Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury (3 page)

It is guarded by layers of shields and barriers, and most of a full
, armored Marine regiment beyond that.

Thanks for the update, Om. It does
n’t look like they want anyone getting near that damn thing, whatever it is. And probably with good reason. This thing should scare anyone.

At the entrance to what appeared to be a large, round
, colorful tent, Naero spotted two old acquaintances: Adept Makita Lii and Adept Iselle Donovan. Naero had nearly killed them and Intel Admiral Klyne during her first Mystic testing, which went very wrong as well.

Naero and they were
n’t exactly friends, therefore, and they both paled and grew wide-eyed–in not a little fear–when they spotted her approach.

“
Hold, summoned guests,” High Adept Makita said. “Others are still arriving and taking their places. It may yet be a few minutes longer, until we can bring you all in before the High Masters.”

“
Very well, High Adept,” Chang Lijuan said.

“
What others?” Naero asked quietly.

Iselle shot her a look. “They will give the word, once the High Masters and their guests are ready.”

Chang Fu-han raised one eyebrow. “There is no need to be abrupt, High Adept Iselle. No need for…rudeness. None of us present are Chaos adepts.”

“
If I was rude, it was because of
her
, High Adept Fu-han. She did not address me properly with her question, and you know it.”

“
Forgive me my rudeness, High Adept Iselle.”

“
Neither are we or have we ever been on familiar terms, High Adept Naero Amashin Maeris. You will therefore address me as High Adept Iselle Donovan, if at all, to my liking.”

Naero held her tongue. She had been in the wrong, and had nearly killed people with her out-of-control abilities.
That they could hold a grudge against her could be quite understandable.

Finally, she chose to voice a general question over the continued silence.
“Can anyone present please tell me more about this strange planet, Thanor-4?” she asked.

It might help pass the awkward silence they were stuck in
. She could listen without the burden of having to speak, and she really wanted to know something about this bizarre world.

Lijuan and Fu-han brightened and took tur
ns immediately, talking quietly. But they spoke informally to Naero and her people, on purpose.

“
My older sister and I were part of the Mystic exploration team that arrived here nearly two years ago. What do you wish to know?”

“
Lijuan and I have been to all five continents, many times. We’ve even been part of the contact teams that deal with the local near-humans. The barbaric tribes from the deep interior are barely sentient and cannot be reasoned with. But in the Bay of Thanarra, there are four main city states of near humans, where all of the four continents join together. They are very backwards and violent–especially the Vaedo.”

Fu-han projected a holoscreen from her wristcom above them. “The four continents bunched together are: Thanarra, Vaedo
r, Kallos, and Maedor, each with their own city state and culture. But according to our laws, we do our best not to interfere with them or their ways.”

“
What is this isolated continent called again?” Naero asked.

“
We call it Nashara, after a fabled land the natives speak of in their legends,” Lijuan said. “But the native Thanes don’t even know that it exists, yet–just as they don’t know of the monsters on the eastern half of Maedor in the deep interior. Which makes Nashara perfect for Mystic purposes.”

“
And what purposes are those?” Naero asked.

High Adept
Iselle Donovan jumped in, commenting in general for all to hear.

“
Well, after all, with the untimely destruction and the loss of
Janosha
,” Iselle said, with stinging emphasis, “the High Masters are considering Thanor-4 as a possible replacement. This world could become the new Mystic Homeworld for the Order of Chaos Wisdom and its adepts.”

“
Oh,” Naero said. “Very well then.” Things grew quiet again.

Om, you are
quite certain that I had nothing to do with the destruction of Janosha?

Naero, I keep trying to explain to you. Planet Janosha was not in any way destroyed. Whether you had anything to do with its disappearance or not, it simply ceased to exist. The planet was not there any longer. There was no destruction. If there had been, there would have been some trace of it left behind, in the wake of such destruction.

That still doesn’t make any sense, Om. No planet has ever just vanished before.

Then it is a mystery that shall remain unsolved
for the time being. Ask Shalaen, and Alala, and even Baeven. They will all tell you the same thing. We simply do not know what happened. No one does–and that includes the High Mystics.

Collective ignorance did not re-assure Naero that she would not be blamed for
the planet being gone. She had been out of control at the time, wielding Cosmic powers neither she nor anyone else could fathom or understand. To anyone’s mind, she remained the obvious suspect.

Jan nudged her, and Naero almost jumped.

“N…Naero…sib, they want us to go in now.”

She shook herself.

High Adept Chang Fu-han kept her slightly golden face and her amber eyes impassive. “Honored guests, the three High Masters of the Spacer Mystics and their guests will speak with you now. Please enter within.”

The twins parted the entrance curtains for them to pass
inside.

Naero lifted her head
again, gave Jan’s hand a squeeze, and strode forward to face her fate with courage.

3

The large tent above them had
programmable plasteel panels to let sunlight shine down inside, if that was desired. Only a few were pweaked clear. The ground beneath their feet was still covered in a carpet of soft, blue-green grass and aromatic, sandy soil beneath that.

Three risers and three small, separate sets of stands had been erected directly before them, at the
far end of the enclosure.

Naero wondered why they had not used fixer
clouds to construct more permanent structures for the Mystics.

Perhaps the High Masters had not yet made the
final decision to remain on Thanor-4 permanently.

Naero
walked forward slowly, taking a good look ahead of her at the assembly.

She
spotted High Master Vane, seated on her left, with about ten other high level Chaos adepts sitting behind him. But his two prime adepts flanked him on either side as his bodyguards.

Most
prime adepts were selected in male-female pairs, for reasons Naero still did not understand.

In fact,
Naero had rescued both of Vane’s current prime adepts from the torment of the enemy’s vile, Darkforce generators, just as she had Hashiko, Jan, and Shalaen for that matter.

But
Chaos adepts were not known for their tact or gratitude. This pair had only stooped to thank her briefly, over a short comlink. She was probably lucky to have gotten that much from them.

Shii
Kim was the male, the adept of darkness, so dark he appeared to be a black hole in reality, shaped like a person. His counterpart, Fell Wilde, was his exact opposite. The adept of light, she was so dazzling that she shimmered with a bright white light, even when she veiled her Cosmic powers, so as not to blind people with her brilliant glare.

Naero did her best not to look at High Master Vane directly
, his glowing red head, covered in roving eyes–glowing and pulsing with crimson anger within his deep, dark gray hood.

Since the
tragic loss of his most favored adept, Mitsubishi Hashiko, Naero knew that Vane blamed and despised her, and openly sought any excuse to destroy her. She knew very well that his vote was already set against her.

The events on Janosha had only fueled that fire of hatred
, despite the fact that Naero had also saved him from being taken prisoner by their foes. Vane was not only vindictive, but he was also convinced that she was a Cosmic monster, from a family that spawned such monsters.

Naero nearly missed Intel Strategist General Thadian Ingersol, another ideological foe, seated among Vane’s people
with a few other, sour-looking military officers. How appropriate that some of her enemies should side together.

Next, in the center of the assembly, stood High Master Tree of Order Wisdom
, in long, sweeping blue robes of many hues. If Vane’s Cosmic aura was openly scarlet, Tree’s Cosmic aura was silver-blue.

High Master Tree
was tall, and his face defied any description of age. Stable, serene, secure and calm, as one might expect in the High Master of Order. Yet to Naero, his piercing eyes flashed blazing blue at times.

She needed to remember, that a
ll of the Three Wisdoms of The Mystic Harmony could be very dangerous, each in their own way.

Strange.
High Master Tree only had one prime adept present as his bodyguard. Naero wondered where the other one was–the male.

The female looked familiar somehow. Perhaps Naero had seen her in a dream in the past. Naero did not know her name, but the tall, slender young woman pulsed with bright blue energy, not unlike
Shalaen. Everything about the prime adept seemed to be a shade of blue, so it was difficult to determine skin, hair, or eye color.

High Master Tree stepped back slightly, and
Naero was stunned to see–in place of the Prime Male adept on the left–Admirals Klyne and Sleak, her aunt, who was very pregnant by now, and due within the next few weeks.

It bothered Naero that even steel-hearted Aunt Sleak lo
oked nervous, and smiled at her niece only slightly. The same number of Order adepts, about twelve, sat behind High Master Tree and his guests.

The last group on the left
represented Change Wisdom. High Master Jo grinned and laughed and could not seem to stand still. He looked to be a boy of about ten years old. Small, slender, golden-haired, fair skin, and glowing, golden eyes. Naked, except for what looked to be a clean white loincloth of some fashion.

It was
n’t surprising that his Cosmic aura was bright, shimmering gold. He joked and poked fun at his guests, and the dozen High Change adepts behind him. Most of his followers were much like him, small, energetic, and jovial. They seemed quick to laugh and spoke back and forth almost incessantly.

High Master Jo’s female and male
prime adepts flanked him on either side, keeping watch all around them. They were on duty as bodyguards, a fact that had hit very close to home since the well-coordinated enemy attacks on all three Spacer Mystic Homeworlds.

Attacks that had
nearly succeeded.

The female prime a
dept was named Tessa Fae, and she had mastered shifting. Her Spacer form was that of a dark brunette of medium height, with jet black skin and dark brown eyes. Yet even as she stood on guard, she casually shifted form from one dangerous creature–back to her own form–and then on to the next: an enormous, Durian purple tigress, a huge, sinuous Zhimori shockpython, a powerful Gythanian rockhulk. She shifted forms without effort.

Naero had heard about
her counterpart as well, the male named Den Kurtz. He did not seem to have what most would call an actual physical body. Naero spotted red-violet eyes flickering within a hazy, indeterminate form, a shapeless miasma or haze of Cosmic energy that was almost completely amorphous.

Even Om noted it.

That one is very close to becoming an energy being, Naero. He is as close to being such as possible, and yet still be said to possess a physical form.

Very fascinating. I wonder wh
at his Cosmic abilities are, Om?

I’m guessing he can manipulate various states of matter and energy almost at will. That would make him a very formidable opponent. Yet, the fact that he still retains a physical form would still make him vulnerable, and to energy attacks as well. Every strength and advantage has an inherent weakness and disadvantage.

Naero noted three or four elders from the Clans seated on either side of High Master Jo, who seemed to be carrying on several conversations all at once. Naero did not recognize any of the elders.

More plasteel panels in the tent dome above them were pweaked clear to open wide. A bell somewhere behind the assembly rang out clearly, chiming slow; the same tone sounded three times.

Naero, Jan, Shalaen, and Gaviok found themselves ringed with a circle of light before the Three High Masters.

High Master Tree rose up and spoke first.

“High Adept Naero Amashin Maeris,” he said sternly. “You stand before us with many grave concerns about you and your Cosmic abilities. Who are these others with you, and why have they come?”

Naero bowed her eyes slightly. “I greatly appreciate being able speak my case before the High Masters. This is my younger brother, Janner Maeris Ramsey, and these other two are my friends and allies. They can also use Cosmic energy, and seek your counsel and wisdom, and they are here on my behalf as well.”

“This is very irregular, High Adept Maeris. It is not up to you, in your situation to bring witnesses or others to support your case. The deliberation of the Mystics is not for outsiders.”

Naero shifted her feet slightly. “My apologies. Impudence was not my intent. Please hear me out. There are important reasons why I brought each
of them with me. May I explain?”

She could tell Master Tree was about to adhere to the rules–whatever they were–and refuse.

Master Jo jumped in. “Please, my fellow High Masters. These matters are already incredibly irregular. You cannot deny that all of us sense something important about each of these others. Let us bend the rules this once, at least, and listen briefly as to why they have come. We may yet hear things of great interest to us and the Three Wisdoms.”

Thank you, Naero said silently.

That gave Master Vane a chance to bluster. “Why are we even bothering with this at all? Adept Maeris is guilty of many crimes, she is a clear threat that needs to be–”

Master Tree clearly resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. “Very well, we will hear these brief reasons. Please do not leap ahead of us, High Master Vane. We have not even begun to discu
ss the issues at hand that we come to discuss, let alone reached a point where we can pass a fair and reasoned verdict on them. We know your opinions all too well by now. You have been badgering us with them for many days. You, too, will have your turn, and your say.”

Tree turned back to Naero. “Speak,
High Adept Maeris.”

“
High Masters, first let me say this: I agree that there are many serious problems involved with my not being able to control my Mystic abilities, yet. That is exactly why I came to the Mystics for testing and help. And instead, I was forced to survive a long, brutal training period, with the most difficult of the High Masters, taking the most difficult Mystic path, learning Chaos Wisdom first, with trainers who were clearly hostile to me and my efforts. They did everything to cause me to fail. And now, High Master Vane has made it very clear that he still wants to see me destroyed.”

Silence.

“She has a point,” Master Jo said.

“
Oh, please,” Master Vane said. “What whining drivel. Of course she’s going to say all that.”

Master Jo raised both hands and blinked.

“Yet, excuse me. I thought we were going to hear from you about why these other three persons are with you? Please proceed with that.”

“
Excuse me, High Masters. I was getting to that next, after my introductory statement. My brother Jan needs to be tested and trained by the Mystics, as well. He was just rescued from the enemy, and is showing definite signs of developing his own Cosmic abilities, similar to mine–and with similar…difficulties.”

All three High Masters
briefly sucked in a breath, and took careful note of that.

“
Great,” Master Vane said. “Another Maeris monster. Why should we be surprised that they keep spawning?”

Aunt Sleak cleared her throat, shot the Chaos Master her battle smile of steel, and rest
ed both hands on her swollen stomach.

Van
e could only snort and look away.

“
Let her speak,” Master Tree said.

“
Also,” Naero said. “I’m sure that Intel has informed you all about our dangerous, outcast brother Danner, who the enemy is using to produce great quantities of Darkforce energy for them, Janner’s twin. If Jan learned to defend himself and his mind, Danner would not be able to take over Jan’s mind and body, again. And let me tell you, from experience. Danner has more powers and abilities than Jan and I put together. Plus, he is completely insane and amoral, and he can also absorb the Cosmic and Psyonic abilities of others. What if the enemy turned him loose as a weapon?”

The High Masters considered
all that she said.

“
Regardless of what you may think about me and my situation, my brother is a loyal Spacer who has committed no crime, and done nothing wrong. He deserves your help. Once he has been fully healed and trained, he might even be able to help the Mystics and Spacer Intel track down his twin and our enemies. And, as soon as he recovers from his ordeal, I’m certain he will have vital intel and insights to offer concerning his experience with the Darkforce generators, and the secrets of the enemy research labs.”

High Master Tree looked at Jan. “Janner Maeris Ramsey. Do you wish to be tested by the Spacer Mystics?”

“I do. But with one condition. I have been tortured by our enemies for a long while, and I will still need some time yet to recover from that. But I also need to learn to defend my mind against our foes. I would appreciate the help of the Mystics.”

Master Vane rose to his feet. “I would be happy to be the first to train this Maeris whelp, just as I have all the others.”

“No!” Naero and Jan said together.

“
Perhaps that is where we went wrong with them,” Master Jo suggested.

“
Perhaps,” Master Tree said. “But with the outcast, he trained completely with both of us, in the other two Wisdoms, before he was sent to High Master Vane.”

Vane grunted. “You two fools know very well what went wrong. You let the outcast interact with the alien artifact located on Janosha, thinking that we could control what happened thereafter.
”

“Do not speak of that,” Master Tree said sternly.