The Secret of Mars

“Terrian,” both Earon and Swaybuk shouted, each reading the report in Jeanip’s hand. “How can that be?”

“We always speculated that JeffRa’s ships were severely damaged when he attacked Mars,” Jeanip stated. “And that’s why he didn’t annihilate Earth. It is possible one or more of his ships crashed here and never made it as far as Earth.”

“So what? Terrian ghosts haunt Mars?” Earon asked. “Is the obelisk Terrian too?”

“I feel confident when I say it is not,” Staybo answered. “Our analysis shows it is made out of materials we have no record of. It matched nothing in our database.”

“How many alien worlds’ information is in the database?” Jeanip asked.

“Sixty or seventy,” Staybo replied. “Our database contains the information of every planet, alien life form, and alien chemistry known at present. Even the chemical composition of that new moon found orbiting Sextus III is included. The database is always updated and currently accurate. Whatever the obelisk is made of, it’s something new.”

“Amber, you said you saw a lilac mist before the face and arm. Could the eyes have possibly been lilac?” Earon asked.

“Again, Uncle, I do not remember. But I do remember the face’s color because I thought it odd,” Amber replied. “The face was a light green, as was the arm.”

“Hmmm,” Swaybuk said, starting to pace around the room. “Lilac is the color of Europa, of us Oonocks. Blue is the color of Earth and humans. What if green is the color of Mars? Remember, before JeffRa’s attack Mars was Earth’s sister, just as blue and green as Earth is still. It was not until after JeffRa’s attack that she got her red glow and became known as the ’Red Planet’.”

“So what is something that is lilac and green?” Amber asked, watching her uncle pace back and forth.

“What indeed!” Swaybuk replied.

“Amber,” shouted Mary, as she reached out into space for her sister. “Do not leave me.”

“She has not left you, Sweet Princess,” came the soothing voice again. “Come, sit up. It is time for you to awaken and fulfill the purpose the Fates have placed your feet upon.” The cloaked figure helped the sleepy princess sit up, leaning her against the back of the large emerald crystal.

“Where am I? What happened?”

“You were taken from your universe and have been in a very deep sleep,” the voice stated. “But you have slept long enough. Your rescuers are here, looking for you. They need your help to find you.”

“I do not understand,” Mary said, trying to clear her mind.

“Here, drink this. It will help.” Even in her groggy state, Mary knew enough not to take a liquid from a stranger. “Do not fear, Your Highness. It is only water.”

Too thirsty not to trust the stranger, Mary took a small sip, allowing it to slide down her throat. Then she took several more sips. “That is good.”

“Yes, this planet has excellent water. The purest in this part of the galaxy.”

The water seemed to revive Mary. Her mind cleared, her eyes focused. Before her, with a glass in his hand, sat a cloaked figure.

“Do not let my appearance frighten you, Your Majesty,” it said. “I wear the cloak to protect you from my radiance.”

“That is the second time you called me ’Your Majesty’. Why do you call me that?”

The stranger reached out gently lifting Mary’s amulet. “You wear the sign of Oonock nobility, even though you are not full Oonock.”

“Oonock?” Mary shouted in fear. “How do you know about Oonocks?”

“I lived amongst your people for many millennia,” the figure stated, “On the moon covered in ice. My sister and I were there to help a species called the Horrturn develop into sentient beings, but we discovered the Oonocks and also helped evolve them. But our Council did not agree with our interference and punished us. My sister was condemned to live out her life on the ice moon, and I was sent here, stripped of most of my powers, incapable of leaving. Here, let me help you stand. I have food waiting for you over there.” He motioned his head toward a small rock table where Mary could see some food. “I’m afraid it’s not much. Just some grubs and fat bittle worms I found. And a few pieces of greens. If the worms are not to your liking, I can try to catch some of the insects I saw flying about the outer boundaries.”

“No, the worms will be sufficient,” Mary said. She did not relish the thought of eating worms, but she knew the number one priority of survival was eating and keeping the body strong. Besides, they couldn’t be worse than some Oonock foods.

Her legs wobbly from being asleep for so long, she welcomed the stranger’s help to the table. He helped her sit down without plummeting into her seat, something else she was thankful for. “How long have I been asleep?”

“There is no time reference down here,” the stranger announce. “No setting or rising of the sun, no mechanical time piece to show you the hours or days. But my instincts tell me many times the sun has passed over this planet.”

“So we are still on Mars?” Mary asked, biting into the large worm. She had to admit it didn’t taste too bad.

“Technically yes and no,” the stranger stated. “We are inside Mars, but not a part of it. I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

“Do you know how long you’ve been here?” Mary asked.

“No, for I too have been asleep for many ages,” he stated. “I just woke a short time before you arrived. The Orbs must have sensed your presence. It appears you have a great connection to them.”

“The Orbs? You have Orbs?”

“Yes.’

“Where?” Mary shouted, jumping to her feet, knocking the plate of worms over.

“Down the passageway.”

“Show me,” Mary yelled in glee, taking the creature’s hand.

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” he said, leading Mary down a dark hallway. As they progressed, she could see a glow up ahead, growing larger. When they reached the corner, she turned and saw a table of glowing and silent Orbs.

“I do not believe this,” Mary shouted, running her hands across the tops of the egg-shaped domes. She looked around, then ran further down the hall. “That means that the Window of Universes is this way.” She ran until she stood before the familiar window. “And the Solar Display is just down here,” she yelled, running even further. She stopped when the planets of the solar system appeared and began to circle her in their elliptic paths. “We are in FARCORE!”

“You know of FarCore? How is that possible?”

“I know more than that. Your sister is Hygone. You are Weenow!”

“How do you know my sister?” The stranger now shouted. “Or my name?”

“Because my Grandmother is Queen Europa, the Supreme Monarch of the Oonocks, the greatest channeler of the Orbs in Oonock history,” Mary announced, throwing her arms up and smiling from ear-to-ear. “And I have known Hygone even before I was born. And if this is FarCore, then we can go home!”

“I do not understand, Your Majesty. How can we go home?”

“We can use the Window of Universes,” Mary said.

“But you are Oonock,” Weenow stated. “You cannot pass through the window into the corridor.”

“Yes, I can,” Mary shouted. “My father did it when he was a youngling.”

“I am sorry to disappoint you, but it is impossible,” Weenow replied. “The window is broken. It does not function anymore.”

“Then we can take one of the tunnels back,” Mary announced, trying to remember everything she knew about FarCore. “All tunnels lead to each other, to every FarCore.”

“That may be true, but there are millions of tunnels. We could get lost, or worse yet, separated.”

“We will just have to make sure we do not get separated,” Mary answered. “We can tie a rope around ourselves or something.”

“That is quite impossible,” Weenow said. “There are too many others to make the journey.”

“Others?” Mary asked, the smile gone from her face, replaced with a look of curiosity. “What others?”

Now a smile crossed Weenow’s face, although Mary could not see if beneath his hood. “Follow me, Princess. I have something marvelous to show you.” He took her hand and led her down two tunnels and onto a ledge overlooking a vast cavern. “Behold, Your Majesty, the Secret of Mars.”

Stretched before her was a large open expanse descending into the depths of FarCore and up into its canopy. A light green and lilac mist filled the chamber, making it impossible to see much inside its walls. Weenow reached out and waved his hand and recited several Ancient words. Immediately, the mist dissipated and revealed its contents.

Mary could not believe her eyes. The cavern was enormous. And clinging to the walls were hundreds of large green emerald cases, like the one she woke up in. A soft lilac and green mist still surrounded each.

“What are they?” Mary asked in a hushed voice, afraid what she saw was a dream.

“What is left of the Oonocks who lived here,” Weenow announced. “We could not save them all. By the time we realized the planet was being destroyed, many were already dead. We were able to damage the attacking ships. Even brought one down. It gave us enough time to reach out and gather those that were still alive.”

“We?” Mary asked, looking around for another Ancient. “Is there another Ancient here with you?”

“While I wish that were true, sadly no,” Weenow answered. “I say ‘we’ but it was probably just FarCore. Somehow it channeled the Orbs’ powers through me and brought the life forms inside for safe keeping.”

“How many are there?” Mary asked in awe.

“One thousand, eight hundred and fifty-two,” Weenow proudly stated. “And there are two more caverns filled with the lifeforms that once lived on this planet. Plants, animals, bacteria, fungi. All forms of life were preserved.”

“I thought Ancients were not allowed to intervene and save species,” Amber commented.

“That is true,” Weenow said, smiling. “And as I said, it was more FarCore than me. At least that is what I think. Besides, these creatures were never meant to die out. Their destruction was the act of another being, not by a higher power. I justified my actions by rationalizing I was merely continuing their lives as the Fates had intended. I was already condemned to this planet because I had disobeyed the Council’s decree on Europa. What more could they do to me?”

“And they have all been asleep for six thousand years?” a dumbfounded Mary asked.

“Have I been asleep that long?” Weenow asked, realizing the extent of his hibernation.

“It is pretty close,” Mary replied. “Grandfather and Grandmother brought their ships to Earth a little over six thousand years ago. These Oonocks arrived here just a few days past my grandparents’ arrival on Earth. They had been living on Earth three or four hundred years before JeffRa’s attack.”

“Why did this JeffRa do this horrible thing?” Weenow asked, trying to imagine why any creature would cause such destruction and death.

“That, Weenow, is a long story,” Mary replied, still trying to imagine the Oonocks asleep in the cavern.

“It would appear, Your Majesty, that we have lots of time,” Weenow smiled, waving his hand out across the cavern, filling it once more with the mists of life needed to preserve the sleeping Oonocks. He extended his hand to lead the princess back to their chamber. “Perhaps you can begin my telling me about your sister.”

After what was detected beneath the layers of dirt and rock, they decided that it was way too dangerous for either Anew or Amber to go near the obelisk. Jeanip sent a report to King Kiijon and Queen Europa, plus Prince EJ and Monarch Medi, informing them of what they had found and Amber’s restriction from the field.

“It’s more important than ever that we get that rock off that ship,” Jeanip stated. “Mary could be trapped inside of it somewhere.”

“Uncle, do you believe that?” Earon asked. “She would have run out of air weeks ago. Even if there were still air pockets inside the ship, what would she survive on? There’s no food or water out there. No, she is not in that Terrian ship, if it is Terrian. She is somewhere inside that alien obelisk. I know it.”

“And what’s up with that?” Swaybuk asked. “Why would Lord Hoffman have an alien obelisk in the heart of his city with his clan’s mark on it? I still think he carved it out of some stone he found.”

“Perhaps they found the tall stone when they were searching for a place to put the Complex,” Jeanip suggested. “Why carve a new obelisk if one was already available?”

“Well, unless there are still one or two Oonocks alive somewhere on this planet, those are questions we will never have answers to,” Earon commented.

“Amber saw a face and an arm come out of that thing,” Swaybuk said, staring at it through the Observation Window. “It is possible that whatever she saw is what took Princess Mary the day she disappeared.”

“Took her where?” Jeanip asked, frustrated. He began to pace again.

“That I do not know,” Swaybuk sighed.

“Has Staybo had any luck finding what Amber saw on the video yet?” Earon asked.

“No. There’s a distortion Staybo can’t clear up,” Jeanip replied. “Almost as if something clouded the lens to keep it from recording.”

“But how could the Terrians or anyone know how to do that?” Swaybuk asked. “That ship’s at least six thousand years old. Such things didn’t even exist back then. Even we didn’t have such technology. Whatever distorted that recording has to have modern expertise and skill.”

“You think someone here on the Settlement did it?”

“Although a remote possibility, I don’t believe that either,” Swaybuk sighed. “What purpose would they have for kidnapping the princess?”

“Holding her for the pirates, or worse,” Earon replied. “Lure her twin sister here. Perhaps even Europa and EJ themselves so they could be sold to the highest bidder for their abilities. From what Amber told us, that kidnapping captain knew of her long life. Perhaps news of our healing abilities has also been discovered making Europa, EJ and the twins very desirable commodities.”

“Well, there’s no way I’m allowing the other two to step foot on this planet,” Jeanip quickly reported. “Europa can’t come, thank goodness, because of her implantation. And I’ll advise Jazee not to let EJ anywhere near a transporter.”

“Speaking of monarchs, where is our little princess?” Swaybuk asked.

“She’s with Staybo,” Jeanip announced. “She’s going crazy being cooped up in here, especially since Gart seems to have disappeared. I had PiePie take her down to see if they could help Staybo with the recordings.”

“I didn’t know Amber had electronics training,” Swaybuk commented.

“She doesn’t,” Jeanip laughed. “It was the first thing I could think of to get her out of my hair.” The three males laughed.

“And I’m glad you did,” announced Staybo, as he walked into the room with Anew, Amber, PiePie and an unknown human. “If it weren’t for her and Frank, I never would have figured out how to clean up these images.” Suddenly remembering Jeanip and the others had no idea who the stranger was, he quickly added, “Everyone, this is Frank. He’s from Earth. Texas, to be exact. He was with that group of soldiers that came on the starship with us a few weeks back.”

“We had soldiers on board?” Jeanip asked, looking at Earon.

“I do not remember seeing any,” Earon answered.

“It’s not important,” Staybo replied. “What is important is that I remembered we talked on the ship about, what do you call it?”

“Photography,” Frank answered.

“Yes, photography,” Staybo continued. “It’s a science the humans used to use before computers and digital imaging. Frank’s a history buff and quite the expert on the subject. Anyway, I couldn’t get the distortion out of the images, so I went to see if Frank could help. He said it was an electrical interference embedded on the video tape and the only way to clear up the images was to figure out the frequency and edit it out. Well, as you probably don’t know, there’s several trillion frequencies. Trying to figure out which one would be impossible. That’s when our Princess came in with her brilliant idea.”

“I heard what Frank said about why not just eliminate the frequency,” Amber smiled. “I figured that since the ship is from Ganymede, the obelisk might be too. And since Anew if from there also,” she paused and silently added “I had to make up a story about her,” then continued verbally “it made sense to test what kind of electrical output she had and try that frequency to eliminate the interference.”

“And?” Jeanip asked. “You tell me this long, drawn out story and don’t give me the ending?”

“Tada,” Amber announced, holding out an eleven by sixteen-inch picture of the obelisk with a face and arm coming out of it. “I present to you my face and hand.”

“Unbelievable,” Jeanip said, rushing over and grabbing the picture. “There IS something inside the obelisk. That’s why there was no sign of where Mary went. She wasn’t taken; she was pulled through to the other side.”

“To the other side of what?” Earon asked.

“I believe Anew has that answer,” Amber beamed.

“We Ganymedians can see different spectrums of light than Oonocks, or humans, can,” Anew said, keeping up the pretense that she was from Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede. “There was a tiny dot of bright light on the picture that only I was able to see. I asked Staybo and Frank to enlarge this section here.” Anew used her finger to draw a circle around a piece of the picture below the face. “Can you see it?”

“No, I don’t see anything,” Earon said.

“Me neither,” Swaybuk confirmed.

“Well, we all need to say a special thank you to the Waters of Life tonight, because Anew did,” Amber said, still smiling. She laid down the second picture. “This is what she saw that we could not.”

The three males stared at the image. There, before their eyes was a small Orb set in a metal necklace. “Anew, it’s just like the amulet you wear.”

“Yes,” Anew, at last, smiled, reaching up and resting her hand on her amulet. “Just like the one Hygone gave to you for me. It’s another being from Ganymede. Another Ganymedian.”

“But Ganymedians are restricted to the, ah.” Swaybuk hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a word to call FarCore.

“To the sphere we live inside,” Anew quickly added.

“Yes, the sphere,” Swaybuk said, glad for Anew’s help. “You and Kree were the only two that were ever allowed to exist outside of the sphere.”

“No, there was another,” Jeanip stated, starting to pace, smiling as he raised his hand to his chin, rubbing it. “I remember Hygone’s story of how she came to be on Err, the planet.” Jeanip carefully chose his words. Ganymedians were Ancients, the sphere was FarCore, and so forth. “The Council sentenced her to the planet, and her brother to Mars.”

“Could he have survived JeffRa’s destruction?” Swaybuk asked. “And he’s the one that took Mary for some unknown reason?”

“Wait, there is more, but I think you all need to sit down for this one,” Amber said, the biggest smile on her face, yet tears starting to fill her eyes. She quickly wiped one away. “Go ahead, sit down.” Her voice began to crack from the emotions starting to surge through her body. She handed the last picture to Staybo.

“I accidentally set the exposure too high on one of the blowups,” Staybo confessed. “It was of the small Orb. Here is the picture.”

He laid it down on top of the other two. There, inside the tiny Orb, for everyone to see, was an image of Mary. “We found her, Your Majesties. We found Mary.”

Unable to hide their joy, tears flowed from everyone’s eyes, even Anew’s this time. At last, they had found their precious princess.

“But how do we get her out?” Earon asked.

“I don’t have the faintest clue on that,” Staybo sorrowfully replied.

“I know someone who might. Come on Staybo,” Earon yelled, as he jumped up and exited the room, heading toward the Communications Room. “We have to get a message to King Kiijon right away. Europa or EJ must go talk to Hygone and find out how to free her brother.”

“THAT’S why the Orbs took Mary,” Anew stated. “They recognized her for who she was and knew she had knowledge of, um.” She looked around and saw that Frank had left with Staybo. “Knowledge of FarCore,” she softly said. “They’re trying to show us how to open the portal so Weenow can go home.”

“Wow, just a moment here,” Swaybuk said, attempting to think everything through. “Let us say you are right. These pictures show that the Orbs are capable of opening the portal. Why not just open it up and allow him to walk through?”

“Maybe he can’t,” Amber replied. “Maybe he’s ill or unable to walk. We know he has to be at least ten million years old. How old was Kree when he passed?”

“We’re still not sure if Kree passed,” Anew corrected the protector. “He was probably over seventy million years. I believe Weenow is much younger than Hygone and, therefore, should have many millennia left.”

“But he could have been hurt in the blast,” Amber said.

“Whatever the reason, speculating isn’t going to help,” Jeanip stated. “Now that we know where she is, we are no closer to getting her back.”

“Maybe the answer is still inside that ship,” Swaybuk said, turning to peer through the window at the fake mountain so brazenly standing in the distance. What secrets did the Terrian ship hold? Could the answer be inside? “Somehow we have to dig it out.”

“The Commander is having some of the Core’s big equipment brought up,” Jeanip stated.

“How did you manage that?” a curious Swaybuk asked. He knew that the Commander had no interest in pursuing searching for the missing monarch. And he certainly did not like sharing his equipment.

“Even on Mars, things have a price,” Jeanip smiled. “I told him Waters Enterprises would be most thankful and would certainly wish to show their appreciation by sending him three more diggers over the next two years.”

“Three? That is going to take a big chunk out of the bank accounts,” Swaybuk commented.

“True, but I didn’t feel we had time to negotiate,” Jeanip replied. “I need those diggers now. Besides, what price is too high if it means getting our Mary back?”

“None.”

“What do these diggers look like?” Anew asked.

“Not sure, but I imagine yellow in color, with a drill or digger on the front. Perhaps a hoe in the back. They could have anything that makes them remove dirt and rock. Maybe even a crane attached.”

“Then I believe your diggers have arrived,” Anew stated, pointing toward the mysterious mountain. Everyone turned to look out the window and saw two large machines slowly approaching the site.

“As promised, Jeanip, two diggers,” came the Commander’s voice as he knocked and walked into the room. “You have them for three days. That’s all the time I can spare them. I had to argue with the Construction Supervisor all morning about letting me use them.”

“Thank you again, Commander,” Jeanip replied. “Please tell your supervisor that Waters Enterprises has already purchased one of the diggers, as promised. It should be arriving here on the next large freight transport, in about four to six months.”

“Hopefully, that will help calm his anger,” the Commander stated. “That part of the valley gets dark early once the sun begins to dip down. They won’t be able to start digging until tomorrow morning at daylight. Any particular place you want them to start?”

“They are the experts,” Jeanip answered. “I rely on their expertise. Just be sure they realize there is a ship.”

“Will do,” the Commander stated. “Until tomorrow morning.”

“Can they possibly dig the Terrian ship out in only three days?” Swaybuk asked.

“Let’s hope so because I don’t think we can afford a fourth digger,” Jeanip sighed.