The Unofficial Biography of Kimmay

by G. L. Hudson

Book 5: The Beginning

  

CHAPTER EIGHT

June 2222 – 1 month before

 

"Are you hungry?" Chunni asked.

"Yes." Kimmay reached inside her blouse and tugged on her bra. It was starting to ride up on her right side. "I still don't understand what happened with the Keeper."

"What do you not understand, Kimmay?" Chunni asked. She winced at Kimmay's lack of decorum as she pulled at her bra.

"Almost all of it. But mostly, what happened with the Eleventh Prophecy? Did I change the universe? Time and time travel?"

"What do you think?" Chunni asked.

"Come on, me change the universe? Get real."

Chunni and Jean said nothing. They stared at Kimmay and made her rethink her comment.

"You can't be serious," Kimmay began. "Me? Change the reality of time? Throughout the entire universe? Instantly? Open alternate universes and dimensions?"

"Oh of course," Jean said. "I'm sorry, we didn't understand what you were asking." He gave a big sigh of relief. "No of course you didn't change the physical laws of the universe. We did that."

"You? What? How?"

Jean waved his wand in the air in front of himself.

"Oh. Ok. That's how. But why? What is happening? Was happening?"

"The Prophecy says much of it, but as you should know, the prophecies are as much of a tease as a statement of reality."

"A tease?"

"Well, more of a conundrum or thought provoker than a tease." Kimmay gave her a pained and quizzical expression. Chunni understood her confusion. "But to the bottom line, and without all the other subtleties and secret intentions, we wanted to take control of time. Actually the First Magicians wanted this."

"Not you?" Kimmay asked.

"Oh Kimmay, you have to realize that we will all work together at your … I mean at the Magician's request." Kimmay didn't miss the unintentional mistake. But she gave nothing away as she continued to listen. "Time is our biggest advantage. We, I mean the Magicians, want to own time. To use it as we see fit and to stop adversaries from using it against us. We had to stop other species from being able to travel through time. So we took control."

"You took control?"

"Yes. Kimmay, I don't want to burst your bubble, but you had no impact on the change."

"Well that makes more sense than me instantly and simultaneously changing the physical reality of the entire physical universe."

Chunni smiled and asked, or teased, "Why not? You don't think that you could do that?"

"Not a chance!"

Chunni laughed. "Of course. But that is what happened. We did all of the hard work, and you got all of the credit that day."

Kimmay chuckled. She appreciated the humor.

Jean changed the topic. "Now that we have returned to our time. We will take you to a nice restaurant."

A thought crossed Kimmay's mind, "Is all of this depleting the time that I have left?" She reached to her face and touched her bandaged tag.

"No, you need not worry about that," Chunni began. "We control time, and that tag is not moving through time – at least its mechanism is not."

Another thought came to Kimmay, "Why didn't the Keeper ask about the tag? I would have thought that it was very evident."

"She did not see it," Jean answered. "She was not allowed to see it."

"I helped," her wand told her as it gently vibrated against her skin.

"And how much time do I have left?"

"When we return you to the Kastellian ship, you will have about 150 hours left," Chunni told her.

"But don't forget," Jean added, "you do have some control of time. You will have your wand with you."

"But use it wisely. Use your time to share your thoughts with your children and your Matriarchy. But don't use it to simply postpone the inevitable. That will not serve you nearly as much as you might think."

"Now," Jean started, "I have brought you to a restaurant that serves exquisite French cuisine. Shall we enter?"

"Wait, I have one more question. Why the ability to read minds? What was the purpose of allowing that?"

"Two reasons, Kimmay. The first is so you could find the Kastellians when they were in stealth mode. Your technology could not have found them."

"But with my wand I could have. Right?"

"Yes, that would have been simple enough. But the girls needed the practice for the second reason. They have no other way to communicate with the Kastellians upon their return."

"The Kastellians will return?"

"Yes. After you destroy the Vertu, they will come looking for you again."

"But the Kastellians will be able to communicate with us," Kimmay explained.

"As the dominating species they can control communications. Upon their return, the situation will need to be reversed. It is your turn to control the situation. When you destroy an entire species, don't you think you should at least explain why to them?"

"We do? Rocky and Salindale destroy them all?" she said with just a bit of pride.

"They will. Now, I am getting hungry, how about you?"

"I have one last question. This ability to read minds, will it continue? Will they pass it along to future generations?"

Chunni answered, "Kimmay, you do not fully understand. Their new found talent was not the ability to read minds, they were simply given limited access to two wands. That was their talent. And yes, successive generations will have lessening ability to access those wands. But once you give those two wands to their rightful partners, that special talent will cease."

"They were using your wands?" Kimmay asked in surprise. "There is no telepathy?"

"Correct," Jean said. "Their telepathy was merely communications with our wands. The wands did the rest. Now, are you ready to eat?"

"Wait," Kimmay said. "Do you mean to say, that they had the ability all along to destroy the Kastellian ship?"

"If they had realized what they were really doing, and if they had the knowledge to ask the right question …" Chunni smiled and let her answer drift away.

"Could I have done it?" Kimmay wanted to know.

"Your wand certainly has the power," Jean explained. "But none of you were trained to take advantage of the power you were given."

"Who does the training?"

"The wands do their own training. However, they are given some instructions from …"

"First Magicians," Chunni finished for Jean. "Come, enough of this. We will go eat," and Chunni put a forceful end to the conversation.

 

CHAPTER NINE

June 2222 – One month before

 

After the near fatal encounter with the Kastellians, some things had finally changed on planet Earth. While international cooperation was still sketchy and full of gaps, the various nations of Earth had agreed that the defense of their home planet was in the best interests of everyone. High energy lasers employing Lisa chips were now built and deployed in over 90 nations, with a grand total of 360 weapons platforms enabled and ready to defend Earth. Although each nation claimed their laser weapon for self-defense against earth-bound invaders, they were also networked world-wide in anticipation of another space invasion.

Along with the planetary defenses, an early warning system had been deployed. An array of 24 satellites sat silently orbiting the sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. They had been placed there over a span of fifteen years, as Earth strengthened its home defenses. All of the contributing nations received their signals and monitored them for tell-tale signs of unwelcome guests. Among the other on-board sensors were chips from the Eleven Lights Company. Those chips kept a vigilant outlook for ships entering the solar system via interdimensional portals.

 

The stellar spaceship Jasmine blinked into existence in the new solar system. Screens and shields were fully activated and the ship was in full readiness. Everything was in standard operating mode.

"Report all anomalies," Executive Officer Bear barked.

"All internal sensors are operative and clear!"

"All external sensors are operative and … several anomalies sir. Still correlating. The third planet is inhabited with a technical-level civilization. Various small anomalies throughout the system indicating small spacecraft."

Bear looked at his mistress and consigliere, "You never said anything about an intelligent species here."

"Sir, you were told that this planet might hold the Thirteenth Prophecy. That would indicate an indigenous intelligence."

"But you never said ..." They were right and Bear was mad at himself for missing that obvious connection.

"What level technology?" he asked his ops-engineer.

"Matter annihilation and evidence of interdimensional incursions. They either have portals or are very close to having them."

"What about their civilization?"

"They cover the planet, billions and billions of them, and they have a small outpost on their moon."

"Do they know we're here?"

"No evidence, sir. I see no signs that they have detected us, and with their technical level I don't think they can. Our screens are detecting no probes. They are continuing with what appears to be routine satellite communications."

"Sir, would you like to contact the planet?" his comm-officer asked.

"No. Hold all positions and remain on alert. Continue scans and observations. I want more information. Send an update to home-world command."

 

Alarms were ringing all through the planetary defense grid. Secure fiber optic lines were trading data and alerting weapon stations scattered over the planet. Defense ministers were being briefed and were preparing to speak with their presidents and prime ministers.

The central clearing house was located in a secure building on the outskirts of Bombay and all nations had a military liaison on the premises. The clearing house allowed face-to-face meetings for the exchange of information. It was also used to help minimize dangerous mistakes between nations. The military officers were constantly in contact with their own governments.

As the officers wandered in and out of the map room, they would glance at the large screen on the wall. The yellow circle just outside the orbit of Mars had not moved. "Do we know if they're still there?" someone asked.

"No idea," came the answer. "That's where they opened their portal, and they haven't opened another yet. But that doesn't mean they're still sitting there. They may be moving by mass propulsion."

"What about the optical and radio telescopes?"

"Still being aimed. We're looking all around that area, but we can't see a thing."

"How about active detection systems? Has radar been approved?"

"That's what they're discussing."

 

Twenty five heads of state were meeting via secured communications lines …

"They have been here for 6 hours and they have made no attempt to communicate with us. That proves they are hostile," the American envoy said.

"It means no such thing," the Chinese envoy replied. "It means they are being cautious or maybe they haven't even found us yet. They may still be looking through the solar system for inhabitable planets."

"They can travel through portals and land safely in the middle of our solar system, but they can't find a planet? Balderdash!"

The Swiss envoy looked at the American and asked, "So what do you propose?"

"Demand they show themselves."

"So you would tell them that we can't find them. You would hand away a bit of potential uncertainty on their part, and tell them of our limitations? Maybe they are waiting for us to play our hand."

The American glared at his counterpart.

"We can be a little smarter than that," the Japanese member suggested. "Let's send them a welcome note, and point out exactly how long we have been waiting for them to come forward. Let them know we have been watching them."

"That makes more sense than the American proposal," the Russian woman said.

The president of the forum was the Indian representative. "We have a proposal to send a message of welcome, and to include mention of their arrival time. Does anyone wish to make this a formal proposal?"

"Should we ask them to make themselves visible?" the Italian asked.

"No! Don't let them know that we can't see them," the Russian answered.

"How do we get them to show themselves then?"

"One step at a time," the forum president said. "Let them assume more than they should."

 

The Under Executive Officer stammered into the com, "Executive Officer Bear, we have received a message from the third planet."

Bear threw down his book and slapped the com open, "What did they say? How do they know we're here?"

"It says, 'To the Traveler ship that entered our system at 11:41:29, welcome from the people of Earth. Do you require our assistance?' That is all it says."

"Do we require assistance? Why do they ask such a question?"

"We have been here for over 6 hours and we have not contacted them. They know we have been here that long." Neither individual recognized the fact that Earth was addressing a Traveler Consortium ship. The translator missed the significance of the capital letter T.

The EO studied his left hand. This didn't make sense. This planet didn't appear to have the technology to track a Builder ship, let alone a stealth ship. They knew exactly when the Jasmine arrived. But how? He pointed at the comm, send my mistress here.

As soon as she arrived Bear began firing questions at her, "How much do you know about our first contact?"

"Just a little."

"How advanced technically are they supposed to be."

"I'm not sure. They're definitely behind us. Maybe by several centuries."

"Then how did they detect us? We're screened."

"I'm not sure. That doesn't seem right."

"That's what I thought. Is this a trap? Did that veterinarian send us into a trap?"

"I … I don't think so, master." The mistress knew her EO was angry and she reverted to her formal procedure for addressing him.

"Bring him here. Go get him yourself and take soldiers with you. I want him here in ten minutes." The mistress was dismissed. Now EO Bear had to decide how to answer the locals.

 

Felix the veterinarian was brought before Executive Officer Bear. There were four intimidating soldiers standing beside the confused man. Bear's mistress stood to the side, out of the line of fire. "I will ask questions and you will answer, Felix." Bear's voice was agitated and angry. "This planet has identified this ship while it is in full stealth mode. How?"

"That's not possible, sir. We study this planet for many, many years before revealing ourselves. They can't know about the ship or us."

"Then you are obviously lying to me. I want to know what is going on here. Why are you lying and who is behind your gambit? You will tell me now."

"I'm not lying Executive Officer Bear. Something must be horribly wrong. It must have to do with the time problem."

Bear was not satisfied with the start of Felix's confession and he motioned his soldiers to step over to the veterinarian and grasp his arms. They were pinned behind him in a painful position. Bear stepped closer, "I'm getting tired of this time-travel story. And I'm really disappointed with you personally. I have helped you for over two years; providing food, tools and even tactical updates on defense matters relating to you and this time-travel story. And in return you send me into an ambush. I will hear the truth or you will be extremely sorry. How did they track us?"

"But Bear, they can't! They don't have the technology, I do not lie. When you discovered the planet called Earth, their technology was not even close to our level. They were still burning coal and oil. They didn't even have fusion power."

Bear stepped into Felix's face, "They still don't have fusion power, but they do have matter-annihilation!"

"No, that's not right," Felix squeaked.

"Now how can they track us and who gave them the technology?"

Felix was totally confused. He was not a military man and he had no training to even begin resisting this mild interrogation. His legs folded beneath him and he would have fallen to the floor if the soldiers hadn't been holding him. As it was they wrenched his arms even higher behind his back and he yelped in pain.

"Please," he begged. "Release me. I truly do not understand what is happening. Everything that I told you, that I told your mistress and consigliere is true. None of this should be happening. The Earthlings are no match for us."

Bear wasn't sure what to do. Either the man was a very good actor, or he was totally out of his element. "Put him in that chair," he pointed out to the soldiers. "And stand guard over him. Mistress, get the consigliere and meet me in my ready room." Bear bounded out of the office and down the corridor.

 

"How long are we going to wait for an answer?" the American demanded.

"Until they answer," the Russian woman said. "What else do you think we can do? Do you we think we are in the position to demand an answer immediately? Maybe throw an ultimatum at them?"

"They're stalling for a reason. If they came here with no nefarious purposes in mind they would be talking to us. They still haven't shown themselves. Obviously they have some sinister motives."

"You always manage to look for the bright side of life," the Brazilian envoy added sarcastically. He and several other envoys were growing weary of the American's insistent tirades.

"We will wait a little longer," the Council President said.

The American fumed. "How much longer?" he asked under his breath. "Until they attack?"

 

"Do you still believe him?"

"I must admit that I am confused. At the time he did have me convinced. But now it is obvious from the facts that two and two don't add up to four," the consigliere said.

"I agree," the mistress added.

"First things first, how do we answer the planet? I've stalled for over thirty minutes. They are going to want an answer and we have to be careful. There is more going on here than we know. Is someone helping them? Are they getting technology from one of the other Travelers?

"Sir," the consigliere began, "they may have given us an option. Can we say that we are having temporary technical problems? We make up something plausible and then send it over a repeat with random static and break-up."

The EO looked at his two confidantes. "Maybe. But what if it is a trap? What if they are handing us that option, and then reply that they will send help? What if it is a tactic to gain access to the ship?"

"Do you think they actually have the technology to reach us?"

"Good question … and the answer may be yes. They have portal technology although we don't know how advanced they are. It's time for an update. Call all of the tactical reconnaissance officers here."

 

The American made it a point of looking at his wrist watch, then the clock on the table and then glaring at the council members. Many were standing in groups of two or three talking quietly. Calls and dispatches were being sent back home, keeping national defense systems up to date.

 

Bear went around the table and began pulling limited data from officers. After the first round he asked, "Where are the dinosaurs? Has anyone found them?" No one answered. "Bring the vet in here," he ordered his aides.

The veterinarian was pushed into the room and deposited in one of the chairs. Bear wasted no time, "Where are the dinosaurs? We have seen none of them."

"Because they are extinct. They died about 100 million years ago."

"Then how do you have them?" EO Bear demanded.

"We went back in time and studied them. We determined what they needed in terms of planet and environment, and then we found suitable planets for terraforming. We used their microbes to begin the process million of years ago. We visited the planets on a periodic basis, nurturing and modifying the process until they developed to a stable point that could support the dinosaurs.

"We farmed seven planets, some water, some land and some both. We took them to different phases that would support dinosaurs from different eons. When they were finally ready, we went back in time and collected the specimens that we wanted and after carefully acclimating them we released them on their new planets."

Bear stared at him. "How long did this take?"

"Over one hundred years before we had viable populations on the new planets. I explained this to you before."

Bear didn't like being shown up, and Felix's comment only made Bear angrier. "That was a lot of money and work. Why would you go to such trouble?"

"Creatures great and small. The Thirteenth Prophecy, sir."

There was whispering around the table. This was the first time that the officers had heard this tale. Bear paced around the table. The damn veterinarian kept sticking to his implausible story. "Who else helped? Who else knows about this?"

"In my time everyone knows."

"Everyone?"

"Yes. Along with our seven planets, the other Travelers probably have a dozen planets of their own."

"The Consortium knows?" Bear was in shock. It never dawned on him that this situation could be so widely known. This changed everything. Now it was entirely possible that another species was indeed manipulating the situation.

"Yes."

"And you didn't think it was important to tell me?" he yelled.

"Sir," Felix said as he slid lower in his chair, "I thought it wise to minimize what you knew about the future. We are in a very tentative position because of our proximity to the real future."

"This is the real future!" Bear yelled as he pounded his fist on the table for emphasis. The officers around the table also slid a bit lower in their chairs. Bear walked over to his chair and dropped into it. He looked over at his mistress.

"We need more information," she told him. "We need to confirm the reality of the dinosaurs. Did they really exist in the past?"

Felix spoke up, "Check the Earth people's records. Books and museums will confirm their existence. They found fossils and have deduced much about the animal's existence. We know more because we went and found them. But some of their records and assumptions are correct."

Bear pointed at one of his officers. "Do it. Be back here in thirty minutes."

 

Earth's portal detectors immediately picked up the incursions as the Builders began their investigation. Fifteen different portal openings were identified and the local authorities were quickly alerted. Two of the Builder teams had to evacuate in full view of their pursuers.

"Now what do you have to say for yourselves?" the American demanded.

"This is odd," the Swiss woman said. "Museums, archives and libraries? What are they looking for?"

"Information about us, damn-it! Information they can use in an attack."

"But they were at natural history museums," the Japanese envoy said. "How can they use that against us?"

"How did the Kastellians use germ warfare against us?" the American asked sarcastically.

"Maybe that is what they were doing. I have to agree with our American counterpart, something must be done. We can't allow these incursions to go without comment."

"Do others agree?" the president asked. Agreement was unanimous. "A response to the visitors is required. Would someone volunteer to write the first draft?"

 

Bear listened intently as his Under Executive Officer finished reviewing the situation. "I can say with high probability that the data and collections were not faked. Dinosaurs did exist and it was at least several million years ago."

"What do you have to say, Felix?"

"I agree with everything that he has said." The report had gained Felix a new lease on life. Bear once again was predisposed to believe some of the things that Felix said.

"And everyone returned?" Bear asked for the fourth time.

"Yes sir. I don't know how they spotted some of our teams so quickly. They must have very tight security around some of their libraries."

"Do they?" Bear asked Felix.

"I have no information on that EO."

The comm on Bear's conference table popped open and a miniature soldier stood in a holograph over the table. "Executive Officer Bear, we have another message from the planet."

"Play it."

The Council President's face appeared in place of the soldier. "To the commander of the space vessel; for over seven hours you have been in our solar system. You have not contacted us to announce your presence and you do your best to hide your location. Now, you have attempted to surreptitiously send trespassers onto our home planet in 15 separate incidents. We are a peace loving people, but you try our patience as you sneak around spying on us. Without contact from you we will be forced to draw our own conclusions regarding your intentions.

"In the interest of clarity, will you open communications with us?"

Bear looked at his Under, "Exactly how many teams did you send to the planet?"

The Under did a quick calculation and answered, "Fifteen."

Bear looked at Felix, "How do they know this? If they are so technically inferior, how … do … they … know?" he demanded as he spit out each individual word.

Felix cowered in his seat and said nothing.

Bear turned to his consigliere, "Prepare an answer. Send our warmest regards and an apology. Tell them … tell them we are having technical difficulties and use your idea to confuse the message with static and interruptions."

"Yes sir," and the consigliere started off to the bridge.

"Under, prepare the minutes for my symbol and then send them to home-world command."

"Sir, you can't do that," Felix began. EO Bear stared Felix back into his chair.

 

"Technical difficulties? That's the most bogus piece of crap that I have ever heard," the American screamed. "How can you buy this manure?"

The other envoys were becoming tired of the American's ranting. There were already grumblings about censuring and silencing him.

"We have received an answer and it has assurances that they meant no disrespect," the Egyptian envoy said.

"I heard no threats or intentional parsing of words," the Russian woman added.

"I move that we share this transmission with all of our governments and then merely wait. I do not see any reason to answer at this point in time."

"I do!" the American yelled. "A simple howdy and you think that is enough? I don't agree. Not one single bit. They have yet to identify themselves. Who are they? What are they hiding? If they are Kastellians were in for a battle royal. Don't you think we should know who is sitting in point-blank range on our doorstep?"

The council president shrugged her shoulders and looked around the room. "Any objections?" No one objected. "Fine, would the same group as before prepare our message?"

 

The Council President's face smiled at EO Bear. Her's was an older face, full of wrinkles and thought, but it was also a kind face. "To our visitor, we thank you for acknowledging our message. Our planet is called Earth and we refer to ourselves as human beings. I speak for many distinct cultural and ethnic groups as I welcome you to our solar system. Before issuing a formal invitation to meet with us, we kindly ask that you identify yourselves. Are you from the Traveler Consortium?"

Bear quickly hit his comm-button, "Under have you prepared that report?"

"We are adding the data collection files from our planet-side reconnaissance. We are almost finished."

"Bring it to me immediately. The veterinarian and I are taking it to home-world command personally."

The veterinarian was roughly dragged to the Executive Officer's ready-room. Bear was waiting for him. "We're going to home-world command. You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Please," Felix pleaded, "we can't do that. It will cause a severe tampering with time."

"Your story has run out, veterinarian. I will discover this planet, right? That's what you said, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Then how do they know about the Traveler Consortium? How can they possibly know about us if they have never been contacted before? Answer me that Mr. Time-Traveler!"

EO Bear and Felix the veterinarian disappeared from the Jasmine's ready room

.

 

CHAPTER TEN

October 2099 – 123 years before

 

As Salindale took a step backwards to depart, a small figure stepped from the multitudes lining the path in front of the Emperor. A long cloak and hood covered the face and figure of a small woman. She stepped into the middle of the aisle and faced Salindale. Salindale stopped and watched the woman reach up and take the hood in her hands and then slowly pull it back away from her face and lay it on her shoulders.

Salindale's heart skipped a beat when she saw the eyes. Her knees went limp and she almost stumbled when she recognized the woman in front of her. The woman said nothing as she smiled at Salindale.

"Mother?"

Kimmay stepped closer towards Salindale and the lights in the room began to dim. As Kimmay approached Salindale the rest of the room went dark, leaving the two of them alone and bathed in a blue light.

"Hello Salindale. It is so good to see you again." Kimmay reached out and took hold of Salindale's hands. They stood and stared at each other for several moments. Then Salindale grabbed her mother in a tight hug.

"Mom? Is it really you?" Salindale whispered in her ear.

"Yes, dear."

"But how? Why?" Salindale was at a loss for words. She didn't even know what to ask next. "How can I touch you? I'm only a hologram."

Kimmay stepped back and held Salindale at arms length. "I'm helping just a little with your hologram. But what am I doing here? I planned for this. Why? Because we need to talk."

"But this isn't possible," Salindale quietly protested. "You're … you … you are dead."

"Time, Salindale. Time is not what you think it is. I have stopped here to talk with you before returning to your past. When Rocky and I were aboard the Kastellian ship, when I met my successors, we came here. I have been waiting for you."

"You knew I would be here?" Salindale asked in awe.

"Yes, dear. I am here to specifically talk with you. And in the future, I will make additional appearances before the Matriarchy. Each time that a critical point in your path is reached, I shall be waiting to guide you. I know when, where, who and what will be."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. But suffice it to say, the path before you is too critical, too important to be left to chance. I am to be your guide; to help you choose the best paths. I am here to assist you with two items."

"What two items?"

"You handled the Builder quite admirably, but it is too soon for the Builders to learn about Earth. I am here to prevent that."

"What do you mean? They already know about Earth." Kimmay cocked her head and gave Salindale a questioning smile. It took a few seconds for Salindale to understand. "They know about us in the future – 900 hundred years from now," she explained.

"Somewhere between your now and 900 hundred years in the future they will discover Earth and begin their invasion. But now is certainly too early for them to discover the Matriarchy."

"What did you do? Did you kill him?"

"Of course not. I simply adjusted his point of reference in time. When he shows up at his home world it will be well past your initial contact with the Builders." Kimmay smiled and said, "Time is a potent ally.

"Salindale, there is a message that you must take back to the Matriarchy. The message is time. Your next mission, your goal must be to study time and understand time. Your conception of time is totally erroneous. It is nothing like you think it is. It does not flow in laminar or even turbulent fashion. In fact, time does not flow at all. This you must learn."

"Why?"

"Do you remember the vision that I gave you – will give you as far as I am concerned – showing the man and woman creating a star?"

"Of course," Salindale answered in a perplexed tone. "What about it?"

"Do you remember seeing their wands?" Salindale nodded yes. Kimmay continued, "That is the key to their power. The wands that you see are only a small part of the entity. In our universe, only the wand exists; everything else exists in parallel dimensions. That wand carries the power of suns. It carries unlimited power, and unlimited knowledge. To create and use that wand, an intimate knowledge – a correct knowledge of time will be required."

"Ok, I think I understand the need," Salindale said. "But what is so critical that this understanding of time must be accomplished immediately. Isn't your vision many, many years in the future?"

"Yes and no. Only when you understand time will you be able to understand the need for this knowledge now. It is critical to that wand."

Salindale nodded in reverie. "This wand … it is critical to our future? What is so special about it?"

Kimmay smiled, "You asked. The wand lives. It is our creation and it is a symbiote with our progeny. In your future, very special children will be identified at birth. Their gifts will be clear and unmistakable, and hence they will be groomed for their future role. Upon their birth, they will give birth to their wand. Their blood shall be given to a chosen wand. Together they shall grow and mature and bond. And when they reach the Time, they shall be called Magicians."

Salindale looked into Kimmay's eyes, and she could plainly see the glimmer of strength and pride. And then Salindale realized the truth behind Kimmay's narration. "You're a Magician." It was a simple statement, there was no need for a question or confirmation.

"I am no more than you," Kimmay answered.

"You cannot deceive me mother, you are a Magician." Neither said a word for several moments. Kimmay stared into Salindale's eyes, proud of her daughter and what she had deduced. Kimmay had not had to tell her, Salindale had understood.

Salindale on the other hand, was in awe. She had known her mother was special. She had witnessed much of Kimmay's abilities and heard the stories and whispers. The entire Matriarchy had known Kimmay's values and purpose were moved by a destiny beyond their understanding. But now … only upon meeting her mother after her death, after she was beyond Salindale's reach, did she begin to understand how far removed her mother was; how far beyond all of them that Kimmay truly stood.

"So mom, do you regret never having your own wand?"

Kimmay took Salindale's hand and held them before her. "How do you know that I don't have a wand?"

"Don't tease me mother. You just said that you have to be united with the wand when you are born, and you have to grow together."

"To reach the full potential of the combination, that is correct. But an orphaned wand can still be a powerful tool. It can take you two degrees from First Magician."

"Do you have an orphaned wand?"

Kimmay broke into a laugh. "What do you think?" she asked with gleam in her eye. "But to answer your earlier question, I have no regrets. Not for one minute. Now that I finally understand the truth, how could I regret anything? After all, I volunteered for this." Kimmay dropped Salindale's hands and slowly began backing out of the circle of blue light. "Good-bye daughter. I am so proud of you."

And Kimmay disappeared again.

 

"Why do we stay here?" Kimmay asked her fellow travelers. "I have delivered the messages as you instructed."

"Because Salindale and the Matriarchy have not yet destroyed the Kastellians."

"So?"

"So you must bear witness to their ultimate death," Chunni said.

"Why?" Kimmay moaned. "Haven't I had to see enough carnage and death?"

"Linda prepared you well, but she did not finish your lesson," Jean added.

"What lesson?"

"You have witnessed genocide from the eyes of the victim. Now you will see it from the eyes of the perpetrator. This is your revenge, Kimmay."

"Revenge? No. We discussed this already. It is something that even you said had to be done."

"It is your revenge," Chunni said.

"I don't want revenge. Justice is all I want. I want to protect other species from a wasted fate."

"Revenge!" Jean and Chunni both stepped closer to Kimmay.

"No! Why?" Kimmay cried.

Chunni quietly answered, "Because it consummates your education. Today you may finally graduate."

Kimmay merely looked in to Chunni's eyes as the sorrow began to overwhelm her. Kimmay looked into the sky and through her new-found special talents she could see a small star-like object appear high overhead. It burst into a bright light and a cascade of powerful electrons bombarded them and all of the Kastellians walking to their jobs and their families and their tightly controlled responsibilities.

The Kastellians crumpled to the ground just as the second satellite exploded over the surface of the planet. Kimmay covered her eyes with her hands … but she still saw everything.

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

June 2222 –Three weeks before

 

The American's mood turned uglier as the week progressed. The Builder's ship sent meaningless drivel on a daily basis, explaining, or purporting to explain, the nature of their problems and the time needed to correct those problems. As a capitulation to the Earthlings, they had dropped their screens and were fully visible on telescopes.

But activity on the ship was fast and furious. Individuals were jumping off and on the ship at astonishing rates. Day and night, day after day they were moving people back and forth between the ship and … somewhere. The other destination wasn't within the solar system.

At least for several days they were staying outside the local system. Then small ships began popping in and out around Jupiter. That bothered the American, but for the wrong reason. Only the heirs of the Matriarchy understood what the Builders were doing. They were looking for their ship.

 

The mistress had been summoned to EO Bear's state-room. That meant that Bear must have returned from home-world command. She was more than a little nervous as she walked through the convoluted corridors. It had been almost a week since he had left. Communications between the Jasmine and home command had been almost non-stop as orders were continuously relayed to the crew. Hundreds of additional technicians had arrived to carry out those new instructions. While diplomats played word games with the Earthlings, the technicians had been urgently sifting through every database on the planet. What they were looking for they would not say.

"Enter," the EO bellowed.

The door opened and the mistress tentatively stepped into the room. Bear rushed over to her and picked her up in his arms and kissed her. "I am so glad to see you," he said. "Things have been so hectic at command."

"What's happening?" the mistress asked.

"We've opened a hornet's nest and we honestly don't know what to make of the situation. Everything is contradictory and none of it makes sense. Let me tell you what I know. Do you remember the Kastellians?"

"Yes. We used them for some of our messier situations. But they were almost totally wiped out almost two hundred years ago."

"That's right. A few survived on remote planets, but their civilization was destroyed. Do you know who destroyed them?"

"No, I thought we never found out."

"Well we know now. The Earthlings on the third planet did it."

The mistress gasped. "How? They don't have that ability, do they?"

"It appears that at one time they did. And even more worrisome, they may have one of our battleships from 1000 years in the future."

The mistress uttered the foulest curse in her language.

"And even better, the ship is here. It is orbiting one of the moons of the large planet."

"How can this be?" she asked.

The EO tossed his arms in the air and said, "I do not know. This last week I have been coordinating hundreds of studies aimed at this planet and we are still trying to confirm things.

"But the most fortuitous event happened just last week. A witness from two hundred years ago appeared at home-world command. He was the ambassador to Kastelle. Somehow he has been sent forward in time. He is an actual eye-witness to much of what I have told you. He was on Kastelle when the Earthling appeared, and he has been onboard our future ship. We have run him through every mind probe known to the galaxy and his story is confirmed every time!"

"But how did the Earthlings destroy the Kastellians?"

"No one knows. Obviously they have interdimensional portal travel, but it is, or at least was rudimentary. They projected holograms through it because they admitted they couldn't send themselves through. But strangely enough, we don't see them using it around their planet now. It's like they never finished developing it. Our researchers have gone through their history records and they have found the arrival of a Kastellian colony ship. A small group of … of … independent physicists used a teleportation device to place several fusion bombs on the colony ship and destroy it. It makes no sense at all."

"What is teleportation?" the mistress wondered.

"Conversion of matter to energy, the energy is transmitted in discrete packages with reconstructive directions that allow it to re-materialize at the destination."

"Isn't that rather primitive?"

"And unreliable," Bear added. "But it seems to have worked for them. It must have gotten their fusion bombs through the Kastellian colony ship defenses. At least that is what some of their history books say.

"But there is nothing in their history about destroying the Kastellians and their home world."

"Maybe they didn't really do it. Maybe someone else did it?"

"The ambassador that we interviewed has cognitive recognition and memory of the entire event. He couldn't fake it. The alien that he faced said more than once that she was from Earth. And things just don't seem to make sense … or worse, they make too much sense. For instance, how did this ambassador just fortuitously arrive here, one hundred years in his future, at just this time, at the exact time that we found their home world? How could that possibly be a coincidence?

"And even more frightening things have we learned. The Earthlings proclaim to be the home of the Prophecy!"

"Which one?" the mistress asked in derision.

"All of them."

"That's ludicrous."

"I know, I know. But this entire scenario gets even stranger by the minute. They told the ambassador that they had our battle-group flagship from 1000 years in the future."

"Yes, you said that, but that's impossible!"

"No it's not. He has seen it. Again we have scanned his brain and it is there. The doctors say that he couldn't possibly have faked the memory."

The mistress just stared at her master and shook her head no.

"Oh yes. And he swears the ship is right here in this solar system circling one of the moons of the gas giant."

"But … but where is it then. Have you looked?"

"We've been looking for three days. Either it isn't there, or we have made some tremendous advantages in cloaking screens in the future." The EO scratched his chin, "I sure hope that it is the latter scenario."

"But what are they doing with our ship? How did they get it?"

"Obviously they have had contact with us before, but it is with our future. So we have no knowledge about the encounter and they do. Again, our researchers have scoured their history and found tons of information.

"My mistress, listen to what I tell you. Our future people truly think this planet is home to the Thirteenth Prophecy. They were so sure that they along with Seekers from the future battled to lay claim to this planet."

"We go to war with the Seekers?"

"No. It is a battle waged through time where we each tried to take control of the native population and steer their development towards us. But we failed and the Earthlings found out. They found the Keepers and brought them here to protect them from us."

"The Keepers?" the mistress asked in shock. "But they're a myth."

"Not anymore. The Earthlings have pictures of one. The Keeper helped defeat us and the Seekers and as retribution took our ship. It seems the Keeper gave them our ship. At least that's what the Kastellian ambassador tells us. He says that he has seen it, but there is no mention of it in the Earth archives. In fact, their archives say the Keeper sent the ship into their sun to destroy it. She told the Earthlings that it was too advanced to let them have it. Yet, our ambassador says that he saw it. If the Earthlings have it they never talked about it or recorded it."

The mistress walked around the room thinking. "Master, if the Earthlings never talk about it, if they act like it doesn't exist, then how did the ambassador find it?"

"The Earthling told him exactly where to look. And it was there!"

"Then they really, truly do have it?"

"Yes, high command thinks the ambassador's scenario is factual. But they erased all knowledge of its existence from their data files. They are hiding it from us."

The mistress thought a bit longer. "Is that how they know we are here? Are they using our own ship against us?"

"A very possible and even probable scenario," he admitted.

The mistress reflected on all of the information for a moment and then the most incongruous thought came to mind. A thought that should have been there from the start, "Time travel? It's … it's really possible?"

"Oh yes, my dear. And you know what? Other Travelers have had it for centuries. They kept it hidden from us and have used it to their own advantage all this time. Well, almost all this time. Mistress, listen to me, the veterinarian was right. Something has happened to their time-travel abilities. They can no longer travel though time."

"No?"

"This is most peculiar … and frightening. Others have admitted to us that they had time travel. But about the time that the battle, the future battle with Earth, takes place, everything changed. No one could move through time anymore. They have been baffled for almost two centuries now. And then our ambassador from Kastelle popped up and they went crazy. How did that happen, they all want to know.

"I tell you lover, strange things are happening."

Bear's mistress fell into a chair. "This is amazing, master. Time travel, the Prophecy, a battleship from the future … I don't know what to think."

"Nor does high command."

"So what are you going to do?"

EO Bear took a deep breath and sighed. "My lovely mistress, I am going to take our ship to the Earthling's home planet and stall for time."

"For what reason? To gather more information?"

"No, we are going to stall for time while our supreme commander takes this issue before the Traveler Consortium. Command has decided this situation is too volatile and too dangerous. If these people truly are the center of the Prophecy, then everything changes. Everything."

The Executive Officer gave his mistress a pathetic and sad look. "I may even have to begin negotiations with the Earthlings. We may have to negotiate terms."

"For their surrender?" she asked hopefully. Bear said nothing. His mistress turned white.

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

August 2221 – 1 year before

 

It was much later than normal when Jean returned home to the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend. Chunni was curled up on an over-stuffed chair as she reviewed the latest thesis papers form potential candidates.

"Hi sweetie," she said. "That was a rather cryptic message you sent me. What kept you?"

Jean kicked off his shoes and dropped his electronics on the nearest table. "It was very strange today," he started as he collected a kiss from his roommate. "Mysterious almost. I'm supposed to go on a trip next week. We leave on Monday and I'll be gone for three or four weeks. But I still don't understand where I'm going or what I'm doing. This is bizarre."

Chunni jumped on her knees and a huge grin broke out across her face. "Your going on your orientation trip?" she gasped.

"Yeah, I guess that's it. Did you hear about it? Do you know what this is all about?"

"Oh my gosh! They must really think highly of you. Everyone else has to wait 5 or 6 or sometimes 10 years before they go on their orientation."

"Then you know what this is about?" Jean asked.

Chunni fell over backwards in her chair and looked into her lover's eyes. "Oh yes! Remember about a year ago when I had to go to India for mother's operation?" Jean nodded. "I didn't go to India. I'm sorry that I lied to you, but I had no choice. This is very, very secretive. I wasn't allowed to let you know about orientation."

Jean quickly forgave his lover. "Then you do know what this is about. Tell me. Where am I going?"

Chunni closed her eyes tightly and began laughing.

"What?" Jean asked.

"I'm sorry, dear. But until you actually undergo orientation, I am not allowed to say anything."

"Come on," he said as he joined her in the large chair. "I'm leaving on Monday. You can tell me a little about what is going to happen."

Chunni gave her lover a large grin. "No, I can't say a word. After you go through it, you will understand."

"I'm not sure," he said with a large pout on his face. "You can't tell me anything?"

"I can tell you only this, you are going to be blown away."

 

Jean reported to the Office of Transportation at 9:00 AM on Monday. He carried a valet with one week's change of clothing and his full compliment of electronics. "Empty your pockets," the technician instructed him.

The technician took all of his communication tools and placed them in a plastic bin. He popped a lid on the bin, wrote Jean's name on the end and slid it into a rack with other bins. "No communication devices allowed," he said. "Your guide is on his way." Jean looked on blankly. "Sit," he was told.

Two minutes later a large man entered the office. He walked directly over to Jean and extended his hand, "I'm Gerrard. I'll help explain everything to you these next couple of weeks. So are you curious about this trip?"

"Yes," Jean muttered.

"I'm sure you are. Well, prepare to change your mind about everything. You're going to learn about the Matriarchy and see things you've never imagined. Shall we get started?"

Jean DeLonge quietly followed Gerrard out of the office and down a series of sterile hallways. Gerrard said nothing until they entered an unmarked room. The room was covered with cameras, surveillance equipment and two large men with automatic weapons. They stood behind protective glass and looked at Jean with cool, analytical eyes.

Gerrard slid an envelope into a slot in the wall. "This will take a few minutes," he explained as he leaned against the wall and waited. A couple of minutes later a door opened on the opposite side of the room. "I guess we're ready," Gerrard said as he led Jean through the door. They walked down another sterile corridor and entered an elevator at the end. As the doors closed the floor dropped under them. Jean's knees buckled at the sudden acceleration.

"Sorry," Gerrard said. "I should have warned you. We have a long ways to go. About 2000 meters down."

"Down?" Jean said.

"Yeah, I guess I can start explaining a few things now. We're in an old Swiss army defense installation. We started almost 500 meters below the surface. The Foundation bought this installation and then tunneled straight down an additional 2000 meters. The depth covers our tracks."

"What tracks?"

"Well you know that Earth defenses have IDT chips placed all over the planet, right?"

"And throughout the solar system," Jean added.

"Yeah, that's right. Well, what you don't know is that the Foundation has access to all of those systems. We monitor them faster, and better, than everyone else on the planet. After all, we supply the chips – the brains of the systems." Jean nodded as they continued to plummet down.

"Anyway, the systems that are placed in Europe have been slightly … detuned. They aren't quite as sensitive as the other monitors."

"Why?"

"Because along with 2500 meters of granite we can keep those monitors from detecting what we are about to do."

"And ... ?"

"We're going to "port" to a starship orbiting the sun."

"Huh?" Jean asked incredulously.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. As they stepped out into a dimly lit corridor, Jean could see that they were no longer in the sterile hallways of above. Rough rock provided the walls of a large cavern. At the far end stood a platform with a few consoles off to the side.

Gerrard continued his narrative, "If you remember, many years ago Kimmay and the Keepers defeated the Travelers." Jean looked suspiciously at Gerrard. "And you know that the Keeper confiscated the flagship from the Builder's armada."

"She sent it into the sun," Jean added.

"Well, not exactly," Gerrard said with a large grin. "Actually, she gave it to Kimmay. And now we have it. That's where we're going."

Jean stopped dead in his tracks. Gerrard continued walking for a few steps before he realized that Jean wasn't following him. He stopped and turned around to look at Jean. "Are you serious?" Jean asked with a hoarse voice.

"Oh yeah." Gerrard walked back to Jean and placed his large paws on Jean's shoulders. "Not only do we have the ship, but we know how to pilot it. Your job is to learn how to control their temporal tunneling technology."

"Temporal …?"

"Not only is it a spaceship, but it can travel though time. Or at least it could at one time. But we haven't been able to make the time-travel portals open. That's going to be your job."

"Is that all?" Jean asked facetiously.

Gerrard chuckled. "Heavens no. You're also going to learn about the Matriarchy, the conspiracy to take over the world and the interstellar battle with the Martians."

Jean cocked his head and squinted at Gerrard.

"Well part of it is true," Gerrard smiled. "There are no Martians and we're not going to take over the world. We're just going to protect it. And you're going to help."

Gerrard pulled Jean along as they walked to the platform. Gerrard handed a key to the technician and he plugged it into a control panel. He confirmed Gerrard's authorization and motioned them onto the platform. Jean reluctantly followed Gerrard onto the platform. "Ready?" the technician asked.

"Hang on," Gerrard told Jean as he waved to the technician.

The room went dark and Jean's stomach jumped up into his throat. He felt like he was falling even faster than the elevator. But as soon as the sensation hit him it ended. They were standing in a brightly lit room that was definitely not part of the world that he was familiar with.

"Welcome to the Enterprise," a comely woman said.

"The Enterprise?" Jean asked.

"We thought it was appropriate," the woman answered. "It is our first starship, after all," she smiled.

"What just happened?" Jean asked Gerrard.

"Interdimensional travel; transportation that is. The flop in your belly was traveling to this spot through parallel dimensions. Gravitons can't pass through so you felt like you were in free-fall."

"Interdimensional …?" Jean was lost.

"Well, some people say multi-dimensional, but it's the same concept. Now we just say IDT."

"You mean like the Travelers used?"

"Exactly. We've had it for over a hundred years now. It's still a secret. You can't tell anyone else about it. And you can't talk about the ship or the Matriarchy either. ELF is granting you a great honor by sharing their best-kept secrets."

The woman spoke up, "This is your orientation to the true talents and abilities of the Eleven Lights Foundation. But come this way, we have a welcome video and then an orientation video for you to watch. Then we can get down to business and answer your more serious questions. By the way, I'm Beatrice," and she extended her hand.

Beatrice led Jean and Gerrard down a series of corridors until they reached a large room with a view of space. Heavy polarizing filters were in place over the port so that they wouldn't be blinded by the sun. "Is that the sun?" Jean asked. "Where exactly are we?"

"We're just outside the sun's corona. We're hiding from Earth here. The enormous energy flux from the sun blinds the IDT chips from detecting our jumps from Earth to here. The portal is invisible to the rest of the nations of Earth."

"And this is really the Builder's ship?"

"Absolutely. We've been studying it for almost two hundred years now. We can actually fly it. But there is still much we don't know. This ship can travel through time, but we still haven't mastered that trick. We're hoping that you can help."

"Me?"

"Oh yes, Dr. DeLonge." Jean still flinched occasionally at being referred to as Doctor. Even though he had never received his doctorate, everyone at ELF used that honorific before his name. 'Simple respect,' they all said.

"In fact," Beatrice continued, "you will be taught to run certain functions of the ship, along with hopefully deciphering the time travel systems."

"What systems will I learn? And why?"

"I'm not sure which department you will be assigned to, but everyone at ELF learns at least two assignments."

"Why?"

"Because someday we may have to use this ship to defend Earth. This is the greatest treasure humanity has ever received. While we are currently keeping it secret, we will eventually release all the information that we learn. And in addition to us protecting this ship and its technology, it in turn may have to protect Earth one day. So everyone gets to pitch in."

Jean merely nodded.

"I'm sure you have lots of other questions Dr. DeLonge, but first let me show you the orientation videos. They will explain many questions for you much better than I can. Shall we start with Kimmay and the Matriarchy?"

Jean took a seat and began his formal orientation. His mouth was agape for the entire time.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

June 2222 – Three weeks before

 

"Those look familiar," Kimmay said with a smile.

"You should know," Chunni answered.

"So what are we doing here?" Kimmay glanced around the jeweler's workshop. Several of the jewelry boxes were completed and sitting on a shelf.

"Changing the hinge mechanism on a few."

"So this is how the Keeper obtained the wands. She never knew, did she?"

"No. She was merely the delivery person."

"How will I know which one to keep for myself?"

"I will speak to you," her wand answered with a slight tingle.

"There is still something that I do not understand," Kimmay said.

"What?"

"Timing. Why did you have to bring the Keeper to Earth before you changed time? And why did you change it when you did? Why not go way back in time and change it just as the universe formed?"

"Valid questions," Jean conceded. "Chasing back in time becomes a futile game. I go back to one second after the big-bang and change time to the way that I want it, and then my adversary goes back to one tenth of a second earlier and changes it to his way. We can keep chasing back one nanosecond after another and play the game forever."

"That is why we invented Möbius loops. They not only let us do the impossible – cause and effect can be suspended - but they also act as anchors in time. Once they are in place, you can't force a change in time past them. They are like a breakwater that prevents waves from passing through."

Chunni spoke up, "The Magicians couldn't go back too far in time, because there were certain items that had to happen before the change could be made. Möbius loops are the key to everything in time. Certain Möbius loops had to be established before the conditions were right."

"Like what?"

"Like the Magicians had to exist first," Jean continued. "The Möbius loops allow the Magicians to move items backwards in time, and do it permanently. It is almost impossible to eliminate a loop once it is established. They serve as very important anchors. And it just so happens, it is around these anchors that the Magicians are strongest."

Kimmay's vacant glare indicated that she still didn't understand.

Chunni took over, "The anchors are the key to understanding this, Kimmay. Great events require great strength. And rest assured, the changing of the time paradigm throughout the entire universe was a great event. Our greatest strength is centered near our strongest Möbius loops."

"That means both physically and temporally close to our loops. Our strongest loops are centered right around you Kimmay. Your time and your Earth are the center of the Magician's strength."

"Us? I mean now?"

"Kimmay, you are more special than you can possibly imagine," Chunni cooed. "We have told you that you exist in more loops than anyone else in history, did we not?"

"Uh huh," Kimmay grunted.

Jean and Chunni looked at each other and shared a thought. They both seemed to shrink just a little in Kimmay's presence. Chunni turned to look into Kimmay's eyes. "There is one loop that is more massive, more powerful and more important than every other loop combined." Chunni stopped and couldn't continue.

Jean took a deep breath, "And that loop is you."

Kimmay could barely whisper, "What?"

Jean looked at his feet, and spoke, "It is still coming Kimmay. It is the most important event in the entire circle of Earth, humans and Magicians. But right now, it is more fragile than you can know."

Kimmay just looked at Jean. Her mouth hung open but she said nothing.

"It is not quite time, Kimmay. But when the events are aligned, you will have a choice to make. It will be your choice and yours alone. It is our responsibility to help you understand when that choice comes."

"It is our great honor to answer your final questions and finish your training," Chunni said. "That is why we have helped you to close your Möbius loops and explain them as best we can. That is why you had to remain on the Kastellian planet to watch the final consequences of what you started. And we still have a little more to share with you, but we are coming to the …" Chunni's voice trailed off to only a hush.

Jean finished, "And of course the Keeper and their loop were part of all this. But going back a bit, your first question was why we had to bring the Keeper to Earth before the Magicians performed their magic; because that is where their power is centered. And that is where you were."

"How close are we to … to whatever?"

"It won't be long. We have to close our loop and allow you to bring our wands to us. And then … not long."

The three of them left the room containing the jewelry boxes and their wands. As they stepped through the door none of them carried their wand. Each wand had been placed in the hinge loops of the boxes. But as the door closed behind them, they could each feel the familiar stiffness of their wand against the skin of their right forearm. Möbius loops – suspension of cause and effect –controller of time and power.

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

September 2221 – 1 year before

 

"And did you see the blood diamonds?" Chunni asked.

"Yea, I sure did. They were even more impressive in person than in all the videos."

"And when do you have to go back?"

"Two weeks, they said. I've got to study my navigation books, and then I go back and actually steer the Enterprise in a series of maneuvers."

"Cool! I can help you with your studies. Navigation and flight control was my second assignment. Wait until you actually get to make a jump. That is absolutely awesome!" Chunni said with abundant enthusiasm. "Have they told you what your second assignment will be?"

"They haven't decided yet. Maybe weapons, but Ms. Choi said she was very anxious for me to start work on the temporal tunneling system. So I'll just have to wait and see."

Chunni cuddled tighter in Jean's arms as they sat on the sofa discussing Jean's orientation trip. "Isn't it awesome? We can finally talk openly about what we really do. Did you ever dream of flying a real starship?"

Jean laughed. "Oh yea, all the time," he said facetiously.

Chunni closed her eyes and thought. "Imagine, being responsible for the entire planet. If the Kastellians ever come back, we will man the ship that intercepts and destroys them."

"I don't think the Kastellians are coming back. The Matriarchy saw to that," Jean said soberly.

"But someone else might show up. And we can't expect the Keeper to return and help us."

Chunni abruptly changed the course of the conversation, "And did you see the cube?"

Jean's mood brightened, "Amazing technology. You could almost smell the room. And Krysallis was so beautiful."

"You liked Krysallis did you?" Chunni teased. "Have you ever thought about impersonating her in your act?"

Jean paused for a moment, "Sort of. I thought she would be fun to dress like, but I could never think of an act to put with her. You know, singing and dancing. I can't imagine telling dirty jokes as Krysallis."

"And what about Kimmay? Did you ever think about imitating her?"

"Kimmay has always been out of bounds for me. She was always my hero, or heroine I should say. No, she was too important for casual entertainment."

"How about Tiffany or the Keeper?"

"I think the Keeper might be fun. That prom dress was to die for," and they both began laughing.

"You should do her," Chunni said enthusiastically. "Let's go look for a prom dress this weekend. It'll be fun."

 

 

CHAPTER 15

June 2222 – 2 weeks before

 

The American was having another one of his temper tantrums. "Almost two weeks and all we get are simple platitudes and bullshit. They're flying all over our own solar system and no one says boo to them. What the hell are they doing?"

"I'd say they are looking for something," the Swiss envoy said.

"What? A base to open fire on us?"

The Russian swept her hair from her face and sighed. They had been listening to the ugly American for too long now, and they were all tired of him. "Perhaps," she said sarcastically. "I guess we should just ask them. What do you think?" she asked her American counterpart.

He merely glared at her.

 

EO Bear stood in front of his command chair and looked over the bridge. All eyes were upon him as he straightened his jacket. "Under, are all stations ready?" he asked in a formal tone of voice.

"Yes, Executive Officer Bear," the Under Executive Officer answered just as formally.

"Helm, is course programmed?"

"Yes, Executive Officer Bear."

"Communications, open a channel to the Earth planet,"

"Ready Executive Officer Bear."

Bear cleared his throat, "This is Executive Officer Bear of the stellar ship Jasmine of the Empire of the Builders, Member of the Traveler Consortium. I respectfully ask permission to move this ship into orbit around your planet. If permissible, please relay protocols and navigation at your convenience."

Bear stood for ten minutes waiting a reply. "Executive Officer Bear and the crew of Jasmine, we extend our warmest welcome to you from Planet Earth. Please move into a geosynchronous orbit over one of the land masses."

"Thank you. We shall begin moving into orbit in one minute. Our velocity and trajectory will require thirty hours to achieve orbit. We will keep you advised. EO Bear at your service."

 

"Thirty hours?" the American bellowed. "How fast are they going to be moving?"

"Rather fast for such a large mass," the Italian said. "That's a fair distance from near Mars orbit they have to cover."

"Can they do that?" the American asked.

The stupidity of the question was lost on no one. No one attempted to answer the question.

"Are we going to activate our defense system?"

"As we agreed to before, yellow alert will be maintained," the forum president replied.

"That's not active," the American protested. "That's sitting ducks! I demand that this council re-open the discussion again. We should move to red alert immediately!"

"Discussion is closed, sir. Perhaps you should consult with your government again." The president had had enough and she had just politely dismissed the American.

"We'll see about that," the American said as he stomped out of the room.

 

When the Jasmine had moved to 100,000 kilometers off Earth, EO Bear returned to his bridge. "Report," he ordered.

"All is well, Executive Officer Bear. The ship is on course and on time with all systems showing green. Planet Earth shows minimum defensive posture. Their systems are on low-level alert."

"Very well. Screens shall remain down."

At 75,000 kilometers the Jasmine had almost matched orbital speed and was slowly moving into geosynchronous orbit. They were passing over the western hemisphere land mass on their way to final orbit above the Indian sub-continent.

A red light popped up on the control panel in front of the EO. "Report," he ordered to sensor command. Sensor command never had time to analyze and answer the EO.

 

Five American laser bases fired simultaneously. The atmosphere turned to plasma and sonic booms echoed across the countryside as the death beams flashed across the sky and towards the incoming starship. The crew of the ship had no time to prepare for the massive attack. Fortunately for the Builders, the ship's automatic defense system responded immediately. When weapons fire from an unexpected attack was encountered, the ship reflexively initiated a jump of one light year.

The ship disappeared from the planetary sensor grid, and at the same time the IDT detector grid reported a massive jump. No one could tell if the starship had made the jump while still intact, or as debris from the sneak attack.

 

"What the fuck did they do?" Ms. Choi screamed. She had been sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise monitoring the arrival of the Builder's ship. The American attack had occurred during their daylight, which meant the Builder's ship was on the sun side of Earth. The Enterprise was able to monitor the entire event.

While the Earth systems futilely looked for the Builder ship, the Enterprise immediately located it. They were sitting one light year out, screened and cloaked and preparing for battle.

"Red alert," Ms. Choi shouted. Klaxons went on over the entire ship. "We need emergency deployment. Get all backup crews up here immediately!"

 

It was early evening in Lucerne when the red alert reached the Eleven Lights Foundation. Automatic systems activated and emergency calls were sent to the first and second crews of the Enterprise. Scientists and technicians spread across the Lucerne area were finishing meals when their calls arrived. Most were in disbelief when they glanced at the message. What could possibly have happened?

Their questions were answered as they rushed back to ELF headquarters. Radios, computers and videos immediately picked up the news of the American treachery and were broadcasting it world-wide. Scientists hardly had time to send regrets to spouses, families and lovers as they hurried back to ELF corporate offices.

Once inside, emergency instructions were collected as they all headed towards the underground clearance center. One by one the Enterprise crew members were cleared and sent down the elevator to their jump platform. In little over two hours Ms. Choi had her crew aboard. Chunni and Jean sat across from each other in the navigation chamber.

 

"Under!" EO Bear thundered. "Report!"

"Still collecting departmental reports, EO Bear. No significant damage to report so far. A couple of minor injuries is all. The defense grid is intact, all stealth systems are operational and weapons are online."

"Communications, open a portal to home world command immediately. Send them our logs and then prepare for my telecast."

"Yes sir," came the response.

Bear's mistress was standing behind the Executive Officer. He turned to her and through gritted teeth uttered, "This is war now!"

 

Ms. Choi took the podium in front of the camera. "The Americans have launched a pre-emptive and unprovoked attack against the Traveler space ship. They fired 5 laser weapons simultaneously. It seems the target's defense systems must have reacted immediately, automatically jumping the ship one light year away. Earth still hasn't found the ship, and they won't. It is out of their reach. This ship, the Enterprise, has identified their opening and recovering position. However, at this time we do not know the status of the Traveler ship.

"It is difficult to tell what the Earth Space Defense Council will do next. They may think they have destroyed the ship and then stand down. I'm sure there will be world-wide condemnation of the Americans, but as politics goes, they will probably do nothing more than issue a formal letter of censure."

"Why did they attack?" someone asked. "Were the Travelers preparing to attack?"

Ms. Choi sighed, "I have no idea at this time. I have received reports that the Americans have been acting belligerent ever since first contact was initiated. My personal opinion is this was a power play for internal consumption. Their President has been trying to re-establish his power ever since their Senate castigated him for his arrests of homosexuals and migrants.

"But that is of no matter now. The Travelers will probably respond in kind. We are going to move the Enterprise into a defensive position around Earth. We will use shields and screens during our mass propulsion move to moon orbit. We don't know what the Travelers can detect, but most assuredly they can see an IDT jump. And we don't want the Space Defense Council to know about us either. So we will take a slow ride to our orbit.

"Once there, we will remain on alert and prepare to defend the planet against an attack from the Travelers. You people are the best defense our planet has. You must remain alert, and be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. I know none of you expected to become soldiers. We are asking much of you, but I personally know each and everyone of you. I know that you have the talent and ability and character to perform to the highest levels that you have been trained.

"Good luck … to us all." The camera flicked off and Ms. Choi crumpled into her chair. "We're not ready for this," she confessed to the empty room.

 

Bear's mistress politely knocked on Bear's door frame. He swiveled around in his chair to see who had arrived. "Master, we have received word from home world command. The Under asked if I would deliver it to you personally."

"And?"

'They have asked you to come home and prepare your armada. You are to take command of the Builder fleet." The mistress paused and looked into her lover's eyes.

"And?" he asked impatiently.

"The Traveler Consortium by majority vote has declared war against the Earth Planet. All members will send ships to the planet and will coordinate under your command, my master. They have declared that the Earth planet is potentially too dangerous to be allowed to survive and must be dealt with immediately."

Bear was stunned. He recognized that some type of discipline would be meted out to the planet, but full blown war? "Did they say why? Why war?"

"They did not my master. But I do have some contacts in the bureaucracy. Before I came to you, I called and asked if anyone could explain the severe penalty." Again she paused.

"Speak," Bear commanded.

"Master, they fear the veterinarian is correct. The others with time travel also report a collapse in their ability to travel through time. They fear … they think that this planet is indeed the home of the Thirteenth Prophecy. And maybe more."

"More?"

"Master, that is all they would say. There is great fear around this subject and few would even say this much."

Bear swung around in his chair and faced away from his mistress. He was deep in thought when his mistress interrupted him one last time.

"Master, there is one more thing I must tell you." Bear grunted. "Master, even the Seekers and Tay are sending warships."

"What?" he demanded as he spun around in his chair. The mistress could see deep concern in his eyes, but she could say no more.

(continued)

  

  

  

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