The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (26 page)

The girl was stunned into inaction, not
knowing what to do. It was so surreal. This could not be happening!
It must be a dream, but it was so vivid and real. The sword being
held out shimmered in the golden shadows, the woman’s hands shaking
ever so slightly in worried anticipation. What was Ishtar to
do?

The woman lifted her gaze toward the child,
her smoky gray orbs filled with pleading apprehension. “Free is the
will of the heart of a Daughter Dragon. My child, the choice is but
yours to make. Should you reject this destiny, then rescue will
come from another source, but my kind shall fade away into the
nothing shadows of forgotten dreams. Please breathe your life once
again into your sisters so they may reclaim the darkness and bring
to nothing the evils in the worlds below.”

Ishtar was perplexed. She was no child of
violence and war, a weapon never being held in her hand. What was
she to do? The desperation in the woman’s face tore at the girl’s
heart, but she wanted no part in whatever future violence this
vision or dream might portend. Looking into the woman’s hopeful
eyes, she felt forced to take up the sword. Finally, nodding, she
reached out and lifted the blade up from the woman’s hands.

Warm to the touch it was as she held the
weapon flat in her hands. The shimmering rays pulsating along the
polished steel blade warned her of its deadly beauty. There was
hidden power within it, a glory far grander than what the greatest
of swordsmen could muster with their own physical prowess. A force
more ancient than the worlds of men was secreted beneath its
glimmering surface. It was as if the sword, itself, was alive,
having a breathing, thinking soul.

The platinum-white-haired woman spoke once
more. “The hour is come to give your life’s breath to this blade.
Arise and take your station beside your king as queen over Heaven,
Earth and Hell. You, my
Sister of the Bloodwind
, bring to
ruin the one who ruined you.”

The girl stood transfixed, unable to remove
her gaze from the mesmerizing blade. At length, she took a hand and
gripped the sword’s haft, holding it up straight before her. She
could feel a hot, tingling energy begin to race from the weapon up
her arm until it consumed her body with heated fiery radiance.
Smiling with a new understanding of her future destiny, Ishtar
lifted the blade high, her eyes looking skyward at its point.

“
Kue Sautta Boonhii
!
” She
cried out to the morning darkness, not knowing what the words
meant, but feeling a rush of energy coursing through her body as
she called them out to the sky.

A sudden eruption of blinding glory exploded
from the blade, its thunderous sound deafening. When the girl
regained her senses, why, there she stood in the empty darkness,
alone, with only the circle of golden dust providing any light. The
sword, woman, and all the armies that stood on the plain were gone.
A sudden gust of swirling wind caught up the golden dust, filling
the air around the girl with its glow. A sweet, enchanting music
drifted into her ears, a dreamy lullaby calling the child to gather
to her rest. She slowly sank to the ground, lying in the center of
golden light, quickly drifting off into a peaceful sleep, her head
resting on a folded silken gown.

(Author’s Note: ‘
Kue Sautta Boonhii’ is
translated in the common tongue as, ‘So rises the morning
darkness’. Though never fully revealed as to its true meaning,
there are those who believe it sounded the beginning of the new Age
of Darkness to fall upon the universe, it being similar to the term
‘it is always darkest before the dawn’. This explanation is
fitting, considering future events soon to be delivered upon that
world.
)

* * *

Eurawha frowned, concerned, as she sighed
with relief at seeing Drorli’s return. “The child is sleeping
quietly again, but for some time, everything went amiss.”

She looked up at the man as he tapped at
some gauges to see if they might be broken or stuck. Although
having never experienced any major mishaps with the reintegration
of mind and body, it was something Drorli had often remarked of
there always being a first time. “Hmmm... The numbers are all over
the place. Breathing and heart rate normal, but her blood pressure
is off the chart and… and… neuro-synapses are peaked at over one
hundred. Still, the visual indicates a peaceful, deep sleep.”

He looked back at Eurawha, asking, “How long
have you been monitoring these kinds of readings?”

“The gauges started acting up soon after you
and the others left me.” Eurawha tapped the screen in front of her.
“This is nothing compared to what first happened. I thought the
girl was waking, a little sooner than planned, but not far out of
line with what I’ve witnessed with some of the others. Only minutes
later, the two waveform transponders and three attenuation monitors
overloaded. I still can get no readings from the transponders and
only sporadic readouts from the monitors. I’ve never seen the
equipment break down this way before.”

She puzzled, turning some dials, “Her visual
and audio senses redlined for nearly an hour. Had she been in a
medical trauma unit, I’d of believed she was having a major stroke,
but I can find no physical damage that would indicate any problem
what-so-ever.”

Looking back up at Drorli, concerned,
Eurawha asked, “Should I put her back in a coma and return the girl
to the lab so we can analyze this further?”

Drorli studied the gauges and monitors for
some time, checking and rechecking data while reviewing saved
recordings of events. At length, he slowly shook his head. No… no,
I think we will leave things as they stand. We’ll wait a while to
see what happens. The child’s spirit has long been returned to her.
It’s impossible to build for her another body without the
likelihood of doing a great deal of emotional damage that might
take months or even years to fully heal. Besides, there’s nothing
more we could do for her back at the laboratory that cannot be done
here. We’ll wait and see.”

He then offered Eurawha a respite from her
stressful labors. “Hanna and Simeon have gone to picnic in the
fields beyond the road. Why don’t you pay them a little visit?
They’ve plenty of food taken along, as well as some of that good
summer wine you favor. It’ll refresh you to take a break. You’re a
faithful companion when it comes to assisting me, too faithful at
times. Go relax a bit. I’ll let you know if help’s needed
here.”

Eurawha nodded, accepting Drorli’s offer. As
she gathered up a few things to take with her, she asked, “Do you
want me to say anything to them? They’ll ask you know.”

Drorli shook his head. “Let’s keep it to
ourselves. After all, it has been known that
fingers
sometimes dabble with these new arrivals, the same
fingers
that designed and built these machines in the first place. Better
leave that go for now until we see where things take us. If they
ask, tell them the girl’s sleeping peacefully, and that sleep is a
good thing.”

Eurawha smiled. “That I can do.” She then
gave Drorli a loving kiss and hurried out to find the others.

Drorli turned back to the viewing screen,
watching Ishtar sleeping soundly. “What are you all about, little
one? Why have the spirits waited until now to excite your heart
with visions powerful and untold?” A shudder ran down his spine as
he recalled reports from the earlier council meeting and the
visions experienced there.

* * *

Leftenant Ilanit, a flight officer on loan
to the Chisamore from the Palace Guard Home Squadron, just
returning from patrol, picked up a weak distress signal from the
carrier, and then the broadcast went dead. Realizing the possible
gravity of the situation and the need for assistance, the leftenant
opened a general channel, requesting help from any ships in the
vicinity. She then made haste for the ship’s last known
coordinates.

When Ilanit came within visual contact of
the Chisamore, the situation appeared more hopeless than she
previously imagined. The ship drifted helplessly on the tides of
space, slowly twirling about while caught in a constant roll to
starboard. Even though it was classed as a carrier, the Chisamore
was little bigger than a modern large battle cruiser. Being an
older ship, built near the end of the age of the great
dreadnaughts, and under peacetime conditions, the Chisamore often
patrolled alone, its inboard fighters and heavy search and destroy
bombers being her only escorts.

There was little the leftenant could do
until rescue arrived other than continue to send out her distress
calls and listen for any possible replies. Finally, after almost
ninety minutes, she received a weak signal from the cruiser, Brosh,
that it was getting up steam, but it would still be two hours
before it could rendezvous with the Chisamore. Soon, three other
ships were signaling their approach, two freighters and the heavy
frigate, Gorsbee, but it would take another four hours before the
first of them would arrive.

Until that time, the Chisamore was on its
own, its crew forced to fight for survival without additional
support. Leftenant Ilanit slowly circled the crippled ship, waiting
for help to arrive. Unable to regain communications with the ship,
she wondered if there was anyone remaining aboard to rescue. The
woman’s heart filled with remorse at the thought of such a
potentially terrible loss of life, but there was nothing for it
other than rely upon others who might be able to deliver aid.

* * *

Gabrielle lay on the floor of her cabin,
quietly moaning, still clutching her head in blinding agony. The
pain was beginning to ease somewhat. No longer was she writhing on
the floor, blood oozing from her eyes, ears, and nose. The bleeding
had long stopped and her convulsive tremors eased enough to allow
opportunity to consider what may have happened. Still unable to sit
or call for assistance, the woman attempted to piece together
events of the last hour.

She had been sitting cross-legged upon the
tiny rug, searching the stars for Mihai’s signature. So much she
wanted to assist her little sister at this upcoming exchange.
Although unable to be at her side in the flesh, she was attempting
to reach Mihai’s mind with her spirit in order to comfort an
anxious heart. The powers of an Ancient are great, and few of the
Ancients had them to greater degree than Gabrielle. Still - as with
all of the powerful gifts given the children by Mother - they were
designed when the universe was at peace, made without consideration
for a possible future filled with violence and death. Such a gift,
then, like telepathic insight, could become quite dangerous in this
new, violent era, the gift having no protective safeguards against
riotous malevolence.

Releasing her powers of insight into the
open space of the universe was possibly foolhardy - something she
would never do in known times of danger - but what danger existed
at the moment? Far away were the enemy fomenters of evil who were
gathered together to see what mischief they could deliver at the
upcoming Prisoner Exchange. All Gabrielle wished to do was offer a
little reassurance to Mihai at this tenuous time. Now she lay on
the floor of her cabin, crippled, unable to assist Mihai or anyone
else, for that matter.

Oh, how easy it had been, to release her
mind to the universe in order to gather in all the vibrant energy
surrounding her! So long ago, it seemed, she used to lose herself
in the delights of doing this mind share with all living things. It
was so sensual and exciting to revel in the fields of wild energy
created by an excited universe, orgasmic for the mind and spirit,
sexual intercourse for the brain, at times more pleasurable than
romancing with a man or woman.

In those distant, dreamy times, Gabrielle
had honed her skills to the point of being able to reach out across
seemingly endless space to share these
erotic
experiences
with her lovers in faraway places. Rarely since the Rebellion had
the woman dared release her mind to the night, and for good reason,
but tonight she willingly took the chance. There she sat, reaching
out with all her mental powers, drawing in the hidden energy of the
universe around her, when the cries from hundreds of terrorized
people caught in the struggle of life and death pummeled her.

The pain had been excruciatingly intense to
both body and mind. How severe and lasting her injuries might be,
Gabrielle could not yet tell, but she did know that weeks or even
months would pass before they would heal to the full. Now there was
little more she could do than comprehend what had happened and what
future actions were called for.

In her mind, Gabrielle could see the layout
of the fleet in the nearby quadrants, or it should be said, had
seen
up until a little bit ago. She knew that whatever the
disaster might be, it originated with the Chisamore. The ship’s
current patrol put it directly in line with her search for Mihai,
thus its angle of energy when the calamity struck being most
damaging to her mind. Little could be done now for the Chisamore
and its crew, and nothing for Mihai. At the moment, she was unable
to summon the strength to call for her
own
assistance, let
alone assist others. Rescue would have to find another path for
them.

Gabrielle rolled onto her side, clutching
her head, groaning, drawing her knees up and struggling to sit,
hunched forward in a profuse sweat, swooning with a blinding
headache. At length, the woman managed to pull herself up onto the
edge of her bunk, waiting there until the nauseous migraine
eased.

After what felt like an eternity, Gabrielle
pushed herself from the bed and, using the wall for support,
stumbled from her stateroom into the captain’s cabin. Finding the
commander’s desk, she fell into the chair and rested her head
before calling to the officer’s bridge. When her senses were well
enough revived, she requested a status report.