The Enemy  Part 8
By valerafon
An earth man and an alien woman battle on a distant planet.


This work of fiction should not be read by anyone under the age of 18. Please
do not read further if you are offended by graphic violence and sexual
content.

Chapter Eight: The Name of the Goddess

The captain, standing behind one of her officers who was manning tactical,
stared intently at the displays till she saw every blip in proper alignment,
and when they were, she allowed herself a momentary smile.

To the captain's right, the Com officer reported, "Sir, all ships have
reported and are ready."

The captain acknowledged her junior officer with a nod, and then turned and
walked to the captain's chair.

Sitting in the chair was the old queen. She was busy with the main view screen
waving her hand across the controls as she viewed the great fleet. Each wave
of her hand brought a new perspective of the massive fleet into view for her
inspection.

The captain stopped next to the queen and said softly, "Your majesty, The
Goddess Resplendent is ready, the fleet is ready... We await your word."

Not looking at the captain, the old queen sighed heavily, and then hesitated
for a moment and lost herself in her thoughts.

The Goddess Resplendent was a truly magnificent ship. It was the newest and
finest fighting ship ever built on Gamula. The old queen had seen it just once
before when she attended the sanctification ceremonies at the great ship yard.
It was the largest, fastest, and most heavily armed ship in the fleet, and
now, just six months later, she was sitting in the captain's chair using it as
the flagship of the greatest fleet ever assembled. It was almost sacrilege,
she thought, to put this great fleet and this magnificent ship in harm's way,
but it is our way she thought.

As she continued to stare at the main view screen, she realized events had
spun out of control, and she felt more like a pawn than a queen as she was
about to give an order that would shape the destiny of her people for the next
thousand years. The human's may have been weaker in body and spirit than her
people, but their ships were not. They were every bit as formidable as hers
and she did not know the size of the fleet that she would be meeting. Only
that they were coming, and he would be leading them, the gray-haired one
foretold in the sacred texts.

Then her thoughts turned to the man who had met Glaxxana on a tiny asteroid in
Meridian space. He was the unexpected wild card she realized. There would be
danger and uncertainty as long as he was alive, but was he still alive? The
queen could only hope that her vision was true and that Glaxxana had removed
him from the game.

Even as she wondered about this most unusual man, she realized she would have
liked to have met him and to have interrogated him back on Gamula, and there
were two good reasons. First and foremost, to check his blood his DNA to
verify that the blue planet was the true home of the Gamulan race, and
secondly to meet this most uncharacteristic man. Somehow, he had found a way
to defeat the greatest warrior the Gamulan race had ever spawned. How had he
done it she wondered? Then her mood grew graver as she thought that if he was
still alive, she would have to deal with him. He must not be allowed to
rewrite the future.

Then her thoughts turned to Tiani, and she wondered if she had let a second
wild card into the game. Would she do as she was ordered? Or would her
emotions defeat her training? No, the queen thought. She is a Gamulan warrior.
She will do what is required of her.

If the old queen could take solace in anything. It was that all was unfolding
as it had been foretold in the sacred texts, and would the Goddess let her
chosen people be destroyed? Not if they acted righteously and accordingly the
old queen thought, and she believed she had not made a mistake. She had done
everything in accordance with Gamulan law, tradition, and the sacred texts.

In a even softer voice, the captain asked, "Your majesty, the fleet?"

Returning to the gravity of the moment, the old queen knew the time had
arrived and she must give the order. If she had done anything wrong she would
be sending several hundred Gamulan ships to their destruction and the Gamulan
empire would disintegrate. Had any queen been given a harder road to follow
and a graver task to fulfill?

Then as the moment approached, her thoughts turned uncharacteristically
fatalistic. Is it not better to die gloriously in battle then to fall asleep
in one's easy chair and never wake up. I can not see the future clearly, but
what a glorious battle it will be.

Then she turned to the captain of the Goddess Resplendent and said firmly,
"Engage!"

The captain nodded gravely and gave the order.

Simultaneously, several hundred worm holes appeared and first the Goddess
Resplendent entered it's event horizon and jumped out of normal space and into
a zone where natural physics laws had no meaning. Into another dimension of
existence, another plane of being, into the fabric of the universe itself.
Then the other ships entered their wormholes as well. Their was a great flash,
and then only the tremendous silence of space where just moments before their
had been a great fleet.

"Sir, The fleet has reached the first jump point."

Donavan was not sitting in the chair of command or watching the main viewing
screen. Instead, he was at a work station frantically finishing a tape that he
hoped would give his fleet a fighting chance in the coming battle. When it was
completed, he walked over to the lieutenant and handed the tape over.

"Feed this into the tactical computer."

The lieutenant looked at the tape and asked, "Sir?" waiting for clarification.

"It's a tape on how the Gamulan's fought in the arena. Their tactics were
unorthodox, indecipherable, and unbeatable...till now. Have the computer
regard each female fighter as a point or blip, and have it analyze their
movements using the equations of Chaos and Bubble Theory. See if it can find
pattern where there appears to be none."

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment more trying to analyze what Donavan was
after.

Donavan was as patient as ever and he elaborated, "I believe their fleet will
use the same or similar tactics....I'll be in my quarters, wake me if tactical
comes up with anything."

Then turning to the captain, and almost as an afterthought, he said firmly,
"Have the fleet proceed.

And as Donavan proceeded to his quarters, the three hundred and fourteen ships
of the federation fleet winked out of existence and jumped to New Taros Sol,
the first jump on their way toward Regna.

"Deploy!...Deploy!" Tiani ordered as fifty of her best troops ran down the
ramp and fanned out with tactical precision.

Almost immediately the destroyer class ship lurched forward and took off
gaining altitude with incredible speed. Even as her warriors set up a
defensive perimeter with Tiani at one of the nexus points of an expanding
bubble, she talked into her wrist communicator to her second who was now in
command of the Goddess Triumphant.

"Where's the other ship?" she asked excitedly.

"Sir, their almost in range," her second replied.

"Get my ship away from the planet and prepare to meet them."

As the Goddess Triumphant left the atmosphere, the federation ship deployed a
smaller craft and then moved forward to engage Tiani's ship, at the same time,
sending a salvo of deadly light towards the Goddess Triumphant.

As the crew of the Goddess braced for impact, tactical tried to plot a
solution on the smaller craft which had already entered the atmosphere.

"FIRE!" Torianna yelled, just as the deadly phaser fire hit their screens.

The Goddess Triumphant shuddered terribly as bodies were thrown about the
bridge.

As the shock wave passed, most of the destructive power of the phaser burst
was directed away form the ship by their protective screens.

In a matter of seconds Torianna regained control and was shouting out orders.

"Where's that ship?"

One of her officers answered, "It's turned and preparing to fire again."

Torianna quickly barked out another order, "Tactical, get me a solution on
that ship, and be quick about it."

From the surface, Tiani spoke desperately into her communicator, "Report!
What's happening?"

As a second shock wave rumbled through the goddess, several bridge personnel
were injured this time, and others raced to man their stations.

"FIRE!" Torianna commanded, and the damaged ship returned a salvo of its own.

One officer yelled, "We hit it, Sir!"

Before she could ask how badly the other ship had been hit, another officer
was reporting the damage to the Goddess Triumphant.

"Shield three will fail in one minute and thirty seconds, and the outer
plating on deck three has buckled, and the deck has lost its atmosphere to
space.

Torianna knew many brave warriors had already died, but she couldn't grieve
for them right now, she had the living to protect.

She needed data and fast. Ignoring Tiani's desperate pleas from the ground for
the moment, she asked, "Did we get that smaller ship, and how bad has the
cruiser been hit?"

One officer answered the first question, "We hit the landing vehicle,
Sir...but it's moved beyond the limb of the planet...Can't tell how badly
she's been damaged."

A second officer answered the more immanent problem.

"The cruiser is badly damaged, but she's making a slow turn towards us again,
Sir."

Gauging the situation, Torianna thought she had a moment to deal with Tiani,
and she finally answered her captain's questions.

"Sir, we've been hit!"

"Get my ship, away from the planet so you can maneuver."

"Acknowledged, Torianna replied and then nodded to one of her officers to make
it so.

Then she filled her captain in on the assault vessel.

"Sir, an assault pod has been launched from the enemy vessel...Don't know if
we destroyed it! Assume the worst!"

As she talked to her captain who was listening intently on the ground, another
deadly wave of fire was absorbed by the shields. This time the Goddess
Triumphant lurched ominously.

Without further hesitation, Torianna yelled, "Return fire!"

Tiani listened to the noise of the battle for a moment then there was silence.
Desperately she asked, "What's happening?......Report?"

But this time, no one reported, and all she heard on the communicator was
static.

Tiani feared the worst and she hung her head in sadness. At the same time, she
felt a wave a shame wash over her. Had she sacrificed the Goddess Triumphant
for revenge?

But somehow she quickly regained control and she buried her guilt and her
shame deep within her, for she had a purpose, and the purpose was now all-
consuming. Hardening herself, she did next what any Gamulan warrior would have
done. She sat down and crossed her legs beginning a ritual every Gamulan
warrior was familiar with. She summoned and focused her great powers into one
mighty purpose.

All eyes were on her but no one spoke or tried to communicate with her. All
knew exactly what she was doing, and in another moment Tiani was ready.
Standing confidently, she momentarily closed her eyes, and let her senses take
wing. It was just like an out-of-body experience, but when she opened her eyes
once again, the direction of pursuit was clear. She would find him, "The
Creature" in that direction...and she was going to kill him.

Without speaking, her right hand pointed the way and everyone silently began
to move. They would now communicate only with hand gestures for the great hunt
had begun, and as they moved Tiani thought she felt something else, something
quite extraordinary. She felt another presence and it felt distinctly female.
As they moved, Tiani only allowed herself one brief moment of hope. Could
Glaxxana still be alive?

As Bannon sat next to the unicorn and whittled a makeshift spear point with
his knife, his thoughts turned to Glaxxana and what had transpired only hours
before. He couldn't help remembering that kiss. It had been a wonderful moment
and worth everything they had been through.

Then the impossible happened and she reached up with her arm and drew him even
closer to her, and he felt her returning the kiss with just as much passion
and effort as he was putting into the moment, and when their lips parted and
he lost himself in her eyes, he heard her say, "Tooce!"

For a moment, he looked at this alien woman and knew he didn't ever want to
leave her side again. Then he added his own words very tenderly, "Yes,
Tooce!..For ever and ever!" and they kissed once again even more passionately.

The memory of that moment brought a smile to Bannon's face and he put the
spear down and petted the unicorn. As he did so, he gazed at the female
warrior once more as she laid on the cave floor just a few feet from him. She
was sleeping but he could tell her sleep was anything but peaceful. He
wondered what she was dreaming as her magnificent body healed itself.

On the other side of the cave, Glaxxana was having another vision of her
goddess as she slept, but this time the goddess was floating above her prone
body and she was bathed in a soft radiant white light. The goddesses clothing
was unusual to say the least. She was appearing to Glaxxana not dressed as a
warrior, but in clothing her race had abandoned long ago. This time she was
wearing a long flowing white gown.

"My child, you have been reborn!" the goddess said to her softly and very
tenderly.

"Did I die?" Glaxxana asked. Then before the goddess could answer, she added,
"I'm so ashamed."

Understanding Glaxxana's reply, the goddess gave her a sympathetic smile and
replied, "You have not died and you have not disappointed me."

Glaxxana was troubled, and she started to reply, "But."

But the goddess interrupted her with a wave of her hand and continued, "You
have been reborn in the sense that you have lost something, your race has lost
something, and now you have found it again....It is the love of a man. It is
powerful and it will make you even more complete, and it will help shape the
future."

As she said these words the goddess gestured with her hand towards the middle
of her form, and as Glaxxana's eyes followed the gesture, she saw the middle
of her goddess start to dissolve into a blur and something else begin to
appear. It was indistinct at first, and as it started to take shape, she began
to hear the laughter and voice of a young girl.

As the vision clarified, she could see the young girl was in a familiar place,
but Glaxxana could not identify it at first. Then she focused more intently on
the young girl. She was young and tall and beautiful and strong. Glaxxana
estimated her age at about sixteen and she was having a wonderful time by a
waterfall, but she could not see the other person the young girl was
frolicking with.

She could hear their voices and the young girl was giggling and the other was
laughing even louder as the young girl was running about and the other was
trying to catch her. She could tell that the other's voice was distinctly
male.

Then recognition of the place hit her. It was the waterfall where she and the
man had first fought, but it was different somehow. That's why she did not
recognize it at first. Then the answer came to her. It had been transformed.
It was now a much greener and friendlier place, and there were trees where
none existed before.

As she watched the scene unfold, she was going to ask the goddess who the
young girl was, but her heart gave her the answer even before she could frame
the question. It was her daughter. But who was the father? But even as her
mind asked that question, the answer was obvious to her.

The Goddess watched the woman intensely and as she saw recognition spread
across her face, she began to speak as the scene continued to play out.

"In another time and in another place, I was known as Kibilee. You would do me
great honor if you gave your daughter that name."

Glaxxana momentarily took her eyes from the scene of the young girl and nodded
that she would do as the goddess wished, and even as her eyes went back to the
scene, she asked, "Is that your real name?"

The goddess allowed herself the momentary luxury of long lost memories and as
she remembered , she spoke to Glaxxana, "Long ago, I had many names. Some
called me Artemis, others called me Diana, but the first ones knew me by the
name of Kibilee."

For a brief moment, the goddess remembered fondly that blue planet she had
come upon in her quest many long eons ago. There, she found the race she was
searching for, and right then and there she laid the foundation of her great
plan. The plan to bring order to the galaxy.

However, that young race was struggling for survival so first she nurtured
them, protected them, and loved them. In return, she came to be known as the
great goddess or the mother goddess. All races knew her, paid homage to her,
and named her in their own fashion.

Breaking the silence, Glaxxana asked humbly, "May I know your true name."

And Heim answered forcefully, "Heim is part of my true name....There is much
power in my full name."

Then waiting a moment for Glaxxana to absorb that bit of news, she then
elaborated, "One people knew my full name before they were ready, and they
were scattered to the winds. I will not make that mistake again."

As Glaxxana bowed her head to the will of the goddess, Heim answered more
tenderly, "In the course of time, your people will know my true name."

"Then I will see my people again?" Glaxxana asked excitedly.

As the goddess gave Glaxxana the news that she did not want to hear, she
gestured again with her hand towards her body again, and spoke forcefully,
"You will never see Gamula again...Remember, you have been reborn, and from
you will come a great race....Watch!"

As Glaxxana's eyes lowered back to the scene of the young girl revealed on the
form of the goddess, she saw that the scene was now expanding to reveal the
other. It was a young male about as old as her daughter, and he was also tall
and strong and handsome.

As Glaxxana watched the two frolicking, it quickly became apparent to her that
there was more between them then just friendship. She could read it on their
faces and in their actions.

As she watched, she heard her goddess speaking to her again, "His name is Luc.
He also will be named for another."

And the goddess paused and allowed herself a moment of sadness before she went
on.

"In the fullness of time, they will marry, and from their union will emerge a
great leader. She will be something quite extraordinary, something the
universe has never seen before. She will start the process towards order."

Looking up for a moment with growing awareness spreading across her face,
Glaxxana replied, "These are my people!"

"Yes, but your task and your ordeals are just starting...YOU are every bit as
important as her. YOU must make this future happen."

With a new found direction and pride welling up inside of her, Glaxxana agreed
with a nod of her head, and then the goddess continued.

"In effect you will be the goddess of your people..You must protect them, give
their lives form and shape and substance, and most importantly keep them on
the right path."

"Will you be there to guide me?" Glaxxana asked nervously.

Firmly but resolutely the goddess answered her question, "This is the last
time you will see me. I can do no more. Even I have rules to follow. But
remember this, let the man lead and you must always follow. He has a gift for
survival. You already posses within you everything you need to keep your
people on the right path."

"How will I know this path?" Glaxxana asked.

Instead of answering her question directly, the goddess gave her one more bit
of advice.

"If you feel you've lost the way, then look within the man for what you need.
Together, you are invincible. Remember your daughter to be and your destiny."

Almost immediately the scene of her daughter faded and then the goddess began
to fade as well.

Before she left, the goddess had one more piece of information to share.

"Tiani is coming...Protect the man!"

As her goddesses form became indistinct, Glaxxana asked sadly, "Will I have to
kill her?"

Her goddesses reply was enigmatic as always, "Stay on the path....Remember,
use your skills, but follow your heart, and always protect the man."

Then the goddess faded completely and her dream ended and so did her fitful
sleep. Soon Glaxxana was feeling a new sensation. She awoke to a cold touch on
her cheek, and when she opened her eyes, she beheld her old friend the
unicorn.

With great effort, she raised her arm, and an intense pain returned to her
midsection, but she ignored the pain and petted her friend with her hand
eventually finding its way to his great horn.

Instead of fondling it as she had done in the past, she used it as a brace to
aid in lifting her body to a sitting position.

To her right, the man tried to stop her. She had not noticed him before, but
he was there. He put his hand gently on her shoulder and shook his head
negatively.

She spoke softly in her own language because she did not know his, and she
answered his actions by saying, "But I must."

Almost as if he understood, he removed his hand from her shoulder and gently
helped lift her the rest of the way to a sitting position with her back
propped up against the cave wall.

As soon as she was comfortable and the pain had lessened, the man produced a
makeshift bowl carved out of wood. He then proceeded to try and feed her the
contents of the bowl one spoonful at a time. It tasted terrible, but she did
not try to stop him for she knew she needed her energy for the coming ordeal.

As she ate, she regarded the man closely for the first time. His eyes were so
peaceful looking, but his face was so rugged. It gave the man a contrast which
confounded her. She had never seen anything quiet like it before.

He had many cuts and bruises as well which spoke of their battle which had
raged across this tiny moon for the last two weeks, and he had black stubby
hairs growing on his face concealing some of the grime. Her sisters faces were
smooth and soft even though their bodies were strong and resilient, and this
man's face was rough and sturdy looking even though his body was not. Again it
was a contrast which intrigued her.

Still, as she ate her soup, she liked the differences she saw. Then she
corrected herself. No, she loved the differences...She loved the man....And
this time, there was no inner turmoil inside of her. For the first time in her
life, Glaxxana had found peace.

The assault pod had taken a major hit. As it lumbered through the atmosphere
with its main engine smoking, the pilot frantically tried to find a landing
site, but they were over inhospitable terrain. Just underneath, an ominous
looking volcano was spewing forth great pillars of black smoke and ash.

Finally, the pilot had no choice and he brought the pod in over dangerously
rocky terrain. When the pod hit, several of the soldiers harnesses snapped and
their bodies were violently thrown about the cabin as the rest of the
contingent looked on helplessly.

The pod continued to lurch back and forth till the cabin finally gave way and
broke in half under the tremendous forces of the crash landing spilling more
than a handful of soldiers out onto the ground. Their bodies ripping and
tearing and their bones breaking as they were tossed about helplessly like rag
dolls.

Finally, the bodies stopped their deadly dance. The energy of the their
violent impact expended. The bodies lay scattered about the impact site
motionless and devoid of life, and a few moments later, the two halves of the
cabin finally came grinding and sliding to a halt as well some one hundred
meters from each other.

For a few moments, all that could be heard inside the cabin were the moans of
the soldiers that survived, and the groans of the injured.

After his portion of the cabin had ground to a halt, Captain Danning
immediately unbuckled his harness which had miraculously remained intact
during the crash landing. It wasn't easy to unbuckle the harness for he felt a
pain in his shoulder which made reaching difficult.

Standing with some difficulty he surveyed the situation even as others tried
to unbuckle themselves and stand as well.

Their situation looked grave. He shouted out even as he helped another man get
to his feet, "Lieutenant, I'll need a report on the dead an injured."

The sergeant answered instead, "He's gone, Sir!...I saw him fly out the cabin
when she broke in half."

Turning to the sergeant, he replied, "I'll still need that report, soldier."

Then he slowly made his way to the cockpit where the pilot was located as the
activity in the cabin slowly started to increase and organize.

The pilot was dead as well as the copilot. He tried the radio, but he couldn't
raise the cruiser. He wasn't sure if they had been taken out by the Gamulan
warship or if the radio was damaged. Surveying the equipment, it appeared to
be in working order, and that worried him.

As he made his way back through the cabin, helping one of the remaining
soldiers get out as he did so through the gaping hole at the rear portion of
the fuselage. He gently set him down outside and then looked for the sergeant.

He was returning from the other part of the cabin located a hundred meters
from their crash site. As soon as he got in range, the sergeant reported.

"We have thirty dead, twenty or so too injured to fight, and about forty men
that can move, but many of them aren't in the best of shape either."

"And medical?" Danning asked.

"One medic still alive. He's over at the other site, and he's already started
to treat the wounded there."

"Then let's move our wounded over there as well. I want to move out in ten
minutes."

"Sir, I'm not questioning your authority, but the men may need more time."

"We don't have it, sergeant. The fate of the Federation may hinge on what we
do in the next forty eight hours."

Then as if the matter was thoroughly settled, Captain Danning squatted and
started to draw in the dirt with the sergeant following his commanding
officers lead and squatting as well. As he listened, the sergeant tried to
follow the sketch the Captain was making in the dirt.

"Were here, now we picked up something happening in this quadrant over here
before we crashed. By my reckoning that's about fifteen kilometers from here,
and that's where we've got to go." The captain said as he drew a big x in the
sand.

The sergeant nodded, but he felt it his duty to say the obvious.

"We know there's Gamulan's down on the surface, Captain. What if that's them?
I don't think the men are in any condition to fight just yet."

Captain Danning, stood and as he did so he answered the sergeant as best he
could.

"That's all we got to go on, sergeant. If it's the Gamulan's, then we'll
follow them, and when it's necessary we'll engage them, but we've got to get
to Bannon...Is that clear, sergeant."

The sergeant stood, saluted, and replied, "Yes, sir! Understood, sir!" and
then he turned and walked off to organize the men.

Captain Danning watched the sergeants retreating figure for a moment as he
contemplated the almost hopeless situation he now found himself in. Then under
his breath, he made a vow.

"I promise you, Donavan, We'll hold somehow till you get here....Just hurry!"

Fifteen Kilometers to the west, at another point of a perfect triangle which
drew the positions of the three parties now on Regula, one of Tiani's scouts
signaled to her using hand gestures, and alerted her to the smoke that was
billowing up southeast of their position.

Tiani gazed at it for a moment, knowing full well what it meant. The scout
made another hand signal inquiring if the war party should turn toward the
smoke, and move in that direction.

Instantly, Tiani signaled back. They would continue on in a northeasterly
direction. Her one overriding goal was the earthman. She knew who was
southwest of her position. For just a moment she wondered if he was still
alive. Indications were it was a terrible crash.

Yes, he was still alive. She was certain of that. Fate had decreed that she
would kill him as well. He couldn't have survived the terrors of the arena to
die so ignoble a death. Unlike the other, she admired him and even felt a
strange attraction for him. She would deal with him when the time was right.
He was truly worthy of a Gamulan death. Maybe, she would even take is body
back to Gamula, and give him an honorable funeral, a warrior's funeral.

Now, she had only one overriding compulsion. It wasn't so much to kill the
earthman. Although that would be his ultimate fate. No, she wanted to know if
Glaxxana was still alive. As she began to move again, a horrible thought
crossed her mind. What if the man was keeping Glaxxana alive as insurance on
his own life. That thought repulsed her. Could he be evil enough to deny
Glaxxana a glorious death in battle as was the Gamulan way?

Then silently she renewed her vow. I am coming earthman, and nothing will stop
me till you are dead and lifeless at my feet.

The unicorn was making a terrible commotion at the entrance to the cave.
Bannon left is silent vigil at the woman' side, stood, and proceeded to the
mouth of the cave. He scanned the horizon and saw nothing at first. Then as he
turned south toward the great volcano in the distance, he saw smoke, but it
wasn't coming from the volcano. Someone had arrived, but who were they and
what was their condition?

As he pondered the smoke in the distance. He felt another presence at his
side. It was the woman. Somehow, she had gotten to her feet and walked to the
entrance of the cave. For a moment, all he could do was admire her and the
amazing machine that was her body. She was healing with inhuman speed, but
should that be so surprising? After all, she wasn't human. She was more than
human, she was Gamulan, and he admired and loved her for that.

As she beheld the smoke, he could see a frown appear on her face. What were
the thoughts going through her mind he wondered?

He gave her another moment, and then he tried to gently usher her inside, but
her iron body would not budge. Turning towards him, her deep frown turned into
a painful little smile, and then she motioned with her head toward the smoke.
Instantly, he understood the meaning of that gesture, and he stopped trying to
usher her inside. Both looked at the smoke for many minutes each deep in their
own thoughts.

As they gazed at the smoke, the unicorn silently moved to her side.
Instinctively, she threw a hand over his body easing the pressure and the pain
she was feeling. This allowed her to stand outside and gaze at the smoke for
an even longer time, and as she did so, she contemplated what she might have
to do. For the first time in her life, a tear rolled down Glaxxana's cheek.

On Meridia, the gerent of the flock of Simbu, and the keeper of the holy flame
listened gravely as his high advisor struck terror into his heart.

"Your greatness, two massive fleets have intruded into our space. I fear the
worst."

Masking his fear as a ruler should under such circumstances, the leader of the
Meridian people spoke softly and courageously to his advisor.

"Be comforted in his holy flame." And then he asked, "Are they headed to
Meridia?"

"No your Majesty." Then without waiting for the next inevitable question, the
advisor added, "Both fleets will be at Regna shortly, but I fear our homeworld
will be the next target."

Steeling himself first, the gerent replied, "Send out the peace overtures on
every frequency, and then have everyone pray to Simbu, for only in his
purifying and holy light can there be salvation."

It was time Bannon thought. He had to get her inside. Again, he tried to help
her into the cave, but for the second time she resisted, and this time she
brushed away his arm more forcefully.

Glaxxana saw his reaction and she tried to calm herself and make him
understand. Motioning towards the smoke and then towards the ground she
desperately tried to make him understand.

Bannon didn't understand her frantic motions and gestures, but he didn't try
to force her inside again. Instead, he decided to trust in her and let her
have her way.

Calming herself, Glaxxana's next task was to sit on the ground, and that would
not be easy. As she struggled to sit, the pain became a sharp searing point,
but the man was helping her this time instead of trying to stop her, and
slowly and painfully her body assumed a sitting position. As she sat, she
folded her legs in front of her which increased the pain even more.

Bannon had no idea what she was doing or hoped to accomplish, but he let her
have her way. When she was seated, she took a moment to smile up at him before
she started, and then she began to focus her considerable powers of
concentration to the task at hand.

As soon as she closed her eyes and began to focus her pain began to recede as
well. Till it was gone and her mind became a prism focusing her considerable
intellect to one mind expanding purpose, and that purpose was to psychically
determine just who might be on Regna at this very moment.

She could not sense numbers exactly, but from what direction and how far away
they might be was not beyond her grasp. When her senses took wind, she found
two presence's coming toward her and the man. One was distinctly familiar but
uncharacteristically cold. The coldness of purpose filled Glaxxana with dread.
What has happened to you, Tiani, her mind asked?

The other presence was far more alien, but there was just as much feeling of
purpose in that presence as well, but it was just not as cold. Glaxxana was
not unaware of the irony that posed to her. The men, coming toward her, felt
more Gamulan and less threatening than the women advancing on her position,
but she couldn't dwell on Tiani or her feelings for her because she had to
make the man understand the urgency of the situation, and when her eyes opened
she was motioning and gesturing to the man again.

She pointed toward the smoke and then touched the man. Then she pointed in
another direction and then touched herself. She did this several times till
Bannon understood that there were two forces advancing toward their position.
Then she pointed to the sun and then to another part of the sky. It only took
Bannon two repetitions for him to understand that there would be two hostile
parties at their position in three hours.

When Glaxxana had made the man understand, she allowed herself to be helped
inside. She needed to rest for a couple hours for the coming confrontation,
and she had no idea what she was going to do. All she knew was that what ever
she did, it had to keep her and the man on the right path. She only hoped the
path was large enough to contain Tiani as well.

In the silence and blackness of space near Regna swirling vertices of light
began to appear where moments before there was nothing. As the vortexes grew
and intensified, ships began to appear. Mighty ships, heavily armored ships,
deadly ships, appearing out of nothingness, and in an instant they were
through.

Even as they emerged, they positioned themselves in traditional battle
formation that was the hallmark of Gamulan fighting tactics. The tactics that
had always beguiled their enemies and had won them an empire across a
thousands parsecs of space.

The queen instantly found that the Goddess Resplendent was at one of the nexus
points of an expanding bubble. Seeing that all was in order and going
according to plan, she asked, "Can you find her?"

One of the bridge officers answered, "She's heavily damaged, your majesty. She
about to enter the atmosphere.....I'm not sure she can survive the atmosphere
or a landing."

The queen took in the news with sadness. At this point she was not sure if
Tiani was alive or dead or if she had gotten anyone to the surface, but at
this point it really didn't matter. The queen had more pressing concerns then
the fate of the crew of the Goddess Triumphant. Their fate was now in the
hands of their goddess, and the queen would come back for them later if she
could. For now, the fleet had to stay in battle formation for he was
coming....and she sensed that he was near.

"Are there any other ships in the system?" the leader of the Gamulan people
asked.

The reply buoyed the old queen, "Just floating debris, your majesty....No sign
life."

So, the Goddess Triumphant had performed her duty and performed it well. That
thought brought a smile to the queen's face. If they did not survive the next
few minutes, at least they had acquitted themselves well and would be meeting
a glorious end. To die gloriously in battle was every Gamulan's fervent wish.
Later, she would gather their bodies and take them back to Gamula so their
essences would not be lost.

Then the old queen thought about the coming battle. There would be many dead
who would need to be gathered. That thought deeply saddened her, but it could
not be helped.

Even as the captain of the Goddess Resplendent got up from the old queen's
side and made her way to tactical, one of the officers barked out the news
that the old queen knew would be coming.

"Sir, hundreds of wormholes have just appeared in quadrant four."

As the captain turned towards the leader of the Gamulan people, the old queen
issued her final order before battle.

"Captain, The Goddess Resplendent is now yours. Engage the Enemy!"

Moments later, the Gamulan fleet made a flawless turn and headed for the enemy
fleet only a few hours distant from their current position.

Several million miles away, Donavan was wakened by an annoying buzzing sound.
It took him only a few seconds to place it. It was the intercom link. Brushing
the sleep from his eyes, he quickly sat up and hit the com link.

"Ya!" he said more gruffly than he wanted too.

It was the Captain and he had some urgent news.

"Sir, we've entered the Regulan system and there's a large Gamulan fleet
heading straight for us."

Digesting the ominous news, he immediately asked, "Any word from tactical?"

"Yes, sir...It appears they've come up with something."

Even as he was answering the captain, Donavan was up and dressing.

"I'll be right there!....This is good news!....Good news indeed!"

A few minutes later in the briefing room, the tactical officer was reporting
his findings as a holographic display was generated in the center of the
table.

"As you can see, upper level theoretic equations can account for the points on
the bubble as it expands."

Interrupting the officer in the middle of his briefing, Donavan asked, "This
is all well and good, lieutenant, but can you predict where each individual
point will be a few minutes or even a few moments from now."

Looking confidently back at the president's representative, the lieutenant
stated boldly, "I believe so, sir. The expanding bubble has to follow the
physical laws of nature, and so must follow the upper equations of expanding
bubble theory. This allows for the computer to crunch the equations and
flawlessly predict where each point will be at any given time."

"But can the computers do that in real time?....I mean so that it will be
meaningful in a battle situation."

"I believe so, sir...but there will be some delay. First the tactical computer
will have to crunch about a trillion giga bytes of information a second, then
relay the new coordinates to the battle computer which will issue orders to
each ship and then plot solutions for attack vectors."

The lieutenant paused for a second going over the computations in his mind and
when he was ready he spoke again, "There should be about a fifteen second
delay in maneuvering."

For a moment Donavan was silent as he mulled over the information. One second
was critical let alone fifteen seconds. In battle that was tantamount to
eternity. Still, it gave the fleet a fighting chance, and it would pose to the
Gamulan fleet a fighting tactic they had never encountered before. The big
question was could they handle such a surprise. Donavan was banking that they
couldn't, and by the time they reacted, the battle would already be won.

One thing really bothered Donavan though. He was not only risking the fleet in
this daring maneuver, he was risking the fate of the entire Federation, but it
couldn't be helped. It was their only chance.

Without further word, he stood and the rest of the officers around the table
did likewise. Even as he began to move, he gave the lieutenant the words he
was waiting to hear.

"Make it so!"

At the mouth of the cave, Bannon could already hear the crisp ping of laser
rifles firing, and a second later, he felt a now familiar presence, her
presence at his side. When he looked back at her, he detected a subtle
difference in her. Maybe, it was the resoluteness of grim determination.
Maybe, her magnificent body was healing itself at an even more incredible rate
than Bannon could have ever imagined. In any case, he could sense that she was
much stronger and more formidable then she had any right to be with that hole
in her stomach. He didn't even consider whether she would hold him back,
instead he gestured for her to follow him..and she did.

As they made they're way down the rocky path, a streak of light lit up the
sky. Both paused a second to look and stare at the sight, and for a second the
laser firing stopped as well. It was the badly battered hull of the Goddess
Triumphant making it's way across the sky. No one watching the ship could
guess whether the ship would land safely or blow up in a ball of flames when
it impacted with Regna. At the moment, every one had more pressing concerns.
As Glaxxana and Bannon continued with their journey down the path, the laser
fire started once more.

Tiani knew exactly where he was. He was in or around that cave in the ridge up
ahead, but the other had interfered once more. His timing was impeccable she
thought. She would have to deal with him first. It was at this point when the
firefight started in earnest as the vanguard of both groups encountered one
another.

Resolutely, she signaled her troops to move and encircle. The outcome of this
fight, to her, was never in doubt. The men would be dealt with just as they
had been dealt with in the arena.

As the laser fire became louder, Bannon and Glaxxana encountered the first
casualties. Two men were laying face up with two neat holes in their chest. As
Glaxxana moved on, Bannon halted her and retrieved two buttons on the men's
neck. They were their universal communicators.

He quickly attached one to his neck and then he attached one to Glaxxana's.
She was looking at him strangely when he began to speak.

"Can you understand me?" he asked.

She looked at him even more strangely, but she nodded yes.

"Speak," he told her, "I will understand."

"I understand," she said in her own language, "I understand." And a smile lit
up her face.

"Good," Bannon told her. "We must stop this!....You must find the Gamulan
leader and I must find the men's leader and together we must stop this
somehow."

He did not worry about her anymore. She was quite something in battle. His
instincts told him she would be fine.

Before she took off in a ninety degree angle with Bannon's direction, she
smiled and gave him an unusual response. Bannon thought maybe her communicator
wasn't working quite right.

"The path!" was all that she said.

Before she left, Bannon voiced the words he wanted for her to hear.

"I love you," he said very tenderly.

Her answer surprised him even more than her previous statement. All she said
was, "I know," and then she was gone with blinding speed. Her movements
stunning even Bannon even though he had seen them before.

As she increased her speed now that the man was gone, Glaxxana worried about
him. He just couldn't die, everything depended on that. Then she remembered
what her goddess had told her and she also remembered how formidable he was.
The goddess had said the man had a knack for survival, and she knew this to be
true. Somehow, he would survive.

About a half kilometer to the south. Danning had deployed his troops in a
defensive arch over rocky terrain. He was using the knowledge he had obtained
in the arena against the Gamulans in this firefight. Still, it had not stopped
the Gamulan onslaught, but his brilliant tactics had only slowed down the
inevitable. As he surveyed his now hopeless position and as men fell around
him, his mind continued to search for a solution. Grudgingly, he had to admit
to the fact that the women were simply the superior fighters.

Under his breath he uttered some useless words. Donavan, where the hell are
you?

Then the almost impossible happened. A man was working his way towards him.
Incredibly, the man he had been ordered to save was coming right at him.

Under heavy fire the two men met behind the protection of a large rock as fire
bore down all around them.

"Bannon, your alive!" The captain exclaimed.

Ignoring the pleasantries, Bannon gave the captain some instructions, "Take
your men and work your way down into that arroyo."

The captain looked at him with a perplexed expression on his face, and said
skeptically, "Sir?"

"We need to buy some time!....We have help!...Try to keep as many men as you
can alive!"

The captain nodded and then moved off. Bannon was about to go in another
direction right into the teeth of the Gamulan onslaught, but first he
remembered something and yelled back at the captain, "If you see a big red
headed woman, and she tells you to stop firing....You do it!....Do you
understand?"

The captain didn't understand, but Bannon seemed too, and that was good enough
for him. Instead of answering, the captain saluted the civilian, and Bannon
saluted back.

Slowly Bannon worked his way towards where he thought Glaxxana might be. He
could only hope that she had gotten to the Gamulan leader, but the intensity
of the fire told him otherwise.

As he passed from the cover of an overhanging rock, he came right into Tiani's
view. Tiani knew instantly that it was him..."The Creature"....and she reacted
with pure instinct and hate and took aim.

As Tiani pulled the trigger, she heard a familiar voice yell out,
"Tiani....NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Even as the Goddess Resplendent shuddered with the impact of the salvo, the
captain was yelling, "FIRE!"

The queen stood nearby watching the tactical display of the battle.

The captain turned to the queen and asked in sheer amazement, "They seem to
know where we'll be!....How?"

"The queen under her breath paid Donavan a compliment as she uttered, "You
Pumacass!"

Then turning to her captain, she announced, "It's the gray-haired one....He
knows!....Have the fleet use tactic Omega Delta."

The fleet had been badly battered. She really didn't think altering attack
plans would matter now. They now were heavily outnumbered, but she had to try
something....and after all they were Gamulans.

Back on Meridia, as the gerent prayed to Simbu and asked for
guidance....guidance came.

As the great lady thought about the homeworld of the Meridian people....she
was there. But she did not appear before the gerent as the goddess Heim.
Instead, she appeared before the court as a Meridian with long flowing robes
and carrying the great law book. She appeared to them in the form they
expected, if anyone was to save them, and that was the form of the great law
giver Simbu.

As noise filled the court, she cautioned them to, "Be still!" and the noise
was replaced by a hushed silence.

Raising the great law book above her head and in a strong male voice, she
proclaimed, "This day, I have come to save you! The fleets will leave and
Meridian space will never be defiled again...Of this I promise....In return,
you are to leave Regna alone....never probe its surface or set foot
there....Do you agree?"

The gerent did not hesitate. After all, it was a very small price to pay and
it was such an insignificant moon, but in truth he would have ceded half the
Meridian holdings to solve such a great problem. He nodded his acceptance
immediately, and when he did, the great law giver's form started to change,
and as it did, it grew very bright. Brighter and brighter it grew till his
form changed into a great white flame, and then suddenly it winked out.

As Donavan looked out the view port at the great battle, he was more relieved
than pleased.

The captain, staring at tactical proclaimed, "I think we have them!"

As Donavan was about to reply, a form started to appear on the bridge of the
Federation flagship. Almost immediately, the great ship lost power as did the
rest of the fleet.

As the image intensified and then took shape in the form of a Meridian, a
bridge officer yelled out, "Sir, we've lost power!"

Before Donavan could reply the ghostly image started speaking, "You will not
be allowed to wage war any longer."

At the same time, the exact same thing had happened on the bridge of the
Goddess Resplendent and to the entire Gamulan fleet.

As the Meridian's image clarified, Donavan and the old queen were drawn off
the bridges of there respected ships and out into the coldness of space, but
they did not die.

They were pulled to a place overlooking both fleets with the Meridian in
between them. For a moment the strange creature did not speak as both Donavan
and the old queen tried to gather themselves.

Donavan was astounded, he could breath and both fleets seemed to be totally
inert beneath him, and next to him was an old lady. It's her he told himself.

Similarly, the old queen was equally astounded, and as she gazed at the man
across from her she thought, it's him..the gray-haired one.

Then the meridian's voice was heard in their minds. As they looked at him,
they could not detect his mouth moving at all.

"You must leave this place and never come back...Neither of you."

As both Donavan and the old queen started to speak up in their minds
simultaneously, the Meridian silenced them.

To the old queen, the Meridian spoke first. "You must go and never return to
our space again, and above all never inquire about Regna."

Donavan could hear the conversation, and the old queen asked the Meridian,
"What about him....and the worlds in dispute."

"He must adhere to the same rules, and you must divide the disputed worlds
equally as you must divide the galaxy equally."

Donavan thought of a question and both the Meridian and the old queen heard
it.

"What are you asking from us?"

"That you split the galaxy," and as he spoke, the galaxy appeared before them.
"This half shall be yours," The Meridian told the old queen. "And this half
shall be yours, he told Donavan."

"And I ask one further thing," he told them both, "That you go in peace and
never bother the other again."

"And if we don't?" the queen asked.

"Then you will bring destruction down on your people, and no one or no goddess
will save you."

Both adversaries looked to one another and then they both nodded their
agreement to the Meridian. Instantly, they were on the bridges of their
respective ships once more.

Donavan looked out across the void trying to regain his senses when the
captain asked a number of questions, "What happened? Where were you? Who was
that, sir?"

For the moment, Donavan only choose to answer the last question.

"A higher power, Captain,....I believe you'll find the engines will work
now....Let's get out of here."

And as the almost victorious Federation fleet turned for home, Donavan was
relieved. The outcome may have been unexpected, but it did solve a lot of his
problems. Oh, the President would scream and yell, as was his way, but he
would be reasonable in the end, and the Federation would follow the mandates
set forth today.

There was one regret Donavan was feeling though. He would never know what
happened to Bannon. Was he alive or dead? It was a great price to pay, but as
he had always realized, it was a price he had always been willing to pay.

On the bridge of the Goddess Resplendent, the old queen gathered herself as
well. She solemnly gave the order to collect the dead from the destroyed
ships. She would not leave this space until that was done, and as she watched
the operation, she wondered if Glaxxana or Tiani were still alive? She truly
doubted that she would ever know. It brought a great sadness to her heart. As
she stared out across the blackness of space, she could take solace in the
fact that the fleet was safe, and that the Gamulan empire was now safe for a
thousand years. That was her main concern.

Somehow, as the fleet steered a course for home, she could not get the feeling
out of her mind that the goddess's work was being done here. She did not know
why or for what great design, but she thought it would be awesome and
transforming. It would not come in her lifetime or in many lifetimes to come,
but something great was in the wind. For now she could take comfort in the
fact that the empire would go on and that the Gamulan way of life would go on
as well, and if the goddess had other future plans....then so be it.

As Tiani heard the voice, she could not stop herself from squeezing the
trigger, but as she fired, she was bowled over and the shot missed its target.

As Glaxxana looked on powerless to stop her best friend, she did not see him.
In fact, nobody present saw the unicorn. As Tiani rolled cross the ground, she
tumbled adeptly and righted herself almost immediately taking aim once more,
but this time she was aiming her pistol at the intruder who had spoiled her
shot.

By this time, Glaxxana was ready, and she tackled Tiani as she prepared to
fire. They rolled around the ground for a minute with Glaxxana ending up on
top. As Tiani beheld her friend, she exclaimed, "Glaxxana, it's you!...It is
you!"

Glaxxana replied, "I don't think you want to kill my good friend," and when
she turned around the unicorn was gone.

Helping Tiani to her feet, Glaxxana added, "And I really don't think you want
to kill him either."

As the scene unfolded, Bannon had remained very still. It had been his
survival instinct kicking into high gear.

Several of the women warriors had forgotten about him as the scene with Tiana
and Glaxxana unfolded. Now, several of the women were pointing there weapons
ominously in his direction.

"Tiani, tell them not to fire," Glaxxana shouted.

"Why should I," Tiani replied.

Glaxxana responded by moving in front of the man.

"Then you'll have to kill me too," Glaxxana replied.

Moving towards the both of them and raising her gun once more, Tiani said
still with hate in her voice, "He is nothing...He's only a man." Then with
even more venom in her voice, Tiani added, "He has shamed you."

Looking towards the man, Glaxxana's face softened and a smile appeared. When
she turned back to Tiani, she said proudly, "He is my mate!"

For a moment, this stunned Tiani and the gun dropped from her hand.

"Tell them," Glaxxana ordered

Tiani looked at the other two women and signaled for them to lower their
weapons, and as any Gamulan soldier would, they obeyed their leader.

When the immanent threat to the man had been removed only then could Glaxxana
properly greet her best friend.

Throwing her arms around her best friend and hugging her, she exclaimed,
"Tiani, I've missed you so!"

As the women embraced, "Tiani said in confusion, "I thought you were dead. I
wanted to kill him."

Even as Glaxxana hugged Tiani closer, she explained further, "He has not
shamed me. I do the will of the goddess. I'll explain everything later.

Then as Tiani looked up at Glaxxana, she said even as the hatred left her, "I
don't understand."

"You will..But now we have to stop the battle."

Then Glaxxana became a warrior once more and she immediately took charge as
was her way. She motioned for everyone to follow as she moved quickly in the
direction of fire.

The deadly fire was merciless and the captain estimated he had only twenty or
so men left. The last to fall was the sergeant as three shots had hit him
almost simultaneously from different directions. As he fired back, he
remembered the arena, but this time, he thought, he was not about to be
reprieved.

Then eerily the firing stopped, and his men stopped firing as well. There had
never been a target for them to shot back at anyway.

Then he heard a male voice shouting down at them, it was Bannon.

"Captain, have your men lower their weapons. The battle is over. We're coming
down."

He didn't know why he trusted Bannon, but he did and he gave his men the
signal to lower their weapons. In a few seconds, Captain Danning beheld an
incredible sight. First Bannon appeared and then a big red headed women
followed. It had to be the woman Bannon had mentioned. Then one by one other
women appeared and they were all heading for their position.

As they approached, Bannon shouted out, "Captain, come on out, it's OK!"

As Bannon and the women approached, the captain saw that all the women's guns
were holstered, and their rifles were slung over their backs. It emboldened
him and he stepped out from behind his rock. After a few steps, he motioned
for the rest of his men to follow. As the two parties approached one another,
Bannon told Glaxxana to tell her women to mingle, and the men heard the female
speak and understood her with their universal communicators..and they mingled
as well...and for the first time in thousands of years, the women of Gamula
were reunited with the men from earth.

Some of the women even helped the men with their wounds and the men smiled
back in awe at the beautiful female warriors they beheld. As Bannon watched,
he was surprised at how fast everyone was adapting to the new order of things.
Uncharacteristically, even Tiani left Glaxxana's side and walked up to the man
who's face had intrigued her for so long.

She smiled and spoke to him, "I thought I had killed you....Your blue planet
is so beautiful!"

Captain Danning listened and replied, and then he remembered she would not
understand. So he stopped the nearest man and took his communicator and placed
it gently on the woman before him. Tiani was surprised that she allowed him to
touch her so, and when the communicator was fastened, the man spoke again,
"I'm glad you didn't kill me." and then he asked in a puzzled tone, "You've
seen earth?"

Tiani smiled and replied, "I'm glad I didn't kill you too...I'll explain about
your planet later," and then they both grew quiet and stared into each other's
eyes.

After a few minutes, Glaxxana drew close to Bannon, and said to him, "I must
speak."

Bannon didn't know what she would say or why she wanted to talk, but he gave
the order and everyone stopped talking and formed a tight circle around
Glaxxana.

When everyone was quiet, Bannon motioned with his hand that they were ready
and Glaxxana should begin speaking.

She was a warrior not a speaker, but she had to tell them the truth. In the
days ahead, she knew she would have to learn many new skills.

"My name is Glaxxana, in Gamulan it means protector. From now on, we must each
protect the other. The time for killing is past."

Stopping for a moment, she looked about the group, everyone was intently
listening. Then she started to speak once more. There will be no rescue party
from either earth or Gamula. We are on our own."

Bannon didn't know why he believed her, but he did. Maybe it was the lady in
white from his dream who had informed Glaxxana. In any event, he really didn't
care. Maybe, this place wasn't Fiji, but it would do.

"First, we must go and find the wreckage of the Gamulan ship and help the
survivors there, and then we must add the men from the wreckage of the
earthmen's ship as well. Then and only then will we be ready."

Tiani spoke out, "Ready for what?"

Glaxxana looked around once more before she spoke, and when she was ready, she
replied, "For our future!"

Five minutes later the unlikely band was ready to travel, Bannon motioned for
Glaxxana to lead, but she shook her head no and grabbed his hand, "Where you
lead, I will follow."

Bannon looked about and said, "Follow where?"

Glaxxana closed her eyes and let her mind take wing, and when she opened them
once more, she pointed to the Northeast. As Bannon looked up at the two suns
high overhead, Glaxxana looked at him and said tenderly, "I love you!"

Bannon motioned with his right arm for the band to start moving, and replied,
"I know!"

Immediately behind the first two as they made their way up out of the arroyo,
was Tiani and the Captain. When Tiani saw the two in front of her hold hands,
she offered hers to Danning. He smiled and accepted it gladly. Tiani was
supremely happy once more, and as she looked at the man she was amazed at how
different and interesting he was. She didn't think she would have to kill him
any time soon, and she silently laughed at her joke. Then her thoughts turned
to the woman in front of her, and she knew she was exactly where she was born
to be, and that was guarding Glaxxana's back. Behind the first group were the
others and even now they were already beginning to pair up.

As they walked out of the arroyo into a more friendly terrain, there was a
heard of unicorn eating the grass on a nearby hilltop. Glaxxana saw them and
then she saw her friend as well. As they moved out, she waved back to him and
he responded by rearing up and kicking out with his great forelegs, and then
he returned to feeding on the succulent grass.

Ten minutes later as the band moved on and they left the hilltop far behind,
the unicorn looked up and a wondrous thing started to happen. The form of the
unicorn became fuzzy and indistinct and then disappeared and a new and
wondrous one took it's place. And the form glowed with a bright and pure
light. And as Heim looked out and surveyed the land she was pleased.
Everything had gone according to plan.

Turning her gaze back to the small pack of unicorn grazing on the hillside,
she smiled and was pleased that she had conjured up such wonderful beasts as
these from the minds of both the men and the women. How had they thought of
such creatures she wondered, creatures that never existed. It would be a
mystery to her, she knew, till the end of time.

Then sadly she thought, they had served their purpose and now she was prepared
to cast them back to oblivion. At the last moment she stayed her hand, and she
thought of the future, her mind taking wing. In a distant time, she realized
these creatures likeness would be on the banners that would bring a new and
wonderful kind of order to the universe. They would in essence become the
symbols of that new order.

How could she cast them out now? Instead, she waved her hand and imbued them
with even more life force. Pleased with herself, the goddess thought about
Glaxxana once more and with another wave of her hand created the great beast,
but this time she was not inside. As she gazed on her new creation, she gave
him the memories of the woman and the man and she knew they would meet once
again.

Then the Goddesses thoughts turned to another, and a great sadness overtook
her. She knew she had made a promise to never say his name ever again, but in
the moment of her great triumph she just could not help herself. Raising her
head to the heaven's she cried out his name, "LUCIFER!"

And there was a great thunder and the clouds began to roll in the sky. Farther
on, the small band heard the thunder and saw the movement of the clouds and
stopped to wonder at the sight, and when it had passed they started their trek
towards the wreckage of the Goddess triumphant once more.

Even a goddess can feel shame as that fountain of great sadness welled up in
her and erupted, but she quickly gathered herself and she felt herself
calming. As she did, she thought their still might be redemption for him at
the end of time, but that was still an eternity away, and there still was much
that needed to be done.

Then she thought about the man and the woman again. They had performed
heroically and they had earned a rest and the joys of one another. She would
leave them to their own devices for a while and she knew they would be safe.
Glaxxana would keep them on the path and the man would keep them alive.

For the moment, the universe had no need of her services. She had earned a
rest too. Before she went back to the negative realm, her thoughts turned back
to the past, to that blue planet and the noble race it had spawned. The
memories of that former time were pure and good and it made her remember her
name, and now in her moment of triumph she wished to say it once more and to
feel its power. Once again, she raised her head to the heavens, but this time
she shouted out her own name, "I am ELOHEIM!"

Once again there was a great thunder and the clouds began to roll in the sky.
A few kilometers distant, Glaxxana and her people stopped to look up and
wonder. When the thunder died down and the clouds slowed, they once again
returned to their journey.

The goddess was content, and she placed her emotions where they needed to be,
deep inside of her. The power of her name was like a cleansing, and she was
finally ready to depart. Then she thought of where she needed to be....and she
was there..

The End