ã€ŠThe Human Conduitã€‹


 The Survivor

    Milo Greene opened the door to the small office and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. Alan Torick, the main behind the desk, picked up a tablet, laid it on the desk, and turned the screen on to reveal the picture of a young man with short, light-brown hair.

    "That''s him?" Milo asked eyeing the picture thoroughly so as to burn the image into his memory.

    "Yes" Alan said. "He is the only surviving member of the crew. He hasn''t been seen now since the fire."

    "And what about the cargo?" Milo asked.

    Alan hit a button on the tablet to move to the next picture. It was a picture of a small, black, powdery substance on a white examination table. "This is all that is left of the ore in the cargo area" Alan said straightening his small, round glasses.

    "Son of a gun" Milo said looking closely as he could at the powder. "I''m guessing that wasn''t caused by a short circuit or a fuel explosion."

    "So far nothing abnormal has been found on the ship''s forensic log. There''s no reason that the ore should have burned like that."

    "Could an SPG bubble rupture have caused that?" Milo asked.

    "I doubt that" Alan said shaking his head. "A ship that size it would have been torn into a billion pieces had that happened."

    "Where was this crew coming from?"

    "From Marzala" Alan answered coolly.

    "Well, that right here might just explain it. No one goes there just to dig for gold. If the crew of this frigate were there they would''ve been searching for dangerous gray artifacts like anyone else who actually ventures over to a place that dangerous."

    "Don''t assume anything and let your imagination get away from you, Milo. A lot of bizzare things happen to ships that visit that planet, including those that don''t even go down to the surface."

    "The Royal Intelligence service apparently doesn''t think it''s nothing. Their legendary bounty hunter, Azari Yuler is apparently looking for this man as well."

    "We don''t know that to be sure" Alan said.

    "You don''t know that for certain because the RIS is not willing to give us any information about this. That in my mind is reason enough to think there''s interest in it." Alan shrugged his shoulders.

    "There are a lot of books on their book shelves they don''t lead us open up, Milo, and not just about exotic weapons technologies...if he''s out there there''s any number of things he could be doing. If you''re going to do field work you need to be focused on what you know and not any far-reaching theories." Milo thanked Alan (not paying any attention to his admonishment) and took the disk with the mission data out of the office. There was really not any point in prolonging the conversation any longer. There was no sense in bouncing hypotheticals and ideas off of Alan.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Milo returned to his office and shut the door. He picked up the tablet on his desk and after making sure it was not on the agency intranet he downloaded and opened the the latest version of The Royal Comet.

    Radian Sickness Cases Rise in Outlying Communities

    There continues to be no sign of abatement of new cases of radiation sickness in the outlying communities and installations of the outworld sector. Local medical staff are overwhelmed and short on supplies. Union scientists continue to be puzzled as to the source of the radiation but say that the signs of radiation sickness are unmistakable and afflicted individuals are responding to standard treatment. Individuals living within the affected areas have advised villagers to place radiation detectors in their homes and have portable detectors with them at all times.

    The Royal Medical Service has deployed three medical frigates to aid in treatment efforts for Eizen and Faraday, the two systems most affected by outbreak. This deployment occurs at a pivotal time as Union leaders and her highness'' renegotiate the soon-to-expire Quidalar Accord, some terms of which are rumored to be of contention between Union President Griffin Alamore and her highness.

    Meanwhile sector governer Lance Larrett continues to deny rumors that the Union has evidence that the outbreak is a result of a weapons test. An inside source from the Union''s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) maintains that nothing can be ruled out at this point and that there are no leads on what could be the natural source of the radiation.

    Milo was startled by the sudden opening of his door which he had not shut all the way. A tall young woman with frizzy redish-orange hair noticed him putting away the tablet.

    "It''s just me. Reading the Comet again instead of doing your work again?" she asked who seemed amused at Milo''s apparent quick attempt to hide his tablet.

    "What''s going on, Kayla?"

    "Clyde''s here. We''re going to happy hour over at Sun Spot later today."

    "Clyde?" Milo said surprised. "What is he doing here?"

    "I didn''t ask him. He just sent me a message to tell me to meet him there and that he wanted you to come as well, which I thought was interesting. I figure we''ll get the whole story when we get there."

    "Okay. I''m in. By the way, I just spoke with Alan" Milo said changing the subject. "From what he has said it sounds like we might be headed over to outworld. You ever been to Eizen?" Milo asked Kayla. Kayla took a butterscotch candy from a jar on Milo''s desk and put it into her mouth.

    "A few times. There''s a pub in Eizentown called Stardust Alley. Many women go there hoping to meet rich prospectors and get some glimpses of the occasional hunky Royal Starfleet pilot."

    "I''ve got a strong feeling we''re about to get wrapped up in something that''s pretty big" Milo said.

    "Maybe" Kayla said clearly not having any interests in discussing any of Milo''s theories. "I need to go, but make sure you don''t forget to come today. Clyde specifically asked if you were coming."

    "Oh" Milo replied seeming intrigued. "I''ll go. The stories of his adventures are usually pretty interesting."

    Kayla turned around and went out the door and down the hall to the left.

 The Royal Envoy

    The president''s conference room was silent.  Everyone at the table had a look of seriousness, and some even dread.  Griffin Alamore clasped his hands together and rested his head on them.  He was not looking forward to this meeting.  After the tense silence had gone on for what felt like forever, a young man in a Union Navy uniform walked into the room.

    "Mr President, the envoy from her highness the princess is here."  From behind the young man came the short and fancily-dressed envoy with golden-blonde hair.  Everyone at the table stood up as he entered the room.  The envoy walked into the room and took his seat at the head of the table.

    "The princess gives her apologies for not being here today, Mr President" the envoy said shaking his hand and the hand of Ronald Bohr.

    "That is all right, give her my well wishes." Alamore replied actually feeling kind of relieved rather than offended.  "I will be direct with you because I know we are pressed for time¡­the union congress has been pushing me to negotiate for an 10% reduction in royalties and taxes in the renewed Quildalar Accords.  I think that is reasonable."

    "I think that''s going to be a difficult sell" the envoy replied shaking his head.  "The situation has become more¡­complicated.  Turraski has moved warships over to the outworld border.  The royal armada is already planning to deploy several destroyers to the border, and the medical teams on the ground are going to be costly."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "So the princess is going to walk back on the promise her mother Queen Adella years ago?" Bohr said sounding very disappointed.

    "Director Bohr" the envoy said in a sympathetic-sounding voice, "I can assure you her highness does not want to do anything to jeopardize the good relationship the kingdom has with the union."

    "Yes, but you know some will see your generous deployment of ships and personnel as a way to monitor militia groups and crack down on illegal church parishes."

    "Do not underestimate the bellicosity of Turraski and the Black Serpent" warned the envoy.  "You cannot apply conventional rules of psychology to them.  They only understand the language of intimidation and chest-beating.  The death of Zalidore doesn''t change the fundamental nature of Cogito lacerti.  As of now we see our best course of action to show strength."

    "It might be wise to show some cooperation and good will to the militia groups on the border.  Ava Baxter has done a good job organizing them and she could be helpful" opined Bohr.

    "We will not do that.  We are now past the point of considering Ms Baxter merely a political opponent but an enemy."

    "That will be enough" the president said.  "Let her highness know we can offer backup if needed" President Alamore said to the envoy.

    "Thank you Mr President" the envoy replied softly "but I don''t think that will be necessary.    If union forces can ensure¡­ tranquility on the interior worlds as our new sector commander begins his job then you can leave the saber rattling with Turraski to us."  The young man who announced the arrival of the envoy whispered something in the president''s ear.

    "The shipyards are ready for you to tour" the president said to the envoy.  "I think you will be impressed with the progress that has been made.  They will be a great place location to build the royal armada''s ships."  The envoy and all the men got up and left the room at once.

 Clydes Request

    Milo turned onto the street that had the Sun Spot Bar and Grill.  He was not a person that particularly enjoyed just drinking and socializing, but figured that speaking with Clyde mike make it worth his while. He enjoyed listening to the stories of the adventurous and amiable Clyde.  Milo walked inside of the bar and noticed Kayla at a table by herself.

    "Nice to see Clyde on time for change" Milo quipped.  Kayla gave a light chuckle on her drink.

    "I don''t think he''ll be too long.  I spoke with him on the phone about a half hour ago."

    "What did he say?" Milo asked, hoping that he hadn''t missed anything really juicy.

    "Nothing much.  He just said that he had a big favor to ask of us."  Milo nodded and asked the server for a tea.

    "I suppose if he''s here he doesn''t need us to bail him out of jail" Milo took his drink from the server, trying his best to think of what it was that was on her mind.  She seemed a bit preoccupied.

    "You hear from your brother any lately?" Milo asked Kayla.

    "Well, the divorce has been finalized and he''s back in the service of the Earth sector navy, even after he swore he would never go back." Kayla said shaking her head.

    "You worry about him?" Milo asked?

    "Of course I do" Kayla said with no hesitation.  "It could be only a matter of time before he gets deployed with everything going on in outworld right now."

    "Where is he stationed right now?"

    "At the spaceport in Dernick.  There''s actually a pretty nice base there and that might''ve enticed him to return, but all it will take is one little spark and he''ll be leaving there pretty quickly."

    Just then, Clyde walked into the door.  He was a short and handsome guy with shot, dark brown, hair.  He was clearly thinner than the last time that either Milo or Kayla had seen him. Kayla got up and gave him a hug and Milo shook his hand.

    Clyde downed his first glass of wine in seconds and asked for another.  He seemed exhausted and not the energetic person that Milo remembered.  Milo shook hands with him and he and Kayla hugged.

    "So what brings you to us?" Milo asked interrupting when there was finally a break in the conversation between him and Kayla.

    "Had my hearing, and got banished from outworld, not surprisingly" Clyde said downing a glass of water Kayla offered him. "Got caught in a little smuggling operation."

    Kayla shook her head.  "You were already on thin ice, why would you get involved with that?"

    "Just felt like I needed to start working for myself and not working as an indentured servant" Clyde said.

    " You are lucky you aren''t being sent to prison" Kayla said, with disgust in the tone of your voice.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "I don''t think they know how much money I''ve been able to make or else I probably would be in prison" Clyde replied.  "I certainly don''t need either of you to lend me money, at least for now."  Clyde finished up his glass of wine.  "So Kayla told me over the phone you two are leaving on assignment.  I assume you''re both headed somewhere in outworld, right?" Clyde asked.  There was a brief pause.

    "Maybe." Kayla said.  "You know we can''t talk about it."

    "I need a ride" Clyde remarked getting right down to the chase and ignoring the equivocation.  "I want you to take me with you."

    "Clyde, you know we can''t do that no matter where we are going!  And we can''t talk about it with you, let alone in a public place like this!" Kayla said in a lowered voice, though it was not likely anyone in the bar could make out any words beyond their own table.

    "Just hear me out for a moment" Clyde replied speaking in a low voice so as not to be overheard.  "There''s a grey hiding somewhere in outworld known as Cubork.   I have something apparently pretty important I''m supposed to deliver to him, but obviously I can''t get there because I need a ship."

    "What is it that you were given?" Kayla asked with an air of skepticism still in her voice.

    "I don''t know yet.  I''m supposed to meet with some friends to pick it up later."

    "From one of your smuggling buddies, I suppose?" Kayla asked scornfully.

    "No actually" Clyde said, "from someone more trustworthy and important than the smugglers.  Some that I would even call friends.  If it wasn''t I''d be finding someone I could sell the thing to for a lot of money."

    "Who are these friends?" Kayla asked.

    "You''ve got your secrets you need to keep, so do I.  You know I wouldn''t lie to you, Kayla.  I''m sincere when I say I''m calling in a favor for one friend to perform a favor for another friend.  I wouldn''t ask you to take the risk if I was just going to try and earn money."  For a solid 15 seconds or so no one said anything.  Milo had to admit Clyde''s pleas seemed genuinely heartfelt.

    "We''re going to get a final briefing from Bohr  tomorrow" Milo said.  "We will consider what we can do where we''re going and how."  Kayla shot Milo a disapproving look but did not say anything.

    "Thank you" Clyde asked.

    Soon after that Kayla and Clyde veered off into conversations about vacation homes in the expansion worlds.  Milo was zoned out thinking about Clyde''s story.  He had left 3 years ago to avoid service in the Union Navy to work in the mining station.  He had no reason to doubt Clyde was doing anything but telling the truth, but the entire story seemed odd.  How is it he was entrusted with such a supposedly valuable item?  After about half an hour of chat, Clyde got up and said his goodbyes.

    "Well, what do you think?" Milo asked watching Clyde walking back out the door.

    "He really has a knack for getting into more trouble than he bargains for.  I kind of feel for him."

    "You believe him?"

    "I do.  He''s not going to be able to make up a story like that."  Kayla paused for a moment before again opening her mouth to speak.   "Don''t you think we should tell Bohr about this, Milo?"

    "No need to let him get into any more trouble than he already is.   And he''s right, we do owe him big time.  You may not love him anymore, but he''s a good man, and he really seems like he''s in a bind" Milo answered.

    "I care about him" Kayla said sounding annoyed.  "But it would be quite a risk to take him with us.  We''d not just be risking our jobs we could very well be getting caught up in something much bigger than what our mission is about."

    "He could be very helpful for us, Kayla." Milo said changing the subject to the actual mission even though he knew Kayla had a point.  "He knows his way around the outworld sector better than us.  And you''re the one that says we should make every effort to do right by people irrespective of our responsibilities and directive from our superiors." Milo retorted.

    Kayla let off a big sigh and finished the last of her drink.  "I don''t want to discuss this now, I''m tired.  I''ll see you tomorrow, Milo."  Kayla payed her tab and left.  Milo looked at his wristwatch and noticed that it was getting late.  He wasn''t feeling tired, though.  He sat around day-dreaming for about ten minutes taking everything in before finally getting up and leaving.

 Romans Visitor

    Roman Darossa pressed downward on the brake on the rover vehicle.  The road was starting to get bumpier and it was getting more difficult to see even with his IR goggles as night had now completely fallen over the vast badlands of Galileo.  He looked very briefly at the navigation screen. It was about twenty more miles to the base.  He was behind schedule somewhat but not enough so to be a serious problem.   The drive was quite mundane, and while he could see the road fine, none of the exquisite features of the landscape the badlands could really be seen or appreciated.

    After driving for what seemed like several minutes, the engine and the rover computer abruptly cut off.  The rover coasted for a while before finally coming to a stop.  Roman jiggled the ignition switch.  The engine would not come to life and showed no hint of trying to come to life.  He felt around and found the switch for the emergency power and pulled it.  Nothing happened.   Suddenly, the power was lost in his IR goggles.  He removed them quickly and peered out the windows but could not see much.  There was almost nothing but starlight to illuminate the area.  He felt around on his side and picked up his radio.

    "Beta base this is Agent Darossa, I''ve lost power.  I''m about 10 miles south-southwest of the base.  Do you copy?"  There was no response, just some light static.  Darossa jumped as he heard a loud thumping noise coming from the rear of his vehicle.  He quickly felt around on the ceiling of the vehicle and grabbed his pistol from the overhead compartment that contained it.  He slowly opened the door of the vehicle and jumped onto the ground, squatting in front of the large front left tire that was about 4 or 5 feet in diameter.

    "Colonial Forces!" Darossa yelled.  "I am armed.  Show yourself!"  There was no response.  Roman squinted as hard as he could and could not see anyone.  His radio was still dead.  He was just about to walk around to the rear of the vehicle when he felt a sharp prick in the side of his right arm.  He immediately turned his body  to see what was there but lost his balance and fell to the ground, with his gun falling somewhere to his side.  He tried to feel around and grab his gun but had a funny feeling in his muscles.   He could move both his legs and arms but did not seem to have fine motor control and he could feel some light tremors.  Darossa felt someone grab him and push him up against the tire in a sitting position.  Roman could see that it was bald muscular man of average height.  He could not make out his facial features but noticed but noticed he was carrying a gun on his shoulder¡­it looked like standard issue for royal soldiers, but larger.

    "Give me your weapon" the man said in a deep and soft voice that he was not expecting.  Darossa raised his hands over his hands as best as he could to show that he did not have the weapon.  The man took a flashlight from his belt and shined it on the ground around where Darossa was sitting.  The man picked up the pistol and looked it over.   "Harmless" the man scoffed.   "Hope you people don''t ever plan shooting at any hoplites with those toys."  The man held the gun by the muzzle with the handle facing Darossa.  Darossa sat still, unsure of what he should do.

    "Well, go ahead and take it back" the man said.  "You aren''t going to shoot me even if you weren''t buzzed right now."  Darossa took the gun from him and holstered it.

    "What do you want?" Darossa said finally speaking up.

    "I know that you''re CIA and not with the colonial army or rebels.   I have a knack for sniffing out snoops like you.  If we could skip the denial portion of the conversation and cut right to the chase, I would appreciate it."

    "Who are you?" Darossa asked periodically checking his muscle movement to see if he might be able to knock this man''s legs out from under him.

    "You don''t need to know who I am.  Surely you at least understand from my equipment that I''m official and not some garden-variety bandit here to rob you.  And you are?"Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Private Trey Redden of the Galileo colonial army.  Just returning from a routine patrol." Darossa said removing his dog tag and extending his hand to show it to the man.

    "Ok, I get it.  You''ve got amnesia.  Maybe we need to just stand here until you get your memory back" The man snarked back at him.  At that moment his face was close enough to Roman''s that he could make out the pointed ear flap and the heart-shaped face of an elf, not a man.

    "You''re in the Royal Armada" Darossa said in a surprised voice.

    "You wish" he said after a brief pause.  "I report straight to her highness and have carte blanche beyond what you know is possible."

    "I don''t have anything to tell you, I''m just a lowly private" Darossa said trying to think of what the best move could be to get out of the situation.

    "I have the jurisdiction to take you into custody right now and have you interrogated by the Royal Intelligence officers.  I would recommend talking to me.  I''m a bit more pleasant to talk to."

    At that moment Roman got the most clear view of his face and bald head and knew who the guy was.   He knew he would probably not be able to get away without telling him something that he was not supposed to tell, but he had to try.  "What do you want with me?!" Darossa finally asked trying his best to sound like a frightened and clueless soldier.

    "Was the Morian carrying some kind of gray device and who has it?"

    "I don''t know a lot about that.  It was just a simple mining expedition and something went wrong.  That place is cursed."

    "Stop trying to play the scared, superstitious grunt!" the man spat.  "You are not going to fool me!"

    "I don''t have any information for you.  And you have no reason to believe that I do."

    "Then what is it that you are doing here?  You need to start talking and give me something to work with, I don''t want to make you disappear into this night but I will."  Roman could see that there was no real point in going on with the charade.

    "So you''re going to kidnap a Union intelligence agent operating just a few miles from a base?  What will the sector commander think about that?"

    "My orders are coming from the princess herself.  I can basically do what I want to get the information about the incident I need.  So I''m asking you sincerely, tell me what it is you can about the Morian and the survivor.  Is he involved in outworld rebel groups?"

    Roman knew that this elf was serious.  He knew he had to give up and buckle a little bit to get out of the situation.

    "The survivor''s name is Matt Snedecor, and it might be an alias.  I don''t know to what degree he was involved with rebel forces.   I do not know anything about any weapon or gray device that was recovered by the Morian."

    "You have any information about his whereabouts?"

    "No, and I''m not looking for him as of right now."

    "Then what are you doing here now?"

    "Not anything related to Snedecor.  And to my knowledge the CIA has not gotten involved with this, yet."

    "Anything else?"  Of course there was more that he could have said, but he had to try and see if this was enough to placate him.

    "That''s all I know."

    The elf looked him over for a moment.  He took a syringe out of a cargo pocket on his top and dropped it on the ground next to Darossa.  "This will restore your motor coordination back to normal, but it will take a few minutes.  And I think this should go without saying, but if I have reason to suspect you know more than you''ve let on, I''ll be paying you another visit."  The elf turned around and quickly disappeared into the darkness without any visible lights from any kind of vehicle.  Darossia picked up the syringe and jabbed himself in the arm with it and put the syringe in his pocket.  He felt a burning sensation all over his body.  He felt like a failure for having been able to be trapped like that, but did not know what he was supposed to have done.  He would definitely need to report what had happened to someone at the CIA, but what would they say?

    As he was thinking this over, he was startled by the lights on the rover flickering back to life.  He heard a voice from his radio.  "Agent Darosa this is Beta base, please respond if you can hear me."  Darossa picked up the radio.

    "I''m here, Beta base." Darossa said unable to hide the heavy breathing that he was doing.  I just broke down for a minute.  I will be returning now.  ETA 15 minutes."

    "Ten-four" the voice on the radio said.  Darossa climbed back into the driver''s seat of the rover and buckled his seat belt.  He turned the ignition and the engine came to life without even a sign of a struggle.  He turned the navigation computer back on and started heading in the direction of the base.

 Misson Directive

    Milo finished the report he was working on and opened the file of Zaladore''s manifesto and began reading in the Chapter called The Elves'' Dangerous Friends.

    The human is simultaneously a horrifying and remarkable creature.  They fight amongst themselves as much as the reptilia while possessing the arrogance of the Elves without the superior intellect.  The proliferation of their numbers on their abused home planet and throughout the sector is a great paradox.  They are full of behavioral foibles and seem to sabotage themselves constantly and they not only survive but thrive.  In trying times their numbers grow and with a hyper-abundance of resources they explode to an equilibrium of mild discomfort.

    The relationship the humans have developed with the elves has magnified the threat they pose across the habitable galaxy.  This relationship dates back 200 years when the Elves discovered Earth.  Despite their less-evolved intellect the elves found it lucrative to invest in their societies in the expansion worlds in their home sector.  The elves would later realize they got more than they bargained for, however.  In a matter of a few decades the humans had expanded across the sector and had amassed a fleet of several thousand ships.

    The elves feel that their greatest fear has perhaps been realized...that there is someone who possesses more military might than themselves.  The elves suspect that the human Union might eventually exceed them in knowledge or have perhaps even uncovered some of the secrets of the grays.  The mutual distrust between the Union and the Royal family put their relationship on a downward spiral.  The human expansion worlds developed an obstinate desire for independence from the Royal family to which they owed their newly-obtained prosperity.

    Despite the best efforts of the Kingdom to assert their superior firepower and military prowess, the elven queen Tarissa was unable to pacify the situation.  The ensuing war was much more costly and time-consuming than it should have been, but the Union had no choice but to relent as nearly all of their war ships were either destroyed or commandeered.

    Rather than learn from their mistakes, the Kingdom helped them rebuild their torn Earth sector expansion worlds, but invested in their expansion to the more distant outworld planets.  This time the elves kept a closer watch on them with more a more stringent economic agreement.  As the symbiotic relationship between human and elf entered the second iteration, the elves began to realize something.  It was not simply a simple exchange of human labor and ingenuity and Elven capital that drove the made the accord as effective as it was.  The human was a source of certain personal traits which seemed to be lacking within the elves: intrepidness and a penchant for risk taking that perhaps made elven expansion into the outlying worlds impractical.  It was also apparent that the human could improve elven technologies and use them in innovative ways that the elves had not thought of.  This is above all what the elf values in the human and what the elf has been preoccupied with understanding.

    Elven scientists are more preoccupied with understanding these traits and how and from they arise, and have become obsessed with incorporating human genes to perfect their genome.  It preoccupies them more than the great mystery of how two species with very similar genomes (to the point interbreeding is possible) came to be separated by many trillions of light years.    I have not much doubt that the elves believe that they can somehow integrate human ingenuity within their own genome and gain what they see as true brilliance, perhaps on the same order as the grays.

    The time will inevitably come again when the mercurial human and the arrogant elf will take up arms against each other.  It is easy enough for the reptilian to maintain complete neutrality and indifference in the conflict.  But regardless of how the relations between human and elf change over time, ultimately it is a relationship with dangerous synergy that threatens both reptilian society and the ecosystems of the galaxy.

    Milo was startled by the door to his office opening and Kayla''s head peered in.  "Milo!  We have our appointment with Bohr! We need to get going!"  Milo looked at his watch and realized it was time for his appointment.  He got himself up and hurried out of his office and down the hall into the elevator. Milo hit the button for the top floor.  Milo could feel the sweat coming to his forehead.  He respected Bohr and always felt the respect was mutual, but always found talking to the man in charge of the entire agency sort of intimidating.   Milo reached the top floor and exited the elevator and went down the hall to the director''s office. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    "Agent Greene, Agent Rall" Milo knew that a serious conversation was about to happen when he addressed them like that,  "We are ready to send you to your mission.   We want to send you to go in two days, if that is all right."

    "Sure" Milo said.

    "That''d be fine" Kayla echoed.

    "Good" Bohr said.  "We have reservations for you at a resort in the city of Relanda on the planet Xanadu."

    "We''re headed to the beach for our assignment?" Kayla asked bemused.

    "Yes" Bohr replied.  "An organization called Hominids for Sustainable Growth is having a gathering there.   I want the two of you to go there undercover as a couple that owns a gurberry farm within the Earth sector and keep your eyes and ears open there."

    "You think that Matt Snedecor might be connected to this group?"

    "I strongly suspect so" Bohr asked.  "This organization appears clean for the most part on the outside, but there are certainly some real unsavory characters in it as well as suspicious financials."

    "Is this going to be a joint effort with Royal Intelligence?" Milo asked.

    "No" Bohr said, "and in fact, I want you to avoid RIS and the royal marshals as best as you can.  They are cooperating with us less and less every day, so we''re going to be doing this little investigation without their knowledge."   Milo and Kayla looked at each other.

    "Don''t worry" Bohr said noticing their glances.  "Just keep your heads down and you should be fine.  You will have some excellent cover."

    "Are we going to be acting alone, here?" Milo asked.

    "I have asked Roman to rendezvous with the two of you once you get there.  He''ll hopefully be able to give you some useful leads.  I am sorry I don''t have more information to give you right now, but I felt it was best to go ahead and get you two into position quickly."

    "If we get any leads as to Snedecor''s whereabouts, what do we do?" Kayla asked.

    "I want you to pursue them, provided you aren''t doing anything you couldn''t do legally as ordinary guests.  The two of you will make a great team, and although some are skeptical of using the two of you for this mission, I have full confidence you will be of use.  You will have an ordinary-looking luxury personal carrier ship with some pretty fancy capabilities.  Be ready to leave from the spaceport in two days first thing in the morning."

    They both finished up their conversation and left Bohr''s office.  "We need to talk" Kayla said in a low voice to Milo when they were a safe distance away from the office.  Kayla followed Milo back to his office and shut the door.   Milo knew this was going to be a serious conversation.  "Clyde is over in the Sahara.  Did he ever contact you to tell you he was leaving?"

    "No, he didn''t Milo" said surprised.  "How do you know where he is?"  Kayla moved closer and softened here voice.  "I entangled our phone antennae." Kayla said showing Milo the screen.  Kayla showed him the display screen showing Clyde''s position in the southwestern portion of the Sahara desert.

    "You know how to entangle phone antennae?" Milo said.

    "Yes." Kayla said annoyed with the question.  "It just takes a little fiddling with the tracking software so the connection only goes one way, but it isn''t really that difficult to do."  Milo knew she was just being modest.  There was nothing straightforward about entangling communication devices and altering phone software.   "What in the world do you think he''s doing over there?"

    "I suppose he''s meeting with his friends, whoever they are" Milo said.

    "I know Clyde well.  He''s as easy to read as a children''s book.  I know he''s as genuinely frightened so he probably isn''t making up the story, but something about the story just doesn''t add up."

    "So what do you want to do, then?" Milo asked.  Kayla paused for a moment and put her phone in your pocket.

    "Like we you said, we owe him and we should probably help him.  He could be in a lot of trouble."

    Milo nodded.   "When?" he asked.

    "Tomorrow morning" Kayla said.  I want this done as soon as possible.  "Any number of things could go wrong and we don''t want to have to rush back before we are deployed."  A beep sounded from Kayla''s pocket indicating she received a message.   Kayla took the phone from her pocket and looked at the message.

    "Got to go."  Kayla said.  "If anyone asks we''re just taking a little weekend sight-seeing just so we have our story straight." Kayla said.  She opened the door and left.    Milo just sat idle for a moment, wondering if maybe this desire to see Clyde was because she still loved him before getting back to his work.

 The Temple

    Princess Zorthia stared out at the window at the rich and fairly colorful hue of the planet over which her cruiser was approaching.  The planet Marzala had a lovely appearance from space that belied its enigmatic and fearsome reputation.  She nervously adjusted the tight armada-issue coat and her all-terrain boots and pulled her hair from her beautiful face back into a pony tail.

    The door to the quarters she was sitting in opened and a much older elf walked through it.

    "Your highness" he said bowing his head as he sat down in a chair across from where she was sitting.

    "Grand Admiral Gall" she respectfully said back.  "Does it look all right?"

    "We will be safe here as long as we don''t stay too long and we are careful on the surface.  The ash seems particularly thick over the sky today, though, so we need to enter the atmosphere carefully."

    "Good" the princess said still starting out the window.  "Let''s go check out the temple while checking around to see if there''s any trace of the Morian."

    "I think that''s a good idea."   Gall pushed a button on the panel next to where he was seating.  "Captain, please prepare us for landing at location alpha, and have the men ready to go."

    A voice over the communicator said "Yes, admiral."

    "No trace of any reptilia anywhere around here?"  Zorthia asked.

    "None.  We will probably not be disturbed here.  After the incident with the Morian people are going to be even more afraid of this place" Gall said looking at the window that almost had little visibility as they entered the atmosphere.

    "Do you think we need to pull out all the stops to find the survivor of the Morian and the rumored super weapon?" Zorthia asked.

    "As of now, I think we need to put all of our focus on outworld and the election." Gall said as the cruiser entered orbit and prepared to make descent into the surface.

    "What are we going to do to make sure Governor Larrett wins?"

    "There isn''t a whole lot we can do but hope that our generosity can sway people.  Reasoning with them will only go so far.    Human societies will follow their democratic tenets off a cliff there and they can''t be rescued from it, as the great human-elf war proved."

    "We''re to let the fate of the galaxy rest in the hands of people who vote in the governor''s election then?"

    "There are options for us should the election not go our way, your highness.  There are still cards to be played to sway the vote and there are things that can be done to lower the stakes."

    Just then the automatic door came open and an elf dressed in a dark blue and slick Armada-issued expedition suit entered the room.  He was stocky with a big forehead and stood at about five foot six, making him of somewhat short stature.  It was Geerhil Golmad, the head of the Royal Ministry of Science and Technology.

    "Your highness, grand admiral, we are getting close to the temple."  Geer pointed out the window.  Marzala had a very barren appearance.   No vegetation or wildlife could be seen anywhere.

    "I can see why many humans are terrified of this place" the princess remarked.  "This place could even put chills into elves."

    "Those are probably just your nerves being all the way out here with no real escorts" Geerhill said.  "Just try to relax.  No one will know that we are here if we don''t do anything to draw attention to ourselves."  Geer turned his head out the window in the direction the ship was headed.  "There it is!" he said.  "That''s the temple."

    The temple was jet black, resembling almost a dome with rocket fins.  It was not a majestic looking building, looking like a giant boulder of obsidian in the middle of a vast sinuous, rocky desert landscape.  Zorthia joined Geer, Gall, and a group of other officers and armed commandos and exited the cruiser.

    Geer walked up to the base of the temple and held up a hand-held device in front of the side of the building.  "This is a fullerene-based composite material.  It takes a lot of molecular precision to make a material like this.   This building is most definitely built by the grays."

    "Let''s go ahead and go inside" the princess said.

    "Prepare to enter!" Gall said.  "And stay alert!  We don''t know what could be in there."  One of the armada soldiers walked up to the door and pushed on the switch, and the door immediately opened, to the surprise of everyone.  The soldiers stepped inside first.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    "We''ve got lights on in here!" one of the soldiers said.

    "That doesn''t mean anyone''s home" Geerhill said.  "This is a gray structure, the lights here might be on until the end of this system." After a moment, the all clear was given and Gall and the princess entered the Temple.  Inside was an austere corridor that seemed to go around the perimeter of the building.  The group proceeded around the right side of the corridor, with guns at the ready.  The corridor went on for a while until they reached an intersection with a larger corridor going towards the center.  The group turned and went down the large corridor.  At the end of the corridor was what looked like a large double door.  Once again, the large door opened when the button was pushed, revealing a very large and tall room, with what looked sort of like a large column in the middle that was very wide at the bottom and narrower at the top.

    Geer walked up to a place on the column to see what looked like an empty compartment within it.  The column was apparently not there for structural support, but appeared to be an apparatus of some kind.

    "What is this, Geer?" the princess asked as Geerhill looked it over.

    "This is potentially really bad." Geer said.  Zorthia''s heart sank.  Geer was not one to overdramatize a situation.

    "What is it?" the princess asked

    "There is an empty compartment in this column.  I recognize the shape and the electrodes It looks like it houses a very high-energy cell."

    "Do you think the human on the Morian could''ve stolen it?" Gall asked.

    "That''s very much possible" Geerhill said.  That could possibly explain the fire on the Morian."

    Gall stood staring at the cell compartment for a moment to think.   "We need to hold a meeting with Armada admirals as soon as possible, your highness.  At the very least we need to beef up the search for the missing Morian crew member.  Have you heard anything from Azari, yet?"

    "He hasn''t found him, yet.  He must be in the human sector.  If Yuler can''t find him he is either dead or he left outworld. "

    "Hands up!   Identify yourself!"  The shout of one of the soldiers startled everyone.  Near the door opposite where they entered was what appeared to be an elfess in a long white dress.  She slowly began walking towards them.

    "Hands up in the air or we will shoot!" shouted the solider.  The elfess did not listen, but instead kept advancing. As she got closer, Geer noticed something very strange.

    "She''s transparent!  It''s some kind of fancy optical trick" Geerhill said.   The soldier fired several shots at the apparition.  Nothing happened.  The apparition continued walking completely unfazed until she was right in front of the group and stopped.

    "What is this place?" Zorthia said looking at the apparition.  Everyone looked at her surprised, as if they thought it ridiculous to talk to an apparent hologram for information.  The group stood in silence with the soldier''s guns still drawn, as if firing at close range might make a difference from the previous bullets which seemed to go right through it.

    Everyone jumped as they heard a voice that seemed to emanate directly from the apparition.  "This¡­is one of the great cathedrals of the lost knowledge."

    "It''s just a silly device used to try and scare superstitious humans" Golmad sneered.  "We need to be going, there''s really nothing else to see here."  The group began to walk towards the door, with the soldiers waiting briefly with their gun pointed at the apparition before turning around to follow the rest of the group.

    "The servants of the goddess are mobilizing against you your highness" said the same voice from behind  them.  The princess felt a slight chill stopped where she was walking and turned around, causing everyone else to stop.  "Watch your back" the apparition said and turned around to walk in the direction she came.  She took a few steps and then disappeared from view.  The princess just stood for a moment in her position and continued to stare in the direction the apparition appeared, as if expecting it to re-appear.

    "It''s gray technology, your highness." Geer said.  "It''s probably programmed to spook anyone away from here.  The grays don''t like to use booby traps, they prefer to try and scare people away from their places.  Don''t think anything of it."  The group resumed walking towards the exit.  Zorthia after a brief moment turned around to follow them.  The group exited the temple and boarded the cruiser hastily.

    The princess made her way back to her quarters by herself and pushed a button below the big viewing screen.  After a few seconds, the face of a handsome young elf appeared on the screen.

    "Tal" the princess said.  "Congratulations on your promotion."

    "Thank you, Zorthia" the elf said.  "Did Golmad find anything interesting on the surface?"

    "We found nothing interesting about the Morian or its crew, but we confirmed the temple was created by the grays.  Golmad thinks there''s a very high-energy cell that is missing, but we don''t know who has it."  The elf let off a big sigh.

    "What is Gall going to do?" Tal asked.

    "He wants to play it cautious until the election it seems." Tal shook his head.

    "We cannot afford to allow militias and rebel human groups to become confident and strong.   It''s past time we took decisive action on them.  If the outworld independence groups have that energy cell or super weapon the election will become the least of our worries."

    "Are you sure about this?" the princess asked warily.

    "We now know the locations of no less than a dozen rebel hideouts throughout outworld.  We can raid all of them simultaneously and take whatever weapons they may have accumulated."

    "The grand admiral will never go along with this, you know" the princess said.

    "Of course he won''t" Tal answered.  "But if you give me the order I can have these operations assembled and carried out very swiftly."  The princess just sat for a moment, in thought.

    "This will come at a very high political cost, Tal" the princess admonished him.

    "It will" Tal said unabashedly, "but like your mother Adella once said, humans periodically need to be shown superior strength when they get uppity."  The princess nodded her head.

    "You have my blessing, but please be cautious that you don''t kill too many people.  I will tell Azari to stop his search for the missing human and join with you."

    "Don''t worry" Tal said.  "We will have them subdued before they can get their pants on.  I will hopefully be able to speak face-to-face with you again before long."  His face disappeared from the screen.

 The Singed Leaf

    The ride on the aircraft to the Sahara was very tedious to Milo.  He got restless on long flights and he was very anxious about going to such a remote place.  When the ride finally got to be excruciating, Milo turned on his tablet and opened an article he downloaded from The Daily Comet.

    A Humanologist Look at the Eizen Election by Lina Hest, Chair of Royal Humanology Institute

    "Humanologist?" Kayla sneered noticing the subtitle of the article and seeming galled at the very use of the word.  "I guess there weren''t any anthropologists available."

    "Her writings are really pretty interesting."

    "And she''s not a human."

    "You know how you say we tend to not notice our worst qualities and need someone else to point them out for us?  Can''t that be true on a collective level?"

    "Sure, but humans are not the intended audience for that.  The only subjects you''ll see humans writing about in the Comet are music and processed foods."

    "Why are you being so quarrelsome about this?" Milo asked.

    "It''s exactly the kind of disrespect that makes wars possible."

    "Don''t get so worried about it, Kayla.  Right now there is just too much at stake for everyone for there to be another war.  The war that will have no winners is the one that won''t happen."

    "Quoting Saint Vernon might not be the best way to make a point about peace" retorted Kayla.

    "Well, it''s true."

    "There!" Kayla said pointing cutting the conversation off.  "There''s an aircraft over there!" pointing to a spot near them were an aircraft had clearly landed.  Kayla steered their aircraft over to where she spotted the vehicle and landed nearby.  The landscape in the area was sandy with small rocks and dunes around it, but there was more than enough room to land.

    "One hundred and five degrees" Kayla said looking at her phone as they surveyed the landscape.  There was no sign of anyone around.  The two of them walked over towards the personal aircraft.  As they got closer to it, Milo recognized the markings on it.

    "It''s a rental aircraft" Milo remarked. "Where is the signal coming from?"  Kayla picked up her phone and peered at the screen.

    "About 100 yards that way" she said pointing in a direction roughly perpendicular from where they came."

    "CLYDE!  ARE YOU THERE!" Milo shouted.

    "SSSSSHHHH! Quiet Milo!" Kayla hissed in a loud, angry whisper.  "We have no idea who is here!"  They both stood still in their positions listening and looking around for anything.  It was eerily silent.  There was no wind or any wildlife that could be seen around.  After a minute of listening, Kayla motioned for them to move towards where the signal was.  As they approached the area where the signal was emanating, they still could hear nothing.  As they were about 20 yards from where the signal was coming from, a raspy, high-pitched voice from behind them boomed.

    "Hold it right there!"  Both Kayla and Milo looked around but could not find anything or anyone.  After a moment of not seeing or hearing anything else, they could hear a strange noise off to their left.  A chill went down Milo''s spine as two large, bipedal reptilians emerged from behind some big rocks on the ground.  They were very physically imposing .  Milo guessed one was about six foot and six inches, and the other about six feet eight inches.  They both had long, lizard-like tails and long, alligator-like snouts  Their arms were long and very strong-looking.

    The larger reptilian was carrying what Milo recognized as a plasma rifle, the standard issue of the hoplites of the reptilian army.  It was a very intimidating gun ¨C much too heavy to be carried by any man or elf ¨C and pretty much made the reptilian the most feared infantry in the known galaxy.

    "Don''t make any sudden movements." The larger reptilian said in a relatively calm voice.  The voice did not seem overly angry, but that didn¡¯t make Milo feel any better.  "Kopbok, check them" the larger reptilian ordered the smaller one.  The smaller reptilian walked over to where Milo and Kayla were standing.  The reptilian walked up to Milo and used his long snout to sniff him around his head.  Milo could hear air entering through the nostrils of the creature.  He then walked over and sniffed Kayla near her hair.

    The smaller reptilian turned around to face where the taller one was standing.  "They''re definitely human, Visler.    They''ve been around a lot of different people recently, but not many."

    "Can you smell any trace of HPP on them?" the larger reptilian asked.  Milo immediately recognized HPP as helical poly-propylene, a synthetic material used to make uniforms in all branches of the union military.

    "None, sir.  Maybe these are just tourists that got lost."  The smaller reptilian walked back over to where the larger reptilian was standing, who glared at both Milo and Kayla.

    "What are you two doing out here?" the reptilian asked forcefully.

    "We''re looking for a friend who we tracked to this location.  His name is Clyde"  Kayla answered without a hint of fear.  The larger reptilian lowered his gun and eyed them thoughtfully, as if still suspicious and having no intention of hiding it.

    "Come with me" the reptilian said.  And do not even think of disappearing from my sight."  The reptilian turned around.   Milo turned to look at Kayla as if seeking approval, who motioned for him to go.  Kayla looked again at her phone and noticed that the signal from Clyde''s phone was gone.  The four of them walked for about three minutes.  Milo still felt as if waiting for his heart to return to a normal rhythm when they reached the end of their walk.  Milo recognized what was a reptilian-class minitransport.

    "I hope for your sake and ours that that you''re telling the truth" the reptilian said.  "We aren''t exactly welcome here and we''d like to remain undetected here at least a little longer."  The reptilia walked inside of the ship and into one of the corridors.  It was not much cooler inside the ship, but Milo was not expecting any different from a reptilian ship.  The door was opened to the bridge and cockpit room of the ship.

    "These two humans just landed here.  They say they know you."  Sure enough, Clyde was sitting inside the room.  Clyde looked at both of them in a stunned silence.

    "Well, these are some interesting friends you have here." Kayla said breaking the silence.

    "What are you guys doing out here?" Clyde demanded.  "Has Bohr got you following me around?"

    "We came here without anyone knowing, Clyde.  I entangled our phones and followed you here."

    "Why would you that?" Clyde demanded.

    "We were worried about you.  Did you think you could run off to this remote, sweltering wasteland without us assuming the worst for you?"  Kayla asked.

    "Well, I appreciate your concern, but I didn''t need you to come out here.  As long as the two of you keep quiet until I can get back to outworld and get my affairs back in order.  You could''ve risked giving away my position and the position of me or my friends here."

    "Your friends?  Who are these fellas, anyways?" Kayla said.  She did not seem to be the least bit intimidated by the presence of the large reptilians in their midst.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "I am Visler, chief of the Singed Leaf Clan, ma''am.  And this is my assistant, Kopbok" The larger of the two reptilians said now sounding more warm and extended his hand to shake Kayla''s.  His hand felt rough and dry, exactly like touching the skin of common lizard.

    "These guys are pretty much persona non grata in the Reptilian sector" Clyde said.

    "Yes" Visler said cutting him off.  "We are nomads wandering the Goddess'' crescent and do not answer to Turraski or to any other Lord of the Clans."

    "I''ve heard of you guys" Milo said.  "You have been famous for remaining neutral in all the conflicts between the warrior and ecology clans."

    "We do not like conflict and consider it a betrayal of the principles on which the Nal''Larak tribes were founded.   Our unwillingness to get behind Turraski''s push towards war with the hominids pretty much forced us from our homeworld."

    "So you don''t like putting the squeeze on the settlement of outworld?" Kayla asked.  Visler  paused for a moment.  Milo could tell he was trying to think of how to best word his answer.

    "We are alarmed by the callousness shown to the natural world all over this part of the galaxy by the elves and the apathy of the humans, I will not lie to you.  But we do not favor the level of hostility that has occurred and that will probably continue on for a while."

    "So you don''t like the settlement of outworld, but you sure don''t seem to have a problem doing business with outworlders" Kayla remarked.  Visler stared at Kayla for a minute as if he was surprised by such a sharp tongue.

    "I like your sassiness, humaness.  Speaking your mind is a trait far too uncommon among your kind."  Visler said laying his plasma gun up against the wall of the ship.  "We believe in only taking from nature what we must to survive.  The elves aren''t going to help us ¨C as far as they''re concerned we''re truculent savages no different from the Nal''Hirak ¨C and we will not ask our own people for help.  We only have enough ships to sustain ourselves and provide for a minimum amount of security."

    "Do you think Turraski is responsible for all of the radiation sickness in outworld?"  Milo asked changing the subject.  Visler paused to look ahead of Milo on the wall of the opposite end of the room.

    "I would suspect those of your own kind, first ¨C rebels looking to pick a fight with royal marshals, or perhaps elven intelligence.  But I can tell you this for sure, it is not beneath Turraski  to do such a thing.  He is a son of the Black Serpent Clan, the most ruthless and bellicose of all of the warrior clans.  He was chief of the Black Serpent while Zaladore was the emperor.  Zaladore  was always leery of Turraski and that entire clan.  And the viciousness of anyone who was too extreme for Zalidore has few boundaries."

    "Ever do any kind of business with the Morian guild?" Kayla asked steering the conversation away from tribal conflicts.

    "I knew Wally Gold, who was the captain of the ship and one of the leaders of that guild." Visler said after a pause seeming interested that Kayla mentioned the topic.  "We did lawful business with them. He was a good man and it was tragic that he died in the fire on that frigate.  "

    "What do you know about him?" Kayla asked prying further.

    "He had fascination with searching for gray artifacts.  He was also was very preoccupied with human folklore about the ghost of Aura Madeen wandering around on Marzala." Milo was fairly sure Kayla was hoping Visler would casually mention Matthew Snedecor but that directly asking him about it might make him suspicious.

    "I have a strong suspicion the two of you are here for more than to check on your friend" the reptile remarked.

    "Visler" Clyde interrupted, "don''t worry about them.  You guys need to be going before long.  We can''t take the risk of being uncovered here.  Kayla and Milo, come with me, I have something I want to give you."  Milo knew that he was putting up a cover and that he just wanted to talk to the two of them alone.

    Visler and Kopbok shook hands with both Milo and Kayla.  "I give my best wishes to both of you humans.  Do not be afraid to visit if you are ever around our turf.  We are always looking to make new hominid friends."   Kayla and Milo said their goodbyes exited the ship and walked back to the area where they both landed.  They walked back silently through the sand back to where Milo and Kayla''s aircraft was.

    "You guys really shouldn''t have followed me here." Clyde said as they had returned.

    "We were worried about you, Clyde!" Kayla retorted.  "You come to us telling us you have an item some coveted artifact, and then you''re taking a journey out here without telling us?  What did you expect us to think?"

    "I can fend for myself, Kayla.  I should be safe as long as I''m on Earth.  I don¡¯t want to get either of you in trouble with Bohr or any of your bosses and I don''t want you to have to hold any secrets from him.  I just need you to take me over to outworld for myself from there."

    "Give us your complete trust and we will trust you, Clyde.  Where did you really get the device that you have?" Clyde paused again.  He knew that he had to be straight with Kayla.

    "It''s what I got from Visler.  But I honestly and truthfully have no idea what it is or what it does and I didn''t ask him.  As I said all I''m doing is repaying him for what he has done for me.  I promised him I would get whatever that thing is to Cubork and I will find a way to get there one way or another.  I''m sorry for not being more up front with you, but I''m already neck-deep in trouble here, Kayla.  I just do not want you or Milo to fall into my hole with me.  Hope you understand."  Milo said nothing.  He had no qualms about bringing Clyde back but was just not interested in creating any drama with Kayla.

    "We will take you, Clyde" Kayla said with a sigh.  "Be at the Atlanta spaceport and ready to go with us in tomorrow.   We can''t wait for you if you aren''t on time this time.  And it goes without saying, but be as discreet as you can" she said sternly.

    "Thank you." Clyde said in a truly sincere voice. "Being sneaky is something I''ve gotten to be pretty good at, don''t worry."

    "I hope you were a lot sneakier than you were with me and Milo!" Kayla quipped.  Clyde looked as if he wanted to make a snarky retort, but suppressed it.

    "Let''s go, Milo." Kayla said.  They climbed back into their aircraft.  Clyde walked back toward his own aircraft.

    Milo and Kayla strapped themselves in and they were off.  They were both quiet as the aircraft took off and began its trek back to North America.

    "You are all right with taking him with us, aren''t you?" Kayla finally asked breaking their silence.

    "Sure.  I would''ve spoken up back there if I didn''t."

    "No, I''m actually not sure you would.  You do not just need to acquiesce with this just for the purpose of getting along.  You''re also taking a risk here, Milo.  You need to carefully weigh the risks here, too."

    "You forget that I have actually known him longer than you have.  I think he''s kind of cocky and a magnet for trouble, but I consider him a friend.   When I was at the academy he looked out for me when I felt completely lost and alone away from the orphanage. "

    "He makes fun of you a lot.  Not really mean-spirited things, but enough to really get on my nerves.  He really does respect you, though. "

    "I doubt he makes fun of me behind my back in any way he does to my face, though.  Honestly, he is the one person that makes me actually feel like I blend in."  Kayla turned her head to look at him with a disapproving look.

    "You don''t blend in and never will, Milo.  You might as well embrace it.  Most unhappy people out there are people who just won''t come to terms with who they are and live accordingly."

    "I have pretty much come to terms with it.  That doesn''t mean the discomfort ever disappears."  A computerized voice came over the sound system of the cockpit.

    "Preparing for low-pressure afterburners, prepare for acceleration."

    "I''m serious, though, Milo.  You do want to think over this carefully.  We can just tell Clyde it''s going to be much riskier than we envisioned if you don''t want to go through with it."

    All of the sudden a thought occurred to Milo.  "Kayla!  I have figured out where I have heard that name before!"

    "What name are you talking about?" Kayla asked.

    "The name of that guy that Visler mentioned that was the captain of the Morian. I know where I''ve heard it before. Wally Gold.  He was an associate pastor under Father Toliver''s !  Last I heard he moved to take over a parrish the Church of Saint Vernon on one of the Earth sector planets!"

    "That pastor that said Saint Vernon was the greatest peacemaker since the end of the terrestrial age?" Kayla said scornfully.

    "He''s really quite a great man.  He''ll talk to me, since he trusts me.  He seems to know people in the illegal outworld parishes."

    "I guess we''d better get used to talking with outlaws and rogues and rebels for our mission" Kayla said heaving a sigh.

    Their conversation ended and Milo picked up his tablet to read a science article he downloaded.

    According to Elven technologists, the intellichines are a class of machines with mental capabilities indistinguishable from those of intelligent life.  The intellichines possess the remarkable speed and processing abilities of computers while also possessing what is commonly referred to as conscious thought and reasoning of intelligent life.  The technology to create intellichines is perhaps the most coveted secret of the grays that has yet to be cracked by either humans or elves.  Attempts to understand the inner working of intellichines have proved futile and utterly befuddling so far.  The elves replicated their software verbatim and their hardware down to almost the atomic level, but the result is a machine capable of very little.

    The most infamous of these intellichines was Zardin, which actually became a part of the royal armada''s honorary admitals. Zardin himself has claimed that he does not know the secret to creating intellichines, but some do not believe him and think he is programmed to protect the secrets of the scientific and technological secrets of the grays.

    During the Human-Elf war, Zardin disappeared without a trace.  Not long after the war ended, his body was found with the motherboard taken.  To this day it is not known if Zardin has been rebuilt or if his motherboard is still out there.

 The Kepler Bunker

    Alan Torick pushed the button on the panel of the carrier to confirm his destination and the carrier turned. The round, golden-tan body of the moon Kepler became bigger as Eizen became smaller at the rear.

    "All clear" Alan said.  "Sorry for the precautions, but you just don''t know who might be following us.  Don''t want to try and explain why we''re going where we''re going."

    "You got an update on Snedecor?" Roman asked.

    "Nothing at all so far.  But Bohr is getting ready to send Agent Greene and Agent Rall undercover into outworld to see if they can glean any clues."

    "Bohr is sending Milo and Kayla out here to for that mission? "

    "I was as surprised as you.  Honestly, I think he doesn''t trust Alamore and wants to have some of his people in the field and not someone with strings going to the president''s office or the intelligence committee."

    "Do you think that Bohr knows something about this that he isn''t telling us?"  Alan looked over at Roman for a brief moment then looked back out the window.

    "What would make you think that?" Alan asked seeming surprised by the question.

    "He''s here, Alan. This situation may be a lot bigger than we were told."

    "Who is out here, Roman?"

    "Azari Yuler."  Alan looked at Roman in a look of disbelief.

    "How do you know?"

    "Unless there''s another bald elf guy that was able to get near the military base without being detected and was able to shut off my rover''s engine and radio, it was him.  He apparently knew I was CIA as well.  He wanted to know if I knew about any kind of artifacts or weapons that were on board the Morian."  Alan looked at Roman, seemingly trying to digest what he was saying.

    The carrier was now over the surface of the moon.  It entered a large and wide canyon.  From above the ice of the canyon floor looked more like dirt than ice.  After a few more minutes of flying over the surface, they came upon an area where the ice was removed with a few dozen sets of airlock doors on the ground.

    "Inbound ship, identify yourself" said a voice over the radio.

    "Agent Torick and Agent Darossa here to meet with director Bohr" Alan said.

    "Copy" said the voice without hesitation.  You are cleared to land in airlock #17."  An airlock on the far side of the landing area opened.  Alan hit a button and the carrier flew over to the open door, hovered over it, and descended straight down into it.  After the carrier landed inside, the airlock door closed overhead slowly.  For a brief moment the airlock got very dark before the lights came on.  A loud, hissing noise filled the room as the room was being pressurized.  After about 20 seconds of the cacophonous noise, the green pressure light on the console came on and the hatch of the carrier opened.

    Roman and Alan opened the door to a narrow hallway and were surprised at the familiar-looking face of the person standing right outside the door.

    "Agent Darossa, Agent Torick, it is nice to meet you" said a muscular, gray-haired man in his early 50s. "Director Bohr couldn''t be here today, but I''m here to entertain you."

    "Governor Larrett" Alan said.  "It''s nice to meet you." He said grabbing his hand and giving it a light shake.

    "Likewise" Lance said.  "If you gentlemen don''t mind I''d like us to go straight down to the bunker so we can chat."  Lance started to walk down the hallway but Roman, not moving interrupted him.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Respectfully, sir" Roman said. "We came here because we needed to speak to Bohr.  If he isn''t here there is no point for us to be here."

    "Oh, I have an entangled line to the director." Lance said.  "I wouldn''t have the both of you come all the way over here just to give me a briefing." He immediately began walking down the long corridor past the doors to other airlocks.  At the end of the hallway they went into a large area that seemed to more resemble a chamber than a room that very large medal sliding doors.  Lance hit a button next to the doors that revealed a large cargo elevator.  They all got into the elevator and the doors closed.  Lance placed a keycard into the elevator.  The elevator began descending slowly downward.

    "Just so we''re clear, the portion of this base we''re about to visit doesn''t exist." Lance said.

    "Doesn''t exist to whom?" Alan asked.

    "Pretty much anyone who doesn''t need to know, including royal marshalls and intelligence." Lance said glibly.  After about another 30 seconds the elevator came to a stop and the door opened.   The door revealed a room that was surprisingly quite capacious.  Lance led them through the room into a corridor on the far side.  There were not many people working inside the area and the place seemed very dead.

    At the end of the hallway was a door with a sign that read "Authorized High-Command Personnel Only".  Lance used his keycard to open the door.  Inside were several large viewing screens and a table.  They sat down and Lance took from his pocket a small, red cartridge.  He plugged the cartridge into a part of the speaker system and turned it on.

    "Director Bohr" he said after he had powered the machine on.  "Are you there?"  There was a brief moment of static.

    "I can hear you, Lance."

    "Director" Lance said, "your voice is coming in distorted this time.  If you wouldn''t mind telling me what your least favorite hole is on the Tiger Valley Golf Park?"

    "Hole number 21 on the front nine" Bohr answered.  "Are Alan and Roman there?"

    "Yes, they are both here."

    "Good.   We don''t have a whole lot of time, so I''ll be brief.  The Elven sector commander Tal Roggle  is preparing for raids on eleven rebel and Saint Vernon strongholds tomorrow. I''ve been trying to get some answers, but I can''t get anyone in royal intelligence to talk to me.  Did you glean anything useful from Galileo''s beta base, Roman?"

    "No sir." Roman said.  "Just that they and all other outworld forces have been told to remain on high alert with no explanation until further notice.  They have apparently not gotten any other instructions.  Why is Tal being so rash?"

    "The most likely explanation here is that these rebel and church groups want to start a war of independence for outworld and royal intelligence has discovered they have a dangerous weapon" Alan opined.

    "If they go through with these raids the end result could be the same" retorted Roman.

    "Director" Lance cut in, "maybe if I had a chance to speak with Commander -"

    "Won''t do any good at this point, Lance" Bohr interrupted.   "This new sector commander seems determined to make a mark and nothing is going to convince him to hold back."

    "So what can we do?" Alan asked.  "We don''t know where any of these bases are."

    "We know the location of one of the bases being raided¡­it''s a pretty major one on the planet of Aquarius.  We can''t stop the raids, but we can try and figure out what it is that they''re after."

    "Ronald, if I may say so do you not think you''re getting just a little bit reckless?  You''re sending two analysts with no field experience to get clues about Matt Snedecor''s whereabouts and you''re going to send Roman to a rebel fort and tip off the elves that you''re spying on them."

    "I will do what I must, Alan" Bohr replied.

    "We are not wanted there, Ronald.  Are we to spy on the individuals who are the landlords of all the outworld people as if they are adversaries?"

    "This agency represents the interests of the Union and the people of outworld, not the princess" Bohr said firmly.  "We keep tabs on both allies and enemies as the agency has always done going back to the terrestrial age with the understanding that today''s ally can be tomorrow''s enemy."  Alan said nothing in the silence of the next few seconds.

    "Now Roman, do you think you can handle this?" Bohr asked.

    "I''ll do it, sir.  But I won''t be able to rendezvous with Milo and Kayla."

    "They will be all right in your absence, Roman.  I have a strong feeling that those two have made more headway in finding Snedecor than we have."

    "Lance" Bohr said immediately changing the course of the conversation, "what do you make of this?"

    "I was caught completely off guard and know nothing about this, Ronald.  There is not much I can do to soften this blow.   I could condemn the raids, but that probably won''t help much and could be costly."

    "All right.  Well, we will meet later to discuss this. Roman, get to Aquarius as quickly as you can.  Alan, you can go ahead and return back to headquarters tomorrow.  I have to be going now." And after that Bohr said nothing more and the connection was terminated.  The men exited the room and headed back down toward the room with the elevator.

 Return of the Fire Flower

    Turraski pushed opened the big and heavy door to the war room with relative ease on the power of his long, massive arm.  Another reptilian with light-green skin and a tall but not nearly as strong followed him inside.  A group of eagerly-waiting lizards watched as the two lizards took their seats on opposite ends of the table.  Turraksi took a look across the table with a big grin on his face.

    "Brothers" Turraski said in his deep and raspy voice.  "We are witness to a truly historic day.  Today, the Empire of the Reptilia is one step closer to becoming whole again.  Joining us here is Strigwire, the acting chief of the long lost Fireflower Clan.  They have completed their long journey from the far side of the galaxy to rejoin us after their long exile. "

    "We are all ecstatic to finally see the home world of Trygoth we have only heard about in legends passed down from generatons within the Fireflower clan."  Strigwire talked noticeably more slowly and softly than Turraski and most reptilia did.

    "So how many vessels have you managed to get over here?" Turraski asked.

    "We have a few dozen dreadnaughts, thirty or so destroyers, six cruisers, and several hundred bulk transports."  Turraski chuckled.

    "Is that all?" Turraski sneered." I would think a clan that has taken pride on being equal to the Black Serpent in military might have more than that?"

    "Don''t be snide, Turraski" Strigwire scolded.   "What we are in possession of you can''t do without, especially if the elven fleet has grown as strong as you say it has."

    "Well then" Turraski groaned, "we''re eager to hear about this secret weapon that you have."

    "Don''t worry" Strigwire said softly. "You will get to be dazzled by it soon enough.  In the meantime, I need to know that you are willing and able to provide me with what you promised.  I will give you a fair warning, Turraski.  Double-crossing us could prove a lot more perilous against us than you probably even know."  Turraski let out something between a growl and a grumble, then after a brief moment his facial expression changed to neutral.

    "With the threats we face we cannot continue to fight all of the age-old conflicts of the clans" Turraski said.  "Zaladore was wise and has recognized the problems of the hominids, but he was too weak to confront the problem before it metastasized.  Even now the armada might be too powerful to stop."

    "Give us what we want and I will promise you a means to victory" Strigwire said confidently.

    "Great.  Then we will give you our trust for now.  What is it that we can do for you?"  Strigwire''s iguana-like reptialian eyes narrowed as he momentarily paused.

    "We must have Talisman of the Goddess, Turraski.  Do you have any idea of where it is?  Do the elves have it?"  Turraski''s face changed immediately to one of an almost amused look.

    "You''re telling me you have what we need to overpower the Armada of the Elven Kingdom and you want a piece of jewelry?" Turraski scoffed.  "If this is some kind of subterfuge I would advise you not go through with it.  Or do you really think it has some sort of power to commune with divine beings?"  Strigwire cast an acerbic scowl to Turraski.

    "Nothing that the grays make is frivolous, and they certainly don''t make anything as frivolous as personal adornments.  The most powerful devices the grays created are not weapons or energy cells, but artificial brilliance.  Call the goddess talisman a line of communication with the divine or call her a machine or whatever you want, but it has the power worth many fleets.  I would''ve thought the emperor of the clans would be wise enough to understand that."

    "Watch your mouth, Fireflower!" Turraski spat.  "I can have you and all of your henchmen sent right back to your own corner of the galaxy!"

    "And we can take our assets and leave you here completely at the mercy of the hominids.  Now tell me¡­do you know where the talisman is, or don''t you?" Strigwire was clearly more even-tempered than Turraski, but also had a sharp tongue.

    "I don''t know where it is" Turraski said curtly unable to conceal his temper.  "The Fireflower Chief possessed it when they were once a part of the Empire and I always assumed it left into exile with them."This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "It''s here somewhere in the corner of the galaxy.  We are sure of it.  Can you find it or not?"

    Turraski sat staring down at the table right in front of him with a scowl still on his face.  "We will do what we can to locate it.  Now, are you going to tell us about this secret weapon that you possess that will help us retake control of this part of the galaxy from the Elves?"  Strigiwire paused for a moment as if seeming suspicious.

    "Very well, I will explain it to you.  The batteries that we have on our warships, they aren''t like the weapons on any ship you or the hominids have.  They''re not standard argon plasma.  They are xenon plasma cannons.  They''re much hotter and more potent.  Most cold shells won''t offer much protection from them.  Not only that, but xenon plasma is hot enough to penetrate the atmospheres of most worlds and torch almost anything on the surface.  Essentially, you can carry out planetary bombardments with a small number of ships and not need to worry about replenishing your torpedoes."

    Turraski''s facial expression changed to that of befuddlement and disbelief.   "How is it that you have been able to create weaponry that the elves have tried for a long time to create?"

    "We didn''t exactly create it.  The xenon plasma cannons are powered by a special class of energy cell created by the grays.  It''s a little secret the Fire Flower and other Nal''Larak clans took with us on our exile."  Turraski stared for a moment at Strigiwre seeming to be in disbelief.

    "Impress me with a demonstration, Strigwire, and we will do whatever we can to find your precious  talisman."

    "We have an understanding then.  Now, what is it that you plan to do?"  There was a brief silence in the room before one reptilian sitting near Turraski''s end of the table spoke up.

    "Last we heard, Queen Adella had it" a smaller lizard with a shorter snout interrupted.  "There have been rumors that it was given away, though.  By now it might be around the neck of some wealthy humaness.  I feel like we can track it down."

    "Strigwire, this is Gyrod" Turraski said interrupting the lizard. "He is the chief of the Night Lizard Clan.  He is in charge of imperial intelligence.  If someone can find it his lot can."

    "It''s settled then" Strigwire said feeling quite satisfied. " Now, fill me in on what the situation is."

    "All right, then."  Turraski pushed a button and a large screen display was activated on the wall opposite of the window.  It was a large map of the corner of the galaxy.  The human sector was tinted in green ¨C the farthest from the galactic core - with Earth and the planet Magellan and Katharna marked.  In blue the elf sector was marked with the elven homeworld of Quildalar and the artificial biosphere of Adaforbus.   The Reptialian sector was shown in red with the planets Trygoth and the twin planets of Durgoff and Droyla.  The three sectors formed somewhat of a triangle and in the middle as a large area of space marked "outworld" with Eizen, Xanadu,  Zenithala, and Mulgrath marked.  On the border of outworld and the reptilian sector was a moon-shaped region labeled "Goddess'' Crescent".  Gyrod cleared his throat to speak.

    "The humans do not have many warships, but they have plenty of missile batteries around the outworld sector to prevent bombardments and blockades.  They will be most vulnerable to surface attacks with our hoplites."  Turraski grumbled.

    "We should just make a direct attack on the central world of Eizen" Turraski said forcefully.  "If we take that world out the economy of outworld will be devastated and we can strike a big blow to both the humans and the elves."

    "No" Gyrod said firmly.  "Eizen is entirely too well-defended.  We need to fight a war of attrition.  The hominids are hoping that we won''t have patience and will go straight for the kill."

    "What are you suggesting, then, Gyrod?" Turraski asked sounding as if he was trying to suppress annoyance.

    "We should start by clearing out the worlds in the Goddesses'' Crescent between outworld and our sector.  We will need to move quickly between those worlds and not give the human militias enough time to mobilize.  Take out all the military bases in that part of the sector."

    "How is that going to help us reduce the human blight on outworld?" Turraski asked impatiently.  "You don''t think the elves will make a large counterstrike on us?"

    "No, Turraski.  They do not want to show their hand to protect planets that do not matter as much to them, yet the humans do.  These crescent worlds contain military bases and some fringe mining guilds.  No major manufacturing here.  It''s the perfect strategy to drive a wedge between the humans and the elves."  Turraski had a sour look on his face.

    "I suppose you are right." Turraski said begrudgingly.  "We should be able to at least get the humans out of the crescent fairly easy."

    "Don''t underestimate the humans, Turraski" Strigwire interrupted.  "They have neither the cowardice nor the rationality of the elves.  That can make them hard to handle."

    "You do any fighting of humans over on your little end of the galaxy?" Turraski sneered.

    "No" Strigwire said "but I understand history.  It took the elves years to defeat them in war in spite of them having vastly superior firepower and resources.  They¡¯re dangerous."

    "The Fireflower is correct" Gyrod said.  "You can''t intimidate these human armies easily.  We will need to be careful and methodical and use the weakness of each of the two hominid races against them if this campaign is going to succeed."  Turraski felt a small surge of anger overcome him.  He didn''t like to be shown up by chief of an ecology clan.  He closed his eyes and let it pass.

    "It''s settled, then.  Strigwire, I am hoping you have as many hoplite warriors as you say you do.  We will begin mobilizing to push the humans back against the border.  Let''s get moving!"  Turraski got up from his seat and quickly pulled open the very heavy door to the war room.  All of the other lizards got up, not saying a word.

 The Aquarius Raid

    Through his telescope, Roman Darossa could see nothing but the snow-covered mountains overlooking the taiga-like landscape of the northlands of Aquarius.  He was fairly sure he was somewhere within the vicinity of the compound, but couldn''t see any ships or aircraft or any sign of them or the elven marshals despite having a pretty large field of vision on a short mountain he was on.  As the minutes of looking turned to hours, he was not far from deciding to give up when he saw it¡­a bipedal tank walking slowly that had to have been twenty feet high.  Luckily, it wasn''t on the far side of the lake.  He started jogging briskly to the southwest where the tank was.  When he got down from the small mountain, he could no longer see it.  He would have to rely on his extrapolation of where to go to cut off the tank.  Roman figured he had run for just over a mile when he once again saw the tank and the elves, and noticed that they''d stopped.  There were about 20 or 30 marshals, and with them was the one elf he recognized as Azari Yuler, who grabbed a microphone from the leg of the tank.  They were at the side of a large cliff side that had been hollowed out.

    "Attention, humans" Yuler said over the loudspeaker on the tank "we know that you are here.  Come out with your hands on your heads, and no one will get hurt."  Roman moved closer so that he could see more what was in front of the tank.  It looked as if there was a hideout within the cliff that they were next to.  Was he too late?

    "What are you doing!" Roman said shouting to Azari.

    "Hands up in the air!" shouted one of the marshalls shouted at him as one or two other marshalls turned to point their guns at him.

    "Stand down!"  Yuler shouted.  "This guy here is one of my new buddies."  The marshalls put their guns down and turned back to face the compound.  Azari walked over to where Roman was standing, with a look on his face that seemed more amused than angry.

    "Does your commanding officer know that you''re out here by yourself, private?" Yuler chuckled.

    "You''re making a big mistake." Roman said ignoring the comment.  "You''re not going to find anything here."

    "Oh, so now you are going to tell me that you know things" Yuler remarked.   Their conversation was interrupted by an impact against the tank, which nearly caused it to have to shift its standing position to avoid falling over.

    "Plasma batteries!" Yuler shouted.  "Take cover and open fire!"  The marshalls all ran for whatever cover they could find and started firing back.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Yuler!" Roman shouted.  "Don''t you think you should call for backup!?"

    He didn''t answer, but ran straight ahead into the front entrance of the compound as if knowing he wouldn''t be hit.  Without even hesitating to think, Roman run as fast as he could while keeping his body as low as he could, knowing he wanted to keep up with him.  Roman drew his gun and went inside.  He ran along the walls quickly in the dark and empty antechamber inside and found a staircase and made his way up the upper level .  He could hear Yuler shouting at whoever he was talking to.  Roman made his way through the dimly lit hallway with rock walls to the room where the noise was coming from.

    "What do you know about this guy?!" was the first words he could make out.   Roman walked into the room and Yuler noticed he was there, but said nothing.  The guy was tan-skinned, bald, and laying on the ground.  It looked like Yuler had buzzed him the same way he himself was buzzed, and he was bleeding on his leg.

    "He told me he had a rare weapon he could trade for some kind of artifact I had" the man said seeming short of breath.  Roman noticed that he was apparently shot in the leg.   "But he told me that I didn''t have the right artifact."  One of the marshalls ran into the room.

    "Azari" the marshall said, "we''ve taken out all the plasma batteries."

    "Good" Yuler said.   "Contact the crew of the ship we''re going to be bringing back our new friends here and their weapons and artifacts."  The marshall turned around and left.

    "What was this guy''s name and what was he looking for?" Yuler said as Roman began disinfecting and sealing the wound.

    "He never gave me his name.  He just said he''s part of an order serving a power higher than the Union or the kingdom. One of the guys working for him was bragging about visiting secret gray bases on Zenithala or something.  He told me nothing about the artifact he was looking for other than it was a one-of-a-king thing."  Roman finished sealing the wound.

    "A mistake, you say?" Yuler said to Roman walking past him out of the room.  Roman walked over to where the guy was laying.  Sweat was popping out on his forehead and face.

    "I''m with the CIA" Roman said in a low voice.

    "Can you help me?" the guy asked trying to stand up one time but failing.

    "Perhaps" Roman said intentionally equivocating.  "Can you tell me what these elves are after?"

    "I don''t know, man.  I think they''re just here to take all of our things.  If we''ve got anything really valuable or powerful here I don''t know anything about it."

    "So you don''t know anything about whether or not a particular artifact was taken from the Morian wreckage?"

    "Nobody seems to"  the guy said softly swallowing hard.  "You''re not really going to help me, are you?  That figures.  The CIA is just another head of the royal hydra these days."

    "If I had the time and the permission I would completely shoot down that ridiculous notion" Roman scolded him.  "If I were you I''d just tell Azari and the marshals the entire truth and everything you know.  They aren''t going to do any more to you than they have to."  Roman put his gun back in the lower-right pocket of his shirt and left the room, wanting to get out quickly before the elves ship arrived.

 Father Paul

    Kayla and Milo reached Paul Toliver''s study pretty quickly once they made it to the church building.  He was a pretty busy man, but was happy to make time to speak with Milo.

    "Hello Milo, Come on inside" Paul said greeting him at his door. Milo and Kayla walked inside of the door into a spacious office that looked like something from the distant past.  The entire perimeter of the office was lined with shelves of paper books, and the large desk in the middle was made of finished wood.  Milo had not seen one of those in quite a while.  Behind his desk was a large portrait of a middle-aged black man with glasses that Milo recognized as Saint Vernon.  Milo noticed Kayla eyeing the portrait for a couple of seconds, probably not happy to see his picture in a context of veneration. The tablet computer on the desk was the only sign of modernity in the office.  Milo introduced Kayla to Paul and he and Kayla sat down in chairs on the front of his desk.

    "We just have a few questions to ask you, Paul.  Of course I think you understand, but I need to remind you that you need to keep what we are talking about here completely confidential.

    "Of course" Paul said nodding his head.

    "Great." Milo replied.  "I want to know if you know anything about the Morian mining guild or about Wally Gold."

    Paul said nothing for a moment, giving an expression showing hesitancy rather than thought.  "I know some things, Milo, but I will need assurance from you that this won''t get out to anyone in the royal forces or the outworld authorities.  Worshipping anywhere in outworld is not only illegal but frankly dangerous, and the way things are now I''m not sure banishment from the sector isn''t the worst thing that can happen."

    Milo noticed Kayla taking a deep breath next to him.  She looked to be using a lot of effort to keep her mouth shut.  "Not only can I promise you that, father, but I couldn''t promise you otherwise.  We are not to out ourselves to anyone.  We''re not going over there to track church parishes or rebel groups."

    ''"Wally left for outworld a couple of years ago.  I tried to talk him out of it, but he seemed very sure of what he wanted to do."

    "Correction" Kayla piped in.  "He was over there."  Paul looked at him with a surprised look on his face.

    "You''ve heard about that fire on the Morian frigate as it was returning from Marzala?  He died on it.  I''m sorry."   Paul nodded his head.

    "I''m sad to hear that.  It is a real loss as he was a great ambassador of the church.  He was much too adventurous for his own good."

    "What do you know about his parish and the guild?" Milo asked.  Paul took a deep breath.

    "The Morian mining guild is a front for the outworld parish of the Church of Saint Vernon, as I think you suspect.  And it isn''t just a mining guild.  They''ve got farms on the archipelagos of the planet Verde, which has the most fertile farming soils in the known galaxy.   They never got a permit for it, and I don''t see how it was never shut down."

    "What do you know about Matthew Snedecor?" Milo asked.

    "Not much" Paul said.  I did go over there for a visit about a year ago and I met him.  Nothing really stands out to me about him. He just seems like another young soul trying to figure out who he is.  Wally let him join the guild hoping to bring him into the church, but I don''t think he was ever interested."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Is there anyone over there you know that will talk to us?" Milo asked.

    "If I were you I would talk to a man by the name of Bart Broyles.  He helps handle the parish''s money and helps them with goods that need to¡­move about the sector without detection.  I know him fairly well."

    "Do you think Broyles will talk to us?" Milo inquired.

    "Probably not" Paul said without hesitation.  "He will deny having any involvement with the outworld parish.  It would probably be a waste of time.  I wish I had more information for you."

    "Do you think you could vouch for us?" Milo asked.  Paul sat for a moment silently pondering what he was being asked.

    "Why exactly are you looking for Snedecor?"

    "We have to-"

    "We cannot share that information with you, sorry." Kayla cutting Milo off.  "We can really only tell you what you need to know to help us out."

    "Can I have your word then, that you aren''t going to be handing over any church parishes to outworld authorities?" Paul asked.

    "We will do what we need to do to complete our mission, even if it harms the illegal religious activities" Kayla answered.

    "I can tell that you don''t think very much of the church, do you?" Paul asked turning his attention to Kayla.

    "I don''t think it''s too much to ask to keep your activities in places where they are legal just to keep the peace.  There are already enough problems maintaining peace in outworld as it is."

    "The church is about peace and understanding.  All we want is for them to not fear us and respect the dignity of the outworld members of the Chuch of Saint Vernon."

    "You''re trying to claim peace as a tenet of your church when your denomination''s founder is responsible for the human-elf war?" Kayla snarled.

    "Young lady" Paul answered, "if you would take the time to learn the real history of the pre-war period you''d see it wasn''t the church that wanted war.  I understand that people like you might think the kingdom is the paragon of civilization but they are cold pragmatists and utilitarian to the core."

    "What do you mean by ''people like me''?  You don''t have any idea what my opinion of the elves and the kingdom is!" Kayla said now returning to her argumentative tone.

    "Don''t worry about it, Kayla." Milo interjected.  "Paul, I can promise you we have any intention to bring any harm to any church members anywhere.  Can you get Broyles to open up to us?"

    "I would just tell him that I sent you.  That might help your chances.  He''s a guy that might be doing more illegal things in outworld than just about anyone, and he''s going to be pretty cautious about letting strangers come to him."

    "Do you know where he lives?" Milo asked.

    "In the temperate regions of Xanadu in a place called Worzac Town.   It''s a place where you have a lot of retirees."

    "How recently do you know for certain he lives there?" Milo asked.

    "A while, but he might still be there.  Worzac Town is a wealthy residential area exempt from paying royalties to the kingdom."

    "Well, thank you Paul" Milo said trying to preempt any further argument or prying from Kayla.  Paul shook hands with both Milo and Kayla and they left.  Kayla was silent as the left the church.

    As they were driving back to headquarters, Milo broke the silence with the remark Kayla knew was probably inevitable.  "Just what''s your issue with religious people, anyways?"

    "Not religious people, Milo.  Just religion itself."

    "You think all that is observable has an explanation grounded in physical laws?  What''s the harm in believing in a limited, benevolent force beyond the laws of nature?"

    "Nothing, but gods don''t work like that in any religion.  And they always tend to have the prejudices and ideological aims as their prophets."

    "If you''re going to have an ideological aim at least have one of peace like the Church of Saint Vernon."

    "Well, they should keep their preaching of peace to places where it''s welcome, and not in outworld" Kayla remarked as they climbed into his car.  Neither said anything for about the next minute or so.

    "Victor is getting deployed" Kayla finally stated.

    "He''ll be all right" Milo said not knowing what else to say.   Kayla was quiet the rest of the way back to her house and he said nothing, leaving her with her thoughts.

 The Frozen Gray

    The door to the lift of the command deck opened and Geerhil Golmad stepped out of it to greet  the tall, handsome elf in front of him.

    "Commander" Golmad said extending his hand for a shake.  "I''m eager to find out what it is you have uncovered on your little scavenger hunt."

    "There are plenty of weapons, some quasi-infinite energy cells, but nothing really destructive as far as weaponry."

    "No trace of the radiation-emitting devices, either?"

    "None" Golmad said stolidly.

    "You don''t seem overly concerned.  Did you not make sure you knew where the most dangerous artifacts were before going forward with your little operation?  The princess is not going to be pleased you kicked a bee hive and returned with no honey."

    "Let them swarm" the commander said scornfully.  "They don''t have any more stingers now."

    "That won''t last very long, Commander Roggle, especially if you''ve created more sympathizers for the outworld rebels, which I imagine you have."

    "And that is all the more reason to not relent and continue an aggressive approach to dealing with the humans.  We can keep them under control now that the gloves are off and there is nothing else to lose politically."

    "You really seem to have quite a narrow view of things, Roggle.  There are worse things that can happen besides losing an election."

    "And playing nice with these humans has done nothing but embolden them.  They need to know that they need us and that we have the upper hand.  I was chosen for this job because I-"

    "Save your rationalizations for someone else, commander" Golmad said cutting him off.  "If you did not recover any weapons, what did you need me here for?"

    "I''ve got a special guest I want you to meet.  Come with me" Roggle said motioning Golmad to follow him.  Golmad walked across the command deck to the door right across from captain''s quarters and opened the door.  Inside was a large, silver, cylindrical column that went up to the ceiling with a control panel and lights at the bottom near the floor.  On the front of the cylinder was a sign reading "Caution: Keep Well Insulated".

    "A cryogenic freezing chamber?" Golmad said surprised.  "Who is in it?"

    "When we went through the computers of the rebel hideouts, we found some information about a possible major base of operations on the world of Zenithala" Roggle said pushing a button on the cylinder.  The silver-colored exterior of the column separated in the middle, telescoping upward and downward revealing a transparent cylinder underneath.  A gray could clearly be seen in the colorless, cold fluid.  He had one forearm that was black and thicker than the other one.

    "That''s Baycorf"  Golmad said sounding quite surprised to see him in the chamber.  "What were you planning on doing with him?" he asked Roggle, his eyes narrowing.

    "He knows the world of Zenithala better than any living individual.  We can have him lead us to this base and offer him his freedom in return.  I need to know if you or any of your men can disable his bionic systems to make him less dangerous."  Golmad walked up to transparent surface to take a closer look at Baycorf.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "There is a good reason this gray is cryogenically frozen.  You''re going to release him to go on a fishing expedition to Zenithala?"

    "Save your judgements on my actions for someone else, Geer.  Can you disable his bionic systems or not?" Roggle asked not seeming the least bit interested in Golmad''s admonishment.

    "I could disable at least some of them, but there''s no guarantee you could disable every trick he has under his sleeves.  He is extremely crafty and elusive."

    "Well, then, I think we can at least have a brief chat with him?" Roggle hitting a few buttons on the control panel.  A loud, hissing sound could heard from the top of the chamber as thick, white fumes starting coming out of the top as the fluid in the chamber drained.  The last bit of fluid drained from the chamber, and the room was noticeably colder.  Roggle opened up a small compartment on the side of the chamber and pulled a lever inside.  The transparent walls of the chamber opened, exposing the gray''s body to the outside.  After a moment, the gray''s body made slight movements and the control panel indicated vital signs were on.

    "Where am I" said a soft, high-pitched voice through a microphone on the inside.

    "Do you know who you are?" Golmad asked being sure to enunciate as best as he possibly could.

    "I am known as Baycorf to the hominids" the gray said.  "Who are you and where are we?"

    "You are at the place of your rebirth and we are the elves that are going to give you your life back" Roggle said back to him.  The gray stared both at Golmad and Roggle with his large, black eyes.

    "I suppose you''re going to want me to do something for you" the gray said.

    "Of course" Roggle said in a stern tone.  "We don''t owe anything to you.  You owe a debt to us, which I am offering to absolve."

    "I owe no debt to you.  I have done nothing wrong but spreading wisdom to those that will accept it" the gray said.

    "You undermine relations between humans and elves" Roggle said quickly.  "You spread dangerous ideas to impressionable and gullible humans."

    "You elves do not understand peace" the gray answered back.  "You think peace is a one-way relationship of a potentate and a subject, not of understanding."

    "Let me explain something to you about ''understanding'', gray.  Understanding is not possible with a species whose rationality is limited.  Your ideas about peace are as idealistic as those of the human church.  Now here is the deal" Roggle said changing back to a soft tone.   "There is a human rebel hideout on the world of Zenithala that is hiding a very dangerous weapon.  If you lead us to it you can go free."  The gray said nothing for several seconds.

    "I cannot promise you that once I am set free that I will act in a way that you approve of" Baycorf said looking at straight at him with his big, black, glistening eyes.  Roggle smiled at him.

    "So you can show us the way to this hideout" Roggle said seeming delighted to hear those words.  The gray continued to look straight into Roggle''s eyes with a piercing stare, as if being able to look inward to all of Roggle''s thoughts.

    "Very well, but I cannot guarantee your safety from the defenses of the stations you want to visit.  The human hideouts on Zenithala  are more well defended than any of the other rebel installations in outworld."  A big grin overtook Roggle''s face.

    "That''s exactly what I wanted to hear" Roggle said delightfully. "See Golmad, this could work out after all!"  Geer turned to look at the gray and motioned for Roggle to accompany him outside the room.  "We will come back in a moment to release you" Roggle told Baycorf.

    "You are playing with fire, commander" Golmad said to Roggle back on the main room of the command deck.  "I certainly hope that you know what you''re doing."

    "Don''t worry" Roggle said.  "When I am done it won''t matter what happens in the silly election."  Golmad glared at him, seemingly not able to decide whether or not to rebuke him.

    "I will help you deactivate his bionic implants" Golmad said.  "But whether this works or it blows up in your face, you own it.  Move him to the engineering vessel in half an hour, I''ll have the crew over there ready."

    "Thank you, minister" Roggle said in a manner that only sounded half sincere.  Golmad walked back to the lift and said nothing else.

 The Dream

    The ride to Xanadu was rather uneventful.  Clyde seemed preoccupied with something, and Kayla seemed on edge about sneaking him aboard their carrier.  Milo took his tablet and opened to the introduction of The Legend and Tragedy of Aura Madeen and began to read.

    From my studies of the human-elf war, there are four primary figures influencing the course of events which led to the most catastrophic war in the known history of the galaxy.  The first is of course Queen Tarissa, the stubborn, undiplomatic queen of the elven kingdom.  The second is of course, the charismatic and perhaps too-intrepid-for-his-own-good Carlton Carver, known by modern Christians as Saint Vernon.  The third would be the feckless president Henry Alamore.  The last is the cunning Elven Grand Admiral Agorja, who may have never met a human that he trusted.  The four personalities mostly created the explosive cocktail that led to the downward spiral which culminated in a terrible conflict which wounded the hominid sector of the Milky Way.

    The secondary characters of the tale of the war are numerous, but an argument could be made the greatest of these figures was Aura Madeen.  To understand Madeen''s background, one must understand the system matrilineal succession within the Elven Royal Family.  Centuries ago the elves devised a system to keep the royal bloodline in power while preventing inbreeding with the royal family.  The active princess will choose several suitors with which to sire children.  The general polyamorous nature of elves plus a culture that does not have a stigma on marital infidelity made it possible.  These children are known as royal sprouts, and the next princess is chosen from among them.

    Aura, along with Queen Tarissa, was one of the four sprout daughters birthed by Queen Lenina.  Aura Madeen''s biological father, however, remains a mystery to this day.  Aura''s somewhat darkly-tinted hair, unusual height (five feet and nine inches tall, on the tall side for even a male elf), unusually adroit musical ability, and jawbone led to rumors that she was half human.  These rumors would nag her for her entire life as Lenina would refuse to disclose the identity of the siring male (as was and continues to be the right of the sitting princess or queen) and both she and Aura would obstinately refuse to make any information about Aura''s DNA public.

    Madeen remained in the public eye for much of her life, which surely brought about resentment from her half-brother and half-sister sprouts as well as making many elves uneasy at the prospect of human DNA with all of its real and perceived foibles and faults entering the royal gene pool.  She was also beloved by many, with her versatile abilities considered a triumph of the selective breeding process within the royal family.

    It is generally accepted (with a fair bit of experimental data to back it up) that pheromone incompatibility has strongly curtailed interbreeding between humans and elves, yet there is a rare quantity of elfesses  who do seem to not mind or prefer the intimate company of human males.  Queen Lenina''s lack of an elf husband or primary suitor and rumored relationship with a captain in the fleet of the human union led many to believe she was among them and that Aura, being the sprout of a genuine lover, was favored by the queen.

    One evening, an assassination attempt was made on Aura as rumors were growing that Lenina was grooming Aura to be the next princess.  Convinced that individuals within the Royal Star Fleet or elven intelligence were behind the assassination attempt, Lenina sent Aura into hiding in a monastery on the human sector world of Katharna.  Little did Lenina know that Aura would later go on to considered even more dangerous.  When Aura arrived at Katharna, she met Carlton Carver whose church denomination that would become the Church Saint Vernon at the time was really beginning to grow in size and was influential in leading the charge for independent governance of the Earth sector expansion worlds.

    Not only did she go on to become a key figure fighting for independence for the Earth sector, but it was also strongly expected she had established a relationship with Grithmeer, the famed gray technologist and scientist.  She had a personal carrier with a very advanced spacetime phonon generator that allowed her to evade capture for years including the duration of the war.  Madeen died on the barren world of Marzala in a standoff with royal forces after refusing to be taken into custody.

    Somewhere within reading the book Milo lost his focus and blacked out and when he came to he found himself on a barren landscape covered in rocks and dirt.  It was like a dream, but he had full possession of his memories and faculties and knew he was not where he was supposed to be.  The landscape looked to be uniform and barren other than a single large and particularly lush tree lit by a pillar of light coming through the cloudy sky.   Milo looked around.  There was nothing as far as he could see in any direction.  He began walking towards the hooded figure, not knowing what else to do.  As he got closer, he could see the figure was a bald, middle-aged man wearing a white robe.

    "Milo Greene is it?" the man said in a deep voice.

    "Yes, who are you?" Milo said still having an overwhelming feeling of confusion.

    "I am the one who''s going to show you show you your extraordinary niche in the universe.  I have waited for this moment for quite a long time."

    "Who are you?"  Milo repeated.  The man paused for a moment.

    "You need not know anything about me at the moment.  Right now I need to earn some credibility and trust from you, so I''m going to give you some valuable information.  I know where you can get a lead on the young man you are looking for."  Milo still was just standing there dumbfounded, unsure of what to think.

    "When you visit the Haremshire Pavilion as I feel sure you will, you will find a man wearing a dark green tuxedo vest.  Ask him ''where does the dove''s night flight end?''  I feel sure you will get better information than you can from anyone else."

    "Just tell me who you are, please." Milo said.

    At that moment he awoke and found himself back in the familiar seat of the personal carrier.

    "He''s awake" Milo heard Clyde say.  Kayla turned and looked at him.

    "I snooped at your tablet, Milo" Kayla said.  "I had to figure out what kind of reading there was that could put even you to sleep.  I didn''t know you were into those ghost stories."

    "Didn''t Visler say the captain of the Morian was searching for the ghost of Aura Madeen?" Milo asked.

    "Yeah, he''s superstitious" said Kayla brusquely, dismissing any importance of the idea.

    "Or he''s just looking for Aura''s treasure." Clyde piped in.

    "Treasure?" Kayla said incredulously.

    "Yes, a treasure" Clyde said seeming surprised she had not heard of it.  "Every panhandler in outworld knows about that legend.  It''s said she hid some kind of treasure ¨C maybe a lot of bullion or some rare gray artifacts from royal forces at the end of the war.   It''s said her ghost will await anyone she deems worthy of taking it.  A lot of people venture over there just looking for an apparition of her."

    "You hear any rumors about the Morian while you were out here, Clyde?" Milo asked.

    "Not really, but I wasn''t out here for very long because I had to pack up and leave."  As they were talking, the planet Xanadu came into view.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "It even looks beautiful from space" Kayla said as they came within view of Xanadu.  The oceans appeared in a dark blue with tanish-green splotches where the land was.  It had a certain sheen to it that many worlds did not.  As the carrier entered the atmosphere, it was not long before they could see the vast blue ocean beneath them.  After another moment, they could see that they were above solid ground.  Clyde opened up a compartment inside the flight deck and removed a pack from it.

    "Kayla, open the hatch" Clyde said.  "It''s too risky for me to enter the resort''s spaceport."

    "I told you, Clyde, we''re completely undercover.  You should be fine" Kayla said.

    "It may not be risky for you, but it is for me.  Open the hatch."

    "Clyde, don''t you think we''re a bit too high for you to jump!"

    "Just do it, Kayla, please!" Clyde snapped.    Kayla pushed the button for the pressure equalization.  When the light on the control panel came on, she pulled the lever and opened up the hatch.

    "We will meet again before long, thank you so much!"  And Clyde jumped out the open hatch and his body disappeared from view below them.  It took several more minutes before the spaceport was in sight.  The Xanadu resort and spaceport was quite a magnificent and opulent-looking complex.  The resort area had a large tanning and swimming dome atop it and had a bright white sheen that in the sunlight almost reflected enough light to force to squint.

    "Unidentified personal carrier, identify yourself" said a voice of the radio.

    "Reservation for Chris and Melinda Cabral" Milo said into the microphone.  There was a silence.

    "Okay, welcome to Xanadu Resort!" said the voice.  You may relinquish control of your carrier to the tower.  Milo hit the button on his console.  The carrier landed in one of the spaces nearest the entrance to the resort.  The agency had apparently spared no expense in their accommodations.

    They were greeted by a man dressed in a fancy but overly-warm looking outfit.  "Mr. and Mrs. Cabral, I will take your luggage to your room.  Welcome.  Please go to the lobby to check in.  Milo thanked him and they went inside.   It was a very impressive building with gorgeous d¨¦cor.  The carpet was made of a very advanced and expensive material that felt like walking on a cloud.

    As they approached the desk, Milo noticed that there was an elf and elfess at the desk.  It seemed a bit unusual to see elves working mundane jobs within human outworld society.

    "Reservation for Cabral" Milo said as he approached the desk.  The elfess entered his name into the screen.

    "Okay, we don''t have a recent red blood cell count for either of you on record, so we will need to take it" the elfess said.

    "Why weren''t we told of this before-hand?" Kayla asked trying to sound as polite as possible.

    "Sorry" the elfess said.  "New policy, effective immediately.  Please wait in that room over there."  Milo and Kayla walked into what was a small room with a  few chairs.  After sitting for a minute, an elf with a lab coat walked into the room.

    "Sorry for the inconvenience" the elf said.  "If your red blood cell count is too low you will need to take a serum to be safe."  The elf took a small, hand-held device out of his pocket.  "Give me your finger, ma''am" The elf said.  Kayla held out her hand was she was told.  The device pricked her finger.  "All right, you''re good" said the elf sterilizing the prick on her finger and ejecting the needle.  Okay sir, now give me your finger.  Milo held out his finger as it got pricked.  Milo fully expected his count was fine¡­he like Kayla was in good physical condition.  Unlike with Kayla, though, the elf stood for about ten seconds looking the small display.

    "Too low?" Milo asked.  The elf looked at Milo as if he was surprised that Milo would speak.

    "You should be fine" the elf said ejecting the needle and placing both needles in a waste bag.  The elf then left the room.  Milo and Kate walked back into the lobby and got their keycards for their rooms.  They got into the elevator and began their ascent to the 12<sup>th</sup> floor where their room was.  Outside of the glass of the elevator they could see the shoreline.  It was magnificent, like a brochure of an ocean front whose photograph had the colors enhanced.

    "Well, that was a bit strange" Kayla said while still clearly enjoying taking in the view.

    "That they took our blood or that there are elves here working for the place?"

    "The resort is run by elves, Milo." Kayla replied.  "I don''t think they''ll hire any humans to do much here other than cleaning.  I expected that.  I wasn''t expecting to get blood taken.  Why do you think they''re doing that?" Milo took his planetometer out of his bag and turned it on to look at it.

    GE Scout Planetometer V. 3.86

    Gravity: 0.87 g

    Humidity: 68%

    Toxicity: Below Detectable Levels

    Oxygen Partial Pressure: 0.44 atmospheres

    Ionizing Radiation: Normal Levels

    *The oxygen level is elevated.  Seek medical attention if you have dizziness or muscle twitching.  Your ability to perform aerobic activities will be enhanced here, and periodic exercise may lessen your risk.*

    The gravity, radiation, and toxicity indicators were all in green text on his screen, but the oxygen pressure was shown in yellow letters.  "The O2 pressure is a little elevated here" Milo said.  "A person with a low red cell count might get oxygen poisoning.  They could be checking for signs of cellular damage from radiation as well."  Kayla looked at him and narrowed her eyes, clearly suspicious.

    "We still need to be very careful here and watch our own backs.  That elf was clearly surprised at something looking at your blood sample and it wasn''t anything to do with your red blood cell count."  Milo really couldn''t disagree with that.   They continued walking down the hallways of the resort. Each room had a quaint, terrestrial-age door with a knob on it.  They reached their room and Milo inserted the key into the lock.  The door opened up revealing a spacious and beautiful suite inside.  It had a very large bed, an enormous television screen, a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, and a pretty sophisticated kitchen.  On the counter was a basket with an assortment of various extraterrestrial fruits.

    As they were looking around, there was a knock on the door.  Milo opened the door and standing there was a man in a bellhop''s uniform.  "Mr. Cabral, I just wanted to make sure you know that we are here.  I''m eager to get to meet and talk with you more at the conference. Congratulations on your marriage.  Here''s my card."   Milo took the card and closed the door.  Milo looked at the card.   It wasn''t a business card.   Milo looked at the blue font printed on the card.

    Won''t be able to rendezvous with either of you.  On assignment. Keep an ear out for me, though Good luck!  ¨CRD

    "Who was that?" Kayla asked with a genuine expression of concern on her face.

    "It''s a message from Roman" Milo said.  "It says he''s not going to be able to meet with us."

    Milo looked over at Kayla, surprised to not hear her express any frustration or exasperation, but instead he met her eyes looking at him in a strange way, in a fashion she had never before.

    "What?" Milo asked.    Kayla walked over to get close to him

    "This look really looks good on you, Milo" Kayla said grabbing a piece of the seemingly-supernaturally soft, precision-polymerized carbylon between her fingers and sliding it down.  "I can see why they think this is the most romantic place in the known galaxy" she said.   Milo''s heart began to accelerate and his mind felt full of confused excitement.  He was always attracted to Kayla, but also had alarm bells going off in his head that something was clearly out of place.   Kayla wrapped her hands around his shoulder and pulled their lips together.  Milo was still more thinking than acting and didn''t do much to reciprocate, but Kayla didn''t seem to care.  She pushed him over backwards onto the bed.

    Milo felt as if he was completely weightless, or perhaps that was simply shock.  He did not even notice that while he was savoring the feeling of the bed, Kayla had removed her posterior clothing.  The feeling was too bizarre and surreal to be titillating.  Kayla climbed up onto the bed and sat on his chest. "We might as well enjoy ourselves if we''re going to be on this silly mission.  Go ahead and dig in" she said scooting forward on his body until she had covered his mouth with her vulva.  At last Milo just gave up on trying to understand what was happening and just got to work and enjoy himself.   The next few minutes time and space felt as if it were completely distorted.   After a few minutes of minutes Milo felt her pressing harder against his face making it harder to breath until finally he finally felt her quivering and her jaw opening, and Kayla at least released him from her grip and laid down next to him.  For just a moment she just laid there next to him, not saying anything, her breathing slightly elevated.

    "We really shouldn''t have done that" Kayla said sounding somewhat winded.  "Sorry" she said.  "Just haven''t really been alone with a man in so long I guess" she said with her breathing slightly elevated.

    "Well, I guess we''re playing the part of newlyweds well so far" Milo quipped.

    "We should probably get showered off and take the train to the other side of the bay to visit the Pavilion.  They keep track of when we leave and if we don''t get out enough we''ll be under suspicion.  You need your keycard to do most things around here, and you know they are keeping track of what each guest is doing."  Milo nodded his head, his mind still trying to digest two very bizarre occurrences  in the span of just a day.

 Carver Neurotype A

    The next morning Milo awoke to find Kayla working on her tablet computer at the bar in the room.  Milo got up to go to the bathroom.  Kayla did not even seem notice that he had gotten up.  He didn''t know if he needed to say anything to make her feel less awkward about what had happened the previous night.  When Milo got out of the bathroom he went to get his tablet to check The Daily Comet.  There was not anything of interest in it, nor were there any kind of messages on his phone.   Milo took out his tablet and opened his copy of Frik Heridik''s Biography.

    For a long time, it was always taken for granted that all electrons are essentially identical.  In other words, no experiment or measurement can be done to distinguish one electron from another.  This turns out not to be true, and the revelation led to the creation of technologies that were near the end of the terrestrial age thought to be impossible or very unlikely.

    The long-hidden property of electrons is oscillation.  All electrons have an oscillation to them that have very tiny effects on the surrounding space time.  These oscillations all have the same frequency, but they are not on the same phase (in other words, they are not synchronized).  The oscillation phases of each electron appear to be random.  In a single atom with just a few electrons, there can be some of level of synchronization by chance, but even those create space-time effects too small to be measured.  On the other hand, even objects you can hold in the palm of your hand have millions of billions of billions of electrons, so the chance of a net oscillation that can be noticed is so small that that even in the vast universe with an inconceivably large amount of stars, there essentially is surely nowhere in the universe there is enough synchronization where space-time effects are noticeable.

    Imagine a bunch of mice running back and forth on a teeter totter.  When you have fewer mice, you might have them on one side of the teeter totter at a given time, but their weight is too small to tilt the teeter totter noticeably.  On the other hand if you increase the number of mice running around on it, you have more weight, but the chances they''ll have enough weight on one side at a time to tip the teeter totter becomes small.

    At some time, the grays discovered how to synchronize the oscillation phases of some electrons in a crystalline ceramic material known as gravitium.  Gravitium crystals have one particular set of electrons in a superposition between an unbounded state (e.g. they can carry electricity) and a bounded one in a unique quantum-mechanical environment.  When this material is bathed for about one Earth year in neutrinos in space (and kept safe from ionizing radiation), these electrons synchronize.  Applying an oscillating electric current to gravitium is what makes trips of trillions of miles across stars in a matter of hours possible, as well as gravity well generators on spacecraft and the technology behind the floating palace of Quildalar.

    Naturally, when this revelation was made to the elves by the grays, it led to something of a scientific renaissance.  Many were trying to understand the phenomena and to understand the various scientific and technological implications.  But one elf mathematician by the name of Frik Heridik seemed to have taken an interest in the epistemology behind the discovery.  How exactly did the grays even come to discover the characteristic oscillation of electrons?  The chance that a discovery of gravitium discovery could be made seems very small.  One could posit it was a stroke of luck that allowed it to happen, but that technology is not the only one which this question exists.  Other examples are of entanglement manipulation, which makes communication instantaneous outside of the time required to convert quantum mechanical information to digital information, muon stabilization and excitation, and polyphoton synthesis.  Heridik formulated what''s known was the Heridik principle, which says that certain properties of matter, energy, and space can''t be understood if they are not known.

    This principle, along with Heridik''s mathematical proof that creating strong artificial intelligence would require infinite software, got him accused of promoting mysticism of the grays and the religious teachings of the church of Saint Vernon ¨C charges which he would have to push back against his entire life in spite of his ideas never being debunked or properly addressed.

    Milo was just about the point where he had to break the silence no matter what when he was interrupted.

    "Milo, come here and look at this" she said.  Milo walked over to the table where Kayla was sitting and looked at the screen.

    NAME:  Cabral, Melinda

    Hominid Type: Human Female (100%, 0 elven-specific haplotypes detected)

    Age Estimate: 17.3 Quildalar years

    Radiation Sickness Vulnerability Score: 4/10 (low)

    GENOPSYCHOMETRIC PROFILE:

    Estimated Impulsivity Score: 63/100

    Estimated Creativity Score: 32/100

    Estimated Religiosity Tendency: 28/100

    Estimated Charisma Score: 48/100

    Estimated Intellect Score:  84/100

    Estimated Shrewdness Score: 95/100

    OTHER NOTES:  NONE

    "What is that?" Milo asked not liking what he was seeing on the screen.

    "I''ve hacked into the resort management''s computers and I found this file.  Their security is surprisingly pretty lax."

    "They genotyped us" Milo said feeling a sinking feeling in his chest.  "When they took our blood they used it to get our DNA. But why would they do that?"

    "I don''t know, I figured you might have more of an idea than me.  They''ve also got a file on you."  Kayla removed her profile from the screen and opened up a file called Cabral_00085861.prof.  The profile looked very similar to Kayla''s.

    NAME: Cabral, Chris

    Hominid Type: Human Male (100%, 0 elven haplotypes detected)

    Age Estimate: 16.8 Quildalar years

    Radiation Sickness Vulnerability Score: 6/10 (moderate)

    GENOPSYCHOMETRIC PROFILE:

    Estimated Impulsivity Score: 14/100

    Estimated Creativity Score: 93/100

    Estimated Religiosity Tendency: 60/100

    Estimated Charisma Score: 21/100

    Estimated Intellect Score:  90/100

    Estimated Shrewdness Score: 59/100

    OTHER NOTES:  ***CARVER NEUROTYPE A POSITIVE***

    "What is the Carver neurotype?" Milo asked looking at the red font that read "CARVER NEUROTYPE A POSITIVE".

    "I don''t know, Milo.  I figured you might. "

    "What else have you found on the computer?" Milo asked.

    "I''ve found many different profiles on here.  They weren''t just targeting us for a genetic test at least."

    "I have never heard of a Carver Neurotype" Milo said.  "A lot of elven research on humanology ¨C especially the genetics and neurological research ¨C is classified."  Milo noticed Kayla rolling her eyes slightly at the use of the h- word.

    After they both got dressed, they headed down to where the train was to stop to go to the pavilion.  Kayla did not mention the night before even once and seemed to act as if it didn''t happen at all, which was fine with Milo.

    They boarded the train, which headed to the side of the Relanda and across the bay on a beautiful bridge over the lagoon.  The vegetation resembled those of tropical shorelines of Earth and gave the location a nice feel.  Not long after they reached the other side of the bay, they could see the pavilion.  It was a large building with a rough, beige exterior.  It didn''t look particularly attractive.  There was already a large crowd of people in the surrounding agora with many different kiosks.  Milo and Kayla exited the train and weaved through the large crowd up to the pavilion.  It was a much nicer building on the inside.  They made their way into the main ballroom with a sign that read "Hominids for Sustainable Growth", and found their name tags "Chris" and "Melinda".

    Milo absolutely hated the next half hour or so, introducing himself to people around and pretending to care about the conference and playing the part of a farmer.  Even though he didn''t make any headway, Milo was relieved when everyone was called to the auditorium for the introductory address.  He paid little or no attention to it, thinking instead back to the previous night.  What had come over Kayla?  Did elven management put some kind of aerosolized aphrodisiac into the vents?  After the speech was over and capped off with loud cheers, Milo exited the room to find Kayla.

    "Any luck?" Milo asked.

    "Not anything" Kayla said.  "I don''t think there''s really going to be anything worthwhile here, but at least we''re at a nice place."

    That''s when Milo spotted him.  It was a young man in his late twenties with curly brown hair and a full beard, long, black pants, and a dark green tuxedo vest.  At first Milo hesitated wondering whether or not he should really follow the path that was apparently laid out for him, but after a moment his curiosity got the best of him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Kayla" he said tugging on the top of Kayla''s dress.  "Kayla follow me, I think I might have a lead for us, I will explain it to you later." Milo said.  As Milo approached the man Kayla followed, seeming puzzled but following none the less.

    Milo approached the man and looked to both sides to make sure no one was around to listen.  "Excuse me, sir." Milo said.  "I need to know where the dove''s night flight ends?"  At that moment both Kayla and the stranger both gave him strange looks.

    "Come with me" the man said.  Milo and Kayla followed the man into the elevator.  The man put a keycard into a slit on the control panel and hit the button marked "roof".  They exited and sure enough they were on the roof of the pavilion.  He led them to a wide-open area on the roof where you could plainly see no one was around to overhear.  The man took out his phone and hit a few buttons.  Milo could tell that he was talking on an entangled line.  After a few of the rings Milo could hear a voice coming through the phone, but not enough to make out it was saying.

    "Hey Dover,  we''ve got an apparent messenger over at the Pavilion."

    ¡­

    "I don''t know, just a couple here at the sustainability convention."

    ¡­

    "Yes."

    ¡­

    "Oh yes, don''t worry, I will make sure.  Okay, I''ll contact you in an hour or two."  The man hung up the phone.

    "I''m Brian Everett" the man said shaking his hands and then shaking Kayla''s.

    "Chris Cabral" Milo said "and this is my wife Melinda".

    "So what message have the two of you got for me?" the man asked.  Kayla looked at Milo, still completely befuddled at everything that had happened over the last minute.

    "I don''t have any message for you" Milo said, "I was told that you have some information about the surviving crew member of the Morian, Matt Snedecor."  Brian''s eyes widened a little bit.

    "You two aren''t here for the convention, are you?" the man said.

    "Let''s just say we''re looking for him on behalf of a friend of mine who used to know him" Milo replied.  "What can you tell us about him?"  Brian looked in every direction to make sure that no one was within earshot.

    "He has joined the Cult of the Goddess .  We are almost sure of that."

    "The cult of the goddess" Kayla piped in quickly overcoming her bewilderment enough to focus on the conversation.  "You mean that death cult the royal family has always believed to be involved in but no one has ever managed to prove it?" Kayla asked.

    Brian turned his head to really look at Kayla for the first time.  "I don''t think the royal family is involved in any way, but I can assure you that they are real and are becoming a danger to you and me and many billions of people."

    "So your church isn''t preparing for an apocalyptic holy war against the kingdom with all those weapons that were just seized, just against some shadowy cult that has eluded the royal intelligence."

    "My church?" Brian asked seeming surprised.  "No, I am not affiliated with St. Vernon. Some of their parishes are an arm of our organization, though."

    "What organization?" Milo asked.  Brian paused for a moment, seemingly to try and think of the best way to answer.

    "We are neither a church nor a rebel group, just a humanist group resisting the forces working against outworld and humanity.  We call ourselves the Network."

    "So do you have any information about Snedecor?" Milo asked politely as he could starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

    "We are pretty sure he has acquired a very powerful weapon called the Oxidation Super Catalyzer.  Or more specifically, the Morian mining guild did.  The OSD pretty much can lower the flash point for most any material in its field and cause it to burn like kindling.   We think Snedecor took the OSD and fled the ship and presumably all the ore in the ship burned while he fled.    They could''ve sold that thing and the whole guild had made enough money for a year''s worth of mining."

    "So he gave up a chance to share in a fortune of the guild to be the most wanted human in the galaxy?" Kayla said.

    "The Cult of the Goddess is a bunch of fanatics.  I wouldn''t put it past them to achieve their own aims at any costs, including deaths.  They are servants of a pretty malevolent¡­entity"

    "You mean a supposed Goddess?" Kayla said scornfully.

    "Use whatever word you want, but it is an undoubtedly a real entity.  No one really knows for sure what it is, but it has a very insidious agenda and is quite powerful."

    "By the way" Brian asked, "how did you even manage to get that code phrase that you used?"  Milo hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath before speaking.

    "I had a dream ¨C well it was sort of like a dream but it didn''t seem at all like an altered state of consciousness ¨C anyways, I was on this barren landscape and there was a tree in the middle of nowhere where I met this guy.  He told me I could meet a guy in a dark green tuxedo vest here and that you''d have information about Snedecor."  At this comment Kayla seemed to have a hard time holding up the weight of her jaw.  Brian looked at him with an astonished face.

    "Wow" Brian said with an astonished look on his face.  "Now that is very interesting."  Kayla at this point seemed to be at a loss for words.

    "What else do you know about Snedecor?" Milo asked again now starting to feel kind of awkward.

    "We''re not sure that they have any particular use for the OSC." Brian said.  "We think they want to trade it to a gray for something else."

    "What?" asked Milo.

    "We have no idea.  It''s got to be something really important for them to trade away the OSC, though."

    "A gray" Kayla echoed.  "What is this gray''s name?"

    "He''s called Cubork" Brian said.  Milo and Kayla both looked at each other.

    "You know him?" Brian asked noticing the reaction from the name being mentioned.

    "We know a guy who has met him." Kayla said.  "What do you know about Cubork?" Kayla said.

    "Not a whole lot.  All those grays are pretty strange.  We think he might also work with the Cult of the Goddess.  He is supposedly well known as a gray that will trade artifacts.  He may know more about gray artifacts and devices than anyone.  He''s not easy to find, though."  Milo could tell that Kayla really was putting up a big effort to keep her mouth shut.

    "Anything else?" Brian asked.

    "I think that''s all unless you know anything about Snedecor" Milo said.

    "Then I guess we''ll part ways for now" Brian said.

    "Likewise, and best wishes" Milo said.  Brian smiled a genuinely happy-looking smile to him.

    "I have a strong feeling we will meet again.  If there''s any way I can be of service, I''m here" Brian said with an excited-looking smile. Milo and Kayla walked with Brian back into the elevator and went back to the ground floor.  The wait for the train wasn''t long.  Kayla was silent, not surprisingly.  Milo could tell she was taking a lot in and did not care for talking.  When they got back to their room at the resort neither said a word.  As Milo turned the door knob and opened the door, Kayla shot directly into her room, digging through her bag looking for something.  She took out a magnifying glass-like object and attached her phone to it and began furiously pushing buttons.

    "Sit down on the bed, Milo" she said as she seemed to have whatever configuration with the device that she needed.

    "I think I''ve got a bit of a headache now" Milo said trying to interject with some humor into what seemed to be a good deal of worry.

    "No!"  she barked back at him.  "I need to scan your brain and see if some kind of implant has been put in it.  I don''t think it could have gotten implanted in you without you knowing it but there''s only one way to be sure.  Kayla waved the glass part of the device all over Milo''s head.  The device beeped periodically a few times.

    "All clear" she said.  She again waved the device over her own head a few times.

    "Nothing" she said.  "Well, that''s not necessarily a good thing.  Do you know what this probably means, Milo?"

    "No idea" Milo said.  "You got me."

    "How isn''t it obvious?" she said.  "That device Clyde has must be manipulating our minds somehow.  You''re having these weird dreams and the two of us got a little¡­over-excited when we first got here."

    "You think Clyde is messing with us?"

    "No" Kayla said.  "I still trust him.   I don''t think he has any idea what that thing does.  If that Brian guy is right then Clyde''s just going to use that thing to barter with Cubork to get something.    If we see him again any time soon he has some serious explaining to do."  Kayla disconnected her phone from the multi-purpose scanner, placed it back in its protective case, and put it back in her bag.

    "Do you believe everything that Brian was saying?" Milo asked.

    "We have no way to verify anything that he said.  We have no idea if he is who he says he is. "  There was a brief silence.

    "So what do we do, Kayla?  Do we need to notify Bohr that our ability to perform the mission has been compromised?"  Kayla sat for a moment in deep thought.

    "No" she said.  "That''s going to be an absolute last resort.  It''s not like we can really explain it all to him without going over the multiple rules of the agency we''ve already broken on this trip.  We just need to be mindful of our thoughts and keep an eye out for any unusual behavior between the two of us.  Both of us need to get some sleep and hopefully clear out our brains."  The rest of the evening passed uneventfully and Kayla seemed to have calmed down.  After about ten more minutes, they turned the lights out and went to sleep.

    Not long after Milo began to fall asleep, he awoke, but was not in his bed.  He was once again in the familiar-looking overcast barren landscape with a pillar of light over a large tree.   As with before, he could see a man standing by the tree.  Milo tried to wake up.  It was no use.  He began once again walking towards the tree to again see the bald human male figure.

    "You''re Dark Gaia, aren''t you?" Milo said.

    "That''s what people who do not like me call me" the hooded figure said.  "I go by the name Nadarska."

    "Are you an intellichine created by the grays?" Milo asked.

    "No, I am not.  But I do not expect you to believe me, nor should you."

    "What are you then?" Milo asked.

    "Neither an intellichine nor a living organism, I am a metaphysical being."

    "You mean you''re a god?" Milo asked.

    "That''s probably not a good way to think of me, given how humans tend to conceptualize gods.  I am neither infallible or omnipotent or omniscient.  I am merely a being not constrained by the normal rules governing the physical universe."

    "Can you see all that I see and know all I think and hear all that I hear?"

    "No" Nadarska said with no sign of any equivocation.  "As I said I am not unlimited in pretty much any fashion, though I am quite powerful.  I and my counterpart, Gaia, created and shaped the history of life in ways too small to measure in moments or even years, but over eons our influence is large beyond measure.  I can''t smite you very easily or easily bring you instant good or bad fortune.  I do not move mountains or part oceans, however, though I think that should be obvious."

    "But you can obviously keep up with where I''m going and what I''m doing, aren''t you?" Milo asked.

    "Well, yes.  I can read your emotions and sense your thoughts in a limited way in the physical domain.  I can also exercise some level of control over lower brain function¡­things like sexual attraction.  You saw that effect that I had on your partner, earlier¡­"

    "Sorry if you were caught off guard or frightened, I just needed to demonstrate my abilities to you and that was the easiest way.  Don''t be ashamed." he said in a reassuring voice.  "In fact, you should be proud.  You truly are an exceptional person more than you can realize, but I cannot maintain this connection to your mind for long so I won''t get too much into who I am."  Milo nodded.  His mind felt like a chaotic press conference with dozens of reporters all trying to ask questions at one time.

    "Well, you can consider me impressed" Milo told him.  "You may want to hold off some on manipulating Kayla''s sexual attraction.  She''s going to think there''s some sort of mind control device working on us."

    "I won''t do that anymore, unless, of course, you want me to.  You and she are very genuinely a great pair of humans.  You are a means to increase my sensory perception on the physical universe.  When you touch people, I can sense more acutely individuals on a physically and mentally ¨C more so than Gaia even.  She appears to care about you and respect you, she just doesn''t reciprocate your apparent attraction.  It''s a shame that humans must have the approval of their primitive minds to select their life partners."

    "Can you make people fall in love with people or create a lasting sexual attraction?" Not sure that of all the questions he could''ve asked he asked about that.

    "I''m afraid not.  I could make her ferociously amorous to you daily, but that wouldn''t be substitute for any real bond and if I did that for an extended periods of time it will take a psychological toll I''m not willing to put on anyone" Nadarska explained.

    "I need to sever our connection for now.  I know that as inquisitive as you are you probably have many questions, but I it''s not good for you for me to keep this connection for too long.  I will be speaking with you in your sleep again before long" he said before Milo could get another question in.  In an instant he blacked out back into his sleep.

 NalLarak Reunion

    Visler looked over his head.  The jungle-like canopy was thick, a perfect place to ensure they are undetected.  The wet season was just now coming to a close, and the berries they were picking were especially lush and plentiful.

    A sound of rustling bushes could be heard from the rear.  Visler and his hoplites raised their weapons.  Kopbok emerged from the bushes, running quickly.

    "Visler!  There''s a carrier near us!  It''s reptilian class!  About half a mile from here!"

    "Then we need to hide!" Visler exclaimed.

    "Too late!" shouted a high-pitched voice.  The hoplites all raise their weapons and looked around to see if they could find the source of the voice."

    A lanky, light-green-skinned reptilian emerged from the bushes.

    "Don''t worry" the lizard said.  "I won''t bite¡­ I''m just dropping in for a little chat."  The lizard walked over towards where Visler was standing.  Everyone remained silent, not knowing what to think of the stranger who just appeared.

    "Let me take some of the tension out of the air and introduce myself.  I am Strigwire." the lizard said as he got close to Visler, who lowered his weapon.  "

    "That insignia" Visler said referring to the medallion worn on the left side of the lizard''s chest.  "It''s one I''ve only seen in pictures but never on a reptilia.  Are you really with the Fire Flower?" Visler asked sounding perplexed.

    "That is correct" Strigwire said.  "We have all made the trek from the other side of the galaxy to rejoin the empire."

    "I see" Visler said taking a moment to try and digest this bit of information.  "So what concessions did you have to make to Turraski and the Nal Hirak?"  A big grin appeared on Strigwire''s face.

    "We are not making any concessions to Turraski.  He needs us more than we need him.  We now have leverage over him like we never had before.  You Singed Leaves can come out of hiding and join us."  Visler''s face narrowed into a frown, galled at the suggestion of cowardice.

    "So you came across the galaxy to shed your blood waging Turraski''s war on the hominids?"

    "We follow her directives, not Turraski''s." Strigwire scoffed.    "As I still assume that the Singed Leaf does.  Her prophecy of the clans uniting under her rule has now been fulfilled."Stolen story; please report.

    "Her?!  You mean she that tore the clans asunder and sent your people to live in isolation the first place?"

    "Tore it apart, and now is on the brink of making it stronger than ever, just as she prophesized.  In our exile we have acquired weapons unlike any the hominids have.  Xenon plasma weapons¡­ enough to nullify most if not all of the hardened hulls of the elves armada."

    "Fantastic" Visler said not wanting to show any apparent interest in this bit of information.  "I guess you won''t be needing help from our feeble clan."  Strigwire put on a scowl.

    "We''re going to make a little deal here,  Singed Leaf Chief.  I need the talisman of the goddess.  We only have limited means of communicating with her.  Surely you either have it or know where it is.  With our batteries and the talisman in hand Turraski won''t dare try and cross us, and I can ensure he will leave you and your people in peace."

    "After Adella became queen she had the elven technologists do something with it, but I''m not sure what happened to it."  Strigwire narrowed his eyes looking at Visler.

    "You couldn''t even ensure our conduit to her was safe?  And you call your clan Nal''Larak."

    " You can call our clan whatever you want.  We do not answer to the Goddess any longer."  Strigwire gave Visler an expressionless face, not saying anything for a few seconds.

    "I''m not going to waste my time arguing with you over this.  You will join when you are compelled by her to do so.   What I will say right now is that even though we haven''t been here long, I can smell human on you an already know that your clan is doing commerce with outworld humans.  Turraski may be most interested to know you are helping to sustain outworld humans.  So if you have the talisman, you had best tell me and not allow me to find out you''ve got it.  I''ll warn you that the talisman has its way of finding its way towards her most faithful servants."

    "We make friends wherever we can, Strigwire.    The Nal''Larak used to believe peace and containment was wiser and more useful than aggression and war.   We still hold those values today.  Those principles are more valuable than whatever was given to you by some supposed goddess."

    "Without her there is no Nal''Larak" Strigwire hissed.  "As she says, there can only be peace with races that are evolved to make peace with nature.  All the rest need to be subjugated"

    "We follow the wisdom of history, not those of any machine or goddess.  I don''t know where the talisman is, and we aren''t searching for it." Visler said.

    "You do realize, young chief, that the forces of Dark Gaia are gradually accruing to oppose us.  If we do not stop that, Turraski and the hominids will be the least of our concerns.  I need  - no we need ¨C the goddess more than ever.   Why are you so willfully blind as to the problem that we face?" Strigwire said, his voice tinged with frustration.

    "Why are you so blind as to not see how the war you want could mean a worse existence for everyone ¨C hominid and reptilian alike?"

    "The longer you wait to kill a cancer the more problematic it is" Strigwire quipped.  "I can see that this is not going to be a productive meeting.  Perhaps I can convince you later on when the problem is worse and more obvious.  Mark my words, though, if you get in our way you will regret it." And with that Strigwire quickly scampered back into the brush and couldn''t be seen.

    "My lord" Kopbok said, "how do you think he found us?"

    "I have no idea" Visler said.  "We need to finish up here quickly and move on" Visler said.

 A Ridiculous Game

    The airlock for the military personnel carrier opened and the ramp lowered to the ground.  Out stepped a young man with dark hair in his late 20s with two other militiamen behind him.  The young man climbed to the bottom of the ramp and saluted a much older, slender man with short, gray hair

    "Captain Rall, nice to see you " said the older man.  They both began walking towards the space port of the large Fort Alpha Complex.

    "We have a special guest here today, Captain.  Have you met Ava Baxter yet?" the Colonel asked.

    "No, and I''m not in the mood to smile for a photo op right now."

    "Well, you''re going to circumvent that mood and help her out now.  It''s really the least we can do for her.  She has been an immense help in helping to rally our forces here."  The two men walked towards the great hall at the heart of the city."

    "I have good news for you, Colonel", Victor said.  "At least I think it''s good news."

    "Save it" the Colonel said not seeming interested.  "Baxter wants to be briefed on everything, and she''s short of time. No need to go over it all more than once."  The two men followed the path from the spaceport all the way to the middle of the complex and into the great hall and rode the lift to the top floor.    The door to the situation room opened to reveal a well-dressed, somewhat chunky brunette in her late forties talking on a phone.  Victor could tell that she was talking to the pilot of her campaign carrier.

    "Go ahead and get started" she said on the phone to whoever it was she was talking to "I will call you back in about half an hour."  She disconnected the call and stood up to shake Victor''s hands.

    "Captain Rall" Baxter said in a really warm tone.  Victor shook her hand and exchange pleasantries with all of the politeness he could muster.  "Sit down" she said.  "We have a lot to go over and I don''t have a lot of time, here."  Rall and the Colonel sat down.

    "Well, what''s the latest?" Ava asked.

    "The reptilia have landed even more hoplites right here on this planet.  We should assume that they intend to strike." Ava nodded her head.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "I have spoken with elven sector commander Tal Roggle .  He has offered us a dozen ships to evacuate everyone from the border worlds if this situation arose.  I told him to pound sand.  We have enough militia and outworld forces here to make our stand." Ava turned her head towards Victor.

    "We''re you able to meet with the rebel leaders, Captain?"

    "Yes, I did" Victor said.  "They''re more than willing to fight for us, but Roggle''s men have seized most of their munitions."

    "Do we have any means of arming them?" Ava asked.  Victor hesitated for a moment.

    "Yes we do.  There are plenty of weapons around the black market, but the rebel militias have no money."

    "How much will they need?" Ava asked.

    "Enough for 30,000 H30 photon rockets, 50,000 M90 rifles, and 15 million rounds of ammunition." Victor said.  "Can you really make that much money disappears with no trace?"

    "Yes" Ava said with a sound of full confidence.  "Leave that to me."

    "We''ve got to be really careful here" the Colonel said.  "Having to rely on rebel forces and some unknown black market weapons dealers isn''t ideal."

    "Don''t worry, Colonel" Ava said.  "I know all of these men and women.  Disagree with these people on principle if you want, but they are trustworthy and will help us if we help them.  Plus, this issue is a lot bigger than Quildalar accords or royalties."

    "With respect, ma''am" Victor said "it''s a bigger than your election as well."  Ava gave him a complete unsurprised and expressionless face.

    "Let me be frank for a moment with you, Victor" Ava said.  "I know you don''t like politicians.  Join the club.  I don''t even like what I''ve become to get where I am sometimes.  Politics is a ridiculous game but it''s a game that is scored and shaped by those that vote.  Take some time to think about that one.  The only thing that allows me to look in the mirror every morning is knowing that I''m the one playing the game on behalf of outworlders and not just guild barons and the royal armada.  You absolutely cannot afford to think of me as an adversary, here.  We cannot think each other adversaries.  You''re in too deep, now.  I could easily be tried for violating outworld law for the things I am doing and have my candidacy nullified or suspended through the election you could be put up for court marshall, so let''s work together here."  Ava took a drink from a canteen she had lying on the table.  Victor did not respond, but just sat in silence.  There was nothing that she could really to do to assuage him, and he figured it best to not bring about an argument.

    "If we''re going to do this, we need to hurry" the Colonel said.  "We probably don''t have a lot of time."

    "Might as well, we are already past the point of no return" Ava said.  "Captain, go back to the rebel leaders and tell them we will give them whatever they want and provide ships to get them here."  Victor nodded his head and left the room.  He hated to admit it, but he did feel somewhat better about the situation.

 The Worzac Rogue

    The small, black rover pulled up in front of the gate of the large, walled-in community.

    "Worzac town, state your name or show proof of residency" said the voice of what sounded like a young man.

    "Chris and Melinda Cabral" Milo said.  "We are here to see Mr. Broyles."

    "Are you expected?" the voice answered back.

    "No" Milo said with a sinking feeling in his heart.  For about 10 seconds he did not hear a sound.  Milo thought for a moment, wondering about what they could do if they were not allowed in.  He did not want the entire trip to prove to be a waste because he could not get inside the gate.  Milo was just about to speak back into the microphone when suddenly, the gate opened for them to enter.

    The town looked quite strange, even to one accustomed to a variety of architecture on different worlds.  The houses were dome-shaped and dark-brown and they all seemed very smooth and clean.  A voice came over the radio of the rover.

    "Welome to Worzac.  If you are interested in becoming a part of our community, please visit one of our leasing agents in the main office" said a cool, computerized-sounding female voice on the radio of the rover.

    "The homes of our community are all made from the xylem of the Worzac.  A group of buttons came up on the rover''s screen with the words "History", "Architecture",  "Xanadu", and "Lease and Buying Info".  Milo touched the "Architecture" button on the screen with his finger.

    "Most of the homes in our community are made from the worzac.  The worzac is one of the largest and tallest photosynthetic organisms in the known galaxy.  They grow in most of the temperate regions of Xanadu and are a central part of the ecosystem.  A typical worzac can grow to be up to 450 feet tall, and weigh 8 million pounds.  When treated, the wood from the worzac is very strong and dirt-resistant and is ideal for the construction of smaller structures.  They also take a relatively short amount of time to reach maturity for a plant of their size.  The  worzac''s planted around the perimeter of the community were seedlings only 15 Earth years ago."

    "Maybe he''s not home" Kayla said as they reached the house number where Broyles lives.  There didn''t seem to be any lights on.  "I''ve got a strong feeling this is a waste of time either way" she continued.  Milo said nothing put parked the rover up next to the home.  The lawn was packed with small bushes that bore reddish-purple, teardrop-shaped berries that he recognized from the fruit basket of the hotel room.  Milo knocked at the door to the house.  There was no answer or any noise from inside.  Milo knocked again a little louder.  The door opened very abruptly to reveal a short, stocky man with long, white hair and a beard.

    "Chris and Melinda, I presume?" the man said.

    Milo and Kayla looked at each other.

    "Well come in " the man said with an air of excitement.

    "I suppose you are Bart Broyles" Milo said still seeming kind of surprised.

    "That''s me!"  the man said.  "Come on in, I know you would probably rather not been seen here, so let''s go inside!  I''ve been very eager to speak with the two of you".  Milo could see that Kayla had the "be very careful" look in her eye.  He led Milo and Kayla into a large and interesting-looking living room.  The room was filled with globes displayed on spherical screens and animated wall maps.  Milo did not recognize most of them other than Eizen.  He also noticed that both the globes and maps many locations were marked and notes were drawn on them.

    "Sit down" Bart said. Milo and Kayla took a seat aside each other on the loveseat as Bart sat on a recliner across from them.

    "How do you know who we are, Mr. Broyles?"

    "Please" the man interjected forcefully with his naturally loud voice "call me Bart.  The two of you are all the buzz around the Network.  You have the ability to communicate in a direct and lucid fashion to Nadarska.   Completely unheard of."

    "I''m not quite sure yet that that is such a good thing" Milo said who didn''t wholeheartedly believe it but all the same did not want to think Kayla to think he was very curious and interested about it.

    "Oh, but it''s a very good thing" Bart said.  "A very, very good thing.  It could be a complete turning point in the fight against Gaia." Milo could see Kayla taking a deep breath, trying to hold her tongue and suppress her thoughts to say something facetious.

    "And who are the forces of this ''Gaia''?" Kayla said.  Bart looked into Kayla''s eyes for a brief moment.

    "A long-exiled clan of the reptilian empire has returned to this side of the galaxy.  We have just confirmed it.  They''re very dangerous."

    "Well you will have to pardon my hesitancy to believe" Kayla said.   "and personally, I think enemies that aren''t real can be more dangerous than ones that are."  Bart looked at Kayla for a moment and then nodded his head.

    "That is true" he said.  "You are a skeptic-minded.  It''s a good quality to have, but you must also know when to temper that and question a lot of your fundamental assumptions about the universe and the nature of reality."  Bart stood up and began to sort of pace around the room.  "I too once thought of entities like Nadarska and the goddess as super-organisms or perhaps some elaborate mode of control by either the grays or the elves.  "

    "Well, what changed your mind?" Kayla said.

    "Various things" Bart answered.  "The Network has limited means of communicating with Nadarska, but we have been able to attain knowledge that we couldn''t have possibly obtained through any other fashion.  I don''t know of any other possible rational explanation.  As well as the fact that the ghost of Aura Madeen, who supposedly can communicate with Nadarska, made some predictions that came true."

    "Tea?" Bart asked as the bell sounded on his heating plate and he took a kettle off of it and poured himself a mug full.  "You haven''t had tea until you''ve tasted it growing in the temperate soils of Xanadu."  Kayla declined and Milo took a mug.  He wasn''t sure what kind of tea it was, but it really tasted pretty good.

    "What kind of predictions were those?" Milo asked.

    "The first one,which I already mentioned" Bart said taking a sip from his mug "was the return from the far side of the galaxy of the lost Nal''Larak clan.  It has always been believed that the Fire Flower clan either perished in the war or was killed by the very difficult trek on SPG to the other side of the galaxy.  Yet we have reliable intelligence from multiple sources that has confirmed that the Fire Flower Clan has in fact returned, and we are pretty sure the elves now know about it as well.  The other one is probably even more remarkable and difficult to believe, and its fulfillment has apparently just been realized.  She prophesized the birth of a human that could communicate easily with Nadarska."  Bert turned his head to look at Milo.

    "You''re talking about me?" Milo asked feeling very surprised.

    "Apparently I am" Bart said. "I just don''t know how all of this can be reconciled with any traditional rationalist view of the universe" he remarked.  "What kind of machine can make such predictions?   I''m fairly certain that is well beyond the capabilities of even the grays."

    "Wait a minute here" Kayla interrupted.  "You''re telling me this ''ghost'' foretold Milo''s birth?  Are you completely sure about that?"

    "I can personally attest that I have known about it for a number of  years ¨C not as long as Chris has been alive ¨C but I don''t really have any reason to doubt it''s been around longer.  But it goes back farther than my knowing about it and I have no reason to doubt that.  Dover, the leader of the Network, is the one who told me about it and he is quite trustworthy." Kayla sat with an expressionless face, not sure of what to believe.

    "Do you trust Nadarska?"  Milo asked.

    "I haven''t always, but I''m a little more comfortable now" Bart replied.  "We may not actually have much of a choice.  We are apparently dealing with non-physical beings whose abilities are beyond our comprehension."

    "Now then" Bart said picking up his kettle and pouring more tea.  "Sorry if that was really more than you bargained for.  I assumed that you came here to ask me about Snedecor."

    "Yes" Milo said.  "Tell us whatever you know.  You were a member of the Morian Mining Guild, right?"  Broyles nodded his head.  "Do you know anything about Snedecor?" Milo asked feeling hopeful.

    "Yes, I helped the guild with financials and with some smuggling. I probably don''t know enough about Snedecor to be helpful.  He was in the mining guild though he doesn''t know much about the Network.  He really seemed to be a nice young man, but he seemed fearful and unsure of himself.  I don''t think he''s probably of any danger no matter what the elf marshals say.  As far as his whereabouts, I really do not know."

    "Your leader that you referred to, earlier¡­  Dover" Milo said.  "Do you think he would know anything?"

    "I doubt it.  We are trying to find out as much about Snedecor as you two are are.  Sorry, but it really seems like you are at a dead end, here."

    "So this so-called Nadarska can predict Chris'' birth and talk to him in his dreams, but can''t find him?" Kayla asked in a very incredulous tone.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Apparently so" Broyles said sipping on his tea.

    "By the way, Chris" Bart said, "if you don''t mind my asking, what did Nadarska tell you in your dream?"

    "He just me he just wanted to gain my trust and demonstrate his abilities."  Bart nodded his head.

    "Well, do you trust him?" Bart inquired.

    "I''m not sure yet" Milo answered.  "I am not sure I know of what to think of it.  It''s all a lot to take in at once."

    "That is understandable" Bart said.

    "We need to get going" Kayla said who had clearly had her fill of this conversation.  "We don''t miss the ferry back to the resort" even though there was plenty of time.

    "Yes, yes, I understand" Bart interjected. "I don''t want to keep you here too long.     It was very nice to meet the two of you.   Please know that you have an ally in me and I will assist you in any way I can, regardless of what organization you may belong to."  Kayla and Milo shook hands with him and went back out of Bart''s front door.

    "I hope you aren''t getting too sucked up into this kind of stuff" Kayla said as they were driving back towards the entrance to the town.  "All of this seems awfully silly and suspicious to me.  These religious groups have some pretty shrewd ways of getting you sucked up into their ideology."

    "Bart seems reasonably skeptical and not like a know-nothing to me" Milo replied.  "Not like anyone who would accept something uncritically and without any thought."

    "Come on!" Kayla said.  "Prophesies about your birth?   That''s really hokey even for today''s religious groups.  Do you really want for your differentness to have meaning so much you''re willing to give any credence to this?"  Milo was kind of annoyed at Kayla''s bluntness in that comment.

    "It seems impossible and implausible" Milo said.  "But the idea of someone communicating with you in your sleep without any kind of brain implant seemed ridiculous, too."

    "Everything seems ridiculous until science removes the shroud from it.  Some terrestrial age people thought volcanoes were an expression of an angry god. "

    "Oh no!" Kayla said.  "Look over there!"  Above and to the left of their car was a small aircraft.

    "That''s an Elven-class aircraft" Milo said.  "Not good."  The aircraft landed on the side of the road right next to them.

    "Just stay calm and be mindful of your cover" Kayla said bringing the car to a stop.  "We haven''t done anything that has compromised our cover."  The ramp of the carrier lowered and two elves wearing dark blue jumpsuits exited.  They were elf marshals.  Milo felt a knot tying up in his stomach.

    "Please get out of the vehicle" one of the elves said 10 feet from their vehicle.  The elves voice was magnified by some kind of device he had on his hand.  Milo and Kayla opened the doors to the rover and got out.

    "Identification, please" the elven officer said.  Milo and Kayla handed over their ID cards.  Milo felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that the fake IDs they have may be noticed.  The elven officer scanned the IDs with a scanner on the tip of his left index finger.  The elf looked at the readout from the scan on his tablet.  Milo almost felt as if he was going to throw up.

    "Mr and Mrs Cabral" the officer said much to Milo''s relief.  "Come over here for a moment."  He led Milo and Kayla over to the carrier that they were riding in.  The elf opened a small compartment on the side of the carrier.  "Put your finger in here" the officer said pointing to a little hole in the panel.  "I need to conduct a blood test."  Milo did as he was told.  He felt a small prick and a small suction force on his finger.  Kayla did the very same thing.  Milo watched as Kayla winced a little bit at the prick.  That''s when he noticed it. When Kayla took her finger from the hole she had her index finger and pinky finger extended with her two middle fingers and thumb on her palm.  It was their secret signal he and Kayla agreed upon to tell the other person to create a diversion.  Milo thought for a moment about what the best thing to do, but nothing really good came to mind.  He didn''t know what Kayla really had in mind, but he decided he had to go with a risky move.

    "Oh no!"  Milo said doing his best to sound like he was in a panic.  "I can''t go to jail I just can''t!" he said and he began running.  Milo had only run about fifteen feet before he could feel himself being grabbed.  Even though he was only about five feet an ten inches, he had a size advantage and might could''ve broken free, but he did not want to be tranquilized.

    "I can''t go to jail I just can''t!  Please be merciful to me!" Milo said.

    "Calm down!" the officer said.  "You are not in any real trouble."   The other officer that was not doing the talking put hand cuffs on him. As Milo was being cuffed he noticed that Kayla came out of the ramp of the marshal''s aircraft.  Whatever she needed him to buy her time to do, she was apparently able to accomplish.   The officers walked over to the carrier to where Kayla was standing.

    "Mr. Cabral" the officer said.  "Don''t make this more difficult than it needed to be" the officer said. "Chris Cabral, you are being taken into medical custody.  You are not in any kind of serious criminal trouble.  We just need to give you treatment for neurophysiological issue.   You will be given a thorough checkup and will be provided with any other medical care you may need.  You will receive monetary compensation for your lost time. You will be taken for observation and for a series of tests for two days and two nights.  As a married couple you will have a required conjugal visit on your second night.  If you feel that you are in any way abused or mistreated you will have the right to appeal to an independent medical review board of human physicians.  Do you understand your rights?"  Milo looked at Kayla, who had an anxious look on her face but was no longer giving the diversion sign.

    "Yes" Milo said trying to make sure to sound as if he was calmed down.

    "Ma''am" the officer said turning to speak to Kalya as the other officer took Milo into the carrier, "you will receive a call from us when we are ready to come and pick you up from the resort.  You are required to make the visit."  Kayla nodded her head.  She watched helplessly as the aircraft lifted off to take him who knows where.

    She immediately got into the rover and turned it back on.   The rover was restored to full functionality.  Kayla drove as quickly as she could to the dock and got there about a half hour before it arrived.  She got on board the ferry and quickly found a seat near the back where no one would be sitting.  She took the portable data cartridge from her pocket and inserted it into her tablet.    Thankfully the data she downloaded from the elf carrier wasn''t encrypted.  She typed "Cabral" in a query and immediately found something of interest.

    EDICT FOR HUMAN MEDICAL DETAINMENT:

    NAME:  Chris Cabral

    SYSTEM: Xanadu

    DATE: 0014-0210-5196

    Local Time: 73:45:26

    INDIVIDUAL HAS TESTED POSITIVE NEUROGENOTYPE CARVER A.

    **IMMEDIATE 48 HOUR MEDICAL DETAINMENT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**

    TREATMENT REGIMEN:  NEURAL DRAGONASE SUBSTRATE COMPLEX (NDSC), SINGLE COURSE

    CONSIDER TARGET DANGEROUS?  NO

    Kayla looked through all of the other files that she had downloaded.  There was a large amount of information she took and it did not seem to be relevant.  There didn''t seem to be enough information on the disk to be helpful.  She had no idea of how to get in touch with Bohr or Roman to ask them what to do.

    When Kayla finally got back to their resort room, she quickly went through Milo''s bag to find his computer.

    "Milo I really hope you''ve read about whatever the heck this is" she said out loud to herself as she typed on "Neural Dragonase Substrate Complex" into a search query on his machine.  She found one file within a long manuscript.

    Neural Dragonase Substrate Complex (NDSC)

    Developed by the Elven Humanology Institute.  Many details of this technology are classified.  An enzyme substrate on silicon microplates that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and induces a transient, prenatal-like state in certain neurons to fix certain neurotypes.

    In a period of 24-36 hours, can re-wire certain neural pathways and decrease the extension of connections of others.

    This treatment has been known to create psychosis in a small percentage of patients.  Dragonase inhibitor can be applied within first 48 hours to neutralize effects of NDSC at the first signs of psychosis.  No precision dosage is needed.  The inhibitor is non-toxic and biologically inert in patients not undergoing NDSC treatment.

    Kayla picked up her phone and selected a number.  It rang two times before she heard someone picking up on the other end.

    "Everett" the voice on the other end said.

    "Brian" Kayla said.  "It''s Melinda Cabral.  You remember, we met at the resort pavilion-"

    "Yeah!  How''s it going with you guys?" Brian said perking up and seeming genuinely glad to hear from her.

    "I''ve got something of a situation here, can you come and speak with me?"

    "Sure.  I can be over at your room right away.  What''s going on?"

    "I''ll explain when we meet.  Please get over here as soon as you can."

    "Okay, I''ll be right over" Brian said with a genuine-sound air of seriousness in his voice.

    Kayla starting reading through the rest of Milo''s humanology files.  They were very disorganized.  It was about 20 minutes before Kayla heard a knock at the door.  Kayla turned on the viewing screen for the outside of her door and saw the familiar-looking face of Brian Everett.  She grabbed the door knob and opened the door.

    "Come in" Kayla said not wasting an instant.

    "Milo has been detained by the Marshals" Kayla said.  "Apparently for so-called ''medical custody''".  Bryan gave Kayla a surprised and grim look.

    "I know what you might be thinking" Brian said, "but neither I nor anyone else in my organization had anything to do with this." Brian pleaded.

    "I don''t think you or your group had anything to do with this" Kayla said.   "When we arrived here we had a blood sample taken.  When I hacked into the resort''s computer we found files of our genetic profile on them.  Chris'' report was flagged as being positive for a ''Carver neurotype A''.  Do you know what that is?"

    "No idea" Brian said, "but there''s no telling what they''re going to be doing to him.  They are both afraid and fascinated by really exceptional people like Chris."

    "They''re giving him some treatment called the neural dragonase substrate complex.  Apparently it can change a person''s brain in a fundamental way."

    "How do you know this?" Brian asked.

    "I downloaded information from the computer of the carrier that Chris was detained in."

    "You hacked into the resort computer and stole information from elven security forces?  Just who are you guys with, anyways?"

    "Just a little skill I''ve always had" Kayla said.  "You told me your organization is really resourceful so let''s put this to the test.  There''s an inhibitor for this NDSC.  Do you have any means of getting your hands on it?"

    "I don''t, but I''m certain we have the files on it to synthesize it.  The real problem is going to be getting it to him, though.  Do you even know where he is, let alone how to get it to him?"

    "They''re requiring me to have a conjugal visit with him tomorrow night.  I can take it with me when I go to see him."

    "Pretty sure they''re going to check you pretty thoroughly.  They won''t expect you to possibly have a dose of the antidote but they''re going to make sure you don''t smuggle anything into their secret humanology labs."  Kayla stood there thinking for several seconds as neither she nor Brian spoke.

    "Look, I''ll have a talk with Dover and see if he''s got any ideas-"

    "No, there is one way I can administer the antidote to him" Kayla said.  "But it''s going to be really disgusting and unpleasant."

    "If you have a way to do it you''ve got to do it" Brian said.  "You probably do not have any idea just how important Chris is.  He may be as important to our organization as he is to you.  If he gets this treatment not only do we lose a valuable asset but you may essentially lose the man that you have just married."

    "Well" Kayla said with a small sigh, "the antidote is inert to people who are not undergoing treatment with the NDSC."

    "And?" Brian asked not being able to follow where Kayla was going.

    "And it will get taken up by the kidneys and excreted intact I assume" Kayla said.  Brian just stood there silent for a brief moment at first appearing confused and then after a moment his mouth opened a little bit, the idea finally striking him what she was referring to.

    "I see" he said.  "That''s a very...interesting approach.  That could work, though."

    "Can you get a dose of the antidote ready for me in time or not?"

    "I guarantee it" Brian said with a tone of supreme confidence.  "We will get it for you.  We will get it for you at any cost.  Call me if you need me, I''m going to get the guys at our lab on this right away" Brian said getting his phone out of his pocket and pushing buttons frantically.

 The Humanology Lab

    "Theta brain waves look very normal" said a female-sounding voice coming from somewhere in the surrounding area.  "There''s some very unusual networking and activity patterns, but no sign of any kind of looming psychosis."

    "Interesting.    Should we contact the electroshock lab unit about him" said a second, male-sounding voice also in the vicinity.

    "No.  Go ahead and let''s get him prepped for the procedure.  He''s regaining consciousness now."

    Milo''s eyes opened and he could see he was laying on an operating table with something on the top of his head.  Over to his left, a couple of elves in lab coats were looking at a screen.

    "Mr. Cabral" the elfess having the female voice said walking over to the table where he was laying. "I am Leeka Groom.  You can call me Leeka.  I''m going to be taking care of you and overseeing your treatment.  Your sleep patterns seem normal.   If you would come with me, let''s move to a room a bit more comfortable."  Milo got down from table and he followed her out of the room.  The area definitely resembled a laboratory more than a health care facility.  Milo followed her down a couple of hallways passing by a few elves who stole glances at him.  He followed Leeka into a small room with some unfamiliar-looking instruments hanging on the wall.  Leeka took one of them from a wall that resembles a barcode scanner gun with a screen on the back.

    "If I could get you to remove your shirt" Leeka said.  Milo removed his shirt as he was instructed.  Leeka pointed the device at various places on his chest, stomach, and back.  The device made a small series of soft beeps.  Milo looked over at the mirror and could see what was on his head.  It was a dark, round object strapped on with a band around his forehead.

    "Okay, Mr. Cabral, everything seems normal with your vital organs.  Sit down and I''m going to explain to you the procedure you are about to undergo" she said placing the device into what Milo assumed was a small disinfectant chamber.

    "What you are going to receive is a very precise intravenous solution with Silicon nanoparticles with a special enzyme substrate on them.  It is a remarkable technology unlike anything you can get at any kind of human health care facility.  It will -  for all intents and purposes ¨C re-wire your brain and allow you to live a normal life."

    "I don''t think there''s anything wrong with me or my brain.  I like it the way it is" Milo said.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Mr. Cabral, I know that you''ve had a rough go at life not being able to relate to other people.  It''s something universal to all of those of your neurotype.  The sense of isolation and loneliness will still sting you no matter how old you get.  Once you get a taste of what it''s really like to really be able to connect with people you will be glad you did it."

    "Will it harm my intellect?" Milo asked.

    "Probably will dull some of your cognitive abilities, but you will still be pretty exceptional by human standards" Leeka replied.  "I promise you of that."

    "But is it okay for me to give up who it is I am?  Doesn''t being unique count for something?  Am I still going to be the man my wife married and the friend my friends have made?"

    "Your debilitating neurological state does not make you who you are any more than a congenital heart deformity does.  Your wife isn''t attracted to any of your eccentricities; she is attracted because of your pheromonal histocompatibility and genetic factors.  I can guarantee you that you will find it much easier to make friends with your corrected brain.  I assure you that you will not be a test subject in any sense.  The Royal Humanology Institute has studied these things very thoroughly.  I understand your trepidation and how important individualism is to you humans but I can promise you this is in your best interest."

    "I''m not going to get any say in this am I?" Milo asked.

    "I''m afraid not" Leeka said.  "We have full medical jurisdiction over you when you are in the outworld sector."  Milo said nothing, and a feeling of hopelessness came over Milo.  His fate seemed fixed.  He could not really envision a likely scenario where he would be spared his future being shaped by some elf technology he knew very little about.

    "Here''s what''s going to happen" Leeka said pulling up a chair to sit directly across from Milo.  "We are going to sedate you and induce a sort of womb-like state for your some of your key brain cells, which will allow them to be re-wired.  You will be given the treatment solution at a steady pace over the course of the night.  When you wake up the process of mending your brain will begin.  In the meantime we are going to give you a serious of cognitive and physical tests.  Then tomorrow night we will give you a night of privacy with your wife, which we would like you to utilize so we can study your brain activity.  The two of you are newlyweds so I assume that won''t be a problem.  Then within the next few days you will start to really feel the way you were meant to feel."  Milo just nodded his head.  There was no apparent escape from this predicament, nowhere to run and hide.

    As Milo was taken to the operating room and was being prepared for sedation, he thought about what Leeka had said.  Could she really be right about him?  Could he have developed a Stockholm Syndrome for his own idiosyncrasies and social impairments?  The elves were very smart ¨C so very smart ¨C and were more skilled with the acquisition of scientific knowledge in the most challenging fields like brain science.  As Milo was contemplating this, he felt a prick from a syringe on his arm, and he very quickly slipped into a deep sleep.

 The Royal Gardens

    Tal Roggle opened the gate to the royal gardens and went inside.  The flowering plants were at peak blooming.  The tapestry of all of the most beautiful flora in the elven sector blossoming in one place was so mesmerizing that even Roggle found himself slowing down to take it all in.  He ascended the steps of the terrace and walked under a large rotunda covered in vined flowers.  He passed by a large fountain with a large statue of Queen Tarissa that seemed to stare at him with a stern but contemplative look.  On the other side of the fountain were the sacharoo trees where the princess was picking them and putting them in baskets.  Zorthia noticed him walk in and put down the knife she was using to remove the outer layers of the sacharoo and removed the straw hat she was wearing to bring him straight into an embrace.

    "This was the only real place that we could get some privacy" she told him.  "It''s gorgeous, isn''t it?" she asked looking around at the all the plants on the lower side of the terraces.

    "The loveliest place in the galaxy, truly" Roggle said back to her.

    "So what''s on your mind?" she asked not wasting any time getting down to business.

    "I need to know that you have got my back.  I have had some minor¡­ setbacks and I know that Grand Admiral Gall is starting to micromanage what I am doing-"

    "What sort of setbacks?" Zorthia interrupted.  In that moment Roggle''s entire plan of broaching the subject softly was going to be blown up and he would need to get right down to the bad news.

    "An expeditionary force we sent to Zenithala to find the human settlement was ambushed by reptilian forces.  The gray Baycorf was with them and he apparently escaped capture."

    "Is that a big problem?" Zorthia asked taking a bite from one of the sacharoos.

    "Golmad is livid.  He has apparently convinced the grand admiral that I have made a very costly mistake."

    "Well, have you?  He is a pretty dangerous gray isn''t he?" Zorthia asked finishing the last piece of fruit that she started to eat.

    "I am not concerned about Baycorf.  He is likely stuck on that world until the reptiles capture him.  And Golmad was supposed to disable his fancy bionic gadgets."

    "It was a stroke of luck that allowed him to be captured and frozen in the first place.  How sure are you that your approach is working?"

    "Our raids have all but destroyed the rebel armaments, and I am confident that we may have found the location of one of the most important rogue human encampment."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    "Are you sure?" Zorthia asked continuing to pick sacharoos and shelling them with her knife.

    "Yes.  Several of the captured rebels we have interrogated have mentioned secret hideouts on that world, as has Baycorf.  When we sent our team down there they detected some subtle but very bizarre space-time disturbances, not like any that would come from an SPG an artificial gravity well."

    "So what do you need me to do?"

    "Gall is eventually going to have me reassigned or demoted before long.  I just know it.  I need to know that I have your full support and that you will stick up for me so that I can do what we agreed needs to be done in outworld."  Zorthia placed a shelled fruit into her basket and turned to look at him.

    "I trust you to do the right thing.  I will ensure that you will remain in command, at least for a while.  I cannot give you too much room for error and risk losing the trust of the admirals of the armada.  We must at least locate this so-called OSC before we can declare victory."

    "That will do." Roggle said.  Zorthia said nothing, continuing to go about her work.

    "You''re worried, aren''t you?" Roggle asked noticing her lack of assuredness.

    "The outworld and rebel forces rallying at Umbramontis¡­you could not get them to leave?"

    "If they don''t want their colonists evacuated, I''m sure not going to try and force them out.  If they''re foolish enough to try and fight Turraski''s forces, it will work to our advantage.  You don''t keep the humans in check by trying to make them like you.   They''re going to have to learn this lesson the hard way like a belligerent adolescent that thinks he needs no parents. That is what the grand admiral and many on the armada high command don''t grasp."

    "I suppose you''re going to want me to deploy an elven commando unit to Zenithala?"

    "Yes.  And please assign Yuler to it as well.  I can never find that elf when I need him and he answers directly to you, does he not?"

    "I will talk with him" Zorthia said softly.  "I hope that you know ¨C no, that we know ¨C what we''re doing."

    "We will be fine.  We just need to be resolute and not falter."

    "All right, so what is it you came to tell me" Zorthia inquired.  Tal just gave her a blank look on her face, trying to seem innocent.

    "Tal, I know that you didn''t go through the trouble to come here just to make sure I''m supporting you or to just visit for a few paltry minutes.   You have something you''re dithering on telling me, so just go ahead and spill it" she said with an annoyed inflection in her voice.  "And if you don''t tell me, you know I''m going to nag you that there''s apparently something big on your mind that you don''t want to share with me."  At first Tal gave her a blank look as if not knowing what she was talking about, but after a moment took a deep breath.

    "There''s a rumor that some of the admirals of Avistra''s fiefdom have been trying to feel out all the other admirals in the armada council about their confidence in your leadership."  Zorthia stood for just a few seconds, staring straight ahead of her.

    "We''re not going to worry about that for now" she said softly with no hint of alarm.  "We knew this was going to come during the first difficult stretch.  I''m not the first princess or Queen to deal with this issue and won''t be the last.  If we do our job well there is nothing to worry about."

    "So just to be clear, I have your support, then?"

    "Yes" Zorthia said reassuringly.  "I have confidence in you."  She put one arm on his should and one behind his head and pulled them together for a kiss.

 Creative Rescue

    "Here is the conjugal visit suite, Mr. Cabral" Leeka said.  "I have received word that your wife has arrived at this facility and will be moved over here shortly."  Milo looked inside the room.  It was small with only a moderate sized bed and a small love seat with a viewing screen.  The other side of the room there was a small bathroom with only a latrine and a small drinking fountain.

    "No shower?" Milo asked.

    "No, sorry" she said.  "You need to be careful not to get your neural sensors helmet or any of your other monitors wet.  You cannot have anything other than water as it will distort the readings of your brain."

    "I think I''ll be fine." Milo said.  Leeka stood there for a moment giving him a genuinely sympathetic look.  If it were not for the context in which they were meeting Milo would''ve really liked her.

    "You will do fine" she said sensing a hint of sadness on him.  "Just try to relax and enjoy yourself, this is the beginning of a new life for you."  Milo said nothing but went inside and shut the door.  It seemed inevitable that life was going to change.  He wondered if his interests would completely change.  Would he lose interest in his career?  So many different thoughts were going through Milo''s head that he did not even notice he was without his reading material on his computer and with a viewing screen he would probably not find anything interesting about.  He turned on the screen and found a documentary about elven scientists devising a cure for prions found on the planet Hubble.  Normally it would have been up his alley, but he wasn''t in the mood.  He turned the viewing screen off after about ten seconds.  Milo sat in the loveseat a few more minutes before the door to the room opened again and in walked Kayla wearing a gown obviously issued to her by the lab.  He thought that the sight of her would cheer him up, but somehow it gave his mood a little dip.

    "Kayla I-"

    "You don''t have to explain anything, Milo" Kayla said looking inside the bathroom.  "I know what they''re trying to do to you.  I stole your medical detainment order from the marshall''s aircraft.  I have the antidote for you..."

    "You got the antidote, Kayla?  How?"  Milo said with his spirits suddenly being lifted out of the abyss.

    " I stole files from the computer on the marshal''s aircraft and got information about the treatment they''re using on you.  And that Brian guy took me to a lab at the network to get make some of the antidote.  I don''t know how good they are but we''re going to find out.  Is there a cup anywhere in here?" Kayla said looking in the cabinets in the bathroom which seemed to not contain anything but a few assorted medicines and condoms.

    "No" Milo said.  "And I don''t think you''re going to get one."  Kayla let out a long sigh.

    "How did you even get the antidote in here?" Milo asked.  Kayla paused for a moment, not being able to think of what to say.

    "Well, this is where it gets awkward and really gross" she said.  "The antidote doesn''t get broken down inside someone who isn''t undergoing the treatment that you''re under.  It gets excreted intact.  Do you get where I''m going with this?"  Milo thought for just a short moment and then it suddenly.  He couldn''t decide if he was feeling more impressed or awkward.

    "Judging by your face I guess you do" Kayla said.  "Let''s just get this over with" she added pulling her panties down from underneath her gown.  "Come sit over here next to me. I''ll go slowly to make it easier to get it all down."  Milo didn''t move, but such sat still sitting down with a bewildered look on his face.

    "Please Milo, I can''t hold it much longer!" Kayla said with no hint of patience.  Milo got up walked over to where she was right inside the doorway of the bathroom and sat down with his legs crossed on the floor next to her, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth wide, feeling ridiculous and embarassed.  He felt Kayla grab his forehead and pull his head back some.  A short moment after that he felt a small, warm stream of fluid entering his mouth with a surprisingly loud noise.   It tasted very bad and the warmth felt sort of funny in his throat.  It would be difficult to swallow all of it.  Milo recalled reading a survival training manual which gave steps of how to hydrate by drinking the very bitter-but-potable innards of a particular cacti-like plant in the deserts of one of the mining worlds he could not recall.  "Stop breathing through your nose, swallow the liquid from the back of your mouth" he remembered it saying.  He must have gulped down at least a dozen squirts fairly easy without being able to taste too much of it.    After what Milo guessed to be about fifteen squirts, he started to feel only small drops and then finally, nothing.

    "Okay, that''s it" she finally said.  "Well, that wasn''t exactly anything I ever thought I would have to do.  So disgusting.  I hope this works." Milo went to the sink and drank several cupped handfuls of water from the faucet and walked back into the bedroom and lay down, not knowing if he needed to give Kayla her privacy in the bathroom, but she came out of the bathroom right after him.

    "That gown is just too hot" Kayla said coming into the room in her undergarments.  "By now I guess we''re more than acquainted enough you won''t mind my low state of dress.  I think they gave me some kind of stimulant and it''s making me feel hot" she said fanning herself with her hand.  Kayla laid down on the bed right next to Milo, staring at the ceiling.

    "I need to apologize for what I said right before we got stopped by those elf marshals" Kayla said looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face.

    "You don''t need to apologize for watching out for me" Milo stated.

    "I''m not apologizing for looking out for you.  Your humility is one of your best traits, and it wasn''t right for me to suggest you''re going to develop some kind of chosen-one complex."  Kayla said with her eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

    "I appreciate that, Kayla" Milo said.  "And I really appreciate your very, uh, creative rescue."

    "Don''t thank me yet" Kayla replied.  "We don''t know for sure if this will work, and after we wake up you''re going to have to go through with that delightful little ritual again.  At least according to the guys at the Network''s lab."

    "So you''ve put your trust in those guys?"

    "We might as well.  Those guys really did pull out all the stops to help me help you, I''ll say that much for them."

    "Kayla" Milo said.  "The elfess doctor assured me that this medicine would improve my life and make me better.  Do you think that could be true?"

    "Of course that could possibly be true.  There''s no way to know for sure.  But I can promise you that you are not unique in wondering about how your life would be different if you were different.  Somewhere out there there''s a fairly ordinary person wondering what life would be like if he or she was exceptional like you."  Milo thought that was an interesting way to put it.

    "Besides" she added "I have a hunch this place is less about healing and more about fear and science.  It''s not like you volunteered to be a part of this little study" she said looking at the brain scanner on his head.  "I hope that thing hasn''t been listening in on what we''re saying" she said.

    "I doubt it" Milo said.  "I doubt they care enough to listen in on some married couple having an evening together.  We''ll know for sure if we get out of here without them telling me we''ve got to start the treatment over. "  Neither of them said anything for the next minute or so.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "I''m not the least bit tired" Kayla said finally breaking the silence.

    "Me neither, and I suppose that was the plan" Milo said back to her.  "They didn''t bring you here just to keep me from getting lonely."  There was a part of Milo was secretly hoping that Kayla might be primed again for more casual intimacy.  He figured that the elf doctors had given him some sort of aphrodisiac. Kayla flipped through the menu of the different options on the viewing screen on the television while Milo acted as if he was trying to go to sleep, although he didn''t feel like it.  She selected a video titled "Welcome to Adaforbus".

    Welcome to the Royal Humanology Institute''s laboratory on the planet Adaforbus.  Here, we strive to use advanced technology to advance the understanding of human physiology, cognition, and health for the benefit of all hominids.  We have high ethical standards of conduct in research involving humans.  If at any time you feel what is being done to you is not ethical, you can contact the Humanology Institute''s Study Review Board, or H-I-S-R-B.  The review board consists of caring individuals in the medical community of both human and elves.

    The world of Adaforbus is an artificial biosphere, or abosphere.  It is perhaps the greatest engineering achievement in the known universe, the culmination of millions of individuals working decades for many billions of individual work-hours.

    Construction started around 50 years ago and was the brainchild of former Royal Science Minister Aknar Adaforbus, for which the absophere is named.  Construction began by hollowing out a large section of the planet beneath the crust.  This is an extremely large volume of material to move, and was very long and cumbersome to do as only small amounts can be removed at once.  On top of that, work can only be done at night time as the planet is too close to its star that it isn''t practical to insulate workers in the heat for an extended period of time.  An entire spherical-shaped area ¨C aside from two columns at the poles- was completely dug out.  As this was done, the core of the planet cooled down and stabilized.  Because The rocky outer shell of the planet and the inner surface have roughly the same mass and the same center of mass, it is quite stable structurally.

    About 80% of the outer surface is covered with a photovoltaic material.  The closeness of the planet provides the energy needed for light on the inside of the planet, as well as climate control.  The inner portion of the planet can be kept at quite a comfortable temperature by pumping heat out onto the side of the planet facing away from the star.  The remarkable thing about the planet''s star is that it is a red dwarf, which is quite a stable star that will be around for a very long time.  As long as we are vigilant and keep the planet safe from asteroids, the Adaforbus abosphere may last for trillions of years.  Aknar Adaforbus himself said-

    Kayla switched the channel.  After about ten minutes, Kayla gave up on finding anything of interest to her and turned the viewing screen off and turned out the lights.  Milo must''ve been awake for at least half an hour before he finally began to feel drowsy.

    After what seemed like a while, Milo found himself in the familiar-looking overcast wasteland with a pillar of light shining on a tree.  Milo could see Nadarska next to the tree and quickly walked over to where he was standing.

    "What happened?"  he said as Milo got right up next to him.   "I haven''t been able to contact you."  Milo told him the entire story from meeting Bart to getting captured by the elven marshalls.

    "They must have induced some unusual brain states on you.  I wanted to get in touch with you on your last night''s sleep, but couldn''t" Nadarska said.

    "Yes.  The elves humanology lab gave me some drugs that knocked me out really thoroughly." Milo answered.  "They''ve got a monitoring device on my head now".  Milo felt his head and noticed it was not on his head.  "How will this conversation register on their brain scan?" Milo asked.

    "They won''t detect anything.  They will probably think you are day-dreaming. "

    "You mentioned being able to tell what sort of things go on within my brain.  I''ve got an antidote to the serum they gave me to alter my brain.  Do you know if it''s working?" Milo asked not wanting to waste any more time before getting down to it.

    "It seems to be.  I have to admit that that I thought you were most likely lost to me and any conduit of communication that I have, but you should be fine.  Your partner really cares about you as I already mentioned to you before¡­"

    "I really care about her as well.  Very much in that I-"

    "I know you do" Nadarska interrupted.  "I wouldn''t completely rule out that she could eventually¡­fall for you ¨C lust is very simple, but love is beyond that and never ceases to surprise me, though not that often.  But do not allow your hopes to get up too high. I cannot give you romantic advice as that is beyond my capabilities as I have said.  Now, I''m sure you have more than a few questions for me."

    "One of the members of the Network said there was some prediction about a person like me that could communicate with you.  Do you have some means of predicting the future?"

    "Not at all" Nadarska asserted with not a second of hesitation.  "I was kind of hoping this conversation could be had later, but since you have asked I will go ahead and tell you now.  You are basically my creation. "

    "I was made in a lab or from some dust somewhere?" Milo asked with a strong feeling of shock inside.

    "No" Nadarska answered.  "I do not have the power to create lifeforms as complex as a human just from scratch, at least not quickly.  I exploited a serendipitous circumstance in order to bring about your birth.  Your father was a man who traveled a lot.  I suspect he was a military man.   I saw a chance to create someone with your genotype and I facilitated his affair with your mother."

    "You know my biological father?" Milo asked.

    "Not in the same way that you may get to know a person.  In some ways I can get to know people more intimately than you ever can, but in other ways it is pretty superficial.  I manipulated your conception down to the molecular level. " Milo just stood in silence, attempting to digest what he was saying, forgetting that he had other questions to ask.

    "It''s really not all that unusual" Nadarska said obviously picking up on Milo''s shock.  "It''s basically the same we way I and Gaia and any other entities that may be out there have manipulated the history of life over many eons.  Your species ¨C really most every living species ¨C wouldn''t exist were it not for our meddling.  There''s not a person alive who isn''t at least the descendent of a person whose genetics were not manipulated even in at least a subtle supernatural way.  In that sense, you are not much more my creation than anyone else."  Milo did not know what to say.  He was certainly not expecting to hear everything that he had just heard.  He had almost forgotten what else he wanted to say.  There were many different thoughts rushing through his head, but he had to move them to the back of his mind and ask him what he wanted to ask him the next most pressing questions.

    "You seem to have some sort of sense of individuals at the cellular and molecular level"  Milo said.  "If I could get my hand on some of Matt Snedecor''s DNA could you use it to find him?"

    "I could use it to identify him, but I would still be difficult and time-consuming to find him.  As I said I am not omnipresent and have to do things in real time just as you do, and in some sequential order.  I wish I could, but I can''t.  I will do anything that I can do to help you, but understand that at the moment I have things that are more pressing for my abilities."

    "Snedecor has a certain special type of weapon called the oxidation super catalyzer.  Can you find it?" Milo asked with the thought coming to him.

    "Finding a particular inanimate objects is especially difficult for me" Nadarska answered.  "I do not perceive the universe around me in the same way you do.  I cannot simply identify an object by shape and appearance in the same way organisms like you do."  Milo''s heart sank a little.  He thought that he had come up with a palatable idea.

    "If you don''t have any more questions, then I have a favor I have to ask of you, Milo" Nadarska said.  "Do you think you trust me enough by now to carry out this favor?"

    "I would be willing to do it, but perhaps not able.  That depends on what it is.  Much as I find the idea interesting of helping you I have come here to do a job."

    "I understand" Nadarska said with a very sincere tone.  "For now I just want you to act as a messenger to the Network.  I have a very important bit of information which must be relayed to them.  I have located the gray Baycorf in the jungles of Zenithala.  I have thought that he was dead but I am certain it is him.  The reptilia are also all over that world, possibly to look for him.  You must tell the network to go there and rescue Baycorf before the reptilia find him."

    "Baycorf?  I''ve never heard of him.  Who is he?" Milo asked.

    "He is the gray that possesses the book of Alkarod.  It''s the most authoritative and extensive source of information for gray technology known.  We absolutely cannot allow it to fall into the hands of the reptilia."

    "How are your men going to find his exact location?" Milo ask.

    "I am not completely without means of communication with the Network.  Don''t worry about them.  Just get the message back to someone as soon as you return."

    "I''ll do it" Milo said starting to feel a little excitement build up within him.

    "I will be speaking with you again soon.  Please do not forget about how important you are!"  And with that Milo blacked out back into his sleep.

 The Umbramontis Upset

    "Captain Rall" Ava Baxter said as he exited the door to the roof of the observation tower, "are we ready to shock the entire galaxy?"

    "Either that or end up humiliated.  Our source came through." Victor said.  "We''ve got a pretty impressive stockpile of photon rockets ready to go" Victor said.  "I think we might very well stand a chance of beating them back, here."

    "I''m worried we don''t have enough IR goggles for the men.  The reptilia have considerably better night-time vision than we do."

    "Oh, I don''t think that''ll be a big issue" Victor said.  With the amount of firepower we have here it won''t help them very much."

    "Good" Ava said.  "Colonel Davenport, are the reptilia on their way?"

    "I told the Fire Flower commander we won''t surrender" Colonel said, "and they are on their way in numbers significantly more than ours.  Are you sure these rockets will work?"

    "I can''t say for sure" Victor said. "The organization I have got these weapons from have no reason to bilk us, though."

    "Oh, the rockets and militia aren''t the only defense we have" Ava pointed out. "There''s a good reason this settlement was built over a very large underground water source."  Ava picked up her radio and hit a button on it.  "Is the frost barrier ready?" she asked.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "Yes" a voice replied over the radio.  "Just say the word."

    "Put it up now" Ava said.  All around the perimeter of the city, big tubes emerged from the ground all around the perimeter of the city, and their top portions bent away from the city in sort of an upside-down J shape, and a large, fluffy white mass came out of it.  At first it appeared to be water, but looking closer one could see that it was snow¡­a massive amount of snow.  Over the course of just a few minutes, the tubes had created a barrier of snow that had to have been 40 to 50 yards around the city.

    "Amazing" Victor said.  "How much snow is that?"

    "They promised me 150 feet wide with at least a foot deep.  It won''t stop the reptilia, but it will slow them down.  The snow is a good bit below freezing, too, so it''ll take it a bit to melt.  Colonel" Ava said turning to him, "ready the militias, it''s show time."

    "Yes ma''am" he said, and he left.  After a wait of fifteen minutes of agonizing waiting that felt like an eternity, the hoplites appeared on a long portion of the horizon.  They seemed to approach the city as a slow pace until they got within a few hundred yards they all began running.  The militiamen on top of the wall opened fire as well as the turrets.  They managed to eliminate some of the hoplites, but it was immediately apparent they were going to be outnumbered.    The troops opened fire on the hoplites, but it was just no use.  Even though the snow moat slowed them down, there were entirely too many of them.

    Just as many men began climbing down the wall to run for their lives, it happened:  A large pillar of many lights shot up from somewhere within the city, like many flares being shot up at once.  The sheer brightness of light almost made the area feel almost like daytime.  The rockets made many small explosions all around the ground all throughout the ranks of the hoplites.  The destructive force was just too great.  Within thirty seconds, the hoplites were all running back the way they came.  As the hoplites ran back to the horizon, thunderous cheers broke out all around the city.

 Dalton Dover

    The trail walking about Mount Pye seemed to get more and narrower as Milo and Kayla got closer to the summit.  Even though there was plenty of shade provided by the large coniferous-like trees that were around them, it was pretty hot.   Milo was not particularly enjoying the hike, but he was feeling good, because he was feeling like himself mentally.  Milo looked around them in every direction.  There were alone for as far as he could see.  There were not many people on the trail in the middle of the day in the middle of the hot and humid season of Xanadu.

    "I had another ''dream'' ¨C if you could call it that ¨C talking with Nadarska." Milo said.  Kayla looked over at him for about two seconds and then turned her head back ahead of her without any change in her facial expression.

    "So what''s his next big prophecy?"  Kayla said saucily.

    "He doesn''t predict the future.  Apparently he can¡­facilitate sexual attraction between people and exercise some control of conception at the molecular level." Kayla turned to look at Milo again.  "Don''t tell me you haven''t tried to figure out what happened the other night."

    "Or it could just be spontaneous heat of passion of two bored people in the right situations.  Neither of us have had a lot of time to look for love interests." Milo didn''t believe that for one minute, but he didn''t continue to argue.

    "He also told me to inform the Network that there is a gray named Baycorf stranded on the planet Zenithala.  He apparently has some book written by the gray technologist Alkarod."

    "I know what you might be thinking, but we''re not going down to venture some vast wilderness on a reptilian border planet to run one of this god''s errands." Kayla said sternly.  "We need to be focused on our mission."

    "I wasn''t suggesting we go.  I just thought it was interesting.  Kind of seems strange that any machine could know that.  It seems more plausible he is a metaphysical organism as he says and not some kind of technology."

    "Metaphysical entity" Kayla echoed.  "Sounds like a modern way to say a ''god'' without sounding ridiculous".

    "Trying to make it sound silly doesn''t actually make it silly." Milo retorted.  Neither of them said anything for the next minute or so.

    "You think we''ll have a chance to rendezvous with Roman any time soon?" Kayla finally asked breaking the silence.

    "Maybe not.  All hell has broken loose between the raids and the battle of umbramontis.  Snedecor might be a secondary concern for right now."

    "Well, at least that could mean we get to leave before our two weeks here are up.  We''ve already gotten into more trouble than we bargained for."

    "If the reptilian fleet begins advancing towards this part of outworld you might get your wish.  Otherwise we''re stuck here."

    "This is the place" Kayla said pointing in a direction off the trail.   Kayla and Milo walked off the trail and into the small, fern-like vegetation.  After a minute or so of walking they came to a small clearing with a dark gray, dome-shaped building.  Milo knocked at the door.   A girl of about 20 years of age with pale skin and short, jet-black hair opened the door quickly.

    "Come in" she said only allowing her head to be visible from outside.  "We''ve been waiting for you."  They walked into a small foyer, through a living room, and into another room with a staircase going underground to a basement.  They descended the staircase into a basement that was fully under the surface of the mountain.  In the basement was a room with a big round table with 8 seats around it.

    Milo recognized Brian and Bart, who were sitting in adjacent seats at the table.  Sitting on the other side of Bart was an elf with pale skin and long and yellowish-white hair.  The girl with the black hair that answered the door took the seat next to the elf, and on the other side of her sat a gray.  Milo had to put up and effort to not to do a double take as he had not ever seen a gray before.  Sitting next to the gray was a short, muscular man with a bald head.

    "Welcome, Chris and Melina" the elf with the long and silvery hair said.  Milo and Kayla took the last two remaining seats at the table.  "Well, we all know who the two of you are, but you probably don''t know everyone else.  I believe you know Bart and Brian" the elf said looking over at them.  "This young lady next to me is Streena" he said referring to the girls that had let them in.  "Our gray friend over there is Yanakris.  And this gentleman over here is Loy Bouton" he said pointing at the bald man.  "I believe you already know him from the lab, Melinda.   And of course, I am the leader of the Network, Dalton Dover.  Why don''t the two of you tell us about yourselves?"  Milo had to think for a minute, the question taking him off balance.

    "Me and my wife run a series of farms in the Earth sector." Milo said fearing that he sounded curt and not natural.

    "Interesting" Dover said. "That seems an unlikely occupation for one that shares your neurotype."  Milo again paused a brief moment, not knowing what he needs to say.

    "Not my greatest passion" Milo answered him back.  "I just took advantage of some opportunities have managed to do all right."

    "I see" said Dover eyeing him a couple of seconds before finally responding.  "Well, maybe you might find getting involved with us more interesting to you.  And you, Melinda?" Dover said turning his eyes on Kayla.  "What is your story?"

    "Just a simple girl from the homeworld that fell for a farmer" she said.

    "So that whole hacking thing is just a side hobby?" Dover asked.

    "Just some skills I learned from the trouble makers at the Lunar Academy" she said.  Dover nodded his head appearing to be in though, as if trying to extract some kind of subtext from their words.  There was definitely some feeling of insincerity to the way he was speaking to the two of them.

    "Well" Dover said, "I suppose I should give you a formal introduction to this organization and what it is all about  The Network has been around for quite a long time.  It is much older than the settling of outworld.  It dates back to the reign of Princess Tarissa and the Elven Grand Admiral Agorja.   Queen Tarissa acquired an artifact known as the Talisman of the Goddess, which allows someone to commune directly with Gaia.  The gray Alkarod founded the Network when he was unable to win any support from the human union government at the time to resist Queen Tarissa.  To make a long and uninteresting story short, the Network succeeded in severing the ties between the royal family and Gaia, but not permanently.  Today we are responding to a new threat."

    "So you want me to be your talisman for your leader, then?" Milo asked.

    "In a way, yes" Dalton said back.  "But I would be careful about your use of the word ''leader''.  Nadarska is more of an ally ¨C an extremely powerful ally ¨C but an ally none the less.  Alkarog swears he and Gaia are not creations of grays, but rather metaphysical sentient beings, and I trust his word.  As such he always figured any alliance with them should always be tentative."

    "Well" Milo said after Dover stopped talking, "I guess I''ll go ahead and deliver my message to you. Nadarska has said that he has located the gray Baycorf on the planet Zenithala.  The reptilia are all over the planet and might be chasing him.  He wants you to go there and rescue him."  Dalton gave a surprised look.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "Are you sure?" Dalton asked again seeming kind of suspicious.

    "Absolutely" Milo answered.

    "He hasn''t been seen or heard from in quite a while.  I would have thought the elves made him disappear.  I wonder why he has appeared all of the sudden."

    "He can make himself disappear" said a smooth, high-pitched voice coming across the table.  It was the gray, Yanakris, talking.  "He is legendary among grays as being notoriously hard to find and capture.  If he really is there, then we really do need to try and find him.  He''s a bit unpredictable, but he also isn''t overly fond of Gaia and the reptilia."

    "Sure" Brian piped in.  "But how are we going to find a gray that''s so evasive?"

    "He has a special type of transponder that sends out a specific kind of dark energy pressure waves" the gray said back.  "Once we get into the system we ought to be able to detect approximately where he is."

    "So he''s going to broadcast his position out for just anyone to see?" Brian asked.

    "Only for people who know specifically what they are looking for.  It is worth a shot" the gray opined.

    "It''s going to be tough to get onto the surface undetected" Milo said.  "Nadarska has said there are reptilia will be watching for anything entering that system."

    "It won''t be that tricky for us.  And it will be worth a try." Yanakris cut in.  "Baycorf has a very important artifact that could be of use to us."

    "The book of Alkarog?" Milo asked interrupting their debate.

    "Yes!  It has a lot of information about gray technology that even I do not understand.  We should do what we can to retrieve Baycorf for that reason alone."

    "We will need a ship that can minimize our chances of detection and get us on and off the surface of the planet quickly" the bald-headed man, Loy Bouton, said.

    "We can manage that" Dover interjected.  "Captain Rall still owes us for our last¡­ shipment.  I''m sure he''s got a dropship we can use."  Kayla and Milo looked at each other immediately upon hearing the name, with Kayla not even able to keep an surprised look on her face.

    "I can handle that" Streena said with a  smile on her face.  "I wouldn''t mind getting a brief guided tour from him of that planet."

    "We may need him to run the piloting software of the dropship." Loy said.  "Can we talk him into coming with us?"

    "Leave that to me" Streena said with an overt eagerness in her voice.  "I know the officers in that division quite well now."

    "The Network has connections with the Union Fleet?" Kayla asked.

    "Of course we do" Dover replied.  "We have cultivated many useful contacts within the union fleet and outworld forces."   Dover paused for a couple of seconds and then turned to look at Milo.

    "If the two of you want to come on this little excursion of ours, you are welcome" Dover explained.  "Just understand it''s going to be pretty risky."

    "We''re going to go." Kayla said brusquely.   Milo did not argue but just looked at her.

    "Well, I guess the missus has spoken" Streena quipped which was met with a couple of chortles in the room.

    "Well, I don''t see why the two of you would want to go, but if the two of you really want such an adventurous mood we have room for you" Dalton said.  "But of course we cannot guarantee your safety."

    "Well, count us in" Milo replied not wanting to contradict Kayla.  Dalton seemed to be genuinely suspicious of him and Kayla with her unequivocal desire to go on their mission.  For the next few minutes the group was discussing some of the technical aspects of the detection software of finding Baycorf.  Milo really wish he knew more about it, but didn''t want to take up time to ask any questions.  After about 10 more minutes of discussion in which Milo and Kayla were completely left out of, Dover finally cut off the meeting.

    "I hope that the two of you will join us for some drinks and some snacks" he said looking at both Milo and Kayla.  The group got up from their seats and went back to the large living room.  Milo noticed Kayla and Streena chatting about something while Loy, Brian, and Bert were gathered together talking about sometihng else.  Milo was kind of hoping he and Kayla could leave as soon as possible, he was not interested in having a conversation with anyone there about his fake persona.  He was just about to just walk out on the porch and just wait for Kalya when he felt a tap on the shoulder.

    "I want to speak with you in private" Dalton said with a serious tone in his voice.  Milo followed him up a spiral staircase all the way to the door to the master bedroom on the second floor and went inside.  Dalton snapped his fingers and the flourescent lights on the ceiling of the dark room came on, revealing a large an luxurious master bedroom for the cabin.

    "I want to be able to trust you, Chris.  Especially if you really are a human conduit to metaphysical organisms.  But I need to know who you really are."

    "And why might you not think I am who I say I am?"

    "You''re here, ostensibly on a honeymoon, you are searching for the lone survivor of the Morian, and you''re eager to go to a largely uncivilized planet crawling with reptilian hoplites to seek out a dangerous gray that might be impossible to find."  Milo knew there wasn''t a point in trying to conceal too much.

    "We''re searching for Snedecor for work-related reasons.  We''ve come up on dead ends in looking for him and we could find some clues as to his whereabouts on Zenithala."

    "I''ve searched through the registry of farms in th Earth sector.  There''s no trace of your or your wife''s name in there.  Now either you''ve got  some kind of illegal farm operation going on or your identity is some kind of cover."

    "Those farm regististries you can buy on the black market are often incomplete, inaccurate, or completele decyos.  You could be mistaken."

    "No" Dover said as confidently as he was probably capable of being.  "I am quite sure we have an accurate and up-to-date version of the registry.  Our organization is more resourceful and ubiqitous than you know, I can assure you.  You must understand we have secrets that could be worth quite a bit of money to various interests groups  around the galaxy.  So if you''re a part of some underground smuggling organization or working for the royal intelligence or part of the Gaia Cult I cannot let you compromise to goals of the Network."  Milo just stood there silent for a moment, trying to decide what best to say.

    "You guys provided the weapons to defeat the reptiles on Umbramontis, didn''t you?" Milo asked.

    "We would seem like the likely culprits, wouldn''t we?" Dover sassed.

    "I''m sorry, Dover" Milo said back.  "All I can give you is my word that I''m not here to compromise your organization, I''m here to find Matt Snedecor.    Do you or do you not believe that I am Nadarska''s messenger?"

    "I certainly hope so" Dover answered back.  "But I don''t have anything to confirm it beyond a shadow of a doubt.   It was a big risk to allow you an Melinda inside our organization like we have, but we have been so eager to have you that we have perhaps rashly taken that risk on."

    "If you must take precautions against Melinda and myself, do it." Milo replied.  "I have nothing that I can tell you would assuage you I''m working against you."  Dalton looked at Milo right in the eye, appearing to be in deep thought.

    "It may not matter much at this point, honestly.  The shroud has just come off our organization after the battle on Umbramontis. I just want to make sure that you understand what''s at stake here" Dalton said narrowing his eyes at Milo. "Turraski and the Black Serpent may only be interested in pushing human settlement away from the reptilian sector, but the Fire Flower Clan is another story.  They''re quite powerful and they answer only to the goddess and there is not much limit to the carnage they''ll wreak if it''s within the whims of Gaia.  So it''s you who had best be cautious if you are thinking of working against me and the Network, and not just for the sake of you and Melinda."

    "Well then, I don''t anticipate you having any problems with me" Milo said neither feeling or demonstrating any sign of intimidation.  Dover gave him a stern look, making sure Milo understood that he meant business before he walked past him, out the door, and back down the spiral staircase.

    Dalton walked past him and out the door.  Milo followed him back downstairs.  Kayla was ready to leave, and Milo was glad to say goodbyes to the group and leave the cabin.

    "What was that all about?" Kayla asked looking around to make sure no one was around to listen.

    "Dover knows we''re not registered farmers" Milo said getting right down to the point.

    "You didn''t tell him who we are, did you?"

    "Tell him that you''re Victor''s sister?  No, I didn''t."

    "I''m talking about our cover.  You didn''t give up our cover to this guy, did you?"

    "Of course not.  But from his vantage point we mostly likely aren''t an affluent farming couple from the Earth sector, that''s for sure.  It may not have been wise to show such an eagerness to go on their expedition."

    "Well, at least they won''t think that we''re luring them into some kind of trap.  And like you say, we have to consort with the outcasts to have any chance of finding Snedecor."

    "How exactly do you plan on explaining to Victor why you''re wandering around with the Network?" Milo asked.

    "He is a captain now, he is permitted to know about our assignment.  I double checked.  Besides, he might actually know something.    Roman may have forgotten about us and may not have anything better than we do in the first place."  Milo pretty much knew that Kayla''s interest in going had everything to do with her brother being involved, but saw no reason in making a big deal out of it.

 Yulers Proposal

    "My lord" Gyrod said greeting Turraski in the great command deck of the massive reptilian mother ship "the Fire Flower''s hoplites have retreated across the eastern continent of Umbramontis.  Shall we return them back to the fleet?"  Turraski let off a long, angry growl.

    "Yes" Turraski growled back at hearing the news.  "I think it''s time we shortened the leash on our new Fire Flower friends. It''s time for Strigwire to demonstrate to us that his special plasma weapons can hold up his end of the bargain in a real battle.  We will regroup our forces for a more aggressive campaign against the humans in the crescent, and instruct Strigwire to have his Xenon vessels ready for any orbital support that the humans might get from the armada."

    "My lord, Strigwire apparently has a pretty significant operation ongoing on the planet Zenithala.  The number of hoplites they have are pretty substantial.  I strongly suspect the Fire Flower''s forces are much larger than Strigwire has let on.  I strongly suggest we use caution in dealing with them."

    "Apparently are not large enough to take down some backwater human fortification."

    "The force with which they attacked with was larger than what Strigwire promised us.  The humans were apparently more thoroughly-armed than we thought."

    "All the more reason why we need to act swiftly and aggressively.  This is not a time for a war of attrition or intimidation.  The elven armada is getting stronger by the week.  Inform the Fire Flower leaders on the surface of the planet that we are taking over command of the operation."  Just then, a beeping sound echoed throughout the entire room.

    "An entangled line straight from the royal palace" Turraski said with a grin on his face.  "I wonder what this could be about."  Turraski pushed a button on a panel that was near to where he was standing.  A handsome, bald-headed elf''s face appeared on the gigantic screen.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    "Lord Turraski" the elf said.  "I heard about your little stumble at the hand of the makeshift human army at Umbramontis.  Tough break."

    "I didn''t open the line for you to gloat, Azari.  If you''ve got anything that''s not a waste of my time, give it to me" Turraski barked.

    "I''ve got a little quid pro quo for you, my lord" Azari said.

    "Well, let''s hear about it" Turraski asked with a chortle.

    "The humaness Ava Baxter is headed for an all but certain victory in the outworld election.  I can make this little problem of yours go away.  We''ve got enough on her laundering of money and weapons to lock her away or banish for from the sector and nullify her candidacy."

    "Oh how thoughtful" Turraski chuckled.  "And what do I have to give you in exchange for cleaning up your mess?"

    "Perhaps your understanding of this situation is limited, my lord.  Allow me to explain it to you.  At this point the election is all but a sunk cost for us.  Baxter is not nearly as big of a problem for us as she is for you.  If she wins she will fortify all the crescent planets.  It could make removing the humans from these settlements impossible.  But if the current governor wins another term we begin the mandatory evacuation process right after the vote counts are certified."   Turraski narrowed his eyes, taking in what Azari said.

    "Okay " Turraski said softly.  "And what do I have to give you In return" Turraski inquired.

    "We want you to remove your hoplites from Zenithala and give us any humans that you have captured there."  Turraski for one moment just stood staring at Azari, before his face turned to a scowl.

    "We will not need your help cleaning out the crescent" Turraski declared.  "We will do it ourselves, and I would advise you against getting in our way."

    "Typical reptile" Azari barked. "You''d rather show dominance and fight than cooperate.  You will regret this."  Azari''s face disappeared from the screen as the line is terminated.

    "Gyrod, begin mobilizing our forces, and tell Strigwire to have his xenon vessels ready.   We''re going to make a large and decisive strike." Turraski growled walking out of the room.

 Baycorf

    Out the front window of the carrier, Milo caught sight of a bright light in the middle of the darkness of interstellar space.  The network''s deep space laboratory looked like a pretty primitive, terrestrial-age spacecraft.  There were two different concentric, rotating, and doughnut-shaped rings on the outside.  The inner ring was attached to a long, tower-like object in the middle that had bright lights on it, sort of like a light house so that it could be seen in such a dark area of space.  The ship resembled a spinning top.

    "You''re using centripetal gravity?" Milo asked surprised to see such an old-fashioned design for the vessel.  Loy looked at Milo as if he seemed taken aback about the very question.

    "This right here is probably the safest place to be in the galaxy" Loy Holt answered.  "It has a very sophisticated cloaking system, but we haven''t found a way to make it work when running any gravity well generator or SPGs.  Don''t have any idea how it works, but as long as we''re out here no one will ever find us."

    "A gray cloaking device?" Milo asked

    "Of course" Loy said.  "Can''t get any significant technological advantage these days unless you have a way to find things the grays made and make them work."

    "You guys must know a lot about gray technology" Milo remarked trying to coax some information from Loy. For a few seconds Loy said nothing, and Milo thought he wouldn''t give him anything.

    "Oh, of course we know" Loy said. "The Book of Alkarod has two volumes.  Well, at least two that we know of.  The second one is the one that we have.   The first ¨C and the more valuable of the two - is apparently now with Baycorf."

    "So the Network knows how to make gray devices and how they work?" Milo asked?

    "Nope.   The books only give information about how to operate some of the devices.  Gray devices are extremely enigmatic things.  They don''t seem to work on any kind of consistent set of physical principles.  The elves have tried replicating them with a very fine level of precision but they just don''t seem to work.  But just knowing how to use a lot of gray technology is extremely valuable.  The volume of the Alkarod book that we have is the one reason that has made the Network as powerful as it has become."

    "So it''s magic then, is it?" Kayla asked finally jumping into the conversation.  Loy just shrugged his shoulders.

    "That seems as good an explanation as any, or it could simply be the Heridik principle that you if don''t know something you can''t learn it."

    "And that leaves the question of how the grays create their things" Milo opined.

    "Of course it does" answered Loy.  "I can''t rule out that the grays are ''magic''.  I would have thought that silly at one time, but many things I once thought silly are reality."  After what seemed like a few minutes trying to match the rotational speed of the outer ring of the station, the carrier finally docked with an airlock hatch.

    "That right there is not nearly as easy as it looks" Loy said as the docking with the laboratory was sealed.  "Not too many carrier computer systems these days are built to dock with rotating spacecraft.  Tell Dalton that we''re here" Loy finally said over the radio.  They opened the hatch and went inside.  The corridors were narrow and there weren''t any really wide-open spaces, there were few windows, and there were cables and pipes all over the place.

    They must have walked for several minutes.  Milo noticed people that they passed by sneaking glances at him, which made Milo somewhat uncomfortable.  Finally, they reached an elevator and they rode in it.  The inner ring was much more spacious yet had less gravity.  Dover greeted them right at the elevator.

    "Dalton, has Captain Rall arrived?" Loy asked right away.

    "Yes, he and the landing craft are here." Dover said.

    "Where is he?"  Kayla asked not sparing a single second to ask.

    "Somewhere within the inner-toroid" Dalton answered still seeming interested in Kayla''s interest in Victor.  "You can probably somewhere where Streena isn''t" he quipped.  Kayla immediately walked past Dalton and Loy, and Milo followed her.  They didn''t have to walk for long before they ran into a young man wearing a union navy uniform.

    "Do you know where Captain Rall is, sir?"

    "He can''t see anyone right now" the young man said.  "Can I tell him you came by?" the young man asked.

    "Tell him that KayKay is here to see him" Kayla said.  "He''ll want to see us right now."  The young man took out his phone and hit a few buttons on it.  "Hey Victor, Melinda and Chris are here and Melinda said to say that KayKay is here to see you¡­okay¡­all right, I''ll tell them" he said hanging up the phone.

    "Go on right through that door over there" he said pointing to automatic double doors about 10 yards away."  Kayla and Milo walked quickly to the door and Kayla hit the button to open the door.  Victor Rall stood right inside the small cabin the door revealed, with a surprised look on his face.

    "Kayla¡­you''re Melinda?  And I guess you''re Chris then, Milo.  I wasn''t expecting this.  What are the two of you doing here?"

    "I could ask you the same thing, Victor" Kayla remarked.  "You were eligible for discharge.  What are you doing getting wrapped up in all of this stuff?"

    "I was going to call it quits, but I was asked to infiltrate this group." Victor said in a hushed tone.

    "Asked to?  By who!?" Kayla said trying her best to keep her emotions from raising the volume of her voice too loud.

    "By president Alamore" Victor answered.

    "What?!" said Kayla sounding astonished.

    "Believe me Kayla I was ready to throw in the towel and leave the military lifestyle but when the president selected me for this assignment how can I turn him down when I have the chance to get out of the crowded spaceships while still taking the military paycheck?"

    "And now look at you" Kayla remarked.  "You''re probably in more danger now than any of your shipmates."

    "I didn''t know I was going to get involved with a battle and end up on an expedition to a dangerous planet crawling with reptilian hoplites.    What about the two of you?  Why are you here?"

    "It''s a very long story¡­" Kayla said not seeming willing to delve into a long explanation.

    "We''re tracking Matt Snedecor" Milo piped in.

    "Well, you may have found the right place" Victor said.  "If he''s alive, I can''t imagine that he''s anywhere else other than here."

    "No one in this organization seems to know where he is" Milo said curious to see where that would lead the conversation.

    "Well, you need not believe them" Victor said.  "Do you realize this organization has knowledge of radiation microemitters?"

    "So you think they''re behind the radiation attacks and not the reptilia that are trying to push all humans out of the outworld sector?" Kayla asked.

    "If the elves don''t know how to use the microemitters, then I doubt the reptilia do.  We''ve been collaborating with Elven intelligence and they''re fairly sure that Snedecor is somewhere within this organization.  My guess is he stole whatever artifact was on that mining guild vessel and now either works with these people or has some new identity."

    "What motive does the Network have to make people get sick from radiation sickness?" Milo asked incredulously.

    "I don''t know exactly.  They have to be the number one suspect, though."

    "What about the Cult of the Goddess?" Milo asked.

    "I haven''t seen any evidence that it even exists.  The Elven armada forces and marshalls have searched behind every bush and hole in the ground in the outworld sector and have found no trace of it."

    "They just helped us score a major military victory against the reptilian forces at Umbramontis and you make them your suspect?" Milo asked with a defensive tone.

    "Why do you keep defending these people, Milo" Victor asked.  "How sure are you that these people are your friends?"

    "I have been around them enough to at least not have any suspicions of them that you do" Milo remarked "and your opinion does not seem to be any more valid than mine."

    "So you know what Dalton Dover''s ultimate agenda is?  How sure are you his agenda isn''t to weaken the royal family?"

    "No, but the royal family sees enemies everywhere" retorted Milo.

    "Dalton Dover is not his real name, Milo.  The elven intelligence strongly suspects he is a half-uncle of the princess who has been thought dead, and there is a long history of power struggles within royal families and the elves are no exception.  Take extra care around these people, you do not know what it is that Dover''s agenda is and his followers may not even know.  The last thing we want to do is end up being some pawns in a royal family feud."  A beeping sound came from Victor''s phone and he took it off of his waist to look at it.

    "Dover''s crew is ready to start boarding" Victor said putting his phone back on his waist.  Are you two sure you want to get involved with this? Milo and Kayla looked at each other.

    "We''re game" Milo said. "This will either be a huge mistake or get us a lot closer to finishing this mission."

    "I wouldn''t count on finding anything or anyone of interest down where we''re going" Victor mumbled.  "Follow me" he said walking out of the cabin and in the opposite direction from where they came.  They walked down a few narrow corridors and through a few laboratories.  Milo would''ve really liked to stop and look at it but he could easily get left behind and lost.  After about 3 minutes of walking they finally reached the docking bay.  Dalton, Brian, Loy, Streena, and several other humans and elves were there.  When Streena saw Victor she immediately walked over to where he was standing to speak to him.

    "Victor" she said seeming rather glad to see him, "we have installed the signal detection software on the corvette.  The problem is that we don''t know exactly what frequency we are looking for, so we had to improvise."

    "Why am I getting the feeling this mission is going to be harder than I was led to believe?" Victor said with a sigh.

    "It''s going to reduce the power of our detection some, and we''ll have to fly closer to the ground, but we feel we can still track down Baycorf.  Don''t worry" she replied.

    "So more difficult and more dangerous" Victor said not feeling at all reassured.

    "We just need to get in and out quickly and we''ll be fine" Streena said.  "We have sent some probes to the world to scan and we have an idea of where to look."  They followed Streena through the airlock into the corvette landing craft.  It was pretty much nothing but a small flight deck with 10 seats.  Streena was showing how the installed scanner worked as the rest of the crew gradually walked into the cockpit.   Loy and Brian walked in first, followed by two elves that Milo did not know.  They introduced themselves to Victor as being his copilots sitting on opposite sides of him.  In the second row of seats sat Milo, Kayla, Brian, and then Loy.

    The ride from the SPG did not take more than about ten minutes.  When they re-entered semi-normal space-time, the planet was already in very close view ¨C Milo guessed it was about a few hundred thousand miles away.  The corvette most definitely had a very precise SPG.

    "I sure hope the cloaking system on this thing works" commented the elf who was sitting to Victor''s left.

    "It''s an elven-class cloaking device" Milo said.  One of the elves turned around to look at Milo for a brief moment, as if looking to see who made that remark.  The planet was very beautiful. Many of the land appeared as green from space ¨C the vegetation very lush ¨C and the oceans appeared as deep blue.

    "Have we got the right bearing, Streena?" Victor asked?

    "Yes, we''re fine" she answered.

    "All right" victor said pushing a few buttons on the panel.  "I''m going to take us down kind of quickly just to be on the safe side."  As much of a fine instrument as the corvette was, the aerodynamics clearly weren''t optimal.   The ride was somewhat turbulent.  After a moment of being physically shaken, they finally got within clear view of the surface.  The terrain was somewhat bumpy with a deep green appearance.

    Streena looked at the large heads up display.  "You''ve got to take us lower, Victor.  We''re not going to be able to pick up the signal at this height."  Victor dropped his altitude down enough so that he could have easily hit one of the mountain tops.  Milo knew the way they were flying was quite dangerous but said nothing.

    "You got anything?" Victor asked. " Every second we''re still in the air we increase our risk of getting detected" Victor admonished.

    "I know we''re in the right place" Streena said. "Just keep going."

    "We''ve got to abort" Victor shouted.  "We can''t stay in the air much longer!"   Another thirty seconds, and Milo could''ve sworn that Victor was about to have a nervous meltdown before the detection software made a series of beeps.

    "Wait, that''s the distress signal!" Loy said pointing at the heads-up display.  Victor changed the direction of the craft towards where the signal was located.  Victor got as close as he could to the signal to still land the craft and then activated the landing sequence.

    "Awkin" Victor said turning to the elf that was sitting next to him.  "Go up into the ionosphere and activate the cloaking systems, and come back to us after exactly one hour.  At least you guys will be able to survive" he said loading bullets into his gun.

    "One hour?" Streena protested?

    "Yes" Victor answered. "And we may not even have that much time.  We most likely didn''t make it in undetected so we''re going to have to hurry."  Victor, Kayla, Milo, Streena, Loy, and Brian all disembarked leaving the two elves on board the corvette.  With a surprisingly quiet launch, the craft lifted off the ground and was off moving further inland.

    The valley that they were in was very beautiful with some very unusual-looking vegetation, but there was no time to take in the sights.  They walked hurriedly to the source of the distress signal.  When it appeared that they were at the location where the signal was coming from, they could see nothing anywhere.  The location did not appear to have anything special about it.

    "Anyone there!?" Victor shouted. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "Victor!" Kayla said in a loud whisper.

    "KayKay, there''s a zero chance we weren''t detected here.  We''ve got to work fast!" Victor answered.

    There was no answer or sign of anyone there.  After shouting for him again, a noise could be heard from some shrubs not far away.   And then, more sounds from other shrubs in another direction.  Before any of them had much time to react, they were surrounded by four reptilian hoplites with the Fire Flower insignia medallions on the left side of their chests.

    "What business do you hominids have here?" the leader of the group asked as the other three were pointing large guns at the group.

    "Just exploring and taking in the great beauty of the goddess'' greatest masterpiece" Brian said with his hands up in the air.

    "Really?  It seems to me like you are looking for someone?  Now who might that be?"

    "Flash!" Brian shouted.  "As they had been instructed before they arrived, everyone else covered their eyes and Brian took a round, metal object from his pack and threw it into the ground.  A blinding flash of light was emitted from the object, temporarily blinding the lizards.  They all ran as fast as they could along through the clearing towards the forest with no regard for the signal.  They got to the forest as quickly as they could, but it was no use.  Within a minute, they were again surrounded with the same four lizards.

    "You are wasting your time trying to escape" the leader of the lizards said.  "You hominids are much too slow and too easily smelled."  At that moment, a few loud popping sounds could be heard from somewhere around them.  Several silver canisters landed in the vicinity around where they were all standing, and a silvery mist began spewing from them with a loud, hissing sound.  It was air as best as Milo could tell, and it felt very, very cold.  It was cold enough that they all started breathing heavily and wrapping their arms around themselves.  Milo looked around where one of the lizards was slumped over and the rest were on the ground.

    "Yes, but we''re warm-blooded" Milo said with a shiver.

    "Over there!" Brian said pointing.  Over in the direction was an unusually tall (about six feet tall) gray holding a large, gunlike object.

    "Follow me right now" the gray said throwing the gun on the ground. "That probably won''t kill them" he said cooly.  They followed the gray for about a minute, barely able to keep up with him.  After a couple of minutes, they finally reached a small lake at the bottom a waterfall.

    "I assume you hominids can swim" the gray said.

    "Sure" Brian said.  "But what''s-"

    "Just follow me as quickly as you can.  We cannot allow the lizards to track you."  The gray hit a button on his large, bionic arm and several lights on it came on.  He jumped into the water.  Loy and Victor immediately jumped in.  After hesitating for a moment, Milo and Kayla both jumped in after them.

    The gray swam to the bottom of the lake.  Luckily, the water was clear and they could see the lights from the gray''s arm.  He swam directly into a tunnel behind the water fall for about fifteen feet.  The water falling from above was quit forceful and made the swim under the falls turbulent.  After going through the tunnel, the gray surfaced inside a small, dark cavern.  When Milo surfaced he could see solid ground with some lighting around it and a what almost seemed to resemble a work shop with various objects on shelves and tables.  One by one they all surfaced and made their way towards the lit area.  After they all made their way up, the gray spoke up.

    "Well, I suppose we are safe and can have introductions now." the gray said in a soft, cool voice.

    "We''re here representing the Network" Brian said breaking the silence.  "I''m Brian, and this is Loy, Streena,  Chris, Victor, and Melinda" he said pointing at each of them.  "And you are Baycorf, are you not?"

    "Yes" the gray said almost seeming hesitant to answer.   "You must be a sophisticated group in order to find me here.  Are you allies of the Cult of the Goddess or did the royal forces send you here?"

    "No.  We operate underground to resist them and resist the influence of Gaia.  We were guided here to rescue you by Nadarska."

    "You''ll have to not take it personally that I find that hard to believe" Baycorf said.  "I am all but certain that the last functioning full conduit to him was destroyed by Queen Tarissa many years ago."

    "We''ve found a new one" Brian remarked.

    "You have?" the gray asked.  "May I take a look at it?  Where did you find it?" the gray asked with his big, black eyes glistening.  Even though grays had pretty limited facial expressions, Milo could tell that he was intrigued.  Brian walked over to Milo and put his hands on his shoulders.

    "This guy right here is our conduit" Brian said.  The gray walked up close to Milo and putting his hand on his wet shoulder.

    "Chris, was it?  May I scan your brain?"

    "Go ahead" answered Milo.  "Everyone else seems to be taking an interest in my brain."   The gray put the hand of his bionic arm on top of Milo''s head.  The arm gave off a light greenish glow.  Milo could feel nothing except for the contact of the gray''s bionic hand on his head.  After the gray had had his hand on his head for about 10 seconds, he removed it.  Milo noticed that there was no viewing screen or apparent output device of any kind on the arm.

    "Incredible" the gray said.  "The metaphysical side of your brain is quite acute and strong.  It''s at least plausible to me that he could be a conduit.  How do you commune with Nadarska?"

    "When I sleep I have very vivid and lucid dreams where I speak to him" Milo said.  "He is represented by a man wearing a hood and standing by a tree in a pillar of light surrounded by a vast and lifeless landscape."  Baycorf paused for a moment, not saying anything.

    "Now that is incredible" the gray said sounding genuine surprised.  "May I have a moment of your time to tell a story?" Baycorf proffered.

    "Go ahead" Brian said after looking around to see if anyone objected.

    "Long ago, there existed on the planet Quildalar a race known as the Leshraka.   They had cognitive sophistication very much comparable to that of humans.  These people considered Nadarska their guardian and for all intents and purposes, their God.  Of course, they shared a home with the elves, who were stronger intellectually and technologically and more numerous as well.  At the behest of Gaia, they destroyed many of the bronze-age cities of the Leshraka and eventually had many of them sterilized.  Eventually their existence was repressed to the point of extinction.  They had in their main temple of worship an iconic painting which was a symbol of hope for their people."  Baycorf held the forearm of his bionic arm at neck level parallel to the ground and hit a button on it, projecting a picture on one of the cave walls that was a familiar sight for Milo.  It was a picture of a humanoid figure standing around a tree bathing in a pillar of light surrounded by dreary lifelessness.

    "The hooded anthropomorphic figure symbolically represents Nadarska protecting a tree from all the desolation that has been wrought in the area around it."  Baycorf turned to look at Milo.  "I seriously doubt that you could have possibly known anything about this story ¨C it''s a pretty arcane portion of elven history that has been all but whitewashed.  There may very well be hope for us after all."  Milo noticed that each other person around him taking glances at him, especially Victor who likely had a whole lot to try and take in.

    "But I''m sure you didn''t come here to listen to my chatter" Baycorf said.  "To what do I owe this encounter?"

    "We''re here to rescue you" Brian said.   "How did you end up here in the first place?"

    "I cryogenically imprisoned by the elves ¨C I''m not even sure how long I was imprisoned completely ¨C but I was unfrozen and told I could have my freedom in exchange for helping them locate rebel hideouts here.  While I was trying to come up with a way to escape our party was ambushed by the lizards.  I fled and have been hoping against hope for a rescue for a while now."  Brian heaved a loud and audible sigh.

    "Since you were imprisoned, I suppose that you don''t have the first volume of the Book of Alkarog with you" Brian said getting right down to the point.  Baycorf turned to look at him for a few seconds.

    "I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised that you know I have it, but I am.  Yes, I have it.  I was not going to the let the reptilia get their hands on it."  Bayorf took is normal hand and put it on a wide, flat protrusion on his bionic arm.  The protrusion gave off a bright, green grow and when the shine went away the protrusion had become an orangeish-brown book.

    "Normally I would probably just lie and tell you I don''t have the book, but you humans seem to be legitimate and we are all in a pretty dire situation."

    "What kind of situation?" Victor asked.

    "As you probably know the Fire Flower clan has rejoined the remaining Reptilian clans.  That alone is ominous news as they have become quite powerful in their exile, and they are seeking out the Talisman of the Goddess."

    "What is that?" Milo asked.

    "The Talisman of the Goddess" explained Baycorf to Milo "is a conduit of communication with Gaia.  Basically, sort of like an inanimate version of you that does not require an altered state of consciousness to function.  The Cult of the Goddess possesses it now I am fairly sure, but they won''t have it for long.  And if the Fire Flower clan gets their hands on the talisman¡­it will be a very grim picture indeed.  You see, Gaia''s senses and abilities of manipulation of the physical universe are greater than Nadarska''s.  Even the newly-acquired might of the elven forces will likely be no match for them.  Not that you can count on their unconditional help and support in the first place."

    "You can spare us the mumbo jumbo about gods and magic artifacts" Victor said incisively.  "And it will save you and us time."  The gray turned his head to look at him for a brief moment, as if looking him over.

    "Young man, I can assure you that it is all very real, and we are in great danger, and we are coming to a crossroads that will go into a new epoch in the galaxy." Milo could see that Victor was clearly Kayla''s brother.  Victor said nothing but glanced to his side, seeing if maybe anyone would back him up, but no one said anything.

    "What is this place?" Brian asked looking at the large shelves of the sundry objects around the cavern.

    "This is most likely one of the hiding places of the Cult of the Goddess.  I suspect they have already fled this area if not the whole world.  They are extremely elusive."

    "They leave anything valuable behind?" Brian asked looking around at the smorgasbord of unusual objects."

    "Most of this stuff is not worth you attempting to take with you" Baycorf said.  "But there is one object they left behind that they either did not recognize or know how to activate."  The gray walked over to a shelf not far from where he was standing and picked up a long, golden rod with a large and rounded end on it.  It almost resembled a scepter of some sort."  Baycorf touched the rounded, top part of the object and it let off a bright, blueish-white glow.

    "This" the gray said holding the object up so that all could see it, "is a sentience amplifier.  It allows you to communicate with individuals whose metaphysical presence remains but physical presence does not."

    "Great, I guess we can have a s¨¦ance to help us stop the lizards" remarked Victor.

    "Does it work?" Brian asked admiring the artifact.

    "It does now" Baycorf said tossing it to Brian, who caught it with one hand.  The top of the device was still shimmering in the bright blue color.  "That device right there makes things that could normally be lost forever to the past recoverable. That''s a capability that elves and many humans tend to undervalue."  Brian stared into the orb at the top of the device and then handed it back to Baycorf.  The rod had an almost super-natural seeming beauty to it.  Its surreal appearance made the notion of communicating with the dead seems somewhat less preposterous.   The group''s admiration of the rod was interrupted by a loud beeping noise.

    "We need to get moving." Brian said.  "The corvette is going to be here shortly.  Baycorf, I assume that you don''t want to stick around here.  We have room for you."

    "I would appreciate that very much" the gray said.  One by one the group got back into the water to swim back out to the waterfall.  Milo could barely tell where he was going, and just followed the light from the orb.  When they got back to the surface of the water outside of the cave, there were no reptilia to be found.  The group got out of the water quickly.

    "Over there" Brian said as they got out pointed to the landing corvette.  The group did not waste one second moving quickly to where it landed.  They all boarded and the corvette left the atmosphere quickly. The trip back was pretty uneventful.  Brian was having a conversation about strangelet crystallization with Baycorf, and Kayla and Victor were also locked in their own conversation.  Milo just realized that he never really had a chance to ask Baycorf about Snedecor, but figured there would be another chance once they got back to the Network headquarters.

    When they got back to the HQ, everyone seemed to scatter in different directions around the Network headquarters.  Milo lost sight of Baycorf, who he wanted to make sure he would have a chance to talk with.  When Milo had almost given up and decided to go back to the docking bay, he felt a tap on his shoulder.  It was Victor.

    "Come with me, Milo."  Milo followed him back to his cabin, where he, Victor, and Kayla had talked earlier.  Kayla was again waiting inside for both of them.

    "What''s going on?" Milo asked.

    "I bugged Dover''s study.  He''s going to meet with that gray."

    "Are you crazy?!" Milo exclaimed.  "You don''t think he''ll find out about it?"

    "Relax" said Victor calmly.  "I''ve been trained to do this very thing and I''ve got great equipment."

    "You could be putting me and Kayla in real danger here" Milo protested.  "Dover has told me to my face that he does not trust me and Kayla."

    "I''ll be more than happy to take the fall for you.  I wouldn''t mind being a persona non-grata around these people so I don''t have to go on any more adventures or kiss Ava Baxter''s behind."  Just then Kayla shushed them as voiced could be heard on the receiver.

    "I''m willing to let it slide that you left me to get captured by the royal forces" said a gray''s voice over the receiver that sounded like Baycorf''s.   "The situation has become too dire for us to  not put that behind us." There was a brief silence.

    "I agree about the state of the situation and will spare you an argument that you put yourself in the position" Dover''s voice could be heard responding.  "Now that we''ve apparently taken down our walls of mistrust, perhaps we can now have a frank talk about the Book of Alkarog.  Does it contain the instructions on how to build and use the key?"

    "It does not, just as I have told you before that it doesn''t.  But it will still be useful to you as I''m sure you know, and I have more good news to report to you."

    "And what is that?"

    "The young man¡­he is most definitely a conduit to Nadarska.  I am quite sure of it. I wouldn''t have thought it was possible. Nadarska might just be able to do some things his arch rival cannot. The young man''s metaphysical brain component is particularly strong."

    "Do you think he is a creation of the metaphysicists?" Dover asked after a brief pause.

    "That is a very real possibility, and could definitely explain where the predictions of his birth came from.  It would certainly be nice to know that one of the metaphysicists are still around out there somewhere.  What have you learned about him so far?" Baycorf asked Dover.

    "Not a whole lot.  He has a fake identity, is apparently looking for the surviving member of the Morian frigate disaster, but I haven''t been able to figure out who he really is or where he comes from.  I haven''t gotten much information about his wife, either."

    "I see" said Baycorf thoughtfully.

    "So, do you have any new information about the key or not?" Dover asked changing the subject back.  There was a moment of silence over the receiver.

    "The Singed Leaf Clan has it now, I am fairly sure.  When I was wandering around Zenithala I detected unusual perturbations in the planetary muon flux.  I discovered a hidden grotto containing a particularly powerful artifact.  I detected faint traces of Singed Leaf haplotypes on DNA remnants at the scene as well as pheromones."

    "Are you sure? Why would it be there?"

    "It was definitive, and I am not sure.  If it was part of the key, and I have a strong feeling it is, then there are certainly worse hands for it to have fallen into."

    "How can we be sure?  You can''t know for sure if the Singed Leaf is loyal to the Goddess or not.  How do you know they haven''t just been waiting for the Nal''Larak to return so to fight Turraski?"

    "They have remained neutral since before the War Between the Clans.  Their very livelihoods are practically built around the idea of making peace with other galactic denizens and not following the Goddess or the Nal''Hirak."

    "So what would you suggest we do?" Dover asked.

    "My advice to you would to be to take a chance ¨C a small one in my opinion ¨C and talk to the Singed Leaf chief.  It is probably past time that you reached out to them.   We are going to need all the allies we can get."

    "I will certainly be keeping a closer eye on them, that''s for sure."

    "They are for the most part a peaceful clan.  Now if you will excuse me, I want to talk with Chris before he leaves."  Dover said something that wasn''t audible and then the noise stopped.  Victor turned the receiver off.

    "Doesn''t sound like someone whose main ambition is overthrowing the royal family" Kayla remarked.

    "It sounds like someone determined to gain a supreme grasp of gray technology, for what purpose is not clear" Victor replied.

    "Milo" Kayla said, "we need to go meet Baycorf in the main thoroughfare.   This may not turn out to be completely useless after all."  Kayla and Victor hugged and said their goodbyes, and they were off.  It did not take them long at all to run into Baycorf, as if he knew which direction to walk to find them.

    "Chris" he said in a soft, almost computer-like voice.  "I am glad that I ran into you.  I need to talk to you for a few moments alone."  Kayla and Milo looked at each other.

    "There are no secrets between me and my wife" Milo said.

    "Very well" Baycorf said.  A flat and jagged object protruded from Baycorf''s bionic arm.  He sticks the protrusion into the keycard hole on a nearby, empty lab and the door opened.  "Come in" he said.  No matter how much Milo was around grays, he couldn''t get used to the soft, cool, almost digital-sounding voice of the grays.  The walked into what looked like a small room with large specimen freezers in it.

    "I assume that was the two of you listening in on my conversation with Dover" Baycorf said.

    "Yeah" Milo said not having a good feeling inside.

    "Don''t worry" Baycorf said messing with something on his bionic arm.  "I''m not going to tell Dover."

    "What do you think of Dover?" Kayla asked.  Baycorf paused for a moment, just looking at Kayla.

    "I feel confident in letting him have the Book of Alkarod.  He has been fighting this fight longer and better than anyone and has done a good job with this organization.  Any path to victory against Gaia is going to involve working with him."

    "So what information have you got for us, Baycorf?" Kayla asked.

    "I don''t have any information that will help you on our mission but I know someone who might.  But Brian told me about your mission so I do have some advice.  Seek out the ghost of Aura Madeen.  I think you will get some useful information from her."

    "I don''t know where to find her" Milo remakred, "and Nadarska apparently can''t find anyone that I happen to be looking for."

    "He knows where Aura is" Baycorf said.  "I''m fairly sure.  And Aura will want to meet you¡­oh, and take this" Baycorf said handing him the sentience amplifier.

    "Thanks" Milo said still mesmerized by the glowing of the object.

    "Take this as well" Baycord said giving a small memory cartridge to Milo.

    "What is it?" Milo asked.

    "It''s a copy of the translation of the Leshraka king''s journal.  I might very well have the only surviving copy, and I just made this copy for you.  I know what a glutton for knowledge you are, and you might even get some useful information on it."

    "Thank you Baycorf" Milo said although it didn''t sound particularly interesting to him.

    "One more thing" Baycorf said. "Because I can tell from your brain activity that you''re eager to get out of here.  Be very careful around the Cult of Gaia and all of her other supporters, which I think you will eventually encounter.  They don''t use coercion to sway individuals to their cause, they use seduction.  As a matter of fact ¨C between the two of us ¨C I wouldn''t blindly follow Nadarska, either.  You are going to have to make some very important decisions that would affect the course of the coming conflict, and the best thing you can do is to always do what makes sense to you so that you do not have any regrets."

    "I''ll remember that" Milo said holding out his hand to be shaken.  Baycorf extended his organic hand with his three long fingers and one opposable digit to shake it.  His skin felt smooth and almost amphibian-like.

 Summit at the Bubble

    Ronald Bohr could feel the train he was in throttle up. The scenery of the Royal City was absolutely magnificent. There were many gorgeous high-rising buildings ¨C many too tall to see to the top except on a clear day ¨C and the buildings were surrounded by a robust landscape of quaint-looking houses. Off in the distance over the bay, he could see the floating palace whose magnificence was borderline hypnotic. As he was being mesmerized by the scenery, the door to his cabin slid open and in walked Griffin Alamore, every inch of his clothing and body primped and ready for the day.

    "Mr President" Bohr said as if no one noteworthy had even entered the room. "I assume you got my report."

    "I did, director, but I was expecting to not just get the what but the why as well."

    "What else is there to explain?" Bohr said immediately knowing that this was not going to be an enjoyable conversation. The president took a deep breath, doing his best not to show his frustration.

    "How did all that transpired at Umbramontis happen from right under our noses ¨C from your nose director Bohr?"

    "Are you disappointed that several hundred thousand people in the Goddess'' Crescent weren''t forced to give up their homes and their lives because of a major military victory?" The president glared at him, galled at the suggestion.

    "We won the battle, but we may have lost the war. All of the rebel and pro-independence groups have won a major moral victory, and on top of that Ava Baxter may have all but locked up the election. Several years of work trying to keep that powder keg of a region from exploding may have been unraveled in just one day. Why weren''t you able to keep tabs on what Baxter and see she was plotting that little stand?"

    "Don''t put this on me, Griffin. I''m not the one who bartered weapons to get the foot in the door of a shadowy organization that I was able to get with two green, undercover agents."

    "Agents that you sent to outworld without my knowing who were not registered with royal intelligence" Bohr said sounding genuinely angry.

    "Come on, Griffin. You and I know the only way we''re going to make any head way in the sector is to conduct operations behind the backs of Tal Roggle and the royal marshals. They aren''t giving us any breathing room to operate. Roman Darossa was roughed up by Azari Yuler on a simple patrol just a few miles from Beta Base. Now you''ve got plausible deniability and I managed to get some level of information about this ''Network'' without handing over weapons to militias that are sympathetic to outworld rebels." Alamore scowled at him.

    "Just hope that the elven high command does not learn about what it is that you''ve done. Count on continuing this conversation later." Bohr said nothing and the president got up and left the cabin. He looked out the window and could see the train''s destination: the very tall building with a triple helix spine with flat, triangular enclosures a few stories high attached to each of the three strands at certain intervals up the spine. Through the middle of each triangle were the elevator shafts. At the very top was a large dome, which looked kind of heavy for the size of the helix.

    The train came to a stop under the building. Several officers of the armada were there to greet the disembarking humans, but no sign of the princess or Yaferni Gall. As Bohr walked out of the train onto the ground and got closer to the base of the building, he felt as if he were 30 pounds lighter. There was clearly a gravity well generator up within the top part of the building. The group of men and elves entered the elevator and after the door closed one of the elves pulled a lever on the control panel. The elevator began rapidly accelerating upward at a rate that would''ve been entirely too fast without the weight reduction. After only about fifteen seconds, the elevator began to slow down, and for a moment there was a feeling of near-weightlessness. At last the elevator entered the domed top of the structure from underneath.

    They exited the elevator, where Princess Zorthia, Yaferni Gall, and several other elven admirals were waiting for them. Gall appeared to be dressed more in the garb of a king than a serious military leader, and the princess was wearing a gorgeous bright-green organosilicon dress. They said their greetings and then proceeded through the hallways to a door that led to an auditorium and settled in. The president sat next to his planetary defense secretary Giff Gray and fleet secretary Alex Brait, a good distance away from where Bohr was seated. After a minute or two, Grand Admiral Gall stepped up to one of the podiums in the room with the princess at the podium to his right.

    "Good afternoon, everyone" Gall said in a warm tone. "I want to take the time to welcome our guests from the high civilian leadership of the Union to Quildalar and to the Bubble, the headquarters of our great Royal Armada. I assume that you have all been briefed on what has happened, but I will run down the key points. Recently forces from the Reptilian Empire''s Army attacked a key human military installation on the planet Umbramontis in the Goddess'' Crescent region of the outworld sector. It was a largely unprovoked attack that was the culmination of months of provocation. Luckily, the courageous human fighters were able to repel the attack, but now Turraski is preparing for a large-scale attack on the central crescent world of Mulgrath. After having discussions with President Alamore, the princess, and the admirals of the armada, we have decided it has become time to take a stronger hand in countering this threat." There was a brief applause from the crowd of about 25 people in the seats.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "We are readying two of the current ten completed divisions of the armada to make a stand at the Mulgrath system. This will be an operation involving cooperation not only between elven ships and outworld forces, but militias and rebel paramilitary groups with whom we have up to now had an adversarial and contentious relationship. When we put aside our differences the synergy of the determination and fighting spirit of the human and the technological might of the Elf we will be a force to be reckoned with, and we will send a strong message to Turraski and his new Nal''Larak allies." There was a loud applause in the room that lasted for about 10 seconds.

    "Now" Gall asked panning his eyes across the room. "Are there any suggestions or concerns? It seems to me to be a straightforward operation."

    "Grand Admiral" Bohr spoke up without any hesitation whatsoever. "The Fire Flower Clan has a very large number of infantry that they can quickly land on the planet. How do you plan to protect Mulgrath City from a surface-level assault?" Several of the people in the room turned to look at Bohr.

    "We have the utmost confidence in the outworld forces to repel these attacks-"

    "How confident are you?" Bohr said cutting off Gall mid-sentence. "They were caught off guard at Umbramontis but they won''t make that mistake again. If the Fire Flower captures or destroys the city it won''t matter if you beat the reptilian fleet back."

    "We can deter or prevent most of the larger and less agile landing crafts from reaching the surface, the artillery that the outworld forces seems to have serendipitously acquired should be able to take care of the rest" Gall said with a faint trace of annoyance in his tone.

    "I have another concern, Grand Admiral" Bohr said respectfully, "don''t you think what Turraski is doing seems a bit rash? He has thus far been meticulous and careful with his actions and now he seems abruptly aggressive, perhaps he has something up his sleeve that we don''t yet know about."

    "Director Bohr, I appreciate you trying to keep us honest, but what Turraski is doing is nothing more than an act of desperation coupled with trying to save face from an embarrassing defeat. At this point he knows it''s going to be hard to uproot the humans from the Crescent and that it will be very difficult to stop the completion of the Royal Armada. If he shows any weakness he will face dissent from within his own ranks."

    "How sure are you that you know what the Fire Flower is capable of?" Bohr asked. "They have been in isolation for a long time."

    "Director Bohr" Zorthia''s voice interjected, "you must trust us that we have learned as much as we can about this prodigal clan. It is not in our interest at this point to allow the largest city in the Crescent to fall to the reptilia."

    "The Fire Flower clan has been completely scouring the surface of Zenithala. Who knows what kind of weaponry they may have found on the planet."

    "We have been carefully monitoring what is happening on Zenithalan surface" Gall countered. "I have spoken to Geerhill Golmad on this matter, and he is confident they won''t find anything to give them an advantage over us."

    "You are confident you know all of the secrets of a planet that has never been explored fully by any hominid before?" Bohr noticed out of the corner of his eye that the president turned his head to give him a look.

    "You will need to speak with Geerhill Golmad on this matter. I''m no expert on these worlds that have no tactical purpose to us or to you" Gall said at last showing some sign of losing patience. Bohr said nothing more as Gall began to go over the details of the operation, feeling that his point had been made. After a few minutes of barely paying attention of an exchange between Geerhill Golmad and Giff Gray, a message notification came in on an entangled line. Bohr got up and left the room and into the hallway.

    "Bohr" he said picking up the entangled line.

    "Ronald, it''s Roman, can you hear me?" a concerned Roman Darossa said.

    "Yes, what''s going on?"

    "I''m here at the Xanadu resort, Milo and Kayla aren''t here or anywhere at the pavilion, and their carrier is at the space port. Do you suppose that something bad has happened to them?"

    "I would not worry about them yet, but please keep an eye out for them."

    "Yes, but you aren''t concerned that this so-called Network has found out that they are CIA agents? We have gotten word from Kayla''s brother that this organization is very resourceful and powerful and secretive. "

    "I wouldn''t worry about them just yet, Roman" Bohr reassured him. "As for now, can I ask you do something that might be a bit dangerous?"

    "Sure, Bohr, what is it?"

    "Grand Admiral Gall and the royal armada are planning to make a stand against the reptilia in the Mulgrath system. I want you to go to Mulgrath City and make sure Ava Baxter is safe through the standoff. If things start looking bad for the city, and I''ve got a hunch they will, I want you to get her out of there as fast as you can."

    "You think she''ll go down with the ship if the lizards take the city?" Roman asked.

    "No. It''s not her safety from the reptilian forces I''m concerned about."

    "Huh?" Roman asked sounding bewildered.

    "This entire confrontation the elves are assembling is purely a late ploy to try and bring an election back into reach. I have a strong feeling there''s a low ceiling of how hard they are willing to fight, here. If the elves are unable to save the city without too much military exertion on their part, I fear they will have Baxter arrested."

    "You really think they would go that far, Ronald?"

    "Yes. It''s perfectly legal within the Quildalar Accords and after the raids on rebel munitions the risk of a revolt by militias and rebel groups is minimal. I feel that this may have all been planned in advance to begin with and the election was conceded the day those raids . If you tell Ava Baxter what I told you and that I insist that she leave the system entirely, I feel sure she''ll comply. Take her back to Earth. I don''t want her anywhere in the outworld sector if the Mulgrath system falls."

    "Why don''t I just go over there and tell her we need to leave immediately before any shots are fired?"

    "We need to have a convenient excuse for the president to have her moved. Plus, it won''t look good for her if she leaves and the city is successfully defended."

    "Yes, Ronald. Anything else?"

    "That''ll be all. Stay safe, Roman." And the line was severed. Bohr walked back down the hallway into the conference room.

    .

 The Lucid Spirit

    Sometime within Milo''s sleep, he once again found himself in the clearing with Nadarska''s tree. He walked quickly over to the anthropomorphic avatar standing by the tree, for the first time feeling more eagerness than bewilderment or dread.

    "I can sense that Baycorf has been extracted" Nadarska finally said as Milo got within a few feet of where he was standing. "Was the book retrieved?"

    "Yes, it was" Milo said.

    "Excellent" Nadarska says drawing the word out for emphasis. "I want to do something to you to as a token of my thanks. Can you think of anything?"

    "I do have some question to ask of you."

    "Always the insatiable curiosity. What is it you want to know?"

    "Could you locate the ghost of Aura Madeen for me?" Milo asked hopefully.

    " I don''t need to find her because I know where she is. If you don''t mind my asking, why are you interested in meeting with her?"

    "Baycorf implored on me to go and see her."

    "If that is the case, then I would go, but it is certainly not the safest trip that you can make."

    "Where is she?" Milo asked once again feeling a sense of dread.

    "Marzala. In the northwestern portion of the planet there is a valley in the middle of some high mountains where the volcanic particulates and ash to not raise high enough to get to. Her apparition is usually seen there. There is a pretty mysterious temple there created by the grays that I''m not quite sure of its purpose."

    "Do you have the power to summon the ghost of any once-living person?"

    "No, I have no control over who survives death and to what degree they do."

    "How exactly does one become a ghost after death?" Milo asked feeling more bold with Nadarska''s gratitude to ask questions that served no purpose other than to satiate his general curiosity.

    "I do not understand the metaphysics to large degree be honest with you. Often it''s when someone dies with some sort of strong lingering emotion or a sense of non-closure in their life. That is one aspect of human folklore which is true."

    "I can''t say that I''ve seen too many spirits around to converse and interact with" Milo said, unwittingly channeling Kayla.

    "Yes of course, but most spirits have left behind their physical brains which are almost always required for any lucid interaction within the physical world. But Aura, she is different. She can not only converse with living beings, but retains much of her memories and faculties and not fragmented memories and emotions. I strongly suspect this is concomitant with her unusually strong spirit ¨C or metaphysical mind - she has. Sort of like yours."

    "Spirit?" Milo asked, figuring that showing a tinge of skepticism and doubt might be a good way to bait him into giving some explanations.

    "Yes. All intelligent life has dual physical brains and metaphysical minds or spirits. It is why the dream of many elves and humans to create machines smarter than any living thing to attain all the secrets of the universe has never been realized. Machines have strictly a physical component." Milo recalled reading the writings of Frik Heredik, who argued a true replication of cognition in software would require an infinite software code.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    "Nadarska" Milo said turning the course of the conversation. "What can you tell me about the goddess? "Do you really think she''s going to kill all humans?"

    "Probably not, but I wouldn''t put it past her if she feels there is no other option. She will spare no one suffering and anguish to achieve whatever her vision for the future of life is."

    "And yet there are humans that want to do her bidding?" quipped Milo.

    "Of course. The capacity for self-loathing is a uniquely human trait. They are easily tricked and manipulated into following her. They are trusting the apparently magical being interacting with them, as are you."

    "Are you asking me to be more suspicious and distrustful of you?" Milo asked surprised at hearing those words.

    "No. Use your great physical brain and metaphysical mind that I endowed you with to guide you." At that moment, Milo saw the familiar blurring of his surroundings and he went back to sleep, even though he had a lot more questions to ask. Sometime later, Milo awoke. He took his tablet and opened the journal of the Leshraka king that Baycorf had given him. Most of the entries appeared to be not overly interesting, detailing various banal, every-day activities of a king. He was not far from closing the diary and finding something else to read when he finally found an entry that caught his eye.

    Precession 1475, Day 467

    Today we were informed that Leshraka farms in the southwestern portion of the tribal plains were completely destroyed by the Elven Queen''s soldiers. This is well outside of disputed territory where our farming rights have not yet been contentious. The only real recourse at this point is to gather every surviving member of our people and flee across the Great Sea to the southlands ¨C a perilous journey on which at least some probably won''t survive. I have informed my subjects of this choice and have made it clear that the purpose of this journey is not to start a new life, but to buy time to try and find some way with which to stave off our destruction at the behest of Gaia.

    At this point I must take the prophets of Nadarska at their word that the goddess intends to destroy our people and leave no trace, and thus the time to attempt to make peace with the elf kingdom is over. I have thought long and hard to think of a way to regain the upper hand against Gaia''s servants, and have surmised the only way to do that is to take hostage the flora and fauna of the lands with the demand of leaving us alone, but I do not know of how to do that without putting ourselves in great peril.

    As he was pondering this, the door opened and Kayla returned from her morning jog on the beach.

    "Kayla, I know where Aura Madeen is. I think we should go and visit her."

    "Where?" Kayla asked seeming surprisingly interested. Milo hesitated for a moment, knowing giving the answer wasn''t going to go over well.

    "There''s apparently some kind of gray structure on Marzala where the ghost can be seen." Kayla heaved a big sigh.

    "I didn''t think you''d be very receptive to going there" Milo said.

    "I got message from Roman" Kayla replied. "It said that unless we''ve got any useful leads he wants us to leave tomorrow and at the end of the day and he will have someone else check us out. The armada is sending a bunch of ships to the Mulgrath system to fight the reptilian fleet there. I''ve been willing to follow a lot of the strange directions this mission has taken, but I''m not willing to go to a place as dangerous as Marzala to go and visit a so-called ghost. That luxury carrier we have just won''t be able to handle the atmosphere"

    "We could borrow a more suitable craft from Dover. He''ll help us out after what we did for him."

    "I''m sorry, Milo, but I just don''t think we''re going to get any useful and worthwhile information and since there''s no reason to think otherwise we would technically be disobeying orders." Kayla protested. Milo was about to decide to just give it a rest before a thought occurred to him.

    "I think I may have a way to get the reptilian fleet to back off. The fleet and the outworld forces could both be putting themselves in a lot of danger. Victor''s unit is almost surely going to get deployed there, don''t you think?" Kayla looked at him with a really worried, grim look on her face.

    "Kayla, I''m serious here, I''m not trying to manipulate your emotions-"

    "If you''ve got any way help stop the entire sector from getting engulfed in war then I''m in. Ask Brian if they have any spacecraft that can safely reach the surface of Marzala" Kayla interrupted. She walked into the bathroom to go take her shower. Milo picked up his phone to dial Brian.

 The Singed Leaf Elder

    Baycorf opened the door to the small study to find the elderly, rotund, and wrinkled lizard sitting inside the study. When he saw the gray he closed the book and shelved it.

    "Prudasaur" Baycorf said softly and warmly. "It has been too long. And how goes things for you and the Singed Leaf?"

    "Well enough for now" the old lizard said. "I''ve got to admit I''m surprised to still see you here. I didn''t think even you could escape from where you were imprisoned."

    "I wish I could tell you I managed to get here using just my own wit and resourcefulness, but it took several concurrent strokes of luck to get here."

    "Come walk with me" the lizard says. "I want you to see the orangeberry trees within the agridome. They are quite impressive." The two of them left the room and began walking down the wide corridor.

    "So what brings you here, besides your luck?" the lizard asked.

    "I have a question to ask you. Your hoplites removed a special gray artifact from a grotto on Zentithala. What do you know about it?" At hearing this, the lizard stopped walking and turned to look at the gray.

    "We have removed many artifacts from that world to keep them from the wrong hands."

    "Yes, but surely you recognized the uniqueness of the particular item I am referring to. It left behind some traces of dark energy fields all over the walls all over the hidden grotto where it was found." The lizard looked into the large, black eyes of the gray, as if he could somehow read the facial expressions of a face without muscles capable of expression.

    "Tell me one thing, Baycorf. Where does your loyalty really lie?"

    "My loyalty is now where it always was¡­with the mission the metaphysicist triumvirate took on when they arrived in this galaxy. That makes us natural allies." Prudasaur paused for a moment, seeming unsure of what he should say to the gray.

    "I know exactly what device it is you were referring to" the lizard said resuming walking in the direction he was previously going. Baycorf immediately began walking with him. "We found a map in some stuff of Grithmeer''s that we have. It showed the location of where we had hidden an object that he apparently considered pretty important."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Do you still have the device?" asked the gray with a definite sound of eagerness in his voice.

    "No. "

    "You gave it up?" Baycorf said in a surprised, exasperated tone. "Why?"

    "We attempted to contact Cubork who has been trying to find the piece that we found¡­ but were unable to find him. So we gave it to a human who will be able to get it to him. If I or Visler had known you''d be seeing the light of day again we would have waited for you."

    "Where is Cubork and why can''t you give it to him yourself? I thought you were friendly with him?"

    "Cubork has been interacting with the Cult of the Goddess. He has apparently tricked the head of the cult into thinking that he can help him find the object. He wants to find out what it does and what the cult''s plan for it is. We haven''t been able to contact him since then. This human is a trusted friend of Visler''s and apparently also has access to the cult. The cultists will not trust singed leaf lizards, as you can possibly imagine. We didn''t want to blow his cover by having one of our own show up and be detected." The double doors opened as the pair approached them, revealing the vast dome. The short and wide trees with bright, orange berries created a very large green blanket over the basin below the balcony where they were standing where the trees grew.

    "Do you happen to know what the key does, Baycorf?" Prudasaur asked getting straight to the point.

    "I''m not sure" Baycorf answered. Prudasaur turned to look at him with a minor scowl on his face.

    "I opened up and gave you full honesty about what has happened. I would be nice of you to show some reciprocity. You''ve got Alkarog''s manuscripts, so surely you know something about it."

    "I''m being completely open and honest with you, Prudasaur. Alkarog''s books only make brief mentions of it. My guess is that Gaia''s Cult may be the only ones who really know what it does."

    "And why do you think that?" Prudasaur asked with a genuine sound of skepticism in his voice.

    "They have the talisman of the Goddess" Baycorf said. Prudasaur''s eyes widened.

    "How sure are you of that?"

    "Almost entirely. They seem entirely too agile and resourceful to be going without guidance from a metaphysical organism." Prudasaur''s expression quickly changed to one of concern.

    "That''s not good news" Prudasaur replied looking thoughtfully into the orchard.

    "The real problem will come if the talisman gets into the hands of the Fire Flower, but I fear it may already be too late." Prudasaur stared out into the large canopy orangeberry trees, as in deep thought.

    "Cubork said that he was headed for the Wyrn sector, last we heard from him."

    "That probably won''t do a lot of good. The Cult is nomadic and doesn''t stay in one place for long" Baycorf explained.

    "Well" the lizard said looking to be in deep thought "I don''t know what else I can really do. If I were you I would speak to Visler, but I don''t think he will be of much more help."

    "I think I will" Baycorf said. "And thank you." Baycorf disappeared out the double door of the agridome.

 Aura Madeen

    Within one hour of contacting Brian (who agreed to let Milo and Kayla borrow the carrier without condition), the SPG fired up and they were en route to Marzala. The ride was fairly quiet with neither Kayla nor Milo saying very much. It was a pretty intimidating-looking world. Milo could see from space the splotches of discoloration from volcanic ash.

    "Help me keep a close eye on the navigation system" Milo said as they got into the atmosphere. "If the ash gets too thick it we will have to try and follow the most recent course as best as we can."

    "I''m more concerned about the thermometer" Kayla remarked. "The cooling systems are already working at maximum power."

    "Don''t worry too much about that. We''re going to be at too high an altitude for it to overheat" Milo said secretly not having full confidence that the cooling system would hold up. He had nothing but the word of Brian that it could handle an atmospheric entry into one of the clouds of ash. As they got closer, Milo could feel the cabin getting hotter. For a moment he did feel scared the cabin would overheat, but after a moment the air started to get clearer and Milo could see the mountains. It took only a few moments for the temple to come into view. It was not an elegantly constructed building that resembled a giant boulder of obsidian on the ground.

    "Twenty eight degrees Celsius and 0.15 atmospheres O2 pressure" Milo said looking at the caeliometer. "I''ll be darned, this place does have some fairly normal conditions."

    The ground around the temple was surprisingly soft, as if it had a lot of moisture. Milo could see as they walked towards the temple a clear indentation of where some kind of large starship had landed.

    "I guess someone''s been here recently" Kayla remarked. They walked through the front entrance ¨C basically a tunnel with no door or hatch - of the temple to see a narrow corridor lit up completely with lights."

    "Milo, this doesn''t look like any ancient temple to me" Kayla whispered. "The lights are on." They walked inside and went around the outer corridor in the building, before turning to go into a perpendicular corridor towards the middle of the building.

    "Is anyone here?!" Milo shouted.

    "What is it about men and shouting in unfamiliar places like this?!" Kayla rebuked.

    "I don''t know how else to contact a ghost" Milo said. Milo turned and entered a corridor perpendicular to the perimeter corridor where they were walking. This one was dimly lit, and it led to a large, bright room with a big column in the middle that went all the way up to the ceiling. Milo looked around and could not see anyone.

    "Hello, is anyone here?" Milo shouted again.

    "Milo, I really, really don''t like this place" Kayla protested. Milo ignored. He normally would have been afraid, but he was too excited and determined to meet Aura Madeen to feel it. There was an elevated walkway around the perimeter of the large room with more doorways to them, but Milo couldn''t see how to get up there. He turned around to see what Kayla was doing and almost jumped out of his clothing.

    Just a few feet from him was standing what appeared to be a translucent elfess with golden-tan hair, about five feet and ten inches, stood about eight feet from him She had a bit of a glow to her that almost made her look surreal.

    "Are you¡­Aura Madeen" Milo asked not sure how to address the apparition. The apparition took a couple of steps toward him and took a closer look to him.

    "Yes, that is me" she said in a soft voice that almost sounded as if she were in a tunnel. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to keep you waiting or to frighten you, but I wanted to get a chance to feel your mind waves before revealing myself to you. You are the human conduit of Nadarska, aren''t you?" Milo nodded his head.

    "I would never have been able to believe it had I not met you in person" she said. Milo did not ask her what she was referring to but instead just stood and took in the surreal feeling of speaking to what appeared to be a deceased historical figure.

    "It is an honor to meet you" Milo said.

    "And who is this?" she said turning to look at Kayla. Milo paused for a minute, making sure to think before he spoke.

    "This is my wife, Melinda" Milo said gesturing toward her. He didn''t know if there was any point to using his alias with the ghost, but used it anyway.

    "Hello" Kayla mustered seeming almost a bit frightened.

    "She really is very lovely" Aura said looking at her. "That gorgeous, wavy red hair is truly a great work of nature''s art. You are very blessed. Courtship can be quite challenging with your neurotype ¨C Carlton Carver himself could never find a woman who is a great fit ¨C but you seem to have managed all right."

    "We have been great together" Milo said. "We''ve been everywhere together. I was told that I needed to visit you, and Nadarska told me to look for you here."

    "Yes" the ghost said softly and for a brief moment became almost truly transparent. "First, I assume you know all about who I am, so I will skip that and tell you what I know about you. You are the person whose existence was predicted by Grithmeer, one of the metaphysicist triumvirate who studied metaphysical organisms like Gaia and Nadarska."

    "Who are the metaphysicists?" Milo asked, unable to resist the temptation to take the conversation off course to satisfy his curiosity.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "They are basically the technologists of the grays. They created all of the artifacts in this galaxy that do not obey any apparent set of physical laws."

    "The ones who brought on the Great Human-Elf War" Kayla interjected. The ghost turned again to look at Kayla.

    "I can assure you that neither I nor Carlton nor Grithmeer had any intention of starting any kind of war. While I won''t claim we were not in part responsible, a big part of the blame goes on Queen Tarissa and the royal family for allowing themselves to become a willing servant of Gaia."

    "And didn''t the metaphysicists basically create Gaia?" Kayla inquired.

    "No, they merely created the means to communicate with her. They are an immutable property of our universe and have been around since the beginning. That reality needs to be accepted in order to fully grasp the threat that we face."

    "So you don''t have any guilt about all of the destruction the war brought on so many people? Did you do all you could to reach out with your own half-sister the queen to try and smooth everything over?" Kayla asked without any sign of delicacy in her voice. Milo was more surprised in Kayla''s apparent credulity as to who the apparition was more than he was feeling frustrated with her bluntness.

    "I am not proud of everything that I did or everything that I did not do. I could''ve done more to try and stop the war than I did. But I won''t spend your time defending myself. If I can only get you to change your mind about one person, though, it would be Carlton. He is the most selfless and good-natured person I have ever met. His very nature seems to defy evolution itself. It is a great tragedy that he has been made into a villain of history by some." Kayla said nothing, but certainly appeared to be holding back.

    "Aura, I have some questions I need to ask you" Milo said wanting to cut off any more of that conversation "do you know if the crew for the Morian mining frigate came here?" Milo asked changing the course of the conversation. "We were told that the captain of the ship was looking for you."

    "You refer to Wally Gold and his group of followers. They came here looking for gray artifacts to sell on the black market. They came to this temple and found me here, inquiring about my treasure."

    "Well, what was that and did you give it to them? Did you give them your treasure?" Milo asked suspecting that the oxidation super catalyzer may have been the gift.

    "I do not know where the idea that I have some kind of treasure came from. At one point when I was alive I had the responsibility of safeguarding what Grithmeer said was perhaps the very most important gray artifact. Near the end of the war, however, he took it saying that he needed to hide it from the elves."

    "Do you know anything about that artifact?" Milo inquired.

    "It isn''t a weapon, and it''s somehow related to this structure. In spite of what you might have heard, Grithmeer never told me many secrets."

    "Could this artifact be the treasure that they were referring to?" Milo said still pressing onward.

    "It might be" Aura said. "I may have metaphysical existence, but I can''t see all things and I get pretty limited guests here."

    "Was there a young man named Matt Snedecor with this group?" Milo asked.

    "Yes, in fact I do remember that young man with curly hair. I could feel his fear."

    "You can read minds?" Kayla asked with an air of skepticism in her voice.

    "No, but I can definitely sense physiological manifestations of various feelings and emotions. He was terrified and seemed that he did not want to be here. Why do you ask?"

    "We are looking for him" Milo informed her.

    "I asked Wally where they were from. He just said the group had no home." At these words, Milo could not help but feel a little bit discouraged. This was the primary reason that he wanted to make the dangerous trip. Milo nodded his head.

    "Thank you, Aura" Milo said doing the best he could to try and sound polite. "I have one more question for you to ask. Do you know where the lost ship of Commodore Icarus Beed is? You did know him when he was alive didn''t you?" Aura''s apparition just stood there silent for a few seconds.

    "He and his flotilla hid on the outskirts in the Cryne system from Admiral Agorja''s fleet. The ghost of Icarus Beed probably still haunts the command ship. What do you plan to do with it?"

    "I have heard that. I want to see if I can''t utilize the atomic fission missiles on board the ship. The Reptilian fleet is trying to force all humans and elves from the Goddess'' Crescent." Milo explained.

    "You cannot commune with Icarus Beed as you can with me. You may not be able to make any use of him."

    "We''ve got a sentience amplifier that''s supposed to help with that." Milo retorted grabbing and holding up the rod that was attached to his belt.

    "Really" Aura said with a genuine sound of surprise. "That would be Grithmeer''s work." For a moment no one said anything. Milo really felt like he needed to be getting more information from her, but couldn''t think of what to say.

    "Well, I don''t wish to hold you up" the ghost said.

    "Hold on a minute, I have one question" Kayla interrupted. "I''ve heard you somehow knew that Milo was going to be born before he was actually born. Can you explain that?"

    "Of course. Back before the Talisman of Nadarska was destroyed, Grithmeer always said Nadarska intended to create a person with an extraordinary neurotype and a particularly strong metaphysical mind."

    "I don''t suppose you know anything about my father?" Milo asked.

    "You''ve never heard anything about your father before?" Aura said sounding surprised and sympathetic. Milo shook his head.

    "He was a member of the Hominid Defense Directorate, an agency ran jointly by Royal intelligence and the CIA. He also did work for the Royal Humanology Institute and traveled a lot. He was apparently pretty smart, and apparently a great athlete as well."

    "How do you know this" Kayla asked with a barely-disguised air of suspicion. "Didn''t you die even before Milo''s father was born?"

    "Just something else I learned from Grithmeer. Even he was skeptical that Nadarska would actually succeed, though. Can''t say I know much about your mother, though."

    "Her I am familiar with" Milo said. "When she wasn''t suffering from the schizophrenia she was able to paint some truly gorgeous pictures. She submitted herself to experiments in the Humanology Institute in exchange for a nice disability pension." Aura said nothing for a few seconds.

    "You need not feel like you''re just a pawn in the game or some kind of experiment. You can do many great things beyond what you were intended for." The ghost seemed genuinely sympathetic.

    "Don''t feel sorry for me." Milo answered confidently. "My situation gives me a genuine sense of purpose and context for my life. Very few people get what I get, especially people like me. I consider myself to be a very blessed person."

    "You are very wise. I wish you all the luck and good fortune possible."

    "Thank you so much Aura" Milo said feeling better about making the trek all the way to the world. Aura became gradually more transparent over a few seconds and then could not be seen any more.

    "Milo, how do you plan to extract the fission missiles from an old ship?" Kayla asked.

    "We''re going to ask Dover for help, of course. Surely he''s got some means of plundering old battle sites." They both walked briskly from the central chamber of the temple back out to their carrier.

 The Zalzok Strain

    As Dalton Dover was scanning the pages of his new volume of the book of Alkarog, something caught his eye.  It had a lot of genomic notations and a picture of some kind of insectoid creature on it.

    Acrididae Carnivora ¨C Zalzok strain

    I came across this searching through the archives of the Nal''Larak and thought it warranted inclusion in this anthology.  As far as warfare goes, it is one of the great marvels that does not use any metaphysical power or principles.

    One of the catalysts that culminated in the great war between the clans was an attack on the Nal''Hirak station near Torg City on the capital of Droyla, one of the twin worlds of the reptilian sector that historically belonged to the Fire Flower Clan.  The Fire Flower had artillery but limited infantry and did not want to risk of a bombardment of the much more well-armed Nal'' Hirak.

    One of the Fire Flower''s top technologists, Zalzok devised a solution based upon his studies of elven genetic engineering techniques.  He created a modified version of the flesh-eating insect Acrididae Carnivora native to Trygoth, the reptilian homeworld.  This modified version will and must feed on a special kind of lipid that can only be found in the cells of almost no living things outside of the reptilia and their closest evolutionary cousins.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    The insects were massed produced fairly easily and then unleashed among their unsuspecting enemies. Conventional weaponry is all but useless once a swarm of these hungry creatures are over their target area.  Their metabolisms are accelerated and they have no way to slow it down, meaning they are ravenous and that their numbers dissipate quickly from starvation after they have no food source, preventing any ecological damage which the Nal Larak clans strongly eschew.

    Dover looked at the list of loci and the sequences to be replaced.  There were only 28, which was a surprisingly low number to make a seemingly large number of modifications to this particular insectoid.  Dover pulled out his phone and pushed a few buttons on it.  Brian''s voice answered almost immediately.

    "Brian, can you ready the biosynthesis lab and the personnel.  We''re going to need to work quickly, here."

    "I''m guessing you haven''t found anything we can use in Alkarog''s book yet?" Brian asked.

    "Not exactly.  I''ll meet you over at the lab in 10 minutes."

    "All right" Brian asked.  "By the way, Chris and Melinda are here and say they want to borrow the crane ship.  He says he know of a place to get some useful weapons.  Can I give him the go?"

    "Yes" Dover answered, "but I want you to accompany him on this trip.  We need to give Milo room to do what he wants, but we also need to keep a close eye on him."

    "All right" Brian answered.  "I''m heading over the lab right now."

 The Vacuum Graveyard

    The craneship Milo, Kayla, and Brian were riding entered quasi-normal space-time at the outskirts of the Cryne system, and Milo could see very little.  The star was quite a long ways away but bright enough he could not see many other stars.  It felt like being in a large empty void with only a single light that couldn''t be reached.

    "I guess this could take quite a while" Kayla said with a sigh.

    "No" Brian said.  "It won''t take long to scan the system and figure out where we need to go."

    "Was Dover okay with letting us take this thing all the way out here?" Milo asked, figuring this was as good a time as ever to bring up the subject.

    "He''s tied up in trying to do something he found in the new Alkarog book" Brian answered back.  "He doesn''t mind at all."

    "What do you think of him?" Milo asked.  Brian stared out the window for a moment, as if taking the time to carefully word his response.

    "He''s not the most pleasant person to be around, which you''ve probably discovered.  He seems to carry around a bitterness over something I don''t know about that he can''t seem to let go of, and more so to the Royal Ministry of Science than the royal family itself.  But he is the most trustworthy individual you will ever meet.  If I didn''t believe in him I would''ve left the Network a long time ago."

    After flying around the outskirts of the system almost an hour and a half, Milo could finally make out the wreckage.  They were quite far out from the star of the system and it looked not much brighter than a bunch of silhouettes.

    "Amazing" Brian said seeming genuinely surprised to find something there.  "I had never even heard of the Cryne system, let alone that there was a battle here."

    "Icarus Beed and his entire flotilla basically hid an entire arsenal, but the elven Admiral Agorja found out they were hiding here, and pretty much tore the fleet into pieces" Milo explained.

    "How do you know we''re going to get anything useful?" Brian inquired.

    "I''m banking on the idea that Agorja  didn''t see any point in destroying or removing the cargo from the ship, and that being in the vacuum of space far away from the star''s radiation for all these many years has preserved the equipment." Suddenly, Milo could feel the crane ship slowing down.

    "Why is the autopilot slowing down?" Milo asked feeling very antsy.

    "The sensors have probably picked up a lot of small fragments out there.  This ship doesn''t have a military-grade hull and you''ve got to be careful with a lot of space trash floating around."  They made their way into the graveyard.  It seemed to more resemble a junk yard than a grave yard of ships. There were fragments of ships of all sizes just floating around.   It was quite dark and was hard to see anything, especially with large pieces of junk casting shadows over everything else.  The crane ship made some abrupt turns ¨C Milo assumed to plot the safest course possible through the junk.

    "There!" Milo said pointing to a large object that was partially lit by the sun''s light while the rest was a shadowy silhouette.  "That''s the command ship. Fusion Battlestar class, just like from the war era."

    "You two go ahead and get suited up and get inside the airlock" Brian ordered.  "If we stay too long here I''ll get hypothermia from the chills of this creepy place."  Kayla and Milo did as they were told by Brian and left the cockpit area.

    Brian redirected the crane ship over to the ship Milo pointed out.  The light on the crane ship had a pretty short range, and they had to get right up next to it in order to get a good look at it.  It looked to be intact for one that that has just been floating in space for decades.  There was one obvious and big hole at the stern with some chunks floating around it.  Brian found the bay doors on the craft and brought the craft to a stop relative to the wrecked vessel.  He turned on the massive robotic arm which extended from its folded position on top of the crane ship.  The big arm reached over and the entire ship shook a bit when the arm got its electromagnetic grip on the door.  The door was torn open with relative ease.  Brian steered the crane ship as close as he could to the ruined ship.

    "Chris, Melinda¡­can you hear me?"  he asked speaking into the microphone on his headset.

    "Perfectly" Milo said.  "We''re opening the airlock"

    "Okay" Brian replied.  "I am turning the gravity well off and you can put your jetpack suits on" he said as he pulled a lever and turned a crank on the control panel.  "Be careful not to use up your ion thrusters.  You use them up and I don''t know if I have any way to help you get back."  Milo felt his weight disappear and he and Kayla pulled the packs over their heads down and snapped them into place.  They sort of resembled a pair of wings, with two struts attached to the backpack at shoulder-level that protruded to either side with round thrusters at the end.

    "Where''s the controller for the thruster?" Milo said over the communication system.

    "It''s a brain-to-computer interface" he heard Brian''s voice reply.  "Try to think about moving forward and you will."  Milo did as he was told and sure enough, the pack pushed him forward with a slight thrust.  He found he could control the turning of the thrusters will relative ease.  It almost felt natural, as if the suit and jetpack were part of his body.  The distance between the airlock of the crane ship and the nuclear frigate seemed much larger than it was. Milo summed up his courage and rocketed himself into the chasm of vacuum in between the two vessels and got inside the door with no problem.  Milo shined the light around the bay.  Luckily, there wasn''t much debris that he could see.

    "Over there" Kayla said pointing.  Milo could barely make out Kayla pointing to the wall opposite the door that they entered where a sliding door was cracked open.  Milo and Kayla both thrusted over to where the door was.  Milo grabbed hold of the two doors and attempted to pull them apart, but they wouldn''t budge.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    "Arm strength amplification activated" Milo heard a female, computerized voice inside his helmet.  Milo grabbed the doors again and pulled and they came open quite easily.  Milo and Kayla went inside the door and into the corridor inside.

    "Do you know where we are going, Milo?" Milo heard Kayla''s voice over the communicator in his ear.

    "We need to get to the missile deck.  It''s on the upper part of the stern, I think" Milo replied.  The corridor was very eerie and no noise could be heard except for the pump circulating air throughout his suit.  There wasn''t many signs of decay aside from some damage probably caused from the battle.  Milo pulled the door to the stairs out of the way.  The stairs and the walls around the stairwell were completely mangled.

    "We can''t go up the stairs" Milo said.

    "Find the elevator shaft" Brian replied.  Milo and Kayla kept thrusting themselves down the corridor.  Sure enough, there was a couple of large, metal, sliding doors.  Milo grabbed the doors and pulled them apart again with the artificial strength amplification.

    "I think I might could live in this thing a while" Milo said as the doors came apart.

    "Oh my God!" Kayla shrieked.  The elevator was at their level, and inside was the body of a Union Naval officer, his clothes and body pale white but otherwise seemingly completely preserved in the vacuum with no radiation.  Milo''s entire body felt like its temperature had dropped to near freezing.

    "What''s the matter?!" Brian asked loudly sounding concerned.

    "A body" Kayla answered forcing herself to look at it so that Brian could see it on the camera.  "Guess I shouldn''t be surprised here."

    "Chris" Milo could hear Brian''s voice say.  "Say ''activate hacksaw'' and tear a hole in the top of the elevator and just go straight up the shaft."

    "Activate Hacksaw!" Milo said feeling almost like he was giving some kind of magical incantation.  A long, metal bar with a circular blade extended from the compartment on the forearm of his hand.  The blade easily tore through the roof of the elevator.  It felt very strange for there to not be any noise or sparks as this was being done. Milo cut a large section of the elevator and gave a push.  The piece that he had cut out went spinning upward through the shaft.  Milo and Kayla ascended the shaft for about 15 feet before reaching another door.  Milo once again pried the door open.

    There were several more bodies floating around in the corridor in the upper level.  The macabre sightings chilled Milo to the bone.  Milo figured that they sealed off the upper level of the ship when the hull was breached and eventually exhausted their oxygen supply.  After thrusting down the corridor about 40 feet, they came to a large door with a large yellow and black symbol on it.

    "What is that?" Brian asked.

    "It''s the old terrestrial-age symbol for ionizing radiation safety" Milo informed them.  "This must be the missile bay."   Milo tried to open the door, but even with the assistance from the strength augmentation system, he couldn''t get it completely open.

    "Help me, Kayla" Milo said.  I think I can get it open but I will need your help.  Kayla grabbed the lower part of the door while Milo grabbed the upper part.  With both of their suits pulling the door finally opened with an abrupt movement.  Inside was a very narrow passage way going off to the right ¨C almost too narrow for the protrusions on their suits.  They made their way through the narrow passage and came to a staircase that went downwards into a control room.  Near the front of the room was a large computer terminal.

    "I think this is it!" Milo said excitedly.  "Brian, I will make the scan and send the data to you."  Milo hit the button on the helmet.

    "I think I can get the missiles into the cargo of the crane ship" Brian said.  "There''s just one problem, it could take us too long to crack the launch codes.  Those things can be pretty sophisticated, even for our technology."

    "I''ve got a plan for that" Milo said.  He took the rod from the side of his leg and held the glowing, blueish-white orb over his head.  "Captain Beed, if you can hear this, we desperately need your help."

    "Milo, there''s no air here!  Me and Brian are the only people that can hear you!" Kayla scolded him.  Milo ignored her.

    "Captain Beed, anyone, if you can hear us, please answer."  Milo could see or hear nothing, but the orb continued to blue bright blue.

    "Look Chris" Brian said.  "This was an idea worth trying but it looks like it''s just not going to work out.  You guys can just come on back to the crane ship."

    "No, I''m not done yet!" Milo said unwilling to yield a single inch to Brian or Kayla''s request.  "Captain Beed, if you can hear us, the Goddess Gaia is resuming her assault on humanity.  Your atomic fission weapons may have been scorned as barbaric and ancient, but they once ushered in an era of unprecedented peace on Earth in the terrestrial era, and I feel they do that for this entire portion of the galaxy.  I am pleading with you from the bottom of my heart to show yourself and help us."   Kayla and Brian said nothing.  A few seconds after, a transparent, white-hued apparition of a man appearing to be in his late 50s appeared  in front of him and Kayla.  The apparition walked right up next to Milo and placed his hand on the orb and pointed at Kayla and then at the orb.  Kayla activated her jets, almost knocking Milo back, and put her arm on the orb.

    "Who are you?" Milo could hear the ghost say inside his helmet.  Milo got a chill down his spine as the words were spoken to him.  "Have you come to resurrect me and my men?"

    "I can''t do that, I am sorry" Milo replied, feeling uneasy of what kind of quid pro quo he might end up with.  "I''m here just to seek your help, and if there''s anything we can do for you, let me know."

    "I will help you, but I will have one request of you" the apparition said.  "I don''t know who you are or why I feel more awake than I have since I died, but I need to tell you my story and I need you to promise me that it gets out to the world.   We were betrayed.   When President Henry Alamore surrendered to the royal armada, he gave away our hiding place here in exchange for retaining sovereignty of the Earth sector planet Ariguar, which his family owns much of.  He was credited for his great negotiations in the surrender but he had the leverage because he sold us out and allowed Admiral Agorja and Queen Tarissa to destroy our fleet."

    "Are you sure about that?" Milo asked.

    "Absolutely.  We asked Agorja if we could get immunity from the charges of using radiation-producing atomic weapons and he uncompromisingly refused to do it.  He told us that Alamore had given us away and that we needed to surrender to face justice.  Most of us refused to do so."

    "I''ll tell it to whoever might listen, but Henry''s grandson Griffin might sue me on his behalf" Milo said jokingly.

    "I''m not surprised that his grandson is president" the ghost said.  "I strongly suspect the Goddess has played a hand in the genetic lineage of that family and has played a part in helping them keep power."

    "I will do it" Milo promised.  "Can you help us with the launch codes?"

    The ghost said nothing, but disappeared.  For a minute, Milo wondered if Beed was not going to do it, but then, something truly amazing happened.  The computer terminal they were standing next to came to life and the words "ready for launch" on the display.

    "Wow, that really didn''t just happen did it?" Brian said. "There''s not even any power on these ships.  Those things are armed now.  I think I can tear open the hull and put all of the missiles In the cargo bay of the crane ship.  I''m just going to take a quick look at what we''re dealing with, first."  Milo and Kayla began to move back the way they came.

    "Bad news, Chris" Brian said a brief moment later. "I don''t know if there''s going to be enough of these things to bring down the reptilian fleet."

    "No, these will do fine" Milo answered.

    "Chris, most of these things will be shot before they can hit any ship.  I just don''t know how effective they will be if you can''t fire a barrage of them."

    "These warheads won''t be used to fight ships." Milo said.  "Trust me here."

 Dovers Gambit

    "Grand Admiral" Tal Roggle told Yaferni Gall, "I have informed all of the ships in our unit to retreat to the outskirts of the system.  All ships are accounted for except for the four that were destroyed."

    "This is very bad" Gall said shaking his head staring at the screen showing the movements of the reptilian ships.  At that moment the door to the bridge opened and Geerhill Golmad entered, with a grim look on his face.

    "Do you have any answers, Geerhill?" Gall asked nervously.

    "I have some very grave news" Geerhill said in a gruff voice.  "We have confirmed that the Fire Flower Clan''s ships have xenon plasma cannons."

    "What?!" Gall exclaimed with his mouth wide open.  "How is that possible?"

    "I have no idea how they managed it" Golmad said shaking his head.  "But we are certain that they do, and that explains why they were able to make quick work of several our ships."  Gall closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

    "Is there anything we can do?" Gall asked.

    "Not to salvage this particular battle" Geerhill said shaking his head.  "I have to suggest that we need to cut our losses and tell the reptilian officers that we are willing to cede this system and start the process of removing all humans from this system.  I don''t think the human forces on the ground will resist this time.  Turraski has landed at least a dozen large landing crafts on the surface."

    "All right" Gall said.  "Commander Roggle, contact Mulgrath City and tell them we have no cover for them, and they''re on their own if they don''t surrender."

    "You will do no such thing" said a loud voice coming from above.  Up on the large screen above them all in the bridge was an elfman with long, yellowish-white hair, long ears, and a pale face.

    "Who are you and how did you get on this communication line?" Gall asked.

    "I am the elf who is going to force a reckoning between the kingdom and the forces that are seeking to corrupt it."

    "Really?" Gall said haughtily.   "I suppose you have a way for us to reckon with the reptilian ships here?"

    "Yes.  My organization has acquired dozens of nuclear fission weapons from a frigate destroyed at the end of the war.  We have just successfully detonated one over the atmosphere of Zenithala, which is a sacred biosphere for the Nal''Larak.  The Fire Flower Clan forces on the ground in that system should be able to verify it.  Inform the reptilians that if they do not leave the system that we will unleash a torrent of missiles that will create severe environmental devastation on the planet."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "What you are speaking of doing is a war crime not allowed under Royal law." Gall said.

    "Yes, well I figured with the clans being reunited and the reptilians having far more power than you anticipated you might want to start playing by a different set of rules."

    "The elves all looked at each other, none knowing what to say."

    "Just tell them right now!" Dover exclaimed.  "You don''t have much time left."

    "Okay" Golmad said.  "Let''s assume we attempt to use your nukes as leverage.  The Fire Flower ships might retreat, but the Black Serpent and the Dragon Claw clans have substantial ground forces."

    "Once the Fire Flower ships are gone, then you can return to the planet and reengage their forces.  Without the xenon plasma batteries you should be able to beat them back without losing any more ships.  Leave the ground reptialian forces to me."

    "Oh, you''ve got your own army?  Or are you going to try and nuke the reptilian ground forces as well?" Gall asked saucily.

    "You might say I have my own army" Dover answered.  "Of course I don''t think you''re exactly going to really approve of what I''m going to do, but like I said, you will need to toss the rule book out if you really want to gain victory over the lizards.  Now are you going to tell the reptilia we can provide a nuclear bombardment to Zenithala in a moment''s notice?"  There was silence.  No one said anything.

    "Do you realize if we do this, the gloves are off.  There''s no turning back from this." Gall said.

    "I assure you the reptilia do not attend to fight with gloves.  You can either take the advantage that I''m giving you, or you can try to explain to the people of outworld your half-hearted attempt to defend the Crescent portion of outworld with the ships they''ve been helping to build."  Again, there was silence for a moment.  Gall narrowed his eyes.

    "I will forward your transmission to all of the reptilian ships.  That way, everyone will know it is you will be the one who is holding the knife to the carotid of the greatest ecological sanctuary in the galaxy, and not us."

    "We have an agreement then" Dover said.

    "All right then" Gall said.  "Forward the transmission to the Black Serpent Command ship" Gall said to an elf who was sitting at a control panel near where they were.

    "You''re really going to go along with this rogue''s plan" Roggle said looking at Gall.  "Having some renegade elf bring a victory here might be even worse than losing this system to the reptilia.  We will neither score a political victory nor will the reptilia remove the humans from the system" Roggle said angrily pounding his fist on a table.

    "We need time right now more than anything" Gall chided him.  "These crescent colonies are expendable but we desperately need to devise some way to keep these xenon vessels from torching this entire sector."

    "You realize, Grand Admiral, what it is that we need to do now?"  Roggle said.  Gall nodded his head.

    "Go ahead and do it.  See that our favorite humaness doesn''t leave this star system unless she''s in shackles" Gall replied walking briskly out of the bridge.

 Zalzok Attack

    Ava Baxter stood atop the observation tower looking over at the city. There were many people walking hurriedly in many directions.   To the east there were many ships lifting off from the Mulgrath City quay.  It was a disheartening but understandable site.  Off on the northwestern horizon she experienced deja vu once again seeing a large mass of reptilian forces preparing to overwhelm the town they were in.  The sliding doors came open and out walked Colonel Davenport, Roman Darossa, and one of her young aides.

    "Ms Baxter" Davenport said, "we have contacted Dragon Claw Chief Krall, Fire Flower Chief Strigwire.  They are giving everyone twelve hours to leave the city and are saying they will arrest anyone who remains afterward and kill anyone who resists."  Ava nodded her head.

    "Not the ending I was hoping for" Ava said with a sigh.

    "On the bright side" Davenport said, any sliver of hope of Lance winning the election has all but evaporated."  Ava took a large sip from whatever the hot drink it was that she was drinking.

    "I''m not sure how much that may matter now.  Just what is it that I will be governor of?  A people who have lost the spirit to stand up for what is rightfully theirs?  I hate to sound melodramatic, but I don''t think I''ve ever wanted to be governor any less than I do today."

    "I believe you are being melodramatic" the Colonel said.   It will take almost no time to rebuild any effective resistance.  And you will have full authority bolster the outworld forces."

    "Not if the new Quildalar Accords put a cap on the size of the standing army" Ava retorted.

    "Oh, there are ways to undermine that process" the Colonel said.  If you appoint me as the head of the outworld forces I will make it happen."

    "Ms. Baxter" Roman cut in when it was looking like she had some kind of retort for the Colonel.  "I hate to interrupt, but I''ve got an urgent message to deliver to you from Director Bohr.  He wants me to get you out of here and take you back to Earth."

    "The reptilia aren''t going to do anything to me" Ava said taking another sip from her hot drink. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "He''s not concerned about you being safe from the reptilia, he has good reason to believe that the Elven Marshalls are going to have you arrested."

    "Arrest me?" Ava said sounding befuddled.  "And why would they do that?"

    "They know about the role you played in helping to arm the militias at Umbramontis.  If they have you arrested Lance wins by default."

    "You see!" the Colonel interjected. "The fear they have for you is enough reason alone to not leave the race."

    "At this point my arrest might do more for our cause than-"

    "What is that!" Ava''s aide interrupted her words pointing to the southern horizon.  They all turned to look at what appeared to be a large dark-colored cloud that was on the horizon.  Gradually, the cloud was getting closer.  As the cloud was a few hundred yards away, it started to look familiar.

    "That looks like a locust swarm!"  Roman exclaimed.  "I didn''t think any species like that existed on this world''s ecosystem."

    "They don''t" Ava said.  "This is very weird."

    "They''re coming!" Ava''s aide shouted. As he said, the bugs were all flying through the city below them.  There had to have been many millions of them.   A few of them flew high enough and started landing on the group standing atop the tower.  They all shooed them away as best as they could.

    "They''re heading for the reptilian army! " the colonel shouted.  Sure enough, the swarm seemed to be heading towards the army.  Roman got out his magnification goggles and put them on.  He could see the hoplites running around frantically and many of them rolling over and shooting into the air, desperately trying to get them to go away.

    "Colonel, the swarm is attacking the reptilia!" Roman said in a stunned voice handing him the magnification goggles.  The Colonel took the goggles and looked toward the horizon where the army was standing.

    "He''s right" the Colonel said.  What the hoplites were doing were just of no use.  There were just too many bugs all over them.  "They''re retreating.  Mother of God, those crazy bugs might''ve just saved us!"  Just as he had said, both the infantry and the artillery retreated back to the northwest, and before long, was completely out of sight.  Loud cheers could be heard all around the tower in the city.

    "Who could''ve done this?" the Colonel asked Ava.

    "The same people that helped us win at Umbramontis, I''m guessing" Ava said.  The group continued to stare at the swarm off in the distance.  Most of it couldn''t be seen, and none of the reptilian forces could be seen.

    "Colonel" said a voice coming over Davenport''s radio.  "The reptilian forces are retreating all the way back to their ships."

    "Good" the Colonel said.  "Tell everyone to seek shelter.   Those insects are ravenous, and we don''t know if they will come after us next."

    "Ten-four" the voice said.

 Lady Avistra

    "Lady Avistra" said a fancily-dressed elf, "the Fire Flower chief has arrived and has made contact."

    "Thank you, Krillik.  It''s about time" said young and beautiful elfess sitting on the captain''s seat of the bridge.

    "Apologies my lady, if chatting with some pampered elven nobility isn''t very high on my priorities list." Strigwire said in a soft, sarcastic tone.

    "This will be the most important conversation you''ve had since your clan climbed out of your miserable hole" Avistra said.  "I''m here to make a deal with you, and possibly, forge what could be a beneficial cooperation between us."

    "What sort of exchange are we talking about?" Strigwire.

    "Information for a little bit of muscle" Avistra answered.  "How far into outworld do you think you can land a small force of about 50 hoplites and get out without detection?"

    "With all the outworld''s pathetic fleet in the crescent, we should be able to make a quick strike on any outworld planet."

    "Good" Avistra said.  "So here''s what I need you to do.  I have located the human who has the Talisman of the Goddess, but it''s going to take a little ¡­ assertive action ¡­ to get him to give it up."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    "You know where the talisman is?" Strigwire asked skeptically.  "How?"

    "The talisman was given to a young man by my mother, who may have had it deactivated.   I have managed to track this human down, and if you act quickly, you can take the talisman from him if he still has it."

    "All right, you have now got my attention, elfess" Strigwire said, his eyes narrowing.  "But this will leave us with the little quandary of who the talisman belongs to."

    "We will have to learn how to cooperate and share it" Avistra said.  "You will need the the talisman to gain the upper hand over Turraski, and I will need it to get the upper hand over my half-sister."

    "You think you have any chance of becoming the princess with the armada as strong as it has become?" Strigwire chuckled.

    "She has already shown a willingness to let Zenithala be taken hostage for a tactical advantage. Between that and the knowledge that the talisman still works, she will only become more vulnerable.  I''ve got more people in the Armada that would back me.  And you can think of me as an enemy if you want, but you can''t deny things will be easier for the Nal''Larak with me on the throne than with Zorthia."  Strigwire eyed her suspiciously for a moment, in deep thought and not sure of what to say.

    "I can get that talisman if it''s there and get out quickly" Strigwire said, "but I can''t guarantee you that Nadarska''s forces won''t torch her masterpiece with atomic weapons."

    "That''s why I''m counting on you to be inconspicuous and create the smallest splash that you can.  You Fire Flower seem to pride yourselves on ferocious stealthiness.  Now you''ve got a chance to prove that to the goddess herself."  Strigwire once again stood silently, thinking for a brief moment.

    "I''ll do it.  Just tell me where to strike" Strigwire said with an eagerness in his voice.

 Drakes Den

    Milo awoke from about seven-and-a-half hours of sleep,  and gave himself a hard stretch.  He felt at least as good as he had felt since the beginning of the last few days, which felt like an eternity.  There was no need to get out over fears of impending war and they were off the hook of the seemingly impossible task of finding Matt Snedecor.

    Milo got a notification on his tablet of getting the latest version of The Royal Comet, and the headline story nearly made him fall out of the bed.

    Ava Baxter Detained

    Challenger candidate for Outworld Governor Ava Baxter was detained several hours ago as she was prepared to address a crowd of supporters in Mulgrath City shortly after what looked like a bleak outlook in a battle with reptilian forces turned to yet another stunning victory for her and her coalition of militia and other rogue outworld human groups.  Baxter is being charged with illegal collaboration with paramilitary groups.  The group Baxter is accused of working with has made threats to bombard the ecological sanctuary world of Zenithala with atomic fission missiles and used Zalzok bugs to force back the reptilian ground forces surrounding the city, which legally counts as a use of biological weapons. Both actions constitute war crimes under royal law, which the outworld sector is bound by.

    The arrest is sure to be very controversial, as it is too late for any other challengers to file for candidacy for the gubernatorial office, meaning that incumbent Lance Larrett is the only remaining candidate now eligible for the race.  Elven Grand Admiral Yaferni Gall expressed support for the arrest, which was orderd by Outworld Royal Sector Commander Tal Roggle.  "We have very strong evidence of Ms. Baxter''s involvement with this particular underground organization and were willing to let it slide to avoid the appearance of acting politically, but after recent incidents we felt we can no longer avoid taking action."  Gall expressed grave concern that the underground organization, known as ''the Network'', has grown powerful enough to the point that it poses a threat to the kingdom.  The Network was an organization originally founded by the gray technologist Alkarog and was thought to have been disbanded.  The leader of the Network, known as Dalton Dover, is thought to be an old rival of Queen Adella.  Anyone with information about this organization and its whereabouts are encouraged to come forward.  Rewards will be offered.

    Milo''s spirits sank just as quickly as they had been lifted.  He did not have a long time to think about what he was reading before he heard the knock on the door to their suite.  Kayla, who was already stirring go up and quickly went to the door.  She turned on the external camera and looked on the viewing screen to see who was outside.

    "Milo!" Kayla said softy but excitedly.  "It''s Clyde!"  Sure enough, Kayla opened the door and Clyde walked in, and it was obviously completely on edge.

    "The two of you need to pack up and come with me as fast as you can!" Clyde said coming in and taking a look out the window of their suite to see if anyone was there.

    "What?!" Kayla barked in a surprised manner.  "Why!"

    "They''re coming to get Milo!" Clyde answered.

    "Who is coming for me?"

    "The elven marshals of course!" Clyde said frantically.

    "Milo just saved an entire colony and maybe the whole sector from war and you''re telling me they''re coming to get him?" Kayla barked.

    "They''re coming for both of you!  They may already know you''re both non-registered CIA agents."

    "How do you know this?" Kayla demanded.

    "I''ll explain it later, the two of you need to get packed up right now so we can get going!"  Now Milo was beginning to feel alarmed.  Clyde being in a hurry was most definitely an impressive level of direness.

    "Clyde!" Kayla said showing no sign of wanting to budge.  "Did you get us to bring you back out here so that you could sell an artifact to a gray within the Goddess'' Cult?"

    "Kayla, I''ll tell you everything that you need to know once we get out of here.  I took the fall for the two of you to save your jobs and maybe your freedoms so I don''t want to see either you get into trouble now.  Now come on!"  Kayla stopped arguing, and they both began frantically packing up their things.   Within a couple of minutes, they were both out of the door.

    "This way" Clyde said both pointing them in the opposite direction that they were headed.  "I''ve got a carrier for us.  They''re going to be tracking yours."   Milo looked around as they were walking, but could not see anyone.  The carrier that Clyde had was kind of a dated model and scruffy-looking.  They loaded their luggage into the cargo area of the ship and went up to the ramp into the cabin.  They all quickly strapped themselves in and lifted off.

    "Clyde" Kayla said turning to look at him.  "You''ve got a lot of explaining to do" as they left the atmosphere and the solar-system level of the SPG was engaged.

    "I will gladly tell you everything" Clyde said activating the navigation systems of the carrier.  Milo noticed that they were not headed in the bearings toward Earth.   He wanted to ask Clyde where they were going but was cut off by Clyde starting to talk.

    "I managed to locate Cubork.  He has infiltrated the Cult of the Goddess."

    "You knew where those guys were and didn''t tell us?" Kayla asked sounding outraged.

    "I didn''t know you were looking for them.  I was instructed by Visrel  to get the cylinder to Cubork because the guy in charge of the Cult doesn''t like any reptilia to get near them, especially Singed Leaf reptilia.

    "How do you know this about the cult?" Milo asked.  "Have you joined these people?"

    "Sort of.  The leader is a guy I''ve done business with before, and he sort of felt me out in my interest in getting involved with his group. I would''ve told him no thanks until I found out Cubork was involved with them and that the cult leader was looking for the cylinder."

    "And how did you know that we were going to be detained?" Kayla asked still sounding more in the mode of interrogation than among friends.

    "The Cult is able to keep track of everything the elven marshals are doing, and I mean everything.  It''s why they were able to avoid the raids on the rebel compounds and why they always seem to be step ahead of Roggle''s goons.  The Cult is pretty sophisticated and their leader, Drake, is brilliant.  Almost supernatural seeming at times¡­anyways, when we learned they were going to detain someone from the Xanadu Resort, I knew they couldn''t be after anyone other than you."  Kayla said nothing more, seeming satisfied with the explanation for the most part.

    "Is there a guy by the name of Matt Snedecor, there?" Milo asked.

    "Yes, why?" Clyde replied.  Milo and Kayla looked at each other.

    "Can you take us to him?" Milo asked.

    "Not only am I willing to do that" Clyde said, "but I was really hoping that you would be willing to come with me.  We need to go straight there or we''re going to miss Cubork."

    "Where are we headed?" Kayla asked now with an eagerness in her voice.

    "To the arctic continent of the planet Eizen" Clyde said.  "The cult has taken up hiding there.  Luckily it''s summer for the northern hemisphere there right now."

    For the most part they just chatted on the interstellar journey.  Kayla seemed to have dropped her suspicions of Clyde and everything seemed harmonious.  They entered the atmosphere near the north pole.  The conditions were perfectly clear and the vast snow-capped mountains could be seen for many miles around.  Clyde guided the carrier into a low-lying area where there was still grass and evergreen-like vegetation.  They got off the carrier and Clyde led them to a nearby cave where Clyde had set up camp.  Inside the cave was a tall, leggy, mildly-attractive woman with dark, shoulder-length hair.

    "Melinda!" she said greeting Kayla as she entered the dwelling.  "Clyde has told me about you.  I am Kaitlyn.  I absolutely love that hair" she said.  Then she looked over at Milo.

    "Chris" she said warmly giving a big smile bearing snow-white teeth.  "It is really great to meet you" with a face and enthusiasm that made Milo less than comfortable.

    "You guys want to go see the gorge?" Clyde asked interrupting the introductions.  "It''s really impressive.  We''ve still got a bit before we have to go to headquarters."

    "Sure!" Kayla said enthusiastically, once again seeming more relaxed, like she was on vacation than a mission

    "Wait a minute" Kaitlyn said grabbing Milo''s shoulder.  "I want to talk with you for a moment"  Kaitlyn said putting sort of a strange smile on her face.

    "We''ll meet you in a few minutes" Milo said.  Clyde nodded, giving Milo what looked to be a non-verbal admonishment.  Milo and Kaitlyn walked inside of the cave.  There was only a few lights, a few pieces of furniture, a few mattresses, and a crate with some supplies in it.  Most of the rest of the cave was dark, and Milo could not tell how big it was.

    "I think you''re a really¡­fascinating man" Kaitlyn said walking over closer to him.  "I really like a guy that''s a rogue, especially one that sticks up for the ecosystem" she said inching even closer.

    "I''m flattered by the admiration" Milo said, "but I''m married".   The alarm bells in Milo''s head were all going off¡­something was definitely very off about this woman.  Women who look like her just don''t throw themselves at you unless they have something they want to take from you¡­

    "We''ll leave our little secret right here in this cave" she said softly, putting her arms over Milo''s shoulders.  She was a couple of inches taller than Milo ¨C about six-feet¨C and had pretty thick, muscular thighs.

    And when she touched him, that''s when Milo started to feel it.  He felt an abrupt, bizarre, strange attraction to her¡­he felt almost like he was being charmed by her weirdness.  Before he could say anything, he and Kaitlyn''s lips were locked together.  Milo felt an overwhelming impulse to reciprocate the kiss.  She grabbed him by the arm pulled him out of the main cabin area into a dark area and pushed him on his back with surprising physical strength.  Here Milo could barely make out her silhouette.  He felt his shoes and his pants and underwear being removed.   At once all of his ability to resist was gone.

    When she was done and got up off of him Milo instantly felt relieved and a little shocked, too.

    "That was amazing, you''re positively delicious" she said with a smile that strangely seemed more friendly than amorous.  "We should go out to the gorge with Melinda and Clyde before they get suspicious." Milo just sat for a moment, taking in what had just happened and trying to make sense of it.  Had Nadarska tried to coerce him to do that?  Milo followed Kaitlyn out of the cave and over to the edge of the gorge.  The gorge was incredible-looking, though only 30-feet deep.  Kayla and Kaitlyn were both engaged in some conversation and started heading upstream where they could walk down to the bottom of the gorge, and Milo approached Clyde, who was attempting to throw a rocks through a small rock formation at the bottom.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    "Clyde" Milo said softly as he hurled a rock about the size of his fist that call short of the formation.  Clyde looked at him, appearing genuinely interested.    "Have you ever felt a completely sudden and overwhelming urge to¡­engage with a woman that you were never really previously had any interest in?"  Clyde watched another one of his rocks miss the formation completely and turned his eyes widened and his jaw dropped somewhat.

    "She got on you, didn''t she?" Clyde asked.  Milo nodded his head.

    "Had her try to do that to me a few times" Clyde said.  "Luckily one thing or another has gotten in the way.  She might be really strange, but she seems to be an almost supernatural seductress."

    "What do you know about her?" Milo asked.  Clyde shrugged his shoulders.

    "Not a whole lot" Clyde said.  "Just someone working for Drake.  I really try and avoid her.  She frightens me."

    As they walked down the inselberg to join Kayla and Kaitlyn at the bottom, a though occurred to Milo, and important question that he had not yet asked Clyde.

    "Clyde, does this ''Drake'' guy have the Talisman of the Goddess?"  Clyde looked a Milo in a way that suggested bewilderment and ignorance of what he was talking about.

    "Of course he does" Clyde said.  "He wouldn''t have much authority as the head of Gaia''s cult if he didn''t have it."

    "Do you think we''ll be safe here?" Milo asked.   What if this guy in charge of the cult knows we''re CIA?"

    "You''ll be fine" Clyde reassured him.  "I''ve got your back, and we''ve got Cubork on our side as well.  Besides, Cubork is really going to want to meet you, and I strongly suspect you are going to want to meet him as well."  They continued their walk down the gorge.  For about twenty seconds they said nothing, until Milo brought a new subject.

    "So what''s she like ¨C Gaia I mean." Milo said after several second

    "I honestly don''t know¡­Drake always takes his orders from her in private.  But he has it, I''m sure."

    They got to the bottom of the gorge and hiked it for a while for about fifteen minutes, before Clyde told them it was time to head to the headquarters.  The four of them walked up the gorge and then not very far to the HQ.  It wasn''t far at all from where they had landed.  It was a fairly large starship with camouflage on top of it to make it hard to spot from above.  When they got there Kaitlyn immediately walked into the main airlock.

    "We''re going in another door to meet Cubork" Clyde said pointing them to the left of that door..  They all walked about 25 yards away from that door to a smaller hatch.  Clyde hit his hand on the door.  After about 5 seconds, sure enough, a gray opened the door."

    "Cubork" Clyde said as they all walked into the door into the small cabin where the gray was "I''m Clyde Skinner and I''ve come to bring the cylinder of the key to you."

    "You have the key" Cubork asked?  Clyde nodded his head.  "You shouldn''t have brought it out here and risked Drake getting a hold of it.  Why did you bring it out here?"

    "We figured you might actually need it in order to get any information out of Drake about the key and what he''s doing with it.  You''ve been telling Drake you could help him find the cylinder of the key and he''s not going to believe you can help him much longer if you don''t produce it."

    "Well, I''m about to give up on getting anything out of Drake.  He let me borrow the rod because I told him it could help him find the cylinder.  I''m thinking it might be better just to take both pieces and put them in a place where Drake will never find them."

    "Cubork" Kayla asked.  "Does this ship have a terminal to its server on it?  I''m pretty good with stealing information, if I do say so myself, and I can see what I can take."

    "I would advise against that" the gray admonished.  "The computer system here isn''t just protected by software. It''s protected by an intellichine called Michelle."

    "Is she listening right now?"  Kayla asked looking around and sounding alarmed.

    "Don''t worry" Cubork said.  "She isn''t the least bit interested in listening to everyone''s chatter, and on top of that I''m extra careful to ensure nothing is listening in here" Cubork said looking at the screen in the cabin.    There was a knock at the door.

    "Come in." Cubork said.  The door opened and Kaitlyn peered inside.

    "Chris, Melinda, I have told Drake that you are here.  He wants to meet the two of you now.  Come with me."  Milo looked over at Cubork, who tilted his heads toward the door to signal him to go.  He and Kayla followed down the corridors.  Along the way they saw mostly other humans.  They did not gawk the way the people at the Network headquarters did when he first arrived there, which made him feel a little better. Milo looked around at the faces to see if he could recognize Snedecor, but didn''t see anyone familiar-looking.  Kaitlyn led them up a couple of flights of stairs and onto a short corridor with only a few doors.  They walked up to the door on the opposite side as the stairs, which had a large viewing screen over it.  A young, beautiful, busty blonde woman appeared on the screen.

    "What is it now, Kat?" the young woman said.

    "Brought Chris and Melinda to see the boss" Kaitlyn replied.

    "I think you''ve bothered him enough to day and need to find something else to do" said the beautiful blonde avatar on the screen.

    "Just open the door, Michelle!  The boss said to bring them to see him as soon as he arrived."  The beautiful woman disappeared from the screen and the green lights on the door lit up, and it was open.

    Inside, there was a tall, muscular, handsome man with huge shoulders and big arms awaited them inside with a big desk and several viewing screens.  On the screen behind the desk, Milo noticed that Michelle was on the screen and looking at them.

    "Chris and Melinda Cabral" the man said warmly extending a hand to shake both of their hands.  "Sit down" he said motioning to the seats in front of the desk.

    "It''s nice to finally meet the two of you.  Let me formally welcome you to our great Temple of the Goddess.  I am glad that the two of you are safe from getting captured.  I have taken an interest to the two of you the more I learn about you." Drake brought his fingers together and leaned back in his chair.

    "Now I''m pretty good at getting a read on people, and here''s what I know about you: You''re gurberry farm heirs, you seem to be naturalists, you''re in outworld for a sustainability conference, and you are targets for the marshals" Drake said with a smile.  "You''ve got to be considered pretty subversive and dangerous for that to happen."

    "We''ve¡­never been overly comfortable with the whole practice of gurberry farming, especially on soils it is not native to" Milo said jumping in, feeling scared and knowing he would need to play the part convincingly in order to stay out of trouble.  Drake nodded his head.

    "As I said, I can understand you.  You know deep down that our species is immature and not evolved collectively well enough to build our societies on many worlds.  You know that the elves enabling of us as they do is a big problem.  You know every day that our biosphere-killing habits are spreading to other worlds."

    "Exactly." Milo said.

    "Is this organization responsible for the microemitters that are creating the radiation sickness?"  Milo felt a surge of frustration towards Kayla over her pointed question.  Drake smiled.

    "I love your spunk" Drake said.  "That can be channeled to make you into a great member of this organization."  Drake cleared his throat and sat back up in his chair.  "Yes, those were our devices.  We did not turn the power up very high, and to my knowledge, only one or two have died from the sickness."

    "That sounds like one or two too many to me" Kayla said.  Milo turned his head slightly, hoping Kayla might catch his disapproving look.

    "Ms. Cabral" Drake said not seeming the least bit taken aback, "in a universe that is indifferent to our well-being, the currency of progress is rationality, not morality.  That is a very difficult thing to accept, but it''s an undeniable corollary of history and science.  In this great temple of Gaia we try to avoid needless suffering if possible but there''s always collateral damage, but not a lot.  We dealt a blow to outworld civilization with only a few deaths.  That''s quite a small number of deaths to make a real positive change in comparison to millions dead in a pointless war against the elven kingdom that some of our biggest critics are still fighting.  Yet we are more universally disliked than even those who still cling to the ridiculous, idealistic beliefs of the Church of Saint Vernon."

    "I want to bring about change" Kayla said finally sounding like she was willing to play the part.  "But I''m just not comfortable with making people sick."

    "As it so happens" Drake said.  "There is something you can do that won''t cause anyone to get sick.  That is why I brought the two of you here."  Drake paused for a few seconds in between his sentences, taking a small, blue cartridge from his desk.  "As you know the gurberry is a crop was created by the elves.  It is a very hardy tree that can grow in a variety of soils and climates and atmospheres, so when the elves created its genome they added a kill switch to it to eliminate farms that aren''t paying royalties to the kingdom.  That kill switch is a fungus that will wipe out gurberry trees quickly while sparing all other living things.  The genetic code for that fungus'' spores is on the server at the agricultural bureau on this world.  But we can''t hack into it without someone who has access to the bureau''s central server"  Drake pulled a small, blue computer cartridge out of his desk and handed it to Milo.

    "You should have a login to one of the terminals of the bureau.  All you have to do is put that device into the main port when you log in and my lovely assistant Michelle can take care of the rest."

    "You''re going to destroy the gurberry crops across the sector?" Kayla asked.

    "Not all of them, just a significant number.  There''s basically no real threat of anyone starving to death, but gurberry is a staple food in the less-developed worlds and removing them will cripple runaway development in outworld."  Kayla looked at Milo.  Neither of them really knew of what to say.

    "Just one problem" Kayla said.  "We''re both wanted people now.  We log onto that server and they''ll know we''re here."

    "Oh, I''ll take care of that" Michelle said from the screen behind Drake''s desk.  All I need you to do is get  me in the door and I''ll remove all of your tracks."  Milo noticed that Michelle''s avatar was now wearing a green, cleavage-baring top and her voice sounded somewhat different than before.  Milo and Kayla looked at each other.

    "I don''t like it" Milo said. "But I''ll do it."

    "Good" Drake said not showing any apparent concern for the hesitation.  "Trust me, the more you think pragmatically rather than with outdated, terrestrial-age pseudomoralism, the easier it gets.  I look forward to working with the two of you" Scythe said with a weirdly warm smile.  The sliding door opened up behind them, and they both got up and left.  They walked quietly back down the stairs and to Cubork''s cabin, where he and Clyde were engaged in some kind of conversation.

    "Well, how did it go?" Clyde asked.

    "He''s a creep" Kayla said with a visible shudder.

    "He wants us to help him hack into the Outworld Agricultural Bureau''s computers and steal the genome information for some fungal spores that can wipe out most of the gurberry crop" Milo said handing the cartridge to Cubork.

    "That is downright horrifying" Cubork said looking the cartridge over.  "What did you tell him?"

    "I told him we''d do it.  I figure we can come up with some kind of excuse or ruse to get around it."

    "I''ll corrupt the data that''s downloaded into the device" Kayla said.  "It shouldn''t be too hard."

    "That won''t work"  Cubork said sternly.  "Once the data goes from the server to the device it will quickly make it back here to Michelle."

    "Well, sorry" Milo said.  "We didn''t want to be seen as being uncooperative or too resistant."

    "For future reference" Cubork said, "Drake isn''t the type of guy who lies awake at night thinking everyone is plotting against him.  He''s very arrogant and doesn''t seem to be afraid of anyone.  If you had told him you didn''t want to do it he''d probably try to entice you with money or a gift or something.  Heck I think half of everyone here is either an opportunist out to make money or infiltrators."

    "For an organization that''s supposedly short on loyalty, it sure is hard to get information about this group." Kayla opined.

    "Most people here are either more afraid of Gaia or Michelle or outworld law than they are Drake" Cubork said.  "If I were you, I would just tell Drake that your account with the OAB has been locked.  But you do need to go over there and at least pretend to try and break into the system, or else they''ll know."

    "I don''t like this at all" Kayla remarked shaking her head.  "I feel we''re in a lot of danger."

    "I''d appreciate it if you would do it" Clyde said.  "Then I promise I''ll take the two of you back to Earth or  wherever it is you want to go.  I won''t let anything happen to the two of you as long as you''re here.  I think we should go ahead and head back for the day.  They opened the hatch and headed back for their camp.  The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and thankfully he did not see any more of Kaitlin. After Milo fell asleep and found himself around Nadarska''s tree.

    "What is it now?" Milo asked him.

    "Who was that person you were having intimate contact with today?" Nadarska asked.

    "Some strange young woman named Kaitlyn" Milo said felt embarrassed.  "I felt an absolutely overwhelming impulse and attraction to her like nothing before.  I thought maybe it was you."

    "I did no such thing, and I can promise you that was no woman.  Her skin seems to be made of some sort of synthetic material, and I could not detect any pulse from her.  When she was in close contact with you I could sense it even more clearly."

    "What do you think she is?"

    "Probably some sort of artificial organism or android I would guess.  What are you doing right now?"

    "We have arrived at the headquarters of Gaia''s Cult. They don''t seem to know anything about who I am."

    "Please be very careful they do not find out you are a human conduit to me. I can''t do much to protect you when you are wandering right into the hands of Gaia''s proxies."

    "I will be fine.  We will be leaving before long, I have a strong feeling I won''t be here much longer and they won''t discover who I am."

    "Do not spend too much time with that woman ¨C whatever she is ¨C than you have to."  That was the last bit of the conversation he remembered before falling back into his sleep.

 The Microfreezer

    The next morning, Milo, Kayla, and Kaitlyn were watching a passerby flock of blue, flying creatures that sort of reminded him of egrets, while Cubork was working with the cylinder and rod.  Milo knew that this was as good a chance as ever.

    "Cubork, do you have a moment?" Milo asked?

    "What is it?" he said in a soft but sort of brusque way.

    "I communed with Nadarska last night again in my sleep."  The gray just stared at him, and Milo forgot that Cubork probably didn''t know about his ability.

    "You spoke with a metaphysical organism in your sleep?  If grays had facial muscles like you humans do, I''d give you my skeptical face" Cubork remarked.

    "Yes, that''s how I do it.  He puts me in some sort of dream-like state in the night.  Anyways, when I was with Kaitlyn yesterday he was apparently able to detect that something felt very odd with her.  He said her skin isn''t really skin."

    For a moment Cubork just stood, apparently not sure of what to say and Milo thought he wasn''t going to do anything.  "I think I know what is going on here.  I hope that you are being honest with me about being able to talk to Nadarska."  Cubork stood on the pilots seat and opened up an overhead compartment and dug through the things in their to take a couple of shiny, metal, egg-shaped objects.

    "Come with me" he said.  "We need to act quickly."  They exited the craft and walked around to the rear towards the lake where the other three of their group were around the lake.   When they got within 20 feet of the group, Cubork pushed a button on the egg-shaped object and hurled it just a few feet behind Kaitlyn.

    A few seconds later, Kaitlyn became immediately limp and fell straight to the ground stomach-down, completely motionless.  Cubork walked over to where she was standing, and lifted her shirt up.

    "What did you do!?" Kayla shrieked running over to where she was.

    "She is not who you think she is, or she would still be standing" Cubork replied.  He took what looked like a sharp metal pin from his box of tools, and pierced her on the lower back.  A small amount of blood came from the hole.  He stuck the metal, icepick-like object and made a gash all the way up her back, and to the surprise of everyone, he opened up an entire fissure on her back.  Kayla gasped as he opened up the fissure.  There was a layer of skin and flesh about an inch thick, but beyond that she had a crowd of various machine parts.  Milo did not recognize much of what was under her skin.

    Kayla and Clyde both seemed to be in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.  Cubork looked over the crowded jumble of parts carefully.  "There''s something unusual on the lower abdomen.  Something I haven''t seen in one of these androids.  That blue thing." he said. He detached a small, round container from flexible, rubbery tubes on both sides and placed on the ground.

    "This" Cubork said holding up the object "is a faux gut.  This is so these things can eat when it''s convenient so that no one will suspect them."  He put the round container down and detached the light-blue box that was fastened under it.

    "It''s a microfreezer" Cubork said starting to pry the box open with a narrow, metal rod.  Inside the box was a group of sixteen clear, plastic vials, with some containing a thick, white fluid in it."  It took Milo a few seconds to figure out what that substance was and immediately felt a sense of disgust and embarrassment.

    "She''s collecting human semen" Milo said feeling foolish on the inside.  "I guess we should have seen that one coming."

    "A seductress bot" Cubork said. "I bet that biosynthesizer in her is making pheromones to attract whatever males she wants to get a donation from" Cubork said.

    "Wait a minute" Kayla said.  "I recognize the marking on those vials!"  Kayla took an empty vial from the microfreezer''s compartment and took a close look at it.  "There it is!" she exclaimed.  "Look at the cover of the vial!  R-H-I!"  Sure enough, the vials were marked with the initials of the Royal Humanology Institute.

    "Well now¡­" Cubork said seeming to have had a big epiphany.  "I think I now have a new theory how Drake got the talisman."

    "What do you mean, Cubork?" Clyde inquired.

    "Drake said he got the goddess talisman as a gift from the queen for services he performed for the Humanology Institute.  I always assumed that he just allowed them to use him as a guinea pig or gave them else something they wanted.  He must''ve let them use this android."

    "We should probably destroy those samples" Milo said.

    "No!" Cubork quickly interjected.  "We can''t let her know that someone opened her up.  We''re going to be the first and only suspects if that happens."

    "What are you going to do with her?" Clyde asked.  Cubork took what looked like a simple multimeter from his bag of tools.

    "I''m going to drain the battery and let the backup power take over" Cubork said sticking a long, odd-looking metal device into the positive electrode of the battery.  "She''ll think she had a battery malfunction and that she was only out for a moment." Cubork worked for what seemed like about sixty seconds, with everyone still watching, seeming stunned and fascinated at the same time.  Then, Cubork took a bottle of some kind of paste sealed the fissure on her back and wiped the blood (or presumably fake blood) off of her back.  Amazingly, after about 15 seconds, there was no trace that her back had even opened up, like a perfect stitching of an incision after surgery.

    "All right" Cubork said picking up the grenade and his tools.  "Milo and I will head back to the ship.  Remember you two, she was only out for a very brief amount of time.  That''s very important."   Milo felt sort of annoyed with the mild condescension that Cubork sometimes gave.  Cubork picked up his grenade and he and Milo rushed back to the carrier.  They both watched from the window.  They could see Kaitlyn getting up, and everything seemed normal with the three of them talking.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "So you really are a human conduit¡­amazing" Cubork gushed after they had watched for just a moment.

    "For better or worse" Milo said.

    "You''ve got that right" Cubork said.  "You''re basically a human version of one of the most important metaphysical devices known.  Your life could get really complicated.  To be frank, I don''t really envy you."

    Milo looked out the window and noticed Kaitlyn was walking back towards Drake''s starship and Kayla was coming back to the ship.  Kayla walked back into the door of the ship, not saying anything, digging in her luggage.  Milo opened up his tablet to do some reading when he was startled by Kayla''s voice.

    "Look!" she said.  "Someone is coming! "  Milo walked over to the window and sure enough he could see the figure getting closer.  As the man got within 50 feet of the ship, Milo could see the familiar-looking face of the man.  It was the very man whose picture he had looked at in Alan Torick''s office seemingly an eternity ago, walking from Drake''s ship to theirs.

    "Kayla!" Milo said "That''s Matt Snedecor!"

    "You''re right!" Kayla said as they got even closer.  "That is him!"

    "Well, it might be a completely moot point now" Milo mused.  "But we''ve finally found him."  There was a knock at the door.  Cubork walked over to the door and pulled the lever to open it.

    "Come in" Cubork said.  Sure enough, there stood the skinny young man with curly, tan-colored hair in the doorway.

    "Hello" he said with an air of nervousness around his voice.   For a short amount of time, no one said anything.

    "Hello, Matt.  I''m Milo Greene and this is my partner Kayla Rall.  We are with the CIA and we want to ask you a few questions" Milo informed him.  "What exactly happened with the frigate?" Milo asked him.  Matt nodded his head.

    "The guild found some special alien artifact that can burn most anything in an oxygen atmosphere" he said.  "Then we were on the way back the cargo bay and much of the cabin burned up in a matter of seconds.  I stayed in the escape pod for at least a day before I was rescued by Drake."

    "And you agreed to help him out?" Kayla asked.

    "Drake told me I was in big trouble, and I really thought I was, too.  He told me he could make me important and wealthy and make history rather than an outlaw.  I didn''t really know what kind of things his group was involved in, but I didn''t know who else to turn to.  Take me to jail if you must but just please get me away from here."

    "You aren''t in trouble" Milo said.  "We are going to get ready to leave right now to take you back to Earth."

    "Look at that!" Kayla said pointing out the window.   Outside of the window were what appeared to be several dozen reptilian hoplites headed right towards Drake''s starship.

    "Looks like Nal''Larak forces by their color" Cubork said.

    "They must be after the talisman!" Milo exclaimed.

    "Indeed" Cubork said lugubriously.

    "We need to get out of here!" Cubork said.  "Everyone strap in!"  All of them ¨C including clyde who saw the hoplites and ran to the ship - hurriedly took a seat and Cubork quickly turned on the engine and gravity well of the ship.  Cubork deftly got the ship off very quickly, but it was still too slow.  The ship was hit with a clear jolt that could have easily knocked them from their seats.  Several alarm horns and whistles went off at once.

    "Cubork!" Clyde shouted over the sound of the different alarm noises.  "You might want to go ahead and land now before we lose too much stability!"

    "No, we need to get as far away from there as possible!" Cubork answered hitting several different buttons on the control panel.

    Sure enough, the carrier began to sink lower and rock a little bit.  Milo held on to his seat as tightly as he could, as if that would somehow make him safer in a crash.  Cubork hit the button to release the parachute, but it didn''t seem to slow it down much.  The spacecraft made one last lurch before it hit the ground with a loud crash.  Milo looked around the cockpit. Everyone seemed to be conscious and not majorly hurt.

    "Well" Kayla said with a sigh.  "Now what are we going to do?"

    "Milo" Cubork said.  "Do you still have Michelle''s computer cartridge that Drake gave you?"  Milo reached into his baggage and and pulled the stick out.  Cubork took the stick and walked out of the cockpit into the door to the cargo hold.  Everyone else followed him.  Cubork punched a few numbers on the combination lock of what looked like a large drawer on one of the walls.  Inside was what looked like the body of a young woman with dark brown hair.

    "Someone help me hold her up into a seating position" Cubork said.  Clyde grabbed the upper part of the woman''s body and held it in place.  Cubork pryed open the scalp on the head, revealing what was clearly machine parts of another android.

    "Cubork, don''t you think we should be running now?" Clyde asked in a frightened manner.

    "You can if you want to, but I think that''s pointless.  We need to at least hope my android I''ve been repairing for Drake will know what the key does and that it might help get out of trouble here."  No one left Cubork''s side.

    "You''re going to let Michelle control that thing?" Milo inquired.

    "Not if this works like I think it does" Cubork said.  "More than likely the reptiles are going to shut Michelle down, anyways." Cubork said loosening up a small, empty compartment in the head.

    "This thing" Cubork said holding up the small, blue cartridge Milo got from Cubork "is an intellichine mind, the metaphysical component of any intellichine cognition.  It''s the only part missing from this android that I have been rebuilding for Drake.  The brain and software is already in place.  If I''m right, she will have some of Michelle''s memories but will be loyal to me."  Cubork put the stick into the open compartment and closed it, then pushed the button inside of the head.

    "Cross your fingers" he said.  The eyes of the android opened up slowly, her movements looking fully organic and indistinguishable from a woman waking up from sleep.

    "Trissie" Cubork said with his face about eight inches from hers as if she might have trouble hearing him, "I need you to focus and try and dig into the memory of your mind.  I need to know what the key is and what it does."  The android just looked at him, blinking once, and for a brief moment did not seem all there.

    "The rod" she said in a soft, feminine voice, "is a device used to activate warp gates to get to the other side."

    "And what is the other side?" Cubork asked her still in her face, almost as if he was trying to intimidate her.

    "A place very far from here where most of the members of the church of Saint Vernon fled to escape the prosecution of Queen Tarissa after the great Human-Elf war" she replied.

    "Are there any of those warp gates here?" Cubork asked.  "Is that why Drake and the cult came here?"

    "There is a warp gate at the abandoned gray device research facility.  It''s only about a mile and a half from here."  The android put her legs on the floor of the ship outside the drawer and pulled herself up.  She stood about five feet and eight inches and had somewhat thick legs, much like Kaitlyn did.

    "Trissie" Cubork said.  "We need you to take us to this research facility and show us how to activate the gate."

    "You want to go through the gate?" Clyde asked.  "We don''t even know what will be on the other side."

    "It''s either that or get caught and risk the lizards getting the key" Cubork said.  "We can''t cover up our scent and we can neither run nor hide from them here.  It''s the only way."  Nobody could really disagree with that.  They all gathered up what few things they really needed and began moving quite briskly behind Trissie."

 The Goddess Talisman

    Strigwire stood in front of the long line of humans with their hands behind their heads.  Behind them, there were several pillars of smoke where the ship''s hull had been shot by hoplite guns.

    "So who here has the talisman!" in the loudest voice Strigwire could muster.  "If I don''t get it you are all going to be going for a rather unpleasant ride with us".  No one spoke a word.  Strigwire walked over to where Drake was standing.  He sniffed about a foot from his head and close to his chest as well.

    "You''re not human" Strigwire said.  "It''s no wonder you don''t want to be around reptilia.  What are you, anyways?"

    "Lord Strigwire, this one isn''t human, either" said a hoplite who was standing with another ostensible human standing next to him.

    "At least half of these aren''t real humans!" said another hoplite who was even farther away.

    "I can take it from here!" shouted a hominid voice from behind them.  All of the hoplites turned to point their guns in the direction of the voice, completely startled.  The voice belonged to an elf wearing a dark blue and gray royal armada officer uniform with a cape.

    "I appreciate your concern" Strigiwre said, "but we did not need your supervision for this one."

    "I''m not here to help you" the elfman said, "I assumed you could perform this little operation yourself without making too much of a mess like you said."

    "You were not needed here" Strigwire said in a cool, dismissive manner.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "Oh, I assure you that you do" the elfman said, walking over to where Drake and Strigwire were standing.  If you think you''re going to get what you want from any of these androids with any kind of coercion, you are mistaken."  The elfman turned to face Drake.

    "I know that''s you, Zardin" the elfman said.  "You have served the Goddess well keeping the talisman safe from Zorthia and Adella.  You will return to the service of the soon-to-be princess, Lady Avistra."

    "I''m sorry" Drake said.  "But I won''t serve just anyone.  I will only follow commands of true servants of the goddess."

    "Who do you think you''re talking to?" Strigwire said.  "We are the Fire Flower, the chosen clan of the goddess!"

    "I will handle this" the elfman said holding up his hand to silence Strigwire. "Laranga Pintraba Visafagon!" he said in a loud and clear voice.

    "Your code phrase has been accepted" said a computerized voice coming from Drake''s mouth.  He took his left hand and moved it over the bicep of his right arm, and opened a small compartment.  Inside the compartment was a large, green gem with a small chain around it and handed it to the eflman.  The elf rubbed the gem.

    "Does it work?" he asked Drake impatiently.

    "No" Drake said.  "I have not yet been able to bring it out of its dormant state."  The elf''s face turned to a disappointed scowl.

    "All of you are going to be coming with me" the elf said.

    "Excuse me" Strigwire jumped in.  "We all came here and risked our lives to get our hands on the talisman, and we will take the spoils!"

    "Unless you lizards know how to activate the talisman or use these androids, I suggest you let us have them.  Then we''ll let the goddess decide who will hold it" Krillik said putting the talisman in his pocket.  Strigwire''s eyes narrowed at him.

    "Very well" Strigwire said.  "Go ahead and get them out of here as quickly as you can.  We need to pursue that ship that was attempting to flee."

    "You let a ship get away?" the elf said angrily.

    "Trust me" Strigwire said.  "They won''t get anywhere if they''re not already dead from crashing."

    "I hope for the sake of Zenithala, my lady, and you guys that you can get out quickly" the elfman said.  "All of you humans and androids, come with me right now!" he said motioning them to follow him.

 The Other Side

    The trip towards the warp gate was quick and grueling.  Milo was not out of shape by any means, but he was not an athlete either.  The research facility was situated in a low-lying area and had an ugly, tanish-orange exterior.  There was a large, automatic door on the side of the building where they approached.  Trissie opened the electronic box next to the door, pulled the tip off of her left index finger, and stuck the short metal rod under her finger into a keyhole in the box.  A green light lit up on the box and the door opened.  The inside of the facility was very dark as there were no windows, and it didn''t appear that it had been abandoned for very long.

    "Follow me" Trissie said shining lights from the palms of her hands onto her feet so everyone could see where she was going.  A few times Milo felt himself bumping into someone else and felt someone hit him from behind.

    "We''re going down a flight of stairs, watch out" Trissie''s voice said through the darkness.  She opened a door to a stairwell and walked down, towards the underground level.  In the large room in the underground level is where it was¡­two large, black columns with a black arch over the top of it.  Like a lot of gray devices, it looked pretty simple and didn''t appear to have any kind of controls or buttons on it.

    "Whoever has the cylinder, give it to me"  Trissie said with the two lights from the palms of her hands pointing upwards, illuminating only her face.  Milo felt someone brush past him.  He could barely make out Clyde giving the cylinder to Trissie.

    She took the cylinder and slid it into the bottom of the rod''s handle and twisted it into place.  Just a few  seconds later, there was a mild rumbling under the floor, and a bright, brilliant blueish white light from the arch that lit up the entire room.

    "Can this thing be used indoors?" Milo asked

    "Yes" Trissie said.  "This is not a worm hole or any kind of space-time distortion device.  It''s a metaphysical device."  Everyone in the group said nothing, but was just standing there in pure awe.  The room was lit up as bright as day.

    "We need to go now" Trissie said and she walked through the portal and seemed to disappear.

    "Well, I guess it beats being taken prisoner" Clyde walking into the gate with his eyes closed and a wince.  Milo went next.  He closed his eyes and walked through the gate.  He had a very bizarre sensation as he walked through, as if his body were becoming bloated in a painless way.  The sensation lasted for only a second or so until he realized he was on the other side.  He arrived in a room with white marble walls and a very fancy red rug over a white marble floor.  It resembled something from medieval times, but was lit up with modern lighting.  Gradually, everyone else followed Milo through the gate until six bodies had traveled through it.  When they were all through, Trissie pointed the two prongs of the key at the gate and the light completely evaporated, revealing a similar arch-like object that was found in the research facility.

    "Well" Kayla said breaking the silence of the group.  "I suppose this place doesn''t seem too threatening."

    All of the sudden, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the corridor on the other side of the gate.  A short, young, brown-haired man appeared in the door way.

    "This is Marcus" the man said into a radio communicator.  "Someone has come in through one of the warp gates!" he said excitedly.  "Yes, I''m sure, looks like three men, two women, and a gray!"  A voice could be heard on the radio, but couldn''t be deciphered.  "Yes, I''m certain!"  he said.

    "Have you come here to take us back to the Milky Way, or perhaps you, gray, are one of the metaphysicists?"

    "No" Cubork said finally taking charge to speak for the group.  "To make a long story short, we''re on the run and need shelter for a brief while."  The young man put his radio back on his hip, seeming interested more than disappointed.

    "Come with me" the man said.  "I think that Carlton would very much like to meet all of you."  He turned around and walked very quickly, going through many different corridors.  The building was beautifully decorated and seemed very large.  It felt like a medieval castle with gray tech inside it.  Milo was still tired from the rush to get to the research facility, but was too fascinated to care.  The young man led them to a small chapel with about a dozen pews.  They all took a set near the front row.

    "Carlton will be here shortly" the young man said turning around and leaving practically at a running pace.

    "Trissie" Cubork said, "what is this place?" the gray asked.

    "I don''t have anything in my memory about it.  To date no one who has crossed over to this side has returned, at least to my knowledge."  Shortly after she made that comment, the sound of the door to the chapel closing from behind filled the room and footsteps could be heard from behind where they were seating.  Milo turned around and saw a familiar-looking black man with glasses, an individual that he had only seen through photographs.  It couldn''t be¡­

    "Welcome" the man said in a voice he recognized from speeches he had seen on videos "to the Cathedral of Light."  He walked down the pews and shook the hands of every one of them.

    "Is this an android or some kind of trick?" Cubork asked clearly recognizing the man''s face and his voice.

    "No" Trissie said.  "I can feel his pulse and I can detect circulation in the blood vessels of his eye."

    "Or perhaps some kind of clone?" Cubork posited.

    "No" the man said.  "I am Carlton Carver, otherwise known as Saint Vernon, though I haven''t been feeling overly saintly in quite a while.  I have been preserved all these years from aging by gray nano-devices that clean up cellular aging. "

    "So this is where you and the missing members of your church fled?" Milo asked.

    "Yes" Carver said.

    "It''s really pretty nice" Milo said looking around at the fanciness and attention to detail in the rooms.

    "Not once you get outside and see the type of world we live in" Carver said glumly.  "When we came here we were met with an even worse fate.  We walked right into the domain of the Star Viper Clan and their leader, Scythe.  They completely rule over us and control our lives."

    "Well, we''ve assembled the key rod!" Milo said.  "All of you can come back with us through the portal.  Things aren''t nearly as bad back on our side!  We just scored a victory over the reptilia attempting to run humans out of their expansion worlds!"  Carver shook his head.

    "That is entirely too risky to be an option" Carver said.

    "Why?" Milo asked.  Carver put both of his hands on the barrier in front of the front pew, taking a second to gather his thoughts.

    "That rod that that android over there has" he said looking over at Trissie "is what the Star Viper Clan has been hunting desperately for a while now.  I assume that by now you know about the temple on the planet Marzala.  That temple is basically a warp gate, but it''s a gate large enough to bring ships through between Andromeda and the Milky Way.  If you think you''ve got problems with the reptilia now, they are the least of your concerns if Scythe gets a hold of that key and is able to send his ships over to your side.  If they discover you have the key, it would cost every person on your side dearly."

    "The Fire Flower clan just reunited with the warrior clans and they''ve got at least a dozen ships with xenon plasma batteries.  We''ve kept them in check so far.  The royal armada is really strong now."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "If a few dozen of those ships are a problem for you now, then I promise you the kingdom wants no part of the Star Viper Clan.  They are almost surely more powerful and advanced than the reptilia in the Milky Way.  My advice to you would be to go back through the portal and then destroy the key by burning it.  It''s too late for most of us over here."

    "Are the metaphysicsts not here?" Cubork said interrupting Carver''s thoughts.

    "Haven''t seen or heard from them since they arrived here" Carver said.  "I figure they''re still somewhere on your side or somehow Scythe has forced them to create technology for them."

    "What happened to the Carlton Carver I read about that believed in spreading hope?" Milo said with a real feeling of disappointment.

    "Young man" Carver said calmly.  " I don''t believe in blind hope, only in being meticulous at finding it.  I''ve been around for quite a long time, as you know.  I''ve had more hours to sit and ponder and think through things than you have.  If I and a select few could go back through the gate to your side, but that won''t do the hundreds of thousands that live in this city any good.  Nor would it do good to try and evacuate us through the ship gate.  That would be entirely too conspicuous as the reptiles watch us too closely."

    "Are you sure that there''s nothing we can do?" Milo asked.  "I have connections with people in the Union Intelligence, and they might be able to come up with something."

    "I doubt that" Carver said shaking his head.  "But if you really feel that you want to do something, I suppose there is one remote hope."

    "What is it?" Milo asked eagerly.

    "I have the metaphysicist''s star charts of both the Milky Way and Andromeda" Carver said, "but it''s in gray binary data and I don''t have a device that can read it.  Do you know how to read it?" Carver asked looking at Cubork.

    "No, sorry" Cubork said shaking his head. "I don''t have a device either.  Gray binary is all but extinct"

    "There is one individual who I know could, but I have no idea if by now he isn''t either dead or in some secret royal prison somewhere" Carver said.

    "Who?" Milo asked eagerly.

    "Frik Heridik.  He''s got cellular immortality just as I do, though that doesn''t mean he isn''t dead.  Being immune to aging doesn''t make you indestructible.  If he is alive he probably keeps a low profile." Milo suddenly had a complete epiphany.

    "No" Milo said.  "But let''s just say I''ve got a strong suspicion of who it might be."

    "You think Dover is Heridik?" Kayla interrupted.

    "Why not?" Milo asked.  "He has that grudge against the Royal Ministry of Science and his apparent connection with the metaphysicsts."

    "That sounds like him" Carver said sounding somewhat interested.

    "So what can be done after we read the star charts?" Milo asked.

    "The metaphysicsts charted many of the worlds suitable for life to inhabit and most of the safest SPG pathways to get between them" Cubork said.  "But they didn''t reveal all of them.  Every person on this side can settle one of these worlds there and it would probably take the Star Viper forces centuries to find them."

    "Correct" Carver said.  "Getting everyone here to such a world would be tricky as the reptiles keep a close eye on what space travel we do, but it''s doable and once we''re there we might be able to warp everyone back to the Milky Way en masse."

    "We''ll do it" Milo said.

    "I don''t want you to assume the burden of helping us, especially if it will place your side at risk.  There is not a lot that could save us on this side, but there is still hope for your people.  As a matter of fact, all of you should be going back to your galaxy as soon as you can.  We can''t run the risk of them finding you here.  They will know you don''t belong here."

    "Mr Carver" Cubork said, "I would at least suggest you bring an emissary from your side over to ours with us."

    "I will send one" Carver said nodding his head.  "My most trusted confidant, Skyler Holmes.  The smaller the number of people there are that know that the key has been assembled, the better off we are.    And don''t even think about attempting an assault on Scythe.  That would probably be the absolute worse decision you could make" Carver said firmly.  Carver turned to walk to his left, away from where the group was sitting, seeming to be in deep thought.  The soft screech of the door at the rear of the chapel sounded again.

    "Nicholas" Carver said talking to the young man that had met them all at the gate. "Go tell Skyler to pack his bags.  He''s going back to the other side with our guests."  The young man nodded his head and closed the door.

    "Young man" Carver said turning to Milo, "I would like to talk to you for a moment in my study.  I will give you the disk with the map on it.  The rest of you, head back down to the warp gate and get ready to depart.  I''m sorry I could not offer more hospitality."  They all got up almost immediately and headed for the back for from which they came.  Milo followed Carver through a locked door at the front and across several corridors and up about two stories to a door marked with Carver''s name.  Carver opened the door to what was clearly a living quarters more than a study.  He led Milo into a room with lots of drawers and shelves containing various assorted items.

    "Are you really serious about trying to get the map to Frik?" Carver asked.

    "I will do whatever I can to get it to him.  The elf I mentioned before is either him or might be the one guy who can read the star charts. This elf is in charge of the organization founded by Grithmeer."

    "Well" Carver said in a hopeful tone for the first time, "that really sounds promising.  I can''t tell you how much I appreciate this.  I just wish that I could share this newfound hope with the people."

    "Mr Carver" Milo said.

    "Call me Carlton" he said.

    "Carlton¡­" Milo added correcting himself, "when I was at an elf-ran resort they took some blood to genotype me and when I managed to get a hold of the report it said I had a Carver Neurotype.  I suppose that''s named after you?"  Now Carver appeared to be really interested.

    "It is" he said.  "I bet the Royal Humanology Institute attempted to try a ''cure'' on you?"

    "Yes" Milo answered, "and I narrowly escaped that cure."

    "You know" Carver said, "there''s an old terrestrial-age word for people like us.  They called us ''autistic''.  We were responsible for many of the great scientific and artistic achievements of that age. "

    "You don''t need to stretch the truth to try and make me feel better" Milo said.

    "It is the truth" Carver retorted.  "Allow me to tell the brief history of hominids that Grithmeer himself once told me.  When the metaphysicists arrived in the Milky Way, they discovered the metaphysical organism Gaia, in which you could say they mistakenly gave their trust.  She directed the grays to Earth and to create a new species using the human genome as a base."

    "You''re saying they created the elves under Gaia''s direction."

    "Yes" Carver said.  "The new species didn''t have a lot of the flaws of our species, yet paradoxically, with this perfection came certain limitations.  It''s in imperfection in which real genius ¨C creative and innovative genius ¨C comes from.  That is why the humanology institute is so fascinated by and also very fearful of people like us.  We are the side effects of the flaws in our own genome."  For a moment Milo said nothing, trying to take all of this information in, before realizing he did not have enough time to unpack it and that his time with Carver was limited.

    "Carlton, what do you know about Nadarska" Milo asked?

    "Not a whole lot" Carver said searching through a couple of his drawers.  "Grithmeer never talked much about him, other than to say he''s basically a weak adversary of Gaia.  I assume there''s a particular reason why you''re asking this?" he added.

    "Apparently, I have the ability to communicate with him in a dream-like state in my sleep when he needs to talk to me" Milo said.  Carver stopped what he was doing to look at Milo with his jaw opening a bit.

    "Incredible" he said.  "And what is he like?"

    "He has been very helpful to me" Milo said.

    "That''s good for you" Carver said resuming his search.   "When his talisman was destroyed Grithmeer never bothered to make another one.  I kind of assumed he was pretty limited."  Carver took what appeared to be about an 8-inch ceramic figurine from a drawer and smashed it on the floor.  He picked up a small, black disk on the ground and handed it to Milo.  He put his hand on Milo''s shoulder.

    "Here is the disk" Carver said.  "Good luck, and I don''t think you can really comprehend the level of gratitude that I have for you."

    "You are a personal hero of mine, Mr. Carver.  I will gladly help you out" he said extending his arm and shaking his head.  The both walked back down to the basement where the warp gate was.  Matt was there, seeming completely intimidated and seeming traumatized and not sure of what to do.  Kayla was talking to Clyde.  He noticed that Trissie wasn''t there.  He didn''t have long to think about it before the warp gate lit up again with a large, blueish-white light again and Trissie walked back through the gate with the key.

    "Cubork, everything looks clear" she said.  "The reptiles seem to have left.  Our ship had all of its communications removed and engines destroyed.  But I am pretty sure that we can commandeer Drake''s ship and Michelle, too."

    "Great Trissie" Cubork said.  "Well, I guess it''s time for us to wrap up our little visit here.  We wish all of you here the best, Mr. Carver."

    "Give my hopes and well wishes to all on your side" Carver replied.  "Good luck.  The hopes of our side are with you. "

    "So who is going to take the key" Cubork asked.

    "Take it to Dalton Dover''s deep-space laboratory" Milo said without any delay at all.  "It is probably the safest place in the galaxy for it."

    "I concur" Cubork said.  Carlton Carver said his goodbyes to Skyler, and one-by-one, they all went back through the gate.  On the other side, the lights were on in the research facility.

    "The communication tower is online here" Trissie told Milo.  "You and the other humans can contact the military base on the northeast continent and they will come and get you.  We will get Drake''s ship running and take the key to Dalton Dover."

    "You will be all right?" Milo asked him.

    "Oh yes" Cubork said.  "Between me and Trissie and Michelle''s mind we can get it working again.  Drake actually had a pretty nice vessel."  And just like that, they were gone.

    Kayla walked over to Milo and hugged him with what seemed to be all her might.  "We made it" she said.  "It looks like we''re going to be all right."  Milo felt an overwhelming calm in his body.

 Beeds Story

    Milo opened up the file and found his favorite passage from Frik Heridik''s essay A Logical Treatise on Materialism.

    In the human game of chess, each of two players controls a series of different pieces of different types on an eight-by-eight grid.  Each of the six types of pieces has its own restrictions about how it can move among the squares.  In one famous match between human grandmaster Fellin Quartz and elf challenger Brim Bigwill, Quartz was able to nullify the game by showing that the game was in an impossible state with what were illegal moves.  He did not need to say when and exactly where and how the illegal move was made, but it was made within certainty.

    While the methods of science do not allow for the elucidation and understanding of any metaphysical phenomena that might exist (as they do not behave in any systematic and consistent way), it is possible that there comes a time when we must at least acknowledge the possibility that the universe and life could not have reached its current state without some metaphysical power or forces that can circumvent the rules of the universe.

    A decade ago, a lot of time and effort was put into creating a supercomputer program with an exhaustive list (even the most ardent materialists would admit this) of the chemical properties of every inorganic compound known to elf kind to elucidate possible chemical paths from the lifeless primordial chemical soup to the first living cells.  To date it has failed to create any workable means of creating even a basic living cell.  It would seem one of the rules of the universe was broken somewhere, wasn''t it?

    More telling, however, is the failure to match the artificial intelligence technology created by the grays.  The late twenty-first century human mathematician Bubb Henrin once said:

    "After many decades of hype, and in spite of the leaps and bounds by which computer technology has grown and a constant empty insistence to the contrary, no headway has been made to creating true artificial intelligence or decoding the secrets of cognition and real consciousness.  I am more convinced than ever that the primary problem (which has been largely ignored) is that the conundrum of creating real artificial intelligence has always been one of mathematics and software engineering rather than science and hardware engineering.  Is there truly a way to replicate and even improve upon human cognition using the necessarily finite cardinality of hardware and software?  No materialist has yet to give a satisfactory answer for this.  It is entirely possible for the very same materialism science has relentlessly defended for so long be overthrown by science''s undisputed emperor, mathematics."

    Of course, his prediction was correct.  There is no secret the metaphysicists have been hiding from anyone about creating super-intelligent computers as is commonly believed.  They can only be created by those with the ability of circumventing the rules of the universe, as Alkarog once said.  In the face of this, the establishment of the Royal Ministry of Science and Technology still fervently maintains their religious-like devotion to the exclusively-materialist view of the universe.Stolen novel; please report.

    But for those of us that care about objective truth and are not dogmatic, this raises some very big questions.  It has long been thought that the human genetic tendency towards religiosity was a great flaw, but could it actually be a signature of metaphysical forces which likely brought about the creation of intelligent life.  The eminent elf humanologist Bloize Hather remarked that he felt humans had much more than their fair share of both the most cruel and the most kind and selfless hominids he had known.  There is no doubt that human religiosity has caused a lot of death and suffering, but it also might have held the keys for the very best of human traits¡­the virtues like humility, charity, forgiveness, and hope in the face of apparent despondency that are nearly universally prized in the teachings in all extant and extinct major human religions.

    Milo''s reading was interrupted by a knock on his door.

    "Bohr wants to meet with us" Kayla said sticking her head inside the door.  "He says it won''t take long."  He and Kayla made the ascent up to the floor where he was.  They both gave their full account of their journey to him while sparing him the details of sneaking Clyde into outworld and the awkwardness of their first day in outworld.

    "Amazing" Bohr said as Milo and Kayla finished up.  "Your mission exceeded beyond anything I could have imagined."  Milo felt a sense of relief on hearing this.

    "So you''re not too mad about us veering too far off the course?" Kayla asked.

    "I would be disappointed had you not veered off course" Bohr said.  "Your willingness to bend rules and Milo''s curiosity served the two of well.  I was criticized for selecting the two of you for this mission, but that choice has been vindicated."

    "Are we going to be in trouble?" Kayla asked.  "And by ''we'', I mean all three of us."

    "No, Kayla.  The two of you are going to testify to the Union Congress'' Intelligence Committee and tell them everything you told me.  After they have learned what the two of you have done it will be politically difficult for them to do anything to any of us."

    "Bohr" Kayla cut in.  "Apparently the elven marshalls were after Milo.  Do you know anything about that?"

    "I don''t know for sure that they are, but it doesn''t matter.   The two of you have made names for yourselves to the point that you can''t go undercover anymore.  You won''t be going back to outworld on assignment anymore.  For now, I don''t want either of you to worry about it.  Take the rest of the week off to get ready to speak with the intelligence Committee."  Bohr shook both of their hands and they left his office.

    As they were walking back to their offices, they stopped at a television screen that was playing the news.

    "REMAINS OF ICARUS BEED FLOTILLA RECOVERED FROM CRYNE SYSTEM"

    "SMALL GROUP OF SHIPS WERE POSSIBLY SOLD OUT BY PRESIDENT HENNRY ALAMORE AFTER THE WAR"

    "Looks like Commodore Beed''s story is going to get told in a big way" Kayla said.

    "Stopping war in outworld and re-writing the history of a popular political dynasty" Milo ruminated.  "Things won''t be the same for either of us going forward, is it?"

    "Let''s not think about that now" Kayla said firmly.  "Today we''re going back to the Sun Spot for dinner, on me."

 A Brief Part 1 Epilogue and Part 2 Prologue

    It''s very common in science fiction ¨C some might say an essential trait of real sci-fi ¨C to look at how science and technology affects society and man.  But there has not been (at least to my knowledge) much sci-fi that explores how it will affect science itself.  Is there a ceiling to scientific understanding and technology that leaves us with pieces that do not fit anywhere in the metaphorical jigsaw puzzle of science?  And can it possibly reveal a dual nature (natural and supernatural) of the universe?

    This was what was attempted with this story, and the themes are made explicit not to insult the reader but because (1) I don''t want to come off like I''m trying and create JRR Tolkien in space and (2) we are conditioned to accept scientific materialism as a given in any science fiction intended and perceived as "hard science fiction".  But why should we?This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    The second part of the story will be variations on the same theme, although it will be focused more on story and less on theme.

    Praise and constructive criticism are appreciated, especially constructive criticism from those that like the concepts and the premise of the story but don''t think it was done very well.

 The Battle of Latildra

    Azari Yuler crouched down behind a destroyed tank with a pillar of smoke coming out of the top.  Glowing beams from polyphoton weapons zipped by on all sides of the tank.

    "Alpha squadron, we need you right now" Azari said into his radio.  "We''re just a few coals away from getting barbequed here."

    "We''re flying as fast as we can at this altitude, Azari" said an impatient voice on the radio.  "We can''t fly any higher and risk getting hit by the anti air batteries.  If you guys are getting overwhelmed then just back off!"

    "No, we''re not going to back off!" he shouted as a large plasma bolt hit the tank knocked one side into the air.  The regiment of elves remained in place, not budging one bit for a few minutes as the firing ont hem seemed to increase.  At last, three different fighter craft fired around a dozen rockets that blew the big pile of junk making up the reptilian''s barricades in every direction.  All of the elven forces ran straight into the city, easily taking out the Dragon Claw Clan forces inside.  They made their way into the middle, where the Dragon Claw command ship was attempting to lift off.

    "Shoot it down!" Azari shouted.  Many different polyphoton beams all converged on the ship, and the fighter craft fired a volley of missiles.  The ship immediately came back down, destroying a small civilian structures.  Azari ran right up to the hull of the ship and opened the door, shooting a few lizards as he made his way up to the command deck.

    "Where''s Krall?" Azari asked holding the gun at the Dragon Claw commander.  "I guess he didn''t want to be a target in this turkey shoot."  The commander quickly turned his body, attempting to hit Azari with his large tail, but Azari quickly rolled under it and fired a shot that hit the lizard right in the chest.  The lizard dropped to the ground, completely motionless.  A call came in from his phone.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Yuler" he said picking it up.

    "Azari, can you get over here to the staging area" said the voice of Geerhil Golmad.

    "I''m searching the Dragon Claw''s ship for clues" Azari replied.

    "No need for that.  I''ve figured out what the lizards are doing here."  Azari begrudgingly exited the ship and commandeered a motor bike inside one of the APCs that had entered the city and raced several minutes back to the staging area.  Golmad was pretty much alone inside the foam tent.

    "What have you got?" Azari asked.

    "The reptilia raided Latildra University''s labs.  After a thorough inspection of the lab I can say with a high level of confidence that what they sold were intellichine parts."

    "Intellichine parts?  Are you sure?  Weren''t most of them destroyed after the war?"

    "The signs are unmistakable of them working on it.  Obviously, Krillik wasn''t being honest about why the Dragon Claw carried out this attack.  And I can''t think of any other reason why the reptilia would dare trying to take over an area they had no hope of holding."

    "Where could Krillik and Avistra have possibly have found them?"

    "I haven''t a clue."

    "I can go have a little chat with Krillik ¨C or even Avistra ¨C if you would like me to minister."

    "Don''t do that.  If they know we''re onto them they will get more careful, and we don''t want that.  For now, I just want to keep a close eye on them.  It is obvious Lady Avistra has some secrets and I don''t want them guarded any more closely than necessary."

    Yuler nodded his head.  "I''ll inform the Grand Admiral" Yuler said getting on his motor bike and speeding away.

 The Mystery Message

    Milo looked to his left and to his right, just to make sure no one was in sight.  Then he pushed the button on his phone to retrieve his message.

    Milo,

    Sorry it took so long to keep in touch with you.  I have to be extra careful it''s properly encrypted and will be very difficult to trace.  Hope you are doing well.

    I''ve been doing fairly mundane stuff over at the Ariguar office¡­things I could do back home.  Whatever reason they wanted me transferred, they haven''t told me for some reason.  I have yet to hear anything from Bohr since he was demoted as well.  Keep your head on a swivel and stay safe.

    Your friend,

    Kayla

    "Mr Greene" said a woman popping her head outside the door Milo was standing next to, "Congressman Tinker will see you now."  Milo quickly removed the message from his screen and walked inside to Clay Tinker''s office.  The short man with very well-kempt hair shook his hand as he sat down in front of his desk.  The congressman hit eight different buttons on his safe and took a folder of papers from it.

    "You know that I have been an advocate of not only you but our now-former Director Bohr."  Milo could tell that he wasn''t going to like the way this conversation was going. "So I must be frank with you.  I think your best option is to submit yourself to the Royal Intelligence Service for questioning."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "What?!" said Milo sounding disappointed.  "Why?"

    "I have spoken to both the new CIA director Roy McGrath and individuals within RIS.  I can assure you I won''t let them do anything bad to you.  But you at least need to go and set things straight.  You went into outworld on a mission without even having a psych evaluation and without registering with elven intelligence."

    "No disrespect, but you couldn''t protect Bohr''s position as director and you''re going to protect me?"

    "Ronald had some personal issues to deal with.  He had a conversation with President Alamore and both men agreed it was in his best interest to step down.  Believe me I wanted him to stay on."

    "Is McGrath insisting on you doing this?"

    "Yes.  He wanted you sent to Ariguar with Ms. Rall but I haggled him down to this.  I do have some weight and influence to throw around, in spite of what you may think."

    "Fine" Milo said figuring it was pointless to argue.  "But can they come here to have a supervised interrogation with me instead of me having to go see them?"

    "Don''t push it.  I don''t think you understand how easy you''ve got off."  Milo''s heart sank some.

    "Thank you, Mr. Tinker" Milo said with a sigh, and he shook hands with him and was off.  Milo returned back to his home, attempting to get his mind off of things.  As he was cooking his evening meal, he got another message notification. He took his phone from his pocket and opened his message.

    I have very important information for you that you will not want to do without.  Meet me in the situation room at HQ tomorrow night ten minutes to midnight.  I will leave the door unlocked for you.

    Milo replied saying "who is this", feeling puzzled and kind of excited over the message.  It was a message over the secure agency network, but he didn''t recognize the number.  After he finished eating, he checked and still saw that he had no reply, so he decided to get ready to go to bed early.

 Zardin

    Avistra looked out the window of her palace, observing what little of the sky she could see from the island in the deep and wide fjord that the palace was nestled in.  There was not a lot of visibility on top of that.  After a while of antsy waiting, she at last spotted the lights from the elven-class carrier inbound and landing on the platform atop the palace.

    "Dinia" she said to her servant who was nursing her newborn infant prince "take my baby to the nursery to finish feeding him.  I don''t want to disturb him."

    "Yes your highness" she said leaving the room at once.  The carrier landed on the pad right outside Avistra''s door and out walked a tall, light-green-skinned reptilia who walked briskly to meet Avistra at the entrance.

    "My lady" Strigwire said with a phony excitedness in his voice.  "It''s been too long.  I was wondering if you had forgotten about our little pact."  Avistra gave the lizard a visibly annoyed look.

    "Our technicians had to be extra careful that Zardin''s system was cleaned.   And he still might pose a risk to us.   Zardin says he doesn''t know who rebuilt him, and even if he''s telling the truth, we have to be very cautious."

    "So you''ve had Zardin all these weeks and are no closer to finding out how to reactivate the talisman.  I could''ve had some of the great technologists in the Night Lizard get the job done by now."

    "It was quite challenging to do, even with all of the knowledge and files my technologists have on intellichines that you lizards don''t have" Avistra replied sternly. Strigwire glared at Avistra.  "Let''s question him, shall we?"  she asked putting her thumbprint on the wall, opening a door into bright room with several computer screens, a desk, and on top of the one of the tables was a silver, ellipsoid-shaped object on top of what looked like two stilt-like legs.  Avistra stood up on a stool and flipped a switch on the ellipsoid part, and a few of the lights came on around the head.

    "Can you hear me, Zardin?" Avistra asked.

    "Yes, my lady.  I am at your service" he said in a very robotic-sounding voice.

    "At her service?" Strigwire remarked, acting like the robot had just cursed at him.

    "Who is this lizard, my lady?"

    "Zardin, this is the chief of the Fire Flower clan, Strigwire.  His clan is a faithful servant of the goddess."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    "As you should also be, Zardin" Strigwire growled.

    "You are mistaken, lizard.  I was created to serve the elven nobility" Zardin replied.  Strigwire gave off a soft growl.

    "Zardin" Avistra said.  "Where is the talisman of the goddess now?"

    "It is sealed away in the Floating Castle of Quildalar, I am almost certain. My lady would you mind telling me what the current date is?  I think some of my most recent memories have been erased."

    "How do we activate it?" Avistra asked, ignoring his question.

    "I don''t know the answer to that question.  The Science and Technology Minister Geerhil Golmad did something to it.  He would know how to reactivate it."

    "I see.  That is what I suspected.  We will not be able get the talisman working again until I am the princess of the kingdom."

    "Of course my lady" Strigwire said sarcastically.  "Me and my clan would love nothing more than to get tied up in your battle for the throne."  Avistra narrowed her eyes at him.

    "You might not have noticed, lizard, but your Dragon Claw comrades created quite a mess here.  They knew that we were in possession of the intellichines we took.  I could stand here and try and pry from you the answer of how they knew they were here, but we''re running out of time because not only does Turraski probably suspect you have Zardin, but Zorthia and Grand Admiral Gall probably suspects I do as well.  I need you and you need me and there''s no time for any doubt."  Avistra turned toward Zardin.  "Zardin, do you have any ideas of how we can overthrow Zorthia?"

    "I can''t do that, my lady" the robot said.  "First of all, my memories end a good while ago and I wouldn''t be making a decision based upon the most up-to-date information and the political state of the kingdom and royal forces.  And second and more importantly, I am programmed to remain neutral in any battles for the throne within the kingdom.  You''re on your own."

    "I thought as much" she said.  "Luckily I have a plan of my own, but it will be a little, shall I say, messy."

    "What is it?" Strigwire asked not seeming very eager or excited.

    "You may or may not have heard of the R196 star system.  It is a lifeless system located in the inner portion of the elven sector, only several hundred light years from Quildalar.  It has a rather large star and is the primary site for neutrino and muon harvesting, gravitium production, and some major harvesting from gas giants.  It''s one of the key lifebloods of the elven armada.  You will inform Lord Krall that you have found the location of this system by chance.  Krall being the overly aggressive fool that he is, he''ll attack it with or without Turraski''s approval.  Once they attack I will arrive with the ships from my fiefdom and¡­deal with them."  Strigwire gave Avistra a surprised look.

    "You want me to allow the Dragon Claw clan to fall into a trap and let you be the hero of the day" Strigwire asked.

    "Yes" Avistra answered not even attempting to spin or sugar-coat the idea.

    "And what if this doesn''t work?" the lizard asked.

    "Her power is hanging on by a thread.  If we do this we will deal the final blow."  Strigwire just stood silent for a moment, thinking.

    "I''ll do it" he said.  "I''ve never much liked Lord Krall anyways."

    "Excellent" Avistra said with a small grin on her face.  "I will have the location of R196 and the SPG pathways put in your ship''s computer."  She and Strigwire walked out of the room.

 Shipwrecked

    Kayla was busy skimming through boring documents on her tablet computer when she felt it.  The familiar sensation when the perturbations of space-time created by the space craft you are riding on gradually fizzle out.  A somewhat loud alarm went off on the bridge.

    "Captain!" Kayla said to the elf captain sitting a few seats from her.  "Cut the power to the SPG!  If we''ve been sabotaged there might be a bomb that goes off once we get back into normal space time!"

    "We haven''t been sabotaged, humaness" the elf said.  "The SPG in this model spacecraft are notoriously flakey.  It''s probably a problem with the attenuator calibration." He said starting up the diagnostics.  Kayla got up.  She could already tell the gravity well generator was starting to fail as she felt her weight oscillating between normal and very light.  She reached over the captain''s shoulders to push a few buttons.

    "What are you doing!?" the Captain shouted.

    "There!  The backup SPG isn''t working, too!  We''ve been sabotaged.  Turn off the power to the SPG now!"  At this, the captain did as he was told.  A few seconds later, their weight disappeared.  The captain let out a sigh and cursed loudly.

    "Let''s go down to the maintenance deck to see if we can fix this" the Captain said to one of the other crew members on the bridge.  He and that crew member swam out and Kayla followed them.  It was quite difficult to make it all the way down to the maintenance deck.  When she got down to the deck the Captain and a couple of other crew members were with him, removing fa?ade and pieces to take a look inside.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "There''s the charge right there" one of the crew members said pointing to a small device that looked like it could have fit in with the jumble of different cables and parts.

    "Disconnect the bomb and then we will fix the SPG" the Captain said.

    "It won''t work" Kayla said.  "This isn''t an amateur saboteur job."

    "Fine.  If we can''t fix it, we''ll just activate the distress signal and someone passing through this SPG lane will pick it up and rescue us."

    "I''m betting that has been sabotaged as well" Kayla answered.

    "Didn''t you check that before we activated the SPG?" the captain asked.

    "Yes, but I''m guessing there''s some kind of timed mechanism on it.  We need to think of some other way to send a distress signal.  Otherwise we''re just wasting our time."

    "I agree with her, Captain" one of the crew members said.  "We could launch a barrage of alpha particles from our main power reactor.  Someone will pick them up and come and investigate it."

    "Okay, so let''s assume for a minute that that isn''t really dangerous and can cause an explosion that will kill all of us.  Do you think that maybe some scientist or astronomer might happen to come by and be curious as to why there''s alpha radiation trillions of miles from the nearest sun?"

    "Unless you know of a better way, Captain" Kayla said, "We should do it.   Otherwise we all sit around twiddling our thumbs while waiting to exhaust our supply of oxygen."  The Captain just stared straight ahead for a moment and heaved a sigh.

    "Nichols" the Captain said looking at the middle-aged man floating next to him that had suggested the idea, "I want you to keep a very close eye on the vitals of the reactor and make sure the beam is directed straight into the SPG lane!"

    "Don''t worry, I''ve done this before" the man said.  "Well, sort of.  The alpha beam can create a heck of a light show."  The captain swam out of the room, and Kayla helped the two remaining crew members begin to disconnect the bomb.

 Jenny Drether

    There was almost no one left at headquarters late at night.  Milo had a strong nagging feeling he was being watched or tracked, but couldn''t do anything about it.  He heard a beep from his phone, the indication of something coming from an entangled line.

    IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS, WE''VE BEEN SABOTAGED AND ARE STUCK IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE IN SPG LANE BETWEEN KATHARNA AND ARIGUAR.  SEND HELP.    LOOK FOR ALPHA RADIATION ANOMALY.  ¨CKAYLA.

    A rush of different thoughts went through his head.  His phone indicated 0 MB of entangled qubits of communication with Kayla as they had all been used up.  After about a whole minute of thinking, Milo shelved his thoughts and continued the walk to his meeting place.

    The situation room was dimly lit, and at the end of the table sat a young woman that appeared to be a few years younger than him ¨C a petite but pretty brunette with glasses.  Milo walked over to sit in the chair next to her, and she extended her hand for a shake.

    "Jenny Drether, Hominid Defense Directorate" the young woman said shaking his hand.  Milo was surprised to hear this.

    "So you guys aren''t just an agency of paper pushers for royal intelligence."

    "Let''s just say we handle some things for the princess that she doesn''t want everyone in the armada''s council of admirals to know about."  Milo was intrigued by this.

    "What can I do for you?" Milo said eagerly wanting to know what she was going to say.

    "Regardless of what you may have been told, you''re heading for a date with the Humanology Lab when you go in for questioning at Royal Intelligence.  And not that medical center at Adaforbus, but the main one in Quildalar that has the people that aren''t as nice.  I can assure that you don''t go, if you will do a favor for us."

    "And what''s that?" Milo asked.

    "I want you to lead us to the headquarters of Dalton Dover and the Network."  Milo wasn''t exactly sure of what to say.  He sat and thought for a minute, not sure of how to reply.  By now he probably had the metaphysicists map of SPG lanes and planets and was somewhere where no one could find him.

    "I don''t know where he is.  He has almost surely moved since I''ve last been at his headquarters."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Of course he has, but you can find out where he is and lead us to him."

    "What are you going to do?  Are you going to kill him or have him arrested?"

    "That might prove necessary" she said hesitantly.  "There''s a complicating factor involved here that I can''t tell you about."  Milo heaved a sigh, knowing that there was going to have a difficult decision heaped on him.

    "I believe in Dover and what he stands for.  He doesn''t want to be found and has done some personal favors to me, so I''m not willing to betray him."  Drether shook her head.

    "You realize that sooner or later Director McGrath Is going to ask you reveal his location and that information will make it to royal intelligence.  You can either tell me now and get something in return or you can be forced to tell after the Humanology Lab does who knows to you."

    "Actually, there is something you can do for me that I will give up Dover''s location for" Milo said temporarily forgetting about the grave news he had gotten on his phone.

    "What is it?" she asked.

    "Just a few minutes ago I got a message from my partner Kayla.  She''s stuck in interstellar space and needs to be rescued.  Help me rescue her and get me out of questioning and I''ll do what it takes to get you to Dover."  Drether stared at him for just a moment.

    "You''ve got no leverage here" she remarked.  "I''m trying to help you here and you are pushing it."

    "I''ve got more leverage than you think.  If what you''re telling me is true my days in this agency are numbered.  I can either get transferred to some other Union agency or I can do fine with Dalton Dover and his Network.  He''s very resourceful.  What you''re wanting me to do here is barter my principles, and that''s far easier to do when I can say it was done to help my very close friend."  Drether just sat there, staring ahead at the wall.

    "I will see what I can do" she said.  "Tomorrow, when you''re supposed to be leaving for questioning, I will take you Katharna.  There are some people that can help us.  It was nice meeting you" she said shaking his hand again.  She got up and walked briskly out of the room.  When Milo opened the door several seconds later he could not see her.

    Milo made his way home, and he had a lot of trouble sleeping.  After about a half an hour of not even seemingly getting closer to falling asleep, he seemingly passed out and ended up in Nadarska''s domain.

    "What''s going on?" he asked.  "I sense some real anxiety in you."

    "Kayla''s ship got sabotaged and she''s in the middle of interstellar space.  And I met someone from the Hominid Defense Force who has offered to help me rescue her and get out of interrogation by royal intelligence.  She insists they''re going to take me to the humanology lab."

    "I see.  You definitely need to avoid going to the royal labs if at all possible."

    "Do you think she''s legitimate?"

    "Yes, I do.  When you shook her hand I got a good feeling of her skin, and I clearly felt elven collagen rather than human collagen."

    "Nadarska, do you think it''s really wise to give up Nadarska''s location to her and the HDD?  She said she might have to kill him."

    "You avoid going to the labs at all costs.  Dover and the guys at the Network can take care of themselves."  Milo wanted to ask him more questions, but he fell back into sleep.

 The Networks New Home

    The door to the airlock of the outer toroid opened and out walked a small gray.

    "Cubork" Yanakris said as the two grays began walking through the corridor, "didn''t think I would ever see you again."

    "I wasn''t sure you would see me again, either" Cubork quipped.  "I got in over my head big time and was luckily helped out of the situation by the human conduit.  I see that you have decoded Nateedra''s Map" he said looking at the beautiful planet the Network headquarters was orbiting. "The elf in charge of this organization is quite resourceful."

    "Yes, he has completed the book Alkarog."

    "Very impressive" Cubork says.  "Now tell me, is it true what I''ve heard about his real identity?"  Yanakris stopped and then Cubork stopped next to him.

    "What do you mean, Cubork?" Yanakris asked genuinely puzzled.

    "When we went to the other side, we met Carlton Carver, known to the humans as Saint Vernon...apparently preserved by anti-aging implants.  He insists that the elven mathematician Frik Heridik is still alive on this side.  I know of no better suspect than the leader of this Network."

    "How sure are you that you talked with the real Carlton Carver?"

    "Trissie is almost certain it is him, and I have no reason to believe it isn''t him, either."

    "Did the metaphysicists create aging inhibitors for humans?  I didn''t think that they did¡­"

    "I didn''t think that they had, either, but I don''t know for sure" Cubork answered.  Yanakris stood still thinking.

    "That''s an intriguing theory, but I''m not sure how relevant it is."

    "You know what Heridik''s feelings are about the royal family.  Are you sure he has no real agenda other than the overthrow of the royal family?"

    "I suppose I can''t really say that for sure, Cubork, but at this point it may not matter.  What''s an ally other than one you share interests and enemies with, anyways?"   Both grays continue the walk to the meeting room.  Inside the meeting room, Dover was having a conversation with a reptilia sitting next to him sitting at the table at the front of the room.  At the seats in the room sat numerous humans and elves.

    "Welcome" Dover said as the grays took their seats at the table.  "I am glad that you can join us.  Everyone, this is Cubork.  He apparently knows a whole lot about intellichines and assembled the rod to open the gateway to the other side."  Dover cleared his throat.

    "The lizard sitting next to me is named Visler.  He is the chief of the Singed Leaf Clan.  Although we have managed to stop war in the outworld sector for now, it is not something that can keep them at bay indefinitely.  We have decided to take a risky course of action to attempt to find any of the metaphysicists.  On the other side of the portal is reptilia clan known as the Star Viper and their chief, Scythe.  We''re going to trick them into thinking Visler has crossed to the other side in an experimental device called a gamma corridor which destroys most living cells and equipment passing through it, and attempt to get information from them about the metaphysicists.  We have a strong suspicion the metaphysicists are on the other side and if we find them, we might be able to devise some plan to rescue them."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "With respect sir" said the voice of a young man sitting near the front of the table, "don''t you think this is putting our side at risk?  If the Star Viper reptilia find out it''s a trick, there''s no telling what horrible things they might do us!"

    "I have utmost confidence in Visler to pull this off, Mr Holmes" Dover said to him.

    "These are the lives on our side you are putting at risk!  We should try something else first.  You have access to much of the knowledge base of the metaphysicists and an entire planet to yourself!  You could devise some weapon that causes even more ecological devastation than the nukes and then you can hold the entire Crescent of the Goddess hostage!"

    "We have discussed that possibility" Dover said calmly.  "It would likely take too long,  andwould only be a temporary fix.  We are now in a race against the clock.  Zorthia''s half-sister Avistra is making a push to become princess.  If she does she won''t have any problem tightening her grip on the humans of outworld to placate the reptilia."

    "You want to risk lives on our side to keep the current princess in power?"

    "Skyler, you yourself told me that Saint Vernon wanted us to do what was necessary to keep the humans on this side free" Dover replied.

    "Yes, but doing this?  How do you know you''ll find any of the metaphysicists on our side?  We haven''t seen or heard from them since we went over there?"

    "They aren''t on this side, and I''m pretty sure our means of looking is better than the means of a people living under the boot of the Star Viper.  You need to trust me here that I know what I''m doing and that Visler and Saint Vernon will be very careful not do anything that will harm people on your side!" Dover said starting to sound someone impatient.  For a moment no one said anything.

    "Dover, the map you have revealed some planets on our side that the Star Viper Clan doesn''t know about.  Can you at least find some way to evacuate our people to one of them so that they can live free?"

    "Mr Holmes, we are not a mercenary organization or an army or a fleet, we''re merely an organization promoting the ideals of the metaphysicist triumvirate.  I will do whatever I can but the priority will be this side, just as the note that Saint Vernon sent to me indicated.  This is not an easy decision to make."

    "I guess this is an opportune time to bring up some grave news" Cubork said.  "This will make your decision not quite as difficult."

    "What is it, Cubork?" Dover asked.

    "Trissie has confirmed to me that the leader of Gaia''s cult is indeed Zardin."

    "How can that be?"

    "Apparently someone rebuilt him, but I''m not sure who did.  I have yet to meet anyone other than myself who could pull that off.  I''m just as bewildered as you are."

    "Well, that''s just great.  Well, I suppose that''s all we really needed to go over.  Let''s get moving, everyone.   Brian, can you create at least fifty fake reptilian corpses in time for the departure?"

    "That''s going to be pushing it" Brian said.  "Why do you need so many?"

    "I''ve done my research on the gamma corridor.  The chances of survival aren''t very good.  It will be far less convincing if we go to the other side with only Visler and a few fakes.  Hopefully Scythe doesn''t know much about it but we don''t want to take any chances."

    "I''ll do it.  We''ll burn the midnight oil if we have to" Brian said.

    "Good" Dover said briskly leaving the room.  After that, everyone filed out of the room after him.

 The Unlikely Duo

    Baycorf walked down the dimly-lit hallway, quietly as a cat, towards the intellichine lab.  He placed the protrusion from his bionic arm into the keycard slot in the door.  It didn''t open, but at least the alarm didn''t go off.  He punched some buttons on the keypad on his arm when he heard a voice coming from somewhere down the hall.

    "Hold it right there" it said.  Baycorf could see nothing with his normal vision it was too dark to see, but he could squint into his IR vision and make out an elvish shape.

    "Hello Azari" Baycorf said.  "I''m glad you''re here.  I''ve been wanting to talk to you."

    "Well that''s good, because that''s exactly what you''re about to do" Azari said with his gun drawn as  he came close enough to Baycorf that he could see him.

    "What do you know about Avistra''s intellichines, Baycorf?  What is she planning with them?"

    "How should I know?  Maybe you should try asking her yourself."

    "Save it.  When you were in your frozen prison we learned you''ve been working for her and the admirals in her fiefdom.  You were always kind of unpredictable, but I never pegged you for being a mercenary."

    "I don''t work for the highest bidder.  I thought you knew me well enough to know that I work to my own ends."

    "Your end was to arm humans in outworld fighting for independence.  Which I''m thinking somehow Avistra knew you would do and thus make the princess vulnerable for her to take over.  You know that if I can prove you and her were in cahoots that will end Avistra''s bid for becoming princess?"

    "Is that supposed to be a threat?" Baycorf calmy cooed.   "I would probably actually prefer to keep the current princess as things are right now."

    "I think this goes without saying" Yuler said, "but I''m taking you back into custody."

    "Sorry, I don''t have time for that" Baycorf said.  He hit a button on his armor vest, and fumes started spewing from the vest that quickly enveloped the area around them in a thick, white smoke.  Yuler quickly put on his echolocation goggles and found the gray and ran over and tried to grab him, but Baycorf easily threw him off with his bionic arm.  Yuler got quickly to his feet and drew his weapon.  Before Yuler even had a chance to react, Baycorf pointed his bionic arm at him and a fast jet of water came out and knocked the gun out of his hand.  The gun fell to the ground several feet from him and Baycorf moved the jet so that it was going righ into Yuler''s chest.  Yuler had to step backwards to keep from falling over and found himself pinned against the wall.  It was an incredible-seeming mechanism.  There was no apparent external source of water ¨C it all seemed to come from his bionic arm.  It had to be a metaphysical device.  Finally, Cubork stopped the jet.  Yuler took a couple of steps forward, making a sloshing sound in the water beneath his feet about half an inch thick.Stolen story; please report.

    "There are two ways this encounter ends, Azari" Baycorf said.  "We can either play pointless game of chase that will waste both of our time and will result in you not getting the interesting information I have acquired or you can take the time to listen to why it is that I''ve come here and you can join me in where I''m about to go.  And believe me when I say I think you''ll be most interested in where it is I am going to go next."

    "Fine" Yuler said.  "What is it you''re doing here?"

    "I''ve been looking through the computer systems here to see where communications are coming from and going to.  There''s quite a few going to some place in the northeast continent."

    "A hidden base for Avistra''s fiefdom?"

    "Exactly.  If I had to bet, that is where Zardin is.  There''s a lot of references to a "knight", which I think might be a code word."

    "Knight?"

    "Yes.  It''s a word for warriors of some ancient human kingdoms on Earth.  Avistra is apparently obsessed with the history of royalty among humans."

    "So you want us to go visit this place as a team, then?"

    "That would be advisable, yes.  This place is in a deep fjord that feeds several rivers.  It would be impossible to be undetected in an aircraft, and you can''t get there on foot.  The only way to get there is from under the water, and I wouldn''t advise going there in an underwater craft"

    "I''ve got my own means of traveling underwater, thanks."

    "Azari, you should know that my bag of tricks is bigger and better than yours.  I''m offering to get you in the door more easily than you could yourself.  So what do you say?  Partners?"  Yuler stood for a few second in silence.

    "What''s your angle here, anyways?" Yuler asked him.

    "I just want to figure out what Avistra is up to, as I suspect you do as well.  I also want a chance to speak to Zardin.   In fact, if we find him, you can have him."

    "Fine" Yuler said.  "But I''m going to be watching you" admonished him.  They both walked down the hallway the way that Baycorf had come.

 Daring Rescue

    Jenny didn''t say much on their travels, and that was fine with Milo.  He figured that if she was an elf disguised as a human she didn''t want him making casual conversation about herself, and he didn''t want her asking him about his adventures or the Network.  When they were on the train between the Katharna Spaceport and the Cathedral, he noticed she was asleep and he took out his tablet computer.  Milo had noticed that there were files on the memory cartridge he got from Baycorf other than the translation of the Leshraka King''s diary.  One in particular caught his eye that was titled "cubork_letter".

    Baycorf,

    Thanks for your letter.  I am doing fine at the moment, but unfortunately that can change quickly.  I will tell you what I know.

    Of the three grays in the metaphysicist triumvirate, Nateedra is the one I know the least about, and I suspect that''s the case for anyone who knows anything about them.  He tends to not interact much with the hominids or the reptiles.  I would question his very existence if Grithmeer hadn''t explicitly told me there were three of them.   I wish I had asked him more about Nateedra.   Anyways, we both know that there tends to be a lot of outlandish and wild rumors about the secrets and technology of these grays.  Though I will say that rumor about the so-called "hyperplane" is interesting.  It is apparently mentioned in Alkarog''s book, but I don''t know what it really is.

    Sincerely,

    Cubork

    Milo browsed through some other files, to see if he could find the original letter to get some context, but could find nothing.  After about ten minutes of searching he gave up.  It was about 15 minutes later that they arrived at the Cathedral and Jenny woke up.  It was an absolutely magnificent building, more resembling a palace than a cathedral and surrounded by a heart-stopping gardens.

    "Who are we here to meet?" Milo asked unable to contain his curiosity.

    "Someone who is a friend to both the church and the HDD" she answered.  Of course, that only raised more questions in his mind, but there was no point to keep on asking.  They made their way up to one of the upper levels and onto a large balcony overlooking one side of the cathedral.  A rotund and old reptilia was standing there.

    "Milo" Jenny said, "this is Prudasaur, the elder of the Singed Leaf Clan."

    "Visler has told me about you.  It is great to meet you" he said giving Milo a hand shake with his huge hand.

    "Prudasaur" Jenny said cutting off any further chatter, "we''ve got a bit of a situation.  Milo said he got an entangled message from Ms. Rall saying they were sabotaged and are stranded in normal space time between here and  Ariguar."

    "That sounds like it could be a trap to me" Prudasaur said.  I don''t know if they would''ve been able to get a message out, even if they weren''t blown to pieces."

    "Maybe for a lot of people, but Kayla has been hyper-vigilant about this thing." Milo remarked.  She''s a technical prodigy and could''ve figured out a way to get a message out.  She said they''re sending out an alpha radiation signal."

    "Well, you might have a hard time finding a crew here.  That''s a bit of a dangerous job."

    "Prudasaur, I''d be willing to do it." Jenny said.  "I just need one or two more."

    "You would do that?" Prudasaur asked, seeming surprised.  At that moment a thought occurred to Milo.  Nadarska had mentioned she had elven skin, so surely Prudasaur could smell that she wasn''t human.

    "Yes."

    "Well, if you''re that sure, I will accompany you.  This might very well be futile, but-"

    "Kopbok, we''re here, is our ship ready to leave right now?" Jenny interrupted, shouting into the radio.

    "Yes, come on down" a voice almost immediately replied.

    "Let''s get going" Jenny said.  They all walked back through the cathedral and out towards he space port.  Prudasaur looked like he used a lot of effort in moving like an old man moved, but with his long legs was still was able to move quickly and keep up with their brisk walking.  Their vessel was already getting fueled up at the quay.  Milo recognized the diminutive-by-reptilia-standards Kopbok.  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    "Kopbok, did you check the craft-"

    "Yes, Agent Drether" he said.  "It has a sensitive alpha radiation detector, and I overrode the safety system so you could fly in the SPG lane that has been closed."

    "Good" she said.

    "Kopbok" Prudasar bellowed.   "I want you to come with us.  We will need you."  Milo heard him say something under his breath, but he boarded as he was told.  They all got on board the spacecraft and were off.   As they activated the SPG, Milo turned on the monitor for alpha radiation and cranked up the sensitivity.

    "I''ll be watching this closely" Milo said.  "Just be prepared to disengage the SPG and make the U-turn as quickly as we can."  They continued on their course for about fifteen minutes, not saying a thing.

    "Anything yet?" Purdasaur asked.

    "Just background noise" Milo said.  "No anomalies yet."

    "I really think this is futile" Kopbok said.  Milo ignored him.  About five minutes further, and still nothing.

    "I really don''t think they would be able to get a signal strong enough for us to detect it" Kopbok said.  "We risk getting in some serious trouble the longer we fly in a closed SPG lane."  About two minutes later, it happened ¨C a spike in the radiation, but not a big one."

    "That was it!" Milo said.   "On our right side!  The location has been marked, now let''s make the turn-around."  The turnaround was pretty slow and gradual and seemed like it went on forever.  The craft made its way back to where they could detect the radiation.

    "Over that way!" Kopbok said pointing 10 o''clock low.  "There''s some craft over there!"  They moved the craft slowly, shining their light ahead.  They must''ve moved about twenty minutes in near-total darkness of inter-stellar space until Kopbok''s voice once again chirped.

    "Slow down!" he said.  "We''re getting close!"  Within another minute, they could see a space ship in the lights.

    "Absolutely nuts" Kopbok said.  "We might just pull this off."

    "Stranded spacecraft, are you all right?" Kopbok asked on the radio.  For a brief moment there was nothing but silence.

    "Yes, we''re all right.  I can''t believe someone found us!  Who are you?"

    "We''re from Katharna base.  We''re going attempt docking now to bring you back."  The docking process was somewhat cumbersome, but they were finally able to do it after a few failed tries.  One by one a bunch of relieved people came through the airlock into their spacecraft.   The last one was the red and frizzy-haired Kayla.  When she came in she gave Milo a big hug and she kissed him on the cheek.

    "Thanks for the daring rescue" she said.

    "How did you get the message off?" Milo asked.

    "Well" Kayla said, "I entangled some cubits on our phones and partitioned them so the operating system couldn''t access them.  Lucky for me and the crew that the virus that was put on the ship''s computer that got into our phones didn''t find them. It''s a good thing that I prepared for this."  The rest of the way back there was just casual chatter on the ship.  Milo''s mind would have normally been very busy with everything to think about but was too relieved to do anything but enjoy the trip.  After what seemed to last a long while, eventually Milo was alone with just Kayla, Prudasaur, and Kopbok on the balcony where they had met Prudasaur.

    "I just got some pretty disturbing news" Jenny said.  "I just got word that the carrier that Milo was originally going to use to go for questioning before he agreed to come with me was also sabotaged.  It was rigged to blow before it even left the atmosphere apparently."

    "Who could have done this?" Milo asked.

    "Come on, Milo" Jenny said.  "It has to be someone that knows the two of you and is resourceful enough to pull off that sophisticated sabotageI''m sure you can think of at least one suspect fitting that profile."

    "You think Dover and the Network are behind it?" Milo asked.

    "I wouldn''t completely rule it out" Jenny said.  "Kayla obviously thought the two of you were in danger."

    "I don''t suspect the Network" Kayla said curtly.

    "Who then?" Jenny asked.  Kayla hesitated for a moment, not seeming to want to divulge what she was about to say.

    "I think it''s McGrath" she said.

    "And why would you suspect him?" Jenny asked incredulously.

    "Various things" she said.  "My reassignment over here has never really made any sense, I''ve had people watching me and following me, and it would be much easier for one of his agents to rig the spacecraft than one of the Network''s guys.  Plus, I''ve met McGrath, and he gives me the shivers."

    "Well" Jenny said not sounding at all convinced, "We can really only guess right now.  Now then, Milo, how do you plan to find Dalton Dover''s headquarters?"

    "I''m a man of my word" Milo said.  "I will have a talk with my friend Brian, who is a member of the Network.  He will tell me how to get there."  Milo noticed Kayla shooting him a disapproving look.

    "Good" she said.  "I would like you to find out as soon as you can" she said.  They all left the balcony and Milo and Kayla walked in a different direction.

    "You''re going to tell them where the Network''s headquarters is?  Why?" Kayla asked barely able to keep her voice under a whisper.

    "Yes Kayla, I plan to.  Drether saved your life and apparently inadvertently saved mine on top of agreeing to get me out of questioning at royal intelligence."  Kayla let out a light sigh.

    "The Network also helped you out, Milo.  Helped us out.  I''m not going to give completely unconditional loyalty to Dover but I certainly don''t feel right at all about giving him up to these people here.  Something here is really, really off.  You''ve got HDD agents, some Singed Leaf reptilia, and CIA agents all working here.  I don''t like this at all."

    "I certainly don¡¯t like it either" Milo admitted.  "But it was either this or both of us losing our lives.  I think we need to talk with Brian and explain the situation to him.  He''ll understand and think of something."

    "He will understand, but Dover may not" she answered.

 The Star Viper Premiere

    It didn''t take long at all before Visler was carried away from Saint Vernon''s Cathedral in a medical carrier to the Star Viper command ship.  Scythe was thankfully eager to meet with him and immediately cancelled what he had planned for the day.  When he arrived at Scythe''s headquarters, he looked at him with eager eyes.  He wasn''t particularly strong-looking, not like what you''d expect a Nal''Hirak leader to look like.  The lizard walked over to Visler and took a few sniffs a few feet from his body.

    "I had to smell it to believe it" the lizard said in a deep and raspy voice.  "I wouldn''t believe there to be other reptilian lineages if I didn''t know the history of our people" he said motioning for his guard to leave the room.  "Let me formally introduce myself.  I am Lord Byratothka, premier of the forces of the Star Viper Clan, but I''m more well-known more by my nomme de guerre, Scythe.  I want you to explain as much to me as much as your strength will allow" Scythe remarked.  "How did you end up here?"

    "We got surrounded by the human forces" Visler said over labored breathing "and we decided it was better to flee through the gamma corridor than to be taken prisoner by the hominids. We also came to see if your side couldn''t offer help to us.  We are losing the war to the hominids and wanted to know if you had means to send help."

    "I could ask you why your side hasn''t already came over to ask for help" Scythe said in an unsympathetic tone.  The keys to the warp gates are on your side.  Do you not have them?"

    "No, we don''t" Visler said over a few coughs.

    "Who is the Warlord of the clans over there, anyways?"  he asked sounding disappointed.  Visler didn''t answer the question.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    "It''s a moot point for now" Scythe said.  "We''ve got a bit of a situation on our side as well.  The Metaphysicist Nateedra a few decades ago absconded with a group of humans from here and took them to one of the habitable worlds that we don''t know the location of.  They call it Eden."

    "I thought that Nateedra was sympathetic to preventing the spread of the humans through space" Visler said.

    "Yes, and that''s why I can think of no other reason for him to do that other than to raise an army to fight me."

    "Where are the other metaphysicists?" Visler asked seeing an opportunity to broach the subject.  Scythe said nothing for a few seconds.

    "What''s it to you?" he asked sounding suspicious.

    "I can perhaps die knowing the answer to the question we''ve agonized over on our side for a while now."

    "Years ago we captured Alkarod and attempted to force him to make a warp gate key for us.  We put up an incredibly stubborn resistance and one day ¨C not long after Nateedra disappeared ¨C he escaped.  If I were placing a wager I''d say he''s with Nateedra.  As for Grithmeer, I always assumed he''d stay on your side with the hominids he loves so much."

    "No trace of him" Visler said heaving a big cough with a wheeze. "The hominids don''t seem to know where he is, either."

    "I see" Scythe said thoughtfully.  "That''s probably good news for you."  Visler coughed violently a few more times, more so than he would''ve liked to, but his illness had to be completely convincing to the medical technology and sophisticated sense of smell of the reptilia.

    "I would love to hear you talk more about what''s going on over on your side, but I don''t think you''re going to last much longer.  I can end your suffering right now if you like-"

    "No" Visler said as forcefully as he could muster.  "I wish to find my own resting place in nature in the tradition of my clan. "

    "Very well" Psythe answered.  " There are vast forests we do not let the humans go near where you can rest peacefully. I will provide you with some transportation."

    "Thank you, Lord Byratothka" Scythe said.  "I offer my best wishes for your clan."

 Lina Hest

    "Did you have any luck, Lina?" Avistra asked the older elfess staring at the computer screen on her desk.

    "I found only one file on it, but the information in that file is critical.  It indicates the talisman will have to be activated within the hyperplane."

    "Hyperplane" Vistra echoed.  "That must be a decoy file that Golmad''s ministry planted in the archives."  Lina shook her head.

    "It isn''t.  I had to do quite a bit of digging to find it.  They did apparently try to remove all of the information about the talisman, but they didn''t remove all of it."

    "So this so-called ''hyperplane'' is real?"  Lina nodded her head. "How do you even get someone in there?"  Avistra asked.

    "That is the big challenge" she said.  "Nearly all beings with light-based vision only have the neurological hardware to create three-dimensional images from light that reaches their eye.  But the hyperplane has eight dimensions, and normal individuals for all practical purposes will be blind moving around in it."

    "So how do we find someone who can go there?"

    "I''m getting to that" Lina replied.  "That human whose seed with which you conceived your baby, who is he?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    "I don''t know any more about him than you do.  Did you ask Kaitlyn?  She''s the one that got that little donation for me."

    "I haven''t seen her in a while.  Perhaps she was stolen by the reptilia on the raid of Latildra University?"  Avistra just stood for a brief moment, not saying anything about that.

    "How do you know about that?" Avistra asked.

    "That''s what Golmad''s guys seem to think.  They talk to me and share things that Geer probably wishes they wouldn''t share."

    "Well, then what''s the next step?" Avistra asked her putting her thoughts on the backburner.  Lina stopped typing on her keyboard for moment and turned to look at her.

    "That human has an extraordinary neurotype, even more so than we thought.  I suspect he is one who can enter the hyperplane.  Get him here and I''ll scan his brain to see if he has the right kind of visual cortex.  Then if he does, we''ll have to find some way to trick him into activating it for us."

    "That will be the easy part" Lina said.  "There''s not a human that doesn''t have a button somewhere you can push to make them do what you want..."

    "Well, all right" Lina said not sounding overly convinced.  "That will just leave the biggest hurdle of all.  Getting the talisman itself."

    "That one will take care of itself soon I have a feeling."

    "You really think so?" Lina asked.

    "Yes.  The Battle at Latildra just showed how risky putting the security of outworld over the security of the Elven sector is."

    "Just so we''re clear, Avistra, I''m taking a risk doing all of this for you.  If you do become princess, I''m going to want something in return.

    "You will continue to run the Humanology Lab, Lina.  And I will let you change the policies and procedures of the lab to put the focus back on science and not just running a human hospital."

 Target of Opportunity

    Two lizards entered the throne room of the mother ship and greeted Turraski, who was standing inside waiting for them.

    "Turraski" Gyrod said coming to a stop.  "I think I can get some useful information from the intellichines, but it will take some time."

    "Can you open them up access their files for yourself?"

    "I''m not willing to do that, but once they have determined there is no reasonable means of escape, they will open up and talk."

    "That''s not going to be of any help to us right now" Turraski grumbled.

    "If we were to attempt to open them up and read them there''s a good chance they will eliminate anything useful we could dig out of their systems.  The only way to get information from them is to barter their freedom.  One of the intellichines is apparently a seductress bot ¨C I can smell a hodgepodge of different human pheromones from here ¨C I suspect she works for the Royal Humanology Institute."

    "That sounds useful, Gyrod, but that''s not going to help us get any kind of immediate military advantage over the elves.   Lord Krall''s raid of Latildra may have not given us anything."

    "I wouldn''t say that" said a voice from over their head.  The three lizards looked up to see the light-green-skinned Strigwire on the screen.

    "What is it, Strig?" Turraski asked not sounding overly excited or glad to hear from him.

    "I have a target of opportunity that you absolutely can''t afford to miss."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "I''m listening" Turraski said still not sounding even a little enthusiastic.

    "In the chaos of battle we were able to intercept some critical information, and from it we were able to learn the location of the R196 solar system.  If we can destroy the orbital factories and refineries there we could cripple the Royal Armada.  They won''t even be ready for it."  The three lizards looked at each other.

    "Scout it for yourself if you don''t believe me" Strigwire said with a grin.  "We''ve got to make some kind of strike upon the Elven sector, and this is as good a way to do it as any.  We can find and destroy everything there and be out before reinforcements arrive."

    "I will take care of this system" Krall bellowed.

    "You''re going to send your diminished forces all the way into the elven sector?" Gyrod said.  "You should let Strigwire''s forces accompany you-"

    "No!" Krall said cutting him off.  "We will restore the dignity of our clan after a humiliating defeat we have faced."

    "I admire your ferocity, Krall.  But I think Gyrod might be right here" Turraski said.

    "I think we should let Krall go by himself, Turraski" Strigwire interrupted.  "We will keep our forces on the reptilia-outworld border and be ready to deal with any retaliatory strikes."  Gyrod didn''t argue further with him.

    "Very well" Turraski said.  "Lord Krall, I want you to replenish your fighter craft and repair your ships batteries and defenses before you go.  If Strigwire is right that they don''t know we''ll come, then there is no reason to be in a hurry, here."

    "Yes Turraski" Krall said in a way that made it sound like it wasn''t easy to say.  Strigwire''s face disappeared from view and the screen went blank.

    "I''m growing more wary of our Fire Flower friends" Gyrod remarked.  "Strigwire apparently knew where we could find the intellichines and now he knows where one of the most important industrial systems is for the elven ships?  I don''t buy that this is a stroke of luck at all.  I suspect he may have already found the talisman and is taking orders from it. "

    "I understand your trepidation, Gyrod, but we are running out of options and time.  We will proceed cautiously here, and if R196 is where Strigwire says it is, we will unleash white hot fury and send a strong message to the hominids" Turraski with a minor swell of anger.

    "Gyrod" Turraski said, "start prepping your fleet."

 Jennys Revelation

    Milo and Kayla remained in Saint Vernon''s Cathedral for another day.  Brian was quite polite in agreeing to come over but somehow seemed reluctant as well.  He came in on what looked like an old and scruffy carrier, obviously not wanting to draw attention to himself with one of the Network''s more sophisticated rides. Milo and Brian followed Kayla to a study where they could talk alone.  Milo explained the whole story about meeting Jenny and the bargain that he had made with her.

    "That''s a really big favor you''re asking Milo" with Brian putting a subtle amount of emphasis on the name as if to show he knew that he was not Chris Cabral.  "What exactly is going on here, anyways?"

    "I have no idea" Kayla remarked.  "But the entire thing is strange."

    "The story Jenny has given about being with the Hominid Defense Directorate sure seems awfully suspicious.   The Network knows as well as anyone the scope of that agencies activities was really downsized by Queen Adella."

    "Brian" Milo said.  "Of course I never told Jenny about the map.  You don''t have to show her the new planet.  Just move the HQ to some other star system."

    "Yeah" Brian said, "but I don''t think Dover''s gonna be okay with this.  Was there really not any other way of getting around this?"

    "I was in a race against the clock" Milo said in his defense.  "Plus, Nadarska told me to go through with this even though he knew that Jenny is actually an elf in disguise because he didn''t want me to end up back in the Humanology Lab" Brian and Kayla both looked at him in surprise.

    "How does he know that?" Brian asked.

    "When I shook hands with her, he apparently could detect that she had elven skin proteins and not human ones."  Brian nodded his head in acknlowledgement.

    "I don''t like this at all" Brian said.  "I guess I''ll just have to talk to Dover and see-"  Brian was interrupted by the sound of shouting in the hallway. It was Kopbok.

    "Union forces!" Kopbok shouted as loud as he could with his raspy voice.  "They''re here to search the compound!  We have to get out of here!"

    "How?!" Milo asked loudly.

    "There''s an entrance to a secret tunnel at the bottom of the cathedral!  We have to get in there without them seeing us!  Hurry!"  They all followed him out of the room and through the hallway and down stairs without asking any further questions.  They got down to a shrine in the basement level, and Jenny was waiting for them, standing by one of two statues at the front of the room.

    "Help me with this thing!" she exclaimed pulling on one of the arms of the statues.

    "What''s going on!" Kayla shouted at her.

    "Just help me move this arm, there''s no time" Jenny shouted back.

    Without asking any more questions, they all ran forward and pulled on the arm.  They got the arm to move and a sliding door on the back wall opened up, and they all went inside and the door shut behind them, making everything pitch black.  A few seconds later more lights came on, but only enough to dimly illuminate about fifteen feet of the tunnel.  It had a concrete lining, and was about 12 feet wide.  There was a small motor cart with two seats and an empty flatbed cargo area behind it. Kopbok got in the driver''s seat and Jenny jumped into the empty flatbed.  It was just big enough for all of them.  It moved forward with a surprisingly forceful acceleration.  There wasn''t much to hold onto, and Milo felt as if he might fall out.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    As they moved, a short segment of the way in front of them was automatically illuminated.  It wasn''t a very great distance and had Milo hoping they wouldn''t come to a sudden turn that might make them crash.  After they had seemed to be riding for ten minutes, the cart came to a stop.

    "End the line" Kopbok said.  They all got out of the cart and entered a door that was next to them.  Inside was what looked like a beautifully-furnished room of a house.

    "This" Kopbok said.  "Is the church''s secret underground bunker.  I''m going to make sure that we weren''t followed.  I will be back hopefully shortly" and he left.  For a brief moment no one said anything.

    "Jenny" Milo said, "this is Brian.  Brian, this is Jenny."

    "And who are you really?" Brian asked with his arms crossed and making a stern face.

    "Jenny Drether of the Hominid Defense Directorate" she said extending here hand

    "No you''re not" Brian back without any hint of unsureness and not acknowledging her hand. "If you want me or Dalton Dover to even consider taking you to HQ you''ve got to explain why it is you are here.  And Milo knows you''re an elfess disguised as a woman, so you might as well fess up now."  Milo heaved a small sigh and tried to suppress it as well as he could, wishing that he wouldn''t have told here that.  For a moment Jenny just stood with no expression on her face.  Then she reached into her breast pocket and took a small vial from it and poured it on her face.   Milo figured maybe she was taking herself out to prevent herself from having to talk, but something stranger happened.  The skin on her face began to loosen and wrinkle up.  She reached up and grabbed the wrinkly cheeks and pulled the skin of her face and her scalp clean off her face, revealing underneath the face of a beautiful, familiar-looking elfess with golden-blonde hair.  The three of them were all too stunned to say anything.

    "I am Princess Zorthia" she said acting as if none of them would have been able to recognize her.  "I organized a joint effort between the Church of Saint Vernon and the HDD because my half-sister Avistra is trying to overthrow me.   Sorry for the duplicity but I can''t do anything through elven intelligence without her admirals and sympathizers figuring it out."  She turned toward Brian.

    "I am willing to beg you to take me to Dalton Dover" she said not wasting any time getting down to the point.  "You don''t have to give me any secrets or information but I want a chance to plea my case to him."  Brian just stood staring at her, apparently still in shock.

    "I can take you " he said softly.  "But I don''t think Dover will be overly receptive to doing anything to help you."

    "I get it" she said.  "He doesn''t like me or the royal family and especially doesn''t like the Ministry of Science and Technology.  But everything he doesn''t like about them; it''s going to get a lot worse if Avistra becomes princess.  She is a lot like my grandmother, Tarissa, and maybe even worse.  It also won''t be good for the security of the entire outworld sector, which he also seems to value."

    "Well, it looks like the cat is out of the bag" interrupted a reptilian voice.

    "You knew about this, Kopbok?" Kayla asked, outraged.

    "I did" he answered.  "Don''t take it personally. You are CIA with apparent ties to the Network as well."

    "I suppose I''ll take you, princess" Brian said.  "But I haven''t got a way back, now.  I''m sure they''re going to look all through the carrier I came in."

    "Don''t worry about that" Zorthia said taking her phone from her pocket.  "I am a princess, it won''t be hard for me to get us out of here" she said hitting buttons quickly.

 The Secret Palace

    "How far away are we, Baycorf?" Azari Yuler asked working on strapping a heavy piece of equipment with three propellers onto his back.

    "Just over 10 miles" Baycorf remarked as he was getting his equipment on him.

    "A lot of caution for just a palace" Yuler grumbled.  "Is there any real place for us to hide on that rock where the palace sits?"

    "Yes" Baycorf answered.  "There is a landing dock with large cargo containers around it.  We should be able to keep ourselves concealed."

    "Cargo containers?" Azari asked surprised.  "What are they doing with those?"

    "That would be a good question to answer on this little excursion, now wouldn''t it?" Baycorf said saucily.  "Put this over your head" the gray said handing him a piece of equipment that looked like a helmet.

    "What is this" Yuler asked the gray suspiciously.

    "I thought with your hominid physiology some oxygen might make the trip more pleasant.  What do you think?" Baycorf snarked.

    "It''s the funniest looking breathing apparatus I''ve seen" Azari taking a look at it and then putting it over his head.

    "We need to be able to get there with as little equipment as possible.  It works fine, I can promise you." Baycorf said taking the air tube attached to the funny-looking helmet into the air tank outlet on Azari''s pack.  "Just follow me and you''ll be okay" he said.  Baycorf pushed a button on his pack and two of the three propellers on the pack extended outward on protrusions that resembled wings.  Azari did the same and they both jumped off the eight-foot or so drop into the water and their propellers came to life, pushing them forward through the cold water.  They both moved them both swiftly through the water for almost twenty minutes until at last they reached the rock where the palace was.  Baycorf led him around to the side where the loading dock was.  They took off their packs and kept them hidden in some bushes.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "You weren''t kidding" Yuler said taking in the stacks of large cargo containers near them.

    "It looks like we came at a good time" Baycorf said.  "I can''t see anyone even with my IR vision."  They both walked quietly over to the unloading dock and in between the containers.  On the other side of the cargo containers they could see something fairly big.  As they got close enough to see most of it, Baycorf recognized it.  It was quite big and complicated-looking contraption with many different parts, and it had clearly recently been assembled on the palace grounds.

    "That" Baycorf said to Yuler ina  soft voice, "is a gate to the universe''s hyperplane.  One of Grithmeer''s great creations."

    "Hyperplane?" Yuler asked confused.

    "Yes" Baycorf said.  "A higher-dimension area of the universe.  But not just anyone can go into it."

    "I''m betting that''s what Zardin is for.  He''s probably capable of sight in higher dimensions!"

    "That is a plausible theory.  There probably aren''t any hominids with the visual cortex, although¡­"

    "They must be after one of Grithmeer''s secrets!" Azari interrupted having no curiosity at all to hear the rest of Baycorf''s thought.

    "Perhaps" Baycorf said.  "I was hoping there was more definitive proof that Zardin was actually here."

    "I''m betting he is here" Yuler said confidently.  "In fact, I''m sure enough that it''s probably not even worth it to try and sneak into the palace."   Just then they heard a loud noise coming from somewhere in the direction of the palace.  Both the gray and the elf scurried back away from the cargo area as quickly as they could.  They put their water packs back on and got away as quickly as they possibly could.

 The Presidents New Angle

    A burly and tall man with a short cut of gray hair pushed the button on his lighter and lit his cigarette.  The sweet smell of the Ariguarian Sharna plant filled the air as the old-but-tough-looking man breathed in the stimulant substances from the burning of the plant.  The door to the room opened and in walked President Alamore, sleep-deprived and weary.  He sat down across from the man with the cigarette and next to his Secretary of Defense, Giff Gray.

    "Hello, Roy" the president said to the bald man, who nodded back at him.  "I have a pretty serious matter to discuss with the two of you.  I''ve reached a pretty hard decision" the president said.  "After speaking with top civilian advisors and generals and even several admirals within the elven armada, I have decided-" he swallowed "that we have to destroy the Network and eliminate the nuclear frigate orbiting Zenithala."

    "Are we prepared to deal with the security threat that would put outworld in?" Gray asked him with a genuine sound of surprise in his voice.

    "No" the president said not bothering to do any sugar-coating on the situation at well.  "We will have to cede of the border worlds on the crescent, and maybe more for sure."

    "That''s a pretty high price to pay" Gray remarked.  "What will we be getting for that?"

    "Princess Zorthia''s reign is hanging by a thread.  None of the admirals I spoke to expect her to last even another month.  The princess-to-be may see us as enablers or even allies of the Network and might not be willing to work with us and a defeat of this Network would be a nice coronation gift to smooth things over." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "And more importantly" the president continued, "the Network might be even more popular among outworlders than either the Union or the Kingdom and we still don''t understand where its interests are.  I strongly suspect they are working against Union interests and that they played a role in the revelations about Icarus Beed''s ship just to embarrass me and my grandfather.  They might very well be the biggest threat we face."

    "We can manage that without getting our finger prints on it" McGrath said grinning and blowing a puff of smoke.  "At least to the people we don''t want to know."

    "How can you do that, Roy?" the president asked.

    "We can use Agent Greene and Agent Rall to lead us to them."

    "I don''t know where they''ve gone" the president said.  "Agent Greene never made it to Quildalar for his questioning.  That''s another fire I hope we can put out before the coronation.  There are some people in the armada and elven intelligence that are unhappy about it."

    "We will use Captain Rall of course" Roy said.  "He can lead us to them."

    "That could work" the president said nodding his head.   "Though I would be cautious that his loyalty to his sister might get in the way.  I know he''s not telling me everything he knows about Rall''s and Greene''s involvement with the Network."

    "We need not worry about creating any loyalty conflict, Griffin" Roy said throwing his cigarette away and rubbing his hands together.  "I''ve been waiting to have this very conversation with you for a while and I have something cooked up that will work"

    "Just be discrete about it, Roy" the president said.  "The last thing we need right now is to make any noise.  As you put it, keep the fingerprints of the Union and the CIA off of this."

    "Of course, Mr President" Roy said with a big smile on his face, revealing his golden prosthetic teeth in his mouth.

 Ascension

    "My lady" Klifik said.  "We have detected the Dragon Claw''s fleet.  They have entered the system."

    "Did they come alone, Klifik?"

    "Yes, but they really brought more forces than they needed.  Why would Lord Krall bring more ships than he needed this deep into the elven sector?  His stupidity is going to make our ruse much more difficult than it need be."

    "We should still be able to take care of them, Klifik.  We will need to pounce quickly.  Have all of our fighters ready to go right now.  We''re probably going to lose some refineries and infrastructure, here, but we can strike a big blow to the Nal''Hirak."

    "Yes my lady" Klifik said.  "Admiral Kildore" Klifik said pushing a button down.  "It''s show time.  Her highness wants all the Dragon Claw ships destroyed.  Deploy the fighters and make a quick strike before they can assume defensive posture."

    "All right" said a voice on the radio.  All of Avistra''s ships started up and began moving immediately towards Lord Krall''s forces.  The elven ships struck with deadly force, immediately taking two of the large dreadnaughts down.  A flurry of polyphoton guns from the fighter craft destroyed missiles and guns on several of the ships.  They had the numbers to stand a chance but too many of their ships were too badly wounded to do anything.

    "I think this is well in hand, my lady" Klifik said viewing the battle from the window.  "Let''s go ahead and start recording right now."  Avistra nodded her head and Klifik readied the camera.  He flashed three fingers at her, then two, then one¡­

    "Loyal and strong subjects of the great elven kingdom, today is a very solemn day for all of us.  Our system which we have perfected over many centuries has given us a remarkable amount of stability and minimized pointless, progress-killing sectarian conflicts.  But there comes times when we have to hit the reset button and change course.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Princess Zorthia has served honorably and in good faith, but the direction in which she has led the kingdom has been deleterious to our interests.  It''s a direction that has resulted in a failure to play a proper supervisory role over our evolutionarily inchoate human cousins, whose collective vices of greed and tribalism and dangerously-democratic social structures have hampered progress on the construction of our great armada and endangered our security and theirs alike.  Queen Tarissa once said ''There are three types of government¡­ governance by the ruthless, governance by the foolish, and governance by the wise.''  We as two species of hominid comprise a single nation regardless of whether we have two different independent states, and it is one that will either be led by us in a role that will be seen by many as overbearing or by the foibles of human nature.  This leadership role will be critical as empire of the reptilia grows increasingly dangerous and bellicose and wary of hominid settling throughout the galaxy.

    There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead.  Things are sure to not be as peaceful as they are right now, but we must remember that peace is not merely an absence of war but stability from things being within a proper order. In the meantime, we must all be vigilant of those that would try to undermine this needed transition. Your cooperation and understanding within this transition is greatly appreciated.

    "Cut" Klifik said cutting off the camera.  He walked over to the window.  The Dragon Claw ships were all in pieces.  None wanted to retreat and face the shame of defeat alive.

    "The day we''ve been waiting for is finally here, my lady" Klifik said admiring the wreckage.  "I think we played that pretty well if I do say so myself."

    "It''s too early to start celebrating yet, Klifik" Avistra admonished.  "I learned from Zardin that the gem in the talisman we picked up on Eizen is fake.  I strongly suspect the real one is among mother''s things within the floating castle.  And we''ve got to find the human that can enter the hyperplane and reactivate it.  Without the wisdom of the goddess, my reign may not last a whole lot longer than Zorthia''s does.  We need to have some people at the palace to ensure none of the heirlooms or any of mother''s stuff is removed from the castle."

    "Yes my lady" he said.

 Hostage Planet

    Azari Yuler quickly entered the hatch and joined Baycorf in the cockpit of his carrier.

    "All right, Baycorf" Yuler said.  "You going to tell me what it is we''re in such a hurry for?"

    "A Union vessel ¨C a pretty advanced one ¨C has been hijacked by a bunch of reptilia" said as the craft sped off of the surface of Latildra.  "I have a hunch of where it''s going and don''t think anyone else who can do anything about it will reach it in time."

    "And you think we''ll get there in time?"

    "Of course" Baycorf said.  "I know SPG paths that no living hominid knows anything about."  Yuler looked at him incredulously.

    "And how do you know about this hijacked vessel?"  Baycorf turned slowly to look at him, and then turned back to look out the window.

    "Let''s just say I''ve kept my subscription to armada transmissions daily up-to-date and I read it frequently."  Yuler scowled at him.

    "I don''t know why I just don''t have you frozen again."

    "Because I''m useful, not just to you but to your soon-to-be-former princess."  Yuler didn''t say anything else.  The SPG picked up speed.

    "Pretty advanced ride you have, here" Yuler remarked noticing the high rate of effective speed on the craft.

    "This craft right here is called the Swordfish.  It has a metaphysical SPG that gives you a higher effective speed and can safely navigate interstellar lanes normal ships can''t.  Grithmeer gave it as a gift to Aura Madeen to help her flee from elven intelligence."

    "And how did you find it?"  Baycorf turned to look at him again.

    "I know where things are.  I told you, I''m very useful."  Yuler didn''t say much else on their flight.  It wasn''t long before they arrived at the destination system and the planet came into view.

    "This is Zenithala!" Yuler said surprised.  "Why would they bring the ship here unless their goal is to trigger the nuclear barrage all over the surface?"

    "It''s a human-class ship, remember" Baycorf said.  "The nuclear frigate''s automated launch system probably won''t go off if a Union ship gets near it."   As they got closer, they could see that the nuclear frigate was completely in the clutches of the hydraulic payload arms of the large, hijacked ship.

    "We''ve got to free that ship if we can!" Baycorf said hitting some buttons on the cockpit.

    "You want to board that craft?" Yuler said shocked.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "Absolutely.  Do you think it would be wise to take away the very best card you hominids have to play against the reptiles?"

    "I''m embarrassed to share the hominid clade with the race that created those awful weapons.  Even the reptilia wouldn''t think of creating weapons that do such devastation to their own habitat."

    "Fine, then, you can wait in here."  Baycorf seemingly effortlessly steered the ship right into an airtight dock that made the usually tricky act of boarding a hostile spacecraft disgustingly easy.  He got up and opened the door of the Swordfish, then forced open a compartment on the other vessel''s hatch with some wires, pulling one wire and plugging one into his bionic arm.  The door to the ship''s airlock came open without even a sound.  Yuler reluctantly removed the straps from his body and followed him.

    "Well, can''t say I was expecting to see this" Yuler said surprised looking around as they walked in.  There were bodies of reptilian hoplites in uniform lying all over the floor of the craft.

    "Black Serpent warriors" Yuler said looking at the medallion on the left side of the chest of the lizards that had fallen over backwards on some passenger seating.

    "These lizards were shot" Baycorf said closely inspecting one of the bodies.  "Who could have done that?"  All of the sudden, Yuler saw something in the corner of his eye and in one very fast and fluid motion drew his pistol and pointed it.  It was a reptilian officer.

    "Claws up" Yuler said.  "And explain why it is that you guys hijacked this ship."  The reptilia reached for his gun and even before Yuler could pull the trigger Baycorf pointed his bionic arm at the lizard and shot a long, white and misty stream at him, which knocked the reptilia over backwards.

    "Wait a minute" Yuler said looking at him.  "You''re one of the stolen intellichines...with a reptroid exterior.  That''s why you''re not sensitive to the cold."

    "Yes" the lizard said, "and I don''t know how the two of you managed to get here so quickly, but you will both be taken into custody when the royal forces arrive."

    "What exactly are you doing?" Yuler asked him.

    "I''m not going to tell you guys" he said.  Yuler reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out his dog tag.

    "I have officer privileges in the armada" Yuler said.  "You''re supposed to obey elven officers.  Now tell me what it is you''re doing here."

    "Fine" the reptroid said.  "I''m here on the orders of her highness.  I told the reptiles if they helped me I could hijack this ship and capture the nuclear frigate.  Then we came here and took care of business and then I shot them.  I freed myself and this planet from the humans holding it hostage at the same time."

    "Zorthia asked you to do this?" Azari asked him.

    "No sir, Avistra."  Yuler donned a truly disgusted look on his face.

    "Why would you do that?!" Baycorf said.  "We''ve got to save the missiles!"

    "Too late" the reptroid said.  "I have dismantled the warheads and mixed the fissile material with a resin to create an inert mixture that will be very hard to separate.  It''s useless now."

    "Do you have any idea what you''ve done?!" Baycorf sounding as upset as a gray could sound.

    "Yes" the intellichine said, "restoring the legally and morally proper status of the elves as the landlords over the humans in outworld."

    "You''re about to the landlords over a war zone" Baycorf said quickly pulling something from his vest and throwing it onto the ground.  The reptroid fell to the ground, limp.  Baycorf walked over to the lizard, pulling his legs.

    "Are you going to help me get him into the Swordfish?" Baycorf asked.

    "You''re going to steal armada property?" Yuler asked sounding appalled.

    "It''s Avistra''s property now" the gray retorted.  Yuler walked over and grabbed one of the arms.  Even with their great strength, the body was quite heavy.  The dragged the body into the passenger area and Baycorf strapped the body to the wall, and they were off.

 Back to the Network Headquarters

    The ride to the Network was rather uneventful other than Brian asserting himself rather strongly that he be allowed to plus his own computer into the ship''s navigation systems to keep the location of the hidden planet secure from the elves.  After a few hours he completely forgot he was riding with the deposed princess of the kingdom.  He took out the latest edition of the Daily Comet.

    Reptilian Forces Ravage the Goddess Crescent

    The Reptilian Emperor Turraski and its Nal''Larak allies wasted no time in bringing down their wrath on the Goddess'' Crescent region that borders the outworld and reptilian sector.  Cities, mining settlements, farms, and towns on the worlds of Mulgrath, Zenithala, LaGira, and Florafaunus have been completely destroyed.  The death toll has estimated to be in the thousands, and though many are militias choosing to resist, there have been reports of people being captured or killed prior to the deadlines set by reptilian forces.

    The assault comes almost immediately upon the defusing of a frigate armed with missiles with warheads that are detonated by a powerful and messy nuclear fission reaction.  It is believed that a group of reptilia used stolen intellichines to steal a Union vessel, which did not trigger the automated missile launch.

    Newly crowned Princess Avistra was quick to respond to the attacks.  "Our heart goes out to those afflicted by this offensive.  This is a reckoning that is inevitable and past due, and would be far more painful down the road.  We are committed to the defense of the outworld sector and without the callous recklessness of some humans taking precious galactic ecosystems hostage.

    Milo had a sinking feeling in his heart.  He knew that this was probably inevitability but it just seemed too soon and needless.  Normally he would''ve been interested in taking in other news stories and analysis, but he just wasn''t in the mood.  The trip to the Network seemed to drag on forever until finally the rotating toroids came into view orbiting the planet.

    "It''s lovely" the princess said staring onto the brilliant colors of the planet.

    "Dover calls it Henrin" Brian said.  "It''s just as lovely down at the surface as it is from space."

    "Identify yourself" said a voice over the radio.  Brian walked over to the radio and pushed down a button.

    "Everett here. Tell Dover we''ve got a pretty special guest to see him."

    "Who''s that?" the person on the other side of the radio asked.

    "It''s Zorthia" Brian answered.

    "Who?" the voice on the other side asked even though Brian seemed to have spoken clearly.

    "You heard me correctly:  Zorthia" Brian repeated.  For at least a solid minute no sound came on the radio.

    "Go ahead and dock" the voice said.  "Dalton Dover eagerly awaits Lady Zorthia."

    "Interesting times" Brian said hitting buttons to finish the approach of the HQ.  "Can you dock with a moving spacecraft?"  Brian asked Zorthia''s pilot.

    "Can''t say I''ve done it before, but I can try" the young elf replied.  After a few tries and some light bumps, the ship finally established secure dock.

    When they entered the HQ, there was a crowd of at least a dozen hominids and both Yanakris Cubork and were present.  Trissie walked up right next to Zorthia and looked into her eyes as everyone watched, not saying anything.

    "It''s her, Dover" Trissie said.  "I have her iris signature in my files."  Dover walked over to her and Zorthia lifted her left hand for Dover to grab it and kiss it.  It was a rather strange sight.  Dover was usually a blunt individual and not big on formalities, but he was warm and almost politician-like to her.  They were exchanges some basic pleasantries when Milo felt someone grab his shoulder.  It was Kayla.  They walked a safe distance away from the crowd.

    "I just got an email from Clyde.  He''s been captured by a bunch of lizards at the crescent world of LaGira.  He says he''s heard that they''ve been killing large groups of humans that they''ve captured."

    "Is he sure?" Milo asked.

    "Yes.  He''s been captured by one of those eco-nut clans.  They''ve been feeding them to some kind of large carnivore that lives on that planet.  There''s got to be something we can do for him!"

    "What can we do, Kayla?   This journey would be crazy risky even by our standards."

    "Ask Dover to help us, of course.  He could probably come up with something."

    "You think he''ll oblige us?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "He''d better" Kayla said sternly.  "We''ve gotten him Alkarog''s Book, the key, and Nateedra''s map.  It''s just a paltry down payment of what he owes the two of us.  And you''re going to be the one to ask him because you''re his human conduit" she said poking him in the chest hard.

    "I''ll do it" Milo answered not having a bit of disagreement with her but having a very sinking feeling there might not be anything that could be done for him.

    "Hey you two" said a familiar gray voice from around them.  "I don''t think you''re going to want to miss this" Cubork said motioning for them to follow him.  They all walked briskly to the conference room next to Dover''s cabin.  There was a round table there that resembled the one where Milo and Kayla had met Dover.  Sitting at the table were Dover, Brian, Yanakris, Streena, Loy, several elves and humans Milo didn''t recognize.  Zorthia sat 180 degrees from Dover.   They came in during the middle of a conversation between the two.

    "You drove yourself from the Sci-Tech Ministry" Zorthia said  to Dover.  "You undermined the authority of my mother to abet and do bidding unpredictable grays."

    "Don''t try and claim the moral high ground for you or your mother, Zorthia.  I only wanted to have a working relationship with the metaphysicists to protect against the very scenario that is happening right now, and now you''re coming crawling to me to fix it."

    "Why should we have trusted the metaphysicists any more than we trust that Gaia intellichine or whatever the heck she is?  Why is your source of mystical unpredictability better than those of Avistra or my Grandmother Tarissa?"

    "Because the metaphysicsts believe in peace and wisdom for intelligent life in the galaxy and not bringing about some grand plan for life regardless of who it might hurt?"

    "Have you considered that these grays played as much of a role of getting us into the great human-elf war as that weird Gaia AI?"

    "The reality of this universe, my lady, is that you''ve got to have some sort of metaphysical allies and the grays are very much preferable to Gaia.  Now if you want to win back the throne and save the kingdom from being ruled by Gaia again we need to locate the metaphysicists.  And we have a lead right now, and could use your help.  We have the technology but not firepower."

    "I''m listening" Zorthia said.

    "We recently uncovered a key to a warp gate to a place in Andromeda where Cartlon Carver and many of his followers fled after the Human-Elf war.  They are living under consummate rule of a reptilia clan that lives on the other side with them.  The people on that side have Nateedra''s map, which gives them the locations of planets the reptilia can''t find, but they have no means to get there.  We''re going to evacuate all the people from that city and see if we can''t find Alkarog and Nateedra there on one of those secret planets."

    "I see" Zorthia said.  "I think this is something Admiral Gall can handle."

    "How do you plan to deal with the very large number of forces on the ground" Skyler Holmes cut in.  "You might be able to destroy and disable enough ships to get everyone out of there, but the Star Viper has entirely too much presence on the ground."

    "I will take care of them", Dover said.  "They will be the easy part.  We will need to move our ships through the Marzala gate very quickly to disable the ships and quickly move all of the people to the transport craft.   It''s going to take a lot of coordination and timing, but we can save a lot of people and maybe find two of the three of the metaphysicist triumvirate."

    "Admiral Gall will want to scout out the reptilia forces on the other side, and probably should" Zorthia remarked.

    "That can be arranged" Dover acknowledged.  "He just needs to be very cautious.  If the reptiles even see him, they''ll know individuals are crossing through the warp gate and there''s no line they won''t cross to try and coerce the key to the warp gate in their possession."

    "Understood" Zorthia said.  For the remainder of the meeting, they talked logistics and Skyler Holmes told Zorthia about the other side.  Milo could tell Kayla was getting very impatient and was about to interrupt when the meeting ended.

    Dover wasn''t thrilled about their request for a ship but obliged them.   He had a small passenger carrier outfitted with military-grade armor and weapons systems for them and Loy agreed to be the pilot.

    As they were walking to the bay towards the area of the ship, Milo noticed the elf who was Zorthia''s pilot, who motioned for him to come over and talk to him.

    "Have you a moment to speak with me alone?" he asked.

    "Yeah" Milo said for some reason having a sense of dread in him.

    "Have you heard of the head of Humanology Labs and Research Lina Hest?" he asked.

    Milo nodded his head.  "Yup, read her book, too."

    "Good" he said.  "Then you must know she respects your kind and exceptional humans like yourself."

    "I suppose so" Milo said.

    "You''re madly in love with her, aren''t you?" the guy said shaking his head in the direction that Kayla had walked.  Milo sort of froze, not feeling embarrassed but more frightened that this elf he had not seen before knew that."

    "It''s all right, there''s no need to be ashamed.   You were pretty adamant about going on that dangerous mission to save her, and I can see how you look at her."  Milo suddenly felt less afraid and a little more embarrassed.

    "Miss Hest, she is the one that might can give her to reciprocate your attraction and affection."

    "She can do that?  How?" Milo asked feeling sort of excited on the inside.

    "You will have to go and talk with Miss Hest yourself about that" he said.

    "I''m not overly eager to go back to the HL again" Milo replied.

    "I understand" the pilot said sympathetically.  "I can take you straight to her and be sure that you are visiting her off the books."

    "Why would she do this for me?" Milo asked.

    "Some sort of experiment she wants to perform.  Apparently you have some kind of very special visual cortex and she wants to test it.  It won''t be anything else to alter your brain architecture though" he added.  Milo just stood there for a minute thinking, not knowing what to say.  The pilot reached into one of his cargo pockets and pulled out a small, clear vial.

    "If you decide you want to go through with this, then you need to get some of her sweat into this container.  You don''t need a whole lot, but it absolutely can''t be done without it."  All of the sudden this seemed a lot more serious and sincere to Milo.

    "Milo, are you coming?!  Loy''s ready to go right now!" Kayla barked at him.  Milo quickly put the vial in his pocket and ran along.

    "What was that all about?" Kayla asked him.

    "He was just telling me how impressed he was that I came to rescue you" Milo said hoping she wouldn''t ask a question about the container.  She said notihng more and they both quickly boarded the spacecraft and took off for LaGira.

 Pilnork Pen Pandemonium

    The reptilia captain entered the fenced-in enclosure, taking the time to admire his collection of solemn-faced humans, all standing before him stark naked.  Around them were at least 40 different armed hoplites ready to shoot any person who attempted to run.  Behind the lizards was a large gate to the much larger enclosure with eager pilnorks, occasionally pounding the overly strong-looking wire fence hard hoping to break through reach the buffet of flesh before them.

    They were pretty ugly creatures, with a round and featureless newt-like face, four short, gator-like legs, and a row of quills going all the way down their backs and a long, fearsome barbs on the end of their long tails.

    "Human specimens!" he shouted with a loud, booming voice. "Take a good look around you. You like to consider yourselves not only a pinnacle of life and kings of the animal kingdom, but entirely transcendent and separate from the goddess'' intricate balance of life."  The captain took a few more steps before speaking again.

    "But today, standing here without your clothes that can cause digestive tract blockage of these creatures, the thin and superficial veneer is gone and all you see all around you are your fellow beasts of the galaxy''s ecosystems."  The captain reached one end of the mass of humans and turned to walk the other way.

    "Allow me to formally introduce our clique.  We are the Jade Fish Clan, warriors of the great goddess Gaia.  Our clan is named for a remarkable species in the tropical waters of Zenithala.  They belong to a subclass of living things with remarkable brain architecture that is the most efficient of any creature in the universe.  In about fifty or perhaps a hundred million years, they will be the caretakers of the ecosystems of space, effectively making hominid and reptilia alike obsolete.  By your species callous disregard for the well-being of the goddess'' masterpiece, Zenithala, you have removed any doubt you are a species in great need of humbling."

    "The creatures before you are known as pilnorks in case you did not know.  You and your kind have hunted this creature''s primary source of food to near-extinction to harvest a protein to slow age-related atrophy of your muscles.  A protein that can be made artificially in a lab.  Today, they are going to get a little justice and some food at the same time.  There might very well be more of you than they want to eat, but in what may be your final moments, take the time to ponder the point that these are juveniles that are still growing so that in a way, you will become a part of them."

    "Look!" shouted one of the men in the crowd of humans.  To the east of them was what looked like a big black cloud that was getting closer and closer.  In less than a minute, the Zalzok bugs had completely enveloped the crowd.  The humans frantically swatted themselves as many of the bugs landed on their bodies.  The reptilia instinctively fired their guns into the air a few times but of course there was no use.  The hoplits all ran out of the small enclosure and back to their ship, some dropping and rolling attempting to get the bugs off of them.  About a dozen or so humans made a run for the gate, while the rest ran over to where the ship was landing.

    "Kayla" Loy said glibly looking at the crowd from inside the ship, we don''t have enough capacity to take all of them back."

    "We''ll pack them in here like sardines if we have to!" she said.  "We can''t just leave some of them here!"

    "No, listen to me¡­this ship is rated for 30 elven passengers averaging 140 pounds, you''ve got at least 50 humans averaging 180 pounds.  The ship''s scrubber won''t be able to remove the carbon dioxide quickly enough."  Kayla heaved a big sigh.

    "Do what you have to do!  I''m going to find Clyde!" she said opening the door right as the ship landed.  She opened up the hatch and starting running against the tide of people running towards the ship.  Milo followed her.

    "Clyde!" she shouted at the top of her lungs but fearing it wouldn''t be loud enough for anyone to hear over the buzzing of the zalzok and all the shouting.  As if there weren''t enough noise, the sound of the ship''s Vulcan cannon and large polyphoton cannon started going off.  Several of the pilnorks got filled up with holes and immediately fell down motionless, while others were hit by a cannon and knocked backwards at least eight feet.  Milo and Kayla both kept shouting Clyde''s name against hope that he could hear them over the guns and the shouting and the buzzing of Zalzok.

    Then they spotted him.  He was standing by another person who was laying on the ground next to him.  Loud booms sounded from near him and both of them jumped.  Loy had fired the photon rockets and completely blown up the ship that the reptilia had run into.

    "Clyde!" Kayla shouted at him.  "What are you doing!?  We''ve got to get out of here!"

    "She got shot and trampled!  I''ve got to help her!"  Clyde shouted.

    "Clyde, we''re short on time and we don''t have enough room to rescue everyone!  You''ll just have to leave her!"

    "No!  I love her!"

    "Get her legs!" Milo said picking up the arms cutting off any argument.  He and Clyde lifted her up and carried her back to the ship.  When they got back, Loy had a gun pointed at the last 15 or 20 people standing around the door.Stolen story; please report.

    "Back away!" he shouted.  "I have contacted elven forces and they''ll make sure nothing happens to you!"

    "More of those monsters are still out there" the man said.  "We''re completely defenseless!  Please let us in!" he said holding back tears.

    "We''ll drop you some weapons as we leave!" Loy shouted back.  After Milo and Kayla got in Loy shut the door.

    "You guys took entirely too long he said going hurriedly through the crowd of people in the passenger area up into the cockpit."  Milo and Clyde carried the young woman into the cockpit area and laid her down in one of the seats.

    Milo pulled out the medical kit.  "She needs some analgesic and disinfectant for the wound, first"  Milo said digging through the kit to find the right drug.

    "You guys are lucky I didn''t just leave you behind!" Loy scolded.  "We''re probably not going to be able to surrender to any war ships waiting for us!"

    "Well maybe if you hadn''t blown the reptilian ship to pieces we could have surrendered and explained what we were doing!" Kayla answered.

    "What do you want me to do?  We leave them behind and the lizards will probably still kill them!"  Kayla shook her head but said nothing more.  When they left the atmosphere sure enough, a pair of reptilia-class destroyers were waiting for them.

    "Here come the missiles!" Loy shouted.  The missiles came very fast, but the flare countermeasures went off and caused them to blow up a safe distance from the ship.

    "How many flares have we got?" Milo asked.

    "Not many" Loy answered.  "We need to exploit our superior maneuverability here.  They''re over-pursuing us."

    "I got you" Milo said.  Milo opened the cockpit door and went into the passenger area.

    "Hang on!" he said.  Many of the people had covered themselves up with robes, towels, and even space ships or other things they could find.  Milo quickly got back into the seat in the cockpit and strapped himself in.  Loy made a very rapid, stomach-churning turn that Milo did not even think was possible on a ship the size they were in.  When they straightened up again they were right under one of the destroyers.

    "Hang on again!" Loy said.  He steered he space craft into a zig-zag pattern.  Plasma and polyphoton cannons flew around them.  Soon afterward, they were only in range of the missiles again.  One missile exploded near the hull and completely rocked the entire craft.

    "We''re not in the safe zone for SPG, but I''m going to activate the emergency override" Loy said finally sounding a little more relieved.  "Pray we don''t crash into some meteor or something."  Loy rapidly typed in commands on the keypad.

    "Here we go!" Loy said.  "Spacetime phonon amplitude at 2.8 picoGriths¡­ I''ll raise it when we get closer to the edge of the system."  In several moments, they were in full SPG flight.

    "All right, heart" said Loy wiping the sweat off of his bald head.  "You can restart again.  By the way, I''m Loy" he said extending his head for Clyde to shake it.  "You must be really close friends with these two" he said.

    "We go way back"  Clyde said.  "And this is my fiance, Lexi" Clyde said looking over at the woman.  Kayla had given the young woman her thermal blanket to cover up with.

    "Congratulations!" Kayla said with Milo saying "Great!" soon after.  The young woman said nothing.

    "Lexi" Milo said looking at her, "do you know where you are?"

    "Flying in¡­space¡­away from ¡­c-c-crescent region" she said.

    "I think she''s got shock" Milo remarked.  "I was trained to spot the signs in soldiers.  I''ll see if we have some  magnesium triketamine to treat her."  Milo went through all the different vials in the kit until he found the one marked "MTK".  He sucked the fluid up into the syringe, moved the blanket to expose her arm, and found the vein to stick it in her.

    "She going to be all right, Milo?" Clyde asked.

    "I think so" Milo said.  "Seems like a fairly mild case, thankfully."

    "We''ll drop all the passengers off at Devinar''s Fermi spaceport" Loy said.  "They''ll be safe there and then we can replenish our oxygen tank and then get back to HQ."

    "I agree" Kayla said.  "I''ll go tell the passengers."  As Kayla left the cockput and Loy and Clyde were locked in conversation, Milo took the chance.  He took the headband Kayla was wearing from her bag and took the vial he got from the elven pilot.  With both his hands on his side opposite the two men, he squeezed the band as hard as he could on each part of the headband.  A small amount of clear fluid entered the vial, not a great amount. Milo put the band bag in the bag as discretely as he could before Kayla came back in.

    Most of the rest of the trip went smoothly.  When they got to Devinar Spaceport it was dark and there wasn''t a lot of activity.  As Milo got out to help Loy refill the oxygen tank in the craft, there were cheers from around fifteen people in the proximity of the ship.  Milo didn''t feel all that heroic.  The faces of the people that he had left behind wouldn''t be easy to forget.  It was hard to feel heroic even if there was a sizeable chance those people might still die.

    "I guess people know what we did" Loy said.  "Dover might not be too happy that the Network made headlines here" as he turned on the hose.  Milo walked back into the ship and back into the cockpit area where Clyde and Kayla were talking, and Lexi seemed to be more alert as well.  The young brunette who appeared to only be about 18 or 19 walked over to Milo and kissed his cheek.

    "Thank you so much" she said.  Clyde then walked over and gave him a hug.

    "So what''s next for you two?" Milo asked.

    "We were just talking about that" Clyde said.  "With the crescent getting burned there''s not many more places I can go.  Between being involved in the smuggling and with Gaia''s cult there''s no telling who might make me disappear in the night for any reason."

    "Clyde" Milo said.  "The Network is doing a joint op with some of Zorthia''s forces to evacuate the people on the other side and take them to safety on one of the planets on Nateedra''s map.  You could go there and get a new start and could still return for anything you want since we''ll also move the warp gate over there as well."

    "We might take you up on that one" Clyde said.  "Lexi here did cartography and scouting work for mining and farming guilds in the crescent.  She''s probably going to have to get the literal chip on the shoulder to be able to stay in outworld."

    "I guess you found a free spirit who likes adventure as much as you do" Kayla said with a smile.

    "Sure did" Clyde said giving her a kiss on the side of her head.  Milo could hardly believe what it was he was witnessing.  He had never seen this type of sunny disposition from Clyde when talking about a young woman, even when he was with Kayla.  It gave him both a happy and wistful feeling at the same.

    After Loy finished refilling the tanks, they all left, and Clyde and Lexi went with them.

 Roggles Dues

    The automatic sliding doors opened and Tal Roggle entered the room, unable to hide a sense of dread from his face.  Avistra was inside the room by herself, sitting down and wearing an armada officer top with a wide, black skirt.

    "You wanted to see me¡­your highness" he said taking a noticeable amount of effort to utter the last two words.

    "Tal" she said eyeing him from head to toe.  "Come a little closer."  Tal edged up a few more steps so that he was standing a foot away from where she was seated.

    "Admiral Kildore has advised me to clean house on all the officers in both the marshals and outworld forces, and I agree with him.   I am willing to spare you, though.   I thought it would be worth speaking to you just to¡­see where you stand" she said.  "You know that working in outworld as one of the officers overseeing the Marshalls will give you more opportunity for advancement than just being a lackey of Zorthia''s fiefdom."

    "I understand" Roggle said.

    "I think you have a lot of guts for standing up to Gall and taking an aggressive stance against outworld rebel groups."

    "Thank you your highness, but I''m not too sure I managed to accomplish anything."

    "Au contraire, my dear Tal.  You likely stopped a revolt that could have resulted in us losing control of outworld and thanks to your stirring of things up, I was able to find Zardin and the talisman of the Goddess."

    "You''re going to open up the conduit to the Goddess?" Roggle asked surprised.

    "Yes, of course" she answered.  "You have any reservations?"  Roggle thought for a moment, knowing he needed to choose his words carefully.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    "You know I agree with you philosophically about our proper relationships with humans and outworld, but we become just like humans if we allow this weird machine make important decisions for us¡­ especially if we diefy it and ascribe great wisdom to it.  That thing is the common denominator between the worst wars of both hominids and reptilia-"

    "The common denominator of those wars" Avistra said immediately cutting him off, "is intelligent life with vestigial beast-like tendencies."

    "Did Zorthia or Adella ever tell you the story of why the talisman was disabled?"

    "What is there to know besides my mother was war-weary and took bad advice from people in the Sci-Tech Ministry who were afraid of what they don''t understand."

    "No, Avistra.  Adella and most advising her thought it would be useful to keep it on.  It was Acknar Adaforbus who on his death bed confessed that Gaia''s followers in the Sci-Tech Ministry had been removing information from archives and removing samples from the DNA library.  They apparently threatened to kill him if he told anyone.  They had gotten dangerous and they had some secret they didn''t want Queen Adella to know about.  Now are you okay with this so-called goddess who works against the sitting queen?"  Avistra just gave him a contemplative look for a minute, as if actually considering what he was saying.

    "You will have one of the highest posts in outworld security forces" she said not putting up an argument.  "In the meantime, I''m going to need you to¡­pay your dues."  Roggle swallowed a little bit and took a deep breath.

    "I think you''ll be fine after you have some time to be¡­broken in" she said slouching down a little in her chair and spreading her legs apart somewhat.  "Before long you''ll be¡­ primed to put yourself on the table as I look for suiters and have a greater appreciation and understanding for the wisdom of Gaia" she said.  "And besides, you surely didn''t believe I''m going to let a delicious hunk of elf like yourself get out of here without getting a little taste" she said coquettishly.

    "Well, isn''t that just sweet" Roggle grumbled sarcastically as he reluctantly got down on the ground on his knees.  He grabbed her feet with his hand and kissed each of them softly several times before gradually moving upward to her ankles and thighs and then most of his upper body disappeared up her wide skirt as Avistra closed her eyes and relaxed her entire body.

 Into the Hyperplane

    Milo took a look at the navigation monitor on the carrier''s cockpit displays.

    "This isn''t the Quildalar system" Milo said.  "Where are we going?" he asked having a worried feeling coming over him.

    "This is a Latildra" the pilot told him.

    "There''s a lab here?" Milo asked.  The pilot didn''t answer right away.  He clearly was hoping Milo wouldn''t know how to read the navigation map and screen and that he wouldn''t have to have this conversation.

    "You might say that" the pilot answered back.   "Like I told you, I''m going to take you straight to Lina.  We can all pretend like your little meeting with her never happened."  Milo knew the planet was Avistra''s fiefdom and was wondering what was here, but didn''t see any point in prolonging the conversation with a  pilot who didn''t seem overly knowledgeable or interested in what it was Lina was going to be doing.

    His mind turned to Nadarska.  He hadn''t heard from him since he learned from him that Jenny was an elf and not human.  He probably wouldn''t approve of him going to the lab, but he was willing to gamble that no more tests would be done on him that could out him as the human conduit.

    They entered Latildra''s atmosphere and finally ended up on a palace-like structure on a large rock in the middle of what seemed to be like a fjord, except wider and higher.  The carrier landed on a small pad on what looked to be the back side of the castle about half way up its height.  Milo got out and he walked inside the door.  An elf guard met him right inside and led him down a couple of halls and knocked on a door.

    "Come in" said what sounded like a female voice behind the door.  The guard opened the door and walked inside.  Milo recognized the face of the elfess as Lina Hest.  She got up out of her seat to shake his hand before both sat down to talk.

    "I''ve been looking forward to meeting you" she said.

    "Likewise.  I have read your book and think it''s fascinating" Milo remarked sincerely.

    "Thank you" she said.  "Do you understand why it is that I have brought you here?"

    "You''re interested in my neurotype?" Milo guessed hoping that wasn''t the answer.

    "Not really" she said.  "I have shown scans of your brain from when you were in medical custody at the Humanology Lab to my specialist, and he has shown me that your brain possesses a pretty special quality that no known living thing has.  Do you know what that is?" Milo''s nervousness turned to curiosity and excitement.

    "No" he said.

    "Have you heard of the hyperplane?" She asked him.

    "I have but know very little about it" he admitted.

    "Well" she said, "basically everything you see in the universe as we know it is but only a subset of the actual universe.  It''s analogous to a flat picture or screen image in three-dimensional space.  Most living things only have the neurological software to construct three dimensional images from light or sound or IR or whatever medium they are using.  But you¡­you have a very special visual cortex that can create higher-dimensional images that will help you move around in the hyperplane."  She paused for a few seconds.

    "It''s actually a very curious and interesting thing.  Have you ever noticed you can see things that others can''t?" she asked.

    "I did well on the agency''s 3D rotation test" Milo said, "but I''ve never had the sense that my vision was extraordinary" Milo lied trying to limit her scientific interest of him as much as possible.  Lina nodded her head.

    "So you want me to go exploring in this hyperplane and report what I find?" he asked.

    "Not really" she said.  "We don''t know a great deal about the device we have that can put you in the hyperplane, but we know it leads to a sort of control room that apparently was created by Grithmeer.  A device that Grithmeer created was regrettably shut off by Queen Adella and her Sci-Tech Ministry officials and it can only be turned back on in the hyperplane."

    "What kind of device?" Milo asked.

    "I''m sorry, it''s classified.  I can only tell you that it''s of great importance to the Humanology Lab and if Adella had had¡­ a wider understanding of things she wouldn''t have turned it off."  Milo seemed mostly satisfied and felt eager to go forward with what it was she was going to do to him.

    "All right" he said.  "Now explain this thing that it is you''re planning to do for me."  Hest nodded her head.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    "It really isn''t that complicated.  I take a sample of your love interest''s sweat and from that I can edit your genes so that the resulting pheromones will have full olfactory histocompatibility with hers." Milo was surprised, expecting it to be some kind of highly advanced gray technology.

    "You have this technology" Milo remarked, "and you don''t market it to humans?" he inquired.

    "Please" she said.  "We couldn''t do that without getting accused by your politicians and your media of trying to manipulate human birth rates or the human gene pool or attempting to intrude on or corrupt the so-called magic and wonder of love.  The political costs of that could be very high." she said.

    "You sound like you''ve got a pretty cynical view of love" he said.  "For many people it works out well."

    "Of course it does" she said.  "Even many elves are monogamous and live happily.  But it does not do good to view it for anything other than what it is¡­it''s a process overseen by the most primitive and animal-like portion of our brains.  We need its approval for our mates or we have no partnership."

    "So how well will it work?" Milo asked moving the conversation on.  "Do you have any case studies?"

    "Not even one" she said.  "I can assure you, though, that the science of attraction at least on this front is entirely developed and sound.  There''s no guarantee your partner will love you.  You aren''t her counterpart in looks ¨C no offense ¨C but I''m confident you''ll see a difference.  We''re not going to just create two-thirds or even three-quarters compatibility here, but full compatibility.  My guess is that it will be quite strong and the young humaness you desire will be quite infatuated with you."  She put on some lab gloves and took out of her desk what looked to be some kind of small assay.

    "Give me the sweat sample" she said.  Milo gave her the vial and she opened it and poured it all out onto some kind of smooth, absorbent material.

    "And take this" she said giving him a flat piece of plastic.  The plastic had some strange writing that Milo recognized as the ancient gray language.  "Look for a switch or lever of some kind with those symbols" she said.  "The guard will see you down to the gate to the hyperplane."

    "Come with me, sir" said a guard behind him who grabbed his shoulder.  He left with the guard and they walked down the hall, down the elevator to the ground floor, and walked out.  He didn''t have to wonder where the gate was and what it looked like once he was outside.  It was quite a large and complex-looking device.  Several elven scientists and technicians were all busy working with various parts.

    "The subject is here" the guard told one of the elves.  The elf walked over and shook his hand.

    "You''re about to make quite a historic journey no hominid has ever made" he said.  "Too bad you won''t be allowed to tell anyone about it" he remarked in a way that almost seemed threatening.   "All right, everyone!" he said.  "We''re ready to try and turn it on again!  Turn it to 50% power!"  One of the elves pulled a lever on a control panel on a side of the device.  A blueish cloud appeared in the middle portion of the machine, which was an arch that sort of resembled the gate he had walked through to Saint Vernon''s Cathedral.

    "Looks good!" the elf at the control panel said.  "Ready to turn it up to full power!"

    "Good" the head elf said.  The elf at the control panel pulled the lever farther and the cloudy blue surface got thicker.

    "It''s stable" the elf at the control panel said after several minutes of just waiting and staring at it.

    "All right" the elf said turning to look at Milo.  "It''s as safe as I think it can be made.  Go right on through the gate.  Milo walked up and through the cloudy, blue surface.  When he got inside, he was as astonished as he had ever been in his entire life.  At once he felt like his surroundings had immediately expanded outward in a way he couldn''t even hope to put into words.   He wished he could share it with someone¡­anyone.  He figured he might no more be able to describe it than he could describe music to someone who has never heard.  He looked at as much of his body as he could.  It looked very strange. He figured it must have been what it looked like when expanded into higher dimensions.  He then took in his surroundings as best as he could.  He made his way around the surface on which he was walking, which he figured was four dimensions.

    Then he spotted it in one particular direction¡­a panel with various buttons on it.  The panel almost resembled a toy rather than some piece of advanced technology on it.  The buttons were each labeled in ancient gray written language and a few were lit up and others weren''t.  Milo took out the piece of plastic that he had gotten from Lina.  It had a different shape than it did in 3D and he had to turn it several times before he saw the writing again. The button with the writing that matched it was near the top.  He slowly moved his hand over to where the button was and pushed it.  It made a light beeping noise and the button lit up.

    Milo looked over the rest of the buttons to ensure there wasn''t another one that at least resembled the writing on the plastic slip when he noticed it.  Milo recognized the writing by it from the letters he read between Grithmeer and Baycorf.  It was how Grithmeer signed his name.  The button wasn''t lit.  Milo just stood for at least a minute pondering it, one time extending his hand and almost pushing it.  Finally, Milo summoned up all his courage and pressed the button down firmly, which lit up.  "Well, it is now done" he thought to himself.

    Milo looked back around.  He had to look in many directions before he finally saw the cloudy surface of the gate he had come through.  He walked over to it and exited.  The feeling of being in higher dimensions was incredible, but he felt relieved to be back into surroundings whose spatial format he understood. Lina and the rest of the elves were waiting outside.

    "I found the pane" he said aloud to them.  "It''s done".  They all gave an enthusiastic ovation.  Lina walked up to where he was standing.  The blue, cloudy surface had already dissolved.

    "I wish you could understand just how much you''ve done for this lab and all hominids" she said.  "Let''s go up and get you prepared for the procedure" she said.   She walked him up to a lab with various large machines he didn''t recognize. The "procedure" was really just a series of simple injections.

    "All right" she said after giving him the last one.  "Your help is greatly appreciated.  I hope that you have good luck with your partner" she said.   She seemed genuinely nice and sincere in a way that put Milo at ease.  On the way back, Milo felt a lot better, not being able to think about anything but seeing Kayla again.

 Galls Tour

    The engine of the car came to life and it left the car port of the Cathedral and out onto the bumpy, grainy road.

    "Would it be all right for me to take off this helmet in here?" asked the voice of Yaferni Gall through the  microphone installed on his space suit.

    "Sorry" Carlton told him from the driver''s seat.  "I don''t expect the lizards will inspect this car any time soon, but if they do, they''ll easily pick up elf scent in here" he said taking a turn towards the town.

    "I''ve reviewed your plan for the evacuation" Gall said taking a look at his tablet computer screen.  "You know this place better than anyone on our side for sure, so I will trust you.  But I think you need to be a lot more selective in who knows about this plan."

    "You''re afraid someone here might tip the reptiles in on what it is we''re doing?" Carver asked.

    "Yes" Gall answered in an unabashed and apologetic manner.

    "With respect, sir, I don''t think you understand just how fed up with this lifestyle we are."

    "I''m sure many of you are" Gall answered, "But Stockholm Syndrome is a real and documented phenomenon among humans.  Don''t be so sure that some wouldn''t be more willing to spill the beans to live a lot more comfortably rather than go to some planet that only a small number of people know anything about."

    "That''s going to make it logistically a lot harder to get everyone on board the transport ships if no one knows about it" Carver said.  "Shouting at people that you need to pack only the most important things and leave the planet forever right now isn''t going to work that well" Carver explained as they drove into the main town square.

    "I have worked out a solution for that" Gall said.  "You will tell your followers in your next sermon of a prophesy made by Grithmeer ages ago that a fleet coming from very far away will come and rescue them, and that you think that day is near.  The lizards will just ignore it and think it''s more false hope and mumbo jumbo, but when we arrive it''ll make it that much more dramatic and real."

    Carver turned for a second to look at him.  "You want me to tell them Grithmeer predicted that?"

    "Yes.  Grithmeer is considered a prophet in your church is he not?"Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "More a messenger than a prophet, really.  I know you elves don''t think much of the church, but we are more purveyors of wisdom rather than superstition.  I would be making a mockery of the church in saying that."

    "I am not attempting to pass any kind of judgement on your church" Gall asserted.  "If you have any better ideas of how to make this crazy idea work I''m listening, but we''re all going to have to get outside of our comfort zones to make it work."

    "It might still not be enough" Carver remarked.  "I want to avoid leaving anyone behind if at all possible.  There''s got to be a way to get them moving quickly."

    "They''ll be scared out of their minds." Gall said.  "When we enter the warp gate it''s going to be absolute bedlam.  Frik is going to release a large number of flesh-eating insects that will only attack reptilia to deal with the ground forces and we will be furiously firing shots trying to clear a lane into space for the transports."  Just then they arrived at a raised area overlooking a large, flat area where lots of people and robots were working doing welding and various other things.

    "They''re building the frames for the Star Viper''s ships" Carver said.

    "Wow" Gall remarked.  "That emissary I told you about that spoke with Scythe said they''re expecting the metaphysicists to conquer them."

    "Doesn''t surprise me at all" Carver said.  "They''ve got way more ships than they could possibly need to keep us under control, here."  Carver drove west to the green house area.

    "So what do we know about this planet we''re going to head to?" asked Carver.

    "Actually, that''s something else I wanted to ask you about" Gall answered.  "I was looking at the specs for this destination planet on Nateedra''s map" Gall said picking up his tablet computer and read the specifications off the screen.

    "Gravity is 0.96 g''s at sea level, the axis is 65 degrees from its orbital plane, period of rotation 24 hours and 28 seconds.  Sounds like the specs of a planet you''re familiar with?"  Carver looked at him with an unsurprised look.

    "What?  You think he put it there as a joke?"

    "The planet is even listed in his map as ''Eden''.   I am familiar with human, terrestrial-age folklore. You don''t think he put it in there as some kind of joke or something?"

    "If that''s the case, there are other places we can go where we won''t be found" Carver answered.  After a minute, they got to the greenhouses, which were actually pretty nice and high tech.

    "Your community seems a lot more spread out than I was envisioning" Gall said.  "We are going to need them close together to make sure they all get away."

    "We will conduct the operation shortly after curfew.  Everyone should be in the inner part of town then."  Gall nodded his head.  For a moment, neither said anything as the car made the slow and bumpy journey back to the cathedral.

    "Don''t forget that real people''s lives and freedom here are at stake" Carver said.  Gall turned to look at him with a sort of surprised look on his face.

    "I''m not Grand Admiral Agorja and Zorthia is not Tarissa, Mr. Carver.  If we were we probably wouldn''t lift a finger to save you or any of your people here, let alone sacrifice ships we really could use as much as ever."

 Kopbok

    "Singed Leaf Clan" Roy McGrath said taking a close look at the chest medallion in his hands.  He looked down at the shackled lizard who was sitting before him in the small, white interrogation room.  "Were you banished from the Empire of the Reptilia?"

    "No sir, we left them behind" Kopbok retorted.

    "Well then, I''m sure you wouldn''t want Turraski to know you and your clan are aiding the HDD and the former princess."

    "You''re threatening me?" Kopbok asked.

    "All I want to know is where Agent Greene and Agent Rall are and who that woman was they were with.  I''m not interested in your role in elven politics.  Just tell me where I can find them and we''ll forget that you entered the Earth sector illegally."

    "We escaped the Church of Saint Vernon''s Cathedral on Katharna and I helped them flee.  When they hid I went back and was captured."

    "I don''t believe you" he said firmly.  "I''m not messing around, here.  Your clan might be quite isolated if the new princess and the black serpent leaders find out you''ve been helping Zorthia."

    "Even Kayla''s brother apparently doesn''t know where she is, and you expect I do?"

    "Let me warn you, Kopbar-"

    "Kopbok" he interrupted.

    "Kop¡­bok" he said in a mocking tone, "I don''t want to take the gloves off and fight dirty but I''ll-" just then the door from behind them opened and a gray with a bionic arm entered.  McGrath reached down to his hip to grab his gun, but Baycorf pointed his bionic arm at him and squirted light-blue, pasty material which solidified into a rubbery material when it hit his body.  The material completely held his arms against his body.  He tried to break himself free, but even his considerable strength he couldn''t do it.  Baycorf squirted more of the substance to bind his legs.  McGrath gave a violent jerk to try and separate his legs but just fell to the ground.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Azari Yuler entered behind Baycorf and cut the chains on the shackles.

    "Come, Kopbok" Baycorf said.  "We''re going for a little ride."  Azari popped his head out the door and looked both ways.

    "It''s clear" Azari said.  They all three quickly filed out of the tiny room leaving McGrath still struggling to try and free either a limb or his lips.  They quickly boarded the elevator down the hall of the installation and went up three levels.  When the door opened there was a young security guard waiting for them.  Baycorf quickly bounded him up in a similar way that he did McGrath.

    "Move quickly" Baycorf said.  When they turned the next corner they encountered two more guards.  Baycorf quickly slimed the one that was closer to them, but the other was a bit far away and out of range.  He took his gun and pointed it at them."

    "Don''t move!" the guy shouted.  In one quick motion Azari Yuler picked up his own polyphoton gun and fired it at him, the beam hitting and completely mangling his gun and hitting him in the chest.  The man grabbed his chest and fell down onto his knees.  Baycorf walked over to him and slimed his body.

    "That should stop any bleeding and disinfect your wound.  Don''t worry, the polymer will denature in a few minutes." he told him as if helping out an ally.  The three ran past those men and finally reached the doors to the spacecraft airlocks.  They entered one about a third of the way down the hallway.  Inside was a small airlock with only the Swordfish in it.  As they got inside the craft, an alarm went off.

    "Hold on, they''ve shut the door to the airlock" Baycorf said strapping himself in.

    "Hold on?" Kopbok asked.  Several rounds of polyphoton beams were fired from the spacecraft, completely destroying the door and the air pressure flinging it outward into the vacuum.  The craft was completely catapulted out of the airlock right behind it with a big jolt.  Kopbok had to grab onto overhead handle bars to keep from being thrown.  The craft sped close to the silvery ground of Ariguar''s second moon and then when out of range of the artillery made a steep assent away from the surface.

    "You must be Baycorf" Kopbok said.

    "Indeed" Baycorf answered.

    "So what do I owe this little joy ride?" Kopbok asked.

    "Do you know where to find the ancient City of Gaia on the planet Droyla?" Baycorf asked.

    "Sure" Kopbok said.  "But why would you want to go there?"

    "We''ve just learned from Tal Roggle that Avistra is activating the Talisman of the Goddess."

    "That''s¡­not good" the lizard said in a lugubrious manner.  "But why would you want to go there?"

    "Azari, find us the lane the least likely to result in us being detected" he said ignoring what Kopbok asked.  "I''ll get us there quickly."

 Gaias Conduit

    The big door to the throne room opened with a deep creak and in walked a lanky, light-green-skinned reptilia walked into the big, high, opulent, and gorgeous throne room.  It was empty except for Avistra sitting on the throne.

    "My lady" he said in an eager voice.

    "Strigwire" she said softly with a very serious expression on her face.  "Are you ready to answer to Gaia herself?"

    "I and my clan have been ready for a very long time, my lady."  Without saying anything else, Avistra pulled the talisman from around her neck and removed the fake gem, and replaced it with one that looks the same.  She stood up and moved the talisman to her mouth.

    "Gaia, mother to all life, your conduit is open once again.  Convene with us so that we can get your wisdom and bring your wrath to your enemies."  She stood up and laid the talisman down on the thrown and backed up about eight feet to where Strigwire was standing.  A gold-tinted cone of light emerged from the talisman that formed on its wide end an avatar of a beautiful elfess.  From the head of the avatar to the gem was about 8 feet.  Though it was large and impressive looking, it appeared in about an undramatic way as it possibly could have, not making a single noise.

    Strigwire got on his knees.  "It is an honor beyond description to be able to be in your virtual presence" he groveled.

    "I am disappointed in both of you" the avatar said in a soft, feminine voice.  "As I have been cut off from any communication with the physical world the human expansion has reached the cusp of my crescent''s ecosystems, and Nadarska and his physical-world proxies have grown powerful."

    "My goddess" Avistra said apologetically, "we were set back after we defeated the humans in war.  My mother had the talisman disabled and I had to overthrow my half sister."

    "And you, Fire Flower leader" she said turning to look at Strigwire.  "Why did it take you so long to return to this side of the galaxy?"

    "Turraski and the Nal''Hirak wouldn''t welcome us back until the hominids became threatening enough, my goddess" he said in a frightened-sounding tone.

    "Well, there''s no point in going back over our mistakes right now" the image said in a soft and almost polite-seeming manner.  "We''ve got to act quickly now."

    "My goddess" Strigwire said, "I can have half the outworld sector burnt within days.  We still have the most powerful ship batteries."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    "I wouldn''t advise that, goddess" Avistra interrupted.  "As of now I have human Union president making every concession I ask for and if you attack we will either have to stand down and take a big political cost or fight and suffer a military cost."

    "You just want to protect your human drones for the benefit of your own fleet" Strigwire sassed at her.

    "Eventually we are going to have to neuter Turraski and the Nal''Hirak''s forces and you''ll be glad we have our armada" she replied.

    "We don''t need your forces, my lady.  We-"

    "That will be enough from both of you" Gaia said interrupting them in a tempered and soft manner.  "You are correct, princess.  We cannot afford to foment a powerful coalition to oppose us.  Luckily, I do have a card to play, but I will need your help."

    "What is it?" Strigwire asked eagerly.

    "Deep within the northwestern sea on the central outworld planet of Eizen is a hydrothermal vent where I''ve forged a large mass of viral particles that can infect human cells.  You must go down to that vent and blow it up to release the particles into the ecosystem.  You should have significant numbers of infection on the planet within a few weeks and you can quarantine the entire planet and cripple the economy of outworld."

    "Will this virus infect elves as well?" Avistra asked.

    "It probably will" she said.  "It is too difficult even for me to make human-specific viruses.  Keep your own people out of the way as best as you can.  It will likely kill some hominids but it will take the humans a while to isolate the virus and figure out how to stop it."

    "That''s great, my goddess, how do you plan to deal with Dark Gaia''s forces?" Strigwire asked changing the subject.  "The feeble humans do not worry me as much."

    "Yes" Gaia acknowledged.  "The human that entered the hyperplane to open the conduit¡­I got a good feel on him when he was there.  He is connected to Nadarska somehow, I am sure of it.  His neurotype is extraordinary.  It didn''t arise from the human gene pool by chance."

    "I can find him and have him killed fairly easily" Avistra offered.  "The Union Central Intelligence Agency is also after him so that will help us."

    "It may come to that" Gaia said, "but I''d like you to bring him to me, if possible."

    "Why is this human so dangerous that you need to commit to finding him?" Strigwire said frustrated forgetting to include his groveling politeness in his words.

    "I fear that Baycorf or one of the metaphysicists will try to use him to reach Alkarog''s Nexus" Gaia answered.

    "Alkarog''s Nexus?" Avistra said curiously.  "I thought that was just a rumor."

    "It might be.  The hyperplane is too vast even for me to probe it and see what the metaphysicists might have hidden there.  I don''t know what could be there, but suffice to say, we can''t afford to let them probe the hyperplane too much.  As for the human, I would like to bring him to me so I can speak with him."

    "I will do that, Gaia" Avistra said doing something in between nodding her head and bowing it.

    "So we go and hunt this human and release the virus" Strigwire said.  "That will do fine, but Turraski is planning an attack on the Laridok system.  It''s a large human base on a system not far from the crescent.  We are going to need to choreograph this carefully if you plan on playing the white knight without getting in the way, my lady."

    "Yes" Gaia interrupted.  "I trust that you can play the role convincingly, princess."

    "Don''t worry" Avistra assured them.  "I will speak with Grand Admiral Kildore about this.  We''ll handle it."

 The Elfess of Nature

    Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Thermodynamics

    Bubb Henrin

    All throughout the terrestrial age, science went through various revolutions epiphanies and paradigm shifts, but one constant through the enlightenment and all the way into the age of quantum physics was thermodynamics.  At its core are its first two laws which for a long time have served as axioms around which all scientific theories needed to conform to in order to make sense. The first of these laws says that all energy must come from some sort of potential energy that was in turn created from some other source of energy.  The second one has been described in various ways and has had changes to its wording over the years, but essentially it describes in what ways energy can change forms.

    The latter would go on to be heavily revised if not entirely overthrown in the late twenty-first century with the advent of molecular machines.  It was demonstrated that correctly and precisely constructed molecular machines could take heat out of the air to create electric current, although this principle was  not practical for energy production as the molecular machines sapping heat from the surrounding air in turn lowered the excitation of the atomic bonds in the molecular machines that create the current in the first place.

    In spite of the lessons of the history of science, the gray technologists claim of having created what they call "quasi-infinite energy devices" has been a primary reason for putting the grays under suspicion as being con artists rather than purveyors of wisdom.  More so than any of their achievements of resolving the very difficult conundrums of interstellar travel and polyphoton synthesis and utilization of alternate forms of matter, what blows the minds of the stubborn and dogmatic scientific establishment is that there are devices producing two hundred watts of power without any apparent exhaustion.  Although I concur that we do need to use caution in letting the gray influence our science and our society, we cannot turn down their help out of nothing but our own dogmas and the egos of the elven scientific community.

    Milo felt an abrupt onset of sleepiness and fell asleep.  Before he even loss consciousness, he knew where he was going.  Sure enough, he shortly found himself at the foot of Nadarska''s tree.

    "What happened to you?"  Nadarska asked  him.   "I felt your presence into the hyperplane and I sense your DNA getting altered.  Are you all right?"  Milo felt himself swallow.  He decided there was no point in lying.

    "I agreed to enter the hyerplane to help the head of the humanology lab reactivate a metaphysical device from Grithmeer''s control panel in exchange for having my genotype changed to hopefully make Kayla more attracted to me" Milo said defiantly with no hint of remorse.  For a moment, Nadarska just stood with no expression on his face.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "I''m very disappointed in you" he said.  "I explicitly asked you to not allow yourself to be examined by any elven scientists."

    "I wasn''t examined in any way" Milo said.  "I was told I would not have any tests run on me and I took them at their word.  You yourself told me you thought I had very good judgement and wasn''t overly impulsive so I took a chance to try and gain a mutual attraction to the woman I''ve always loved."  Nadarska again gave him an empty look for a brief moment.

    "Maybe this isn''t all a bad thing, Milo.  You apparently have one property I did not envision when I modified your neurotype as an embryo."

    "What do you mean?" Milo asked.

    "The hyperplane contains many of the secrets of the metaphysicists.  If we can''t find the metaphysicists themselves, I might be able to send you into there to find something useful."  As usual, Milo had something else he wanted to say but he woke again to the sound of a familiar gray.

    "Did you pass out or something?" Cubork asked, holding some strange-looking device he didn''t recognize in his hand.

    "Yeah, I just dosed off" Milo said.

    "That wasn''t dozing off, that was crashing."

    "Just haven''t gotten enough sleep, I guess.  Let me ask you something" Milo asked.  He took the slip of plastic he had gotten from Lina and showed it to Cubork.

    "What does this say?" he asked him.

    "It means ''The Elfess of Nature''¡­ basically, the gray word for Gaia.  I can''t believe there are humans silly enough to use that decal on anything" he said walking onward down the hall, thankfully not inquiring as to where he got it.  At that moment, Milo''s heart completely sank down in his stomach as he pieced it all together.  The device Lina had referred to had to have been the Goddess'' Talisman.  He decided he needed to see if anyone was going down to the surface of the planet.  He needed some isolation time.  When he turned a blind corner, he ran into Kayla.  Milo''s anger and disappointment turned to nervousness.  He might find out if it has all worth it.

    "Hi Milo" she said.  "Sorry to leave you behind like that.  Clyde ¨C he ¨C I was helping him get his stuff together to leave.  He really seems to be serious about leaving the galaxy behind."  She really seemed to be in a chipper mood and apparently didn''t even know that he had left to go visit Lina Hest.

    "You know" she said after several seconds of silence in a warm way.  "We really haven''t had much time to just hang out lately.  What do you say we go down to the surface and do some wondering around?"

    "Sure" Milo said his heart skipping at least a couple of beats.  At that moment Milo felt a huge rush of relief and joy.  The way she was talking to him and looking at him was just somehow different¡­it was less like she was talking to her younger brother and more like someone she wanted to be with.  For several hours they walked through the grass lands on the surface, and Milo forgot all about his apparent mistake.

 The City of the Goddess

    The daytime half of the planet Droyla came into view of the Swordfish cockpit.  Behind it, the more dimly-lit twin planet Durgoff could be seen.  There were a large number of ships and orbital structures surrounding it and a high amount of smaller-craft traffic going in or out.

    "I can''t believe we''re going this deep into reptilian space" Yuler groaned.  "This had better be worth it."

    "You haven''t learned yet that this is the best ship there is for getting into places where you aren''t welcome?" Baycorf quipped.

    "This is a heavily-defended planet, not some backwater world" he answered.

    "The Nal''Larak fleet actually looks kind of sparse" Baycorf remarked.  "They must be mobilizing for another attack."

    "Just don''t draw attention to yourself" Kopbok said.  Wait until we get into the upper atmosphere before heading toward the central continent."  They passed into the atmosphere without any hassle.  The biome of the central continent resembled a deciduous are but with some very large bushes and trees.  Kopbok guided him through the terrain and it did not take them long to find the city.

    The buildings of the ancient city were in various states of decay.  Some of them were quite beautiful while others just had a few pieces of wall and columns remaining. In the northwest corner of the ruins about a quarter mile from where they landed was an apparently intact building under a canopy of some very large trees.  It was a rectangular pyramid with stairs at the front and several perimeter walkways at different heights up the outside, sort of resembling large, rectangular slabs of different sizes being stacked on each other.

    "That''s it" Baycorf said.  "That''s the temple of the goddess."

    "That''s what you came here for?" Kopbok asked sounding disappointed.

    "Follow me" Baycorf commanded, ignoring the comment.  "I think you''ll want to see this."  The three of them walked up to the top of the steps to the top walkway where on the front wall there was a picture of  beautiful elfess carrying a sword in her left hand and in the other hand held some sort of bird-like animal.

    "I don''t really know what you expect to find here" Kopbok said.  "Supposedly there''s some ancient legend that a chosen one could open this thing up and take the secret within."

    "Yes" Baycorf said raising up his bionic arm and pointing the hand at the face of the picture of the goddess, "well it doesn''t really take the chosen one, just the right frequency of coherent IR beam."  Two small panels of the wall parted at the face, revealing a small compartment inside with a silver object in the shape of a flattened, disc-like ellipsoid.

    "Amazing" Azari said.  "This structure was built millennia ago from simple rock and that compartment works like it''s new."

    "It was built by grays to last" Baycorf said taking the object and examining it.

    "So what is that thing?" Yuler asked staring for it.

    "You let me worry about that!" yelled a voice from near them.  Ascending the steps toward was a dark-green-colored reptilia.  Behind him were 4 other armed lizards.  Yuler reached to grab his gun before Baylor grabbed his arm to stop him.  As he got closer, Kopbok noticed the clan medallion on the left side of his chest.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "Skeezik" Kopbok said as he got close enough.

    "Singed Leaf, is it" he said looking at Kopbok.  "I see you''ve made both hominid and gray friends" he said looking at Yuler and Baycorf.

    "What do you want, Skeezik?" Kopbok asked him.

    "I can tell by the strange smells of your elf and gray friend that they''re armed down to the teeth.  There''s no need for us to have a shootout here.  Hand over whatever that thing is, and I will forget that I found the three of you here" the lizard demanded in his deep and soft voice.   The lizard was now standing a couple of steps from the top but was still able to match Baycorf and Azari in height.

    "I can promise you that this thing won''t be of much use to you" Baycorf admonished, "unless you have a computer than can read gray binary language" he said.

    "I''ll leave Gyrod''s technologists in the Night Lizard to determine that" he said.  "Are you really going let this gray steal an artifact from the sacred Monument of Gaia, Kopbok?"  Nobody said anything.

    "Don''t go down this ridiculous path" Skeezik said.  "We both know your clan lives at the mercy of Lord Turraski and if he wants that thing bad enough or doesn''t want the grays to have it badly enough he''ll bring pain onto your clan.  I thought that the Singe Leaf insisted on neutrality and did not want to insert themselves involved in conflicts."

    "The new elven princess has opened the rift to the hyperplane" Kopbok replied.  There''s no telling what they might be capable of if they have the capability to explore it, especially now that they''ve opened up the conduit to Gaia and apparently have Zardin."  For a few seconds no one said anything and Kopbok walked a few steps toward Skeezik.

    "Your clan is being called into service for an offensive campaign after most of the Dragon Claw''s ships were destroyed, isn''t it?" Kopbok asked.  "We noticed the defenses of this planet are down a bit.  Your clan have never relished fighting the way the Nal''Hirak do.  Why would you follow Turraski to war?"  The lizard grumbled.

    "There will be no real war.  Lord Turraski is about to strike a decisive blow to the hominid outworld sector.  We will put the fear of us back into humans and have and orderly peace soon enough."  Skeezik signaled for his subordinates, who had climbed about half way up, to come closer.

    "And you don''t think you will have to deal with the elven forces?  They will have something up their sleeves, you can bet that, and with the intellichines and the conduit to the goddess open they will be formidable."

    "They''ll turtle up like cowards and abandon the humans as soon as we show our strength¡­ just like they did at Mulgrath " Skeezik said.  "I''m not going to hear any more pointless prattle.  Give me that disc."  From the air behind the lizards, the Swordfish fired several polyphoton rounds towards them, missing the temple.  All of the lizards turned around and began shooting it, but were not able to hit the very nimble craft.

    As they were turned around firing at the Swordfish, Kopbok dove and tackled one of the lizards to the ground, Azari shot the muzzle off another as it aimed it''s gun at Kopbok, and Baycorf used his water jet to knock the guns from the other two, both falling down several steps.  In less than 10 seconds, Yuler had shot each of the guns, and the Swordfish came down within a few feet of the ground at the base of the temple and let down its ladder.

    "You''re making a big mistake!" Skeezik shouted at them as they started to descend quickly the steps.  "You''re putting yourself on the losing side to ally yourself with hominid society that will always quietly loathe you!"  They all quickly got on board the Swordfish and left.

    "Who was that?" Baycorf asked Kopbok.

    "That''s Skeezik of the Iron Scale Clan" Kopbok said.  "He is probably the most well-known warrior among them.  I have no idea how they knew we were coming."

    "So what is that thing, anyways?" Yuler asked not interested on hearing about reptilia clan politics.

    "I''m not sure, honestly" Baycorf said.  "I was telling the truth when I said it has gray binary data.  We will have to take it to Dalton Dover to get anything from it."

    "We came all the way out here and you don''t know what it was?" Yuler asked annoyed.

    "If it''s ancient and encoded in gray binary, it''s worth getting" Baycorf asserted as the SPG fired up to take them out of the system.

 Intrepid Rebel Leader

    Lance Larrett observed as two elven marshall officers entered his quarters on the governor''s cruiser and behind them a brunette woman in her late forties.

    "You have fifteen minutes" one of the elf guards said removing the shackles from her arms.  Both of the guards left out the way they came.    Ava Baxter took a seat in front of his desk.  She almost wasn''t recognizable between weight loss, longer hair pulled back with a bandanna, and no makeup.

    "You look nice" Lance said.

    "What do you want, Lance?" she said in a tempered but unfriendly way that sounded deliberate.  "I''m only here out of the respect for your office."  Lance removed his glasses and put them on his desk.

    "I''ve called you here to extend the olive branch to you, Ava."

    "Now that you need me, right?"

    "It''s outworld that needs you."

    "Yes¡­I believe I ran against you on a campaign saying basically the same thing."  Lance let off an impatient sigh.

    "You do realize that I did everything in my power to keep you out of prison.  Now I have a way to get you out if you''re willing to bury the hatchet."

    "Oh, you can free me now?"  Lance opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again in an apparent attempt to rephrase it.

    "Well, technically it''s the new elven Grand Admiral Kerik Kildore who can do that for you."

    "I''m listening" Ava answered still putting up an unfriendly demeanor that still seemed very deliberate and forced.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "The reptilia are mobilizing for a strike on Alpha Base in the Laridok system.  They''re not even trying to make it a surprise.  The elves have been frantically building fighter craft en masse since the Battle of Mulgrath as a countermeasure against the Fire Flower''s xenon batteries, but they don''t have enough trained pilots to fly them.  The militias have the training to fly the A3 Hadrons, right?"

    "Yes" Ava said with her arms crossed talking like an angry wife.  "It''s very similar to the F68 StarCat, which we used to have plenty of before the elves confiscated and scrapped them because defense apparently wasn''t important-."

    "Listen to me" Lance snapped.  "I didn''t ask you here to Monday-morning quarterback everything I''ve done in office.  The entire outworld sector is facing its proverbial Gettysburg moment.  We either make a stand here for the chance to live to fight another day or we put ourselves entirely at the mercy of the reptilia.  If you are free the militias and rebel groups will rally around you."  Ava just continued to sit with her arms crossed, not even having the appearance of being compelled.

    "I think you might have missed what it is I''m about, Lance.  We want freedom and independence for outworlders, not to live under elven land lords, and especially land lords like Kildore and Avistra."

    "Your own political vision isn''t an option right now" Lance said glumly.  "Right now we can either live under those land lords or not have a home at all."

    "Well what if I don''t see a real difference?" Ava asked.  Lance glared at her for a few seconds.

    "Don''t think you''re going to be able to just sit in prison and remain a martyr because Avistra will be more than happy to make sure that everyone knows that the intrepid rebel leader sat on the sidelines for outworld''s greatest battle."  Ava uncrossed her arms and sat up completely straight in her seat.

    "I want a full reprieve" she said.

    "You''ll have to talk to Kildore about that" Lance said.  "He certainly doesn''t have the highest opinion of humans, but I''ve worked with him enough so far to know he''s an elf of his word.  She just stood quiet for several seconds, perhaps in deep thought or just to give the appearance of reluctance.

    "I''ll do it, Lance" she said pulling up her right sleeve and pushing a button on a wrist band that she was wearing.  "But don''t think this will repay even a part of the debt that you owe outworld."  The two elf guards that escorted her into the room came back in to cuff her and take her back out of the room.

 Alkarogs Message

    Milo sat on the roof of the Network''s structure that overlooked the noisy, rocky coastline near them.  The building was quite impressive for an organization that was insulated from society.  The inside of the building had a lot of exposed wiring and pipes and not a lot of insulation but was still quite large and built quite quickly.  After several minutes of enjoying solitude, he heard the whirring sound of the automatic door coming open and a beautiful elfess emerged behind it.  At first he didn''t recognize Zorthia, but then he could see it was clearly her.  Her hair was in a simple braid and she was wearing a thin, synthetic jacket with a long skirt.

    She casually sat down right next to him on the bench as if joining someone she knew well.

    "I hope that you aren''t angry with me" she said looking out at the shoreline.  Milo took a glance at her before looking straight ahead again, not sure of what to say.

    "I''m not sure what it is you''re talking about.  I took the risk of knowing what could happen because I wanted to save Kayla.  I can''t put any of the consequences of that on you" Milo said trying his best to conceal his nervousness.

    "We''ve been looking into who attempted to sabotage the spacecraft Kayla was on.  We strongly suspect it was people within your agency.  I''m very sorry."  Milo looked at her with his mouth falling open a bit, his nervousness changing to shock.

    "How sure are you?" he asked.

    "We are pretty sure.  We haven''t any smoking gun but we were definitely a lot more careful to make sure Avistra didn''t know what I was doing within my cell of the HDD than we were in trying to keep the CIA out.  I wouldn''t have guessed they''d cause us problems.  I am truly sorry, and for that, I intend to make it up to you."

    "Why do you think they''d want to get rid of me and Kayla?" Milo asked her.

    "We don''t really know, but that isn''t important right now.  As I said, I can make it up to you.  You and Kayla can work within the HDD for me.  I can make sure you''re compensated more than what you get within your agency." Milo took in what she was saying.  With all the running around he was doing and now appearing to have artificially elevated his relationship with Kayla, he hadn''t thought much about his future.  If the very agency he was working for was trying to get rid of him then he couldn''t go back.

    "That is a great gesture of you, my lady" he said.  "I''m flattered."

    "The two of you are obviously exceptional humans.   You could be assets for me."  They were interrupted by the sight of an approaching spacecraft.  It was very sleek and didn''t appear to make any noise.

    "That ship" Zorthia remarked.  "It can''t really be, can it?"  She got up quickly and left the way she came and Milo followed her.  He followed her all the way to a computer room where he recognized who had just arrived.  It was Baycorf, Kopbok, and an elf he recognized as Azari Yuler.  Dover was there as well as Brian, Kayla, Loy, Prudasuar, Yanakris, Cubork, and several other hominids.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Is this it?" Brian said taking the strange, silvery object from Baycorf and taking a close look at it.

    "Yes" Baycorf replied.

    "You really think this was something that belonged to the Metaphysicists?" Dover asked Baycorf.

    "Of course" Baycorf said.  "It was apparently hidden in the hope a wise Nal''Larak scholar would solve the riddle of the temple and come across it, but I figured I could go ahead and do it for them."  It took less than a minute for Bryan to figure out how to get the computer to read the data on the device.  The face of a gray came up on a large screen in the room.

    "That''s Alkarog!" Cubork said taking a few steps closer to look at him.  "Yes, no doubt about it."  He started speaking in a language Milo didn''t even recognize.  Prudasaur spoke up to translate the words.

    "I am Alkarog of the Metaphysicist Triumvirate.  If you are getting this message I am hoping it''s because you are both wise and have an interest in what it is I am about to explain.  The Goddess Gaia will one day turn against elf and reptilia alike.  Grithmeer seems convinced otherwise but it is the one thing about her of which I am absolutely sure."

    The artificial life form ''Zardin'' has within him some interesting data about the hyperplane from journeying through it as was well as some other things that might very well expose a weakness of the goddess, but he can''t access it in his normal operation.  I created a separate persona ¡­or shell, that will assume loyalty against goddess and to all of her enemies.  Obviously I couldn''t tell the elves or the Nal''Larak about this as they now both openly serve Gaia.  To activate this persona the code phrase to say to him is ''verctana lan tanum tyrimna''."

    "That''s it?" Dover asked?

    "Doesn''t look like there''s any other files on here, but I guess I can use all the decryption software to see if there''s anything hidden" Brian said.

    "Don''t" Baycorf interrupted.  "He has given more than enough information.  I suggest that we work towards finding Zardin.  That could very well be the next best thing to finding the Metaphysicists themselves."

    "This thing was just sitting inside the temple of the goddess?" Dover said.  "That seems a little difficult to believe to me."

    "It was in a cavity that can''t be detected using any technology I know of" Baycorf said.  At that moment, Zorthia tapped on Milo''s shoulder and signaled him to follow her.  Milo left even though he kind of wanted to hear the rest of that conversation.  She led him down the hallway and into a stairwell where Kayla was waiting for him.

    "I''ve got some grave news the two of you need to know " Zorthia told them.   "You''ve probably heard about the stand that the new Grand Admiral Kerik Kildore is planning to make at the planet Laridok.  Your brother is Captain Victor Rall, isn''t he?" Zorthia asked Kayla.  Kayla nodded.

    "He''s probably in danger, I''m afraid.  He has been chosen to lead one of the squadrons in a massive fighter strike against the reptilian fleet."

    "Is this going to be risky?" Kayla asked?

    "Not just risky, humaness, but likely futile as well.  This very idea was suggested by Kildore after the Battle of Mulgrath, but we knew we probably couldn''t build enough squadrons and train the pilots fast enough.  Even with all the militia pilots they will be able to rally, it won''t be enough."

    "Why would he carry out an attack that wouldn''t be likely to work?" Kayla asked indignantly.

    "Why else?" Zorthia asked.  "He can demoralize and weaken the rebel groups in outworld without incurring any anger by outworlders.  It''s just what he and Avistra need now."

    "Well then we''ve got to get over there and warn them!" Kayla said.

    "Forget about it" Zorthia said.  "You''re probably too late to do anything even if you could, but you might be able to find your brother and convince him to leave."  Kayla heaved a huge sigh.

    "Looks like I''m off again" Kayla said.

    "We''re off again" Milo said.

 Battle of Laridok Part I

    Kerik Kildore stood before the tactical map display so shiny he could see the reflection of his aged face and his goldish-white hair that was pulled back into a pony tail.  The face of Ava Baxter appearing on the display on the bridge interrupted his thinking.

    "All right, Kildore" she said.  "All of our forces have assembled and are awaiting your command."  Kildore narrowed his glassy eyes at her.

    "Did you get the numbers that you promised me, humaness?" Kildore asked her in his slow and baritone voice.

    "More in fact" she said.  "Thirty full squadrons loaded on your fightercraft carrier, about sixty more to launch from the surface of the planet."

    "That''s good" Kildore said unenthusiastically,   "because as it turns out we''re not going to be able to keep as close to the reptilian fleet as we thought."

    "Just launch the volley of long-range torpedos on my signal like you promised and we''ve got this."

    "I just want to make sure you''re aware of what you''re looking at, here.  Your fighters will be in a high density and many are likely to crash into each other if they don''t accidently shoot each other, and the batteries on the reptilia''s ships will easily rip some of them apart.  You''re looking at facing quite a number of casualties, here."

    "We''re ready to do our part" Ava said confidently.  "Just make sure you''re ready to do yours."  Her face disappeared from the screen.  Kildore turned to where Yaferni Gall was standing.

    "Looks like you were right, Admiral Gall.  We''re looking at the largest fighter battle in the history of the galaxy."

    "You underestimate how tenacious outworld humans fight" Gall said trying his best to not sound insolent.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "You call it tenacity, I call it foolishness" he said firmly sitting down in his chair.   "Every one of these humans could make a comfortable living in their own planet or sector, but they''d apparently rather stay here and risk annihilation in a sector that''s probably doomed anyways."  He took a drink from a shiny, metal goblet.

    "It takes irrational bravery to make progress sometimes" Gall said.  "That refreshing invigni you''re drinking is around because ancient humans were foolish to try and drink concoctions containing alkanols from a microorganisms waste."

    Kildore took another drink, seeming not impressed.  "Well" he said, "let''s see if that brave foolishness will pay off for us today, shall we?" he said with a weak and almost sly-seeming smile pushing a button on the control panel next to his chair.

    "All squadrons, begin your assault.  Keep the reptilian warships as spread out as you can."

    ***

    "Strigwire, have you received any word from the officers at Alpha Base yet?"  Turraski grumbled.

    "None my lord" Strigwire said.  Turraski let out a light grumble.

    "Well, this is the chance for the Fire Flower to shine, Strigiwre.  Reduce the human base to rubble and if the elves move in to intervene then blow them to pieces."

    "Yes, my lord" Strigwire said.

    "My lord!" Gyrod''s voice interrupted.  "Elven-class fighters, lots of them inbound!"

    "Move forward and just ram them!" Turraski spat.  "I''m not concerned about them."

    "I wouldn''t advise that" Gyrod said.  "There might be a couple thousand of them.  We need to inform all ships to re-direct power to smaller batteries to deal with them."

    "How could the elves come up with such an enormous fighter force so quickly!"

    "I don''t think these are elves we''re fighting my lord.  These guys don''t seem to be intent on leaving alive."  Turraski grumbled.

    "Go ahead and give the order Gyrod."

    "All ships, increase power to smaller batteries, and tighten our formation to give them less room!" Gyrod spoke into his microphone. The first wave of fighters came in swiftly, unleashing a barrage of hot fury attempting to destroy the enemy ship''s batteries with no regard for their own safety.  Shortly behind them, a bunch of large torpedoes raced in slamming into the hulls of the reptilian ships at the front.  At least six of the ships at the front were blown to pieces, being completely helpless to fight them with firepower being concentrated on hitting the swarm of A3 Hadrons around them.  The entire area of the battle was illuminated from plasma and polyphoton rounds flying in every direction.

 Belated Rendezvous

    When the SPG gradually brought them back into normal space time, Milo took a look at data coming into the computer.

    "No sparks flying yet" Milo said.  "Looks like we got here on time."

    "Looks like the elves aren''t going to give a whole lot of support" Kayla said looking at the small band of ships in orbit around the planet.  "Do you know where we''re going?"

    "This spacecraft has the armada information feed on it" Milo said.  "They''re launching from an airfield about 8 miles east of Alpha Base."  They got into the atmosphere and headed toward the airfield.  As they got closer, they could see many hundreds of specs on the ground for a long ways around the base.

    "A3 Hadrons" Milo said admiring the very large collection.  From the ground at the base they could be seen as far as the eye could see.  When they landed, many pilots were quickly making their way towards their crafts to begin pre-flight tests and await take-off orders.  They hurried up into the terminal, which was fairly large and nice-looking.   Everyone was moving around at a rapid pace and no one seemed to notice that they had walked in.  They walked around looking for signs of Victor, but couldn''t see anyone.

    "Kayla?  Milo?" said a familiar-sounding voice somewhere from around them.  It was a mildly handsome guy with black hair and coffee-colored skin.

    "Roman!" Kayla yelled walking quickly over to hug him.

    "I''ve been trying to get in contact with you two for a while now?  What are you doing here?"

    "We came here to see if Victor" Kayla said.

    "He left yesterday.  This was really not a good place for you to come.  Do you not have any lines of communication with Victor?"

    "No" Kayla answered.  "I ran out of entangled qubits with him on my computer and my phone had a virus that removed the rest ¨C long story there ¨C and I haven''t been able to have any contact with him."

    "Where have the two of you been?" Roman asked them perplexed.

    They explained the whole story to him of Kayla getting reassigned, her getting rescued, their meeting the princess in disguise and everything else.

    "My goodness" Roman said.  "You two certainly have a taste for adventure don''t you."

    "Tell me about it" Kayla said sarcastically.  "Now do you know anything about who might have sabotaged the ship I was on?"  Roman turned to look around him.  By this time most had left the building.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "Bohr''s looking into it" he said softly.  "But it''s hard, as he doesn''t have the¡­privileges he used to have."

    "How''s he doing?" Milo asked.

    "Okay for now" Roman said.  "I keep telling him he needs to just retire, because whoever is going after the two of you could easily get to him."

    "He''s not the one that revealed the truth about Icarus Beed''s fleet to the world" Kayla remarked.

    "Oh, I''m fairly sure this is more about that" Roman said.  "I never actually had the chance to rendezvous with the two of you during your mission to explain a lot of this to you.  Finding clue to Matt Snedecor''s whereabouts was really the secondary objective of that mission."

    "We were sent there to find one of the most coveted hominids in the galaxy" Kayla said.  "What could we have done that was bigger than that?"

    "The mission to get Snedecor was just for the purpose of paperwork to file with the intelligence committee.  The main goal for that mission was to gather what data you could on Greenpeace."

    "Greenpeace?" Milo asked puzzled.

    "Yes.  Hominids for Sustainable Growth is really just a front for their organization.  One of many fronts."

    "I''ve heard of them" Kayla remarked.  "It''s  a very old organization that once was a bourgeois environmental organization in the terrestrial era that now just does some lobbying."

    "Oh, it''s a lot more than that.  It''s an organization that helped launch Henry Alamore''s presidency two generations ago and started the Alamore dynasty.  Bohr''s been able to get his hand on some documents, and they''ve been able to conceal a very large amount of assets, including those being concealed in Avistra''s fiefdom."

    "You think they''re a proxy for Avistra?"

    "Possibly" Roman said, "but what''s sure is that they have become an immensely powerful organization, and as soon as we started we started digging around for documents and recording and files relating to Icarus Beed''s fleet is when things sarted to happened.  Kayla was transferred, the Royal Intelligence Service requested an on-site questioning of Milo, Roy McGrath replaced Bohr¡­"

    "And you think Greenpeace that is after us?" Kayla asked putting on her skeptical face.

    "They''re a prime suspect.  I don''t think you understand just how powerful they are.  These people have strings on the most powerful members of congress in all our political factions as well as President Alamore."

    "So why are they after us?" Milo asked.

    "Can''t say for sure, honestly.  I don''t think they really suspect Bohr is working against them, but the two of you have the propensity for snooping, plus you''re known collaborators with the Network.  I''m really sorry."  Roman shook his head at saying that.  "I can find both of you a place to hide if you need it, but I guess you''re hiding with the Network, aren''t you?"  They both nodded their heads.

    "Well¡­good luck" he said.  "Let me know if there''s anything I can do for you."

    "Let us know if there''s anything we can do" Kayla said taking Roman''s and Milo''s phones to entangle cubits on both of them.  "We want to help get us out of the cross-hairs if possible" Kayla said.

    "I''m not very hopeful, honestly.  I''m betting Bohr or someone in congress can get the two of you hooked up with jobs that won''t make you as much of a threat to them."

    "We''ve been offered a chance to work with Zorthia''s faction of the HDD" Milo said.  "We plan to take it."

    "Well, then" Roman said seeming surprised.  "That should be interesting.  Look, I need to get going, and you two probably need to get out.  If the fighters can''t hold here, you could be taken prisoner."  They parted ways, Milo and Kayla back for their spacecraft they came on and Roman up the elevator to the tower.

 Battle of Laridok II

    The mass of human-piloted A3 Hadrons and the barrage of torpedoes absolutely pounded the reptilian fleet.  The reptilia put up a well-choreographed and intelligent fight, but the human assault was both immeasurably relentless and tenacious a forced a retreat.

    Ava Baxter''s face appeared on the screen of Grand Admiral Kildore''s bridge.

    "How do you like that, Kerick?" she said, her hair back in order and her makeup over her confident face.

    "Did you manage to take any of the xenon vessels out?" Kildore asked him?

    "Looks like we got at least several of them.  I will see if we can salvage some of those batteries from the wreckage."

    "Good show" Kildore croaked.  "As promised, I will complete the paperwork to have you released."

    "Perhaps we can talk about new defenses for the sector, then?"

    "Don''t push your luck, humaness.  You''re lucky we gave you the cover fire you asked for."  He severed the communication line, not allowing her to say another word.

    "Grand Admiral" Kliffik said, "I can have her taken out fairly easily.  Just give the order."

    "No" Avistra, who was standing next to Kliffik, interjected firmly.  "They will suspect us.  Besides, we don''t need to do that.  The goddess has a good card to play."This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "What is that?" Kildore asked eagerly.

    "She has engineered a virus that will infect hominids deep within the oceans of Eizen.  Once they''re infected we''ll be able to institute quarantines and take an unprecedented level of control of the movement of human ships within the sector.  You took care of it, didn''t you Zardin?"  She looked over at Zardin, who was now in the exterior of a tall, muscular, handsome elf.

    "Yes, your majesty" Zardin said.  "And I also analyzed viral particles that I could find.  It has an incubation period and will spread easily, but I feel it may not take long for the human scientists to discover an interferon sequence to stop it."

    "We will trust the goddess that this disease will spread and that they will become so weary that they will welcome our quarantine.   Go ahead and start readying the logistics for our quarantines and checkpoints" she said.

    "Yes, your majesty" Zardin said walking briskly out of the bridge.

    "Your highness" Kildore said after Zardin had left, "do you think it''s wise to let him help us when we don''t even know who rebuilt him?"

    "He has loyalty to whoever is the ruler of our kingdom. It''s the deepest and most fundamental aspect of his programming."

    "Yes, but what if it was one of the metphysicists who rebuilt him?  They could have changed the deepest layers of his psyche."

    "If they did that, setting up a shell persona for him to protect the talisman and finding a way to reactivate it was a strange way to do that."  Kildore stared at Avistra for a brief moment, seeming kind of put off by what she said.

    "Don''t underestimate the metaphysicists, your highness.  There''s no telling what kind of tricks they might have up their sleeve.  And if I may say so, I''m not convinced the goddess has the upper hand against them."

    "If they did, they wouldn''t fear her so much" Avistra retorted.

    "I want you to keep a close eye on him, Kliffik" Kildore said not heeding any of Avistra''s words.  "And watch him closely whenever he uses any terminal within the Armada Network!"

    "Yes, grand admiral" Kliffik acknowledged.

    Kildore pushed a button next to the chair he was sitting.  "All ships prepare to depart the system.  Let''s get out of this backwater dump."

 Roggles Mission

    A weary Tal Roggle got out of his rover and approached the door to his house, with barely any light in the around his dome-shaped dwelling.  He dragged himself up to the door and inserted his key into a keyhole in the wall next to the door.  The door came open quickly without even a sound.  Just as he took two steps inside the door, he felt something grab his shoulder and his face.  The motion-sensor lights came on and revealed he was grabbed by a gray with a  bionic arm.

    "You!" Roggle shouted as the door closed and Baycorf released his grip.

    "The name''s Baycorf" the gray said.  "If you remember we met-"

    "Yes, I know who you are!  I have a good mind to have you handed over to the aramada."

    "We''ve got more important things to discuss right now, Roggle."

    "How did you even know I was here?" Roggle demanded.

    "Zorthia told us" said an elf voice from somewhere around him.  The bald, muscular Azari Yuler entered the living room.

    "Azari? What are you doing here¡­with him" Roggle turning from Azari to Baycorf as he said "him".

    "I''ll cut right to the chase" Azari said.  "We need you to help us get ahold of Zardin."

    "Now how would I know where to find him?" Roggle said, seeming genuinely annoyed with the question.

    "Avistra has him" Yuler said.

    "You mean you haven''t figured that out?" Baycorf asked.

    "And how do you know she has him?" Roggle inquired.

    "They''ve been viewing extensive files on him at Latildra University where the reptilia stole a bunch of intellichines.  That, and Avistra assembled a hyperplane gate at her secret palace.  Only Zardin could have assembled that gate" Baycorf explained.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Well maybe she has it, but that doesn''t mean she''s going to let me mess with him."

    "You''re Avistra''s boy toy, aren''t you?" Azari asked.  "It''s not a secret she''s a really lecherous elfess and she probably wants you to sire a sprout."

    "That doesn''t mean she''s going to let me get ahold of any part of Zardin.  What is the point of getting him, anyways?  Avistra is the princess now and he''ll only answer to her."

    "That''s the thing" Baycorf said.  "You don''t need to be able to do anything to him.  He has a trap door in his programming to activate a persona that will give him loyalty to the metaphysicsts.  All you have to do is utter the phrase ''verctana lan tanum tyrimna'' to him.

    "Ha!" Roggle said.  "You want me to help out the metaphysicists and take away one of the kingdom''s most important assets?  Not a chance."

    "Do you want Zorthia to retake the throne or not?" Baycorf asked.  At that moment Roggle''s facial expression and demeanor changed to a more surprised and ticked off to a more serious one.

    "I''m not so sure I do.  Zorthia and Gall just aren''t willing to do the same things Kerick Kildore and Avistra are."

    "You mean like taking marching orders from the goddess?" Azari asked.  Roggle turned to glare at him.

    "You''ve got a point" Azari said not being able to sustain that annoyed feeling.  "Forgive me if I''m not eager to hitch the wagon of our kingdom to the metaphysicists."

    "You do not have to ''hitch your wagon'' to anything" Baycord asserted.  "Just unhitch it from Avistra.  I know that you realize the goddess does not have the best interests of the kingdom at heart.  Now if you want your people to have independence from the goddess, you need to help us."  Roggle just stood silent for at least ten seconds, not saying anything.

    "I''ll do it, but I don''t know what body I''m looking for."

    "It''s Avistra we''re talking about here" Yuler said.  "It''s going to be some tall, muscular, hunky elf, possibly baring skin."

    "I''ll see what I can do" Roggle said pushing some buttons on the control panel next to the door.  "I can''t promise you anything.  Avistra''s not going to let me in on her secrets just because she has the hots for me."

    "Flatter her" Azari proffered.  "Make her think you''re falling for her, and when the time is right, bring up the subject.  You¡¯re an elfess'' elf" Azari suggested.  "If she thinks she has you broken in, she''ll take her guard down."

    "Are we going to trust him?" Roggle asked Azari.

    "Zorthia specifically asked us to ask you this" Azari asked.  "If you don''t trust us we can take you to her."  Roggle said nothing for several seconds.

    "Fine" he said.

 Unpredictable

    Gyrod stood tall, looking at the horizon of the savanna-like terrain as his officer approached him.

    "Gyrod" the officer said.  "Our patrols are about to wrap up.  There are only a small number of human stragglers here.  All of the camps and villages we found were abandoned."

    "Good" Gyrod said.  "Let''s pack it up and get out of here-" and no sooner had he said that then the air was filled with a cacophonous hissing sound and the immediate area was completely engulfed by a thick, white, freezing-cold mist, reducing the visibility for just a few feet in a large area.  Somewhere around the cloud was a rumbling sound, and out from the large cloud emerged a gray with a bionic arm flying on a rocket pack.  Attached to the gray''s rocket pack was a metal cable from which emerged Azari Yuler strapped on the other side, the limp body of Gyrod on a harness.  He flew for several minutes and must have traveled at least a dozen miles before Baycorf gently set the two of them on the ground and then landed next to the Swordfish.  Gyrod still wasn''t moving when Yuler detached himself from the cord.

    "Go ahead and warm him up" Baycorf said removing himself from the rocket suit.  Yuler took a canister from his hip and sprayed the lizard''s midseason with the warm air from the can.  At first he didn''t move other than very slight slow breathing, but he eventually came to and noticed who was standing over him.

    "Sorry to interrupt whatever bullying you''ve got going on here" Baycorf said.  "But we''ve got something rather important we need to discuss with you."  Gyrod just made a scowl and didn''t say anything, breathing heavily, as if in pain.

    "Who rebuilt Zardin after the Human-Elf war?" Baycorf said.  The lizard let off a couple of coughs and didn''t respond.

    "Answer!" Azari barked.

    "You think I''m going to tell the two of you anything?" the lizard said letting a cough out.  "Especially you, elf" Gyrod said giving Yuler a nasty look.

    " I know the Night Lizard Clan has information about the intellichines" Baycorf said.  "Tell me what you know about Zardin."

    "I''m not going to tell you anything, gray.  You don''t have any leverage over me.  We have reclaimed the crescent.  We do not need to cooperate with you."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    "Really?" Yuler sassed at the lizard.   "Your fleet is reeling as the armada nears full strength while Avistra has tamed outworld, has the loyalty of the intellichines, and on top of that has opened the conduit to Gaia."  Gyrod looked at Yuler, then turned to look at Baycorf.

    "I think you have a strong suspicion about who did it, but you just don''t want to believe it''s true" Gyrod remarked.

    "Who exactly do we suspect?" Yuler asked him.

    "That gray that works with the Network¡­.Yanakris" Gyrod said in a deep, soft voice.  "We gave him the remains of Zardin and in return he calculated the SPG routes to bring the Fire Flower and the rest of the minor Nal''Larak clans back from exile.  I''m really surprised that you haven''t figured that out."

    "You''re lying to me" Baycorf said.

    "What?  You don''t think Yanakris would do that?  He and Dalton Dover have but one obsession ¨C to overthrow the royal family and more specifically open the secrets Royal Ministry of Science.  Do you still really believe that when your precious metaphysicsts abandoned those that had trusted them during the darkest days of the war is going to come and save you from Avistra or Gaia?"

    "They''re coming!" Baycorf barked before Gyrod had a chance to speak.  "I can feel their vibrations."  Both he and Yuler quickly got into the Swordfish and they sped away well before the hoplites arrived to rescue their abducted chief.

    "You know something about Dover and Yanakris that I don''t?" Yuler asked sounding sort of angry as they sat in the cockpit and were leaving the atmosphere.

    "I know what you''re thinking" Baycorf said.  "And I''d advise you to not think it."

    "I''m going to make sure Zorthia and Gall know about this" Yuler said with a mad look still on his face.

    "Go right ahead and do that.  I won''t stop you.  But don''t think that I never had any suspicion of the Network."

    "And do you still have that suspicion?" Yuler asked not feeling placated.

    "No. Even Nateedra''s map doesn''t have SPG routes into adjacent quadrants of the galaxy, and I''ve heard Dover complain about that.  Someone did give them the routes ¨C which they''d definitely need to safely take big ships they brought from the other side of the galaxy ¨C and I doubt it was the Network."

    "  But who else could it have been?  I hate to say it" Yuler remarked, "but I think Gyrod might have a point about the metaphysicists.  If they are so munificent, why have they disappeared?"

    "Perhaps they didn''t want to end up being imprisoned or frozen by Queen Tarissa."

    "She died years ago and has been out of power for almost two hominid generations now" Yuler said.

    "Right" Baycorf said, that''s why Zorthia had the power to unfreeze me and never did until Roggle needed my help human hunting."

    "Well, if you and your kind weren''t so unpredictable, maybe you wouldn''t have been frozen."

    "Unpredictable" Baycorf echoed pulling the levers and pushing buttons on the SPG navigation console. "That''s just a hominid word for something hominids are either unable or unwilling to understand."  They both began their journey back to the Network HQ and Yuler said nothing more.

 Fascinating Human Specimen

    "Lina" Avistra said barging complete uninvited into the small laboratory she was working in, her hair pulled back under a silver headband with a  giant blue gem in the middle and her black boots clunking loudly on the floor.

    "What is it, your highness" Lina said more as if talking to her daughter than her princess.

    "Did you not know that the human you used to access the hyperplane was a CIA agent?"  Lina looked at Avistra, not even seeming fazed by the angry elfess talking to her.

    "No, I didn''t know that" Lina said cooly and with no sign at all from intimidation.  "I just assumed he was one of the Network''s operatives.  You''ll have to talk about that with Royal Intelligence about that."

    "I just had a conversation with the Union CIA director Roy McGrath" she said ignoring the advice.  "They are also looking for this human and his humaness partner.  He visited the Adaforbus branch of the Humanology Lab under medical custody apparently for some kind of brain-warping procedure."  Lina took a look at the paper.

    "That''s strange" she said looking perplexed.  "I would''ve guessed that if he had full course of this particular treatment he''d lose his ability to see in the hyperplane.  This human is a pretty fascinating specimen indeed."  She handed the paper back to Avistra.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "You didn''t even think to run more tests on him or question him?"

    "It was hard enough to get him to agree to come.  I had to make a concession to him that there''d be no tests on him."

    "Well" Avistra said sounding impatient, "can''t you get him to just come back again?"

    "I could try, but I can''t promise anything.  It was Azari Yuler who found him for me, and if he suspects I want him for you he might not help.  Besides, in his stay at the Humanology lab the human had a brain scanner on him for a full day.  Probably not anything more we can learn from him in any more tests."  Avistra was silent for several seconds.

    "Do you think that my baby son might have inherited his visual cortex from this human?"

    "It''s possible" Lina said continuing her work and not looking at her.  We will have to wait until he gets older to test him. Just know that elf genes tend to supersede oddities and flaws in the human gene pool in half-breeds.  I wouldn''t get my hopes up, honestly."

    "Lina" Avistra said firmly seeming to have noticed her stolid and somewhat indifferent attitude, "please do not make me feel uneasy about your overseeing of this institution.  I hope that you are sensitive to my concerns and are being wary about human snoops in the HL."

    "Your majesty" Lina said in a way that sounded deliberately slow and assertive, "this institution has the unique burden of walking the tight rope of investigating truths that must be respected and yielded to but not spoken.  And there''s no one more qualified than me for that delicate balance."  Avistra paused for a moment to stare right into her eyes, as if to remind her of who she was.

    "If there''s anything you can do to get this human to me, then do it"  Avistra walked out the way she came, the sound of her boots clonking on the floor filling the room again.

 Vindication

    Milo and Kayla walked into the automatic door into the small cabin.  Ronald Bohr was inside, unshaven and looking tired.  He put his glasses on and took a look at them, and gave a surprised look.

    "Clay said he needed me to meet with two agents.  He could''ve told me it was the two of you" Bohr said.

    "We made Senator Tinker promise not to tell you it was us" Kayla said.  Bohr looked to both of them, still surprised to see the two of them in his presence.

    "The two of you shouldn''t have come here.  They probably know you''re here."

    "We got some help from Zorthia and Tinker for our transportation" Milo said.

    "You got help from Zorthia?" Bohr''s eyes widened, seeming surprised.  "What''s going on?"

    "She apparently controls the Hominid Defense Directorate" Milo answered.  "They have already apparently allied themselves with the Singed Leaf Clan and the Network against Goddess.  Avistra has apparently activated the conduit to her."

    "I see" Bohr said staring straight ahead, now in deep thought.  "Now things are starting to make a little more sense."

    "Roman told us about Greenpeace and their connection to the Hominids for Sustainability.  Why didn''t you tell us what our mission was really about?" Kayla said with a definite hint of annoyance in her voice.

    "To protect the two of you" Bohr said with no hint of guilt or hesitation.  "I needed to ensure you had complete plausible deniability that you were searching for Snedecor and not get carried away doing something that might''ve been very dangerous."

    "But you didn''t at least explain it to us after the mission?" Kayla asked.  Bohr let off a small sigh.  "What''s with all of the secrecy about this mission?"

    "I didn''t want to take any chance of Alamore or any of his loyalists in the CIA to know what it was we were really doing.  There is a reason that they are after the two of you, and it''s not vengeance for embarrassing Henry Alamore."

    "Why then?" Milo asked.

    "I''m getting to that.  When I sent you to monitor the sustainability conference, I wanted to try and uncover financial ties between Greenpeace and Avistra''s fiefdom.  But in your quest to find Matt Snedecor you uncovered something in the wreckage of Icarus Beed''s last stand that was more valuable than anything you could have gotten at the conference."

    "What''s that?" Kayla asked.

    "Documents.  Records of highly suspicious financial ties on the computers of Beed''s command ship exactly as I suspected.  The Greenpeace organization has apparently been getting gifts of bullion form sketchy mining guilds in outworld to fund the entire political machine centered In the Greenpeace organization."

    "So go public with this and bust Them!" Milo remarked.

    "We don''t really have enough to bring down the entire apparatus" Bohr said.

    "Entire Apparatus?" Kayla echoed.  "What are you talking about?  Are you talking shadow government here?"

    "It might very well be true."

    "Ronald, are you serious?" Kayla said, referring to him by first name for the first time Milo could recall.

    "I''m quite serious.  You told me what Commodore Beed''s apparition said¡­he wasn''t surprised Henry Alamore had turned into a political dynasty, and it was no secret he was a supporter of surrendering to the elves.  And many suspect there were motives for selling out Beed and his men other than political help."  Milo could not believe what he was hearing.  As long as he had known Bohr he had seemed to be a level-headed, phlegmatic guy, but suddenly he seemed completely on edge and paranoid.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Listen" Bohr said interrupting breaking up their attempts to process what they were hearing "the longer the two of you stay here, the more risky it is.  I''ve got a favor to ask you."

    "What is it?" Milo asked.  Bohr hesitated for a brief moment, as if it were something not easy to say.

    "I want you to place a worm into the Singed Leaf''s clan''s fleet network, just to keep an eye on them."  Milo''s jaw dropped a little bit.

    "You think think they''re working with Avistra?" Milo remonstrated.  "But they''re opponents of Gaia and have been helping Zorthia and the Network!"

    "Being an adversary of Gaia doesn''t make them our friends, Agent Greene" Bohr said suddenly addressing Milo in the formal.  "And their preference for non-violence does not mean that they aren''t going to undermine the interests of the Union.  Peaceful clan or not, they are still Nal''Larak and Prudasaur himself still unequivocally states he opposes human civilization beyond our home sector.

    "Have you actually met any of the Singed Leaf Lizards, Bohr?" Milo asked.

    "I''m sure they''re likeable and that they like you as well, but very few who have contempt for another race can fail to find a single member of that race that they don''t like."

    "Have you got any proof of this?" Milo asked?

    "Icarus Beed''s own diary said that they intercepted several Singed Leaf frigates containing tons of bullion. I''m not asking you to kill them or cause them any harm, I just simply want a trap door to keep an eye on them."  Milo shook his head.

    "This just seems so far-fetched" Milo said.

    "I cannot stress to you how important this is.  We might very well have had our government commandeered at the highest level!  We have to follow any leads that we can.  As I said before, the agency doesn''t give loyalty to any president or foreign power, only to the Union."

    "I''ll do it" Kayla interjected sounding convinced.

    "What?!" Milo said surprised.  "You''re going to go along with this?!"

    "It''s done, then" Bohr said handing a small computer cartridge to Kayla.  "And if the two of you would pardon my brusqueness, both of you should see yourself out, and be as discrete as possible."  Kayla got up to leave.  Milo just let off a sigh and followed her out the door.  Neither said much on the short trip away from the space station and back to the surface of Earth.

    It wasn''t long before they got back to Milo''s apartment.  Milo sat down on his couch, his computer in hand, looking for an article he was intent on reading.  Milo expected to gather her things up to go back to her place, but she sat down next to him.

    "Milo" she said as she sat down.  "I don''t want to seem nosey, but my curiosity is overwhelming me.  Ever since I got back from helping Clyde and Lexi get settled in, you''ve been¡­different somehow.  I was told that you went somewhere with Zorthia''s pilot.  Where did you go?"

    "Kayla, I''m sorry if I seem really quarrelsome-"

    "No, don''t be sorry" she said moving her hand a little higher up Milo''s arm.  "I like it that you''re sticking up to me and making me rethink my sometimes¡­impulsive decisions.  My kind of man¡­"  Milo could once again see that look in her eye¡­the same one she had when he got back from his visit with Lina Hest.

    "I don''t know, I don''t really feel different" Milo said not able to come up with a convincing fib.   He wasn''t about to tell her that he got tricked into opening the conduit to Gaia and what he got in return. Kayla removed the computer from his hands and put it on the floor.  She pushed Milo on his back, sat on his hips, and locked their lips together.  After a moment of exchanging some mouth germs came mutual removal of clothing followed by a full workout.  All at once Milo forgot about his anxieties.   His bargain with Lina Hest appeared to have been vindicated.

    When they were done, she got off him and lied down top of him with her head and beautiful but sweaty red hair on his chest.

    "You think Nadarska is working his tricks again here" she asked.

    "He told me that trick was something he had to concentrate on and couldn''t make permanent.  Do you feel the same sense of shame you did after the first time?" he asked.

    "I didn''t feel shame then" she said.  "Just kind of ¡­ awkward.  I don''t feel that now.  So where exactly it was that you went again?  We never finished that conversation."  Milo had to think for several seconds.

    "I went to go hear a talk by Lina Hest" he said.  "Wasn''t overly interesting." Kayla gave him a look that seemed almost deliberate as to communicate she didn''t buy the explanation, but said nothing more.  They must''ve talked for about a half hour before Kayla finally got up.  "I''ll be heading back to my place now" she said starting to put her clothes back on.  Milo didn''t remember what else really went on that night.  Normally, his mind would''ve been bustling with many different thoughts about what Bohr had said.  Instead, he became overcame with a very content tiredness and fell asleep.

 The Reptiles Regroup

    Turraski entered the silent war room.  The long, obsidian table was half empty and the seats for the Nal''Larak clan heads were conspicuously empty.  The table was silent for at least ten seconds.

    "My lord-" Gyrod said.

    "Not now" Turraski cut him off with a stern and calm manner.  "I think that I have devised a plan that might can even the scales against the elves."

    "What''s that, my lord?" Gyrod asked as the spirits in the room lifted a little.

    "We may have suffered some losses to our fleet, but we''ve freed the Crescent and secured the border to our sector, and that will free up some of our forces to take the war straight to the elf sector."

    "It''s about time.  We can evade the armada''s firepower and keep them off balance" said a lizard wearing on the left side of his chest the medallion of the Dragon Claw Clan.

    "No, Kurm" Turraski interrupted.  "They will expect us to try and spread them out and make quick and small attacks."

    "Are you suggesting a full-scale assault on the elf sector, my lord?" Gyrod said.  "Our ship-building program is ahead of schedule, but we can''t keep pace with the royal armada and their human worker bees."

    "Not exactly" Turraski said.  "Zalidore once said that the greatest weapon against elves is elven arrogance.  The older I get, the more I realize that he was right."

    "What are you suggesting?" Kurm asked.

    "The planet Himmerfeld" Turraski said turning on the giant screen in the room and highlighting a planet on the map of the elven sector on the large screen.  "We capture it, and all the orbital and planetary batteries, all the munitions, all the ships there, and we dig in and give ourselves a very fortified foothold right on their front porch."

    "That could work" Gyrod said, "but capturing and commandeering all of the system''s defenses without destroying them will be easier said than done.  I just don''t think we have the military hardware to do that.  And do you think that we can hold that system if we take it?"

    "You''re forgetting about a technical marvel that we possess that the elves don''t" Turraski said with his face going into a small grin.

    "And what is that?" Kurm asked.

    "You''re inside of it" Turraski answered.

    "You want to take the mothership to the elf sector?" Gyrod asked surprised.  "It''s too big to be an assault vessel.  If we lose it-"

    "We''re facing down the reality of the elves dominating this entire quadrant of the galaxy for at least a generation, Gyrod.  If we can''t utilize this behemoth now, then when do we do it?"  The normally easily-angered Turraski had and oddly staid, lad-back confidence to him.  No one said anything.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "My lord" said a voice from the other side of the table, "let''s not forget about the main reason you''ve called us here.  Do you think it''s wise to undertake this assault when there are¡­divided loyalties among us?"

    "I have no idea what the Nal''Larak''s so called ''goddess'' wants, Skeezik, and it doesn''t matter.  If we undertake the most important military operation against the kingdom of the elves in centuries they won''t dare undermine us."

    "Don''t underestimate the ability of the elfess of nature to sow discord and sever alliances, my lord."

    "The link between the Nal''Larak and their so-called goddess is weaker than the link they have to us. We can send them back to corner of the galaxy from where they came if worst comes to worst. Gyrod, check the mothership''s SPG engines.  They might have atrophied from not ever being used."  Turraski got up quickly and left the room, with no one else saying anything.  All of the lizards filed out of the room except for Skeezik and Gyrod.

    After the last lizard left the room, Gyrod pushed a button on the control panel next to the door and a large bolt.  Skeezik pushed a button on the panel on the table and the map of the elven sector disappeared and an attractive, blonde, big-busted woman appeared on the screen.

    "I was wondering if I was going to hear from the two of you again" the woman sassed.

    "I just thought you should know" Skeezik said, that the Metaphysicist''s knight did visit the ancient city of the goddess as you predicted and took some artifact from it.  What do you think that it was?"  The woman gave a scowl.

    "I don''t know, and it doesn''t really matter.  In any case, we''re running out of time" the woman on the screen said.

    "Well" Gyrod said, "it didn''t take much convincing to get Turraski to act.  It didn''t take anything, in fact.  He plans to try and occupy the Himmerfeld system using the mother ship as a defensive fortification."

    "I know that" she said.  "I might''ve manipulated Turraski''s search results when he was looking through Zalidore''s archives to make sure he found those plans."

    "You''ve inserted yourself into the mother ship''s computer system!?" Gyrod asked sounding perturbed.

    "Of course" she said not seeming surprised that the lizard seemed miffed.

    "I have a good mind to have you deleted from the system" Gyrod said.   "How do we know you''re not trying to lead us into a trap?"

    "Well, first of all, I wouldn''t bother trying to waste your time deleting me if I were you.  I can promise you I''ll be two steps ahead of you the entire way.  And second, spare me your accusations.  I kept the intellichines secret from the armada since the end of the war as I could and I''m not the one who allowed them to fall into Avistra''s hands."

    "True" Skeezik said.  "But you told us if we stole them from the lab at Latildra you could turn them to our side.  We made a very dangerous and costly mission into the sector just to have them turn on us and leave with some important information about our patrols in the crescent!"

    "Don''t be foolish enough to question my value to you.  Without me, you''ve got no chance of breaking into the Himmerfeld computers and disabling their defenses, and there''s no way your operation will succeed."

    "What is it that you want?" Gyrod asked, knowing that she had a point.

    "We need to find Zardin" she said.  "We can''t let Baycorf or Cubork gain control of him.  And we need to find out what information the elves might have about Nateedra''s army and other secrets hidden in gray encryptions."

    "Don''t get too comfortable in there, Michelle" Skeezik said.  "It will only be a matter of time before Turraski or one of his black serpent officers detects you."

    "You let me worry about him.  You get this mountain of rivets moving."  Gyrod turned the screen off, unlocked the door, and both lizards left.

 The Recording

    In his sleep Milo once against found himself in Nadarska''s realm.  Milo wondered what the point was to make him walk the short distance over to where Nadarska was standing.  He felt a reluctance to go speak to him, but after a moment forced himself to move.

    "I have a favor to ask of you" Nadarska said as Milo got within a few feet of him.

    "Actually" Nadarska continued, "you may have enough interest in it that it would be no favor."  Milo for some reason couldn''t muster the words to say anything.  He didn''t feel any anger towards Nadarska, just a disinterest in talking to him.

    "You feel kind of ambivalent towards me, I can sense it" he said.  "But I came to an epiphany when you informed me that you were able to move around in the hyperplane."

    "What''s that?" Milo asked with some of the indifference at once disappearing from his mind.

    "When the Elven Grand Admiral Agorja confiscated my talisman, he apparently wore it around his neck as a trophy for the defeat of the humans and the Church of Saint Vernon in the war. What he didn''t realize, though, that as it was active it created in its vicinity a recallable impression ¨C or recording if you will ¨C of everything around it.  Of course I can only discern from the recording what I normally can in real time, meaning I can''t pick up on conversations.  But with your unusual neurotype being what it is, you might be able to read the recording."

    "What are these recordings of?" Milo asked.

    "I have plenty of them, but there is one part I think is of particular interest.  It''s apparently a conversation between Admiral Agorja and the then-Human President, Henry Alamore right as they were negotiating a surrender."  All at once Milo''s eagerness exploded.

    "I''ll take a look at it" Milo said with no hesitation.

    "Hold on a moment" Nadarska said.  "I want to warn you that there is a risk here, although I think it''s small.  I don''t want to make you feel as if you owe me this, but I''d appreciate it.

    "I''m willing to take that risk" Milo said feeling way too excited for any apprehension to come over him.

    "All right" Nadarska said closing his eyes.  "Well, as long as you''re sure, I''m not going to take up any more time."  His arms reached out and for the first time ever, Nadarska touched him, and his surroundings immediately faded to blackness and reformed into a familiar room.  It was the oval office.  He recognized Henry Alamore sitting behind the desk looking at a figure in the seat across from it, facing away from where Milo was standing.  There appeared to be no one else in the room ¨C no security or anything.  He walked closer to the desk, assuming that he couldn''t be seen.

    Admiral Agorja, on the other hand, was wearing his elven officer''s uniform and his flawless hair was pulled back into a pony tail.  They were apparently talking about relocations and inspections of union fleets.  None of it was overly interesting.  The conversation continued for several minutes and Milo was almost ready to give up, when he finally heard something Admiral Agorja say that caught his interest.Stolen novel; please report.

    "I had quite a long conversation with her majesty Queen Tarissa" Agorja said lighting his pipe.  "She agrees with me that we must initiate a new¡­order of things within the hominid kingdom that will benefit both human and elf."  Henry Alamore nodded his head.

    "I hear that you have read and concur with the works of the great Humanologist Bloize Hather, do you not?"

    "I have" the president said.  "Very compelling."

    "Good" Agorja said.  Agorja had was almost seemed to be a deliberate air of superiority that Milo didn''t like at all.  "Then you have an¡­" Agorja took a drag on his pipe as  he searched for the right word "understanding and respect for the accumulated wisdom of the kingdom of the elves and the need for certain¡­machinations going on behind human democracy."

    "Indeed" Alamore said.  "You''re going to have to be very careful here."

    "What we''re going to build is very elaborate and complex.  We will make sure that you come out of this surrender looking good by granting full autonomy to the Earth sector planets.  We can ensure that you and your wing of your party are the dominant force in Union politics for a long time."

    The president eyed the elf for a few seconds with a look that seemed almost solemn, then nodded his head.  "Looks like I''ll either be one of the great heroes of the history of the union or the greatest villain" he thought out loud.

    "Indeed" Agorja answered plowing a small puff of smoke.  "But you need to understand that we have just as much at stake ¨C if not more ¨C than you do.  We must work carefully together to make this work.  If we do our jobs correctly even should go smoothly."

    "First things first" Alamore said changing the direction of the conversation.  "Have you found Grithmeer?"

    "We''re closing in on him" Agorja said with a smirk on his face.  "We will take care of him soon."  Alamore didn''t appear to be even a little bit assuaged.

    "The key he has to the wormhole network.  We cannot allow the Church of Saint Vernon to get their hands on it.  Do you have it, yet?"

    "There is wormhole network, Henry.  And there''s certainly no so-called ''oracle'', either."

    "How can you be sure grand admiral?"

    "A wormhole network with the reach that is described would emit a very large amount of dark energy and strangelet waves that simply can''t be concealed.  It''s just another way that the grays exploit the gullibility of religious humans.  Do not worry about him.   We will ensure that he pays for his treachery to the kingdom."

    From there, the man and elf discussed reelection tactics and political maneuvering.  There wasn''t anything overly interesting in it, and he wasn''t paying much attention thinking about the things he heard.  The conversation didn''t go on long before his surroundings again melted away and changed back into Nadarska''s tree and his wasteland.

    Milo didn''t wait for Nadarska to say anything.

    "I saw Grand Admiral Agorja and President Henry Alamore!" Milo said.  "They were talking about creating a new ''order'', it was completely surreal.  The ghost of Icarus Beed hinted at the goddess having hidden means of control over the kingdom.  This is absolutely crazy!"   Nadarska didn''t seem to even flinch.

    "This is exactly what I was afraid of" Nadarska said.  "Needless to say, our focus is now going to be on severing this tie.  I''m going to let your brain have some rest for now.  Expect to start hearing from me more frequently now."  And Milo''s consciousness faded out, except this time he almost immediately woke up.  It took a while for him to clear his mind and finally get back to sleep.

 Interlude: Out of the Terrestrial Age

    This is a chapter of fictional science.  Can be skipped without missing any important plot details.

    Climbing out of the terrestrial Age

    By Bubb Henrin

    Near the end of the terrestrial age, many human scientists had begun to believe that the human race had reached its technological ceiling.   Many technologies that man daydreamed about for a long time were deemed impossible due to limitations set not by human intellect but the realities of physical law.  The latter would eventually prove to be true as the elves first arrived on Earth and came bearing the secrets of two frontiers of science.

    The first one is gravitium-based space-time manipulation technology making possible artificial gravity wells and fast travel between stars that would otherwise take generations.  The lesser known but equally important is the stabilization and synthesis of exotic matter.  This includes everything from muon relaxation, neutrino capture, anti-matter trapping, and polyphoton synthesis.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    These breakthroughs led to materials with extraordinary properties from near-frictionless smooth materials, super thermal insulators, room-temperature superconductors, and super-strong materials.  The introduction of super-strength materials in particular forever changed warfare as their incorporation into armor of vehicles and the hulls of ships made weapons necessitated the development of weapons like polyphoton guns and plasma that damage via heat rather than delivering an impact of a shell.

    This new generation of materials also led to the creation of cubits that allow communications across solar systems and made SPG practical on much smaller vessels.  The scientific knowledge making this all possible is, as in the case of SPG, hidden properties of leptons only evident within very specialized crystalline forms of matter.  These super materials played as much a role of getting man out of the terrestrial age as SPG technology.

 Rall versus Roggle

    "You wanted to see me, Commander Roggle?" Victor Rall said with a tone of contempt and disinterest.

    "Yes" Roggle said giving him something of a glare.  "I need your help."

    "I think a simple message through my CO would''ve sufficed" he answered not bothering to hide his annoyance.

    "No" Roggle said  taking a couple of steps closer to him making his face even sterner at the apparent lack of seriousness by Victor.  "This conversation will be just between you and I."  Victor let off an audible scoff.

    "Do you have any idea how many problems you created for me, my fellow Union fleet officers, and the people of outworld?  And now you want me to get involved in your fight for Avistra?" Victor complained.

    "There''s more at stake here than who sits on the throne" Roggle replied.

    "Tell me what it is I should be so afraid of Avistra for.  Was it she or Zorthia who gave us the weapons to beat the lizards at Laridock?"

    "Oh stop it, Commander Roggle.  Surely even human scientists can discern that the plague on Eizen is very oddly host-specific for a virus not native to Earth.  Avistra has the whole outworld sector basically neutered in a way I never could, and complacency will just make her more dangerous.  But that''s not even the biggest concern for you.  If I were you I would be concerned for your sister."

    "Are you threatening her?  Where is she?" Victor looked at him like he was ready to knock him to the ground.

    "I haven''t done anything to her, but surely you''ve heard about the ship she was on that had its SPG sabotaged."  Victors face changed from anger to shock.

    "Was she all right?"

    "Yes, she was quite lucky she was recovered."

    "Who was responsible for that?" Victor said angry and surprised that this all happened without him knowing.

    "It was most likely your own CIA."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "I don''t believe you" Victor replied defiantly.

    "It''s true.  And not only that Avistra has apparently become preoccupied with getting her hands on Milo Greene, and if she has to use your sister to get to him, she will."

    "Why would she use Kayla to try and get to Milo?  Do you expect me to believe this?"

    "You clearly haven''t been in contact with her in a while as you don''t know about the incident with the ship or that she and Milo Greene are lovers.  There''s a reason you haven''t had any contact with her in a while.  She''s been on the run."  Victor let off a sigh.

    "So what is it you want from me?" he said to Roggle appearing to be convinced.

    "You''ve been on Avistra''s command ship, have you not?" Roggle asked him.

    "Yes, the president and I are going to meet with her-"

    "Good" Roggle interrupted.  "While you''ve been on the ship have you noticed one of her aides or officers that seem suspiciously young, tall, and good-looking to be an officer?"  Victor gave him a surprised look.

    "Now that you mention it, yes.   That elf doesn''t leave her side.  Who is he?"

    "He''s not an elf.  He''s an intellichine named Zardin embedded in an elf android.  I need you to retrieve him for me."

    "Why do we need him?"

    "We need him because he''s the best intellichine known and we need to restore his default personal message created by Alkarod.  If may be the only upper hand that we can get against Gaia."  Victor gave him a disappointed and somewhat disgusted look.

    "You''re supposedly Avistra''s boytoy, why don''t you retrieve him-"

    "She doesn''t allow me on the ship, I am still part of Zorthia''s court" Roggle said looking like he had to fight back the urge to smack Victor for that remark.  Victor gave him a deliberately suspicious look.

    "I''m not that good at basic civilian gadgets" Victor said.  "I''m not like my sister, and I''m not even sure she has the skills to restore an intellichine to a default setting."

    "You only need to get him isolated from the other elves in the command ship and recite the words ''verctana lan tanum tyrimna'' in front of him."

    "And what''s in this for me?" Victor asked.  "What''s this have to do with Kayla?"

    "Because the more we weaken Avistra the safer your sister and Milo will be.  And because if you pull this off not only will you help her but Zorthia can offer you a position in the HDD that will pay more than you make in the Union Navy.  You have been wanting to get out, haven''t you?"  Victor paused for a brief moment to take in what he was saying.

    "I''ll see what I can do" Victor said.

    "Make every effort to get Zardin" Roggle said reaching up to grab Victor''s shoulder and grip it firmly.  "Don''t pull any punches, here."

    "I''ll stick my neck out only so far" Victor said defiantly.  "I get the feeling that this is going to be harder than you are letting on."

    "Avistra doesn''t know anything about Zardin''s other persona that we don''t want to activate.  Or else she''d be keeping him completely hidden from.  I can''t stress to you how important this is.  This is an enormous opportunity that you must not squander" Roggle said.  Victor said nothing, but just nodded his head and left the way he came.

 The Exodus Part I

    The bright, blue light of the warp gate lit up the entire room and startled and quieted everyone on the bridge of the command ship.  From inside the gate first emerged Cubork holding the key, followed by Trissie and then Carlton Carver.

    "Everything appears normal with the Star Viper''s defenses" Cubork said.  "They have no idea of what we are going to do.  Everything is a go to proceed with this operation."

    "How big is their fleet?" Yaferni Gall asked in a somewhat demanding tone.

    "It is quite large, but much of them are grounded, and those that are in orbit are positioned to deal with threats from the outside, not ships warping in at the surface.  If we are swift in carrying this out we should get away without a problem."

    "And what do we do if this so-called ''Eden'' isn''t there?" Gall asked.

    "If it''s on Nateedra''s map, it''s there" Cubork said.  No one said anything to challenge the grey.  "Don''t misunderstand me" Cubork continued, "this trip is definitely not completely risk free, but escaping the Star Viper''s planet with the remaining Church of Saint Vernon members safely is the one thing I have supreme confidence of.  There''s no telling what could await us once we get to Eden.  All of you should think hard about whether or not you want to make this journey."

    "If this will be the front in the battle for the soul of the kingdom of elves, I will be on it" Zorthia said.

    "As will I" Gall said.

    "Obviously, I''m not going to miss out on this" Dalton Dover said.

    "Very well" Cubork said pushing a few buttons on one of the panels.  "Trissie, the warp gate should be ready to open."  Cubork gave her the key and she left.

    "All ships, prepare to enter the warp gate" Cubork said into the microphone in the captain''s chair.  Milo felt his anxiety rising.  The next several minutes seem like they lasted forever until finally the relative silence was interrupted with a loud rumbling sound and the ground quaking all around them.  Milo felt the ship being pushed backwards for a brief second before the thrusters adjusted.

    "Not to worry" Cubork said.  "The air pressure is a bit higher on their side, so the air is going to be blowing our way."

    The warp looked a lot like the one of the small gate, with a  light-blue glow that was almost too bright to look at.  After a few minutes Trissie came back, and they were ready to go.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    "All right.  Show time" Curbork said into the microphone.  "It will close automatically soon, so let''s go on through it."  Dover''s ship carrying the zalzok bugs went in first, followed by a pair of Zorthia''s destroyers, and then the command ship.  The ship went through the cloud and on the other side.  The ship moved swiftly over what Milo guessed was about 15 miles of terrain before finally reaching,

    The area within the town was complete chaos.  Zalzok were flying everywhere, the Star Viper hoplites were running for their lives, and Zorthia''s officers were running frantically gathering up people to get ready to board the transport ships.  Milo''s anxiety turned to a sort of sadness thinking about the people being told they needed to pick up only what they absolutely need to move on.  People emerged with arms full of whatever they could carry, children screaming and crying.  The phase of gathering up passengers lasted longer than Milo thought it would, and it made him nervous.  As they left the atmosphere, they passed right by the wreckage of a few of the reptilian ships that were hit with missiles that the elven ships launched.

    "Amazing" Dover said as they were leaving the system.  "Not a scratch.  All ships accounted for."

    "I tried to tell you this was going to be the easy part" Cubork said hitting buttons on the computer.

    "All ships, prepare for SPG activation" Cubork said.  Milo felt an overwhelming sense of relief.  He noticed that Kayla had left the room and left to go to the cabin he and Kayla were sharing.  He found her sitting on the small, elf-designed bunk on her computer.

    "I recognize that look" Milo said.  You''re doing some hacking, aren''t you?"

    "Not exactly" she said.  "I''m looking at some files that I got from Lexi on Virgosaur, Prudasaur''s predecessor as the Elder of the Singed Leaf Clan."

    "Oh, so I suppose that Lexi isn''t really a cartographer is she?" Milo asked.

    "She is" Kayla nodded her head.  "But as you suspect, she has a lot of friends within the outworld militias that stole a lot of Union intelligence files, and of course since I have CIA decryption keys I can read what they couldn''t."

    "Well, is there anything interested in them?" Milo asked.

    "If you consider that the Singed Leaf did recon for Queen Tarissa and helped them arrest and even kill Bishop''s in Saint Vernon''s churches, yes."  Milo felt a sick feeling down in his stomach.

    "Well, that''s just great" Milo said.  He explained talking with Nadarska and witnessing his recording.

    "Well, I suppose you seem a little more convinced now?" she asked.

    "We shouldn''t jump to conclusions right now.  We''re not even CIA anymore."

    "But we are citizens of the Union" Kayla retorted.  Shortly after she said that, she let off a sigh.  "Why has the web of interests and loyalties become so confusing?" she said.  It wasn''t often that the opinionated Kayla seemed flustered and not knowing what to think.

    "I''m honestly not sure it''s ever simple" Milo posited.  "I think it''s more important now for us to remember who our friends are instead of trying to draw lines around allies and enemies."  Kayla nodded her head.  Milo sat down next to her and gave her a peck on the lips, unable to resist the temptation to grab some moisture from her lips.  As he pulled his head away from her face, she reached out and pulled it back into hers.  What followed was quite a satisfying workout and the pair completely forgot about the journey they were on.

 The Invasion of Himmerfeld

    The reptilian behemoth space arrived in the Himmerfeld solar system upon the unsuspected orbital garrison at Himmerfeld.    It didn''t even need to fire anything from it''s seemingly endless number of batteries.  The ships in orbit all surrendered and were commandeered, as well as orbital platforms and space stations.

    "Your majesty, Turraski is on the line" said Kerick Kildore remarked.

    "Pick up" Avistra said not wasting any words.  Kildore hit a button and Turraski''s face appeared on the large screen, his sharp teeth visible from his grin.

    "Your''e making a big mistake, Turraski" Avistra taunted.  "You can''t possibly launch any meaningful invasion with that thing."

    "You''re absolutely right" Turraski said.  "You can overpower us right now, but can you out-last us?   Let the games begin" and Turraski disconnected.

    "Your majesty" Killdore said, the communications of Himmerfeld to both the Bubble and the Armada have been severed."

    "What?!" Avistra asked in a shocked, angry voice.  "How could Turraski have done this?"

    "I did it" interrupted a voice from somewhere around them.  A young, handsome elven officer walked into the bridge.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    "Zardin" Avistra said with a glare.  "Why would you do that?"

    "Because I have detected Michelle on the mothership''s systems" Zardin asked.

    "Who is Michelle?" Killdore asked?

    "An intellichine" Zardin answered, "but a rather unique one.  She isn''t formatted to fit into an android body like myself.  She is basically a bunch of computer files that moves within and between computer systems.  I don''t know what she''s after, but I had to keep her from spreading beyond that system"

    "I thought that we recovered all of the intellichines!" Avistra asked in a frustrated voice.

    "I didn''t think we''d need to recover her. If Michelle''s on the mothership, than she''s there by her own choice.  There''s no way that they found a way to keep her there. "

    "So why is she helping the lizards?" Avistra asked.

    "I have vague and fragmented memories of her ¨C I was cooperating with her ¨C but I don''t have any clue as to what her angle his.  She has definitely infiltrated the computers at Himmerfeld and is in the system.  We have to make it a top priority to keep her isolated there."

    "So what do we do, Kerick?" Avistra asked turning towards her grand admiral.

    "Turraski had it exactly right" Zardin said.  "We are going to have to outlast them.  It''s a real bold strategy by him, but it might be the only way they have to get things back in their favor,  which makes me suspicious that Turraski came up with it.   I don''t know what role Michelle is playing in this stunt of theirs, but we must not act rash."

    "We can at least lock them in place" Kildore said.  "We can trap them in Himmerfeld and minimize the damage."

    "I will consult the goddess here" Avistra said getting to the doors of the lift.  Zardin quickly followed her and they ascended up to Avistra''s penthouse.

 The Exodus Part II

    The ride to Eden seemed to drag on for an eternity.  Not much could be heard other than some whispering between Gall and Zorthia and Cubork and Dover were having a conversation about SPG routes that didn''t really interest Milo.  Kayla just sat quietly, starting out the window, with an anxious look in her eye.  Milo felt as if he should say something to make her feel more comfortable, but he just couldn''t find the words, and that made him all the more antsy to get to the end of the trip.

    At long last, the SPG began to gradually power down back into normal space-time.

    "There it is" Cubork said.  "As I said, if it''s on Nateedra''s map, it''s in space" he said pushing a bunch of buttons on the control panel.  As they got closer to it, they saw something they expected not to see.  It appeared to have many large, man-made objects in orbit around it.

    "This is it!" Cubork said giving everyone else a rare gleam of excitement in his voice.  "One of the metaphysicists must be here!"  As they got even closer though, they discovered something even more befuddling.

    "It''s all wreckage!" Gall said.  He was correct.  What they were seeing was fragments of ships and orbital forts."

    "What could''ve happened here?" Dover asked.

    "Good tidings to anyone out there that may get this message" Cubork said.  "We are hominids seeking refuge.  Is anyone out there?"  At least 20 seconds went by with no answer.

    "I repeat" Cubork said, "we are visitors from another star system seeking refuge from persecution.  Is anyone out there?"  The silence over the radio was eerie.

    "Well, we''ll just have to enter without knocking" Dover said.  "Prepare to go down to the surface."

    "You want to go in when we don''t know what kind of hostile force could have attacked here?"

    "When we get to the surface we can open the warp gate and you can leave, but I came here to try and find the metaphysicists, and I''m not leaving."

    "How can you be sure we''ll make it down to the surface?" Gall asked.

    "We''ll be fine if we''re careful" Cubork interrupted as they entered the atmosphere.  The caravan of spacecraft descended into the atmosphere on the large and southern continent.  Milo was kind of surprised no one asked Cubork why he was going the way he was going, but didn''t speak up.  After about ten minutes of flying over the terrain of several thousand feet, they came to a city.

    "That''s some pretty advanced architecture.  Definitely not interstellar pioneer stuff." Dover said taking a look at the somewhat sparsely-spaces buildings.

    "Yes" Cubork said.  "But these buildings are  unpowered.  I''m trying to find a source of energy" Cubork said.  It was only about 10 seconds after that than the computer starting beeping.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "A Lithium fusion power station to the northwest of here" Cubork said.  Sure enough, when they went in that direction a short ways they could see some people moving around.  All of the ships landed wherever they could on the grassy, rolling hills and the fairly sparsely-spaced buildings.  For at least a few minutes, nobody said much.

    "Cubork" one of Zorthia''s officers said finally interrupting the silence.  "We''ve made contact with the person in charge at this base.  They want us to come in and speak with them right away."

    "Well, let''s not keep them waiting" Cubork said.  He immediately left with Dover following him, then Zorthia, Gall, Carver, and Milo and Kayla followed behind them.  There weren''t many people around.  They made their way to a very short, stout, round building not far from where they landed.  They walked inside large, automatic doors and then around in a perimeter corridor before meeting a white-haired man.  He wasn''t what you''d call elderly, but he wasn''t far off.

    "Bishop Carter" the man said to Carlton.  "You look like you haven''t aged any in the last 70-plus years."  Carver Chuckled.

    "And who are you?" Carver asked shaking the man''s hand.

    "Wayne Crespo" the man said.  "I can''t believe you and the rest of the church made it back.  I guess you got help from the elves" he said taking a look at Gall, Zorthia, her officer, and Dover.

    "What has been going on over here?" Cubork asked?  "It looks like there''s been wars going on over here."

    "Well, yes there has been" Crespo said.

    "You are fighting amongst yourselves?" Cubork interrupted.  "Why?"

    "No, not amongst ourselves" Crespo answered.  "We are in a war with the Amazons."

    "Who are the Amazons?" Cubork asked.

    "A group of parthenogenic warrior humans" Crespo said.

    "Where did they come from?" Carver asked bemused.

    "It''s said they were forged by the oracle.  We didn''t even know they were here until fairly recently."

    "I would much like to meet this ''oracle''" Dalton Dover said, and of course, Milo immediately knew what he was thinking.

    "I would like to help you out" Crespo said shaking his head, "but I wouldn''t know where to find him, and don''t know of anyone who would.  For a while some weird old lady named Elmyra claimed she was the only one that could talk with him, and we didn''t question her because her information was very useful for locating natural resources.  But no one has seen Elmyra in years."

    "You must find some way for us to get in touch with this so-called oracle" Dover said.

    "If we had any way of doing that, we would''ve done it already" Crespo said.  "Short of asking the Amazons nicely about it, I don''t know what we''ll do."

    "We could try that" Dover said.  "I think that I can be fairly persuasive."

    "Do you know something about the oracle that I don''t?" Crespo asked sounding suspicious.

    "We''re here looking for a gray ¨C one that used to be on the other side that hasn''t been seen in a while.   We suspect he''s here.  It''s the one thing that can explain the emergence of this human subspecies and how quickly this world was built up."

    "Maybe" Crespo said shrugging his shoulders.  "I don''t know how useful it will be just to talk to them."

    "There has to be something that they want" Dover said.  "I feel confident I can barter with them to tell us what they know.  Why are they waging war on you?"

    "It isn''t clear.  They seem more interested in destroying our military and technological capabilities than conquering or plundering or subjugation.  We''ve tried to open up lines of communication for diplomacy and cooperation but have never gotten them.  They haven''t attacked us in a while, though."

    "Where do we find them?" Dover asked not feeling discouraged by his words.  At that moment, the sound of a siren filled the area.

    "Bertha aircraft inbound from the northwest" Milo heard someone say on Crespo''s radio.  "Looks like you may get your chance" Crespo remarked with a tone of real dread.  "I would make sure your vessels arms are not at the ready" he said.