ARC OF THE IMMORTALS Book 2

Time Rifts 52/ Homeward Bound

On the Way to Atlantis

Previous Chapter

Current Episode

Jac remained dead. His body lay in the half-life chamber. The chamber’s temperature was thirteen degrees below absolute zero. The other doors of the wide missile tube were open. The half-life chamber was ensconced within many force fields in missile.

Touzdae was away in the future. Distracted by Barua/Kim, when she felt a magnetic attraction to her.

A Few Hours in the Past

Jac’s spirit entered the chamber with the flash freeze algorithm. He attached his spirit to his body knowing what it meant.

Death, instantaneous death.

Finished.

Tau’s spirit died too.

Jac’s spirit, befallen into agony by keeping his word to Tu Mai, felt his betrayal to Touzdae.

Present Time

Touzdae withdrew deep into herself. I feel his death. It’s total. But maybe he is not dead.

Moments later she thought with her empathic self. I cannot find him with my heart. There’s no sense to it. Moments later she thought — He saved the ship, and he prevented his body from transforming into a Griz Ack. There is good in that.

She wept. She ached for him.

And cried out. “You toad — bastard Jac. I hate you… No, no, no — I love you. I am very angry with you Jac, wherever you are.”

Compelled, she ran to the port side hangar bay. Not waiting for the station master to pull the Needlecraft to the airlocks, she jumped herself on board. Once on board, she activated the transdimensional chamber. It was their cabin on the Nez Fish, the captain’s cabin, Jac’s cabin — built by him and Nez. Now both of them — gone.

She wept for hours and fell asleep in their bed. Upon awakening, she felt a glimmer of Jac beside her. And dozed.

Her sleep, fitful at best, she woke exhausted. Hannah and Barua were sitting opposite her.

Forgive the intrusion, please… Barua thought to Touzdae.

“Yes, I forgive you both. What do you want?” Touzdae — curt.

“Do you remember the way you and Jac jumped the ship across the Reptoid Galaxy to here at the edge of the Milky Way?” Hannah asked with compassionate softness.

“Yes. And now you want me to complete Jac’s mission of jumping the ship to Earth. Right?” Touzdae’s rage slashed it’s way to the edge of her speech. She held it in check.

Barua and Hannah nodded in the affirmative.

“Did he — Did Tu Mai put you up to this?”

“Not exactly,” Barua began.

“He wanted to be here, but we convinced him to wait.” Hannah continued.

“GET OUT! GET OUT, NOW!” Touzdae yelled at full lung capacity.

They bi-located/jumped out. Thoughts from Hannah lingered —

Consider that by jumping the ship you can save humanity from dying off forever. And carry Jac’s bond as a gift to the planet.

Touzdae abhorred Hannah’s thoughts — still lingering.

Her heart softened.

“Start Factor Three,” Tommalar commanded. He turned to Reypat and motioned to the back of the bridge.

“Yes, Captain?” Reypat stood waiting.

“Did you summon, Suke?”

“Yes sir, Security sent her to wait in your Readiness Cabin. She is there now.”

“Thank you, Reypat.”

Kurtz chuckled aboard the Station Complex near Ganymede. He felt the power of Jupiter inside him. “Jac is dead at last.” He picked up his headset and spoke into it.

“Number 1, please confirm that Jac’s death is a certainty.”

“Yes sir,” Number 1’s voice came through the earpiece of Kurtz.

“We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time,” Kurtz said with malevolent foreboding.

“What did he say?” Number 3 asked.

“A vague threat of killing us all if we don’t confirm Jac’s death one way or the other.”

“That’s not vague.”

“Oh. I see. To work then.” Number 3 crackled his knuckles.

“How much time do I have before we need to jump?” Suke asked.

“According to the High Priest Tu Mai’s envoy — Shisla Ku-Lei . There is one warning sign and a limited time after that. Three to six days.”

“Hmm,” she pondered.

“Are you seeing something?” Tommalar asked.

“Yes, not vague — three to six days. Every life on Earth will be obliterated if our timing is off.”

“What’s the warning sign?”

“Before the Mu split into two dimensions — that Mu will pass between our two ships. There’s a 50/50 chance that the dimensions will join.”

“That sounds ominous.” Tommalar said.

“We can make preparations for the sign, but that’s not why you called me here. Is it?”

“No. It’s about Touzdae.”

Touzdae climbed into the pilot’s chair of the Needlecraft. She started a pre-flight check.

Suke? Is that you? Touzdae felt Suke’s presence.

Yes. May I come aboard?

Depends… Touzdae feeling cautious. Protective.

I will not be convincing you to take the mission. The evidence might convince you if you care bout your survival and all those aboard.

Come…

“All the Taus are dead,” Number 1 reported to Kurtz who stood eye to eye. Kurtz was about an inch taller.

“That bastard Jac. He did this — or his spirit. I’ll trap his spirit if it’s the last thing I do. Besides on the oft chance his spirit gets to where I think he is headed — I will have him. I will crush his body or spirit. Every last quantum particle.”

“Is that all sir?” Number 1 asked.

Kurtz paused. “Check to see whether Tau Five’s spirit has explosive detonators available and active.”

“On it,” Number One sprinted away, speaking into his headset.

“All Stop,” Tommalar gave the command. The Mu emerged out of hyperspace. “All stop,” the captain repeated himself.

“Answering all stop.” The helmswoman reported.

Touzdae and Suke stood twelve feet apart on the port and starboard sides of the ship. Touzdae established a bond with the electromagnetic light generators. She began to channel energy to augment her energy.

Kurtz entered the main control room and sat in the co-captain’s chair. Everyone glanced up for a nanosecond. They all had a similar thought. Kurtz never takes second chair. He leaned into Number One and mumbled to him.

“The quantum triggers primed and ready. Space-time coordinates are set. Awaiting final coordination,” Number One entered calculations through his neural interface.

“Sir, do want to do the honors?”

Kurtz nodded in the affirmative.

Erecting a third protective golden light sphere, Suke thought to Touzdae.

Bita-Ba entered the bridge cleared by security. Kurtz’s finger poised over the detonator, trembled with anticipation.

“The original Mu on approach,” Ko-Ak, Chief Navigator alerted the bridge crew and captain.

The singular Mu on approach, Suke thought to Touzdae. Do we jump now?

Hold, Touzdae sent a command thought. I see it, the bridge has visuals. Steady.

Okay, now, Touzdae began the jump. The stay-in-place with stillness order was given a final time by Tommalar.

Kurtz shouted out the countdown. “Detonation countdown, in three, two…”

next chapter:

Contents:

Thank you for joining me in the adventures that span lifetimes and worlds. Blessings, Passion, and Grace on your journey. May whatever your looking for — find you.

[This is a fictional story. Like all fiction, elements of truth are present.]

(If you do NOT wish to be tagged, let me know, and I’ll tag you not):

May Mor | Mawde Olssen | K. Pearson Bradley | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr. Preeti Singh | Pene Hodge | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | Lee David Tyrrell | DL Nemeril | David Price | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Libby Shively McAvoy | Alison Hollingsead | Bruno T. | Vlad Casian |