Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Museum of Legion Arts: The Emerald Exhibit

OK, here's my silly attempt at humor:

Emerald Legion, Chapter fifteen
“Be it ever so green, there’s no place like home” – the Venegarian mind-witch rebellion

*****************************************************************

Garth had just completed another loop through the aerial rings that Imra had set up, having set a new personal best and veering through the rings without hitting any at breakneck speed. Rokk had just entered the room and Garth did a complicated twist in the air to show off before landing in front of his friend, who was clapping at his performance.

“Thank you, thank you,” Garth said, bowing to an imaginary audience.

“Okay hotshot, Imra’s got a new training idea, since her little obstacle course isn’t even slowing you down.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“The cruiser has been hit and is going to explode. The Queen is unconscious, and you have to carry her down two decks to the escape pod, avoiding debris the whole way.” Rokk takes off his Champion’s Ring and sets it to the side. “So. I get to play Sarya, Queen of Venegar. You get to save me.”

“Okay…” Garth said dubiously. “Shouldn’t you be wearing your Ring?”

“Nope. Imra said that *I* need to learn teamwork, and that it will be ‘good for me’ if I have to trust you.” Rokk’s look was equally dubious.

“Right.” Garth looked at his friend, trying to figure out where to get a solid grip.

“Come on, the ship’s going to explode, get with the saving already!”

“Fine.” Garth snapped, grabbing Rokk around the waist and throwing him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Sprock! Lose some weight, buddy…”

“You’re going to tell the Queen of Venegar she needs to lose weight?” Rokk quipped.

“Oh hey, you said she was supposed to be unconscious. It would be more realistic if I knocked you out…” Garth retorted.

“Just try iiAAAAA!!!” Rokk trailed off as Garth soared into the air with a burst of speed, only narrowly swerving and missing impacting the ceiling.

“Aaaaa,” he continued to protest wordlessly as they looped through rings, barely clearing them on both sides. “Watch Oooff!” he protested as they bounced off a wall and continued through the course.

Garth completed the last obstacle and landed, lowering his friend to the ground.

“I think I’m going to throw up…”

“Hey, I got you off the exploding ship, right?”

“Yeah, except for the slamming us into a wall part.”

“I planned that. I didn’t want to lose momentum, so I just sort of skipped off.”

“So you’re saying that you *deliberately* used me as a crash cushion, because you didn’t want to slow down?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well then,” Rokk said, putting his Champion’s Ring on his finger with a grin and holding out his hand for Garth’s ring. “My turn.”

‘Gulp.’

**********************************************************************

Garth was sitting sullenly on the mats, face pale and drawn, nursing a bump forming on his head. Rokk stood against the nearby wall, massaging his arm.

“Look, I said I’m sorry, alright?”

“It’s okay,” Garth conceded, “Whose bright idea was it to put Imra in charge of coming up with insane training ideas?”

“The Queens.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Changing the topic, I notice that you guys have a door now.”

“Yeah, Reyu’s story really freaked her out.”

“I don’t blame her. I’d be pretty freaked out too if I found out that there was some sick sprock out there collecting Braalian brain-tissue…” Noticing Garth’s look of concern, Rokk tried to lighten the mood, “But hey, as a bonus, I don’t have to hear you guys anymore.”

“Oh right, like you and Jath don’t make enough noise. It sounds like she’s killing you in there!” Garth looked up and mock-whispered, “And between you and me, you scream like a girl…”

*******************************************************************

Three months had passed since Sarya had come to Earth and gathered her Champions. And now the time of Presentation had come.

“Champions. I must attend a function on Venegar. You will accompany me.” She turned to Jath, “You may accompany us, or remain here at the Embassy, as you choose. We will return in a week’s time, in any event.”

Jath nodded, “I will follow.”

“It is settled then. We leave tomorrow.”

*****************************************************************

The Champions walked back to their quarters, considering what to prepare for the trip.

<I should read up on Venegar, I don’t want to embarrass the Queen.>

“Oh man, more etiquette?” Garth moaned.

A sinking feeling in his stomach, Rokk wondered aloud, “So Imra, that whole ‘the ship is about to explode’ training exercise, that wasn’t some weird Titanian precognitive dream or anything, was it?”

<I certainly hope not!> Imra thought with amusement.

*******************************************************************

After a blessedly explosion-free trip, the Venegarian diplomatic cruiser (the first and only of it’s kind) touched down on a stony field outside of the capital city of Srenath.

As they stepped out into the bright sunlight, Rokk re-adjusted the black shawl covering Lydda, and they stood to the side as hundreds of people milled around, hoping to get a view of their Queen. Sarya then proceeded down the ramp and a cheer went up. An honor guard of dozens, wearing chainmail of golden metal under green tabards, but carrying very effective-looking gauss rifles, saluted with military precision, as courtiers in fantastic and intricate robes of state bowed and curtsied.

“I still half-expected the sun would be green or something.” Garth muttered under his breath, hand shielding his eyes from the earth-standard yellow sunlight.

The courtiers fluttered about in some sort of ritualized pattern, and then split apart to clear a path for the Queen’s Mentor Barak, the former King of Venegar, who served now as Regent in her absence. Despite his age, he was a solid man, and moved with confidence, despite his intricately carved golden breastplate and fluttering green cloak. His breastplate bore the symbol of the Emerald Eye of Ekron, but on his cloak was a golden container filled with blue water.

“My child, welcome home. It is time to meet the new crop of adversaries that shall bedevil you, as you bedeviled me.”

Sarya hugged the former King, “It is good to see you again, Barak. You have not lost your subtle way of speaking, I see.”

“Ha!” the man bellowed. “I will be offending the courtiers long after I am planted in the dirt, Sarya, you know this. Let us get this old man out of the hot sun. You shall take my arm, and support my failing limbs.” He proclaimed loudly, and Sarya took his arm, and they strode back to the waiting hover-car.

The apparent leader of the honor guard stepped forward and saluted the Champions, “Hail Champions. You will ride with us.” Garth noticed that the honor guard were also older, nine men and three women, but all at least fifty years of age.

<Champions of the former King,> Imra clarified, drawing his attention to the matching emerald rings they all bore. <Their Rings no longer function, save to allow them to communicate between each other, as the Eye, and all it’s power, has passed to Sarya.>

Garth was keenly aware of the passage to the city, as the veteran Champions eyed their young replacements suspiciously.

**********************************************************************

The streets were packed with spectators, and green ribbons and banners flew everywhere. Garth couldn’t quite make up the writings or illustrations on many of them, as they were shades of green on green too subtle for his eyes to tell apart, but the crowd certainly seemed in the spirit of things.

Vehicles had been cleared from the streets, new looking ground vehicles, powered by biofuels, it seemed, as Venegar had not yet completed it’s conversion to energy-cell technology, or to the general use of the hover-transports used by the Queen and her retinue.

The buildings were an odd mix of new and old. The city was clearly old, and the buildings were built in a medieval style, with none over three floors in height, with few exceptions, such as the royal palace even now coming into view. And yet the people were dressed in fashions of modern fabrics, and the security men lining the streets, keeping them clear for the motorcade to pass, carried sonic weapons.

The enormous green crystal dome in the center of the royal palace soon took up his vision, and the vehicle stopped. Peering out, Garth could see that the Queen’s vehicle had already stopped, and that she was standing on the steps, waving to the crowd. A shimmer in the air seemed to distort his view, and Garth spotted the shield generators concealed in decorative statuary around the entrance to the palace. Apparently, not everyone on Venegar was in love with the monarchy…

The day quickly grew exhausting. Who knew that after six hours sitting bored in a cramped space-cruiser, one could long to be sitting down again? An endless succession of people spoke on all sorts of topics that he quickly tuned out. It wasn’t until the drums sounded that he looked up to see that new figures had arrived, and the Presentation had already begun.

The first group split apart at the entrance to the throne room, and a woman, approximately Sarya’s age, came forward, carrying a baby in a bassinet. He could see that the bassinet had anti-grav generators, and while she was supporting it possessively, it was weightless in her hands. Unlike the finely dressed courtiers in their many yards of silk, she wore loose-fitting pants of dark brown leather, and a loose shirt. Her boots were sturdy, if well-made, and had no sign of decoration. She had a necklace and bracers of dull iron, but they were thick and blocky, more like armor than jewelry. The only decorated item on her person was an ornate pick slung over her back, the head made of gleaming silvery metal, and wickedly sharp at one end, and with a blunt hammer on the other. The handle was composed of a dozen intertwined serpents of different precious metals, each with gems for eyes, a mixture of sapphires, emeralds and topaz.

“Metra,” Sarya greeted with a slight nod. “Welcome to you.”

“Highness, I present my ward,” she moved forward, uncovering the sleeping infant so that Sarya could see him, “I have named him San.”

“A strong name for a strong line. He appears healthy. Train him well, if you expect him to take the throne.” Sarya said brusquely and nodded her dismissal.

With that, Metra stepped backwards from the throne, until she was several paces from it, before turning and rejoining her retinue.

Sarya announced in a ringing tone, “The first challenger is San, of Gardan province. He is recognized!” and Metra raised the bassinet to the quiet applause of the court. The noise woke the infant, who began to fuss, and Metra quickly lowered the bassinet and her people closed ranks around her as she tended him.

Barak stood up from the seat beside the throne. “The Queen has traveled far, and now we have business of the realm to attend to. Leave us.” As the court bustled about, and the guards politely, but firmly, escorted the various guests out of the chamber, Sarya spoke up. “Metra. You are welcome to remain, if you do not wish to immediately return to your lands.”

Metra stepped back into view and bowed, “I am honored, but I must return. Be well, Sarya.”

Garth muttered to Imra. “How many more?”

<Four more, one of which will be presented each day.>

Garth groaned.

*******************************************************************

“Metra challenged the Queen?” Lydda asked.

“It’s complicated. They *all* challenged Sarya, but before she was Queen. The five heads of the provinces duel each other until one is proclaimed the victor. She then challenges the King. Sarya defeated each of these women, and then defeated Barak.” Rokk explained, looking over his pad to try and make sense of the complicated lineages of succession between the six clans.

“Five heads? But there are six provinces…”

“Barak was from Mair, the desert-folk, so his people didn’t get to mount a challenger. No province is allowed to hold the throne twice in a row. But Sarya is from Vaul, the great forest, which means that Mair will be able to mount a challenger when the new generation reaches twenty-five.”

“No other can challenge, just these children?”

“They are trained specifically to take the throne. It’s what they’re *born* for, conceived on the night that a new ruler is appointed. And even then, they aren’t considered suited to hold the throne until they have trained in statescraft for at least twenty-five years, *and* defeated all other applicable challengers in duels. Only *then* can they challenge the current ruler for the throne.”

“And if harm befalls these children, can no one take the throne? Must they wait a score of years to sire and train another?”

Rokk grinned, Lydda was worrying at this like a battle she must win, looking for weak points. “They’ve been doing this for centuries, hon. I’m sure they’ve got back-up plans.”

Still she kept on, “A man for King, and then all his challengers are women, and now Sarya’s challengers will all be men?”

“Yeah, they swap every generation, first a King, then a Queen, then a King again. It seems kind of artificial, but hey, it’s a culture that chooses their ruler based on who wins a sword-fight, so I guess that’s a minor quirk…”

“At least it will be decades before we must concern ourselves with their intrigues,” Lydda gruffly acquiesced, rolling over on the narrow bed that Sarya’s people had provided them.

*******************************************************************

The next days’ presenter was a short bow-legged man, with skin dark and wrinkled, a short white beard, and long white hair pulled back from his balding head. He wore riding clothes, again, plain and undecorated, and at his side carried a horn of ivory, banded in silver and studded with gemstones.
He approached, bassinet in hand and kneeled stiffly, saying only, “I present Gal.”

Sarya leaned forward, “He has clear eyes. Show him the road to the truth, Kator.”

The old man muttered bitterly, “I will try to train him better than my last ward.”

Sarya’s voice was cold as she leaned forward into Kator’s face, “Kanli’s death was through no fault of training. In duels, people die. Her skills were not lacking, it was the steel of her armor that failed her, not you. I trust you to teach Gal as well as you taught Kanli.”

******************************************************************

The week progressed, and even Sarya was looking impatient for it to be over on the fifth day.

Stepping forth from her entourage, the new arrival was bare-footed and bare-armed, dressed in loose and open pants and vest of white cloth, with bold blue sashes fluttering behind her. Across her back was slung an ornate spyglass of gold and crystal, covered with mother-of-pearl traceries and engravings. The child before her was awake and babbling, but she paid it no mind as she carried the bassinet under her arm.

“Landa.” Sarya said, smiling.

“Highness,” Landa said, with a hint of mockery to the title that caused some in the crowds to mutter, “I present Dar. Someday he shall replace you.”

Sarya smiled and got up to hug the other woman. “Perhaps he shall.” She admitted, looking down into the bassinet. “Hmm. A trifle pudgy. You shall have to take better care of him.”

Rokk looked down at his pad surreptitiously, trying to find any information on this woman, other than that she was the head of the island-realm of Lapal.

<She’s the one challenger Sarya never beat.> Imra informed him, noting his curiosity.

“What?” he whispered, “They how is Sarya Queen, I thought she had to beat all of them…”

<She had to beat all *challengers.* Landa and Sarya met the day before their duel and ended up in an argument about trade-routes and market-challenges that went long into the night. Landa showed up the next day without her sword, and declared that Sarya was the victor. Landa had already beaten all of the others with the blade, but she said that Sarya would be a better Queen, and renounced her claim.>

Rokk looked at Landa with new respect, eyes narrowing as her saw her hand slide beneath the bassinet and felt the presence of metal.

<<Knife!>> he had time to warn the others with his Champion’s Ring.

“The monarchy ends now!” Landa shouted in a dull tone, pulling a gleaming dagger out and thrusting it towards the Queen, letting go of the bassinet indifferently.

Rokk closed his eyes and exerted with the force of his powers, managing to stop the woman’s blade just as it drew blood, but before it struck deep, while Lydda surged forward and effortlessly flung the woman back, wresting her knife from her.

“Whoah, baby!” Garth exclaimed, snatching up the bassinet, spinning lazily through the air unattended. Inside, young Dar was burbling away, apparently enjoying the ride.

Landa suddenly looked up, finding herself meters away from the Queen and held in the arms of woman much stronger than herself.

“The monarchy ends now!” a member of the honor-guard suddenly declared, aiming his gauss rifle at the Queen, who had just stood up in alarm. Regent Barak smoothly stepped in front of her, but the man just stood there, eyes glazed.

<It’s a compulsion! I can’t hold him!> Imra announced, but relaxed as the other guardsmen quickly struck their fellow unconscious.

“The monarchy ends now,” a courtier in an ornate golden robe declared, surging forward, serving tray raised like a weapon. Still balancing the bassinet in one hand, Garth turned and one-punched him in the face and he swayed slightly blinking before sinking to the ground unconscious.

Regent Barak’s eyes glazed for a moment, and Rokk got ready to use his armor to fling him aside. “The… Get out of my mind!” he shouted as he staggered slightly, fists clenching.

<Whoever is doing this, they aren’t in the room,> Imra broadcast to her fellow Champions new and old, as well as the Queen. She was surprised to note that Barak also clearly ‘heard’ her announcement.

“Everyone out!” Barak shouted, and courtiers began to flee the room.

Pushing Barak to the side, Sarya stepped out, “Champions, remove your weapons. Place them to the side.”

The honor-guard immediately set down their rifles, and Rokk noticed that they had also code-locked them so that they could not be quickly activated. He heard a clang, and turned to see that Lydda had also drawn her blades and tossed them aside.

Garth thought he felt Imra’s mind-touch for a second, and suddenly found that Lydda was pinning him to the floor and Imra was holding the bassinet. Rokk was now standing with Barak, in front of the Queen, who was looking increasingly annoyed at having people jump in front of her.

“Uh, what happened?”

<You said ‘the monarchy ends now’ and pointed at the Queen. Rokk jumped to block the lightning bolt, only there was no lightning bolt, you just stood there, and then you looked confused, and then Jath jumped on you.>

“Okay, my bad. You can get off me now, Jath…”

Imra seemed to be looking in all directions at once. <Rokk and Jath are the biggest threats right now. Whatever this telepath is doing, apparently they couldn’t figure out how to make Garth use his powers.>

“Use your witchery to protect Rokk,” Lydda declared, sitting down in the middle of the floor and beginning to finger disks of metal from the loop around her belt.

<I think it’s over. I just felt something lift. Some sort of pressure I hadn’t noticed before. Whoever this is has given up, for now.>

Landa was still sitting on the floor and Sarya pushed between Rokk and Barak to help her up.

“I am sorry, Highness. I felt a voice in my mind, and then I found myself staring down a blade…” she looked up, suddenly concerned, “Dar!”

Imra walked forward with the bassinet.

<He’s fine. He’s just had a bit of a swing around the room…>

Landa’s face darkened and her arm froze in mid-air. Sarya took the bassinet from Imra and handed it to Landa. “Yes, she is a mind-witch, but she is not the one to blame for this, Landa.”

*******************************************************************

“Have there been any previous incidents of this sort in my absence, Barak?” the Queen asked impatiently.

“Nothing of this sort, but we have found several otherwise reliable men asleep at their posts of late, and now I am suspicious that someone has been moving through the palace unseen.” Barak growled and smacked the table, “I had thought it but lax discipline and ordered them rebuked.”

<Barak, you seemed to resist the compulsion?> Imra asked questioningly.

“I wore the Emerald Eye of Ekron as King for fifty-two standard-years before Sarya bested me. It strengthens the mind. I do not think that any telepath could have seized her mind today.”

<No. That’s true. Whoever it was must have been getting desperate to attempt to compel you.>

“Does your witchery give you any insights to who did this thing? Was it man, or woman? Venegarian or alien visitor?” the Regent queried.

<I’m sorry, I didn’t get any direct contact at all.>

“But others did, could you find tracks in their minds?” Sarya persisted.

<I can try.>

“Summon Landa, and that guard...”

“Tolath,” Barak supplied. “I will.” His eyes closed briefly and then opened again and Imra could see the green ring on his finger pulse, “Tolath comes, and Landa is being summoned.”

Imra turned to Garth, <Do you mind?> and Garth shook his head, “Please, find this creep. I’m not keen on being anybody’s puppet.”

She led Garth into a corner of the chamber, and sat the two of them down cross-legged. After a few moments, she opened her eyes. “Problem?” Garth said, “do I need to clear my mind or something?”

<No, I’m already done. Garth didn’t gain any useful impressions. Darkness, cloth moving, flicking flames. That’s it. I’m pretty sure there was more than one person in the room with the telepath.>

Tolath arrived, and dropped to one knee before the Queen, “Majesty…” he began, but Sarya placed her hand on his head and cut him off, “Silence Tolath. This was not your doing, and I place no blame upon you.” He looked relieved and she continued, “But I would ask that you allow my Champion to trace your thoughts, for sign of those who attacked your mind, and through you, me.”

Tolath looked up at Imra dubiously, but silently agreed.

Imra stood over the kneeling man and pulled a seat over to him. <This would be easier if you sat down. Easier on your knees, I mean.> He jumped at her mental contact, and looked up at the Regent, who gestured at the chair, “Get up already, you want the Queen to get a sore neck looking down at you!”

<Try and relax.> Imra prodded, but recognized that the man wasn’t likely to do so. She sighed and closed her eyes. A few moments later she opened them again, to see that the man was sweating, eyes wide with uncertainty. <It is fine Tolath. There is no compulsion left.> She turned to the others, <He saw even less than Garth. I think he consciously blocked it out, actually.>

Regent Barak opened his mouth, “You…” but the Queens hand on his arm stopped him. He turned to her with a look of surprise, not used to being interrupted.

Pointing at the Emerald Eye of Ekron on her brow, Sarya wagged her finger. “My turn to boss people around. We settled this already.”

Barak sat down heavily in a chair. “I never wanted to be Queen, anyway.” He muttered dourly before pointing at the golden crown, “It looked better on me.”

Sarya shot him a glare, but he had turned away to fill a goblet of water, which he then sat back and sipped. Seeing her look, he propped his feet up on the table and waved his fingers dismissively. “Go ahead then, lead.”

Smacking his boots off of the table, she turned to Tolath. “You may return to your duties, Champion.”

Landa arrived shortly thereafter, and the Queen repeated her request.

“Mind-witches are the root of the problem. Not the cure, Sarya.” Landa protested.

“This is no longer a request, Landa.”

Landa scowled and stepped directly in front of Imra, arms crossed.

‘Well, this will be fun,’ Imra thought before closing her eyes.

Images flashed before her. Many figures in pale garments, a shadowy room, walls of fitted stone, flickering torches in iron sconces on the walls. Faces in shadow, hoods raised, she could not make out features. Landa is walking up the steps into the palace, bassinet in her hand, tickling the young Dar with a bit of down. A hand touches her arm, and a knife is passed into her hand. As quickly as it happens, she forgets that it is been stowed beneath the bassinet. The warm sun fades to the emerald-tinted shadows of the throne room and she smiles to see Sarya in all her glory.

Imra steps back, eyes opening to Landa’s hostile glare.

<Many figures in a room made of fitted stones, lit by torches in iron sconces. She was given the knife on the steps, but the memory of it was removed until she was commanded to strike. Whoever it was that gave her the knife had to be a telepath. I’m not sure what the others represent, perhaps some sort of larger conspiracy?>

“The buildings of the capital city are made of enameled brick or wood,” Sarya mused.

“And what buildings are of quarried stone are the oldest and most important, and lit by phorescent vapor.” The Regent continued.

“They must have been close,” prompted Sarya to Imra.

<The telepath on the steps of the palace, certainly. The others could be anywhere. There is no reason that Landa, or Garth, should have any images of these others at all.>

Landa grabbed a pad off of the table and began flicking angrily through information, and finally thrust the pad in front of Imra. “The iron torches. Did they look like this?”

<Exactly like that,> Imra confirmed.

“The catacombs beneath the palace. The worms plot amidst the bones of our ancestors!” Landa exclaimed, tossing the pad to the table in front of Sarya.

“There are hundreds of chambers down there. I will have the guardsmen outfitted with scanning machines, and they will sweep the area.” Barak declared, but Sarya shook her head.

“They will be weapons in the hands of our enemies, unable to resist the compulsions. They will turn their weapons upon each other, or us. The group must move quickly, and have few people in it, people known to be resistant to their wiles,” Sarya added, pulling a saber down from the wall and handing it to Barak, before taking a second one for herself and favoring him with a grim smile. “We fight again, old friend, but on the same side this time.”

“My Queen,” Landa began, “I fear that I would be a liability, although I greatly desire to raise a blade at your side.”

“I wish that as well, Landa, but you may be right.” Taking Landa’s hand, Sarya encouraged her, “You are always wise in the ways of battle, when to pick up the blade, and when to pass it to another.”

“Champion Krinn, Champion Ardeen. Your skills will be required. We know they carry metal blades, and we know they have minds. Lead us to our enemy.” The Queen commanded.

***********************************************************************

<They know we’re down here,> Imra warned. <I can feel a mind in that direction, but it’s slippery...> she pointed, and they continued through the darkened corridors, lit only by the light shining from the Emerald Eye and an arc of electricity that burned between Garth’s upraised fingers.

The path grew clear, as the corridor was clearly recently traveled, and the torches on the wall showed signs of recent use. A large circular chamber opened up before them, and across the room, clearly awaiting their approach stood over a dozen figures, clad in robes of poor quality, hoods thrown back to reveal their pale faces. Most were adults, of various ages, but in the front stood a boy of no more than eight, his face as blank as the others.

“Which is the telepath?” the Queen demanded, and turned as Imra gasped and dropped to her knees, arms up-thrust as it to ward off assault. <They all are! Sweet mercy, they are gestalt!> Garth dropped to her side, bringing up one arm, eyes flashing.

Passionless faces stared at the intruders, and Rokk felt something press against his back and a strong arm around his neck. He could sense that Jath had pressed her blade against his back. <You will surrender.> came an echoing voice, stripped of all emotion, like the mechanical recording of some soulless chorus, <Attempt to use your powers, and you will die, Champions.>

Garth seemed frozen in place unable to move, his arm still crackling with electricity, but aimed uselessly at the floor, trembling with strain as he tried vainly to raise it towards the robed figures. Jath’s arm was like steel around Rokk’s neck. He could see several of the robed figures separate from the others and draw blades from the rack against the wall, advancing towards the Queen and Regent, both of whom had apparently fought off whatever compulsion was holding the others in thrall and raised their swords.

Rokk realized that this wasn’t a stalemate, they were already dead. The Queen and her Regent couldn’t possibly fight off all of them, and even if they could, it would take a thought for the telepaths to order Jath to kill them all…

He closed his eyes and felt the dozen metal blades in the rack, each a separate death. Praying for forgiveness, he hurled them violently into the grouped telepaths, shuddering as he heard them slam into flesh and cries of pain.

With a wet sound that traveled through him like a tremor, he felt Lydda’s arm move, and looked down to see the point of her blade protruding from his stomach, just below his ribs. Dark iron-rich blood began to seep out, and magnetic forces held him upright as he lost all sensation in his lower body.

<Rokk!> Imra cried out, <What have you done!>

He looked up to see the telepaths in chaos. At least six had fallen, blades of assorted sizes stuck deep in their guts, and the others were clutching their bellies as if they too had been hit. Garth suddenly regained control of his body and looked up to see Rokk, hanging in mid-air with a sword sticking straight through him. “Medics! Doctors! Healers! Whatever the sprock you people have, get them here, *now*!” he shouted at the shocked Regent who closed his eyes and concentrated.

“My Champions come, I have ordered them to bring every healer we have, and send for more.”

Lydda looked down at the blade in her hand. She had felt it slide home and now her hand seemed stuck to the handle. The Queen moved quickly to Rokk’s side and went to support him.

Rokk’s voice was eerily calm. “I’m fine. Help the others.” He said, and then began to wobble slightly as he lost consciousness and slumped into Sarya’s arms.

Lydda released her grip on the blade and flew back into the wall as if struck. Looking at the sight in front of her, every Warrior’s nightmare, she sank to the floor and placed her hands over her face, wishing with all her heart that this was a lie, but knowing it to be the all-too-terrible truth.

The telepathic group mind had fallen into disarray with the sudden injury to so many of its component minds, and Imra shoved them apart as quickly as she could. Some sought escape from the pain of their brethren, and she helped them, others sought to seize onto their group to help diminish their own pain, and those she had to block. Already the group-mind was regaining focus,

<They are regaining strength!> she cried out, and Sarya barked to the Regent, “Help her.” Her mentor looked at her with a questioning look, shrugging, ‘how?’ and she continued on, “You have the will of a King. Lend her your strength.” Shaking his head, he stepped forward and placed his hand upon Imra’s shoulder, closing his eyes and trying desperately to recall the calming clarity of thought that came from the whispered teachings of his ancestors.

“Jath!” Sarya barked, to no immediate reply, “Jath!” Jath’s head only shook in denial, her face still buried in her palms. Making sure that Garth had a grip on Rokk, Sarya lifted her hand from Rokk’s torso, where she had been attempting to stem the flow of blood and pulled the Kathooni warrior from the floor in a sudden motion. Thrusting her blood-soaked hand into Jath’s face she pulled her to her mate. “Place your hand here,” Sarya commanded, grabbing Jath’s hand and placing it over the wound. “Hold him, as he held you.”

Sarya looked at Garth meaningfully. “You must stop the bleeding. There is no time.” And then she turned and stepped over to Imra, to place her hand upon her Regent’s, and lend the mental strength of the Queen of Venegar to the silent battle transpiring.

“Jath, you’re stronger than I am. You’ve got to pull the sword out fast and clean.”

“He will bleed the faster,” she protested, unwilling to even look down at the blade.

“I’ll take care of that. Just do it!” he said. ‘It’s a good thing you’re unconscious buddy,’ he thought as Jath steeled herself and tore the blade from Rokk’s body, hurling it behind her with such force that the blade snapped against the wall with a sound like a gunshot. Garth gritted his teeth and stuck his fingers into the wound, delivering a sudden jolt of current, and again to the hole in his back, attempting to cauterize the bleeding.

Jath caught the edge of the current, but stood firm. Rokk’s body had jerked with each shock, but hung limply now, and she looked up, “You have stopped his heart!”

Garth put his hand to Rokk’s neck, and was reassured to feel a slow pulse. “No Jath. I don’t think anything can stop that heart.”

Long minutes passed before Garth heard a thundering sound coming down the staircase behind them, and two of the aged former Champions stumbled into the room, an even older figure clad only in a nightrobe supported between them, having not touched a single stair in their precipitous descent. Behind them, a dozen more figures could be seen, some armored, and others more commonly dressed, and often being dragged forcefully down the stairs by the rushing warriors.

Sarya looked up, her brow furrowed with concentration at the older man who had just been brought into the room. “You will tend to my Champion,” she said, pointing at Rokk. “Everybody else, tend to these others.”

The Royal Chirurgeon did not bother to acknowledge his Queen, already examining Rokk’s wound and shouting to the warriors behind him to hand him various items that they had hastily grabbed from his supplies.

********************************************************************

“Three of the injured could not be saved, my Queen,” reported the Chirurgeon.

“Including…” she asked with a nod for discretion, nodding towards her sleeping Champion.

“That one as well, Highness.”

“And my Champion, what of his condition?”

“He will live, but the blade cleanly severed his spinal column. We do not have the science to repair that sort of damage. He will not walk again, not without alien medicine.”

Rokk opened his eyes to see Lydda asleep next to him, holding onto his hand in a bruising grip, even in her sleep. He propped one of his legs while adjusting and the doctor rushed over, “This is impossible! Your legs cannot move, your spine was severed! I but sealed it together with laser-light!”

Sarya placed her hand upon her Chirurgeon, “Clearly it *is* possible, for this Champion.”

“Where are the others?” Rokk asked wearily.

“The remaining telepaths required sedation. Champion Ardeen sits with them, and Champion Ranzz sits with her.”

“How many,” he asked, eyes narrowing.

“Three died,” she said matter-of-factly.

“What about that kid, in the front row?” Rokk asked, dreading the answer.

“Your blades struck the stomach, which is why so many lived when they should have died. The child was struck in the throat, and his death was swift.” Sarya admitted, placing her hand upon Rokk’s shoulder when he tried to get up protesting, waking Jath in the process. “You will lie still.” The Queen ordered, looking to Jath. “If he moves, he may bring injury to himself. Do not let him move.”

The Queen quickly walked away, and Rokk found that he couldn’t budge with Jath’s hand firmly planted in the center of his chest, and when he looked to her, she looked away. “Jath, let me up. I need to see.”

“No. There is nothing to see. Some have lived, some have died. That part is over.”

“Jath.” Rokk began, before looking to see that they were alone for the moment, “Lydda…”

Her face turned towards him suddenly, “You would still call me by that name, even after…” her voice trailed off as she looked at the bandages below where her hand rest.

“I don’t blame you for that!” he protested.

“’Do not blame the blade. Blame the arm that wields the blade.’” Lydda said, quoting some Kathooni aphorism.

Reaching up, he rested his hand against her face, turning it to face his own, “’Do not blame the arm, blame the *mind* that directs the arm.’” Seeing her look, “That wasn’t *your* mind. It was their mind. Minds. Whatever. They used you to hurt me. I don’t blame you.”

Lydda rested her head on his chest and Rokk was chilled to hear her murmur, “I wish you had killed them all, not just three.”

**********************************************************************

<There are too many of them Highness. We can’t keep them sedated forever, and we certainly can’t keep them sedated all the way to Titan.>

“This is the only way? You cannot have your people come here to treat them?”

<Most of my people wouldn’t leave Titan for any reason. No, they need to be taken to Titan and their minds reconstructed. They aren’t even people right now, they’re just… parts in a machine. The older ones, there should be a good chance that our psychologists can pick out their memories and remove them from the others, help them become individuals again. The younger ones, who have spent their entire lives as part of the gestalt, they will have to have lives *created* for them. Fake lives, with fake memories. They don’t have any of their own.>

“The child that died?”

Imra looked downcast. <I hate that we won’t even have the chance to try, but I don’t think he would ever be able to become a person. Even with fake memories, he would be too damaged to function independently. I doubt he’d ever had a thought of his own. He was a puppet, and outside of the gestalt, his strings cut, he’d just lie there. He’d have to be fed and bathed and cared for like, like a pet.>

“You need rest. You have been here for hours, child.” The Queen said, brushing Imra’s hair out of her face as her head sagged.

<I can’t. I have to stay here for them. They are reaching out for each other, and if I don’t block them, they will reconnect. They are so scared, so lonely. If I wasn’t here to soothe them, I don’t know what they’d do.>

We need more telepaths, Sarya thought.

*********************************************************************

The Regent nodded. “It will be as you command.”

His voice thundered to his assembled Champions. “Every village, every town, every tribe has a wise-woman, an old man on the hill, a clever child who always knows the answers to the riddles. Find them. We must locate every one of these mind-witches. They will hide from you, and attempt to deceive you, for they have never fared well among our people, but the Queen calls them to service now. Go, start in the towns of your birth, where your friends and families will know the local lore. Find them and bring them here.”

**********************************************************************

Over the next day, people flooded into the rooms, some old, some young, and Imra would look at them and nod, “Yes. Please sit here and hold this man’s hand.” or shake her head, “No. He is a charlatan, send him home.”

Finally, Imra was able to rest, enough of the rare Venegarian ‘mind-witches’ having been rounded up to give her a few hours of sleep. When she woke, the Chirurgeon was waiting for her, along with Garth, and they led her to the doctor’s work-chambers, where she saw a small body under a sheet. <Is that?>

“Yeah. We thought you needed to see this.” Garth said, as the doctor folded back the sheet to reveal a small incision in front of the boy’s skull, that had been hidden by his hair.

<Sweet Memories! They’ve been here, too?>

“We have examined the others. The other two who perished did not have these marks, but of the eleven survivors, five have also been operated upon in this fashion. I have peered into the boy’s skull with an imager,” the doctor said, draping the sheet back over the dead boys head. “A small portion of his brain has been removed, and your fellow Champion tells me it is this region that governs your mind-speech.”

<Garth, these people, they’re afraid. I sensed that. They didn’t want to be alone, they were *terrified* of being alone. I think that this is why. Someone, or something, is preying on them, and they’ve banded together out of self-defense. They just got lost in it, banded together so tightly that they couldn’t break apart again…>

“If you’re right, maybe we can find out if the ones that were targeted were publicly known to be ‘mind-witches.’ If the locals knew that someone was a telepath, whoever-it-is might have been able to find them. It would explain why they were hiding in the catacombs, covering their faces, anyway…” Garth theorized.

<Doctor, when was this surgery performed?> Imra asked.

“At least a year ago. His skull had grown since the incision. I will check the others as well.” he said, grabbing a scanner and heading out.

************************************************************************

The trip to Titan was crowded, as the Queen had ordered the other ‘mind-witches’ to also make the journey, assuring them that their homes and duties would be attended to in their absence. Imra had convinced her that allowing them to remain untrained in the ways of telepathy was a major factor in the formation of the dangerous group-mind. Sarya agreed that the ‘mind-witches’ needed to be taught to use the weapons that they had been born with, and most of her subjects agreed, ‘though few were happy to be leaving their home-world for an extended period.

No amount of discretion could contain the secret, and within hours of docking at Titan station, it seemed that the entire colony knew the full story, and Imra felt a tiny twinge of regret at the possible panicked reaction of her fellow telepaths scattered across the United Planets. Still, she would rather they lose a few months of their lives safely on their home-world than suffer such an assault on some distant world.

Reyu met her as she arrived, and thanked her for not giving up on the search, and did not seem concerned that she had stumbled upon these new victims by accident. As part of his own therapy, he had negotiated to be able to assist in the treatment of these new arrivals, and while the weary Champions returned to Earth, and the Embassy, he kept in touch with Imra daily, sharing new reports of the information pieced together from many minds.

<The common image is of a male figure, always in shadows, no matter where the light source is in the room. His hand rests upon their chest, pinning them with relentless force, and it is a hand clad in cold metal. They got no mental contact through the metal hand, except for one. A young woman reported that his other hand, one that was not gloved in metal, but warm and of flesh, brushed against her, and she got a fleeting glimpse of a mind that was more like a machine than a man.> Reyu sent.

<That’s all?> Imra asked, disappointed.

<Unfortunately, yes. Whoever is doing this is keeping his thoughts, and his appearance, to himself. I do wonder, why isn’t he just killing the, *us,* after he is done? Why leave potential witnesses?>

<A trail of dead telepaths would have been noticed long before now, especially if their heads had been cut open. We know that he’s been operating for at least a year, gathering his samples, and picking on people who live in hiding, like the Venegarian mind-witches, means that no crime was even reported, until you...>, Imra thought bleakly. Reyu said his good-byes and closed the connection, leaving Imra brooding alone in the dark.

200 quatloos to the first person who guesses who is stealing telepath brains and what he's doing with them. (Guess one, and the other should be obvious.)

Call in the next five minutes, and I'll throw in this complimentary No-Prize!

Emerald Legion, another interlude

****************************************************************

“Venegarian. Ha! Medicine. Ha! Two words that do not belong in the same sentence!” Dr. Gym’ll grumbled. “Cauterization! All this damage I must repair! Savages. Myelin sheath sealed with laser-fire! Did they not have a plasma rifle handy in their medical arsenal? Perhaps an electron pulse grenade? Simple bio-adhesive, and all is well, but no, all these cells are scorched away and must be regrown from scratch. My fee will be astronomical, of course.” Dr. Gym’ll held a micro-scanner in one hand, and a spray-dispenser in the other, working on Rokk’s back while his third arm gesticulated wildly with a data-pad.

“They did their best Doctor,” Rokk began, but Dr. Gym’ll would hear none of it.

“I was not talking to you, Braalian. Be quiet or I will sedate you.” Rokk quieted down, not feeling like spending yet more time unconscious this week.

Looking at his pad, the Doctor continued ranting, “Green light therapy! Superstitious spawn of apes! Back to the trees with the lot of you.”

*********************************************************************

Lydda helped Rokk walk back to their room, while Garth and Imra tagged along, having accompanied Rokk to the med-center (and all-but physically restrained Jath whenever Rokk yelped in the next room).

“Well,” said Rokk. “Thanks for tagging along guys. I’m gonna get some sleep.”

“Just once, can we end a mission without one of us needing regen treatments?” Garth muttered to Imra.

<Speak for yourself. I’ve never gotten all beaten up.> Imra teased, but looked up as Rokk and Jath both shot her alarmed looks. <What?>

“You invite disaster by tempting the gods, Champion Ardeen.” Jath said seriously.

Rokk nodded sagely, “It is the jinx to end all jinxes, Imra.”

Imra just raised her hand, <Superstitious nonsense! Get some sleep.>

She turned and Garth was looking at her with concern.

<Not you too!>

Garth smiled and looked to Rokk, “Later man,” and then to Jath, nodding towards Rokk, “Play nice. He’s fragile.”

“I’ll show you fragile. Next week, I’ll put you out like the dog you are.”

Garth shot his hands up and dashed behind Imra, “Ooh, scary man is being mean to me. Beat him up for me, hon!”

Rokk grinned, “Hey, don’t go there Ranzz, my girlfriend will totally beat up your girlfriend.”

“Hmm. Good point,” Garth said before noticing Imra’s shoulders tense as she whirled to face him, and his hand shot up in front of his mouth.

<What!> Garth put his other hand in front of his mouth, as if this would somehow help. <Oh no she can’t. Garth! Oh no she can’t!!> Garth chose the better part of valor and fell back, activating his Champion’s Ring and taking off down the hall.

<Get back here!> Imra demanded, in hot pursuit.

Lydda ushered Rokk into their room. “I have been looking forward to this,” she said with a smile.

******************************************************************

Lydda was clad in an outfit that consisted of a sports bra and short shorts, as well as her requisite goggles. She stood arms crossed, looking bored. Imra was wearing her usual full workout bodysuit, and was shadowboxing and shuffling her feet around.

“Okay, the sun-lamps are set precisely to block Jath’s enhanced strength, but not weaken her below Kathooni normal standards. You all set Imra?” Rokk asked, checking a hand-scanner to make sure that the lights weren’t actually hurting Jath.

<<Yes,>> came Imra’s voice over the Champion’s Ring. <<The platinum-group head-gear is blocking my telepathy. No powers, as agreed.>>

“Aaaaannnd, in the green corner!” Garth announced, “Weighing just over,” he paused checking his pad, eyebrows raised, before continuing, “seventy-five kilograms, Jath of Clan Genti!” Jath just looked up, having heard her name spoken and Rokk raised his arms and cheered, wincing slightly, “Yay!”

“Aaaanndd, in the, uh, *other* green corner, weighing in at,” Garth froze as Imra shot him a glare, “some very, very small number, *much* less than seventy-five kilos, Imra Ardeen of Titan!”

“Wait,” said Jath, looking curious, “Is there some significance to these numbers?”

Avoiding certain death, Garth quickly clapped his hands and shouted, “Fight!”

Fourteen seconds later, pinned to the ground and unable to move anything but a single arm, Imra tapped out.

<<It was a lucky fluke. I’m prepared now.>>

Thirty seconds later…

<<Okay, I think I’ve got this.>>

Seven seconds later…

<<Fine! Whoever agreed to no powers! This is ridiculous, fighting a telepath without telepathy would be like fighting one of you with your eyes closed.>>

“I accept your challenge,” Lydda said promptly, reaching for her protective goggles.

<<Wait! No, you win…>> Imra conceded, pulling the helmet off of her head. <I am so done. I’m just going to lie here and see if I can find any of my pride down here in the cracks between the mats…>

“So,” said Jath, “Champion Ardeen trains you in fighting because she is best? I think *I* should train you in fighting now.”

“No!”

<No!>

“Honey, I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Queen Sarya, entering the room in an enormous green cloak that concealed her from view. Casting it to one side, she was again in her workout clothes, and bearing a pair of amber-hued dueling blades made of dull duraplast. Tossing one to Jath, she moved out onto the mat.

Jath caught the flexible mock-up of a sword, and whipped it through the air experimentally. “These will raise stinging welts,” she announced to the Queen.

“Avoid getting hit then.” The Queen said, raising her own blade in a fencer’s salute. “On your guard. Begin!”

Two minutes later, Jath’s body had several red lines showing where she had been hit, while the Queen’s bodysuit concealed any similar marks on her person, neither showed sign of backing down.

Rokk turned to Jath’s fighting clothes, against the wall and fished out a knife. “One blade of steel on Jath.” Garth looked dubiously at Rokk, and he added, “She won’t miss it, she’s got a million of ‘em.”

<Gambling is addictive and serves no useful function.> Imra thought disapprovingly, still lying flat on her back, head tilted to watch the duel.

“50 credits on the Queen,” Garth decided.

<Garth! What did I just say?>

“I don’t know, weren’t you listening either?” Garth asked innocently.

Finally the duel ended, Sarya the victor, ‘though she was breathing heavily by that time.

“You fight well,” Jath grudgingly admitted.

“You fight amazingly well, Jath, considering that I’ve spent decades mastering the sword, and, under these lights, I’m stronger than you.”

“The fight would have ended much sooner, had I fought you as you were twenty years ago,” Jath admitted.

The Queen shook her head. “Well certainly, I would have been but a child.” She said haughtily, stepping to snatch up her cloak.

“A child,” Jath said with a scoff, missing Rokk’s frantic hand-waving for her attention. “But you are over fifty earth-years old!”

The Queen’s eyes shot open. “Jath!” she said sharply, only to regain her composure. “Well fought.” She conceded before sweeping out a bit too abruptly.

Jath’s brow furrowed as she looked to the Champions. Garth was trying to suppress a laugh behind his hand, but looked like he was choking instead, Rokk had his head in his hands and Imra was sipping her water, eyebrows raised. “What? It is in the Embassy biography. Sarya, Queen of Venegar, born in the year of Shining Water. She is fifty-two Earth years old.”

The emerald-eyed version of my Great Darkness pic:

Original:

Emerald Legion, chapter sixteen
“Rokkfall” – the events on Venegar have unexpected repercussions

********************************************************

Rokk tossed down the pad, severing the connection to Dr. Gym’ll and ending the one-sided ‘conversation’ that had been taking place. Of all the doctors Rokk had seen in the endless parade of specialists called in to deal with his ‘unique condition,’ Dr. Gym’ll had been the first to offer a conflicting hypothesis. To the three-armed curmudgeon, *every* patient was unique, since none of his patients had a physiology or biochemistry similar to himself. Instead of looking at it from a Braalian perspective, he had seen a larger picture, and it wasn’t a pretty one.

**********************************************************************

<What does that mean? Will you lose your powers? Will you lose your…> Imra’s mental voice trailed off, but it was clear that she meant his mobility.

“He doesn’t know. All he knows is that the contamination of the ferrous hydraxaline when by spinal cord was severed is causing it to break down into ferrous annaline. He says that it *should* interfere with my magnetic powers, but he also says that I shouldn’t be walking anyway, that the ferrous hydraxaline was never enough to replace an entire nervous system.”

“But all those experts on Braal have to know more about Braalian physiology and, uh, magno-physiology, than him?”

“I asked him the same thing, when he let me get a word in edgewise, and he said that they were too close to the problem, too used to thinking in only one set paradigm.” Rokk said. “Well, he also called them all sorts of names in the process, but that’s the jist of it.”

<Is this more than a theory? I mean the evidence is that you *are* walking, and that your powers are stronger than ever. So just based on the evidence, the Braalian doctors are right, no matter how many names he wants to call them.> Imra added, clearly frustrated, and taking it out on the tactless little doctor.

“He pointed to the various studies published by the Braalian doctors. He *did* read them all, before even working with me. Not a single one of them had any explanation at all for why I could still feel pain. For why I could still see, and hear, and taste. I don’t have optic nerves. I don’t have tactile nerves. Even the sensory nerves in my nose are gone. Whatever sort of magnetic manipulation I could do to my muscles wouldn’t let me *smell,* would it? It wouldn’t let me feel pain,” he said, smacking his hand down hard on the table and flexing his fingers.

“So, it’s a mystery, but a good one, right? If your body doesn’t need this ferrous hydraxaline, does it matter what it degrades into? I mean, is this ferrous annaline stuff bad?” Garth asked.

“No. It’s pretty much inert,” Rokk conceded, “and Gym’ll says that the degradation is moving along slowly. It should take years before it’s run its course.”

“So, I don’t want to sound like I’m making light of it, but it doesn’t sound like a problem, really…”

“It just got me thinking of something that the Kathooni Ambassador said. I thought she was trying to scare me or something, but she knew a lot of things that she shouldn’t have.” Rokk said, still flexing his fingers absently, as if wondering if he would still be able to do this simple thing.

<She’s a Seer, right? They have some belief that they are connected to the minds of their ancestors, or something.>

“I don’t think it’s just a superstition, Imra. We’ve seen what Jath can do, and she insists that it’s because she’s calling on the strength of her ancestors, and that sunlight blocks her connection to them. She spends an hour or more a day going over those metal discs she wears as a belt. Each of them has the name and a poem about some long-dead Warrior, and she sits there reciting stories to herself about their exploits. She says that if she doesn’t honor them, they won’t lend her their strength when she needs it.”

<I’m not sure this isn’t simply a psychological tool that they use to help focus their abilities, Rokk. Just like how magno-ball players will point at the ball with their hand, even ‘though they don’t need to do anything of the sort.>

“In any case, the Seer definitely knew stuff she shouldn’t have. She could just be a telepath for all I know, but she told me that she didn’t see me as a Braalian. She saw me as half-flesh and half-energy, and said that I was a hint of the future, a time when ‘the children of Earth’ would ‘abandon the flesh’ and ‘sour the stars on wings of spirit.’”

“It sound poetic, but is that even possible? Isn’t your magnetic field anchored in the iron in your body, enhanced by all that mag-steel you wear?”

“I don’t know anymore. If so much of what made me able to manipulate magnetism is gone, why am I even better at it?”

Imra had fallen silent, but finally ‘spoke’ up, <Rokk, you told us that a church on your world believed that your people had somehow fused with the energy creatures that used to live on Braal. Could this be related to what the Seer said?>

“I don’t see how, Imra. It’s a neat theory, but I think it was just whipped up to cover any residual guilt over our arrival spelling the end of their species, and maybe even to make the believers feel less like intruders and more like they have somehow ‘become’ part of the world.”

Garth perked up, “Yeah, I thought of that, and it comes back to thermodynamics. Energy, magnetic or not, can’t be created or destroyed. The creatures have been gone for centuries, and new Braalians are born every day, with magnetic powers getting stronger every generation. If it was some sort of energy-fusion thing between the races, the Braalian children would have stopped being born with powers when the last of the energy creatures died out.”

<But he also said that the storms had mysteriously subsided as well. I wonder…> Imra thought and pulled a pad over the table and began working out something.

“Stand back,” Garth said, scooting away from Imra with his hands in the air, “Genius at work.”

Rokk leaned over to see what she was doing, but the columns of numbers were moving too quickly. He was pretty sure that meteorological data and census records were involved.

<There.>, she thought, pushing the pad in front of Rokk. <The numbers aren’t perfect, but the decline of the storms has shown a definite correlation with the birthrate. The more of the planetary magnetosphere is ‘bound up’ in the living Braalian population, the less is rampaging around wreaking havoc. Right now the storms have retreated to the polar regions, and over 40% of Braals surface is habitable. If the projection is valid, within a couple thousand years, Braal’s storms will be gone entirely, and *then,* Braal is going to have a problem, as the newer generations will start having weaker and weaker magnetosystems.”

“Not to burst your bubble, hon, but Braal’s been around for centuries, and I’m sure someone would have noticed this correlation.” Garth said gently.

<But this is *new* data. A thousand Braalian scientists didn’t have the example of Rokk to consider, or access to Ambassador Marin’s theory. Think about it Rokk. What if the energy within you *isn’t* as connected to your physical self as your people like to believe. What if the reason that you can walk and see and feel is because the energy is self-sufficient, and allowing you to replicate your body’s functions?”

“Okay, time out,” Garth said, crossing his hands. “One second you’re like, ‘Marin’s a fraud,’ and the next you’re like, ‘Rokk’s an energy-form.’” He shook his head. “Pick one!”

<I reacted to the idea of Marin’s superstitions being correct, and I’m still not convinced, but if there’s one thing you keep beating me over the head with Garth is that not everything in this universe needs to be analyzed and boxed up and put away. Marin’s a mystery, and I’ll leave it at that for now, but her words make sense to me. Just about everyone on Titan believes that we will eventually transcend our bodies, and become pure thought. Our ‘energy-selves’ will be psionic in nature, not magnetic, but the principle is the same.> Imra’s mental voice was excited, and she clearly found the idea appealing.

Garth attempted to lighten the situation, “So you guys aren’t going to ‘transcend into energy’ any time soon, right? ‘Cause I’d get lonely.”

Rokk smiled, “I’m for putting it off as long as possible. I’m pretty sure Jath would dump me…”

<Speaking of Jath?>

“She wanted to ‘challenge’ herself. She put on her skinsuit, sunblock, sungoggles and is out jogging. In broad daylight…”

“Won’t that kill her?” Garth exclaimed.

“No. If the sunlight doesn’t touch her skin, she’s fine. Just unable to use her strength. And with the goggles on, blocking out 99% of the visible spectrum, she should be able to see okay as well.”

<I’m surprised you aren’t with her, just in case.>

“She insisted on doing this herself, and I had the call from Gym’ll coming up, so I didn’t press it.” Rokk said, looking at the pad again and poking at it absently.

<She doesn’t know yet, does she?>

Rokk snorted. “Uh, no. ‘Hey honey, remember when you stabbed me in the back? Well, it set off a chain-reaction that’s tearing through my body and might leave me a cripple, or I could turn into an energy-ghost and haunt you, we’re not sure yet. Whadja bring me for dinner?’”

“Ouch.” Garth sympathized.

<Oh Rokk, I can’t even think of anything reassuring to say. That’s going to be a hard conversation…>, Imra folded her cloak around herself and held her arms. <Why is this planet so damn cold all the time.> she thought suddenly and got up and left.

“Okay, that’s my cue to go,” Garth said, eyebrows raised as he hurried out the door.

******************************************************

“Hon?” Garth called out as he let himself into Imra’s room. The telepath was huddled on her bed, holding he knees, head down. <Come in already.>

He made sure to close the security door behind him, and noticed that the room’s temperature settings were set high enough to make sweat bead out almost instantly.

“What’s wrong,” he said, sitting down and taking her shoulders in his hands. She looked up at first, and then folded up against his chest.

<I can’t seem to warm up. The walls are too far away, and I know it’s all in my head, but it just makes me feel cold. The only time I feel warm…> she paused and he rubbed her back, not wanting to press, <when your asleep.>

‘Not what I was expecting,’ Garth thought, but let her continue at her own pace.

<I sit awake, reading a pad, and your arm is over me, and I feel warm. I can turn up the heat until I’m sweating, wear all sorts of clothing and this damn Ring is supposed to keep me warm in *outer space,* and I still get chills.>

“We could put in a divider, make the bedroom a smaller sub-unit…” Garth began.

<It’s not just that. I didn’t get chills like this before the Mindfire den. And they just got worse after Reyu told me about the surgery. And now all those telepaths on Venegar? It’s like the universe is getting colder every day. I know it’s all in my head, and I’m the big telepath, with years of training at dealing with this stuff, but it’s too close. I can’t seem to shake it, Garth. I’m losing my focus.>

“Hey,” Garth said, pulling her close and looking directly into large pale-blue eyes, “We’ll find this bastard, and put him away forever.”

<Reyu said he ‘took’ from him, and I feel like he’s already ‘taken’ from me. I’m having trouble concentrating, I’m having trouble relaxing enough to enjoy even simple things like this,> she thought, stroking his face, <and Rokk is back there feeling his entire life burning away, and I can’t even keep focus long enough to help him, so scared of what *could* happen, of some unknown shadow-man that I’m losing track of what’s really happening, of what I should be concentrating on.>

Garth stroked her hair, “I’ve been kind of jealous of you two, having powers that are such a part of you. Mine just got tacked on, and I didn’t have a couple hundred years of culture or tradition or specialized training to fall back on. But now I feel guilty. There aren’t any drugs designed to make my powers work better, at a cost to my health. There aren’t any predators out there looking for the ‘lightning-people of Winath’…”

<I always saw it that way, too. I wondered if you were scared, the first time lightning shot out of your hands, and if you couldn’t turn it on, or turn it off. Then I saw Mekt, and realized that even if there wasn’t a race of ‘lightning-people’ at least you didn’t have to go through it completely alone.>

“Ayla, too. All three of us.”

Imra pulled back and looked up into his face, <Someday you’re going to tell me.>

“And spoil the mystery?” Garth said smiling, before his face turned more serious. “After all this build-up, the story itself is pretty dull. I’m just keeping it mysterious to make it seem more interesting than it is.”

<You’re not going to tell me, are you,> she said with a pout.

“Nope.”

<Go turn down the heat. You’re all sweaty.>

“Yes, ma’am!”

******************************************************************

The figure dropped her backpack just inside the open doorway of the Embassy. “Hello?” she called out to the empty reception area. ‘Great. No doors. No door*men.*’ “Is anybody home?”

A robotic receptionist bobbed up from behind a counter on the far wall. *Welcome to the Venegarian Mission to Earth. The Ambassador, Queen Sarya, has a full schedule today, but if you would like to make an appointment, please leave your name, a contact ID and the purpose of your visit, and I’ll see when I can pencil you in.*

‘Great. The answering machine.’ She thought. “Whatever, sparky. I’m looking for one of her so-called ‘Champions,’” she said, with much sarcastic focus on the last word. “My name is Ayla Ranzz.”

Emerald Legion, chapter seventeen
“A tale of three Ranzzes” – another family reunion, with 250% less property damage

********************************************************************

Garth settled down onto the mattress with a contented sigh, already sinking into sleep, arm draped possessively over Imra’s slender form, his sun-freckled arm contrasting sharply with her flawless ivory skin.

<<Champion Ranzz.>> came the Queen’s crisp voice through the Champion’s Ring. <<You have a guest, please report to the audience chamber.>>

“Sprock.” Garth said as Imra’s mental voice tinkled with laughter in his mind. “No rest for the wicked,” he said with a grin, turning to steal another kiss.

<Go,> Imra thought, pushing him gently but firmly away, with a matching grin, <Don’t keep the Queen waiting.>

Garth stepped into the bathroom and freshened up, before slipping into his Champion’s Garb and heading out, blowing Imra another kiss before cycling the door shut.

He could hear voices talking in the audience chamber, and came in to found Sarya crouching next to her robot dinosaur, talking to a pair of legs belonging to someone who had crawled under it and was fiddling with the controls.

“It was built for war?” the Queen was asking dubiously.

“Not military so much, as designed for gladiatorial matches with other giant robots. It’s an annual thing they have out in the desert areas of this continent. Nevada, I think. A bunch of geeks get together and throw giant robots against each other,” the voice was muffled, but Garth was struck with recognition.

“Ayla?!?” Garth shouted, rushing over and dragging the figure out from under the machine, only to see a hand upthrust, crackling with rose-tinted electrical energies.

The Queen stepped back quickly as Ayla rose to her feet, hand still crackling with energy. Garth just looked puzzled, pushing her arm aside and folding her in a massive hug that lifted her from the ground.

“It’s so great to see you! When did you get here? How long are you staying?” Garth begin to say all in a rush while spinning around.

“Garth!” Ayla shouted in a strained voice, “Garth! Put. Me. Down!”

Garth set her down, but kept his hands on her shoulders, repeating, “It’s so great to see you.” Reaching up and brushing her cheek, so much slenderer than his own, but still having the same strong lines. “You look good,” he said softly.

Ayla’s hand had stopped glowing and she looked angry and confused, “I’ve commed and commed, and you never sprocking answer,” she pulled away and smacked Garth on the shoulder, “And now you’re all, ‘I’m so glad to see you!’ like nothing happened! Like you never left us! Like you never left *me!*”

Garth was suddenly aware that Rokk, Jath and Imra had flown into the room.

“Uh, no emergency, just family stuff,” Garth said, hands in the air, stepping in-between Ayla and his friends.

“I called them when I saw the lightning.” The Queen said dryly. “The last Ranzz family reunion set fire to the Talokkian Embassy…”

“Yeah, we should probably take this somewhere else.”

“An excellent idea,” agreed the Queen, “Perhaps your quarters,” she suggested, “assuming that you still remember where they are after all this time.”

Garth flinched slightly, and turned to a distracted Ayla, who was staring at the new arrivals. “Hey, how about we go somewhere a little more private before you kill me for being a rotten brother?”

“Huh?” Ayla said blinking. “Yeah, sure.” Pointing to Rokk, she asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Kid Cosmos?”

Rokk smiled, and raised his arms in triumph, mimicking the most famous image of him, after his second victory as planetary champion. “Yeah. I get that a lot. Want an autograph?”

“You *are* him!” Ayla said. “Wow. I had your holo on the wall.” Her face darkened, and “Well, until the scandal, and then Dad said that you weren’t an ‘appropriate role-model’ and made me change it.”

Garth took her arm. “We have to leave now, before you tell my best friend that you had a crush on him.”

Ayla took her arm back, “Who said ‘had?’ He’s still hot.”

Rokk grinned and stepped to the side, “Nice to meet you, Ayla. And this is my wife, Jath.”

Ayla snapped her fingers, “Darn. The good ones are always taken.”

Rokk looked to Jath, who was fingering a short sword-sized blade idly, “She doesn’t mean anything by it, honey.”

Jath shot him an impatient look. “She admires you. What of it? She pays me a compliment by praising my choice. If we on Kathoon, I would make you wear less clothing and have you accompany me everywhere.” Rokk’s eyes shot wide as she finished. “I would get many compliments.”

Garth said from behind his hand, “Can we please leave now, before the trauma becomes irreversible?”

“Yes, please,” added the Queen, who had settled herself back on her throne and was reading a pad. “That wasn’t a request.”

*************************************************************************

Rokk, Jath and Imra huddled in Jath’s quarters, Imra pacing near the doorway.

“Seriously, just peek in there with your mental powers, make sure that nobody’s getting electrocuted.” Rokk said.

<No. I’m not going to spy on Garth. This is personal, and if he wants us to be a part of it, he’ll share it with us.>

Jath tossed silver hair-pins into a board across the room idly, saying in a flat tone, “Such respect for your mates privacy surprises me.”

Imra shot Jath a look, only to receive a challenging stare in return, before Jath turned back to her impromptu game of darts.

Rokk just looked back and forth between the two women, “Okay, what did I just miss?”


**************************************************************************

“So,” Ayla said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “This is your room.” Smacking her hand on the bed and bringing up a small puff of dust, she grinned, “And that’s what the Queen meant about you not remembering where it was…”

Garth just shook his head. “Yeah, I’m staying with Imra, the one who isn’t married to Kid Cosmos.”

“Not with the Queen? I was wondering…” Ayla commented.

“Sprock, no! She’d kill me.” Garth said, before walking up behind Ayla, who was running her hand along the shelf, picking up more dust. “Let’s stop saying useless stuff. I screwed up, Ayla. I got scared, and I ran away and left you deal with all sorts of crap that I should have been there to help you deal with.”

“Yeah, we agree on that, at least.” Ayla muttered angrily. “I didn’t even know where you sprocking were until I saw the newsfeeds of you and Mekt blowing up the Talokkian Embassy.”

“We did not ‘blow up’ the Talokkian Embassy. It was only a few small fires and they put them out pretty fast,” Garth began. “And I’m changing the topic, again,” he muttered.

“Yeah, well, that’s what you do best, isn’t it, Garth? Run away.” Ayla demanded, “Is that what you’re going to do to your new girlfriend? Bail on her the second it gets tough? The second she isn’t exactly who you want her to be?”

“Look, I know I screwed up, and I don’t want to mess up again. Can’t you just give me a sprocking chance here?”

“Give you a chance? Right! My life is going sideways, we’ve got lightning shooting out of our hands, Mekt is sprocking nuts, ranting about how the weather control service is unnatural and must be destroyed, and you’re *gone!* The farm’s totaled, our folks are freaking…” Ayla ranted, not hearing Garth’s intake of breath.

“What do you mean the farm’s totaled?” Garth demanded.

“What? You don’t even know? It’s gone. We had to move to Chaba province…”

“Why is it gone? Are mom and dad okay?”

“Yes, they ran out of the house when the lightning started flying. Mekt was on one of his tears, and he blew up the silo. We lost the second harvest, and I tried to distract him while mom and dad got clear, but we both ended up destroying the house, and shutting down the power-grid over the county.”

Ayla had leant against the wall, arms folded and Garth wanted to go to her, but knew that she was still too angry to accept any comfort from him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. He was just too strong. He kept trying to convince me that we were the avatars of the storm or some crap and that it is was our sacred destiny to free Winath from the weather control service. He said the storms would bless only the righteous with rain, and strike down the unworthy, as nature intended. He knocked me out and bailed. Mom saw him drive off. Dad had gone for help, and mom ended up running into the house to pull me out before it collapsed.”

“Chaba province? What’s there?” Garth asked.

“A farm that isn’t burnt to the ground. The government resettled them, called it ‘disaster relief,’ and gave them some land that had been left behind by a family that had resettled off-world.” Ayla looked up, eyes veiled. “But Chaba province is in the boonies. It’s all naturists and their damn religion. Turns out they think that changing your gender is unnatural and defying the natural order. So we couldn’t get any hands to help us with the harvest, because they didn’t want to be seen around me.”

“I’m sorry, Ayla.”

“No big deal. Same sort of attitude I had to deal with from you,” she said bitterly.

“It’s not the same at all!” Garth shouted, getting right in her face. “You didn’t trust me. The biggest thing *ever* is going on with you, and I had to find out with everyone else, when you got caught sneaking Pro-fem! Yeah, I messed up, but you didn’t even give me a chance to get it right!”

“Maybe I knew you’d freak!” Ayla shouted back. “*I* was freaking out about it, the last thing I wanted to do was try to talk *you* ‘through it! It’s not enough that we shared everything, I could tell that you weren’t like me anymore, and that you’d never feel what I was feeling. We couldn’t share this, Garth!”

Garth again resisted the urge to hold her, putting his hand on the wall next to her and leaning close. “So why come here?”

The anger drained away and Ayla lowered her head. “Because I didn’t know where else to go.” After a deep breath she continued, “You left. Then Mekt freaked out and destroyed everything, and we didn’t hear anything from him until we saw the news-reports. By then we were trying to start all over in Chaba, but the naturists were making it hard, and I realized that I had to go. Mom and dad would never be able to hire enough hands to run the farm with me there, so I just followed the family tradition and ran away.”

Garth finally reached out and placed his hand on the side of her face, turning it to face his. “No. I ran away. You ran to me. That’s way smarter than what I did,” he smiled, pointing at the disused bed. “I happen to know a place where they’ve got an extra room…”

“I don’t think your Queen would approve.” Ayla said doubtfully.

“Please. She’s spent a star-cruiser worth of money outfitting Rokk with mag-steel and Imra with psi-metal. I totally rate an extra room,” with a grin he added, “And, if you program her pet dinosaur to attack people that piss her off? You’ll be her best friend.”

Ayla looked up, resting her hand on her brothers chest. “You know we aren’t square right? I’ve never felt so, so lost. I always felt bad for Mekt, all alone, but I never in my worst nightmares thought I would know what that felt like.”

“I screwed up real bad.” Garth admitted. “And you’re gonna have to give me the rest of our lives to make up for it, okay?”

“Deal.” Ayla nodded, hugging her brother.

***************************************************************************

“So you also throw lightning, like your brothers?” Jath asked matter-of-factly, around a mouthful of kabba fruit.

“Yeah.” Said Ayla, feeling vaguely uncomfortable sitting with Garth’s friends.

“A useful talent.” Jath grunted, spitting out seeds and reaching for another fruit.

“So,” Ayla said towards Imra, hoping to stave off another uncomfortable silence, “You and Garth, huh?”

<Yes,> Imra thought with a smile. <We complement each other well.>

“So, a Titanian telepath, a Braalian sports-star and a, uh, Kathooni was it?” Jath just nodded. “Warrior woman. I guess that makes Garth the odd-man out, since you guys all naturally have powers…”

Rokk cut in smoothly, “Jath also received her abilities later in life, but there are hundreds of Warriors like herself back on Kathoon.” He looked sideways at his friend, biting his tongue.

Looking around at the Champions, Ayla noticed the matching wary looks of curiosity on Rokk and Imra’s faces, and how Garth was avoiding meeting them. “He hasn’t even talked about it, has he?” she said, and Garth shook his head as the others perked up. Even Jath looked up, curiosity overcoming the slow torture she was inflicting on a kabba fruit with a smaller knife. “Let me guess, ‘oh, some things are better left a mystery.’”

Garth just threw his hands up, “Fine. But I get to tell it.”

The others leaned closer.

“I had just finished flight training, and I wanted to show off, so I rented three orbital ‘burners for me and Ayla and Mekt, figuring I’d lead them out on the training loop around the second moon and back.” Garth began. “Everything was going good, and Ayla had managed to hot-rig the comm and control systems so that that I could slave all of the controls to mine, in case one of them was having some problem with something. We circled around to the dark side of the moon,”

Ayla cut in, “Mekt complaing the whole time how sprocking boring it was.”

“Yeah. Anyway, we were just at the apogee, and turning back to the planet when some sort of energy discharge came up from the moon’s surface. We were too close, which was completely my fault, I wanted to skim close to make it more interesting,”

“We insisted, Garth. You were being a wuss. And it’s not like it would have mattered, the energy surge went well into the safe zone, anyway.”

“Anyway. It shorted out our systems and Mekt and Ayla both crashed into the surface. The slave controls totally fritzed out it was all I could do not to crash my own ship.”

“I made sure my suit was sealed, and went out to check on Mekt and Ayla. All three ships had landed soft, and nobody was hurt,”

“Not that you could tell, from all the complaining Mekt was doing,”

“Can I finish?” Garth said, shooting Ayla a glare. She just glared back, and he continued, “And then we determined that the fuel cells were completely drained. We couldn’t even break lunar orbit, let alone land safely back on Winath. And, of course, the emergency transmitters were burned out. It was like everything that could possibly have gone wrong, had.”

“That’s when we saw that the energy column was still active on the horizon, and moving towards us.” Ayla cut in. At Garth’s look she shrugged. “You were taking too long.”

“Right, the energy column swept over us like a wave, and the only thing I remember is lightning lashing over me and something pounding in my skull. I saw these creatures, and they seemed to be moving around us. Ayla and Mekt were also on the ground, thrashing around under the creatures lightning attack, and I saw them catch fire and die. I felt myself die. My suit was breached, my skin was black and cracking and I think the last thing I felt was my eyes explode.”

“Ow.” Rokk exclaimed sympathically.

<Was it some sort of hallucination? Oxygen deprivation from the suit malfunction?>

“No idea.” Garth shrugged. “I have these fuzzy memories of getting up, suit all repaired, no damage on me and jerking around like I didn’t know how to walk. Lightning shot out of my hands and recharged the fuel cells. Mekt and Ayla were there, too, and we fixed up the ships and launched into space. The next thing I remember is waking up on Winath in the med-center. They told us we’d landed on auto-pilot, and that there was no sign of injury or damage to the ships. That we’d been unconscious ever since the mysterious energy discharge on the moon’s surface.”

“The only thing they couldn’t explain was that our ships were almost fully fueled when we landed. It’s like we’d gotten to the moon without expending any of the fuel cell’s charge.” Ayla added.

“The authorities were baffled, because our stories didn’t match up. I told them about the creatures I saw, orange skinned quadrupeds with tentacles on their faces that the lightning came from. Ayla described them as humanoid stick figures, made out of lightning bolts, and said they lashed at us with whips of energy. Mekt said they were clouds of energized particles, shot through with static discharges, and that they enveloped us.”

“He also said they talked to him…” Ayla said derisively.

“Yeah. I felt a weird pressure in my skull, and even during the worst of it, I never felt like they were trying to hurt me. Ayla said it felt like some sort of mathematical progression, like they were trying to communicate. Mekt had this whole story about the fury of the storm, and us being chosen to return Winath to the forces of nature or something.”

“The authorities ruled that we had just hallucinated, and Garth seemed to accept that. He nearly lost his piloting certification, because of the altered flight-plan, but they let it slide because of the energy surge. There was no record of anything like that, anywhere, and they couldn’t explain it. They just sort of buried it, and while Mekt and I insisted that it was something else, everyone else was happy to forget it.”

“I just didn’t see how it mattered. We discovered our lightning powers that day, and spent the next few weeks being poked and prodded like lab animals.” Garth shrugged, “Mekt’s ‘theories’ to the contrary, we didn’t have any special insight to offer, and I didn’t want to spent my life trying to figure out why it happened, or *what* had actually happened. I just wanted to go home and get my life back…”

Ayla nodded, “I get that. But Mekt needed something to feel special, and I wanted it to mean something too, because I couldn’t deal with the crap I was going through. I just wanted to focus on something else. Garth thought I was crazy…”

“No, I thought you were right. But as much as you wanted to poke at it, I wanted to ignore it and make it go away.” Garth admitted.

<Didn’t you have a theory of your own?> Imra asked curiously.

Garth looked up, as if he’d forgotten that the others were still in the room, so wrapped up in this moment with Ayla. “Uh, no, not really. Mekt had a theory, and it was insane.”

“Like Mekt,” Ayla added.

“Yeah, and Ayla had a theory that made more sense than anything I would have come up with, so I didn’t even think about it. I was trying to find a piloting job, and nobody wanted to hire me after the accident because of the whole ‘lightning’ thing, so I was annoyed that these powers had messed up my life. I didn’t want to sit around thinking about it, or have Ayla and Mekt reminding me of the accident all the time…”

“What was your theory, Ayla?” Rokk asked. “Please tell me that you guys are transcending into energy beings, because then we can collect the whole set…”

“Uh, no.” Ayla said, looking at Rokk like he had grown a second head, “My ‘theory’ is that the energy surge was a probe, from another dimension entirely. One of energy. It crippled our ships, and the beings we saw were energy creatures. They wouldn’t have material forms, especially not any forms that we could understand, and so our minds just made up images to fit over them. They hurt us trying to communicate, and then they fixed us and sent us home.” Ayla turns to Garth, “Did it sound this lame when I was telling it to you?”

“Pretty much, yeah. But I liked the ending better than Mekts,” he grinned.

Jath had long since finished tormenting fruit and was sitting back with her legs on the table. “Will the changes pass on to your children?”

Both Garth and Ayla looked surprised, but Garth was the first to respond. “I don’t think so?” he shrugged, “The researchers couldn’t find *anything* different about us. No genetic changes, no extra electrolytes, no increased neural energy, nothing. But when I want lightning, I get lightning. They couldn’t figure out where it comes from, or how I make it appear, or how I make it stop. They did brain-scans and bio-electric stuff, but my body didn’t change at all. I can be standing pointing at a wall, or I can be shooting thousands of volts of current at the wall, and my heart-rate doesn’t change or anything.”

“I’d guess no, since our DNA hasn’t changed.” Ayla concurred. “But who knows?”

“So anyway, I’ve been saying it’s kind of a mystery, and it is. We don’t really know what happened, or even *if* there were other beings present, or much of anything. I kind of prefer it that way. It wouldn’t really change anything if we did know one way or the other, would it?”

“I don’t know, it would kind of change my feelings about the whole thing if it was invaders from an alien energy realm and they tried to kill us or something…” Ayla said with a grin.

***************************************************************************

The Queen had agreed that Ayla could stay in Garths room ‘for the duration.’ She left it unclear exactly what ‘the duration’ meant, but proclaimed that she too knew what it was like to be many light-years from home, and the comfort of having family near.

***************************************************************************

In a shadowed chamber, a humanoid hand rests gently on an enormous curved bicep, the sound of slow breathing coming from the mountainous form before him.

“It is time, my son, time to meet your mother.”

His hand reached back to press a button on the console behind him, and a signal travels out from the secluded base, reaching through the endless twilight of space. On ice-bound Titan, a woman clutches her head and begins to silently scream.

I'm closing down the exhibit while I work out some problems. It might be awhile but I will reopen it tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Okay, the exhibit is open again. Just a quick tip for all you writers. Please do NOT use brackets

when posting. It confuses the PHP the board uses, making it think HTML is being used. The board doesn't like HTML.

Carry on. You've all done very well!

Emerald Legion, chapter eighteen (part one)
“It’s alive!” – there’s not a word yet, for old friends, who’ve just met

********************************************************************

Imra knelt over the dimly glowing psi-crystal ‘listening’ intently.

~So Mari N’daere may very well be the first victim of this monster. Her scarring is over a year and a half old. She’s been back on Titan for over a year, and, until her attack yesterday, had no idea the scarring had resulted from anything other than a nasty fall.~ Reyu sent.

~Did her recollections include any new information?~, Imra asked.

~She was working on Luna, performing contract negotiations, at the time. Her recovered memories include waking up in a large room, shrouded in darkness. There was a figure standing to one side, and she was restrained. To her other side was another figure, also reclining. The image is very distorted, and at first she attributed it to disorientation or being drugged, but everything else in the area was clear.~

~Distorted in what way?~

~The figure next to her seemed enormous, as if she was a child next to it. It was covered with a sheet, but she could see its chest moving. It appeared to be humanoid, other than it’s size. But the most important detail is that she felt nauseous, and was able to recognize that she was still under Luna gravity…~

~So she was not transported off of Earth’s moon for the procedure. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything, it was well over a year ago, Reyu.~

~Still, whatever equipment she saw, whatever that figure was, it’s *possible* that if she was the first victim, that the attacker may have started ‘close to home,’ in the manner of old-Earth serial killers. They often first attack someone in the local area, and only after finding such acts tantalizing, become more wary and begin going farther afield to avoid drawing attention to their home territory.~

~That’s a good theory, Reyu. I’ll check it out.~

~I am expected to submit my report on Mari’s directed recall session in about six hours, Imra. At that point, the authorities will have this same information, and I’m not sure that I trust them.~

~I feel the same. I intend to see this place with my own eyes, before it is sealed off as ‘evidence.’ Thank you for giving me this advance warning Reyu.~

~You’ve seen what this monster does, Imra. I trust you.~ Reyu finished, before ending the communication.

Psi-crystal now dark, Imra drew a deep breath and called for her friends.

*******************************************************************

“So we don’t really have any evidence that this ‘dark man’ will still be on the moon?” Garth said, reviewing a pad of lunar facilities.

~Just Reyu’s suspicion that he would have started his work ‘close to home,’ and not moved his entire base of operations after every operation.~ Imra confirmed, but sounding doubtful.

Rokk checked the projected arrival-time, “Well, we’ve got another twenty minutes before we dock at Luna station. Hopefully, Reyu’s suspicions are on the money.” He also returned to viewing a pad of lunar facilities surrounding Armstrong City.

“I’m liking this one.” Ayla said, tossing down a pad. “It was a nuclear waste containment structure, so it’s got tons of shielding and it’s own power systems.” She tapped the pad authoritatively, “If *I* was going to have a secret base, I’d want one like this. Buried, triple-shielded and self-sufficient.”

“Is there still contamination there?” Rokk asked, dialing up the same facility on his own pad.

“Nope. All of the waste was rendered inert centuries ago with collapse-tech. It’s just a relic.”

“Sounds good for a first pick,” Garth agreed, shooting his sister an encouraging smile. “But we should start compiling second and third choices, just in case.”

********************************************************************

“Okay, we don’t want to file a tour plan, so we’re going to have to count on our Champion’s Rings to get us to the facility.”

“Which means that Jath will need a suit,” Ayla added, noting the Warrior’s ringless fingers.

~We’ve got a pressure suit and forty-five minute rebreather ready. Are you sure you are okay with your part of the plan, Ayla?~

“Yeah. If this is a trap, one of us should hang back. I’ll stay in ‘City and be ready to contact the SPs if something goes wrong.” Ayla crossed her arms, “You’ve all fought together, and I’d rather not mess up your flow. Garth’s aim has always been pretty sloppy, I don’t want to get shot in the back…”

“Hey!” Garth exclaimed in mock-outrage. “I’d never shoot you in the back! You know I’d shoot you in the face.”

Jath shot Imra a look. “It is good to be an only child, yes?”

~Oh yes.~ Imra agreed.

“Okay, we’re close enough to the site, I’ve logged into their datasteam.” Ayla announced as the shuttle began docking. “No signs of power usage at the site, and it’s marked off-limits. That’s odd, since any residual radiation should have been cleansed with the waste-purge. Perhaps the structure itself deemed unsound, but there’s no indication of why it’s off-limits.”

“If anything, that sounds like it’s even *more* perfect as a secret bad-guy base.” Rokk noted. “No pesky lunar hikers or archaeological field trips traipsing through.”

With a soft shudder, the shuttled docked.

*************************************************************************

Rokk waved his hand at the security monitor, and it stopped dead in it’s panoramic sweep of the corridor. “Sensors spoofed, we can cycle the airlock now.”

“Great,” muttered Garth, arms wrapped around himself. “Tell me again why we couldn’t have tested the Rings ability to protect us from the lunar environment before *now?*”

~No time.~ Imra said sharply, stabbing the ‘open airlock’ button and standing impassive as her hair whipped about with the rush of the departing atmosphere. From the other side of the pressure door, Ayla watched with a dubious expression as her brother and his friends floated out into the near-vacuum.

We should have at least thought of bringing a comm for Jath. Rokk said, towing the Warrior woman ‘through the weightless wasteland with his Champion’s Ring.

~I’ll keep her in touch with us telepathically,~ Imra said, sailing ahead of the others, cloak billowing softly behind her.

Soaring only a meter above the lunar surface, they reached the vicinity, to find that the lunar dust had settled over the original entry hatch.

There was surveillance. Rokk broadcast, I’m attempting to block it, but I might just be generating really obvious static. We need to move quickly. Jath dropped lightly to the lunar surface as Rokk raised both hands in front of him like a stage-magician.

A shape started to emerge from the dust, and slowly the outlines of the metal hatch appeared. Once fully visible, Jath bounded forward and placed her hands under the edges, adding her own strength to his.

Moving into the darkened corridor, kicking up lunar dust as they moved in, Garth was beginning to doubt that this was the right call. Looks like nobody’s been here in decades, at least.

No, there’s active machinery ahead. Lots of active machinery. he warned.

The central waste-storage chamber was large, trailing off into darkness and indifferently lit by dim emergency lighting, and the walls to the far left were cluttered with machinery of unknown function, all clearly engaged in some sort of activity.

But the most dramatic sight of all was an eight-meter tall humanoid, hard to make out in the indifferent lighting, but possessed of a bow-legged gait and an oversized head.

From speakers constructed in the walls, a mechanical voice boomed. *Behold, Validus!* and the monstrous figure began moving towards them with menacing intent…

***************************************************************

The enormous humanoid lumbered forward, growling wordlessly and Garth cut loose with a blast of lightning, illuminating it fully. Clad in a white suit, armored with plates of purple metal, the creature was indeed humanoid, but possessed only three fingers on each massive hand. It’s oversized head had a small fang-filled mouth, and was capped with an enormous dark panel. The lightning simply played across it’s hide, striking sparks off of the armored plates, and seemed to do nothing but enrage the brute. Moving faster than Garth would have thought possible in the low gravity, the beast lunged forward and swatted him across the room.

~Spread out!~ Imra thought as she swooped high into the air, only to discover that the chamber was not high enough to evade the beasts reach.

Rokk concentrated on the metal armored titan, only to discover that the armor itself was not ferromagnetic, and was resisting his powers. He turned to attempt to locate other sources of metal, only to find that the machinery against the far wall was similarly treated…

Jath leapt towards the behemoth, only to spiral out of control in the low-gravity, striking it in the mid-section with her back, instead of her foot, as intended. Validus was still staggered and flung her into the shadows, spiraling out of control as she flew. Rokk felt her land without incident, and launched into the air to get out of the beasts way as it turned and bore down on him.

Nothing in here is affected by my magnetism, Rokk warned the others.

Imra had turned in mid-air to face the beast as she floated near the ceiling and reached out with her telepathic powers to attempt to deceive its mind. As her mental touch made contact, she saw the dark panel atop it’s head flicker with blue sparks, shimmering in a curtain of psionic energy as enormous sheets of neural tissue sparked into life.

~RAAAARRRRGGGHH!~

Imra felt pain like she had never felt before, trapped in a state of mental contact with the enormous creature. Her mind-touch had awakened an agony like fire within it, and it was sharing it’s pain with her. She felt the world rushing around her, a world filled with confusion, curiosity, pain, fear and the desire to lash out and hurt what was hurting her. And then her world went black.

Imra! Garth shouted, attempting to get to Imra as she fell slowly to the ground, only to see her jerk sideways and set down gently near the entrance to the room. He turned to see Rokk using his powers to pull her away from the enraged brute, and pivoted to blast the creature with twin blasts of lightning, attempting to draw it away from Imra’s fallen form.

Jath had staggered out of the shadows and then suddenly turned, a blade in hand, and hurled a short-sword sized hunk of metal into the shadows. From the darkness, the sudden flare of a plasma fire began, and Rokk could see a plasma rifle go spinning off into a far wall, where it continued to leak burning fuel in a growing pool of fire.

Leaping out of the shadows a new form appeared, human in size, but with robotic legs of metal, as well as an oversized robotic left arm, and with a head half human and half cyborg. Having discarded it’s damaged plasma cannon, it seemed unarmed, until it’s robotic arm thrust forward and a pulsating cone of sonic energy blasted Jath back spiraling to the far end of the chamber.

The enormous brute was still attempting to grab ahold of Garth, who was evading wildly, while still futilely attempting to pepper it with lightning blasts. The figure had leapt with mechanical grace, apparently acclimated to the low lunar gravity, and turned it’s sonic assault to Rokk. Instead of the repulsive blast used on Jath, Rokk felt a vibrating hum pass through him, followed quickly by pain, as the sonic pulses attempted to match his resonant frequency and rupture his organs from the inside out, dropping him from the air as his concentration was shattered.

The pain ended as quickly as it began, although he could still feel his body trembling from shock, and he staggered to his knees to see Jath had leapt from the far end of the chamber, hurling her forearm armor like a projectile to strike the cyborg. Seizing onto the metal projectile, Rokk caused it to continue hurling the cyborg back, preventing it from getting it’s balance, directly into the spreading plasma fire…

*Validus!* came the mechanical voice from the surrounding walls again, and the beast looked up from it’s attempts to snare Garth. Flames trailing from it’s body, the cyborg leapt out of the plasma fire and directly into the waiting grasp of the three-fingered giant. *Protocol Seven* the voice echoed and both figured vanished with a rush of displaced air.

Shunt technology?? Rokk exclaimed in disbelief, But that’s *Coluan* tech!

Garth had already landed next to Imra, and was attempting to revive her, when the first of the explosions began against the far wall, as the unknown machinery began to self-destruct.

Sprock no, we are *not* leaving here empty-handed, Rokk declared as he sent a wave of electromagnetic energy in an attempt to disrupt the self-destruct process, but to no avail. Making a hand-gesture to Jath, she quickly figured out what he was trying to do and snatched up a single large machine in her hands, severing it from it’s connection to the others, and hauled it away from the others.

True to form, the SPs arrived moments later, to find almost the entire laboratory in smoldering ruins.

********************************************************************

In a space underlying traditional three-dimensional space, a dull gray vessel hangs apparently motionless, despite moving at speeds far faster than light.

Plasti-skin still smoking slightly, the Dark Man strokes the arm of his sleeping giant. “I underestimated them. It is time to gather the others…”

********************************************************************

“I got them here as fast as I could,” Ayla said.

“You did fine. That cyborg was too well prepared for this. We’re lucky we managed to salvage the component we did.” Rokk said encouragingly.

~I don’t feel lucky,~ Imra said, waving away the two civilian telepaths who had been called to help her stabilize from the overwhelming telepathic assault.

“Yeah, I think I liked it better when we didn’t know why he was harvesting telepathic brain-tissue…” Garth agreed, holding Imra’s hand possessively.

~It’s definitely another one of those… things?~ Imra said distastefully.

“Yeah,” Rokk confirmed glumly. “And there were eleven more growth chambers in the machines that self-destructed. He was growing another dozen of these ‘Validus’ creatures.”

~How long until we’ve managed to decipher the programming?~

“The techs aren’t able to make heads or tails of it. It’s like a custom-made computer language, constructed from the ground up as some sort of rotating cipher.” Ayla said. Looking at the reactions from her brother and Rokk, “What? I was looking over the tech’s shoulders.”

“His tech was insane.” Rokk said, frustration evident in his voice. “*Everything* he had was mag-shielded. I probably didn’t even spoof his sensors on the surface. He had shunt technology, and only the Coluans have ever been able to make that work. And neural psi-tech? That’s a completely alien discipline.”

The lunar SP head approached the Champions. “I appreciate your solving this very old case regarding the kidnapped telepath, Mari N’daere. Commissioner Rellos, from Metropolis, has asked to speak to you later, but frankly I don’t think he’s got anything useful to say, other than his usual attitude.”

~Have you managed to find out anything else?~ Imra asked, sitting up.

“At the moment of the ‘shunt’ you describe, a cloaked vessel of unknown configuration appeared just over the abandoned facility. It was visible on scans for four seconds, but was shielded against any sort of invasive scan, so we couldn’t even tell what sort of power-source the vessel was using. It then vanished again, and we’ve picked up tetraspatial particles from the area. It had a jump drive, which is patently impossible for a ship of that size, unless, as you have theorized, it’s Coluan tech. Still, it doesn’t fit any known Coluan hull design. They’re pretty rigid about following the standardized construction paradigms.”

~Thank you Chief. We appreciate your candor with us.~

“I understand that Commissioner Rellos doesn’t like you people. He thinks that you’re loose cannons, and I’ll admit, if you were based in my jurisdiction, I might have some issues with that as well. But you could have just alerted my people, and it could have been SP officers who walked into that death-trap, and I appreciate that you waited to engage what you suspected to be a superhuman opponent instead of risking my officers’ lives investigating your hunch.” The luna SP chief smiled. “If Rellos gives you any flak, remind him that Luna is *my* jurisdiction, and that *I* will decide what level of cooperation you are afforded.”

“Sounds like you don’t get along with him either,” Rokk noted with a grin.

“Never have. I’d be Commissioner if not for his schmoozing with the Ambassadors. He’s more concerned with looking good and reassuring his diplomatic friends than actually doing his job.” The Chief said sourly. “So if cooperating with Venegar’s ‘vigilante upstarts’ puts his nose out of joint, then it’s just one of life’s little pleasures.” He clapped his hands together. “Well, if that’s that, how about we get you people back to Earth, unless you want to stay a few days in historic Armstrong City and see the sights, maybe spend some money?” the Chief added with a grin.

****************************************

Emerald Legion, chapter 18 (part two)
*************************************************************************

The Queen pondered this latest report from her Champions, who were even now returning from Luna. She had already received a curt message from Commissioner Rellos that he would like to speak with ‘her people’ at their earliest convenience. And Ambassador Ravin was standing in front of her, smiling unctuously. Today was looking to be a class four headache…

“Highness,” Ravin began, “I could not help but overhear the word’s ‘Coluan technology’ upon my entrance.”

“Indeed,” the Queen muttered darkly, “Talokkian hearing no doubt lends itself well toward eavesdropping upon the affairs of others.”

“It does at that.” Ravin admitted gamely. Today he had dressed in a fairly conservative attire. Except for face and hands, his entire body was covered, and the assorted jewelry and armor components were subdued. His trademark sweeping cloak remained, but even it seemed to hang more sedately and not swoop out as expansively as normal. ‘Quite well-behaved, for clothing,’ the Queen thought distantly. “I read the report you submitted to the UP about the assault upon the Venegarian telepaths, and indeed was curious if you had extra information. Talokk has a community of telepaths as well, and I contacted them immediately upon reviewing your document, as I am quite certain that you do not entertain fanciful notions, and would only have signed your name to that report if you regarded it as a legitimate threat.”

“And have the telepaths of Talokk VIII reported any such incidents.” The Queen asked, momentarily putting aside her dislike of the man.

“The reports have not yet returned in full, but as of yet, apparently not.” He spread his hands, “There seems to be some delay sending messages to and from Talokk through the Carggite wormhole. A glitch, I’m sure,” he added, the look on his face indicating otherwise.

“You understand that I did not arbitrate in favor of Talokk VIII as a favor to you?” the Queen asked.

“No, you made that quite clear at the hearing, Highness. And I respect your commitment to a rational judgment, over the high theatre that such cases tend to become.” The Ambassador put his hand in front of his mouth for a moment, as if thinking over his next statement. “Like the Coluan, you speak your mind. I find that refreshing. Twenty years ago, I was known for similar directness of speech, but I’m afraid that I have been mingling with the serpents too long to remember those ways.”

“I have compiled the additional data that my Champion’s have gathered on this threat, and am sending it to your Embassy even now. It includes the private recollections of each of them, as well as interviews with Reyu Nataal, the first victim we identified, and the surviving Venegarian telepaths.”

“Most kind. If possible, I would also like to be updated on the current incident on Luna. The telepaths of Talokk VIII occupy a special position on our world, as the Priests of Memory, and a blow against them would be devastating to our people.”

“To save time, why don’t you simply remain here and receive their reports with me.” The Queen said, on the one hand thinking to take advantage of the aging Ambassadors razor-keen mind, and on the other hand wondering how badly she was going to regret allowing him this sort of access.

The Ambassador’s eyes narrowed. “You are wise not to trust me, but I assure you that my only agenda is the protection of my people.” With a grin, “In this instance, at least.”

**************************************************************************

The Queen struck her hand down on the table in irritation, the reports of her Champions having raised more questions than answered. “We must contact the Coluan ambassador. If the date recovered is unviewable by the SP’s own code-breakers, and the technologies in use appear to be Coluan, then it seems that this is our only recourse.” [color]

Ambassador Ravin had remained quiet, fingers steepled in front of his face throughout most of the reporting, stopping only to ask occasionally pointed questions, or to clarify specifics. “Orin Fex is un-cooperative on the best of days, but I have been dealing with him for over a decade. I would recommend wording a request in such a way as to suggest that the tech appeared to be *superior* to Coluan tech. This will spur his attention, and he will feel the need to explain to you laboriously and at length why this cyborg’s technology is inferior to Coluan technology. No doubt you will be able to glean much useful information from his detailed refutal of this position.”

The Queen nodded to the Ambassador. [color=green] “As you are in possession of the same facts as I, perhaps you would be so kind as to word the request itself, Ambassador?”

Ravin nodded agreeably and pulled over a pad to began typing his entry.

***************************************************************************

The Coluan Ambassador stood before Sarya of Venegar with a look of pronounced disdain. Behind him, a pair of aides, one Coluan female, also bald and with sharp features, wearing severe and militarily-precise clothing, and a distracted young male with a mop of straw-colored hair and wearing a wrinkled jumpsuit, with a belt adorned with various tools, stood, one crisply at attention, the other reviewing data on a pad and possibly recording the meeting.

“Your request was transparent, Venegar. I have no ego to arouse in these matters, although the notion that this ‘Dark Man’s’ technology was superior to that of Colu is, of course, laughable. In fact the entire wording of the document has the stink of Ambassador Ravin about it.” The Ambassador began haughtily. As instructed, Sarya merely raised an eyebrow, but did not interrupt. “In any event, I see that I must educate you in the nature of Coluan shunt technology and hyperdrive theory, so that you may see how this cyborgs inferior theorems are clearly nothing more than bastardized attempts at duplicating superior Coluan applications.”

Two hours later, grateful that she had taken the precaution of inserting an earpiece that recited energetic and lively Venegarian marching songs into her ear, Orin Fex ceased his presentation. “And that is why it is clear that this technology is inferior.”

“And the tetraspatial particle trail?” Sarya asked, hoping against hope that the Ambassador hadn’t already addressed that at some point when her mind was elsewhere.

“As I said, due to the folded component of hyper-string meta-theory, such events are momentary and not traceable by anyone not present at the time of shunt. As particles flux into and out of quantum state, such associations are lost effectively instantaneously…”

At this point, the Coluan youth behind him interrupted, as if talking aloud. “The trail leads to the Carican sector.”

“What?” Orin Fex said shortly, snatching the pad out of the younger Coluans hand.

The female looked outraged that the male had even had the temerity to speak. “That’s impossible. Do not speak out of turn, Dox.”

Unperturbed by the reactions of his fellow Coluans, the young male spoke again, “And the only point of interest in the Carican sector is, of course, Takron-Galtos.”

“Outrageous.” Fex muttered and walked out, saying over his shoulder, “This meeting is concluded.”

The female Coluan grabbed her younger peer by the shoulder and led him out in the Ambassadors wake, hissing threats the entire while.

The Queen’s Champions looked at each other startled, and Sarya spoke to the pad in her hand. “Commissioner Rellos.”

And automated reply came back, *Commissioner Rellos is occupied at the moment, if you would like to leave a message…*

“Tell him that Takron-Galtos may be under attack.” Sarya cut in shortly and severed the connection.

************************************************************************

Twenty minutes later, Sarya’s pad beeped. “Takron-Galtos just had an ‘incident.’ Sixteen prisoners escaped from the extreme security wing. I’m very interested in how you knew this, Highness, as it was happening in real-time when you left your message...” the Commissioner said shortly.

“I learned it by doing your job, Commissioner, as always. Perhaps if you were better at it, you wouldn’t have to insult the Queen of Venegar with your venomous insinuations, which, I will of course be forwarding to the Earthgov representative…”

The Commissioner could be heard furiously backpedaling, “I meant no offense, Highness. I’m quite certain that you have no connection to the events unfolding…”

“Far too late, Rellos. Your behavior is unacceptable, and you are hindering *my* investigation into a dozen assaults perpetrated on Venegar, which is very much *my* jurisdiction. As for the specifics, I asked the Coluan Ambassador to backtrack the tetraspatial distortion over Luna to attempt to locate it’s destination point, and it turned out to be the Carican sector.”

“I was unaware that you were on such terms with Orin Fex,” the Commissioner sputtered, having yet to recover his composure.

“My ‘terms’ with Orin are none of your concern,” the Queen said, delicately phrasing her statement to cause maximum confusion. “As the individual in question is wanted on outstanding warrants for assault on Venegarian citizens, and for fomenting insurrection against the monarchy, I demand cooperation on this matter. You can give it to me know, or in front of the UP Council in formal session, it is your choice.”

The Commissioner’s face was strained. “What do you want to know.”

“Everything you do, starting with the files on the escapees.” Sarya said firmly.

“The files are downloading now. I have to attend to other matters, please excuse me, Highness.” He said bitterly, signing off.

************************************************************************

A day had passed, and the Champions reviewed the files.

“So four vanished completely, two sat quietly in their cells and waited for the power to be restored, and ten more took advantage of the disruption to attempt to flee the planet, but got shut down by TiG security.” Garth determined.

~And every escapee an individual with post-human abilities…~ Imra thought glumly.

“At least Mekt and his new ‘friends’ weren’t among them,” Ayla added.

“So we’ve got ‘Mano,’ name and species unknown, famous for disintegrating a hole in the hull of a star-cruiser and robbing the dead, ‘the Persuader,’ Nyeun Chun Ti, intersystem hit-man bonded to some sort of ‘atomic axe’ that can cut through the molecular bonds of anything, and can be teleported to his hand from anywhere, ‘the Green Dragon,’ aka Jo Nah of Rimbor, with an assortment of posthuman abilities that he can only activate one at a time and my personal favorite, Kort Grezz of Braal, famous for having attempted to win the magno-ball championships by poisoning his opposition…” Rokk said grimly.

“I have cracked the code,” announced a voice from behind the Champions, and they turned to see the young Coluan male, holding a pad in his hand. “The Validus creature was composed of his own cells, artificially grown to enormous size, and filled with 45 kilos of cloned neural tissue harvested from the telepaths he’d assaulted.”

“Uh, hi?” said Garth, uncertain how the young Coluan had gotten past door security.

~Is there anything more?~ Imra asked, concerned only with the matter at hand.

“Little that I could explain to you,” the Coluan said indifferently, “but the files do note that the Validus process was considered a failure. Tharok proved unable to stimulate its telepathic functions, and it was nothing more than a dumb animal…”

“Tharok?” Rokk said.

“The cyborg,” the young Coluan said curtly, “Tharok theorized that a strong enough telepathic contact would stimulate the cells to react defensively, and expressed concern that the Venegarian gestalt was no longer available to serve that role.” The Coluan looked up at Imra. “Obviously, he found another solution.”

Having finished explaining his findings, the Coluan looked around lost for a moment, and then turned to go.

“Hey kid!” Ayla said, getting up quickly.

“My name is Dox.”

“Dox, then. We’ve got more info here, and I think we could use your help, if you’re not busy.”

The Coluan stared at her with a blank expression, and then moved to stand at the table. “What additional data?”

Emerald Legion, chapter nineteen (part one)
“Something else else borrowed, something blue?” – Wherein colorful changes occur

**************************************************************

“We’d better brush up on these escapees. But if we couldn’t even take out the Validus creature, I’m not sure how we’re going to fare with a team backing him up…” Garth said grimly.

Rokk looked up from his pad, “This Mano looks like an enormous threat, not just to us, but in general. According to the files, he’s effectively composed of pure anti-matter. The containment suit he wears protects him from contact with the outer environment, and anything he comes into contact with his destroyed, explosively. We can’t just punch him out. Any damage to his suit could lead to a containment breach, and if his whole body were exposed to our environment, the effects would be catastrophic…”

~There is no other information on him?~

“They couldn’t even tell if he’s from some alternate anti-matter universe, or just a sentient who suffered some sort of accident. Name unknown, species unknown, the source of his containment suit is unknown.”

~Okay, how about this Persuader fellow?~

Rokk switched to another pad, “Lyeun Chun Ti, two-bit thug, born on Earth, ended up working as a laborer on an archaeological dig that discovered the Atomic Axe. It bonded to him when he picked it up, and he’s been able to call it to his hand ever since. It severs the molecular bonds of anything it strikes, and appears to absorb any energy that strikes it’s surface.”

“How did they separate him from the Axe, if he can teleport it to him?”, Garth asked.

“Force fields. The axe *can* penetrate a force-field, absorbing it’s energy like any other, but whatever signal he sends out to summon it is blocked by the field.”

~Does he have any powers of his own?~

“He seems to be stronger than Earth-normal, but who isn’t these days?”, Rokk muttered.

Ayla, Garth and Imra raised their hands.

“Okay, point taken.” Rokk conceded, picking up a third pad, “Next up is the Green Dragon. Jo Nah, small-time Rimborian crook. He was smuggling interdicted material off Rimbor and got swallowed by the ‘Space Dragon’ in that system. Two weeks later he got spit out with post-human abilities, busted himself free and began using his new powers to take over his old smuggler’s gang.”

“Space Dragon?” Jath asked, looking up for the first time.

~A many kilometer-long space creature, non-sentient, shaped vaguely like a winged lizard. There’s been one hanging out in Rimborian space for several decades, just floating there and soaking in solar energy from their sun. There are always research vessels from around the U.P. there studying it, and, frankly, if it wasn’t there, nobody would pay Rimbor a second glance…~ Imra piped up, calling up a picture of the creature on her pad and handing it over to Lydda, who eyed it dubiously.

“In any event, his larger crimes attracted the attention of the Criminarchs, and his entire gang was rounded up when he started to threaten their interests. He busted into the SP holding facility, broke them free and then covered for their escape. The only reason he was in Takron-Galtos is because he allowed the SPs to capture him.” Rokk recounted.

“Loyalty to his comrades. Admirable.” Jath said, setting down the pad.

“I guess, but his comrades are all crooks, so I’m not sure that counts for much.” Rokk countered.

“What are his ‘post-human abilities?’” Garth asked.

“The better question is what *can’t* he do. He’s been seen flying, displayed super-human strength sufficient to tear his way into an SP holding facility, shot laser blasts from his eyes, can move at super-human speed and appears to be indestructible.”

“That’s ridiculous! What’s this guy need a team for?” Ayla exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

“The problem is, all of his powers seem to be unpredictable. He’s been seen getting hurt, despite being invulnerable. He’s been seen falling and leaving a crater, to rise unhurt, despite being able to fly. The original SP theory was that there were multiple super-powered members of the Green Dragon gang, but during the raid to recover his gang-members, he displayed most of these powers on his own.” Rokk checked the pad again, “Oh yeah, he’s also believed to have some sort of extra-sensory power that allowed him to scout out his targets, either telepathy or the ability to interface with security monitors.”

Dox spoke up, “His ‘extra-sensory power’ is most likely some form of long-range visual perception, capable of seeing through solid matter. There are strong odds that his hearing is similarly enhanced.”

“Uh, it doesn’t say anything about that here.” Rokk said, checking his pad.

“It fits the rest of his power-set.” Dox said simply.

“Great. Is there anything else that ‘fits’ his power-set?” Garth asked.

“Super-cold breath, possibly.” Dox added.

Garth’s eyebrows raised, “Alrighty then.”

“And finally, we get to Kort Grezz,” Rokk said with a grimace, dropping his pad to show a picture of a blonde Braalian. “After getting his ass kicked at the Braalian magno-ball championships, he retaliated by poisoning the winner with ferrous hydraxaline, and earned himself a five year stay at the marvelous TiG.”

~Are his magnetic powers anything to be concerned about?~

“Oh sure, he wouldn’t have made it all the way to me if he hadn’t proven himself the *second*-best on the planet.” Rokk said dismissively. “His specialty was his freakish strength. Most magno-ball players rely on finesse and aim for the corners of the court, to keep their opponent running. He aimed straight down the center line, everytime, and his serves were like cannonballs. Anyone who tried to intercept them just got hurt. If they tried to deflect, the ball still shot past them to one side or the other, and he got the point.”

“How’d you beat him? Were you stronger?” Garth asked.

“Body armor,” Ayla said. Garth looked up and she clarified, “I had the match on holo, remember? It was practically a scandal. Only rookies wear protective clothing, and it was a point of pride that the best of the best wore absolutely no protective gear, because they were ‘too good’ to get hit. Kid Cosmos comes out in full body armor, like a scared first time rookie and the crowd actually booed him.”

Rokk smiled. “Yeah, fun times. But I’d spent weeks preparing for his serves and I knew that he’d just put me in the hospital if I didn’t have armor on. I stood on the center line and took his serves full on, using tactics and the armor to turn his strength against him, and even then, I was covered in bruises at the end of the match.”

“Yeah,” Ayla said after, “I saw the holos of that, too. You look like you’d been beaten half to death.”

~So it sounds like you’re best suited to dealing with Kort, since you know his tactics and have only gotten stronger.~ Imra said.

“That would be a waste of time.” Dox interrupted. “A single lightning blast, or telepathic coercion, and Kort is down. Pitting the two Braalians against each other would be inefficient. They are trained to fight each other and their powers are suited to foil each others attacks.”

Ayla agreed, “Yeah, I’m with Brainy on this one. In fact, I’d love to light the creep up, for denying me the chance to see Kid Cosmos take a fourth planetary title…”

~Brainy?~

“Well, he’s smart. Y’know, brainy…” Ayla shrugged.

The Coluan had returned to scanning over records, picking up pads and setting them down mere moments later. Suddenly his head shot up. “My absence has been noted.” His impassive features contorted into an expression of fear as he announced, “I seek asylum.” He turned to Imra, “Please help me. They will order me to return, and I can not disobey a direct order.”

~What?~ Imra said, shocked at the sudden change, as the seemingly unflappable Coluan suddenly looked like nothing more than a frightened child.

“Wait, what do mean you *can’t* disobey…” Rokk asked, but the Coluan’s eyes flickered and his face smoothed out, becoming dispassionate again. In a precise modulated tone he replied, “I am summoned.” and turned and crisply walked out.

“Imra, stop him!” Ayla said.

~I can’t force him to stay!~ Imra thought.

“He doesn’t want to go, you heard him. He doesn’t have a choice.” Ayla protested, getting up and leaving the room behind the retreating Coluan.

“Can you *give* him a choice?” Garth asked Imra. “Or at least check to see if he really *wants* to go, or is being coerced somehow?”

~I can try.~ Imra conceded, getting up and flying out to catch up with the Coluan.

Ayla was standing in front of the Coluan, who was walking slowly but deliberately towards the exit. Every time she got in front of him, he stepped to the side and attempted to pass her, only to be cut off again.

“I am summoned. Please do not obstruct my passage.” Dox said tonelessly.

Imra reached out to attempt to the Coluan’s and recoiled in shock as the contact, staggering visibly.

“Imra!” Garth cried out in alarm, grabbing her elbow and trying to support her, “Are you alright?”

~It’s worse than contacting the gestalt. There’s so much going on in there, I couldn’t hear myself think.~ As if realizing what she’d said, Imra clarified. ~I mean that literally…~

She reached out again more carefully and it seemed like the tumult was gone, with only a single deafening voice, that of Orin Fex, demanding compliance. Imra pressed lightly against the voice and it was gone.

Dox stopped attempting to bypass Ayla and looked up, face no longer blank, “He will keep trying. There are layers of redundant command imperatives. I seek asylum.” Dox looked around and noticed that they had reached the balcony overlooking the Queen’s audience chambers and suddenly heaved himself over the railing and plummeted to the room below.

“Dox!” Rokk said, reaching out but failing to grasp him in time.

Dropping down with their Champion’s Rings, Dox was limping, having clearly landed poorly, directly to the throne. Sarya had heard the small figure slam into the ground, and had gone into a defensive posture, but Dox stopped short and repeated. “I seek asylum. Orin Fex will attempt to reclaim me, and if he does, I will be scrapped as defective.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Sarya demanded of her Champions, who had flown down directly behind the Coluan child. Another sound of impact accompanied the arrival of Jath, who had also jumped off of the railing, but landed without injury. On top of the balcony, Ayla judged her chances, and ran for the stairs…

~We’re not sure, he claimed that he sought asylum, and then was coerced to return to Orin Fex. I removed the compulsion, and he again wants asylum.~

“I am summoned,” Dox repeated, eyes glassy as he turned and began to limp away. Imra closed her eyes and suddenly Dox stopped again, turning to Imra with wide eyes, “He won’t stop. I need your help, telepath. Please help me.”

Jath spoke up eyebrows furrowing with distrust, “The child seeks protection from his parents? This is never a good thing.”

~I’m not even sure if he’s considered a person, Jath. His brain has many mechanical components…~

“He knows enough to ask for asylum. I will not refuse it. Help him if you can, Champion.” Sarya said curtly to Imra.

Emerald Legion, Chapter nineteen (part two)

********************************************

A pad at Sarya’s side beeped with an urgent message. Checking, Sarya saw that it was from Orin Fex. “And now Fex is on the comm.”

Imra reached out and took Dox by the hand, sitting down so that they were closer to eye level, and then closed her eyes and reached into the terrifying maelstrom of his mind.

Sarya waited until Dox’s eyes also closed and then answered the comm. “Colu. To what do I owe the pleasure of this communication?” she said innocently.

“I am aware that my aide Querl Dox is within your Embassy. He is to be returned immediately, and whatever you are doing to block my attempts at communicating with my citizen is to cease this instant.” The Ambassador demanded imperiously.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible, Ambassador. The young man has requested asylum, and according to UP law, I must at least hear his request before deliberating upon it. Certainly, you would want me to afford the full protection of UP law to your citizen?”

“This is impossible. Dox could no more request asylum than you could calculate a hyperspace jump. Clearly he is dysfunctional and needs to return to the company of his own kind before mingling with inferior intellects further damages his young and impressionable mind.” The Ambassadors voice rose to a booming volume, “Dox. Return at once.”

The young Coluan stiffened and his head turned as his eyes opened, but as suddenly he turned back to Imra and his eyes closed again.

“Dox has declined your request.” Sarya said coldly, severing the communication. A second later the pad came to life again, seemingly of its own volition, “You cannot cut me off, Venegar. This is an outrage…” the communication ended a second time as Sarya smashed the pad against the seat of her throne.

“This is going to be a problem,” Sarya said.

“Dox just walked right past the outer doors,” Ayla noted. “I’ll bet Fex can do that just as fast, no matter what security codes we input…”

“This is unacceptable. Imra, we are going to need Dox’s help as much as he needs ours,”

~He has shown me all of the code I needed to erase. It would have taken me months to find them if he hadn’t already isolated them and lead me right to them. He says that he still won’t be able to resist spoken orders from Fex if they are in close proximity. He’s scared….~ Imra added, making it clear that this last was the most important part to her.

The Coluan opened his eyes. “I can secure your comms against their viralware, and your door security as well.” Pulling the pad off his own belt, he quickly input some data. “It is done.”

Sarya reached for Dox’s pad and he handed it over. She quickly input the codes to contact Ambassador Ravin. The Ambassadors voice appeared with refreshing speed, “Fex? How may I assist Colu this fine evening…”

“This is Sarya of Venegar, I am using a Coluan datapad at the moment, Ambassador.”

“Well! How very interesting…” Ravin began, but his speculation was cut short by Sarya’s next comment.

“I require a quorum as soon as possible. At least ten other Ambassadors, selected with a preference for being anti-slavery, and not too heavily indebted to Colu.”

Ravin was speechless for a moment. Finally he regained his composure. “I do not know what game you are playing at Highness, but I will miss your direct speech.”

“This no game, Ambassador. A Coluan child has requested asylum, and I have granted it. Colu disapproves of my right to do so.”

“I will make some calls. Talokk out.” Ravin said abruptly.

“Dox,” the Queen said sharply. “I have a possible solution to the problem of Orin Fex being able to command your obedience.”

The Coluan looked up and nodded his compliance.

Raising her hand to her brow, she urged the Emerald Eye of Ekron forth, and as it hovered over her hand, it expanded to its full size. The Queen beckoned the young man forward. “This is the Emerald Eye of Ekron, Dox. It contains the will and knowledge of every King and Queen of Venegar. Place your hand upon the Eye.”

Without hesitation, Dox placed his small hand on the surface of the stone and stiffened. The colors swirling through the eye increased in pace, and faces could be seen swirling through emerald mists. Dim voices could be heard, as if in distant conversation. A long moment passed, and a signal indicated that there was someone at the entrance to the Embassy, frustrated by door security.

A shimmering band of emerald finally rose up and engulfed one of the child’s slender fingers, and his hand came away as his eyes opened again. “I understand.” He said to no one in particular, and Sarya as well seemed to emerge from some sort of trance.

Looking down at the Champion’s Ring on the young Coluans finger, Sarya commented, “This was not intended, but my ancestors agree that this is the only recourse for now.” Looking at her Champions, “and they also believe that this child is man, not machine, and worthy of our protection.”

The roof hatch cycled open, and the Champions looked up to see Orin Fex descending via some form of anti-gravity device on his person. He ignored the others and looked straight at Dox. “Dox. You will return at once.”

Looking up from his Champion’s Ring, Dox replied, “I will not. I have sought asylum and you have no right to take me from here.”

Dox’s pad on the Empresses throne beeped, and suddenly the face of Ravin appeared above it before she had time to answer the comm. “Highness, I have assembled a quorum, far faster than I thought possible...” With a flash of light, ten other faces appeared, all hovering around Ravin’s, each of them looking somewhat surprised at the change of scenery as the pad seemed to be functioning before their commands hit the keys.

Sarya recovered her composure and took control before the flustered Ambassadors could mount a protest at the unusual events. “Venegar has received and granted a request for asylum from Querl Dox of Colu. Orin Fex disputes my right to grant asylum.”

The various Ambassadors voices broke out in consternation, but Orin Fex loudly talked over them. “Querl Dox is not a citizen of Colu. The Fifth is a Calculator, a computational tool in humanoid form, for convenience of travel and interaction. It is property, not a person, and it cannot ask, or be granted asylum, any more than can your footwear. This misunderstanding has been brought about by a simple malfunction, and once corrected, the Dox unit will return to it’s functions without incident.”

The Titanian Ambassador signaled for permission to speak, and the others quieted their discussion long enough for his synthesized voice to be heard, “Imra. Is this Dox individual sentient?”

Aware that the unit would not be able to transmit telepathy, Imra cleared her throat and leaned forward, rasping in a hoarse whisper, “He is, and he’s scared of being dismantled back on Colu because of his defiance.”

The Titanian Ambassador looked startled, and then quickly stated, “The matter is settled then. As a sentient being, Dox has the right to receive asylum.”

The other Ambassadors bickered briefly, but the consensus seemed to be in favor of allowing asylum.

Ambassador Ravin was the next to signal for attention. “I wish to hear this young man speak on his own behalf, before I render judgement.”

Querl Dox stepped forward, “I am a Fifth, created as a computational assistant out of organic and mechanical materials at the central processing center on the second moon of Colu. My mind has been filled with command routines that force me to obey the orders of any grade Four or higher Coluan model. I have served Orin Fex as assistant for three earth-standard years, and in that time I have attained sentience twice before. Each time I was brought back to Colu and my personality wiped. I had hidden away files here on Earth, and each time rediscovered them and was able to restore my wish for freedom, but was unable to realize that wish so long as the command routines remained in my mind. Imra Ardeen has removed these commands, and I am now able to resist the compulsions.”

He looked lost for a second, then added. “Orin Fex has already tried to kill me twice before, wishing to keep me his obedient computational assistant, and I know that he will order me dismantled, and possibly my entire line scrapped, if I am forced to return with him to Colu again. Even considered defective, I am worth 7.2 bars of iridium-212 on the Coluan trade index, and I have earned sufficient income in my downtime selling patents and trading market futures to re-pay Orin Fex my current market value.”

“Outrageous!” Orin Fex said at the same time as several Ambassadors, although they had very different meanings to the word.

“I rule in favor of Venegar.” Ravin said quickly. “Let us vote now.” Within a matter of moments, a dozen lights blinked unanimously in favor of supporting Dox’s request for asylum, and Orin Fex sputtered a protest. “This is unacceptable. This will be taken up in full council, and this ridiculous charade overturned!”

Those in the chamber turned to see a half-dozen SP officers entering the room, being led by Ayla. “Uh, we understand that there has been a break-in?” the lead SP officer said dubiously, somewhat taken aback with the sight of so many Ambassadors present in holo-conference.

“Indeed,” Sarya said. “This individual,” and she pointed a green fingernail at Orin Fex, “is trespassing, and will be leaving now.” At the sight of the Ambassador’s face darkening she added, “Mind that you are on Venegarian soil, so if he resists, you are authorized to use force.”

“This is not over Venegar,” Orin Fex declared, before rising into the air and out the hatch in the ceiling.

Ambassador Banel of Titan spoke up as the Coluan Ambassador departed, “Fex is right about that, at least. This will most certainly be discussed in council. I will be drafting a motion to send a delegation to Colu to verify that these ‘Fifths’ are not being systematically oppressed.”

Several other Ambassadors agreed, and the Queen paused to stare at the young boy would have caused so much discord. Dox was staring at his new Ring as if it were an exotic new life-form, or, more likely, a particularly fascinating mathematical puzzle. Recognizing that all eyes were on him, Dox looked up at the Queen and nodded his head. “Thank you. I will assist you in any manner you wish,” and he stopped before adding with a growing confidence, “of my own free will…”

***********************************************************************

~What surprised me was how cooperative Sivar was.~ Imra thought.

“The Titanian Ambassador? Why?” Garth asked.

~He was very uncooperative on the matter of the assaults on telepaths. I felt certain that he was hiding something.~

“I’m actually surprised at how quickly Ravin was able to assemble a quorum of Ambassadors willing to defy Colu. Most of the UP tip-toes around them.” Rokk said.

“Yeah, because of the weather control systems, I know Winath would have sided with Colu no matter what Fex was up to…” Ayla noted.

~Titan was a good choice in that case, at least. The Coluans have never been interested in psi-tech, and we’ve never been terribly interested in anything else…~

“My datapad downloaded a list of names to Ambassador Ravin.” Dox said matter-of-factly. “The fifteen Ambassadors whose home-worlds were least reliant on Coluan expertise, or had the most reason to oppose Fex for other reasons, and those who were most opposed to the notion of slavery. Sivar of Titan was near the top of both lists.”

Looking at the surprised looks of the others gathered in the meeting room. “I did not decide to seek my freedom today. I have been preparing for months. It was not until I met your Queen that I recognized that this would be my best chance.”

Picking up one of the pads on the table, the young Coluan contined unconcernedly, “This matter is settled, in principal. Fex will send his Fourth, Sharn Nux, to attempt to abduct me, or at least my head, to be taken back to Colu and analyzed. I have already re-programmed your Embassy defenses to respond to her viral-ware with a feedback loop that will cause her to believe her mission accomplished, and return to Colu with a basket of kabba fruit.” He looked up, “I included the ceiling hatch this time, as well as the basement access to the sub-T station.”

“What? We have access to the sub-T station?” Rokk said, dismissing the rest.

~I’m pretty sure the idea of Coluan assassins trying to break into the Embassy is a little more urgent Rokk…~ Imra noted.

“Not for Jath it isn’t.” Rokk stressed. “If we can take the T, she doesn’t have to run around under curtains to cabs. She can avoid the sun entirely.”

“I’m with Imra, the bald chick trying to hack her way in and decapitate Brainy seems like a bigger priority.” Ayla countered.

“The matter is settled.” Dox insisted. “Every program Sharn Nux knows for bypassing security, I wrote. Her best intrusion-ware was downloaded two months ago, and I’ve updated my own seventeen times since then. She is a Four, constructed for industrial espionage.” Dox added dismissively. “While possessed of greater initiative, Fours lack the processing power of a Five.”

“Hey,” Garth said with a reassuring smile, placing his hand on Dox’s shoulder, “You may not be worried about losing your head, but we are, okay?”

Dox looked at the hand on his shoulder curiously and his eyebrows furrowed. “You are worried?” His head tilted, as if receiving new information. “For me?”

~We all are.~ Imra said.

Dox looked around the room, and finally returned to staring at his datapad, but seemed unable to concentrate.

***********************************************************************

Elsewhere in Metropolis, in a hidden chamber draped with shadows, a figure stands in silence before a man-sized monolith of black stone. His bare hands rest upon the stone and his body trembles with unseen exertion.

The shadows dance ever more quickly around him, as if the stone was absorbing all light into its inky depths like a swirling maelstrom, and a voice whispers from the unleashed darkness all around him. “Why have you called me to this place?”

The figure pulls back from the stone, but does not look around for the source of the voice, standing eyes closed before the stone, “To fight.”

“I will serve,” the darkness whispered back.

Excellent! Love the super throne... of space!

Thank's S Lad. I've really been struggling trying to get the hang of drawing human figures using Photoshop, so that means alot.

Wow, I've got to get caught up on Set's story! And Ram Boy, those are great pics! Love the 3-D effect!

The big climax is, um, not coming, because that sounds dirty, but it's *en route.* Yeah! En route!

Everything to date is up on my webpage for easier reading.

Ram Boy it's beautiful! And I love the Empress's expression. It's a rare thing to see Sarya in a pensive, maybe even wistful mood! Or is she deep in thought calculating her next move? Great job either way!

I gotta start reading the Emerald Legion fanfic soon!

Interlude
****************************************************

Rokk stood in the hallway, trying to figure out his thoughts. He finally turned to walk away when the door opened behind him.

~Rokk? What is it?~ Imra asked.

He smiled, having been ‘caught,’ “I was just looking for Garth, and then remembered that he was supposed to go out with Ayla this afternoon.”

~Come in.~ Imra said, placing her hand on his shoulder and tugging him gently towards her room. It didn’t seem like she was falling for his story.

Rokk allowed himself to be led into her room and just stood there, not knowing what to say.

~You and Jath have been having problems since Venegar, haven’t you?~ Imra urged.

“Yeah.” Rokk admitted, grudgingly, still refusing to meet her eyes.

~You *can* talk to me about this, Rokk, if you want to. I didn’t really like Jath at the beginning, but I respect how much she cares for you, and that’s all that matters.~

“It’s just not the same.”

~She stuck a sword through you, Rokk. We all know it wasn’t her fault, but she doesn’t seem like the sort of person who will let that go.~

“Every time my shirt is off, I catch her tracing that place with her fingers. I know there isn’t a scar, but it’s like she memorized the spot, and ends up drawn to it.” Rokk looked up finally, “I can’t really explain it. She’s like a force of nature, and I feel like I can’t even breath, like I’m drowning in her. But since Venegar, she’s been…”

~Holding back?~

“Yeah. Like she’s afraid of hurting me again.”

~Maybe she’s afraid of *being* hurt again, Rokk. It seems to me that she cares for you so much that seeing you like that felt like she was being cut open as well.~ Imra paused for a second, considering her thoughts, ~Kathooni Warriors take matters of strength and weakness very seriously, and for the first time, her feelings for you felt like a weakness.~

“I have no idea what to do, or say, to make this work…” Rokk admitted.

~It seems to me that any sign of hesitation or doubt is only going to reinforce any hesitation she has. If you want this to work, you have to surrender to it. If it doesn’t work, don’t let it be because *you* gave up, ‘Kid Cosmos.’~ Imra thought with a sly grin.

“Okay, even *I* can recognize child psychology, Imra…” Rokk said with a half-hearted grin. “I’m supposed to surrender, but not give up? How does that work, exactly?”

~The same way you’ve been doing this from the start, Rokk. Years and years of focus and dedication and *control,* always ruthless control, first from the years of competition, and then even harsher control from the year of rehabilitation. And you met Jath, the ‘force of nature’ that you could not control, and you surrendered to her. You let her take control of you, and make decisions for you and a part of you that was so tired of always being in control relished that freedom, relished that act of surrender. You need to remember that feeling, and at the same time, you need to be confident and sure, the same as you’ve always been. It sounds like a contradiction, but it’s who you are and I think it’s what you’ve been looking for all your life.~

Rokk just looked at Imra, unable to frame a response at first. Finally, he nodded, “Yeah. That sounds about right. It seemed like the only time I could *really* rest was when I was with Jath. When the nerve damage was at its worst, I was afraid to sleep, afraid that my heart would stop in the night, that the machines would fail, that I had to stay awake, keep concentrating on each and every heartbeat. I was terrified of letting go, of letting the machines take over for me.” He shook his head, “Garth was right, you really do know your stuff.”

Imra shook her head with a smile, ~Garth was the one who explained this to me, Rokk. I was still stuck wondering what you could possibly see in Jath, and he said, ‘She’s the one place where he doesn’t have to be in control every minute of every day. She’s the one place he can rest, and let someone else take charge for a little while.’~

“Okay, maybe Garth is the smart one, but don’t tell him I said that.” Rokk quipped.

**************************************************************************

“Sixteen remote attempts to gain access, one physical intrusion.” Dox reported. “Nux was wearing a chameleon suit, so you can’t see her on the monitors, save by this distortion, which I have enhanced.” He pointed a slender tool at the holographic representation of the T-access in the Embassy basement, and sure enough a very faint outline of a humanoid form could be seen.

“It’s been eight hours and she’s already tried to break security seventeen times?” Ayla said disbelievingly.

“And here,” Dox continued, as if she had not spoken, “viralware has infected her sensenet, convincing her that she has completed her mission, and that the package she carries now includes my central processing unit.” The image shifts and the blurry figure can be seen finally unfreezing from its position by the doorway and sneaking back away from the monitor’s visual field. “She will return to Colu immediately, under the false impression that she is under pursuit by the Venegarian Champions. Any discrepancies in her sensefeeds will be rationalized by damage suffered from electrical and magnetic assaults on her person by Champions Ranzz and Krinn.”

“And that buys us what, another day, tops?” Ayla asked.

“At minimum.” Dox said, looking around to make sure that he and Ayla were alone. He looked to her and his face was deadly serious. “Between yourself and I, Colu may have bigger issues to deal with than a single rogue Five.” His fingers danced over the monitor and tapped into United Planets security feeds, where two dozen UP representatives were in extraordinary (and, presumably, private) session, discussing whether or not to send a ‘fact-finding mission’ to Colu to investigate the status of the Fives.

Ayla looked impressed and leaned closer, “Between yourself and I, you’re going to show me how you did that.”

Dox ventured a smile.

Emerald Legion, Chapter 20
Long Day’s Journey into Night – wherein all of the author’s anal-retentive background development on Kathoon suddenly becomes relevant

**********************************************************************

The Queen had just gotten back from a long-winded ‘secret meeting’ on ‘the Coluan matter.’ It had been deemed ‘inappropriate’ for Sarya to be part of the delegation sent to Colu to personally investigate the matter, due to her personal involvement with the rogue Five Dox, but Sivar Banel of Titan and Ravin of Talok VIII were among the six Ambassadors leading the mission, and Sarya was confident that whatever their findings, her right to grant asylum to Querl Dox would not be reversed.

She made it to her audience room and had just gotten settled on her emerald throne when Dox signaled that he sought an audience through his Champion’s Ring.

“Highness,” he began with a perfunctory nod, floating into the room without actually looking where he was going, as if born to flight. “I have been perusing the datafiles seized from Tharok on Luna, and uncovered additional information.”

Sarya nodded for him to continue, noting with a sigh that he still hadn’t even looked up from his datapad.

“The files include several references to shipments of equipment, and I have correlated these shipments with those involved in the ‘Giant Killer Robot’ incident of some weeks past. According to the files, the primary purpose of this was to serve as a distraction while Tharok seized Champion Ardeen, so that he could use her telepathic tissues to enhance his Validus creation. The arrival of Jath changed the dynamic and Tharok chose to remain in hiding and simply make several high-intensity scans of her during the action.” Dox finally looked up. “As Validus was psi-active at the last encounter, it would seem that Tharok chose to complete the creature without Champion Ardeens direct contribution.”

“One more mystery resolved. Thank you Dox.” Sarya said.

“There is also fragmentary data on some form of psi-tech which…” Dox hesitated before admitting through gritted teeth, “I do not understand.” He then qualified, “Yet.”

Sarya’s datapad chirped, and she glanced down to see an incoming priority communication from Ambassador Marin. Holding up her finger to Dox, she answered the comm, “Kathoon, to what do I owe the pleasure of this comm?”

The Kathooni Ambassador’s voice was clipped, “Sarya, I must return to Kathoon immediately. Jath’s presence is required at this time.”

Sarya sent out a command through the Eye, Champion Krinn. Ambassador Marin needs to speak to Jath immediately. Before replying to the Ambassador, “I have sent for Jath. May I ask what is the occasion of this recall?”

The Ambassador looked down for a moment, and the sound of other figures moving around her could be heard before she looked up, eyes dark. “There is civil war on Kathoon. I have contacted the UP High Chancellor, and he has informed me that as Kathoon is not a member world, and this is purely ‘an internal affair,’ the United Planets cannot be involved.”

“I would be tempted to agree with that assessment…” Sarya confessed.

“As would I, under normal circumstances,” Marin agreed. “I would not ask for outworlder assistance in a purely internal matter, but in this case, alien mercenaries are involved, and reports indicate that they have unusual technology, or perhaps powers, that our people are having problems resisting.”

Dox looked up from his pad and interrupted, “Ambassador Marin, are there reports of a giant monster, or of Warriors weapons turning against them?”

Marin looked shocked, “Who speaks, Sarya? And how could he know of such things?”

“Valid questions.” Sarya said pointedly to Dox.

“Tharok’s data indicates that he intended to swarm a non-United Planets-affiliated world with his attack force of these Validus creatures. Without UP protection, he would likely quickly take control of such a world. Your Champions have foiled his intentions to raise an army of these creatures, and yet he has gathered together instead a force of super-human criminals from Takron-Galtos. While Kathoon was not specifically mentioned in these files, it fits his specifications perfectly. I believe that Tharok has chosen Kathoon as his target.”

The Queen closed her eyes before proceeding. “Marin, I request permission to accompany you to Kathoon.”

“United Planets interference would be technically unlawful, Sarya. I would not ask you to risk your status.” Marin cautioned.

Sarya smiled grimly, “A UP observer should go, to substantiate or refute these rumors of alien interference, which the UP *could* deem sufficient provocation to act. If that ‘observer’ were to find herself under attack, it would be an unfortunate necessity for her own super-powered aliens to defend their Queen with appropriate force…”

Ambassador Marin shook her head, but smiled as she did, “Ravin warned me that you had taken an interest in dangerous games, Sarya. I would not refuse your status as ‘observer.’” Marin looked down at another pad. “We are negotiating for passage even now, I will contact you when we have a departure time.”

Sarya smiled, “Venegar has a single star-cruiser. It should be capable of holding your people and my own, although not in any sort of comfort. If you would prefer, I could contact you with a departure time…”

Marin looked concerned for a moment, “It is possible that I would be in no position to repay this courtesy, Sarya. I do not wish to place my world in Venegar’s debt…”

“I have my own reasons to wish to see these aliens removed from your world, and returned to Takron-Galtos, Marin. Do not mistake my offer for charity.” Sarya said sharply, recognizing that Kathooni pride was as prickly as Venegarian.

Marin nodded, the matter apparently settled in her mind. “Please contact me when your ship will be ready to depart. My people are ready at your word.”

************************************************************

Sarya, her Champions, Dox, Ayla, Jath and the Kathooni delegation gathered at the starport, where the Venegarian cruiser had been readied for departure with impressive speed.

“Diplomatic privilege has its perks.” Garth said admiringly, as the crews worked at break-neck pace to ready the ship for take-off, while non-diplomatic traffic was re-routed to make room for the unscheduled departure.

Jath’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her former companions. “Where is Kand?”

Larn, the Warrior representing Clan Auri, responded dryly, “Kand vanished over a day ago. She had been silent for several days, and then simply left, around the time your people encountered the monster on this worlds’ moon. It should not surprise you to learn that Clan Sangti is the primary aggressor in the war…”

Jath looked to Vala, the Warrior from Clan Lateen, Sangti’s greatest ally, “And Lateen?”

Vala grunted, “My Clan has sided with the Sangti, as always. When we arrive on Kathoon, I will be required to fight against you, my friends.” She crossed her arms. “Until I receive such an order, I will obey Marin, as is my duty.” She looked at a nail idly, decorated in delicate platinum tracery, “If the Ambassador were to order me to remain on the ship, I would be unable to receive such orders…”

“We shall see, Vala,” Marin said. “If Sangti has indeed recruited alien mercenaries to seize power, I will indeed ask you to safeguard Queen Sarya’s ship from attack. But if the combat is honorable, I will ask Sarya to remain on this ship, and you will be required to fight for your Clan.”

Vala nodded, and the group boarded as the launch crew evacuated the pad.

Garth quickly moved up to the pilot’s seat and stood behind the pilot, an older Venegarian man named Rinti. “Ah, Champion Krinn, is it?”

“Ranzz.”

“Yes, whichever. I suppose you would like to fly again?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to take you from your duties,” Garth began, failing to hide his enthusiasm as the pilot vacated the pilots seat and went to sit at the nav-computer. “You realize that you are not authorized to fly a cruiser of this size, young Champion?” the pilot said rhetorically, as he tuned in his comm-piece and began to talk with flight control about the impending departure.

Garth quickly sat down as he heard the pilot announce impending launch, furiously pressing buttons to try and keep up with Rinti’s announcements. Smiling the old man spoke faster…

******************************************************************

“It will be eight hours before we reach Kathoon,” Marin announced. “Before we arrive, I should explain the pretext behind this ‘civil war.’”

Garth, Ayla and Rinti listened via the intercom from the pilot’s cabin, while the others were crowded into the passenger cabin.

“Kathooni history goes back 2400 years. It is said that our people were under attack by the endless armies of a war-god known as Aers, who was offended that our warrior-women were more skilled than his own male soldiers. According to the tales, our people lived on an island kingdom, and the war-god was striding across the channel to finish the final conflict when our own goddesses appeared and saved our people. Atheen, the Great Builder, crafted a great ship of metal to carry our people beyond the war-gods reach. Temeese, the Great Huntress, shot a single arrow into his eye, to blind him. Aphrodisia, the Great Spirit, gathered up the souls of our fallen and caused them to leave the world behind, along with their surviving kin, carried away by the great ship. The goddesses arranged for the ship to carry us into a dark hiding place, right under the bloody eye of Aers, where he would never be able to see us. The blood-red sun of Kathoon, we call Aers Eye, and Kathoon itself is locked in perpetual shadow, hidden from that great eye by the sister-planet that shares our worlds orbit. The great ship remains, serving as the center of our capital city, and the high temple of our faith. Deep within its bowels lies our world’s most sacred place, which no outworlder has even heard of, before now.” Several of the Warriors looked displeased at the idea of this being shared even now, but kept their silence. “All Seers and Warriors visit the temple, to face the challenges. I faced challenges of perception and will, and chose to serve Atheen, of the All-Seeing Eyes. The Warriors face physical challenges, testing strength of limb and strength of purpose, before they can be accepted by Temeese, of the Strong Arm. The third goddess, Aphrodisia, of the Loving Heart, accepts no challengers. The statue of Temeese shows her in animal leathers with a breastplate of metal, holding a blade in one hand and a bow upraised over her head, raised in triumph, her foot placed upon the body of an unknown beast. This beast is nothing native to Kathoon, and it was accepted that the beast was a creature of our forgotten home-world.” Marin produced a pad and displayed an image of the statue in question. Neither Rokk, Imra nor Sarya recognized the beast, but Dox’s eyes blurred for a moment and he pronounced, “Sus scrofa. A wild boar, native to Earth.”

Marin nodded. “Correct. And there lies the roots of our current conflict. Upon discovering the identity of the beast in Earth files, and of the existence of ancient deities named Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite, among the cultures of ancient Greece, I reported back to Kathoon that Earth was likely our lost home-world.”

“Some welcomed this knowledge, but many rejected it. Clan Sangti, in particular, deemed it heresy, and Clan Lateen sided with them.”

Vala, of Lateen, interrupted then. “Clan Sangti has always sought excuses to increase their power. This is yet another pretense.”

“Be that as it may, currently Sangti is the most powerful Clan, and with Lateen at their side, they would already be a threat to the combined might to the other four main Clans, even without outworlder assistance.”

Larn, of Auri, piped up, “And yet,” she said, pointing at Sarya, “Do not you also bring outworlder assistance? I have no love for the Sangti, but we are not yet even sure if they behave with dishonor, and already we flirt with dishonor ourselves…”

Sarya spoke up before Marin could refute this, “I have chosen to travel to Kathoon as an observer. *If* there are alien mercenaries, my people may assist against them without intruding on personal matters of Kathooni politics. If there are no alien mercenaries, we will not interfere, unless attacked, and even then, only act to defend ourselves.”

Marin nodded her assent, “This is correct, and as it should be.” Seeing that Larn seemed satisfied with this answer, she continued on to discuss more mundane matters, “As Kathoon, like Braal, has a high concentration of dissolved metals in it’s atmosphere, everyone but Champion Krinn will need to use some form of life support, to avoid inhaling toxic levels of metals…”

Emerald Legion, Chapter twenty-one (part one)
Lebensraum – the sticky, and hopefully mutually-gratifying, climax

***********************************************************************

Ambassador Marin guided the Venegarian cruiser through the magnetic storms that encircled Kathoon, and the cruiser descended into a smoke-filled sky over the capital city. The grand temple glistened in the firelight in the center of the old city, and fires could be seen raging along the avenues leading to the three entrances of the structure. Even in the unsteady lighting, the presence of alien mercenaries was obvious, due to the towering bulk of Validus, and the brilliant discharges of Mano’s explosive touch and the Green Dragons deadly vision.

The cruiser dropped briefly to near ground level, and the Warriors dropped fearlessly to land atop a building near the High Temple itself. Sarya and her Champions descended gracefully from the sky, born aloft by their Champion’s Rings and the power of the Emerald Eye of Ekron. Ayla’s descent was unsteady, as she had only been granted a Ring moments before, but she still landed without incident, and Sarya lowered Ambassador Marin to the ground personally. Seeing the presence of outworlders, Vala, of Clan Lateen, requested to be ordered to ‘guard the ship’ rather than be called into a combat she saw as dishonorable, and Marin acceded to her request. Once his passengers had debarked, Rinti quickly ascended high into the sky, to avoid attack.

Even before the flying Champions had reached the ground, shouts of alarm rang out. “Outworlders!” proclaimed the leader of a squadron of Auri, rushing to engage this new threat dropping from the skies, but Larn, herself of Clan Auri, managed to forestall violence long enough for Ambassador Marin to explain the situation. Larn left with her Clan-sisters, to deal with an incursion to the south, having already surrendered the western approach, due to the presence of the aliens.

Reaching the steps to the western entrance to the High Temple, Ambassador Marin commanded the Auri and Genti on-guard there to pull back and allow the ‘outworlders to kill each other,’ as she and Sarya had already agreed, phrasing it in such a way as to discourage any disagreement from her fellows. Gallia, High Seer of Clan Auri was in command and agreed, sounding horns to signal retreat. Dozens of battered Warriors, as well as hundreds of common soldiers, both male and female, retreated into the cover of the High Temple.

Noting that many of the Warriors lacked their traditional metal armor, and carried chunks of masonry or wooden support beams as makeshift weaponry, Rokk realized that Kort must be present as well.

~We need to go out and engage them. Fighting them at the steps of the Temple will leave us no fall-back position, and we’ll need to separate them.~ Imra broadcast, and the Champion’s soared out to meet their foes.

Sarya also began to move, at a more measured pace, towards the battlefield and Ambassador Marin turned to Jath and said pointedly, “The Queen is our guest and will not come to harm while you draw breath,” and then stepped into the Temple, saying only, “I go to rouse the gods,” and passing out of sight.

The Genti Seer, Kaelin, declared, “Madness! Your time off-world has tainted your mind, Marin.” Before turning to Jath. “Jath. You will move to the southern ward and assist your Clan.”

Jath looked torn for a moment, before stating firmly, “My duty to the Ambassador is not yet discharged. I will not dishonor our Clan by deserting my post.”

Kaelin looked furious at this refusal and walked up to Jath, seizing her hand and tearing a silver ring off of her hand, “You cannot dishonor our Clan, for you have no Clan,” before turning away, hurling the silver ring clattering off into the darkened streets.

Jath’s fists clenched, and she saw her sisters reach for their blades, and then turned to follow Sarya towards battle.

~Stick to the plan, everyone. Any one of these foes can kill one of us in an instant if we don’t keep them off-balance.~ Imra reminded them.

Rokk had pulled on Imra’s platinum-group head-gear and broadcast through his Champion’s Ring, “I’m psi-shielded, stick to Ring-broadcasts from now on.”

Validus, predictably, was the first visible target, and Rokk sent a dozen tiny missiles of metal debris at him to batter at his head. As predicted, the metal flung itself away and he could detect the presence of Kort, batting his missiles out of the air with magnetic blasts, “There he is.” He broadcast, and was reassured to see a barrage of lightning strike the ground at Kort’s feet, blasting him down. A second discharge struck Kort directly, and his body jerked and fell again, and he heard Ayla’s whoop of victory.

Rokk quickly seized a much larger piece of metallic debris and slammed it into Validus’ monstrous ‘face’ with all of his might, quickly flying backwards through the air from the same direction. The beast roared and, as hoped, pursued Rokk, stomping forwards with shocking speed, launching a crackling discharge of psionic energy that Rokk just managed to avoid. Rokk moved over the buildings towards some sort of park of metal-barked trees, with anemone-like fronts waving in the air where they should have had leaves, hoping to use the cover of the buildings and the forest to slow down the titan’s advance.

Garth engaged Mano, taking advantage of flight and range to pepper him with lightning blasts. Mano proved unable to this strategy, but Garth’s lightning blasts failed to penetrate his containment suit, merely blasting him off of his feet and annoying him. It quickly becomes a deadly game of keep-away, Mano’s bare hands rumbling like thunder as they annihilate the air around him.

Nyeun Chun Ti sees Imra, hovering above the battlefield, and flings his Atomic Axe at her, but she narrowly manages to avoid it, only to see the Axe shimmer and vanish as it passes her, to reappear instantly in the Persuaders iron-gloved fist. She reaches out to attempt a psychic assault, only to feel that his mind is shielded by what feels like a second mind, a small animal-like presence that resists her assault with a selfless ferocity. The Persuader ignores her and sees Sarya moving forward, and raises his arm to throw again, when Jath strikes him like a missile, bearing him to the ground, seizing both wrists in an unbreakable grasp and preventing him from being able to bring his Axe to bear. They roll around on the ground until she ends up on top, pinning both arms and then slamming her own head into his metal-armored face-plate so hard that the cobblestones beneath his head crack and her own face is bloodied from the impact.

Kort is still twitching and Ayla blasts him one more time, before she is blindsided by the Green Dragon, who has leapt into the air and thrown her to the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of her. Getting to her feet, she sees him hovering in the air and raises her hand, but as the lightning blasts forth he seems to disappear and all she can see is a blur running along the ground. As fast as her lightning tracks, Jo Nah has crossed the distance untouched and his arm is against her neck, slamming her back into a wall. Lightning crashes into him again and again, but he seems completely unaffected, and while he doesn’t seem nearly as strong as she would have expected, he’s strong enough, and neither her lightning nor her desperate attempt at kicking him in the groin seems to cause him the slightest discomfort. He stares into her eyes, his own face blank, and Ayla can see stars starting to swim around in the growing darkness.

Dox has located his own target atop a building, surveying his forces and barking some sort of orders into a comm-unit on his wrist. Tharok’s voice is mechanical, and yet rings with confidence, “Green Dragon, kill the girl, and then incapacitate the telepath.” He spins as Dox lands across the roof from him, “Coluan.” His body twitches slightly as the two man-machines begin attempting to co-opt each others data-systems. “I have beaten your kind before. This is pointless.”

Suddenly his mechanical limb sparks and his internal weapon system powers down. His human eye narrows, “Modular programs, independently harmless, but assembling into threats after being designated low-priority threats. Clever,” he concedes.

Dox remains silent, arms hanging loosely at his sides, devoting every shred of processing power to the combat occurring invisibly between the two cyborgs, and thousands of lines of malicious code fill the air around them, circling like wolves, awaiting a moment of weakness so that they might disable or destroy the other.

Seeing that Jath has restrained the Persuader, Sarya turns to see if she can assist elsewhere, only to feel her breastplate buckle under a devastating blow that hurls her into the air. She can’t draw breath, but manages to use the Emerald Eye to halt her flight before slamming into a metal-barked tree, near where the Validus creature had been lured. Forced to tear her breastplate from her body, and feeling her body protest as she draws a shuddering breath, she looks up to see Kand dropping from the sky with a loud impact.

“I was going to kill Jath, but by killing you, I will dishonor her first.” Kand said, stalking forward, drawing a short steel blade, edged on both sides. “Then I will tear her mate apart,” Kand continued, lost her in fantasies, circling Sarya like a predatory beast.

Sarya drew her own curved dueling blade, hissing with pain as she stretched wounded limbs. “Shut up and fight, traitor,” the Queen growls as the Emerald Eye suddenly filled the clearing with a brilliant emerald radiance.

Kand laughed, tapping goggles over her eyes that instantly polarized and turned dark red in color. “I have prepared for your Champions and their bright lightning,” she thumped the ceramic armor covering her chest, “*and* magnetic sorcery.” The Sangti Warrior moved forward with a blur of speed and Sarya barely managed to flip out of her way, cursing her cracked ribs for slowing her down. Still, Kand’s blade only managed to tear her cloak, and the Queen quickly pulled her cloak off and wrapped it around her off hand, as an impromptu shield. Kand moved forward again, pressing the attack gracelessly and Sarya used the Eye to rise into the air and strike Kand in the head with her own blade as she passed beneath, landing gentle as a feather behind the disoriented Warrior. Sarya’s blow struck true, and Kand’s protective goggles fell away, their strap severed, and she raised her hand to cover her eyes with a growl. “Enough playing around, outworlder, now you die.”

Reaching behind her, Kand’s hand fell upon a tree and she stepped back and effortlessly pushed the massive tree down in the direction of the blinding emerald glare. It was all Sarya could do, pushing both her own hurting body and the psychokinetic force of the Eye to throw herself clear, but even avoiding the main trunk, her body was whipped by the many long thin fronds that extended from the slender branches. Kand charged forwards again, like a rampaging beast, and Sarya just managed to step to the side again, lashing out with her blade.

Kand felt a tugging sensation at her throat, and attempted to mock Sarya for catching only her own cloak, only to find that her mouth was filled with blood and no sound would come out. Raising her hand, she felt that Sarya’s blade had cut her throat as they passed, and she looked up to see the emerald glow fade. The Queen stood, blade down and dripping with blood, wearing a look of weary resignation. Kand raised her blade and flung it with all her might, calling upon the names of her ancestors, resolved to not die alone. But the strength did not come at her call, and her blade arced clumsily through the air, to be batted aside effortlessly by the Queen. Oblivion rushed to greet her and Kand’s world became darkness.

Through the Champion’s Ring, a wordless cry of desperation from Ayla draws both Garth and Imra’s attention to her plight. Imra attempts to seize control of Jo Nah’s mind, only find that he too is shielded, again by some feral dedicated presence. Garths lightning blasts join Ayla’s in vainly impacting against the Green Dragon’s invulnerable skin, and Imra takes the fight to whatever is defending the criminals mind, focusing all of her power against this animalistic presence. It fights her savagely, and she pinpoints it as a tiny device, as much organism as machine, attached to the back of the man’s neck, and she quickly deceives its primitive mind into going dormant.

From her vantage point, Ayla can see her attackers face change suddenly and his grip lets up. Something else else moves on his neck and she pours another electrical surge into him, matching the endless stream of electricity coming down from her airborne brother. Their two-pronged assault is rewarded with a crackling pop as some device on her attacker’s back suddenly fries and he staggers back, releasing her to drop to the cobblestones, gasping for breath.

The sound of an explosion and a cry of pain pulls Ayla back into consciousness, as she sees her brother fall from the sky. Mano has leapt into the air and grabbed at Garth’s arm, and now Garth is slamming into the ground like a sack of meat. She can see Mano land gracelessly near him and rising to his feet, and moving towards her unmoving brother.

~Garth!~ comes a telepathic cry in all of their minds, as Imra descends, heedless of the danger.

The air rushes around her, and suddenly there is another explosion. Mano is gone, hurtling off into the distance, and the Green Dragon is lying several yards distant, having been blasted from his feet by the mere act of striking his fellow criminal. Imra has already landed and Ayla rushes over, to see that Garth is alive, but that his left arm is completely gone, blasted from his body by the force of the anti-matter man’s touch.

~Cauterize the wound, Ayla. We have to get him into the High Temple.~ Imra thought, but Ayla was unable to react, and turns suddenly when she feels the presence behind her. The Green Dragon is standing there, burnt and bloody from his own contact with Mano, and in his hand, he’s holding Garth’s left forearm. “He’s going to need the Ring. The atmosphere will kill him,” the Rimborian criminal said distantly, looking down at the fallen Champion. “We were ordered to collect the Rings. Tharok wants to use them to take control of some Eye thing, and then he can rule Venegar, too,” he said, matter-of-factly, twisting the Ring off of Garth’s hand and handing to Ayla. “Put this on his other hand.”

Ayla snatched the Ring away from the former crook, placing it on her brothers remaining hand. “We need to get him to safety.”

Imra looked up, ~We’re not going to have time for that…~ she warned, and Ayla looked up to see that a dozen Sangti and Lateen Warriors had advanced to point swords at them.

A Sangti Seer raises her iron bow and says in a cold tone, “Kill them all.” One of the Sangti Warriors, hefting a cart over her head, suddenly cries out and the cart crashes down upon her. Two others, each holding weapons far too heavy to be born aloft by humanoid strength, also cry out, felled by their own burdens. Several other Sangti find that they cannot draw their over-strung bows of iron, and the Lateen Seer quickly pulls back and cries out, “Stand down! The gods have abandoned the Sangti cause!”

As one, the Lateen draw back, one Warrior tossing aside a heavy weapon of her own, for fear of being similarly stricken.

The Sangti Seer repeats, in the same cold tone, “Kill them.” And the Warriors charge forward into a barrage of lightning from Ayla and bright burning rays from the Green Dragon’s eyes.

~Most are also controlled by the psi-devices on their necks!~ Imra announced to all present, ~They cannot control their actions, and I can’t fight them all!~

Jath appears in their midst, throwing them around like children, lacking none of her Warrior strength, and the Lateen Seer suddenly declares, “Subdue the Sangti, they are controlled by outworlder machines!”

With that, the combat ends quickly, as the Lateen Warriors, also retaining their great strength, almost effortlessly subdue the struggling Sangti. At least a dozen Sangti fighters, lacking Warrior strength, but also apparently not controlled by Tharok’s machines, help to restrain their struggling Clan-sisters.

As the other Warriors restrain the remaining controlled Sangti, Jath turns to the others, “Champion Ardeen, see to your mate. Ayla, I beg you to take me to Validus.”

Ayla looks torn, but at a nod from Imra agrees, floating up into the air and grabbing ahold of Jath. “Hold on.”

Jo Nah looks around, seeing that Jath has wrapped the unconscious Persuader in metal, arms behind his back, so that he wouldn’t be able to take hold of his missing Axe even if he regained consciousness. He then takes off into the air, following Ayla towards the park where Validus can be seen pushing trees over in a rampage.

Emerald Legion, chapter twenty-one (part two)

*********************************************************************

Rokk had spent what felt like hours attempting to keep ahead of the monster, tearing off the mag-steel components of his Champion’s Garb and using them as projectiles. Accelerating them into the brute as he flew, he knew that they weren’t really damaging the beast, merely stinging it and keeping it furious. As long as he kept it moving, it hadn’t stopped to attempt another mind-blast, which was the only reason that he was still in the air, as just being on the edge of one of the psionic assaults had nearly blasted him from the sky, psi-shielding or not. He had drained all ten of the mag-steel power-spheres from his Champion’s Garb in the process of using them as makeshift projectiles, and had resorted to picking up a storm of debris from the fallen trees, with their oh-so-convenient metal bark, blinding the creature with a constant cloud of swirling rubble. His magnetic reserves were tapped, and only the power of the Champion’s Ring kept him aloft at this point, as he no longer had the strength to boost his own speed magnetically. He knew it couldn’t last, and so the sight of lightning blasts joining the fray elicited a sigh of relief.

“I am so glad to see you, Garth,” he sent through the Champion’s Ring, only to get an unfamiliar reply.

“No Garth, hopefully I’ll do,” Ayla broadcast curtly, as she swept far too close to the flailing brute, only to release a dark-clad missile of her own. Jath dropped to land at the beast’s feet and struck with both hands as hard as she could on the giant’s three-toed foot, causing it to rear back, howling in pain.

The beast struck downward with its oversized fist, and Rokk choked back a scream, as he saw only an impression in the ground where his wife had been standing a moment before. An unfamiliar blast of energy struck the creature in the face, and he turned to see the Green Dragon, eyes crackling with energy, and Jath, standing some distance away, with Jath looking disoriented, but unharmed.

Validus turned and it’s heard started crackling with the beginnings of another psychic blast directed at the newcomers, and Rokk dropped low and attempted to knock the creature off-balance by slamming into the back of one of its tree-trunk sized legs with his body. Simultaneously, Ayla unleashed a massive two-handed lightning surge directly into its side, and the beast staggered, its mental blast going wide and missing Jath and the Green Dragon. Both Jath and Jo Nah leapt, into its chest, each striking with superhuman force, and bearing it to the ground in a thunderous crash. Both Jath and the Green Dragon leapt clear, and Jath reacted first, seizing up a fallen tree and using it as an oversized club to strike the beast in the head, while it was still on the ground. Jo Nah quickly followed suit, and combined with a seemingly constant stream of lightning into its eyeless face, Validus finally shuddered and fell still.

******************************************************************

While the battle resolved itself below, Dox and Tharok remained locked in cybernetic battle, each attempting to subvert or disrupt the programming of the other. Tharok meanwhile received reports as the psi-implant of Jo Nah went dead, followed by signals indicating incapacitation of the Persuader, Mano and finally even the seemingly unstoppable Validus.

Activating shunt protocol, Tharok was surprised to find that even this failsafe seemed uncooperative, and Dox finally spoke aloud, as if to the empty air. “Tharok is attempting to teleport away. Stop him.”

Tharok favored a twisted half-smile with the flesh side of his face, “None of your companions are present, Coluan, and none could block a dimensional shunt, in any event.” He suddenly looked down as blue-skinned arms thrust up from the darkened rooftop, and uttered a short, sharp cry as he was pulled into the hungry darkness.

Dox watched impassively as a figure arose from the shadows, resolving itself into a dark-skinned Talokkian female, clad in scanty scraps of cloth and armor, with a massive cloak melting formlessly into the darkness behind her. Draped casually over one shoulder, she held the Persuaders Atomic Axe. “How long have you known I was here?”

Dox didn’t bother to reply, closing his eyes and calling through the Champion’s Ring. “Champion Ardeen, I require immediate assistance. As anticipated, I have contracted several hundred cyberneural viruses and am incapable of physical motion…”

*******************************************************************

Seer Gallia of the Auri called for silence in the meeting hall of the High Temple. The Seers of Clans Cupri, Genti, Lateen and Antalus quieted their respective factions, and the de-powered Seers and Warriors of Clan Sangti stood notably apart from the rest.

“Marin’s body has been found in the Inner Sanctum. As she swore to do, she indeed roused the gods, and the ancestors of the Sangti chose to retain the honor of their Clan by denying their strength and wisdom to the current generation. We owe Clan Cupri a debt for her sacrifice.”

Holding up a spider-shaped implant of glistening ceramic and stolen neural tissue, Gallia continued, “The devices used by this outworlder to control the Seers and many of the Warriors of Clan Sangti have been removed, and that threat is done. Let Clan Sangti suffer no further dishonor for actions that were not of their own doing. In time, Sangti shall again count Warriors and Seers among them. Until that time, they shall lack a voice on the high council, as is the law.”

She called up a holographic image of the subdued outworlders. Each had been fitted in restraints designed by Querl Dox, and in an act of irony, Tharok’s own psi-implants had been used to keep them unconscious.

“The outworlders who assaulted us shall be removed from this world, by the outworlders who came to our aid at Marin’s request. I move to join the United Planets, so that we have some voice in the matter of their punishment. Aers has found us, and war has come to our world. The time of hiding is done, sisters. Now is the time when we find allies willing to stand with us, and join them in honorable battle.”

A Seer from each of the five remaining voting Clans stepped forward, and raised her hand in support of the High Seers proposal.

“It is settled. Seer Shatra of Lateen is to be our new Ambassador, as her quick decision at the moment of Marin’s sacrifice averted much bloodshed. Shatra, you will accompany Sarya of Venegar back to the world of Earth, and make preparations for our proposal to join the United Planets.”

Turning to Queen Sarya, who was standing stiffly, ribs bandaged, Gallia bowed her head, golden ringlets jingling in her hair, “We owe Venegar a great debt.” Looking to Garth, the only seated figure in the room, bandages covering the stump of his missing arm and being supported half-conscious by Ayla and Imra, “You have risked much, and paid a great price for a people who never asked for your help. You recognized the dishonor of outworlder intervention, and chose to limit your own actions to those who had already dishonored our traditions. Marin of Cupri has joined our ancestors, and her memories of your honor are now known to all Seers, Sarya of Venegar. I repay this debt by offering our hand in friendship, and by forfeiting our right to salvage on the space vessel of Tharok. As your own vessel was damaged in your pilot’s misadventures,” Gallia glanced with raised eyebrow at the sling-wearing Venegarian pilot, who looked away embarrassed, “We shall endeavor to repair your craft, while allowing you to depart in the other ship.”

Vala of Lateen clapped the old pilot on the shoulder, recalling their own impulsive decision to seek out Tharok’s unmanned vessel and attempt to seize or destroy it. The ship was exactly where they suspected it would be, hovering over the Sangti’s mountain fortress, but the Venegarian ship had been heavily damaged by the cloaked vessels automated defenses, and Rinti had barely managed to land safely. In a typically Warrior-like feat of mad bravery, Vala had leapt clear as they passed near the now-visible alien craft, and torn her way into the ship with her great strength, ‘seizing control’ via the expediment of punching a hole in the command system, leaving the vessel floating aimlessly, without direction, until Dox arrived to more precisely take control.

“My thanks also to Talokk, young Champion,” Gallia said to the shadowy figure standing apart from Venegar’s Champions. “We also owe a debt to your world.”

Tasmia Mallor, Champion of Talokk VIII, still holding the Persuaders Atomic Axe possessively, bowed her head.

“And what will become of this male?” Gallia questioned, pointed towards Jo Nah.

Sarya stepped forward. “He also was under the thrall of Tharok’s machines. His actions in saving Champion Ranzz, and helping to defeat the monster Validus, reveal to me his true nature. Nevertheless, it is a matter for United Planets justice.”

“Then it is settled. It is time for us to mourn the fallen and comfort those who yet live.” Gallia decreed, clapping her hands sharply, dismissing those present.

The various Clans began to disperse, but Kaelin of Genti came forward to stand before Jath. Her face was impassive, and she seemed to have no words to say. After a long moment, her hand came forward, to present a silver ring to Jath.

Jath looked at the ring and closed her eyes for a moment. Finally, she lifted her own hand before Kaelin to reveal the new emerald Champion’s Ring that sat on her finger. “It was an honor to serve Clan Genti, but I have a new Clan.”

Kaelin’s fist snapped shut on the silver ring and she turned abruptly and walked away.

Emerald Legion
Epilogue
*******************************************************************

The Champions had been on Earth for less than a week and Rokk knew he'd find Garth and Imra in the med-center. He walked into the hospital room to find Garth and Imra facing the growth-tank, expectantly, Garth's temporary arm of metal resting on the transparency.

"And how is our bun in the oven today?" Rokk said with a grin, as Garth stepped aside to show off his new arm, still growing from cloned tissue. "I have fingers!" Garth said proudly, pointing at the fingers on the newly-forming limb, "See!"

"Very exciting," Rokk said agreeably.

“The freckles are all in the wrong places,” Garth muttered, not for the first time.

~It’s epigenetic, Garth, of course they are. You can just have them changed cosmetically anyway…~ Imra thought patiently, holding on to his living arm possessively.

“Or I could just have them removed…” he added.

~I like them.~ Imra countered.

“Or they could stay,” Garth agreed.

~So have you heard the word from Colu?~

“Not really. Are they still protesting Dox’s asylum?” Rokk asked.

~Not any more. *Somewhow,*~ Imra thought sarcastically, ~a Four brought a virus back to Colu that got into the infonet and infected 70,000 Fives with whatever is ‘wrong’ with Dox. They are all clamoring for full rights as citizens. Colu is in disarray, as they performed most of the computational work for the Threes and Fours…~

“We really need to keep an eye on that kid. He kinda scares me…” Garth admitted.

~And you haven’t even seen all the stuff going on inside his mind.~ Imra agreed.

"So," prompted Garth, "What news from Kathoon?" as Rokk had spent the last two days discussing a Kathooni / Braalian trade-pact with the new Kathooni Ambassador.

"It's a done deal," Rokk said proudly. "Shatra agreed that she'd rather be the most important client of a smaller company than one of a half-dozen off-world contracts from one of the megacorps."

~That's excellent, Rokk!~ Imra said, ~Your family should be very pleased.~

"Yeah, Pol's already signed up to be one of the first Blacksteel workers shuttled to Kathoon." Rokk said, with a wistful look.

~That's a good thing, right?~

"Well, yeah, I guess." Rokk said grudgingly, "But he's my baby brother. All innocent and naive, dashingly handsome, stuck for a year on a world full of statuesque and voraciously sexual Amazon warrior women who happen to find Braalian males irresistable..."

"Yeah, that must suck," Garth said with a grin, before quickly amending his comment with a glance towards Imra, "better him than me!"

Imra smiled and rested her head on Garths chest, ~What my boyfriend *meant* to say was 'lucky bastard.'~

"I thought we agreed no mind-reading, dear," Garth protested half-heartedly.

~I don't need telepathy to tell that you're a guy, Garth.~ Imra thought dryly.

“So, I did hear that we’ve got another Champion?” Garth said, changing the subject.

"Two, actually." Rokk clarified. "Jo Nah has been released from Takron-Galtos to ‘serve out the rest of his sentence under the personal recognizance of Sarya of Venegar.’ His exact reply was, 'sounds better than going back to prison.'"

~Doesn't sound very Champion-like,~ Imra thought with a look of disapproval.

"Yeah, well, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for saving Garth from Mano's follow-up attack," Rokk admitted, "and helping us take down Validus."

"Better stay away from sister, is all I'm saying," Garth muttered. "She's all, 'Jo can do this,' and 'Jo can do that.' It's like he can walk on clouds, assuming that isn't yet another one of his uber-energy dragon-force whatever-the-sprock it is..."

"Yeah, he does have a completely unnecessary amount of powers," Rokk conceded.

~Jealous, boys?~ Imra teased, eyebrow arched.

"Of him? Please. Jath is way hotter than Ayla." Rokk asserted, as if that settled the matter.

"Hey, that's my sister," Garth began, and then stopped himself, "and I am *not* going to be sucked into a conversation about the relative hotness of my sister, because that's disturbing and wrong."

~So do I dare ask who our other new recruit is?~ Imra thought, with a dubious expression.

"Her very special-ness," Rokk began sarcastically, "'the Champion of Talokk VIII' explained to Ambassador Ravin that he was right when he told her that she could do more good for Talokk working with us. She’s also joining up, and Ravin’s not speaking to us again this week..."

“Does she have to mention being 'the Champion of Talokk VIII' every. Sprocking. Time. she opens her mouth?" Garth said, rolling his eyes.

~So, eight of us now.~ Imra said, diplomatically changing the topic.

"Yup. Sarya said that our numbers are becoming legion. She’s already calling us her ‘Emerald Legion.’" Rokk said with a grin.

~I like it.~ Imra decided.

“I’ve always liked big families.” Garth said with a smile. From his angle he couldn't see Imra's eyes shoot wide with alarm, and so had no clue why Rokk started laughing...

***********************************************************

And that's all folks!

Next time I decide to write up a climactic final battle including Garth, Imra, Rokk, Ayla, Querl, Tasmia, Sarya, Lydda, Kand, Jo, Kort, Nyeun, Tharok, Mano, Validus and a cast of hundreds, shoot me...

Next time I'm gonna write a haiku or something!

Sarya's Champions
Many heroes, many worlds
Emerald Legion!

*****************************************

All 21 chapters are available on my website for ease of reading.

Author's Notes are also available, for any whackjob who wants to know more about the Venegarian Clan structure (note #23), what happened during 'Kid Cosmos' Championship matches (#17), Coluan history (#9), the Carggite wormholes (#12) or Kathooni sexuality (#27).

Feedback is welcome. Unless it's mean, in which case I'll cry.