The Light-Field

  ‘Unless you end up with one like Ray?’ Mythric suggested.

  ‘That’s what I think!’ Lucian threw his hands up in the air.

  Mythric was amused by the captain’s frustration. ‘But once the boss makes up her mind,’ he shook his head in knowing and sympathy, ‘there’s no changing it.’

  ‘Don’t I know it,’ Lucian concurred. ‘But then I know Taren well enough to realise that time will probably prove her right.’

  Mythric warranted he was right. ‘We didn’t call her the Timekeeper for no good reason.’

  The next morning Taren and Lucian took all their newest crew members on a tour of AMIE. Zeven knew exactly where he was going and as soon as they entered the vessel’s mid-decks he made a beeline for Module C.

  He’d spoken to Taren, during their stroll the night before, about his eagerness to rekindle his friendship with Ringbalin. Even though they’d never met in this time line, Zeven missed his best buddy from the good old days.

  In just six months, Ringbalin had transformed Module C from an empty metal shell into a space that felt, looked and smelt completely organic.

  ‘Wow!’ Thurayya exclaimed, poised ready to run off down through the pathways in the garden. ‘This is even better than the pool!’

  ‘Ray, honey, wait for Mummy.’ Aurora headed after the girl.

  ‘So where is he?’ Zeven was walking around, sticking his head in doors. He came to a stop outside the nursery window and was delighted by what he saw. He waved over the rest of his party to come see.

  Kassa, Leal, Taren, Lucian and Mythric joined Zeven at the nursery window, to observe Ringbalin leaning over a tray of potted flowers that were wilting. As he held his hands over each pot, the plant within rose up and was restored to full health.

  ‘Well, we’re certainly not going to go hungry,’ Leal commented, amazed by the display.

  ‘The man of flowers,’ Mythric uttered, more overawed than any of them.

  ‘Have you met Ringbalin before?’ Taren was curious about the comment.

  Mythric shook his head. ‘Maiara told me about a child who made flowers bloom everywhere he went. I suspect Kale and I may owe this man a great debt.’

  ‘Really?’ This was news to Zeven.

  Everyone was quietly intrigued and allowed Mythric to lead the way into the nursery.

  ‘Quanah?’ Mythric used the name Maiara had called her child of flowers by, and Ringbalin’s head shot up in recognition.

  He looked to Mythric, shocked but not affronted. ‘That’s a name that only royalty would know,’ Ringbalin said, calling for the stranger to explain himself.

  ‘I am of the House of Vidor,’ Mythric acknowledged, which roused a quiet gasp from Kassa and Leal.

  Ringbalin was a little uneasy to find himself suddenly in the company of a royal from his home planet, and bowed his head a little in reverence. ‘I am at your service.’

  ‘Did you once answer to the name of Quanah?’ Mythric queried, with such emotion that Ringbalin appeared a little hesitant to answer.

  ‘It was a name given to me for a time, by the late Dowager Duchess of Sermetica.’ Ringbalin was open and honest, as was company policy. Everyone present, including Taren, was shocked to learn this and see this synchronous moment unfolding before their eyes. This was why Taren was insisting that they were all so open with each other, as many of them knew little about who they really were. By being open, she hoped to solve many of the mysteries about her crew that had been buried throughout their lives for their own protection.

  ‘What were the chances?’ Mythric near choked on his delight. ‘Do you remember Maiara bringing you a young child to heal, when you were about five —’

  ‘He was her great grandson,’ Ringbalin said surely. ‘I remember the babe still struggling for life despite the knife through his tiny body … that is not an image one forgets, sir.’ His eyes welled with tears at the memory and so did Mythric’s.

  ‘He was my son.’ Mythric’s gratitude welled within in him. ‘And I am deeply indebted to you for saving his life.’

  ‘You are Spyridon Vidor?’ Ringbalin dropped his head in reverence once more. ‘Your Grace. Of course I saved him, how could I not?’

  ‘I am no lord anymore. I renounced my birthright that same night, believing my son had been murdered along with my wife.’ Mythric hugged Ringbalin, who normally would have objected, but did not. ‘Thank you,’ he uttered at last and let the lad go.

  ‘He lives then?’ Ringbalin ventured to ask. ‘The little prince — that’s what Maiara called him.’

  ‘I’m right here.’ Zeven came forward out of the crowd gathered around the doorway to the nursery, his eyes moist with the emotion of what he’d just learnt. ‘So, we have met before.’ He raised half a smile as he approached his old friend.

  ‘Wow, the little prince got bigger than me?’ Ringbalin noted, brushing his tears away with his wrist — the only clean part of his hand.

  ‘You saved my life, man …’ Zeven overwhelmed Ringbalin with a hug, and Taren felt her tears starting to flow. The pair broke apart, but were obviously rather stoked to have found each other after all this time.

  ‘So what name do you go by now?’ Ringbalin asked.

  ‘Any name but my real one.’ Zeven shrugged. ‘Call me Kale, Zeven, Starman, Bob.’

  ‘I like Bob,’ Leal piped up to vote.

  ‘No,’ Zeven insisted, ‘I hate Bob.’

  ‘And you?’ Kassa looked to Mythric. ‘Do we call you BA, Spyridon or Lord Vidor?’

  He found this amusing as he thought about it. ‘I like Mythric.’

  ‘Mythric it is then,’ Taren decreed. ‘Mythric and Bob.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Zeven maintained, arms folded in protest. ‘I want Zeven back.’

  Taren grinned in conclusion. ‘Zeven it is, Starman.’

  ‘Yes!’ He clenched his fists close to his chest in victory. ‘I finally get to be me again!’

  ‘On board this vessel,’ Taren advised. ‘But outside of the vessel you are still BA and Kale Tane, just to be safe.’

  ‘Well.’ Leal slapped his hands together. ‘I’m glad we got that sorted out. I’m just going to stick with Leal, if that’s okay with everyone?’

  ‘But Bob is still available?’ Zeven bantered, just to be annoying.

  ‘I’ll pass.’ Leal declined all the same.

  ‘Well, Ringbalin.’ Taren approached him as he was appearing quite stunned and delighted by the morning’s events. ‘We were actually here to take your guided tour.’

  ‘Certainly.’ He pushed his glasses back up on his nose, keen to show off his progress. ‘Follow me, all.’

  After their tour of Module C, their party caught up with Aurora in the cafeteria area around in Module B. This was not yet fully stocked and operating, but some of the crew still ate there. Aurora had run into Jazmay and Yasper Ronan, along with their son, Fari, who was meeting Thurayya for the first time.

  Fari had a piece of metal pipe and was bending it with his bare hands, as if it were made of foam.

  Thurayya was delighted by his display and clapped. ‘May I have a go?’ she asked politely, gently touching his shoulder.

  ‘Sure thing.’ Fari handed the metal over and to his shock she didn’t drop it.

  ‘Now let’s see?’ She observed the twisted piece of metal a second, and proceeded to twist it like a balloon into the shape of an animal. ‘Ta-da!’ She held the metal back out to the boy, whose jaw was waning. ‘You’re like me!’

  Ray shook her head. ‘I am like everybody! And so I am unique,’ she repeated what her parents had so often told her.

  ‘Yasper Ronan!’ Mythric spotted his old MSS team mate and was excited to see him again.

  Yasper hurried over to greet him. ‘Mythric, my man … seems like an age!’ He bypassed the handshake and hugged him.

  ‘You got the levitating under control, I see.’ Mythric noted that Yasper was not floating about aimlessly like the last time he’d seen him.

&
nbsp; ‘With a little training in psychic control from my wife,’ Yasper agreed, stepping aside. ‘You remember Jazmay?’

  The beautiful femme fatale came forward, as sombre as ever until she unexpectedly burst into a smile. ‘I was not surprised to learn that you fathered our Starman. It’s good to see you both back here in one piece.’

  ‘I am very pleased to meet you again also,’ Mythric said, ‘as I need to ask a favour.’

  When Mythric explained that the captain had seen a spirit hanging around him the night before and who that spirit was, Jazmay, unlike most Phemorians, was very keen to help the banished princess. She also knew how it felt to be cast out by her own people.

  ‘I don’t know how accurately I’ll be able to repeat the Phemorian,’ Lucian said, ‘but we can give it go.’

  ‘Would you like me to telepathically convey what you are perceiving to Jazmay?’ Kassa suggested. She was obviously keen to get into the team spirit where her Power was concerned.

  Lucian looked to Mythric — it was his call.

  ‘I’d appreciate that, doctor, thank you.’

  Zeven appeared keen to be invited, but Mythric did not extend him an invitation. ‘I’ll keep you informed.’

  Hence the captain, Mythric, Kassa and Jazmay adjourned to Lucian’s onboard office to try to solve the dilemma of why the Princess Satomi was not resting in peace.

  In the office, Jazmay took a seat beside Lucian and Kassa stood behind them both with one hand on each of their shoulders. Mythric was too restless to be seated at present, and stopped pacing when he saw his crewmates were ready to assist him.

  ‘At your leave, Mythric, ask your questions,’ the captain cued.

  ‘So Satomi is here with us?’ he assumed.

  ‘She never leaves your side,’ Lucian informed. Mythric feared he was about to learn what a huge disappointment he was in the eyes of the woman he still loved above all others.

  ‘Satomi, why are you still with me after all these years?’ he appealed, regretting how he’d lived following her death.

  Lucian concentrated on the empty space beside Mythric and Kassa closed her eyes to focus. ‘I could not rest until you had found our son,’ Jazmay replied. ‘And I will not rest until he destroys Khalid, just as Maiara prophesised!’

  All three of his crewmates appeared a little shocked by the response.

  Mythric winced at her answer also, dreading seeing their son pitted against Khalid. ‘But Khalid is locked away —’

  ‘Shhh!’ Lucian was focused on the spirit Mythric couldn’t see, so Mythric looked to Jazmay to discover what was being said.

  ‘Khalid is not human, he is a soulless abomination, whose life force is entirely dependent on the lost souls at Dead Man Downs … just as the Phemoray feed off the dead souls at the Pit of the Obstinate on Phemoria. Khalid Mansur will not be contained much longer. He’s worked out how to free himself.’ Jazmay was concerned by her own translation. ‘All he needs now is an opportunity.’

  ‘What kind of opportunity?’ Mythric queried.

  ‘He only needs to sever a few limbs and he will free himself from the triple S and his dead father.’ Jazmay frowned, dismayed by the information. ‘What?’

  ‘There’s more,’ Lucian advised quickly, as he listened intently to the silence in the room.

  ‘Fortunately, when Khalid was restrained, he was at one with the evil spirit of his father, Chironjivi.’ Jazmay’s eyes opened wide, for that name was embedded in every Phemorian’s memory. ‘As in the son of Qusay-Thurayya the first?’

  There was a moment’s pause, as Lucian and Kassa focused and then Jazmay answered her own question. ‘Yes, Chironjivi used what he’d learnt watching his mother’s dark magic create the Phemoray and the cursed crown of Phemoria. He expanded on her twisted theology to absorb all the souls of his dying crew, extending his own life long enough to rape my mother and produce a son. This he did to seek revenge on not just Phemoria, but all womankind.’ Jazmay was gobsmacked.

  ‘I had no idea,’ Kassa mumbled, ever more enlightened by the second.

  ‘You were saying we’d been fortunate trapping Khalid with Chironjivi. Why?’ Mythric attempted to keep the conversation on track.

  ‘Chironjivi left his decrepit form to award Khalid direct power over his evil dominions,’ Jazmay explained. ‘For they can see the Zagriata, but only as pure white light, which they cannot stand to be near! When Khalid was psychically restrained, this also cut his father’s control over his ghostly crew. They returned to Dead Man Downs and destroyed what was left of Chironjivi’s form, in their battle to become captain first.’

  ‘So the ancient prince is finally dead,’ Mythric clarified.

  ‘Only in body,’ Jazmay warned him. ‘His evil soul-mind is trapped inside Khalid’s body with him. Chironjivi knows if Khalid is freed he will dispel him from his body and he shall finally cease to be able to experience physical world pleasure, which to the dark prince of Phemoria has always been closely tied to the bloodletting of women. Chironjivi is slowly trying to drive Khalid mad and into submission. Khalid is just biding his time to finally free himself from his inner tormentor.’

  ‘That does not sound good,’ Mythric agreed with Satomi’s analysis, inwardly thankful that the conversation had not drifted toward his personal failures.

  ‘You never failed me.’ Jazmay’s reply to his unsaid thought startled Mythric, and the cool-headed Phemorian had tears in her eyes. ‘I led you into a life of torment, and I nearly paid for my mistake with the life of our son and your sanity.’

  ‘No,’ Mythric objected, not knowing where to look to address her. ‘We were not a mistake, not for me. Our son is anything but!’

  ‘Not for me either,’ Jazmay uttered, tears streaming from her eyes. ‘Much good has come of our pain, and still more will follow. Oh, but I miss being seen and heard by you.’

  ‘But you are always felt.’ Mythric was on the verge of tears himself. Deep down he had always felt her close and although he thought it just wishful thinking, he had never stopped talking to her.

  Jazmay smiled suddenly before delivering Satomi’s response. ‘Nice to know you weren’t just talking to yourself all these years?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mythric agreed, ‘although there were times I felt sure you wanted to give up on me in disgust.’

  Jazmay’s eyes filled with tears again, and she shook her head. ‘Not one.’ Jazmay stood and broke away from Kassa’s restraint. ‘I need a break.’ She sniffled back her emotion. ‘I haven’t been this emotional since I was pregnant, and there’s only so much I can take. Sorry, Mythric.’

  ‘Not at all, I am very grateful,’ he assured her, having had enough therapy for one morning himself.

  ‘Dear heavens, Lucian.’ Kassa came around to take a seat next to him. ‘I had no idea such events were even possible! Satomi mentioned the Zagriata. Was she talking about the super being of legend?’

  ‘Super beings,’ Mythric clarified. ‘Us, in other words.’

  ‘Us?’ Kassa was shocked and delighted. ‘You expect that we are going to restore love and balance to the United Systems?’

  ‘Can you think of a better crew for the job?’ Lucian asked.

  ‘Well, no,’ Kassa admitted, ‘but how —’

  ‘Getting AMIE airborne ASAP might be a good start.’ He looked to Mythric, who nodded once in firm agreement. Lucian looked back to Kassa, who was still rather stunned.

  ‘The past few days have been so inspiring and wonderful, I couldn’t possibly go back to the space program.’ Kassa resolved to give the captain her full support. ‘When do we move in?’

  13

  THE QUSAY-SABAH

  CLARONA AND JABEZ

  ANSELM — THE QUEEN AND

  THE PRESIDENT

  With a considerable amount of effort from their super crew and zero fanfare, AMIE was launched into space a full five months early. Most of the time it had taken to get her airborne had been spent seeing to the deconstruction of their operations base on Frujia
.

  In contrast to their last time line, AMIE was to have no ground-based operations for the first five years of her life in space. This time around the project did not have to report to a government body, nor were they taking on board independent researchers before D-day. Swithin Gervaise had joined the space staff, and had become more heavily involved in the marine department with his wife soon after they’d married.

  Before Taren had left the Universe Parallel to come back in time to save AMIE and Maladaan, she had made a list with Lucian of goals they needed to achieve. There were eight items on that list.

  Stop AMIE taking the sample

  Wake Lucian up to Amie and Swithin

  Lift mother’s curse

  Reunite parents

  Expose Khalid

  Free Jazmay and Fari

  Return to Kila to warn Rhun about the Orions

  Save Yasper.

  Since returning to the past, Taren had managed to achieve half of her objectives. Items 1 and 7 on her agenda could only be achieved in the fullness of time, so items 3 and 4 were very high on the agenda. One could even say that AMIE’s first mission had been decided long before the vessel had ever been built.

  ‘Although preventing the inter-system gateway to Oceane from being opened is a top priority,’ Taren began her address to the crew, minus the children, who had been tucked in to their sleeping pods. ‘I believe releasing the Queen of Phemoria from her curse, so that she can work in cooperation with us and President Anselm, against the injustice on Maladaan, is just as urgent.’

  The rest of the crew agreed, especially the two Phemorians. Many of the crew were still unaware that Taren was speaking about her parents in this instance, but both Jazmay and Ayliscia were aware.

  ‘Anselm has, after four years of negotiating and pleading for a meeting, finally persuaded the Queen of Phemoria to grant him an audience, and we shall be his guard.’

  ‘Yes!’ cheered Zeven. ‘Some action, at last!’