Excerpt

It was a planet; large and blue-green, orbited by four moons, two of which orbited around a third while the last, and smallest, traveled alone. There was one brownish-gray landmass in the planet’s southern hemisphere.


Innumerable archipelagos dotted the world-ocean and massive cloud formations scudded across the upper troposphere, obscuring the equator.


They were being whipped into frenzy by the intense winds of the planet’s inter-tropical convergence zone. It was a beautiful world, but just as the scene stabilized, it changed again.


A woman’s face, golden-brown with startling green eyes and a halo of wiry blond hair replaced the planet, causing Raekwon to exhale sharply, bringing him back to wakefulness. He turned to Ouvé, who had waited patiently.


“I know where we’re supposed to go now. The Masai Homeworld.”


The Maldekian waited for him to complete the thought. Raekwon jumped from the chair and strode to the center of the bridge where he stared at the Ark, his thoughts racing. He thought he could detect subtle activity in the space between the hands of the winged beings and he leaned forward.


An intimation of sound teased his ears, becoming faint music accompanied by the insistent throb of drums, echoing behind each thought. He shook his head and the sound faded.


Encouraged by the Ark’s response, Raekwon returned to the command station, brushing past Ouvé, almost oblivious to her. His fingers flew over the terminal, busily retrieving information on the Masai Homeworld.


In moments, an aerial view of the planet appeared, replacing the starscape. Ouvé moved to a spot directly behind Raekwon and studied the planet’s vital statistics as they scrolled across the bottom of the screen.


“I’ve heard of Masaia, but only in passing. Is it a GTA controlled world?”


“Unbelievably, no! Although the GTA covets the planet, they cannot risk upsetting the balance of power. It is too delicate and Masaia too valuable.”


He queried the database and retrieved the planet’s biological and mineralogical spectrum-analysis.


“The only reason the Terrans don’t just invade the planet and kill the Masai is their gold. One of the most sought after commodities in the entire galaxy. Somehow, the Masai have reached an agreement with the planet’s localized intelligence and they’re able to process the gold essence in a way that purifies it beyond any comparison. Masian astral gold is our primary energy source,” he amended quickly, “Primary, that is, for Terran-based corporations like TechnoWarrior and its subsidiaries. It fuels our armor as well as our ships.”


Ouvé examined the spectrum-analysis quickly. “Yes, my people have also utilized purified gold in that manner. It possesses other properties in that form, psychic in nature. The Masai seem to exist in an evolved state, Raekwon. It also seems as if they hold a stellar position in the Triquad hierarchy of worlds. Have they not exploited the native population of their world as slave labor, as have so many Terran colonies?”


Raekwon snorted contemptuously. “No. Their particular history on Earth is similar to that of my own people, as well as those of many of the melanated humans that originated on Earth. Those whose ancestors became the Clans of Endovar were Islanders, North and South Americans, but originally hailed from Alekbu-lan. The whites of our planet used us all as slave labor for well over two thousand alpha-years. And we still haven’t forgotten. Or forgiven.”


Ouvé chastised Raekwon gently. “All is one and that is the way of it throughout the Omniverse. Beings limited to the purely physical plane cannot perceive eternal truth or law, so their actions rise directly from their own perceived needs and desires. Greed and narcissism are at the base of the sentient condition. This holds true even considering the myriad dynamics of repression and the resultant salvation. Still, sentient nature is what it is. Self-destruction knows no color, or physical boundaries.”