to take the pilot back down to their camp, despite his objections at not being able to speak to Malow before leaving.
Liz was curled up on the cot in their small chilly room, covered with a few blankets. She sighed, realizing how tired she was. She remembered that she hadn't taken the usual vitamins since leaving the Horizon, she supposed that no one had remembered to bring them along. Well, she thought, that would explain my lack of energy in the last days, not to mention the altitude here.
She listened to the quiet of the building, thinking how strange it was at knowing that the Order was a large brotherhood. There had to be at least thirty monks who called this place home, but yet she rarely heard any of them at all. She looked to the window and thought. Considering all things, she guessed it to be somewhere around one in the morning. Not that time mattered that much; they still hadn't been able to do a good job of keeping Earth time straight since arriving here.
She thought about home. She thought of her father and tried to picture sunset on the little town. More and more now when she would remember Roswell, it seemed to be getting harder and harder to bring it up clearly in her mind. She forced herself to relax and after a short time, she finally was able to clear her thoughts and close her eyes. Sleep, Lizzie, she thought to herself. The next morning would prove to be exciting when she and John trekked down into the catacombs. How could it not be, she asked as she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
The book, it was down there, her mind reminded her as it drifted farther away from consciousness. She was dreaming now. Dreaming that she was standing in a darkened room, much like this one that she shared now with her husband. But it was different, not the same. The air smelled different… cleaner somehow. A kind faced man in brown robes was leaning down and smiling at her. You are certainly a precious child, he was saying. More precious than you may ever know. Come with me, he said. I have something to show only your eyes, my petite one. They walked along a glowing corridor and descended several steps. He turned, taking her hand in his.
She was being led now down a steeper flight of stairs. Do not be afraid, Ava. None of us mean you any harm. The clarity of the dream began fading. The one thing Liz was certain of was that she had not felt frightened at all; on the contrary, she felt deeply loved by this man. The dream faded completely to black now, and she stirred in her sleep. She could only faintly hear his voice in the darkness; his words were unclear to her sleeping mind.
She woke with a start, sitting up in bed sweating profusely in the still chilly room. She was alone, she felt dizzy and out of breath. "M-ax.." she called out softly. And the trembling began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's no sign of anything now at all," Fannel reported back to Evan Prost as he hung up the phone in Evan's office. "Every known area where they’ve opened a wormhole in the past has checked out negative."
"Well maybe we can be thankful for that," Evan muttered. "Let's hope they took themselves on home." The two men both sat for the longest time in an eerie silence.
Fannel finally broke through, "Do you think they ever made it, Evan? I mean, suppose they didn't. We've staked so much on this whole project, maybe too much so..."
Evan walked across the room, turning on the television. The game was now very late in the fourth quarter, and the Redskins were ahead. Absentmindedly, he answered. "All those years of intense research and study, and it all comes down to …a few kids really. I'd like to believe that things are proceeding as planned; but, of course that can only be speculation now."
"We're still watching the Whirlwind galaxy closely. That's our only barometer to the events there," Fannel lit up a cigarette.
"When'd you start that?" Evan asked with surprise, referring to the nicotine stick now in his friend's hand.
"Two minutes after they left," Fannel said with a bit of disgust at himself, as he blew the smoke out into the room. "You?"
"Well, I'm drinking more, if that's any consolation to you," Evan joked with him.
"What do we do now? Should we give a report to headquarters? Tell them what we suspect?" Fannel asked, pretty sure he knew the answer that was coming.
"Gemini doesn't exist anymore, if in fact it ever did, remember? I say we continue to keep a close watch on things. We were caught completely by surprise this time. We can't let that happen again. Next time they could be coming to stay. We can only keep monitoring for that strong magnetic field...and wait." Evan sat down in the chair, as the announcer stated the final score. He looked to the window. It was pouring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katain sat uncomfortably in the co-pilot seat, looking anywhere but at her commanding officer. Larek swallowed hard, sensing what she was feeling. The space between them was thick enough to cut through with a knife. "Just keep an eye on the gauges and let me know should anything change." She nodded but said nothing. "How long have you had this night vision," he asked her, knowing he had to start somewhere.
"Since I was around five, Sir," she replied. "Please don't do that," he asked saddened by the tone of her response. "Do what? You are my superior officer, remember?" She looked away from him.
"It isn't necessary and you know it," he replied. Her face softened and she gave in, knowing full well where the conversation was headed. "Larek, why didn't you just tell me earlier?" she asked with such a heavy sigh. "Why did I need to read it in your head?"
He tried to relax in the chair. "It wasn't something that I had let myself think about when we first left your world. That's unacceptable to you I know. This has been so uncomfortable, and very unfair to you. I've really wanted to talk to you for a while now, but it never seemed the right time. Now I know that there is no right time. I handled everything wrong, and I hope you can forgive me."
"I told you earlier this afternoon that I understood, but I needed to hear the truth in words from you," she said in all honesty.
"I know," he stated strongly. "I owe you so much more than this, and I am truly sorry," he tried to make her understand what he was feeling, but what he knew of her feelings kept getting in the way. He also knew that she was probably inside his head at that very minute.
"Do you truly care for her?" she asked looking directly at him.
There was only one slight beat before his answer. "Yes, I do," he said strongly, looking back into her eyes not wanting to hide the truth anymore for both their sakes.
"Well good, then I really should say congratulations to you," she checked back at the panel before her.
He looked at her quickly now, not knowing how to read what she had said. "No," she answered his thought, "I really do mean that. In my heart I know that it's been too long since you have let yourself truly care for anyone. You've been very unfair to yourself, Larek. Look, what happened between us aboard ship... it was wonderful, and even now I wouldn't change any of what happened between us; but, I haven't been very honest with myself about any of it. If there's any blame, it belongs to each of us equally. Deep inside somewhere I knew that we were both just reaching out to each other all along. But I let my feelings take too much of a hold on me, and that was wrong. I was seeing what wasn't there."
"No, Katain, on that point you are wrong. I was acting on genuine feelings on the ship. I was acting on loneliness; what I was feeling and what I sensed from you." He was no longer sure at this moment that he was making her feel any better, but he could be nothing but honest with her now. "I should have been more careful. I never meant to mislead you, it was all my fault. You are a very special person, and a very beautiful and enticing woman. Plus you're a soldier, and a damn fine one. I gave in to all of those qualities in you. I identified with you whole heartedly."
She nodded and raised her chin slightly. "Look, nothing I say right now...nothing either of us could say right now, is going to make this go away quickly; but it will go away," she emphasized. "You’ve needed to open your heart again. While it wasn't me, I'm glad that it is Nicole. She is very sweet and from what I've seen in the past month, she cares deeply for you."
He reached over and took her hand. "Thank you. I am not sure I deserve that much understanding." After a slight hesitation, she smiled back at him, "I will always be loyal to you, Larek."
He closed his eyes and winced a bit. "You may do me one small favor, Katain, and not say that," he replied quickly, as he furrowed his brow. She stared at him for a second, and then realized what it was that he meant. She thought back on all the years that Larek had walked through his life, and how he had allowed his loyalty for Ava to close him off from his ability to feel for anyone else.
"No," she said to him, "I will remember not to do that," she squeezed his hand and smiled back at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max came quietly into the room, noticing that the lone candle on the dresser was just about to burn itself out. He took his jacket and shirt off, and then sat down extra carefully on the double cot, not wanting to wake her. As he unlaced his boots, he couldn't keep the conversation with his mother out of his head.
Standing to unbuckle his belt and unzip his fatigues, he looked down at the face lying beside him. God how he loved her, he thought. Nothing Malow could say would ever change anything now. In the past she had never accepted his love for Ava. She had always been a manipulating and selfish woman all those years ago. So many things had now rushed back to him with seeing her again. Things that he now knew he had never wanted to remember.
"Max?" Liz asked sleepily, propping the pillow up a bit behind her head.
"I'm sorry, babe, did I wake you?" he asked. "I was trying to be quiet, but every slab of wooden flooring in this place squeaks so damn loud."
"It's okay," she answered with a sleepy smile. "I think I fell off for a little while." She stifled a yawn. "How's your mother?" she asked with true concern in her voice.
He climbed into bed quickly sharing the blanket as the cold dampness hit his bones. He shivered. "She's the same as always," he said quietly. "She's coherent one minute and completely out there the next. It's as if I've never left here. She still thinks of me as she did... before."
Liz wet her lips, thinking of the right thing to say. "I know how hard this is for you, Max. And I know that this isn't what we expected to be dealing with… especially now; but I think you just have to overlook a lot of what she says."
He looked at her as he slid his arm between the pillow and her head. She snuggled closer into the crook of his arm. "I just get furious with her so easily. I'm trying… I'm really trying to take everything into consideration, but there's a few things that..." He let the sentence hang as he pulled her over closer onto his body.
"Like what?" she asked, making herself comfortable. "You don't have to hide anything from me, Max. I've known since the beginning that your father and mother have no love lost for me."
He kissed her forehead, feeling the warmth there. His mind switched gears quickly. "Do you have a fever? You feel a little warm."
Liz raised her eyebrows in question. "I don't think so, I don't feel like I do," she said curiously feeling her own forehead. She switched the subject back again, "Getting back to Malow..."
There was a huge sigh from Max, as his fingers traced soft small circles on her lower back. "It wasn't as much my father as it always was my mother. She and Vilondra did their very best to keep us apart for so long. When my father's health grew worse, he and I finally talked it all out. There was a lot said, but mainly I remember him telling me to not let either of them sway me from what my heart was telling me. Much like your grandmother," he added, looking down at her now with her head on his chest, "he told me to follow my heart. Not in those exact words of course, but similar."
Liz smiled thinking of Grandma Claudia, and how right her words had been. She had known the whole truth, and Liz marveled now at knowing how hard it must have been for her to keep the secret for so very long.
"So your father was okay with your wishes when he died?" she asked, softly rubbing her hand on his chest under the warm blankets.
Max nodded. "I've never trusted Malow any more than I trusted Vilondra. She knew that my sister was sleeping with the enemy. She had to have always known what was coming."
Liz moved back to rest her head again on the pillow by his. "I remember my father saying he believed that she had lost her mind after your father died, because nothing else would explain why she refused to listen to the council's deep concerns for Antar," she said gently. "Everyone knew what Kivar was up to. She refused to see what was happening. I wonder how much of her ignorance was implanted by Lonnie and even Kivar himself?"
"Good question," Max whispered. "Now...enough of the past. It's time for sleep." He lifted her chin towards him and kissed her full on the lips, arousing her to beg back for more. "Liz.." he breathed her name, as he began to respond to the feelings she always pulled from deep inside of him. Several short sharp flashes suddenly sparked his mind. She was in his arms on her balcony... their first kiss; than another they were together riding in his old jeep; and another he was kissing her in the rain on a bridge high above a darkened river and last they were running for their lives as the special unit was chasing them.
"Max, what is it?" Liz saw the look on his face.
"Nothing," he said flustered and shook it off. "Just memories of us… before."
She kissed him again. He held back slightly waiting again for the flashes; but there were no more. His mouth opened then and found hers as eager as his. She broke away long enough to whisper to him, "Do you think it would be sacrilegious for us to...ya know... afterall, it is a monastery.." She joked with him, running her finger teasingly over his bottom lip.
He took her finger between his lips and tasted her. "I'm thinking that the gods would approve."
As their passion grew in the little room the candle flickered it's last flame and died, leaving the room in total darkness. As he caressed her waist pulling and guiding her, he felt his heart would burst. She was everything to him. And he realized at that moment, what he had known all along; he would give up anything and everything to stay by her side, to hold her like this and touch her like this... because she gave him life. She sparked the need in him like nothing in his life had ever done before. They had been one person for so long now and it was the moments like this one that again reminded him.
He whispered tenderly, "I love you, Liz, with everything I am. Know this, for it is the only thing that will ever be true."
The flashes then began again in his mind, as his lips brushed her soft cheek, and his tongue found the small curve of her ear. He saw Liz again as a little girl carefully putting on lipstick and adjusting her hat in the mirror....and again..Liz wearing her cupcake dress..and again...him as a child, stepping off the yellow school bus, not being able to look away from her familiar face as his heart reached out again to her...and the last......they were both in the burned out van after having escaped on foot from Pierce's men, his words came back to him as the last flash hit so hard..whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same....
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CHAPTER NINETEEN
Everyone was trying their best to settle back in at the Federalist camp. Serena and Maria were organizing things, doing their best to take care of everyone's needs. "I'm worried about Angelique. I'm not sure this is going to work out here." Serena confided to both Maria and Ava. The snows had long stopped, but with the temperature rising a bit, the entire camp was now damp and muddy. "It's still pretty cold," Maria agreed with a shiver. "It's a very different kind of cold." The large tent was shelter from the wind, but didn't do much to fend off the cold chill.
Ava looked concerned as well. "She's insisting that she's alright, but she was coughing so much on the way in," Ava added, pulling her own military issue jacket tighter around her neck. "Michel says that things are changing here now. It's a bit late in arriving, but I get the idea that spring is just around the corner."
Maria frowned, "Well I guess that's good news, all things considered."
Michel's voice was heard just outside the tent. "Serena? Can I have a word with you?" Serena pulled a knit cap from her jacket pocket and nodded to Maria as she unzipped the flap on the tent. "Marcel and I were discussing the possibility of taking you all down to Justice or back to the familiarity of the Horizon. Just temporarily," he added in a strong accent. "The housing there would be much more comfortable for ..all of you," he explained. He also was aware of the accommodations not proving fit for the older members of their party.
"We were just talking of that too, Michel. Maybe in the morning, if that's not too much trouble. I just agree that while all of you here are quite used to this...Angelique, Raymond and the children probably could do with something a bit...dryer." He smiled at her knowingly. "Morning it is then, my lady," he nodded to her. "Meanwhile, if there's anything else that you should need, please do not hesitate to let me know."
As Serena reentered the large tent, she again heard Angelique coughing in her sleep. Ava pulled the blanket up snug around her and layed on the mattress next to her grandmother. With eyes closed she listened to the bustle of the camp outside. Even at this time of the early morning hours, there were many up and around. She imagined that the activity here was twenty-four/seven. She looked over at Angelique, wishing the woman could stop coughing long enough to get some much needed rest. She was very worried about her.
Turning over to face the canvas wall behind her, she felt a slight ringing in her ears, and a flash appeared just before she fell off to sleep. It was a flash of her grandmother's statue, the one of Ava, Princess of Adia, raising her fist in defiance to the evil in these worlds. Evil be damned, her consciousness thought as her beliefs were once again strengthened, just before the sounds of camp disappeared. Ava Landau smiled to herself and the peace of sleep enveloped her in safety.
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A second tent not far from the first held Nicole, Sierra, Emily and Jessie. Maria had promised Nicole that she'd be returning there for the night as soon as the others were settled in. The little ones were fast asleep when Maria finally entered her shelter for the night. Serena came with her to check on things. "Are they okay?" Nicole asked with worry.
"Mother Angie is having some breathing problems. We've been thinking of going back to the ship, either that, or to Justice," Maria answered to both Nicole and Jessie's concerned looks. Nicole nodded, "I guess it's unanimous then. Jessie and I were just saying how much easier this would be for them for the next four days if we could return to the ship." Maria looked at Jessie, who was now laying with her eyes closed. "You okay, Jessie?"
The girl nodded. "Just thinking about the others. I wish I could have stayed there with them. I feel like I belong with them. No offense, Maria; but I'm a Duncan and I've been brought up to believe that this is the destiny of my heritage," she paused. "..And I miss Jonathan," she added, as if the others hadn't already surmised it.
"I know it must be hard for you Jess, being away from your sister and brother right now," Maria felt so bad for her. She was so much younger than her years, and at this moment she looked like a child laying there. "But soon things will be okay again. The fates would not have brought us all together for this journey if they didn't intend on it ending well," Maria stated, even though she herself knew how difficult it was for her to hang onto the hope they all needed.
Jessie laughed nervously, as her voice shook from lack of sleep. "The fates? The fates?" she repeated again. "Would that be the same fates that landed the Duncans and Landaus on earth two hundred years earlier than necessary, and the same fates that insisted on throwing everything possible in Max and Liz's way for all those wasted years? The same fates that killed Ava's son? These are the fates that we are counting on to save us?"
No one knew exactly how to respond. Serena went to her side. "Jessie, we can't really say that that was fate that brought your family to our world in the 1800's. More like total miscalculations with the granolith. Totally human...or alien..error," Serena explained, trying to calm her down. "Fate sometimes works in very mysterious ways."
"Serena, let me remind you that our people came from a future time...just years from now, in fact. Which in my book means that no one then obviously had figured anything out as far the icon time travel was considered."
Serena hung her head, feeling the young girl's pain and fear. "When all this happened before, we had not made this journey. They didn't have Emily or Sierra to make their calculations in coming back in time. That's what Coby and I have been trying so hard to solve now."
"What's stopping everything from re happening again, exactly the way it did before?" Jessie's eyes pleaded for an answer she could hang onto. Serena took her hands in hers. "We are," she whispered low. "Jared needs to be confronted..he needs to be beaten before history repeats itself..icon or no icon."
"Getting back to the subject we can actually do something about right now..." Maria interrupted, thinking it best to leave unanswerable questions alone.
"Yes, I agree," Nicole added. "..I think it's wise for us to return to the Horizon. There's medicine on board that may help Angelique. And as far as missing our men...we are doing the only thing we can do at the moment. We have left them with our love," Nicole tried her best to get through to Jessie, but was feeling every bit the same pangs of separation from the entire group. She bit on her lip, "We all miss being with them." Serena said goodnight and headed back to the others in her tent.
Maria caught Nicole's eye, as she helped Jessie to cover up tightly with an already damp blanket.. "Listen, ladies if there's anything that Maria DeLuca knows it's that JB, Jonathan, Larek and Michael are very capable of taking very good care of themselves." She looked each of the women in the eye, then her glance fell to the floor. "I know it doesn't stop us from missing them, but it is something for us all to hang on to right now."
"I think the Horizon will do wonders for our morale," Nicole forced a smile. "It's home to us...or it has been during the last months of our lives. It's the perfect place to wait for news. Once Jared is dealt with, they'll all join us there to make the decisions that will have to be made." She smiled as she finished, knowing that the journey had well been started but there were miles and miles to go. Four days seemed an eternity.
For the next half hour things were very quiet in their tent. "Let's get some sleep. Michel is sending someone first thing in the morning," Maria finally suggested, taking off her boots and rubbing at her frozen feet. "I'm so glad I'm not a Federalist soldier. I could never take this abuse," she said with a smack to a numbing foot. Nicole looked over at her without a response. "Speaking of Federalist soldiers...," Maria chided her. "What news do you have for me, Nic? I could use some good old fashioned girl talk about now. ..although we'll have to do it without the usual ice cream." Nicole blushed with a smile, then peeked over at Jessie. The young girl was now fast asleep next to the cot shared by Em and Sierra.
"Wh-hat?" Nicole tried hard to stop the grin that was increasingly spreading over her face. Maria laughed covering her mouth. "Tell me, tell me.."
Nicole walked over and huddled with Maria on her cot. "I feel like a school girl," she whispered, constantly checking to be sure Jessie was still asleep. The last thing she wanted was for any of what she was about to say to be heard by Katain's sister. "Sooo," Maria giggled. "Did you two...ya know, do the deed or what?"
"No that isn't what we did at all," Nicole sighed and Maria saw a glow come over her face. "You didn't??" Maria asked quickly with sincere disappointment.
"What we did had nothing at all to do with, as you put it...the deed. This was something..." she sighed again, blushing this time. Maria then grinned, "Ahh yes, my sister, I understand completely. There are no words to properly define the experience."
"Maria, I've had the complete heavenly experience of having two wonderful and amazing children. Childbirth is so incredible all in itself." She smiled the most beautiful of smiles. "But tonight? Tonight was truly the most wonderful night of my life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four shadows moved quietly through the underbrush, climbing steadily uphill. As they reached the crest, one by one they peered over the edge and down below. The slope of a small mountain was to their right, and the faint glow of Milinga layed to the far left. Katain and Larek layed side by side on their stomachs. Kal and Michael were coming up cautiously from behind, as Larek signaled for them to hang back. "I didn't know Milinga was such a large city," Katain whispered.
"How many?" Larek asked in a hush, motioning down below. Katain raised herself up a bit and changed her angle to look down at the base of the mountain directly below them. "ahh, seven..eight, standing outside the cavern entrance," she answered.
"Armed?" he asked. She moved up a few feet. "Completely. Looks like AK47 style. Lord knows what they are."
Larek explained quickly. "More lethal. You could say they're like your flame throwers. It's nothing I didn't expect. But there's got to be more guards inside," he remarked somewhat confused at the lack of security. "Maybe the weapon isn't here at all," Katain suggested, looking over at him and frowning. Larek shook his head. "No..this is the place. My men have run several small reconnaissance trips in. The other cavern, thirty miles from here, proved to be only a mining cavern. The mineral needed to run this thing comes from there."
Michael double checked the stock and barrel of the weapon slung from his shoulder and asked Kal, "When was the last time you partied in Milinga, Kal?" The protector could only raise his eyebrows and smile. "It's been a while, Rath. The memories are haunting me at the moment." A guttural laugh came back at him, "I'll bet," Michael snorted.
Larek sat up facing the three. "Rath, you. me," he motioned to the right. "You two to the left. Keep low. Remember why we are here. We're just having a look see," he grinned in the dark. The four started out. Katain led the way down to the left and Kal followed. Larek stood up, positioning his rifle over his shoulder, "Let's check things out, my boy." Michael followed him down to the right.
About half way down the steep embankment, Katain again fell closer to the ground. "Five more.." she said, looking at Kal. "That's thirteen." Kal shook his head annoyed, "I hate unlucky numbers." He tapped her on the back and they again began their downward journey.
The path Larek chose was steeper, and Michael at one point lost his footing, sending down several boulders and lose dirt tumbling down to the floor of the mountain. Freezing where they stood, they waited. There was no response on the ground. As they got closer, several of the soldiers were engrossed in conversation. Several others appeared to be sitting on the ground, sleeping. A few bonfires threw limited light around the entrance. Standing in the shadows, all four were now close enough, on either side, to hear bits and pieces of the enemy's conversations. Katain watched closely in the dark for a sign from Larek who was about seventy feet from where she and Kal were now standing, crouching down out of sight.
Stay where you are, Larek sent a message out to Katain. "He wants us to stay here," Kal explained. "I know, I heard him," she whispered back to him, and Kal smiled. "Of course you did," he muttered to himself. "Why wouldn't you?" The two of them leaned back behind the shelter of several large boulders by the cavern entrance.
"Do you hear that?" Katain said after a few minutes had passed. She turned her head as she listened. Kal looked in the direction of an ominous humming noise, and nodded his head. She then watched as both Michael and Larek moved like cats in the shadows, coming within mere feet of several of the soldiers whose backs were to their direction. Both of them were now out of sight of the other two. Katain closed her eyes, trying to get a feel for what she could not now see. "I don't like this. We need to be down a bit farther." Kal put his hand on her arm, as she began to move closer. "No. He said wait here. He knows what he's doing. If he needs us, we'll know it."
Larek led the way toward the entrance. Okay, Lan. Seems we are going to need your expertise if we're not to be discovered here, his thought went out to Kal. Neither of us can see well enough inside. There's a half a dozen more guards just inside the entrance. I need our own Eosian guard down here.
Kal sighed as Katain looked in his direction. A few seconds later a bright flash lit up the area around him momentarily; and when it faded, Katain looked at him and smiled. "Perfect," she whispered at the grotesque man by her side. They both made their way closer to the entrance, as a few of the men turned to question the flash of bright light that had just appeared to their right.
Kal, taking large strides, slowly but obviously walked out of the shadows and down to stand just beside the bonfire. The soldiers looked in his direction, then at seeing a familiar face they each returned to their private conversations. That was way too easy, Kal thought to his team. Larek answered him in thought. Now is not the time to get cocky, my friend.
Kal now stood directly in the entrance with a clear view inside the cavern. Mother of God he whispered. Inside his gaze had fallen on a very large cylindrical object, he guessed to be at least thirty feet high and six to eight feet in diameter. A row of neon type lights flashed effervescently around its base.
Now that's one hell of a freak'n bomb, he thought out to the others. Larek answered his thought, Lan, get as close as you can...but not too close, and remember everything you see. Kal caught Katain's thought, Whatever you do, don't touch the damn thing.
Kal watched closely as several men gathered around a small crate now laying at it's base. The crate was filled with what appeared to him from his distance to be straw of some kind. At closer look, a small green bottle was nestled snuggly within the crate. Time to go home now Kal said musingly, at seeing the fuel rod.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz opened her eyes before the first rays of sun were visible outside the small window by their bed. She slowly and carefully turned so as not to wake him, and then smiled at the peaceful look on his face as he slept beside her. Carefully she touched at the small wisps of hair hanging over his eyes. He moved only slightly in his sleep as his hand dreamily found hers. Do you have any idea how much I love you, she thought, and then sighed. There were three days left. What was to happen in three days? She felt a sob rising in her chest, as scenarios played out in her mind.
Please Lord, let us have a chance this time. Let us now finish what has begun. Her thoughts came quickly now and her breathing quickened.... I want to grow old with him...I want to always feel his touch. Please don't let anyone take that away from us again. She choked back the lump in her throat. She tried to find and hold on to her strength. She had to hold on to her hope. One day things will be better..the way it was meant to be. You have already given us so many miracles.
Her lower lip quivered now, as her eyes filled with tears and darted the room at the overwhelming task that lay ahead of them. So many miracles already, she thought again as she quietly sobbed, brushing the tears with the back of her hand. Please Lord, keep him safe, she laid her other hand onto his chest softly feeling the rise and fall of his breathing. And keep our child safe.
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Everyone was trying their best to settle back in at the Federalist camp. Serena and Maria were organizing things, doing their best to take care of everyone's needs. "I'm worried about Angelique. I'm not sure this is going to work out here." Serena confided to both Maria and Ava. The snows had long stopped, but with the temperature rising a bit, the entire camp was now damp and muddy. "It's still pretty cold," Maria agreed with a shiver. "It's a very different kind of cold." The large tent was shelter from the wind, but didn't do much to fend off the cold chill.
Ava looked concerned as well. "She's insisting that she's alright, but she was coughing so much on the way in," Ava added, pulling her own military issue jacket tighter around her neck. "Michel says that things are changing here now. It's a bit late in arriving, but I get the idea that spring is just around the corner."
Maria frowned, "Well I guess that's good news, all things considered."
Michel's voice was heard just outside the tent. "Serena? Can I have a word with you?" Serena pulled a knit cap from her jacket pocket and nodded to Maria as she unzipped the flap on the tent. "Marcel and I were discussing the possibility of taking you all down to Justice or back to the familiarity of the Horizon. Just temporarily," he added in a strong accent. "The housing there would be much more comfortable for ..all of you," he explained. He also was aware of the accommodations not proving fit for the older members of their party.
"We were just talking of that too, Michel. Maybe in the morning, if that's not too much trouble. I just agree that while all of you here are quite used to this...Angelique, Raymond and the children probably could do with something a bit...dryer." He smiled at her knowingly. "Morning it is then, my lady," he nodded to her. "Meanwhile, if there's anything else that you should need, please do not hesitate to let me know."
As Serena reentered the large tent, she again heard Angelique coughing in her sleep. Ava pulled the blanket up snug around her and layed on the mattress next to her grandmother. With eyes closed she listened to the bustle of the camp outside. Even at this time of the early morning hours, there were many up and around. She imagined that the activity here was twenty-four/seven. She looked over at Angelique, wishing the woman could stop coughing long enough to get some much needed rest. She was very worried about her.
Turning over to face the canvas wall behind her, she felt a slight ringing in her ears, and a flash appeared just before she fell off to sleep. It was a flash of her grandmother's statue, the one of Ava, Princess of Adia, raising her fist in defiance to the evil in these worlds. Evil be damned, her consciousness thought as her beliefs were once again strengthened, just before the sounds of camp disappeared. Ava Landau smiled to herself and the peace of sleep enveloped her in safety.
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A second tent not far from the first held Nicole, Sierra, Emily and Jessie. Maria had promised Nicole that she'd be returning there for the night as soon as the others were settled in. The little ones were fast asleep when Maria finally entered her shelter for the night. Serena came with her to check on things. "Are they okay?" Nicole asked with worry.
"Mother Angie is having some breathing problems. We've been thinking of going back to the ship, either that, or to Justice," Maria answered to both Nicole and Jessie's concerned looks. Nicole nodded, "I guess it's unanimous then. Jessie and I were just saying how much easier this would be for them for the next four days if we could return to the ship." Maria looked at Jessie, who was now laying with her eyes closed. "You okay, Jessie?"
The girl nodded. "Just thinking about the others. I wish I could have stayed there with them. I feel like I belong with them. No offense, Maria; but I'm a Duncan and I've been brought up to believe that this is the destiny of my heritage," she paused. "..And I miss Jonathan," she added, as if the others hadn't already surmised it.
"I know it must be hard for you Jess, being away from your sister and brother right now," Maria felt so bad for her. She was so much younger than her years, and at this moment she looked like a child laying there. "But soon things will be okay again. The fates would not have brought us all together for this journey if they didn't intend on it ending well," Maria stated, even though she herself knew how difficult it was for her to hang onto the hope they all needed.
Jessie laughed nervously, as her voice shook from lack of sleep. "The fates? The fates?" she repeated again. "Would that be the same fates that landed the Duncans and Landaus on earth two hundred years earlier than necessary, and the same fates that insisted on throwing everything possible in Max and Liz's way for all those wasted years? The same fates that killed Ava's son? These are the fates that we are counting on to save us?"
No one knew exactly how to respond. Serena went to her side. "Jessie, we can't really say that that was fate that brought your family to our world in the 1800's. More like total miscalculations with the granolith. Totally human...or alien..error," Serena explained, trying to calm her down. "Fate sometimes works in very mysterious ways."
"Serena, let me remind you that our people came from a future time...just years from now, in fact. Which in my book means that no one then obviously had figured anything out as far the icon time travel was considered."
Serena hung her head, feeling the young girl's pain and fear. "When all this happened before, we had not made this journey. They didn't have Emily or Sierra to make their calculations in coming back in time. That's what Coby and I have been trying so hard to solve now."
"What's stopping everything from re happening again, exactly the way it did before?" Jessie's eyes pleaded for an answer she could hang onto. Serena took her hands in hers. "We are," she whispered low. "Jared needs to be confronted..he needs to be beaten before history repeats itself..icon or no icon."
"Getting back to the subject we can actually do something about right now..." Maria interrupted, thinking it best to leave unanswerable questions alone.
"Yes, I agree," Nicole added. "..I think it's wise for us to return to the Horizon. There's medicine on board that may help Angelique. And as far as missing our men...we are doing the only thing we can do at the moment. We have left them with our love," Nicole tried her best to get through to Jessie, but was feeling every bit the same pangs of separation from the entire group. She bit on her lip, "We all miss being with them." Serena said goodnight and headed back to the others in her tent.
Maria caught Nicole's eye, as she helped Jessie to cover up tightly with an already damp blanket.. "Listen, ladies if there's anything that Maria DeLuca knows it's that JB, Jonathan, Larek and Michael are very capable of taking very good care of themselves." She looked each of the women in the eye, then her glance fell to the floor. "I know it doesn't stop us from missing them, but it is something for us all to hang on to right now."
"I think the Horizon will do wonders for our morale," Nicole forced a smile. "It's home to us...or it has been during the last months of our lives. It's the perfect place to wait for news. Once Jared is dealt with, they'll all join us there to make the decisions that will have to be made." She smiled as she finished, knowing that the journey had well been started but there were miles and miles to go. Four days seemed an eternity.
For the next half hour things were very quiet in their tent. "Let's get some sleep. Michel is sending someone first thing in the morning," Maria finally suggested, taking off her boots and rubbing at her frozen feet. "I'm so glad I'm not a Federalist soldier. I could never take this abuse," she said with a smack to a numbing foot. Nicole looked over at her without a response. "Speaking of Federalist soldiers...," Maria chided her. "What news do you have for me, Nic? I could use some good old fashioned girl talk about now. ..although we'll have to do it without the usual ice cream." Nicole blushed with a smile, then peeked over at Jessie. The young girl was now fast asleep next to the cot shared by Em and Sierra.
"Wh-hat?" Nicole tried hard to stop the grin that was increasingly spreading over her face. Maria laughed covering her mouth. "Tell me, tell me.."
Nicole walked over and huddled with Maria on her cot. "I feel like a school girl," she whispered, constantly checking to be sure Jessie was still asleep. The last thing she wanted was for any of what she was about to say to be heard by Katain's sister. "Sooo," Maria giggled. "Did you two...ya know, do the deed or what?"
"No that isn't what we did at all," Nicole sighed and Maria saw a glow come over her face. "You didn't??" Maria asked quickly with sincere disappointment.
"What we did had nothing at all to do with, as you put it...the deed. This was something..." she sighed again, blushing this time. Maria then grinned, "Ahh yes, my sister, I understand completely. There are no words to properly define the experience."
"Maria, I've had the complete heavenly experience of having two wonderful and amazing children. Childbirth is so incredible all in itself." She smiled the most beautiful of smiles. "But tonight? Tonight was truly the most wonderful night of my life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four shadows moved quietly through the underbrush, climbing steadily uphill. As they reached the crest, one by one they peered over the edge and down below. The slope of a small mountain was to their right, and the faint glow of Milinga layed to the far left. Katain and Larek layed side by side on their stomachs. Kal and Michael were coming up cautiously from behind, as Larek signaled for them to hang back. "I didn't know Milinga was such a large city," Katain whispered.
"How many?" Larek asked in a hush, motioning down below. Katain raised herself up a bit and changed her angle to look down at the base of the mountain directly below them. "ahh, seven..eight, standing outside the cavern entrance," she answered.
"Armed?" he asked. She moved up a few feet. "Completely. Looks like AK47 style. Lord knows what they are."
Larek explained quickly. "More lethal. You could say they're like your flame throwers. It's nothing I didn't expect. But there's got to be more guards inside," he remarked somewhat confused at the lack of security. "Maybe the weapon isn't here at all," Katain suggested, looking over at him and frowning. Larek shook his head. "No..this is the place. My men have run several small reconnaissance trips in. The other cavern, thirty miles from here, proved to be only a mining cavern. The mineral needed to run this thing comes from there."
Michael double checked the stock and barrel of the weapon slung from his shoulder and asked Kal, "When was the last time you partied in Milinga, Kal?" The protector could only raise his eyebrows and smile. "It's been a while, Rath. The memories are haunting me at the moment." A guttural laugh came back at him, "I'll bet," Michael snorted.
Larek sat up facing the three. "Rath, you. me," he motioned to the right. "You two to the left. Keep low. Remember why we are here. We're just having a look see," he grinned in the dark. The four started out. Katain led the way down to the left and Kal followed. Larek stood up, positioning his rifle over his shoulder, "Let's check things out, my boy." Michael followed him down to the right.
About half way down the steep embankment, Katain again fell closer to the ground. "Five more.." she said, looking at Kal. "That's thirteen." Kal shook his head annoyed, "I hate unlucky numbers." He tapped her on the back and they again began their downward journey.
The path Larek chose was steeper, and Michael at one point lost his footing, sending down several boulders and lose dirt tumbling down to the floor of the mountain. Freezing where they stood, they waited. There was no response on the ground. As they got closer, several of the soldiers were engrossed in conversation. Several others appeared to be sitting on the ground, sleeping. A few bonfires threw limited light around the entrance. Standing in the shadows, all four were now close enough, on either side, to hear bits and pieces of the enemy's conversations. Katain watched closely in the dark for a sign from Larek who was about seventy feet from where she and Kal were now standing, crouching down out of sight.
Stay where you are, Larek sent a message out to Katain. "He wants us to stay here," Kal explained. "I know, I heard him," she whispered back to him, and Kal smiled. "Of course you did," he muttered to himself. "Why wouldn't you?" The two of them leaned back behind the shelter of several large boulders by the cavern entrance.
"Do you hear that?" Katain said after a few minutes had passed. She turned her head as she listened. Kal looked in the direction of an ominous humming noise, and nodded his head. She then watched as both Michael and Larek moved like cats in the shadows, coming within mere feet of several of the soldiers whose backs were to their direction. Both of them were now out of sight of the other two. Katain closed her eyes, trying to get a feel for what she could not now see. "I don't like this. We need to be down a bit farther." Kal put his hand on her arm, as she began to move closer. "No. He said wait here. He knows what he's doing. If he needs us, we'll know it."
Larek led the way toward the entrance. Okay, Lan. Seems we are going to need your expertise if we're not to be discovered here, his thought went out to Kal. Neither of us can see well enough inside. There's a half a dozen more guards just inside the entrance. I need our own Eosian guard down here.
Kal sighed as Katain looked in his direction. A few seconds later a bright flash lit up the area around him momentarily; and when it faded, Katain looked at him and smiled. "Perfect," she whispered at the grotesque man by her side. They both made their way closer to the entrance, as a few of the men turned to question the flash of bright light that had just appeared to their right.
Kal, taking large strides, slowly but obviously walked out of the shadows and down to stand just beside the bonfire. The soldiers looked in his direction, then at seeing a familiar face they each returned to their private conversations. That was way too easy, Kal thought to his team. Larek answered him in thought. Now is not the time to get cocky, my friend.
Kal now stood directly in the entrance with a clear view inside the cavern. Mother of God he whispered. Inside his gaze had fallen on a very large cylindrical object, he guessed to be at least thirty feet high and six to eight feet in diameter. A row of neon type lights flashed effervescently around its base.
Now that's one hell of a freak'n bomb, he thought out to the others. Larek answered his thought, Lan, get as close as you can...but not too close, and remember everything you see. Kal caught Katain's thought, Whatever you do, don't touch the damn thing.
Kal watched closely as several men gathered around a small crate now laying at it's base. The crate was filled with what appeared to him from his distance to be straw of some kind. At closer look, a small green bottle was nestled snuggly within the crate. Time to go home now Kal said musingly, at seeing the fuel rod.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz opened her eyes before the first rays of sun were visible outside the small window by their bed. She slowly and carefully turned so as not to wake him, and then smiled at the peaceful look on his face as he slept beside her. Carefully she touched at the small wisps of hair hanging over his eyes. He moved only slightly in his sleep as his hand dreamily found hers. Do you have any idea how much I love you, she thought, and then sighed. There were three days left. What was to happen in three days? She felt a sob rising in her chest, as scenarios played out in her mind.
Please Lord, let us have a chance this time. Let us now finish what has begun. Her thoughts came quickly now and her breathing quickened.... I want to grow old with him...I want to always feel his touch. Please don't let anyone take that away from us again. She choked back the lump in her throat. She tried to find and hold on to her strength. She had to hold on to her hope. One day things will be better..the way it was meant to be. You have already given us so many miracles.
Her lower lip quivered now, as her eyes filled with tears and darted the room at the overwhelming task that lay ahead of them. So many miracles already, she thought again as she quietly sobbed, brushing the tears with the back of her hand. Please Lord, keep him safe, she laid her other hand onto his chest softly feeling the rise and fall of his breathing. And keep our child safe.
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