Annals of the Keepers: War 267 (Book 1 in the Gashnee Saga) (12 page)

Data Cell 19

“Come in,” Parejas
said.

Alon entered the private quarters.

He had already known what the meeting was about, even though Parejas didn’t say what he had called him for. Alon knew, though.

It was about the Gashnee.

Alon glanced at the glass centerpiece to the room as he approached the commander’s desk.

“Nice throw rug you have there, Commander.”

“It’s an eye catcher isn’t it?” Parejas said.

“I’m hesitant to walk on it. Looks like you would go straight through.”

Alon still wondered if Parejas knew as he stepped forward.

“Please have a seat, Keeper Alon. Make yourself comfortable.”

The commander’s business tone was clear; Alon could sense now that Parejas knew of the unknown Gashnee signature.

Parejas was a man whom Alon could trust. Alon felt at ease around the commander. He noted how regal and straightforward he was. Then again, Parejas didn’t get to where he was for being a push over, even though Alon wished for that trait now in the man.

“I would open up with small talk, but I presume we’re not going to get to any,” Alon said.

Parejas was looking at a holo-image on his desk console.

“I’m sorry, Alon, give me a moment. I was just closing out a letter to Director Bowlan.”

“Pardon me, Commander. How is Miss Shawna?” Alon asked with care.

“She is doing well. She is heading up the Earth Conservation Precept,” Parejas said as he finished keying up the letter. “There, all complete.” Shenta turned to the Keeper. “My apologies, Alon.”

“No, the apology is all mine. I came a bit early.”

Alon knew that Parejas and Miss Bowlan were engaged to be married upon their triumphant return. This was the second time he sensed something deep on Commander Parejas’ mind regarding Miss Bowlan. Alon knew the commander had strong feelings for her, and she him.

Parejas had a warm smile on him as he finished the letter.

He placed his clasped hands on the desk, which sent a clear message that his mind was readying his questions for the Keeper.

Alon knew the commander was blunt and wouldn’t beat around a comet to get to what he wanted to know, just as Parejas spoke.

“We just finished interrogating the Cuukzen named Mistuuk. Interesting little fella this alien is. Anyways, he said he had been tracking us, oh, for about a week before the attack on Dalyth Point, which is odd in itself, if it didn’t seem so absurd.”

Alon knew where this was leading.

The thing Alon didn’t know was how long Parejas would prolong his uneasiness, or just put him out of his misery quick and easy.

Anyway, Alon couldn’t do a thing about it. He would let the commander have his way and then wait for the inevitable question.

Parejas continued. “It wasn’t us he was tracking.” He stopped for a brief moment before he continued. “Do you know who he thought he was tracking, Keeper?”

Well that was quick, Alon noted.

He knew this was a direct question, and was thankful for it. He was not about to even attempt a run-around or delay here with the commander.

“Yes I do, Commander. I would like to first apologize for what I am about to say. I was unable, before this time, to speak per a secret Precept, and not one to my approval or liking. It was nothing personal as I always speak the truth to you when asked.”

Alon reassured Parejas with his posture and demeanor that he was speaking the truth.

“Continue,” Parejas said.

Alon took a breath before continuing. “The answer to your question is . . . The Cuukzen thought he was tracking a race called the Azliklon-Gashnee, or Gashnee for short.”

“And why did he think he was tracking a Gashnee vessel?”

“Our hyper-space signature is composed of Gashnee technology, thirty percent. At least, it is now.”  

Parejas leaned back in his chair.

His warm smile was long gone, having been replaced with arching eyebrows and a locked gaze.

Alon was feeling uncomfortable, but he knew he deserved it. 

“Don’t make me ask a new question after every answer, Keeper. Continue with the
whole
story.”

“Yes, sir. The reason for the technology part of the signature is the Gashnee had visited Earth ten years prior to the Kryth invasion and massacre. At the time, our race knew of several species in the galaxy, they were the fourth who had contacted us. It was during this time we had begun building interstellar explorer ships to venture to different systems; these seven ships were under construction when the Gashnee arrived. They greeted us in sentient friendship and gave us better hyper-space technology than what we were developing. This hyper-drive tech allowed us to fold and increase the light-speed over greater distances. This technology was incorporated into ours that, at the time, made up seventy percent to our thirty. Today, it is the opposite.”

“There is no mention in the Annals of such contact with this race. I presume it was erased from the data cells, Keeper?”

“Yes, Commander. It was hidden for fear the Kryth would locate the fragile new colony of man within Mydian. They didn’t want to cause wide spread panic among the populous.”

“For safety and security’s sake?” Parejas mocked.

Alon nodded.

Parejas motioned the Keeper to continue.

“The reason for the removal of data cells from the Annals was when the Kryth attacked, the seven ships were just weeks away from venturing out to explore a whole new galaxy, one beyond our system. We scrambled survivors and equipment aboard before the Kryth made it to Earth. When the interstellar ships jumped into hyper-space the Kryth followed, thinking they were chasing down the Gashnee, given this signature of course. They were unable to catch us as the speed of the seven ships was greater than theirs. This new-given technology was what helped us escape the Kryth’s grasp and slaughter.”

Alon stopped as he could tell Parejas was in deep concerned thought.

Parejas stood up from his chair and moved towards the window.

Alon was waiting for the next question as he assumed Parejas was thinking of its wording.

The question came.

“According to the Cuukzen, the Gashnee have been extinct for the past 500 years. Do I presume correct?”

“The records from other races show this, yes.”

“Then why would the Kryth be desperate and chase down these seven ships? We were of no threat to them.” Parejas let his comment hang in the air as he continued to ponder his own question before turning to Alon.

“We were of no threat. The Gashnee were the threat. And they thought the Gashnee had died out, except to find their signature within the Sol system on our own ships.”

“For those ten years, their technology was incorporated throughout Sol. It was used on Earth, the moon, and Mars. On the mining and gas facilities of the asteroid belt and outer planets. Why would they think we were not Gashnee?” Alon said.

“Why were the Kryth so afraid of a dead race?” Parejas asked.

“That is the question, Commander. A question we have been tracking down for over the last two hundred years at the Keeper Adytum. We have conflicting stories of why they died out; but, we do know they were once the dominant species within the galaxy, for almost ten thousand years before the Kryth. The Kryth were a subjugated race under them for that time,” Alon finished.

Parejas moved back to his seat.

He looked at the Keeper with disappointment. “Why was this held from me?”

“It is in the Second Precept. It was held from everyone except the Assembly Mount Leaders and the Keepers over these years. All others were barred from this knowledge until the retaking of Earth, which you would have been informed on our return to Janus after the conference.” 

“So, Assemblyman Tallis knows this, since he is the current Mount Leader?”

“Correct. Only he and the Keepers know.”

“Well, Keeper, we have a lot to discuss before we get to the conference, don’t we?”

“We do, Commander. I am glad I told you. You are one I can trust. I am sorry if I let you down. Please forgive my silence on the matter for so long.”

Parejas just sat there in thought.

Alon knew the burden he now placed on Parejas. He knew all would be right as long as he kept the commander on his side.

Data Cell 20

The red light descended
down towards the center of a pitch-black shaft from unseen heights.

Lintorth could not discern how high the structure he was in was or the circumference of the room, if he was in a room at all. The darkness only gave way to the crimson illumination now enveloping a raised center.

Lintorth was uneasy after stepping off the lift that had brought him down to these hidden archives, well below the Chamber Lore.

He knew there were no visible guards in the Lore Archives; but, there were unseen Lore Sentries -- the kind Lintorth despised: non-organic types. They were giant menacing creations whose forms lurked on the edge of shadows.

The Kryth did not guard anything in the lower parts of the Lore Chamber. Only mechanical abominations did.

As Lintorth approached the platform, he could just make out the forms of the sentries through the darkness. He couldn’t place the face or features but could make out that something was standing out against the blackness.

Now he knew how the victims of Voskal Lat’s assassins felt like, unseen eyes piercing every bit of your being, waiting for you to make the slightest error in judgment before striking.

Maybe the Kryth were the watched ones now, with human eyes gazing from every angle on his beloved Domain.

This snapped Lintorth from this reverie. He had a job to do now.

The platform had no controls or level surface to interact with. He spoke.

“Lore . . . I am Lintorth Sol.”

The beam of light narrowed and intensified on Lintorth. A loud
hum
encircled the platform where he stood. The light returned over the platform and the
hum
receded back into the bowels of the black tapestry beyond. 

A computer intonation responded to Lintorth’s statement. A deep and powerful male Kryth voice spoke from the darkness.

“Indeed you are . . . Proceed.”

Lintorth did not hesitate, but remembered, whatever he learned here today, his brothers will know as well. His questions must be limited but broad enough to get to the answers he seeks.

“Where does the race, ‘humans’, come from?”

There was only a second or two delay before a bright three-dimensional image of the galaxy appeared in front of Lintorth.

The outer arms spiraled, moving through Lintorth’s body as it spun in great detail, suspended in the center of the room. The bright center galactic bulge caused Lintorth to squint to make out the elements of the location the computer was about to show him.

A red circle flew in from the darkness and fixated itself between the second and last outside arms of the spiral galaxy.

“That’s the Sol system,” Lintorth said in amazement.

His eyes flashed as he readied his next question, even though he knew the answer, he must confirm it.

“Where was the last known location of the Azliklon-Gashnee?”

“The Sol system, during the last great prophetic battle, which ended 267 moons ago.”

Lintorth knew the history of defeating the Gashnee in the Sol system, which his Lore father led. And now which crests his family name. But humans?

Lintorth never heard of them in the history stories of past. Sol is where they defeated their nemesis, the Gashnee. Where do humans play into this?

“Lore, how are the humans and the Gashnee linked in the same system?”

“By technology.”

“How so?” Lintorth queried.

“There were no traces of the Gashnee race in the Sol system during the great battle, only their technology, incorporated by the race called humans.”

Lintorth stood stunned by the answer.

He knew this story was not the one that had been told to most in the Domain. He still wasn’t grasping the total picture.

Even now, he knew that going any further would put a mark on his name by the generals.

So the last great battle of the Kryth Mahr and the Gashnee was a lie?

Lintorth didn’t want to ask the why question but knew he must.

“If the Gashnee were not in the system during the battle, why were they claimed to be?”

“The mission was to extinguish all remnants of the Gashnee from the galaxy. This was thought to be accomplished 500 moons prior to the battle in Sol. The eradication of the humans commenced once the sign of Gashnee presence was found. The humans incorporated the Gashnee technology now linking them with the Gashnee and Gashnee prophecy.”

Lintorth knew full well of the Gashnee prophecy, or at least their rumors. It was the sore spot in the side of the Kryth Domain for millennia.

It was the first time in his life that he felt empty. He wouldn’t say scared, but he was made uncomfortable at what he heard. The humans, with Gashnee technology, returning to Sol from whence they originated?

He knew this was for revenge for what took place...

Lintorth froze at the thought. Revenge for what his Lore father did to them in that system with the full force of the Domain.

But how did they escape? Lintorth pondered.

If they were eradicated, then how did they come back?

“Lore, you said the eradication of the human race took place instead of the Gashnee. Were there any survivors from the battle at Sol?

“Yes. Seven ships escaped with one million humans.”

“How did they escape from us? Were they not tracked down?”

“A tracking party chased the humans who fled the system for ten cycles. They lost track of the ships in the Greater Rings system.”

Lintorth knew the Greater Rings system like the edge on his blade.

Never a story about this race came up.

Never a name was ever mentioned in all the systems and sectors controlled by the Kryth.

How did they vanish?

Where did they go?

Dozens of questions raced through Lintorth’s mind.

“Where are the humans now?”

“Unknown.”

“Did these ships have Gashnee drive technology?”

“Yes.”

“That’s how they did it.”

They out-ran the Kryth since the Gashnee had better bending tech for hyper-space. This is the signature matrix the Cuukzen had found.

But where did they go?

Where have they been all these moons?

Why now do they return?

The answer came to Lintorth in a flash.

These humans are about to tell everyone the answers to these questions at the upcoming conference.

These secrets of the Domain will be exposed by this unheard-of race. This could cause a power-shift, he thought.

Lintorth knew their enemies, like the Vrae and Mertiklask, what an opportunity this would give them to garner more support against the Domain, the balance of powers shifting.

He knew this must not happen.

Lintorth spun from the platform and stopped dead in his tracks. There in front of him was Xoma Si.

Her beautiful smile met his stunned expression.

He bowed on one knee. “My Si.”

“Rise, Lintorth.”

He stood as she approached.

“Lintorth, I see you now know the full weight that has been laid upon you. The Domain is in danger of succumbing to this new threat. It will also leave us vulnerable to our subjugated races and others who wish to see our demise.”

The Si stepped up to Lintorth’s side. She placed her hand on his powerful chest armor.

She continued. “I gave you this knowledge so that you would continue to hide the secrets of so long ago, to include protecting your family name of Sol.”

She ran her finger over the ridges of his armor.

Lintorth looked down at her. “My Si, I will do everything I can to stop the humans from humiliating the Domain.”

“I hope so, Lintorth, for I have always found you to be more appreciative of my gifts than the generals. I would hate to be disappointed.”

Her hand moved up to caress his face.

Lintorth did not remove his gaze, still locked on her mesmerizing eyes.

The Si Lord took her hand from his cheek and let it fall back to her side.

She moved off around Lintorth and towards the platform. “Farewell, warrior of the Domain. Until we meet again,” she said.

Lintorth did not look back in her direction but sought out the lift that had brought him there.

His mind was not on her provocative demeanor but on his enemy. He knew the amusing games that were played within the Chamber Lore. The political brinkmanship everyone in power uses, trying to wield a knife into position to strike first as to get what they want.

He was no amateur.

The lift rose, he gazed back down upon the platform where his Si now stood.

He saw her turn before he entered the darkened shaft; she looked up at him one last time with her sultry stare as the lift rose up and out of sight.