Crystal Helix III. Anima Rising

       His commander faced danger below from these energy focusing rocks, he even bred with them to produce some Slithy Crystalline thing, an egg was laid by that hologram female, not a hologram, but a solid, viable egg with a living, growing brother inside, the necessary element necessary for diplomacy among equals.  There had been many such alien crossbreeds, but none offsprung from a pile of rocks, none brought to life from the body of the commander from a piece of silicon. That they had known of the ancient ways chilled his very liver. This most unnatural act could not be excused by the sentience of  the rocks; one does not have sex with inanimate objects, much less with holograms that lay eggs.  His conscience murmured at that;  he had spent much time in the neural nets himself. Who was he having sex with at those times except himself?  Well, that was natural--all species pleasured themselves.  An uncontrollable craving came over him to get the helix, to make it fulfil his fantasies, or to crush it before it took over the ship and destroyed them all.

      Gang shuddered as he approached the commander's quarters; his digestive system rolled and cramped, cold sweat beaded on his neck, and doubt fled from his mind.

      Using his own password, Gang entered the commander's cabin.  The helix, sparkling in its column of light, had become a nest.  He approached, but the hologram appeared between them in defensive posture, not yet snarling but wary.  He could do nothing as long as she guarded the egg.

      "Come to the command center and explain the proceedings, Madam Marine."

      "Certainly."  She approached him, keeping herself between him and the crystalline nest absorbing the energy beams.  He could do nothing but escort her.

      She watched, appalled, as the meeting took place.  "You stupid waterbags!  Can you not even follow your own procedures or at least ask how to meet the simplest protocol?"

      "We did follow our procedures.  You people are too strange to be our allies, not to mention being our cousins."

      "No reproduction without exploitation?  We have a lot to learn from you.  And you from us."

      Not answering, Gang patched into the monitor of the STP pod  which was filled by the scaly face of Scarlett Viridian, both repellent and fascinating in its ugliness.  He could feel the power of the Crystal Helix pushing on the STP like a force field; they must all be concentrating to create that kind of power.  He would cut off the source.  He fired Kinetic shield pods even as Nyarly lifted through the atmosphere.  Gang set the shuttle bay doors on automatic recovery, in case the commander wasn't able to navigate; then he made preparations to leave orbit, taking the controls himself and full responsibility.  As soon as Nyarly was on board, Gang activated the Kinetic Shield Pods.  He set no destination, just out of normal space.  He hoped those Rocks below wouldn't understand or know what to do in time to keep their planet from being kicked into the energyless depths of E-space.   If energy was what they lived on, they'd soon learn who the Brotherhood was and not to trifle with them.

      He located the coordinates of the nearest stargate and punched them in to navigation.  The ship would be far away from the Rocks' influence and Gang would be able to reason with the Commander before they could retrieve the Helix planet.  He cut the energy support to captain's cabin, stripping it almost to vacuum.

      Just as the Commander was snagged by the STP bay, the planet of the Crystal Helix vanished from normal space.  The projection of Ultra Marine  registered shock on her face and dissipated like a Cheshire cat.

      Gang reset the life support controls and raced to the commander's quarters to get the egg before Nyarly returned. He would destroy it, show Nyarly that it was an abomination, a misuse of the ancient ways which allowed only equality with their own kind.

      He grabbed the egg from the nest, sensations flooding his consciousness: kaleidoscope images of light and color, roaring music and noise, muscle contractions both painful and orgasmic, palpable fragrances and smells, and whatever else his cerebral cortex could register and decipher.  He writhed and staggered, lashing out blindly with arms and tail to destroy the helix.    Losing consciousness, he collapsed, shattering the egg and scattering the stones.

      Nyarly checked the navigation system and log, reeling from the experience below and trying to comprehend the present situation.  Where was Gang? What had he done? 

      "Task force approaching bearing 3.239," said a crewman.  "Looks like an ER, maybe the Drakken."

      "Engage ECM, prepare interceptors and lances, begin evasive maneuvers, and hold on tight."  Nyarly's mind raced to find solutions.  "Locate Officer Green immediately.  Send a message to the task force that our systems are malfunctioning, that our intentions were for mutual benefit."

      "Security check, sir.  Officer Green is in your quarters.  He isn't responding.  We've called medical."

      "Good job.  Keep him there. I'm on my way."    

      Nyarly found Gang sprawled across the deck amid the collapsed pile of precious stones, his digits wet with the blood oozing from dead egg. 

      The medical team was assessing the damage.  "He's alive, sir, but in some kind of coma, like he was electrocuted."

      "That's very likely.  I was conducting a high energy experiment here."  He picked up the dark sapphire, now dull and opaque.  The sense of it being alive was gone.  "Clean up the egg and preserve it in stasis.  Put all these stones back in the alcove so each one is in the light."

      "Aye, Sir."  Two members of the medical team carried Gang to sickbay, while the other cleaned up the mess.  Had Gang wiped out an entire race?   Flesh creatures merely went into suspended animation in E-space, but the Crystal Helix probably died, like the crystal he held in his hand.  How could he explain that to an irate Elder Race ally?  The ship shivered as the Drakken aimed a shot across her nose.

      "Commander Silver, we need you in the Command Center."

      "On my way."  He would soon find out.

      The face of the Drakken commander snarled.  "Enemy of the Crystal Helix, prepare to die.  I, Ihrig Llah, am your executioner!"

      The Elder Races were always unpredictable; the Drakken were more mysterious than many others.  Nyarly Silver began to speak before he knew what he could say.  "Stay your weapons, Ihrig Llah, of Drakken.  We of The Slithy Brethren of Re'myeld, I myself, Nyarly Silver, am not your enemy, nor enemy of the Crystal Helix."

      Llah fired an interceptor.  The ECM kicked in, meeting the missile with a countermeasure.  Energy waves buffeted both ships.  Nyarly felt the sapphire he still held grow heavier.  He placed it on the interface panel of the commlink and spread both hands across its surface.  It seemed to vibrate in his digits, as if coming to life.  When the Drakken fired another interceptor, which was in turn intercepted,  the sapphire regained more of its fire and Nyarly began to feel Ultra Marine's psychic presence. 

      "Focus energy beams on this crystal, light, radio, ultrasound.  You," he nodded to the security officer, "Set your hand weapon on its lowest energy and fire continuously into the crystal."

      "Sir, you might..."

      "Now!"

      A message issued from the sapphire directly into the panel,  "Drakken commander, please stop.  Unless the planet is returned  to normal space, all my people will perish.  We who do not know loneliness will separate and die, cold and dark."

      "I must fire a kinetic beacon to bring the planet back," Nyarly said.  "but I must deactivate ECM to do it.  If you destroy us, the Helix will be irretrievable."

      The reptilian face continued to scowl.  "Proceed.  If you lie, you die."

      Nyarly turned from the panel, his hand still holding the crystal in the energy beams.

      "Deactivate ECM.  Stand down weapon systems.  Fire kinetic beacon at planet coordinates.  Retrieve planet."

      Dead in space, the task force followed his orders under the guns of the Drakken commander.  They waited, silent as space. 

      The continuous energy beams brought more sparkle to Ultra Marine.  "Bring the others," she said, "I need them." 

      Nyarly still touched her.  He nodded to the yeoman on duty, and she ran to collect them.  The diamonds were placed around the sapphire.  They had lost their fire as well, looking like milky quartz.  A crewman placed each diamond facet to facet with Ultra.  Just as the diamonds began to clear and sparkle, the planet appeared.

      Ihrig Llah appeared again on the viewscreen.  "Take your hostage back to her people."

      "Not hostage," Ultra said, her voice clear and strong, "Ambassador.  We shall return to reintegrate my people."

      "Agreed.  We shall accompany you.  If the Helix lives, you live.  The Elder races extinguish those who would obliterate our wolfling allies."

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<a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977126081">Crystal Helix Chapter I</a> 

<a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977128280">Crystal Helix Chapter II</a>