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42: The Reminiscent
Desslok watched as Starsha bowed over her younger sister's body. The atmosphere felt all too familiar to him. Even though the one who'd died wasn't related to him, he could almost touch the sadness that filled the room. It sent the ever-present memories right back into the forefront of his mind.
Looking first at Garen, Astra, then at Masterson, and seeing that they, like Starsha, were entirely focused on the event that had just taken place, he took the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
The door that he, Starsha and Masterson had just come through was still open, and he stepped back through it without having to make it open once again. Once he was out of the room he chose a direction at random and started walking away as fast as he could, leaving the troubling scene behind him.
Astra stepped over to her sister and laid a gentle hand on her back. "She is at peace."
"I know." Starsha breathed tearily, "But I will miss her..."
"So will I." Astra replied quietly, "But Yahweh has His reasons. What they are, I will not pretend to know, but I do know that they are much more wonderful than we can comprehend now."
Starsha nodded and slowly stood, wiping away some of her tears. She took a step back and was suddenly aware of the Mahtehkhetim's* presence. The glassy-silver androids began the process of preparing the young woman's body for burial.
Respectfully, the sisters, Garen, and Masterson quietly left. The four went their separate ways; Garen, saddened over the loss of one he wanted to save, went back to the lab he had come from so quickly; the sisters, Astra leading, retreated to the solitude of the gardens; Masterson, finally noticing Desslok's disappearance, went to find the new Leader.
Masterson's footsteps echoed around him. The halls of the palace were even more lonely than the ones back in Rapha'owr. He looked around, seeing the intricate design of everything. The architecture was so complex that he couldn't look at it too closely for very long.
He kept walking, listening for any hint of where Desslok might have gone. He walked for a long time. Right before Talan was about to turn around and head back, sure he'd missed the Leader somewhere in his trek, he heard what he was listening for – the angry ravings of a bitter man.
He quietly approached the alcove where the sounds were emanating from. Just when he reached the archway that led into the open space all sound stopped. Masterson froze in place, not knowing what to think of this sudden silence.
For a long moment, the silence stretched on. With every second Masterson grew more and more concerned for his friend's welfare. Just when his concern was at its peak, Masterson heard the Leader's voice once again.
"Why must it always be the innocent You take?!" Desslok raged, "Why them and not those who cause their suffering?! Tell me why!"
Masterson, still out of Desslok's line of sight, bowed his head in sorrow, knowing that his friend would receive no answer – at least, not one that he would accept.
Knowing he could do nothing, Talan waited for several minutes to ensure the Leader's immediate physical safety. Then, just as quietly as he had come, he left, finally retreating to the quarters he had been given as a guest of the last two Iscandarians.
The night passed slowly for everyone in the palace.
Garen spent the long hours in the old lab, pouring over Kara of Iscandar's journals and research as well as the additional discoveries that Starsha herself had made concerning the virus that Deun had unleashed upon them years before.
Astra and Starsha, still saddened by their loss, but hopeful for whatever future was to be given them, returned to their own quarters and slept.
Most of Masterson's night was spent in deep thought. As midnight came and then passed, he found himself reliving the very memories that he knew Desslok was dwelling on after witnessing the death of one so young as Sasha. Finally, a few hours before the sun rose, his spirit quieted and he slept.
Morning came swiftly after that and with it, Sasha's burial. She was entombed next to her parents and with the rest of her family line. Her memorial stone was raised by the Mahtehkhetim and it shone with the light of the rising sun, creating an enduring memory of Sasha's young, vibrant life.
No one knew where Desslok was during that long night, or Sasha's memorial ceremony, but when the time came and they all gathered in the pre-appointed conference room once again, they found Desslok standing at the far end of the room, staring out into the morning mist that rose from the great Sea, facing the direction of Sasha's grave. He wore the formal attire of his office, and as the group entered, he turned to face them.
Masterson saw the still-present anger in the Leader's face and Talan sensed the growing hardness of his friend's heart. With every death it seemed that Desslok became more and more angry at the God he blamed for the suffering of the innocent ones who fell all around him.
Masterson looked around at his companions and noticed that Starsha too seemed to see Desslok's growing darkness, but instead of addressing it she wisely took the first seat in the council circle, a signal to all that the day's meeting had begun.
Without any comment, Astra, Garen Krenshaw, and Masterson sat as well. There was a moment when Talan wasn't certain if Desslok would even join them, but just when he thought the Leader would remain in his place of solitude, he slowly crossed the open space between himself and the council circle.
The room was so quiet that Desslok's footsteps seemed to echo more loudly than any explosion ever could. The weight of each step seemed to shake Masterson's very soul as he saw with every-increasing concern the true depth of his old friend's wounds.
"We've much to discuss then." Desslok suddenly said as he took the last seat. "Shall we begin?"
The day passed slowly. Much of the discussion revolved around Garen and his discoveries concerning "Deun's plague." The conversation grew more and more difficult as the day went on as it was obvious to all but Desslok that Garen had shouldered the blame for Sasha's death.
The Leader grilled Krenshaw about every detail of everything beginning with the secrets Deun had revealed during his imprisonment and continuing into Garen's midnight vigil.
Finally, the topic turned to something more bearable – at least for the Iscandarians.
"And what of Gamilon?" Masterson asked, "Our home-world is dying before our eyes. The tsarebetim grow every day. Rapha'owr itself will soon sink beneath the surface of the planet. It will need to be rebuilt – adjusted to the geological differences... Our people are in great need."
"Perhaps it is time to find a new home." Astra suggested. "There are worlds that could be reformed to suit your people's needs. We have such technology and would be happy to aide you should you choose to relocate."
"If there is a way to heal our world, we will seek that option first." Desslok stated, a chill in his voice. "We may not know from whence our fathers came, but we know where our home is now."
Starsha nodded, "I understand your reluctance, but you must consider that there may not be a way to counter Gamilon's illness. The strain of plague infecting your planet is more virulent than the one we were struck with."
"Even Deun could not tell us how to cure our world." Garen inserted hesitantly, afraid of being interrogated again. To his relief, Desslok did not respond.
Masterson looked out at the sky. To his surprise, he saw that it was nearly mid-afternoon.
Seeing Masterson's glance, Astra too looked out the window and noted the time. "Perhaps it would be wise to wait another day to discuss this." Astra said calmly, "The day is already drawing to an end and our hearts are all heavy with much to think about."
"I believe that is a prudent suggestion." Starsha agreed.
"I also see the worth in waiting a bit longer for this particular discussion." Garen added as non-combatively as he could.
Masterson held his opinion, waiting for Desslok to speak.
The Leader sat quietly, his former silence taking over once again. Then he finally said, "So be it."
Without another word, the Gamilon ruler rose, left the council circle, and disappeared through the door.
Everyone in the room looked at each other without saying anything. The silence seemed to become calmer, more relaxed, now that Desslok was gone and everyone, especially Krenshaw felt the tension ease.
The meeting now concluded for the day, the rest of the group dispersed.
Masterson sat quietly in his quarters, thinking over everything that had been said today. It was clear that something would have to happen for Gamilon and its people to survive, but what that solution was, Masterson could not pretend to know.
"Oh Adonai..." he prayed, bowing his head, "Show us the way... I know that there will come a time when my people are gathered together as one again, but how can that purpose be accomplished if our world is destroyed...?" he sighed heavily, "I do not know how You will do it... but I know that the children of Yisrael will one day be assembled – perhaps in Yerushalayim* itself. You have promised to gather us from the outmost parts of the heavens.* Please, Adonai, may that gathering be soon..."
Just as he had finished praying, a chiming sound met his ears. It took him a moment to realize that it was someone requesting permission to enter his quarters. He quickly answered the request, allowing the door to swirl open.
He stood in respect, his head still bowed. "Sire, perhaps –"
Suddenly he realized that the footsteps he heard were not nearly heavy enough to be Desslok's. He looked up and was surprised to see Queen Starsha standing before him, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"Oh! I apologize, my Queen." Masterson quickly said, a bit embarrassed that he had mistaken Starsha for Desslok.
"There are no apologies needed." Starsha replied with a small smile. "You are clearly preoccupied. Perhaps I should go – "
"No – no, please. There is no need to go, my Queen." Masterson looked around hastily for a place that Starsha could take a seat. "Please, sit down." he gestured for her to be seated.
"Thank you." Starsha nodded to Masterson as she sat down. "Your job is most trying sometimes, I see."
Masterson laughed. It was a good feeling – one of the few he had felt since the destruction of Deun's last troop outpost. "You do not know how true that is."
Starsha smiled back, "He is a stubborn man, Desslok."
"Indeed..." Masterson sighed, sitting down to join the Queen.
"You've had this conversation before, haven't you."
Masterson sighed again, "I have... many times... with many people."
"He's angry."
"And he grows more-so every day, my Queen."
"Please, call me Starsha."
"Very well." Masterson nodded, feeling a bit odd not addressing the woman formally, "Thank you... Starsha." At that moment, Talan looked into the Iscandari woman's face and saw her sincere concern for what was going on, not just on her own world, but on Gamilon as well. "What brings you here?"
Starsha was quiet for a moment. It almost looked to Masterson like she didn't quite know if she wanted to say what she was thinking, but finally she decided to say it. "Why...?" she asked, her voice low. "Why this rage? She was my sister... I mourn the loss; but she was not even his own family... Why is he so angry over Sasha's death?"
Starsha waited for Masterson's answer, and she began to wonder if her question was out of bounds when Masterson's face turned grim.
"I'm, sorry, I didn't think –"
"No, please, do not apologize." Masterson held up a hand to stop her. "It is a valid question, but one that, I am afraid has no short answer."
Starsha looked out the window, set in the far wall and noted the afternoon sun. "I have the time if you do, Masterson Talan."
"Very well," the man nodded and pulled out a small computer, "It is not your sister's death he is angry about – though it did not help his rage. This anger – this... madness – began seventeen years ago with the betrayal and death of our own Queen Talonka."
"Talonka?!" Starsha gasped, "My mother knew her; they were good friends!"
"Yes, they were." Masterson nodded, "But though the Queen had many friends, she also had enemies, among them, the Malha Guardiana."
"The 'Malha Guardiana'? I have never heard of her. Who is she?" Starsha inquired.
"The Malha is the leader of a cult group, the 'Followers of Guardiana' they call themselves. The title of 'Malha' has been passed down from generation to generation for almost two millenia."
"How do you know this?" Starsha asked, eyes wide.
"That... is another long story that I must reserve for another time." he replied, "For now, I will relate to you the story of how the world of Gamilon was changed forever."
Masterson connected to Gamilon's planetary information network and retrieved the records he was looking for, archived deep within Mossad's files.
"What I am about to show you is not readily available to the public and must never be shared." said Masterson.
"I understand..." Starsha replied, nodding.
"Very well." Masterson acknowledged her comprehension and began to play back the records of that horrific event, stopping every so often to provide supplemental information for the Queen. As he heard the recordings and read through the documents and reports for the first time in over a dozen years, his mind's eye conjured it all with crystal clarity.
"Deun, the northern perimeter on Jirel has fallen. We have to get the wounded out of the area before it's blown to bits." Talonka explained in haste to her husband who was commanding the assault from one of the ships nestled within Gamilon-controlled space.
"Admiral Talan has already been dispatched." Deun replied. "How is Sarar performing under pressure?" He questioned, wondering if the new warship, which his wife was commanding on this mission, was standing up to the rigors of combat.
"It is faring even better than we expected. Everything is still in optimal condition in spite of all the attacks we've sustained, and-" She was cut off by something that wasn't a jamming wave. "Deun! Something's wrong; we've lost all navigational control. We're caught in Jirel's gravity!"
A cold fist rammed into Deun's gut as panic began to set in. "Send out a squadron to pursue the Sarar now!" Immediately the ships launched, sent out to attempt to prevent the inevitable, but Sarar began her deadly descent into Jirel's atmosphere long before help was able to arrive.
Suddenly a swarm of Bolar ships emerged from warp just ahead of the main Gamilon fleet, cutting them off from their warp-lane to Jirel. The enemy opened fire, cutting through several Gamilon warships and crippling others so badly that they were forced to retreat.
Deun's ship was among those so badly damaged that all it could do was limp back to Gamilon. As quickly as he could, the Leader boarded another ship and ordered it back to the battlefront.
By the time they got back to the site of the conflict, the Bolar fleet had been destroyed. Admiral Talan, who hadn't been able to get to warp before the enemy had appeared, had somehow inverted the odds so that they had fallen in Gamilon's favor.
Relieved that the way was now clear, but still overwhelmed by what had happened to his dear wife, the Leader ordered Admiral Talan and the remaining ships onward to Jirel.
Traveling as quickly as they dared through Bolar-infested space, the fleet made it to the colony half a day later. The sight they were met with was horrific. The handful of survivors who had made it off of Sarar were hiding in the middle of a treacherous jungle, waiting for their promised rescue. The rest of the crew had been slaughtered during the night.
Queen Talonka was not among the survivors.
Admiral Talan tried to console his superior, but he could not. All that he could do was give Deun hope that Talonka was still alive, but even Raymond was unsure of this. He knew that the Bolars rarely, if ever, let prisoners of any political standing, live.
The survivors were taken home to Gamilon. Many of them had sustained serious wounds and were hospitalized as soon as they reached their planet.
Then, the unexpected happened. Three men, also from Sarar's crew, arrived on Gamilon. They brought with them a story that threw Leader Deun into a state of misery. The queen had been taken into custody by the Bolars. They had tried to rescue her, but had been caught and would have been executed if the queen had not bargained for their lives.
Then, less than a day after the men's arrival, a message from the Bolar home-world came. It informed Leader Deun that Queen Talonka was indeed in their custody and that her life was theirs to do with as they pleased.
Leader Deun tried to bargain with the Bolars, offering them anything they wanted if they would only return his wife to him. But his pleas were met with cruel laughter.
That very day, on the Bolar home world, Talonka was dragged before their ruler, Premier Pretorious Bemlayze.
"Are you Queen Talonka of Gamilon?" The Premier asked, his tone mocking her even as he said it.
"I am." Talonka answered calmly.
"Have you, as has been testified to us, denied the Spirit of Guardiana and taken instead another Spirit in its place?!" Bemlayze sneered, disgusted at the woman's gall.
"I know not what others have said of me, but Adonai is my Master, and it is to Him I answer, not to a shêd who enslaves others in the name of Abaddon."
Her words were met with myriad whispers and murmurs from the crowd who eagerly watched the exchange.
"A Gamilon and an Ïsanin*." Bemlayze mocked. "Well, we shall see if your Adonai can save you from me, your highness." He let the title drip with sarcasm as the crowd's displeasure became louder.
"Put her in line to be terminated. And be sure to transmit every single moment of her execution to her dear husband and children back on Gamilon. In fact, transmit it to the entire planet." He was mocking her again, but he was very serious about terminating her. She was taken out of the throne room and thrown into a holding cell to await her death.
Her wait was short.
Once they had arrived at the site of the execution, Bemlayze informed Talonka just how detailed the footage of her death would be. Instead of cowering in the face of her imminent death, she boldly made one last request, "May I say a few words for your 'footage' since they will undoubtedly be my last?"
Bemlayze guffawed, "Very well, say whatever you like. Your words will make no difference in a few minutes."
Talonka stepped up to the unfamiliar recording device and whispered words that she knew only a handful would understand, "Meet me there... In Immanuel's land." Then she stood quietly before her executioner and waited.
She watched as a dozen soldiers surrounded her, weapons at the ready. Then, the Premier gave the word and every trigger was pulled at the same instant.
Talonka's lifeless body fell to the floor.
As Masterson's retelling ended, Starsha gasped, horrified, "They broadcasted the execution?"
"All over Gamilon. We tried to block the transmission – turn it off somehow, but we couldn't. Every eye on the planet saw that gruesome scene, and it killed their spirits. The Leader himself fell into depression. He almost even missed the memorial ceremony that was held for the Queen."
"I remember that..." Starsha breathed, "My mother and father took Astra with them to the ceremony. I was ill at the time and was unable to go with them."
The look on Masterson's face became strange, "Starsha, there is much more to the tale of Queen Talonka's death than the official reports I have relayed to you."
Masterson's tone caught Starsha's attention, "What exactly do you mean...?"
"There is something... something that even Leader Desslok does not know – something I discovered after the Queen's death. Only a few others know; Leader Deun was among them. He discovered it just after his wife's memorial ceremony."
"What, Masterson? Surely it cannot be as terrible as what you have already told me."
Masterson looked into the young queen's eyes and said, "She traded her own life for yours, Queen Starsha. And then her own mother had her murdered."
The revelation shocked Starsha, and then the pieces of the past all began to fall into place.
* Mahtehkhetim - droids
* Yerushalayim – Jerusalem
* The outmost parts of heaven – a reference to a promise God made to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:4
* Ïsanin - Christian
Chapter 42 was inspired by:
- "As Long As I Have Breath" from the WILDS CD "His Way Is Perfect"
- "Meet Me There" from the Majesty Music CD "I Saw Jesus in You"
- "I Saw Jesus in You" from the Majesty Music CD "I Saw Jesus in You"