Chapter 11
(201PK)
Captain Sun observed the Peacekeeper mining corps preparing large plasma drills next to a small hill near the beach, her hands tightly clasped behind her back, which was rigid with anticipation … and worry. The order to drill had come much sooner than she had expected. She also hadn’t expected the World’s Oldest Fraggle to suggest the initial entry point. She had expected a protest of some sort, as though her heart told her she was desecrating a sacred space, but the World’s Oldest dismissed what he called “silly fiddle-faddle”, stating instead that it would be good to feel the rock next to his fur again.
The image of Scorpius appeared from behind, turning over a large floppy brown hat in his hands. He placed it on his head to shield his eyes from the bright sun. Nodding with approval, he elbowed her. “I personally feel you picked a lovely spot.”
Sun sneered. “Glad you approve.”
“Scorpius” nodded. “Of course you are, Captain Sun. You have very little choice in the matter.”
Sun turned toward him. “When will Scorpius be here?”
The illusion shrugged, a strange and creepy smile cracking his chafing pale cheeks. “Time flies when you’re having fun. Don’t you agree?”
Sun started down some scaffolding to observe the work more closely, but the image of Scorpius appeared from behind a large metallic crate, a look of deep concern on his black leather-clad face.
“Shaaaaame on you, Captain Sun,” he told her, combing his hand through her hair. “Now … we’re all in this together. We don’t want the bad guys to win.” He chuckled and turned from her, shrugging. “We have to do this … for the species, for the galaxy, for the … future.”
Sun stopped walking, firmly taking his hand away from her head. She glared at him. “The Scarrans have been chasing the Peacekeepers through the galaxy. What makes you think a few little gems are going to stop them?”
“Scorpius” chuckled, shaking his head. “I shall re-order time. I shall turn the world upside down … and I shall do it to watch the Scarrans burn.” He grabbed her face and forced her to turn her head to the right, where a Sebacean woman was being attacked by a large Scarran, which was like a reptilian humanoid that wore heavy black armor. The corps didn’t seem to notice as the Sebacean woman screamed under scaly hands. “Do you see that? An unpleasant origin story, don’t you think?” He forced her head to the left, where a young disfigured boy sharing some of Scorpius’ facial features cowered under red heat lamps, trembling and vomiting until his body was too exhausted to do either. “A lifetime of being reminded, again and again, the feeling of being prey.” He brought her face to within a hair’s breadth of his. His gaze could have vaporized her at any moment had he the power. He whispered angrily, almost hissing and spitting, “Bigger may eat smaller in this cruel, unpredictable universe, but I promise … promise you, Captain Sun … I shall chew my way out of their stomachs and watch them bleed.”
<><><>
Deep within Seashore City, meanwhile, the human female, in her early thirties, grunted as she carried several large packages on her back. She stumbled just as she reached the museum’s threshold, spilling the contents. There were assorted pieces of jewelry, now-broken pottery, and paint brushes. The female started to cry uncontrollably as she tried to put all the objects back in the packages. Her parents had sold her to the Peacekeepers. In return for their cooperation, they were able to move to a larger city across the ocean, where drudgery was less visible. Fortunately, in her teens, she was bought by a kind old lady who wore a tattered purple dress and a necklace on which hung a strange tarnished curved object with a spherical design in the center, as though it was a bird flapping its wings down. She never admitted where she got the object, but the kind old lady, a Traskan, tended to collect objects of a romantic nature, so possibly it was a … present … from an old boyfriend … a boyfriend she must have parted ways with in bitterness, as you could tell there was a centerpiece that had been broken off just underneath the spherical design in the center.
A tender aged hand touched her shoulder. The voice was female and well-worn from many hundreds of cycles of use. “Child,” she cooed softly, “let me help.” She stood the human female up, who was a head taller than the elder woman, who had soft gray curls and a glowing purple third eye in the middle of her forehead. The elder woman brushed away the younger’s tears with her left hand and placed a small gemstone in the woman’s hands with her right.
The woman looked down, sniffling, and saw a glistening translucent yellow-green jewel.
The elder woman giggled. “It’s called, I believe, a trilling stone.”
“Chrysoberyl,” the woman noted softly in a whisper.
The elder woman shrugged. “In any case, dear Sarah, an intriguing feature of this stone is that it often twins itself. Some even resemble small flowers. Another peculiar feature, especially in this one, is that it also changes color, all depending on the type of light that illuminates it.” She patted the younger female on the cheek. “Keep it with you, young Sarah, to remind you that the truth can seem to be so many different things, in the right light.”
After several hours, as the museum was about to open for the small amount of time workers had to spend in leisure, Sarah watched as a giant mechanism twisted and turned in a large room. It was a mechanical model of the solar system, with the sun and planets rotating and revolving in a beautiful ballet.
A creepy male voice, frightening yet also enchanting, broke her out of her thoughts. “I’m looking for the crystal exhibit,” it said.
Sarah turned around and gasped. The male had a tortured, almost skeletal face, hidden in a black leather mask. He wore a thick suit covered in a black leather overcoat. His eyes were metallic silver-blue. She backed away, stuttering. “Th … there … there … i-is … no … there is no crystal exhibit … s-sir.”
The male smirked, placing his hands gently behind his back and looking at the ground. “You have a crystal in your hand,” he noted.
Sarah looked down. “It’s … it’s just a small gemstone,” she told him, unable to bear looking at him. “It’s nothing. We don’t have a crystal exhibit. Why would we?”
The male nodded, continuing to avoid her gaze in an attempt to ease her mind. “Indeed. Why would you? I had heard mention of a certain crystal, called a Ditzy. This museum, I’m told, tries to represent the history of the entire solar system. Most Peacekeepers have little use for the study of history.” He finally looked at her with as warm an expression as he could muster. He stopped just within arm’s length of her. “I, on the other hand, quite enjoy learning about all the universe has to offer.”
Sarah blushed and backed away to her left. Maybe it was the smell of the leather, or the corpse-like visage of the male, but he made her uncomfortable, no matter how nice he seemed to be. “The … the Fraggles,” she spat out, her heart racing, “have a legend.”
“Do they?” he asked with genuine interest, combined with a hint of bemusement.
Sarah nodded. Her white silky blouse contrasted with the thick black slacks common to Peacekeeper uniforms. She brushed her shoulder-length hair away from her face. “They have no real timeline, as they were subterranean early in their history and could not determine anything but general seasons. However, long ago, they say, before Fraggles came into existence, a giant crystal crumbled deep in the heart of their world, covering a cave in tons of debris. Crystal dust clouds spread throughout the caverns. However, at some point they seem to be unclear about, these crystals, these ‘Ditzies’, as they called them, started to recede back into the original cavern. The crystals had given all subterranean lifeforms light and warmth, but as they receded, the caves grew dark and cold. Because of this, they had no choice but to burrow to the surface, where they have lived with other non-humans ever since.”
The male nodded and walked calmly behind the mechanical solar system model as it twisted and turned. “I see. I think I should like to see such crystals.”
“They could be metras under the ground!” she protested.
The male laughed. “Then I suppose I should get started,” he replied as he turned to leave. However, he suddenly stopped, his boots squeaking slightly on the floor. “Follow me,” he ordered curtly.
Sarah’s heart raced. She held the gem close to her heart.
The truth might be so many different things, depending on the light.
<><><>
Back on the hill, Captain Sun’s eyes widened as the drills finally broke through, revealing a large tunnel that seemed to stretch far beyond the actual girth of the hill itself.
An optical illusion, no doubt, she thought.
She gasped as a hand grabbed her shoulder. Whipping around, she scoffed and rolled her eyes when she saw the image of Scorpius. “I told you I would inform Scorpius the moment we find something of interest,” she growled.
There was screaming as water burst from the tunnel, quickly icing over in sharp spikes, impaling several workers. The tunnel had somehow been blocked off.
He smiled, his toothy grin turning Sun pale as the ice forming all around as she realized the reality of the one in front of her. “My dear,” he noted softly, clasping one hand on the terrified female brunette behind him, “consider myself interested.”
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