PROLOGUE
Jarek poked at the fire. The experience of camping on a world like
Etrusci differed from when he camped on his home planet of
Gothow Prime in his youth. The subsonic vibrations of the Albina
Sea felt quite relaxing. While they sat in the grassy area of the yard,
the beach began only fifteen meters from where the back yard
ended. Etrusci’s moon was in its full phase and cast its reflection on
the surface of the sea.
Jarek smiled as he looked at his five charges. Three girls,
identical triplets, now eleven, resembled their Neo-Etruscan
mother—flaming red hair and green eyes. Their little brother,
Aidan, age four, also had his mother’s eyes but his Finnian father’s
dark brown, curly hair. Ted, a brown, furry bear-lizard around
Aidan’s age, cuddled next to his friend. The two lay on their backs,
staring at the stars.
It’s the first time Neo-Etruscan and Finnian have mixed, Jarek mused.
Two genetically engineered groups of humans, the Neo-Etruscans stayed
isolated while the Finnian had reconnected with their Terran ancestors.
Ambassador Jarek of the Galactic Alliance officially had come to
Etrusci to meet with the High Council. When he volunteered to deal
with a slight problem with the O’Connor clan, he had saved himself
from boring, routine meetings.
Their father, Liam, was on deployment with the Alliance, and
their mother, Celinia, had to attend a closed council session at the Temple. So, “Uncle Jarek,” an old family friend, had decided the
children needed a diversion.
He volunteered to go to the school to pick up the girls so their
mother could go to her meeting. He had found the triplets, Deirdre,
Aisling, and Bayvin, sitting in the headmaster’s office glaring at four
older boys. One boy had a black eye. Another had a bloody nose. The
rest nursed some spectacular bruises as well.
The weary headmaster had looked up. “Thank the Creator I’m
retiring soon. My replacement can have the joy of Liam, foster son
of Marcus’s children.”
Jarek had smiled sympathetically. The headmaster had to
maintain order, but the children had inherited the Finnian’s
contempt for bullies.
Jarek stared into the fire. “Maireann fós an saol atá caite,” he
sighed, quoting a Finnian proverb.
One of the three, who sat protectively next to her little brother,
looked up. “Uncle Jarek?”
Jarek smiled at the child. “It means ‘The past still lives on,’
Deirdre.”
Aisling looked up from the fire and smiled impishly. “How do
you know she’s Deirdre?”
“Let’s see.” Jarek smiled, enjoying the game. “Since you are the
one staring most intently at the fire, you can only be Aisling. Bayvin
is drawing intricate designs on the ground. Which leaves Deirdre,
who’s hovering over your little brother like a protective mother
raaber.”
General Aisling O’Connor, Jarek mused, you would be proud of what
they are becoming.
General O’Connor had been the product of an experimental
program to create a warrior race. He looked at the sky, recalling the
three human geneticists from Earth (now called Old Terra). Their
names were Malcolm Roberts, his wife Emily, and their assistant,
Aidan Stevens. Dr. Stevens could not resist telling their “children”
tales from the folklore of his ancestors. Their creation eventually called themselves “Finnian” after a group of ancient Irish heroes led
by, some say, a mythical Finn McCool.
I suspect the children needed an ancestry to identify with. Jarek
scratched his chin. Something their founders hadn’t considered.
At the same time as the Roberts and Aidan Stevens had created
the Finnian, another group of geneticists were working on this
planet. Their names were Carl Black, Richard Jones, and Michael
Isaiah. They considered themselves Utopianists, seeking a perfect
society.
Jarek sighed wearily. A bad idea whose time, even then, had long
since passed. The Founders had not planned for some individuals,
particularly women, to possess strong telepathic and empathic abilities.
These abilities became the basis for the Priestesses’ healing powers—almost
unique in the galaxy. The Founders disappeared before those powers
developed. The legend among certain groups has grown up declaring one
day the Founders will return.
Jarek looked at his charges again. Over time, some Finnian also
developed a strain of telepathic abilities such as dreamwalking and
stepping out of time. Abilities known to other species in the galaxy.
Liam and Celinia’s children are showing signs of becoming quite
powerful, Jarek thought. Storm Cloud, a bear-lizard shaman, had been
instructing Liam.
Storm Cloud has a knowledge of dreamwalking even more extensive
than my own, he mused. Now the children are getting the shaman’s
attention. How far will they go? The girls have already become a force to be
reckoned with.
The children lay back to gaze at the stars. Jarek lay back with
them.
“I hope Daddy comes home soon,” Deirdre whispered.
Aisling stifled a sob. “I hope he comes home.”
“He’s been going into danger since before you were born, child.”
Jarek tried to sound confident, for their sakes. “He’ll be back. Never
fear.”
They stared into the nighttime sky, trying to see into eternity.
CHAPTER 1
Eleven years later
On the Isle of Circe in the Arctic zone above the Northern Continent
of the planet Etrusci, long dead builders had placed a structure in a
secluded valley and left it to the elements to prevent thermal scans
from detecting it. The building, long neglected, had become the site
of activity once more.
Three aged humans, the Utopian Founders, rested in their stasis
chambers in a cold, dimly lit room. Within the stasis fields, time had
stopped for Carl Black, Richard Jones, and Michael Isaiah. Kergan, a
marshal in the Rebellion against the Galactic Alliance, debated if
this venture was worth the effort. His eyes, as did the eyes of his
technical staff, easily pierced the gloom. Natives of a planet which
circled a red dwarf star, the long-lived, black-scaled Gothowans had
evolved to survive colder, dimmer conditions.
“I still don’t see the point of this mission, Marshal.” Teramiah,
his Gothowan aide, looked up from his terminal. “We must have
more effective diversions we could use—with less aggravation.”
Kergan smiled at his lead technician and aide.
“I was here nearly six hundred stellar years ago,” Kergan told
Teramiah. “Marisa and Azurius put them in these stasis chambers
with a promise to create new, youthful bodies for them—clones, but
with Utopian improvements. When they had the new bodies ready,
Marisa and Azurius promised to transfer their consciousnesses into
them.”
Teramiah frowned. “We have no guarantee this procedure will
work.”
Kergan only nodded.
“Besides,” Teramiah continued, “any knowledge they have is
well over five hundred years out-of-date. Moreover, the Neo-
Etruscans have repudiated their utopian philosophies.”
“Not all the population,” Kergan corrected.
“Etrusci’s pro-Founders’ Movement represents a tiny minority,”
Teramiah reminded him. “I’m doubtful they can turn the people to
our side.”
Kergan nodded again. “Some would still follow them. Grant you
most would not. They just need to draw the Alliance’s attention to
Etrusci long enough for us to complete our real purpose elsewhere.”
“Reiterating what I said before, we must have more effective
methods of distracting the Alliance.”
“The danger of Etrusci changing sides will cause a debate in the
Alliance Council,” Kergan predicted. “Some will argue for letting the
Neo-Etruscans sort it out for themselves. Others will want to
intervene, especially if it turns into a civil war. What’s more
important, this crisis will take Liam O’Connor out of the picture—
the one person who could disrupt our plans.”
Kergan grimaced as he spoke Liam O’Connor’s name and glanced
at Teramiah. Teramiah had been with him the longest. If Kergan
could call anyone his friend, it was Teramiah.
Eleven years ago, Major, now Colonel, O’Connor took a ragtag
composite force of humans of Terran, Neo-Etruscan, and Finnian origins
and pulled off a stunning victory.
O’Connor’s victory had denied Kergan the system of Beta
Proximus Four and killed their longtime friend, General Maranz.
Teramiah knew better than to reopen old wounds and changed
the subject. “Making the clones wouldn’t have taken this long. Why
didn’t they do it six centuries ago?”
“No time,” Kergan replied. “The Alliance intervened in human
space, and the whole Rebellion changed. We started losing ground.”
“Couldn’t Azurius have completed the process when he lived on
Etrusci? After all, he lived on the planet for nearly six decades.”
Kergan shook his head. “He didn’t want to bother with the
Founders. He wanted direct control of the planet. Events might have
gone differently for him if he had.”
“Marisa wasn’t keen on this project,” Teramiah reminded him.
“She hasn’t been keen on much since she gave birth to her
daughter,” Kergan agreed sourly. “However, I helped her with
investigating the techniques back then. I have access to her
research. She already had the beginnings of the procedure worked
out. The Forerunner information we acquired filled in the blanks.
So, we don’t need her.”
Technicians rolled in three more chambers containing the new
bodies. They seemed in their late twenties in human years.
“Ah.” Kergan gestured with a laugh. “Modified clones. They
wanted to walk among their children without being ashamed of
their lack of perfection.”
Teramiah laughed as well. “Vain idiots.”
“Useful, vain idiots,” Kergan corrected.
The technicians connected each set of chambers—old body to
new.
“Almost ready, Marshal,” Teramiah reported.
“Very good.” Kergan looked down at the six figures.
They made a few more adjustments.
Teramiah nodded.
“Do it,” Marshal Kergan ordered.
Technicians deactivated the stasis fields and started the
consciousness transfer. The machines hummed to life as chemical
and brainwave activity pulsed through the connections. The
monitors displayed the transfer of the Founders’ consciousnesses to
their new bodies. Kergan watched as the process took place. All
seemed smooth until Richard Jones’s bodies convulsed and warning
lights flashed.
Teramiah leaped into action. “Cardiac arrest on the original
body!”
He pressed the release and forced open the lid of the old
chamber. Teramiah located the heart and used a centuries-old
compression technique common to most humanoid species.
“Cardio-stimulator—now!”
A technician threw open a box and elbowed Teramiah aside,
stepping out of time to attach the connections. Teramiah dropped
to his knees to complete the connections to the cardio-stimulator.
He brought it online as the technician completed the last
connection and started sending a stimulating current into the old
heart. Both bodies seemed to relax.
“We have to be careful, Marshal.” He looked up at Kergan. “The
stimulating charge could disrupt the brain processes. If we don’t
risk it, he will die before we can complete the transfer.”
Kergan nodded. “Understood.”
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Kergan could see beads of sweat
forming on Teramiah’s forehead as he focused on threading the
needle of keeping the old heart going while not disturbing the
transfer to the younger body.
“Get the other cardio-stimulators ready,” Kergan ordered, “just
in case.”
Technicians began making connections and stood ready to
intervene. Fortunately, their precautions proved unnecessary.
Twenty minutes later, the process was complete.
“Our instruments say it worked.” Teramiah slumped in
exhaustion. “We should know shortly.”
“Their old bodies?” Kergan asked as three alarms sounded.
Teramiah glanced at the three monitors. All of them had
flatlined. “Dead. The transfer machines have burned out, as
expected.”
“Get the blankets we have warming,” Kergan ordered. “Have
Gaius bring the thermal jumpsuits.”
Kergan studied the new bodies of the Founders. The rise and fall
of their chests seemed regular. A technician looked inquiringly at
Kergan, who nodded. Touching a button, the technicians broke the
seals on the new chambers’ lids and swung the lids open.
“Is there any danger in awakening them?” Kergan asked.
“Everything seems normal.” Teramiah checked the readings on
his terminal. “I suggest we keep them awake for no more than ten
minutes. Their minds may require time to adjust to their new
bodies.”
“Do it,” Kergan ordered. “I want to be off-planet before we’re
discovered.”
Technicians injected a special stimulant into the three men,
while a Neo-Etruscan human walked in carrying a stack of three
jumpsuits. Kergan turned to regard him.
“It’s true,” the man whispered in awe. “After all these centuries,
they’re back.”
“It may take time for them to acclimate themselves to the new
flesh they wear, Gaius,” Kergan warned, “but yes, they’re back.”
Slowly, the three men stirred. Their eyes fluttered open, and
they looked disoriented. Their eyes closed, and they breathed
deeply. Finally, one opened his eyes and sat up.
“It... worked?” the man croaked.
“Yes, Carl Black,” Kergan replied, “it worked.”
Kergan turned to Gaius. “Get the Founders the nutrient drinks.
It should help their parched throats.”
Gaius nodded, handed the suits to one of Kergan’s technicians,
and left the room.
Another Founder sat up as Carl swung his legs over the edge and
climbed out of the stasis tube. A technician caught him in a blanket
as he staggered and helped him to a chair. Gaius returned with three
glasses of a pale yellow liquid.
“This drink will help you rehydrate and replenish your
electrolytes, Founder,” Gaius promised respectfully. “It may not
taste like much, but you’ll feel better immediately.”
Carl took the glass and drank it. He grimaced and handed it back.
“You were right on both counts,” Carl replied. “Thank you, my
son.”
When each man exited his chamber, Gaius and the technicians
guided him to a seat. They wrapped each one in a warm blanket and
gave them a glass of the liquid to drink. Then they helped them into
a thermal jumpsuit.
Carl looked up at Kergan. “You kept your word.”
“In the end,” Kergan agreed, “yes.”
“In the end?” The Founder, named Richard Jones, looked up.
“I’m afraid so,” Kergan drawled. “Shortly after we put you into
stasis, the Galactic Alliance found we were active in the area and
intervened. Their involvement led to many complications.
Eventually, Marisa resolved how to create clone bodies without an
independent mind developing and then how to transfer your minds
into those bodies. However, various problems, starting with the
Alliance’s interference, delayed us from completing our part of the
bargain promptly.”
“How long?” Michael Isaiah asked.
“Close to six hundred of your years,” Kergan told them, “and
much has changed.”
All three men stared at the Gothowan.
“Six centuries,” Michael whispered.
Carl shrugged. “Longer than we expected, but we’re here. Now
we can guide our children again.”
Gaius grimaced. Richard picked up on his expression at once.
“What’s happened?” he demanded.
“Well,” Kergan replied casually, “your children have been on
their own for almost six hundred years. That sect of the Creator you
invented acquired a life of its own.”
“It’s a travesty,” Gaius burst out. “They even allowed a high
priestess to marry a misborn.”
Carl looked up sharply at this information.
“Which brings me to that part of the story. Azurius didn’t want
to wait to bring your children into the Rebellion. Since the Neo-
Etruscans, as they now call themselves, refused to take sides, he
tried to compel them with an invasion of chitin. He even enlisted a
councilor named Licinious to help him. You remember Malcolm and
Emily Roberts and their colleague Aidan Stevens?”
“I was in Aidan’s class at the University of Chicago,” Michael put
in.
“I remember.” Richard frowned. “Didn’t their own creations
turn on them?”
“Yes,” Kergan replied. “Their creations—called Finnian now—
became valued members of the Alliance’s military arm. They sent
some, uh…advisors to assist when your children discovered the
chitin some seventy years ago.”
“They let aliens on the planet?” Carl asked incredulously.
“Oh, not at first.” Kergan made a casual gesture. “They did some
trade with the Alliance, but otherwise, your children declared
themselves neutral—not knowing our agreement, of course. But the
chitin Azurius brought here caused the Alliance to worry. The
Alliance sent a few Finnian to monitor the chitin. However, over a
ten year period, Azurius and his chitin armies nearly wiped out your
children’s population. The chitin forced the Neo-Etruscans to
abandon their cities, and those remaining retreated to New
Olympia. Then Azurius, with Licinious’s help, exterminated the
Finnian on the planet.”
“Good,” Carl breathed.
“However, many of your children felt indebted to the Finnian
for their selfless heroics,” Kergan went on. “A High Councilor,
named Marcus, rescued a Finnian baby and raised him as his own
son.”
“What?” Carl snapped.
“There’s no point in getting mad at me.” Kergan made a
placating motion. “It appears your children are more softhearted
than you intended. This chain of events might not have happened if
Azurius had kept his word and left the chitin at home.”
“What happened?” Michael asked curiously.
Kergan smiled. “Liam, the Finnian boy, joined the city’s military
when he came of age. Naturally, the boy excelled in military
training. He fought some heroic battles, becoming instrumental in
the death of Azurius and the destruction of the chitin.” Just for
effect, Kergan sighed dramatically. “It was worthy of those old tales
Aidan Stevens was so fond of. Liam and a high priestess, Celinia, got
married and now have four children.”
“What!” cried Carl. “Our creation is being polluted?”
“I suppose she couldn’t resist becoming a hero’s wife.” Kergan
shrugged. “My intelligence tells me their children have become
accomplished in their own right. The three oldest girls have joined
the Finnian military. Their son is likely to join too.”
“Why didn’t they join the local military?” Michael asked out of
curiosity.
“The Utopian military—pardon me—the Neo-Etruscan Self
Defense Force has no provision for female soldiers,” Kergan
informed him. “But I believe they will soon come home on leave to
see their parents.”
The three Founders slumped.
“Ah, I see I’ve tired you.” Kergan feigned concern. “I need to get
off-planet soon. I’ll leave Gaius to fill in the details.”
He turned to Gaius. “I suggest you let them rest for at least eight
hours. Once you get them to a civilized part of the planet, you can
continue the tale.”
He handed Gaius a large medical case. Gaius opened it and found
rows of hyposprays containing a clear, pale green liquid.
“This drug will temporarily neutralize telepathic abilities,
including the ability to dreamwalk,” Kergan assured him. “You may
find it useful. There is also an antidote.” Kergan pointed out a few
hyposprays containing a different liquid.
Gaius took Carl’s arm and other technicians assisted Richard and
Michael. Kergan grinned as they left the room. His aide joined him.
“Masterfully played, Marshal.” He suppressed a laugh.
“Thank you, Teramiah,” Kergan replied. “It is interesting how
one can manipulate people with the truth.”
Teramiah laughed out loud.
“We leave within the hour,” Kergan commanded. “I want the
transfer mechanism dismantled. As we leave the system, dump
everything into the sun. It must not fall into Alliance hands.”
“By your order, Marshal.”
. . . . .
Liam stood at the South Corinth Spaceport as a spaceship made its
approach. Celinia held his hand. It had been over eight months since
they had seen their three daughters.
“Is that the ship?” Aidan asked his parents.
“Yes, son,” Liam replied.
Aidan examined it. “Finnian Lugh class battle transport.”
Liam smiled at his wife.
How do you know? The telepathic communication came from the
young bear-lizard, Ted, Aidan’s friend and constant companion. He
was the grandson of Swift Hunter, a bear-lizard who had saved
Liam’s life during the Azurian Invasion.
“Retractable star-drive nacelles.” Aidan pointed to the ship’s
engines. “It’s a new feature with the Lugh class. It has to get close to
an enemy-held planet, so it’s bristling with weapons like heavy rail
launchers, x-ray lasers, and plasma cannons. It needs to protect
itself and deliver close-in support.”
Oh, Ted replied.
“If you applied the same diligence in school, young man,” his
mother scolded, “you would have high-level grades.”
The fifteen-year-old tossed her his “Oh, Mom” look and went
back to studying the ship.
Liam smiled at Celinia again as the ship touched down. He knew
she wished at least one girl had possessed the calling to be in the
service of the Creator. Nevertheless, her pride for them knew no
bounds. The three had just completed advanced military training on
Albain Nua or New Scotland to the rest of the Milky Way.
“Battle Transport Conn Cétchathach, set to begin
disembarkation,” the loudspeaker announced.
“It means Conn of One Hundred Battles,” Aidan told Ted. “An
ancient Irish high king. Remember, Aunt Gráinne told us about
him.”
Soon, uniformed troops exited the transport and assembled into
ranks. Two soldiers walked to the front of the group. One, a corporal
with a red curl peeking out from under her cap, shouted a
command, and the troops went into an at-ease stance. The senior
officer spoke briefly. Then the corporal gave a dismissal, and the
soldiers broke up. The two in front turned toward Liam’s family as
two more joined them. The four walked in step across the tarmac.
Liam grinned. His cousin, Gráinne, had brought his little girls
home. Not so little anymore. The triplets were now twenty-two.
The same age I was when Azurius attacked New Olympia, Liam mused
to himself.
“Well, here ye go,” Colonel Gráinne O’Connor announced as they
approached. “Yer three wee cailíní, home safe and sound.”
Deirdre, Aisling, and Bayvin stood at attention, their faces a
disciplined mask until one saw their green eyes sparkle with
mischief. The three snapped their father a crisp salute. Then they
tossed military discipline to the winds, dropped their rucksacks,
and ran to throw their arms around him.
“We missed you, Daddy,” Deirdre whispered into his ear with a
kiss.
Liam ran his finger along the Finnian corporal’s insignia on her
shoulders.
She’ll have a tale recounted on how she earned them.
“Congratulations, Corporal.” He smiled proudly as she beamed back
at him.
The three then embraced their mother. Finally, they wrapped
their little brother and his friend in their arms.
“We even missed you, baby brother.” Aisling laughed as she
hugged him.
Aidan returned the hug. “I missed you too.”
Gráinne greeted her cousin and his wife.
Liam looked his daughters over. “So, did these three behave
themselves?”
“O’Connor women, behave themselves? Don’t be daft. If they
behaved themselves, we’d disown them.”
Celinia raised a stern eyebrow at her daughters.
“Don’t let her fool you, Mom.” Bayvin threw her best disarming
smile at her mother. “We didn’t get into any more trouble than
anyone else.”
Deirdre gave her dad a mischievous grin. “At least we didn’t get
caught getting into any more trouble than anyone else.”
“What was the Conn Cétchathach like?”
“We didn’t get to see her in action,” Aisling told their brother.
Gráinne smiled at the boy. “I have. It and eight others like it took
my regiment right up to Epsilon Proximus Five. They put up such a
fierce barrage the Rebels didn’t even notice my shock troops
landing. We were a little disappointed. The enemy surrendered by
the time our feet touched the surface.”
Aidan looked enthralled. Gráinne leaned over and planted a kiss
on his cheek. “Still training to be a pilot?”
Aidan smiled. “Jarek is having a friend of his, Tymier, teach me.”
“Just remind him not everyone has six arms,” Gráinne told him.
The girls picked up their rucksacks and fell in with their family.
“You have your assignments yet?” Liam asked.
“Not yet,” Deirdre replied. “We know we’re going into separate
units,” she added, with disappointment in her voice.
“Good reason for that policy,” Gráinne told her. “If ye get into a
nasty scrape, we don’t want to send three condolence messages.”
Celinia hugged herself at the thought.
“Ted is learning about astrogation,” Aidan told Gráinne.
Gráinne studied the bear-lizard who had been quiet up to now.
It’s fascinating, Ted told her. It applies a lot of advanced math.
Plotting courses to get to places, taking into account gravity wells by
planets, stars, and black holes.
“Tymier has been teaching him as well,” Liam informed her. “He
says Ted has talent.”
The crowd thinned as they left the spaceport.
. . . . .
The first leg of their journey home began with a trip through the
portal from the South Corinth Spaceport to the island city of New
Santorini. Then two automated transports took them to their village
just outside the city and let them off in front of their house. The girls
regaled them with stories from their training when Deirdre stopped
mid-sentence.
She saw an enormous banner across the front of their yard
which said: “Welcome Home Aisling, Bayvin, and Deirdre.” Inside
the yard was a throng of family and friends.
Deirdre jumped from the transport and into the arms of their
great-grandparents.
“Seanathair Patrick, Seanmháthair Maggie!”
Patrick and Margaret McGregor were Liam’s grandparents on
his father’s side. They had become building contractors when they
retired from the Finnian Military. When they learned their only
son’s child had survived and gotten married, they came to Etrusci
to build a house for him and his wife. Then they stayed. Some of
their crew also stayed, making the seaside village of Aran a Finnian
enclave.
“Aren’t ye three a sight?” Margaret laughed through her tears.
“Taking yer place among the Finnian heroes.”
“Hi, Uncle Randolf, Aunt Teresina,” Deirdre called. Her sisters
echoed her greeting.
They turned to their cousins. The oldest was Kia, now a novice
priestess. Her younger brother, Marcus, was several years older
than Aidan. With them stood Priestess Sylvia, a family friend who
had often looked after them when they were young.
“It’s great to see you all.” Aisling grinned as she remembered the
adventures they had had as kids.
“Sylvia and I got a day off for your homecoming,” Kia said as she
greeted her cousins.
“Arch Priestess Arria sends her love,” Sylvia added.
“How about you, Marcus?”
“I’m heading for New Terra tomorrow morning,” he informed
them. “I start university soon. I’m majoring in Mining Technology.”
A group of furry quadrupeds ambled over to the receiving line
along with Ambassador Jarek.
Well met. Swift Hunter opened his paws as the three embraced
him.
Great Heart came beside her mate. So like their father.
“They inherited their mother’s looks, though,” Jarek of Gothow
added.
“Aye that, Ambassador.” Gráinne came up behind them. “They
broke many hearts during training.”
Friends and family gathered to greet them as Ted and Aidan
moved to sit by the seashore and talk.
. . . . .
Liam went up to Swift Hunter. The party slid around them.
“It’s been a joy to watch how their friendship has blossomed.”
Liam looked after his son and Ted.
Ted will travel paths few of our kind have traveled. With Aidan at his
side, they will take on the universe together.
Liam smiled at the thought. “The universe has a fight on its
hands.”
You dreamwalked with the Great Shaman Storm Cloud when he passed
into the next world.
Liam nodded. “Jarek had mentioned it once. How select people,
at the end of their lives, can step into the dreamscape with their
physical bodies.”
That type of crossing is rare. Swift Hunter replied in awe. Even for
my people. I’ve not heard of it happening in many lifetimes. You witnessed
a magnificent thing.
“We were dreamwalking when he did it,” Liam remembered.
“All the burdens of his old body fell away. We talked a little more.
He named me ‘Dream Warrior’ and passed me the mantel of
‘shaman.’”
You were helping him with the spirits, Swift Hunter pointed out.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to do exorcisms myself.”
It seems that way with any new task. When you confront it, it will get
easier.
“As you’re fond of saying,” Liam replied with a smile, “‘most
things do.’”
I’m fond of saying it because it’s true. Have you told Jarek?
Liam nodded. “Jarek said there are things I could teach him.”
Liam’s grandmother came up to them. “I know yer conversation
is interesting, but we have guests.”
“Sorry, Grandmother.” Liam grinned at his old friend. “Swift
Hunter, we’d better start mixing.”
Swift Hunter gave a growl which sounded like a chuckle.
. . . . .
The party wore on. After the meal, the people unpacked their
instruments. Ancient Irish and Finnian songs and dances filled the
air. Liam played the old uilleann pipes which he had inherited from
an uncle, and Aidan handed his sisters their instruments. The music
built. The Finnian from the village began dancing the distinctive
straight-armed dance which was a millennium old. The stark,
primitive beauty of the music startled those people who were not
Finnian.
Finally, they put the instruments away, and the party broke up.
“We’ve got to get back to South Corinth,” Randolf said.
“Tomorrow, I head to New Olympia for a council meeting.”
“You shouldn’t have been such a naughty boy,” Liam teased his
foster brother. “Now you’ve earned the worst punishment they
could give—High Councilor.”
Randolf laughed and put an arm around Liam’s shoulder. Then
he turned to his nieces. “I’ll see you again before you’re reassigned.”
“I’ll see ye later,” Gráinne broke in. “I promised Ephram I’d call
him before I went to bed.”
“Give him my regards,” Liam told her. “Tell him I wish him all
the best in his new position as an instructor for basic training on
Éire Nua.”
“I also have to call on Dillon and his wife. They promised to visit
us,” she added. “I’ve got to go to Thrace and remind them. Now I
must return to the ship.”
“Good night, Aunt Gráinne.”
Even though Gráinne was Liam’s first cousin, his children
followed the tradition of calling her “aunt” out of respect.
We’ll be going too, Swift Hunter called. We’ll be around, by and by.
I’ll see you tomorrow, Aidan. Ted joined his parents, Silent Shadow
and Plains Flowers, to walk back to their home, a hillside cavern
outside the village.
“After we help with the cleaning up tomorrow, we can look at
some of the astrogation manuals Uncle Jarek gave us.”
I’ve been wanting to look them over, the young bear-lizard said.
“Once you’ve finished helping,” Celinia reminded them.
“Yes, Mother,” Aidan replied in resignation.
After the last guests had gone, Liam and Celinia herded their
children into the house.
“You’ve had a long day,” Celinia told them. “Time for you to get
to bed.”
“Yes, Mother,” the four said in singsong unison, reminiscent of
their childhood.
Aidan headed to his bedroom. The triplets headed to the room
they had shared since they were children.
Liam put an arm around his wife, and she leaned her head into
his shoulder.
“They’ve grown up too fast,” she observed with a sigh.
Liam kissed her on the cheek. When he pulled back, she turned
and kissed him soundly on the lips. They lingered that way for a
minute, then broke off and nodded their heads together.
“I think we should follow your advice as well,” Liam whispered
in her ear.
Arm in arm, they headed to their bedroom.
. . . . .
Carl Black looked out over the city of New Olympia. Richard Jones
and Michael Isaiah joined him on the balcony of the apartment
Gaius had provided for them. They had come out of stasis three
months ago. Once sufficiently recovered, they had traveled around,
visiting many of the cities.
“Different from what we planned,” Carl noted.
“They kept our design for the Temple like the one in Visul,”
Richard observed. “The priestesses have more power than we
intended. I’m surprised at the ways they changed the religion.
Everything we put in about keeping the purity of the race and
Utopian philosophies has vanished. It’s like some ancient clerics
came and reshuffled everything.”
“Now they follow a belief in a universal Creator, similar to Old
Earth and most of the galaxy,” Michael observed. “It seems pretty
well established.”
“We’ll just have to unestablish it,” Carl replied. “We’ve been
away too long. The plan our faithful children have devised should
solve the problem. Everything is ready. We start as planned.”
Carl turned to look at his compatriots. “Now, what’ve you found
out?”
“Malcolm and Emily’s Finnian ‘kids’ are definitely here,”
Richard told him. “A ship full of commandos just landed for leave.
In fact, they brought home the big hero’s three girls.”
Carl grimaced.
“I overheard some of the Finnian talking,” Richard continued. “I
could hear Aidan Steven’s influence. They sound more Irish than the
Irish used to.”
“I think the family is celebrating the girls’ return this evening,”
Michael put in. “I looked at their training records—high marks.
They seem to favor their father in that regard.”
“Obviously hybrids.” Carl waved his hand in dismissal. “What
was the word Gaius used? Misborn? That term applies even more to
them than to their father. Utopian women would never consider a
military career. That trait, at least, bred true.”
“It’s almost like the Creator planned for this to happen,” Michael
mused. “We don’t wake up for six hundred years, and she gets a free
hand with our children.”
“You almost cheer me up,” Carl laughed. “You sound like you’re
buying into this stuff.”
“Well, we certainly didn’t give them the ESP powers at the level
they have them,” Michael countered. “In fact, we didn’t mess with
ESP at all. What about the empathic healing powers? That ability
isn’t an ESP power I’ve heard of. I’ve only read about it in religious
texts and old myths.”
“An anomaly?” Richard suggested. “It may have been an
unintended consequence of our genetic conditioning. It was latent
when we went into stasis and became active afterward.”
“What about the Finnian?” Michael asked. “What if they
interfere? From what we’ve seen, the pro-Founders’ Movement is a
pretty small minority.”
“We stick to our plan to strike at the power base—the Temple,”
Carl told them. “But first, we have to neutralize the priestesses’
biggest protector. This Liam O’Connor has got to go.”
Michael looked shocked. “Carl, he saved our children from utter
destruction. If we kill him, we’ll face a backlash from everyone but
the pro-Founders’ Movement.”
Richard laughed derisively. “You’re going soft.”
“He has a point,” Carl countered. “If we kill the big hero and
display his broken body for the masses, the people won’t feel any
inclination to come over to our side.”
“Not you, too,” Richard complained. “We created the epitome of
human perfection. We can’t have them—”
“And we won’t,” Carl told him. “I said he has to go. I didn’t say
we have to kill him.”
Carl turned to face them. “Remember the plan our loyal children
outlined for us. We will take the Temple. We get all the high-ranking
priestesses there, and then our forces move in and hold it. The
military won’t dare to attack, or there won’t be any priestesses.
Then we can level conditions such as non-Utopians and misborn
leave the planet.”
“Wonderful,” Michael complained. “Then the security forces
storm the Temple and crush us.”
“They aren’t used to hostage situations,” Carl said.
“Neo-Etruscans might not be,” Michael countered, “but I believe
the Finnian are. Don’t forget, the Alliance considers the Finnian
Shock Forces elite troops. If they get involved, they can kill us and
stack our bodies like cordwood before we realize we have a
problem.”
“We have spies at the portals leading to New Olympia and other
strategic places,” Carl informed them. “If we see them moving
people into position, we warn them we know and threaten to kill
the priestesses.”
“What about the priestesses themselves?” Richard asked. “The
aforementioned ESP powers could prove problematic.”
Carl hefted the case at his feet. “Marshal Kergan gave us a
present. We inject each of the priestesses with these drugs every
seventy-two hours, and they won’t be able to send anyone messages.
We can use this preparation on Colonel Liam O’Connor as well.”
“How do you intend to deal with him?” Michael asked.
“Remember that interdimensional portal we found on the Isle of
Circe when we first arrived?” Carl asked.
“Yeah,” Richard replied. “It’s supposed to be older than even the
Alliance’s portals.”
“We just send him through that portal,” Carl told them. “We
don’t kill him. We just make him leave.”
“We should make sure his kids don’t interfere,” Richard
suggested. “If they surrender, they can leave with the Finnian. If
not…”
Michael turned to regard the city. Richard and Carl walked to
the room. This conversation left him uneasy.
. . . . .
Deirdre had eaten breakfast and was clearing off her dishes as her
father came into the kitchen. Liam wore Neo-Etruscan security
fatigues.
“Hi, Dad.” Deirdre kissed him on the cheek. “Where are you
heading at this early hour?”
Liam gave her a hug. “New Athens. Major Leonardo sent an
urgent message saying he has a problem. He’s sending a transport
to pick me up in South Corinth.”
“I’ll walk with you as far as the portal in the city,” Deirdre
offered.
Aisling, Bayvin, and Aidan were just coming down the stairs.
“Hey,” Aisling complained, “no fair.”
“You chose to sleep late,” Deirdre replied with a laugh. “Sorry.”
Like they were kids again, Aisling stuck her tongue out at her
sister. Deirdre just laughed and waved. She took her father’s arm,
and they walked through the gate and into the village lane.
“So, what does Major Leo want now?”
Liam shrugged. “Message didn’t say. I wish he’d learn to do some
problem-solving on his own.”
“You could retire,” Deirdre pointed out. “You’ve earned a rest.”
“What makes you think retirement is restful?” Liam asked.
“Everyone will think since I’ve got time on my hands, they can ask
me to do all sorts of things.”
Deirdre laughed. “Perhaps you’ll become High Councilor.”
Liam pretended to suppress a shudder. “No thanks. I saw what
that job did to my father and what it’s doing to my brother.”
Deirdre knew how her father felt about his brother and squeezed
his arm.
“I think bear-lizards would call on you for spiritual matters,”
Deirdre suggested. “Some lost spirit needing you to point the way
home.”
“Don’t remind me.” Liam groaned. “I should be really annoyed
with Storm Cloud for making me his heir. At least it doesn’t involve
paperwork.”
They waved to Ted as he jogged by on all fours. He tossed a wave
as he passed.
“Well, at least life isn’t boring,” Deirdre said brightly.
Liam laughed. “When you get to be my age, my daughter, you’ll
realize that there is a virtue to boring.”
Deirdre shared her father’s laugh as they approached the edge
of the town.
“When I was your age,” Liam observed. “I couldn’t imagine
living in another city. I could barely even imagine another city.”
“Now you live in a Finnian village just outside another city.”
Deirdre smiled at him. “Storm Cloud once told us change is the only
constant in the universe.”
“That, and the Creator’s love.” Liam squeezed his daughter’s
arm. “I haven’t had breakfast. Pastry? My treat?”
Deirdre grinned and nodded. They walked to their favorite
street vendor.
“Tarpier.” Liam glanced at his daughter.
“Make mine treaten fruit.”
They accepted the flakey pastries, and Liam handed the man his
money.
“Keep the change,” Liam told him.
“It’s good to see you home, milady.” The man smiled at her.
Deirdre smiled back at the vendor. “If only for a little while.”
“I confess,” the man said, “I’d be worried sick if my girl went off
to war.”
“I just keep telling myself the Rebels are the ones who need to
worry,” Liam told him.
“Does it help?” the vendor asked.
“Sometimes,” Liam replied.
He and his daughter walked on, eating their snack.
Liam smiled at her. “I hope with you three joining the fight, it
will be over soon.”
Deirdre took a thoughtful bite, chewed, and swallowed. “Then
we can consign the Rebellion to the dustbin of history along with
Azurius.”
“The Rebels have skilled leadership now,” Liam pointed out.
“The names Kergan and Marisa get floated around most often.
Marisa seems to have dropped off the grid. I heard a rumor she had
a child. Kergan, I remember from Beta Proximus.”
“Isn’t Kergan some kind of protégé of Azurius?” Deirdre asked,
remembering the intelligence briefings she had sat through. “A
formidable dreamwalker in his own right. Marisa is much the same,
except she helped create the chitin. Evil brizo, to use the Gothowan,
from what I hear.”
Her father raised an eyebrow. “Watch your language, young
lady.”
“I understand she was once Azurius’s lover,” she added.
“I heard she dumped him,” Liam replied. “So perhaps she’s not
all bad.”
“Dad, she is the butcher of Epsilon Vega Five. If I get a clear shot
at her, I’ll put her down like a mad felino.”
Liam looked at his daughter. “Epsilon Vega Five was centuries
ago.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I know you’re a soldier now, but
the Creator requires us to be merciful. I made that mistake once. I
don’t want you to repeat it.”
“If I get her,” Deirdre told him fiercely, “it won’t be a mistake.”
Liam decided not to argue.
Deirdre looked at her father. “Daddy, Aisling, Bayvin, and I, well,
we owe you a great deal. Mom kept us on the straight and narrow,
but you taught us to shoot. You taught us the Finnian martial art of
modhscáthai. You taught me to keep my shots inside one minute of
angle. You made me one of the best snipers in the Finnian Shock
Forces. We, I, want you to know how much you mean to us.”
Deirdre leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek.
They made it to the portal station as they finished their snacks.
Liam handed her some money.
“Get your siblings some fruit pastries on your way back. I should
be home before dinner. I’ll call otherwise.”
Deirdre put the money in her pocket, threw her arms around her
father, and kissed him again.
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered into his ear. “We’ll have
dinner cooking by the time you get home.”
Liam broke away from his daughter, waved, and disappeared
into the crowd. Deirdre felt a pang of uneasiness. She turned and
headed back home, stopping to get four pastries for her sisters,
brother, and Ted.
. . . . .
Liam walked to one portal and got in line. After twenty-five years,
New Santorini was coming to life.
“You can go ahead of me, Colonel,” a man down the line offered.
“No need,” he replied. “I’m not heading to anything I’m looking
forward to.”
“If it weren’t for you and your brother,” the woman ahead of
him stated, “we wouldn’t be here.”
Liam sighed, not particularly wanting to remember of the past.
“So, where are you headed?”
“To Thrace,” she told him.
“I’ve been there many times with my wife,” Liam informed her.
“It’s a lovely mountain village.”
“I hear your three girls just got back from Finnian space.”
“Completed advanced tactical training,” Liam told her. “We’re
very proud of them.”
The woman shivered. “It would terrify me to let my daughters
go to war.”
“I won’t say it doesn’t scare us,” Liam replied, “but we realize it’s
a fear parents have had to live with since they started sending their
children to war.”
“I’ll bet your three will shorten the war considerably,” the first
man chimed in. “We’ll see what happens when we mix Neo-Etruscan
with Finnian.”
Liam laughed. “If the Rebels knew what they were in for, they’d
surrender.”
“I wish it were that easy,” the woman said sadly. “I lost my father
in the Azurian Invasion.”
The first man spoke to the operator. He set the man’s
destination, and the man passed through the portal.
“Family in Thrace?” Liam asked the woman.
“My mother went to live there. After losing Dad, she wanted to
go somewhere quiet. You?”
“New Athens,” Liam said. “The local commander wants advice
on an unspecified problem. Probably something he could have
asked via comm.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. I think he likes he can call on a hero
for help.”
“Well, he just pulled this ‘hero’ away from a reunion with his
daughters,” Liam complained. “If he does it again, I’ll let them deal
with him.”
The woman laughed as the operator took her destination. She
stepped through the portal, off on the next step of her journey.
“Where to, Colonel?” the operator asked.
“Ultimately, New Athens,” Liam told him. “But I’m getting
picked up in South Corinth.”
The operator looked puzzled. “I can send you to New Athens
instantly. Why go the long way?”
“The commander’s message said a transport would pick me up
to fly me there,” Liam told him. “That’s all I can tell you due to
security concerns.”
The agent laughed with him and punched the destination into
the portal.
“Good luck, sir.”
“Thanks,” Liam stepped through.
He felt a moment of disorientation. Then he stepped clear of the
portal and into the South Corinth spaceport. A man in uniform
directed him to a waiting orbital transport craft.
“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” Liam said to the pilot.
“Not at all, Colonel. Just refueled.”
Liam looked over the unusual craft. “One of the new Terran
Starlifter Elevens?”
“Yes, sir.” The pilot opened the hatch.
Liam climbed in and sat down, wondering why the major sent
this craft. The pilot finished his preflight and followed suit.
“It’s a trainer, sir,” the pilot explained. “Terra just sent us
several.”
“I know. My son knows every craft which flies in or out of the
atmosphere. He’s getting lessons from Tymier, a Movorian flight
and astrogation instructor.”
“How’s he doing?” the man asked.
“Tymier says he’s very good,” Liam replied, “considering he only
has two arms.”
“We’re starting up, sir,” the pilot told him as the engines wound
up. “We’re getting up high, so use your oxygen mask.”
Liam shrugged and strapped on the mask. He looked out at South
Corinth. Seeing the spaceport from the air was an experience. The
Conn Cétchathach sat in her berth. He saw the port crew working on
her.
Suddenly he began to feel strange and felt something irritate his
throat. He reached for his mask, then felt consciousness fade away.
