Splinters of Immortality by Ion Light - HTML preview

Chapter 21

H sat down next to the wall. C sat with him.

“You okay?” she asked.

      “Yeah, just catching my breath,” H said.

      Nurse Tarkington came to him. Scanned him, suddenly had a hypospray in her hand out of nowhere, administered the relief, and then continued to aid others. He breathed easier.

      “I guess I still have a mile or two to go,” H said.

      “Maybe they’ll let us keep the Fermata?” C said.

      H laughed. “They can have it. I just want to go home with you.”       “So you don’t miss this?” C asked.

      “No,” H said. “Yes. It’s complicated. My life has been so full. I am happy.”

      C hugged him.

♫♪►

Sluss found Dusit outside, leaning on the rail, looking down at the Martian cities. Movement could be discerned as people moved. Dinosaurs could be discerned easier than the people.

      “So, where do we go from here?” Dusit asked.

      “I go back to Orlandoria,” Sluss said.

      “And me?”

      “You are favored. You can return. Or, you can remain here. Human been granted a presence here, and so they will need someone to establish and run the embassy. Apparently, not being a direct telepath has advantages. You are favored and would have staying power,” Sluss said.

      Watanabe alerted them to his presence. “Forgive me,” Watanabe said. “May I interrupt?”       “Sure,” Dusit said.

      “I have been offered an opportunity to train has a Vrillian Knight,” Watanabe said. “May I request a leave of absence?”

      “What, Master Ninja isn’t enough?” Sluss asked.

      “Being a Ninja is grade school compared to Vrillian Knighthood,” Watanabe said.

      “Star Force would approve,” Dusit said.

      “I know,” Sluss said. “Go ahead. Report back to me when you’re done.”       “This could take a while,” Watanabe said.

      “I am not going anywhere,” Sluss said.

      Watanabe saluted, pivoted on his feet. Sluss lingered, then started to leave.

      “I’d like to return to Orlandoria,” Dusit said. “I’ve still too much to learn.”       “Okay,” Sluss said, and turned to walk away.

      “You sure?”

“What? You want a red carpet?” Sluss asked. “Formal invitation with a raise to return to your post?”

“No,” Dusit said, turning back to the view.

“Dusit,” Sluss said. “I want you there.”

“Okay,” Dusit said.

      Sluss walked back into the temple.

♫♪►

One of the Emily’s came out of the circle. The other sat down, taking up a meditative pose, crisscross applesauce. Emily came to Orish and Bliss.

      “She is triple locked. She is stuck in a reality frame with Preston,” Emily said. “In addition, this temple and all those who come here will add security that she remain in the captured reality frame. And as an extra precaution, Lilith and I remain locked in this vessel. We will live as passengers of this vehicle for a very long time. I require the two of you to ensure my memory is appropriately wiped and that my life line be uninterrupted on Earth. I must be there, till the end.”

      “Thank you for your sacrifice,” Orish said.

      Emily shrugged, looking back at the shrine. “As long as she is with me, I am also with them.” She had a realization and turned look in the direction of a Vril Sister. She smiled. She looked at the statue of Preston, embraced by a gorgon. Snake coils around his legs, three sets of arms gripping him, and even wings coming about as if to protect a jewel. Preston held one arm up, holding the hilt to a Soul Sword. With the right eyes, she imagined the sword radiating magnetic lines of royal purple, holding the two in a Sphere of Destiny.

“Emily,” Bliss said. “I get the sense you and the Waycaster were close. I am sorry for your loss.”

      Emily touched Bliss. “Oh, this affair is not over He has debts yet to pay. We’ll see him again.”

“If you don’t mind, I am exhausted. I’d like to return to the Milano and take a nap,” Emily said.

      “You want an escort?” Orish asked.

      “No, I’d like to walk alone,” Emily said. She laughed. “Or whatever that means.”

      “Go ahead. I am sure we’ll all be down in a bit,” Bliss said.

♫♪►

      

The war room was thrice tiered, with command on the upper most alcove. Below, angels handling operative at stations. Each station in itself was an island of monitors. Though each island was in earshot of the ones around them, each island was peaceful, no noise leaking out to the other stations. Assets were watched, some angels tracking more than one. The second floor were the ‘illuminated ones.’ The angels on the first floor who were handling hot assets were holographically mirrored on the second tier, allowing commanders to better track these while also tracking assets and data of their own.

      Tiller James were at the forefront. John was there. So was Samuel.

      “Are you tracking this?!” Tiller said.

“Oh, yeah. Never ceases to amaze me we can track things live regardless of where and when,” James said.

“Did we puny humans just save the universe once again?” Tiller bragged more than asked.

      “That’s not how I interpreted this event,” James said.

      “Seriously? You didn’t just see us kick some gargoyle ass…”

      “I don’t know what just happened, but I suspect we’ve been played,” James said.

      “You always suspect the worse,” Samuel said.       “With all due respect, General,” James began.

“Oh, just hold your horses,” Samuel said. “You’re not even back 24 hours and your back on your high horse…”

      “Ancient, advance aliens, from an outside dimension, come here and essentially photo copy all the ages of the solar system and drop us all over the this universe, and you want me to believe this is not some cosmological experiment?” James asked. “This event was orchestrated.

The peace too easy. It wasn’t earned. Anyone with half thematic sense can discern that much.”       “Ever since the airing of TOS episode of Miri’s Planet, you’ve been obsessed with doppelgangers of planets and people,” John said. “So much so, you turned your living room into a studio in an effort to backwards engineer Vril technology, driving your first wife insane with your obsessiveness…”

      “I figured it out!” James said.

      “Yeah, and launched yourself out into space and nearly started a war,” Samuel said.       “And if the ancient, advanced aliens that photo copied the earth a billion times over had been more clear about the commandment “Thou shalt not leave Earth,” maybe I wouldn’t have ventured out there on my own,” James said.

      “It’s not an absolute law, James,” John said. “There are caveats.”

      “Join Space Force. Where has that gotten me? Down the road only to be put back on Earth exactly where I left off,” James said.

      “You can learn to Travel,” Tiller offered.

      “Remote view? Astral Project? Bilocate? I am not a Saint,” James said.

      “Don’t have to be Saint,” Samuel said. “I wouldn’t be here if that were true. You don’t even have to be a Vrillian Knight.”

      “You just have to be one with the Vril,” John offered.

      “Or your higher self,” Samuel said.

      “Or a good woman,” Tiller offered. “They can send you places.”

      “The only argument any of you have ever offered is, if they didn’t want us here we wouldn’t be here,” James said.

      “Yep. Still haven’t found a way to negate that one,” John said.

      “That doesn’t mean what you think it means,” James said.

      “But it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t mean what we think it means,” Samuel said.       “You’re just going around in circles,” James said.

      “No, you’re going around in circles, and it’s why we retired you and wiped your memory,” Jon said. “So cool it, or you go back.”       “You can’t keep doing that forever,” James said.

“Want a bet?” Tiller said.

“Not fair to bet again,” John said.

“Triple or nothing?” Tiller asked.

Hanes turned back to one of the assets he was tracking. “Do you have to wipe her memory?”

      “She did better not knowing, don’t you think?” John asked.       “Maybe so,” James said. “I’d like to go a spell without a wipe.”       “Good for you,” Samuel said.

      They were silent. Someone somewhere was listening to a Michael Jackson song. “ABC.

It’s easy as 1 2 3…”

      “Have you noticed, we always have at least one asset listening to a Jackson song, or a Beatles song?” James asked.

      “They were the best agents Space Force ever had,” Samuel said.

      “Them and the Monkeys,” John said.

      “And Elvis,” Tiller said.

      “Yeah, we really screwed him over,” Samuel said. “Him and Annette.”       “Not us,” John said.

      “Oh! How is Annette doing?” James asked.

      “Last I heard, doing quite well in her second life, citizen on Earth Two,” John said. “You should go visit her. She’d love that.”

      James nodded. “I should probably go see Judy.”

      “Garland? You’d be better off with a mind wipe and return to your time line,” Samuel said.

      “That little firecracker can sure hold a grudge,” John agreed.

      “Bless her heart,” Tiller said.

      “Buddy Holly still on Ganymede?” James asked.

      Tiller, John, and Samuel found other things to do.

      “Seriously?!” James asked.

      

Author’s Notes

So, here we are. This book, if you are kind enough to find it worthy of being such, comes 26 days after the conclusion of the Star Wars: Waycaster Trilogy. Never heard of it? Well, I highly recommend “Star Wars: A Force to Contend With,” “Star Wars: A Dark Run,” and “Star Wars: The One, The Force, and Legion.” What does that make this? Fan-fiction of Fan-fiction? You tell me.

      Part of me wanted to pursue a nonfiction book, suggesting that all the alien conspiracy theories available today come from television and movies. Or vice versa. But guess what, nothing new under the sun, it’s been done, and likely better than I might have, as I am not the researcher. The book is called ‘Hollywood Vs. the Aliens,’ by Bruce Rux. It is so worth the hunting it down and finding it! Another part of me wanted to bring Star Wars closer to home, and explaining how humans in a galaxy far, far away came to be on earth. This books sort of does that without really doing that.

      If one didn’t know from reading my books, I am a fan of aliens, I am a fan of multiple lines of fiction, I am a fan of music and magic and metaphysics, and I dabble it in it all. I am blessed, in so many ways. The greatest blessing has been the friendships that have ensued as a result of me being brave enough to put myself, these works, out there. This book was inspired by a muse, my companion, my love, Loxy Isadora Bliss.

      Thank you for reading and for sharing. May the Vril be with you, and always- Travel Light.

Ion Light