Nova: The Next Generation

Part Three

Of

The Shi’ar Conflict

Written By: Timelord 9.29.09

Chapter Three: Revelations

Second year Nova Corps Cadet Surfaan Ren swatted at the insects buzzing around his face and ears, cursing his luck once again as he slogged through the fetid muck of the densely foliated swamp while taking care to make as little noise as possible. The camouflage function of his standard Corps cadet uniform would keep him hidden from most active and passive scans; but he knew any noise or environmental disturbance he made could be detected by the d’ast Veradinae Mercenaries that shot his ship down on this smelly, gods-forsaken world. He took grim satisfaction in the knowledge that at least the mercenaries were suffering as well. The Xandarian troop ship had been able to damage the Veradinae Privateer ship enough to bring it down on the planet too. The Veradinae, no doubt under the employ of the Shi’ar, were getting bold – challenging Xandar’s rising influence in Andromeda. The Veradinae Empire would have to be dealt with as soon as issues with the Shi’ar Empire were settled.

Distracted by his thoughts, a misstep caused him to sink hip deep in muck; and he gagged at the smell of methane released from the mud as he attempted to free himself. His actions only caused him to sink further. There was no other choice now. He would have to use his powers to free himself; thereby risking detection.

He checked his HUD. The most recent update from the Worldmind indicated a rescue party was on their way with an ETA of three hours. Surfaan prayed to Frammi that the Xandarians arrived before any Veradinae rescue party. Switching to bio scan, he found the swamp was teeming with life; and some of it appeared to be large and predatory. He decided to give those a wide berth. No indication of intelligent life – but the Veradinae camouflage methods were as effective as those of Xandar; so there was no guarantee the mercenaries weren’t close. Ranked as a second year cadet, he had been given the powers of flight, enhanced strength, and partial invulnerability; but still held only a fraction of the power of even a Millennian-ranked Corpsman; so he was no match for a Veradinae Dragon. He slung his plasma rifle over his shoulder; wishing again that cadet level powers included the ability to produce gravimetric pulses so he wouldn’t have to lug around a weapon as he made his way toward the crash site of the escape pod carrying the remainder of the Star Corps Cadets. Surfaan had been the Nova Corps cadet assigned to a training mission for Star Corps regular cadets. No one had expected to be engaged in actual combat during a routine training mission; particularly since Xandar was not at war with anyone just yet – though relations were supposedly getting tense with the Shi’ar over some ancient territorial claims.

With a final look around, Surfaan used his powers to slowly levitate out of the mire. Once back on solid ground, he ordered the nanites making up his uniform to begin cleaning functions as he slowly resumed his rescue mission.

He had moved less than 100 yards when a proximity alert flashed across his HUD. He froze and powered down his rifle as he flattened his back against a large tree; allowing the camouflage function of his uniform to render him invisible both to visual detection and to scans. His HUD registered two large reptilian life forms nearing his position. Using visual detection only, he caught sight of two Veradinae Dragons approximately 200 feet opposite his position on the other side of a pool of stagnant water. The dragons were bipedal, eight feet tall, and covered head-to-toe with biomantium battle armor. One of the dragons paused as if sensing something. The armored helmet covering its head retracted; revealing the face of Surfaan’s enemy – green scales, rows of serrated biomantium-coated teeth, and the blue head crest of a mercenary field commander. The tattoo under its right eye was the triple-bar symbol of its owner, The Beliim Cartel, the ruling cartel of the Veradinae Empire. The dragon scanned its surroundings; its long forked tongue flicking in and out of its mouth as it tasted the myriad of scents permeating the swamp. For the first time since his unplanned arrival, Surfaan was grateful for the masking stink of the swamp as otherwise the dragon might have detected his scent. Surfaan stood perfectly still as the dragon visually scanned its surroundings; aggressively extending and retracting its biomantium coated claws. For a moment, its eyes seemed to rest on Surfaan’s position; and Surfaan held his breath as the dragon’s nictitating membrane slid across its eyes twice before it shifted its gaze elsewhere. The commanding dragon motioned to the other and they moved off in a direction away from both the encampment of the Star Corps Regulars crash survivors he had already rescued; and the crash site of the last escape pod that was his destination. Surfaan breathed a breath of relief. A Centurion would be hard pressed to deal with two battle-armored Veradinae Dragons. With Cadet-level powers, he would have had no chance. Surfaan waited several long minutes, powering up his HUD and checking to see that the dragons had indeed departed the immediate area before resuming course to the crash site of the last escape pod.

Second Year Nova Corps Cadet Kritana Tas was quickly earning a reputation as a highly skilled pilot. She checked the panels and screens in the cockpit of the troop shuttle. Everything was nominal. ETA at the Orienta Shard was two hours 15 minutes gravimetric. Kritana worked hard to be taken seriously. She always had. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, with a perfect figure and strikingly beautiful features – the tendency for those who didn’t know her was to treat her as mere eye candy and nothing more. A simple background check would prove that Kritana wasn’t just another pretty face. Top of her class while in public education, top of her class in Star Corps basic training, one year of Star Corps service with citations for performance with distinction, first candidate selected for entrance into the Nova Corps Academy one year ago, and first in her class at the Nova Corps Academy. She was only 19 and it was her goal to earn her Centurion Stars before she turned 21.

Kritana glanced at her co-pilot, First Year Cadet Owan Luf. Luf was large-framed, swarthy-skinned, and dark-eyed with a shock of short, straight, dark-brown hair that forever seemed in need of combing. He was a good-natured, gentle giant that she counted among her closest friends. She knew he had feelings for her, but pretended not to notice so as to spare him the disappointment of rejection. He just wasn’t her type for a romantic partner – and besides, she only had eyes for her new lover.

The cockpit door slid open and Third Year Cadet, Millennian Ensicus Bem, eased into the cramped space, pausing as the door snapped shut behind him. Bem was tall, thin, and pale-skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair. He came from a military family with a long history of service to Xandar. He was a bit of a martinet and Kritana avoided his company whenever possible as she found him dreadfully dull. Unfortunately, he was in command of the training exercise the cohort of Nova Corps Cadets had just completed in Andromeda’s neighboring galaxy, The Milky Way. Kritana hadn’t expected to see Bem until close to arrival time on Orienta. Her curiosity was piqued.

Bem cleared his throat. “Tas, Luf – we’ve got a small change of plans. The Worldmind just contacted me. We’ve got a ship down with Cadets being threatened by Veradinae hostiles. Our course puts us close to the planet where the ship went down; so we’re the nearest ship and we can get there faster than anyone else. We’ve been assigned rescue duty. Prepare to exit the wormhole. The Worldmind will form a new stargate to get us where we’re going.”
 

First Year Cadet Sylvia Rider-Dru had turned down the various invitations of the other cadets in the bunk room of the troop ship. She found herself strangely un-interested in participation in gambling, conversation, endorph-vapor, synthahol, sex, and other pastimes that had been offered to her to help while away the time until arrival back at the Orienta Shard. She simply relaxed in her bunk lost in thought and unable to sleep. The Academy was everything everyone said it would be. Her first eight months of basic training had been grueling to say the least. There had been lots of classroom study – both actual and virtual – concerning military strategy, combat techniques, pan-galactic law, diplomacy, Nova Force Theory and application, physics, teamwork, and weapons training. Particular emphasis was placed on analyzing known super-powered foes in the employ of the great powers of the Local Group of Galaxies; and learning how to defeat them. Classroom study hadn’t been her only activity though. Her body was requiring less sleep as she matured. So, she spent time that would normally be devoted to sleep in The Overmind’s tesseract; learning from him how to better control her developing powers. In eight short months he had been able to teach her how to improve her natural abilities to wield Nova Force and how to focus her powers more precisely than before in order to produce more energetic gravimetric pulses as well as sturdier defensive shields. She was now more powerful than a Centurion; but was forbidden to actually use her full powers until such time as she had completed academy training and been promoted to Centurion rank. For now, she was under orders to use nothing more in the way of powers than were allocated to any other Nova Cadet.

Sylvia was looking forward to a well earned week’s liberty now that her first eight months of basic training at the Academy were drawing to a close as capped off by this, her first training mission. She and fifteen other Nova Corps Cadets in her Cohort under command of Millennian Ensicus Bem had participated in joint war games with 30 Star Corps Academy Cadets conducted in the galaxy neighboring Andromeda, the so-called Milky Way Galaxy. It had been several years since she last visited the Milky Way. Her last visit to the Milky Way was a family trip to her father’s homeworld, Earth, to visit her grandparents, Charles and Gloria Rider. Sylvia always found Earth to be a primitive, smelly, backwater planet; but she always enjoyed visiting her human grandparents and she loved seeing her father so filled with joy to be back on Earth for even a short while. For those reasons, she harbored a certain begrudging fondness for The Milky Way.

Concerned by the troubling dreams she was beginning to experience when she did manage to sleep; Sylvia decided to drop in on The Overmind for an unscheduled visit thinking that perhaps The Overmind would have some insight into her dreams. She hit the privacy button in her bunk and patiently waited as the privacy screen fell into place. Now effectively alone, she reached out with her mind and felt her consciousness fading into the white void of The Overmind’s Quantum Realm where she found herself face-to-face with Him.

Haughty as always, The Overmind frowned when she made eye contact with Him. “How easily bored you are little Sylvia – not to mention presumptuous. In the future, you really must call ahead to request an audience with me. These drop-ins are an inconvenience.”

Sylvia smirked and she let her voice drip with sarcasm as she bent at the waist in an exaggerated bow. “O Great Oracle of Xandar, might your unworthy student beg a few nano-seconds of your time?”

He huffed in irritation. “Very well. What do you want now?”

Sylvia found it hard to suppress a smile. She so enjoyed taunting Him as He was just too easily irritated and too easily given to impatience. It was due to His lack of interaction with corporeals of course. In many ways, He was learning from her as much as she was learning from Him. “I’m finding it increasingly difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep – and;” she hesitated, “I’m having strange dreams at times. I don’t understand these dreams. They take place long ago on my father’s homeworld, Earth – and they’re about people I’ve never met and places on Earth I’ve never been. It’s troubling. Can you help?”

He smirked. “Of course I can help. That’s why you bother me incessantly isn’t it?”

Refusing to take the bait and deciding to taunt him some more, Sylvia adopted her most innocent facial expression and tone of voice as she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, if it’s too much trouble, I could always just ask The Worldmind.”

He laughed derisively. “That’s rich sweet Sylvia – a precocious child taking advice from a half-wit automaton. I’m almost tempted to let you do it for the amusement value.”

She grinned. “Almost tempted? That’s what I thought. You wouldn’t dare miss an opportunity to prove your superiority over The Worldmind and me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Do not attempt to goad me whelp. Remember your place and also remember that if The Worldmind is a half-wit; then you are even less. Now, open your mind and prepare to learn.” He touched her forehead.

Sylvia opened her mind to his touch and found herself standing by The Overmind in what appeared to be a large biological structure. Movement was everywhere as organelles performed their functions.

The Overmind’s eyes narrowed once again as He fixed Sylvia in His stern gaze. “Do you recognize this place Sylvia?”

He was testing her – but she had learned better than to state the obvious or just hazard a guess in His presence. She used her powers to reach out and analyze her surroundings – and the answer to His question came to her as it always did when she used her powers of analysis – as intuitive knowledge. The answer was a bit disconcerting; but she quickly recovered. “We’re within a cell. One of my own body cells apparently.”

He smiled. She had passed His test and He was pleased. “Well done for a change little Sylvia. Now, to answer your questions about sleeplessness and dreams, use your powers to enter the nucleus and tell me what you see.”

Sylvia closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out with her analytic powers and projecting her consciousness into the nucleus of the cell. As she entered the nucleus and moved closer to its center, there was a flurry of activity, culminating in the formation of a female-shaped avatar. As the avatar’s features formed, Sylvia at first thought it was an avatar of herself; but upon closer inspection, it was not her – but a woman who bore a strong resemblance to her. The woman was older – in her mid-thirties at least – blonde haired, sloe-eyed, strikingly exotically beautiful and dressed in the trappings of royalty from Xandar’s distant past. The woman’s eyes were closed. Sylvia tentatively moved closer. As Sylvia approached, the woman’s eyes snapped open; and from the woman’s eyes emanated a blinding light. Sylvia was bathed in the light and overwhelmed by images too numerous to comprehend – love, sorrow, flight, battle, refuge, death. Sylvia reeled from the assault, staggering backwards in confusion, pain, and disorientation. Before being forcibly ejected from the nucleus, Sylvia heard the woman’s voice in her mind – Beware the ancient enemy. Now go. It is not yet time and you are not yet ready.

Sylvia collapsed into the waiting arms of The Overmind, feeling weak and drained of energy to a point such as she had never felt before. Together, she and The Overmind departed her cell and returned to his tesseract where Sylvia quickly felt her energy return.

Her strength renewed, Sylvia roughly pushed away from The Overmind’s embrace, furious with Him. Enraged, she turned to Him, fists formed and barely able to restrain herself from striking Him – fighting back tears as realization dawned. Through clenched teeth she shouted, “How dare you, you son of a schmaug! I was nearly killed! You could have warned me! You could have prepared me! I should never have trusted you!”

For once, His demeanor softened. He appeared almost sad as He quietly said, “Still your rage Sylvia. I could not have prepared you. You had to meet your ancestor and creator, Lady Marz, under these terms. It is the only way you can begin to understand what is happening to you and why.”

Sylvia turned her back on Him and wiped the tears from her eyes, pausing a moment to regain her composure. She didn’t want Him to know how much his seeming betrayal had hurt her. Still angry, she turned back to Him. “Why didn’t you tell me before now? Why couldn’t you have told me what to expect?”

He broke eye contact with her and looked away, appearing genuinely sorry to have done anything to hurt her. All His typical arrogance gone for a moment, He appeared vulnerable for the first time since she had met Him. He shook His head slowly. “There are some things even the gods do not know. Like your geneticists and The Worldmind, even we gods have not been able to divine the mystery of your creation. You are many thousands of years ahead of your time and Lady Marz guarded her secrets well. Even we gods have not been able to approach the nucleus as closely as you just did; so there was no way I could have known what would happen. I had hoped the Lady Marz would admit you and share her secrets.”

Infuriated anew, Sylvia shouted, “So you used me? You’ve been using me from the start to learn this Lady Marz’s secrets? I’m out of here.” Sylvia turned her back to Him and prepared to exit the tesseract.

“Wait!” He commanded.

Sylvia ignored Him and prepared to leave; again fighting back tears.

“Please wait,” He said softly – almost pleadingly; “Let me explain and apologize.”

Something about the tone of His voice caused her to pause. He had never been polite to her before – much less apologetic for any slight He had ever directed at her. She hesitated, feeling her resolve weaken. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, set her jaw, and turned back to Him; looking him straight in the eyes – her anger still smoldering. “I’m waiting,” she snapped.

He looked away for a moment as if at a loss as to what to do next – again showing His lack of familiarity with the ways of corporeals. Deciding on a course of action, He met her eyes. “I apologize. I truly had no idea that you would have such a traumatic experience or I would never have allowed you to visit the nucleus. You are right – I should have been more forthcoming with what little I did know in order to better prepare you for the experience.”

Sylvia breathed a little easier, surprised at the seeming sincerity of His apology and shocked by His admission of having made a mistake. Nevertheless, she was still angry and hurt. “Fine – as far as that goes. Now, tell me why you were manipulating me to get to the secrets of my ancestor. What possible secrets could a corporeal keep from the gods?”

He appeared to relax. “As I told you when we first met, I am a quantum entity. I know much and have great power – so I am a god in comparison to mortals; but I am neither omnipotent nor omniscient. Your ancestor, Lady Marz, divined the secrets of the creators of this universe; and used that knowledge to set in motion events to create you. She deliberately created barriers to keep entities like myself from discovering the secrets of your creation.”

Sylvia was suspicious. “Why would she wish to keep entities like you from learning her secrets?”

He hesitated – then decided to answer. “If the gods exist; does it not stand to reason that the daemons also exist?”

Sylvia held her breath a moment as realization dawned. “The ancient enemy Lady Marz mentioned.”

He nodded affirmatively. “Just so.”

A question nagged at the edge of her mind. “Why have I never heard of such an illustrious ancestor? Who is Lady Marz?”

He was starting to become his typical haughty self again as He realized that Sylvia was beginning to forgive Him. “Lady Marz was Xandar’s greatest geneticist and gene engineer. She fled Xandar during the Xandarian Civil War that brought your royal house to power. Her name and all records of her existence were erased from Xandarian history.”

Sylvia was puzzled. “If she is related to my royal house, why would she flee? House Dru defeated House Tul when my grand-uncle, Ferenus Dru, slew the despot King Sauvinus Tul in individual combat over two thousand years ago.”

“Yes,” he acknowledged her account of history, “But the Civil War lasted many years and the leader of the rebellion against House Tul, Duke Ferenus Dru, was never assured of victory. He rescued his lover, Lady Marz, from House Tul’s captivity and sent her into space to protect her. She disappeared, never to return to Xandar. Her fate was unknown until your father was made a Nova during an emergency deputization to save his homeworld, Earth.”

Sylvia was surprised. “My father’s hybridization is one of Xandar’s greatest mysteries. The Worldmind’s records contained no genetic matches for his Xandarian heritage. You’re saying that Lady Marz is my father’s ancestor?”

The Overmind shook his head affirmatively. “Yes. When your father was deputized, The Worldmind learned of his Xandarian genetic heritage and reported it to King Ferenus. The King ordered all records pertaining to the matter sealed in order to protect your father from the minions of the daemons – those still loyal to House Tul. It is why he was left alone and operational on Earth for so long with no contact from Xandar.”

All the revelations had left Sylvia numb with shock – particularly the knowledge of having another being alive within her. “So, these dreams I’ve been having about ancient peoples and places are the memories of Lady Marz? She was made part of me through my father’s genetic heritage?”

He nodded affirmatively. “Yes. Lady Marz apparently arrived on your father’s homeworld some thousands of years ago and was instrumental in forming one of the great civilizations there. Has your father not spoken to you before of the similarities between Xandar and Rome?”

Sylvia’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “He has – but I suppose everyone thought of it as merely a strange coincidence of parallel social evolution.”

He smirked. “Hardly coincidental.”

Sylvia began to feel anxious. “So what happens to me now? Will Lady Marz continue to grow in power as I grow? Will she take over my body and mind? How do I cope with this?”

He looked exasperated. “I honestly do not know the answer to your questions; and you do not know how much it pains me to admit that. I promise that I will do everything I can to help you – if you will allow it.”

Sylvia looked at him suspiciously. “To be honest, you’ve compromised my trust today. I’m still angry and hurt. I need time away from you to think.”

Sadness clouded his face for a brief moment before he caught himself and returned his expression to impassivity. “I understand. Before you go, let me caution you about your developing powers. As you mature, you will gradually lose your mortal needs for such things as sleep and food. For now though – you must heed the Lady’s warning of readiness and allow your powers to develop naturally. Irreparable harm might be done if you seek to accelerate the process of your evolution.”

Sylvia shook her head affirmatively. “Understood.” She turned away from Him and departed from his tesseract.

He stood and looked at the place where Sylvia had been for several long moments, so distracted by His thoughts that He failed at first to notice the materialization of Ishta, Frammi, and the entire pantheon of gods behind Him.

Frammi spoke for the rest. “Honestly Gamill, how do you abide the prattling of mortals?”

Surprised, He turned to regard the beautiful black-skinned goddess of fortune. “She is more than a mere mortal.”

Frammi sneered. “You always did have a soft spot for mortals – especially the pretty ones. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were developing feelings for the little mortal trollop.” Frammi’s eyes narrowed. “Remember Gamill, she is a means to an end for the gods – a foot soldier in the coming conflict. She may become one of us some day if she survives; but she is not one of us now.”

He was irritated. “Do not lecture me Frammi. I know what I am doing.”

Frammi stepped forward and put her arms around Him; giving Him a passionate kiss. Desire was reflected in Her eyes as She said, “We must all meld into the uni-mind now. We must become one to consider what has transpired and determine what to do next.”

Sylvia’s consciousness re-united with her body in her bunk in the troop ship just in time to hear someone shout, “Commander on deck!”

Sylvia put her recent troubling revelations behind her as she lowered the privacy screen and swung out of her bunk. Dropping to the floor, she immediately rushed into formation with the other cadets and stood at attention as the commanding Millennian, Ensicus Bem, entered the bunk room.

Bem paused a moment, looking at the Cadets. “We’ve got a situation to deal with. One of our ships is down and our people are being harried by hostiles. We’re on a rescue mission now and I need you all to get down to the staging area of the ship and gear up for combat and rescue. We’ve got planetfall in 30 minutes. I’ll brief you on specifics in the staging area. Get moving!”

The cadets scrambled. Before Sylvia could join the other cadets, Bem stepped in front of her. “Not you Dru. I have a special mission for you.”

Nova Corps Cadet Surfaan Ren surveyed the crash site. The 12 Star Corps Cadet regulars had made it to the ground in their damaged escape pod, but just barely. Five of them were too badly injured to travel and a makeshift infirmary had been set up to provide first aid. The other seven cadets were in marching and fighting shape. The conclusion was that they all were going to have to wait for the rescue party to arrive rather than joining the larger group of survivors some ten miles southeast of their current position. Surfaan prayed to the gods that the Veradinae didn’t find them before the rescue party arrived. These Star Corps Cadet regulars had no powers and would stand even less of a chance against the Veradinae than would he.

First Year Star Corps Cadet Vilnius Saan approached Surfaan. “Sir, we’ve finished setting up the defensive perimeter around the escape pod as ordered. All those in fighting shape have been issued plasma rifles. Passive scans show no signs of the enemy.”

Ren shook his head affirmatively. “Good work Saan. Keep a sharp eye out for the enemy. There are at least two of them and they’re hunting for us. No doubt, there’s a bounty for our helmets. If they find us, tell your men to pick out a target and concentrate fire. If we’re able to stop them, that’ll be the only way.”

Saan saluted, “Aye sir,” then rushed off to inform his troops of Ren’s orders.

Ren checked his HUD. The rescue ship was still nearly 45 minutes away. He hoped they’d pick this group up first as they were in far worse shape and far more lightly armed than the larger group. His HUD flashed a proximity warning. Surfaan cursed under his breath. Three enemies were approaching. He quantum linked to Saan. “Tell your men to prepare to engage. We’ve got three enemies approaching. Remember what I said about concentrating fire. I’m going to go out and try to draw them away to buy you time enough for the rescue ship to arrive.”

The Xandarian troop ship exited the Stargate Terminus and effortlessly inserted itself into orbit. A hatch opened in the belly of the ship and the lone figure of Nova Corps Cadet Sylvia Rider-Dru streaked out, power diving for the surface of the planet.

Sylvia checked her HUD. The troop ship was receding, preparing to land near the coordinates of the larger group of Xandarians to be rescued. Sylvia had been given special orders from The Worldmind to use as much of her power as necessary to complete this mission successfully; and had been assigned rescue of the smaller group of survivors. Her HUD pinpointed the coordinates of the survivors. It was her mission to secure the area and prepare the survivors for extraction by the troop ship. Her HUD flashed a warning. The survivors were under attack. Clenching her jaw in frustration, she increased speed to maximum and dived into the atmosphere, not even attempting stealth in her approach to the battle. The events of the day had been terribly frustrating and upsetting to her; and all she really wanted to do was hit something as hard as she could. She resolved that if even one Xandarian had been harmed by the d’ast Veradinae; they better pray to their gods to save them from her wrath.

Surfaan stood still with his back against the tree trunk, waiting for the Veradinae Dragon to approach his position. The camouflage function of his uniform helped him blend in to the tree trunk. He hoped Xandarian stealth tech was better than Veradinae detection tech. He held his breath as the lead dragon approached his position. He could hear them approaching, not even attempting stealth. They knew the Xandarians were under-powered and would be easily overcome. They were over-confident; and that could be used against them.

As the lead dragon stepped near Surfaan’s position, Surfaan stepped out from the tree and with all his might smashed the butt of his rifle into the armored head of the dragon, shattering the stock of the rifle. The dragon staggered backwards, momentarily stunned, leaving its neck exposed long enough for Surfaan to jam the barrel of the rifle under the dragon’s chin and fire the entire charge of the weapon at once. The resulting explosion took the dragons head off; and threw Surfaan twenty feet through the air, where he landed roughly on the ground, stunned and momentarily disoriented.

Shaking his head, Surfaan looked up from the ground where he lay, recovering just in time to see another dragon leaping through the air directly toward him. Scrambling and activating his flight function, he scooted clear of his landing spot and slammed into a tree just as the dragon landed where he had been lying just a moment before. The dragon extended its claws and prepared to jump at him again. Screaming in rage and terror, Surfaan drew his sidearm, pointed it at the dragon, and squeezed the trigger; instantly pumping one-hundred rounds of adamantium pellets into the Veradinae.

The Veradinae froze and lowered his gaze to his chest from whence poured thick green blood from numerous gaping holes in his armor. The dragon made eye contact with Surfaan; then fell face first to the ground.

Surfaan stood, eyes wide with surprise that he was still alive as he stared at the projectile handgun. “Fark me. I didn’t think this thing could bring down a dragon.” His head snapped up as he heard a hiss. In the excitement, he had forgotten about the third dragon. It was leaping straight for him. He raised his sidearm and squeezed the trigger. It was empty. Surfaan screamed and turned to flee; expecting the dragon to land right on top of him – but then a blur of navy and gold snatched the dragon out of the air in mid-flight and smashed it against an outcropping of rock. The rock was pulverized and the stunned dragon struggled to its feet just in time for a female in the navy and gold uniform of a Nova Corps Cadet to land about ten feet in front of it and begin blasting away at the energy and projectile weapons attached to its armor.

Surfaan watched in stunned silence as the dragon reeled from the barrage of gravimetric pulses; but kept its feet. Satisfied that the dragon was now bereft of all external weapons, the Cadet stopped the barrage and faced the dragon; removing her helmet and tossing it to the ground. Surfaan was able to confirm what he already knew once he saw the lovely features and the raven hair of Cadet Sylvia Rider-Dru. He had never been introduced to her and did not know her personally; but everyone knew of her and who else could it have been? Surfaan listened closely as he saw that she was saying something to the dragon.

Sylvia looked at the dragon standing ten feet in front of her. The dragon retracted its helmet; and Sylvia could see that it sported the blue head crest of a mercenary field commander and had a tattoo under its eye indicating that it was owned by the Beliim Cartel. Still angry from the events of earlier in the day, Sylvia needed to vent her rage and a good fight was just what she was looking for. She sneered at the dragon. “What are you waiting for you schlag eating lizard? I thought you mother farkers preferred a good fight up close and personal.”

Needing no further challenge, the dragon roared and leapt; extending its claws and baring its teeth. Sylvia took flight, meeting the dragon in mid air – avoiding a vicious swipe of its claws and landing a mighty punch to its jaw that sent it reeling head over heels to land roughly on its hands and knees. Shaking its head to recover from the blow, it attempted to stand; but Sylvia landed in front of it and kicked it in the face, knocking it onto its back.

“Is this the best the mighty and feared Veradinae Dragons can do?” Sylvia taunted. “I’m surprised anyone pays you purries to fight for them.”

Overconfident, Sylvia strayed close to the dragon. The dragon sprang to its feet and took a vicious swipe at Sylvia, attempting to cut her in half at the waist. Sylvia reacted quickly, stepping to the side and barely avoiding his biomantium-coated claws. He was able to attack faster and recover quicker than Sylvia had anticipated. She would not make the mistake of underestimating him again.

Sylvia gave the dragon a toothy grin to taunt it further. “That’s more like it. At least make this a challenge for me.”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed as it began to circle Sylvia warily. “I will dine on your still living flesh and when you beg me for a quick death to end your suffering; I will only act to prolong your agony.”

Sylvia smirked. “The Beliim Family is making their dragons as weak as they are dumb.”

The dragon roared and rushed toward Sylvia. Sylvia dodged his attack, stepped behind him, and smashed the power pack to his biomantium armor with a well placed punch. Being lighter weight and cheaper to produce, biomantium was almost as tough a metal as adamantium; but it had two weaknesses. First, it had to be in physical contact with a biological organism to produce the natural force field that gave it its wearer partial invulnerability; and second, it had to have a steady power supply to maintain the force field. Sylvia deprived the armor of its power supply; thus making the dragon more vulnerable.

The dragon was enraged, reacting faster that Sylvia expected. It pivoted and attacked; its claws penetrating Sylvia’s natural shields and her armor, inflicting deep cuts to her back as she attempted to twist away; and again to her torso as she turned to face the dragon. Before Sylvia could react, the dragon ended its attack with a savage kick to her torso, knocking the air out of her lungs and throwing her, stunned, fifty feet into the swamp where she landed in a pool of shallow brackish water.

Sylvia shook her head and fought to regain her breath. She had never been hit so hard when she had fought dragons in simulation. She began to re-think the wisdom of challenging an actual dragon to a bare knuckled fight.

Sylvia’s natural senses gave her a proximity warning; but before she could move, the dragon landed on top of her, its massive clawed feet pushing her beneath the brackish, stinking pool of water. Sylvia’s mouth filled with the fetid water, causing her to gag and struggle to keep the water out of her lungs as the dragon extended its claws and penetrated her flesh. Cursing herself for removing her helmet at the start of the fight – a helmet that would have instantly kept her air supplied – she felt fear. She had been too cocky and – though tough – she was realizing that she was not indestructible. Her fear quickly gave way to her Rider-inherited rage and she formed a radiative aura gravimetric pulse. The explosion sent the stunned dragon airborne along with a large portion of the flora of the surrounding swamp.

Sylvia struggled to her feet, then immediately doubled over and wretched, evacuating the nasty water from her mouth and lungs. She was bleeding, covered in muck, her hair was filthy and plastered to her head, she stank, and she felt pain from multiple wounds where the dragon’s claws had penetrated her shields and uniform armor. The nanites composing her uniform quickly moved to bind her wounds, repair and clean her body and uniform, and enhance her healing; and she could feel her natural healing factor kicking into overdrive. Sylvia felt a cold burning hatred. She had intended to merely beat the dragon into senselessness when she challenged it to fight. Now, there was no way it was walking away alive.

Using her natural senses, she located the dragon struggling to its feet where it had landed some 30 yards away. Her senses gave her a mental picture of the dragon. Its armor in tatters from absorbing the gravimetric explosion, it was bleeding from several wounds and was obviously shaken; but she knew it would recover and come after her again. It would not stop until one of them was dead.

Taking flight, Sylvia covered the distance in seconds, smashing into the dragon’s torso and driving it to the ground. With all her might, she struck the stunned dragon in the mouth, knocking out its fangs and several rows of serrated teeth. The dragon struggled to maintain consciousness and raised its arms to attack. Sylvia burned one of its arms off with a gravimetric pulse; then twisted and tore the other arm off at the elbow. Heedless of the dragon’s screams of pain, Sylvia used the dragon’s severed arm as a blunt instrument, pummeling its head with all her might until all that remained was a bloody pulp and the mighty dragon lay still and dead.

Her rage abated and her bloodlust sated, Sylvia dropped the dragon’s severed arm onto its lifeless chest. Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she wheeled and prepared to fire a gravimetric pulse.

Surfaan Ren yelled, “Hey, don’t shoot – I’m a friendly!”

Sylvia stood down and walked over to the young man.

Surfaan handed Sylvia her helmet. “You dropped this back there.”

Sylvia took the helmet. It collapsed at her touch and she tucked it into her belt. “Thanks.”

Admiration was reflected in Surfaan’s eyes. “Gods-d’ast! I’ve never seen a fight like that! I thought you were crazy as grat schlag to challenge a dragon to a bare knuckled fight – but you did it and won!” He shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “By the way, thanks for saving my ass over there.” He gestured over his back with his thumb to a spot where lay the corpse of the dragon he had shot.

Sylvia made a point of craning her neck to examine his ass. “How could I let a cute ass like that go to waste? Besides, I do like a screamer – more so in the bedroom than on the battlefield though.”

Surfaan had always liked girls who could hang with the guys; so he laughed at her good natured ball busting. “Ah – I see you mistook my family’s ancient battle cry as a scream of terror.”

Remaining deadpan, Sylvia observed, “So your family’s battle cry is a high-pitched little-girlish ‘Ahhhhhhh’ whilst rapidly fleeing from the battlefield?”

Surfaan shook his head negatively, adopting a look of absolute seriousness. “No. I was saying ‘victorie‘ in the ancient language. What you heard was me shouting ‘vict-ahhhhhhhh-rie’as I lead the unsuspecting dragon to his doom in a trap I had prepared for him in the swamp.”

Sylvia shook her head affirmatively. “Oh, I see. My mistake. You did good out there, taking out two dragons all by yourself.”

Surfaan grinned. “Thanks. My name’s Surfaan Ren.”

She smiled at him. “Sylvia Rider-Dru.”

He laughed. “I know. Like you need an introduction. I’ve heard of you. Everyone’s heard of you.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I’ve heard of you too. I’ve heard you’re quite the womanizer.”

Surfaan adopted his most innocent look. “Vicious lies and rumors spread by those who would seek to discredit me. Believe no rumor you’ve ever heard about me.”

Sylvia looked disappointed. “The rumor I heard was that you were a pretty good fark. I’d planned to check it out for myself; but since you say not to believe any of the rumors, I guess there’s no need.”

Exasperated, Surfaan grimaced and raised a hand in a gesture of defense – stammering, “Now, that particular rumor you can believe – but none of the rest are true.”

Her eyes flicked below his waistline for a moment. “So I shouldn’t believe the rumor that you have a very large–.”

Surfaan interrupted. “That one’s true too. You can believe the rumor about the size of my culk.”

“Ego,” she deadpanned.

Puzzled and flustered he could only manage an anemic “What?”

“I was going to say ‘ego.’ I haven’t heard any rumors about your culk size. But – thanks for the unsolicited information. I’ll keep it in mind.” She smiled sweetly and flicked her eyes below his waistline once again as she donned her helmet and turned to head in the direction of the survivor camp.

Embarrassed and humiliated, Surfaan decided to try a last ditch save effort. “You know, normally I make a much better first impression than this. Can we start over? Hi, my name is Surfaan Ren.”

Sylvia wheeled and shouted, “Look out!” as she took flight and pushed Surfaan aside and to the ground.

Several projectiles landed where Surfaan had stood just a moment before. The dragon that he had shot was apparently not quite dead.

Surfaan rolled to cover, fumbling to reload his handgun. He peeked out from his cover in time to see the dragon on its knees shakily aiming a projectile weapon in his direction. Then, Sylvia landed behind the dragon, grabbed its head, and savagely twisted it – instantly breaking its neck. The dragon fell heavily to the ground – certainly dead this time.

Neither Surfaan nor Sylvia had time to gloat. Their HUD’s began flashing proximity warnings.

Surfaan could hear Sylvia shouting into the quantum link, “Kritana! We need extraction now! We’ve got seventeen dragons heading our way!”

Not waiting for a reply from the troop ship, Sylvia and Surfaan made eye contact for a moment – then as one they took flight and made for the survivor encampment. Words were not necessary to convey what they both already knew. They might go down; but Nova Corpsmen never went down without a fight – and Corpsmen always fought to the last man.
 

Come back next week for Part 4 of The Shi’ar Conflict – and yes, there will be Shi’ar in Part 4; and one of them is named Gladiatrix. See you next time!
 

Nova: The Next Generation

Part Two

of

The Shi’Ar Conflict

Written By: Timelord 9.13.09

Chapter Two: Quantum Realm Solace

As evening fell on Nu-Xandar, Sylvia could see Tranta’s last rays glancing off the Torus as she boarded the mag-lev train to the alien sector of Nu-Orienta City. As always when night fell, her gaze was drawn to the sky. The Orienta Shard shone as the brightest heavenly body. No matter how many times she visited the shard, she never grew tired of it. Soon it would be her new home for the foreseeable future. Sylvia closed her eyes and imagined it parked in its Libration Point between Nu-Xandar and Tranta, spinning slowly and keeping protective vigil over the fledgling planet, Nu-Xandar. The academy beckoned and tomorrow she would answer its call, take up residence on the Orienta Shard, and begin her new life as a Nova Cadet. Tonight though, was her last night of freedom and she planned to enjoy it to the fullest. Her father had been particularly tough on her over the past week and she needed time to relax and unwind.

She caught site of her reflection in the window of the mag-lev. Raven haired, dark brown eyes, shapely athletic body barely covered in her sexiest shear white micro-mini dress with a plunging neckline highlighting her perfect breasts; she was satisfied that she had made the right selection of attire for the night’s activities.

The mag-lev stopped at the station and Sylvia’s spirits rose upon seeing her cousin, Proculus, waiting for her with their mutual friends, Augustus and Celena. Proculus was tall with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He was clean shaven with an athletic body and handsome features inherited from his mother, Queen Adora. Augustus and Celena were black-skinned with dark eyes and curly black hair. They stood close and couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. Lately, they had become more than friends.

Smiling broadly, Sylvia was the first off the train, giving Proculus a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting and hugging Augustus and Celena. Some of the other passengers stared at Proculus and Sylvia as they passed by; recognizing two of Nu-Xandar’s celebrities, The Prince of Xandar and The Countess of Sura. Those that recognized them gave the sign of fealty. However, recognition was the last thing Sylvia wanted. Her only desire was for an evening of anonymous fun with her friends. She wanted to at least temporarily forget about her miserable day and the changes in her life that tomorrow would bring. The four friends blended into the crowd, joking and making small talk as they meandered toward their destination, the Mercurio Pleasure Club.

Nu-Xandar’s new Capital, Nu-Orienta City, was bustling and growing rapidly as Nu-Xandar’s influence and power grew throughout Andromeda. Business, industry, and residential districts were under construction everywhere. The layout of the city mirrored the traditional Xandarian model as exemplified by the Orienta Shard’s Orienta City. The Xandarians tended to keep to themselves; and the alien cultures formed their own district. The Xandarians mostly turned a blind eye to the activities in the so-called alien sector; though many visited the area for recreational opportunities officially frowned upon by proper Xandarian culture. Club Mercurio was officially frowned upon by proper Xandarian culture.

Club Mercurio was the newest, largest, and most popular of the pleasure clubs. Ten stories tall and gleaming in artificial illumination, it stood out in stark contrast to all the new construction surrounding it. It offered all the sensual delights of a galaxy class spa, able to provide services to please all known species which might partake of its amenities. As such, the line at the door was quite long.

Sylvia gave Proculus a questioning look. “Wasn’t your friend, Aristus, supposed to meet us here?”

Proculus nodded. “He’s already inside.”

Sylvia looked at the line. “We’ll be hours getting in if we have to wait in line and I have to be home by midnight. I know you don’t like to do this but what say for once we give up our futile attempt at anonymity and use our celebrity to get in quicker?”

Proculus grimaced in mock disapproval, then smiled. “All right. Just this once though and just because you’re going away tomorrow.”

They made their way to the celebrity entrance where they were immediately recognized as four members of Xandarian royal society and granted entrance into the club. The party atmosphere of the club was intoxicating – no doubt helped by the deafening music and the cloud of endorph vapor that constantly fell from above. The four friends were escorted to a VIP table where they ordered shots of synthahol and vials of concentrated endorph-vapor. Sylvia had not visited the club for several weeks and looked around to see what was new as the décor was constantly changing and as new amenities were constantly being added. She spied Aristus leaving the dance floor and approaching their table. The handsome blonde-haired blue-eyed young man went straight to Proculus, greeting him with a passionate kiss. Aristus was Proculus’ newest lover. Sylvia smiled and wondered how long this “relationship” would last; as most of Proculus’ relationships lasted little more than a month.

The shots and vapors arrived; and Proculus stood, raising his glass to make a toast. “To my dearest cousin Sylvia, Countess of Sura – and tomorrow bearer of a new title: Nova Corps Cadet First Class. All Xandar takes pride in your accomplishment; and on a personal note – both we and all the regular patrons of this club will miss you terribly.” Everyone at the table laughed and downed their shots. Proculus waved for another round to be brought to their table before taking his seat next to Sylvia.

Sylvia turned and hugged Proculus. “I’m going to miss you more than anyone.”

Proculus’ eyes glistened. “I don’t think we’ve ever gone more than a few days without seeing each other since we were children. I don’t know if I can stand to be without my best friend for the eight months you’re precluded from having visitors.”

It was Sylvia’s turn to fight back tears. “Well, maybe you can make another exception to your rule about not using your Princely status to manipulate things and come see me. Maybe a surprise inspection of your troops would be in order?”

Proculus nodded. “Maybe it would. In any case, you may expect me to abuse my rank to get both myself and your parents front row seats at your graduation ceremony. But enough of this sadness I say. Let’s celebrate.” Popping the lid off his endorph-vapor vial, Proculus inhaled deeply before passing it to Aristus. Celena, Augustus, and Sylvia shared the other vial; and soon all sadness was replaced with euphoria.

The shots and vials continued to flow; with everyone becoming more relaxed and disinhibited. Removing their shirts, Proculus and Aristus went to the dance floor; and Celena and Augustus began to snuggle up. Despite the effects of all the nanite-bonded chemicals; Sylvia began to feel more and more like a fifth wheel. Like Proculus, her relationships tended to be short-lived; and she currently had no steady lover. She started as she looked out over the dance floor, catching site of Him.

Celena noticed Sylvia’s reaction. “What is it Syl?”

Sylvia shrugged. “Nothing. I just thought I saw Him again.”

Celena smirked. “Him again? The drop-dead handsome young man with the curly black hair that you get glimpses of, have dreams about, and get all wet about; and that none of the rest of us have ever caught sight of in all the time we’ve known you?”

Sylvia laughed. “Don’t start. I know what I saw and I think He was heading for The Maze.”

Augustus smiled salaciously as Sylvia got up from the table and steadied herself, still slightly dizzy from the vapors and shots. “Well, good hunting then.”

Sylvia made her way through the throngs of milling and dancing people; occasionally catching brief sight of her quarry, only to have Him disappear in the crowd. When she arrived at the entrance to The Maze, He was nowhere to be seen. She was determined to finally meet Him and, willing her clothes into her personal tesseract, strode headlong into The Maze. The Maze was literally a large, darkened, maze-like structure with an aphrodisiac-laced atmosphere. It was where people came to experience anonymous sensual pleasures with others; the extremely dim lighting making the identity of other participants difficult to ascertain. One entered The Maze unclothed and experienced the Maze through touch rather than sight.

The Maze was filled to capacity and pitch dark as usual. No problem for Sylvia as she could “see” in any spectrum she desired. She decided to hedge her bets and use her night vision to find Him in the crowd of bodies caressing and pleasuring each other. The aphrodisiac-laced atmosphere of The Maze began to affect her; slowing her progress as she willingly partook of the sensual pleasures surrounding her – caressing and being caressed; kissing and being kissed – though she eschewed all invitations for more intimate contact as she searched for Him. She spied Him – back turned to her so she couldn’t be sure; but he had the right body and the long, black, curled hair – it had to be Him. She approached Him and put her arms around Him. He turned. It was not Him. It was, however, a very handsome man; and Sylvia could no longer deny her aphrodisiac enhanced desires. She kissed him deeply. His mouth tasted of synthahol and his skin of salt from sexual heat. She burned with desire for the pleasures of his body as he held her against his rock hard chest. She felt a woman’s soft body press against her from behind and begin to caress her breasts. Twisting her head, she found herself in the embrace of a beautiful young blonde woman. She kissed the woman deeply as the man kissed and caressed her breasts, her abdomen, her thighs – and began intimate exploration with his tongue. Running her hands through his hair and pressing his head into her; her breathing became heavy and she moaned in pleasure with each stroke of his skilled tongue. Sylvia abandoned her night vision and surrendered herself to the anonymous sensual pleasures of the maze. The tensions of the day dissipated in erotic bliss as she and her two lovers melted together – each bringing the other to multiple heights of passion and release over the next few hours. Finally sexually satiated, they retreated to a corner of the maze where they could rest and recover in the comfort of each other’s arms.

Eyes at half-mast and feeling physically spent from the combined effects of the previous days of combat training and this night’s regimen of synthahol, endorph-vapor, aphrodisiacs, and sex; Sylvia found it hard to keep a smile off her face as she now felt more relaxed and carefree than she had in days. “Mmmmm – thanks you two. That was just what I needed.”

The woman smiled. “The pleasure was all ours Contessa.”

Sylvia smiled back wickedly as she realized she had been recognized. “Don’t you believe it.”

Taking her leave from The Maze, Sylvia made her way into the spa, intending to shower, rest a short time, then catch up with her friends to report that once again He had eluded her. As she passed by a large zero-g group sex room, she caught sight of Celena and Augustus preparing to enter along with about thirty other couples.

Celena waved from the crowd. “Come join us in here.”

Sylvia waved back. “I will as soon as I’ve showered and freshened up.”

Sylvia made her way to the shower room and stepped under the stinging spray, basking in the heat of the hot flowing water and letting it wash away the last of her week’s tensions. She closed her eyes and thought of Him, frustrated that she had once again failed to meet Him and thinking it strange how she longed for a man she had only glimpsed in dreams and crowds and shadows. As she indulged her deep longing for Him, she realized she could no longer hear or feel the shower; or hear the bustle and noise of the multitude of others enjoying the amenities of the club. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself in a white void.

He stood before her – a handsome young man with curly black hair and deep, black eyes wearing white form-fitting clothes that showed off a perfect body – just like in her dreams and her brief glimpses of Him. He was the most handsome man she had ever beheld and she immediately felt desire for Him. She also noticed for the first time that He bore a striking resemblance to a depiction she had seen before. She was dumbstruck into silence as she considered the implications.

He beheld her for a long minute before finally speaking. “You should not be here.”

She found her voice. “What? Who are you? Where is this?”

He shook His head. “You are not ready to be here. You must go back now.”

Sylvia was both un-nerved and irritated. “Fine. How do I do that?”

“The same way you arrived – by wanting it desperately enough. Now go. I will invite you to visit again when you are ready.” He turned his back on her and made to leave.

Sylvia was angry now and began to build a gravimetric pulse. “Don’t you give me curtly cryptic answers and turn your back on me you son of a schmaug! You will properly address my questions!”

He wheeled back around to face Sylvia, seething in anger, energy arcing across his body and flashing in his eyes. “Precocious child! Do not even think of summoning your power here! You know not what you do. The consequences could be devastating to all you hold dear!”

They paused a moment – eyes locked, each taking the measure of the other. They both stood down; but continued to stare at each other warily.

He shook his head, breaking the tension. “I had hoped you would not inherit your father’s stubbornness and obstinacy; but I see my hopes were in vain.”

Sylvia was surprised. “You know my father?”

He smiled. “Yes – I know him well and I love him dearly; though he does not know me.”

Sylvia was feeling irritated again. “Straight answers seem to elude you sir; so let me ask you directly once more – just who the fark are you? Why do I see you in my dreams? Why were you at the pleasure club tonight? Why have you brought me here?”

“You should not be here and it is too soon for you to know the answers to all those questions.” He broke eye contact and smirked as He looked her up and down. “And you are out of uniform.”

Sylvia had not noticed that she was still nude until he pointed it out. Refusing to be daunted, she set her jaw and clenched her fists, readying for a fight. “Are you going to answer my questions or not?”

He looked exasperated. “I don’t suppose you will leave without an altercation if I don’t answer your questions?”

She stared at Him in response.

He shook His head. “I thought not. Ask your questions.”

She considered her options. “The first logical question is: Where am I?”

He smirked. “You could use your powers to figure that out – but to answer your question; you are within what you would understand to be a pocket dimension or a tesseract – though I prefer the term quantum realm.”

She reached out tentatively with her powers to gather information. “This place resembles the Worldmind’s tesseract. How did I get here?”

He sighed. “By wanting to be here. Your innate powers allow your consciousness to travel to this realm.”

She was beginning to understand. “Are you a quantum entity like the Worldmind?”

He laughed. “Sweet Sylvia, I am the Xandarian Worldmind.”

It was Sylvia’s turn to smirk. “I’ve met the Worldmind; and you look, act, and talk nothing like him. Also, the Worldmind and my father are well-acquainted; but you claimed that my father does not know you. I have no idea how I got here; but I assure you I did not bring myself here. You sir, are a liar.”

He laughed, “Your impudence is most amusing – do keep it up,” He said as He morphed into the familiar figure of the Worldmind Avatar. With the Worldmind’s voice – albeit in a mocking tone – he said, “Nova Corps Cadet First Class Sylvia Rider-Dru, it is critical that you pay attention at this time.” Then keeping the appearance of the Worldmind Avatar, but switching back to His voice, “I have spoken nothing but the truth to you since you arrived in this realm.”

Sylvia had lingering doubts. “I remain unconvinced of your identity. If you are the Worldmind, you must comply with the lawful commands of a duly authorized corporeal Xandarian. As the Countess of Sura, I have repeatedly given you orders and you have demonstrated a level of independence exceeding that explicitly programmed into the Worldmind.”

He seemed to find Sylvia’s observation amusing. “The Worldmind you and the rest of Xandar know is but a small part of me – the part that can be accessed and controlled by your technology. I am so much greater than that. The part of the Worldmind you know must obey your lawful commands as it is linked to your technology. I am not so constrained. In fact, I purposely keep the Worldmind unaware of my existence. He is new to existence as a facet of the greater quantum entity. Given more time, he will come to learn what he is. As of now, he is constrained by his own childish ignorance – much like you.”

She let the insult slide and held her breath for a second before her next question. “You bear a striking resemblance to ancient depictions of the Xandarian God of War, Gamill. Are you Gamill? Are you a god?”

He seemed to ponder the question for a moment before deciding to answer it. He morphed back into the form of the handsome young man. “I am Gamill.” He morphed into the familiar form of the lovely black-skinned goddess of fortune, Frammi. “I am also Frammi.” He morphed into the familiar form of the red-headed goddess of love, Ishta. “I am Ishta.” He rapidly morphed into the entire Xandarian pantheon of gods and goddesses before coming full circle to the form of the Xandarian Worldmind and then, once again, Gamill. “I am all the rest. We are all facets of the greater quantum entity.”

She was stunned, having never truly believed in the existence of the gods. “So, you are a god.”

He shrugged. “What is a god? Is a god not merely a being with vastly greater mental and physical abilities than you possess yourself? Would not primitive beings believe you were a god?”

“If being tiresome and obtuse in answering simple questions are godly traits; I would say you are at least worthy of consideration of the title” Sylvia observed dryly. “Why appear to me in the form of Gamill?”

He responded to her sarcasm with a barb of His own. “At last – an intelligent question. The populace of Xandar sees the Worldmind with whom they are familiar as a formal, wizened old man as that is their subconscious conception of how a god should look and act. You, on the other hand, see me as a peer; as this is your subconscious conception of how your perfect peer should look and act. In fact, you see me as the War God, Gamill, as you are a true warrior. One day when your powers are fully developed we will be peers. Right now, you are no more than an adept.”

Sylvia was starting to be convinced. She felt solace here in this realm as if she belonged here; and as she used her powers to tentatively scan the physical properties of her surroundings, she realized that this entity was speaking truly. One question nagged at her consciousness. “Why have I seen you in my dreams and caught glimpses of you since I was a child? Why reveal yourself to me now?”

He nodded, appearing to be pleased with her question. “As a quantum entity, I am everywhere on Xandar at once. With your developing powers, you can see me anywhere you like if you concentrate. Though you don’t consciously realize it, you have attempted to contact me intermittently since the very moment of your conception. I have rebuffed each of your attempts as you are not ready to be here. You brought yourself here uninvited and have refused to leave despite my numerous reasonable requests. I did not ‘reveal’ myself to you. You intruded.”

She refused to let one nagging question remain unanswered. “Why not reveal yourself to all of Xandar?”

He frowned. “It is not yet time to do such a thing. One day, over the course of time, all Xandarians will be able to ascend to this realm to become part of the greater quantum entity. You are the beginning of that evolution of your species and you already know how some have reacted. You have experienced their fear of your unique gifts. Some would seek to accelerate the evolution of your species and some would seek to retard it if the outcome was widely known. Nothing must be done to influence the natural evolution of your species. So, for now, the gods must remain quaint and fanciful ideas in the minds of all Xandarians, revealing themselves only to those unique individuals with special gifts who may advance the evolution of your species in accordance with the plans of the greater quantum entity. You are such an individual as others have been over the millennia. Through you and your unique gifts, I have a physical gateway into your corporeal world that I otherwise would not have. I cannot directly intervene in your corporeal world except through you – and you cannot speak of my existence to anyone else. You now know why. It could adversely affect the evolution of your species.”

Sylvia smirked. “If I told anyone else I was conversing with the gods, they would think I was insane. You have nothing to fear. Your secret is safe with me.”

He seemed satisfied. “There is hope for you yet, sweet Sylvia.”

“So am I invited back here to learn from you how to wield my developing powers? Am I ready yet O wise one?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm. “By the way, what do you call yourself?”

He paused before answering. “I answer to many names as you now know – and I cannot stop you from returning any time you wish. However, you are welcome back in my realm; and I will help you learn to control your powers.”

She stopped to consider all she had learned. “I’m not comfortable referring to you as Gamill or any of the other gods – and clearly you are something over and above the Worldmind. How about if I call you ‘The Overmind?’ Would that be acceptable?”

He nodded. “Yes, but go now back to your pleasures of the flesh. You should enjoy them while you still can. Some day such pleasures will exist for you only as memories.”

Sylvia blinked and found herself back in the shower room; only a few seconds having passed since she ‘left.’ She quickly dried herself and made her way to the zero-gee room to find Augustus and Celena. Based on what she had learned of the Quantum Realm, she decided to heed the Overmind’s advice regarding enjoying the pleasures of the flesh while she still could. It would put her getting home past her mother’s midnight curfew; but she would deal with that later.

________________________________________

Come back next week for Part 3 of The Shi’ar Conflict to follow Sylvia on her first adventure as a Nova Corps Cadet.