Chapter 4

Since the Orb's arrival to their world over a thousand year ago, the order of No'lutek had risen almost exponentially in power on the planet Haderath. Priests began to grow corrupt as the centuries crept by, becoming intoxicated on the 'power' imbued to them by their simple possession of the flawless, iridescent crystal. However, all them were mere amateurs, compared to Selried Koalen, most corrupt and foul of the accursed lot. Since his dreaded rise to power, King Veles T'lorin prayed unceasingly for Selried's power to be toppled by anyone. In this prayer, it would seem that things would come to full circle. The Temple of No'lutek was awakened by the first rays of the morning light. It lay within the heart of Geleren, the Capitol City of the Kingdom of Palederon. The streets were devoid of any activity to hear the distinct sound of warping as real space retreated but for a moment to allow a special ship to materialize in an abandoned alley within a safe distance from their objective. Then ship took the form of a door, which opened to reveal two humanoids of different racial origins leave and make their way towards the temple. Determining this was simple: the first one, a male was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a nice light blue shirt. The second one, female, wore the scarlet robes of her chapter, accenting her vibrant, coppery hair and matching eyes.
"So, are they friendly at least?"
"Most. The Temple Guards are the ones we really have to worry about."

"I still don't see how we're going to retrieve this."
"Artron Crystal Resonator?"
"Yeah, that, without getting ourselves captured in the process." Jonie's eyes sparkled with inspiration and glanced over at her fiancée in thought. Ryan eyed the Time Lady wearily as she stared at him with cat-like fascination.
"How good are you at stopping and asking for directions?"

The illumination of the crystal lit the Time Lord's eyes with a rich, azure glow, as the preternatural energies pulsated vibrantly through his mind, opening and stimulating neural pathways that had never been used before. Every iota of energy that flooded his brain was absorbed completely, his mind shields completely lowered. Throughout the process, Julie and Lyssa monitored his vital signs as they seemed to shift erratically, and then returned to normal as the crystal's light died to nothing.
"Auden," Julie spoke up. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." He quickly blinked, and then looked at his to companions. "I've never felt anything like that before. It was incredible. I'm going to try something. be sure to record the readouts for me."
They nodded as he lay back, and closed his eyes. With little focus, his expanded his higher senses near-instantly into the realm of the fourth dimension. The Gallifreyan could feel it reverberating through his mind, as naturally as a lover's touch, like he used to sense it. He could feel the intimate bond echoing happily through his thoughts, as strongly as 'his' people could feel it. The ebb and flow of the temporal dimension coursed through him, in an exuberant flow of ethereal energy. Julie and Lyssa looked at him curiously as a soft smile crossed the Gallifreyan's face.
He then expanded himself further, and projected his mind outside of the TARDIS and into the space around him. He looked around and smiled, hovering above his TARDIS, and then began to frown as he gazed towards the Northern Hemisphere of the planet. He advanced towards it at the speed of thought, and then stopped before the psionic energies began to sear his face. He looked upon the origin and saw the breach, a pulsating bluish- white hole to discordant with space-time to be seen by any of the standard sensory technology. Then, he felt a presence. no; it was two minds, distinct in thought pattern and mental energy. The first felt primeval in essence, full of rage and hate. The second, not as old, yet familiar, not in the way of blood, but in.
Adrian's eyes flashed open, almost startled by his companions. He looked around, and then jumped off the bed, leaving the med-lab in a great hurry, though followed by Julie and Lyssa.
"What happened?" Julie asked.
"A rather nasty." He grimaced in thought. "Excursion. The sooner we're down on the surface the better."
"Why, what did you see?" Lyssa spoke as they entered the Console Room
"It wasn't what I saw, it was what I felt, what I touched." He looked up with a serious countenance. "And we haven't much time."

The Captain of the Guard stood roughly six feet in height, with broad shoulders, dark hair, and deep blue eyes. He dressed in a uniform roughly Arabic in appearance, but without a turban. Instead, he wore a headband with a multicolored miniature spheroid on his forehead. On his belt hung a large sword with a black hilt. Ryan gulped as he looked at the man, and then back at Jonie who motioned to him to go. He sighed, shook his head, and walked out of the bushes that lined the entrance and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me sir," Ryan began, walking up to the Guard. "Could you direct me to the nearest. phone booth, I seem, to have left my wallet at the inn, and need to call my wife to get it for me before she arrives."
Jonie smiled as the guard looked upon the human youth with total confusion, and then slid back into the shadows. The smile faded into an expressionless visage and began to extend her arms out form her sides. Her eyes narrowed with incredible concentration as she focused the gifted preternatural energies of her order on herself. Energy surged from the ether in dark blue tendrils, spiral upwards in coruscation. Her form began to fade from sight, and then vanished completely. Only wisps of blue energy, visible only to her encircled her as she walked towards the pair, up the stairs and into the temple.
"Now what were you looking for again?" The Guard asked rather politely.
She glided gracefully past meditating priests and then into the Inner Sanctum itself, which for the moment was empty. Slipping past a series of thick curtains that were blowing in a delicate breeze, the stopped and smiled, as she beheld what she came for. The orb, roughly the size of a double fist, levitated above a golden, pyramidal altar with various symbols richly carved onto its surface. Narrowing her coppery eyes, she willed her cloaking field around the altar itself and then grasped it. The field retreated upon her mental command, reducing the barrier's size, but not its' power. As the winds blew back the curtains, she glided out and away as gracefully as she entered.
"And what does a. telephone look like?" "Well, it's a device used to speak to another person form across great distances, with two ends. You listen into the top end and speak in the bottom end. All of this is connected to a cord which-"
"Captain! Captain! The Orb of No'lutek has been stolen!"
The Captain of the Guard looked back at the frantic soldier who looked as though he would faint and then back the human male who had a bewildered look on his face.
"I'll let you tend to that, I'm sure I can find someone else who can point me in the right direction."
The Captain turned and raced into the temple. When he was out of sight, which wasn't very far, Ryan shrugged, turned around, and walked away as calmly as he could. Getting to the end of the Temple walkway, he went into the bushes and saw Jonie with her arms crossed and an amused smile in her face.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up."
"Funny, I was wondering the same thing. So, can we go?"
"Oh yes, but we have to hurry, hopefully they didn't suspect you or our little exit could become rather tricky." They looked back as an announcement was made to search the grounds for anyone not authorized to be there. The couple looked at one another and hurriedly made their way away from the temple and towards the marketplace, not full of people. They slipped by making sure not to stop as the Guard proceeded into the city itself. As the voices died down, they heard Selried's voice thundering across the crowd in intense fury.
"I want the infidels who have dared to steal the Sacred Orb of No'lutek immediately! Find them now!" Jonie and Ryan slipped into the alley as the High Priest's carriage came to rest in view of it. They hurried to the end of it, keeping in the dark shadows as best they could, with light of the orb flashing from within Jonie's robes as she removed the key. As they got closer, Selried glanced towards the alley and his eyes widened as he caught a recognizable glint of multicolored light streaming forth from beneath robes of rich scarlet worn by a person with hair of copper fire. He looked harder and then pointed down the alley with a scepter.
"After them!" He commanded. Ryan looked back as the Guards entered the alley, running towards them in full stride. He looked back at Jonie who had just opened the door and ran in, pulling him in along with her. Shutting the door, she breathed a sigh of relief and brought up the preset coordinates in haste. She activated the scanner screen and they watched as the guards tried in vain to open the door and shook her head with a smirk and pulled a lever back. The frantic guards stopped and stood back with wonder as they heard the distinct, yet unknown sound of Gallifreyan warping as the door they had been trying to open faded in a pale, milky blue light. The Captain looked back at his men with wonderment.
"The Orb has been returned to its rightful place," He announced to them. "The tyranny has ended on our world." He looked over at the befuddled priest and smiled triumphantly. "Our people are free."

"Touchdown in five. four. three. two. one."
The shuttle landed safely within half a mile of the sight. With the crew and supplies accounted for, they exited the ship, and began to make their way to the sight, and then stopped and looked around as they heard a distinctly familiar noise.
"What is that sound?" Lieutenant Commander Bailey asked.
The tactical officer, Lieutenant Commander Cullen Smith looked over at him and smiled slightly. "I believe that would be. Doctor Lorizhon."
The watched as before them, the space before them seem to warp, then fold in on itself. Coruscated energies began to fill that gap as an object began to materialize before their eyes. When that distinct sound ended its final note, a quasi-terrestrial pillar stood before them. In a perfect cylindrical fashion encompassing the middle, lay a series or ornate geometric patterns, and a beautiful, but alien script, most likely belonging to the occupant's homeworld. Within seconds, three figure exit the object, two females with smiles, and a male with a dark, concerned expression riddling his face.
"Just excellent," He muttered aloud. "I should have known you'd be down here. I saw your ship in orbit when we arrived, trust nothing was too badly damaged by the artron-generated pulse."
"Artron pulse?"
Auden looked up and over at a new figure before him. Tall, he had short, brown hair, bright, intelligent blue eyes, and an inquisitive posture.
"Yes, Artron, or what your people would call mental energy. What your ship felt was a shock wave that was partially generated on the astral plane, and partially in real space. The result produced a tear invisible to conventional sensory systems, yet strong enough to effect real space. Typical of her style." He muttered the last of it.
"Fascinating. "I'm Doctor Baze by the way, Drew Baze."
"Doctor Auden Lorizhon, normally referred to as Auden." In concentrated amounts like that, it can be incredibly dangerous, especially when
"Figured." Commander Post frowned. He carried little affection for the Time Lord, despite his help. "Bantering us like we're some inferior- "
"Is their something. wrong Doctor Lorizhon?" Captain Fall broke in before the Commander grew louder in tone.
"Oh yes." He whispered ominously. "We haven't-"
A sound identical to Auden's forthcoming reverberated before them, ascending into a crescendo of harmonic brilliance, as another ship materialized in similar fashion before them. The distinct sound faded into the dimensions as the materialization process completed itself. Captain Fall glanced over at the dark-eyed Time Lord, who wore an unforgiving frown upon his face for anyone exiting the ship. Before looking back, he took notice of something else; Auden seemed pale, paler than usual for a possible impending crisis.
The door opened, and the occupants stepped forth. The first to exit, was a somewhat tall woman, with long, brunette hair, brilliant hazel-green eyes, with an apparent age of a woman in her late teens, early twenties. She wore dark, uniform-like clothing, which offset her gentle, natural beauty, making her seem military in origin.
The other, about her height looked around with innocent blue eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. Though he looked as young as she, his face appeared scarred from an accident that took place many years ago. He was clothed in a pair of jeans, and a light orange short-sleeved shirt, from which showed similar scarring on his arms.
The Time Lady began to survey her crowd of onlookers, until she came face to face with Auden, and then everything went still. The Gallifreyans nodded at one another, and then a dead silence permeated the ether between them. The Captain was about to speak, when Julie tapped him on the shoulder and shook her head.
"What's going on?"
"Mind touch, customary greeting between Gallifreyans." She looked at her fellow Time Lords curiously. "But I've never known them to last very long."
Auden's head tilted upward, and he let out a heavy sigh. He looked back at the fellow Gallifreyan and shook his head in visible loathing. The Time Lady shrugged, as though in agreement and sighed as well. Things were definitely looking up indeed.