The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into A Possible Future

 The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into A Possible Future

     As they move forward, Iriisii realizes that the place she was at, was on the opposite side of the world from the events she had taken part in. Yet the north of this landmass was not locked in ice and snow. A little sensing showed the reason was from the ocean current coming from the edge of the southern desert warming the north. There was no smoky fog sitting out on the ocean between the continents.

     Moving on she begins to see changes happening, recording them into her memories, she moves on, somehow these changes have a role to play in her future and she wants to know what they are. When she decides to stop, she sees the land as a ruined mess, the oceans are lifeless and poisoned, changing into a gray sludge. The land itself is dry and powdery, some life is still there but nothing like what she expected.

     She extends herself outward, trying to pick up what is going on elsewhere. When she latches on to a familiar signature not too far away, but not on the surface. It is out in space above the ecliptic plane, and she recognizes the Krang. Hesitantly she eases her senses to see who is there, she really does not want a face-to-face with herself. Any of the others she can explain herself to and for whatever reason, herself is not present.

     "That is the Tar-Ayim Krang, given to me by the last living member of that race. A Prophet among them who foresaw my need. My mates and others are on board. If anyone can tell me what is going on, and whether those events are affecting the Greater Void."

     "What are 'mates'? I have heard you speak of them, your voice carries much more different tones and emotions when you speak of them."

     "I can only assume this is another difference between us, if you have not experienced the meanings behind the words, there will be no frame of reference for an understanding of this. Thus I would ask that you observe, and perhaps someday you will gain understanding."

     "As you say."

     Iriisii guides them toward the Krang, choosing her private quarters to apparate into. Almost instantly an alarm goes off inside the Krang. She draws her blade and steps outside to find the offender. She then finds herself in a pitched battle to defend herself from the guards posted in the hallways. Then the situation grows only worse as she spots Rigmor coming at her with a greatsword in her hands raised for the attack.

     She thinks did I somehow transport into an alternate universe and the thought is quickly driven from her mind as she parries a flurry of strikes, while Rigmor also unleashes perhaps a greater weapon, her voice.

     "Why did you come back here, you bitch!? Haven't you done enough to foul things up! I should have killed you the last time you showed your stinking face here!!"

     The shock that goes through Iriisii at the things Rigmor is saying is almost her undoing, as she pauses in her defense and Darkstar is forced to take over. Darkstar beats back the attacks and then leaps back to give breathing space, while she attempts to find out what is going on.

     Rigmor felt the change come over Iriisii, and it is confirmed when she hears her voice and recognizes from the intonations that it is Darkstar speaking.

     "Why do you attack without provocation? We have not lifted our blade to do anything but defend. If we wished you harm, you would be dead already. This you know all too well, so again, why do you attack us who only feel love for you?"

     Rigmor feels truth in Darkstar's voice, but cannot let go of the recent events that happened between them. With tears in her eyes and a tremor in her voice, "you betrayed all of us, and you expect me to believe you still love me?! You went with that 'bastard' who planned all of this, betrayed your 'Army', betrayed the people of this 'Creation', betrayed everything you ever said and did." Finally the greatsword falls from her hands as she sinks to her knees, crying out, "why!?! did you do it?"

     "Rigmor, we have done nothing as to what you say we did. We have only now come from the past of Telios into the future, tracking a trail of events trying to make sense of what and why it was put into motion. Now we can see some small part of why it was done. Perhaps if we can find what and when the crucial event occurred, we can stop it before it happens."

     "Can I speak to Iriisii, please?"

     "She is withdrawn, for now, the pain of your words has struck deeper than any blade could. You are one of a very few for whom she has no defense. She will recover, but mark my words, should you hurt her again this deeply, you will face my wrath. I know what she feels for you, I have watched it grow from its very beginning. She would without hesitation give her life for you, has in fact done so on more than one occasion, surviving only by the efforts of myself and Shivista. With all of the fate of Creation in her hands, she would toss it all aside for you, remember that, the next time you feel anger toward her. Now we need to talk and find the truth of what happened to bring this about."

     Darkstar turns toward their companion, "what you have witnessed is the result of plots within plans within deceit within deception, all orchestrated by one individual, but an individual of monstrous power and unparalleled cunning. I believe I know who he is, but proving it may be more difficult as he has been declared dead for millennia. But the willpower of some entities can overcome even death."

     "Who are you speaking to?"

     "The current level and composition of light here does not illuminate its physical form. It is a three-dimensional representation of an eleventh-dimensional entity. Its people have experienced large movements within the Greater Void between dimensions and this one has been sent to find out what is causing it. It sheltered us while we witnessed the start of what has brought this situation here into being. We have clues as to its author, we simply do not have the context to make the proper associations as to exactly who this author is. We have been in contact with the 'Doctor' to aid us in this, as he seems to possibly have the missing pieces of knowledge we lack. But is there any recording of this 'betrayal' you referenced. If so, we need to see it, in order to attempt to make sense of what happened and add it to what we already know."

     "I will make it available to you, I cannot bear to watch it again."

     "Believe me or not, but I do understand", Rigmor looks at Darkstar in amazement, "I am what I was created and trained to be, an assassin of the First Order, but I am also more than that now. I have seen the power of what you call 'love'. I know it exists, I have felt its pull and its excitement, its costs, and its rewards. If you did not truly love her still, you would feel nothing at watching the 'betrayal'. Truly I do not know which is better, I guess one day I may find out for myself, but that day is not yet here."

     Rigmor looks at one of the crewmen standing close by, "set up a viewing in the conference room. See if there is anything else they need as well."

     "Yes, ma'am!"

     "Follow me if you please."

     They follow the crewman along the hallways until they reach the conference room. A viewscreen is already set up for them.

     "Is there anything you may need?"

     "Thank you but no, you can stand outside if you have no other duties."

     The crewman nods his head and steps out, closing the door behind him.

     Darkstar looks toward the viewscreen, but first reestablishes the contact with the Doctor.

     "Goddess?"

     "Darkstar, Iriisii is indisposed at the moment. We are about to view a recording of an event that we will likely need your help in evaluating."

     "Ok, I am ready when you are.'

     "Begin recording playback."

     The recording begins and runs through the events that Rigmor spoke of although in much greater intimate detail. Shivista comments, 'no wonder Rigmor was so torn up, but then again, 'he' has to be powerful indeed to cause Iriisii to turn like that.'

     Darkstar retorts, 'no, he is not that powerful. His tools, however, make all of the difference in this.'

     "Pause playback, reverse time 20 seconds, enlarge quadrant 22 by five times." As the scene is paused, the relevant part of it is highlighted and enlarged, "enhance focus. There," and points to a small rod-like object partially concealed with the sleeve of the tunic he was wearing.

     "What is that?"

     "Doctor, can you identify it?"

     "By the 'Eye', yes, I can, but where did he dig that up from. They were forbidden to be used, rounded up, and destroyed millennia ago."

     "But what is it?"

     "Sorry, that is a Kryzzk Mind Control Rod. It can override the synaptic commands of any being it is used on. Replacing the overridden commands with ones either preprogrammed or if the wielder's mind is strong enough, it can be used on the fly, as he...is...using"

     "Who is he, Doctor? I can tell that you recognize who it is, even though you do not want to believe it. So once more, who is it?"

     "Rassillon. This body looks to be his last regeneration cycle, if that body dies, Rassillon dies with it."

     "Thank you for your honesty, Doctor. It cannot be easy to speak so of who might be the only other survivor of your race, other than yourself. But remember, all races have their bad apples, I believe the saying is. It is just our misfortune that he is one of them."

     "He wasn't always like that."

     "Very few start out evil, Doctor, most turn that way over time, often due to tragic events beyond their control. You have experienced many such events, but you are one of the even fewer that keep themselves 'balanced', Iriisii is also one of these. I am only by her efforts and example, but those who threaten her will find me an implacable enemy. Now, what can you tell me of this 'Rassillon'? I prefer to know my enemies, as well as I, can, in order to predict their actions."

     "Then you should know about the Daleks. It appears that he is using the mind control rod to use them as his personal troops. They are the most ruthless, efficient, killing machines known to exist. And if he is in control of them..."

     "A question if I may, Doctor?"

     "Of course."

     "Have you heard of the Wamphyri?"

     "No, I have not why?"

     "Bear with me a moment, is there any part of these Daleks that is of biologic origin?"

     "Yes, inside the outer armored shell, the biologic controlling entity is housed. It was cloned and gene-spliced from radiation-damaged survivors of a millennium-long war. All 'lesser' emotions were purged while enhancing aggressive behavior."

     "Lesser emotions?"

     "Love, sympathy, compassion are examples."

     "Then they are truly monsters."

     "With varying degrees of intelligence. But what does this have to do with these Wamphyri?"

     "I pray I am wrong, but the Wamphyri is a parasitic leech organism. Not intelligent per se, but it makes up for that in its natural cunning. It can be absorbed through direct contact with flesh. Once inside a host, it attaches itself to the spinal cord or whatever nerve sheath that is used for that function. It can then control the host by pain manipulation. Even as it amplifies those selfsame emotions you ascribe to the Daleks.

     With time it can even awaken latent psychic abilities, physical morphing, and others. If a Dalek's biologic organism were to be infected with a Wamphyri leech, I am not certain if it would be possible to kill or destroy it. At least not by normal means, there are some possibilities that exist that could do it. Iriisii was to undergo knowledge implantation to give her the ability to control one such means.

     There are questions that come to mind that require investigation and answers. We need a means of fighting the possibility of a Wamphyri/Dalek hybrid. We must assume the worst case that they will slip from Rassillon's control and assume their own agenda.

     There is a question concerning the future of Iriisii that is most important. And that is whether or not her tether is still intact."

     "What tether is that and why is it so important?"

     "At a point in her past, she took into herself the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the 'First Ones'. They were an exploratory team collecting knowledge from other Realities adjacent to their own. They found themselves trapped in our Reality by an entity that wanted this knowledge for itself. Rather than allow it to gain that knowledge, they asked Iriisii to take possession of it.

     Once she did, a 'Gestalt' being was formed from her disparate parts. Her disparate self remained here, and her fully meshed 'Gestalt', was ejected from this Reality by the Aurbis, due to the pair being tethered together and their combined power exceeding the capacity of this Reality to withstand."

     "If I may ask, what were the disparate parts you speak of?"

     "Forgive me 'Doctor', I sometimes forget not all are aware of her inner makeup. You could consider 'me' as one part, 'Shivista' as another, 'Kali-mah' as yet a third, and her Dragonsoul is a fourth, along with her as primary. There are also the 'Ancestral Memories' she possesses of which the total number is unknown."

     "And in this 'Gestalt' all are merged and meshed together into a 'whole' being?"

     "Yes."

     "That is almost inconceivable and yet, where Rassillon is concerned, very frightening."

     "You think such may be possible if he finds out about it and discovers how to accomplish the same in his own being?"

     "I do."

     "What disparate parts would he be able to mesh?"

     "We are 'gifted' with a total of twelve regeneration cycles. We can die and then be literally reborn into a new body and personality. We have long thought the old memories faded with time, but I now think they are simply buried very deeply in the form of your Ancestral Memories."

     "So then, if he could recreate the 'Gestalt' experience, he could recover and merge all twelve of his past lives into one being, but what would he do with it. His current form is too weak to accommodate all those past lives. Wait!"

     "What is it?"

     "There may be a way, but I must ask Rigmor some questions, her answers may give me the whole basis for why he is doing this." 'Darkstar' calls out for the crewman outside the door, as he opens the door and answers. She asks him to request that Rigmor attend them, and to tell her they need to ask a few questions of her. The crewman exits through the door, closes it, and then goes in search of Rigmor.

     "What questions do you need her to answer?"

     "Better to wait until she is here."

     "I understand."

     It takes a few minutes, but Rigmor shows.

     "You had a few questions for me?"

     "Yes, I believe we are on closing in on why this is happening, but I still lack information to pin down my thought processes. Recently, has your Iriisii and Dettlaff been intimate with Kali-mah present?"

     "Yes."

     "Are you certain?"

     "Yes, I was there as well. Why?"

     "Are you pregnant?"

     "No, what are you getting at?"

     "Just a little longer and things will become clearer, I hope. Do you know if Kali-mah is pregnant?"

     "I...maybe, I am not sure of that. She was acting somewhat strange like there was something she wanted to talk about to either me and/or Iriisii, but she never got the chance."

     "Where is she, by the way?"

     "Iriisii sent her on a mission very soon afterward, she has not reported back in yet."

     "What about Dettlaff, is he here?"

     "Now that you mention it, no he is not. She sent him on a mission as well. What do you think is going on?"

     "I think Iriisii knew something was going to happen because of Kali-mah becoming pregnant and sent her somewhere to be safe. Somewhere Rassillon would not be able to find her."

     "Why would he want her for? What is going on?!"

     "We think he wants to become a 'Gestalt' being like the 'Child of Infinity' is. But his physical body is not strong enough, so he needs another. A mortal body would not be strong enough, but a body with two Gods as parents, even if the child is mortal would be strong enough, since he only would have twelve parts to merge."

     "But Iriisii did not have that many?"

     "She did when you consider her Ancestral Memories, a good portion of those belonging to members of the Gods of Eld. But why does he want to do this? "

     "Yes, I see now, that would make a considerable difference.  He is in his twelfth and final regeneration, if his body dies there is no further chance at life. And in the body of a strong mortal, he can undergo the ritual they used to gain their regeneration cycles a second time to gain an additional twelve cycles. I also wonder if he thinks his new erstwhile allies are likely to slip his control. If so he will need that body to escape their grasp."

     "Explain to me just what is going on with this Rassillon, who is he, and why does he have these regeneration cycles?"

     "Rassillon was one of the four Founders of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. The source of power for their ships to travel through time was also the artifact that gave them their regenerative cycles. As I understand, most of the population of Gallifrey did not survive the process, those that did survive became the 'Time Lords'."

     "All right, but what about his allies that you spoke of?"

     "Daleks, one of the most dangerous species of beings to ever exist."

     "And if he somehow hybridized them with the Daleks?"

     "They would be dangerous enough to alarm even adjacent dimensions, other Realities, and those living in the Void. Nothing and no one would be safe from them."

     "If they would be as dangerous as you say, can they be beaten?"

     "I believe so if there is something that can be weaponized that even they could not stand up to."

     "What is that?"

     "Do you remember that 'black stuff' you almost touched on the Kinja homeworld?"

     "Yes, you mean that stuff?!"

     "Indeed, it is composed of quantum particles, the basic building blocks of everything that exists. All other particles, both matter, and energy use them. How the Kinja ever managed to bring it into the 'macro' world and keep it stable, bespeaks that at one time they had a truly powerful society. I have managed to learn that a strong mind and will can utilize it. It can be used to create anything that can be imagined. The Kinja used great teams of builders to work together under the direction of a few Master Builders to create whatever they needed. Even their ships were built this way. But as you know, contact with the raw stuff will cause it to convert any other material it touches into more of itself, this includes energy. And what are life and the soul composed of?"

     "Energy, so it could completely consume him? There would be nothing left of him?"

     "Correct, not even a soul, all would be broken down into quantum particles."

     "All right, how do we find Kali-mah then."

     "I suspect Iriisii sent her to the 'Black Forest'."

     "You mean the one his mother raised him in?"

     "Yes."

     "The one in his memories?"

     "Exactly, perhaps the safest place she could have been sent."

     "But what if he finds Dettlaff?"

     "Not if she sent him as well."

     "What! How?!"

     "He is as much a God as she is, it is not beyond her capabilities. She can bridge between memories and reality, why not the reverse?"

     "I can see your point, that way neither can be found until one or the other returns."

     "True."

     "But how do we find them?"

     "Iriisii will come out of this soon, when she does she can take us. She has been there alone before, she knows the way."

     "But you have been with her, surely..."

     "I would not risk it. Although I share her mind and body, I do not have the skills to use the powers that she does. I am too rational in my thinking, she, on the other hand, is more creative. The power of belief extends to what you believe you can do as well as what others believe you can do."

     "I can accept that, it explains a great deal of what I have seen her do that others will not even attempt."

     "When your belief in yourself is absolute, when you have no room for disbelief, the boundaries around what you can do, disappear. It is also why she is so good at stealth. She believes she is invisible, therefore she is. Reality bends for her rather than she, bending for reality. It is a natural extension of the Quantum Law of Observation."

     "Ok, that I can believe having seen her do it and she has explained that law to me where even I can understand it. It is just seeing it being used so effectively out here rather than in there."

     "Precisely."

     "But how are we going to deal with this Rassillon if she is under mind control?"

     "You will have to step up."

     "ME! Why me, why does it always have to be me? You do it, you are just as powerful!"

     "You do not understand the restrictions placed upon us in situations such as this. If we were to confront your present Iriisii right now the paradox would destroy everything! We are taking an awful risk just being here right now."

     "You are right, I don't understand."

     "Look, you do not have to go through this without help. There are many who will lend you their aid. The 'Gods of Eld' will stand with you, 'She Who Watches All' will stand with you, The 'Doctor' will stand with you, and he knows more of Rassillon than anyone else alive. There are possibly some things we can do from a distance, but we must be careful. If we were to change too much, this future changes and we have no way to know what changes will occur, whether they will help or hurt."

     A different voice speaks out from a short distance, but no more than a voice.

     "Listen to her, my daughter, she speaks only the truth."

     "Father? Is that you? Why can't I see you? Please show yourself!"

     "Rigmor, I cannot. It is taking all that those in Aetherius can give to bring my voice to you. But this is your hour of need, and none will forsake you. Listen to what she tells you, you know you can trust her as you would Iriisii. You have the power within you still untapped, believe in yourself. I trained you to be the best you could be and I am so proud you have gone so far beyond anything I could have expected or even wanted for you. Now is the time to be all that you can be, now is the time to step out of Iriisii's shadow and be yourself. The power wanes and so I must go, know that I love you and neither my love or my pride knows any boundaries where you are concerned. Do what you must, be who you are, and you will carry the day for all of Creation to see."

     "Father, please don't go, please, I have so missed you!"

     Faintly, "remember me and I will be with you always, even in your darkest moments."

     Rigmor screams, "FATHER!"

     Darkstar, moved by the depth of her emotions, walks over to her and wraps her arms around Rigmor. "Even now, from the farthest plains of Aetherius, he loves you enough to speak with you. Cherish your memories of him, cherish the love he still holds for you, for that will be a strength for you that no one can defeat."

     "Thank you."