Chapter 9: Ambush

Procuring a means of escape proved to be difficult. Because of the threat leveled against the population, the government put the planet on lockdown. After recalling all the outlying starships searching the nearby systems for supplies, the senate declared martial law. No one was allowed in or out of the planet’s atmosphere. When it became obvious that legal methods were out of the question, I sought out some illegal ones.

“Goblins! Are you certain, Eramar?”

Eramar asked everyone to clear Saria’s office before giving his report, so she knew that he must’ve discovered something important. Even so, she hadn’t been expecting this. There was a reason that no one had even heard from the Goblins in well over a decade.

“Yes, my lady, and I have the recorded evidence to prove it,” responded Eramar as he clicked a remote, causing the lights to dim.

As the lights came back on, Saria’s office transformed into the council chambers where Randals died. If Saria didn’t know that she simply stood in an illusion created by the holoprojectors within her office, she would’ve thought such a sight fantastic. Every detail was perfect. Saria saw a mirror image of herself facing Randals just before his head exploded. A projection of Eramar stood below her pedestal just as calm and unreadable as ever. Saria turned to the real Eramar incredulously.

“Eramar, I’ve already seen this recording. In fact, I’ve seen it too many times for my liking. What could you possibly have discovered that sheds new light on all of our previous investigations? How will showing this to me now make a difference?”

“The difference, my lady, is that this image has been scanned by psionic sensors, so there will be no illusions within the recording.”

“Eramar, I don’t understand,” said Saria in confusion. Eramar tended to have that effect on her. “These images have already been scanned by the system. If there were any illusions within the recording, the psionic computer would’ve detected such an illusion and dissolved it. More than that, our own security system makes it nearly impossible to conjure powerful Elemency while within the inner sanctum of the volcano.

“No psionic technique can be performed within these walls without our Mental Division being fully aware of the infiltration. And besides that, the council chambers were given even further psionic protection to strengthen security. So when you say that this image has been scanned by sensor types, I don’t see how that could make any difference since there was no possible way of creating an illusion, at least not one powerful enough to fool me and every single Wielder within that room. It simply isn’t done.”

“I thought that too at first,” said Eramar. By the way he started pacing, Saria mentally prepared herself for one of his long and over-dramatic lectures. “But then I started thinking about the little details. How did Palms get in the room without anyone noticing? More than that, how did he manage to kill an esteemed senator right under our noses? And then it hit me. Well, the answer partially came from Ryan.”

Saria rolled her eyes and groaned. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? It almost seems that Richard is haunting me from beyond the grave for all those times that I disagreed with him. Very well. What did the boy do this time?”

“Believe it or not, he actually helped this time. You remember how Ryan was able to just walk right into the council chambers despite all the psionic security we had put into place.”

“I assumed it was a fluke in the system. The protective Guardians simply didn’t perceive Ryan as a threat, which he wasn’t technically. You know they do that from time to time. The system’s power source is sustained through Sun Gems, but it’s the Elemental Guardians that oversee the running of all psionic defenses that we put into place. In fact, they are almost the brains behind most of the computer systems within this facility. And you know as well as I do that they have a mind of their own sometimes.”

“Indeed, I do,” affirmed Eramar, looking pleased by Saria’s deduction. Even though Saria was older than Eramar by more than a few centuries, he had a way of making her feel like a schoolgirl.

Just like Zand, thought Saria sadly.

“Which brings me to my next point. What if, hypothetically speaking, the psionic defense system in the inner sanctum was shut down ... temporarily, of course. Not long enough to be noticed, but still long enough to allow a breach in our defenses; thereby, giving our assailants enough time to complete their task.”

Saria blinked in surprise. She was unaccustomed to being confounded, but recently, it became a common occurrence. “Eramar. I don’t mean to sound repetitive, but that is simply not possible.”

“Unless of course all of the Sun Gems that power the defensive systems were disrupted. I don’t mean physically, of course ... there are far too many, and they’re spread throughout the Ministry. But what if something interfered with their signals for that specific room so that the defenses wouldn’t receive any power for a short time?

“Without the constant power supply of Sun Gems, even beings as powerful as the Guardians become vulnerable. When they have no source of power to sustain them, they enter into an immobile trance, the equivalent of one of us sleeping. You see, I considered that Ryan might’ve been a fluke, but you and I personally oversaw the psionic defenses around that room to make sure that such flukes would not occur.

“And since this fluke just happened to coincide with an assassination that would shake the very foundations of the Ministries ... well, let’s just say that I’ve never been one to believe in coincidences. That’s why I believe the only logical assessment is that the assassins somehow managed to put all of our defenses to sleep using Shadow Elemency to disrupt the flow of our Sun Gems.”

Saria kept herself from gasping as a shudder went down her spine. “But Eramar, such a technique would require extreme skill. More than extreme, it would require Shadow Elemency the likes of which has not been seen since ... since...”

“Since the times of the Dark Dragon Lords,” said Eramar, finishing her sentence.

Saria was not easily frightened, but just hearing that phrase brought back so many horrible memories, as well as the fear and pain that those memories encompassed. “Please do not mention those creatures in my presence, Eramar. You had not been born yet ... you weren’t there. But I was ... I was there. I saw the things those monsters did ... the horrors they unleashed on not just the Empire, but on most of the civilized universe.

“In many ways, we are still healing from the evils they wrought. In fact, most of the prejudice and racism of this era is due to those Elementals turned Mystics who served the Dark Dragon Lords, and nearly brought our society to utter ruin. So I hope you understand the seriousness of your allegations.”

“Of course, my lady. I beg your pardon. I did not clarify my statement. I’m not insinuating that Mystics of the same caliber as the Dark Dragon Lords are behind this deed. The truth is, I’m still not completely sure how the Goblins pulled it off, but I am certain that it was months in the making, perhaps years. The point is that the system was offline, and the Guardians were rendered powerless for a short period of time. Probably mere seconds. That’s how Ryan was able to walk unharmed into the council chambers, and that’s also how Randals was assassinated. Observe, my lady.”

Eramar clicked the remote and the image played, but not as Saria had seen it before. Saria watched as a figure suddenly appeared in the room. At first, she thought it was Christopher Palm, but then she took a closer look and realized that the face of Christopher Palm was only an afterimage, a shadow that hid the assassin’s original form.

Shifting allows its user to change his physical shape and size, but it is still possible to see his original appearance using sensory psionic abilities. That was how Saria could now see the grotesque and disfigured male Goblin as he appeared in the room, obviously teleported by the secret Gateway.

The Goblin then proceeded to murder Randals using a glowing needle concealed in his sleeve. Many Goblins could mimic the unique psionic energies of the shapes they inhabited, so it didn’t surprise Saria that the needle possessed the same power and signature as a Fire Elemental.

In fact, the Goblin could’ve used Christopher’s own psions to power the needle, and then sustained the power by applying a steady stream of his personal psions. That’s probably why the medics confirmed Christopher’s unique psionic signature on Randals’ body.

And since the assassin was a Goblin, it meant that his abilities with shapeshifting were far greater than that of most human Elementals. Which also meant that he could mimic just about anything, even Palm’s DNA. So there was no danger of the Goblin being discovered even after extensive DNA scanning.

As soon as Saria had launched her counterattack, the Goblin instantly teleported away using the hidden Gateway and Christopher Palm stood in his place.

“Now what you see here, Minister, is the dead body of Christopher Palm being manipulated through Shadow Elemency.”

“Dead puppetry,” whispered Saria hoarsely, scarcely believing the words coming out of her mouth. “I haven’t heard of such a case in centuries ... more than half a millennium. It’s a forbidden technique. It’s only possible through Light or Shadow Elemency, and Light Users have long been discouraged from its practice. There are some rare forms of conventional Elemency capable of reproducing the same results, but no Psionic User has been trained in the art for millennia.”

“Yes, my lady, but that’s not the case for these Goblins.”

“So, you’re saying that these Goblins have Mage powers as well?”

“It would appear so, my lady.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone managing such a feat save for the Mages using Shadow Elemency. How can these Goblins use Shadow Elemency? Their natural psionic ability is shapeshifting. Most other forms of Elemency should be beyond their grasp, especially Shadow Elemency.”

“Again, my lady, I don’t know completely how they did it. All I know is that they did. How else could they have prevented the Seers from predicting this outcome?”

Saria had to consider that for a few moments. “Yes, I have heard that Shadow Elemency can be used to block prophecy. But there are a number of Elemental techniques that can accomplish the same thing more or less. The psionic ability known as Cloaking can make one invisible to the eyes and even to the future. Some say that even certain types of Earth Elemency can disrupt clairvoyance.”

“I have considered that. However, the Goblins have never been known to have access to those kinds of powers. But they do have access to Shadow Elemency given their past relationships with Mystics and Mages. Now, watch this.”

Eramar pointed to the image of Christopher Palm, drawing Saria’s attention for a moment. She watched as the dead puppet of Christopher slit his throat and fell to the floor before dying for a second time.

“I believe they had him slit his throat as a means of covering up the fact that they killed him through blue strangling gas.”

“Strangling gas? You mean they suffocated him?”

“It’s the only way that they’d be able to do it without leaving a mark or traces of poison. Strangling gas kills by forcing the throat to constrict, thereby, cutting off oxygen to the lungs. It’s extremely difficult to detect. The only sure way to sense its presence is to examine the jugular directly. Our assailants made that impossible for us when they had their puppet cut his own throat.”

Saria held up a finger as she pieced everything together. “So, this is what we know. These Goblins were somehow able to undermine our defenses by using a hidden Gateway and by disrupting the flow of psions through sabotage of our Sun Gems hidden throughout the Ministry.

“They then assumed the guise of Christopher Palm, a man known to have a grudge against Senator Randals, in order to accomplish the deed undetected. They carry out the assassination in front of many witnesses so there won’t be any question of how Randals came to his fate.

“In the confusion that I unwittingly caused with my attack, they manage to instantly switch with the real Christopher Palm, whose corpse was being manipulated by Shadow Elemency. They counted on the fact that we would be too busy dealing with the chaos that followed, that we wouldn’t have the time or resources to discover any of this for ourselves.”

“That about sums it up, my lady,” said Eramar softly.

“I told you not to call me ‘my lady’,” said Saria, but half-heartedly as she sat in thought.

Ryan was right! They were both right about all of it! This changes everything! I might have believed the Water Elementals hiring a Mystic, but I’d never believe that they hired a Goblin. There’s too much bad blood between the Ministry of Water and the Goblin races. This was obviously planned by a skilled third party ... there’s no question of that now! As Saria thought quietly to herself, she quickly realized that Eramar waited for her input.

“Do you realize the gravity of this situation?” asked Saria as she rose from her desk slowly. “The destruction of Grimic was a tragedy to say the least, but it did rid us of one of our oldest enemies in the Order of Shadow. If Galzar is still alive, then who knows how many other operatives survived. Our failures come full circle. All those innocents ... dead for nothing.”

“I know, my lady,” said Eramar sadly. “I was there ... unfortunately.”

Saria swallowed down bitter memories. In many ways, the human race had come a long way from their barbaric roots, but traces of savagery still remained no matter how much they advanced through technology and Elemency. Over ten years ago now, tensions had been mounting between the Tarrus Empire and the Goblin homeworld of Gackbar. Gackbar lay just beyond the border of Imperial territory. Many Goblins wished to join the Empire as so many other smaller races had done, like the Elves, the Ogres, and the Dwarves. However, traditional Goblins from the Order of Shadow who once paid tribute to the Dark Dragon Lords resented this fact, and continuously staged attacks against Imperial supply convoys. They claimed they were retaliating against Imperial propaganda, but the ambassadors sent to negotiate Gackbar’s possible joining of the planet was sanctioned by both governments.

Eventually, everything came to a head when the Goblins sent a raid to one of the human colonies near the border, and a shapeshifting assassin attempted to kill the former Emperor Voelair. The Militia quickly called for a counterattack, and when news came that a Tarrus ambassador named Sinclair Delarosa had been kidnapped and held hostage in the Goblin’s capital city, that sentiment became all too prevalent. Sinclair Delarosa was an important part of the peace talks and had ties to the Imperial family itself, so her capture enraged the people of Tarrus. After years of suffering Goblin attacks while at the same time suing for peace, the Tarrus people had taken all they could stand. A counterstrike was on the way before anyone had time to think.

Intelligence on the ambassador’s capture proved to be sketchy. The military had been led to believe that the capital city had been completely taken over by the faction loyal to the Order of Shadow. Elementals from every Ministry were sent to wipe out the planetary defenses, and then the Militia would come to retrieve the ambassador and deal with any resistance. But the military forces of the Goblins proved to be overexaggerated. Their defenses fell within minutes. It seemed that pro-unification Goblins had already gotten wind of the kidnapping, and staged a coup, so the forces of the Order of Shadow were already weakened. By the time the Ministries got wind of this, the attack was already underway. So many lives were lost because of overzealous militia soldiers with itchy trigger fingers. The Goblins even tried to issue a ceasefire, but their transmission was jammed because the Militia thought they were trying to call for help from the Forbidden Galaxies.

The result was one of the greatest catastrophes of Saria’s career. Under her orders, the Fire Elementals disengaged their attack first and prevented the deaths of more Goblin civilians. If not for that fact, Saria thought she might’ve been forcibly removed from office, a dishonor no Fire Minister had known for a thousand years. What remnants of the Order of Shadow controlled the city were said to be mostly wiped out. With its capital now occupied by Imperial forces, Gackbar officially joined the Tarrus Empire, but lost most of the goodwill that many of its people had exhibited. And to make matters worse, the ambassador, Sinclair Delarosa, was never found. Though her death paled in comparison to the thousands lost that day, both Shadow Order assassins and Goblin civilians alike. All the Ministries came under heavy scrutiny after the attack, and Chissler used the incident to strengthen his Anti-Elemental platform.

“We may have only been responding to their aggression, but we went too far. Much of Grimic City still lies in ruins. Even if there were signs of the ancient order of the Dark Dragon Lords at play there, that does not excuse the destruction that we wrought ... the destruction that the Goblin people have never forgiven us for.”

Eramar seemed a little defensive now. “The destruction that the Militia wrought, not the Elementals, at least not those from the Fire Ministry. When we found out what the military was doing, we intervened to stop the slaughter. Many more innocent lives would have been lost if not for that.”

“Be that as it may, some Elementals still took part in the deed. Our hands are still stained. It makes me wonder if anyone in this Empire deserves peace.” Saria’s voice became bitter and defeatist. The woes of countless years weighed heavily on her soul.

“You were right, Eramar. Unfortunately, it may not change anything,” said Saria in a voice that sounded dead. “Sorric will never accept any recording that we hand over to him. He’ll say that we’ve tampered with the footage, which is easy enough to do ... even easier to make such alterations imperceptible. I’m afraid that this won’t be enough to stop the war.”

“Maybe not,” said Eramar. “But perhaps it will help stall the war. Give Squad 99 the time they need to get some hard evidence. Evidence that not even Sorric could dismiss.”

“If they return,” said Saria bitterly.

“They will return. The Sacred Vessel of Purity will see to that.” After realizing what he just said, Eramar looked like he wanted to eat his own words.

Under normal circumstances, Saria might’ve been furious at hearing someone mention her former lover, however, after everything that she just learned, not even Zand could make her angry right now. She just felt too tired to get angry at the moment.

“As much faith as you have in Zand and his spirituality nonsense, I am a realist; I must deal with the here and now. I have long since lost my faith in spiritual matters. That’s for the Monks to deal with, not me. And even if your faith in this matter is vindicated, it might not be enough to prevent this war.

“The Water Elementals fight not just to avenge a comrade, and not just to defend their honor. They fight for the acquisition of territory ... for the accumulation of resources and power, just as they always have. Once the battle starts, do you really think they’ll just throw down their weapons and go home because we say it’s wrong?”

“I know our chances, my lady. I know what a slim hope this is, but it is a hope nonetheless ... and as long as there is a possibility of peace, I am willing to fight for it!”

Suddenly, an explosion sounded from far away. Saria deactivated the hologram with a wave of her hand and ran to the window just in time to see another giant bubble of water explode against the dome’s shields out in the distance.

“Believe me, Eramar, I want peace just as much as you do,” said Saria with her back to him. “But as far as the Water Elementals are concerned, this war has only begun.”

Ryan was having another psycho dream again. Only this time, just Zand showed up, and he didn’t look happy, which was a first for him.

“Ryan! Thank goodness I found you! The Third Plane has been a mess for days! I had almost lost all hope of contacting you again!”

“Third Plane?” repeated Ryan.

“Never mind, it’s not important! What is important is what I need to tell you! Something’s about to happen!”

“Okay, shoot.”

“There are two G-g-g-g-g...”

Ryan’s figment seemed to be having a mental breakdown, another first for him. “G-g-g-g-g,” mimicked Ryan. “I’ve never been very good at this game. Come on, throw me a bone, huh?”

“GUH ... GUH,” stuttered Zand desperately. He looked physically pained, like something literally kept him from speaking clearly.

Ryan tried to piece the fragments together. “Okay, you said that there are two of them. So, I get it that something’s coming for us.”

Zand nodded and made a motioning movement with his finger as if to tell Ryan to keep going.

“Alright, alright! So, two ... uh ... somethings are coming after us. Okay, that’s helpful, but two of what?”

Zand made another motioning gesture.

“Let’s see. Um. It starts with ‘G’ and has kind of a ‘guh’ sound to it. Guuuh.”

“Two ‘guh’ sounds, Ryan,” explained Zand, holding up two fingers.

Ryan nodded in acknowledgement, licking his lips as he focused. As Ryan mouthed ‘guh’ and pounded the sides of his temples, Zand kept making a motioning gesture with his fingers as if to say that Ryan was getting close. “GUUUUUUUHHHHH! OH! I GOT IT! GODS! GREEK GODS ARE COMING AFTER US!”

Now Zand looked angry, another first. “No, you twit! They’re Guuuh ... Oh, blast me for a fool! Blast that law! So long as the signal has not been given, there are limits to what I am allowed to intervene in.”

“What? What law? What are you bleeping talking about?!”

“That, you must find out on your own. Again, all I can say is that I’m sorry. But they don’t understand! You still need to know this! It’s vital information to the success of your mission.” Zand started pacing, which looked strange because they were both just floating in a vast space of nothingness. “I’ve got it! I’ll give you a riddle! They love those kinds of things!”

“Okay, first of all,” said Ryan, starting to get annoyed with all the cryptic mumbo-jumbo. “You are acting more insane than you usually do, which is not helping my overall confidence in my own sanity since you keep popping into my head. Secondly, if you need to tell me something, isn’t there an easier way to do it than using a riddle? You could write it down or use Morse Code. I’m just saying we got some options here, right?”

“Shut up and listen,” said Zand abruptly and with such force that Ryan felt scared all of the sudden.

Ryan instinctively came to attention as he said, “Yes, sir.”

“Master and student are what they seem, but father and daughter are what they dream. Too little too late, on a previous date, they met betrayal by an unlawful mate.” Zand stared at Ryan, as if hoping that such a ridiculous rhyme would mean anything to him.

“Wow! That is probably the most unhelpful piece of crap I have ever heard, and that’s saying a lot since I’ve seen a bunch of B-movies from Ancient Earth.”

Zand sighed and pinched the top of his nose in defeat. The gesture reminded Ryan of Eramar or Saria. “Just think about it, Ryan. It may not make sense now, but as long as you keep the rhyme in your heart, it will help you in the future.”

Zand then reached into his robes and pulled out an odd object that Ryan recognized from Ancient Earth depictions. It hung from a chain, was shaped in a circle with gold around the rim, and had a white portion in the middle with clicking hands and numbers.

“What is that thing?”

“It’s called a pocket watch. A relic from Ancient Earth. They were used to tell time. It was a gift from a very old friend.” Zand’s expression became somewhat pained. The old man studied the pocket watch with a frown. “I’m already out of time. I must depart before the balance pays the price for my transgression.”

“Wait, that’s it?” asked Ryan as he gripped the old man’s robes. “You can’t go yet! There’s too much at stake! Whoever you are, you’re obviously very knowledgeable about current events, so I need you to help me out here!”

“Again, I am sorry,” said Zand gently as he lightly removed himself from Ryan’s grip, or rather Ryan suddenly felt his grip go slack against the man’s clothes, almost like something took control of him. “But the law is absolute, even for me. Especially for me in some ways. I will tell you this, however. I have sent for someone who will be of great aid to you and your friends. Wait for him and he will help you.”

Zand put the pocket watch back into his robes as glowing white mist slowly enveloped his body.

“In the meantime, so long as the law is in play, this is all the aid I can give you for now. May the blessings of the Caretaker be with you. And may he also bless you with some common sense, and an inch of humility. Farewell, young Elemental, and a merry Christmas too. Though your struggles will be many, know that I will be watching over you always. I have a promise to keep to a dear friend after all.”

“Wait,” Ryan heard himself saying as a bright light enveloped Zand, and he vanished. Since the subject of Christmas came up, Ryan almost wanted to ask if the old guy really was Santa Claus.

Before Ryan fully woke, he heard Zand’s voice berating him one last time. “And whatever you do, don’t say it was GREEK GODS, or else they’ll think you’ve gone stark raving mad!”

Ryan woke up on the floor of the Mecha-Titan. Everyone else was asleep, except for Leon who took first watch.

“GREEK GODS!” was all Ryan could think to say as his memories of the dream came in hazily. “Greek Gods are coming after us! Everyone get up!”

With grunts and growls, and a few unmentionable curse words, everyone aboard the Lioness started to awaken.

Grafael shot up the fastest, wielding his hammer at imaginary foes. “WHERE ARE THEY? The Leprechauns! Those red-haired devils! My scales are not made of gold, and you can’t have them!” It was one of the few occasions that the Saurian actually sounded frightened.

Ryan couldn’t help but stare in awe at the half-asleep form of Grafael, a Raptor Warrior who up until this moment seemed like the coolest guy alive. “Really? You were having a nightmare about Leprechauns?”

Tork stifled a giggle.

Grafael, still a little groggy, sniffed defiantly. Though his voice sounded a bit haunted as he said, “You don’t know them like I do. Trust me, you don’t want to meet a pack of Leprechauns in a dark alley.”

I’m going to have to ask about that Leprechaun story later, said Ryan to himself.

“Ryan,” called Leon, looking even fiercer than Grafael. “What’s this all about? What are you jabbering about Greek Gods all of the sudden?”

Night had descended on the lonely streets of Tarrus. The Mecha-Titan lay parked in a dark alley between two vast building complexes. The shields were on, and Leon had figured out the controls that let them disguise the Mecha-Titan as a hotel on the outside through some kind of psionic cloaking mechanism.

“Yeah?” asked Grafael, shaking the last bit of sleep from his eyes. “I would say having a fear of Greek Gods is much more embarrassing than having a fear of Leprechauns ... which are real, and extremely bad-tempered ... especially when beer is scarce.”

“Not now, Grafael,” said Leon as he took a step closer to Ryan. “Well, Grunt. What’s so important that you deem it necessary to wake everyone up before their shift?”

Rachel rubbed her eyes, and said, “Yeah!” However, it came out a little slurred as she yawned. With her hair disheveled and her eyes drooping, she looked like she was still half-asleep.

Ryan fiddled his fingers nervously as he tried to come up with a sensible explanation. Not being able to think of one, he decided to just tell the truth. “Well, it’s like this. I had another psycho dream last night. Zand came and he was trying to warn me about something.”

“The old man that you keep seeing in your dreams?” asked Leon, suddenly becoming interested. “What did he say?”

“Well, that’s the thing. He couldn’t hardly say anything, like something was keeping him from saying exactly what he wanted to say. So instead, he gave me a riddle.”

“A riddle!” repeated Grafael, growing agitated. “Little brother, you should not be spouting such things. Riddles are only slightly less infuriating than poems, and both are seen as arcane and devious arts on Sauria.”

“Just listen!” cried out Ryan, not wanting to suffer any more Saurian superstition. “‘Master and student they may seem, but father and daughter is what they dream, too little too late, on a previous date, they were betrayed by an unlawful mate.’”