ISSUE 7: BARDAX PRIME
We the arbiters of Bardax recognize the crew of the Jupiter Rising as officially ordained Military Assets. They will be given priority to protect Bardax and her people. Alongside whichever allies need assistance. Because of this, our esteemed guardian unit, the Shining Accord, will be stationed on the Jupiter as a protective measure and to showcase our gratitude towards Earth and her Terran Alliance. We expect great things from our human brothers and sisters. We wish their dogs a most joyous existence as well.-Rides-the-Stars, Bardaxian Naval Commandant of Operations.
Ahh! How is my son? Guards-The-Stars says that cotton candy is very enjoyable. Alongside the magic of chocolate and bacon. He even sent a recipe for his cousin’s Ascendance Day. We welcome the Murphy clan within our ranks. You are known as The-Sheild-of-Heavens. May your bite always find its mark.—Walks-Without-Fear.
Turns out Paxon was arming Bardax with more than just wards against the Endless Night and its creations. He was working with Augustus to understand the Weave encasing the Heart of the Blue Defender Source. Hope itself. It burns bright within my memory still. A light when all others went out. Even when things became most dire, I remember my visit to that site. Even now, it brings comfort.—Sleeping In Starlight, a memoir of the 22nd Century.
Bardax Prime
The Path of Hope
February 2nd, 2104
The air was achingly clear.
Pulses of light reverberated off the walls. At its heart was pure beauty. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. White murmured within, <
>>Welcome Bearer. We are overjoyed.<<
The source of optimism. It sounded just like the Three. If they all spoke at once. Another pulse of blue radiance echoed outward. The trees were white. With silver leaves. The grass was the same golden color as most of the general plains within this region of Bardax. What did Cooper’s mother call it again? The Fire Plains. The golden breadbasket of Bardax.
Indigo steps formed as I got closer to the massive crystal sphere at the center of the complex. As I walked through, the energy barrier faded. The Three were before me once more. The woman stated, “Do you understand yet?” The man intoned, “We walk as one.” The Cosmos between them. I had an inkling now. “Are you the Weave made manifest?” They coalesced into one shape. A being of pure energy. “We are a gateway. Those who were, those who are, those who will be.”
It encircled my head.
>>We are all of the Weave. You are the Weave. Those that are corrupted are of Unity.<<
The line about starstuff bubbled to the surface.
Lights danced behind my eyes as the Three across all time whisked me away.
At first, I couldn’t see anything. It was an endless wave of black. But it wasn’t empty. Beings lived there. Within the dark matter between the multiverse. But this wasn’t the horror show I remembered seeing within Unity’s universe. These beings still existed. One approached me. “We granted you the ability to wield our might Bearer. Know that we, the Amarche, walk with you. Even if most of your technology will not perceive us. Yes, even the Typherians have no idea we are here. We will fight Unity alongside you.”
“You say the Typherians can’t see you. Who can?” His mind was a whirlwind of amusement. He poked me. The dark matter reforming and breaking down constantly. “Besides you Throne-Bearer? The Guardians of Earth. The ones you call dogs. We share the secrets of the Weave with them so they may combat the forces of Eternal Night. They have their language. Some humans listen better than others.”
I would make sure to ask Auggie about all this as well. He was a bridge. Just like me.
The Amarche parted more sections of dark matter.
I used my multispectrum sight upon it. Nothing.
I kicked myself mentally and tapped into my Dark Matter vision. Expecting great swaths of energy to fire out into the distance. My vision blurred. A high pitched whistling rattled about within my mind.
Then:
Words formed.
Ancient pact of old.
The Uplift Protocol.
It has long been chipped away at. It no longer had the same values of ancient times.
It was noose slowly encircling. Constricting everyone. Waiting to serve Unity. The Snake of Set handed the Apple of Forbidden Knowledge to the House of Lies. The Houses only saw Bloodfueds.
Expose the House of Lies. The Twin Suns of Typha must Join with the Weave.
All Must be Awakened.
I could see a man. Always a different race. He was Human. Then Litari. Finally taking on the form of a Typherian. A shapeshifter of Unity. I could smell the corruption on him. IN this place my Throne Sight was protected from Unity’s prowling. He gave someone a knife. Whispering sweet words of vengeance within an ear. I couldn’t see the other man’s face clearly but by the dress. I assumed it was one of the Typha Houses. So while Uplift Protocol had started as something of a proper guideline it had been twisted just so.
My mind did a double-take. The Living Stone!
They could change shape. Was Set a Prometheus? Animated then gained a soul somehow? Akin to the old Golem myth. My host nodded grimly. “The Unity found a way to transmogrify a soul into dead flesh. Or in this case, living stone. From its fallen dominion.”
He added, “Your myths. All of them have hidden truths. Some planted by your forebearers. To guide you and help the Weave. Humanity is a child of the Weave as well. We all are.”
I said, “What can I call you?”
He smiled.
I could tell because of the emotions emanating from him.
“I am merely a Curator. If you call me anything. That will suffice.”
A sudden burst of nostalgia and familiarity washed over me.
The stars beckoned.
His voice reached me as everything else faded.
“Remember the sailing breeze. It is more than that. It takes on the form it wishes. Pandora never understood that.”
Pandora? A chill ran up my spine.
It would appear that Uplift Protocol had never truly protected Earth.
Ancient Alien fans would have a field day.
The Amarche agreed. It was the truth.
Use it to undermine corruption. The Weave has guided many.
A cold wet nose shook me from my dazed torpor. I looked down to see a dalmatian pawing at my leg. His face rubbing my right hand. <
As if summoned, the corgi of many qualities padded up next to me and sat. I crouched next to him. Giving his ears some extra attention. “Did you talk with it too?” He nodded, <
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
I asked, “Have you always known this?”
He grinned that happy smile of his. Tounge hanging out. <
I activated my dark matter ability. Using it to highlight the patterns around the chamber.
I had an instant understanding of the Amarche language.
Another gift from the Curator I suspected.
Hidden messages ran across my vision. I stored them for later.
The one that caught my eye the most: Throne Sight activation acknowledged. Shifting to the dormant state until White Activation.
Various Bardaxians barked excitedly. <
I said, “I’ve been meaning to ask. What is the importance of this Lights ritual?”
*****
Paxton watched as Eliza touched the source. The Weave of All Things. As his Great Uncle Martin would have said.
Through her, he could see the Truth of things as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Martin’s words broke through the annals of childhood memory, “We Shamans of Light remember the old vows. You may not have inherited my abilities but those of your mother. That will play a role as well my boy. But I will teach you the basic bindings and reinforcements. Guard the Light. It is the main key to the soul.”
The Weave bound everyone together. But why did so many have a hard time hearing it? It was a new mystery he would have to investigate. One thing was for sure. He’d have a whole lot to tell the president when he got back home. It would also be the perfect time to bring the Murphys to his Shaman Abroad. Even Dr. Zanzibar didn’t know where it was. The Morrigan peered up at him. Her wild red hair brushing her shoulders. “You are a mysterious man Mr. Argus. But one hell of a drinker!” He winked. “Well, it helps to have such a boisterous lady! Ready for the next step?”
She waved at the splendor around them. “Indeed. Besides I have a feeling we will all have much to learn.”
Eliza strode over. Her face set. “The Bardaxians are opening a portal to the Deepest regions of the Weave here on their planet. Ready?”
*****
Auggie sniffed at the kaleidoscope around us. Imagine being caught within an impressionist painting and you will get the barest idea of the innermost Weave. Or at least how I could perceive it for the moment. Ichabod and Morrigan were riding on each of my shoulders. The rat’s nose was quivering constantly. Always muttering, “Master should have seen this. Could have warned Matarn.” Di’axi would have to know eventually. If this Hanged Man and Matarn were one and the same. I was honor-bound to tell him. It what my parents would do if in my place. I was sure of it. I’d have to ask about that file first. Then find that pirate ship. But that would have to come later. We still had to figure out how to disable Thoth’s upcoming “Night of the Unliving Construct of Unity express vs Bel’s mad dash to power in the name of a Wedding Night Gone Wrong.”
I’d hate to think what would happen if those two ever got together.
Uncle Paxton chuckled, “Of course! I knew I should have been a shapeshifter.” Morrigan flapped her wings at him. Then settled nicely onto my shoulder again. She cawed and preened. Content to sit there. Paxton eyed the winding road before us. “Reminds me of that one night in Vegas with your father. Right after he married your mother.”
From his tone, he was about to go on one of his misadventures.
“Uncle! Are you telling me my parents had a nocturnal bender of epic proportions that they wouldn’t want their daughter to know about?” The wicked gleam in his eye was all I needed to know. I gazed skyward. Nothing was even remotely familiar beyond this cobbled stone road we were following. It was cobalt. A fair amount of the Blue Defender Corp was still lighting our path. Otherwise, you could get completely turned around in here. Luckily for us, we had Auggie. He knew of some of the dangers within this place. Because the Weave was eternal. Who knew my 4 footed friend would be such a wonderful multitasker. Said corgi barked out, <
I suspected this is what being plastered felt like to normal people.
*****
The Howling watched through the Inner Weave of Earth. Soon his friends would find the container that would hold the Light. It would be needed. It was the only surefire way he knew they could save Eliza’s mind as well as her body and soul. The Bardaxians had known this and hid it within their planet’s Weave for untold ages. Letting it grow unfiltered by the doubts of those on the cusp of Corruption. He hoped that more would embrace the simple clarity of Bardax.
Friendship, Faith, and Joy.
These things would be needed in the trying times ahead.
*****
I had the sudden sense of two deep orange eyes resting upon me. I whirled but nothing was there. Paxton said, “It’s a friend. I can tell from my demi intuition.” What lay before us was a simple hill. A crystal casing resting on a raised dais. I examined it closely. It was about 12 feet across and 5 feet deep. Faint outlines of patterns etched on its surface. But so faded that I had no clue of the language or symbolism.
I watched Paxton’s face transform when he placed his hands on the surface. Tears fell unabated. I had never seen him cry before but this wasn’t tears of sadness. It was like he found the Holy Grail on Christmas. A blue shimmer enveloped everyone. Along with the crystal artifact.
As we reemerged into the realm of Bardax Prime, thousands of Bardaxians were all around us. Their eyes locked onto the casing. Each reached out with a paw to give it a gentle tap. Even the puppies were quiet. The Morrigan landed on the casing. Her crow’s beak open. For a whole 20 mins as we escorted it back to the Jupiter Rising. After everyone had left. White apologized to me and everything went dark.
Guess the swiss cheese was back on the table.
*****
Paxton saw the White Defender belt unfurl from the unconscious Eliza. It tapped the casing. Even Jupiter was offline for a split second as the belt asked Emris’ probes to store the artifact within the old Markav ship’s holds. Paxton inquired, “Sure that’s the best place for it? Why knock out Eliza anyway?”
He knew. Because of True Sight but he wanted the Defender Belt to be honest.
White replied, “So the enemy will not know. I asked the Source what would be the best course of action? This was it. When she goes to Typha the Lying House will be relentless. I do not want them to know! I want her to live. She should not pay for our mistakes.”
And there it was.
The detective got to the heart of the matter.
“How long were you and the Black the Twin Rulers of the Sky? The Typherians only have a sliver of that story.”
Her voice was quiet, “For far too long. We became complacent and the Weave has been paying for it since.”
Ichabod and the Morrigan looked at each other.
The crow shifter hopped around. She didn’t want to keep things from Eliza either.
Ichabod nosed at Eliza’s slumbering form.
“Why keep this from her White? She already knows you are very old. Seen much. Yet I am a simple rat that knows things that you should say.”
White replied, “It’s because other than her Typherian Grandparents, many with the Uplifted Community would end up giving information to Unity’s agents. They are at all levels of society. Until I awaken she is very vulnerable. So for now we must play this game of silence.”
Ichabod said, “That is why the Bardaxians trust her so. They see a kindred spirit. A way to unlock the old ways. Alright, I will abide for now but if you don’t come clean after the Awakening, I will have words with Captain Murphy.”
He stood up straiter, “I am crew too!”
White re-established Jupiter’s link. Playing it off as a momentary loss of power when they connected with Emiris. The other AI did the calculations. This was the best way to hide the rejuvenation project. It had no other words for it. Emris didn’t understand the mystical aspects of this Weave entity but it knew how to calculate survival. This artifact was primed. He would keep it safe.
It commed the White on a private channel, <
White responded, <
Convergence would not take Eliza Murphy from the Multiverse.
Not if White had anything to do with it.
*****
When I awoke again. I was on a hammock.
The silver and gold around me told me I was back within the heart of the Hope source.
I laughed, “Memory holed me again?”
I had no idea where it was. I knew we had found something important but I couldn’t recall anything but probing orange eyes.
Waiting for me to emerge.
White didn’t say anything. The hammock rocked back and forth.
Paxton was in the one next to me. Auggie resting on his chest. He opened one eye, “All in due time. Trust me, the cloak and dagger nonsense will save more lives in the end.”
I accepted this. Why waste a good hammock?
Morrigan cawed overhead. Letting the soothing lights of Bardax wash away her fears.
Ichabod was nibbling on some cheese like a king upon a throne. Which at the moment was my head.
*****
J’ino Ayeer stared at the “official” missive.
Madness. Sheer Madness.
She handed it to Thomas and he smothered an inappropriate chuckle.
“House Bloated of X’mil to Bring official Obstruction charges to Bardax for….”
He coughed when he got to all the complaints against Eliza. The Forgers. Even the Atlantians for being lax in relations with Earth and other “developing” planets seeking Uplift.
Iresh had sent some coded results from Bardax but she left out the Crystal artifact. She didn’t want to alarm the Murphys. With J’ino expecting again the Litari didn’t want to rock that boat whatsoever. In the end, she would help her friends. Pandora would be just another stark reminder of Litari history that they would never let anyone forget. Once this mess was sorted. They owed the younger races that much. A clean starting point.
A bright future of possibility.