ARC OF THE IMMORTALS/ Book 1 — Part 2

Pursuit: 42/ Reconnaissance

Recap: Touzdae learns that Hannah is Jac’s spiritual ma, when Jac and Hanna are face to face. Jac asks about Lepaz also known as Tu Mai. Hanna tells Jac to get sleep,

Recap continued: Touzdae learns that Hannah is Jac’s spiritual ma, when Jac and Hanna are face to face. Jac asks about Lepaz also known as Tu Mai. Hanna tells Jac to get sleep, and some deep rest.

Jac creates a consciousness transfer to Touzdae’s mafa a few days before her birth day remembrance. All goes smoothly until he returns. There are two Jac’s divided in interdimensional space, Touzdae does healing work. It takes days for him to recover. He sleeps for 18 to 21 hours per day.

Jac and Touzdae reviewed Plans A, B, and C for two ten-hour days in simulations. Touzdae flew the Needlecraft in cloaked mode to the first week they left the hinterland. It was during the time they made contact with the Mu. She flew the ship 84 lightyears from the Well. Jac launched 12 small lightspeed drones. Equipped their own cloaks and randomized changing functions. Touzdae launched 12 more uncloaked drones. The mission was to map anomalies around the Well. Many Antarians and other species studied the Well between 80 to 100 lightyears away. This was a law hammered out between many worlds by the Bhantu Continuum eons ago. It was a boundary delineating how close anyone could get to the Well of Souls for scientific study.

Three weeks they gathered data. Touzdae and Jac identified 44 Genetic League attack fighters, 22 support craft, and a mix of frigates and heavy battle cruisers 33 in all. All were heavily cloaked. Jac spent a week adjusting the Needlecraft’s cloak. The defenses could mirror five to nine possible defenses against anything of them.

“There’s something you’re not telling me, Jac,” Touzdae said. “About your download. Right?”

“I’ll explain soon.”

Jac piloted the ship to within 9 lightyears of the Well. Gravitational shear bore down on them. Jac had a close eye on the autopilot. Some of the eddies of the Well could pull them into the paradox rings in a few seconds.

They feasted on a high protein vegetable stew meals as part of the prep.

Touzdae prepared for consciousness transfer. Jac monitored her vitals. They made agreements to extend the bridge should her vitals go into red zones. (They agreed upon highs, lows, and erratics). The time parameters were set at ten hours; maximum. Jac began the 27th breath exercise while monitoring to prevent boredom, frustration and promote inner peace and focus.

Touzdae arrived for her overview with her presence: subverted. Two ships hovered near the eye of the vortex and above it. The Nez Fish off-center on one side. The Deign off-center on the other. A counterbalancing act to one another. Small ships ferried back and forth. In complete passive mode, she heard and recorded messages coming in from a distant part of the galaxy. The messages were coded, and she recorded them for later.

Touzdae confirmed Nez was either unconscious or barely conscious. Harry was easy to read passively. He was working on a genetic manipulation device to target Jac’s aggressive half.

Jac made note of the chronometer as the time approached ten hours. Come-on back, now… Jac thought. As the digital readout reached six minutes he repeated his thought aloud:

“Come-on back, now, Touzdae,” in a soothing, coaxing voice.

Touzdae’s body coughed. Her vitals spiked for a few seconds and returned to within normal limits.

“I’m here,” she said. “Water.” He brought her water.

Jac eased off and folded space unobtrusively to 20 years in the past. He did a passive scan of the top of the Well of Souls and found nothing. Touzdae looked on and nodded. She climbed into the seat next to him.

He opened a jump tube and was deposited at the top of the Well.

“Get out! Get out, now, or I will,” Touzdae raised her voice.

Jac bent space and went back 5 more years in the same place.

“It was a feedback loop,” Jac said. “I agree,” Touzdae said before he finished.

“Better to err on the side of caution,” Jac commented.

“Something changed in you after you resolidified into the one true Jac. You remembered something key in the reason why we’re doing this beyond saving Nez. Which is of the utmost importance, but there is something more. Something intrinsic.” She took in a breath. “I need to know what you know, Jac.”

“I wasn’t fully aware of the total impact of what I saw of Bendel’s plan. When I came back from my ill-fated benign consciousness transfer. Of visiting your mafa in the past. It was during my return that I saw this — .” Jac extended the pictures with Bendel’s words to Touzdae.

Bendel is on a campaign to lure and capture as many of the space-living creatures that the Fish was born from. The ones that surrendered would be forced into Nez-like ships, half machine half living being. The ones who would resist will be slaughtered — that is his plan.

“In short — the genocide of this species,” Jac said aloud.

“Fear, hatred, envy, and rage have poisoned and blackened Bendel’s heart,” Jac said, deeply saddened, as this was once a man that he loved.

If you want to catch-up on any chapters you missed in part 2 [Part 2 contains link for contents of part 1]:

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K. Pearson Bradley| Dougfrombk | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr. Preeti Singh | Ravyne Hawke | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | Lee David Tyrrell | DL Nemeril | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Libby Shively McAvoy |