Chapter Fourteen — Part 1

Clearing my mind of the unsolved mysteries, I walked back to the cargo bay. I sat there, holding my bell out before me. It was now pure silver, with bright gold symbols etched into its surface, and I could see myself in its reflection. Thinking it would be polite to ask first, I tapped the bell and called forth my mother’s soul.

Tiffany’s body formed from nothingness into a lightly glowing specter. “Tiffany, Mother.” I said quietly.

“Hey pretty girl.”

My eyes started to tear over. “I wish I could see you and daddy at the same time.” The bell continued to hum, each second it grew weaker. “I found a way to bring you back. If you want to live again, you can.”

Tiffany thought about it. “Is the universe fixed?”

“No, mama. But I’m close. I think I’ve found the broken part.”

Tiffany put her hand on my cheek. I couldn’t feel it. As the bell grew quieter, so did her voice. “I may not be much good to you, I’m no longer Governor, and therefor no longer privy to the knowledge of the data crystal.”

“I need you, mama, not what you know.”

“I’ll come back only if my Sparrow comes back. Will you be bringing Fluff back as well?”

I sputtered a little. “Fluff isn’t dead, mother, but his memories of us are gone forever.”

“I’m sorry. I know how much he meant to you.”

“You’ve always meant more.”

I rang the bell again. Tiffany faded with a smile on her face. Father appeared before me.

I quickly explained my conversation with mother.

My father was a man of few words. “You need me. Make it so.”

I touched his spirit with the first wand, and he fell forward, naked and uninjured. The wand vanished without a trace. With his claws retracted, Captain Reed caught Papa and helped him sit against the wall. Tiffany’s face reappeared, and I touched her with the second wand. I rang the bell again, a thousand notes merging into a single beautiful tone. This time I asked the universe to send one person who was needed most. King Lotus appeared, and I touched him with the wand.

King Lotus shrugged off help from Captain Reed, forcing himself to stand on wobbly legs.

“You must have met Genesis.” He said, his voice raspy.

“He gave me three wands.” I said.

“Three? He must have really liked you.” King Lotus coughed, trying to clear his throat. “Genesis can only produce three of those wands in a millennium. Has my brother been put in prison?”

“Yes. Genesis had words with him, and those words have driven him completely mad.” I turned to Captain Reed. “I’ll tend to my parents. If you could please take us back to Isastan so the King might do the same for his daughter and her future husband.”

“Should you ever be in space with one of my loyal Elfin vessels, you will have their alliance, I assure you.” King Lotus said. The Persimmon was only about halfway into atmosphere when we were greeted by another ship and escorted to the surface.

The King was taken on board, and I left Isastan without so much as a goodbye to any of my friends. “Mama, Papa, if the two of you would help me fly this ship again, I’d be very happy.”

“I’ll take life support and Sparrow will sit at Navigation.” Tiffany took a chair. I wondered if she remembered that I was a person with two bodies.

The view screen illuminated Kotian’s soft eyes. “We may be in Otherspace, but we’re not going anywhere. Where would you like us to set course to?”

“Genesis has requested that we go to Earth and have words with a young Forever Child.”

We were about seven hours into Otherspace when the ship lurched and shuffled, and we were drawn violently into Realspace.

“What is it?” I got up from the ground, trying not to look embarrassed. Nobody else had fallen from their seats. I quickly unruffled my clothes, acting casual as I sat back in my chair.

Captain Reed studied his sensor readings closely. “We’ve been hooked by a teselar field.”

“Who did it? Are they hailing us?” I focused and tried to keep my angelic form as the field distorted and rippled Realspace and Otherspace.

“Aye, Captain, sending transmission to main screen.” Kotian said. The image wasn’t a pretty one. “This is Commander Barrot, Law Enforcement for Kottanna Local Space. Prepare to be boarded.”

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