15: In the Air Tonight
The fleet took three weeks to rendezvous at the rift. It had moved quite a bit from its previous position, and we still didn't know how stable it was. We had the Ravnican sub-space relay in tow, to the new rift location. It looks like we'd have to assess conditions on the ground when we got back. Best guess said we had to proceed with caution as the quick reconnoiter that the Aleya did provided absolutely no energy sources aside from mana sources!
Something's wrong. I'm sure of it! "It's too quiet," I muttered. We had entered Ravi's system to find the other end of the subspace relay right where it is supposed to be, but completely shut down. But even from here we should hear ground traffic from the planet. The Aleya was ordered to tow this array to this end of the rift and to re-link the two.
"There's nothing at all ... on any sub-space band," K'Tee responded. "I can't even raise Sunhome!"
I looked at Razia. "What about Teysa?" she queried.
"Nothing. From either the spaceport or the station ... wait ... we have a ground beacon."
"Just a ground beacon? No ship transponders? There should at least be a pocket battleship hanging around."
"The ground beacon is coming from Teysa's spaceport. There is one ship there – Teysa's cruiser," Sara replied. She was on ops with Nergat. "The crusier is completely powered down, with possible a nuclear battery powering the beacon. It`s actually not coming from the spaceport itself."
"Stranger and stranger. No power, no station, no Sunhome. Keep the fleet cloaked and let's get into orbit," I ordered. "I want to reconnoiter a bit before we make our presence known."
The fleet slid hidden into orbit. The space station was parked in geosynchronous orbit, on the opposite side of the planet from the capital. It was dark and unoccupied, but appeared to be completely intact.
It took only a little while to parse out what had basically happened while we were gone. Another decade or two had passed while we were away. There was something called "the Mending" which closed the rift, and also cast Agyrem out into another dimension again. The Guilds had been usurped and chaos ruled. Teysa`s non-magical guildpact collapsed. As the guild functions no longer were valued civic functions started to fail. Without the Izzet the lights started to go out. Without the Boros crime ran rampant. Without the Orzhov the economy faltered. Thus the guilds began their new ascendancy, but with changes.
But more importantly for us, was the presence (or lack thereof) of antimatter. It was nowhere to be found! Somehow, all of the inpulse reactors known both on the planet and on board the station were also offline. There were scannable power sources - the nuclear batteries that should be providing backup power to all the mana-less technology, but at emergency levels. It seems that whatever removed the antimatter tripped out the fusion reactors, and every advanced power source was effectively dead. We were the only ones with operating mana-less technology left on Ravnica.
Three days later and we had more intel. None of it good. The Dimir were back, after almost completely fading away. Teysa had left Utvara behind. She had become the defacto head of the Orzhov syndicate. Whether she would even be interested in starting up her spaceport again is anybody`s guess. The Simic was now in the control of re-emergent merfolk. Most of the other guilds were still their annoying selves. For the Boros there was a big surprise: The return of the angels. Their return brought a price. The cost it seemed, was the loss of a pair of wings! A new angel was in town, and she and Feather definitely did not see eye to eye. Razia was unimpressed by the new direction that 'Warleader' Aurellia had taken the legion. Although the more personal involvment was approved, the defection of some angels to the Orzhov and the "gateless" movement was particularly disturbing.
Razia and I were looking out from the observation deck windows.
"It actually makes sense from a warrior's point of view, especially one with a second life," I mentioned.
"What do you mean by a 'second life'?" Razia inquired.
"Well think about it. I only managed to rescue 87 Boros angels in total."
I got a hug for that. "That is 87 more angels than what would have survived," Razia reminded.
"Really? Take a look at all of your reincarnated daughters down there. That 'Rift Mending' occurance seemed to bring them back, when Agyrem was flipped back out of Ravnica's mana-verse."
"Actually little more than half," Razia informed. "The 87 of us didn't have to win a cosmic coin toss to return!" We embraced as we watched Ravnica slowly rotating below us. "And besides, we kept all our wings!"
... Then there was this "Maze" that was discovered in the construction of Ravnica itself. Apparently it was a backup to the guildpact, created by the Azorius' Parun.
It's time to make some waves.
Getting into Feather's chamber was easy. The guildmages should know better, and have posted extra guards. Then again, I bet nobody expected such a brazen move after so much time had elapsed. Besides even if you can't see the ship you should be able to hear it…
…But only if the thrusters are running. The cloaked Newton landed atop Sunhome in the early dawn quite silently. It was quietly tractored into place by the Helion3, which was hovering near the edge of space.
If the guard to Feather's chamber recognized me it was far too late. Have phasers, will stun! The lone guard inside the chamber was a rather aging guild mage. The look of shock was evident on Arcus's face as he recognized me. "Ohhh ... shit!" he muttered just before the stun bolts hit. Feather was here! And in what a state as she was! The shimmering of the sphere distorted her features, but it only took me a few seconds to figure it out.
A quick blast to the top of the detention shpere and it dissipated, dropping Feather to the ground. It was a rather unceremonial drop to the ground.
Sorry Feather.
I picked up her stirring form. "Feather?" I inquired.
"That would be Guildmaster Vinrenn, if you'll please…" she didn't know who just picked her up.
"No… Feather it is…"
She finally looked me in the face. "Stephen… You're back!" She continued, "then Razia may be able to sort this out…" The hug was 'breathtaking' after planting her on her feet.
"That much is sure," I gasped. "Here, put this on," I stated as I placed a communictor badge on her. A moment later and there was a metallic flash and scream. Feather was elsewhere. Now for the second Job…
I entered the guild-mages chamber. It hadn't changed much, but the bench was split in two, with a command chair placed between the benches. It had the look of a command chair on the bridge. I took up a seat near the scanner console. I couldn`t even bring up battery power. Just then a guild mage entered the chamber. "Out!" I ordered. The guild mage quickly left the room. Time's up, I thought. It was only later that I realised that I had met a new kind of guild mage...
A week later I strode into the main entrance of Sunhome, not even challenged by any Enforcers. Chaos ruled here again. The "fight" between Feather's and Aurelia's supporters still lingered, even though Feather had been thouroughly defeated. Suppressed for almost half a decade, the recent disappearance of Feather brought out mumblings and dissention in the ranks. Many now believed that Aurellia finally had Feather killed, and that was just going too far. But her whereabouts were unknown to the rank-and-file and that spurred the chaos on. I entered the main mess hall, and helped myself to breakfast. I wanted to hear some gossip about the two angels before Aurelia clued into what I was doing. Eggs, bread, and something that resembled ham or back bacon was on the menu. Tasted good too. I sat down in a quiet corner and tucked in.
"May we join you?" A voice interrupted.
I looked up at the young faces of some new Skyknights. They seemed to be curious about my uniform. It was obviously Boros, but from a rather unknown division. "Sure. Be my guest," I replied.
They sat down and started on breakfast. Then one finally spoke up. "Uh ... Sir ... what rank exactly is that insignia?
"Those would be Fleet Captain's bars, and yes they are a rather uncommon sight in the Boros these days," I replied.
"These ... I see that you are ... well ... older, but I don't think that rank should be that rare," he questioned. My uniform tunic sported an older version of the Boros symbol on it. It had been streamlined during our absence.
"Let's just say that I'm much older than I look, and the only one to bestow this rank to anybody was Razia herself." That brought a pregnant pause.
A female spoke up, a young elf girl. I doubt she was out of her teens. "Speaking of Razia and the elder angels, did you know anything about the angel Feather?"
"Oh, yes-," I replied.
"Then why was she called Guildmaster Vinrenn?" The girl interrupted.
"That is because her full name is Pierakor az Vinrenn D'rav, and Razia left her in charge of the Boros as guildmaster," I answered.
"Then Aurellia's claim that she was disgraced ..."
"She was for a time. Sentenced to serve with the wojeks for that time. That where she got the name Feather from," I explained. "Razia restored her status and made her guildmaster during Szadek's assault on the Parhelion."
They jumped to a wrong conclusion. "So Aurelia might have killed her to eliminate the rightful leader..."
"Who said Aurelia had Feather killed?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear? A week ago Feather had gone missing. Old Arcus was babbling that some 'sky captain' came and took her. He just must have snapped at witnessing her execution."
The young man spoke up again. "It's bringing back some of the chaos of the original fight between them. We'll probably be asked to pick a side..." He seemed to be asking me which side I would be on.
"Hey, I'm just here following orders," I replied. "I picked a side long ago." I stood up from the table, as I had finished my breakfast. "Razia's side. You should talk to Arcus if you get the chance. He didn't snap. It's just that his old memories mixed up 'sky captain' and 'starship captain'. Well, I have to go."
With that I left their puzzled looks behind and headed for the lift. I received more strange looks when I rang in level 137. Apparently no one went there anymore. The lift eventually reached my level, and the doors opened into a dark hallway. I flipped on a hand light and walked into the dark corridor. It took a bit of fumbling with a portable power source and the locked doors but I eventually ended up in the reactor room. After manually reconnecting the nuclear battery, we had light and power to the consoles. A quick check on the reactor itself ... everything is in the green, and lots of hydrogen in the fuel tanks. I left the reactor room with the impulse reactors fully operational and humming along. I returned to the lift.
When I got on the lift people were in shock. First they were puzzled that somebody would actually get on the lift from 137, and were equally surprised that I walked out of a fully lit corridor, there was apparently a commotion going on in the guildmage's chamber. So up we went. When we reached the top the mages ran to the chamber. I wasn't in such a hurry, and stopped in the doorway. There were quite a few mages here, as well as one angel. Even from the door you could feel the magical energy eminating from her. They were all babbling and staring at the screens and consoles, which were all powered up.
"It was that guy," I overheard one say
"What 'guy'?" Aurelia commanded
"That man with the strange uniform." Time to go. "The one from level 137. He was just behind us..." I heard as I reached the stairs to the roof.
Aurelia had stepped into the hallway, I was sure. I wasn't looking back to check. I never knew if she did see my beam-out.
We spent another week in orbit, having a bit of fun. We overflew most of Ravnica on survey using our two runabouts. Uncloaked. Time to start my own UFO craze, I thought. It didn't take long for the news sheets to begin speculation about the return of the starships. To them the big question was whose starships were out there.
I was cruising over ... the eighth? It wasn't part of the city of Ravi proper. I was alone in my starfighter cruising low and slow. I should put a kill sticker under the window, one Dimir symbol. But that was Razia's kill, and in the previous copy of the starfighter.
Movement on the left broke me out of my reverie. A quick look and there is an angel falling out of the sky. Being dragged out of the sky was a more accurate description. She was struggling against the pull of some invisible tether, and I could tell her Boros cape from here. Time to make a liesurely 180 and drop some altitude. By the time I did this the angel had been pulled onto a rooftop, and I threw my scanner images up onto the HUD as I hovered a few floors below.
Sure enough a mage was responsible for dragging the angel down. A post was erected on the roof, and when the angel reached it someone put a collar around her neck, attaching it to the post. The angel was still struggling against this binding ring. One of the others handed the mage a pouch, and the mage promptly left the rooftop. He apparently was just a hired gun. Then what appeared to be the leader drew the angels sword out of her scabbard. I was just about to witness the execution of an angel. Enough of this.
I crested the rooftop and the leader froze in midswing, staring at the fighter. Too Late. I pressed the firing stud and he disappeared in a ball of plasma, the sword clattering to the ground. I waited a breath. You all may exit the roof now... Then the next person went for the sword. Really stupid. I held down the firing stud and swept them all from the rooftop.
I landed the fighter on the roof, and got out. The look on the angel's face was one of puzzlement. I picked up her sword from the roof.
"If you plan on saving me to kill me yourself can you at least tell me why?" the angel asked. "With them I at least knew why." She sounded resigned.
Now I had the puzzled look. "I'm not here to kill you," I replied while returning her sword to her scabbard.
"Then why save me, mister red and black?"
"Red and black?" I looked down. my tunic jacket was closed. With standard issue black pants I was essentially wearing the colours of the Rakdos! "Oh! I see. Perhaps this shall shed some light." I undid the front and flipped the tunic flap back, clipping it into its 'battledress' position. Now emblazoned on the white flap was an older version of the Boros symbol. "Better?" The look on the angel's face was priceless. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Fleet Captain Stephen Michael."
I had actually flustered another angel! "I am Firemane Nevena," she replied. "Those were the survivors of the Barbu Rooftop rebellion. They had me marked for death ever since I let the victorious raid on them."
"I will get you out of this in a moment..."
"You can't. This collar is designed to explode if you tamper with it."
"Then we'll just have to beam you out." I took my communication pin off and placed it on her. "One to beam up," I spoke into it.
"How does one-" and with a flash and metallic scream the angel was aboard the Helion3. The empty collar dropped to the bottom of the pole.
A lone survivor saw me climb back into the fighter and lift off.
I decided to try the front door again. Surprisingly it worked, even though security seemed to be restored. I decided to forgo a meal this time. I was basically on a wander through Sunhome, just like I would do in the past. Most didn't know what to make of me. There were a couple of older legionaires who did recognize me, surprized to see me wandering the halls again. Most of those brief conversations went to the tune of "So old Arcus didn't flip his lid". I had found my way into the inner sanctum again. This time the offices of a guildmage named Tajic, and a new project called the 'Warmind Initiave'. That went into my tricorder. It looked interesting. Then on to the war room. I expected to find Aurelia here, as angels didn't need to sleep on Ravnica, but the room was empty. Aurelia was elsewhere. But where? was the question lingering in the back of my mind. The last thing I need is to get killed by mistake here. I took a complete tricorder reading and headed for the guildmage's chamber. Again at this early hour, it was vacant. Nobody knew what the consoles did, even though they were powered up again. I decided to fire up the scanners and check out the area within line of sight to the top of Sunhome.
I probably shouldn't have done that. I found a squadron of Skyjeks under siege from a sky swallower. Oh, crap. This was about to be a short fight, or a short meal, unless I intervened. "I guess this cuts this tour short," I muttered to myself as I powered up some of the upper phaser emitters. I moved over to the tactical console, locked on to the 'swallower, and fired. The beast disappeared in a puff of photons, leaving behind a confused but grateful squadron. Unfortunately for me the thrum of the phaser reverberated throughout the stone structure of Sunhome. That should wake up everybody, I thought. I got up and turned to the door ... to find Aurelia standing in the doorway. Oh, great.
"So, the mystery man from 137 returns," Aurelia stated. "I assume that all this," Aurelia waved at the screens and consoles, "is your doing"
"Well, not just me alone," I admitted. "I had a lot of help."
"Whose help?" Aurelia demanded.
"Razia's, for one," I answered. "Sara too."
"Razia, and many of my sisters, are dead!" Aurelia stated rather coldly.
"Then you don't have a clue of who I am, do you?" I queried.
"Well, I am Aurelia! I am the spirit of the Boros…" she replied, forcefully.
"Yes you are. You're also one of Razia's daughters. How you came to be re-incarnated, is still a mystery… so what will Razia do with you?" I questioned.
"I hope Razia would congratulate me on returning the Boros to their former glory, IF she returned from oblivion, after Szadek's attack."
"Then I suggest you talk to Arcus. There actually were 87 survivors of Szadek's attack, Razia included. Just that we were missing for a while doesn't make us dead. I'm Stephen Michael by the way, and if you were incarnated when Razia was under 5 milennia old, you may know that name from the mana-less universe. Other than that, if you want to talk, to either me or Razia, we, . . . will be upstairs." I strode past Aurelia, as if I actually owned the place.
Aurelia didn't obstruct my passage. She did follow behind me as I walked onto the roof of Sunhome and into the Helion3. Its de-cloaking and appearance would bring a raft of reporters to the doors of Sunhome, and brought Aurelia to a dead stop, staring at the ship. When I reached the bridge I was ambush-hugged by an angel. It was Nevena, wearing her new ship's uniform, with the new insignia, and new issue navy blue leggings.
The anthill was definitely kicked, as the reporters were back at the gates of Sunhome, and Aurelia didn't have the answers! She apparently learned more from the reporters than she gave in news. They knew that the ship held Razia, Stephen and Sara, and queried when Aurelia would acquiesce to Razia's authority. If our scanners were correct, Aurelia was definitely flustered!
The following morning I waltzed in the front door, being greeted by my rank by the enforcers. This is going to be an interesting day, I thought. I entered the main mess hall, and grabbed another breakfast. Today it was eggs and mystery meat. I sat down at the most centrally located table I could find. A couple of people near me left, giving me a lot of space. Was it my imagination or did it just get really quiet around here?
"May I join you?" was a question that disturbed me out of my breakfast. Aurelia was standing in front of me, and actually held a tray of food!
"Of course. Have a seat," I replied. We had just become the center of attention. You could almost hear a pin drop in the largest and noisiest mess hall in Sunhome…
"I apparently have missed an entire role and faction of the Boros," Aurelia stated as she ate her eggs. Like Razia, eggs were as far into carnivorous behaviour as she went. "I wasn't present when you returned Razia in the Parhelion II. I only saw the downed Orzhov ship, and only at the point in time when the guilds were out of favour here on Ravnica."
"Well, apparently we missed that bit of fun…"
"FUN, it was not!" Aurelia exclaimed. "Those were dark days for Ravnica! It was a portend of what would of happened if the guildpact didn't form in the first place…"
"Yes, well the guilds are still in their reformation infancy, including us," I mentioned. The mystery meat tasted good whatever it was.
"I know. What I didn't know was that Razia had forgiven Feather and she was back in the fold. Why wouldn't Feather have mentioned that to me?"
"I can think of a couple of reasons," I mentioned.
"And they are?" She inquired.
Now where have I heard that question before? "For starters, have you looked in the mirror lately? And besides, who could or would corroborate that for Feather?"
"Well, there were no other angels… What do you mean? Look into a mirror? What's wrong with me?" She appeared to become angry.
"Have you counted the number of wings you have lately?" I asked.
"Just because I have only two doesn't mean I'm not Aurelia! … Oh. Right. Boros angels always had four. ... Then why was I accepted so readily?"
"You can blame us for that," Razia stated from behind Aurelia. "You see, we have accepted two winged angels into our midst, starting with Sara. The other angels who had joined the Boros have 2 to 6 wings…"
Aurelia was definitely startled. She definitely did not expect Razia to drop in. Then Sara approached the table with a tray of food. Both Sara and Razia joined us at the table. If the mess hall was silent before, it was even quieter after the arrival of Razia.
But the biggest thing that startled Aurelia was that Sara had some meat on her plate. But that was a brief aside. "As long as it's not long pig…" Sara mentioned.
I almost spat out my coffee. "Around here it just might be!"
Sara just gave me the stink-eye. "They Wouldn't…"
"Around here, the Golgari just might…" Aurelia stated, picking up the reference really fast. Sara pushed the meat onto my plate…
"And that's why on my home planet we just call it 'mystery meat' and leave it at that," I stated. "But back to the business at hand…" And no, the tricorder told me it wasn't meat from a sentient being...
"And that would be the status of the angels of Boros," Aurelia replied.
"You need to get together your senior advisors, both angelic and mortal," Razia advised, "and convene aboard the Helion3 for some serious discussion."
Another angel approached the table, sporting the ship's uniform, Nevena.
There was a happy shock on Aurelia's face. "Nevena! I thought the gateless had finally gotten you!"
"They would have, if Stephen here didn't rescue me. Rescuing angels, especially these two," Nevena embraced Razia and Sara, "seems to be his primary occupation."
Aurelia stared at me. Then her eyes narrowed. She looked first at Razia, then at Sara, and finally back at me, and shook her head. "No. That's just impossible! Two permanent life links?"
"Isn't that what Jace said to you?" Razia asked me.
"Something like that," I replied. Loudly, "I think it's time we reconviened aboard the Helion3 and let the rest of the legion resume breathing."
That brought a roar of laughter as the mess returned to its boistrous self.
I was walking through the shutlebay, glad to get out of the large briefing room for awhile. The conversation was going generally well, but it did get heated at times. Razia seemed to be amused by it, but I needed out. I was slowly walking up to my starfighter, when an angel burst into the bay. It was Aurelia, and she was seething.
"You! You did this! What's all this 'thinking like a mortal' all about anyway?"
"Are you really angry at me, or your mom?" I queried.
"OOOHHHH! ... well ... neither actially. It's just that everybody ... changed." Aurelia calmed down, and took a moment to study the fighter. "What is that anyway?"
"That's a ladder, climb up it," I ordered.
She gave me a look. "I know what a ladder is and does."
I sighed. "You missed the point. Climb the ladder and get into the fighter."
She then gave me a 'who the hell are you?' look, but got into the fighter's rear seat, while I climbed in front. "What the..." Aurelia exclamed when the seatback automatically narrowed.
"The seat sensors know you are an angel, and adjusted the seat to accommodate your wings. Now buckle up," I explained while strapping myself in. I then took the fighter up and out of the bay, leaving Sunhome behind.
"No acceleration, yet we are moving," Aurelia commented.
"It's called inertial dampeners. Or artificial gravity. This little fighter can accelerate so much we would be squashed like bugs without it." I was flying subsonically, about 10 kilometres above the cityscape. I turned the fighter upside down. "This is what it would feel like au natural," I mentioned, as I turned off the grav generators. KERFLOP. "You didn't buckle up did you," I said while looking down. Aurelia hadn't expected that, and was sprawled over the canopy, which was the current 'bottom' of the ship. I slowly rolled the fighter back over so Aurelia could semi-gracefully get back in her seat and strap in.
"OK, as you humans would say, that was cute. But why am I really here? It's not just to calm me down or ridicule me is it?"
"No. I want to show you the really big picture," I replied. I flipped the grav generators back on and headed out into space. We thundered by Ravnica's moon, and headed out for 30 seconds more. I stopped the fighter and flipped the nose over to Face Ravnica and its moon. They were small bright dots in front of us, about 3 million km away. "Now I would like you to pause and take in ... everything."
Some moments later and Aurelia spoke up. "If you want to make me feel small and insignificant you have accomplished your task."
"Then you missed the point again," I replied. "I wanted you just to feel the vastness of just your little universe. Ravnica isn't the only inhabited planet here, and out there," I pointed into deep space, "Is a vast mana-less universe which may, in fact, be truly infinite. With an open portal, who knows what kind of nastiness may stop by and wreak havok. And guess what stands in its way?"
" ... us."
"You got it. You, me, the starship crews, Razia ... Feather."
"Speaking of miss Pierakor, will you at least grant me the possibility that Feather ... screwed up."
"She's already admitted as much to Razia.
"Oh. ... And thanks to you, Razia forgave her, "Aurelia sarcastically stated.
"What do you mean, thanks to me?"
"It seems to come back to that whole thinking like a mortal thing. Can we go back now?
"Sure." I fired up the drives and set a liesurely return trip to Ravnica, taking the scenic route by swinging around Ravi's moon. A few minutes later and we landed back on the Helion3.
Next I was hiding on the bridge of the Helion3 while the negotiations were going on. First up was Sara.
"My head hurts," Sara mentioned upon entering the bridge.
"Then give me a hug and it will all be better," I responded. Sure enough a massive hug ensued. Not quite bone breaking, but close.
"That Aurelia is a piece of work, as you would say," Sara stated.
"What makes you say that?" I questioned.
"Oooh ... It's her insistence that the angels be on the front lines with the troops..."
"And what's wrong with that?" I had to ask.
"It's the primary reason that some of my daughters have defected," Razia interrupted upon entering the bridge. "Let's just say that we really want to swoop in and save the day. leaving behind a bewildered mortal ... OK present company excepted. Nothing seems to affect you these days."
"That's because I'm old and cynical. Besides, from the mana-less universe comes technology, including the ability-"
"To shoot down an angel, I know. It was an interesting way of dating, let me tell you," Razia interrupted.
Sara burst out laughing. Razia tried the 'stink-eye', to no avail, before she joined in. A breath taking double angel hug ensued, with both relenting just in time to keep me from passing out...
"That wasn't what I had in mind," I gasped. "It's just from my mana-less point of view, you are a powerful winged humanoid, with an indefinite lifespan ... and hot looking both in armour and uniform!"
Didn't get her to blush. "And what about me?" Sara asked.
"Well that overgrown bathrobe was interesting," I winked.
SMACK. "Do you know how important ... oh." Sara realized that I had as much repect for her battledress as my own. That brought another hug.
"If only we could get your halo of sigils back..." I whispered.
"Not if it means losing you," Sara whispered back.
"Back to the matter at hand," Razia stated. "Aurelia doesn't know where the boundary is. She simply goes too far. But that actually isn't her fault, she simply doesn't know where the human interface is. Unlike myself, who has hooked up with a special mortal from a mana-less universe, she doesn't have any background on where the mortal limitations are. I at least have you. You are truly special. You are an...external anchor...with special technological abilities. Without that, us angels couldn't mingle effectively and create a cohesive crew. You are the link that unites us."
I just gave Razia a hug, regardless of the squeeze she can put on me. Sara joined in...
I woke up in Razia's arms, as Sara appeared to have gotten up earlier.
"You have an interesting solution to our problem," Razia mentioned.
"I do?" I had to ask.
"Of course," Razia winked at me. "Your mind came up with it during your sleep. Now I know you dream, and can be creative while you do, but I wasn't expecting this!"
"Unfortunately, I don't remember my dreams … mostly. And most of the dreams I remember have no basis in reality-"
"I know. I've seen all of them. They can be … really weird." Razia stated.
Oh great, what has Razia seen from my subconscious…
"Don't worry, your secrets are safe with us," Razia stated as if she were reading my mind. "Some of your dreams are … impossible, from any standpoint, regardless, I have enjoyed many fantasies from your mind's eye…and the rest, let me show you some of what is possible…
The next hour was, ìnteresting, to say the least. And the most pleasurable hour I`ve had recently. But it was time to get serious with all the angels. Razia was about to impose imperial rule, so it was a quick breakfast, and to the briefing room we went.
I wasn't really paying attention in the briefing room, as Sara was missing from the group again. As soon as it was diplomatic, I excused myself.
"Computer, where is the location of lieutenant commander Sara?" I queried.
"Lieutenant commander Sara is in your quarters," the computer responded.
Puzzled, I headed back to my quarters. Was Sara hiding from the meeting? I entered our quarters, to find them empty. "Sara?" I asked rather loudly from the entrance.
Sure enough Sara was here. She came out of the head, with a pale look on her face. "Hi," she said with a weak wave.
I had never seen her like this. I walked over to her and gave her a gentle embrace. Angels don't get sick! "Are you OK?"
"No, I'm not OK. This is a first for me. I never felt nausea before, and I definitely don't like it! There may be an upper limit to how much undigested food an angel can consume..." Sara responded.
I doubt it. "OK off to sickbay with you." I tapped my communicator pin. "Doctor Toki." I commanded.
"Toki here," came the response.
"Meet us in sickbay. Sara has a problem!"
"On my way!" You could hear the concern in his voice.
Toki was waiting for us in sickbay when we arrived. He put Sara into a diagnostic bed and went to work. A few moments later he turned to me. "You can return to the briefing room. I will let you know her prognosis later."
That sounded like a dismissal. "Let me know the moment you-"
"Don't worry about that. Just get back to that meeting so this ship can get back to normal!" Toki was playing the crotchety country doctor.
"OK ... I get it. See you in a bit..." Besides Sara was in as good medical hands as it gets. I decided to return to the briefing room. I walked in to a lively conversation, which abruptly ended.
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence" Aurelia quipped.
I just stopped and slowly turned to her. "In case it wasn't made clear to you, I happen to be the Captain of this ship, and as such, my primary duty is to her crew. The last time I checked, YOU, are not,... a member of my crew." I had put as much ice into my voice as I could. Then I slowly went to the chair at the head of the briefing room table, and slowly sat down. "Status report," I commanded.
"During your absence I had begun to inform Aurelia about your solution," Razia replied. She was doing an incredible job at portraying a junior officer. "We were just getting to her own role in the legion as you entered ... sir." The hand she placed on my knee made it clear how un-serious she really was. But then again, Razia seemed to take great pleasure in seeing Aurelia squirm.
"Thank you, Commander. Carry on."
I let my attention wander as Razia explained Aurelia's, and the other angel's roles within the Boros legion ...
My communicator pin chirped. "Toki to Stephen Michael," came the inquiry.
"Yes doctor?" I replied.
"Is Razia with you? I'm going to need both of you here in sickbay, as soon as you can."
I stared at Razia. She replied, "I am here. We both will be in sickbay shortly." To the rest of the room she stated, "we will re-convene this meeting at a later time." With that she took me by the arm and headed towards the door.
We quickly arrived in sickbay. Both Toki and Sara were there, as well as Kenidiern and Xantcha. Sara was discussing something with Kenidiern, but broke off as soon as she noticed us.
"Umm, ... , well, ... , I have something to tell you," Sara stated. "I'm pregnant."
"Isn't that impossible?" I asked, more of Toki than Sara.
"It is supposed to be. I don't like this one bit." Toki replied.
"But what about Xantcha?" Sara asked Toki.
" Xantcha is a special case," Toki stated. "Genetically, Xantcha is 100% Serra Angel. Your fetus is a true Human/Battlegrace hybrid. And genetically, that should be impossible. In fact I dont give you much chance on making it to birth - and no chance if you venture into our mana-less universe!" Before Sara could respond Toki continued, "The only thing I can think of is the presence of white mana is sustaining your fetus. Without that continuous presence, your child doesn't stand a chance."
"Any risk to Sara?" I asked.
"No. Sara will be her usual tough-as-nails self. I'll just give her something for the morning sickness," Toki replied. "Who would have thought that an angel could get morning sickness..."
I just looked at Sara and shrugged. Mystery solved as far as I was concerned. It would be quite some time before the reality of it all would hit me like a ton of bricks...
I stepped out of the lift onto the main floor near the entrance ... and the reporters were there, surrounding a small group of angels, all in ship uniform. As I approached I realized that the angel at the center of attention was Aurelia herself. And her associates were none other than Feather and Nevena.
"... and Commander Vinrenn here will be taking over the Academy in Utvara precinct, which will be accepting a new class of starship cadets..." Aurelia had a new smooth cadence with the reporters.
That was my cue to bow out and head back to the lifts before I was spotted or recognised. I almost made it too.
"Sir! ... Excuse me ... sir!" I turned to see a young guildmage running up to me. Human, he was probably still in his teens. "Razia told me to seek you out!"
"What now, mage?" I really wasn't in the mood to take some wet-behind-the-ears kid under my wing regardless if he got advice from Razia herself.
"It's this request list..." he stuttered as we got onto a lift. I rang in the top floor. "Razia said that you were assigned to all the requested audiences and interviews with the angelic eschelon..." he trailed off. He held out a sheaf of papers. "Unfortunately I can't read them."
I took the papers and looked at them. No wonder he couldn't read them. They were written in Old English. Even I had a difficult time reading the old script. Razia had figured a way to hide a messge in plain sight in such a way that I was the only one who could read it. It ws a rather long list. Surprising enough, Teysa was on the list. Not surprising, Jace was also on it. He was now billing himself as the 'Living Guildpact'. A large number of Boros were on the list too. At least Rakdos wasn't. He wouldn't fit down a starship corridor anyway, even enlarged ones. Whether Isperia would was anybody's guess.
"What's your name kid?" I asked.
Startled, he managed to stammer out "Rahda."
"Well, Rahda, Pack up your things, you have a new job. Your going to become my personal secretary. Somebody has to schedule those meetings and you're it."
"Yes sir. Uhm, where am I packing my things to?" he asked.
"The Helion-3. You will need some quarters on board near me. We'll have to set up an office for you outside my own, so you can screen the guests. I'll have to teach you how to hold some of my calls..." With that, we reached the top level of Sunhome, and took the stairs to the roof. I noticed I was alone as I walked up to the ship. Rahda was stopped at the top of the stairs, staring up at it.
"Yes, it's much bigger when seen up close," I stated to break him out of his mesmer. "We wouldn't park it with its nose hanging over the roof if the whole ship actually fit up here you know...".
"Of course, sir," he recovered. He caught up quickly.
"Besides, as starships go, the Helion-3 is only a middle sized ship..."
After a couple of days of meetings, I was ready to quit. Even after we removed over half of the legionnaires with an announcement that you needed to apply to the academy in Utvara directly, my most oft recited comment of late became "So what do you want us to do about it?" We were NOT in the business of solving everybody's problems! If you have a huge issue with the policing of your district, yeah, talk to me. Need to hire an army? OK, but I'm not exactly your go-to guy for that. That's what the dude at the front desk is for!
This morning's guests included no other than Teysa herself. The unusual reservation included none other than Tajic himself. So what was the "spiel" between them anyways?
I had at this time my fresh new spectacles with the new HUD thanks to Toki. The HUD tied into the ships scanners and had a complete LCARS interface. It was also capable of independent operation, and had all the capabilities of my old section 31 tricorder.
Teysa and Tajic entered, and as soon as she saw me she put on a half-smirk. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"What do you mean -"
"You're wearing spectacles. I thought your first officer was the only one of your crew that had to wear those."
"No, John's not the only one who's allergic to the Retnax compounds. Being life-linked only slowed down the enevitability of returning to having to wear these."
"Returning ... hmm ... there's something unusual about those. I'm not looking at straight lenses am I?"
"I don't think the Fleet Captain expects us to talk about his eyesight," Tajic interrupted. He was helping Teysa to the guest chairs, as her limp had gotten worse in the years gone by. Her cane looked flimsy compared to the knight tank-like rigidity.
Teysa looked over at her partner. "Right, but before I begin can I ask you, Captain, to raise your ship's shields and run a scan for mana ... anomalies ... that may be present?"
"If you're talking about the two spirits who tried to follow you onto my ship they are stuck 300 meters off of our starboard on the other side of our shields. The shields are already up. While you are onboard, I could have Toki or Entur look at your leg."
There was a pregnant pause.
"As usual, Captain," Teysa stated, as much to Tajic as to me, "You do me honour to see me so soon. I imagine your task as Razia's spokesman is daunting. And yes, I would like to avail myself of your medical staff."
"Well, if the entire planet wants to drop in, I might as well have my friends over first. So, what really brings you to my office?" I leaned back and slowly sipped on a coffee. This ought to be good, I thought.
"I have already enlisted Tagic's aid, but with your return, I would like to bring some real firepower to bear ... I want you to help me destroy the Obzedat."
I just barely kept from power-spewing my coffee over everone present. "You want to do WHAT? ... Of all the people on this planet, I would have though you would be the last one with a death wish." I definitely wasn't expecting this.
"Well, first, I would like some assisstance in reviving my ship, but then, with your help, I would like to take out the Obzedat before they figure out what I'm up to. I have a lot of research from the mana side of things, but with your help, I believe I can get the weapon I need to take them out. I believe that such a device would be found, or built, in your manaless universe. The Obzedat cannot follow me there."
"That much is certain." I then turned my attention to Teysa's burly companion. "So ... Tajic. What's your stake in this?"
"Before I come clean," Tajic responded, "You need to know that Aurelia was deliberately kept out of the loop on this one. This is specifically Teysa and me cooking up a plan for a better ravnica . . ."
I awoke to Razia's gentle embrace. Sara has already left to face the day. "Thank you for putting up with all those ... meeting requests."
"Well it does keep the body count down, I responded.
"That's not what was going to happen. OK aside from Teysa and Isperia most of your interviews were, and still are, going to be with imbeciles. I still wasn't planning to behead most of them. I'm not the Red Queen."
"REALLY...? ... Anyway, which red queen?"
"There's more than one?"
"Every Half-Life had one. Or was it Resident Evil? One of those games that became a movie series. So, when will you be done checking in with all your daughters so I can get back to doing more important things?"
"More imp- you mean stuff you like. But at least you did notice! Sara wondered if you would. Give me two more days and then it will be Game Over Man..." Razia could imitate Bill Paxton's voice perfectly. She gave me a big hug and pranced out of our quarters, leaving me to start the day alone.
"... and last up before break ... Javy. Oh. A retired Boros lieutenant. I will fetch him..." Rahda had stepped out of my office to his desk. There was a pregnant pause before this rather dimunitive person entered. I was about to call on Rahda to see what was up.
"You will have to excuse me, sir, but I am actually here to see you," Javy announced. Her voice was well used to conversing with high ranking officers, I noted.
"And your point is?" I asked in return.
"As in most of the people you have met are here to seek audience with Razia, Boros Archangel. That is why Niv Mizzet has refused to communicate, as well as a few others. I, however, am here to seek audience with you personally."
"I see..." My eyes narrowed. I had known that a few guildmasters had not booked a meeting. Isperia would meet with Razia and myself on neutral ground. We picked Teysa's spaceport when the tanker arrives to refuel her ship (and our station) with antimatter. Speaking of Teysa, the entire afternoon spent here should have brought more guild leaders to the table. And what did a retired Wojek know about it? "Then the question is why? We've never met."
"Not directly," she replied.
"Not indirectly, either. During my last tenure on Ravnica I left Wojek affairs in Edana's hands." Well, I did.
"Yes you did. Unfortunately Edana went with you on your ... disappearance. The return of the other angels was ... somewhat difficult. But my meeting here is to take the measure of the man - in this case you."
"And what purpose will that serve?" My suspicions were starting to rear their ugly heads.
"For instance, take that collection of objects on the wall behind you. Weapons of some sort?" Javy had carried on with her own question. "Why is each one different except for two?"
I looked at the wall, distracted by her question. "They are the major service pistols of the twentieth century, and all of them are different," I stated.
"The 14th and 19th are the same." Javy pointed out.
I looked up. "Actually no," I mentioned as I pulled down the model of the Colt 1911. "This is a Colt 45," I stated, as I racked the slide twice. I produced the ejected round and placed it on the edge of the desk nearest Javy. I went on, "It fires the .45 ACP round there. The other pistol is a Star Super B, and it fires this 9 millimeter round." I finished with the two cartridges on the desk. Javy was the distracted one this time, picking them both up and examining them. I realized that nobody here on Ravnica had created gunpowder firearms! "The Star has substituted for the Colt in movies since blanks work better in it," I finished.
"Blanks?"
"Special safe rounds for use in theatre," I explained. "But what does that have to do with your visit?"
"Right, nothing" Javy stated, putting the ammo down and letting them roll around the desk. "My visit has to do with your ... special relationship with the angels. For instance, why would you interfere in the actions of an angel you don't know?"
"Stop right there: I don't interfere with any angel outside the Boros without first being asked. And I know all the Boros angels, especially the ones who aren't Razia's daughters."
"And of Razia's daughters ... say Nevena?"
That was an unexpected name. Now I felt at a disadvantage, until I realised that I had a fully loaded Star pistol in my lap (short 1 round) 'cocked and locked', as it were, with a Colt in similar condition on my desk. "Easy. She's Razia's daughter. End of story." I thumbed the safety off of the Star, carefully held under the desk a la Han Solo.
Javy let out a long sigh. "I was afraid it would come to this." With that Javy looked back to the doorway, which quietly opened. Standing in the doorway was ... a figure. I never did see the figure as my spectacles went blank, then came back up with a tactical display.
There was a gorgon sweeping into the room. I "looked" back and forth between Javy and the gorgon, completely shocking Javy by not turning to stone. "Petrifying," I stated, while spinning the Colt around with my off hand. I was about to find out if phaser kata translated to projectile handguns. Then I found a new flaw with the tactical display.
Both pistols are direct copies of originals, equipped with iron sights. To use them you have to look down the slide directly at the target, which was impossible with a gorgon in the room. Second the tactical display was rather coarse, and took some getting used to. Javy had figured out the glasses and was lunging across the desk at me. I cleared the Star over the desk and pulsed the trigger shooting from the hip, while trying to deflect Javy with the Colt in my left hand. I had not fired a gun in such an enclosed space without hearing protection in a long time. Javy, the Colt, and my glasses all went flying in different directions. By this time the gorgon was nearing the desk. I ducked under it to avoid the gaze.
It's amazing the different view you can get from under a desk. I could see the feet of the gorgon as she walked around the desk, with Javy lying on the ground further away. Then I realised that the ringing wasn't in my ears after all. An alarm was sounding. What the hell, I thought. At point blank range I fired a round into each of the gorgon's ankles. She crashed to the deck with a shriek, and then, with a blue flash, disappeared.
It took me a while to extricate myself from under the desk. By that time crewmembers were rushing into my office. First security minotaurs, their big bovine heads looking funny in goggles, followed by my angels, then Toki. The minotaurs were wary at first, but finally relaxed a bit while Toki plugged holes in Javy. It looked like she'll live.
"What was that about?" Sara asked.
"Nevena, apparently," I replied, as Toki beamed out with the still bleeding Javy. "Something tells me there is more going on here than meets the eye. I don't think that a single wayward angel would merit the attention of a planeswalking gorgon, whoever she was."
"Her name is Vraska." said a voice from behind me. I spun around, loaded Star still in hand, to face Jace. "And I expect you haven't seen the last of her. She is a Ravnican native after all. ... You mind pointing that elsewhere," Jace was motioning the Star pistol still in my hands.
"Vraska!" One of the minotaurs spat. Apparently she wasn't unheard of in the halls of the Boros.
Looking down at the pistol, I dropped the magazine and cleared the action, finally placing the gun on my desk. "Worried about my little pea shooter?" I quipped.
Quietly to me Jace mentioned, "by now you know about one of a planeswalkers fundamental weaknesses. We still can succumb to good old blunt force trauma. Please don't spread that around." Louder, "I suspect that Vraska will be playing a major role in the shaping of Ravnica's future, at least as much as she can. She has kept low for a long time, but your return has brought her back out of the shadows. I'm afraid it won't be for the better."
A realization just hit me, and I headed to the door, Sara put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Rhada's been petrified," Sara stated. "There's nothing you can do for him."
Everyone else in my office realised that this would be an awkward moment for me, and slowly filtered out (or otherwise disappeared) until only Razia and Sara remained with me.
