Alien Manifesto (27 page)

As I rounded the ship, I
moved toward a pile of rubble in just the right place to give cover
and allow an unrestricted field of fire. Still no sign of whatever
it was that was probing our position as I slid behind the rubble.
With my blaster rifle at the ready, I waited for further orders,
signaling Snarth that I was in position with good cover.
Hold,
were his orders,
so I held.

I could sense that my mate
was flanking me on the other side of the cliff. She was up high, as
she preferred, but exposed on a small open ledge about twenty feet
in the air, quite a jump even for her. Minutes turned into one hour
then two with no movement on either side of the ship. I signaled my
mate,
Do you think they left after the
ship’s blaster volley?

If they have, we are safe.
If they have not then we must wait. Either way it will be dawn in
about two long time units. We will know for sure then. Patience my
love, you must practice your patience.

She was right of course, so I settled
in to wait for dawn, straining to hear even the slightest sound, or
see the smallest movement. My neck ached from the weight of the
blaster rifle, the strap cutting off the circulation in my left
arm.

It would be light very soon and our
unseen opponents would either attack or leave, I was ready for
either. As I shifted my weight to get some circulation back in my
arm, a small rock rolled down the cliff on my left side, landing
about a foot in front of me. Glancing up I realized they were
overhead and below. That is why they had delayed their attack, so
they could capture the high ground. Devious little bastards,
whatever they are, I grimaced.

There was a bright flash of blaster
fire as my mate opened up on something out of my sight, overhead.
With a soft sickening thud, something landed nearby. I knew the
sound of a dead body hitting the ground when I heard it.

Here they come, come get
some!
I thought to myself. I flicked the
selector switch on the blaster rifle to automatic and I waited
calmly for the attack to come. It never did. I could hear the feet
scraping in a rush fading away; they were leaving in a hurry.
Apparently, they had no appetite for bloodshed.

Snarth decloaked near the dead body,
prodding it with his blaster barrel. Whatever it was, it was
dead.

“
ssSSlice, come outssside
and bring a ssscanner with you. I have never ssseen anything like
thisss before. It isss not a One warrior, that’sss for sssure,”
Snarth hissed into the com-link.

SSlice arrived moments later and
Snarth flipped the body over so a thorough inspection by scanner
could be made. Tucking the scanner back in his vest pouch, SSlice
said, “That is a Queen’s aide. They attended to the queen’s
administrative needs. They are not aggressive as far as I know,
probably just hungry. That explains the power loss. They must be
all that survived the Queen’s death.They appear to have some sort
of natural stealth ability. That is why the scanners didn’t pick
them up.”

“
All right my friendsss,
everyone getsss four long time unitsss of rack time. I sssuggest
you make the mossst of it. Then we move out to where ssSSlice
thinksss the temple of the sssun isss,” Snarth hissed. “ssSSlice:
arm the ship’sss defenssses and maintain a watch on the power
readingsss. Move out.”

PART TWELVE

A Prophecy
Fulfilled

While out scouting for food for his
nest, the young nymph saw a strange thing, something from the
ancient memories. It was a ship not of this world landing in the
nearby canyon, on the other side of the waterway, where he was
gathering the delicately delicious blooms that grew at the water’s
edge.

The elders would not believe him.
Could it be the beginning of the prophecy of the Queen’s return? He
was sure it was, why else would a ship come here after the great
defeat? He had only to convince the elders. Abandoning his foraging
the nymph hurried back to the nest; he had to tell the
elders.

The senior elder held up the talking
staff, signaling for quiet. The council chamber was packed full of
curious Ones and very noisy, he could hardly think much less hear.
The object of that curiosity, a young nymph, was in the center of
the room, surrounded by the elders.

The young nymph had quite a story to
tell. The council had gathered not just to hear his story but to
determine if in fact it was the heralding of the prophecy of the
Queen’s return. The senior elder had his doubts. Many times in the
past similar claims had been made, only to be proven
false.

“
I tell you I saw a ship.
Just like in the ancient memories. The time of the prophecy is
here, now, this season of the sun,” insisted the young nymph,
refusing to back down even to the senior elder.

“
Young one,” started the
senior elder, “No one believes in that ancient religion anymore.
The prophecy is just that, a memory. The Queen is gone, as is our
place of honor in the galaxy since the great defeat. We must
concentrate on this season’s harvest. The dry season will soon be
upon us. We must be prepared, or many will starve. I will hear no
more talk of seasons of the sun or prophecies.” Murmurs of approval
for the senior elder’s statement echoed through the council
chamber.

Seeing that his story was falling on
deaf ears and closed minds the young nymph resolved to fulfill the
prophecy himself. He would steal energy for the Queen from the
alien ship, bringing her back from the netherworld where she
waited. Then they would all be sorry they had not listened to him.
If only he could convince a few of his nest mates to join him; he
resolved to try.

The council meeting had delayed the
young nymphs’ family meal. An uncomfortable silence had prevailed
after the ritual prayer to the Sun, the giver of life. Knowing that
he was the cause, the young nymph spoke out of turn, “I know what I
saw.”

“
That will be quite enough
from you young one,” rebuked the senior female of the
nest.

“
First you return with
almost no food for the evening meal. Then you tell a wild tale to
the senior elder of all people,” added the senior male who was also
a junior elder. “I do not understand why you did not come to me
first.”

“
Because I knew you would
not believe me,” answered the young nymph.

“
We will be the laughing
stock of the colony,” scolded one of the junior females.

“
SILENCE,” roared the
senior male. “It is as the senior elder says and that is the end of
it. Do I make myself clear young one?”

“
Yes sir,” answered the
crestfallen young nymph.

“
Tomorrow I expect you to
make up for the shortfall in your gathering today as punishment for
embarrassing our nest. Is that clear also?” continued the
unrelenting senior male.

“
Yes, sir,” answered the
now chastised young nymph.

Much later, in his private chamber,
the young nymph again resolved to do his duty to the Queen, to
bring the prophecy to be, even if it meant disobeying the seniors
of his nest. The young nymph realized that the duty had fallen to
him and no one else. That was why only he had seen the alien ship.
That was why only he believed in the legends.

Early the next light cycle the young
nymph was up and gone early. Even before his nest mates awoke to
start the morning meal. The young nymph even daring to miss the
assignment of the day’s work by the senior male and female, not
without the senior male’s notice and anger.

The young nymph knew he would not be
seriously missed until the evening meal. That was fortunate, for he
had a long way to travel to the Queen’s chamber. He was after an
energy collection globe, and the Queen’s chamber was the logical
place to find one. The young nymph knew he would be disciplined for
his failure to forage. He did not care, for he was on a Queen’s
mission. Any punishment the seniors heaped on him would only make
him more determined.

It was much later in the daylight
cycle than the young nymph planned when he finally arrived at the
Queen’s chamber at the temple of the sun. He realized that there
was no way he would make it back for the evening meal as he had
planned.

Especially after he would be burdened
with the unknown weight of an energy collection globe. The young
nymph had never seen one, except in in the ancient educational
texts every nymph was expected to learn. He had no idea how large
or heavy it would be.

As the young nymph entered the temple
of the sun through the entrance designated for the Queen’s aides,
his legs began to tremble with exhaustion. It had been a much more
difficult journey than he had anticipated.

Plus the fact that he had not eaten
since the night before caused the realization that his labors had
only just begun. Stopping at the final entrance to the Queen’s
Chamber, the young nymph paused in order to catch his breath and
strengthen his resolve.

When the trembling had finally
subsided, the young nymph entered the Queen’s chamber. He was
instantly awe struck at the sight of the Queen still sitting on her
jeweled throne. No longer did he doubt his destiny. He was indeed
the one to bring the Queen back, fulfilling the
prophecy.

As the young nymph looked around
trying to locate an energy collection globe, he noticed the energy
collection crystals all around the Queen’s chamber. He especially
noticed the largest one directly underneath a closed opening in the
roof of the chamber.

The sight of that crystal
triggered a long buried memory from the ancient texts of his early
childhood. If only he could remember
. It
will come to me,
the young nymph thought,
as he continued to look for an energy collection globe.

When at last he found a globe the
young nymph remembered at the same time what the largest crystal
was for. The season of the sun started the next light cycle. When
the sun reached its zenith in the afternoon sky, it would strike
the largest crystal, filling the Queen’s chamber with energy. Only
if the opening in the great dome that marked the beginning of the
season were open. That meant the young nymph might not have to use
the energy collection globe after all.

The young nymph realized the
significance of his being in the Queen’s chamber at just the right
time. All he had to do was figure out how to open the sun’s portal
so he could resurrect the Queen.

Many nergs passed and still the young
nymph labored with the puzzle of the portal. Dizzy and weak with
hunger the young nymph knew that if he did not eat soon he would
die, failing in his self-appointed destiny. He had finally worked
up the courage to search the Queen’s throne for a way to open the
portal.

In desperation, the young nymph looked
upward from the throne and stumbled, losing his footing and falling
against the Queen’s body. In horror at his desecration, the young
nymph tumbled down the steps leading up to the throne.

As he lay bruised, battered and
desolate in his failure at the base of the steps, an amazing thing
happened; the portal opened with a grinding rumble. As the
blackness of unconsciousness took the young nymph, he took delight
in the fact that he had succeeded in his destiny.

It was much later that the rays of the
sun streaming through the portal returned the young nymph to
consciousness. As he took stock of his condition after his fall, he
remembered where he was. With a start, he turned to face the
Queen’s body.

The crystals in the roof and chamber
reflected the sun’s energy and the throne’s crystal, glowing,
directing a beam of concentrated energy directly at the Queen’s
crystal. As the young nymph watched, it too began to glow and
pulse. It was happening right before the young nymph’s eyes, the
return of the Queen.

Spellbound, unable to move, the young
nymph forgot his injuries, his hunger and the wrath of the nest
that waited for him upon his return. His complete attention was
focused on the Queen’s body. Many more nergs passed and still the
young nymph waited. Finally, the blackness of unconsciousness
brought on by extreme hunger began to cloud the young nymph’s
vision. As he struggled to hold on, a miracle happened; the Queen
woke.

Seeing the young nymph’s condition the
Queen spoke. “Come young one, feed on my energy before you perish
from hunger.” Shocked by the huge honor, the young nymph found
himself moving toward the Queen to feed, not knowing how for his
body seemed to not be his own.

As the young nymph fed greedily on the
sun’s energy, the Queen spoke to him again. “Tell me young one, are
you the one who has wakened me?”

Dizzy from the intake of so much
energy at once the young nymph answered, “Yes my Queen.”

“
And where are your nest
mates? Why are they not here as well?” asked the Queen.

This caused the young nymph to squirm
for he knew the answer might well spell death for all in his nest.
Carefully he answered, “My Queen, the elders of my nest disagree
with me about the prophecy of your return. I acted on my
own.”

“
What a brave young one you
are,” said the Queen. “Protecting your nest mates is an admirable
thing. Tell me why the elders disagree with you.” Realizing the
Queen had seen through his desperate attempt to save his nest the
young nymph decided that their fate now lay in the whims of the
Queen.