10: DANCING ON THIN ICE
Another rift. It would have to be another rift, this time forming near the Medusa Nebula right on the trade route between Caractacala and Aventus. A merchant ship passing by discovered it. This one had to be investigated, as it was forming near a new but important space lane. The 'Quest was a natural, since some of us were already getting the informal title of "The Rift Runners" by the rest of the Rim Worlds navy. But mainly it was the fact that the 'Quest carried the 'Sister, with its gravitic array, that made us the natural for 'rift running', as it were. Also it got the Skymarshal back off of Caractacalla and Union City for some time.
We found ourselves in another pocket universe, this one containing a small cluster of stars. I felt odd, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Some intriguing readings were coming from the closest system, containing a sun-like star. Nergat went on "Interphase disease watch", and Toki broke out the Theragen, just in case. It turns out that that wasn't necessary, with the 4-day trip to the star system being uneventful. The strange readings were coming from the systems Kuiper belt. We found a few interesting rock crystal samples that seemed to be emitting low levels of gravitic waves, in the impulse "J" band.
Ellen was working in the ships lab when a series of fist sized samples were brought onboard and sent to her science team. I asked her to find out just what the crystals were doing exactly. Then I left it in her capable hands, and returned to the bridge. We were inbound to the inner solar system. Sensors had detected a class M planet in the second orbit around this star. That was the place to go.
Ellen eventually came up with an explanation for the crystals. They produced a type of gravitic energy in the impulse J band, with some visible effects. There were five specific frequencies to that energy, which seemed only possible under the physics of this pocket universe. How the crystals produced the energy was still a mystery. But they did.
The second planet was indeed habitable, and in fact was inhabited. There were five continents on that planet, but somehow they looked wrong. It was as if plate tectonics had rammed the five continents together, after they had been separated for some time. There was an odd energy vortex over one of the planet's poles. It emitted energies in all 5 of the J bands "channels", as our rock samples did.
Each continent seemed to have a variety of life forms on them, and what a menagerie it was! That left us somewhat puzzled as to why would each continent sport a distinct set of species, without migration and mixing. There have been only recent movements of indigenous populations, and it looks as though there is a state or war between the continents. Apparently even without any signs of technology, these peoples were adept at using gravitational energy, as flashes of that energy appeared sporadically on this planet. Apparently some beings there had learned to, or had the innate ability to, make use of that energy!
Then it hit me. The odd feeling, it was static-y, and somewhat familiar. "It's mana," I stated.
"What?" Ellen asked.
"The strange energy is mana. We are in a mana filled universe," I replied.
"OK, what is a mana filled universe, and why is it this small?"
"I can't say anything about the size of these pocket universes, but I can say that the laws of physics are different here. Think of mana as a magical energy source versus a technological one. Even though a type of technology is involved primitive cultures can harness the energy of mana. And we need to know more about those frequencies, as they are involved with mana energies. Check for interference wave effects, and see of you can dampen those energy fields." I concluded. There was only one being that I knew had any knowledge about mana.
"And what are you going to do?" John interjected.
I pressed a button on my control panel. "Doctor Toki, I need to know if you have some hallucinogens on board."
Toki was taken aback. "Umn ... yes but why?"
"I need to make a long distance 'phone' call. But I need to dream the call and remember everything that I dream. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes but REM enhancers and memory drugs would be more appropriate, as well as the neural inhibitor can be re-calibrated..." Toki trailed off.
"Then that's what I need. I will see you in fifteen minutes." I switched off the intercom. "John, you have the con."
I was dreaming in the sickbay, under Toki's supervision. I hoped this worked, as I seemed to be flying through a fog. On and on it went. Then suddenly the fog seemed to lift. I found myself standing on a deck that reminded me of a large shuttle bay. It wasn't a shuttle bay - it was an angel bay. Four winged angels were coming and going from this deck. They all looked familiar, as if an angelic photocopier were at work. Then I heard behind me, "Hello lover. Welcome to the Parhelion."
I turned to face Razia. "Hello Razia," I replied. "Long time no see."
"That's an understatement," she replied, as she gave me an embrace. The other angels appeared to not notice me while we stood there on the deck. Orders from Razia?
"Three years," I stated, as we still embraced.
"Three years!" Razia exclaimed. "You are unstuck in the sands of time! It been THREE CENTURIES since you rescued me from your mana-less universe!"
I just stood there for a moment, letting that sink in. Three centuries! And Razia looked no different from the last day that I saw her. Then I remembered that she was effectively timeless. Razia led me into the ship. The design reminded me of ships right out of anime. Captain Harlock's Arcadia would be the best fit, but only if it were fitted with sails. We reached the command deck and then I faced a conundrum. There was Razia, lying on the deck, surrounded by a group of concerned angels. I looked at the Razia standing besides me, then at the other Razia, and back. Then I realized what was going on. The real Razia was on the deck in front of me sleeping – dreaming. The dream projection was her avatar just like my presence here. No wonder the other angels couldn't see me! However one of her lieutenants touched Razia's temple. There was a flash of insight, as she appeared to make a telepathic connection with her guild master. Then she looked straight at me. I gave her a small wave, and to my surprise, she waved back. "That's Anezka, my trusted right hand," Razia commented. "She and the others didn't know why I suddenly decided to take a nap on the middle of my command deck. Now they do."
"I see," I replied. "And who are they?" I asked pointing out the group of angels who had just passed by. They were identical to the others with one exception. They had red feathers in their wings.
"Those are Firemane angels," Razia beamed. "They are my holy warriors. They're my daughters who rip up the battlefield with holy fire, when necessary. They are the expressions of my red side."
"Your what?" I asked, while we walked into the interior of the ship.
"My red side. Angels here are manifestations of white mana, made incarnate, like I told you before. In Ravnica, we are manifestations of both white and red mana, holy, but emotional. The Firemanes are more emotional than holy." Razia concluded.
We had reached the engine room. A shockingly familiar device confronted me there. "An impulse engine," I stated. "You copied the shuttle's impulse engine!"
"Yes we did. With the help of the Izzet, we enlarged it for this ship. You would call this ship an anachronism, I think, sails and impulse engines. We call it the reality drive, for with Niv-Mizzet's help the engine became a reality."
I was looking intently at the engine. Something was wrong here, I was pretty sure. Then it dawned on me. "No interlock..." I stated.
"No what?" Razia asked.
"You have no interlock between your two fusion reactors," I reiterated. "The shuttle was a single reactor design. This engine has two."
"Your 7th Sister had two reactors," Razia replied with a puzzled look.
"Yes and it has an interlock between the reactors. It prevents problems with one reactor from affecting the other. Your setup is unstable. Unless someone watches the reactors closely, you could suffer an overload, and a catastrophic explosion."
"How badly would that damage the ship?" Razia asked.
"It would vaporize it and everything within," I was sizing up the reactors, "3 kilometers radius." It would be a good-sized nuke – almost a megaton, I thought.
"Ouch. Luckily angels here do not need sleep. I will put one on monitor duty. Thanks." With that Razia had a distant look on her face. "Where are you? Physically, I mean."
"I don't know. The 'Quest was studying a rift near a nebula when we crossed into it. We found an inhabited system inside a pocket universe, somewhat larger than ... Ravnica." I replied.
"The 'Quest?" Razia asked.
"Yes, the R.C.S. Faraway Quest. It's my new command, a heavy cruiser. She carries the 'Sister as an auxiliary ship..."
"I need to see your thoughts. Will you?" Razia held a hand up to my temple, while changing the subject.
"Of course." We were already life-linked. Razia didn't really need my permission to read my thoughts. But the connection seemed to work faster with the physical contact. Even in this dreamy-time the touch sure felt real. "I think you are in Alara, if I remember the descriptions from the visitors."
"What visitors?" I asked.
"Before the Guildpact, there were visitors to ... this universe," Razia replied. "They brought tales and descriptions of where they were from. The Parhelion was built in part to find out why they don't visit anymore." Then Razia emitted a gasp.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I sense ... a cry. An angelic cry," Razia got out. "There's an angel in trouble and I can feel the cry from here. She is on your side of the link."
"My side? I don't even know where I am exactly! How am I supposed to find a crying angel on a planet I haven't even reached?" I finally asked. I was not about to ask how Razia sensed an angel through our link.
"Simple. You do what you do best, oh rescuing one. We have a life-link bond. Use it if you have to, but be warned. You might not be able to channel the energy without some personal risk." She had placed her right hand on my chest to reinforce the statement.
"Hey, keeping me together is now Toki's job. If you're certain that I can help..."
"Yes, you are the only one who can. I can sense it..." Her voice faded as the mist returned. "Goodbye lover." Razia gave me a kiss and faded into the whiteness.
I was back in my sick bay with a concerned Toki fretting about me, checking my vitals on the medical monitor. "Welcome back. Was your 'phone call' successful?"
"Yes it was," I replied. "We apparently are in a place called Alara, and we have a new mission."
"Your 'phone call' gave us a mission?" Toki asked, incredulously. I think he started to misbelieve his sensors.
"Actually the party on the other end did. I owe Razia my life, and this is her request, so I need to at least try."
"So that's whom you were in contact with," Toki finished with, as realization dawned on his face. One doesn't just say 'no' to an angel.
"So just what am I scanning for, exactly?" Ellen asked.
"A needle in a haystack," I said half-heartedly. Finding a needle in a haystack would be child's play compared to this. "Again, we are looking for a crying angel."
"I was hoping for a better description that that. That's not a lot to go on. Besides what are you going to do when you find this angel?"
"I dunno. Beam her aboard and shoot her with that fancy new gun of yours." Ellen had completed what was dubbed the 'blue mana dispersal weapon' that created a destructive interference with the mana that manifested itself in the blue part of the visible spectrum. It was built using the chassis of an old-style phaser rifle, and still used the original power cells. But it still looks like a gun, a really big gun, and the kind that would put a grin on the face of any red blooded male.
"I think I found all the angels on this planet. They are clustered here on or actually over this continent." An idyllic picture of a vast city on that continent was on the main view screen. "None of them appear to be really sad. Check out this pile by the floating structure here." Ellen put up a building that reminded me of Stratos of Ardana, except with much more ornamentation. It must have been the angels' citadel, for most of the angelic life signs were there.
Then it dawned on me. "We are looking for a needle in a stack of needles, and not a needle in a hay stack. Razia said she was utterly alone, and that means no other angels are present. We should restart our search on the other side of the planet, and work our way back to here."
Sure enough we found a single angel all by herself. Almost. The 100-meter long lizard that was there would make that alone statement moot, but when was the last time angels hung out with dragons anyways?
"A ... dragon? What next, demons?" John asked.
"Don't give this universe any ideas," I warned. "Transporter room, lock on to that signal and beam it up. John, you have the con," I ordered as I entered the turbo lift.
The angel materialized in the transporter room, and she was in tears, literally. She was covered in some kind of lightning effect. So I did shoot her with Ellen's gun. As I watched the interferometer count down to zero I found that the angel, still on the pad, was still encased in some sort of lightning. But the color changed to an ugly shade of purple. I ordered her beamed directly to sickbay. And then I headed there myself.
The angel was still in dire straits. The lightning was coursing around and through her body, and I was pretty sure that it was a foreign effect. The "anti-blue-gun" had an effect, but not completely. There was still some mana effect happening. When Ellen entered the sickbay, I asked her to take a spectrum of the lightning, and to make another mana dispersal weapon tuned for that frequency. Ellen left with a new job.
The angel in sickbay was clearly dying, right in front of my eyes. Remembering Razia's message I decided to take a leap of faith. I grabbed the angel and sat her up on the sickbay bed. I reached around her back to find some pressure points that Razia taught me about. "You need to life-link with me." I told the angel.
She refused. Either she didn't understand me or she seemed to want to die. Then I found out which. "Let me go. I don't deserve to live." She finally replied.
"Yes you do! Life-link with me dammit! Don't ... let ... that ... dragon ... win!" I finally claimed. I wasn't letting go of those pressure points. It worked. The angel pressed a hand to my chest and the other to my temple. Then a feeling like I was on fire engulfed me. Think about being tasered by a dozen people. That's what it felt like. Then a 'psst' of a hypo spray into my arm and I passed into sleepy land under Toki's supervision. I didn't dream but when I woke up 16 hours had passed. The angel survived until Ellen could create a "purple mana dispersal weapon" and ended the lightning effects. The next question was what to do with this angel, now that she was safe. This angel didn't seem to want to be rescued in the first place.
The angel was named Sarrasa, guardian angel of Giltspire. I decided to call her Sara for short. Her 'offence' in the eyes of Bant, her country, was simply of that of desertion. Her desertion wasn't her own doing. She was apparently 'kidnapped' by the dragon that took over her so that his minions could change 'Giltspire Tower' into an obelisk, for the dragon's nefarious purposes. She was soon to be discarded, but I happened to come along and, naturally, rescued her. I convinced her that it wasn't her fault, and to consider staying with us, at least for a little while. I had a navy blue work dress uniform made for Sara, since she had no place to go. Apparently she was under exile from Bant, which was the expected punishment she would receive. I took her under 'my wing' so to speak. In the week she was aboard the 'Quest she did get to know a few of the crewmembers, and we got to know a lot about the continent called Bant.
Apparently I really pissed off the dragon that it had appeared over that Idyllic continent that we had scanned earlier. The dragon was flying around the floating palace, and apparently either taunting those who were within, or looking for another victim. I ordered the 'Quest into the planet's atmosphere, and if I could, we were going to take a shot at the dragon itself.
No such luck. As we entered the atmosphere and approached the floating citadel, the dragon decided to be elsewhere, and teleported away. We passed over the citadel and returned to standard orbit. It was time to greet the locals. The citadel appeared to be shielded from scans somehow, and I decided to take a shuttlecraft down. We landed on the floating citadel. Sara insisted that she hear the judgment for herself.
That might have been a mistake. As soon as I had left the shuttle after dropping in unannounced, and with this angel in tow, we were surrounded by a phalanx of guard angels. These warriors looked down on Sarrasa, and I even heard one of them call her a traitor. We were being escorted into some inner sanctum where we would be told of her fate. I at least had the reassuring slap of my twin phasers on my hip. But if a flyby by a half-kilometer long starship didn't seem to faze them, what would a pair of phasers do?
We entered a council chamber. An angel was sitting in a chair, the only one occupied of a set of seven. There were four other angels in this room with us, two at the entrance, and two more at the wings of the room.
"I AM CANDELA, Asura of justice!" The angel sitting on the chair stated. For my benefit? "Sarrasa of Giltspire, you have been sentenced to permanent exile in Grixis for your actions, or rather, your inactions." Sara had described that exile to Grixis was basically Bant's only form of 'capital punishment', and only for angels. Angels didn't last long in Grixis. "You have been found guilty of Crimes against the holy order, failure to defend a holy site and failure to protect wards under angelic charge."
"Uhmn, excuse me but there are extenuating circumstances," I managed to get out. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to this mere mortal amongst these angels. "Sara..." I asked, but she seemed to be frozen, immobilized by some force.
I touched her wings, and gave her a shake. I needed someone to tell me what is going on. Then all hell broke loose. Apparently a mortal was not to grab an angel, even one under sentence of exile! The angels in the wings of the room started to advance on my position, as well as the two at the entrance. All four held rather large lances, and they seemed to know how to use them. It seemed that my time was running out. Besides lances around here could easily be directed energy weapons. And these would be angel-powered ones. Oh, just great.
Time for a kata trance, I thought as I drew my phasers. "Sorry Sara," I said as I squarely aimed them at the two angels that advanced from the knaves of the chamber. I wasn't taking any chances. Step, and double pulse the triggers. Drop both angels in one salvo, spin 180° on one heel and drop the two angels coming up from the entrance with another four extra-heavy stun blasts. Spin 270° come to rest facing Sara, with one phaser covering Candela, and the other covering the entrance to the room. End kata trance. That's when I finally got noticed. I don't think Candela thought a mortal's weapons and moves could be so effective at stripping her of her guards.
"Hold, Commodore!" Candela stated. I had definitely had her full attention now, and she knew my rank! "Further violence will not be needed. Please put those away. I know that no real harm has come to my guards, through my link with Sarrasa. She was frozen by telepathic link. Please forgive our 'rigid' standards but I hope to redeem Bant in your eyes, for we are not this ... dishonorable, under normal circumstances. I understand that you control a flying ship that can move from one plane to the next?" Candela had risen from her seat.
Sara had 'awoke' from her trance like state. She turned to face me. "Please put those away. I don't need or deserve your protection-"
"Bullshit and you know it. Besides, our fates are now intertwined, remember?" as I put my phasers away. To Candela I replied, "The R.C.S. Faraway Quest can cross from one dimension to another through either a natural or artificial rift. Finding the right destination becomes the interesting part."
Candela continued, "We strive to have a balance between the law and it's interpretation. However, recent events have proven to us that we need to take a new look at the world. We seem to be outclassed by our enemies, and we really don't know what to do. But with your arrival we have an idea."
"How did I know this is going to involve me?" I said aloud, to no one in particular.
Candela sensed that I was no ordinary mortal. "It involves you if you respect Sarrasa's original mission." The Asura informed me. "Although she is under sentence of exile, and I'm sorry that the sentence of exile can't be lifted under our laws, she can be exiled to another location than Grixis. Bant is dying, and we need one who can save it. We need to get a message to Elspeth, and we need to do it as quickly as possible." The Asura replied. "Jenara is no longer with us."
"What!" Sara responded. She was definitely shocked by the news.
"Jenara was destroyed while taking out the demon Banath'thur. She did succeed, but in the end had to sacrifice herself to defeat the demon."
"You angels and your penchant to self sacrifice yourselves for the cause. Haven't you heard that the point of war is not to die for your country but to make the other sucker die for his?" I interjected.
"No, but that is a good point, and a reason we need Elspeth Tirel. She is a planeswalker and a great and noble warrior, and we need her to both complete the Council of Orderly Contemplation, as well as save us from ourselves." The Asura was almost pleading with me.
"But Sara's fate ... What if she goes with me?" I finally asked.
"Yes, she may go with you, into your care. If I read my vision correctly you will help us, as rescuing people is what you do."
"You got me there," I admitted.
Now I was roaming around this 'multiverse' looking for an individual who could cross between these mini-universes on her own. But I had to be able pass between mini-universes on my own. It turned out that that was easier than I originally thought. By modifying a photon torpedo with a variety of the crystals, which were tuned to the destination, we could create a 'rift bomb' with the proper signature to enter the other reality. So we started a sequence of multi-dimensional transfers in search of this 'planeswalker'
After we had jumped to a few new 'pocket universes'. It began to be a little frustrating. We were on the bridge scanning yet another planet. John had seemed to take a liking to Ellen, as he stood over her sciences station on the bridge.
"Froth," Ellen exclaimed.
"OK, what about froth?" I asked.
"These mini-universes are in the froth between our universe and the mirror universe." She stated, holding one hand above the other. "They are manifestations of a different set of physics, each and every one of them. They exist as a froth between those two universes." Ellen replied. "I can run an algorithm and calculate how many of these universes there are."
"So, how does that help us find this 'Elspeth'?" John asked.
"We at least know where we are..." A sensor beeped, interrupting Ellen. "This universe has but one planet, and the life signs are indeterminate."
"Explain," I ordered.
"It appears that most of the items moving across the planet's surface are not alive." Ellen replied.
"What do you mean, not alive?"
Sara looked at the display. "They are undead!" she exclaimed. "The whole planet's undead."
"Like zombies?" I asked.
I was cut off. "There is a life sign down there!" Ellen Exclaimed. "Just one!"
"Beam it aboard." I ordered. "I'll be in transporter room 1." I just gave John the 'gun finger' and he took over the center seat.
When I reached the transporter room, it held another ... angel.
That was unexpected, I thought. But indeed, there was another angel in my transporter room. Like Sara this one had two wings. Time to ask questions.
"Who are you?" I asked
"My name is Reya Dawnbringer." The angel stated.
"Ok, Reya, I hope I didn't shock you by beaming you up."
"Of course not, if you hadn't I would have been killed by those undead. Thank you." She replied. How much of that was bravado, I didn't really care. I was staring at her, specifically her wings.
"Oops. Sorry about that." Her wingtip feathers were slightly truncated. "I'll get Toki to check you over. Follow me," I led the new angel to sickbay. The one big risk with a transporter is that you must be entirely on the pad. Anything that is partly on the edge will be effectively amputated by the generated wormhole, which could get really ugly if you try to beam up anything larger than the pad itself. Usually the safeties prevent that but with an angels' spread out wings...
Reya was fine. A few ruffled feathers that needed to grow back were the entire damage the transporter did, and she didn't require treatment.
"You seem to be on a mission," she stated, almost reading my mind.
"Yes. We are looking for a planeswalker, one Elspeth Tirel." I replied.
"You will find her on the plane of Lorwyn." The angel replied. "I have talked with her, and found her to be wishing for some absolution for some wrong she had committed. She is 'recovering' from her condition, and may not be willing to leave Lorwyn."
"We'll just have to deal with that when we get there." I informed Reya. It didn't take long for her to realize that I was life-linked not to one but TWO angels, after I introduced her to Sara.
"Just who are you?" Reya asked while I was grabbing a quick bite in the ships main cafeteria.
"Call me Stephen Michael," I responded. "I go around rescuing beings like yourself. Call it one of my missions in life. And now I need to rescue 'Bant' from itself. But at least it is at their own request." I explained to Reya about the angelic council's request.
"Hence you need to find Elspeth," the angel concluded.
"Yes. The Asura was insistent, and that's why I am here. I have lots of torpedoes to turn into rift bombs, but I'm running out of places to go."
"Then let me help." The angel said. She then met up with Sara again. They worked well together and a new rift bomb, designed for Lorwyn was made. We headed there next.
Sure enough, we found Elspeth Tirel on the planet called Lorwyn. She was originally not willing to come, but the fact that we were beaming her up to the ship proved otherwise. I let Reya talk to her while I walked the meadows near Elspeth's home. During the walk she was talked into returning to Bant and joining the angels Court of Orderly Contemplation, with Reya at her side. When we reached Bant, we took the shuttle to the citadel, as the transporter still refused to work here. There were one angel, one planeswalker, and myself. We left the shuttle and entered the inner sanctum.
Candela was waiting for us there. Her guards were conspicuously absent for this meeting. Candela quickly explained why they needed Elspeth, and the dire straits that Bant was in. With Jenara gone, they held the seventh seat on the Court of Orderly Contemplation open, and hoped that Elspeth would join the angels and fill that seat. They knew she was a planeswalker, and hoped that her ability would save Bant. They still wanted Elspeth, and badly. Reya wanted to be at Elspeth's side as she found that this place was the 'ideal place' for an angel to be. Reya was also willing to act as Elspeth's advisor in angelic matters, so Candela finally agreed on an 8th 'guest seat' on the Council.
I was back in dreamy land, in the sickbay. This time there was no fog, as I was in a corridor of my own ship. I headed to the shuttle bay, and sure enough there was a 4-wingel angel there, looking around. I decided to give her a hug. "Hello Lover." I said.
We embraced for a while, just holding each other. Then Razia said, "Good morning Stephen. So this is your ship."
"Yes it is. Welcome aboard the Faraway Quest," I responded. We walked out of the shuttle bay together, and I gave Razia a 'virtual' tour of my ship. She was impressed with the warp core as we walked through engineering and through the crew there. The next stop was sickbay. I introduced Razia to Toki (but not the other way around). We ended up on the bridge.
"Let me show you my new bridge crew." None of them noticed us as we were dream avatars, and not exactly physical. "The Horta, on navigation there, is Nergat. That's John my X.O. He's pretty cool for a straight navy guy. He knows his stuff. My new crewmember is Sara – Sarassa, former guardian of Giltspire, that's her whole name, on helm, training. Thanks to you she survived."
"You know I felt the damage as badly as you," Razia stated.
"Ouch. At least I got a sedative and missed most of the fun. One of these days the two of you should meet for real."
"That won't happen for you are unstuck in the sands of time I'm afraid."
"Listen, regardless of what happens I will come back for you..."
"You will try no doubt, but I feel our fates separating. You are destined to become unstuck in time again, I'm afraid. The next time you time-walk it will be far into the future, farther than your frozen journey. Take care of her. She is about to go through the same shock that I did."
A fog was swirling around. "Good bye, lover," was the last thing I heard Razia say.
We returned to my universe. I had a new hole in my soul.