CHAPTER 20

Meanwhile, Tuas and Cira are the only Yhemlen left in the city of Pangaea. The flying fortress moves through the galaxy with rapid pace, warping cosmic interference at high speed. Its space elevator is also a mechanism for applying the electromagnetic field necessary for the warp mechanism to propel them forward. As it spins, the artificial canopy that covers both the main city and the space station in a clear bubble does not rupture. The Mariner ahead of Tuas and Cira is superimposed by robust pillars and thick walls, that way the inhabitants are not exposed to the radiation of space. There is nowhere for them to escape to.

The Delta star of Deneb Algedi is being pulled by other forces nearby. When Tuas toggles his positioning device toward the appropriate planet, their dramatic drop in speed almost shatters the clear shield. They won't be able to go anywhere else in outer space for a long time. When they finally land, they'll be sitting ducks. By now, Earth has already been struck by the enormous asteroid that leveled the planet. Tuas and Cira are just glad to have salvaged Pangaea from its destruction and escaped The Concord and its Grey Order.

"Approaching the target," he says to Cira. "The planet is being compressed by a binary star! The habitat is going to be unstable."

"We need to land now, Tuas."

As they approach the point of rupturing the atmosphere, the fortress changes directions in open space. The Mariner parks itself in the upper atmosphere of the luminous planet where it stays immobile. This allows the rest of Pangaea to drop below the atmosphere, releasing the retractable space elevator, punching the clear shield of Pangaea back to the soil. The chosen planet is denser than Earth, but conditions are suitable for Pangaea, for the time being. Variations in temperature and atmospheric composition can be withstood so long as there's a decent section of land to plow its enormous rods into the soil. A mapping system coordinates the most suitable area.

Tuas and Cira are silent, covered in metal suits that clank with every move. As the dungeon shakes on landing, a final thrust of steam alerts them they've made it safely. Pangaea has successfully fled Earth's cataclysm and is in the constellation of Capricorn. Life's got a funny way of doing things. These two Yhemlen have withstood everything together if only the rest of the Overseers could've joined them. They've survived.

Their sworn enemies in the Grey Order aren't as tranquil. Madame Ria and Jasper are some of the few in the Grey Order that didn't fall for the suicidal trap into Pangaea. Despite altering the timeline successfully to remove the Yhemlen, life wasn't annihilated according to plan. The Yhemlen have been spread all about the galaxy. The few that will survive won't live very long after escaping the clutches of destruction. Yhemlen generations have been forever tainted as a single mantra to power, and the nation of Pangaea is no more at last.

Grandmaster Frost's consciousness is strong among The Concord members that stood by his legacy as his voice continues to reverberate. Except Ria has not given up her belief that he can be brought back. The CPU dungeon in the depths of the low orbit station is tempting her to visit again. This time, she's going to enter without Jasper. The Heinemann were the preeminent warrior family, and she doesn't plan on tarnishing that reputation. Madame Ria suspects that she could use some motivational words from an elder. The Concord will last under the moniker of the master race only so long as they thrive as a dominant force throughout the universe. The Grey Order is poised to reap the benefits of their travels. Unlike the Yhemlen, humans aren't as keen on fighting a war that's evaded their history, there's no passion there, but Xavier Moth warranted further scrutiny into these seven hybrids who shapeshifted. Ria needs to make peace with her inner enemies, the thoughts holding her back. After the final death blow of the asteroid occurred, the urge to retaliate has grown so much that, perhaps she can be the new leader the Grey Order needs.

"I'm going to make right by our family's name if there's one thing I do," her thoughts resonate loudly without restraint.

Ria and the other Greys have been sitting undisturbed in the cleansing pool where the Grey Order regenerate their bodies from the aches of the day. Despite long lives, the pain from genetic surgeries takes a physical toll. They need to numb the pain, and they do. When Madame Ria looks around, what she sees through enlarged eyes is merely a small fraction of what it used to be. No longer are there crowds that block them. Open decks in the large ship have cleansing stools near each pool, where a beam of particles sterilize the skin before they put their suits back on. Ria does so, ignoring her brother's taunts at the other end of the building. He refuses to leave.

The fibers in the suit automatically constrict around her body once she exits the infrared lit pool house. Blue and red lights at the curved ceiling leave her covered in a dim ambiance. She storms past android helpers that taunt her with automated beeps and whistles.

"Madame, would you mind a word about the construction workers in low orbit?" the robot says.

"Not right now, Android."

Wobbling undeterred to the CPU in the dungeon, a set of elevators and stairs take her through the low orbit station. All the while, Madame Ria is fuming with the rage she's supposed to calm in hopes of using logic. Her father's ways are beginning to rub off on her. Considering the way Captain Gereon was lost, she's sure to face the same fate if not careful with these dramatic outbursts. Attending something very special in the CPU will aid her in discovering what she's been missing all these years. From embryo to a genderless Grey, she never had the opportunity to hear the words of The Concord's most venerated member.

The same body scanner from her previous visit verifies her identity. This time she's prepared for the loud noises that pound her mind. Rather than stay still to let past visions freeze her, she rushes through the door. Blowing steam swirls until the sliding door slams closed. The sound of two doors crashing together is just as haunting as the voices in her head. Finally, there's silence.

Jasper's protocol for locating Grandmaster Frost and Convoy 8 is still present at the center console. Ignoring the front covers of supercomputer panels surrounding her, Madame Ria delves into what she is looking for. A swift flick of the fingers removes the previous searches. She's free to search for anything she desires. Aside from sabotaging the entire operation, she's sure not to tamper with vital codes. So far, everything is going to plan.

A booming voice shakes Ria's mind. "If it's perfection you're looking for, then you will hardly find it," it says in German.

Madame Ria comes face to face with the despised menace who sparked this entire fallout centuries ago, Adolf Hitler. There's evil in the air, something that was supposed to be buried and never recovered. She has awakened a monster. The dungeon of The Concord station has plenty of retrievable archives. Of course, most of these founders' organs were collected, but the greatest fascination left of these are minds like Albert Einstein's.

"We've lost our entire battlefleet, and I fear that The Concord is in danger. We need the foundation's help."

"Do not worry."

Madame Ria wonders if he is truly conscious, or only a simulation.

The Grey Order caste is dwindling, and Madame Ria knows their near-immortality won't save them from the fits of passion that one of their eldest, Gereon, suffered against the Yhemlen. Birthing new Greys will require more advanced cloning techniques to create a race of genetically stable Greys.

"The human mind and body are prone to weakness", he says. "The Grey Order is supposed to accept our salvation by acknowledging the death of this frail former body. Look at me now, I've transcended physical shortcomings."

"But there's something else, something even more hazardous," Ria responds.

In it, she recognizes the consequences of this power. She's seen it in her father, Gereon, who couldn't resist his vengeful pride in striking down the Yhemlen in Pangaea. Instead, it will be computer consciousness that the cosmic web must contend with that will ricochet even more powerfully against them.

Yet, the founder's hologram refuses to believe in such illusions of power that do not harm the truly transcended. To be true, there's nothing that can stop his race for domination.

"Nein!" Ria screams ferociously. "Nnnein!" she lets out again, violently. The fervent passion rattles the walls of their dungeon before Madame Ria collapses on her backside from a sudden jolt. She fears that listening to his orders may return them to similar mistakes of the past.

Madame Ria is glad that she decided to wear the metallic facemask after all. In front of her, he stands only a bit taller, but the founder's holographic light is also near blinding.

"We must fulfill our destiny," the founder reiterates.

Buried deep within the low orbit station's CPU, Madame Ria is risking her life by being here as radiation leaks can come from anywhere.

The founder's body vanishes in a puff of light, closing its hologram.

"Woah, wait!" Madame Ria grabs ahold of the central console by its foundation, refusing to let go, but she must. The vision is gone now, and she may never be able to reclaim it.

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