THE VROL TRILOGY (94 page)

"Oh, kinda like Thor's hammer? That's cool,"
responded Max.

"Ah, I remember that name. Those were indeed
interesting times," said Michael.

"You and that hammer. How many structures did
you demolish with it?" asked Gabriel.

"Whaaaaat? Hammer? You were Thor? What the
heck?" Max exclaimed.

"It was one of my many identities
throughout the ages, my son. I would consider those to have been
my
party days
, for lack of a
better term," the archangel said while wearing a wry
grin.

"It is truly an honor to witness the
birth of a
new one of the
sky
," said the eldest of the lycan locals.

"Oh, thanks, but I'm not one of the… whoa,
hey - just a minute. Liliana, wanna see something cool?" Max asked,
after he had just figured something out.

"Sure, Papi. Go for it,"

Max put his sword back into his scabbard
mounted on his back and then looked at his friends and family - his
beautiful wife, his daughter, his brother-in-law, his friend
Jessica, and then up at his grandfather, father and uncle. Grinning
widely, he thrust his arms out sideways, producing a massive span
of black, feathered wings, which made a loud sound, much like that
of a huge genoa jib sail unfurling and filling with the wind. With
a mighty downward stoke he rose up off the ground, as the elders
watched, most of them having tears in their eyes - tears of joy for
having experienced the birth of an angel. Jennie stared, her jaw
nearly agape, while Liliana clapped her hands and bounced lightly
in place. Luigi Bagatelle stood watching, arms folded, while
wearing a huge grin on his bearded face. And newcomer Jessica
stared, still trying to get over the fact that she had been dating
what amounted to (in her opinion) a human-shaped light bulb - with
wings - who took her to a tropical island just to see a sunrise and
sunset.

Draagh, Michael and Gabriel slowly
floated down as they morphed into their
normal
forms. As they touched down on the
ground, Max joined them, retracting his wings and looking much like
he did before having joined with his ghanlo. Then, walking over to
the elder, he asked, "So what's your name? And how did you know I
was coming here? Heck, I didn't even know why I felt the
pull."

"My name is Jake Williams, young one. And we
simply knew. It cannot be explained. We are only the elders of the
Haida, while the rest of our people are back in the clan house,
waiting to meet you. That is, if you would like to meet them."

"Of course, Jake Williams. It would be
our honor," Max said graciously, while smelling some very delicious
meats being cooked and fully expecting a BBQ. "But I do have a
question - I studied Earth history and… well, shouldn't you have a
name like
Running Bear
or
Eagle that Shreds
,
or something like that?"

Nearly every tribal elder seated started to
laugh out loud, and one stood and whimsically said, "We would have
to change our names then, young one. We are no longer able to run
like a bear or fly. The years catch up with us, so we use our given
names."

Max looked at them curiously, and suddenly
took into consideration that they were indeed old, even though they
were lycan. He figured on that world, although they had extended
lifespans, they were not immortal, and that Jessica would one day
grow old, as well as Pandy. Dons had the right idea, after all.

Holding hands with his wife and daughter,
Max, along with the rest of the group, followed the elders down a
trail, past the large totem pole, and soon encountered a large,
wooden structure with ornate paintings on its front. There were
also two short totem poles out front that resembled large birds.
People of the clan milled about, curiously watching the newcomers;
all knowing that they were in the presence of some very powerful
beings.

Delicious smelling smoke wafted in the air,
as a small group of children, roughly Liliana's age, ran up to her,
giggling and bouncing in all directions. Looking up at her mother,
she got the nod of approval she needed, and darted off with the
local youths, jumping over fallen trees and quickly disappearing
into the dark, green forest.

"
Lili, don't
stray too far, and keep in touch via the comm
," Jennie
thought out to her daughter, conveying more than a touch of
concern.

Max's group, minus Liliana, found themselves
sitting cross-legged in front of a campfire, as Jake Williams
passed a small bowl around. Everyone took a sip and passed it along
to the person to their right, all while continuing to be extremely
amused by the ritual. Once done, they all sat for a moment, until
Draagh stood up, having decided to address the clan.

"My dear, dear friends. Even though we had
never previously met, I must say that it is indeed quite pleasant
to make your acquaintance and be in your company. This all having
been said, in a fashion I consider most eloquent, could you please
inform us why we just drank chamomile tea?"

"Yeah, it did taste like chamomile," Max
stated accusingly.

"It is simply a ritual. That is all,"
answered Jake Williams while wearing a wry smile, "but we would
also hope that while we have you here, you might answer some
questions from clan members."

"We would do our best if you did ask," stated
Michael.

"Are there really other worlds? Worlds where
man was murdered in his sleep?" nervously asked a middle-aged male
clan member.

"I can answer that," Max said with a touch of
sadness. "There are countless timelines that happen concurrently.
In my timeline, Earth, this world, was murdered by an alien race
from the stars, called the Vrol. We were recently further south in
this world, where Jessica here is from, and the Vrol hunt humans
for sport, but they never destroyed the planet."

"Then, if you are from a murdered world, how
can you be here?" asked the same clan member.

"Oh, that's easy. In my timeline, mankind
travelled to another world. It-"

"Has two suns," interrupted a female clan
member.

"Yes, it does. How did you know that?" asked
Max.

"We see it in visions," answered Jake
Williams, "and it is where we desire to go. Can you bring us
there?"

"My friends, while we can most certainly
transport you to Max's world, I believe you would need to be
informed of its impending doom. That alien race, the Vrol, is on
its way there, and they only bring death and destruction."

"Our visions tell us of the world with two
suns and two moons. They also tell us of battles in the darkness,
but of eventual victory. We love our village, but we feel as if we
do not belong here. Like all parents, we seek a better world for
our children," Jake Williams pleaded.

"They could be the first on Vera," said Max
excitedly, "and as they are already familiar, to a certain extent,
with their lycan abilities, they would be easily trained. They are
diametrical to the Azulians who carry the recessive lycan genes and
have no idea who or what they are! This could be perfect!"

"If they are going, then I would like to go
also," said Jessica, obviously having made a tremendous decision to
leave her clan behind. Gabriel looked at her kindly, and reaching
over, took her hand into his. "I have always wanted adventure, and
Hollywood is just too darned small for me. So, can I go too?"

"Only if you promise to help train our
forces," Jennie said, "and I am agreeing to this so you will drag
Gabriel along with you."

"Hey, I'm hungry. All this talking and you
have some serious BBQ going on outside. What is it you're all
cooking, anyway?" asked Bagatelle.

"Mostly venison," answered Jake Williams.

The team watched a traditional Haida dance as
they ate their food and drank local brew. All except for Liliana,
who was running around the inside of the clan house with her new
friends, raising more than a few eyebrows as children were not
supposed to run around indoors. Individuals from the two groups
shared stories, both knowing that they were to share their
destinies. Max was happy to know that he was soon to move on, and
the Haidas were happy to know that they were to eventually escape
their island.

"So, you see, it appears that your entire
village was transported across to this temporal location when the
Vrol attacked the timeline that Max and Jennie are from. And now it
all makes sense. Apparently it was my brother Marnn who saved you
all. That is why his ghanlo took refuge in your most sacred totem
when he was banished. In the other timeline, the town of
Metlakatla, on Annette Island, was taken over as a temporary base
of operations by the Vrol. They then experimented on Ketchikan,
destroying the entire island of Revillagigedo. Marnn transported
your ancestors here, out of compassion, enabling you to live on
this world and realize a small part of your lycan-potential - or as
you call it, your ability to touch nature. Now, my friends, thanks
to your good stewardship of these lands, I shall soon return to
assist in your exodus to a new world. It shall be difficult. Some
shall perish, but your bloodline shall continue on a world where
you shall live much longer and from there, fan out to the
stars."

The clan elders sat, staring at the ancient
seraphim as he babbled on. Liliana had tired of running around and
was relaxing on her father's lap as Draagh used his infoscreen to
create a holographic map of the galaxy in the center of the clan
house's main room. He was showing the Haidas where Azul was in
relation to Sol system, as well explaining many other mysteries of
the universe. He did find it necessary to inform them that their
departure would not be immediate, as he and his group still needed
to create their clandestine base of operations on Vera, as well as
develop their communications network between worlds. There were
still many unknowns that they faced, but the Haidas were more than
exuberant in their desire to help.

"We shall be here to assist when you need us,
Max Gunnarsson," said Jake Williams, wearing a glowing smile on his
withered face.

Chapter 24 - Rhönen Reboot

The sound of crackling lightning echoed
throughout Krynos' castle as the away team, plus Jessica and Max,
returned to the Rhönen Dominion of the
43
^rd
century. It was night
time and raining hard, leaving a slick layer of mud on the ground.
Donus called out to the castle guard to hold their fire, having
recognized the team's arrival.

"Lord Draagh! How is it that you are here?
Did your mission fail? It has only been a matter of two days since
we saw you depart!"

"Ah, my good Donus. Through good fortune we
were able to navigate via the Hub and avoid the time dilation that
had so adversely affected young Max," Draagh said, attempting to
hide the shame in his voice for having originally lied regarding
the length of their journey.

Max lifted his head and walked out from
behind the bulk of the group, revealing his presence to Donus and
the castle guard.

"Ah, Commander Gunnarsson. It is indeed good
to see you safe and sound after so many long moon cycles,"
exclaimed Donus.

"Heya Donus! Great to see you too! Let's meet
up later in the main hall later on. Liliana passed out and I have
to get her to her room," Max said with a bit of purpose in his
voice, while holding a sleeping Liliana in his arms. With that, he
popped out of view, taking his daughter to her sleep chambers.

The rest of the group filed into the
courtyard where, although it was not covered, no rain was falling.
Jessica put her hand out curiously, but it stayed dry.

"I think I'm gonna like this place," she said
happily, looking at Gabriel, who was walking in by her side.

Everyone entered into the main dining hall,
minus Max, who had taken Liliana to her room. Krynos was seated at
the high table, but did not greet the group with his usual
exuberance. Instead, he waited for Donus to tell him something
quietly, which prompted him to stand up. The lycan king got up and
walked down the stairs from his table, and moved towards Draagh,
showing no emotion whatsoever. He had almost reached the old
seraphim when Max crashed into the hall. Max was about to greet the
king when Krynos turned to him, held up a waving finger and said,
"Not one word, my son. I have need to discuss certain temporal
difficulties with my old friend here."

Jennie got a worried look on her face as she
stood next to her brother, whose considerable military experience
gave him the wisdom to remain silent.

"Six months? Six months?" Krynos roared, not
having even bothered to take the conversation to a private
place.

"I could not take the chance that you would
be stranded away from your kingdom, old friend," Draagh responded
with a great deal of sincerity.

"Oh please spare me your concerns. I am more
than certain that you had found a way to avoid losing six months of
lost time, even if that actually happened to young Max!"

"Um, actually, it…" started Max.

"Shut it, boy! It matters not if you lost
time. I was in need of a change of pace, and was willing to take
the chance. And you! What have you been doing all this time?"

Max had never been upset with Krynos before,
and was aware that Draagh had deceived the king regarding the
six-month lag time, but the old mage could take no great chances
with the leader of a kingdom that was surrounded by enemies on all
sides. Seeking to distract Krynos and to put this matter to an end,
and quickly, Max did the first thing that popped into his mind.