The Misbegotten

He stood at the far end of the egg-shaped chamber. He peered out over the heads of the High Command from his raised position atop the platform reserved only for him. Although today, he wasn’t alone as protocol would have it.

Flavia stood beside him at the transparent Diatainium shield, protecting him from the stomach down. It wasn’t a shield really. It was more like a railing masquerading as a barrier. And, it stretched along the entire length of the platform, to either side of him, from bottom stair to bottom stair. There was still no denying it would protect him from anything as benign as a bullet to as lethal as a nuke-charged Laze. It just didn’t appear that it could. Someone as old as Estefan could have mistaken it for Plexiglas or dual-sided laminated safety glaze. It was neither. It was Diatainium and nothing manufactured could penetrate it.

The ceiling of the chamber was transparent as well. It vaulted, a continuance of the curvature of an egg, sliced lengthwise. On the side furthest from Estefan stood the magnificent entrance, a pair of tall, sliding doors. They lead out to the foyer and the portal to the lift beyond. To either side of these huge, four-foot thick, twenty-five-foot high, doors was a mezzanine. It ran a third of the way down either wall, raised above the central floor. From each, one could access the even longer observation platforms. From there one could see the whole of Luna Prime – all sixty-seven square kilometers of it.

All the staircases in the chamber lead down into the heart of the gigantic room. From both ends of the mezzanine and the main entrance they spilled into an area filled with many tables and chairs. They all faced the High Seat of the Keeper, upon which Estefan and Flavia stood.

He was wearing a double-breasted, three-piece suit. it was black with tiny silver darts running vertical through the material. To one as old as Estefan, it could’ve been mistaken for a silken Oscar De La Renta. The cut and tailoring was a near perfect match, even the stitching was identical. The fact the suit was Genius-level silk complete with defensive/offensive countermeasures remained secret. There was no degradation to the illusion that one of the great designers of Estefan’s youth could’ve stitched it himself.

His shirt was white and single-stitched, authentic cotton - exquisite, pristine. His tie was simple black, narrow, also made of silk. It was an outfit worth more than a million exchange credits. Silk, in the twenty-fourth century, sold for more than 375K per yard.

This wasn’t accounting for his shoes. These were authentic Berluti Rapiécés Reprisés, dating back to the first quarter of the twenty-first century. They were works of art – black, supple leather, fitting the natural footline, feeling more like socks than shoes. Back when he had been a child, Berluti footwear would’ve set him back almost two thousand U.S. dollars. Now… well now, they were priceless.

“Looks like everyone is here,” commented Flavia at his side. She wore her long, auburn hair pulled back with an auto-cinching elastic band.

The Keeper noted this was a hairstyle she always wore when she was on high alert. Although, Estefan felt her concern was without merit for the Gathering. The Sacristy was the innermost sanctum of the Aegis Synod. Many of the Keeper’s loyal Marines guarded it with ferocity bordered on madness. Not even an all-out strike from space could touch him here.

Flavia wasn’t worried about attack from above, as she had pointed out to him earlier. Any one of the members of the High Command could be under force or drugged or head-to-toe Doop’ed to get at Estefan. It was always First Greetings that worried her the most.

She came forward. Her tall form came to lean against the transparent barrier between them and the others below. Once more, she was clad in her black, bio-spandex uniform. It allowed unlimited movement should the need to move appear paramount.

Unlike days prior, she had opted against wearing heels this day. Instead, she ensconced her feet in lightweight boots. Made of thick nylon they came over her calves with a series of buckles and straps. Estefan knew she had a myriad of weapons secreted away within the hidden folds and seams of those boots. This despite the knowledge she was a walking weapon onto herself. Flavia was never unarmed.

Estefan came up beside her. “See anything out of the ordinary?” he asked, just a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

She turned to look at him. Her lips pursed. Her eyes narrow. “One of these days when you’re not taking me serious, Estefan, when I need you to pay attention, you’re going to get hurt. In that moment of hesitation, you will tip the balance between me saving your sweet, little ass and getting yourself killed by some tireless assassin. Then, you’re going to regret all my vigilance, all the work I put into keeping you safe. You are the biggest target in the Sixteen Worlds, my love. Stop being so haughty, ok?”

He huffed through his nose, but leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her forehead. It was his wordless method of letting her know he understood.

From below, the hallow resonance of a gavel hitting a block echoed.

Both of them turned to follow the sound.

Estefan’s face went to stone when he realized everyone else was now staring up at him and Flavia despite the racket.

Ramona had risen with the wooden, hammer-shaped instrument in her hand.

Some had swiveled in their chairs to get a better look at the intimacy the two had displayed a few second earlier. There’s nothing like having a nosy family, he thought in the flush of full-fledge remorse.

About the Sacristy, the positioning of his guests were in according with rank and import to the Synod itself. This had nothing to do with anything socio-economic. They sat split between two tables, each shaped quite different from one another.

The Aegis Synod itself, minus Flavia, was about a boomerang-shaped surface. They too faced into the chamber beyond. Much like him and his one-time step-sister stood. The High Command itself sat about a much larger, arrow-shaped table further into the Sacristy. The leading edge of this “arrow” followed along the curve of the Synod’s “boomerang” to perfection. The two other outer tables were vacant, but that was the expectation. The Synod reserved them for attachés and assistants who, for a meeting such as this, were not sanctioned to attend. This was a council for the highest echelons only.

He let his gaze wonder down to Ramona, who stood toward the middle of the Synod’s table, gavel in hand. Her lips she pinched to one side.

It was a good time in the Dermal-Cleanser, he thought, giving her a faint nod of his head.

She nodded back and put the gavel down upon its block.

Fanning out from Ramona’s left, closest to furthest, sat Katie, Mena and Tirza. On her right, sat Leda, Sandy and Ruby. The seat Flavia should’ve occupied stood vacant at the far end of this side of the table.

To a one, like his one-time step-sister, they wore black, bio-spandex leotards and not much else. Only lightweight, comfortable shoes covered their feet. They all wore their hair pulled back. Their fingers bristled with adornments, their belts heavy with light, but lethal weaponry. They seemed of every sort one could imagine.

At the larger, arrow-shaped surface sat fourteen others - seven to a side. Each of them wore ceremonial robes of crimson and leather sandals. The garb was the customary attire worn by the High Command when in the presence of the Aegis Synod within the Sacristy.

On the right, and therefore closest to Estefan’s position upon the Seat, sat Johan Marquez. He was his Director of Research and Exploration. He was the only full-blooded relative he had left alive, for he was his brother.

Next to him sat his wife, Jolene Marquez, who served the Synod as their Chief Scientist.

On the other side of her sat Jacob Rodriguez, Estefan’s first cousin and Chief of Security.

Beyond was Vincent Cervantes, the Admiral of the Aegis Fleet and his oldest son begat between Ramona and him.

Next to him sat Susanna Aragon, The Astral-General of the Aegis Marines, who was his firstborn from his wife Mena.

The Keeper smiled in spite of the severity of the situation.

Susanna had inherited some of her mothers’ propriety when in public. So, she didn’t smile broad like the others when his gaze found her. Rather, she inclined her head and kept his stare. She was a formidable woman, though she wasn’t a fraction of an inch taller than her mothers’ five-foot frame.

On Susanna’s far side sat Collin Edwards. Jacob’s long-time friend and represented the Synod as a High Council Delegate to the Combined Corporate Council of the Sixteen Worlds of Sol. He was also the CEO of Senergy Bio-Tech, a mid-level conglomerate owned by Estefan and his wives.

Ashley Aragon was sitting beyond Collin, the youngest of the group at a mere fifty-eight. She was Susanna’s daughter, making her Estefan’s granddaughter through Mena. She was a vibrant, upbeat woman. Also, she was the guiding force behind Med-Core Pharmaceuticals – also majority owned by the Synod.

On the other side of the table sat the Synod’s Members of the Board of the Combined Corporate Council of the Sixteen Worlds themselves. Sitting closest to the Keeper, from that side, was Estefan’s oldest surviving child. Anthony Cardenas. He was now an incredible two hundred forty-two years old, but that wasn’t all. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Combined Corporate Council of the Sixteen Worlds himself and CEO of Draxis Corporation. And this made him one of the most important men in the Solar System.

His was the only business entity capable of producing Null-Tech. It was, by default, the richest company to have ever existed within the marketplaces of humankind. Draxis Corp. made the biggest and richest companies of Estefan’s youth look like simple corner stores in some obscure village at the verge of a forgotten land. In simple terms, Draxis Corp was a monster. It employed more than a billion workers in a single, self-sufficient plant in orbit on the dark-side of the moon. It was the heart of the Synod’s business apparatus.

Beyond Anthony were the remaining Board Members of the Combined Corporate Council representative of the Aegis Synod.

Ellen Fernandez was next closest to the Keeper’s Seat. She was the CEO of DeepCore Mining, a company specializing in Diatainium extraction. Its home base was in Tenoti-City, the former Capitol of Mexico. She was the second child of Estefan and Sandy, and had just celebrated her one hundred fifty-eighth birthday a few months back.

The tall and refined Jacqueline Marquez sat beyond Ellen. She was Johan and Jolene’s youngest daughter, the last they would ever have in fact. Her complicated birth had left Estefan’s sister-in-law barren. She was three years passed a century and has already risen fast through the ranks. She was the CEO of ExTech. This was the Synod’s primary Neuro-Nanoswarm manufacturer. Its' home was in Genevatown, the megalopolis that now covered all the lands once known as Switzerland.

Jacob Rodriguez II followed. He was the Executive In-charge of JacCo Metals. The mining company too was part-owned by the Synod. But, its' principal owner was Estefan’s cousin Jacob I. Jacob Jr. was the last of Jacob’s children with his wife Melissa. She had died many years in the past. Despite the loss though, Jacob II was a proven manager of his father’s chief assets within the company and was due for a promotion soon.

Kenneth Fernandez, Estefan and Sandy’s grandson, and de facto second youngest of the group, sat next to Jacob II. He was the CEO of the Aegis International Group and head of the Aegis Synod’s massive efforts in all fields of construction. He oversaw jobsites on over seven hundred different celestial bodies throughout the Solar System.

Despite his age, a mere ninety-seven, he was one of the busiest individuals of the group. He made his office and home aboard one of the few Space Frigates owned by his organization. He needed it to keep atop the incessant demand of his presence, which on any given day pulled him in five or six different directions at once.

The Managing Partner of Chaz Motors was on the other side of Kenneth. This was the vehicular branch of the Aegis Synod. They had named it after Katie’s long-dead namesake, but was one hundred percent owned by the Keeper himself. Michael Aragon was a small man, a masculine version of his mother Mena. He was the second oldest offspring between her and Estefan. Only he was nine years younger than his sister Susanna, who was two hundred and twelve.

The final Board Member and placed furthest away on this side of the giant conference table was Jill Carnejos. She was only one of the group not related by blood or marriage. Because of this she was not a member of the Synod itself. Yet her loyalty and unerring support had earned her unprecedented access to this august Gathering.

She was the First Concubine. This meant she was the first to accept the terms of the Synod for a chance to lay with Estefan, an opportunity she hadn’t squandered. She was also the Chief Executive Officer of Ernando - the colossal, meta-planetary corporation manufacturer of armaments. Her team designed and sold the latest in technology and firepower to all who could afford to buy it.

Jill was the only one among them with natural red hair. She wore it to her shoulders, though it would’ve stretched to the middle of her back if it hadn’t had so many curls. To the Keeper though, it wasn’t the most endearing quality about her. And many in this room would agree with him. It was her freckles. She bore thousands of them, all over her body, from the tops of her toes to her scalp, even in the folds of her womanhood. She was Estefan’s painted beauty, tall, regal, exquisite.

“We call this meeting to order,” announced Ramona in a loud voice. “If you all will prepare yourselves for the administration of your oaths, we will begin.”

As one, everyone seated about the arrow-shaped table stood. They stepped clear of their chairs, coming to stand a few feet behind them. They removed their sandals, each waving their palms over a small clasp at their necks. A sensor unhinged the mechanism and their garments fell free. Before Estefan and his eight wives now stood fourteen naked Celestes. Some of them were among the most powerful individuals in the Sixteen Worlds. But, to a one, they would present themselves to the Keeper as they came from the birth canals of their mothers.

“May the Arch-Empathist begin her inspection,” called out Katie.

Ramona walked around the “boomerang” and approached those on the right side of the “arrow”.

As one, each of the remaining women of the Synod un-holstered, unsheathed or activated her weapon of choice.

Above, upon the raised Seat of the Keeper, Flavia placed a protective arm around Estefan’s waist. The pressure she applied was small, but it still forced him back a pace. She inserted herself between him and those in front of them the moment there was room to do so. She needed no weapon. She was the weapon. She didn’t tense a solitary muscle.

Ramona approached Johan, Estefan’s brother. Though the bond between him and the Keeper went back to his birth, Ramona would not change tactics. She would subject him to the same scrutiny she would’ve applied to any stranger. It did not matter if she’d known him for more years than she cared to recall.

In this century, the Synod had learned things the hard way. Any enemy could manipulate the most trusted, make them betray. Sometimes the victim didn’t even know they were the one doing it in the first place. Anyone could infected another with malicious implants or duplicate them down to their nucleotides. It was impossible to discern sometimes. Only an Empathist could detect anomalies that small within any given person. That was why Ramona’s talent was a critical aspect of maintaining security. She was one of the most powerful Empathists to have lived. If there was a flaw anywhere with anyone of the High Command, she would weed it out in seconds.

She stepped up to Johan, staring into his eyes.

He forced himself to return her gaze, though it was difficult for him to do so. Already, he could feel her mind sending prickling, electrical charges along the expanse of his skull.

She was bringing her Mutation to bear. She was going to use it on Johan.

He steeled himself. His fists clenched at either side, his jaw clamped shut, the tendons within his neck taut. Though she had done this to him countless times, every time was new. Every time it was a small violation of the innermost portions of him, portions he knew she could see, she was exploiting. He forced himself to smile at her. Sometimes that made things better. She was less intrusive when aware he was friendly.

But she ignored his grin, her eyes lost. Her mind was elsewhere, no longer in the physical world, but in a universe of brain waves and human intent. It all moved at the speed of light.

Her nostrils flared and seemed to fill with him. Her eyes locked upon his own, though she wasn’t “looking” at him per se. She stepped closer, her fingertips brushing alongside each of his hips.

Jolene stiffened at his side, but didn’t move any more than that, forcing her gaze away from them. The silence began to deepen and soon only Johan’s throaty breathing was all they could hear.

Ramona’s hand trailed up Johan’s left side to his shoulder. Then she traced along his collarbones to the other one. She moved along side of him, her movements more fluid than normal, her own hips swaying. The lids of her eyes fluttered in the grip of her Mutation.

With little warning, her hand shot out, her index finger tracing along his brow. “A new ‘Swarm, brother?” she asked, her voice deeper, more rich, than normal.

Johan’s eyes flicked her way. “T-the l-latest from ExTech,” he replied with a shudder. “Jackie had it upgraded before Jollie and I left for the Kuiper Belt.” He peered, an involuntary spasm at his daughter.

She stood naked like the rest of them with her back to him across the conference table, awaiting her inspection.

“It helped with the dis-,” he began.

Ramona cut him off. “I’m sure it did, brother. I’m sure it did.” She clutched the sides of his shoulders with both hands. “I’m glad it is you who has come to visit us,” she whispered in his ear. Then she reached around him and gave him a quick, but fierce hug. A moment later, she broke all contact with him, turning upon a heel. “Bring the White Robe for my brother,” she commanded.

Ruby brought forth a robe, so brilliant it shone. Moreso, when bathed in the bright lights of the Sacristy. Ruby helped Johan get into the thick garment. She was careful to fold each side, one within the other, tying it with an intricate knot known only to the Synod. It signified he had passed inspection. “Nice to see you again, Johan,” she said through a thin smile as they clasped palms in greeting.

He nodded and took his seat, leaving his feet bare. He purposefully peered away from those who had yet to pass the Empathists’ screening.

Ramona stepped up to Jolene, repeating the process as she had with Johan.

The smaller woman flinched under the touch of Ramona’s mind, but seemed to get control quick enough. Only she slowed, more ragged breathing gave any sign the Empathist was doing something to her.

Ramona’s eyes glossed over. She delved into Jolene, an expression of familiarity spreading across her face. She began to move as she had with the woman’s husband... when she went as still as a statue. The Empathists’ orbs were her own in an instant. Her hand jerked toward the others’ lower abdomen, cupping, searching.

Jolene gasped with shock, trying with every ounce of will to remain still, though her hand grabbed Ramona’s wrist.

Still, she was helpless before the Empathist.

Ramona turned her hand, her wrist twirling within Jolene’s limp grip. Her fingers pointed downward now. Her palm was still upon the bottom of the others’ tummy. Johan’s wife tried to stop the larger woman, but the Empathist was too adroit. In a flash of combined movement, Ramona slid around her, her other arm grabbing Jolene about the shoulders from behind. She pinned Jolene against the front of her body. Ramona’s fingers squirmed over the other woman’s sex. “What is this, sister?!?” she demanded.

Before anyone could move, or even speak, Flavia vaulted from the Keeper’s Seat. She landed without sound upon the “boomerang” table. There should’ve been a resounding thud, but there wasn’t. When Flavia wished for the absence of sound, there was absolutely no sound.

The Keeper’s Guardian stood, poised, ready for Jolene to make a move, any move.

The rest of the Synod fanned out, military-quick, weapons charged, rounds chambered.

Above them all, Estefan watched with an angry expression growing on his face.

Jolene wiggled and writhed in Ramona’s obscene clutch, mewling, defiled in her own mind.

“Why are you changed here, sister? Answer my question or I will enact the protocol!” ordered the Empathist in earnest.

“I-I-I, w-we we we had ha-… We wanted another-,” she tried, but made little sense.

Flavia was about to move toward them when Ramona went stiff again, but for no more than an instant.

It was enough to stop the Guardian in her tracks.

Ramona spun the smaller woman round to stare into her eyes and then gave her a crushing hug.

The others, those allowed to move, shifted upon their feet, exchanging troubled looks.

“Explain this, Ramona,” insisted Flavia. Her voice came out hushed, but there was no mistaking the threat in her tone.

The Empathist came away from Jolene. “Our brother and sister are trying for another baby. Jolene has begun cellular reconstruction to make this endeavor a possibility.” She was beaming like a child. She presented the naked Jolene like a product on a Digi-Comm.

There was collective sigh of relief, almost audible throughout the chamber.

Estefan shook his head and smiled a heavy smile at his brother when their gazes locked. He didn’t want to think what would’ve happened if someone had implanted something nasty within his long-time sister-in-law. He quivered with dread at the thought.

The rest of the inspection went without incident. The only deviation from the norm was the short conversation between Ramona and Jacob.

She had motioned in an offhand way toward his manhood during the peak of her scrutiny of him.

He had jerked as if she’d touched him. His eyes went hooded and a tiny slice of the old Jacob flashed beneath them.

She had whispered to him that his time of mourning had long passed. She had said it was time to put the death of his wife behind him and use the precious Gift the Seed had given him.

“What, a big dick?” he had joked with her.

“No, long life,” she had replied at once. Then she looked down, pursing her lips in consideration of him. “And, cousin, if it gets at all big, then make good use of it. The Synod is always in need of more children.”

Seeing she was serious and hadn’t risen to counter his jibe, he had ducked his head, uncomfortable. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” was all he could manage to say.

“Think on it, Jake.”

He had said he would and Ramona had moved on…

Now, the High Command sat once more about the “arrow”. All dressed in long, flowing robes of white and matching slippers of downy material. Their crimson ones and sandals Tidy-bots had taken away the moment the inspection was over.

Estefan cleared his throat. He walked from the protection of his seat to the main level of the Sacristy. He had nothing to fear of his guests now and felt better walking among them, rather than address them cool from above.

“Brother, sister, sons, daughters, grandchildren and cousins, my wives and I greet you. Welcome once again to Luna Prime.”

There were nods around.

“I know there have been hints and rumors and innuendo about my recent trip to Angel Free Town. I imagine with the dispersal of my Synod and the subsequent announcement of a Gathering your curiosity must be doing back flips by now. I know the etiquette of our family is now engrained in your very DNA. Thus, I know that you know these actions to be of highest irregularity. You all know they are only enacted during times of great uncertainty.

He paused, swallowing, hands behind his back as he walked. “I know you are all capable enough to deduce something of some magnitude has come to the attention of me and my wives. It would be stupid of me to think otherwise.” There was a rumbling in his chest. “I expect no less. I hire only the best of frothing mass that our Combined Race has become. Only the strongest and the brightest win the chance to sit at these tables. Only the long-time loyal and dedicated remain.

Another pause of consideration followed. “Since many of you have trudged alongside me for more than years than I care to recall, I will not hide behind secrecy. I cannot just hope the truth of this matter won’t leak. With a band such as you a leak is an inevitability as unavoidable as the death of a star. Among us, it would serve nothing more than a gross waste of time, an act of utter futility. So, I will not try at secrecy this time around.” He stopped to gaze and each one of them. “But… that doesn't I will not have certain safeguards in place to ensure this knowledge stays among us gathered here today.

All but his wives exchanged quizzical looks.

“Reyna?” he said, calling to his Neuro-Nanoswarm.

“Yes, my love,” boomed the voice of his long-dead girlfriend. The Sacristy was the Home Node of Estefan’s ‘Swarm. It was the housing of her fundaments, where the Keeper stored them, backed them up. One could say the entire Sacristy itself was one gigantic Neuro-Nanoswarm. It was the largest, most intelligent ever constructed.

“Bring up the Silencing Shield and assemble a Med-bot please,” he asked, polite, as if she was in the chamber with them.

Those of the High Command glanced about, nervous now. The Shield was rarely engaged, and not once was there ever the summoning of a Med-bot at a Gathering. Something monumentous was about to reveal itself. Each of them could feel it.

Back about the “boomerang”, the Aegis Synod seemed etched in stone. Including Flavia, who had taken her assigned seat once she’d known the Keeper wasn’t in immediate danger.

“Do not be alarmed,” he assured them. “I would never subject any of you to measures as severe as this, if I wasn’t prepared to have my beloved Synod undergo the very same.” He motioned with his hand. “Ladies, if you would be so kind to show our colleagues what lies behind your left ear. I would appreciate it.”

To a one, his eight wives stood and began to make their way about the Sacristy. It was a welcomed distraction to the sudden shimmer growing about them. It extended around both tables and the Keeper’s Seat, stretching from floor to ceiling. Within seconds, it surrounded them on all sides, cutting them off from the rest of Luna Prime.

At the same time, an intricate robotic device began to take form near the bottom of the stairs to the left of Estefan’s vaulted chair. It was as dark as polished obsidian with an icosahedron-shaped middle. Each one of its twenty facets affixed with either an LCD screen of some sort or various sensors or an appendage. Some were so bizarre it was difficult to divine their medical purpose.

As they mingled amongst one another, Estefan’s wives began to show the tiny incisions behind their ears.

Then the Med-bot thrummed to life and began to float on its’ Grav-sensors toward the Keeper.

“What you are looking at is a small incision wherein we slipped an even smaller Nano-chip. The implant goes along a ridge in the skull, encircling the delicate sensory that allows one to hear. The device is something recently developed by one of Jacqueline’s top teams at ExTech. It consists of a programmable send/receive unit, six, three-inch-long copper filaments. At each end are six, very small, Diatainium shape-charges.” Estefan stopped and motioned for his wives to return to their respective seats.

“You’ve implanted a Spider-Swarm on their skulls?” entreated Johan’s daughter, astounded by what she had just heard.

“Precisely that, my dear niece,” retorted the Keeper with a pointed finger in her direction.

“But why, Uncle? They are lethal!” She begged to understand.

Estefan wagged the same finger at her. “They are lethal only if the person carrying one goes against the Spider’s programming.”

“What does this ‘spider-thing’ do exactly?” asked Vincent, his large frame seemed to hunch with confusion.

Jacob spoke before Jacqueline could, which elicited a frown from her. No one should've known about the Spiders except a few teams at ExTech and the Keeper himself. But then, Jacob was Estefan’s Chief of Security, so he had his ways, she assumed. It still did little to make her happy knowing her organization was more porous than she’d envisioned a few seconds earlier. It was something she would have to remedy soon.

“…Spider-Swarm is a measure of security, a fail-safe, if you will,” Jacob was explaining. “Its' programming monitors its’ hosts behavior along a given set of parameters. These parameters or rules, whatever you want to call them, are ironclad and can’t be overridden. Only the one holding the Programming Key can do so. You can all assume it will be the Keeper who will be holding this particular one. The rules can be broad if… say someone is holding someone prisoner or narrow if the intention is to hide a specific item of information.

“Now, should the host intend or think or act against these parameters, the Spider will kill.”

There were a few sharp intakes of breath.

Jacob continued. “A signal will pass from the Programming Key. This is no more than a microchip installed into finger sensor, and… well, it will activate the Spider. A tendril of electricity will pass along the copper filaments. It will set off the Diatainium charges. They will of course destroy the skull of the host… and everything in it.”

“Why would you do this to your wives and ask the same of us?” Jacqueline asked with so much emotion it sounded more like a plea. Her voice was so strained; she garnered a warning look from her father, Johan. She glanced from her father to her uncle abject fear beginning to seep into her face.

“Because!” began Estefan more intense than any of them anticipated. “I need to make certain, beyond any doubt, the information I’m about to reveal her today is never repeated outside of this room to anyone without the proper clearance. That’s why!”

The silence following was profound. Even the low-level hum of the Med-bot’s Grav-sensors diminished as it came to a stop next to the Keeper.

They were exchanging nervous looks once again. Estefan was under duress, even the youngest among them could sense it.

“Believe me, this is a necessary precaution. Otherwise, I would never have asked you to endure a Spider-Swarm attached to your skulls. But, I must say this, before we continue. The choice to do this is yours. After all, we are family.

Then he did something amazing and terrifying at the same time. He trembled. “Yet, I must say this as well.” The air in his chest seemed stuck and for a moment he could not speak. “Those of you who refuse this procedure will resign from your current post at once. You will relinquish all security clearance and affiliation with the Aegis Synod… for all time.” Estefan gazed at the floor. “This includes contact with the rest of us, and of course means you will never see any of your children again.

“They belong to the Synod. They are mine.” He trailed off, shaking his head. He was sick with himself for having to say something as harsh and final to the people he loved. But he had no choice. Knowledge of the Shadow Spark was too precious. Its' containment was vital.

“What? How can you do this, Estefan? How can you blackmail us like this? How can you threaten us with our own children!?!” scolded Jolene, vehement, her hand inadvertently covering her abdomen. She was already protecting the potential fetuses she hoped would be thriving there soon.

Estefan shared a long, tired stare with his brother, one of the persons amongst these tables he’d known the longest. Only Katie he’d known longer. An unspoken nod passed between them.

“It is necessary, and, until you’ve submitted to the procedure, that is all I can say.” He walked around the table to stand before his mortified sister-in-law.

Her eyes bore into him as he approached, but Estefan didn’t look away.

“I am sorry, Jollie.” Before she could answer, he kissed her on the forehead with delicate lips. “It doesn’t change the fact that I love you all, but my hand is being forced by circumstances beyond my control…”

She closed her eyes and acknowledged she understood.

Johan came up behind her, griping her shoulders, reassuring her, hoping to make her calm.

Estefan stepped back from them. “So, who will accept the procedure?” He didn’t have to say the other half of the question, because it hung above them like a poisonous cloud of gas.

Yet, the air did seem to clear when Jolene stepped forward.

“I will.”

The others followed suit within moments and for the next hour the Med-bot was quite busy.

When the last of them had their Spider-swarms installed, Estefan asked them all to retake their seats. It was then he told them of the Shadow Spark and their scheming began in earnest.

Deep into the following lunar cycle those of the Gathering labored and planned. Decisions they made and, in the end, the Aegis Synod and the High Command were of a single mind. The Shadow Spark they would protect, because only they could manage to do so in the proper manner.

Then, they scattered across the Sixteen Worlds.

There was much left to do.