Chapter 26

Solar time unit = year planetary time unit = day

Even as Sam’s eyes narrowed, his mind starting to push, he was shocked when he started to receive images. Images of a beautiful, tranquil, peaceful world.

Suddenly one of the arachnid beings started to groan. “Please stop, I can’t take much more.” Sam immediately slammed the connection he’d opened, closed.

Sam then heard a great groan of relief. “I thank you,” came the thoughts of one of the creatures.

All heads turned toward Sam, three of the creatures shaking a bit. The obvious leader nodded. “If any of your people had developed this power back then, I am afraid that we’d not have had a chance.”

“For the moment, I feel we are at an impasse, especially with those remaining of your people watching,” came Sam’s thoughts.

“I tend to agree, we need a thorough discussion before we can act. As we have discovered, your people are not the power-hungry race that we were led to believe. Yes, there is much we need to discuss before we proceed,” the leader thought.

Sam was nodding in thought when there was a groan from a previously unconscious Triot.

“What...? What is this?” Triot’s thoughts said. “You are elite, these are our hated enemies, you should—”

“DO NOT assume to tell we of the elite what to do. You, who are a weak, pitiful thing that claims to be of the Tetricon race. It would be better to destroy you rather than listen to you prattle.”

“How dare you! I am of the first—” Triot’s thoughts started. Suddenly there was a strangling type noise as the leader stared intensely at Triot.

“You were warned, you pitiful thing. I have no trouble in ending your useless existence,” came the rather loud thoughts of the leader.

“USELESS! I have discovered how to increase my power, I will—” Triot started.

A screech then came from Triot, causing the others to turn, staring at Thantas. Her hand was against Triot’s back, doing no more than glowing.

“You obviously forgot how you came to be in your present condition. I could just as easily end you!” threatened Thantas’s thoughts.

“Ha! You are nothing like Sam. You are an original Cliverstone. You would never lower—” Triot started, then his thoughts were screaming out in extreme pain.

“I,” started Thantas, “have been tortured, used, given daily pain, subjected to things that would have made you insane many times over. What I once was, I am no longer. IF you wish to find out exactly what I am capable of now, keep pushing the issue.”

Triot started to retort when Thantas’s hand and arm started to glow brighter. Triot’s screams started to echo through all their minds.

“I believe, useless one, that you should listen and shut your thoughts up. The female Cliverstone may not appear to be so, she is far more powerful than you think.”

The smirk that appeared on Thantas’s face had Sam grinning. That was until he felt a ‘heard’ cry for help.

“I think that we should continue this later,” came Sam’s thoughts. Touching Thantas’s arm, a portal opened, then the both of them were gone.

The four arachnid beings’ eyes were wide. “I can feel no trace of them! It’s like they have entered hyperspace. These Cliverstones have abilities that we have never seen,” the youngest of them thought.

“Indeed, more study needs to be done before any action can be safely taken. I, we, should deal with the last of the council. As long as they are alive, there’s not much we can do to disobey,” the leader thought, then looked at the two younger arachnids. “Well, me and your sire, the both of you are not constrained by those orders.”

Both of the younger arachnids nodded as the older two left, heading toward the IP home world. “If it is as our sire stated, this Cliverstone is in hyperspace, then he should emerge.”

The second young arachnid nodded its assent. “I concur. If we wait, I am sure we will detect them soon.”

It was only a few moments later that Sam, Thantas, and a groaning Triot emerged near Queen Triada’s world.

“Mind yourself, Triot, or we might have to let Thantas loose on you again,” threatened Sam’s thoughts.

Sam and Thantas landed with a thump, Triot with a much harder thump as he crashed into the ground.

“Not so bad,” a smirking Thantas stated to a louder groaning Triot.

Between gasps, Triot said, “I know that this display is no more than playing...” Triot was screaming when Thantas grabbed Triot’s hair and then proceeded to kick him several times.

With his face almost even with hers, Thantas hissed, “I told you before. After what YOUR kind did to me, I am no longer like the others.” Eyeing Triot with disgust, she forcibly threw him to the ground. “I can see that you are wishing for death. I don’t think it is coming soon.”

Sam looked at Triot, shaking his head. Rising, he flew the distance to the others in a moment.

Landing next to Drivas and Thellus, Sam looked around. Finding no one around, he looked at the two females. “Where are the others?”

Both females looked up, as did Sam. Both Raydy and Mellos had three each of the six others, bringing them back down. “I’m glad that you heard me. They are floating faster and higher every few minutes. Is there anything you can do?” Mellos said.

Looking at all six for a moment, Sam nodded, then reached out to touch Triann. A few moments later, Sam pulled his hand away, nodding to Raydy. Releasing Triann, Raydy waited a minute, then nodded to Sam.

Over the next hour, Sam was adjusting all six as much as he dared. He was afraid that if he went too far, the results wouldn’t be favorable.

Sam finally stepped back. With the exception of Rycon’s mate Natita, he felt that all of them had almost complete control. He’d checked on both Raydy and Mellos, surprised when Mellos felt as if she was complete. That, plus the fact that she felt stronger than Thantas, was another surprise.

The doctor had been following the elites since they passed the IP home world. When he felt the two Cliverstones vanish, he’d smiled evilly, only to growl when they appeared moments later deep within Triada’s Triad!

With a shake of his head, his anger growing, he grabbed several weapons that hadn’t seen the light of day for centuries.

It was only a partial planetary time unit when the doctor felt them approach. A few moments later, there were two loud thuds outside his domicile. The doctor looked at the door, not surprised when it opened.

Even as the door was closing, both of the arachnids were kneeling before the doctor. “Lord Melacon, we are here to answer the call of the Tetricon Council.”

The Lord doctor was nodding, looking at the two elites. “Arise, our soldiers. I eagerly await news of your conquest.”

“We engaged the Cliverstones. One is as powerful as us. The other, we are afraid, is far beyond the both of us. We thought to report back. The strongest one had just fully recharged. We left our offspring to keep watch.”

“I see,” the doctor replied. “We have to end this vile pest of a race once and for all. They have only our destruction at heart. Leave at once and do away with this space trash!”

Both elites nodded as they turned, then exited the room. Within moments, they were lifting off the planet, speeding back to their offspring.

“I am afraid it is as we thought,” the leader thought.

“We have to act according to the laws set by the council and the elite forces. I am afraid, mate, that this will be the final end of the race, a rather sad thought,” came the thoughts of the other arachnid.

Sadly, the leader nodded its head. “I am afraid we have no choice. Like it or not, we have to use our full power to destroy all of them.”

“With the power they have, I am afraid it will mean the end of us. The male has more power than I have ever seen in a being. Are you certain that we can do this?” the second creature stated.

“If it comes to that point, we will have to destroy them as well as ourselves. That I am not partial to. We are elite; we are loyal to a point. When we are through with this investigation, then and only then can we decide,” the leader thought.

The second nodded its head. “You are the only leader of the elite left. As we have said before, we will follow you to our deaths for our duty, no matter how wrong it may be.”

Both accelerated away from the IP home world. They could almost feel Melacon watching them.

“These elite do not feel right. Could it be that the conditioning is wearing off? I’m not sure if we can reinstall their loyalty, not without injuring them.”

The winding down of several energy weapons had the Lord Doctor sighing. He needed them; they were, after all, the enforcers of his race. All the weapons he would have to use were some of the strongest the Tetricons had ever created. At first, it was thought they were useful against the Cliverstones. That proved useless.

The doctor shook his head. It was as bad as he thought. This Sam was far beyond anything he thought possible. Flexing his legs, he thought, I might have to combine all of us to destroy him. Though, what of the others? They too were rapidly increasing, though how he wasn’t sure. Was it possible that the Cliverstones had broken the code for osmosis healing?

With a shudder, the doctor hoped not. Though that also might explain how Sam had grown so powerful. Then there was the claim that he’d heard Triot boast of when he awoke to the elites there. Had he really increased his power? He had taken out the primary and secondary defenses with ease.

Sitting in thought, the doctor started to enter all the data he had as fast as he could. “I need an answer as fast as possible. Use all scans before and all possible now. You are authorized to use as much power as possible to ascertain your answers.”

A shocked arachnid face appeared on the screen. “Working on it now. I had anticipated something to this effect earlier.”

A thin smile appeared on the doctor’s face. At least one of those left wasn’t useless. “Good. I await your answers.”

Turning, the doctor didn’t see the second shocked, then proud, look on the face on the screen. This quickly turned to a look of surprise as the massive amount of data passed before it.