Interlude VI

“To what do I owe the honor?” Admiral Lemitov commander of the First fleet asked the famous, though retired Mave.

Mave to her part gave the military hand signal for silence. Normally such requests from civilians would not be accepted. However, Mave held a certain high position during her time in the military, and even now commanded respect from many of those she trained. Chief among those she trained and still carried favor with included General Sharma, the acting lead of the training for the Academy.

Seeing the signal, Admiral Lemitov first gestured for the famed seer to accompany him to a meeting room. Since he was on the planet’s surface, this was a rarity, but one that afforded him a few indulgences, chief among those being able to be briefed in secure facilities. With that he managed to gain access to just such a room, where he enacted charms and electric countermeasures meant to defeat any electronic or supernatural surveillances.

As soon as the wards were up, Admiral Lemitov gave a crisp nod, letting Mave know she could begin.

“I have come to tell you the bad news.” Mave, the famous Seer, and mentor to General Sharma answered.

“Yes, I am aware. My condolences for your loss. Any news on where her spirit will be reincarnated?”

“Unfortunately, no. Though there have been some developments on who she worked for?”

“Oh?”

“Yes, while I can’t be entirely certain, I have a potential lead.”

“Very well, let me know how that goes.”

“If at all possible, I might want to sit on the lead, in the hopes that our little bird comes back to us.” Mave said.

Hearing this, Lemitov stopped for a moment then nodded his approval. “I agree. We already have a decided advantage here. No use in tipping our hand just yet.”

“That brings me back to him.”

“What about him?”

Mave paused as she didn’t quite know how to continue with this conversation.

“Well, I believe he has gotten a lot more powerful.”

“That much is without question. He was able to tear through the incursion force.”

“Great job with that. Making it so he was brought up on charges of stealing. Very good to seal the wedge between him and the military early.” Mave said.

“Haha. Fortunately, I had little to do with that. It all started with a minor inquiry that made its way to his brother.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Apparently, the brother has been neutered, at least mentally speaking. As such the brother is now more motivated than ever to create problems for him.”

“Good. I also hear the Dwenvarians have their eyes on him.”

“That is but a brief blip on the radar. That is not the true Dwenvarians, but rather a final hurrah for the once mighty Goldhammer.”

“This is good. That means that Goldhammer will be removed from the board here as well?” Mave asked.

“Not quite. Clearly you don’t know much about Dwenvarian culture.”

“I will have to check up on that topic. I do know their underground cities are easy to conquer.”

“Hahaha. That they are. That they are.”

Silence.

Finally, after a brief moment the Admiral paused, “well if there are no other agenda topics.”

“There is one.”

“What is it?”

“It is about the tree. Well to be more precise the seed of the world tree.”

“Yes, I know. Somehow the Endarians got their filthy hands on it.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“The tree won’t grow. Or at least it is apparently refusing to grow.”

“It is refusing…”

***

MEANWHILE, in a different universe, on the same exact human planet, a meeting was underway to discuss the rapid changes to one hundred fresh recruits.

“So, they all awoke at the same time. All claiming to have experienced an epiphany of Psychic strength?” General Sharma asked her gathered staff members.

“Yes, we are calling the day the Awakening day. Sometime in the night approximately two weeks ago, there was a surge of power that was beyond our comprehension. This anomaly seemed to coincide with the Genesis attack on the Endairan world tree, and the attack on the Dwenvarian home world. On that same day and time an event occurred that opened new or awakened the psychic potential in close to one hundred students.”

Hearing that General Sharma tried to focus her mind, to help try to understand the strands of fate that wove together to generate that moment. The only problem was, the more she focused, the more she realized fate looped back in on itself, as if parts of reality had been cut away and then reformed. All the while she focused, a pair of cold eyes from her chief of staff watched her as she struggled to make sense of everything.

Finally, after a few moments, she turned to her chief of staff. “We need to find out two things. First, what caused this event to happen in the first place.”

The chief of staff nodded, as they took down the notes. “And the second finding?”

“Secondly, we need to find out how we can replicate the effects.”

***

MEANWHILE, in a different universe, on Endarian home world that housed the Thessia Academy of Excellence.

Special Agent Rayquel, otherwise known as the Iron Butterfly, entered the meeting room. She held the sacred seed close to her chest in a pouch specially made to carry and nurture the seedling. On her way in, Rayquel nodded to the guards who were stationed at the door. Then entered General Fellina’s war room.

“We need to find out what we…” The general began as she was clearly in a conversation with her undersecretary but trailed off when Rayquel entered. “Oh, hello commander, back already from your mission?”

Rayquel just shook her head. “I have gone to the home world and just now gotten back. The tree refused to take root without its and I quote father to be there.”

General Fellina paused for a moment as her mind tried to grasp everything that was happening. “Not even on its traditional lands of Endar?”

“No. We have tried all the sites. The seed says that all the sites are adequate, but then refuses to be placed without its father.”

“Well then, the answer is simple.”

“What?”

“Get the father.”

Shaking her head Rayquel let out a sigh. “He apparently signed a ten-day contract with the Dwenvarians.”

“Oh, that’s simple. I will contact their military immediately.”

“No, not the military, with a civilian company. The Goldhammers.”

Hearing that bit of news, the General deflated. “So, he is with Goldie? Huh, well how long ago did he sign the contract?”

“About nine days ago.”

“Oh, that’s simple, then just wait a day and we will catch him when he returns.”

“It’s not that simple. He has a clause that allows him to go anywhere upon return.”

General Fellina’s eyes widened at this bit of knowledge, as apparently, she had done her homework. That or the underlings that were assigned to her were very good at their job. Then again, since Goldhammers was a private company, all contracts had to be made publicly available to government and law enforcement entities. Since that was the unofficial role that Rayquel had been placed into by the Endarians, her getting access to such information was a given.

Still there was one thing that the General wanted to know.

“Tell me how you feel about the boy?”

“Huh?”

“The father of our world tree. How do you feel about him?” General Fellina continued.

Rayquel looked around the room, then locked eyes on the secretary who to this point had been completely quiet witnessing the byplay.

The General following the eyes of Rayquel nodded in understanding almost immediately.

“Wild Stag, will you please give the two of us some privacy?” General Fellina asked.

“As you wish.” Wild Stag responded, as he nodded to first the General and then to Rayquel before exiting the room.

Once the door closed behind him, he could hear muffled conversations beginning on the far side of the door. On instinct he almost wanted to put his ear to the door and listen in, but the two guards who were stationed outside the room prevented this from happening. There were ways that he could confound their minds but doing so too often would tip his hand. Instead, he decided to wait and observe. Besides he had gotten the information he needed. Now he just needed to find a way to conveniently contact the others.