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53: The Wanderer
"Miezela Celestella, I do not believe I have had the opportunity to have a proper conversation with you."
"No, unfortunately not," Celestella nodded to Krypt, another of the Leader's newly appointed advisers, but one who she had never really spoken with at length. "What brings you here?"she asked, looking around the small space she 'd been given to conduct whatever business she deemed necessary to her position.
Krypt nodded, "That is the question, isn't it." he said vaguely, "It has come to my attention that..."
Celestella held her breath, suddenly wary that the strange violet-skinned man might have found out something he wasn't supposed to know.
Krypt continued, "Even though the zealot presence has decreased significantly since the Leader's return, it is clear that there still remains at least one cell working here within the capitol."
Celestella let out the breath she had been holding and thought for a second before replying, "What makes you suspect that? The zealots were routed a while ago and there have been no attacks, either on the palace, or within the capitol."
"Nevertheless, I fear an attack will come soon." Krypt stated.
"What gives you that impression?" Celestella asked, "There is no evidence to support such a theory."
"Yes... it may seem that way," Krypt said warily, "and that is precisely what makes me uneasy about it. There has been no activity at all. Doesn't that trike you as... suspicious?"
Celestella nodded slowly, all the while thinking to herself "Did that accident he was in rattle his brain? The zealots aren't going to act. I should know. The Malha herself is offworld, so there is no reason for him to even have any suspicion at all about an attack that realistically had no chance of happening." she wanted to point at the man and laugh, but knew that that would be at the very least unprofessional.
"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Krypt." she tried to persuade him without rolling her eyes.
"We'll see, Celestella." Krypt replied, not convinced, "You wait, it will happen."
"Perhaps, Krypt," Celestella nodded, hiding a smirk, "Perhaps."
"A strike on the palace?" Mirenel asked, confused, "But – but most of the group is gone. The Malha is gone."
"I know." Celestella held up a hand to silence her sister, "But if we don't do this, I'll never hear the end of it from Krypt; he will not stop insisting that the 'zealots are going to attack us.'" this time she did roll her eyes.
"Ah, Miezela," Mirenel sighed, "I'm sure we can come up with something that will work, but what will the Malha say when she finds out that we ordered a strike without her permission?"
"Nothing." Celestella said, "Because she'll never find out. We don't even know when the Malha will return."
"If she returns..." Mirenel mumbled.
"What?" Miezela asked, "What do you mean 'if' she returns?"
Mirenel took a deep breath before saying, "I've consulted the shêdim... and... they speak of something... dreadful coming... a force that wields power we cannot even comprehend... a force we cannot recon with. I do not know what they mean, but I cannot help but think that... it could lead to our undoing... and the Malha's."
Celestella stared at her sister, "It is vital that we remain where we are, no matter the cost. Our place is here, in Rapha'owr, alongside the Leader, to make sure that that troublesome Talan does not show his face here again and that any communications he sends here are interrupted." Miezela rubbed her temples, trying to soothe away the headache that the conversation had brought on. Then she returned the the subject of her sister's conversation, "Did they say where this force would rise from?"
"No... But I believe that it comes from some distance. They spoke of a long journey through the stars. It – it made little sense to me."
"But there is no one who would make a journey to Gamilon – no one powerful enough to destroy us – or at least, no one we have not formed an alliance with. The Cometines are with the Malha, as are the Bolars. Iscandar is too near and her people too few to be the ones they speak of. Are you certain of what you heard, Mirenel?" Celestella asked, beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable with this conversation.
"Yes," Mirenel replied firmly, "I am quite sure. They were very agitated when I spoke with them. They said they would further consult their Master on the matter and see if they could find out more."
Celestella nodded again, "That is wise. Perhaps the little imps misheard what their Master told them."
"But they are seldom wrong, Miezela." Mirenel protested.
"I know that, but they have been wrong before, and perhaps they are wrong now." she replied, "After all, they said that the heir to the Malha's throne was here on Gamilon. I see no heir. And surely the Malha would not have left if she had found her..." suddenly doubt rose in her mind as she remembered all the times the Malha had kept information from her and she added to herself, "Would she...?"
"Surely not," Mirenel agreed.
"Then she will be back when her errand is complete." Miezela said, more to reassure herself than her sister. "Did she mention to you what sent her away this time?"
Mirenel shook her head, "No, perhaps the shêdim know. Shall I ask them?"
"Yes, do that." Miezela replied, "If you can find out where she is at the very least, we will know better when to expect her return."
"I will consult them as soon as we are finished here then." Mirenel said.
"Good." Celestella nodded curtly, "I'll leave you to it."
The next several hours seemed to drag by as Celestella waited for her sister to call her with the news of the Malha's whereabouts. Finally, four hours and forty-five minutes later, the call came.
"Miezela," Mirenel sighed heavily, looking drained. "They will not tell me..." she looked as though she were about the cry, "It didn't matter what I asked them or how I asked it. They would not reveal the whereabouts of the Malha."
"Why?" Celestella blurted out, quite unhappy with the dark spirits now, "What do they have to hide from us? We are the Malha's servants, they should tell us!"
"Yes, I know..." Mirenel replied, "But they will not. They say they are under strict orders to tell no one where the Malha has gone."
"Do they even know where she is?" Miezela scoffed, "The stupid creatures probably don't even have an idea of how to find her. She is, after all,particularly ingenious at hiding when she does not wish to be found."
"But hiding from a shêd? Why? How? What would that profit her?" Mirenel protested.
"I do not know. Perhaps she simply wishes to be left alone for a while." Celestella replied, still annoyed that they weren't able to find their leader when they truly needed to. "But in any case, I will ensure that the assault will happen as Krypt suspects, but you know what that means..."
"Indeed..." Mirenel sighed, "But their sacrifice will be worth the continued secrecy it will afford to us."
"Precisely."
Two days later, during the early morning hours, the palace was awakened by an intruder alarm.
"Sire, the zealots have broken through the outer perimeter; several have made it into the palace." Celestella's voice echoed through the Leader's private quarters. "We've called for the palace guard to repel them, but none have come. It seems they were caught unprepared." then she muttered the next bit under her breath.
"Do you care to repeat the last portion," Desslok said, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, Sire, I do not wish to speak ill of such hard-working men as the palace guard, but... if you must know, I said, 'Probably drunk from their party last night.'"
"Drunk?!" the Leader hissed, "What competent guardsman becomes intoxicated when he knows he could be called upon to attend to act at any moment?"
"I apologize, Sire." Celestella replied.
"You've no need for apology, the error was not yours," Desslok replied, "Muster whoever you can." he growled, growing more and more annoyed that the first descent night's sleep he'd had in a while had been interrupted.
"Yes, Sir." Celestella said before closing the channel.
Desslok, now fully awake, dressed, and supremely irritated, grabbed his own weapon – which he always kept close at hand – and flew out of the room and down to where the conflict was taking place, several floors below.
He made it to the scene just in time to see Naomi Talan shoot an intruder right between the eyes. He found himself smirking at the sight.
Celestella and Mirenel were also wielding energy weapons and blasting one after another of the enemy force.
Admiral Talan was in the thick of it as well, going hand to hand with another zealot who had somehow lost his weapon.
A group of palace servants appeared, mostly women, but women who knew how to hit their targets. Enemy after enemy fell to the floor as the women fired into the fray. Not a single shot hit one of their fellows.
It was over within ten minutes. Every zealot who had entered the palace had fallen.
Just then, the palace guard thundered into the battle zone, red-eyed, hair mussed and matted, looking as though they truly had been drinking all night.
"We – we were – detained, Sire." the leader of the guard panted, looking as though he had run all the way here from the bottom floor of the palace tower.
Desslok glowered at the man, "So, my drunken guardsmen are not able to rouse themselves from their alcohol-saturated state quickly enough to defend me or this palace. And I am left to be defended by women!" he narrowed his eyes at the guardsman and let an uncomfortable silence settle before continuing with a smirk, "Very well, so be it then. You are hereby replaced."
Murmurs of surprise rippled through the guardsmen, and the impromptu, mostly female fighting force who had assembled.
"But – but sire – " the head guard protested.
"It has been decided, Captain." Desslok growled at the guardsman who had dared attempt to contradict him. "You have until dawn to gather your personal affects and leave." he turned to Miezela, "You will find a suitable company to replace them, I trust."
Celestella nodded, fighting to keep an amused smile off of her face. She hadn't intended for his to happen, but it was, at the very least, an entertaining turn of events,"Yes, Sire."
"Very good." he nodded in approval, "I shall expect them to begin their duties tomorrow. In the interim you," he gestured to the group who had slain the intruders, "will serve as the palace guard."
The women's eyes widened at the thought.
Seeing their hesitancy, Desslok added, "You will serve well, I am sure. And there should be no more zealot insurgencies." he looked at Miezela and his gaze seemed to pierce right through her, so much so that she feared he knew that she had been the one to order these dead men to attack today. "Is that correct, Celestella?"
"Yes," she swallowed hard under the Leader's scrutiny, "quite correct."
"Very good." Desslok said, turning his gaze away from her.
Celestella breathed a silent sigh of relief as he did.
"Now go." Desslok dismissed the lot of them, but before Celestella could leave he called after her, "Send someone to clean up this mess."
"Yes, Sire. It will be done." she replied, letting her gaze fall on the corpses of the men she had sentenced to death.
"Gamilon is silent." Starsha said to the hologram of Masterson Talan that now stood before her.
"You're sure?" he replied, "There have been no transmissions to outlying planets, or to locations outside the Sanzar system?"
"No," Starsha shook her head, "But there have been ships departing daily from several military installations planet-side. They all depart along the same vector, headed out of the system, the same way the other ships headed – the ones sent to bombard Erats."
Masterson was silent for a moment, a look of deep concern etched in his face, "This is most troubling," he said, "Desslok has already begun his assault on Erats. What need has he for continued mustering of military might? Does he suspect retaliation from Erats?"
"That is unknown," Starsha replied, "We do not even know if Erats is capable of such retaliation. Do we even know if they possess space-worthy craft?"
"No," Masterson shook his head, "We don't. But I suspect we will find out soon."
Starsha nodded solemnly, then asked, "Have you thought about the solution I suggested to you?"
Masterson's face became darker, "I have..." he said, "It is... full of uncertainties, risks, potential pitfalls... Is it even viable?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I cannot tell." the queen replied, "But I believe it may be the only way... the only chance at all that Erats has."
Talan said nothing to this. Instead, he looked away from the Queen, his eyes becoming strangely glassy with, what Starsha suddenly realized were unshed tears.
"Masterson... do not weep for Erats yet." she offered, "She still lives, and I cannot help but believe that Yahweh will keep His word, for I have just recently begun to understand a promise that He made long ago, a promise that says, 'While Erats remaineth, seedtime, and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.*'"
Masterson's face suddenly changed as hope lifted it, "Yes! Yes, I remember it." he breathed, "But I never understood it before." he stared into the Iscandari queen's face for a long moment, then said with utter certainty, "We must do this. The message of hope you wish to send, must go to Erats."
"I will take it myself." Starsha said, then was mearly startled speechless when she heard a voice behind her say, "No, I will take it."
"Astra!" Starsha exclaimed. "No, I cannot let you do that. You have duties here. One of us must stay behind to see to Iscandar."
"Yes," Astra replied, "And I that is why I must go."
"But –"
"You are the Queen, Starsha." Astra interrupted, "You must remain. If you were to go, Gamilon would surely notice. My disappearance, however, will go unseen."
"She's right," Masterson offered, "I must say that I agree with Astra. Her absence will not be noticed by Leader Desslok whereas yours..." he looked away, "He would notice instantly."
Starsha looked from Masterson to her sister and back, torn. "I don't want to put you in that kind of danger, Astra... I've already lost one sister... I do not wish to lose another."
Astra smiled gently at her younger twin, "You have put me in no danger; I have volunteered for it." she replied, "For Erats, I would gladly give my life, if that were the price demanded of me." she paused for a moment, then said with confidence, "Erats is Yahweh's world; it always has been, and it always will be. The Point of Creation must be protected at any cost. Do you not agree?"
Both Starsha and Masterson nodded in reluctant agreement.
"Very well then, let us get started on that message."
"Fools! Fools, fools fools!" Aurelia fumed as she paced back and forth inside the Sentinels' Citadel. "First you lose the Princess I practically place into your hands, then you lose track of the woman I had jettisoned onto a deserted world, and now you tell me that you still cannot find one little planet. One planet I have given you every tool available in order to find!" she shrieked the last sentence directly into the face of the nearest Sentinel.
The being did not flinch, but instead replied in his guttural voice, "I apologize that we have not found the planet Guardiana yet, Malha." he said, "But the Master has seen fit to focus on... other endeavors right now. He has decided that there are other things that supersede you treasure hunt in importance."
"Treasure hunt?! You think this is simply a child's game I'm playing?!" She bellowed, outraged, "Tell your Master that the host of Diana herself demands that he help me find Guardiana."
"I have already done so, Malha." the Sentinel replied, "He fails to see how you have the power to command him to do anything."
"I – I – "she stuttered, finally unable to think of anything more to throw at the being.
"Fear not," he said, "The Master will find your world. In fact, we have recently uncovered a small enclave of men and women from various planets who claim to be on a pilgrimage to a world they call 'Guardiana.' The Master sent his envoys among them to see what they could find out."
"And...?" Aurelia dared ask.
"The results were poor at best," the Sentinel replied, "But we now know that Guardiana is somewhere in this galaxy."
"Oh, that narrows is down." Aurelia bit back sarcastically. "I already knew that."
"Perhaps." the Sentinel replied, "But now it has been confirmed." he paused for a moment, then continued, "And they all bore silver amulets, much akin to the ones you and your followers bear."
Aurelia's eyes widened, "What...?"
"But there is one key difference." he said, "The amulets bear the visage of Kyren Guardiana, your mother."
Aurelia gasped, "But how can that be? She had the amulets mass produced, but they never left Guardiana."
"Apparently, at least one did at some point in time."
"I must acquire one." Aurelia hissed, "Get it for me."
"It will be done, Malha." the Sentinel bowed to Aurelia, turned, and walked away.
* Genesis 8:22