Chapter 22: Meeze investigates

He had been here once before, time of other realms had no meaning here.

The ground he stood on, was a polished hard surface of highly reflective properties and stretched into every direction and into infinity. The universe with all its clusters and superstrings reflected in it from the infinite sky above this surface.

This was the Plane of Eternity, a place beyond the Omniverse itself.

Lumis remembered when he was brought here the first time.

Then, he did not listen to the name of Lumis. In his realm of origin, he had been known as Akror, the mighty. A man of great wisdom, an unsatisfiable hunger for power and a man with the knowledge that his Universe was doomed and destined to be destroyed.

It was one of the unchangeable core conditions of the Omniverse. Everything had a beginning and everything had an end. It was so for a single atom, a single bacteria and it was so for civilizations and Universes.

In that universe, if origin, he had compiled much knowledge and determined the coming of the end.

Already unraveled the secret of immortality in his realm, he did not want to share the fate of his reality.

He knew of other realities and begun to explore options.

A godlike entity, Crea the spirit of Creation herself rescued him, brought him here and gave him a new identity, a new purpose, and great power.

Akror had ceased to exist along with his doomed universe, in his place now stood Lord Lumis, the chosen defender of Light and Life.

Lumis knew from the very start, that a defender was only needed if there was a threat.

But back then when he received his new position and new powers, he felt invincible, elevated above everything.

Now that he had faced that threat he felt anything but elevated or superior.

The Dark One was not even fully resurrected, swatted him away like an insect. While he was pushed away he gained a glimpse of what he was facing. That glimpse frightened him more than anything he had ever faced.

Now, she who rescued him Crea had brought him here once more.

The entity he knew as Crea, had joined him. Lumis was not sure if she had chosen to appear in human form or if it was just how his senses were able to perceive her.

While he was so much more than a low and primitive human himself, he was not close to being on her level. Recent events and revelations made it clear to him, that the Dark One, the entity he was supposed to slay was equal to her not him.

She appeared human in shape and size, but that was as far as the similarities went.

Her face and most of her body was only there in an outline and interposed with a view of deep space. It created an eerie effect., making it appear as if she was only partially here.

Lumis remembered his place and knelt.”Crea, the reason for my existence. You have not given me the knowledge and the power to accomplish what you want me to do.”

“Do not question your part and task. You are but a servant; it is not important what you think or want. It is imperative you obey.”

A pyramid of glowing blue light appeared before them.”The one that defied the will of the One behind it all, the one that caused the Rule to be broken has come here?”

Crea said.”You are not the one to judge, Voice of the Rule. I am Crea indeed and what motivates my actions is not yours to question.”

“What has been caused by you, makes it very much my purview to question, but indeed judgment is not mine. To make the judgment and serve justice is given to the Dark One.”

“You are the Voice and neither the Dark One nor the One behind it all. I want to know the whereabouts of the WEAPON.”

“You still project your hopes on the WEAPON? I can not say where it is, but I can tell you where it will be. The WEAPON the last token, the Dark One and everything related will be on Avondur and it is there where the Decision will be made.

Now, if your hopes lie in attacking and destroying the vessel of the Dark One before he comes to his own, you should go to Avondur and await the arrival of all these elements.”

Crea’s inhuman voice rang with a note of hope. “Then the Voice knows the Dark One can be defeated.”

“Crea, you could not defeat him the first time. Do what you must, but defy your exile and descend into the Prime Universe and you will learn what it means to defy the One behind it all.”

--””--

Sir Baran, hung in the fist of the huge Saturnian. He was alive and conscious, but quite obvious completely defeated. His arrogant Thauran face was not so haughty at all.

Hans did let him go, the former planet manager delegated to a secondary post stared with contempt at the Baron’s son, but said nothing.

Maro got up.” Baran, I know you for so long. Can you not explain what is going on? You do know PSI corps is on its way. The disappearance of a Union officer is no small issue.”

“I was in charge! That old man of yours, simply put you ahead of me. You are nothing but a snotnose.”

A hissing sound interrupted whatever Maro or anyone else was about to say.

Baran suddenly drooled blood and collapsed.

Shea with alarm in her voice pointed at three dive suit-wearing individuals outside, past the transparent dura last.

The men were about to attach an explosive charge.

Without protective suits they all would drown, not even the formidable Saturnian could stay underwater for an extended time. He too needed to breathe.

--””--

Tyron Suit and the chief found themselves on Beryl, planet. The world was one of the original Azure worlds and an old Thauran colony that had been established long before the Thauran Empire became a Union member.

This old colony was home to several old and influential families, including the Swybars.

It was the old Swybar stronghold Suit and Senior Chief Hilbora escaped.

Local police still seemed hesitant to act, Federal law enforcement came down like a hammer. It was not all that long ago when the so-called purge swept over the Thauran Empire that resulted in the arrest of hundreds of nobles, including the emperor himself.

The billions of commoners were excited and celebrated the arrival of Union law, but many of the old Noble families were less than thrilled.

No one, not even the oldest most encrusted noble families wanted to leave the Union.

A Federal police officer had just taken Suit’s statement, and now the sentient Seenian garment waited for the NAVINT officer who also wanted to speak to Suit. There was, of course, the fact that both Suit and Hilbora had been transported to a planet many hundred lightyears distant from Deep Blue.

Fleet had dispatched a fast ship from Bleu, planet, The closest Union fleet base and would be here shortly.

The chief was in bad shape, but the med team was able to consult an Ult expert who assisted via Avatar presence and they assured Tyron that Hilbora would be okay.

He did not need to sit, or any other needs a biological being had. Tyron had no eyes, no mouth. He did not breath or needed to sleep. Omnidirectional sensors projected around the suit allowed it to perceive and process the entire electromagnetic spectrum and beyond.

Despite all these capabilities, the suit was deeply concerned about its friend now recuperating in a Regen-Tank.

The bastards had caused serious and almost irreversible neural damage. According to the Med Specialists, it was the prolonged and repeated exposure to Kermac Pain recorders that caused it.

The Seenian suit was seen by many, just as a truly strange piece of advanced technology, and if it pondered its long path even his long-vanished makers did not.

Aboard the Tigershark, he was Tyron, neither the strangest nor the most powerful, but a friend first. It had also developed real emotions. Something that set it truly apart from a thing.

Suit looked at the Ult inside the regen tank and felt helpless and disturbed.

The Avatar projection of the Ult specialist stepped next to him. “Lt. Suit, we do everything ewer can and I am certain he will recuperate, but Neuropathways can not be printed. The prolonged exposure to these neuro stimulus rays caused more than tissue damage.”

Tyron did not have to turn to face someone, he said to the Ult physician.”I think he needs to be in our sickbay as soon as possible.”

The Med specialist was a Union citizen and had seen many unusual life forms, but talking to what appeared an empty bodysuit that floated a few inches above the floor was something else altogether.”Luitenant, I assure you he is getting great care, and we will transport him to a special clinic at Med Central, as soon as the Med transport arrives. What could a ship’s sickbay do, unless it is a hospital ship?”

The intensity of the suits answer took the physician by surprise.

Tyron said.”He would be taken care of friends who care, here he is just another patient.”

A physically present staff medic came into the treatment room.”Mr. Suit, the NAVINT investigators made planetfall and wanted to talk to you.”

--””--

The richest man in the known universe had started as a Terran businessman and was born before Earth ascended.

He was born in 2063, Earth still divided into nation-states and in political and economic trouble.

The Mega Tycoon had settled into a comfortable seat of his spacious work office aboard the Black Sirius, the fastest known ship, except for Narth spheres of course.

The super sleek six-hundred meters spacecraft had departed the Onyx system and had entered Quasi Space.

It would take only a day to reach Pluribus.

The room was darkened to a minimum of illumination. While his eyes wandered past the viewport into the endless darkness of space. The specks of light, distant stars and the occasional Quasi streak were the only sources of light out there.

Rex cherished these moments of silent solitude, as a time to think and restore his balance.

In moments like this, his thoughts often wandered back in time. Just like old McElligott or that eternal warhorse Stahl, he too was an immortal.

There were two-hundred of them, picked by the Guardian of Earth for the purpose to guide Earth’s humanity to the stars and onto the Galactic stage.

Rex now directed his eyes away from the viewport and focused on the strange metallic gleaming helmet in front of him resting on a small coffee table.

“Guiding humanity, yeah right.” He said in a low tone to the helmet but more so to himself. He never bought into this benevolent act and he knew neither did Richard Stahl.

The Guardian had ulterior motives. He was placed on Earth by others and with a purpose that was not spoken about or revealed.

Rex was certain about that, the very moment he had been summoned into that smooth underground lair of the Guardian, deep below the Himalayas.