The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (8 page)

Dr. Snowden walked up to the guardrail around the front of the ship. Emily joined him. He always loved watching the stars disappear and reappear during time travel.

The stars outside the Torvatta shimmered briefly before fading to pure black. After a moment, they eased back into view with a slight shimmer effect.

“Analysis. We have arrived at June 3, 2635 BC, at nine a.m.”

Emily looked at V. “That’s a pretty specific date, and I don’t think it was called June back then.”

V tilted his head at Emily. “The universal translator converts universal time into a time reference you would understand.”

“Oh … ,” said Emily.

Evaran glanced at her. “It is the same time translation that takes place on your PSD. You can configure it to show multiple time references. However, they are based off a universal time system independent of any interpretation.”

“Gotcha,” said Emily.

“V, take us to Earth and extend the utility rods,” said Evaran.

“Acknowledged,” said V. The front right screen showed a shot of the sides of the Torvatta. Two black rods extended out with an orange tip. “Utility rods extended beyond shielding.”

A gold beam shot out from the Torvatta, opening a portal. The Torvatta flew through it and exited above Earth.

“Scan for communications,” said Evaran.

“Acknowledged.”

V’s hands flew across the front console. “Communications beacon detected. Scanning for matching protocol.” The front right screen showed a rapid dissemination of code before a segment highlighted. “Protocol found. Relaying.”

Both the right and left screen faded, and a bronze-skinned male wearing a white robe-like outfit with a light-blue belt appeared on the screen. A golden mantle rested on his shoulders with a silver bar on the right side and a blue circle on the left side.

“Is that a Helian?” whispered Emily.

Evaran nodded. “Yes, before they had personal holograph emitters. In the future, they look different. V, open communications.”

“Acknowledged.”

The Helian interacted with the glass desk he sat behind. “Alien ship, identify yourself.”

“I am Evaran on my ship, the Torvatta. With me are the humans Dr. Albert Snowden and his niece, Emily.”

“Origin?”

“Travelers beyond the Galvin Rim.”

“Interesting answer. Purpose?” asked the Helian.

“We are looking for someone.”

“Lost and found,” said the Helian with a smirk. He tapped in rapid succession at his desk. “I’m relaying to you the rules and regulations for this planet. You’re expected to obey it at all times. Failure to do so will result in a quick and exact response from the Helian authority. Is that understood?”

Evaran nodded. “Perfectly.”

“Landing coordinates have been relayed. You will be escorted in and need to register once you are down.”

The screen faded.

Dr. Snowden looked out the left front window. “Well, that was interesting …”

Evaran half smiled. “This beacon and greeting is not present in the future.”

“The Helians sorta looked like the Purifiers,” said Emily.

“They do a bit. V, take us in.”

“Acknowledged.”

The Torvatta flew toward a spot in the Atlantic Ocean, forty miles west of the southern region of modern-day Portugal. Two small ships flew alongside the Torvatta.

Dr. Snowden noted that although they looked advanced, they were not nearly as cutting-edge as what he had seen on Kreagus.

As the Torvatta approached the ocean surface, a domed city shimmered into view with a bubble-like shield around it. The city sat on an eight-pointed star base. In the middle was a large structure that rose to the clouds. Around it were various smaller buildings. On the underside were underwater structures that clung to the floating city. A square portion of the shielding faded away, and the two ships escorting them flew off. The Torvatta flew through the opening, and after a moment, it landed on a pad on one of the arms of the star.

Dr. Snowden noted that the point of the star arm had enough landing pads to fit a dozen or so Torvattas. Since the Torvatta landed facing toward the inner part of the city, he got a good view. The city seemed low-tech compared to Kreagus, but still much more high-tech than what was on Earth at the time, or even in his time. He briefly wondered if they would be visited by a docking authority.

They exited the Torvatta. Evaran took point while Dr. Snowden, Emily, and V in body mode trailed behind him. A Helian dressed similarly to the one they spoke to on the screen approached them.

The only difference that Dr. Snowden could see was that on the gold mantle, there were two silver bars on the right side.

The Helian bent his arms so that his hands were touching in front of his chest. The left hand was palm up, and the right hand was a fist. “Welcome to Atlantis. You’ll need to register yourselves and your ship. Follow me.”

They followed the Helian along the wide path that led away from the landing pad. After a moment, the Helian stopped before a metallic canopy-like structure with side walls. It stood about thirty feet tall and extended forward roughly ten feet.

Two Helians with silver light armor stood at attention in front of the structure. They had a single silver bar on their right arms and a blue circle on their upper left arms. What stood out to Dr. Snowden was the sleek black weapon in their hands. It was medium sized and looked like it packed a punch.

The Helian that was escorting them tapped a button on his silver forearm guard. He waved for them to go through the structure.

They walked through the structure, and halfway through, the walls lit up red.

The Helian scrambled toward them. He interacted with a screen that had appeared above his right forearm band while looking at Evaran. “We can’t detect your internals, although you have mass.”

Evaran nodded. “That is to be expected. We are not from this planet.”

“I don’t think so. What are you?” asked the Helian.

“From your perspective, an Outsider.”

The Helian looked down at his screen, then looked at Dr. Snowden and Emily. “It appears you two are infected with some disease.”

Evaran raised a hand. “It is not a disease. They are Wildborn. It is inherent in their makeup.”

Dr. Snowden grinned. It was odd to see Evaran use deception, but when he did, it was convincing. Dr. Snowden wondered if Evaran had used it on him and Emily before.

The Helian snorted. “The only normal one is the robot. Go figure.” He exited the structure ahead of them and waved them forward. Once they were through, he said, “You’re registered, as is your ship. An agent is on his way to help you.”

“Thank you,” said Evaran.

“Don’t thank me yet. These missing person cases seem to be occurring a lot lately.”

“How many so far?”

“Around thirteen this month. Usually get one or two a year.”

Evaran narrowed his eyes. “That is odd. Thank you for your help.”

The Helian nodded and exited back toward the landing pad.

“Seems like whatever is going on has already started,” said Dr. Snowden.

Evaran looked around. “It would appear that way.”

Five minutes later, another Helian arrived. He was dressed similarly to the one that registered them, except he had two silver bars on the right side of his mantle and a red square on the left side. The Helian performed a salute while surveying them. “I’m Special Agent Asher. If you’ll follow me to my office, we can file your claim.”

Dr. Snowden nodded and did a Helian salute in return.

Asher smiled. “It’s not expected for you to emulate our cultural greeting. We understand that there are a variety of cultures that have different greeting rituals.”

“Just trying to fit in,” said Dr. Snowden with a half grin.

“It’s appreciated,” said Asher. He nodded and waved at them to follow him.

As they walked, Dr. Snowden hustled up alongside Asher. “So … these bars and symbols on your mantles … I’m guessing some type of rank system?”

Asher grinned. “You got it. Left side symbol represents the branch of the Helian authority that you work for, right side is rank. In my case, the red square represents the investigative branch, and the two silver bars means I’m a special agent. One silver bar would be a general agent. My specialty is investigating missing persons cases.”

“Huh … how many branches are there?”

“More than we need,” said Asher, chuckling.

They reached an interior courtyard where Dr. Snowden saw Helians engaged in discussion. After stepping onto a ramp that moved upward, he studied the Helians. There were various symbols and bars and even outfit differences. If the Helians were this advanced this far back in human history, it was no wonder to him that they represented Earth when the Kreagan Star Empire came knocking. The version of Helians he knew from the future had glowing eyes and wings. Then again, Evaran had mentioned personal hologram emitters, making them look like angels. He suspected that was not by coincidence.

After several minutes, they disembarked from the ramp and entered Asher’s office a short distance away.

Asher gestured for them to sit as he took his seat.

After they sat, Evaran raised a finger. “Before we begin, we have not lost anyone. We are actually looking for someone.”

Asher paused, then eased back into his chair. “Well … that’s different. Who’re you looking for?”

“Lord Vygon.”

“The Daedrould?”

“Yes.”

Asher tapped at his desk, causing a screen to rise up in front of him. After a few quick motions, he twisted his fingers on the screen, causing it to orient toward them. He pointed at a glowing circle. “He’s here. I’m afraid if you want to get a hold of him, you will have to activate our communication beacon there.”

Emily studied the screen. “Looks like it’s in Illinois. Near St. Louis.”

Asher cocked his head and wrinkled his eyebrows.

Emily cleared her throat. “With all this technology, can’t you just contact him?”

Asher narrowed his eyes. “Hardly. The Daedrould don’t like to be contacted directly. They prefer you go to their territory, activate the beacon we set up, and then they send someone to get you.”

Dr. Snowden smirked. “They don’t like visitors.”

“Now you’re beginning to understand the Daedrould,” said Asher. He faced Evaran. “I’m curious, though. I’ve heard whispers of your name. Involved in previous events, yet no one seems to really know who it is or what the involvement was. You wouldn’t happen to be that person, would you?”

“We just arrived on Earth, so it could not be me,” said Evaran.

Asher nodded. “Yeah … that’s what I figured. Probably someone else with a similar name. Anyways, good luck meeting Lord Vygon, but I wouldn’t expect a warm greeting. He is a Daedrould after all.”

Dr. Snowden fidgeted in his seat. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well … I guess you wouldn’t know,” said Asher. “There is a pecking order of nonhumans on this planet. Daedrould are at the bottom, we’re at the top. Daedrould kill their own kind and harass humanity. We organize our own and try to protect humanity. If all the Daedroulds were gone, Earth would be better off.”

Dr. Snowden thought about John. His face turned a light shade of red. The memories of what he learned traveling with Evaran about the Helians’ involvement in off-world human slavery galloped through his mind. “You sure about that protecting part?”

“Of course.”

Dr. Snowden stood up and pounded the desk. His breathing went haphazard. “I’d suggest you look into the human slavery you’re involved in!”

Asher jerked his head back. “Excuse me?”

“Dr. Snowden!” said Evaran. He stood and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Dr. Snowden’s heartbeat rampaged through him. He turned to look at Evaran and was startled out of his rage by Evaran’s intense gaze. After an awkward moment, he licked his lips and nodded. He flung his arm into the air in a dismissive gesture. “I’m okay.”

Evaran bowed at Asher. “We appreciate your help and will be on our way.”

“Okay … ,” said Asher with wide eyes. “If you … uh … need any more help, let me know.”

Evaran nodded as they exited the office.

Emily squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Uncle Albert?”

Dr. Snowden turned his head toward her. “I’m fine. Just … lost my cool is all.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked forward. It was more than just losing his temper. Anger control was always an issue in his life, and as of late, he seemed to escalate from normal to blind rage in just a few seconds. Something was off. At first he thought it might have been the nanobots, but he could feel them trying to calm him down. It must be something else. Maybe it was just the stress of traveling with Evaran. Seemed every place they went, there was always danger. He shook his head.

It took an hour for them to get to the Torvatta and fly over to the spot Agent Asher had showed them.

Dr. Snowden sat on a slab in the medical lab. “Anything?”

Evaran perused a console next to the slab. “I am not seeing anything. I do recall seeing some notes on your anger from the virtual simulation. However, this change appears to be recent.”

“Uncle Albert’s always been short-tempered,” said Emily as she squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm.