Terra 9996 AD: Full Circle

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System


Captain Brooks sat at the command consul checking the ships systems. One of the Scanner Techs called out. "Unknowns have two ships on an intercept course for the Martian Fleet. Intercept will be just inside Lunar orbit."

"What about the Martians? Still decelerating?" The Captain responded.

"No Sir, They are pull two Gs acceleration. They should not have been able to spot us at this range. Their sensors are radar and passive only. Some how they have also picked up those two ships at warp. They have spun up their shields and their lasers and nuclear pellet guns are hot."

Brooks looked to the weapons station. "Raise void shields and all weapons hot. Communications I want a general broadcast message as followsThis is the Alpha 3 Colony survey ship Rogers, Terra is under quarantine per Galactic Federation of Light Treaty. Martian vessels you are ordered to slingshot around Luna and return to your space. Any closer then three light seconds and we will fire on you. Unknown ships please identify yourselves. As per the Galactic treaty. You will also be in violation of quarantine if you approach closer then three light seconds. The planet has been effected by an unknown bio hazard. "


Brooks waited for a second then a scanner tech shouted. "Radiation alarm, lead ship has just launched two megaton level warheads at the planet. A.I. paints the targets as the North Atlantic and Western North America. They are pulling 20 Gs of acceleration and emitting a lot of ECM."

"Lock main beam weapons on those warheads and fire!"

The weapons Officer gave the order and a moment later a bright white beam fired and destroyed the missiles. "Targets destroyed!"

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System



Brooks watched as the two nuclear warhead armed torpedoes exploded, he then looked to the combat sensors. He then looked to the main screen. "Lock beam weapons on the lead ship and fire!"

A moment later a white hot plasma beam reached through space and ripped through the Martians ships magnetic shields. The starboard side of the warship just seemed to melt for a moment then its hydrogen fuel and nuclear pile went up at once. The lead ship rained metal fragments on the other ships causing sparkles as they hit their defensive shields.

Brooks looked to the weapons officer. " As we pass them on their starboard side I want you to free fire on them. Hit them with every energy weapon we have. After we pass helm I want you to cut the drive field flip 180 degrees and reengage the field. that will put us behind them and I hope in a blind spot. We will finish them then."

As the Rogers drew closer its heavy beamers pulsed bolts of raw destructive force on the advancing fleet. The Martians responded with laser lances and a hail of micro nuclear pellets each equal to 500 tons of TNT. The Rogers void shields glowed as the Martian weapons struck their target. The Martian shield were no where near as strong. They would glow for a moment then fail each hit cost them dearly. As the Rogers passed nearly half of the Martian fleet had been taken out of action.

Brooks looked over the sensors as He was planning the turn around and the course they would take the weapons Officer shouted. "Sir, heavy energy weapons have gone off line. Point defense blasters also!"

Brooks hit a communications button. "Engineer what is going on down there?"

The black hairy face of the uplifted gorilla came on the Captain's screen. "Never let humans install anything. Sorry Sir, this is no warship those weapons we bought from the Grays were installed by the lowest bidder. The EPS conduits going to the weapons blew with that last volley. I am trying to reroute power through the backups but it will take a few minutes to give you full power. The void shields kept everything away from the hull but the forward warp ring has taken some damage. I would keep her at sublight for the moment at least until I can get an inspection drone out there to check out the damage. If you go above light speed and that ring fails it will crush the ship and give us all a bad day."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

"Cooper, what the hell is going on over there?" Ricard was referring to the battle some three parsecs distant.

"Apparently, sir, there is a Terran fleet inflicting serious damage to the Martians. The Uverrsan and Aanovan squads have not yet entered the fray. They are aware of the situation and are holding back awaiting instructions."

"Terrans? There are Terrans that have orbiting capabilities?"

"Yes, sir. It sems that there are entities on Terra that were unknown to us, and who have upper atmospheric units. What they have is superior to the Martian weapons, for the most part."

Ricard watched the holo-screens for a few seconds. "Commander, open a channel to the the Terrans. Inform them that we have units within striking distance of both fleets. Inform them to please stand down as we try to contact the Martian fleet."

"Aye, sir. Channel open."

"Terran fleet, this is Lord Ricard of the Xeraphian Space League. We are forward units of our fleet, and are attempting to contact the Martian ships. We have reason to believe they may have knowledge of the pods currently landing on your planet. If you will cease destroying them for the time being, we will take over their current forward trajectory and speak with them. We can see that their weapons cannot harm us. If necessary, we will take aggressive action. Ricard out."

They waited for a minute. "Commander, how many Martian units are there?"

"Sixteen, sir. Three either damaged or destroyed." Cooper checked the current reports. "Sir, two of the smaller Martian units have broken off from their fleet. Coordinates suggest that they are headed for our locations."

"Send them the universal symbols for peace and communication, Commander. If they do not respond, track them and lock on weapons. Wait for my signal."

"Aye, sir. Message sent. No response. Locked and loaded."

"Give then another couple of minutes. Fire a warning shot close enough to make an impression when they are within a half-parsec."

"Aye, sir. From the Uverrsan squad or the Aanovan squad?"

"From each, Cooper. One ship from each squad. If the Martians answer in the negative, have the two units destroyed."

[Spiral Zone]

Planet Lord Yoth stood silently, watching his ships being destroted or rendered useless by the Terran units. And now there was another group of unknown ships behind him, between his fleet and Mother Mars.

"What sayeth the comps, ensign?"

Ensign Jihn was doing her best not to keep her tentacles from shaking. She was in the central control room of the lead ship and she realized that they were outnumbered and out-gunned. "Lord Yoth, we be in dire straits. M'Lord, yon ships, both in front and in back, hath the weapons to turneth us into space dust. Our weapons doth be ineffective. What are thine orders?"

Yoth answered. "Yon Terran fleet has stopped their assault. Hast thou picked up on any communication?"

Jihn, with a quaver in her voice, said, "M'Lord, the Terran and Xer Fleet talketh anon. I have not their discourse."

"Is the Mother Planet in any distress?"

"It dost not appeareth so, Lord. Our cities and settlements appeareth intact and at peace."

Yoth folded his tentacles behind his back. "Then we waiteth. Nothing more to do anon."

[First Archons]

A pair of sleek, high-velocity ships hovered on the sun side of Mars. They were watching and evaluating the situation on the other side of the planet some six parsecs distant. These were not battleships, nor even destroyers, but rather scout ships armed with cutting-edge solar-powered weapons. Their high speed capabilities made them very hard to accurately target and destroy. They could inflict damage on a scale similar to a full-blown space battle in a matter of minutes.

The ships were entirely cyborg manned. Humanoid in form, they were nonetheless products of a civilization so advanced that no other planet-based ships could hope to compete against them. Cloaking, phase-shifting, and multi-target abilities made them the equal of any ten-to-fifteen-ship fleets. Their language was a composite of algorithmic calculations and multiple universal speech patterns.

In effect, their conversation entailed blips, bleeps, visual pixelated forms, and sub-sonic pulses.

The prime ship signaled an attack sequence involving both the Martian and Terran fleets with the League ships to be left in peace. Anticipated total time used was calculated to be three Terran minutes at which time the Archon units, if still intact, would retreat at the highest warp speeds.

Message: "Prime unit to engage in sixty seconds. Support unit to follow three seconds after. Destroy or incapacitate Terran and Martian units for 180 Terran seconds. Disengage with coordinates aimed at Typhon Expanse."

The stage was set.....

[The Black Veil]

Karylyn and the Veilians approached the massive gate that allowed access to the Amurcan lands. He and Maellian, the High Priestess, were very aware of their danger. The warriors that guarded the gate were large, fierce, and ruthless. An errant word or wrong glance would quickly escalate to an all-out battle. And there were fifty of them, just eight of the Veilians.

A tall, leather-clad woman approached the travelers. "What is your business here?"

Maellian answered. "We are from the far south of this continent. We are on a pilgrimage to the far north-central regions, north of the Inland Sea."

The woman regarded Maellian with a lascivious eye. "What matter of payment do you have?"

"Payment? For what?"

"Passage through this portal. Think of it as a donation to our tribe."

The priestess eyed her coldly. "You must be aware that we are no ordinary travelers. We are adepts of the Veil. We go where we will and live the same way. We will not pay you anything. You will get this ragged band of cut-throats out of our way so we can pass."

"Or.....what?" The woman placed her hand on the pommel of a wicked-looking scimitar as some of the other guards walked up behind her.

"You will die horribly, your soul spending eternity writhing on the burning floor of the lowest Hell."

"I think not." The guards pulled their blades from their sheaths and advanced on the Veilians.

Karylyn, sword in hand started forward and was startled to see the heads of three of the wall-guards topple from their shoulders. The temple guards of the Veil attacked, and the battle was on.

In short order, over half of the wall-guards fell on an ever-growing bloody patch of sand, the grim speed of the Wraith just a blur as it moved among them.

Karylyn and his soldiers entered the fray, war cries sounding, blades slicing through the enemy guards. Even though most of his people had wounds, they were prevailing over the warriors of the wall. At length, just a handful of them were left to defend the gate, their backs against the cold stone of he wall.

Maellian said, "You will be spared if you stand aside. If not, you will join your mistress in Hell."

In answer, the wall guards dropped their weapons and stood aside.

"Wise choice." Speaking to thin air, she said, "Wraith, kill them and place their heads on spikes over the gate."

In a matter of seconds, the terror of the guards was evident to all as their frozen faces reflected the horror of the realization that Hell was just a second away.

Karylyn stood aghast. The slaughter shocked even him. He had seen many battles, but none so quick and bloody as this. "Maellian, some of our people are wounded."

Sha laughed. "They will be healed in a matter of hours by my magick. Now, let's ride.............we have a long way to go to see the Master of the North."

[The Celestial Fallen]

Out on the very edge of the ever-expanding universe were the angels. Some, a relative few, had watched the universe unfold for countless billions of years. Every second of every day, of every year, they had seen how The Creator set in motion the complete redemption of the Null Areas of existence. This redemption was currently expanding at 6,000 miles per second.

Sephriel had been the guardian of The Edge for eons, right after The Creator created Creation. Her job was to observe and record this work. The Hall of Records grew proportionately, now containing six-hundred quintillion entries. It was entire true history of Creation.

She saw a bright orb approaching her world and realized it was Gabriel and Michael. "Greetings, brothers! It has been a long time!" She felt a surge of warmth as they approached.

Greetings, Seph. It is indeed good to see you. All is well?"

"As long as the Father's humans don't come and screw things up, yes, all is well."

Michael paused. "Have you seen or heard from Lucifer or his minions?"

"Not out this far. Why, are they stirring up trouble?"

"No more than usual. No, I am actually more interested in the ones called the Tower Lords on Terra."

"Ah, the indecisive ones. Last I heard they were ensconsed on one of Jupiter's moons."

"The Terran Immortals have been expecting them for millenia. Apparently, another global conflict for the planet is under way."

Seraphiel sighed. "These humans never quit. All or nothing at all. Get all you can and keep it."

Gabriel said, "Be that as it may, the Greylings are needed on Terra." They were called Greylings because, at the initial rebellion of Lucifer and Satanas, they chose not to choose sides, and so were forever caught between the Father and the Enemy. Neither the good guys nor the bad guys. And so they were charged, for all eternity, to maintain a balance between the two sides. But, now they were not to be seen anywhere near Terra.

"Ah, the Greylings. Neither black, nor white." Sephriel smiled. And the Father?"

"He's sitting this one out. He's given all parties the ability to move in their own preferred direction. You know He's perfectly capable of starting the whole thing over again, but.......we'll see."

Sephriel asked, "So what do you want of me? It will be hundreds of millenia before any human reached out beyond their galaxy, never mind the thousands of galaxies between here and there."

Michael said, "That's the thing, Seph. Right now, as we speak, there is an ultra-long-range vessal within 600 parsecs of where we're sitting right now. It's been headed here for about 12,000 Terran years. And we believe it's going to orbit the planet of the Universal Mother Spirits."

Sephriel shrugged. "So what? There's just thirty or so angelic beings there."

"Honestly, we don't know their intentions. But we do know that the Fallen, the Arkhangels, Angelica, and your own people of Seraphingtonn are monitoring their arrival. And the so-called Tower Lords are also aware of the situation."

Seph asked, "From what location were these Terrans sent?"

"An ancient land mass, actually an island near to the northern pole called Iceland. In a world caught in the grip of primitive evolution, this island has had a creature of age immemorial pulling the strings. Nearly as old as the one called Lilith."

"I haven't heard that name in eons. Bad omen. She was the second to rebel, right behind Lucifer."

"And where is he?"

"Here and there, as usual. Hard to pin that one down."

"Can all the Angelics respond to the vessal's incursion?"

Michael looked out over the universe. "If they don't, only the Creator will be able to stop this chain of events."

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System



Governor Campbell ran onto the bridge after the ship wide alarms started going off. Moving up to the Captain's Command position Campbell asked. "What in the Duce is going on?I thought you said their weapons could not hurt us."

Brooks took a deep breath before He answered. "Sir, those weapons you insisted be put on this ship have blown the power grid to said weapons. We have EPS ruptures on decks three and five. We also have a full plasma leak on deck two. Damage control is working on the problems and the Chief is trying to shift to the backups."

It was Campbells turn to take a breath. "What about the Martians?"

"We have confirmed four destroyed outright and four heavily damaged. They are still on course for Terra. They will reach orbit in two hours. The unknowns behind us have attempted to communicate with us. They are the Xeraphian Space League, who ever the fuck they are. They request we cease fire on the Martians. They believe they know something about the probes. How do you want to play this?"

Campbell seemed to pause for a moment. "Xeraph? those folks are a little far from home. They are an independent collection of worlds if I remember correctly. Not many dealings with the Galactic Federation or the Lizards or even the Grays. I wonder what brings them all the way out here?"

"According to the transmission those damn probes, Everybody and their brother is showing up. We also picked up two different unknowns just this side of Mars. They seemed to be scanning the planet. They are scout ship sized and a far different configuration then those Xeraphian ships." Brooks looked to His screen again. "Mars is not scrambling anything at the moment, but that may change."

Campbell looked around then spoke. "Inform the Xeraphians we have ceased fire on the Martians and we wish to open talks on the probes. Please inform the Martians that if they try and land or launch anything down to Terra we will destroy them. We can meet the Xeraphians here. I don't need anymore people going down to Terra if we can help it." Campbell turned as if to leave then stopped. "Also inform the Xeraphians that we will share any information we have on the probes with them. The Galactic Federation has not dealt with them much so we have to step lightly."

"Sir, another thing they think we ate Terran locals, how do you want to play this? Say we are and tell them to get lost?"


"No Captain, we need to be honest with our new friends. Please inform them we are from an old Terran Colony that has lost contact with their home world. We are not Terran's but have been given authority by the Galactic Federation of Light to deal with any issues in the Sol system."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

"Lord Ricard, the Terran commander has granted a cease-fire on the Martians and agrees to meet us concerning them and the probes. Your orders?"

Ricard thought for a moment. "Very well. The Uverrsan and Aanovan ships can keep an eye on the Martians while we talk with the Terrans. But I want all parties to understand that if the Martians move to advance toward Terra, we will give the order to destroy their fleet and proceed to the planet itself to commence aero-spatial bombardment."

"Aye, Lord. Who is to attend this meeting with you?"

"Six of the Host Guardians, Lady Adiane, and yourself. And impress on the Terrans that we are not going to spend all day chatting."

"Aye, Lord. At once."

[Universal Mother Spirits]

"Highly unusual, eh?" Mother Tianni stood gazing at the image in the orb-frame.

"Yes, Mother. This is the first and only time one of these so-called space vehicles have ventured out this far. It is a long way from their base."

"Hmm, yes, their base being the near-mythical Gaian system." They watched as the sleek object hurtled toward their planet.

"It will still be a month before it enters our universe. Has everyone been appraised?"

"Yes, Mother. The Mother Council is aware and, surprisingly, somewhat unconcerned. We of the Daughters are just the opposite. We are concerned and do not know what provision has been made to spare us from the contamination of foreign and possibly inferior cultures."

Tianni smiled. "Rest assured, my dear. We have spirits in place that can handily oppose any and all interference in our worlds. And do not forget the Angelic Realms. They have dealt more often with the various humanoid entities over the millenia than we have."

"But Mother. They are far distant. Of what use would they be in an emergency?"

Again Tianni smiled. "They can be here in a twinkling of an eye, Daughter. They are of eternity, not time. There is no distance in eternity. But. let's hold off on any undue concern for the time being. Just wait......we'll see."

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System



Captain Brooks led Governor Campbell over to the holo-table. "The Xeraphians have agreed to negotiate the situation. A nice sit down and chat with the Martians and us. We are a little in over our heads in this Sir. The Federation should be handling this mess not us."

Campbell crossed His arms and lowered His head slightly as He spoke. "If we bring them in on this cluster fuck we will be here for months deciding where to meet and what's for lunch, no son we need to deal with this problem before they get involved. The outside involvement was unexpected that being said we may be able to use this to our advantage."

"How Sir?"

"Their hands are not tied by Federation Law and Treaties. They may be able to deal with Lilith and Neander and bring them to heel. Something feels off about their upcoming battle.Neander holds all the cards and He seems to be holding back for some reason. He has a several thousand year tech advantage over Lilith as things stand now. He has some of the finest horse cavalierly the world has ever known lead by one of the greatest generals, the Great Khan. He could of landed those Mongols on a west coast beach and drove Lilith's troops before them. No, the caveman is up to something big."

"The Xeraphians seem to be only interested in the probes. A fight between two Immortals is none of their business. All they need to do is land snatch up a probe and take it home, like we should of done. Sir we can get a probe and be out of system in two hours. We just need to isolate it and Doctor Z can figure out how to decontaminate it."

"No there is something more going on, we need to find out what. Get Doctor Z and a half dozen Gorilla guards in full power armor We need to greet our guests." Campbell turned and walked to the command centers main hatch. "Who knows something good may come of this."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

"M'Lord. The Terrans have indicated approval to our suggestion of meeting with them. The Uverrsan and Aanovan squads are keeping the Martians at bay for the time being. I don't know how long we can do that, but we have a window of at least 30-40 Terran minutes." Lt. Sylvee stood at attention awaiting orders. Even in her stark uniform, she was very attractive.

Ricard said, "Thank you, Lieutenant. Issue the order for our people to beam over to their ship." He looked over at her. "I haven't seen you before. You are newly assigned here?"

Sylvee nodded. "Yes, M'Lord. I deployed just 48 hours ago as an assistant for Cmdr. Cooper"

He grinned. "Very good, lieutenant. Carry on. And notify me at once when the Terrans are ready for us to beam over."

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System



The large landing bay of the Rogers had been emptied of its two dropships. Space had been made for the Martian shuttle and the Xeraphian beam in sight. Captain Brooks and Governor Campbell stood along with Doctor Z and several Gorilla security guards in power armor. Campbell looked to the Orangutan Doctor and asked. "Will everyone be able to breath when they get here?"

The Doctor looked at Her tablet. "The Xeraphians are human or near enough to be considered human. Their atmosphere is a little richer in CO2 then ours but close enough. It is the Martians that are the problem. Their air pressure is equivalent to about 3,500 meters altitude on Terra. they seem to breath the same mixture we do so that is not the problem. Gravity is their big issue. Terra has 1G gravity. The Xeraphians are used to about 1.20 G. our settled worlds run from .85 to 1.1 G. They have only .37 G so they are going to have issues, bad ones."

"Lower the Gravity to .5 on the landing bay the passages to the meeting room and the meeting room. They will have to deal with the greater pressure. They should not be here long enough to have issues." Brooks responded. "Governor, What do we know about the Martians?"

"Not much, They have genetically engineered a lot of their population. Those big red shinned fellows are made to work on the surface of Mars. The ones we saw leading them seem to be the middle managers and field commanders. Their ship crews and general population are humans adapted to life on the red planet. Taller them normal. lungs adapted to the lower pressures. As for leadership we know their leader is called The Elon. Seems to be both a king like leader and leads their religion. We really have had no real contact since 3,300 AD or there abouts."

The group looked as the Martian shuttle appeared outside the clear force shield that held the pressure in the bay. "Shit that thing looks like a bad copy of what a 1950s space rocket would look like." Captain Brooks commented.

"They have been flying that style of ship for thousands of years with little change. They found designs that work and stayed with them I guess." Campbell looked around for a moment and yelled. "Look alive folks!"

The Gorillas stood at attention heavy blasters at their sides, A moment later a white light announced the Xeraphian delegations arrival. Campbell steeped forward and said "Welcome aboard the survey ship Rogers. I am Governor Erwin T. Campbell overseer of the Sol System for the Galactic Federation of Light."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

The Xeraphians arrived a few seconds before the Martians. Six Guardians of the Xeraphic Hosts walked out of the trans-beam followed by Lord Ricard, Lady Adiane, and Lt. Sylvee. All except Lady Adiane were clad in the battle uniforms of the regular Xeraph military, black leather tunic, breeches, and knee-high boots. The Guardians were armed with minimal sidearms while Ricard and Sylvee had the traditional katana strapped to their backs, poniards at the hip.

"Greeting to you, Governor Campbell. I am glad we have had this opportunity to meet." After introducing Lady Adiane and Lt. Sylvee, he asked, Änd the Martians?"

"Any second now, Lord Ricard."

The trans-beam once again hummed, and the entity Elon stepped through the beam. He looked from person to person, hesitated for a moment on the Gorillas, and said in an ethereal, yet pleasent, voice, "The Martian Councils thank you all for allowing us to speak our concerns. We have sufficient proof that the human element of Gaia are parasites and should be curtailed." He smiled, showing slightly elongated canines.

"Well, first thing first, Elon. I'm positive Governor Campbell, who I'm sure has provided some refreshments, will address your concerns. Shall we sit?"

As they sat around the oval table, Elon remarked, "I have no need of refreshments. My internal organs are programmed replete with necessary nutrients. But, by all means, enjoy what you will." Again, that curious smile caught everyone's attention.

In short order, dual replicators produced the various liquids and food-stuffs favored by the Terrans and Xeraphians.

Ricard said, "Governor, would you care to state the parameters of this meeting?"

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System


Captain Brooks along with Governor Campbell lead the two delegations to the ships main conference room. Entering the chamber the groups were shown to their seats. Campbell took a seat at the head of the large chamber. "Please a collection of fresh fruits and vegetables for your enjoyment. Also tea and juices, we will save the stronger libations for after." Campbell poured Himself a glass of ice tea.

Campbell kept looking at the Elon the bearded man reminded him of someone but He could not remember who. "Now on to business. "The Federations insistence that the Sol system is off limits as well as Terra is a bit of a mute point at this junction. The probes have attracted your two groups attention. Who sent them has also a mystery that needs to be solved.

The Elon sat back in His chair and folded His hands as He spoke. "Our tracking stations detected the ship that dropped the probes. The Ship entered the Jupiter System and did a braking maneuver. They then set course to Holy Terra and dropped their ac-cursive probes on our Holy World. My people tried to raise them on wireless but no response was forth coming." Taking a sip of His drink He continued. "Holy Terra is for the faithful only those probes and those who sent them have commuted blasphemy and must be put to the question."

Campbell and Brooks look uncomfortable at best with the Elon's statement. "That is up for discussion perhaps later. Several parties on the planet are attempting to gain access to one of the many probes that landed on the planet. Several are what the locals call Immortals, incredibly long lived individuals with an assortment of gifts and powers." Campbell said.

"They are the cursed of God! Lilith cast out of Eden by the Lord. Cain the First Murder doomed to walk the world forever. Joan of the Ark. Burned by the English for talking to the unholy. All should be beheaded and their souls dragged to Hell." The Elon leaned forward and smiled at Campbell. "Worst of all is a being so vile that He wiped out His own people to give himself eternal life. What ever those unholy probes contain they must not fall into their bloody hands."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

Ricard and Adiane looked at each other briefly, and Ricard said, "Elon, while we all have our private beliefs about a higher power, to bring such vindictive peoposals to this table is counter-productive. At issue is not preserving an ancient belief system, but rather coming together to find an answer as to what the probes are, what they represent, and how to either extract the information they contain, or, failing that, destroy them. The simple fact that they are looking to be exploited by self-serving and aggressive entities is enough reason to act, and act quickly. Probes first, bad guys later."

For the first time, Adiane spoke. "My Lords and Ladies, I just wish to interject a thought. Much of my training has been spiritual in nature, and applying spiritual knowledge to this, or any other, situation, is very important. Whoever, or whatever, launched these probes with the specific trajectory aimed at Terra is evidently an advanced civilization. We know, in a general way, that the probes came from a particular sector and we are narrowing down the solar system from whence they came. Eventually, we will discover the planet of origin. We all know that some, but not all, humans who come in contact with the probes get sick and die rapidly. Often in less than 72 hours. My point is that we cannot just blast our way to peace. That has been tried for millenia, and time after time it fails. We must become aware of any spiritual connections, if indeed there are spiritual connections. If not, then by all means eliminate the probes. But I think that at the very least we might learn something from them."

Ricard looked over at Lt. Sylvee, who was writing down all that was said. He thought it was a curious thing because there were no doubt several recording devices tracking every word.

He said, "Alright, we have a decision to make here. Elon, our forces vastly outnumber yours, so please, no aggression. Your ships are, to say the least, outdated. We want to advance peace and cooperation." He sat forward. "But be assured, your vessals will never enter Terra's atmosphere. At least not as anything other then pieces of space-junk."

The tension in the room was palpable............

[Aanova]

The Aanovan comm-tech's four arms were moving very rapidly over the raised glyphs on the board. Though humanoid, it was significantly different in appearence to other humanoids. Aside from the four arms, it's ears, nose, and mouth were mere slits in an otherwise hairless face. Three oval eyes moved rapidly over the glyphs in order to ascertain all info.

The Aanovans communicated almost silently, the only sounds heard were low murmurs of varying pitch with one of the hands tapping out a rhythmic sequence to emphasize intent.

In mere seconds, it was decided that a message needed to be sent straight to the Terran conference room. In essence, the message read "Enemy weaponry arming. Immediate action necessary."

The Aanovans made the Uverrsan squad aware of the situation. In all, there were nine ships powering up their lasers and torpedoes.

The decision needed to come, and come fast......

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Sol System



Campbell could feel the discomfort in the room. The feeling He knew the Elon or knew who he was stayed with Him. "Doctor Z Can you share what we know abouot the probes and the sickness they have brought."

The Female Great ape activated the holo projector in the conference table. A image of a probe began rotating over the table. " The probes are about two meters long and bell shaped. Brass colored with no markings and no visible external ports or hatches. We have detected an internal power supply and a lot of memory storage. The science types figure about 100 terabytes of storage minimum, most likely twice that. They are giving off no signals and no detectable radiation."

Ricard looked at the image and asked. "What of the sickness that has been reported?"

"That had us stumped but we have gathered some information on it. at first we figured the probes were some kind of bio-weapon. We shot that theory down because the sickness has such a sort life. It kills with in 72 hours after contact with the probes. It spreads like wild fire, but after 96 hours it burns itself out. It's life span is too short to spread through out Terra's population. If it is a targeted weapon it is piss poor." An image of a DNA strand replaces the probe image. "Our records of Terran viruses are limited at best. We have the records from the New Frontiers but they only go up to 1984 A.D. Anything beyond that are fragmentary at best. We have some Imperial records on medical matters but they are far from complete. That being said we have determined this is not an alien virus. The DNA comes close to something called Ebola. It is not a perfect match but it has the same roots. I can't say much more then that because our records on the matter just don't contain enough data."

Campbell looked for a moment at the image. "Are there any Imperial records remaining? Maybe data from pre 2064 that would have the records you need."

The Elon spoke. "long Dust, the records unless written in stone would never have lasted for 6,000 + years. The Holy Church purged such records thousands of years ago. From what I have gathered Lilith destroyed all records and the Godless thinking machines of the empire after the fall. none still exist."

Campbell thought for a moment. "Elon, did your people go to Luna?"

"No, the moon colonies were abandoned about twenty years after the twin empires fell. The people of Luna were welcome into the warm embrace of the Holy Church Militant. We never saw the need to go back. The tower lords never went there. Lilith did not have access to space flight so none have been there for eons."

The Immortal smiled. "Tycho City had a Imperial data core. Luna may hold the answers we need to solve the puzzle."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

As the discussion progressed, the sound of a Red Alert was heard throughout the Terran ship. Ricard spoke rapidly into his comm-pin and glanced at Elon. The man had a barely-supressed grin on his face.

Ricard said, "Lieutenant, have the Aanovans and Uverrsans stand down. Repeat, stand down!"

Lt. Sylvee remarked, "Lord, the Martian ships are powering-up their weapons. Are you sure?"

Ricard nodded as he watched Elon. "Keep the shields up, but do not escalate. Only retaliate if they fire first."

He had no worry that the Terran and Xeraphian fleets would win a quick fight, but something told him that this was a feint, a test.

"Steady as she goes, people. Hold on for just another minute........."

[Xeraph]

Conor watched as Nim studied some papers. "What's that, Father?"

"Master Atha and Rikk gave me a box of ancient papyrus leafs with writing on them that describes life in the 20th through 23rd centuries. There are several different languages involved, but the tek from that time enables me to read all of them via an effect called "Google Translator." Evidently, this thing was embedded into the papyrus to automatically translate or interpret what was written."

"So, 400 years of ancient history. Sounds interesting, but of what use is it in our present day?"

"It helps us to understand, somewhat, how the Amurcan culture progressed from a mainly agricultural one to a highly industrialized, money centered, self-aggrandizing culture. It ultimately led to a global situation where nations became little more than banking institutions. Money and how to acquire it was the single highest objective of those days. Money brought power, power brought control, and many of the largest nations sought to control their citizens by controlling the ebb and flow of finances. There is one entry that puts it in a nutshell: 'Fuck you, pay me."

"Fuck? What's that?"

"Something to do with penetrating something. A word with an apparent reference to war or conquest."

"Well, a culture like that is more than a little disturbing, no?"

"Yes, and it was eventually the ultimate downfall of their civilization on a global basis. Again, there is an oblique reference to the cause of this downfall in a song from the 20th century. It goes 'Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, and the king 'aint satisfied til he rules everything.' "

"Strange words, Father." Conor paused, then asked, "Is the text translated, or interpreted?"

"Both, which is what makes it a bit murky to understand. Language interpretation was a highly skilled and sought-after position. Government officials leaned heavily on interpreters when meeting with each other."

"So, what have you discovered so far? How was life back then?"

"Well, it seems they had two main types of government, democracy or republic. And of course there were countries that called themselves one or the other but actually had nothing in common with the actual meaning. Centralized governments and dictatorships were the norm, and even the so-called democracies and republics had components of central governing power. There were exceptions every now and then, but even they became corrupt. Mostly due to the aforementioned focus on money."

"So this is why we do not have money?"

"Yes, we rely on barter and exchange. If I grow maize but not wheat, and our neighbor grows wheat and not maize, then we exchange products in an equal manner. The fishers in the Inner Sea provide us seafood and we provide terran-based foodstuffs. There are a very few villages that specialize in non-food bartering, but that is mostly for women to have their niceties. Also, our blacksmiths give us tools for both defense and for our farms. We provide food for them and their families. The citizens are valued over any monetary system."

"So, what happens when one, or a few, citizens accumulate more than they need and start selling their excess?"

"First off, there is no selling. Selling implies some kind of precious metals or minerals. Profit is expressly forbidden bevause it creates inequality, an 'us and them' mentality. Back in the 20th century, people began to think that the more money you had, the better and smarter you were. It was essentially a feudal system. There were the 'haves' and the 'have nots.' In less than a century, one-to-two percent of a given population owned or controlled fifty-plus percent of the money in any given country."
One of their great bankers was heard to say that 'If you control the finances, you control the country, and therefore control the people.' "

Conor nodded, "There is much wisdom in our system. The only thing that concerns me now are these space rocks. If they are of an advanced star-system civilization, they may have capabilities we can't comprehend. At least not with our spears, arrows, and knives."

"Exactly, my son. Which is why I am studying these papyri." He added, "One of the things in these papers is a saying: Those who forget or disregard the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them."

[The Xeraphian Space League]

As Ricard's hand hovered over the attack-screen, Elon disappeared. No warning, no apparent utility used. Just...gone.

Ricard realized what happened and shouted, "Fire all weapons on the forward Martian units! Uverrsan and Aanovan ships focus on stragglers, but let any survival pods go. We need to follow them."

"My Lord, sensors indicate they are putting up a bit of a fight. Uverrsan and Aanovan units taking heavy fire." Lt. Sylvee was plotting an intercept course when the first jolt was felt in the ship.

"Lord, shields are holding, ship that fired on us has been eliminated."

"Any escape units?"

"Three blips on the tracking screen. Organic life inside. Looks to be three Martian escape pods headed for the surface of the planet. Destroy them?"

"No, let them go. We'll send a couple of scout ships to prepare an LZ followed by six landing parties. A base will be built by bots while the troops will perform a slow search. Orders are to eliminate any and all opposition from Martian units."

"Aye, Lord. You are joining the landing parties?"

"Not right away, Lieutenant. I'll give it a few hours as we evaluate the info."

Lt. Sylvee scanned the comm-screens. "Reports indicate that Martian fleet either destroyed or rendered inoperable. No signs of life on any of the ships."

"Good, now we just need to locate that bastard Elon. He's got something up his sleeve."

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Terran Orbit



The red alert was still sounding as Governor Campbell and Captain Brooks made for the bridge. The ships shuddered for a moment then the intercom came to life. "Attention all decks, we have a breaching pod deck two section seven. Intruders are on board, repeat breaching pod deck two section seven."

Brooks looked at Campbell. "Sir that is just ahead, we should back track and use a jefferies tube to climb to deck one." Just as the Captain finished speaking a High Martian came around the corner followed by several of the brute martians. Brooks pulled His PPG and fired into one of the brutes blowing an arm off. Before Brooks could finish Him off the High Martian stared at the Captain. Brooks dropped to His knees and screamed. A second later the Captain of the Rogers fell on His side dead.

Campbell seeing this grabbed His com unit. "Attention all crew anti PSI Procedures are now in effect. The boarders in the exo-frames have PSI attacks. My guess is P5 or higher."

The High Martian the stared at the Immortal. Campbell just smiled as He noticed blood starting to leak from the Martian's nose. The Martian seem to considerate harder in an attempt to effect Campbell. The Immortal kept smiling as His would be attacker started to shudder with the effort. The Brutes stared in disbelief as to what was happening. Their disbelief turned to shock as their leader's head exploded filling his helmet with blood and fragments of brain. They froze for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Campbell dove and grabbed the Captain's gun. Doing a combat roll he came up on one knee and fired the PPG at the lead Brute taking His head off. Several more shots came from the Immortals rear as several armored Gorillas advanced on the intruders. The battle was short as the Ship's combat contingent made short work of the Martians.

One of the Gorillas helped Campbell up. "Thanks Joe, I want no prisoners we don't know who is PSI out of that lot and I don't want to take any chances. Get a damage control team down here to clean up this mess and plug that breach. As for the pod, go over it with a fine tooth comb. I want to know how they got that thing so close with out our sensors going off."

[Aanova]

The darkened bridge of the Aanovan craft appeared on the comm-screen of Ricard's flagship. Shadowy creatures moved about in a measured, somewhat robotic manner. Despite the dim view, Lt. Sylvee could make out a basically humanoid figure.

"Greetings, Aanovan ship. You have a report?"

Silence for a space, then she heard a metallic voice. "Yes, human unit. We have traced two of the small units from the Martian ship to the surface of the planet. One landed in sector 16-AS, the other in sector 83-HB. Both are below the surface to a depth of 33 korgs."

"Please translate korgs to a linear foot scale."

To Sylvee, the voice sounded annoyed as it said, "Conversion is as follows: 1 korg = 2.5 Terran feet."

"Thank you. Is there a name we can call you?"

"There is, but you could not pronounce it, as it is binary in nature. You may address all Aanovan units as 'Pilarr' followed by a digit. I am Pilarr 3."

"So, your digit is a reflection of your rank?"

"All Aanovans are equal. We function as one, therefore there is no necessity for rank."

"Alright, are you prepared to deploy surface units to seek and engage the Martian pods?"

"We are created in our ships, and live there all our lives. We never leave them. It will be up to you or the Uverrsans to search for the Martians. Although I seriously doubt the Uverrsans will be of much assistance. They are very fragile, not taken to low-grav planets."

Ricard had been watching and listening to the exchange. He gave the signal to terminate the link.

Thinking for a moment, he decided....................

[Tarlag]

S.S. Rogers, Terran Orbit


The conference room was somber at best, everyone felt the death of Captain Brooks. Lt. Anders had taken command with the Governors approval. Campbell entered the room and sat on the edge of the table. "I just got off the line with Father Absolute. The shit storm the Martians have caused has lit a fire under them. They have approved our fleet to send a baseship and a squadron of gunships to keep the Martians honest. They will also provide support to any operations that the Xeraphians or we might undertake."

Lt. Anders activated the holo table. "Sir, we have managed to figure out how that breaching pod got so close. We checked the scans up to the time the red alert sounded. That pod was detected the whole time. The sensor operators just did not respond to the readings they were getting."

"That was a PSI attack, Mr. Anders. I wager you questioned the bridge crew and they saw nothing until that pod breached our hull. I will even bet that they turned off our void shields so that pod could make contact with our hull."

Anders looked puzzled. "How did you know Sir? I just wrote the report."

"Simple Son. During the Eugenics War the Soong faction developed some powerful telapaths. The stronger ones would cause a ships crew to crash their ship into a planet that they prevented the crew from seeing. They could stare at a man and cause a blood clot in His brain killing him in seconds. That is how Brooks died."

The Gorilla named Joe who headed the ships security contingent asked. "I thought the Federation outlawed that kind of warfare thousands of years ago? Telapathic warfare is forbidden in Federation space."

"Joe maybe you want to explain that legal fiction to their Elon. Just because the Federation outlawed it don't mean shit to those people. Speaking of the Elon what do we know about the Bastard?"

Doctor Z put up a display of the Elon's head on the Holo display. "We scanned Him pretty close when He came on board. First He is an Immortal, According to the neuron density He is about your age give or take a hundred years. Powerful to, The brain scan showed He is a strong but limited telapath, P seven or eight on the scale. I don't think He can do the blood clot trick but His power of suggestion is very powerful. Some of the Xeraphins and Brooks seemed to be affected by His presence."

Anders looked at the image seeming a bit confused. "So Doc. how did He do that diapering act?"

"Magic, I have only seen a few Immortals pull that trick. Lady Morgan La fay, The Merlin and Babba Yaga. That being said the Elon was not one of them." Campbell said rubbing His chin.

"He is not in our data base, but our information on Terran Immortals is thousands of years out of date." Doctor Z said looking again at the image.

"I will reach out to Neander and see what He thinks. He would know if anyone."

[Shadexx 1]

Joey Rizzo watched as the last of the bodies burned. The raid on the head-man's compound had been successful, with the oppressors dead and just two rebels lost.

His attention was drawn to the trio coming towards him. "Greetings, Commander! Long live the revolution!"

Commander Roy Fetter smiled and nodded. "Greetings, comrade. Excellent tactics on your part made this possible. Revolutionary forces all over the area report victory. The revolution has begun!" He fished an item out of his pocket and walked toward Joey. "Comrade Rizzo, you are hereby promoted to Area Direktor. You are in charge of reconditioning the Shade Lands." He placed a silver star on Rizzo's gray uniform shirt.

Rizzo's chest swelled with pride. "I am honored to be chosen, Commander. It's been a hard fight against the oppressive regime of the Korps. But we are on a mission to overturn the repressive laws of the right-wingers. Today was a great start!"

Fetter nodded. "Prepare a plan of action and send it to me ASAP."

As the commander turned to leave, Rizzo asked, "What leeway do I have, Commander? Temporary statutes or long-range revisions?"

Fetter said, "Go for the long range, Direktor. We are in this for the long haul. Repeal all constrictive policies and let the citizens decide appropriate reforms. If there are problems with any of them, kill them."

Joey Rizzo thought to himself that that would be his slogan of reformation: "Got a problem...Kill it!"