" That, " Lilandra stated, staring squarely at A'nok, " is simply impossible. "
" I am afraid, Empress, that it is unfortunately very possible. While he may not be alive and well as you or I would consider such a thing to be, D'ken is in fact manipulating the Crystal from some remote location. "
" That location probably not too far from the Hentaan moon. " Ailon added for clarification.
For what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, Lilandra fell back onto a chair and stared out the window at the depths of space which were now tainted a permanent violet hue. " How? " She asked weakly, eyes roving back to A'nok slowly, yet not quite focused. The staff of office suddenly felt enormously heavy in her hand, and her unoccupied fingers absently stroked the velvety finish of the upholstery. " D'ken is dead. I saw him die! " The statement ended more like a plea. " How in the name of the Empire did he survive? "
A'nok let out a brief sigh, straightening into the position one would take at a lecturn. " The last thing D'ken did before his insanity got the better of him was bond with the Crystal. In essence, D'ken became the Crystal, and it D'ken. Thus why when D'ken's body was...well, destroyed the Crystal became unstable. " He paused, and Lilandra nodded, remembering all too well the weeks that the Phoenix had spent ravaging her Empire unchecked and uncheckable. A nightmare Lilandra feared she might soon have to relive. " So because D'ken was able to in some way bond with the fabric of the Crystal he was able to cheat the death of his body and escape into another reality where he did not die. "
" So what you are saying, " Lilandra interrupted, " Is that D'ken has managed to get into the Crystal in the reality he escaped to and come back to this reality. "
" Not exactly, Majestrix. " Ailon whispered, shuffling her feet on the carpet from the seat she had taken. " Because your brother has bonded with the Crystal he exists in all realities at once...except this one because he is dead. He is continuously aware of every reality that he is a part of, yet apparently from what our source tells us he has not yet found a reality that suits him. We can of course guess what type of reality D'Ken is looking for. "
" One where he takes the throne. " Lilandra spoke the thought floating through her councilors' minds. It was the one thing D'Ken could never have because the Phoenix, the guardian of the Crystal, has always acknowledged Lilandra as the rightful ruler, and therefore destroyed D'ken, and probably had done something of the sort in each reality. " The only thing this does not explain is why the Crystal abducted my Imperial Guard and three of the X-Men. " Alert now to new facets of the problem, Lilandra felt better capable of facing it, forming a solution. Empowered once more she stood and began to slowly walk the confines of the sitting area. Then, it suddenly struck her, and all motion stopped. " I've sent Charles and his students to their death! "
Once more D'tar looked over the computer readouts of the equation defragmentation program he had run on the remaining code from the holographic transmissions. There was no way that they could possibly be correct. According to the computer, the messages had been broadcast along a shortwave frequency band from less than three light years away from their current orbit at the farthest of the first transmissions and at one point from a place onboard the star cruiser. It made no sense to D'tar that someone would send a holographic transmission to someone aboard the same cruiser, unless that someone did not want Tes'ral to know that they were on board. The answer made no sense, but yet at the same time the pattern could only fit one vessel, and D'tar was almost positive that the conclusions his data was rapidly bringing him to had to be false. The only ship to dock with the cruiser within the past three days, in this position, that would broadcast along this particular frequency band and depth would have to be the Starjammer.
Nightcrawler approached the Crystal warily, his team of two following closely behind. "Smashing, so how exactly does one get into this thing?" Psylocke asked from Kurt's left. He had to admit it was a good question. How exactly did one enter a Crystal that was the central point of all existence? A door somehow seemed inappropriate.
He reached out one two fingered hand to trail his fingers along the surface looking for any clues, but instead his fingers simply went right through. "It vould appear we just walk right in." He stated, pointing with his free hand to the one buried in the Crystal. "Betsy, if you vould please tell Jean zat we are on our way inside." Betsy gave one sharp nod, the pinching together of her eyebrows the one brief clue that she was using her telepathy. "Watches verking?" he asked first Piotr, then Betsy. "Vonderful, zen it appears this is it." With that the three took one long stride through the side of the Crystal. Nightcrawler automatically braced himself for some kind of impact or effect. He closed his eyes and held his breath as if he was going for a swim. But it was simply as if he had merely taken one giant step forward. There was no impact, no shock, just lots of pulsating and glowing violet rock. "Mein gott, it is beautiful in here."
"Kay." Logan said impatiently from where he stood, or maybe just existed at this point, he wasn't sure anymore. "You found her, get her outta there."
Jahf smiled and shook his head. "I can't."
The impatience turned to a growl. "Whaddya mean, you can't?"
"If I just pull her out of this reality without warning, the shock would kill her. Rogue has to want to leave, like you did."
The way this little creature was continuously making sense was starting to grate on Logan's nerves in a way he had never quite experienced before. "So what can you do?"
"I can wait." Jahf stated simply, stubby little arms crossed over his round chest. Wolverine snarled in disgust and turned away. "Or, I could send someone in after her."
"Now yer talkin', bub." Wolverine smiled viciously. The little guy might be annoying, but in a way Logan was also starting to like him. "What do I do?"
Rogue knew that her lack of memory was really starting to annoy Remy, as well as the lack of physical contact. The pregnancy was obvious proof that they had been intimate, but she couldn't remember a time when she didn't have to shy away from touch for fear of hurting someone. So instinctually he reached and she ducked away, and no amount of pretending seemed to fix the problem. In fact it might even be making it worse, as evidenced by the current round of arguing. "Girl, I swear if I didn' love you so much I'd call dis whole t'ing quits!" And Remy in one of his rants was almost impossible to stop. "Y' don' remember gettin' married, y' don' remember gettin' pregnant, y can' even remember d' names we picked out t'ree weeks ago! Dis is gettin' ridiculous!"
"Well Ah'm sooooo sorry that I cain't remember all these wonderful milestone moments." Rogue snarled back. "Ya think Ah like lookin' in mah own weddin' album and wonderin' who picked out those awful bridesmaids' dresses and what mah weddin' song was. That sound lahk a good time to you, swamp rat?"
"Rogue, you picked out dose dresses!" His hands were in his hair, the way he wound them when he was too frustrated to express what he was thinking clearly. "Look, dere's obviously somet'ing wrong here an' we need to figure out what 'fore I go insane."
"There's nothin' wrong with me!" Rogue shouted back, her face glowing as red as his eyes.
"Did I say it was wit' you?!" Remy shouted back.
"You jus' want me to go see that red headed hussy so she can mess with my head, and then mess with you!"
"Oh yeah Rogue, I really want Scotty's leftovers. Leas' Jean ain't spiteful like some women I know."
"What are you sayin' Gambit?" Her voice was suddenly deadly quiet, piercing.
"Merde, I'm sayin' I need a drink. Don' wait up." With that he stalked out the door, trench coat in tow, slamming it behind him.
"Wouldn' dream of it, sugah!" She hissed at the door, then turned back to the window. "Aaaargh! What is wrong with meh?!" She shouted to the air.
"I got a few ideas, darlin'"
"Logan, what the hell are you doin' in my bedroom? An' if you say we're married too Ah'm gonna kill ya."
"Heh, not on your life, kid. But I do know why you can't remember anything."
"So you're sayin' I ain't crazy Wolverine? There's a logical reason foh allah this?"
"Don't know how logical it is, darlin'." Logan laughed at himself after a second, taking a seat on her bed. "But you an' I gotta talk, an' I wantcha ta hear me out all the way 'fore you go makin' any judgements."
"Sure Logan, ya got my attention."
Charles Xavier turned to what was left of his students. "Jean has just informed me that the infiltration team has entered the Crystal and Betsy says they are together and they are safe. As soon as she has more news she will let us know. It is, however, a good start."
"Ain't de beginnings dat matter though, Prof. S'de endin' everybody always waitin' for." Gambit stated clearly from the back of the room.
"You are correct, Gambit," Charles acknowledged. "But a good start is always better than a rocky one." Although he could not read the Cajun's mind, even with permission, because it was so protected at that moment it was easy to read exactly what Gambit was thinking in his eyes. "They will all be fine, Gambit. Rogue is a tough woman, I am sure she will return to us safely."
"Professor," Cyclops interrupted the staring contest between the two men before it became awkward. "There is a transmission coming in for you from the Empress. She wishes to speak with you immediately."
Steeling himself mentally, Charles followed behind Cyclops to the communications array. They were thankfully alone once Scott escorted himself out. "Charles." The holographic image nodded.
"Lilandra." He replied back.
The image sighed. "Charles, I have made a terrible mistake."
"Indeed you have, Lilandra."
"You do not understand. Charles I know what is happening to the Crystal, I know why. I have sent you and your students to your deaths. You must convince Corsair to turn back." The fear in her voice gripped him, never had she sounded so genuinely afraid.
"Lilandra, what have you learned?"
"The Crystal is..." The projection cut out, communications went dead, alarms and lights started blaring and flashing while Charles wheeled himself back into the main bay.
"Corsair, what is going on?"
"No idea, Charles. Just hold on, all I know is that we should..." Right before Charles' eyes someone knocked Corsair out cold.
"Dad!" He could hear Cyclops shout, then "Professor!" as he too succumbed to the warm numbness offered by the blow to the back of his skull.
" What do you mean their communication systems are not functioning?! " Lilandra shouted at her head engineer as the little Shi'ar scurried back and forth punching codes into panel after panel.
" I am sorry, Majestrix. " The man bowed his head as he scurried. I cannot access their communications systems, they have all gone dead.
" Get the Starjammer back on line, as soon as possible. " She shouted, storming across the room to meet with D'tar who had just come running in. " What? " She simply asked him, holding his gaze mercilessly.
" Empress you must get the X-Men off the Starjammer immediately, it is a matter of life and death! " D'tar shouted, caught up in the energy of the room around him, the anxiety on the brink of panic.
" I am aware of that councillor! " Lilandra practically spat. " What do you think I am in the process of doing? "
" Empress, please, you do not understand. " D'tar pleaded as she turned her back on him.
" Then explain it to me. "
D'tar took one big gulp of air. "The transmissions that Tes'ral was receiving," he stated in English for only herself and A'nok to hear. "The only place they could possibly have come from is the Starjammer."
"Corsair would never..." she paused debating. Perhaps Corsair would never work for D'ken, not after the man murdered his wife, but there was always a possibility others of his crew would. This was not a chance she could take. "A'nok, get me my sister and the commander of the Imperial War Fleet. The Starjammer must not be allowed to reach M'Kraan, no matter the cost."