Part 69: INTERLUDE: LARTHOP

Larthop of course had heard of Cherubim. Being around for a long time and always connected to the hidden layer of things. Cherubim was a legendary operator in the clandestine world. That name had been whispered by those who knew things for a very long time. But like everyone else he thought of her as a myth. He never thought she still actually existed. There were a few whispered rumors about a shadowy, ghostlike woman acting on behalf of the old pre Union, Earth based Exo-terrestrial Intelligence Agency, but none of them sounded true or even possible.

She supposedly acted on behalf of Earth Long before the formation of the Union, when Terra and its colonies had its own fleet, it also had its own Intelligence gathering service.

Back then Earth had just stepped onto the galactic stage and only reached tech level three with the help of the Sarans.Back then Earth was weak and vulnerable, with a comparable tiny and weak fleet, but the Terran Intelligence Agency was legendary even back then, for its ruthless efficiency. Most of the other civilizations were unprepared for the unbridled brutality, the no rules no limits approach to everything the TIA operated.

During those early years it became known that the Terran Intelligence service was operating outside any moral or ethical boundary.Abduction, blackmail, the systematic extermination of entire populations. Infiltrating families, religious groups. Using psychology, propaganda, psionics and methods no one ever considered.

And like all key positions, the leader of this service was supposedly one of the mysterious Immortal Guides, picked and chosen by an entity known to a few as the Guardian of Earth.

No one really believed that this was a true story of course. There was no mystical, enigmatic Guardian watching over the humans of Earth for millions of years with the ability to make two hundred individuals into Immortals, bestow each of them with extraordinary talents and powers. All this was just skillful propaganda, Larthop had always been sure of that.

He, like so many others did not believe Richard Stahl or Admiral Mc Elligott were immortals or individuals who had been around for over 3000 years, but rather genetic or cybernetic crafted puppets acting as figureheads for the real unseen, unknown leaders in the background of that silently growing giant, called the Union.

As the Union was founded, Earth officially became Terra and like all intelligence services of individual members the TIA was disbanded and its assets absorbed into the new Union Intelligence services such as NAVINT and ANA the official and only legal Intelligence agencies of the Union.

All this went through Larthop’s mind for many times now ever since he had met that woman in the Uni or Pree chamber deep underneath the surface of the old Kermac Home world.

He, the leader and first priest of the Church of Darkness had been on an odyssey like journey for a very long time now. It was like an enormous puzzle, and he had to cover much ground to get the pieces.

It had started all so long ago, when it became apparent that he was an exceptional strong Psionic talent and had been accepted as the very first and most likely last student on Narth Prime. He was the very first Non Narth ever to set foot on that world.

It was there he saw it and more so felt it, an artifact the Narth were guarding. It was so full of pure power and promised godlike omnipotence, it had filled his mind with an unquenchable desire ever since. He learned from the Narth Supreme that the artifact was one of twelve such pieces. Once combined a previously defeated entity of unimaginable evil would once more awake and seek revenge on those who lead to its defeat. His live changed forever and he was filled with burning desire to gain that power for himself.

The Narth did not accept him for very long and asked him to leave.

He denounced his Saresii roots after the High Council did not want him to return unless he would conform to their ways and abandon his quest.

Because he was Saresii and had access to forbidden and forgotten knowledge and technology of the first age he looked forward to a very long life. Traveling to distant corners of the galaxy, studying at the World od Old itself, reading the Hidden Tablets of Asgerom he had spend the first centuries of his life, exclusively dedicated to the study of anything and everything he could find about the Dark God and the Dark Ones. He followed every lead, collected every shred of information hidden and burried inside legends and myths.

He tried to find answers in magic, the arcane arts, he walked the way of the Uta, the forbidden way of those who use their Psionic powers to open gateways to the Underworld and tap into realms and powers better left alone.He became aware of the Antiverse, the Netherworlds and the secrets of the Universes that came before.He heard of the ‘Prophecy of Before and Yet to come’; he knew it was guarded by a group of Netherworld demons somewhere in the Igrass Expanse. While he was unable to access the actual text, he found and obtained a copy of it, from the Hidden Archives of the Gray Cats.

With this information he was able to make a pact with a shadowy group from another plane of existence. He knew them only as the Brotherhood and could only contact them at certain times and only at one hidden gateway underneath the Golden Statue on the planet Netlor. He was recruited by them. as an agent in this universe and in return get knowledge and power from the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood was obsessed about the Narth, without telling him why. But he had his suspicions, whenever his own overinflated self centered ego allowed it he acknowledged the fact that there was more to the Narth and that their very existence was closely tied to that Omniverse puzzle known as the Reign of the Old Entities.

Following the instructions of the Brotherhood, he had made his way to Koken, the recently re-discovered planet of origin of the Kermac. Discovered by the Union no less.

Why the Kermac had abandoned their home world and traveled over 20,000 light years to relocate their culture, he did not know, but he did find what the UNI had left behind and he did find the disc, the Brotherhood wanted him to find.

The Disc turned out to be a galactic treasure map of sorts, showing him the position of a place called the Cave of Things. The map pointed to a planet 90,000 light years away.

It was on Koken and in that hidden UNI chamber; where a human female wearing black leather had suddenly revealed herself to him.

How she had managed to stay completely hidden from his Psionic powers was somewhat disturbing to him. He knew of Terrans using active camouflage and cloaking technology to make their soldiers completely invisible. An impressive feat on its own but that she appeared out of thin air was neither very impressive nor unexplainable to him.

She introduced herself as Cherubim and offered him a way to reach that planet 90,000 light years away.

He was weary of partnerships.

He had partnered with the Kermac and a Thauran Union admiral and the whole affair had turned out to be nothing but a waste of time.

The woman introducing herself as Cherubim also knew much about him, to much to be left alive and she offered a way to his next destination. Partnerships were nothing but tools. She offered him a way to a place he could not easily reach on his own and perhaps during that partnership a way could be found to eliminate her as a factor. Besides if the disc and the Brotherhood was correct, there was a token of power waiting for him. Once in his posession, neither Cherrubim nor the Brotherhood mattered anymore.

He followed her to a small space ship, parked not far from the cave entrance, also perfectly camouflaged until she deactivated its cloaking shields.

He could not identify the type or manufacturer of the craft, but it was well equipped and turned out to be very fast.

That she could slip through Union battleship screens and sensor nets was very impressive but not unexpected for a leading Union intelligence operator.

Similar she had no problems providing valid Union transponder codes as they approached the Kansas System.

Even though it was quite a long trip from Koken to Wichita planet, he had spoken very little with her, but now as they were about to land on an unimportant planet deep in Union territory he left his cabin and went up to the flight deck. “I think it is about time you explain to me why we are approaching this world and perhaps tell me why you want to help me? If you are who you say you are; would you not be on Union side?”

She swiveled around in the chair she was sitting in and folded her gloved hands over her crossed legs. She had long blonde hair and her face was an old style bio-flex mask, clearly designed to be recognized as a mask.

She said to him. “There is a shortcut on this planet we are going to take. It will save us a lot of time. You can either go with me or try to find your own way to the Cave of Things.”

“I accepted your help because you know more about me than anyone should and because I have no means to cross that kind of distance. I just don’t see the connection between this world and the Cave of Things, for now I am going along, but I am tired of being a pawn and I demand you explain yourself. I am not impressed by your name. I don’t believe you are an immortal. It’s an office, a front filled by a clone or someone trained for that posting.”

“It matters not who you believe I am or not. I know who you are, Son of Darkness. I know you have been on Narth Prime and I know what your plans are. I am keeping an eye on you ever since you left Narth Prime.”

She turned back to the console and answered a hail from the local port control. After she had exchanged the necessary information and identified her as a Union Citizen she received landing permission.

Larthop watched her and he started to wonder if the legends and rumors he heard about this elusive Terran immortal weren’t true after all.”I was among the Narth over 300 of your years ago. Even if you are the same person as the legends know as Cherubim, you just lied. Nothing of Earth importance existed back then.”

“You are a small minded fool, just as the Narth Supreme described you. Earth is far more important to all this than any other world. There have been students and entities at the World of Old long before Earth ascended. You are that very pawn you don’t want to be.”

“So why did you watch me all this time? If I managed to do that for all those years, then I must be fairly important to you. Why not shutting me down or killing me, I heard of a rumor that you started out to be an Assassin on that blue planet of yours, long before the Earth monkeys accented onto the galactic stage?”

“Ah so you do believe Cherubim is real after all.”

“I mastered the dark arts, collected myths and legend for longer than anyone I know and I have seen things no one is allowed to see. I have an open mind if nothing else.”

“You are as arrogant and blind as a Kermac wizard. You think you are the only one who studied what you call the dark arts. I have studied with Egyptian priests and Tibetan monks five thousand years before you were born.The Exalted himself let me to crypt hidden on the World of Old and revealed knowledge to me and yet I have not stopped studying and learning to this day. I do not claim to be the wisest or the most knowledgeable person in the Universe. I am watching you because you because you have been on Narth prime and the Narth Supreme asked me to keep an eye on you. Ever since you have seen the Token, you have acted with a one tracked mind. Its power is consuming you.