"Want to explain why I have the Assembly accusing me of breaking the cease fire?" Vard demanded as he walked onto the bridge of his ship.
"I received an official order from the counterpart to have twelve departing Sloth transports destroyed before they could enter the Void."
"My husband might sit on the Guild Throne, but this fleet is still under my command is it not?"
"It was an official order," Felix said in his own defense.
"I'm sure it was. Did Joshua also tell you how I am to explain our attack on a dozen unarmed ships, to the Guild?"
"No... but he did promise me that no one innocent would be killed in the attack."
Did he now? Will he be so good as to give his explanation to the Assembly for me?"
"Not at this moment my lord... he is right now occupied."
"Doing what?"
"According to our observers, your husband just signed the death warrant for every single Inquisitor on Earth."
"Do you know why? Not that I mind. Disbanding that organization of killers was one of the things I was going to suggest Robert recommend to Joshua."
"All I know is that a blanket accusation of treason has been made," Felix said as a fleet officer whispered into his ear triggering a frown on the star general's face. "Sir... I think I now know what has happened."
"Well tell me."
"I think you would understand better if I show you. Please follow me to the medical deck."
Following Felix to one of the lower levels, Vard entered a room lined with medical tables, each one covered by a filled body bag.
"Well... care to tell me who has just died?" Vard demanded.
"When Joshua told me to attack the Sloths he also insisted that any life pods also be destroyed. He did not say I could not examine the resulting corpses."
"And those who are in these body bags?"
"Yes my lord," Felix said as he opened one of the bags.
Looking down at the dead body, Vard saw the space vacuum ruined corpse, the chest cavity ripped open. What Vard's eyes focused on however was the white porcelain mask covering the man's face. "An Inquisitor. So the attack was all part of Joshua's purge? Why did Joshua give them permission to leave in the first place? "
"I think the Inquisitors were using Falcon to blackmail Joshua into letting them escape."
"But why would they want to leave Earth... their powerbase?"
"This is why my lord." Felix replied as he opened up a second body bag, revealing a face Vard knew all too well.
"Gerick?" Vard said in disbelief.
Felix did not answer; he only continued down the row opening more body bags, most of them showing the same face.
"What is this?" Vard demanded.
"Clones, Vard... hundreds of them, all of them Gerick. Now you see why Joshua ordered that no one survive. Understand why he is purging the Guild of the Inquisitors?"
"Yes... yes I do. When the dust settles, see that these `things' are shown to the Assembly. They should provide the Guild with enough explanation for Joshua's actions."
When Adam awoke, his entire body burned with pain, even his eyes stung as he tried to see through the thick haze of spores. Looking around he saw that his body was embedded halfway inside a yellow fungus like plant, leaving him unable to move. Around him were more fungi in an array of colors, each one releasing a constant stream of spores.
The air was so thick Adam felt as if he was trying to breath underwater, each gasp for air a struggle. It was just as he was about to pass out from lack of air that a dark shadow reached towards him, placing a small white fungus over his mouth.
At first Adam thought he would suffocate, his breathing cut off but when he took in his first breath, it came easily through the porous plant, clean and pure. For a while, Adam tried to calm down as the pain that had racked his body slowly faded away. As time passed though, Adam noticed that the fungus over his mouth was starting to grow, covering his nose before reaching for his eyes. For a while Adam saw nothing but darkness as he thrashed about to try and free his hands so he might rip the white plant off. Then, slowly, Adam started to see again, the parts of the plant covering his eyes becoming transparent.
His eyes no longer being stung by the partials in the air, Adam could see the figure that had placed the fungus over his mouth. It was his brother Saul... or at least he looked like Saul. He had the same curly blond hair and purple eyes through the lens of the white plant that covered his face, but etched all over his body were veins of deep gray.
Adam tried to talk to his brother but, with the thing covering his mouth, he could not make even an audible grunt. Once again, Adam tried to free himself from the fungus that was holding him down. Then his brother reached down and took hold of his arm that was not covered.
Saul's skin felt as if it was covered with a thick slime that stuck to Adam's body. Adam felt a small stinging sensation where his brother touched him, as if several tiny needles were piercing his skin. It was after the pain had subsided that Adam started to hear Saul's voice.
"Calm down my brother." Adam heard his brother's voice in his mind.
"What is going on Saul? What has happened?"
"We have been blessed Adam, selected out of all the people on Aegis to serve a greater purpose."
"What do you mean? What purpose?"
"To serve the Fungi. To help them find out who attacked them. To help them get their revenge."
"I don't understand."
"Three of their colony ships that were traveling through the Void were destroyed by an unknown attacker. The attack happened near the gateway to our world so it is here they have come seeking answers."
"But we don't know who attacked them."
"We have a good idea who it was, however."
"Vard?"
"Yes... but the Fungi want more proof, and for that they need us. That is why our lives were spared."
"What about the rest of our people?"
"They are rotting... their bodies giving nutrients to the Fungi."
"They are all dead!"
"Adam, don't worry about them anymore. You should be happy that I was able to convince the Fungi that I could not do what they want if I did not have my dear brother by my side."
"And what is that?" Adam asked, fear in his thoughts.
"To find to ones responsible for destroying their ships and make sure they suffer."
"Why were their ships so close to Guild space in the first place?"
Adam heard Saul laugh in his mind. "Why they were coming to Aegis to colonize it."
"If they were planning to attack us anyway, why are they mad that they were attacked?"
"It is not the why or the how; it is where the colony ships were destroyed that has angered them. Just as the Guild believes in the existence of the human soul, the Fungi believe in the presence of their own souls. What they also believe though is that when one of them die, their souls find new bodies in the offspring of their spores. Even in the vacuum of space their spores will grow from the energy of solar winds. It is only in the Void that they can not grow. So in a manner of speaking when Vard or whoever attacked their colony ships in the Void, they forever destroyed tens of thousands of Fungi souls."
"But why kill all our people... we did not attack them."
"They do not view it that way. They can not see the difference between one human and another. To them, each human is but a leaf on the same tree. Even if they could see the difference, unless they decided to not colonize Aegis, all life on our world would have ended anyway. Their spores do not normally leave room for native life, for they are quite toxic."
"What's happening to your body?"
"The same thing that will happen to yours. To be able to live and communicate with the Fungi you must become one of them. I am only half way through the process."
"Will we look like them? What do they look like? I have not seen one yet."
"Yes you have. They are all around you."
"All I see are mushrooms."
"That is what they are dear brother... different variety of fungi that slowly achieved sentience over time on their home world."
"Will we end up as immobile plants?"
"Yes... in time we will be just like them, immortal, spreading our spores throughout space but not before I settle scores with a few people," Saul said.
"I wish you had let me die."
"That can still happen my dear brother," Saul warned.
Trak stood in a large domed chamber located at the heart of the fleet's command ship. Surrounding him were his egg-laying sisters, the Mothers, and Red Eyes by his side.
"We are now at the gateway to the world the human's call Aquarius. Why have you not ordered the invasion brother?" Stavla, Trak's eldest sister asked.
"This is not an invasion my sister. We are here to bestow the gifts of peace and unity on humanity; while they give the Chimera human emotions and creativity... we can not destroy them."
"Look at us Brother... you have seen through our mother's human eyes. You know the horror our bodies will inspire among the humans. They will never accept our gifts willingly. Only with the use of force will we be able to unify our two races."
"Stavla... why do you think I picked Aquarius as our first target? It does not have a large population, very little industry, and is mostly covered by water."
"I assumed that you felt it would be only lightly guarded and therefore an easy test for our new Chimera."
"Yes... that was one of my reasons, but not my main one. Aquarius was our mother's home world."
"So we are here because of human sentimentalism?" Stavla laughed with a loud clicking noise.
Yes... but not my own, sister. You have forgotten our mother's stories. Our mother was not some commoner among the humans but a Guild Mistress, sister of the ruling Assemblyman of Aquarius."
"So you think this Assemblyman will be able to recognize you as his kin, and give you his world just by asking for it?"
"Yes sister... I do."
"Then we shall prepare to mourn your death."
"We shall see, Stavla. We shall see."
Leaving the chamber with Red Eyes, Trak made his way to the mammoth hanger, filled with craft of all sizes. On their knees waiting for him were two dozen Chimera warriors.
"Board your ships and follow me as escort but do not land." Trak commanded as he climbed into a fast but unarmed two man scout ship.
Blasting out of the gigantic moon size command ship with six Chimera fighters flanking him on either side, Trak reached back into the minds of his sisters and used them to open the gateway to Aquarius. With a flash of light a large blue green world, orbited by two small moons appeared in front of him.
Looking at his scanner, Trak saw that his sister had been right; this world was not heavily protected, guarded by only three flat looking medium class ships. His ships being much faster and more agile than the human craft, Trak and his escorts were able to pass by them without having to fire a shot.
Diving through the planet's atmosphere Trak, watched as the hull of his ship began to glow with heat. Then, leveling off, he raced towards a crystalline white cliff, marked with long blue waterfalls. It was here that Trak believed he would find his mother's brother.
After he landed, his fighters guarding the skies above, Trak disembarked, taking a step toward the large cave like opening in the cliff. He was stopped however when he felt Red Eye's armored hand grip his shoulder.
"I go first." Red Eyes demanded with a series of clicks and hisses.
"I am in no danger son." Trak said reassuringly.
"I am the warrior. You are the ambassador. It is my purpose to protect you. Will you deny a Chimera his right to serve his purpose?"
Trak let out a low hiss. "Very well."
Lifting his spear rifle, Red Eyes walked in front of his father, his eight eyes looking in nearly every direction for any threat. He soon found it for at the mouth of the cave were dozens of iron masked men, guns aimed.
Trak let out a soft human chuckle before commanding three of his fighters to take hovering positions, behind him, their cannon's aimed at the Guild soldiers. He watched with bemusement as one by one the human's lowered their guns and raised their hands over their heads. Trak, making his way past Red Eyes, walked over to one of the masked humans, reaching to run his claws down the cold iron.
"Take me to the Assemblyman. Tell him his nephew is here to talk to him," Trak said in the human tongue.
"Nephew?" The man said confused, his body shaking from the high pitched screeching sound of talon against metal.
"Yes," Trak grinned, extending his mandibles to show his sharp venom filled fangs.
The man walked back slowly before turning around to run away. "I do hope he plans to return with my uncle." Trak said with such a monstrous laugh that the other humans backed away.
With the crystal walls of the tunnel lit by its own natural light, Trak saw at once when a man wearing a grinning gold mask appeared. Feeling an immediate connection, Trak reached out with his mind to touch the soul of the gold masked man. "Uncle John?"
"What are you?" John demanded. "How do you know my name?"
"I am your sister's son, uncle."
"Drake?"
"No my name is Trak. My mother never told me I had a human brother. Where is he? I would like to meet him."
"He is not here. Neither should you be. How dare you say you are my sister's child. Where is Clare? What have you done with her?"
Trak let out a menacing hiss. "My mother loved me... more than any of her children. Why do you dishonor her memory by mocking me so?"
"Temper... temper." John chuckled, removing his gold mask.
In a rage, Trak charged through John's guards, tackling his uncle, his mandibles extending around the Assemblyman's throat. "If I have a temper it is because my mother, your sister, gave it to me."
"Tell me... tell me what happened to my sister." John said as he gasped for breath.
"She was attempting to escape the Brotherhood in a small ship when one of my people's explorer pods rescued her."
"If she was really rescued by your people, why did you not return her?"
"We Chimera are curious by nature. We have taken samples of humans before but never a Guild Mistress."
"So what did your people do to her?"
"We kept her in the Void while we studied her. During that time we learned of the telepathic ability of the Guild members. That gave us a common language which allowed us to communicate with Clare. Through her, we learned of love, hatred, sadness and joy, the whole spectrum of human emotions. It was then that we Chimera decided to take the next step in our evolution. We made your sister one of us so that her human traits could be passed down to me and my siblings."
"So my sister has had many children such as you?"
"She was the Mother. She gave birth to thousands of us."
"Was?" John tried to jump but was pinned under Trak's body.
"As it is the way with my people... once she laid her last egg she died."
On hearing those words the fight in John disappeared as he slumped all the way to the ground. "I see. I'm alone now."
Trak removed his mandibles from his uncle's throat as he let his white hair tendrils reach down and stroke the Assemblyman's face. "You are not alone my uncle... you have me now."
As he breathed, John detected a musky smell in the air that was leaving him lightheaded. "Are you going to change me like my sister."
Trak ran a clawed hand down John's shirt, tearing it down the middle. He was amazed at how warm and soft human flesh felt. It was like lying atop a warm living mass of clay. "Only if you want to uncle, which I am sure you will eventually."
"So confident are we?" John moaned as a clawed hand slipped through his torn shirt to scratch his skin lightly.
"My mother told me everything she ever knew or felt. Who knew your heart better than your sister? We Chimera desire to join human emotions... the human soul to our race. That was Clare's gift to us Chimera. We do not come empty handed however. For humanity, we will take their soft flesh and made it hard and strong, while giving the people unity and an ever lasting peace. Think of it uncle... no more senseless war. There would be no need for Prelates, Legates, counterparts, Star Generals, Assemblymen or Guild Mistresses. You never wanted to be an Assemblyman. When humanity and the Chimera are one, you will be free to do what you want... to go back to your books if you so wish."
John had to admit the offer was tempting but he still could not see beyond the alien figure on top of him. "Will I turn into a creature such as you?"
"Do I look so hideous to you uncle?" Trak asked with disappointment in his voice.
"If my sister taught you anything about us humans, it is that we feel revulsion and fear toward that which is alien to us."
"But I don't have to be alien to you uncle." Trak replied, releasing more pheromones into the air. Ever since his mother had given him her memories he had longed to take a full blooded human as a mate. Since John had been the principle person in Clare's life, it had been John's face that Trak most often saw in his dreams.
John did not reply, having fallen under a pheromone induced trance. Extending his mandibles Trak revealed his human shaped lips and pressed them gently on his uncle's forehead. As he lifted John up in his arms, with every intention of taking him back to his command ship, he saw a figure appear in the tunnel, a man who had a gun raised.
Making a threatening clicking noise, Trak began to walk backwards, away from the man with the gun.
"Put down my husband," The man demanded.
"You must be Ryan... my uncle's Protector," Trak replied as he continued to walk away.
"If you know I am a Protector then you know I will kill you if you don't give me back my husband."
Now a few yards outside the tunnel entrance, Trak stopped moving and carefully placed his uncle on the ground.
"Now step away from him," Ryan demanded as he started to walk forward.
Trak let out a deep hiss but did as he was asked, moving several yards away from John. Then, just as Ryan reached the mouth of the cave, Trak made the slightest of nods with his head. With Ryan's next step, taking him outside the tunnel, Red Eyes, who had been clinging to the side of the cliff, jumped down on top of Ryan, knocking him to the rocky ground.
For a few brief seconds the two wrestled on the ground until Red Eyes opened the large maw of his mouth digging his poison filled fangs into Ryan's shoulder. Soon Ryan was unconscious, his breath short and rapid.
Going back to where he had placed John, Trak lifted his uncle back into his arms while Red Eyes did the same to Ryan. Together the two Chimera carried their cargo back to the scout ship. Soon Trak and his escort were soaring back into space.
Thanks to all who have become fans of the series. I do hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far. A new fantasy series... The Children of Mir is now over halfway posted in the yahoo group for those looking for another story to read. Two other stories, The Centurion and The Academy have been published and are now for sale on Amazon. Take care.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/