It’s always darkest before the dawn!

  For some reason, Yeung couldn’t get that well known saying out of his head as he stood quietly to one side, watching his co-conspirators prepare for their latest mission. A task that would involve the greatest danger they had ever faced since forming their coalition: an incursion deep into the heart of enemy territory . . . and then some.

  Just thinking about the scale of their undertaking caused Yeung’s chest to constrict and his heart to beat that little bit faster.

  Several weeks had passed while they waited for Angelika to acquire the requisite information from their Cambridge source. And when those particulars arrived, only a few days ago, it immediately became apparent their gamble had paid off. Annika Pahmeyer’s proposals for the new technology’s development were as radical as they were brilliant. Even better, she’d managed to progress the program further than anticipated.

  Esther had been moved to absolute raptures by the implications of what she saw.

  However, “implications” wouldn’t be able to help them now.

  It’s going to take at least a few more weeks for Esther to be able to retrograde the tech, so I can patent it under the auspices of my own companies. And several more after that to make it suitable for testing on Angelika’s Guardian boyfriend! No. Ready or not we have to proceed now, without the benefits of the key codes or psi-dents.

  For some reason, that filled him with an insidious sense of foreboding.

  In an effort to shake off his pensiveness, Yeung had devised a cunning strategy for the mission and scheduled what he hoped would be a rousing pep-talk.

  In honor of the fabled weapon wielded by Neptune—Psi-edon’s namesake in Roman mythology—Yeung proposed they adopt a three-pronged trident approach to achieve a triad of separate objectives.

  By striking each of their targets simultaneously, he stressed they would not only spread their enemy’s resources, but reduce the chances of an organized response. In the confusion such an offensive would generate, it was hoped they might be afforded opportunities that would not otherwise occur. Opportunities they could turn to their advantage.

  His accomplices had responded enthusiastically to that idea.

  Following a lengthy policy meeting, it had been decided that—as Simon was the most powerfully endowed of the trio and possessed the greatest finesse for mental redaction—he would be the ideal candidate to make the attempt on their former hosts within the Healers Wing of the Guardian Headquarters. The human lackeys had served their purpose. Therefore, Simon would be the one best suited to triggering the aneurism’s that would speed the onset of their deaths without arousing suspicion.

  As the foremost expert on psitronic crystals, Esther had been the obvious choice to carry out the assault on the hyper-jump portal stationed in high lunar orbit. The splinters fuelling the gate looked to be pieces recovered from old Kalliste’s Sacred Flame generator, and she knew their operation with an intimacy bettered only by the accursed Overlord himself. Preliminary scans had already confirmed the shards as being housed within a formidable quantum matrix. Nevertheless, Esther was confident of being able to overcome the security restrictions without too much fuss.

  None of this fazed Yeung in the slightest. He knew all about the extraordinary origins of his accomplices, for they had been remarkably honest about their fall from grace and the repercussions their errors had caused. They had also been astonishingly frank about the thing that concerned them the most about this whole affair: the Crystal Chamber and its contents.

  A conundrum of an entirely different magnitude.

  It was disconcerting to imagine the existence of an artifact so extreme, so powerful, that it could absorb the energy of a sun and throw it back in a highly amplified and agitated state. It was even more perturbing to imagine anything capable of negating such a cosmically-charged dynamo. And yet, the Guardians had such a place, hidden away beneath the foundations of their base.

  What the Crystal Chamber was, exactly, and how it did what it did needed further investigation. So, while it was true Simon and Esther had crucial roles to play in this day’s venture, it fell to the former warrior, Harry, to tackle what was felt to be the operation’s most dangerous aspect.

  Even so, Yeung hadn’t fully understood his associates’ reservations about this part of the plan until Simon made a statement that shook the old man’s world:

  ‘. . . As Fallen, we are attuned to the presence of other superior manifestations of extrasensory sentience. While entombed below the ice, we were able to distinguish each occasion a human incarnated into a higher life form, for our ultrasenses had been left functional during the millennia of our internment. Something about the act of transcension calls to the embers of the divine flame still burning within us, you see. And that appalled us, for mankind was evolving before our astral eyes . . . and there was nothing we could do to gainsay it.

  You need to appreciate; when we arrived on this plane, our adversary foretold of the glorification of your race. How they—how you—would eventually become a force that would not only rival our darkened majesty, but surpass it. So, to discover the shards of the old psitronic crystal were being used to enhance the process . . . well. We knew our original goals would be doomed to failure, for in accelerating humanity’s psychomaturation, it speeds the day of our demise. There will be no place for our kind here.

  And now this Overlord of madness possesses an even greater and far more powerful gemstone. Such potential is not only a threat to us, as Fallen, but to you too, my human friend, for it facilitates the genesis of insects into beings capable of challenging us. Soon there may be nowhere left to hide. . .’

  Simon’s admission made Yeung’s blood run cold.

  With a haunted expression on his face, Yeung had turned to Harry and proclaimed, “That Chamber and the abomination inside it must be destroyed, and it’s up to you to bring us the intelligence we need to ensure that happens. Though I can’t be with you in person, let me assure you, I will do everything in my power to ensure you succeed.”

  Addressing all three of his cohorts, he continued, “Normally, it would be an easy matter for you to mesh minds and coordinate the timing of your advance, so you begin at the exact same moment at each venue. That isn’t an option today. Nothing can be allowed to give away your locations, and especially not a stray thought from the binary psi-dents you still possess. Baring that in mind, I have devised a simple solution. . .”

  He ushered them closer together, and explained, “This day also sees the inaugural test-firing of the Orbital Defense Grid now encircling the Earth. As the leading benefactor of that project, I—along with a number of other civilian and military dignitaries—have been invited aboard one of the Guardian space stations to witness its operation. From what I have been told, the exercise will entail the simultaneous activation of all ninety-six photon cannons, primed to a maximum of twenty percent capacity, to see how the network copes in handling such a distribution of power. Their targets will be a swarm of static and remote controlled marker buoys scattered throughout the system. Of particular note is the fact that some of those buoys have been positioned beyond the Moon’s trajectory.

  “As mental speech might give your positions away, your signal to go will be the very first beam to exceed lunar orbit. The instant that happens, I will ensure to trigger the false binary identities still seeded within one of the two remaining families on Earth. As you can imagine, this will prove most distracting for our overconfident moderators, thereby improving the odds in our favor.

  “Think about it! Not only will the Guardians be controlling the targets that some very powerful weapons are shooting at, but they will also be keen to prevent inadvertent discharges from going astray. They will be focused, on edge, and committed to enforcing their safety protocols. Just the time for three of their most wanted to suddenly pop up out of the blue. They will react, my friends, and react decisively . . . only to find they’re chasing ghosts. Think how unnerving that will be! How distracting. It will throw them off balance. When will you ever have a better opportunity to launch a simultaneous attack?”

  Yeung’s outlining of his strategy improved the mood considerably, and they had all left the meeting energized and in a more positive frame of mind.

  Still, that was six hours ago now. Waiting for the off had given everyone the chance to brood on what might go wrong. Studying his friends, Yeung saw that their usually impervious shields were tinged with anxiety and seeds of doubt.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  This won’t do . . . I’d better give them that pep-talk I’ve prepared!

  Simon didn’t dare hope . . . yet!

  His progress, though protracted, had been surprisingly incident free. Together with Esther and Harry, he had made his slow and painful way to the far side of the Sun over four hours ago. Once there, they had masked their transfiguration by blending their emissions to the thermonuclear reactions taking place all around them.

  It had worked like a charm.

  Once transformed, they meshed their essences to the billions of tons of energetic coronal matter being thrown out by the star every second, and allowed themselves to be swept toward their targets on the solar winds.

  Thus concealed, they had advanced upon the Moon.

  Because the hyper-jump gate had been positioned in high orbit above the Guardian Headquarters, Esther ensured her disguised plasma stream was directed toward the northern polar area.

  Simon and Harry’s concerns lay within different areas of the faculty itself. Due to the constraints that would place on them, it had been decided they should approach by the safest, stealthiest means possible: through the actual lunar mantle.

  As Harry had to penetrate deep enough to secure the catacombs area, his leg of the mission would take the longest. Therefore, Simon lingered on the surface and contented himself by waiting to see how his counterparts fared.

  When nothing happened over the next thirty minutes, he was satisfied they had managed to remain undetected.

  Relaxing the natural cohesion binding his own nexus together, Simon allowed his molecules to become so dispersed, he could feel himself teetering on the brink of ultimate dissolution—a dangerous but necessary ploy due to the proximity of so many transcended foes and an upgraded defense system that had been specifically tuned to their auras. Only once he had regained a degree of control did he allow himself to sink into the ground to begin traversing the mineral laden strata in a process that ended up devouring almost as much time as his journey from the Sun.

  But it had been well worth it, for he now found himself prowling along the subterranean threshold of the outer barrier. His rarified senses tested the energy field, and he tensed in anticipation, awaiting the dreaded response.

  He tried again, just to make sure. It doesn’t see me?

  Casting the minutest of queries forward, Simon couldn’t believe his luck. The shield flared intermittently under the unseen influence of work being carried out on it at this moment, elsewhere. Are they upgrading the system? Running diagnostics perhaps? Ha! Fortune favors the brave.

  As gently and as guardedly as possible, he cast his net wider. Scanning for the distinctive binary signatures he knew so well, while keeping a careful watch for danger.

  There!

  So that’s where they’re keeping them! Wait, they . . . they’re all together?

  He thought it a gross display of negligence by the Guardians to put all their eggs in one basket. But then again, why wouldn’t they? Their patients had been with them for over five years now. Five long and drawn-out years, spent gradually nursing them back to health.

  By all accounts, there’s a possibility of them waking up soon. . .

  Or so they think.

  Esther had been the epitome of cautiousness.

  As soon as she was within a thousand miles of the gate complex, she knew exactly where the crystals were housed. They reached out to establish a rapport that made her want to rush to their location and crush them to her ethereal bosom.

  But of course, she couldn’t do that.

  Thank goodness they sing on a level few will ever realize fully.

  Not even the transcended lowlife of this plane would fully understand the reciprocity involved. Why would they? They were beneath her. Lesser beings, for all their unimaginable power! If they survived the coming cleansing, it would still take them an age to begin comprehending the intricacies of the myriad insights she had gained. Infantile insects!

  That being said, as the hours ticked by, her attention kept being drawn to the subliminal vibrations emanating from the invisible plane of the stable wormhole now anchored between the focusing collars of the gate. Something about their pitch kept tugging at long hidden memories. Memories she hadn’t needed to make use of in an age.

  Avoiding the frequencies being broadcast by the psitronic power core, Esther turned instead to the energy animating those atoms making up the hyper-gate facility and the interplanetary medium itself to extend her complexus further than she had ever done before. What is that? It . . . it’s sooo familiar. I’ve got to get me a better look!

  Psitronic crystals were extremely rare. Although she was an expert in their use, she’d never seen one formed, nor was she aware from where they came. Only their nemesis knew that. But what she did know for certain was that they contained eighteen, instead of the usual fourteen Bravaias Lattices found in normal gems. Their long range symmetry was so arcane, that they generated a dual polarity field. That field promulgated through spacetime, granting them access to an inordinate amount of power. A capability that was virtually limitless.

  Mulling things over helped Esther remember what it was that bugged her.

  Their twofold polarity creates a harmonic key that can push through temporal restrictions and into the fourth dimension! So that should mean. . .

  Cautiously, Esther extended her will and caressed the event horizon with the most refined probe she could muster. Though the sub-quantum oculus remained closed, the gray void blanketing the bridge between worlds rippled with unfathomable currents. Is . . . is that what I think it is?

  Snatching her mind back, she almost cried aloud in triumph. Yes! There’s something at the other end! Something that houses a further pair of matching crystals. They’re locking the geodesic tunnel in place.

  But where the hell does it lead to?

  Muted and indiscernible from his surrounding, Harry allowed himself to coalesce just inside the reinforced doors leading down to the catacombs.

  By the time he’d walked a few dozen yards, he was glad of the fact he had erred on the side of caution by choosing to manifest near to the surface entrance, for he could already perceive a strange elasticity pulling at his acuity.

  It felt as if invasive fingers were tugging at the plug of his psyche in an attempt to drain the stygian pool of his abilities. If successful, nothing but an agitated puddle of consciousness would remain. A most disconcerting experience. But he had to remember. By all accounts, this was a natural phenomenon here.

  Harry was surrounded on all sides by the unique rock formations that could only be found in this one location. The crusty black walls of the tunnel looked fragile, as if they’d survived the onslaught of a dragon’s breath and would now be forever brittle to the touch. However, that was only an optical illusion. Try as he might, Harry couldn’t break any of the protruding flakes free.

  Despite the absence of artificial illumination, he also discovered he could see where he was going quite clearly. Veins of an iridescent magmalike substance seemed to be threaded in random patterns throughout the grain of the strata. Glowing dimly in the gloom, those seams flashed to a regular cadence. Each pulsation caused the glow to flare momentarily brighter, highlighting a stony heartbeat and spawning a sympathetic throb of pain that tested the integrity of his skull.

  Clenching his teeth against the pain, he wondered. What would have happened if I’d try to jump in? Or phased directly to my target as I originally intended?

  Harry shivered. The picture his mind painted was as graphic as it was no doubt accurate. Little wonder then, that they bring their candidates here. It must act as a psychic suppressant until they’re safely within the chamber itself. Very clever!

  Fortunately, the warrior in Harry appreciated this environment would even the playing field. And he’d brought more than enough toys with him to gain the advantage in a hand-to-hand fight. Not that it’ll come to that. This place is deserted.

  Carrying on for what seemed like an age, Harry eventually rounded a large protruding boulder and came to a standstill as the corridor widened out abruptly. Turning on the spot, he confirmed he’d arrived at the edge of an open-ended cave filled with the same pulsing quartz deposits as was in the tunnel. In front of him stood a sophisticated robot sentry station, behind which, sat a chasm at least a hundred yards wide, and rooted in shadow.

  From where he was standing, the walls of the gorge appeared totally smooth and stretched off into the distance in either direction. Even a spider would have trouble clinging onto the sides of that.

  Peering across to the far wall, he espied another sentinel, positioned outside a set of impressively armored doors.

  Stumped, he retreated to the edge of the passageway and began to cogitate. C’mon, Harry, think! There’s got to be a way around this.

  Okay, what I’ve learned will prove useful in providing intelligence to plan for a later attempt. But that will waste the golden opportunity we have today, to hit them hard from all three sides simultaneously. And of course, once Esther and Simon do their thing, they’ll be sure to add goodness only knows how many new levels of security.

  No. I have to do something now!

  He paused to check his equipment. If it comes down to it, I’m sure I could use the disruptor to take out the sentries. The anti-grav belt will get me across the chasm, no problem. But then there are the doors. You don’t guard a place like that with a bit of shiny steel and spit.

  He eyed the antimatter grenades dubiously.

  Their size belied the strength of the devastation they could unleash. Even so, he’d still have preferred to detonate all three within the chamber itself, instead of wasting one to get inside. Of course, if I do that . . . they’ll come running!

  Harry studied the interior layout of the cavern as he tried to select a viable option to follow. His gaze returned to the strangely glowing rock face. But will that be a bad thing? The mineral deposits will force them to do just that. Run! And while they’re huffing and puffing their way all the way down here, I can set the timers and use the short range matter transmitter to haul my sorry ass outta here. Once everything blows, the exposed psitronic crystal will amplify the energies unleashed, and take out a huge chunk of the lunar surface.

  He contemplated the band around his wrist. This thing will only get me as far as my insertion point on the surface. That’s far enough in my book! Pursuing me will be the last thing on their minds while they’re trying to save what’s left of their precious base.

  Snorting in satisfaction, Harry sat down, leaned back against the wall and made himself comfortable. Now all I have to do is wait for the signal.

  With not much else to do, Harry resumed his run-through of the scenarios he might encounter in his head. In each one, he imagined a host of unexpected obstacles and what he would do to overcome them.

  Suddenly, he found himself thinking back to another subterranean chamber from long, long ago. A place in which his dreams had been shattered and where one of his dearest friends had been effaced forever from existence.

  An evil smile crept crossed his face.

  Well this time the shoe is on the other foot!