Chapter 1: The Accident

Marie Summers was out for a walk in James Island County park. The sun was bright, but there were clouds here and there. Marie was enjoying the air as well as the sights that surrounded her. After about an hour the clouds started to cover the sky more and more, unfortunately for Marie her car was sitting clear across the other side of the park. So she made an attempt to hurry back while staying on the path. The storm wasn’t too strong just yet but the clear thundering was an obvious warning. She looked passed the bushes and a few tree trunks to see if the lot where she parked her car was visible. It wasn’t for a few minutes until finally she saw it. Then as she cut through the light brush a dog caught her attention. A scruffy thing, it wagged its tail and barked which took her attention off the area long enough to not see a vehicle approaching. Thankfully the driver slowed and beeped his horn, calling her back to reality. For the time that she was lost Marie could have sworn she felt a slight tug in her chest. After the second set of beeps she looked back at the driver then again to the dog that disappeared. Marie quickly crossed the road into the rocky parking lot. The storm was growing stronger by the minute. The sky was overcast, but as soon as Marie came within twelve feet of her car she was struck by lightning.

She stood there looking at the body unaware of what just took place. Then when she focused on the face she became vexed because the face was hers and the body was hers. She stood there dazed and confused but before Marie could panic, she heard the pop of a string. Marie looked down to see three cords: silver, orange and white. All three were braided together but there were two identical braids: one braid attached to her while the other was attached to her body. Marie saw the cords head on her body had looked frayed, this frayed head is what was attached to the body as if it was glued on. The same frayed head was attached to her, when she turned around it glided against her movements as if it was trying to accommodate her. Marie tried to touch the cord but her hand went through it like a specter going through a wall. She could move any way she’d please and the cord would not interfere. Marie was amazed by this discovery, but she still wasn’t comforted by the sight of her body lying on the ground. Suddenly the orange cord attached to her body had three more smaller threads split apart. Then the orange cord attached to her mimicked the same action and Marie understood immediately what this meant: she is dying!

Beads of light began appearing out of nowhere. When they hit the ground, it produced a light ringing sound. Marie looked around confused but she started to understand when she finally looked up and saw that it was just rain pouring from the sky. It had a strange natural rhythm to it. The longer she kept her eyes off of herself the more she noticed her surroundings. There was light and sound emanating from the trees. The light wasn’t so bright but Marie could see it was like the outer shell of an aura for each one. There seemed to be a unifying color for all trees which was yellow but also a secondary aura color that depended on the tree’s condition. The sound coming from the trees differed by the type she was looking at. Oak trees gave off a subtle low hum while pine trees sounded a few pitches higher. It was amazing. The rain itself was beautiful, drop after drop of crystals casting multi-colored light. Marie looked up to see the gray sky dancing with billions of drops pouring or ready to fall to the ground. Those that remained in the clouds worked in harmony producing different colors, giving the gray sky a colorful iridescent look, but as soon as they broke off to fall each droplet twinkled on its own. Maries entire surrounding seemed to look brighter than usual.

Suddenly another pop from the cords called her back to attention. But the cords started settling back onto her and formed a tight grip on something lying in her chest. Marie started to feel hot and slightly hollow. Finally what emerged was a dimly lit gold orb, no bigger than a fastball. As the glow brightened she became attracted to it and touched the orb. All Marie remembered seeing was a bright light.

Saatswei’ell was horrified when he discovered he was calling in an extension carrying a live test subject! He assumed that when he had disconnected the cord from the main bunch and hooked it up to the converter that it was deceased.

“Dazed and confused” is what the console answered back on the monitor.

Saatswei’ell wasn’t about to accept this, it was a mistake.

“She couldn’t be alive, that bolt had enough power to fry her a hundred times over!” he blared but the console replied

“The hit did not last long enough to kill her, as of now the subjects life force is en route here while the body is en route to the nearest hospital.”

Saatswei’ell squealed “What?! She has to go back; all I have to do is…”  

The console quickly cut him off, “It’s too late Head Saatswei’ell the subject known as: Marie already passed through the foundation wall and will enter in less than one minute. On the bright side the council might view this in your favor.”

“What do you mean?” the exhausted Head asked.

“You practice on deceased beings, so your results will always be one sided, maybe this will broaden everyone’s perspective of the humans including yours. I’m sure they are curious to investigate a live subject. This can be an experiment within an experiment, see if you are able to deal with an outsider; make the first the contact, become friends, discuss future relations…” the console retorted.

“Well I suppose it’s better than, wait what future relations?”

“The relationship between your beings and theirs, it would be the first in a few millennia. Takzens and Humans are not so different from each other, just one species evolved before the other.”

“Yes however humans can become easily distracted, relying more on outside stimulation rather than focusing on the matter at hand.”

Another voice joined in siding with the console, “Were we so different friend? All we did in redeeming ourselves was actually taken heed to the warnings of our prophet, after the great battle. Thankfully we turned our energy not on each other but to the underlying issues.” Aaksaun entered into the chamber with a small cylindrical object and smiling.

“Just give this one a chance Saatswei’ell, you’ll never know. You may thank us one day.”

“I knew it; you both are plotting against me!” Saatswei’ell wailed. Aaksaun and the console sighed simultaneously.

Chapter 2: Leaving Home

Marie stood still as a statue under a hypnotic daze while watching her environment draw away from her like a memory. The colors and sounds of her surroundings were coming in crystal clear. She didn’t really pay attention to her departure at first but when Earth was looking more and more like a diminishing blue ball, reality settled in rather quickly.

“This isn’t supposed to be happening, is it?”

“I’m dreaming right?”

She couldn’t move her body, the most she could do was breathe and blink. Earth was looking beautiful from a distance, a rainbow of colors formed thin shells around the planet; some shells had bright patches that grew more prominent than others and the sound made by the planet was that of a high baritone. The moon was different; it had a faint white shell and barely produced any sound.

“I must be dead.” Marie thought confidently.

“But where am I going?”

What really caught her attention, after Earth disappeared rapidly was the sun. It was enormous compared to the Earth; the two main colors coming from it were white and red. Its sound was a sharp high ring; both the colors and the ringing were pushing Marie’s senses to the limit. Fortunately, the orb’s walls closed in to muffle both sound and sight. When the orb was moving back into the safe zone with its subject it opened its walls again. Suddenly Marie noticed she was leaving the galaxy very quickly! She noticed planets which varied in size and color, some sound more bass while others sounded more baritone and the stars were far sharper in sound as well as color. Marie seemed a little surprised to see her hand rising to touch the objects outside, but she couldn’t touch them because of the invisible shield between her and space.

“What’s going on?” Marie finally asked out loud.

“You’re being transported.” A voice blurted out of nowhere.

“Where?!” she asked caught by surprise

“Who are you and where are you taking me?!”

“Patience please, the Head will explain everything. In the meantime please enjoy the ride.”

“I’m not settling down until…” Marie’s rebellion was cut off by the sight of a distant galaxy. It made a great high hum and its colors both natural and aura like were beyond words. It was an elegant looking spiral galaxy. Off to the side was another of a different shape and it had a bright spot which grew brighter and brighter, then dimmed. The shell surrounding the bright spot was a great crimson circle. After the event the orb began exiting space at an exceedingly fast rate! Before she left the universe entirely Marie saw the great line leading to her galaxy, she noticed others had a great line attached to each as well. The orb slipped through the great bundle, made its way to the center, disconnected itself from its cord and floated freely upwards, afterward it bolted through the transporter that instantly took the orb to the grand main line atop a mysterious silver dome.

“Caes Saatswei’ell, nca hotxapn ceh evvufas.” Marie’s mind went blank hearing the foreign words.

“Please turn around and stand on the black plate.” Marie stared at the plate, she was unsure about leaving the orb.

“I promise you won’t feel a thing but you have now reached your new destination; you will be greeted by Takzen liason Saatswei’ell.”

“Does it speak English?” Marie asked with a nervous chuckle.

“He does, Saatswei’ell is very good at adapting to different languages and dialects. Some say this should have been his field of study.”

“So what should I call you?” Marie was curious to know the name of the unusually calm companion on her trip.

“My designation is Mcen; I’m Saatswei’ell’s A.I. companion.”

“What, really?!” As soon as she stepped onto the plate Marie was instantly transported to another room, much bigger than the orb but with a vibrant silver color to it.

“Marie has just stepped through, be sure to greet her kindly, you know the protocol and you’d better behave!” Aaksaun threatened as the three moved quickly to the chamber labeled Ring of Light and Darkness.

Saatswei’ell steps in while the other two move to the room next to it, which is separated by a force field when the chamber is active. When Saatswei’ell approached Marie, she saw a man with sharp green and purple eyes that were a little dreamy and long jet black hair with medium curls pulled back, this made it easier to see his olive complexion. He stood 6’8” with a solid frame and great muscle tone to match. The way he strutted across the room was effortless and full of confidence and power. His face was strong and broad, the same as his nose except it had a slight buttoned tip, though the lips were wide and half full this gave him a sultry look regardless of how he felt, they looked nice but nothing was nice about the expression; Saatswei’ells face was straight though it was easy to see the aggravation, he took deep breaths and it was very nasal. Marie stood on the other side of the room on the black pad. She was finding it hard to concentrate with that hostile look in his eyes, at the same time she also found him very attractive.

“You’re supposed to approach the platform.” Saatswei’ell stated flatly.  

“Excuse me, who are you?” an astonished Marie asked. He walked across the platform straight to Marie

“I am Saatswei’ell, your Takzen liaison. It is time for you to receive a control band.”

“What control band?”

“Go to the center of the platform and the process will begin.” Aaksaun was dissatisfied with the way Saatswei’ell greeted her so he intervened.

“Saatswei’ell, sir this is no way to welcome our guest!”

“You call this a guest?!” Saatswei’ell shot back. Aaksaun focused on Marie this time,

“Lady, were you hurt at any time during the trip?”

“No… thank you, but what is this place?”

“Patience Marie, all will be revealed in due time, until then we must help you control yourself.”

“Are you Mcen?”

“No Madame, I am Aaksaun, this is my friend and head of the experiment Saatswei’ell.”

“Now if you please, step into the center so that we may apply the band on you.”

“What is the band?”

“It helps us to control our energy when things throw us out of control. Like you for instance, you are so defensive that you’re choking your power. You’re supposed to have a glow. If you don’t loosen up, then we will have to do it for you and its mandatory for you because you’re new to this realm.”

“Oh ok.” Replied the confused Marie, just before she stepped onto the platform she spotted a floating black ball in the distance.

“What’s that?” she blankly asked, the ball replied

“I am Mcen, remember Marie we spoke while you were traveling here?”

“Oh wow that’s you?!”

“Step on please!” commanded Saatswei’ell.

“I’m going geez don’t get your gown in a bunch!”

Chapter 3: Balls of Light

Marie stepped on the platform; it measured 30 feet in diameter. From what Marie observed there were no windows; the room was very spacious. She looked where she last stood; directly above the black pad there was a 9 foot circular pad 25 feet off the floor. Facing it on the opposite side of the room was an identical pad hanging above the door. As Marie approached the center Saatswei’ell grew impatient with each step she took.

“You’re taking too long, the room is just vacant.” He said flatly.

“What’s up with the plates on the walls?” Marie was just within grabbing distance when Saatswei’ell bended down to brace her shoulders. Her eyes lit up and then she grabbed his wrists.

“Hey what are you doing?!”

“You are taking too long!”

“Be careful Saat if you scare her too much she might have a burn out!” Aaksaun cautioned.

“But she’s taking too long!”

“You’re hurting my shoulders man!” Saatswei’ell loosened his grip; next he placed his hands under Marie’s arms and carried her to the center in three steps. “I not a child you know.” Marie said put off by his attitude.

“Stand here like this, face this direction and don’t move… please.” Saatswei’ell commanded breathlessly. She did exactly that, careful trying not to set him off again.

“Hey one more question before…” “What is it?” Marie was caught off guard by Saatswei’ell’s rudeness. “I was just wondering, where am I?”

Aaksaun decided to take over answering the questions “You prepare the orbs, I’ll handle this.” Saatswei’ell exhaled, agreed and walked over to the wall on Marie’s left. Aaksaun looked back towards Marie, as soon as Saatswei’ell touched the wall a gold colored oval appeared, along with foreign symbols and a force field initiated, instantly separating Marie from the three.

“You’re on Gam Neqhe; you would call it New Taksa. We are Takzens.”

“You’re Texans?”

“No, no, no Takzens. Ha, ha, ha I’ve heard of your Texans, they seem to be straight forward people. We’re like this as well.”

“Oh so how does this work?”

“Well, all you have to do is stand in the center of the platform and let the orbs take care of the rest.”

“Oh ok, that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“No its not, alright the procedure is about to start so you better keep still.”

Saatswei’ell was saddened by the fact that Aaksaun could communicate so well with the alien. Mcen was right; she doesn’t look that much different from the females of his people. She may have been shorter and much darker but she was attractive, even though she was afraid. Saatswei’ell wanted to console her somehow. He called up two light orbs and two dark orbs. On Marie’s left, a dome popped up from under the floor. It had a circle printed on it. The same happened on her right except the sign was a solid dot.

“The hollow one stands for negative and the full one for positive.” Aaksaun exclaimed further

“They’re for stirring up your life force.”

The domes looked to be the size of the ones typically seen at buffets. They opened, the dot had two white orbs emerge and hover just a couple of feet above the already closed dome. Dark red orbs emerged opposite mimicking the same action. Saatswei’ell put a finger on each of the top dots; each dot represents an orb in the display, to draw closer to Marie, both were 7” in diameter and a foot from the shoulders. He tapped the white dot and the white orb let out a light ping, next he tapped on the red dot and the red orb let out a deep ping, then touched a symbol which looked like two dots orbiting in opposite directions. Suddenly the red orb moved to the front, then the white orb maneuvered itself a foot behind the red one. After this the orbs started to orbit around Marie; the white moving clockwise and the red moving counter clockwise. They moved faster and faster. Marie was starting to feel something inside. At first she felt the tug again but in her heart this time.

“Remember, just stay still, relax and be willing to open up.”

Aaksaun warned for the final time, as the procedure continued Marie felt mixed emotions swelling inside like a well beginning to overflow. Then two became strong; she felt enraged and euphoric. The power flowing through her was a new sensation; Marie was never this excited before, never in her life. During one point she became afraid and started to fight the power the orbs were stirring inside her. Saatswei’ell was able to see this on the display when a red oval circled Marie’s chest.

“Make it stop!” she protested.

“Aaksaun settle her down, she’s trying to fight it!”

“Oh no, Marie please we must continue.”

“I don’t like what I’m feeling, shut it down now.”

“We don’t want to restart this, it’s not good! Just keep your eyes on me!”

“Okay.” Marie’s body quivered a little. Saatswei’ell spoke

“Emotion and power are closely connected; it’s hard to go around it. So brace yourself because I’m going to have to work on you just a little longer.”

“Okay.” Marie acknowledged but she felt as though she wanted to cry. Aaksaun had an idea,

“Marie, it would help if you thought of something you love; something to live for.” Marie closed her eyes; images appeared rapidly, then whole moments until her mind stopped on an image which she kept to herself for a long time. When her eyes opened, rays of light emitted from them.

“Saat its working!” Aaksaun said his eyes wide with surprise.

“Keep your eyes on her.” Saatswei’ell commanded, the red oval disappeared but he wasn’t going to settle down until it was all over. Suddenly her skin gave a soft glow.

“She’s starting to glow!” Aaksaun advised

“We’re nearing her limit Saat.”

“I see it.”

“Well has she leveled?!”

“I don’t know yet!” Saatswei’ell rolled his eyes annoyed by the question.

“Stop, that’s enough.” Marie whispered as she was starting to feel overwhelmed by the orbs.

“Saat I think she’s starting to burn.” Reluctantly Saatswei’ell stopped, though he was curious to see how much further the alien could have went but he too saw that Marie had plateaued and he marked it as her maximum limit.

“Now I am going to settle your energy down, please stay still.”

“It’s about all I can do.”

Saatswei’ell touched the light orb dome symbol on the screen which in turn called for the light orbs to return to their container; next he tapped a foreign looking symbol that commanded the second dark orb to move behind Marie. The first orb motioned to the front, Saatswei’ell then pressed another symbol. The dark orbs moved at a moderate speed; in time their slow zaps returned her to a docile state of being. She finally felt relaxed. Saatswei’ell went on to conjure up a purple orb, after the dark orbs returned to their containers and had it to hover right in front of Marie’s chest. At this point she was unaware of her new outfit, a gown? The shock of her new environment took all of her attention. The purple orb had a clear shell with a smoky purplish interior; when Saatswei’ell touched a symbol resembling a small line with a dot in the middle the orb produced a sucking motion, the motion was easily seen by the direction of the smoke. There was an opening facing the circle on her gown that emitted a glow. When the glow was bright enough it shot a purple ray that spread throughout the band, Marie sensed something controlling wave after wave inside her. The orb returned to its container and the shield dropped.

Chapter 4: The Test

“By the way, what we’re wearing isn’t a gown, but a long coat. It’s the same as what you’re wearing.” Marie looked down; she understood when she saw a line drawn down the middle of her coat. She disrobed then observed a collarless linen drape. The fabric shimmered, it felt soft yet it had good tension.

“It’s lovely.” Marie adored the fabric and was about to question the material until Saatswei’ell interrupted and went straight to business,

“Excuse me but there are still a few things you must bear in mind.”

“What?”

“Well first the band on your shirt; the band color will usually stay purple unless you start to become emotional or start fighting it. It is there to keep your life force from going out of control. The band will glow brighter if it recognizes stress or a force buildup of any kind. Second the light emanating through the ring in the center of the band shows us that you’re alive and it normally glows yellow. If it goes grey then you’re in danger as in sick or near death, black then you’re dead.”

“So purple control, grey danger and black death.”

“Exactly.”

Aaksaun approached Marie; he took her coat and assisted helping her put it back on. He added “Those with great control are allowed at appointed times to take off the band. However in order to be allowed such privilege one must take a test.”

“Everyone takes it and so must you.” Saatswei’ell added.

“That’s what I was getting to.”

“Alright, what’s the test?” Saatswei’ell filled her in

“You will be taken to a chamber, given random tests, there are 2 in all: physical and mental. The former tests your strength, endurance and flexibility; while the latter tests your intelligence, patience, love and wisdom. It is best that you take this time to rest, this room will double as your personal chamber.”

Aaksaun started to object but Saatswei’ell looked in his direction then raised an eyebrow. His friend hushed immediately but pursed his lips together indicating that the matter will resume at a later time.

“So do I get a bed or even a lounge chair?” Saatswei’ell turned and looked at Marie thoughtfully, he forgot that there structures were similar, but he wondered how similar?

“Ok, come with us but whatever you do don’t touch a thing, don’t attract anyone’s attention neither will you speak to a soul. Do you understand?”

“Yeah I got it.” She answer with a slight hostile tone, Saatswei’ell became aware of how his attitude was making an impression.

“You must understand it’s not every day that we pull outsiders into our society. When I first pulled your chord, I assumed you were already dead.” Aaksaun’s jaw dropped when he heard his apologetic attempt. He became horrified when his friend went further with his explanation.

“You see I perform tests on dead subjects, normally when a being is deceased their life force remains dormant for a while so I take it right then and there, temporarily of course and usually in a situation when no one will be concerned about their disappearance for a while.”

“How long do you keep them?” Marie asked her stomach churning like she had a bad case of motion sickness.

“Well usually no more than twenty four of your earth hours. I just see if a spiritual body is able to live in this dimension as well as the last one, but seeing you here I think changes that now. I have tried every way possible but now I see it.” Both Aaksaun and Marie gave Saatswei’ell a very grave look. Saatswei’ell will need to learn how to reword his explanations if he intends to get his point across and with no hostility from the listener.

“We have to shed away our old selves. We cannot exist on this plane with that husk of flesh holding us back that was the old way the lowest level of being; I guess it is the end of this experiment. I will make the final notes to the grand head and shut it down.”

“Well it’s about time! Anyone could have told you that certain changes are always expected when making a transformation!”

“Well I had to see it for myself you Usuin!” Marie jumped when she heard Aaksaun raise his voice but she decided to take cover when the two started to fight. Aaksaun came back with

“I’m not as sodd munnas as you are, always making an experiment with everything!”

“Hdim siz, you know it takes time for me to settle in.”

“About how long hdinc, a thousand years?!”

“You take that back dunnda pen!”

Fists started flying, the sound of the impact was hard to ignore. Even their bands started to glow! Aaksaun is only an inch shorter than Saatswei’ell but is in better shape because he usually enjoyed playing more than his friend. Because Saatswei’ell forced himself to become a hermit, in another experiment, he became accustomed to activities which involved two or less people. Still he did put up a decent fight; he realized however that he needed to get out more, not only to socialize but to find a place where he could train to be prepared for the next encounter and maybe win against his friend. At one point Saatswei’ell grabbed the back of Aaksaun’s knee, squeezing it hoping he would go on one knee but his friend had other plans. Aaksaun kicked his leg away, brought his friend to stand then knee him in the gut twice! All Saatswei’ell could manage in retaliation was a good slap in the face. Mcen hovered between the two as they tried attempting another brawl session.

“Maybe this can be continued another time, if you two wish for Marie to partake in the test.”

“When is the next major series?” Saatswei’ell snapped back to reality quickly, he forgot about their new arrival.

“Next series will start in 4 ciov.”

“Oh no, we won’t be able to do it this time!”

“Why not?” Marie emerged from her hiding place concerned.

“Everyone registers with their badge.” Aaksaun explained further by pointing to his registered badge. It was a diamond shape gold piece attached to the collar of his shirt.

“We’ll have to forge one for her.”

“This will be when you take her to see the Grand Head of course.” Aaksaun added but Saatswei’ell panicked.

“No he must not know of this!”

“Saat this will go a lot smoother if you just report it. Accidents are one thing but not reporting them can make matters worse. You must take responsibility for this. Don’t this be another catastrophe, you’ve done so well so far.”

“But reporting this will…”

“Will what? Damage an already marred reputation?”

Saatswei’ell stood head hung in great shame. He remembered many times before when he got in trouble. It took time to fix the mess he started; at least he offered to fix them. But now this, this was another mistake or he thought so. He looked up and thought hard for a moment.

“Alright, you take her to the Grand Head and I’ll clean up here.”

“Oh no you don’t, first step in fixing a problem is to admit you’re the one who did it.”

“But I might have…” Aaksaun cut him off quickly.

“You take her to the Grand Head and I’ll retrieve her orb and shut everything else down.”

“Ok.”

Chapter 5: A Detour/ Aaksaun’s Mistake!

Saatswei’ell took Marie’s hand and rushed down the hallway. Due to their height differences, he being 6’8” and she being 5’7,” Saatswei’ell nearly jerked Marie off her feet! Thankfully they stopped at an intersection. Each of the three ramps was angled differently; one lead to a few stories above in the adjacent dome, one lead to ground level and one parallel to the same dome.

“If I remember correctly the high ramp leads to the council.”

The levels in the adjacent dome, known to the inhabitants as the Place of Gathering, were simply planned; It was simply town hall and the coliseum all in one, the first level is the main entrance and has many other portals to nearby domes, there are many balconies with stools, the second ramp leads to mid-dome from there you could move up and down as you like, the third ramp lead to the Chamber of Elders, there the elders serve as judges in games and important meetings. Their seats are in a circle; there are twenty-one in all and they encompass the entire top balcony. Saatswei’ell decides to take the ramp leading to ground level; he manages to avoid a lot of people in the process and makes it to a chamber not often used. They wait for a time and when everyone leaves Saatswei’ell takes Marie to the room. The interior was that of a sound booth and it was the size of a small warehouse! From the floor to the ceiling measured 100ft but this room too is a dome in itself. Saatswei’ell decides to hook his badge onto Marie’s collar. She starts to become worried

“Won’t someone notice what we’re doing or that the room is being occupied while everyone is gone?”

“I have set my name in the slot near the entrance, everyone knows that I usually like to work alone, it’ll be alright.”

Saat assured her but Marie still had butterflies in her stomach. When he finished with the pin Saat walked into a dark room and stood a few feet from the window, took off his top primary shirt, which has the control band and without it his energy will be under his complete control, and then closed his eyes. He brought his forearms up 90 degrees, opened his hands as though he held a ball and opened his eyes. They glowed! Marie’s eyes went from ogling those nice arms straight to the eyes, which held her in a trance. It’s not often that she finds herself staring into beautiful luminous green and purple eyes. The glow was soft but grew brighter every moment. Saat was rusty; it had been years since he last entered the control room. It took a moment for him to remember how to call the control ball. He found Marie directly in front of the window gazing into his eyes and Saat couldn’t help but do the same. Marie’s dark brown eyes were lovely in any degree of lighting, as he observed in the short time she has entered his world. Eyes like a dove and lovely mahogany skin to match. Suddenly a ball of light developed between his hands then the room lit up. Marie maintained eye contact and Saat continued to stare then it hit him.

“Marie you will need to take off your gown and approach the center. Then the test will begin.”

A moment passed before he realized his eyes was the only thing holding her attention, so his eyes dimmed by half and once again called her to attention.

            Aaksaun hurries to the Chamber of Observation to shut down the newly installed retrieval section made, at Saatswei’ell’s request, for taking temporarily dormant life forces. It was a simple design; there was a sphere in the center of the main experimentation room, if an orb was needed for retrival a short cord would be disconnected from an assigned galactic model. The galactic model looks very much like the galaxy it is assigned to but only in scale. The models typically range about ten feet in diameter. The cord bundle however hovers in the epicenter of the model. Whenever an event occurs, a cord will light up, rise out of the bundle then drift to the life form in the model it is assigned to monitor. Once the subject is identified, two nine foot by four foot cylindrical objects break apart to attach themselves to the plates on the walls. They work together to produce imagery, active or still. When an orb is chosen for retrieval the cord is placed on the sphere, next the button marked single is pressed, and then the sphere uses some energy to call and retrieve the orb. The process is pretty automatic; no one has to lift a finger to perform any task. The cord could simply point out the subject, float to the sphere and let the sphere call the orb but if someone doesn’t specify how many orbs to retrieve, the sphere will continue working until every last one is back. Aaksaun viewed the last active image of Marie being struck by the lightning bolt; he decided to remove the cord with the orb attached to it from the sphere. As he returned to the control board he spotted a new cord floating to the sphere, he grabbed the cord to put it back in the galactic model. He returned to the board to shut down all the systems, unfortunately as Aaksaun was leaving he just brushed the multiple retrieval button which started all the systems back up. The cord floated to the sphere along with a few extra cords that were ready to be received. They settled onto the sphere and began calling in there respected orbs.

Saatswei’ell was observing Marie’s eyes. They were pretty and had gentleness to them. He called Marie with a little more force this time and she finally snapped out of the trance.

“What man, what is it?” She said a little disgruntled.

“You must stand in the center in order for the test to begin.” Saatswei’ell was in a hurry because he didn’t want the people to see the alien. Marie walked over to the center in a rather casual fashion, from what Saatswei’ell observed and it irritated him to see her not take this seriously.

“Marie, what is taking so long?” He asked flatly.

“I just noticed that I’m not as tired here as I was back on Earth. I mean I just got finished jogging, I thought I would be feeling sore.” She explained. Saatswei’ell reassured her

“No your body in this world does not obey the rules of the previous world, so you would not feel exhaustion.”

“Yeah I see or I feel it in this case.”

“Right so hurry up please to the center!”

Marie sucked her teeth “Don’t rush me, I’ll get there.”

Then Saatswei’ell threatened “Don’t make me carry you again!”

Marie rolled her eyes and picked up the pace somewhat, which made Saatswei’ell restless. Finally she made it to the center and not a moment too soon, a couple of familiar bodies approached the doorway but paused. Saatswei’ell had to assume whoever they were had noticed the sign which stated: This room is being occupied by Saatswei’ell and will be available in 2 ciov.

Yandan, who had been looking forward to this day to test himself again, was disappointed to see his slot was overridden by none other than Saatswei’ell, who is renowned for invading other people’s time to secure his own. Over the millennia he has learned, among other lessons, to be considerate of others. Even Bialai was fed up with Saatswei’ell stepping in on everyone else’s time. She decided it was time to for him to step in line, Bialai placed her hand below the sign to open communication to the control room;

“Saatswei’ell if you don’t step out of this room so help me I’ll carry you out myself!”

Saatswei’ell wasn’t about to test Bialai, but Marie had already started her first test and he didn’t want to stop now.

“If you’ll give me just half a ciov, I’ll be out in no time!”

Marie’s body began levitating; lying horizontally, then she began to spin,

“So it appears she is taking the mental test.”

Yandan was tired of waiting but hearing Saatswei’ells last comment caught his attention.

“Wait Bi, keep your hand on the spot, I want to hear this. Tell him to go ahead.”

Bialai exasperated gave Saatswei’ell the go ahead,

“Very well you have your half ciov but not a moment more!”

Saatswei’ell glanced at the door then back to Marie who began moving as if she were in a gyroscope.

“You’re doing fine Marie; just don’t think too hard about it.”

“Marie. That sounds like a strange name.” Yandan whispered.

Bialai was about to add a comment but paused when Saatswei’ell spoke up again.

“Do you suppose this is a new experiment of his?” She asked instead.

“Who knows what he is up to this time.” Yandan replied.

Chapter 6: Extension Recall/The First Ten, Then The Rest!

Meanwhile in the Chamber of Observation, the sphere is hard at work collecting the first set of orbs from the Milky Way galaxy. There were just ten to start with, soon as the shocked travelers transferred to another room, the cords moved to a container reserved for expired cords. The next set moved promptly towards the sphere. The Chamber of Light and Darkness is a good size room with a maximum capacity of about 120, if one had to fill it to the brim that is and it would be the case this time for the chamber. First three, then two, next one, then one again and then the last three finally emerged from the black pad. Each was stunned from the whole relocation process.

A soldier stepped out from amongst the group, inspecting the place. Aside from his training in the Army, he is usually a pretty cool guy to begin with but then there are times when his patience is really tested, this is one of those times. First he just stood there scrutinizing the walls, the black pad, the domes on the floor and a huge cylindrical object hanging from the ceiling.

“What the hell!”

It was a strange looking object; there were oversized inscriptions on the sides. Staff Sargent Jordan Capers was already stunned with disbelief from the trip but rematerializing in the chamber confirmed it all. He was abducted! Back in the group a teenager, Aaron Cohen, began exploring his new surrounding; it’s what he did best, wondering around looking at things, getting his hand on new electronic articles. Aaron wondered into the adjacent room, head cocked a little to the left. He was confused,

“Ottomans?”

They were seats varying in size and height, but with the same cylindrical shape. Other than that the control room was vacant. There was a small commotion near the black pad that caught his attention; suddenly he noticed the Staff Sargent eyeballing the group and then himself. Aaron shrugged his shoulders and walks towards the wall. The soldier, who is now annoyed by the nonchalant attitude of the young man, walks over to calm the crowd and see what is causing a lady, in her late teens, to scream bloody murder.

“Ma’am what’s wrong?!”

The young lady looked up hysterical and complaining about being on the phone with a guy she could care less about. While Jordan attempts calming her down, Aaron leans against the wall of the control room and suddenly the force field activates. There was a soft hue of orange separating Aaron from the rest of the group. He jumped in shock but his hand lightly brushed the symbol that represented the huge cylindrical object. The group didn’t really pay attention to what was going on around them until the young lady looked up panicking,

“Oh God, what is that?!”

Everyone stood either stunned or ready to cause a commotion when the huge cylindrical object detached from the ceiling and slowly lowered itself to hover down to where the plates on the walls were located. Next it split itself in two halves, looking like a couple of gigantic hockey pucks, maneuvered to align themselves to the plates then attached without making so much as a sound. The interior of the each of the “Pucks” differed in color; the puck closest to the group had a colorful bowl-like interior while the puck opposite had a pitted silver dome-like interior. The lights in the room dimmed until it was black and the young lady gave a very vocal sound of panic. Jordan worked on getting her undivided attention when he noticed the force field and Aaron on the other side. Aaron tried to defend himself,

“Sorry but all I did was lean against the…” he looked toward the general direction and discovered a big orange oval with foreign hieroglyphs occupying mainly the center.

“Can you shut this down?” Jordan inquired.

“I didn’t do anything?”

A couple of people walked over to lend a hand any way they could. While they were busy looking at the control panel through the field, Jordan and the others helped Sarah, the young lady who seemed to be easily terrified to her feet, bringing her to where the others stood. The room was still dark, even though the force field casts some level of illumination, the people had to feel their way in the dark and making sure they didn’t trip. On the other side Aaron was staring at the control panel confused by all the new symbols; it seemed like he hit the jack pot for puzzles, only this had the power to alert the Takzens of their location, heal and kill. Some advised to just

“Press the top white button,” others protested suggesting not touching “A thing!”

The top white button looked awfully tempting but there was a symbol below that which flashed slowly; there two vertical bars with an oval in the middle. Out of impulse he pressed it, almost instantly a beam appeared. A face faded into view; where Aaron stood, a full body image appeared beside the control panel. The very life-like image of a man that looked down upon the frightened group and the stunned young man who summoned him, he seem a little agitated.

“I am Laand’ell, who are you?” The human-like alien demanded.

Aaron weakly gave his response, “Um, my name is Aaron.”

Jordan was a little shocked to see an alien, but he had to keep in mind that they were all abducted. He had to get the aliens attention in order to control the situation,

“Sir, excuse me.”

The shield had already dropped when Aaron touched the communication symbol and now there were two images: one well developed hologram nearby Aaron while the other was a face created by the beam from the two cylindrical bejeweled pucks. While the hologram remained facing Aaron, the group turned, startled by the big face.

“Ah, I see there are more uninvited guests. Pardon, I didn’t notice anyone was there. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Laand’ell.” Laand’ell had a straight face, not a crease from what Jordan could see and that made it hard to read emotions.

“Before you ask anything I have one question for the one by the control board; how did you know to activate the control panel because typically it’s locked out from unauthorized personnel?”

Jordan had to think fast

“Excuse me Mr. Landing but I think the better question is ‘Why did you bring us here?’”

Laand’ell looked at him then back to Aaron, this was starting to really graze his nerves. This time he tried with a little more authority

“Mr. Landing, why did you bring us here?”

“I didn’t bring you here, you appeared here.” Laand’ell replied, convinced that Aaron was incapable of answering his questions.

The alien turned to approach the group. Sarah squeaked threats which a couple of people backed her up while the rest forced them to shut up and let Jordan take over. The 6’10” giant pretty much towered over everyone in the room; his eyes were gray with blue streaks and his hair was black.

He saw how frightened the group became but then a thought came to him,

“Why didn’t I think of this before?” The expression on his face changed from dull aggravation to relief. Laand’ell turned on his heel and walked toward the wall, his image disappeared. Very little time passed while Jordan led Aaron back into the group; they huddled together making plans. Unbeknownst to them, the door had already opened and Laand’ell was half way across the platform when Sarah squealed in terror.

“Oh my God there he is again!”

The group had only seconds to react; Jordan saw he was reaching for Aaron so he dove and brought the teenager with him to the floor.  Next Laand’ell thought of lassoing the group, which was more efficient than fight a small mob. He went to activate the control panel and called up two red orbs; they revolved around the group and drained their energy pretty quickly. On his second attempt Laand’ell was able to put his hand on Aaron’s head; Jordan grabbed his arm trying to remove him but then his consciousness was pulled into the mind touch.

He found himself standing behind Laand’ell and Aaron as the two were staring at two different screens. The two were exchanging memories from Jordan observed. Laand’ell, standing to the right of Aaron, looked back at the soldier.

“Oh, you’re here.” He said sounding disappointed.

“Landing…”

“My name is Laand’ell.”

“Whatever, I don’t care. What I want to know is why you brought us here?”

Laand’ell inhaled deeply, “I didn’t do this but I have a good idea of who did.”

When Laand’ell lifted his hand there were more people in the room, much more. He turned the orbs off,

“This is getting out of control.” He touched another symbol, this time the communication pucks displayed a new face.

“Yes Laand’ell, how may I help you?”

“Grand head Ree’Oaal, we have a great problem!”

Chapter 7: Decoration/Discovery

Half an hour later Saatswei’ell stopped the test then instructed Marie to hide in a room adjacent to the testing chamber; meanwhile Yandan and Bialai stood ready to knock down the door. The door rolls open right on time with Saatswei’ell standing to exit. He wears a straight face for Bialai because of her sensitivity to energy fluctuations, but even if she wasn’t paying any attention to energy levels, reading Saatswei’ell’s face is easy. Whenever there is a situation, he often produces a barely noticeable tick on his bottom right eye lid. It was there when he abruptly walked out of the room, hardly acknowledging their presence.

“Buz Usuin!” Yandan yelled down the hall.

Marie waited in the room, thumbs twiddling together. The room seemed a little livelier than any she has known; she looked at the walls and there were unique collections of art, Takzen art. They weren’t paintings but novel sculptures that reached out to catch her attention; at least for the moment. When Marie entered the room, all she saw were half spheres on the walls; twelve in all and all the rooms she observed seem to be dome shaped. She sat down, then they started taking shape and soon the silvery bowls on the walls started changing color. Each wall section had a theme, depicting something from a certain period in Takzen history but as if sensitive to the newcomer’s awareness, the half spheres stopped, turned their art back into putty but sat most of their mass on the seats nearby Marie’s. It was as if the masses were reading her life force to know what she would like; the half spheres were intelligent pieces of art but Marie was a challenge because she isn’t Takzen, however the half spheres tried and came up with rough estimations of what Marie liked. It was neat to make a man-sized bird of paradise sitting there flapping wings and fluffing feathers. It didn’t make a sound but it did try to fly, downsizing immediately to compensate, it even began to change colors resembling that bird even more. The other blobs decided to model after something in Marie’s past and they all formed into a dog, a car, a statue, a horse, but then the last seven models started hitting close to home with her parents, the moment she saw her body lying on the ground with a cord sticking out of her chest, hang gliding, cruising with family, her first kiss, a man and hang gliding once again. Why hang gliding again? It was a recent memory that she felt the most passion and surge in energy. It was one of the best times in her life.

Marie’s chest began to glow; even more she began to glow! She saw a second model of the man, it was her boyfriend. The well sculpted, mono colored likeness stirred up dormant emotions, until now she focused on career and just simple dates, nothing deep. Her boyfriend, however, thought differently and considered marriage but Marie got cold feet whenever he pushed the subject. After three years, it was about time either way.

Suddenly the majority of the models turned into blobs again except the boyfriend model; the rest had made an intricate gazebo roof. The man finally took color as well as the gazebo. It was a still reenactment of a memory; a very recent memory! Marie didn’t realize that the model holding her hand neither was she aware of a Takzen in the room until the lady made a comment:

“Wow this is very different!”

Marie broke from her trance to find a strange woman standing at the entrance. They both stared at each other wide eyed. The models went back to being half-spheres on the wall; the lady looked stunned to find that Marie wasn’t a part of the models.

“Who are you?!” the lady demanded.

“Um, hey my name is Marie and I was pulled from my body for no reason so Sat White Elk or whatever his name is put me in here. He thought I would be safe in here.”

The lady shook her head; she was more confused than curious until she finally understood the name.

“Sat White what… oh you mean Saatswei’ell?” she asked exhausted by the discovery.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll explain everything when he comes.”

“Yes I can’t wait to hear this. I’m sorry Marie, my name is Bialai.”

While the two were moving passed each other’s surprise appearance, Saatswei’ell was making his way toward the room; his decision to take the long route will be his worst mistake; his ability to forget that he disregards everyone and everything in his surroundings is his worst mistake. Aaksaun will have to try bringing him back out to connect with the people again. As he approached the entrance a thought passed through his mind; it was pleasant and warm, he smirked and it was the first time in decades that he actually relaxed in a public area, though no one was around to see it until he entered the sphere room holding the ladies. Saatswei’ell’s smirk disappeared, however Bialai turned her head just in time to catch a whisper of that crack before it faded completely. She had to remember that moment to bring it out in the sphere room again because she couldn’t believe she saw a glimpse of a smile. Bialai couldn’t recall a time when she saw any other emotion on his face; what look more interesting were the deep fluctuations in his energy guard. The shifts were so strong that the ladies could feel it where they were sitting! Of all the people that had to discover Marie it was Bialai. At that moment he wondered, like the times before, if fate had an issue against him and was teaching him the hard way.

Saatswei’ell stood in the doorway a moment longer, contemplating his next action but his mind was drawing up nothing but one conclusion. Marie, however, sat a little nervous from the two staring at each other for so long; she felt compelled to say something and decided to just greet Saatswei’ell, but as soon as Marie opened her mouth Bialai opened hers and Saatswei’ell rushed to be the first one to break the ice:

“I’m sorry I should have told you all sooner.” Bialai looked taken aback by the apology.

“What?”

Could she be hearing right? Either way she had to get her bearing and stay ahead of Saatswei’ell. There were times when he worked his power through his words; by instinct or some conscious effort he has the ability to catch the attention of as well as stir the power within others and only those with as much experience and power as him have been able to resist such charm.

Marie could see the power, however, only in a fluid translucent outline. She scrutinized the effect and observed it in Bialai just as well. This was interesting.

“It’s alright Saatswei’ell; I was just stepping in here to prepare to for Yandan’s session.”

“Oh no Bialai, I wouldn’t dare get in your way, besides we were just leaving.” Not only could Marie see the fluctuations but the force was hard to ignore and she found herself fighting to breathe.

Then as if they could sense Marie’s struggle, both Saatswei’ell and Bialai quickly settled down. Bialai reached out to touch her back but Saatswei’ell grabbed her hand before she made any physical contact. It wasn’t just to deliver extra energy for support; she needed to know how this foreigner came to New Taksa without setting off a few screams. Saatswei’ell knew better than to leave her for too long but his plan isn’t going as expected.

“Bialai, I think your friend; what’s his name?”

 “His name is Yandan, you should know. You were the one who interfered with his work, including today!”

“Oh, so he is the one I’ve been bumping into lately. He seems a little restless.”

“That’s because you are constantly in his way!”

“I’m not the one who’s running into people!”

Marie became tired of the rant; she wanted to get home as soon as possible. Home seemed like a wonderful idea, a beautiful one if she could get the two giants to focus. Bialai wasn’t as tall as Saatswei’ell; the women are usually six inches shorter, but that didn’t dwarf their personality. Bialai, being an excellent example of that showed that she could handle herself as well as the next person.

Chapter 8: Major Burn Out!

Marie stood and shouted at the two, explaining that she wanted to get home when all of a sudden, there was a blast of energy that caused the entire dome to vibrate. Immediately Saatswei’ell turned on his heels and ran for the Room of Light and Darkness, with Marie and Bialai in tow, literally. It was taxing pulling to two ladies against their will towards the explosion. Marie was very worried but Bialai was panicking purely from the knowledge that the blast of energy came from a life force having a burn out.

Each life form has a certain amount of energy within them; in order to burn out the life form must build up a certain amount of energy and close any way to vent it out. While on Earth this may be called blowing your top, where Marie was it is called a burn out. It’s not a pretty sight because the life form causing it goes through a rapid stage of development. Typically the life form will change between colors and suck the energy from its surroundings, next it glows very bright and finally, without any warning, the life form explodes. Usually the life form survives, it’s just exhausted after a burn out, but for anyone standing close enough, it can be dangerous.

There was a crowd already standing outside, inspecting the damage, when the room began to vibrate and once again signaling an oncoming burn out. The crowd vanished as the door exploded as well as the proper entrance itself. The initial blast blew a rugged cave like opening through the wall, relieving the growing crowd inside. Screams, orders shouted from every direction; both Takzens and humans alike were in a scurry, trying to find their own bearings. A few of the burned out life forces floated out of the room, bumping into passersby; it takes a while to regain energy alone so by instinct the life forces wanders to the nearest source of power. Sometime later the life forces stood still with their eyes closed, emanating a soft glow. Marie observed in amazement while Bialai stood with her eyes wide open. She stood still waiting for something; burn outs sometimes come back stronger than the initial blast and Bialai had the misfortune to stand in the way of a powerful secondary wave a while back.

Bialai concentrated on the energy, she could just barely see the fluctuation drawing back into the room when Saatswei’ell grabbed the ladies to move back some more. He backed into a room down the hall when the wave blasted through the chamber. This time the wall was blasted out altogether. There was no dust to wait to settle but a mist of free raw energy hanging in the air. It has a silvery-white color to it. The three waited patiently for a third wave; moments went by but to everyone’s relief nothing happened.

Saatswei’ell instantly teleported to the Chamber of Light and Darkness, hoping to quickly assess what was going on, before anyone else had the chance. Laand’ell stood looking as dull as usual, but there was a hint of exhaustion across his face. Everyone looked exhausted, but Saatswei’ell couldn’t tell because a good number of people were facing everywhere. Some stood while others hovered close to the floor and then there were those that floated in the air! Some just hung in the air but it was chaotic all the same. Best thing to do was stay out of the room if you didn’t know how to maneuver yourself about in there; however the Takzens knew all too well how to dodge as well as catch flyers.

A few skilled Takzens even learned how to withstand a singular blast; others learned how to build up their energy by pulling energy from their surroundings and some went further by pulling energy from complete beings. Those who practiced that art were shunned and forced out. There was a way to block and turn the energy back on them; that was a rare gift.

Chapter 9: Chaos

Laand’ell stood just at the boarder of the control area looking mildly dazed. He barely registered someone rematerializing in front of him, surrounding him with a protective shield. The same was done with everyone else in the room. Flyers and catchers all over the place! Some of the foreigners recovering outside the chamber, from the first blast, decided to disappear. Takzens were trying to help some of the foreigners as well as their own maintain their alternate bodily state because the original form was shapeless. Plus if they go back shapeless then they would have to start from scratch; that would take time.

The first form is easy to switch to and uses less energy than any other. However, it also means that the newcomer would have to learn everything from scratch and depending on the person that takes time. A shapeless energetic mist; it’s the freest form. The energy is raw and free flowing.

It was too late for a couple of life forms; they had shifted into the first form. A few extra Takzens were called to assist them in finding their secondary form quickly. While the majority of the crowd was preoccupied with the recovery, Mcen rose above the crowd in the room to announce

“Be advised that cycle 10 will be entering into the primary as well as secondary room, momentarily. Please prepare for the new test subjects.” Everyone paused to take in what they just heard, a moment later… a small flood of people poured out of the Chamber of Light and Darkness; down the hall came a muffled outcry.

Marie found herself lost in the first room and away from Saatswei’ell. She was looking franticly for him and Bialai when she noticed a small black figure swooping in the air.

“A crow, what’s a crow doing in here?” She said to herself; thinking higher life forms like her were the only types tagged.

Down the hall the screams grew, then died almost immediately. If she had a heart, it would skip a beat at the sudden change. The Takzens were still the tallest beings in the room with the exception of the few humans that matched their height. Marie discovered Saatswei’ells head near the entrance and then moved to get a hold of him. The second she did, he instantly transported to the secondary room where they found a Takzen touching the head of a tiger and many more touching humans and animals. Everyone and everything stood still in a hypnotic daze.

It was frightening to see how much the Takzens could control; so much so that Marie had a fluctuation show on her band. She turned away getting ready to run when Bialai grabbed her. Marie tried to fight back when she grabbed her arm but instead of a tug of war she found herself draining the life out of her. Saatswei’ell looked on surprised and horrified; Bialai was aware of this ability but didn’t expect Marie to catch on at all and grabbed her hand. Instantly Marie’s consciousness was turned inside where she discovered herself standing in a hollowed black space. A moment later a semi shapeless figure was approaching her, with each rushing step the body became familiar. Bialai looked desperate.

“You have to stop holding me!”

“Me?! You’re the one who grabbed first; what were you going to do, control me like the others?!”

Saatswei’ell stood around taking in the entire room. He couldn’t understand what was going on. Ree’oal appeared behind him,

“Thank you Saatswei’ell, I believe we can take it from here.” Saatswei’ell looked confused then asked

“Grand Head, who authorized the Blend on the subjects?” Ree’oal looked past Saatswei’ell, he stayed quiet but he had to ask.

“Did you authorize this?” Saatswei’ell felt insulted,

“You think I would recruit all these beings just to fast forward my experiment?! I was almost finished but wouldn’t collect this much to end it!”

“That may be but what about now? Why is there so many here right now?!” the Grand Head retorted.

All Saatswei’ell could come back with was “I don’t know. I don’t know how they got here. I had everything preset so that this wouldn’t happen.” Saatswei’ell was so shocked by what the accident that a great fluctuation showed in his band; Ree’oal had to focus some energy to bring Saatswei’ell back to his senses.

While Ree’oal was helping Saatswei’ell to focus, he noticed a struggle in the distance. It didn’t look like an average Blend, it looked more like…

“A leaching!”

Slowly Ree’oal rose above the crowd and hovered towards Bialai and Marie. As soon as he let go of the bewildered scientist, he prepared himself to break the bond. Blending can be very stable as long as at least one being is in control. From the looks of the pair, Marie was dominating but only for a short time, now that Bialai felt grounded she started to fight back. Not sure that he wanted to expose Marie to the amount of energy needed to break the bond, he instead took a chance grabbing onto their shoulders and was instantly zapped into the shared consciousness. There was no one around when he first took in the scene, above him, however was a different story. Bolts of lightning flashed through the air. The imaginary environment was lighting up because the blots were Bailai and Marie having a duel; each time their attacks connected the air lit up.

Saatswei’ell wasn’t comfortable with Blends; it always made him feel as though he was voluntarily compromising himself, but he had an idea. He removed his shirt because the process would take serious control of both mind and personal energy to handle the energy of others. As he worked to position himself as best as possible, he noticed the way the three were tied into the Blend. Saatswei’ell placed his left hand on the right side of Marie’s neck, his right hand on the left side of Bialai’s neck and his right foot up the left pant leg of Ree’oal. Inside, the three could feel something engaged in their hold, which stopped the ladies fighting altogether and brought Ree’oal to their attention. Bialai was the first to speak,

“Grand Head Ree’oal, are you the one who’s doing this to us?!” Both the ladies were brought to ground level by the glowing spots on their necks; when Bialai looked up she saw the Grand Head gripping his left foreleg.

“Who’s leaching us?!” she called out once more. Ree’oal looked focused on staying on one knee,

“I don’t know but it feels familiar!”

Outside Saatswei’ell’s eyes were closed, breathing controlled, body glowing and slightly tense from the amount of energy he was taking in. He felt Marie being deprived, when he cracked open his eyes to inspect her, the condition made his heart melt just enough that a jolt escaped and recharged the three; with just a fraction of restoration, Ree’oal and Bialai finally discovered that was Saatswei’ell doing it.

 Marie laid on the floor confused about the whole ordeal; she had just enough power now to maneuver about on the floor. Turning onto her side, she faced the two Takzens debating about how to break out of the Blend, but each idea brought up was turn down. She wondered what Saatswei’ell was up to, but it didn’t take long before she felt another change. Ree’oal and Bialai felt the sudden change as well; Saatswei’ell removed his hands and foot from the trio carefully, making sure to not break the bond just yet. In the stage they’re in, breaking the bond prematurely would cause their bodies to go into shock, reverting back to first form, their life force would stay dormant until they can find a way to refresh themselves. Next Saatswei’ell clasped his hands around the bunch of hands with the most connection; he took a moment to brush a strand of hair back and breathe before his eyes lit up and his body conservatively blazed with great energy.

The sudden rush was bearable at first for the three, even though Marie was starting to shake a little.

“Prepare yourselves, he’s breaking us out!” Ree’oal yelled to the three standing ridged as their surroundings quickly changed from black to white.

Then Saatswei’ell gritted his teeth and powered a massive jolt through the trio that caused them to jump back. Aaksaun appeared just in time to support Marie’s fall as the four looked over at Saatswei’ell who was gently raking the side of his face and neck with the tips of his fingers.

Chapter 10: Order

A great wave of energy made a sweep throughout the entire plain and everyone was renewed by it; a double dose for Saatswei’ell. Instantly he zapped from the auxiliary room to the control room. He stood in shock at the mess of messages scattered on the huge globe. Clumps of rods, indicating huge masses of beings, were scattered all over the globe, the control screen on the panel indicated the next group of recruits were to arrive in one hour. Another screen showed the next available open window in the foundation zone; one month, in roughly thirty days’ time the door way will open once more and this time the Earth may become void of most life living on its surface.

“An hour to reverse it all.” He muttered to himself. Taking a moment to think, Saatswei’ell turned to the control counter to get his baring, once more the control board, which remained blank until a hand ran just above the surface, revealed the button for multiple-retrieval had been activated.

Ree’oal urgently sent a number of Takzens out to search for their ever gone scientist; Bialai walked into the spot where Saatswei’ell last stood and caught a faint signature.

“Grand Head I believe I’ve found him!” Aaksaun looked up in amazement,

“You know how to track?!”

“I’ve been practicing…” She replied. He had no doubt that she was practicing more often in secret. Mcen rose high in the air to give another announcement

“Attention everyone attention.” The echo rang throughout the entire Takzen complex; those gigantic black pucks which hung in the ceiling broke apart to attach themselves to the plates on the walls. Everyone froze in place, preparing for the next batch of bad news.

“The experiment is on stand by and it is now one ciov before the foundation zone alternates its cycle in this section.” Takzens everywhere relaxed, releasing their grips on select individuals.

Marie was concerned for Saatswei’ell, afraid that Bialai and the others were going to hurt him or worse. As Ree’oal focused on Bialai’s new lead, Aaksaun and Marie quietly deliberated how slip out of the room without anyone noticing.

“Hey can’t you just teleport like your friend?”

“There would have to be a diversion first.”

Aaksaun’s eyes glowed then he stared in the direction of the control panel on the wall. A button was activated and the huge pucks which hang in the ceiling separated then shot to the plates on the walls. Everyone’s attention was immediately diverted to the message produced seconds later. Just at that moment Aaksaun and Marie slipped quietly from the area without a soul, much less Bialai, noticing so much as a wave in the air. As the two reappeared in the control room, they found Saatswei’ell standing at the control broad rummaging through the data. He was in a panicked state when looking for a reason why the multiple retrieval protocol was activated.

Marie took a moment to notice that the overall silver tone, which dominated every bit of décor that belonged to the Takzens, was beginning to annoy her. There was nothing to offset it, no accents of any kind except the huge black communication pucks and the globe which changes its looks when showing different worlds.

When Marie focused on the men standing near to control board, they were locked in a blend. Their right hands holding, heads bowed, their lids were cracked just enough to see the eyes glow. A moment later and they looked up and then broke their bond.

“You didn’t feel that?”

Saatswei’ell looked in shock at his friend. Aaksaun looked stunned and distant; disbelief that he had caused such an event to happen. He tried to find the words to save face but he had nothing to say and they were distracted when Mcen appeared from above, dropping to level where the men were standing.

“Putting them back isn’t that hard.” Aaksaun stated breathlessly, Saatswei’ell nodded in agreement, considering the time it would take to round up all the subjects.

“It would be in your best interest to involve Ree’oal in these plans.” Mcen added.

Ree’oal always gave Saatswei’ell a chill whenever he was around; the amount of power, confidence and experience assumed by the Grand Head seemed intimidating. Back on Taksa he was considered a Grand Colonel in the Royal Army.

As soon as the men turned toward Marie’s direction Ree’oal, Bialai and Laand’ell appeared nearby her. Saatswei’ell was still as a statue while trying to find words to speak.

“Think, just think, don’t run” Saatswei’ell said to himself.

Ree’oal made a bee line for him when Aaksaun stepped ahead and said “Ree’oal, it’s not his fault this time! It’s mine, I pressed the button!”

The three new comers were in shock about the news but something had to be done about the test subjects.

“That’s alright because we can send them back.” Saatswei’ell quickly reassured everyone.

Ree’oal seemed just a tad skeptical, “Are you sure you can recover all the test subjects in time, because the clock shows differently?”

“Absolutely, we already have the grand majority waiting in the two rooms; we just have to locate the ones that escaped.”

“You can send them all back at once?”

“Yes!”

“You take care of all the subjects in the rooms while we gather the rest.”

“I'll find the count of how many are exactly missing and let you know.”

For the first time in his life Saatswei'ell felt moderately at ease and important to the Grand Head, this was what he’d waited for.

“Grand Head I can reset directions to take them back to exactly where they were, if you’ll track the ones that left.”

“Sure but do you think you’ll have every single life force back in their appropriate bodies once they return to their world?” Saatswei’ell glanced behind to check to see if there was enough time allowed for the reinitiating phase; to his relief there was just enough.

While Ree’oal was still in the room, planning how to capture the small group of test subjects that escaped, Saatswei’ell quickly jumped in.

“Grand Head I would like to do one more set of tests for the last test subject.” Ree’oal seemed unsure due to the quickly growing time constraint. He reassured the Grand Head that the tests would be done within the time limit.

Quickly Ree’oal called Aaksaun for additional help to have the people allotted into three rooms instead of the two. Aaksaun nodded, immediately transporting to the axillary room. When the rest of the party disappeared, Saatswei’ell rushed over to Marie, standing against the wall, still in a mild state of shock. The interior was clean and dim; her nerves were settling back down after the four vanished, Saatswei’ell didn’t make it any easier hovering over her. Marie fixed her attention to Saatswei’ells eyes, which were glowing but quickly dimmed; once he realized her life force was in good condition. If he had a heart, even more, if he were flesh and blood again, the heartache of letting his final test subject go would have been two fold. There was a connection made while heading toward the testing room. Somewhere along the way after the pause to select a tunnel, their life forces combined at the hand. Saatswei’ell briefly neglected to make a force lock because he was so consumed by his work, overlooking things was easy.

She felt the urge to cry; the situation looked to be out of her control and she was unsure how a sphere would send such a mass of people back in an instant, unaware of its capabilities, even the memory distortion protocol. Saatswei’ell inspected her to see why she was able to do the leaching so quickly. He warred with himself, struggling to reason to let her go. Let go? It wasn’t as if Marie was a prisoner of war, kidnapped and brainwashed, but she was involuntarily taken; she along with millions before were celestial lab rats. What was the purpose? She decided to break the silence,

“Why did you bring me here?” Saatswei’ell nodded gently to the left, considering his what and why of the explanation.

Chapter 11: Exploration

 

As humans and animals alike settled unwillingly in their new holding areas, the Takzens were deciding who would speak with the earthlings. Ree’oal reappeared after moments of debate,

“What are we talking about?” One of the Takzens explained the situation,

“We didn’t know where you were, so we took a vote to see who would speak to them.”

“Alright, I’ll take it from here, everyone else let Laand’ell, Bialai or Aaksaun direct you.”

In a flash they vanished, it was eerily quiet; a quiet plee from the Grand Head, “Please, no more surprises.”

Ree’oal zapped back to the area where the missing group was found. “Hell here he comes again; don’t let him in your head guys!”

A pair of Takzens, guarding the entrance, parted as Ree’oals eyes began to glow. He approached the soldier, “Relax I’m only going to read your life force; I need some questions answered.”

Jordan’s response “You can damn sure try.”

“I’m afraid you don’t understand the foundation zone works in cycles; life has cycles. This open portal will close for a time.” 

“How long will it stay closed?”

“Typically about one month in your time.”

“Just what do you expect us to do in the meantime?!” A man shouted from the audience; thinking he wasn’t detected, he was about to coax the crowd into rebellion until a Takzen appeared above him.

“Marie?”

“Why did you want me dead?”

Saatswei’ells energy was fluctuating, he had to reiterate his previous explanation differently; “I didn’t want you dead, I wanted you dormant.”

“So… you wanted me asleep?”

“Yes, as I observed, whenever a body dies it releases its corporeal hold to its life force. That life force shuts down for a period of time. Typically that is the best time to inspect them…” As his explanation went on, Marie became increasingly irritated. The last thing she needed was to be given the run-around. Everyone needed to know what was going on and who was responsible. Without Saatswei’ells permission she grabbed his hand, quickly blending her life force with his. Ree’oal, on the other hand, remained calm yet he struggled as the human soldier maintained some resistance to the blend.

“What do you want from me?!”

“I’m just curious; it’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to anyone other than my own kind.”

The two stood on the blackest glossiest floor ever with a chocolate and gold horizon in the distance. Light pastels illuminated the air every time Ree’oal came closer to a memory; the soldier quickly deflected it back to the dark façade.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely interested in your world’s armies…” The soldier could tell from the way the alien was searching within him.

“Think about it, what weapon, do your people possess, could damage us here?”

A split second of discouragement was all Ree’oal needed to push through. In the instant he dropped his guard, Jordan was stunned with the hold that Ree’oal had on him, because of the shock delivered to his system and all the Grand Head could see was one memory. The dark landscape came to life with packed dirt on his back, salt air filled his nose; it was so strong he could almost taste it. The midday sun wasn’t hindered by the one or two puffs of clouds as a steady beam warmed the body Ree’oal blended with. He felt just a little parched and dizzy from the fall. He looked up to see his foot rested on the wheel of the gator. He also noticed the tail of an alligator hanging off the back end of the flat bed. To get some feeling back, Ree’oal decided to squirm, shifting his hips left and right, turning to the right to prepare to stand. While on his feet the Grand Head put more power into the hold so that he could take more control. He wanted to see so much, but knowing their portal was drawing to a close, Ree’oal decided his final action would be to pet the gator carcass.

“Such smooth skin for a coarse looking creature!”

Jordan could feel his enthusiasm for the gator as well as the disappointment and how upset he felt when he figured out it was dead. That alligator had put up a good fight even in its death, when he stepped on the base of its tail the twitch was strong enough to cause a slip, this lead to the fall that gave him a mild concussion.

Chapter 12: The Old World

 

Saatswei’ell showed Marie the last moments of his civilization. Clothing lying in an organized mess, the grand majority ascended easily. Fields were littered with garments of all kinds. In his new heavenly body Saatswei’ell saw the spirits leave their home world like the last great spark from a flame. There seemed to have been a change in the planet’s aura because of it; shells of white, pink and yellow encased the silvery sphere. Earth on the other hand was different; shells of varying colors and patches all over the planet.

“I was just testing to see if our life forces could survive elsewhere. I was curious about other places; I’ve never been anywhere else. In fact none of us have ever left our world to visit any other. We were so consumed with settling personal problems that by the time we were finished with most of it we decided to leave everything, could care less about what may have been beyond our worldly borders. It was enough that we fixed our own. I don’t know about the rest of them, my people, but I want to go back just to explore!”

Marie shook her head in disagreement, “So that justifies you spying on us?!”

“I wasn’t spying, I was monitoring and your world didn’t seem to mind when I first started this.”

“When was that?”

“Well…”

“How long?!”

“Roughly 5000 of your Earth years.”

Marie looked at Saatswei’ell in disbelief, five millennia of observation with no objection.

“So y, you thought that we would be okay with it?”

“Your people were ok with it then. Why not now?”

“Have you looked out there lately? The people there now are not the same people from back in the day, in fact if you try to pull that stunt now you’ll get a fight on your hands! People don’t like having their space invaded by strangers, let alone aliens!”

Marie bit back too late, Saatswei’ell approached her with aggression.

Chapter 13: Countdown

A chime rang throughout the dome. Everyone in the main chamber looked up to see a red orb hovering overhead. Mcen was monitoring the clock from the Chamber of Light and Darkness. The orb maintained its position above the crowd since the alert and hasn’t budged; the primary, secondary and tertiary holding rooms, including the main chamber expanded to store the rest of the overflow, which for a good number were already displeased with the arrangement. Many demanded to see whoever was in charge but were deterred with

“Zufa nca adsavh diov pigpavg egs ncad’d zufa dio huzcn.” Most were confused by the strange saying; the Takzens could sense the growing frustration, some could even see the fumes coming from their life forces. Waves, bursts, fluctuations.

“Attention, there is now ten minutes left before the portal closes.”

As soon as Mcen finished it rose further up until hovered just below the oversized pucks. A flock of crows darted through the air trying to understand the room they were contained in; some grew tired of their search and struggled to find a decent place to land. People were growing restless by the second.

Saatswei’ell walked past Marie with her words stewing in his mind. He walked the entire boarder of the room, but the therapy wasn’t helping. He couldn’t think straight with time winding down to the earthling’s departure. Suddenly he stopped, looking at the giant orb resembling Marie’s home planet.

“I just wanted to live elsewhere.”

“It’s not that easy.” Marie replied softly.

“Sometimes we don’t like change; if y’all came to take over, that wouldn’t sit well with us.”

“May I at least have a glimpse of what it is like to live in your world?” He asked. Marie agreed but before they could move Aaksaun appeared looking disturbed.

“Saat, you won’t believe what I just witnessed!”

“What?”

“Ree’oal is doing a masked crossover!”

“What?!”

“He’s attached himself to one of their warriors!”

“What?!” Saatswei’ell and Marie replied simultaneously. Saatswei’ell hurried over to Marie.

“Let me leave a part of me in you.”

“Huh?!”

“Let me crossover into you.”

“Uh uh no!”

“It’s not what you think; all I have to do is touch you!”

“That’s how it starts!”

“That’s how what starts?” inquired a confused Saatswei’ell as Aaksaun stepped in to reassure Marie.

“Marie, he’s right, all he has to do is just put his hands on you, transfer some of his energy to you and that’s it. There is no human interaction.”

Marie looked hesitant. Saatswei’ell eyed the time, “Four minutes left, that’s it I can’t wait for this!” Just as Marie jumped he caught the back of her neck with his right hand and muscled her close. He was unable to blend because she was so defensive, though he could force one but he was thought enough not to break her spirit. So, he tried, attempted to talk to Marie.

“Marie, there’s no telling what my Grand Head will do; if he is going then he may have followers. I don’t know what he’s planning but I don’t want to just stand by.”

Saatswei’ell looked towards the mock Earth orb hovering inches above the floor with a blanket of darts hanging above that Earth. Returning their gaze to each other:

“Please I need your help to fix this. It’s only a piece of me. We can’t survive beyond the foundation zone as spirit only.”

“Two minutes you two! If you’re going to make a decision make it now!” Aaksaun cried anxiously.

“Okay, okay, okay do it now!” Marie agreed and feeling her guard drop, Saatswei’ell gingerly brushed his face against hers then started glowing which, in turn, caused Marie to glow. Like a brilliant spark they out shined everything then died just as quickly. As Marie stood there to adapt to the extra load the rest of the people and wildlife were going through departure protocol. Ree’oal reappeared in the Chamber of Light and Darkness with the soldier but the Grand Head kept him back because of the procedure. Jordan stood there in shock and awe of the event; everything and everyone in each of the holding rooms were bathed in pure light and a high howling sound for a moment, next a ray of blue light enveloped the room except in the control area where Ree’oal and the soldier were; that area was protected, two shields ensured the boundary would not be crossed. As the protocol came to an end, everyone disappeared to their assigned orbs.

Ree’oal escorted Jordan to the black pad; nothing much was said except: “What have you done to me?” Asked the soldier with a lost look on his face.

“Oh, nothing serious but in order for me to return to the zone of bodies I need a catalyst. After reviewing your mind, I believe I have picked a decent candidate.” Ree’oal replied smugly.

“I won’t let you.” The soldier retorted but as soon as he started to resist Ree’oals little spirit zapped the energy out of him, preventing any retaliation. On his knees he stayed, feeling exhausted until the little spirit released its clench. Ree’oal grabbed his chin forcing Jordan to look him in the eyes,

“You will do exactly as I say until I arrive! Now take him.”

“I won’t let you.” Again he retorted, demurely.

Saatswei’ell, Marie and Aaksaun stared in disbelief from what they witnessed on the viewing pucks.

“Oh, I’m afraid you’ll have no choice. Your Earth is alive and as soon as I find one of its spots…never mind, you just do as you’re told.” Ree’oal pushed the soldier onto the black platform where he vanished instantly.

“Mcen the time?”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Good you transport Marie from here.”

“Yes Head.”

Saatswei’ell released Marie and took a step back as Mcen lowered behind her. For a split second Marie panicked.

“Wait what do you want…?” Before she could finish the question Mcen touched her back which transported her back to her orb. The shields were down long enough to allow Marie a moment to observe the orbs that surrounded hers. One in the distance held the soldier, she tried to call to him, screamed even until she finally caught his attention long enough to say: “Hey, hey you have to fight him!” Shields closed simultaneously and the soldier whispered:

“But how?”

Now she was muted but her voice did carry; some people snapped out of their trance and looked over to the woman who seemed to call upwards. At the twentieth second all the orbs shot through the opening in the dome in a cluster shaped like a dart. Instantly they returned to the dimension they knew travelling faster than light towards Earth.

The orbs opened their shields as soon as the cluster zoomed past the sun, giving the unwilling passengers an interesting yet short scenic view of their return. Since Marie was on the outer part of the cluster, she, too, had a good view of multiple waves of sunlight rolling away from the sun.

Saatswei’ell and Aaksaun looked on from the viewing pucks.

“They won’t need our help to return home?” Aaksaun asked.

“No as soon as they clear the foundation zone the holding platform and their orbs will do the rest.” Saatswei’ell assured him.

“What will you do with your experiment now?” Ree’oal asked with a small group behind him, Bialai and Laand’ell included. The scientists turned, somewhat startled by the sudden intrusion.

“Well I’m shutting it down; after five millennia I’ve…excuse me, we’ve finally found a solution to returning to old Taksa.” Saatswei’ell declared. Ree’oal looked a little disappointed, staring downward for a moment.

“Grand Head Ree, is everything alright?” Saatswei’ell asked, surprised by the level of confidence he carried in his voice. Ree’oal recovered quickly, assuring the two that everything was fine and he expected the final report soon. When the group disappeared Saatswei’ell gasped for breath, over whelmed by what he had to say in the final report. His friend always came through in desperate times like that and that situation was no different.

“Haven’t you omitted anything in any official statement in your life, including this one?”

Saatswei’ell thought hard, looked over the room then the control panel, his friend’s question prompted him to recall a few times on old Taksa. There were times when he was unsure that he would leave out certain information, but this event was different, he witnessed a lot and he didn’t know how to lie about it. As Saatswei’ells band fluctuated to different shades of red then flipping to a solid white, signaling his life force has built up an extreme amount of energy and was finally touching the limit of it, Aaksaun shed his long coat to charge up his original form. He was attempting a diversion called a “Drift.” Basically a drift is as it sounds, a spirit body floating through anything, for this drift Aaksaun will agitate his friend by passing his highly charged form through Saatswei’ell. If he does it right he may only have to go half way. It seemed to be the case as his smoky distorted figure approached Saatswei’ell on his right with a distracting combination of light and noise. A few pops of energy and he was out of the danger zone. The apparition formed into Saatswei’ells longtime friend shaking him back to reality.

“Hey just snap out of it! Remember you know this experiment better than even him, he’s only interested in one part for himself.” Aaksaun tried to reassure his friend.

Saatswei’ell looked up and replied “That’s if he doesn’t already know half as much as I do.”

Saying that suddenly jogged a series of memories related to the experiment, with one thing in common: Saatswei’ell has never informed him on how to control your personal orb. He never told Ree’oal about his personal visits to Earth, time and time again. He doesn’t know how to make his own body or start over in a high energy location, but he is a fast learner and there is no question that he may have spied on the study. He and a trusted few.

“Why can’t he just start his life over? Why Earth, what’s so important over there? It’s not even as easy as half the planets I’ve discovered. I just want to check on home; see how those whom we’ve left behind are faring.” With a sympathetic look, Aaksaun escorted Saatswei’ell to the Chamber of Light and Darkness with Mcen in tow. Ree’oal reappeared with his posse in the room of the Ring of Elders.

“I don’t want to return to a ruined world; that place is scarred!”

The majority of the group looked at him with disappointment and confusion.

“But Grand Head, this is what we’ve been waiting for. Our return to old Taksa, this was our intention!” Cried one of the men, Bialai however, defended Ree’oals logic.

“What if we’re tired of home, aren’t you? I left because I was tired of rebuilding my life with nothing. There’s nothing there.”

“Have you looked back in the last thousand years, it’s no longer barren like the old war zone; in fact the old war zone itself is prospering. The seeds of life weren’t completely destroyed! Plants, animals, people, everyone and everything that we have left behind has flourished!” A Takzen shot back; Bialai stood in quiet shock while Ree’oal just looked on, indifferent about the news.

“That sounds nice but I’m not planning to return to that old place. I have plans and it requires a new home, fresh, different. Somewhere I can be appreciated properly. Unlike you soft pieces of stone!”

“How dare you! We’ve appreciated you be making you our Grand Head, your actions back on old Taksa have always been appreciated. If you can’t appreciate the world you’ve abandoned, the bloodline you’ve descended from…” Before the Takzen could finish his words Ree’oal blasted back,

“My bloodline is exactly why I’m doing this! You can keep that old rock you call home! I want more!” The elders stood there amazed but one was impressed and decided to end the argument once and for all.

“Fine, you’ve made your decision but if you find yourself in any distress, any trouble whatsoever then don’t look back, don’t even think to call for help because we were never here to assist you Grand… Grand? I think now is the best time to give you a new title, one that fits your true self.” As the elder made the declaration, Ree’oal eyed him hatefully.

“You shall be known from this moment as Ree’dihn!” The same fate went to the other four supporters including Laand and Bialai.

“This better be worth it.” Bialai threatened. Laand’dihn sympathized more with Ree’dihn because of the bloodline that they descended from could’ve put them in power a long time ago but it still would not have been enough to stop the war. Ree’s bloodline produced some of the best warriors in old Taksa along with Laand’s. Bialai’s family were more deep thinkers while Saatswei’ell came from good hunters, although he became an exception being too impatient.

“Patience Ree, she’ll come around once we reach Earth.” Laand calmly consoled Ree’dihn when the elders vanished.

“It’s not Bialai that makes me concerned, it’s the scientist.” Replied Ree’dihn, focused on a few past events that took place not too long ago.

Saatswei’ell paced back and forth to distract himself while finding the words to put in his final report. His mind was on her the moment she left, which he couldn’t control because a part of him was hitchhiking with her spirit back home. After minutes of struggle he decided to allow Aaksaun to take over.

“It’s too much right now to make this report; I want you and Mcen to sort through all the data. They’re separated into different segments of the experiment. It’s all there, just organize the last segment and you’ll have everything needed to give a graphic demonstration.”

“Saatswei if that is all then why don’t you just finish it right now?”

“Because I can’t focus right now, I’m wondering if she’s ok. Part of me is sitting dormant inside her until she wakes up, then she’ll become unstable until all of me is back together again.”

“What part of you did you give her?”

“Parts, bits and pieces of me. It was at the last moment, I forgot what to give her; I think I gave her some of my memories, my ability to track and… oh no.” Aaksaun gave a look of concern but remained quiet.

“I believe I might have passed on some of my affection for her!” Eyebrows and eyelids flicked up Aaksaun learned the revelation, then he asked…

“Will it have any effect on her natural bearing?” A moment of silence filled the void as Aaksaun waited patiently for a response. Saatswei’ell pondered on the question but gave no indication that his answer would come soon. Having him for a friend has forced Aaksaun to practice patience to a level not known by many.  However his attention shifted when the display changed and the control panel chimed. The display maintained the full Earth model while many pins moved to position themselves on various points of the model. As soon as the pins stopped they started splitting at the top, long enough to make a Y. Mcen returned from the launch room to explain.

“Saatswei’ell, Aaksaun what you’re looking at is a representation of orbs containing more than one life force. One half shows the name of the Takzen that’s sharing it.”

“Aaksaun I’m going to need your help.” Saatswei’ell declared as he approached a pin sitting over the same area as Marie’s.

“Ree’dihn. Ree’dihn? Mcen is there another Ree that might have crossed over?”

“No ell, as of right now Ree had his rank taken away by the Oal council because of his plans and was putting down old Taksa.” Fury boiled through Saatswei’ell; Taksa was his home and he loved it so much, he knew Ree never really cared for the old ways; it wasn’t hard to see the look of disdain, hidden behind his firm features. Ree’oal no longer, his new title made him fair game for anyone with a big enough grudge against him. He was responsible for holding Saatswei’ell back and putting down Aaksaun’s efforts to stop the war.

“Snap out of it Saatswei’ell!” Barked his friend, “We have to figure out how to stop him, we still have to make the report for council of elders. Now what do you want me to do?”

With new found purpose in his life Saatswei’ell approached his friend, “I’m going to teach you how to descend.” Aaksaun stared at his friend in amazement.

Chapter 14: Home

Marie awoke to the sound of murmurs and whispers, mainly in concern for her. For the time that she was away from Earth, her body had shut down. How that translated to the doctors in the hospital, comatose. The lightning bolt obviously shocked her system. Burn patches here and there, mainly along her back giving her skin a strange decoration but it was the strike that caused her to lose consciousness; the bolt locked up her body, preventing Marie from bracing the fall on the rocky parking lot.

“Who are you? What is this…? Where am I?” Her parents were saddened by the discovery of amnesia but still hopeful to see her through her recovery. Her boyfriend was eager to help her remember.

“Hey baby, do you remember me?” For a moment nothing registered but the look in his eyes did seem familiar. Marie stayed quiet while shaking her head no. The hurt look on his face stirred some emotions in her heart which started disturbing Saatswei’ells dormant spirit.

“It’s alright baby doll, mom and dad are here.”

“So am I.” The boyfriend included himself. She observed her parents and the man, claiming to be a love interest, having a stare off.

Father started with “You know you shouldn’t be here, you’re wrong for what you did.”

“I don’t think we should be discussing this here.”

Mother retorted “You think she never speaks to us?!” Something in her mother’s tone snapped Marie’s mind even closer to reality but while her mind fought to retrieve its identity, her dormant passenger was also waking. Fighting to surface and grasp her mind, as well.

“I think you should leave.” Spoke her father in a controlled tone.

“That’s not up to you.” Replied the man in a defiant tone. Marie’s mind began to race, to the point that it began to hurt; panting hard, her mind racing with names Marie hunched over to the left, in the direction of her parents.

“Derek, Devon, Devin, Devin… Devin!” Devin was about to push the help button until he heard her say his name, repeatedly. She focused on his named long enough to recall the dispute. Marie looked at Devin with furrowed brows and surprise when he leaned over to kiss her. She snatched her hand away from his to slap him. Weak as it was.

“How dare you! What are you doing here?!”

“Baby I got here as soon as I heard about the accident.” Marie’s mind went blank; suddenly she heard a familiar voice in her head.

“Devin? Devin, Devin, Devin…” The piece of Saatswei’ells spirit hooked onto her started blending to find the reason why the man troubled her. It finally settled down when it discovered a somewhat recent memory; Marie throwing paper to his face, shouting “How could you?!”

Frustration and clarity rolled through her from the little spirit which fought to defend her.

“Stop!” Marie shouted while bracing her head in her hands.

“He stole from you! He is a betrayer!” Saatswei’ells spirit tried to surface but because he was incomplete he had no choice but to settle down.

“Fine, I’ll go but he needs to leave as well!” As soon as the little spirit backed away Marie laid back down, took a moment to catch her breath then looked towards Devin to say “You know if you really loved me you would’ve let me in on all the plans you had but since she is so much more important to you, you can plan your life away with her.” 

Devin tried to explain “Babe, Marie it’s really not what it looks like. She is just a consultant.”

“It’s exactly what it looked like when I found you with her on my table! Just go, I don’t want to see you anymore.”

Devin sat there in quiet defiance thinking that would change her mind however it was all she could do to hold back the laughter.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Leave before I call security and when you get to my shop I want you to take your stuff.” Marie’s parents remained silent, staring at Devin. As much as Devin tried to save face, all he could say and do in the present situation was suck his teeth, shake his head and walk out the door with the words “You’re stupid” as the last thing he said.

Next Marie asked her mother to inform Charlene to pack all his belongings into a box and leave it at the front desk.

“No better yet, leave it outside the front door. I’m glad you two are here.” For the first time in months Marie could finally breathe easy; a wave of relief spread over her body. Spiritually the relief had rolled over onto Saatswei’ell making it easier to move as well as shoot a wave of energy out of her body. The energy caused Marie’s heart to skip a beat.

“What was that?” She asked inside.

“That is a message to myself.”

“I thought nothing could get through while the foundation zone is closed.”

“True but simple energy can, given that it has a little time to maneuver through the barrier. I’m just letting myself know that all is well…” He paused before adding the last thought.

“And to protect you from Devin.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t trust his spirit; I saw the foundation of his and it’s not strong. He could blow up.”

“We call it acting out.” Marie corrected.

“Whatever it is, he is not stable. We have one month to look for a high energy spot on your planet but if Devin interferes, I won’t be able to help as effectively taking Ree’oal out of here.” Marie allowed his words to stew in her soul until the gentle tension of her father’s grip shifted her attention.

“Baby are you okay? Don’t let a punk like that effect you; men like him come a dime a dozen, you just have to wait on the right one. Learn to wait baby.”

“He must be your father.”

“How can you tell?” Marie asked drolly.

“Well” the little spirit started sarcastically, “not only do you two share similar facial features but the currents of your life force seem strangely similar to his as well. A sure sign that either you two are related or you just think alike. Either way, I like him.” Marie settled down as the doctor stepped in to check on her.

Charleston is a lovely place to be, especially on a warm spring morning. The hospital bed wasn’t the best place to be, as the physician began his routine to inform and inquire, Marie was curious how long she was conscious.

“Pardon me doc but could you tell me what day it is?”

“Ah yes it is Wednesday May 25th, 2014.” Marie’s heart skipped a beat once again, face turning pale at the discovery. She wanted to sit up but because of the two months of being laid up in MUSC her support muscles were a little rusty.

“When can I get out of here?” The patiently explained her obstacles before she could checkout.

“Considering the amount of electric shock you received and how well your body has recovered thus far, you’ll still have a little way to go before you can walk out of here. Marie struggled with all her might to sit up. Arms, back and abs quivered as fought to move.

“Marie what are you doing? Your body is too weak!” Saatswei’ell whispered in concern, he didn’t want to take all of her attention, so he called to her softly while her parents and the doctor tried talking her back down.

“Your body was struck by lightning, you’re a little fried, at least relax you’re going to need their help to recover. I promise to hold back calling myself until you’re back on your feet.” As Saatswei’ell settled into the back of her mind, Marie’s attention automatically switched over to the doctor who tried reasoning for her to lay back down. She agreed, settled herself back down onto the bed.

“I want to start physical therapy immediately doctor.”

The doctor tried to catch his breath, taking a moment to find the words to explain her situation.

“Ma’am ok but so we can get things started I’m Doctor Knight and if you can please state your full name.”

With her eyes closed Marie searched her full name, “My name is Marie Bell Summers.” As Marie began her recovery Saatswei’ells little spirit had just touched to barrier. A simple band of energy, it funneled itself through the cracks. Even when closed the foundation zone will relieve any stress in any section in its barrier by making little cracks in the form of lightning bolts which the band used to shoot straight through the rest of the barrier. As it hovered a moment above the fog, it searched for itself.

Each spirit has its own energy signature, Saatswei’ells was easy and simple considering how complicated his life became lately. The band discovered his life force somewhere outside the domes. Direction is not the most important thing in the zone. Just forward is forward, backward is backward, up is up, down is down, left is left and right is right.

The drill Saatswei’ell was teaching his friend was simple.

“Look the best way to have this done is to put you in an orb because the alternative is a little transport in your first form.” Like a bolt of lightning, the band reached him, instantly merged and the message understood loud and clear.

Chapter 15: Almost Time

 A moment later the floor vibrated, leaving an energetic crack in its wake.

“We’ve never had a crack here before!” Declared Saatswei’ell as he stared in amazement. Cracks are the first evidence that the barrier will open. The shortest duration is usually one month but there were times when it would remain closed for longer periods of time. Luckily this wasn’t the case for Marie; to her relief the little spirit sensed the same brake.

“Hey, I think the barrier is beginning to create a door.”

“Thank God, that’s the best news I’ve heard in about a month!”

“Don’t jump for joy yet, you only have enough energy to stand and take a few baby steps. At this rate my greater self will have to reside in your body until you’re able to head back to Wadmalaw Island.” Marie paused, standing at the entrance of her old room in her favorite purple workout pant and jacket with a white race shirt underneath. Little Saatswei’ell mentioned that island, not only did she have family there but she frequented Cherry Point landing to be alone, to gather her thoughts. She discovered the spot while searching for conch a few years back; a small host of shrimping boats occupied the docks, from one memory the little spirit picked out. In addition to the natural scenery, the little spirit found a spot close to the water’s edge that boasted a decent amount of energy. Marie knew it to be a little beach off to the side. What concerned little Saatswei’ell was the shoreline seemed to be littered with not only pebbles but broken pieces of brick and seashells as well. She felt a troubled feeling in her heart.

“Alright what’s wrong?”

“I’m concerned I mat cut my feet or the rest of my body on that beach!”

“Won’t you have shoes on when you come down?”

“No!” Answered little Saatswei’ell in matter-of-tone that irritated Marie; his answer surprised her none-the-less.

“Why not? What would happen?”

“Oh I can reappear with clothing on, it’s just that I choose not to. I like to experience new worlds in a very fresh way.” Put off, somewhat, by the reason, Marie had to voice her opinion on it.

“Believe me, that’s as fresh as it gets!”

“Hmmm, what was that sweetie?” Marie’s mother called from up the hallway.

“What’s wrong with showing up with clothes on?” She asked.

“I just feel more grounded this way.”

“Wait you said you’ve been here before.”

“Yes but only a handful of times.”

“So there’s no shrine or a temple dedicated to y’all? No ancient place where y’all can just appear and disappear whenever y’all like?” Marie’s light Southern accent was beginning to annoy him.

“No, it wasn’t my intention to leave that kind of impression on them and since when did you start using the word y’all?”

“Since I got back here. Yeah why didn’t my Southern accent kick in when I was up there with y’all?” Marie’s particular accent included a hint of Geechie which kicked whenever she felt at ease or too tired to speak properly. This bothered little Saatswei’ell, although he was fond of different languages, he preferred clear speech than any variation just for the sake of understanding.

“When you’re in the Foundation Zone, you’re in an area that holds all the power and material necessary to create and destroy. That power also, restores certain properties to our life force including energy and language.”

“If what you say is true then why did I hear some of y’all in y’all old language?” Saatswei’ell’s spirit shifted forcing Marie’s heart to skip a beat once again.

“Alright, what now!”

“Is there any way that you can adjust your speech, so I won’t have to adapt?”

“No. you’re just going to have to adapt.”

“This is very different from the last time I was here.”

“Oh calm down, it’s not even that hard. Plus you’re supposed to be this linguist!”

“It takes much longer in the flesh than if we blended            ! Hmph! Since we are semi-blended, I can share some things with you. I wonder how you sound, speaking my native tongue.”

“Look I’m not here ni neqa e pdehh ug… Stop ncen!”

“Ha ha ha, you don’t sound too bad.”

“God help, my soul is being invaded by an idiot!” Marie said aloud, with her father at work, it was mother’s turn to look after her. Hearing Marie’s call for help worried her.

“Baby are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine mom, it’s just a little stress that’s all. I just want to get back on my feet. Saatswei’ell felt remorse for bothering her for the majority of the month. Another week and Marie could’ve been walking in no time but progress slowed because of him; he tried to console her.

“I’m sorry Marie for bothering you, really but very soon some of my people will be coming down and who knows what they have planned. I promise I’ll try not to be so bothersome. It wasn’t my intention to make you worse.”

Her heart was still hard, not a day went by, for roughly a month, that little Saatswei’ell didn’t nitpick at the details of her planet or her life for that matter. All thoughts in her mind were constantly scrutinized, he was there even in her dreams! Marie looked up, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, hearing her mother’s prayers always made her feel better.

“Let me walk over to you without help this time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m tired of the baby steps.”  Little Saatswei’ell called out in concern.

“Marie are you sure?”

“I thought you said you weren’t going to bother me.” Marie pushed herself off to brace both walls. Sweat poured down her chest, back and legs, beads were forming above her eyebrows. Standing alone was taxing, making the first big step would be a kin to walking through sludge. After a few breaths the right leg tensed, trying to propel the left foot; control was finally coming back. Marie looked down concentrating on the finer movements; joy built up in her soul and shot through her smile, her mother’s eyes twinkled with tears. She reached out, her legs not strong enough to support her body independently.

As mother and daughter embraced, Saatswei’ell basked in the peace and joy that was being exchanged. Until Marie nearly broke the silence on her guest.

“Mom, I’m troubled, I feel lost at the moment; wouldn’t know where to pick up where I left off. I just feel loaded.”

“Baby why do you feel that way? You broke up with Devin, been managing your shop well, what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know.”

“Baby you know you are strong, but you have to wait on the Lord.”

“Here we go again.” Marie thought to herself. Though she enjoyed listening to her mother’s pearls of wisdom, the one subject she was hardly fond of was “Love.” Marie was a working girl, she didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, keeping busy just as long as she was able to distract herself from her social life, she wasn’t the best at choosing men. They were either jerks, trying to have a life or suffering from a personal tragedy.

Devin was definitely a jerk. Not long after Marie left the hospital Devin called to make up, but she wasn’t falling for it this time.

“You know I’ve been thinking about you. I want to get back with you.”

“I’m done, honestly you can do whatever you want.”

“I love you.”

“Like hell you do! We’ve been through this before, there’s always some new friend you have that I don’t know about, but I find out through my friends or my family. I’m done with you Devin!”

His name resounded in her mind; it took a moment for Marie but saying those words liberated her. No more of tolerating his nonchalant attitude, being treated like a trophy; pulled from the shelf, polished off the shine then just as quickly shoved back so he can claim another. Marie was through a long time ago, however she never found the courage to brake it off. The moment the recent memory of their brake up resurfaced, little Saatswei’ell copied it then with the skip of another heartbeat, he shot another band. Another report of their progress.

“What’s going on?” Marie asked, sounding a little irked.

“I just sent a progress report; update on the site as well as the completion of your parting, your break up with Devin.”

“What’s that happy tone I hear in your voice?” A brief moment of silence nearly gave him away.

“Now you’ll have more time with me! I, I mean helping me with this invasion.”

“Uh huh.” Fed up with his company, Marie began to pray. At first she whispered and her spirit locked little Saatswei’ell out, then her mother joined in which almost forced him off her body completely.

“Marie wait! You can’t just send me away like that; I need a holder until all of me arrives! If you release me then I’ll be all over the place! Don’t, Stop!” Marie to ignore him while he hung on by a finger; the amount of spiritual energy flying off her was almost more than little Saatswei’ell could handle. While he was trying to reconcile with her, the band had already reached big Saatswei’ell.

“Alright Aaksaun it’s time…”

“It’s time for what?”

“I was still thinking of what to say!”

“Well how was I supposed to know that?”

“Enough, enough!” Cried Saatswei’ell in exasperation. The doorway may have remained cracked but it was temporary. Little Ree noted the same crack as Jordan did his workout routine.

“Well finally!” Ree shouted, causing Jordan to nearly miss count on his 80 rep push-ups.

“What did I tell you about talking while I’m exercising?”

Chapter 16: The unwelcome guest

 This chapter will be a recap on Jordan's recovery.

Chapter 17: The Decent

 They're coming, Marie will help Saatswei'ell and Aaksaun get aquainted with Earth while Jordan struggles to find a way to stop assisting Ree.

Impressum

Texte: The cover photo doesn't belong to me. Just a stand-in until I can create the book cover.
Lektorat: Me, second and third party members. Major editing will be done later. The present title is a working title and will soon change.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.11.2011

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Widmung:
I like to thank my parents, every English teacher, every Art teacher, Ms. Nichols and Ms. Twoie for opening my mind to the world, the universe and beyond.