Worlds away removed from the world known as earth, in another time and place, a mighty race pondered their own existence. It was not the sake of life and death, but of where their academic pursuits would next take them. For the Androni were masters of learning in the Galaxy. Or so they themselves thought...
In the grand Chamber, the vast space was swept by the twin beams of two blazing stars. Soft pastel mauve designs decked the huge walls in abstract swirls. Ten figures, resplendent in pink, reds, and blue foil textured garments debated the future of a course of study, and the future of a world far removed from their own.
"So it is agreed, Minister Brecchus, that more resources will be available for study on the Galactic rim?" Minister Jenwynn asked. She was stunning in the diaphanous blue veilcoat that swathed her tightly garmented body. 1000 years in her Androni shell, she carried the weight of the University on her slim shoulders.
Pasty faced, yet handsomely angular, Minister Brecchus, the leader of the Supreme Council nodded his consent. To his left, the fiery headed Third Minister nodded eagerly. Petra Vargas was a new dynamic force to be reckoned with on the council. Her copper locks flowed about her head like an auburn waterfall. How lovely she looked, Brecchus thought to himself. Yet his pale skin betrayed not a twitch of his inner infatuation.
"Aren't we forgetting something," Petra asked. "That being?"
"I recall from the ministry of history, that new information has come to light," she said. "Being?" Brecchus and other heads turned to hers. "There has been some disturbing news from Earth... a little blue planet that has given us nothing but trouble lately..."
"What?" Jennwyn asked. "We had discontinued extensive research There..." Petra said. "But a recent journal from an old operative has come to light. And we cannot ignore it is from a Cybernami unit... we thought discontinued..."
"The only one assigned to Earth as of late was that unit Trynia Merin..." Jenwynn muttered."I had not been aware she had come to function again..."
"We received a distress beacon. But There was no confirming message... a breach of protocol," Petra fingered her red nails. "But she was presumed lost..." Brecchus turned to Petra. Glancing down the table his eyes fixed up on a raised hand. "Not so," said Androni minister of Interstellar, named Phahoe. "I did not wish to alarm anyone. But the Trynia unit is active. Time quakes have recently confirmed reactivation of her unit..."
"Why was she not recovered?" Brecchus asked. "We saw it advantageous to study how she could have become active after a time differential," Petra said. "Her interaction with the locals..." "Was most interesting," Phahoe nodded. "We downloaded more logs later on which were not distress related. They were meant only for VAX Matrix...
"Does VAX not share with us all discoveries?"
"Only after encoding and recoding," said Brecchus. "For information overload is not always good. And only the most interesting and relevant things are brought to light... but I would have liked to have been informed..."
"Even so, it has created a stir among the Cybernami units who are intermediate observers colleting transmissions..." Petra smiled. "And what would Minister Yarhmes, of the Cybernami have to say for himself?" Brecchus asked. "I think he neglected to pass on the importance of her data," Phahoe said, eyes darkening. "What was that data?" asked Brecchus. "There exist beings on Earth.. that possess rudimentary cybernetic development. The pace of technology and the future projections indicate that beings will have a 80 percent probability of existing in the 21st century of that time frame... which rival sophistication to our Cybernami..."
"And you think that Yarhmes withheld this discovery deliberately?" Jenwynn asked, appalled. She respected the Cybernami scientist, who was leader and administrator of that race. "It's highly likely," Petra smiled simply. "he does have an emotional bias towards unit Trynia Merin..."
"What is this pertinent information in detail?"
"Trynia has met these beings... and they are a familial unit," Phahoe said. His green robe spilled about his well muscled chest. "And they have their own rivals that seek to steal their technology..."
"How dare those humans presume to replicate us," Petra muttered to herself. "They could be a threat..."
"Really," Brecchus gave a small smile. "Jenwynn, I think you will get your grant..."
"Thank you! But what are the conditions?"
"That you take Yarhmes with you on a field study... and mind you remember the problem with emotional infatuation with inferior beings..."
Jazmin was working out at home. She was getting ready to do a small combat exercise in the fighting ring. It been some time since she done any of this but she knew she wasn't out of shape. Her fists hit the pouching bag as well as her legs. Eric was watching from a far. So much had happen to him the past weeks. Fighting a spirit and two Scarabs, getting Nanites and then becoming a Kindred to a Dragon.
"Jazmin what is this fight for any ways?" A sweat covered Jazmin turn and looked at her future husband. "It's just something I want to do and see if I can still do it." Eric move quietly a cross the room. Jazmin breathing slowly trying to cool off. "That's not the answer I want to hear, and you know it."
At the Bennetts' house.... two friends of the Bionic Six were visiting with Helen and Jack. A tennis ball cracked against Jack's racket with a sickening smash, before he volleyed it back. Tharakenat tripped over his sneakers as he struggled to anticipate the returning missile. Trynia leapt to the rescue, diving as she slammed the ball back over the net.
Helen gasped as Jack's racket absorbed most of the force, before it dropped. Tharakenat scrambled up, pounding the ball back with more luck then skill. "Thanks for leaving me something," she laughed to the slender wizard as she danced to swat the ball firmly. Jack watched as his wife's miniskirt swished around her shapely hips. Trynia leapt, overcompensating as Tharakenat scrambled to hit. "I got it!" he shouted "Negative! This volley is mine!" Trynia shouted. There was a meaty thud as the two collided, and a green ball bounced to the edge of the court.
"Oops!" JD suddenly said, sitting up in his chair. Meg giggled as she saw the pile of arms and legs that was a metallic armed cyborg, and a mummified wizard. Granted Eric had helped the ancient one pick out a nice green izod shirt and matching yellow shorts with a baseball cap, and rather large Nikes. Trynia too wore a contemporary white short skirted thing Helen had helped her buy. But as they scrambled Helen and Jack shared a secret grin.
"I'm most sorry, belov... I mean Trynia," Thar apologized, lifting himself gingerly off her with both lanky hands pressed tot he ground. Trynia glanced up at him, her glasses fallen to one side. A look of amusement crossed her gold cheeked face. "I would recommend in future that you select a landing site with more resilience then this unit..." If Thar was alive he'd be blushing. "I am most sorry I did not let you have that hit my dear," he stammered, backing away.
Trynia's gold foil hand gripped his, her brown eyes looking up into his beryl ones. "There is no need for apologies, Thar. It was an accident..." Jack and Helen were standing beside them, amused looks on their faces. "Are you two okay?" Helen suppressed a giggle. "That was one move I don't' think I've ever seen..." Jack laughed, extending a hand to help Thar stand. Helen helped Trynia to her feet. Meg and JD exchanged a knowing glance. Maybe Trynia was beginning to recover her memories for her husband after all! Just then JD head an urgent beeping on his wrist unit. "Guys... something coming thru from Sharp..."
"Better shower and pick it up," Jack said. "Tell him we'll be There in five minutes..."
Sharp and JEP were waiting for the team to come in. Trynia was surprised when she came into the lab but Eric and Jazmin still hadn't shown up yet. "JEP it's good to see you." The slender scientist gave out his hand to shake hers. "Where are Eric and Jazmin?"
"Last time I saw them was at school. Jazmin and Eric where heading to her house."said Bunji. At last Eric and Jazmin entered the lab. "Sorry for being late, but I had to clean up." Jazmin had her black overalls, red shirt and blue cap on. "That is quite all right, young lady," JEP said. "This is a matter I was hoping to catch Trynia on..."
"What about us?" Bunji joked. "Are we chopped liver?"
"Shh," Jack told him.
Tharakenat walked into the room, toweling off his white hair as he retied his bandages. He crossed to where Meg and JD were sitting. He'd changed into a pair of modern green overalls with a crisp blue shirt and black doc martins on his large feet. The transformation was striking, and casually attractive. Meg whistled her approval, giggling, "Whoa, that's a good look for you!"
Helen and Jack groaned inwardly as they realized he looked like a teenager! Far from the regal magician they had come to know. Yet they knew it wasn't nice to discourage his efforts at fitting into modern outfits. Even if their taste in clothes was vastly different from their children's.
"Trynia, this does concern you very much, as it has concerned me. I was on my lab on the moon, working with my new trans temporal radio, when I got a strange message..."
"Wait, you got a message on that thing?" JD asked. "It was for contacting Alien life forms! This is great!"
"Yes," JEP held up a patient hand. "But this message was address to Trynia. And it was in Hexidecimal..."
"My native tongue,"Trynia muttered. "Have you decoded it yet?"
"Yes, the first line. But I thought you should be present when I finished..." JEP produced a silver CD-Rom disc. "The lab's this way," JD said. Helen and Jack nodded as he moved with JEP and Trynia to the lab. "Sharp wants the rest of you to power up and get Skydancer ready just in case..." JEP said to them. On the way out Trynia glimpsed Tharakenat in his modern clothes. She blinked liquid brown eyes as they traced down his form. "Most unusual," she muttered to him. For she herself was clad in brown coveralls with a puffy sleeved, green ruffle fronted blouse.
Very retro sixties. Jazmin was helping Thar to french braid the silky white hair. His mummified features were a bit less imposing without all that heavy kohl he painted on, even though his skin was still blue and necrotic. "I'll see you later... Trynia... beloved," he said. "Undoubtedly," she smiled as she followed JEP and JD to the lab. Helen and Jack shared a warm glance with Eric and Meg. Eric high-fived Meg. "Way to go!"
"You two are worse then the Dating Game," Bunji laughed.
Trynia leaned over the computer, inserting the cd to its slot. JD and JEP watched as the cyborg ran algorithms to de crypt. A series of incoherent letters jangled on the screen. Till they passed twice and spelled out an odd message. Trynia's eyes widened discernibly. "What's wrong?" JD asked her. Shock filled the Cyborg's gold filigreed face. "I cannot believe it. After so long... they received my message..."
"Who?" JEP asked. "My fellow Cybernami. On Mantissa. Yahrmes..."
At the mention of this name a distant look came over her eyes, as if she were staring into a part of her past. JEP frowned slightly, wondering who Yahrmes was and why she suddenly blushed. "Is he a cyborg like you?"
"Yes... er, correct. He and I were at the same muster unit... and attended parallel studies... we were... selected... but that was long ago..."
"Selected?" JEP raised an eyebrow.
"That's irrelevant..."
"What does the message say?"
"He is asking me to return for a visit to Mantissa," she said. "And to bring some of you to meet the Cybernami..."
"Incredible! How do they know about us?" JEP asked. "I had sent my logs in a special time probe, periodically, and he was to be the recipient. He was the one I could most trust with the information..."
"This is incredible!" JEP cried.
Sea-green eyes looked at Trynia. "So... what does this mean Trynia?" Jazmin had follow the group into the room. Trynia looked at Jazmin. "Well it's means I have think who will becoming along for this ride." Jazmin knew that Trynia was think of bring Eric with her and There was no way that she was letting go of him. "I have a feeling you want to bring Sport-1 with you Trynia, if that so I'm coming too." With that Jazmin left the room. JEP looked at Trynia. "You are thinking about Eric aren't you Trynia. Also you know Jazmin will come with him like it or not." Trynia remain silent.
Jazmin was talking to the others as J.D., Trynia, JEP and Sharp came back into the lab. Eric had a look in his eyes that JEP could tell the boy wasn't happy. "I know what your thinking Eric but you have to go..."
Eric seem to be on the verge of a fit of rage. "I'm not going I don't care what you say I had enough happening to me and I want to rest." JEP shook his head. "I know your tried Eric but you know why you have to go." Tears started to come from Eric's light purple eyes. "Okay, but after this I want a month off from doing any thing Bionic that what I want."
Jazmin exited the room, and all eyes fell on her. That strange resolution and fear in her face concerned Jack and Helen. "Honey, what's wrong?" Helen asked her. "Ya, I heard my brother yelling... is it okay..." Meg asked, coming over. "My little one, are you well?" Tharakenat asked her, moving over to the nervous teenager. His healing energies seeped through the hand he clasped around hers. Jazmin let the Magician's calming power seep into her being. He was only trying to help. And she trusted him unlike many others she did not. How odd that she should have a friend in an 3400 year old mummy. "It's Trynia... she got a message from her home planet, and she has to go back..."
"What?" Tharakenat gasped, a look of shock in his mummified face. "Are you sure?" Bunji asked. "What..."
"Perhaps we should let Trynia tell us herself," Helen said. "After all its' her message."
"But she wants to take some of us with her, and she asked to take Eric, and I'm not going without him..."
"Of course not little one," Thar said, taking her shoulders. He tried to calm his own fearful emotions for the sake of the teenager he'd come to think of like a beloved niece. "And I will not let her go without me as well..."
"But that's nuts why would she..." Bunji broke in before they lay eyes on Trynia and the others who had silently entered the room.
"I suppose you have heard the news," she said to them. Thar looked up from Jazmin, his beryl eyes fixing upon Trynia. "Yes. And I want you to know if There is anything you wish us to help you with..." Jack said. "I would like to ask some of you to accompany me. Jazmin, since I thought Eric would like to go, you are invited as well..."
Jazmin nodded, and was glad Trynia had understood. "JEP would you also consider accompanying me as well?"
"When do we leave?" Karate-1 asked. "I... had not counted on you Bunji..." Trynia admitted. "Some... must remain behind to help in case of a possible wrong..."
"You need a fighter maybe," Helen said. "And I just had a premonition that you might need him at your side..."
"I rely upon your precog, Helen Bennett," Trynia nodded. "Very well Bunji you can accompany me..." Bunji had a feeling that Eric would need him along. After recent events regarding his merging with the dragon spirit.
"Beloved when do we leave?" Thar asked. "I had not counted on you coming... it could be rather overwhelming..."
"Do you think me too primitive to go, my love?" Thar asked her. His Beryl eyes held a look of hurt. "No... but I..."
"He's your husband Trynia," Jazmin said softly. "And for that same reason you cannot leave him behind... for didn't you say Thar that she had promised always to take you along..."
"I faced the trial with you my love," Thar said. "And I swear that if this is your affair, you must share it with me. Your people are mine now... as mine were yours in the ancient times..."
"but how will you recharge?" Trynia asked him. "Without your sarcophagus..."
"I know how," Jazmin said. "One of us can transfer energy to him when he gets weak... by mental bonding... I can..."
"Thank you my child."
"And I can rig a holographic emitter that makes him appear alive," JEP said. "There is no need for that, my friend. for I can alter my appearance thus..." he chanted. "Forces of Anubis, Weparet, Isis, make this passed form appear as it was in life... that the eyes may rest upon it favorably..."
Before their eyes the slender mummy was bathed in beryl light. Trynia gasped as his flesh appeared warm to the touch. Strangely enough the modern clothing vanished revealing a bronze chested figure in crisp white linen kilt, gold semicircular color decked with lapis, tall henhet, and emerald cloak. His skin was the color of honey, caramel, the eyes bright and veiled with kohl. The effect was striking, and extremely handsome, as if he'd stepped off an Egyptian Frieze. In his hand he clutched the characteristic staff wound about with a green and gold serpent.
"Uh, you just went retro..." Meg groaned. "After all that work..."
"You're gonna go to a modern planet dressed in that?" Bunji burst out before Helen shot him a warning look. "Honey, that's rude!" she spat out. Bunji shrugged, and continued on to say, "Sorry, but this is like a high tech place... an that's..."
"What he means is that is not the most practical of outfits for traipsing about another planet," JEP tried to explain. "You might want to consider something more... contemporary..."
"I must apologize, the spell was rather literal, and I somehow think that it did exactly what I asked... this is my raiment from ancient Msir," he sighed, realizing he'd bungled yet another spell.
"No time for changes..." Trynia shook her head. "We must meet Yarhmes at the landing site... for transit..." Jazmin giggled as she noticed Trynia's look of shock at seeing her husband appear alive. She also sensed that Trynia preferred him in this outfit above all others, for he did have very cute calves visible under the below the knee kilt. She wondered about the Celtic looking spirals on his beryl sash. Not exactly Egyptian.
"Where did you learn that spell?" she whispered to him. "From the Princess Sohkarra," he whispered back, clutching his serpent staff in one hand as the others filed out after JEP and Trynia. "It is the Blush of Life... a dark magic spell, one of the few I actually use..."
"Dark magic?"
"A resurrection spell, to conjure the illusion of life. In this form I eat, sleep, and perform all those that one as living as you would..."
"Everything?" Jazmin giggled. Thar blushed, and his olive skin flushed an attractive shade of pink. Jazmin felt her own cheeks flush as she realized she was glancing at the firm muscles of his chest moving in and out with each breath. Not an ounce of fat on him, and those slender arms knotted with muscle beneath the serpent gauntlets were firm as well.
"You two coming or not?" Eric said impatiently, shooting her an odd look when he saw her glancing a bit more often at Thar then him. Even Meg was glancing at him with a wishful look in her eyes, and Thar was for a moment glad the long green cape hid the rear view of his hips and back.
JEP wasn't the only one that intercepted Trynia's message. Dr. Scarab was jumping up and down. ~At last I can get my hands on more that I ever realized.~"Goo, Madame-O, Mechanic, Glove, come here at once." The four villains walked up to Scarab's throne. "What is it now Scarab?" Glove folded his arms. Madame-O had draped her arms over Scarab's Throne's arm. "Yes darling tells us what that evil mind of yours is thinking." Goo and Mechanic remain quite.
A blaze of energy split the skies. For miles around the effect was seen for the briefest instant. Blue eyes fixed upon the trees and flowers of the organic world. "Fascinating," Yarhmes breathed, as he glanced about. "I can see why Trynia loves this world," Maagnyl smiled. "We are not here to sightsee," Yahrmes briskly scolded. "We are here to enlist the aid of the natives... and to find Unit Trynia Merin..."
"Still she has not revealed her presence as present," Marchyl reminded them. The three looked out of place in the center of the forest, their silver circuitry gleaming over the black body suits. Marchyl and Maagnyl were dark brown skinned, their liquid black eyes flickering all over the landscape. "Gravitation influence is greatly reduced on this planet," Yarhmes leapt up nearly fifty feet experimentally. He came to a resting point as his feet impacted soft ground. "Approximately 0.20 of Mantissa's ambient gravity..."
"I detect fossil fuel emissions, hydrocarbons..." Maagnyl sniffed. "Still igniting petroleum based products," Marchyl nodded. "Primitive," Yahrmes sniffed. "We will wait for Trynia Merin..."
The hovercraft approached the source of the strange flash, everyone with varying degrees of emotion. Eric was pensive, Jazmin holding his hand tightly beside him. "I'm just so tired, he sighed. "I know..." she sympathized. JEP glanced over Trynia's shoulder, only inches from the Cyborg. Tharakenat glanced anxiously at the horizon as they hovered to a landing point in the tall trees. They rose majestically overhead. "Look, there they are," Tharakenat pointed with his staff. "Who?" asked Jazmin.
Then she fell speechless. Three beings stood there, black swathed body suits with silvery filigree swirling over midnight. It extended to their faces, their hands. The tallest, pale skin and blue eyes stepped forwards, a long blue veil swirling around his body like a robe. It was sheer, see thru revealing the swirling silver masses of circuits crisscrossing his well muscled chest. Blue streaks shot through his black hair, the blue eyes and cleft chin apparent beneath the swirl of cybernetics around his right eye and over his ear. The other two followed, a woman and man that appeared to be IQ's age. Indeed the male looked much like IQ in the fact he appeared African, with cybernetics swirling over a bald head, his right hand robotic. The same pattern of cybernetics swirled over the female, indicating they must be twins like Meg and Eric!
"Entrance greetings, Trynia Merin unit," came a pleasant tenor voice. "Councillor Yahrmes of the Cybernami collective greets you... Anthropologist..." Trynia stepped out, moving up towards him. "Entrance greetings Councillor Yarhmes Unit. What is your order of business..." Suddenly Eric felt eyes on him. He glanced at the female Cybernami, her liquid eyes sparkling as they took in his form. A blush appeared on her cheeks, just noticeable on her dark skin the same shade as his brother JD. And Karate-1 was looking at her in a similar way! "She's gorgeous," Karate-1 sighed under his breath. His own eyes glanced over her curves, and the clacking multicolored beads ending each braided cornrow on her head. "May I present my allies, Sport 1, Shadowdancer, JEP, Karate-1 And Tharakenat my erstwhile husband unit. These are evolving units known as the Bionic 6. An interesting life form resembling our own..."
"Hmm, I greet you on behalf of Mantissa. Will you accompany us on a matter of urgency?" Yarhmes asked. "The trip will be undertaken by trans temporal machine..."
"Who are you and what do you want?" Eric snapped. Jazmin shut him up.
"We understand your apprehension, Sport-1. But this is a unique time for cultural exchange. We require information about your species so that we may prevent a conspiracy from overcoming your world. For even now there are rebellious elements within the Androni, our masters, that seek to conquer Earth. We must convince them that you are evolving in a manner that will not warrant this necessary..."
"Will we be allowed to come back soon?" Jazmin asked. "You will be returned only one day later then you left, according to Earth time frame," Maagnyl explained. "May I present Marchyl, social historian, and her brother unit Maagnyl, our exobiologist...." Yahrmes presented them. Still those eyes of Marchyl fixed on Eric, and Jazmin felt jealous. She seemed oblivious to the fact that Karate-1 was drooling over her! Not to mention that she caught a gleam in Maagnyl' eyes as he glanced over Jazmin. She felt herself blush. Yahrmes too was handsome, even with that cybernetics. What was she thinking! She had a boyfriend! She noticed how Tharakenat looked peeved when Yarhmes talked to Trynia. Was he attracted to Trynia even now?
"Shall we traverse?" asked Yahrmes. "Eric?" Jazmin asked her lover.
Dr. Scarab had found the landing area of the strangers by keeping an eye on strange power-fluctuations in the Earth's radio waves. He arrive to find the group and the Bionic Six along with JEP, that Cyborg-mummy and another stranger. He watched the group and listen in on going to another world. Dr. Scarab's red lips crack a small smile. He pointed to Glove and Madmen-O to move to the other side of the group as Mechanic and Goo move to another spot.
What going to happen to Sport-1. Then there is Dr.Scarab and Goo lose on Mantissa. Will the others find them and stop them from causing trouble for both worlds. Find out in part two.