Chapter 19

“Paranoid? Probably. But just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t an invisible demon about to eat your face.”

― Jim Butcher, Storm Front

“That is a pretty big mountain. Marcela how long is it going to take us to get to the top?” Trackrof Graf asked as she pulled on her back pack and shouldered her assault rifle.

“It is a full day’s climb,” said Odalis.

“Not if I can help it,” said Jason, “I intend to take everyone to the top. Show me where the path ends in front of the door. I don’t want to waste the time.”

Odalis pointed out where the door was. “There is an outdoor platform big enough for us to land on. I have consulted the senior sisters. None of the senior sisterhood believe there is anything to gain by climbing the mountain. They will take us up in a gunship if you wish.”

“No, I can get us all up there faster. Marcela is there a problem from your point of view?”

“The only place we must walk is over the freezing Dermon desert. After Jason takes us up, I will move you as fast as we can along the tunnels. I will see if I am tired at the other end and if I am, I will rest, but I want to get through this as quickly as we can. The desert walk in the cold even with all our warm clothing is miserable. The tunnels are a tedious hike which we will avoid if at all possible.

“If we have to fight the Dermon, we will fight them, but we will do it soon and get it done,” said Jason.

“People I suggest you put your assault rifles in the sleeve on the side of your pack. You won’t need them until we open the door to the Dermon world,” said Marcela. “Then form a circle and we will get ready to fly. I will teach all of you as we go along how to use the transportation method Jason uses. It will be an important tool for you to have at your disposal. You all should be able to transport others. After you learn, you need to practice. It is easy to learn, but it takes some time to learn to do well and accurately.”

They linked hands and Jason moved them up to the door almost instantaneously.

“Whoopee, here we are already. I was dreading the trip up. Can I use your flying service for all mountains I need to climb, Jason?” Odalis asked.

Jason smiled and moved his hand to the indentation on the door. It opened and he led the way through. The door closed after them.

“Marcela, I assume we follow the lights?”

“Yes, link hands but this time as a chain not a circle. Jason hold my hand. Corvus, please stay at the end next to Odalis.” Marcela nodded and they again linked hands and she began to follow the lights. They moved along quickly floating a foot above the ground. The lights kept up with the rapid pace Marcela set. They reached the door in twenty minutes.

Marcela wasn’t tired.

Jason reached for the indentation on the door.

“Wait, the next section is dangerous. Put on your warm clothes and light armor and get out your assault rifles. Load up everything you might need for a lengthy battle. I packed several anti-gunship launchers in the packs of those of you who use heavy weapons.

Corvus, and Griffexor smiled at each other and changed into their small Gromelix forms and shouldered cannon and missile launchers. The Azayal placed knives, micro missiles, hand thrown grenades and throwing discs in the pockets of the light armor.

Patata the Ordreg shouldered her heavy cannon as did her good friend Perna Badada. Patata was six foot eight tall and Perna was four inches taller. They both carried missile launchers over the other shoulder.

“I wouldn’t like to encounter this group,” said Oksana. “I miss Ooryphyon, she is impressive in her bigger form brandishing her cannon.”

Lisirra looked grim. Annjus moved close behind Jason.

Jason looked around and confirmed they were all ready before placing his hand on the door which opened outward. He looked around carefully and led the way out. Corvus moved into the lead position with Griffexor. Perna and Patata moved to the back. Marcela pointed to the path. The previous footprints were still clearly seen in the dust.

“Walk briskly and follow the path, do not deviate,” said Marcela.

“No, Marcela, that is not wise, we will follow the path but stay six feet out from the footprints. I can see the path follows the cliff to our right,” said Corvus. “I expect we will see a booby trap or two along the way.”

The air was cold, but dry and bracing. They walked for half an hour through the stinking sulfurous air. They all remained alert carefully watching the distant air traffic and casting glances at the belching volcanoes.

“I can’t believe how cold it is and how bad the smell is,” said Lisirra wrinkling her nose.

“Walk fast and keep alert,” said Zafa, “the sulphur dioxide will soon numb your smell.”

“Marcela look at the footsteps directly to my right. If you look carefully you will see evidence of brush marks where they tried to obscure their boots. There is a faint rectangular indentation that tells me someone has built a trap for the unwary,” said Corvus pointing to his right.

Marcela nodded and waved.

“How much further do we need to walk?” Corvus asked.

“We must walk another half-an-hour at most. We turn diagonally to the right following the cliff in fifty yards. We are much less vulnerable from then on. We won’t see any shuttles. Our biggest risk will be a foot patrol,” said Marcela.

They reached the turn and pivoted sixty degrees to the right and continued walking.

“The door is no more than three hundred yards in front of us,” Marcela informed them. “Nothing has happened and we are almost out of trouble. I look forward to getting out of this biting cold.”

Jason jerked convulsively as if he had been struck by something and fell face down in the dust. The others looked around alertly but couldn’t see anything. Marcela ran to Jason side. She turned him over and examined him.

“I can’t find any evidence of an injury. He is unconscious. Carry him to the door and take him through. We can have a closer look at him once we are out of danger,” said Marcela.

“Perna, Griffexor and I will cover our backs, please take Jason ahead to the door as fast as you can.”

Perna shouldered her cannon and picked up Jason as easily as if he was a baby and put him over her other shoulder.

“He is light, I can easily carry him without help to the door. Let’s go,” said Perna. “The gravity here is not challenging.”

“Damn it, there is a shuttle coming straight towards us! Start running I will deal with it,” shouted Corvus.

They started running towards the door, Perna carrying Jason easily over her shoulder. There was brief cannon fire, missile whoosh sounds then a loud explosion and a loud crash. Marcela opened the door and most rushed through. She left it slightly ajar. Razza moved to observe while Marcela moved over to Jason.

“Corvus is injured and limping, the shuttle is down and on fire. Patata went back and is helping him to get back here. They are almost at the door. There is another shuttle in the distance heading this way. Patata and Corvus are shooting at it. They hit the second shuttle and it is falling to the ground. They are almost at the door.”

Patata helped Corvus through the door. Marcela slammed it shut and locked it. The floor and walls shook as the shuttle hit the mountain above them. Dust, and several small stones fell from the roof.

Marcela walked back to Jason.

“We are out of danger. They cannot see the door and if they could, they cannot get through it.

“I will examine Jason. I will check him in case he faced a psychic assault. My medical knowledge is limited, do we have anyone trained as a medic?” Marcela asked.

Griffexor nodded and walked over, removing her pack, then rummaging inside.

“The rest of you heal Corvus and Patata. Many hands make healing faster.”

Marcela placed her hands on both sides of Jason’s head. She concentrated for several minutes then looked startled.

Griffexor bent over Jason, then crouched and pulled out her medical kit from its protective pocket.

Marcela moved aside frowning, her eyes glazed, and looking vacantly at one of the walls.

Griffexor took out several instruments from her pack and moved them one at a time over Jason’s body. She looked puzzled as she moved it over Jason’s head and then looked up at Marcela.

“He has got a weird entity somewhere in his head. It is not a parasite, it is not biological, but it has an extraordinarily powerful consciousness. I can detect it but its power is off the scale.”

Marcela sighed. “That is the same conclusion I reached. I would normally be frantically worried, but I saw this event as did the other priests and priestesses. We saw Jason react, we were all worried, but he recovered, and he gained something intangible. We could see he was pleased and we discerned he was not unhappy or damaged.

“I suggest we put him in a comfortable position, then take a short break and give him and Corvus a chance to recover. I will fly us through these tunnels. This tunnel is much narrower than the other. I will teach you how to fly as I do while we wait. These tunnels are narrower and have protrusions from the wall. I must use a different method to fly us out.”

Marcela placed her hand on Jason’s forehead and frowned in concentration.

“Do any of you know if Jason brought Rock, Block and Lid along?”

“We are all here, none of us was prepared to miss such an adventure. We could not imagine traveling through tunnels that take you through different universes. We clearly felt the transition after the halfway mark in the previous tunnel.

“We do know who is in Jason. We were able to detect a creator some distance away. As soon as the creator sensed Jason, he headed directly for him. He is not the same creator who created us. He is a different kind, but he has the unmistakable feel of the creators. He is trying to discover what Jason is and how to communicate with him. This universe is younger than ours, but not by much. He is younger than us by only few billion years. I will introduce you to him shortly, but we wanted to let you know we are well and enjoying the adventure.

“Marcela, would you like us to shut down the magic in the Dermon world. There is no downside for any other universe, but they will never be able to threaten any other universe if we do that,” said Rock.

Marcela sat and thought for several minutes.

“Yes, please Rock, I think we will all feel much relieved if we can reduce a future risk without a downside. Will it take you long?” Marcela asked.

“Carry on as you normally would. When we reach the transition between universes, we will do it then. You will not need to pause. It is a small job for us, and it will not use much of our power. I am positive Jason would agree. We can recharge on the ship; they created an interface for us.”

“Jason will be regaining consciousness shortly. He may not function well until the creator can optimize the connection,” said Block.

“Where does this entity reside?” Griffexor asked.

“The entity has crafted a dimensional space of a dimension that only exists in the Dermon universe. He does not occupy any of Jason’s brain or consciousness. I cannot detect any malice towards Jason. He is relaxing for a few minutes after he completed his living quarters. We will now begin to communicate with him and discover his intentions. I will report back shortly.”

Several minutes passed in silence.

Jason groaned, then tried to sit up.

“What the hell hit me? I feel like a gunship landed on me. I ache in every joint and in every muscle.

“Does anyone know if the Vostes family is OK?”

“Jason we are all fine, we have been having a conversation with the being who has taken up permanent residence within you,” said Lid.

Rock giggled.

“You seem to attract beings who wish to take up residence within you. He hasn’t told me his name yet, but he informs me he will introduce himself to you once he has established an appropriate connection. He is working on it.

“He is a creator; part of the group that formed the Dermon universe, but he was the one that volunteered to help supervise the contraction of the universe. Apparently, there are destructive beings and forces in the universe, and they attempted to harm him once the others left. They tried to ambush him. He was fleeing from them.

“He sensed you from a distant galaxy and realized you were from another universe. He decided to risk joining up with you. He intends to offer to be your mentor. He means you no harm and he cannot live independently of you in Nasta 9. If you die, he dies. He did say if you did not want to benefit from his great wisdom, he would like you to open the door and I will ask him on your behalf to leave,” said Rock.

“Is he good or evil?” Razza asked.

“Razza, we use the concept of builders and destroyers. Builders create and they try and improve their creations. If the creation is not good, they try and take it apart so they can make the best use of the different pieces.

“Destroyers break things for the sake of breaking them and the only objects they create are those in order to help the process of destruction. He is a creator and a builder. He has enormous power and a mind with abilities Vostes would love to have. He is very pleased to meet the Vostes and was very excited to discover the Vostes are moving to Nasta 9. He is excited to explore the possibilities of what we can do together,” said Lid.

“How will Jason cope with a such a powerful creature within him?” Linda asked.

“Easily is the short answer. All of you are well on the way to develop creator abilities. He sensed developing kindred spirits. Give yourselves half a billion years and you will all have such powers and abilities,” said Rock.

“I am well on the way to becoming a God and I have a bad headache I can’t fix. Griffexor can you do anything?” Jason asked.

Many in the group began sniggering and giggling.

“My father has always called me his little goddess,” said Trackrof. “He was obviously on the right track and may also be one of the Coven Oracles.”

Most of the group began to laugh.

Griffexor moved a wand like device over Jason’s head.

“How is that Jason?” Griffexor asked.

“It is a little better, can you do it again?”

She moved the wand several times over his head as she watched the readout.

“That is as much as this device can do.”

“It is much better, I think I can fly us along the tunnel, but I suspect we need to lie flat with people following me holding onto my feet and continuing down the line.”

“No, Jason, I will fly you all through the tunnel,” said Marcela. “As Jason suggested, I am going to lie flat ten yards up the tunnel. Patata please hold my feet. Jason you lie top of Patata and hold on.

“Corvus can you hold on or do you need to ride on someone?”

“Marcela, I am fine, I stumbled over a rock and twisted my ankle just after shooting my missile. It feels fine. Flying is not going to stress it at all.”

“Hold the feet of the person in front of you. Corvus you can stay at the back of the chain. There won’t be any strain in your arms. I will reduce your mass and I will create a magical protective cocoon close to our bodies to protect us from rocky protrusions and unexpected corners. I was intending to teach you to fly individually this segment, but the injuries and Jason’s situation has changed my mind. I will teach you the simple technique after we return. You need the skill; it may help save your life or the life of someone else. I will ensure I teach you before you attack the Gazronnaas.

“I must tell the sisters what happened and they will examine Jason themselves. I am much relieved after hearing what the Vosges told us.”

Marcela marched up the tunnel and lay face down on the rock. Patata lay down and held onto her feet. Jason lay down on top of her and held on. Corvus walked to the back. Several minutes later Corvus called from the back.

“You can start the train all the coaches are linked!”

Jason could feel the others giggling as they sped through the tunnels. Barely twenty-five minutes later they reached the door.

Jason moved forward to open it. The door swung open as he put his hand into the impression. He walked out followed by the others.

“What a beautiful day, my headache has gone, and I am feeling at least a billionth of the way to Godliness.”

“Come on, let’s go, this is not time to chat and party. Link hands and I will fly you to our humble palatial home. The priests and priestesses want to meet you. It is time for breakfast. We will spend half a day with the priests and priestesses, join them for lunch and then we can fly back to Mars.”

“Yeah, I must get back to fight my sister. Then I can also be a ruler of an Empire,” said Valsam. “I have a booking to get my own creator next Friday.”

Most laughed. Jason smiled wanly.

****

Marcela went over the rules of the fight.

“This fight will be decided on points, you will be automatically disqualified if you use powers and I will kill you myself if I see a weapon.”

Valsam lined up against her sister. She was much bigger than Bralran and Jason knew she was a formidable fighter. Bralran glanced at Jason before she settled into her stance looking determined.

Marcela signaled them to begin.

Bralran scored quickly.

“Point to Bralran, let’s go again.”

Valsam darted forward, picked up Bralran and in midair turned her upside down and slammed her down head-first.

Marcela counted to twenty-five.

“Bout and match to Valsam.

Bralran regained consciousness a half an hour later but was confused and had a severe headache.

Valsam sent her to a medical pod.

She returned several hours later.

“I still feel like shit. That is the second time you have done that to me Valsam!”

“You poor thing, but you must know who is boss of the outfit!”

“You are boss, you know I was forced to fight you. I didn’t want to do it.”

“All is forgiven, this is your Emperor and my King. We have given you the Uzliumbax language and the ability to change form. All of us will be able to change form at will. All our Queens, Kings and Drones will be able to do the same once they go through our pods. While you were relaxing in the pod, I gave them the language and scheduled medical pod time. Come and eat with us but first I will give you your clothing and then you can try to talk. You learned how to do it,” said Valsam warmly. “I will introduce you to my fellow Empresses. Jiskassa and our other sisters will be there.”

****

“It is hard to believe today is our last day at University here. I wish we could move this universe closer to our galaxy,” said Razza.

“I have discussed that idea with Jason,” said Rock. “I was talking to Thistrinoth Volgrukin and he will be happy to help.”

“Who in the name of the galactic prophets of the Koronus Quasar Cluster is that?” Razza asked

“It is our friendly creator. He is busy decorating his space, but he says he has time for a little work on universes. He tells me it will be a good idea if we move the Mini-Universe into ours, and it will increase the life of our universe. He suggests we also move Bekta Delta and the Azayal universe into ours. The Mini-Universe is small and Bekta Delta is not that much bigger. It will do our universe a lot of good and make it easier for the Destroyers. He intends to talk to Jason, but he has not managed to sort out the interface. He tells me he has absorbed the information from your crystals and he is not that impressed. He changed his mind after he learnt you have not been around for billions of years like he has.

“I got the impression he is going to be bored soon and wants to do something of significance. He does have a great idea which I think we should implement,” said Rock enigmatically. “He wants to discuss it with you directly Jason before you go to Bekta Delta to attack the Gazronnaas.

“I think we are almost ready. I am meeting with our generals and admirals and their Destroyer counterparts this afternoon. They are presenting the final plans of attack. The new Azloc fleets will join us for the first time,” said Jason. ”The Destroyers are ready and will attack at the same time as we do.”

“How are the new queens?” Razza asked.

“I do like the Azloc Queens very much. None of them are cold fish like Jiskassa was before she got involved with Ben,” said Julia.

“The planning has been agonizingly slow, I miss Ooryphyon terribly and I feel heart-sore when I think she is suffering once more. She was also at a critical stage of her therapy and was emotionally fragile,” said Lisirra.

“What are you going to do about the Dermon who are on Groompt Plut if you are thinking of moving this universe?”

“I met with them a month ago and I offered to transfer their consciousness to bodies that will be compatible with Nasta 9. They all accepted, and the job was done. I offered them all jobs at the University coaching fighting techniques. Master Saulius assured me they all are highly competent. They are also excellent teachers of offensive and defensive magic. I think they will be great assets.

“We can use my castle as a holiday home if Annjus agrees as it is part of her house. Her grandmother is doing an enormous amount of work to develop the planet. Her grandmother behaves as if I have given her the crown jewels.

“Please excuse me, Jiskassa, Zafa, Andrea, and Linda we must meet with the planners. I am going to Bekta Delta a day before the fleet to talk with Ooryphyon. You are all welcome to join me.”

Everyone indicated they wanted to join Jason and take the opportunity to speak to Ooryphyon.

****

“Hi, Ooryphyon, how are you going?” Jason asked.

“Is that you Harry? I am okay I suppose, when are you guys going to rescue us?” Ooryphyon asked.

“How are your parents doing?”

“They are still alive. We can’t wait to be rescued, when are you going to save us?”

“We are collecting information. It is very difficult as we may have to fight the Destroyers and even the Azloc. We don’t want the Destroyers to know where you are, in case they capture you. We cannot make peace with those religious women.”

There was no reply.

“Ooryphyon are you still there?”

“Yes, Harry, I am still here.”

“Have you been able to locate the Queen?”

“Yes, but she is definitely not around.”

“We will try and rescue you in a couple of weeks. There is a big Destroyer fleet guarding your planet and we don’t have enough ships to fight the Destroyers.

“In two weeks, our people are coming from Norbut 19. They may be able to help us, but we are not sure as none of them managed to get out of Norbut 19 previously and you know about the Norbut 19 disaster before you were captured. Sadly, my mother is no more.

“It will be Yoyo’s birthday in a couple of days. He is sorry you aren’t able to celebrate it with him but hopes to make it up to you later. He is going to see if he can persuade the baboons to give us some ships. We don’t think they are going to do it, so we need to wait to see if our people can help us. It’s not looking good. I am so sorry.

“Maybe we can hold hands with our friends in the not too distant future?”

“I am not sure holding hands will be enough, Harry, we can’t always do what we want. Where are you speaking to us from?”

“We are just inside the edge of the Bekta Delta universe. We know the Gazronnaas can see through our masking, so we must stay out of their way. Everyone sends best wishes. We are so sorry, Ooryphyon, we can’t do more, we miss you.”

****

Jason repeated the telepathic conversation verbatim.