A Space Story 94

            Janessa, Duron, Junitha and Ryoko were walking in a lush green jungle.  The trees were so high they could not see the sky.  Every inch of the ground was covered with something bright green and alive.  A man in a leather jacket watched them without being seen as they made their way to a house.

            The house was shaped like a big white ball.  It had a front door and windows and was not decorated beyond that.  There was someone standing in front of the house.  At first they thought it was Zai.  It had the same gray skin and pointed ears.  As they got closer they saw this creature had a more feminine figure.  It was like Zai but it was clearly female.  If he ignored the alien facial features a human male might have found her figure attractive.  She was wearing small tight black shorts and an equally small and tight black top.  As they came to the edge of a little white picket fence around the house they were not sure how to address this female Raath.

            “I hope that isn’t Zai,” said Junitha, “because if it is things are going to be weird later on.”

            “Do you want something?” said the female Raath not in the mood for any foolishness.  Her voice sounded like any human woman’s voice.

            “Is Zai here?” asked Janessa.

            “You are friends of Zai?” she said disinterested, “of course you are.  He is always making friends with such strange individuals.  Come with me, he is in the field with the boy.”

            The female Raath led them through the trees behind the house.

            “Who are you?” asked Ryoko.

            “Did Zai not tell you about me?” she said, “that is just like him.  I am Zel.  Zai is my mate.  He was always like that even when we were young.  He never volunteers anything.  You always have to ask him.  It was always that way.  I had to be the one to invite him when we began our coupling.  He was so nervous.”

            “That is way more information than we need,” said Junitha.

            They came to a clearing.  It was a large rectangular field of grass.  Zai was there.  He was wearing small tight black shorts and nothing else.  There was a boy.  He was like a miniature version of Zai.  The Raath child growled and leaped through the air at Zai.

            “What the hell is this?” said Duron.

            “Zai is teaching our son,” said Zel, “what does it look like?”

            The Raath child attacked like some small rabid animal.  Zai knocked him aside.  The boy got right back up and renewed his frenzied assault.  The boy jumped up and kicked and clawed.  Zai blocked the attacks and kept pushing the child back down to the ground.  The boy did not relent.  Finally Zai grabbed the boy and pinned him to the ground.

            “Son of a bitch,” said Junitha.

            “Oh they are fine,” said Zel.

            There was laughing, the laughter of a child.  The boy was pinned to the ground and he was laughing.  Zai began to laugh as well.  He picked up the boy and twirled him in the air.  He set the boy down.

            “You are getting better my son,” said Zai, “One day you will be the mightiest son of Heaven and Earth.”

            The child look pleased to have his father’s pride.

            “Zai you have visitors,” Zel called to him.

            Zai took a few steps towards them with the boy then stopped.  They saw something they never thought possible.  Zai looked afraid.

            “Zai we need you to wake up,” said Duron.

            “We can’t get out of the mind trap without you,” said Janessa.

            Zai said one word to them, “No.”

            And he ran.  Zai ran across the clearing from them and into the jungle.

            “Where the fuck does he think he’s going?” said Junitha.

            Janessa was the first to run after Zai.  Duron tried to tell her to wait.  Then he just followed.  They all ran into the jungle after Zai.  They came to a new place.  This was not an alien world.  There was no strange bright green vegetation.  The grass was just grass and the few trees just looked like regular trees.

            “These are oak trees,” said Janessa, “this looks like Earth.”

            She saw Zai less than a hundred yards away.  He was wearing his battle suit.  There was a man with him.  He was wearing an old light brown leather jacket.  He had on jeans and a shirt.  There was a kitana sword at his hip.

            “Are you ready?” said the man in the leather jacket.

            “I am always prepared,” said Zai.

            The man smiled and drew his sword.  Zai deployed twin swords from his battle suit.  The two men attacked each other.

            “What are they doing?” said Duron.

            “I think they are sparring,” said Ryoko.

            “It looks like they are trying to kill each other,” said Duron.

            Junitha stood there almost frozen and said quietly, “oh my god it’s him.”

            The man in the leather jacket moved with incredible speed.  He moved as fast as Junitha.  Duron was right.  It did look like they were trying to kill each other.  Their fighting styles were ferocious and unyielding.  The fight was far away but at the same time they could see every detail of it.

            It was violent and at the same time there was elegance to what they were doing.  If a strike missed it was because the other man was skilled enough to avoid or block it.  Every thrust was made with conviction and power.  These two men treated their combat with each other like a dance.  It was almost like watching some kind of performance art but it was frightening in its murderous intent.

            The man in the leather jacket was smiling.  No it was more than that.  Zai threw off his mask.  He had the same look.  They were doing more than just enjoying this fight.  They were losing themselves in their lust for battle.  There was a chance they might kill one another and they could not get enough.  They threw away their swords.  Zai stripped off his gloves.  They attacked each other hand to hand.  They began laughing like madmen as they fought.

            “It’s… It’s beautiful,” said Ryoko, “this is how true warriors fight each other.  Who is that man?  How is a human able to fight Zai like that?”

            “The first Antalla was a man,” said Junitha, “on his death bed before he passed the power of Antalla on to his chosen he gave her the rules of the Antalla.  The first rule, the Antalla must always be a woman.  The power can never again be trusted to a man.  The second rule, the power must never be passed on to a descendent of first Antalla nor must any of them be allowed to awaken the power in their bloodline.  The power would drive them to corruption and madness.  The Antalla will be able to recognize the descendants of first Antalla.  The Antalla may ally with them but never share the power with them.

            “The third rule was set down by Nadia Pentangelus his chosen.  We must never pass the power of Antalla on to our daughters or anyone of our blood.  The power of Antalla must never be confined to one family or bloodline, it must be free to move and grow.  The fourth rule has always been there but did not become official until Hikari Hanso made it so.  The Antalla must never spill innocent blood.

            “The final rule of the Antalla was not always a rule.  It was a promise.  The name of first Antalla must be forgotten.  Before he died he made those closest to him promise that his name would be forgotten.  The Antalla must be free to be a symbol and an idea to all.  It must not be confined by one nation or culture.  If any Antalla should learn anything about who he truly was, it must not become part of the memory of Antalla and it must erased from history.”

            There was a glow of electric current in the man in the leather jacket’s eyes.  Lighting shot out from his hands.  Zai deployed a sort of shield on his arm that absorbed it.  Then Zai pointed the shield like a weapon and it began firing green glowing bolts at the man.  The man swatted them away and charged at Zai.  They began fighting hand to hand again.

            “Whoever he is we need to get him to stop fighting Zai so we can get out of here,” said Duron.

            As if on cue the man in the leather jacket stopped and said, “this has been a great match Zai, but I think those kids over there need to talk to you.”

            This time when Zai looked at them he did not look afraid.  He was angry.

            “Leave me alone,” he growled at them before he bolted off.

            “Zai come back,” said Janessa as she ran towards him.

            “Are we just going to keep chasing him?” said Ryoko frustrated.

            By the time they reached the place Zai and the man had been fighting Zai was gone.

            “This is not like the other dreams,” said Duron, “this place is different from the one we were in before. It’s like they gave Zai more than one dream.  We have no way of knowing how many there are.  He could be hiding from us in any of them.”

            The man in the leather jacket was still there.  He was staring off in the direction Zai had run off.  Junitha carefully stepped towards him.  Janessa was close behind her.

            “Oh Zai my brother,” he said, “What have I done to you?”

A Space Story 93

            With everyone together they were able to break free of the mind trap.  They fought off the aliens and took back the ship.  They launched their fighters and defeated the Spectral Horde fleet.  Soon the horde was begging to surrender.  The Daedlus returned home.  The crew was hailed as heroes.  There was a grand parade held in their honor.  Janessa Kepshawn was riding on a float with the rest of prime squad waving to the crowd.  All was right with the world.

            Then Janessa saw something that caught her attention.  It was not anything special.  It was just a man.  It was a man wearing an old faded light brown leather jacket.  And something about seeing that man made something in Janessa’s mind move to just the right place and she asked herself a question.  Then it was all clear.

            “This isn’t real,” said Janessa, “we’re still in the mind trap.”

            Janessa began yelling out the truth to everyone.

            “This is just another dream.  They’re pulling us back in.”

            An instant later the parade was gone.  They were back in the circle of light.

            “Damn them, they tricked us,” said Ryoko.

            “I don’t get it,” said Junitha, “we are all together.  We all rejected the dream.  Why can’t we get out?  At least as long as we are together they can’t separate us into individual dreams anymore.”

            “We must be missing something,” said Duron, “Kerrigan is not here is he?  Could the Spectral Horde have double crossed him?”

            “No they said they needed him,” said Junitha, “He is too valuable out there as a tool helping them understand humans.  There must be something else.”

            Janessa realized who was missing and said, “Zai!”

            Everyone hushed.

            “But Zai isn’t human,” said Duron.

            “He may not be human,” said Junitha, “but his mind is similar enough to ours that he can be put into the mind trap with us.”

            “We have to find Zai,” said Janessa, “We have to wake him up from his dream.”

            “I’m not sure I want to know what kind of dreams a guy like Zai has,” said Zemwell.

            “I’ll go,” said Janessa.

            “I’m coming with you,” said Junitha.

            “I’d like to have a look inside Zai’s mind,” said Ryoko.

            “Ms. Sajan I am leaving you in charge while we search for Zai,” said Duron, “keep everyone in the circle.  If they try to draw you into another dream, just try to remember what is real.”

           

            Somewhere in the dark, Zai, last of the Raath sat on the floor and looked at the screens in front of him.  They were like old televisions stacked in rows one on top of the other.  The only light came from their glow.

A Space Story 92

            Felina Golumbine’s wedding day was perfect.  It was like something out of a beautiful dream.  She looked stunning in her dress.  Her blonde hair was perfectly styled.  Her blue eyes shined.  The wedding chapels bells rung.  There was a crowd of reporters waiting outside.  They held up microphones and asked questions.

            “How do you do it all Felina?” one of them asked, “You are one of the most powerful individuals in the media.  You are an icon to women all over the world.  And now you have married the first great American super soldier Raddy Volcane.  What will you do next?”

            “Oh it is not about trying to be on top,” she answered, “What matters is that you follow your heart.  Do what comes natural.”

            Felina continued to take questions and answer them from the top of the wedding chapel steps.  Then she saw something.  Someone in the crowd coming closer.  Felina knew her.  It was that red head pilot that Raddy did not like.  What was she doing here?  Felina did not remember inviting her to the wedding.

            “Stay back,” said Felina as the girl stopped at the foot of the steps to the chapel.

            “I am so sorry Felina,” said Janessa, “but you can’t stay here.  None of this is real.”

            “Go away,” said Felina.

            She looked into Raddy’s face.  He smiled back at her.  Felina could lose herself in his eyes.

            “Raddy is dead, Felina,” said Janessa.

            “Shut up,” Felina screamed.

            The sky turned dark and there was thunder and lightning.  The wind began to push Janessa back.  She held her ground.

            “Listen to me Felina,” said Janessa yelling over the wind, “you are the last one.  We can’t escape the mind trap without you.”

            “I won’t let you take it from me,” screamed Felina, “just leave us alone.”

            “I’m the only other person in here who is real,” said Janessa, “Raddy is dead.  And you only have one eye now.  Remember it.”

            Felina felt something over one of her eyes.  She touched it.  They were bandages.  Her wedding dress was gone; she was wearing a gown from the medical center.

            “No stop it,” Felina cried.

            A hand touched her shoulder.

            “It’s okay,” said Raddy Volcane, “You should go now.”

            “But I love you,” said Felina.

            “You need to move on Felina,” said Raddy, “You are young and beautiful and you deserve to be happy.  But you won’t find that if you stay here with me.  Go with her.  Let her take you home.”

            Felina Golumbine stole one last kiss from Raddy Volcane.  Then she slowly walked down the wedding chapel steps to Janessa.  They started walking down the street.  Janessa glanced back and saw Raddy wave goodbye before he and the rest of that world was gone.

A Space Story 91

            Therazan Sajan was being honored at a state dinner.  She looked at the marks of rank and honor on her uniform and she knew something was not right.

            “Ms. Sajan,” Duron called to her, “we need to talk.”

            “Are you here for the dinner Commander Ardiniero?” she asked.

            “No I am not,” said Duron, “I am finding it easier if I just come out with it.  None of this is real.  This is all part of a dream created by the mind trap the Spectral Horde has us in.”

            “I knew this all felt wrong.  It takes years to become a general.  I am way too young.  Now what?”

            “Do you know where Mr. Tickbird is?”

            “What?  Zem is right here next to me.”

            Therazan looked and noticed the man sitting next to her was not Zemwell Tickbrid.  It looked like him but it was not the real him.

            “It seems you do not share the same dream,” said Duron, “we still have to find him.”

            “Yes,” said Therazan, “we have to find Zem.”

            The dream world came apart as Therazan Sajan set out on her mission.

            Zemwell Tickbird was standing in a farmhouse.  There were children all around.  Therazan Sajan was there with him but there was something wrong with her.  She was as beautiful as ever but she was not herself.

            “What the hell is this?” said Zemwell, “This is all wrong.  Why are we living on a farm?  When did we have a bunch of kids?”

            Two of the children stopped and looked at Zemwell.  One of them spoke in a strange high echoing voice, “How peculiar that this one is able to recognize the falsehood of the mind trap.”

            Then the other child spoke in a deep dark voice, “Perhaps we chose wrongly when we constructed this dream.”

            “This was a fairly standard fantasy among the Americans, perhaps we chose the wrong male to female ratio of children,” said the high voiced child.

            “We should have looked deeper into this ones mind, there did not appear to be much going on in the surface of his mental landscape but clearly there is more to him than we thought,” said the deep voiced child.

            Zemwell backed away from the children and said, “What are you?  You’re not my children and that is not Thera.  I don’t want this.  I want her, Therazan, the real her, where is she…”

            The world shattered like glass and Zemwell Tickbird fell through darkness screaming.  It felt like he would fall forever.  Then someone caught him.

            “Where did he come from?” said Duron, “he was just drifting out in the dark.”

            Therazan Sajan and Duron Ardiniero had Zemwell.

            “Thera is that really you?” asked Zemwell, “We were living on a farm and I think we were married and there were kids everywhere.”

            “Wait?” said Therzane, “you dreamt that we had kids?  Like a lot of them?”

            “But they weren’t really kids? I think they were aliens and I don’t even like farms.”

            “I think it would be best if we just get him back to the circle with everyone else,” said Duron.

            Everyone gathered in the circle of light in the dark.

“I think we have everyone now,” said Janessa.

            “So how do we get out of here now?” said Ryoko, “and what do we do once we do get back?  We have no idea how long we have been in the mind trap.  For all we know the Daedlus has been boarded and our bodies have been moved to some Spectral Horde lab.”

            “She has a point,” said Duron, “within the dreams there is really no sense of time.  With all of us here together we can use each other as a reference but with no way to measure we can’t be sure how long we have been in here.”

            “This doesn’t feel right,” said Junitha, “all of us together like this… if everyone was free of the dream we would know it.  We would be able to fight back.  We must still be missing someone.  Evan do you have a headcount.”

            “I have accounted for every member of staff,” said Evan, “everyone is here.”

            “What about people who are not on staff?” said Anyantha, “there is someone on the ship who was not a member of staff.”

            “You’re right,” said Janessa, “we are missing someone.”

A Space Story 90

            Janessa and Ryoko were on a beach.  They found a black man who looked like a younger version of Dr. Winchester Faction.  They tried to tell him this was all a dream.  He informed them that he was not Winchester.  His name was Uzi.  He took them to a party on the beach.  There were sixteen young African men there who all looked exactly alike.  Each one of them was named after a gun.

            “Excuse me,” said Janessa getting everyone’s attention, “I don’t mean to be rude but which one of you is Winchester.”

            The man in the beach chair sat up and said with a smile, “Squad Commander Ryoko and Pilot Janessa welcome.  Look my brothers; it is some of those wonderful young people I told you about from the starship I was on.”

            “Dr. Faction none of this is really happening,” said Ryoko, “it is all just a dream.  You are in the Spectral Horde’s mind trap with the rest of us.”

            “You say such silly things,” said Winchester, “Come enjoy the party.”

            “Dr. Faction you can’t stay here,” said Janessa.

            “Why not?” he said, “it is wonderful here.”

            “She has a point brother,” said one of the other men.

            “Yes brother, you have a life to live out there.”

            “I am sure you would like to stay here with us on the beach brother, but the truth is we are all dead.”

            “Don’t you remember brother; you are the only one left.”

            They were no longer on the beach.  They were in a clinic.  Dr. Winchester Faction was no longer young.  His hair was gray again and he was wearing his white coat.

            “We talked about what we would do if the war was ever over,” said Winchester, “we said we would get a nice place on the beach and live there together.  All of my brothers are dead now.  I have a clinic back on Earth.  It has a wonderful view of the beach.”

            The identical men were no longer dressed for the beach.  They were dressed as soldiers.

            “I am sorry that I outlived you all,” said Winchester.

            “You do not have to be sorry for that brother,” said one of them.

            “Just keep on living and do the good work you have been doing.”

            “And help these nice young people beat those aliens too.”

            Winchester smiled and said, “goodbye my brothers.”

            They waved goodbye to him and then fell away like sand along with the rest of the dream.

            As more minds were freed from the dream the circle of light got bigger.  Not everyone was standing in the circle; some people found they could float in the air if they wished.  The ones leading the exercise gathered at the edge by the darkness.

            “So how are we doing?” said Ryoko.

            “It has been going well so far,” said Duron.  A few have been more resistant than others.  I think I lost Junitha.”

            “I’m right here,” said Junitha as she floated down from above them, “I found Samal.”

            “Did you get him out?” said Ryoko.

            “Yeah but he won’t be much help,” said Junitha.

            “Is something wrong?” asked Janessa, “what was in his dream?”

            “He does not want to talk about it,” said Junitha, “and I promised I would not tell anyone what I saw.  Trust me you do not want to know.”

            “Has anyone seen Ms. Sajan or Mr. Tickbird?” asked Duron.

            “We have not found them yet,” said Ryoko.

            “I wonder if they are sharing a dream the way Evan and Anyantha were,” suggested Janessa.

            “We will just have to keep looking and find out,” said Duron.

A Space Story 89

            Evan Evaide and Anyantha Whitecross were lying on a couch together cuddling in front of a fireplace.

            “This is different,” said a woman, “they are in here together.  I wonder how that happened.”

            “What is wrong with this place?” said a man, “it just looks all wrong.”

            “I think it’s their conflicting perceptions overlapping,” said the woman, “they share the dream to be together but their idea of where it should be is different.”

            Evan peeked his head over the couch and said, “Is someone there?”

            “Hey Anyantha and Evan,” said Junitha Findragon, “you guys need to wake up.”

            “Junitha?” said Anyantha as she got up to look behind the couch.

            “And commander Ardiniero?” said Evan.

            “They are so cute together,” said Junitha, “just look at them.  I want to hug you guys so much right now.”

            “What are you doing in my grandparents’ cabin?” asked Evan.

            “Your grandparents’ cabin?” said Anyantha, “isn’t this my parents’ house?”

            “But your parents died when you were a child,” said Evan, “You said you and your sister lost everything that your parents owned.  How could we be there?”

            “Keep doing that,” said Duron, “see the flaws in this world.  It is just a dream.  We need you to come with us so we can free the rest of the crew.”

            “My parents’ house is gone,” said Anyantha, “this can’t be real.”

            “Then we must be at my grandparents’ cabin,” said Evan.

            “No Evan this is just a dream,” said Anyantha, “we have to wake up.”

            “But I don’t want to lose you.”

            “You won’t lose me.  We can be together in the real world.”

            “You still want me?  Even after what I did?”

            “You did it because you loved me.  How can I not forgive you for that?”

            Anyantha kissed Evan and the false world faded.

            In Roweth Sinclair’s dream he was taking a walk with Suchin Markjon.  Ryoko and Janessa reminded him that he had been shot.  They showed him that the woman he was walking with was not really Suchin.  He rejected the dream and joined them.  They found another dream.  In it they found the real Suchin Markjon.  She was sitting under a tree in a hill watching the sunset on the horizon.

            “Suchin is that you?” said Roweth.

            “Hello there,” said Suchin pleasantly, “do I know you?”

            “It’s me Roweth, your friend.”

            “Oh I remember you.  It is good to see you Roweth.”

            “Suchin we have to get back to the Daedlus.  The Spectral Horde has us in something called a mind trap.”

            “That all sounds familiar.  But I can’t seem to remember things.”

            Suchin went back to smiling at the sunset.

            “None of this is real Suchin,” said Janessa.

            “It isn’t real,” said Suchin, “okay.”

            And the dream world was gone.

            “I wonder if any of the others will be that easy,” said Janessa.

            “I highly doubt it,” said Ryoko.

            Some of the dreams were simple.  Some of them were grandiose or narcissistic.  Some of them were just weird.  Some of them were difficult to let go of.

A Space Story 88

            Ryoko Jeagan sat down for her interview.  They asked the usual questions.  What was her next project?  Would she be running for office again?  What would be the next single off her latest album?  She answered the questions and contemplated her situation.  Then someone called her name.  She saw three people standing in her office.

            “Commander Ardiniero,” she said, “as well as pilots Kepshawn and Findragon.  Good to see you.”

            “Ryoko this is a dream,” said Janessa.

            “Of course it is just a dream,” said Ryoko, “I figured that out already.  I just can not find a way out of it.”

            “You have to reject the dream,” said Duron.

            “This is a really nice office,” said Junitha, “you have a great view of the ocean.  Your dream world is a hell of a lot nicer than mine was.”

            “It helps if you say it out loud,” said Janessa.

            Ryoko tried it, “I reject this dream.  I reject all things that are false and pointless.”

            Nothing happened.  They were all still in the very nice office.

            “Nothing happened,” said Ryoko, “now what do you suggest?”

            “Something is keeping you here,” said Junitha, “part of your subconscious does not want to leave for some reason.”

            “That is ridiculous,” said Ryoko, “what could there possibly be in here…”

            Vandis Bane walked into the office.  She smiled and took Ryoko’s hand.

            “Of course,” said Ryoko almost choking on her emotions, “I should have thought of this sooner.  I was going to come back and tell you that I still loved you anyway Vandis.  I was still going to turn you over to the authorities when we got back to Earth.  I do not compromise for anyone.  But I would have helped you.  You could have made a deal.  But I wonder if you would have been willing to do that.  I will never know now.  I will just have to live with that.”

            Ryoko Jeagan kissed Vandis Bane.  First lightly on the forehead.  Then she kissed her again deeply and passionately on the lips.  The moment there lips separated Vandis Bane and rest of the world turned to ash and came apart.

            “What do we do now?” said Ryoko.

            “Are you sure you don’t want to take moment?” said Duron.

            “No,” said Ryoko, “what do we do next?  How do we get everyone out of this mind trap?”

            “We keep moving,” said Junitha, “we go into the others dreams and wake them up.  We point out the flaws in the dream world.  We make them face reality.  We have to get everyone out of the dream or no one will be able to escape.”

            “We should stay in pairs,” said Janessa, “when I went into Duron’s dream by myself I almost got drawn into it.”

            “Then we should wake up a few more together then get into groups,” said Ryoko.

            They were watched by things that spoke in voices high and deep.

            “They are attempting to break free of the mind trap.”

            “It will not work.”

            “Not as long as we have him.”

            “He is so deep in the dream they will never reach him.”