Ry’nao looked at Adia. It wasn’t that he noticed the time and looked for her. Her Cube spoke. It is time.
All of us startled! Even though we knew it was coming—well, Molly told them it would be today. They saw in her memory it was late afternoon. The sun’s low in the sky. Molly’s on MarKu, she’s not here.
But, that memory, that was from me seeing it. We are running out of selves from other days, other minutes, other seconds and smaller measures. The Time Bubble is shrinking!
Sweat is still dripping off me, but this is not one of my selves from another time. I’m down to my Nowself. I have a clone who’s been working with Roosevelt and they just popped back here and died. Roosevelt’s Nowself is holding my hand. I’m losing the Bubble!
Molly just popped in. So did Suma and Ni’olmai. Deb and Greg and Briahh. Roger and Judy. The rest of the half-Ty’nirrhans are still in Alb.
Pirad is losing his clones in worlds of Rainbow. He is still on Alb Seer in Kirnonos’ Lab. His clone and his helpers are still here, still fighting. I’m keeping his Lab in the Bubble. For now.
Everyone’s running to that side of the ship. The sound of their hands hitting the hull is like thunder!
Adia and Ryee just passed through the hull to the sidewalk. Laura held up a hand to her husband, J~oie, and took Ryee’s hand. He’s sobbing.
Eriganh just appeared in that yard. His red, metallic uniform sparkles in the light from the Red Cube Of Fire.
Adia pales as his beady black eyes fix on her. She’s wearing a purple dress with red-violet trim that Jenny, a kid who knew her in the other future, made for her. In the tapestry that Ry’nao gave W~Via, Ryee’s grandfather, depicting this scene, it looks purple. When Ryee saw that, he and Adia were married, and all the Yeff knew she is the One Of Prophecy that will end this 300 year war. Another of Rentappenen’s lies. Once she defeats Eriganh, she will not have enough power to help Ray defeat Rentappenen. The Red Cube will be mostly depleted.
However, he didn’t expect Dromie’s people to fight him. Or, for them to be on the 15th Level. They brought back entire civilizations they destroyed for him.
Every eye on this ship is on them. Neither Ryonne~ or Laura have Cubes. But even if they did, it’s not allowed. No one can interfere in this battle. Not even Ray, who could. She’s been using Eriganh’s Cube to do things, like move that world to Dromie’s planet so I could release Llsam.
Eriganh’s fury shakes me! A red beam comes out of his Cube and meets Adia’s white beam halfway. Lights fill the sky over Atlanta! Crowds get out of their cars and flock to Laura’s yard, by this ship! They can’t see it.
Ryee tries to protect Adia and Eriganh attacks him. His twisted secret weapon is corrupted ancestors of the Yeff, trained to project memories of Eriganh torturing his diplomat relatives. Many of them visited Kajar to try to negotiate aandat trade. Trade that saved legions of Kajarian children from dying of disease. Space travel exacts a high price.
Laura catches Ryee but she can’t heal someone damaged by a Councillor. He can’t regen because he’s terrified Adia will die in this battle!
But, now Adia’s anger erupts, and her white beam pushes back on Eriganh’s. His Cube is fueled by anger. Hers, fueled by her love for her husband. She remembers it. Calms her anger. Her mind reaches for minds in his Collective. I will free all of you when this battle ends.
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They are confused. All their lives, Eriganh told them, you are my slaves for the rest of your lives! Arguments fly. But many of them, especially Ryee’s relatives, they are hearing Ryee’s memories of them and they are listening. More of them decide to fight Eriganh.
Eriganh panics and fights harder for them to give him power. Concentrate! If I die, you die--
Lies! We will be free! Adia said it and I find no lie in her!
Like a wave, they stop using their telepathy to fight for him. Instead, they kill the ones who want to help Eriganh win.
Adia’s beam edges closer to his. Sweat drips from his face. His arm shakes. His legs. He sinks to the ground. His beam ends.
Adia stands there, shaking, and stops her attack. She’s Zheien now, because Pirad made her Yeff. But she doesn’t want to kill anyone.
Ry’nao is still fighting Rentappenen, but he gets up, straightens his sash on his gray uniform, and walks out there. People step back to let him pass. His healer, Ket, stays on the ship with black eyes. He’s shaking.
“Eriganh, do you surrender the Six to us?” His voice is kind.
“Erigan, a healer. I am no longer Eriganh. Yes. I surrender to you, Ry’nao.” He pulls the red foil off his braids at the sides of his head, and they fall to the ground. Ray reaches for the Red Cube and he puts it in her hand, then folds her fingers gently around it, without looking up. His black, beady eyes are staring at the ground, and he’s not light gray as he was. Dark gray, dripping sweat. He pulls out a Kajarian terminal the size of a marble. It has prickles like a sweet gum ball that prick his fingers and black blood drips. As he clicks one of the prickles, it slices his thumb. “T’blere, the War is over. Surrender all ships to Ry’nao’s forces and open the Master Terminal to him.”
A shocked voice comes. “The Master Terminal, my liege?”
“You heard me. I now surrender the Six to Ry’nao. You are all free. Ry’nao is now your Emperor, and he will treat all kindly. Release all of our slaves and put them on ships, with healers. Instruct guards not to harm them. Put adequate food on the ships. They need to return home in good condition.”
“Yes, yes, my liege, it will be done!” I saw T’blere. Not a young man. He had gray wisps at the sides of his face as he peeled his helmet off. All the soldiers around him did. They follow the traditions of the Kajar-mehamin, who abandoned all their armor and weapons when they rose.
In cities on Kajar, black cube-buildings shattered, leaving white spires with layers of scenes in translucent splendor! People came from them and made lines. As they peeled the foil from their hair, they made piles of it. Red Tessite, the most valuable metal known on our tech level. A tradition of their ancient people is to melt this into coins, and each person on each world will receive one. Artisans will compete for the images most representative of their struggle. One of the images will be of T’blere, their new Emperor.
I heard his relief that the War is over and his people are eager to fight Rentappenen. But they will do this with trade, not weapons. All over the Six, people are now trading with the Seven, not slavers.
Rentappenen tried to send troops to enforce his trade, but no one would help him. People of the Six have hive minds, for the most part. They hear T’blere, who only wants peace, and they are in agreement with him.
Rentappenen is very angry now! But, anger rises in the Red Cube and a red beam shines on Eriganh. He collapses into Ry’nao’s arms!
Ry’nao has memories of how Erigan repented of the evil he did and became a healer again, and trained enneads to train others, to heal damage he did that he knew how to reverse! As he died, he gave that knowledge into Ry’nao’s Gray Cube Of Knowledge. Pirad and Kirnonos can use it for clones of great Kajarian healers. But there won’t be a clone of Erigan.
His Collective vaporized his body and ported the molecules into our sun. Ry’nao sat on the ground holding Erigan’s clothes. Ket ported him into his bed and waved them into his alt storage. We’re still fighting Rentappenen!
Pas ported Laura, Ryee and Adia into the ship. Laid them on their bed. Molly ran in there, and so did Ray, to heal them. There’s only so much they can do. But I had them in the Time Bubble during the fight. They got hurt, but not nearly as much as they would have. Suma also went, and Jarfus. Wally’s not here. He’s with the Council Of The 5th, the Padrisa, pleading for help. He won’t get any. If we don’t stop Rentappenen, the Padrisa will die again. Dromie’s people can’t help us, now. Padrisa is demanding that we who broke the rules come there. Today!
