Back behind the containment field of his cell aboard the Mobius, Drac cursed himself, certain his cryptic message had been excessively obscure. He tucked beneath his shirt the pendent that he had chosen purposefully from his collection for his meeting with the queen. It had taken all his strength to convey what little he could to Luinan. He slumped to the deck as Seren appeared on the other side of the force field.
"I assume you conveyed the message to your queen?" Seren asked.
"Did I have a choice?" Drac said knowing Seren had absolute faith in Optimum mind-control techniques.
"Good. We're ready to begin the next phase," Seren said as he studied Drac's face then turned and left.
Drac sighed as he pulled himself up from the deck, straightened his waistcoat and tested the force field with a flick of a finger resulting in a subtle buzz.
"Come," he said to no one.
A salacious female silhouette fell on his cell's wall even though the Mobius' detention cells had universal lighting.
"It is done. Make sure the queen is not hurt," Drac told the specter dejectedly as it began to fade and then disappear completely.
Seren approached him recently with an offer to rid the Liaths of their humanity thereby liberating them to be true Mór. Seren would not divulge the source of his knowledge concerning the Liaths predicament and incredulously insisted that his offer was humanitarian. Drac did not hesitate in rejecting Seren's dubious proposal. So, his eventual capture and attempted manipulation came as no real surprise. He had tried to convince Seren he had reconsidered his offer, hoping to earn his confidence. But he had waited too long to contact the council and as
Seren's plans progressed so did his paranoia. This eventually resulted in Drac's imprisonment on the Mobius.
Seren even felt so confident that he had detailed his plans to Drac a few Sol days ago while insistently pacing in front of his cell for over an hour. Drac knew Seren's deluded egocentricity led him to create such an elaborate diversion as kidnapping the Family's queen.
But Seren underestimated Drac's Mór faction, even under heavy mind control. He did not realize the consequences of a recent change in chaos allowing Drac to convey the short but cryptic message. Drac lay down on his hard bunk and stared up at the overhead hoping the Family had enough time to deal with what was coming.
Planet Trua
John looked across the council table at Luinan deep in thought and realized leading the family was not such a great job.
She caught his glance. "It's hard to know where to start with over two millennia of Family history," she said, "and with Zuinall still alive."
"Perhaps," Flint said looking around the table, "recent history would be a good place."
Luinan nodded approval.
"As you are aware," Flint said, "our sabotage of the Navis near the Lár almost a billion and a half years ago destroyed an alternate realty."
"A drastic act given such a temporal distance and eddies on all scales threatening us," Clare said through the wisps of steam rising above her teacup.
"Data indicate the chaos coefficient is starting to diminish," Flint said.
Clare persisted, "But the Liaths now threaten us and—"
Luinan interrupted her. "Micah, please continue."
Not hesitating, Flint continued, "There are new threats closer at hand." He then paused to look at Jen. "Colonel Scott is fully aware of the alternate reality. It is as if she has experienced it firsthand but at The Gulf Breeze. Her account of those few days is intriguing and corresponds to events entangling not only myself but also Tye, John, Jennifer and Prophet."
"And Wigwag," John added.
Mick and Clare exchanged glances.
"How is that all possible?" Luinan asked.
"Prophet and I agree," Flint replied, "the highest likelihood is an Mór infiltration into our AI systems as Dr, Fanau treated John and Jen simultaneously."
"But to what purpose?" Clare asked.
"I believe Dr, Fanau unwittingly transformed Jen into John's guardian," Flint replied. "I have brought to this council's attention my concerns regarding our medical AI that still has much of Zuinall's original Mór code intact."
Luinan nodded.
"I can’t believe the queen is still alive," Mick said reverently.
Flint looked at Luinan. "We must assume our AI systems are compromised."
"Is that a bad thing?" Jen asked.
"Does that include Luca?" John asked. He did not necessarily trust the Mór Continuity and he now felt uneasy about Luca inside his head aboard the Navis.
"I knew resurrecting her was a bad idea," Clare quipped, ignoring Jen and John, and receiving a stern look from Luinan.
"Hard to say no to Ces," Mick said. "Luca is so unique; she might be able to shield herself."
"That past is written," Luinan said. "But as you know, Drac paid the outpost a visit."
"More idle threats and demands for Mór autonomy," Clare said tersely. "What is new in that?"
Luinan placed a holo chip into a slot in the table and replayed Drac's visit ending with his cryptic message during his dramatic exit.
"I agree his demeanor is troubling," Clare said, "not the usual particularly composed Draconous."
"We need this vid analyzed," Flint said. "It’s nonsensical."
"By who?" Clare asked. "Luca?" she chuckled.
"Yes," John said. "Or is there another option?"
"Our new sage has spoken?" Clare jibed as Jen stiffened.
"Your elder has spoken," Luinan reminded her. "Has John not proved himself?" she demanded.
"He has indeed," Mick injected. "And according to the good Dr.
Fanau, John's Auriane DNA has quite interesting placement among his Homo sapiens strands."
"How long have you known that?" Jen asked Mick.
"Since your first visit to the outpost's medical facility," he replied.
"The medical AI flagged it. But I reckon some things one must let the universe sort out, and so it has," he said to her.
Clare exhaled a subtle huff.
"And Luca?" John asked her trying not to show his increasing frustration.
Clare paused and then looked to Mick. "Summon her then," she said.
Mick and Flint nodded their approval, and Luinan touched a stone showing subtle relief on the table.
Luca appeared next to Luinan. "How may I assist you?" she asked.
"Luca," Flint said, "we fear Mór compromised your program at the time of your resurrection."
She responded, "My recognizing such a modification would be highly improbable and for the record- I have not known any such
intrusion. However, I will endeavor to find any traces of Mór code within my program."
Clare started to say something but refrained.
"Luca," Mick said, "please review the data surrounding Draconous'
intrusion into the outpost. His departing comments were unusual."
"I have accessed the scan and record for his visit," Luca said. "His vital signs and brain patterns suggest he was under a high level of duress, even so close to a change. This is corroborated by atypical physical manifestations such as severe trembling."
"He was definitely not himself," Luinan said.
"Scans indicate he was lying about his visit to Holland," Luca said.
"Furthermore, there is a small correlation to the Iridium pendant he was wearing—"
"Iridium?" John asked.
"Very rare," Flint said, "but it makes sense. Drac has a weakness for unique mineral specimens." He added looking at John, "Seems you and he have something in common."
Luca continued, "There is a correlation to the Iridium pendant he was wearing and the mention of the rainbow bearer. Iris, the origin of the word Iridium, also can translate from Greek as rainbow."
John thought that connection was a stretch.
"How does one bear a rainbow and converge?" Mick asked.
"And who's Danian?" Jen asked.
"Unknown on all counts," Luca replied. "But Draconous' last words appear truthful."
John felt something was just beyond his reach, tempting his memory. "It was like he was forcing the words out. Could another change be affecting him?" he guessed.
"Unlikely, his vital signs don’t suggest a coming change," Luca said.
"Except for the tenuous coincidence of Drac's Iridium pendant and his mentioning a rainbow," Clare said, "we are no further in
understanding the purpose behind his visit except for his stated plea for Mór independence."
"And the threat of taking things into their own hands," Luinan said with a glance to Mick then Flint. "Thank you, Luca," she said.
"Anytime," Luca said with a wink to John and disappeared.
Jen, seeing the wink, looked at John who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Any ideas what Drac was implying?" she asked the council.
"Could be anything," Clare said looking at Mick. "Let's hope history does not repeat itself."
"Speaking of history, perhaps it a good time to brief John and Jen on some family history, including the Liaths," Flint said.
Luinan nodded her approval.
"You have seen in my report on Zuinall's comments regarding family history which she provided on the library ship," Flint said to Luinan.
"And I've filled Jen in on those details," John added.
"So I'll try to fill in some of the more important blanks," Flint said.
"The occupation of the Pruchlais in 271 BC was a significant landmark in Family history. In the subterranean refuge, Zuinall and the juvenile Mór, Tim, began in earnest their mission to protect humanity from extra-terrestrial and extra-universal influences like that had befallen the Auriane home world. It was a turning point where technology provided by Tim created much of what you see around you, including this council."
"It's amazing that Zuinall kept the Mór influence hidden," Mick said,
"despite the persistent rumors surrounding a few moldy scrolls."
"When we were young," Clare said, "we thought it magic at first but as time passed, we grew to understand the engineering and technology, but Zuinall still refused to divulge its source."
"Let me go back farther," Flint said. "John, you heard Zuinall state she was working on crossing the human-Auriane species barrier but had failures in the beginning."
"She did say there was one early success," John reminded him.
Mick chuckled and blushed. "Hey, I like being a white sheep of the family."
"I knew you were one of a kind," Jen told him warmly but with a grin.
"Despite Zuinall's limited success," Flint continued, glancing at Mick, "she would disappear for long periods, sometimes decades. As gen one, we hardly saw her after we started our formal education. We now know she was continuing her work on the Library ship."
"After Zuinall brought the gen one to the Pruchlais," Clare explained, "mainly AIs provided our extensive education and training on the Family's new technology."
"Are there other gen one?" John asked.
"Draconous, Flint and I are the only remaining," Clare said flatly and obviously now considering her partner's origins differently.
"Clare’s sister," Flint said, "led the Family through many challenging times, including managing the initial outbreaks of the change among the gen one. And after she reported Zuinall's death in 243 BC, she then departed Earth for centuries. She returned occasionally, but still declined her right to head the council until events not even she could deny forced her to return late in life."
John observed Clare staring into her teacup on the stone table. He remembered Jen telling him that she abdicated forcing her twin sister to take the throne.
"But in the mean time," Flint continued, "the council ruled, but with Clare, as the next in succession, in the chair." He glanced at Jen. "It was then the Family drifted away from a royal lineage to a more practical and transparent council."
"The Family owes a great debt to Clare," Luinan added.
"Loved every minute," Clare scoffed.
"The change?" John asked.
Clare looked up from her teacup. "Early in my sister's reign, the change became more prevalent and virulent forcing the Family to create a sanctuary for the worst cases. Centuries of research indicate our genetic code has no anomalies to account for such a drastic condition.
Nevertheless, the change is all too real."
"We can now speculate," Luinan said, "that there is balance of Mór and Auriane within us. Tip the scales to Mór and the change occurs. The bigger the tip the worse the change."
John was considering Luinan's perspective to be interestingly one-sided as a female O'jit appeared in the doorway and then placed a steaming teapot on the table along with cups.
"Many thanks, Zigzag," Luinan said as the O'jit left hurriedly.
"Do they have to be personal servants?" Jen asked Luinan.
"Specific clans composed the Jit. Each with a genetically engineered duty roster," Luinan explained. "If they don’t perform their duty, they fall gravely depressed; some have died. We have many thousand in stasis that we cannot accommodate or provide their type of service requirement."
"Fucking Leadership freaks," Mick swore irritably.
Luinan continued, "We are making allowances in many of our daily activities as research continues, unconventional as it might seem."
Clare sighed and then sipped her tea. "In most Liaths the change has become permanent," she continued. "They are demented shadows lurking between fractimes often terrorizing humanity with delusions of death and demons created from the current earth culture. We have had limited success trying to contain them," she said.
"Their numbers increase exponentially. Like mitosis run amok,"
Flint said.
"Mitosis?" Jen asked.
"They reproduce at whim and often by self-replication," Mick said solemnly. "There are literally countless shadows."
"A rare few is still lucid like Drac but still change occasionally,"
Luinan said. "They are our only interface with the rest."
"Lot of good communicating with them does," Mick added.
"They can be very dangerous," Luinan said soberly. "Centuries ago, when most Liaths could still interact with the physical world. And when their desperation peaked, they attacked the Family destroying the entire gen one, except for those here."
John noticed Mick take Clare's hand.
"It was a huge setback for us," Clare said. "Things have never been the same."
John reflected on the Family, the most advanced culture he ever thought possible had bigger social and racial issues than he could have imagined. "Maybe Zuinall can help?" he asked. "She did save her research."
"And intriguing possibility," Flint said. "A rescue effort could be even more pressing than I thought. But the distance is well beyond the temporal entities' capabilities or disposition."
"I don't suppose you have a timeship parked around here somewhere?" John asked.
"Luca," Luinan called out pressing the subtle relief on the table again.
"Yes," Luca said this time appearing seated in the empty council chair.
"We need access to an advanced temporal-drive ship," Luinan said.
"Twenty-sixth century at least."
"I thought I was joking," John whispered to Jen.
"Only one is accessible during this temporal window for the predicable future," she said looking at Flint.
"Let me guess," he replied. "The RefPlane plus 226."
Luca nodded. "USS Relativity is currently on a joint reconnaissance mission with a Family observer as science crew just past sixty-five million years, BC and could be borrowed for a brief window without notice."
"The Late Cretaceous," John said as a feeling of epiphany flooded over him. "There's a council member missing," he guessed but the feeling faded only slightly.
"You've been there?" Jen asked Flint ignoring John's odd remark.
"I was pulled from the mission to find Calma assistance because of the rapidly increasing chaos coefficient, but that was before we lost contact with the outpost," he said with a glance a Mick.
"Damn," Clare muttered.
"I'd have to go back eventually," Flint said. "The Time Corps would discover me missing sooner or later."
"But the Relativity," Mick said. "Hard to steal a TC temporal flagship."
"RefPlane plus 226 was just behind the TC's front lines at the time of Navis' destruction," Luinan explained. "The TC in the twenty-ninth century can have some interesting perspectives on the universe. They proposed the joint mission to stop the previous capture of reptile DNA by the enemy."
"It always seemed more of a pet project for the Time Integrity Commission than frontline action," Mick said. "And I think the TC
obtained some obscure political sway by involving us. Thank Agrona we were busy," he said looking at Clare.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Flint scoffed. "The mission is resource intensive and involves an unusual team to say the least." He looked at John and subtly shook his head and smiled.
"I'll be happy to provide a mission brief for everyone on their pads,"
Luca offered.
"Thanks, but I think we'll keep it need-to-know until necessary,"
Flint said eying Luca. "How are Jennifer and Prophet progressing?"
"The data has been transferred," Luca said, "but Prophet is still analyzing probability correlations."
"Thank you, Luca," Luinan said as shock came over Luca's face.
"Parameter and temporal breach!" she shouted. "Prepare for intruders!"
As sirens sounded, Mick jumped up; knocking his chair over, he tried desperately to shut the council chamber's door that the O'jit had left ajar, but it was too late. Dark wisps blew him aside and filled the chamber.
Threads of blue energy filaments shot out of Luca's fingertips chasing the intruders but could not make contact.
As the darkness swirled over and around everyone, John retched on a growing stench. Luca halted her counter attack as the darkness completely enveloped Jen. John tried desperately to reach through the veil to pull her to safety, but the dark was chillingly impervious. In the next instant, it vanished taking Jen with it.
"They were after the queen," Clare said helping Mick off the stone floor. "They went straight to the queen's traditional place."
"Where did they take her?" John pleaded to the rest across the table.
"There is only one place they could have gone," Flint said trying to wave the lingering stink away.
"Ghost Town," Mick said.
"Their sanctuary," Luinan clarified.
"How do we get there?" John demanded.
"If they are as desperate as Drac conveyed," Clare said, "finding Zuinall may be Jen's only hope of returning."
"John," Luinan said, "If we can provide the Liaths with hope that there is a solution to their condition, she will be safe."
"What of Drac's three-day threat?" John asked. "Is there no way around that?"
"All the Family lives by the reference mission clock," Flint said shaking his head. "We experience a linear existence as per the accords even though that linearity can be stretched or shortened as much as practical."
Mick and Clare looked troubled, and John knew the same fate that befell their joining party could be in store for Jen.
"So," he said, "let's go get this timeship."