Chapter 3

Planet Shothesh – Zatheshi Empire

(Palace of the Flame)

Shethedth moaned ... the slave’s mouth upon his cock ... she had been trained well...”Mmmm, yes...” he rewarded her with words.

The door to his chamber slammed open.

“Shethedth, my lord...” Athesh, Second Flame spoke with barely constrained urgency, “ ... I am sorry to interrupt your pleasure. However, there is a scent in the ether. Something we must investigate.”

The pale slave had not stopped her ministrations, but looked at him with eyes that spoke of disappointment and a question, should she stop or continue?

Athesh would not interrupt for a trivial matter. Mana generated by sex was powerful. It was also important to their wellbeing, the Zathesh were a race that could not live without mana and when their galaxy filament found itself in a mana trough, they had to develop other means to stay alive.

Through their research, they discovered ways to generate mana. Many of them were horrid and only the most desperate or perverse would perform the rites.

Then, they discovered that sex, all kinds of sex, generated mana. The most powerful was that generated by people that loved who they were with and who lost themselves in the pleasure their and their partners’ bodies could give.

Thus, their civilization did not fall during the great drought.

But ... there are degrees of ‘fall’. Their ability to access the ether, to travel between worlds was limited. Where before they had great ships that travelled and traded across the known worlds. Now, they were confined to one system with the exception of very hard to train and hard to keep alive, message carrying, miniature, ether mites. They were worth the effort only because they were the only way to stay in touch with their people.

Thought the Zathesh were known for their cruelty and complete lack of compassion for other species, they were not the worst the local universe had to offer...

“Athesh, I know you would not interrupt without good cause ... but know that if I do not find your summons worthy ... I will give you to my sister for an entire night.” Shethedth warned. He was The Flame of Shothesh, and the threat was not one that he made lightly. His sister was famous for her skills with the ‘toys’ she loved. Athesh shivered at the threat, Lady Phasha was not someone he wished to spend more time than needed with and being hers for a night was almost terrifying. Athesh did not follow The Path of the Lash.

“Tell me, what this ‘scent’ on the ether is?” he asked.

“I cannot speak of it here my lord. You would not believe me and ... it would be... imprudent. You must see the scrying yourself.” Athesh replied, with some fear yet still confident in his decision.

“I am certain you will find no fault in my judgment my lord.” He said with confidence.

As they strode through halls of The Palace of Flame, Shethedth wondered both at the confidence Athesh showed but also at his reticence to discuss the matter.

“Surely there is nothing so important that it cannot be spoken of in the halls of my palace?” Shethedth thought to himself.

Athesh was careful to close the door to the study chamber. The room was a well organized but cluttered room. As with any area given to research, there were items and implements of the style of research scattered, some neatly put away others merely moved aside to allow investigation in the current area of concern. The room was dominated by a sand table used to construct temporary rune configurations.

The Zatheshi lords ignored all except a full-length mirror set to the left side of the room. It was kept covered and in shadow to prevent damage from sunlight and it being used by others ... on the mirrors ‘other’ side...

Athesh removed the heavy, black velvet cloth and said “Watch my lord...” He then murmured and gestured invoking the incantations set into the mirror.

As he continued grey green mists coalesced in the mirror’s surface slowly forming into a star field. At the same time, it vibrated and began to emanate a strange odor.

Shethedth stifled an involuntary intake of breath. It would not do to panic his vassal by showing surprise.

“You chose well, Athesh, forgive my threats earlier ... you may pick from my hareem seven times for a day’s pleasure each, so you know I am sincere.” Shethedth granted.

Athesh was stunned by the generous gift, “My lord, I thank you, but it is not necessary, I live to serve the Flame!”

“You will accept my lord Athesh. You have earned my favor.” Shethedth insisted. This kind of thinking was to be encouraged if a Lord of the Flame was to be well served.

The smell that had come from the mirror indicated a return to the ether of a once vanquished people. Or ... at least it was thought that they were vanquished. If they had been able to access the ether so soon in the cycle of return their understanding of mana was beyond, not much, but still beyond that of the Zatheshi Empire.

Then, Shethedth detected something else in the scents from the mirror ... he looked closely at the star field.

“Athesh, give me control of the mirror!” this time forgetting his earlier caution.

Startled, Lord Athesh transferred control to his liege. He worried that he had missed something he should have seen. The return of the Atlanteans was of concern but this reaction betrayed something more.

Shethedth began a much more vigorous series of gestures, adding footwork and more pronounced words of power.

Athesh stepped back, giving room to allow Shethedth to work without hindrance.

In the mirror, the star field shifted, and the vibrations changed. The mirror emitted a low hum.

The scent coming from the mirror also changed ... it smelled of rot and salt and a tinge of cinnamon.

One star glowed in an ominous dark green with a light blue halo...

Athesh was both honored and shocked. Honored to see a master of mana working with the mirror in such a way eliciting so much more than one such as himself could ... and shocked by what the mirror was telling them.

Shethedth came to a sudden stop...

“The cloth, now!” he nearly shouted in alarm.

Athesh, moved with alacrity that was informed by his many hours of practice with mana blades, the traditional weapon of the Zatheshi lords.

Grasping the heavy cloth, he put it quickly and carefully over the mirror.

As the cloth settled, Shethedth began another series of incantations and movements. His voice, a deep resonant baritone filled the room.

Shadow surrounded the mirror.

Athesh was again shocked. To summon such a shadow was no small feat and to cover the mirror ... it could mean only one thing ... his lord had seen something of great concern ... his mind recoiled at what his nose and eyes had shown him. The Atlanteans were a concern but this ... this was something else entirely.

Shethedth turned to him, “My lord Athesh ... to keep this between us I should bleed you now. But you showed intelligence and foresight in bringing the Atlanteans to my attention. Seeing what we just saw...” he still did not want to name the threat, “will require the best of the Flames of Zathesh. I believe you have shown you are of the best.”

Athesh knew what his lord said was true. He should die instead of leaving the room. That he would not was surprising, humbling, and only served to strengthen his bond to his liege.

“My lord” he said with a whisper, kneeling exposing his neck for the killing stroke, “ ... my life is yours!” his voice betraying his emotions.

Mastering his shock Shethedth, Flame of Shothesh, one of the thirteen Flames of the Zatheshi Empire said with resolve, “Stand, Athesh ... there is much to do. Summon the council and have the mite keeper prepare a full spread of the beasts. We must be ready to inform the empire. The K’tklath’cha stir.”

Earth – Peterson SFB – June 2167

(Headquarters, Earth Space Force)

“Colonel O’Donnell, the court of inquiry agrees with the findings of the Inspector General’s team and finds you and your crew performed to the best of your ability given the circumstances. You are to be commended for trusting your crew and acting in the best traditions of the service. For your actions you and your bridge crew will be awarded the Meritorious Service medal. The marines and channelers that engaged these ‘mites’ will be awarded the same with a valor device. Thank you for your work, this court of inquiry stands adjourned.”

Colonel Alexis O’Donnell was relieved. Not because she thought there was any threat to her career or that the board of inquiry would find fault in any of the actions of her crew. No, she was relieved that her crew were recognized for their actions in the face of something unknown and terrifying. She still had flashes of LCpl Smith’s face as they zipped up the body bag, the look of fear and pain frozen on his face.

She glanced at her watch ... the court had dismissed in time for lunch, she gave a lopsided grin ... of course they did. General Officers weren’t going to miss a good meal at the Club (Officer’s Clubs as separate from Enlisted Clubs had died many years ago anywhere the U.S. was involved, the cost of maintaining separate facilities was too high ... kind of silly when you think of when the trend to combine them had begun and the deficits the US ran up on military spending... ) if they could help it...

“Yeah, today they are serving lobster with an appetizer of ‘floater caviar’ from Eloxian.” She thought, “Hmm, I should call Susan and see if she can break away for lunch.” her grin turned to a full smile as she thought about her partner.

They had been together since the Academy. They met on the football team. No one called it ‘soccer’ anymore ... American narcissism only lasted for a little while as the world became more and more integrated after Anna O’Donnel’s discoveries forced humanity to realize the universe was bigger, more complex, and dangerous than anyone had imagined. Their petty ‘nationalistic’ divisions faded further after the integrated Space Force was formed under the auspices of the United Nations. The Gift from the Eloi had also helped it along. Humans weren’t alone or ‘special’ ... sure they had a few things going for them that others didn’t, but then that could be said of any ether-faring race.

Alexis recalled Susan’s flushed face when they collided on the pitch, both going after the ball. She had felt an instant connection looking up at the other woman. Susan was too focused on the game at first, worried about who had ended up with the ball. Susan, absent mindedly reaching out to offer a hand up to the pale red headed first year cadet. When she reached out, turning her head to see the person she was helping up, their eyes met and there was an instant attraction for her as well. They smiled and got back into the game. In the locker room and in the showers, they caught each other sneaking glances. As the other women began to leave, Alexis felt uncharacteristically shy, normally she would have started talking to someone she was attracted to as soon as the whistle blew for practice to end. This time ... was different.

Susan was older, in her second year at the Academy. She realized the striking red head wasn’t going to say anything despite the obvious attraction they shared, so she decided she would...

ESSF Officer Academy – Oslo, Norway – April 2143

“Hey, O’Donnell, right?” Susan said, her Texas accent sneaking into her speech again. She had tried hard to get rid of it ... but nerves tended to help it slip past her carefully cultured American neutral accent. The locals here on the outskirts of Oslo didn’t seem to mind it and some even liked it calling her ‘Cowgirl’ in jest.

The Earth Space Force Officers Academy had been set up in Oslo to appease the ‘Big Three’, the United States, Argentina, & France. It was neutral ... or sort of anyway. A lot of people were surprised at how things turned out once the US stopped being the world’s police force and the ecological disaster caused by the ‘Greediest Generation’ (formerly known as the ‘Boomers’). But it came down to demographics, energy security and food security. These three managed to figure things out ahead of the rest. China and Russia had imploded. There were about twenty new members of the United Nations after the dust settled across Asia.