The Secret of Mars

Amber sat quietly eating her Evening Meal. She had not seen Gart since the incident and wondered what he was thinking, feeling. Would he ever want to see her again? Due to Jeanip’s concussion, he was confined to the infirmary for the evening. With both males gone, the dinner table was extremely quiet. Swaybuk and Earon tried keeping the conversation going, but Amber had little to say. She had said some horrible things to her uncle, and she needed to set things right between them.

“Amber, you really should eat something,” Earon stated, noting how little his niece had eaten.

“I am not hungry,” Amber answered, pushing her plate away.

Knowing the toll the Mars terrain would take on her body, and, therefore, the necessity of eating, Swaybuk pushed a bowl of Tiger beans toward Amber. “No, thank you, Uncle.”

“If I am not mistaken, these are your Uncle Jeanip’s favorite food,” Swaybuk said. “Since you have no appetite, I thought perhaps you would be kind enough to take these to him. Your Grandmother sent them.” Swaybuk saw her hesitation and reached out, placing one of his hands on hers. “I am sure, Princess, that he feels just as bad as you do about what happened. He’s probably sitting in there, not eating, trying to figure out what to say when he sees you.”

“But, Swaybuk, I hurt him. How can he ever forgive me for what I said about?” She drew close to him and whispered, “I said something terrible about Aunt Phameena.”

“He will because he loves you,” Swaybuk replied. “Besides, he called Gart a Lizard.”

“He did, did he not?” Amber laughed. She looked at the bowl of Tiger beans. “Maybe you or someone else should take them to him.”

“Trust me, Little One,” Swaybuk softly said. “Have I ever told you an untruth?”

“No,” she sheepishly said.

“Then why do you doubt me now? Go. He needs you, but he is too proud to tell you so or ask for your help. With a broken arm and a concussion, he cannot go out into the field to search for Mary. You must heal him, use the power that lives within you and restore his health.” Swaybuk pushed the bowl into her hands. Taking a deep breath, Amber took the bowl and stood up. She walked down to the infirmary, wondering if Swaybuk was right.

Upon entering his room, she saw he was not there. Perhaps he learned of her coming and chose to leave before she arrived. Trusting in what Swaybuk told her, just as she did as a child, she walked around until she found a nurse. He told her Jeanip was in the medical wings’ small Observation Room down the next hallway. Determined to complete her mission, she made her way to the room. She stopped outside in the hall, hidden in the shadows. There, sitting against the window staring at the starship buried beneath centuries of rock and dirt, sat Jeanip. He looked so vulnerable, so much smaller than the Oonock she knew and loved. Had she hurt him that much? Doubts flooded her thoughts. She turned to leave only to see Swaybuk standing just a few feet down the hall.

“Go inside, Little One,” she heard Swaybuk say inside her head. He held up two spoons for her to see.

Taking the spoons, she walked across the floor and sat down in the seat beside the former protector. Not saying a word, she sat the bowl of Tiger beans down on the table between them. She waited for him to say something, but he just sat there, staring across the terrain. She turned and looked at Swaybuk, who remained beside the door frame. He motioned for her to say something.

“Uncle, I thought you might like some Tiger Beans. I remembered how much you like them.” She waited, but again there was only silence. She searched through her mind, trying to figure out something to say. “Grandmother sent them with Swaybuk. She told me you get grouchy if you don’t get dessert several times a week.”

“She brought me Tiger beans on Europa when I laid in the flesh regenerator after Lord Akabaa attacked me,” Jeanip said, reaching out and taking one of the spoons. “Like today, I hadn’t eaten, and she was trying to entice me to eat. Is that what you are doing, Princess?”

“Trying to,” Amber confessed, remembering the story of Jeanip’s damaged wings. “Your wings were so badly damaged, Grandmother could not restore them. Aunt Phameena was missing, and you refused to stay in the chamber so your wings could heal. You left to find her. That is why you have rods and artificial wings when you are in your true form.”

“I couldn’t imagine a life without her,” Jeanip said, filling his spoon with beans and placing them in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. “I never regretted that decision. But I do regret my behavior earlier today. I should not have become so angry, Amber.”

“The fault was mine, Uncle,” Amber softly said. “You were only trying to protect me and make me stay focused on Mary.” Amber put her spoon down and stood up, walking up to the window and placing her hands upon it. “She is out there, Uncle, somewhere that I cannot find. I need to discover a way to wrap my mind around it, to get clarification on it. Sometimes, I fear I do not have the power needed.” She turned around to face Jeanip. “What if I do not have the capability to bring her back to us, to Mattwa and Dattwa? How do I go on knowing she is trapped somewhere, waiting for me to come find her?” She raised her hands to her head and began to poke her fingers lightly into her skull. “All these thoughts are flooding into my head, and I cannot concentrate, do what I must to locate her. I cannot sort out what is fear, what is real, what are thoughts from Mary. For some reason, Gart helps me focus my mind, bury all the doubts. I cannot explain it, but I know I need him to find Mary. I need his grounding, his discipline, even his love. Is that crazy?”

”Not at all, Child,” Jeanip replied, realizing the importance of the alien. “He may be your quanish like your Grandfather Terrance was and is your Grandmother’s. It was his love for her that saved her from JeffRa that day on Saint’s Isle. It was his strength that got her to accept who she was. Without him, your Grandmother would not be the Oonock queen she is. Even though she is joined to Kiijon, Terrance’s devotion still plays a significant part in her life and survival. Once we thought only an Oonock could be another Oonock’s quanish, but Terrance proved us wrong. Who’s to say that this alien from a distance world is not your quanish, or Mary’s, or both of yours since you are twins? Your Grandmother had two quanishes; perhaps Gart has two teequans.”

“So it is okay if I see him again?” Amber asked.

“If he is your quanish, I have no right to keep the two of you apart,” Jeanip stated. “If the Fates have drawn his path to intersect with yours, then who am I to doubt his worth?”

“Oh, thank you, Uncle,” Amber said, hugging him. When he winced, she remembered his broken arm. “I need to try and fix this.” Now believing in herself once more, she placed one hand on his broken arm and the other around her amulet. “I have only done this a few times, so I cannot guarantee I can fix your arm.”

“No matter if my arm is healed or not, I will always believe in you, My Queen,” Jeanip stated.

Amber looked at him with loving eyes. He had never referred to her as his queen before. No one had. Now, more determined than ever, she began to hum, allowing the healing powers of the Orbs to travel through and out her into Jeanip, mending his broken bones. “Ennay Benu Carif.”

Jeanip stretched out his hand, flexing his fingers. “That feels much better.” He reached down and removed a knife from his boot and sliced open the arm cast. “That thing was already making me itch. I can’t wait to see the look on the doctor’s face when I tell him I’m all better.” The two laughed, friends again. Then a solemn look overshadowed Jeanip’s face. “One more question before we leave, Amber. How did you know about Phameena’s eyes?”

“I’m so sorry I said that, Uncle,” Amber quickly stated, hanging her head in shame. “I did not mean it. I just thought of the first thing that would hurt you.”

“No one knows her secret. Not your parents, not your Grandfather Terrance and Grandmother Teerdomay. Not even Swaybuk. The only ones who know the truth are your Grandparents Kiijon and Europa and your Uncle Earon and Aunt EeRee. And I know none of them would tell.”

“When I was young, probably about six or seven, I hid in Grandfather and Grandmother’s bedroom closet,” Amber confessed. “I wanted to surprise them. But I feel asleep. When I woke up, I realized they were in the room speaking very low. They were talking about Aunt Phameena.” She switched over to a silent talk so no one could hear what she was about to say. “That her eyes were green at one time. I did not know why they said that because all Oonock eyes are lilac. I came out of the closet and asked, and they became very distraught. I have never seen either of my grandparents that upset before or since that day. They told me I must never speak about what I heard to anyone, not even Mary. That to do so could end our world.”

“Did you?” Jeanip asked. “Tell Mary or anyone else?”

“Never,” Amber reassured her uncle. “But I never forgot what they said. The idea of green eyes intrigued me, and I even dreamed of having green eyes myself. When I grew up and had access to the Orbs, I researched Oonocks with that eye color. I was horrified at what green eyes meant and understood why my grandparents were so upset and ordered me never to mention the subject. It could bring down our race. I vowed that day never to mention it to anyone. That is why I cannot believe I said that to you. Please know, Dearest Uncle, I never would have said anything even if you had banded Gart from Mars.”

“I believe you, Mary. I know you would do nothing to bring Phameena harm, nor your people.”

“Might I ask you a question, Uncle?”

“Of course.”

“What did you mean you had to send Klonc away because he loved me?”

“That is something I regret saying,” Jeanip replied. “If his feelings for you are stronger than that of a protector, it is his place to let them be known, not me. But, unfortunately, I cannot take my words back either. All I wish to say on the subject is that I believe he may have feelings stronger than even he realizes. They were becoming so intense that I believe they would have affected his ability to do his duty. So I sent him back to Earth on a very important job. Hide that little bit of information away with your other secrets. If the Fates mean for you two to be together one day, they will make sure your paths cross again. Now, let’s find the doctor on duty tonight and tell him I am leaving. Tomorrow we tackle the problem of taking down that mountain.”

Amber slipped her arm inside her uncles and hugged it tightly. Tomorrow was going to be a better day. And they WERE going to find Mary.

Immediately after breakfast the next morning, Earon and Jeanip took Swaybuk and Anew out to where Mary had disappeared. Staybo accompanied them, as did Glock and Tong. To her disappointment, Amber remained inside the Settlement. Standing at the large Observation Window, she watched the shuttles fly toward the site. When the shuttles landed, the Oonocks looked like small insects emerging.

“Here, Your Majesty,” PiePie said, handing her charge a pair of Oonock spying glasses. “You should be able to see better with these.”

“Thank you, PiePie,” Amber replied. Thanks to the spy glasses, the group appeared to be only a few feet away. She could see her uncles and Anew examining the small mountain, while Staybo and several other Oonocks took readings, soil samples and collected what appeared to be a few rocks.

After thirty minutes Anew directed her attention to the obelisk. Amber could not see her facial expression, but she assumed the Ancient was trying to determine what it was. Head bowed, she was running her hands over the obelisk. Amber wondered if she could get any readings through her space suit. Her question was answered when Anew stepped over to Glock and ran her glove through his fur. She then went inside a nearby land rover. After several minutes, another Hipper like Glock emerged, apparently the transformed Anew. Now without the cumbersome spacesuit, she returned to the obelisk and began to run her hands across it. Suddenly, fear gripped the young princess’s heart as she saw the obelisk start to glow ever so slightly.

“They need to get out of there. Something is happening.” Amber shouted, fearing the pillar would take Anew too. “PiePie, run to the Communications Room. Tell my uncles they have to get Anew out of there immediately.” But before PiePie could move, Amber saw the transformed Anew bend over and fall to the ground. She had no way of knowing if it was a result of the obelisk or Mars’ atmosphere. Swaybuk, Earon and several of the guards rushed to Anew’s aid, dragging her backward, away from the obelisk toward their speeder. Amber stood there, frozen, unable to help in any way, praying Anew was okay. As they loaded the seemingly unconscious Ancient into the rover, something caught Amber’s eye. She turned her vision back to the obelisk. There, in a mist of lilac, was a face, its mouth opened as if calling out for help. It was not an Oonock face, nor was it Mary. But it was alive. Then, from below the face, an arm of lilac vapor extended from the obelisk. Amber stared in disbelief as the ghost’s fingers reached out, beckoning for the Ancient to return

“Did you see that?” Amber shouted to PiePie.

“See what, Your Majesty?”

“The face! There was a face. And an arm reaching out from the obelisk.”

“No, I witnessed no such thing,” PiePie answered, staring intently at the area with her field glasses. She carefully examined the obelisk, but she saw no face – only a smooth, cold surface. “Where, Your Majesty? I see nothing unusual.”

Mary stared at the obelisk. She too now saw only the same smooth surface PiePie saw. Where was the face? Had she imagined it? No, she was positive it and the arm had been there. “It is gone now.”

“What did it look like?”

“The face was old, as if it had existed for millions of years,” Amber replied, remembering with clarity what she had seen. “It had a long, gray beard too and glowing eyes.”

“Glowing eyes?” PiePie immediately asked, fear gripping her heart, fearing their enemy the Terrians might have returned. They were the only creatures she knew of that had glowing eyes, glowing red eyes. Could they have kidnapped Mary in an attempt to fulfill JeffRa’s revenge? It would explain Mary’s disappearance. “Did they glow red?”

“I do not remember them being red,” Amber confessed. “I do not remember them being any color. Just glowing.”

“Something must be wrong,” PiePie stated, pointing to the team in the field. “The speeders are returning to the Settlement.” Amber looked and saw first one then the other two speeders lift off. Perhaps Anew was injured.

The anxious princess and fearful protector hurried down to the bay entrance to await the returning ships. Both paced the floors just outside the bay’s door. “How much longer?” she asked the Commander for the tenth time.

“They should reach the bay door in three minutes,” the Commander repeated.

“And there is still no communication with them?”

“No, Miss Amber,” a radio dispatcher replied. “I still can’t establish communications with them.”

Amber informed the Commander that she saw Anew falter and carried to the speeder. No sure if medical attention was needed, he asked the physician to be in attendance for when they arrived. Although trained in the anatomy of many lifeforms, Amber was sure he had never encountered anyone like Anew. Anew’s true identity was a secret. Amber knew the doctor must not examine her, no matter what her condition was when they arrived.

“PiePie, we cannot allow that doctor to treat Anew,” Amber silently told her protector.

“Already have it covered,” PiePie smiled, showing Amber the memory card from the physician’s scanner hidden in her hand. “He won’t be able to scan anything.”

Amber breathed a sigh of relief, both for PiePie’s quick thinking and the fact that, at last, the bay doors were opening. She watched intently as the three shuttles entered, then sat there. Her nervousness grew as she waited for someone to emerge, but no one did. “What is wrong? Why are they not exiting?”

“They have to wait until the door reseals and the room is re-pressurized and resupplied with air,” PiePie reminded her. “As soon as it is, they will be giving permission to leave their vessels.”

Barely able to wait, Amber hurried over to the door and waited for the light to turn green. As soon as it did, she burst through the door and down the stairs, PiePie right behind her. The passengers were just walking out of the shuttles, including Anew. Although a little pale, she did not seem injured.

“Are you all alright?” Amber asked, giving everyone hugs. “I was so worried something happened to you.”

“Just a little light-headedness from not being in a suit,” Anew lied. “I thought I could exist without one. Apparently, I cannot.”

“I assure you she is fine,” Staybo stated, as he stepped in between the Ancient and the newly arrived doctor. “We have no need of your services, Doctor.”

The doctor stopped and looked at the Commander. “I insist that I examine her.”

This time Jeanip stepped forward. “Our medical assistant has examined her. She is fine.”

“I insist, Jeanip,” the Commander ordered. “Medical procedures state that all field personnel is examined for foreign contaminants. Especially when one collapses after exposure. Who knows what microbes is on that thing out there? I should have her, and all of you, put in isolation.”

“I assure you, Commander, we are all fine,” Jeanip replied, using his best poker face. The last thing he needed was for everyone to be in isolation for several days.

“The agreement was, you would abide by our rules. Either do so, or I believe your visit here is over.”

Seeing no alternative, Jeanip nodded and stepped aside. The doctor raised his scanner and began to check Anew’s vital signs. “That’s odd. My scanner is not working.” He looked at the aliens before him, wondering if somehow they had done something to his scanner. “She will need to come to the medical unit so I can examine her.”

“Of course,” Jeanip lied. “As soon as she has something to drink I’ll send her right down.”

The doctor turned and left. “I mean it, Jeanip. I want her examined. And a full report of what happened out there on my desk by fifteen hundred hours,” the Commander stated.

“I’ll have one of my men personally deliver it,” Jeanip lied again. He had no intention of writing up a report. What was he going to say? That Anew transformed into a Hipper and fainted when she touched the obelisk? He was sure that would give her at least a week or more in quarantine. And she was no good to him there.

Amber waited until they were several yards down the next hallway before silently asking Jeanip, “Uncle, did you see the face?”

“What face?” Swaybuk asked.

“The face on the obelisk,” Amber answered, surprised none of them knew about it.

“Staybo, pull the recordings,” Jeanip ordered upon hearing his niece’s statement. “I need to see what Amber saw. And get those samples analyzed immediately.”

“Sire, Princess Amber stated the face had glowing eyes?” PiePie reported as she stepped forward.

Upon hearing PiePie’s words, the Oonocks immediately stopped, turned and stared at the young princess. “Glowing eyes? Red glowing eyes?”

“That’s the same question PiePie asked me?” Amber commented.

“Were they red?” Jeanip asked again, his voice louder, tinged with concern.

“I do not remember any particular color, just glowing eyes,” Amber replied. “Uncle, why is everyone so concerned that the eyes were red?”

“Everyone, meet in my room in ten minutes,” Jeanip ordered. He did not wish to discuss what had happened in the open where others could hear.

“Uncle, why are you so worried about red eyes?” Amber asked again, not wanting to proceed until she had an answer. “Is Mary in more danger? Please, tell me.”

“Jeanip, she has a right to know,” Earon stated.

“That she does,” Jeanip said, giving Amber a smile of confidence. “But here is not the place. Too many eyes that can see us, too many ears that can hear. I will explain all when we are secured, Amber. Can you wait just a few minutes, Your Majesty, for your answer?”

Realizing their vulnerability, Amber agreed to wait. “Make it so.”

“Even though Staybo has debugged this room and has installed inhibitors, I think it best that we speak silently,” Jeanip stated in silence. “No spoken words. From what Amber said, we may have a bigger problem than we realized.” He turned to Amber. “Amber, I know you are wondering why we are so worried about red, glowing eyes. I also know that your father and grandparents told you about our past and our battle with JeffRa and his Terrians.”

“Yes,” Amber answered. “JeffRa tried to kill Great-Grandfather Enok and is the reason we came to Earth. He killed Great-Grandmother Medaron and tried to kill Grandmother Europa too, several times. For six thousand years he fought us, then one day he changed and ended up saving not only Grandmother Europa but Grandparents Terrance and Teerdomay and Uncle Swaybuk.”

“That he did,” Swaybuk stated, remembering back to that day on the fishing farm dock when the human Sheik Abdul tried to kill them all. Had JeffRa not intervened, they would all be dead.

“I believe an important part of the story, for some reason, was never revealed,” Jeanip said. “Or you have forgotten it. It is the fact that JeffRa and his followers had red, glowing eyes.”

“Like the obelisk?” Amber asked, now realizing why that fact terrorized her uncles.

“Yes,” Jeanip replied. “That’s why I need for you to think back and remember what color the eyes were. Think carefully, Amber, but be sure. We cannot make a mistake about this.”

Amber thought back, trying hard to remember if the eyes had any color. Were they red? “I cannot remember, Uncle, any color. I am sorry.” She saw a disappointed face briefly pass over Jeanip’s face, and over her other uncles as well.

“Amber, tell us what you saw,” Earon suggested. “Start at the beginning. Perhaps you will remember more in the telling.”

“Very well, Uncle,” Amber replied. “I watched you all disembark from the speeders. I could not see what you were doing, so PiePie gave me a pair of spy glasses. I saw Anew walk over to the obelisk. She then went back inside the speeder and re-emerged as a Hipper. She walked back to the obelisk and placed her hand on it. That was when I saw it start to glow. I could not understand why she, or any of you, were not leaving. Then I realized you did not see it. I ordered PiePie to warn you, but Anew doubled over and fell before she could. You three dragged Anew back into the shuttle. That is when I saw it - a face.”

“What kind of face?” Swaybuk asked, looking over at Anew.

“I do not know how to describe it,” Amber answered. “It was not an Oonock face, nor a human one. But similar, with long hair, human-like eyes. And a mouth, which was open, like it was trying to speak. No, that is not correct. It was like it was calling to Anew, to come back, not to leave. Then, from nowhere, a hand and arm reached out, again as if to beckon Anew back to it.”

“An arm?” Earon asked. “Did it appear angry or aggressive?”

“No, I did not get that impression,” Amber replied. “It was more like an act of desperation, a plea for help.”

“And you’re sure it was not Mary?” Jeanip asked.

“That is the only thing I AM sure of,” Amber said.

“Anew, you told me you sensed something,” Jeanip stated. “Did you see a face or any lilac mist?”

“No. Not with my eyes.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When I sensed the presence, it was so intense that it made me double over and collapse,” Anew reported. “I had my eyes closed, trying to concentrate on it, determine what it was. For one brief moment I saw two glowing eyes, but then I felt you dragging me away. It was almost like the first time I meet Kree, the Ancient JeffRa hid”

“You saw the glowing eyes too?” a worried Swaybuk said. “Do you remember what color they were?”

“Like Amber, I remember no color,” Anew replied. “Just glowing eyes. But I believe they were not Terrian eyes. They were not eyes filled with hate, destruction, and murder, but eyes of peace, love, and tranquility. I did not feel the desperation that Miss Amber saw. ”

Staybo walked over and handed Jeanip a piece of paper with his preliminary report on some of his ship analysis. A strange look appeared on his face. He turned to the soldier. “Are you sure, Staybo? There can be no mistake?”

“No, Sire. I’ve run the test three times. There can be no mistake. The ship is not Oonock. It contains several compounds I have never seen before. And one that, unfortunately, that I have. It’s Andrium III. It is found in only one place that I know of. Ganymede.”

“What are you saying, Staybo?” a concerned Jeanip asked. “That it is one of JeffRa’s ships?”

“Yes, Sires. I believe our mystery starship is Terrian.”