The Silka
Chapter Twenty Nine
The metaconcert glittered to life, Christopher in the control position, Marc backing him up. Marc felt it the second the Star Lords realized what they were about. He ramped up his defenses and left Christopher to the work of aligning the dreamers into a whole who would raise the Rift Wall trapping the Star Lords inside it.
Christopher, connected to his siblings, watched the current attacks going on at the Rim. The Margassans and the Guild were attempting to execute an orderly retreat, drawing the Star Lords into the trap so they could be divided from their reinforcements and left vulnerable.
And then the optimum moment arrived. The dreamers were ready and the Rift Wall sprang into full and brilliant complexity.
Marc's attention was divided, guarding against the Star Lord's response and an unexpected arrival. Aaru, who, last he knew, only a few seconds ago, had been at the Rim, was suddenly circling Silka, and a voice penetrated Marc's concentration.
"Your chariot awaits," said the voice. "I give them 5 minutes to realize they're trapped and only another minute for them to decide their only option is to flee toward the Rift and attempt to barrel through it. I thought you might like to be there when your plan comes together."
Marc's mind met that of Azael. For the first time he saw what the fallen angel kept hidden under the guise of a superficial party-er. "One of them."
"Not quite," Azael replied dryly. "They want me as dead as you. Oh, and I collected a few friends to help in the battle."
Christopher stirred, disengaging the metaconcert. "Help is good." He laughed softly as his mind met Az's through his link with Marc. He added a raised mental eyebrow. "Nice to meet you. We can board anytime. It's in place and the Silka have it tight."
"Then come aboard and we're off," Azael replied. "I'll see to everyone else." As Azael said it all those on planet with the exception of Christopher and Marc were being transported aboard Aaru and she was already racing toward the Rim hoping to arrive in time for the realization by the attacking Star Lords that they were trapped.
Marc and Christopher materialized on the bridge just a second before Aaru plunged into t-space. Dinah met Marc's eyes from a spot out of the way where she could see everything. "Nice job," she said.
Christopher just grinned.
"It's a nice experience not being the guy responsible," Marc replied, slapping Christopher on the back. "He did a great job."
Christopher shook his head, snorting. "You're always responsible."
"Nope, I'm handing off the reins. You're in charge," Marc replied. Then he looked around at the small throng aboard Aaru and saw many friends from far and wide. He grinned. "Everyone likes a good fight."
Christopher didn't say a word as his meaning penetrated. He took a breath, drawing it deep to force back the lump that wanted to suffocate him, holding Marc's eyes with his. In their depths he saw something turning that had tears burning behind his eyes.
Stephen grinned and stepped into the silence. "Me, I'm just here securing the supply lines. Which means there better be coffee in the lounge. Where everyone else is."
Marc shook hands with Stephen. "Let's go find out."
And they were all gathered in the lounge, including one Prince. Carmine stood and bowed at Marc as he, holding Dinah's hand, walked in. "We are here to render what service we can, caro."
"I'm so sorry about Briony and Malachi," Dinah said, holding out a hand to him. "If there's anything we can do, if the babies need anything at all..."
Carmine kissed her hand. "We are crushed to learn of their loss. The babies do not yet know. We will tell them when we return. Then, I will need all your prayers for the little ones."
She nodded. "They are already yours."
Behind her Christopher scanned the room, taking inventory. Julian was over by the bar which could only mean Puff was on the dragon deck. Doni had moved next to Stephen, by the coffee pot. Ian, Leroy and Simon were comfortable, catching up with Lev, while all four sisters had moved off, talking in undertones to each other. His siblings were gathered around a table, Nicco with them, eating. From the kitchen Tabitha emerged, bringing more food. She smiled, serene and regal, at him before she took a seat next to Eli.
Christopher decided he wanted the seat on her other side. He knew the look in her eyes.
Marc headed for the bar, as Azael put in an appearance.
Azael announced, "The Star Lords know the Rift Wall is back up and fully powered. They do not know the location of the Silka, so instead are renewing their attacks on the Rim in order to fight their way through to the Rift hoping to fight their way through it. Chris, I'm afraid we may need a backup for the Silka to power it against the united efforts of the Star Lords, although I think we might release them through it, once we smash their strength. What say you?" Azael asked, running his eyes across the assembled twins and Christopher.
Marc got some food and slipped into a seat at the table, keeping his eyes on his plate.
Christopher, looked up from his own plate, chewing thoughtfully. "We can, if Stephen agrees, use the channelers to back up the Silka."
"Wait," Billie Jo said, as the sisters moved to take seats at the long table.
Christopher waited, a polite expression on his face.
Billie Jo stuck her tongue out at him. "Some of us missed the first three acts in this play." She smiled at Leroy as he set a plate in front of her, before taking a seat, his own plate piled high with fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
"Yeah, we're not real sure what's going on. How about a quick sum-up?" Leroy added.
Julian, eschewing food for scotch, agreed. "Yeah, since we weren't there in the past and we're not really sure exactly what's up."
Christopher started to explain and realized he didn't know how. "Well it's kind of complicated," he said.
"It started with the dragons," Dinah said, toying with a glass of juice. "Well actually," she amended after a pause, "it started a long time before that."
"It started," Tabitha said, her voice falling like raindrops into the midst of them all, "when the stars were hung and the planets set to spinning. But I think we can assume some of the history."
"A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away our people lost a war for control of a region of space and fled back to earth, where we'd...originated," Eli said. "There weren't that many of us left. Which, in the ordinary scheme of things, wouldn't have been a problem. We were defeated and we and they knew it. But it wasn't the ordinary scheme and they followed. That enemy is the one that was defeated a week ago, millions of years ago. It is the same enemy that we're fighting again, now."
"I'm not following you," Billie said.
"So I would imagine," Tabitha said. "Beyond the Rift are is a race, a species evolved beyond what most could imagine. And they battled each other for control of the uncreated universe. We were a part of it and lost. But we were only one faction. The battles continue.
"The Star Lords battle each other and the First Ones for control of assets, for power. And what constitutes power or value beyond the Rift is control of species. Within the Rift, long before we were defeated, the First Ones gathered a number of newly emerging sentient and pre-sentient races to try to protect them, among them the dragons, moving them from where'd they'd orginated. When the Star Lords followed us here they found them."
Tabitha swallowed some tea, taking in the faces around her. "We didn't know. We'd left a long time before that and this region of space was forgotten. But when they followed us here, discovering the treasures hidden away here...every species was suddenly at risk. It was imperative that they be defeated, as they were, in that time and none of them escape."
"But one ship did," Dinah protested.
"From you, but not from the First Ones who've never stopped watching over those they think of as their children, their heirs," McGee said. "They destroyed them and then Marc and Christopher put the Rift in place. But two things went wrong. When Christopher and his siblings triggered the Silka, the energy signature rippled through the fabric of the space-time continuum as something totally new and it was seen. It took a long time, but eventually the Star Lords realized that someone had triggered sentience. Whoever could do that, whoever controls whoever can do that could have unlimited power. Knowing this, the First Ones sent me and Zaf inside, because they didn't dare stay themselves. There would have been no way to hide their presence.
"The second problem was the Star Lords got a message off just before the ship was destroyed. It was incomplete and took them forever to trace, but when they did it led them to the Rift. But they couldn't cross it. The secret was so simple it eluded them. So instead they found a way to breech the Rift by destroying the Silka. But then, at the same time, the dragons reached their rubicon and crossed it, triggering the events that sent Dinah into Mac's memories and sprung the trap that sucked her into the past."
"The Star Lards knew the instant the dragons crossed and learned how to do it themselves. What they didn't realize," Tabitha said, taking up the story again, "was that they'd been defeated by people from the future, and that they were the ones who put the Rift in place, thus they would know how to solve the problem with the Rift in the now and heal the Silka. Which Marc and Christopher have just done."
"We've trapped some of them inside the Rift," Christopher said. "And once they realize that, their only option will be to try to either take control of or destroy the Silka in order to take it down again. We expect there will be a fight on two fronts, in space at the Rift and also on and in space over Silka."
"And there's also a battle group outside the Rift, just waiting for it to fall completely," McGee said. "If it does, unless the First Ones intervene, we're unlikely to stop them. So we have to defeat them now, inside the Rift, in such a way that it becomes clear that the price of invasion is too high, at least as things stand now.
"Why wouldn't they intervene?" Billie asked.
McGee ignored the question. "So, we need to win and win huge, win totally and viciously, in a manner that suggests to the Star Lords out there that there are Star Lords in here they haven't met yet and who lack a sense of humor about these things."
"Are there Star Lords in here who fit the bill?" Leroy asked.
McGee tilted his head slightly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his eyes moving from Azael to Zaf. An instant later it was like a layer of film, dusty and grey, slipped away from him, exposing what had been blurred and hidden, revealing something sharper, clearer in every way. Around him, tracing his outline, light sheered along every angle and curve of him, silver white and deadly. In the depths of his eyes, the silver arced and flashed as they moved from Zaf to Dinah.
To Dinah, watching without reaction from where she sat, it was as if he were halo'ed in power. She remembered seeing power once, fed by almost uncontrolled fury, arcing along her hands like she was holding an electrical storm. Whatever power she commanded was nothing compared what she was seeing now, it went far beyond that. He contained it, effortlessly, thoughtlessly, so used to it he wore it like he wore his clothes.
She could feel it, like an itch. Power ran along her skin, raising the hairs on her arms. The force of it quivered in her mind, sending images tumbling over themselves. The amount of his power showed itself in the images, like an unfathomed well drawing from a source so sure, so enduring McGee could squander it. She rubbed her arms, trying to sooth away the itch, stifle the instinct she felt rising in her mind to take the images and, using them, become what he was.
She could, she knew it. She felt his eyes on her, taking hold of her eyes, imprisoning them in the silver lightening, compelling her, almost commanding her. It was like he was waiting for her to take that single small step, connecting faint pathways of potential she'd never noticed before. He sent the silver arcing, from his eyes to hers, tracing the the pathways and then he was gone, leaving her trembling, the hand reaching for her coffee cup shaking.
Azael laughed, breaking the silence that had grown. "Yup," was his answer to Leroy. "I do believe we can teach them a thing or two."
"Maybe even us lesser powers can get in a punch or three," Julian added, grinning.
"You'll have to," McGee said.
"It's important," Zaf added. "We want them to know the beings inside the Rift are pretty damn awesome on their own. They just haven't figured that out quite yet, thinking their defeat in the past was some sort of fluke. We need to make sure they understand it wasn't."
"What makes you so sure," Tabitha asked, "you're a lesser power?"
"Well, most of us, with a few notable exceptions, eh Ian, don't go around calling ourselves Lords of the Stars, Tabitha darling. I do confess though, that I think even without grand titles we can give them a good kick in the ass. Certainly Marc and the kiddos can orchestrate one helluva punch," Julian replied.
"And the dragons and the Cephi on their own are pretty awesome," Leroy added.
Lev nodded.
"So, we've three fronts. Protecting the Silka, protecting the Rim, and hitting the Star Lords' backup outside the Rift. I've got a few friends lined up with regard to the latter. They'll make sure they know they aren't gonna be providing any help from outside," Azael commented.
Christopher nodded around a forkful of mashed potatoes. "They're racing towards the Rift now, the Guild and the Margassans following, harassing their rear. Ther'lin and Kella are already there. The Houses and the warrior monks are heading for Silka, for the ground battle, where most of the dragons are waiting. The Rift battle will, I expect, be technological pyrotechnics and psychic engagements. They'll hope to knock us out hard and fast. When they can't and they realize they're trapped inside the Rift and cut off from both reinforcements and their supply lines is when things will get dicey. Logically they'll have to try for the Silka directly then."
Christopher paused then, rubbing his chin. "Az, you've fought them before, and so has McGee, I'm guessing. Any predictions what they'll do?"
It was Zaf who replied. "They'll be blind to what's going on for awhile, unable to admit to themselves that they're in trouble. But when they do finally admit it, they'll go after the Silka with everything they've got. If they're going down, they'll go down kicking and screaming."
Az nodded. "They're pretty arrogant. It's their weakness. They'll try to intimidate you first, then, when the light dawns, they'll try to pound you into pulp with no mercy."
"That was my guess," Christopher said. ""So right now the dragons are evacuating the Silka as fast as they can. The master dreamers can maintain the Rift from almost anywhere and they're leaving behind enough of their own to keep the Star Lords from realizing what's happened. So what we need to do is two things. The first is to hurt them bad enough that they're really pissed off and they throw everything they have at Silka. The second is to turn Silka into a death trap.
"It's regarding the second item that I'm soliciting ideas," Christopher concluded. "At the moment I'm leaning towards luring them into a shallow orbit to support a ground battle. And then, once there, blowing the entire planet."
"It will only work if we freeze them in place first," Marc commented thoughtfully. "We've got to have them concentrating on something coming at them. Maybe we launch a rescue bid, one that looks like we're panicked and ready to sacrifice ourselves in an effort to save Silka from them. Then I think, we may have a chance to blow the planet and them with it."
Christopher grinned. "Exactly, though not necessarily coming at them. I think we let them reach Silka just enough ahead of us that they think we'll be desperate to save the Silka. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll land, wanting to take over the Silka if they can, thereby controlling the Rift themselves. The Houses, the Warrior Monks and the dragons will have to engage them, holding them off long enough for us to catch up to them."
"If you're wrong," Dinah said, "they'll all be slaughtered. I mean what's to stop them from just blowing the planet themselves, bringing down the Rift themselves."
"Well, if that's what you're thinking, so long as there's no way for them to bring down the Rift, then we don't necessarily have to beat them at the Rift," McGee said. "We can let them think they've won or at least not lost, while they also realize Silka is the key either way. And, if they do blow the planet themselves, we still have the master dreamers. Plus now we'll have them trapped between us and the debris of the planet. To blow it they have to be close enough in that they can't just jump to t-space as they're detonating. And if they blow the planet they'll destabilize the entire solar system, given the twin sun configuration because blowing the planet will destablize the closer sun, the white drawf. The solar eruptions will engulf the closer planets and possibly trigger the other sun. I'll have to run the math, but even if it doesn't, we can do it."
"And still live?" Dinah asked.
McGee shrugged.
"The trick," Lev said thoughtfully, "will be getting our guys off the planet at the right moment. Too soon and we'll blow it, and they'll guess what we're up to."
"Even worse than that," McGee said. "We can't tell them what we're doing because the Star Lords could just pick it right out of their minds. The vast majority of them haven't the mental barriers to stop them."
"How many folks can the Cephi transport? The dragons can zap out themselves with their riders but we'll need to get the others off the planet." Ian said. "Magic could help but I think tech is probably the best way to go for this, mainly because of the tight timing. Can you, Marc and Christopher, use the metaconcert to move folks?"
Marc frowned, looking over thoughtfully at Chris. "We'll give it some thought."
"We'll be bonded to them inside the matrix," Christopher said. "The limiting factor would have to be the distance we wanted to transport them. If the Margassans and the Guild ships are here as well, we'd have transport enough, I'd think. Can we zap them aboard their ships without warning them first?"
"Sure. I'm more worried about taking our eyes off the Star Lords for the necessary time to coordinate the transport. Maybe we use two metaconcerts. One just for the transport, one for the battleplan," Marc replied.
Christopher and Drianna flashed him a grin. "With the Old Ones and the Awakened we've enough brain power for two. Drianna and I can coordinate them and you can handle the battle plan, but who will you use to handle the transport? We'll need a four-way master linkage to keep everything in sync."
"I'd suggest we let Aaru and The Vidya handle the evacuation. They can monitor the metaconcerts and coordinate with Marc and Christopher," Azael replied.
Christopher raised an eyebrow at Marc. "Your call."
"Sure. Works for me. It'll be interesting having that different a mind in a metaconcert," Marc replied a light in his eye. "Who's remaining on the Rim to coordinate there, Chris?"
"Paxx, the Darrochs and Chola, plus the Margassan admiral whose name I can never remember."
"Can we hook any of them into the metaconcert? I've not looked at their minds," Marc said, frowning.
Christopher shrugged and took a second piece of banana pie, ignoring Tabitha's frown. "Sure, as many as you want."
"My preference would be Paxx and Darin Darroch, but we'll see. Paxx because he knows a lot more about how the Traders and the Margassans fit together than he's saying." The gleam in Marc's eye increased.
"And the Old Ones, Tabitha?" Marc asked. Looking directly at her. "What are your limits and what are you willing to do in this venture."
"What would you like us to do?" she countered.
"I want to know if you'll fight, if you'll heal or if you'll back us up. I'm hoping you'll be part of the metaconcerts but I'm unclear on your people's willingness to actually fight, or for that matter, even support us in battles." Marc paused. "I want you to do something you are willing to do, not something you will feel reluctant to do."
Christopher started to speak and subsided at a look from Tabitha. "It is our privilege to help in whatever way we may best do so."
"Good, we'll talk," Marc replied. "Privately."
"Certainly," she said. "Do you wish the others to join us here or are you able to utilize their talents without the proximity?"
"I think we've got enough bodies to worry about here. If we can do it remotely, I'd prefer that," Marc replied.
"It shouldn't be a problem unless we have to maintain it for a long period of time," Christopher said. "We've got enough channelers to handle the energy demands. How large a matrix are you planning?"
"I want something that's going to convince our Star Lords not to mess with us again," was Marc's reply.
"I'm thinking blowing a solar system might make that happen," Dinah said. "According to Aaru, the Star Lord's battle group is eighteen hours from the Rift and we're about twelve. The Guild and Margassans are right on their heels and the dragons want at least another two days for the evacuation, but would prefer three if they can get them. Ther'lin and Kella are monitoring outside the Rift, but aren't going to cross it unless they've no other option. And Az, darling man that he is, brought several cases of scotch with him."
Azael bowed to Dinah. "So we need to delay them somewhere. I may have an idea for that. Let me draw it up and we can go over it in an hour or so."
"Right," Marc replied. "Meanwhile, Tabitha, care to have our private conversation?"
"With or without the scotch?" she asked.
"Definitely with," was Marc's reply. He stood and held her chair for her.
She grinned and snagged a bottle and two glasses as she went by the bar. "I'm following you, by the way," she said.
Marc led the way up to the observation deck, where they would have privacy and a view. He accepted a drink when Tabitha poured him one and they clicked glasses. "So, now you know why I was hostile when I discovered you muddling around in my mind that first time you met me at the Refuge.'
"I do?" she said. "I thought it was a natural male reaction to feeling manipulated."
He grinned. "Well, perhaps it was mostly that. And a healthy dislike for omens and portents. Not, obviously, that I mind taking advantage of them when it suits me."
"Obviously. What are you going to do when this is over?"
"Get stinking drunk and whisk Dinah off to some desert island on a planet far, far away. Why?"
"Just nosy. It's strange, having the memories back. You made me a prophet. Can you undo that?"
"I'm not sure. Why? You seemed to thrive as one."
She sighed, her eyes leaving his for the view. "I wonder if I would have become someone else and who she might have been. A selfish thing, perhaps. Particularly when one considers the idea of destiny or fate, but there it is."
"Not selfish at all. I hate using people as much as I hate being used. Well, close anyway. I'll see if I can undo it."
She smiled. "Don't go from being annoyed to feeling guilty on my behalf. As I recall I was happy to help. You gave me a choice and that's more than I gave you."
"I didn't know at the time. I'd set it up so I wouldn't realize, not until we actually went back, so.. I'm sorry, Tabitha."
"I know. And even when I didn't, I understood. As much as I could anyway." She considered him, as she had so many times before. Was there a difference between an enigma and a mystery? If so, he defined it. "In many ways you're the one owed the apology, not me. How many times have you been asked to save the world?"
He laughed. "Well, I did my best to blow the thing up so it only seems fair I be required to put it back together again. I suppose it's lucky I was incompetent at it."
She settled in a chair, holding her drink between her palms. "Has it occurred to you that given the fact that you aren't born yet means that you'll succeed in the endeavor? Or have we reached a point where you have exceeded even the virgin birth of the christian god?"
He sat also and settled back, staring down at his drink. "I don't know. Perhaps it merely means we are in a parallel universe and we shouldn't take anything for granted. I'm worried about Dinah."
"Why?"
"If anything happens to me..."
"You are afraid she would follow you, to where ever it is you are? Even if it means ending her life?"
"Yes." He slugged down his drink. "For me to do this deed, I have to know someone will stop her if it does go wrong."
Tabitha passed him the bottle. "If you are dead why do you think this is a choice you have a right to make for her? Have you any idea what her life would be like is she were to go on without you? You and she...it has gone beyond what we know of bonding."
"She's needed," Marc replied, pouring himself another drink. "She is the key to evolution for species inside the Rift. They can't afford to lose her. It's her burden. I want her to recognize how important she is, and that ... and that no matter how the rest of it turns out, she's still needed to carry things on. She's the heir... Sometimes she forgets that."
"The key to evolution?" Tabitha prompted.
"She can identify those species who are ready for the next leap and she can shepherd them through it, change their DNA to enable the leap."
"I should have guessed," she said to herself. "Like Lily and Richard, and Doni and Stephen." She looked at him. "Are you sure she does it alone? What I mean is, that she can do it by herself? Because I'd have said it is something that requires both of you...and I admit I'm speculating here, somewhat, anyway."
"True, some aspects are more efficient if we are combining our abilities, but I believe she could manage most of it alone. When it was all left to her by Mac, I was never even imagined. So it must work alone."
"I could argue that but I won't. Have you talked to her about this? This is not a thing I will chose for her, a choice that can be forced upon her. Marc, she would be in a kind of hell for the rest of her life, you know that. You know the odds of her ever mating again are vanishingly small."
"No, I haven't spoken with her about it. You saw what happened in the past. As for her ever mating again, ever is a very long time given my lifeline. And hers could conceivably be as long."
"When she refused to let you go?" Tabitha asked. "What would you have done? If it had been her?"
Marc sat his drink down and ran his hands across his face. "You know the answer to that. But I'm not asking you to make any choice for her, only to make her wait and think, rather than letting her do something in an emotional moment she might not elect to do if she thinks about it."
Tabitha raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Only if you talk to her first. But you also need to understand that that emotional moment could last a very, very long time."
"Yes, I know. But she's a strong woman. I have faith in her."
She shook her head. "What does that have to do with it?" Then she held up her hand. "Never mind, don't answer that. Just take a few minutes before you talk to her and look, really look, at what's joining the two of you together mentally. It's much more than just the bond usually between the Awakened."
"Maybe, but that hardly changes things. If I die she's still going to live on."
"You hope." At his look she said, "I'm not trying to be difficult. But if you die logic is going to have nothing to do with what she does."
He ran a hand across his face. "So tell me then, what's more important, her staying alive or us winning this battle?"
"What do you expect me to say? You both have to live and we have to win this battle."
"I'm not sacrificing the kids to stay alive, period."
"Who's asking you to? Why don't you just tell me what you're really worried about and we can deal with that?"
"I'm worried that the Star Lords will mount a major attack on the metaconcerts. If they knock those out, they win. Period."
"Well, sacrificing your life if that happens protects the children for about thirty seconds. Is it possible to shield the concerts or even to set up decoys so the real ones aren't as vulnerable?"
"No. It's the power we'll be generating through them that will be impossible to shield. We're going to light up the mental sky. No way to hide it. No way to create decoys either. The best we can hope for is that the Star Lords are so busy trying to fight for their lives they won't have the mental wattage to spare for a full strike."
"Talk to Dinah and if something happens I'll do what I can." She finished her drink. "It would probably be best if you refrained from telling her I've agreed to this. She's powerful enough to make it dangerous."
"Thank you, Tabitha," Marc said quietly.
"It is I who should thank you," she pointed out. "You have to have hated what you had to do. I suspect you hate it still and a good portion of the life you lead right now. I wish, as a prophet, I could tell you that your destiny is to find a place where you and Dinah can live, alone and in peace and where your demons can not longer find you. I have always wished that for you."
Marc made a face. "I'd probably die of boredom."
She laughed. "Go talk to your mate. You have twelve hours. Make love to her."
"That I will do with joy. Thank you, Tabitha."
Christopher, connected to his siblings, watched the current attacks going on at the Rim. The Margassans and the Guild were attempting to execute an orderly retreat, drawing the Star Lords into the trap so they could be divided from their reinforcements and left vulnerable.
And then the optimum moment arrived. The dreamers were ready and the Rift Wall sprang into full and brilliant complexity.
Marc's attention was divided, guarding against the Star Lord's response and an unexpected arrival. Aaru, who, last he knew, only a few seconds ago, had been at the Rim, was suddenly circling Silka, and a voice penetrated Marc's concentration.
"Your chariot awaits," said the voice. "I give them 5 minutes to realize they're trapped and only another minute for them to decide their only option is to flee toward the Rift and attempt to barrel through it. I thought you might like to be there when your plan comes together."
Marc's mind met that of Azael. For the first time he saw what the fallen angel kept hidden under the guise of a superficial party-er. "One of them."
"Not quite," Azael replied dryly. "They want me as dead as you. Oh, and I collected a few friends to help in the battle."
Christopher stirred, disengaging the metaconcert. "Help is good." He laughed softly as his mind met Az's through his link with Marc. He added a raised mental eyebrow. "Nice to meet you. We can board anytime. It's in place and the Silka have it tight."
"Then come aboard and we're off," Azael replied. "I'll see to everyone else." As Azael said it all those on planet with the exception of Christopher and Marc were being transported aboard Aaru and she was already racing toward the Rim hoping to arrive in time for the realization by the attacking Star Lords that they were trapped.
Marc and Christopher materialized on the bridge just a second before Aaru plunged into t-space. Dinah met Marc's eyes from a spot out of the way where she could see everything. "Nice job," she said.
Christopher just grinned.
"It's a nice experience not being the guy responsible," Marc replied, slapping Christopher on the back. "He did a great job."
Christopher shook his head, snorting. "You're always responsible."
"Nope, I'm handing off the reins. You're in charge," Marc replied. Then he looked around at the small throng aboard Aaru and saw many friends from far and wide. He grinned. "Everyone likes a good fight."
Christopher didn't say a word as his meaning penetrated. He took a breath, drawing it deep to force back the lump that wanted to suffocate him, holding Marc's eyes with his. In their depths he saw something turning that had tears burning behind his eyes.
Stephen grinned and stepped into the silence. "Me, I'm just here securing the supply lines. Which means there better be coffee in the lounge. Where everyone else is."
Marc shook hands with Stephen. "Let's go find out."
And they were all gathered in the lounge, including one Prince. Carmine stood and bowed at Marc as he, holding Dinah's hand, walked in. "We are here to render what service we can, caro."
"I'm so sorry about Briony and Malachi," Dinah said, holding out a hand to him. "If there's anything we can do, if the babies need anything at all..."
Carmine kissed her hand. "We are crushed to learn of their loss. The babies do not yet know. We will tell them when we return. Then, I will need all your prayers for the little ones."
She nodded. "They are already yours."
Behind her Christopher scanned the room, taking inventory. Julian was over by the bar which could only mean Puff was on the dragon deck. Doni had moved next to Stephen, by the coffee pot. Ian, Leroy and Simon were comfortable, catching up with Lev, while all four sisters had moved off, talking in undertones to each other. His siblings were gathered around a table, Nicco with them, eating. From the kitchen Tabitha emerged, bringing more food. She smiled, serene and regal, at him before she took a seat next to Eli.
Christopher decided he wanted the seat on her other side. He knew the look in her eyes.
Marc headed for the bar, as Azael put in an appearance.
Azael announced, "The Star Lords know the Rift Wall is back up and fully powered. They do not know the location of the Silka, so instead are renewing their attacks on the Rim in order to fight their way through to the Rift hoping to fight their way through it. Chris, I'm afraid we may need a backup for the Silka to power it against the united efforts of the Star Lords, although I think we might release them through it, once we smash their strength. What say you?" Azael asked, running his eyes across the assembled twins and Christopher.
Marc got some food and slipped into a seat at the table, keeping his eyes on his plate.
Christopher, looked up from his own plate, chewing thoughtfully. "We can, if Stephen agrees, use the channelers to back up the Silka."
"Wait," Billie Jo said, as the sisters moved to take seats at the long table.
Christopher waited, a polite expression on his face.
Billie Jo stuck her tongue out at him. "Some of us missed the first three acts in this play." She smiled at Leroy as he set a plate in front of her, before taking a seat, his own plate piled high with fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
"Yeah, we're not real sure what's going on. How about a quick sum-up?" Leroy added.
Julian, eschewing food for scotch, agreed. "Yeah, since we weren't there in the past and we're not really sure exactly what's up."
Christopher started to explain and realized he didn't know how. "Well it's kind of complicated," he said.
"It started with the dragons," Dinah said, toying with a glass of juice. "Well actually," she amended after a pause, "it started a long time before that."
"It started," Tabitha said, her voice falling like raindrops into the midst of them all, "when the stars were hung and the planets set to spinning. But I think we can assume some of the history."
"A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away our people lost a war for control of a region of space and fled back to earth, where we'd...originated," Eli said. "There weren't that many of us left. Which, in the ordinary scheme of things, wouldn't have been a problem. We were defeated and we and they knew it. But it wasn't the ordinary scheme and they followed. That enemy is the one that was defeated a week ago, millions of years ago. It is the same enemy that we're fighting again, now."
"I'm not following you," Billie said.
"So I would imagine," Tabitha said. "Beyond the Rift are is a race, a species evolved beyond what most could imagine. And they battled each other for control of the uncreated universe. We were a part of it and lost. But we were only one faction. The battles continue.
"The Star Lords battle each other and the First Ones for control of assets, for power. And what constitutes power or value beyond the Rift is control of species. Within the Rift, long before we were defeated, the First Ones gathered a number of newly emerging sentient and pre-sentient races to try to protect them, among them the dragons, moving them from where'd they'd orginated. When the Star Lords followed us here they found them."
Tabitha swallowed some tea, taking in the faces around her. "We didn't know. We'd left a long time before that and this region of space was forgotten. But when they followed us here, discovering the treasures hidden away here...every species was suddenly at risk. It was imperative that they be defeated, as they were, in that time and none of them escape."
"But one ship did," Dinah protested.
"From you, but not from the First Ones who've never stopped watching over those they think of as their children, their heirs," McGee said. "They destroyed them and then Marc and Christopher put the Rift in place. But two things went wrong. When Christopher and his siblings triggered the Silka, the energy signature rippled through the fabric of the space-time continuum as something totally new and it was seen. It took a long time, but eventually the Star Lords realized that someone had triggered sentience. Whoever could do that, whoever controls whoever can do that could have unlimited power. Knowing this, the First Ones sent me and Zaf inside, because they didn't dare stay themselves. There would have been no way to hide their presence.
"The second problem was the Star Lords got a message off just before the ship was destroyed. It was incomplete and took them forever to trace, but when they did it led them to the Rift. But they couldn't cross it. The secret was so simple it eluded them. So instead they found a way to breech the Rift by destroying the Silka. But then, at the same time, the dragons reached their rubicon and crossed it, triggering the events that sent Dinah into Mac's memories and sprung the trap that sucked her into the past."
"The Star Lards knew the instant the dragons crossed and learned how to do it themselves. What they didn't realize," Tabitha said, taking up the story again, "was that they'd been defeated by people from the future, and that they were the ones who put the Rift in place, thus they would know how to solve the problem with the Rift in the now and heal the Silka. Which Marc and Christopher have just done."
"We've trapped some of them inside the Rift," Christopher said. "And once they realize that, their only option will be to try to either take control of or destroy the Silka in order to take it down again. We expect there will be a fight on two fronts, in space at the Rift and also on and in space over Silka."
"And there's also a battle group outside the Rift, just waiting for it to fall completely," McGee said. "If it does, unless the First Ones intervene, we're unlikely to stop them. So we have to defeat them now, inside the Rift, in such a way that it becomes clear that the price of invasion is too high, at least as things stand now.
"Why wouldn't they intervene?" Billie asked.
McGee ignored the question. "So, we need to win and win huge, win totally and viciously, in a manner that suggests to the Star Lords out there that there are Star Lords in here they haven't met yet and who lack a sense of humor about these things."
"Are there Star Lords in here who fit the bill?" Leroy asked.
McGee tilted his head slightly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his eyes moving from Azael to Zaf. An instant later it was like a layer of film, dusty and grey, slipped away from him, exposing what had been blurred and hidden, revealing something sharper, clearer in every way. Around him, tracing his outline, light sheered along every angle and curve of him, silver white and deadly. In the depths of his eyes, the silver arced and flashed as they moved from Zaf to Dinah.
To Dinah, watching without reaction from where she sat, it was as if he were halo'ed in power. She remembered seeing power once, fed by almost uncontrolled fury, arcing along her hands like she was holding an electrical storm. Whatever power she commanded was nothing compared what she was seeing now, it went far beyond that. He contained it, effortlessly, thoughtlessly, so used to it he wore it like he wore his clothes.
She could feel it, like an itch. Power ran along her skin, raising the hairs on her arms. The force of it quivered in her mind, sending images tumbling over themselves. The amount of his power showed itself in the images, like an unfathomed well drawing from a source so sure, so enduring McGee could squander it. She rubbed her arms, trying to sooth away the itch, stifle the instinct she felt rising in her mind to take the images and, using them, become what he was.
She could, she knew it. She felt his eyes on her, taking hold of her eyes, imprisoning them in the silver lightening, compelling her, almost commanding her. It was like he was waiting for her to take that single small step, connecting faint pathways of potential she'd never noticed before. He sent the silver arcing, from his eyes to hers, tracing the the pathways and then he was gone, leaving her trembling, the hand reaching for her coffee cup shaking.
Azael laughed, breaking the silence that had grown. "Yup," was his answer to Leroy. "I do believe we can teach them a thing or two."
"Maybe even us lesser powers can get in a punch or three," Julian added, grinning.
"You'll have to," McGee said.
"It's important," Zaf added. "We want them to know the beings inside the Rift are pretty damn awesome on their own. They just haven't figured that out quite yet, thinking their defeat in the past was some sort of fluke. We need to make sure they understand it wasn't."
"What makes you so sure," Tabitha asked, "you're a lesser power?"
"Well, most of us, with a few notable exceptions, eh Ian, don't go around calling ourselves Lords of the Stars, Tabitha darling. I do confess though, that I think even without grand titles we can give them a good kick in the ass. Certainly Marc and the kiddos can orchestrate one helluva punch," Julian replied.
"And the dragons and the Cephi on their own are pretty awesome," Leroy added.
Lev nodded.
"So, we've three fronts. Protecting the Silka, protecting the Rim, and hitting the Star Lords' backup outside the Rift. I've got a few friends lined up with regard to the latter. They'll make sure they know they aren't gonna be providing any help from outside," Azael commented.
Christopher nodded around a forkful of mashed potatoes. "They're racing towards the Rift now, the Guild and the Margassans following, harassing their rear. Ther'lin and Kella are already there. The Houses and the warrior monks are heading for Silka, for the ground battle, where most of the dragons are waiting. The Rift battle will, I expect, be technological pyrotechnics and psychic engagements. They'll hope to knock us out hard and fast. When they can't and they realize they're trapped inside the Rift and cut off from both reinforcements and their supply lines is when things will get dicey. Logically they'll have to try for the Silka directly then."
Christopher paused then, rubbing his chin. "Az, you've fought them before, and so has McGee, I'm guessing. Any predictions what they'll do?"
It was Zaf who replied. "They'll be blind to what's going on for awhile, unable to admit to themselves that they're in trouble. But when they do finally admit it, they'll go after the Silka with everything they've got. If they're going down, they'll go down kicking and screaming."
Az nodded. "They're pretty arrogant. It's their weakness. They'll try to intimidate you first, then, when the light dawns, they'll try to pound you into pulp with no mercy."
"That was my guess," Christopher said. ""So right now the dragons are evacuating the Silka as fast as they can. The master dreamers can maintain the Rift from almost anywhere and they're leaving behind enough of their own to keep the Star Lords from realizing what's happened. So what we need to do is two things. The first is to hurt them bad enough that they're really pissed off and they throw everything they have at Silka. The second is to turn Silka into a death trap.
"It's regarding the second item that I'm soliciting ideas," Christopher concluded. "At the moment I'm leaning towards luring them into a shallow orbit to support a ground battle. And then, once there, blowing the entire planet."
"It will only work if we freeze them in place first," Marc commented thoughtfully. "We've got to have them concentrating on something coming at them. Maybe we launch a rescue bid, one that looks like we're panicked and ready to sacrifice ourselves in an effort to save Silka from them. Then I think, we may have a chance to blow the planet and them with it."
Christopher grinned. "Exactly, though not necessarily coming at them. I think we let them reach Silka just enough ahead of us that they think we'll be desperate to save the Silka. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll land, wanting to take over the Silka if they can, thereby controlling the Rift themselves. The Houses, the Warrior Monks and the dragons will have to engage them, holding them off long enough for us to catch up to them."
"If you're wrong," Dinah said, "they'll all be slaughtered. I mean what's to stop them from just blowing the planet themselves, bringing down the Rift themselves."
"Well, if that's what you're thinking, so long as there's no way for them to bring down the Rift, then we don't necessarily have to beat them at the Rift," McGee said. "We can let them think they've won or at least not lost, while they also realize Silka is the key either way. And, if they do blow the planet themselves, we still have the master dreamers. Plus now we'll have them trapped between us and the debris of the planet. To blow it they have to be close enough in that they can't just jump to t-space as they're detonating. And if they blow the planet they'll destabilize the entire solar system, given the twin sun configuration because blowing the planet will destablize the closer sun, the white drawf. The solar eruptions will engulf the closer planets and possibly trigger the other sun. I'll have to run the math, but even if it doesn't, we can do it."
"And still live?" Dinah asked.
McGee shrugged.
"The trick," Lev said thoughtfully, "will be getting our guys off the planet at the right moment. Too soon and we'll blow it, and they'll guess what we're up to."
"Even worse than that," McGee said. "We can't tell them what we're doing because the Star Lords could just pick it right out of their minds. The vast majority of them haven't the mental barriers to stop them."
"How many folks can the Cephi transport? The dragons can zap out themselves with their riders but we'll need to get the others off the planet." Ian said. "Magic could help but I think tech is probably the best way to go for this, mainly because of the tight timing. Can you, Marc and Christopher, use the metaconcert to move folks?"
Marc frowned, looking over thoughtfully at Chris. "We'll give it some thought."
"We'll be bonded to them inside the matrix," Christopher said. "The limiting factor would have to be the distance we wanted to transport them. If the Margassans and the Guild ships are here as well, we'd have transport enough, I'd think. Can we zap them aboard their ships without warning them first?"
"Sure. I'm more worried about taking our eyes off the Star Lords for the necessary time to coordinate the transport. Maybe we use two metaconcerts. One just for the transport, one for the battleplan," Marc replied.
Christopher and Drianna flashed him a grin. "With the Old Ones and the Awakened we've enough brain power for two. Drianna and I can coordinate them and you can handle the battle plan, but who will you use to handle the transport? We'll need a four-way master linkage to keep everything in sync."
"I'd suggest we let Aaru and The Vidya handle the evacuation. They can monitor the metaconcerts and coordinate with Marc and Christopher," Azael replied.
Christopher raised an eyebrow at Marc. "Your call."
"Sure. Works for me. It'll be interesting having that different a mind in a metaconcert," Marc replied a light in his eye. "Who's remaining on the Rim to coordinate there, Chris?"
"Paxx, the Darrochs and Chola, plus the Margassan admiral whose name I can never remember."
"Can we hook any of them into the metaconcert? I've not looked at their minds," Marc said, frowning.
Christopher shrugged and took a second piece of banana pie, ignoring Tabitha's frown. "Sure, as many as you want."
"My preference would be Paxx and Darin Darroch, but we'll see. Paxx because he knows a lot more about how the Traders and the Margassans fit together than he's saying." The gleam in Marc's eye increased.
"And the Old Ones, Tabitha?" Marc asked. Looking directly at her. "What are your limits and what are you willing to do in this venture."
"What would you like us to do?" she countered.
"I want to know if you'll fight, if you'll heal or if you'll back us up. I'm hoping you'll be part of the metaconcerts but I'm unclear on your people's willingness to actually fight, or for that matter, even support us in battles." Marc paused. "I want you to do something you are willing to do, not something you will feel reluctant to do."
Christopher started to speak and subsided at a look from Tabitha. "It is our privilege to help in whatever way we may best do so."
"Good, we'll talk," Marc replied. "Privately."
"Certainly," she said. "Do you wish the others to join us here or are you able to utilize their talents without the proximity?"
"I think we've got enough bodies to worry about here. If we can do it remotely, I'd prefer that," Marc replied.
"It shouldn't be a problem unless we have to maintain it for a long period of time," Christopher said. "We've got enough channelers to handle the energy demands. How large a matrix are you planning?"
"I want something that's going to convince our Star Lords not to mess with us again," was Marc's reply.
"I'm thinking blowing a solar system might make that happen," Dinah said. "According to Aaru, the Star Lord's battle group is eighteen hours from the Rift and we're about twelve. The Guild and Margassans are right on their heels and the dragons want at least another two days for the evacuation, but would prefer three if they can get them. Ther'lin and Kella are monitoring outside the Rift, but aren't going to cross it unless they've no other option. And Az, darling man that he is, brought several cases of scotch with him."
Azael bowed to Dinah. "So we need to delay them somewhere. I may have an idea for that. Let me draw it up and we can go over it in an hour or so."
"Right," Marc replied. "Meanwhile, Tabitha, care to have our private conversation?"
"With or without the scotch?" she asked.
"Definitely with," was Marc's reply. He stood and held her chair for her.
She grinned and snagged a bottle and two glasses as she went by the bar. "I'm following you, by the way," she said.
Marc led the way up to the observation deck, where they would have privacy and a view. He accepted a drink when Tabitha poured him one and they clicked glasses. "So, now you know why I was hostile when I discovered you muddling around in my mind that first time you met me at the Refuge.'
"I do?" she said. "I thought it was a natural male reaction to feeling manipulated."
He grinned. "Well, perhaps it was mostly that. And a healthy dislike for omens and portents. Not, obviously, that I mind taking advantage of them when it suits me."
"Obviously. What are you going to do when this is over?"
"Get stinking drunk and whisk Dinah off to some desert island on a planet far, far away. Why?"
"Just nosy. It's strange, having the memories back. You made me a prophet. Can you undo that?"
"I'm not sure. Why? You seemed to thrive as one."
She sighed, her eyes leaving his for the view. "I wonder if I would have become someone else and who she might have been. A selfish thing, perhaps. Particularly when one considers the idea of destiny or fate, but there it is."
"Not selfish at all. I hate using people as much as I hate being used. Well, close anyway. I'll see if I can undo it."
She smiled. "Don't go from being annoyed to feeling guilty on my behalf. As I recall I was happy to help. You gave me a choice and that's more than I gave you."
"I didn't know at the time. I'd set it up so I wouldn't realize, not until we actually went back, so.. I'm sorry, Tabitha."
"I know. And even when I didn't, I understood. As much as I could anyway." She considered him, as she had so many times before. Was there a difference between an enigma and a mystery? If so, he defined it. "In many ways you're the one owed the apology, not me. How many times have you been asked to save the world?"
He laughed. "Well, I did my best to blow the thing up so it only seems fair I be required to put it back together again. I suppose it's lucky I was incompetent at it."
She settled in a chair, holding her drink between her palms. "Has it occurred to you that given the fact that you aren't born yet means that you'll succeed in the endeavor? Or have we reached a point where you have exceeded even the virgin birth of the christian god?"
He sat also and settled back, staring down at his drink. "I don't know. Perhaps it merely means we are in a parallel universe and we shouldn't take anything for granted. I'm worried about Dinah."
"Why?"
"If anything happens to me..."
"You are afraid she would follow you, to where ever it is you are? Even if it means ending her life?"
"Yes." He slugged down his drink. "For me to do this deed, I have to know someone will stop her if it does go wrong."
Tabitha passed him the bottle. "If you are dead why do you think this is a choice you have a right to make for her? Have you any idea what her life would be like is she were to go on without you? You and she...it has gone beyond what we know of bonding."
"She's needed," Marc replied, pouring himself another drink. "She is the key to evolution for species inside the Rift. They can't afford to lose her. It's her burden. I want her to recognize how important she is, and that ... and that no matter how the rest of it turns out, she's still needed to carry things on. She's the heir... Sometimes she forgets that."
"The key to evolution?" Tabitha prompted.
"She can identify those species who are ready for the next leap and she can shepherd them through it, change their DNA to enable the leap."
"I should have guessed," she said to herself. "Like Lily and Richard, and Doni and Stephen." She looked at him. "Are you sure she does it alone? What I mean is, that she can do it by herself? Because I'd have said it is something that requires both of you...and I admit I'm speculating here, somewhat, anyway."
"True, some aspects are more efficient if we are combining our abilities, but I believe she could manage most of it alone. When it was all left to her by Mac, I was never even imagined. So it must work alone."
"I could argue that but I won't. Have you talked to her about this? This is not a thing I will chose for her, a choice that can be forced upon her. Marc, she would be in a kind of hell for the rest of her life, you know that. You know the odds of her ever mating again are vanishingly small."
"No, I haven't spoken with her about it. You saw what happened in the past. As for her ever mating again, ever is a very long time given my lifeline. And hers could conceivably be as long."
"When she refused to let you go?" Tabitha asked. "What would you have done? If it had been her?"
Marc sat his drink down and ran his hands across his face. "You know the answer to that. But I'm not asking you to make any choice for her, only to make her wait and think, rather than letting her do something in an emotional moment she might not elect to do if she thinks about it."
Tabitha raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Only if you talk to her first. But you also need to understand that that emotional moment could last a very, very long time."
"Yes, I know. But she's a strong woman. I have faith in her."
She shook her head. "What does that have to do with it?" Then she held up her hand. "Never mind, don't answer that. Just take a few minutes before you talk to her and look, really look, at what's joining the two of you together mentally. It's much more than just the bond usually between the Awakened."
"Maybe, but that hardly changes things. If I die she's still going to live on."
"You hope." At his look she said, "I'm not trying to be difficult. But if you die logic is going to have nothing to do with what she does."
He ran a hand across his face. "So tell me then, what's more important, her staying alive or us winning this battle?"
"What do you expect me to say? You both have to live and we have to win this battle."
"I'm not sacrificing the kids to stay alive, period."
"Who's asking you to? Why don't you just tell me what you're really worried about and we can deal with that?"
"I'm worried that the Star Lords will mount a major attack on the metaconcerts. If they knock those out, they win. Period."
"Well, sacrificing your life if that happens protects the children for about thirty seconds. Is it possible to shield the concerts or even to set up decoys so the real ones aren't as vulnerable?"
"No. It's the power we'll be generating through them that will be impossible to shield. We're going to light up the mental sky. No way to hide it. No way to create decoys either. The best we can hope for is that the Star Lords are so busy trying to fight for their lives they won't have the mental wattage to spare for a full strike."
"Talk to Dinah and if something happens I'll do what I can." She finished her drink. "It would probably be best if you refrained from telling her I've agreed to this. She's powerful enough to make it dangerous."
"Thank you, Tabitha," Marc said quietly.
"It is I who should thank you," she pointed out. "You have to have hated what you had to do. I suspect you hate it still and a good portion of the life you lead right now. I wish, as a prophet, I could tell you that your destiny is to find a place where you and Dinah can live, alone and in peace and where your demons can not longer find you. I have always wished that for you."
Marc made a face. "I'd probably die of boredom."
She laughed. "Go talk to your mate. You have twelve hours. Make love to her."
"That I will do with joy. Thank you, Tabitha."
