Fiction:Rights of Earth/Part 3 - Mindgames

“Commander Jorrd. A visitor.” Jorrd raised his head from the map table. The guards posted on the door stepped aside, bowing their heads, as Ersa, wife of Himreldor, strode purposefully into the room. “Lady Ersa! How did you get here! This area is strictly-“ “Commander Jorrd.” A voice from the corridor silenced him. A second Neanderthal clad in pristine uniform and sporting a wispy white beard, entered the room. “F-fleet Marshal Creb. It is an honour, though I have had no briefing on your intentions to visit us.” Creb smiled, waving away the guards. “As you know, Commander, I am loyal to Himreldor and his family. I was unable to refuse when Lady Ursa sought counsel with me. Counsel on matters relating to the...mental state of her husband.” Lady Ersa paused, composing her thoughts before she spoke. “Marshal Creb informs me that my husband talked to you about the nature of his new powers.” “Yes, on occasion. He spoke of being struck by some sort of unknown object that fell from the sky. He told you none of this?” Lady Ersa pursed her lips and shook her head. Creb swiped his access card across a wall panel, and the door hissed shut, locking them in. “Commander Jorrd, Lady Ersa said that she has been harbouring suspicions on the origin of these powers. Whilst commentary in the media and even the upper echelons of the military dismissed his visions as an analogy for a political reawakening, Ersa took the initiative to investigate.” Ersa took over. “I was informed that you have long been something of an expert on extraterrestrial life, Commander. “Why...yes, I am the head of a small body that until recently looked for life in the Galactic Halo...but now, with this new propulsion technology, there remains little need to search.” Ersa continued. “The Marshal also tells me that this organisation of yours was not completely unsuccessful in your quest to discover alien intelligence near to New Ehorlm.” Jorrd clenched his fists. “Marshal Creb, I don’t think-“ “Commander, the good lady has asked you a question. Please provide her with an accurate response.” “Very well, fleet Marshal. Yes, Lady Ersa, our search succeeded late last year, just days after the incident involving your husband. There is a small wandering cluster of stars within two light-years of New Ehorlm. Scout ships from my department intercepted a...vessel that had originated in that system. None of our probes have ever managed to penetrate that cluster, as it remains shrouded in fast moving gas clouds.” “Onboard this vessel was a single creature that remains the only specimen of alien life we have encountered in the Halo. The craft was extremely primitive, little more than a hollow asteroid some hundred metres in length, yet the alien seemed...disproportionately intelligent. It does little else save eat and sleep, yet it babbles incessantly when given any outside contact.” “You still have it?” Jorrd shot a filthy look at Creb, who was admiring details on the map table. “Yes, Lady Ersa, we still have it.” “Show it to me.” Area 11 on New Ehorlm remained a closely guarded secret, and despite the high social status of the three visitors, all were subject to an intense screening procedure before being taken to the SETI laboratory sector. They changed into sterile white suits, fitted with very thick plastic screens, and entered the quarantine area. The cell hatchway swung inward, and Jorrd entered first, flanked by two gun-toting guards. The others, including two researchers filed in, and the door sealed shut behind them. A researcher spoke first. “Good morning, Subject A. There are some visitors here to see you.” Slowly, the creature unfolded itself from where it had been lying on the concrete floor, and turned towards them. Subject A was tall and spider-like, with green, reptilian skin. Standing two metres in height, its thin leathery wingtips brushed against the low ceiling as it stretched, almost languidly. The bulbous head of the creature was composed of three narrow slot-like eyes, with a bizarre set of mandibles and jaws underneath. Lady Elsa hardly dared to breathe as the creature stalked across the wide cell, coming to within metres of where they stood. She stepped back, and she noticed that the guards had tightened their grip on their rifles. There was a long pause before the creature spoke. “Whoooo arrrree youuuu?” it growled with a mouth ill-suited to Thal speech. “You know me, I’m Jorrd, and you remember Marshal Creb-“ The alien reared up on its back four legs, prodding in Ersa’s direction with the other two. “Thissss oneee.” “I-my name is Lady Ersa, wife of Himreldor, Supreme Commander of New Ehorlm. Do you have a name?” The creature stood, motionless, and for a second Ersa feared she had insulted it somehow, or that it was about to lash out. Its eyes rolled madly, and it scuttled backwards from the party, hissing and twisting its head. The guards brought their weapons up to their shoulders, ready to shoot. As suddenly as it had started, the creature stopped convulsing and resumed its erect posture. This vessel has no name, Ersa of the Neanderthals. The creature was speaking with a different voice, one with an impossibly deep timbre and an unhurried drawl. It took a second for her to realise that it was not moving its mouth, and its eyes were closed. Why have you sought out this body? Slowly, Ersa looked up and down the faces of those assembled. All looked back at her and nodded. The creature was speaking in their minds. Ersa thought back. Himreldor is possessed. An extraterrestrial...entity has taken control of his body. You hold us responsible. You hold the Dein as your primary suspects. I have not- Your mind is open to the Ancestor, Ersa of the Neanderthals. For hundreds of years, ships made by your kind have attempted to penetrate the Podesta gas cloud, as you have labelled it. The Ancestor practices his gift on them all. The Dein...the Ancestor? Ersa recognised the voice of Commander Jorrd. The head of the creature rotated in his direction. The voice that you hear in your minds is the voice of the Ancestor, leader of the vessel you see before you and the will of the Dein Macrocosm. The creature before you hears the thoughts of the Ancestor and merely amplifies them across the reaches of the Void. The creature leaned in towards Ersa, just centimetres away. She could feel something, a pressure building in her head, and the alien shivered. Himreldor is possessed. Your memory of your last encounter details his shaking hands, bloodshot eyes, sudden energy and drive for conquest. I hear your fear. Ersa looked around at the others in the room, their faces reading disbelief and fear. She turned back, swallowing hard. Can you help him?