Chapter 12

“So what is Tantalus like?” Mara asked.

“Let’s see,” Oliver said, pulling up a file on the computer. “Ooh, the star is a blue giant, which means lots of ultraviolet radiation. We have to remember to bring lots of sunscreen. Let’s see, there are two major countries, the Empire of Tarr, and the Democratic Theocracy of Soria.”

“Democratic . . . theocracy?” Mara asked.

“Don’t ask me,” Oliver said, shrugging, “that’s just what it says here. Anyway, that’s where we’re going. It says here there was a war a long time ago between two religious factions, the Drumani and the Ar’eus. The Ar’eus won, and wrote their religion into the country’s Constitution, and now they have a combined government and priesthood. Of course, it’s not easy to force everyone into one religion, and when a religious freedom amendment was added to the Constitution, a very large minority of the population came out as Drumani. There’s still a lot of systemic prejudice against them as a result of the historical oppression, but it looks like that has been getting better over time.”

“And if I remember,” Mara said uncomfortably, “the Dooku Flower said that the fire medallion is a Drumani sacred talisman?”

Oliver sighed. “Yes, that’s right. If we are going to finish our mission and save the galaxy from the Disease, we have to get a holy object from a people who are discriminated against.”

“Are you sure we should do it, then?” Mara asked.

“We can at least ask,” Oliver said. “Maybe if we are completely open and honest with them, they will understand that we will only use it for good. I don’t know what I’ll do if it turns out we have to steal it.”

“I think I’m starting to feel a little sick,” Mara said.

Conner spoke up. “We can’t give up now. Not after all we’ve been through.” He paused, hesitating to bring up the one topic that no one wanted to mention. “Not after the Time Palace.”

Oliver and Mara shifted uncomfortably in their seats, looking away to either side.

“Look,” Conner said. “Don’t forget that someone else is also after that medallion, and they are bad news. We might be able to use that to convince the Drumani to help us against them.”

Oliver nodded. “You’re right.”

“Um, I think . . .” Mara said slowly, chewing on her words. “I agree we shouldn’t give up, but I think we should still be friendly and show them we are nice people. The way you put it, it feels like we’re using them in a scheme for our own ends.”

“Yeah, of course we should be friendly,” Conner said. “I’m just saying we should have a plan to go on.”

“I think the key is to be completely transparent with them,” Oliver said. “People like honesty, even if the thing you are being honest about is the fact that you are interacting with them for your own goals. If we are both respectful and honest with the Drumani, I’m sure they will be happy to help.”

“I get that,” Mara said, “but I think we should make sure to remember that we care about these people, and not get so focused on our mission that we forget that.”

“We will,” Oliver said.

Conner nodded. “Of course.”

The hyperspace jump from Chronesia to Tantalus was the longest one yet. It lasted many hours, and they had to use the beds for the first time. They had bought a third mattress at Echinea, so Conner offered to sleep in the cabin and let Mara sleep in his bunk, but Mara insisted to be the one who slept in the cabin. The third chair blocked where they would have put the mattress, so instead they laid it at the back of the cabin in front of the hall. The trip still had a long way to go yet, so there would be no need for Oliver or Conner to access the cabin, except if there was an emergency, in which case stepping on Mara wouldn’t really be that much of a problem.

As expected, there was no emergency. Nothing interesting happened during the night, and they all awoke the next morning to find that they were still in a tiny little tin can hurtling through a green tunnel of cold merciless death. And it was starting to feel like just another day on the job.

They had a nice breakfast of crackers and dried squid. For some reason, Mara only ate the crackers. To pass the morning, they played a board game. Conner and Oliver competed neck and neck for most of the game, but Mara sneaked in from behind and snatched the win. They joked and laughed, but beneath it all, there was an anxious tension. This was their final stop, where they would make it or break it. The fate of the galaxy rested on their shoulders.

“Do you think we have a chance?” Conner asked, as the pressure of anxiety wore away at his heart.

Mara looked at him, her features hard as rock. “Yes. More than that, we will win.”

Hearing that come from her was so unexpected that it lessened the weight on him immediately. He took a deep breath and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. Of course we will. We’re the chosen heroes of the galaxy, after all.”

“The Tarrans outmatch us in both weaponry and the willingness to use it,” Oliver said. “But I still believe we can triumph.”

“Because of the palace, right?” Conner asked.

“Yes.”

“Then I agree.”

They exited hyperspace. It was the same as always, and yet it was not the same. The sun was there, bright as ever, and the small dot of the planet in the distance, bright with the sun’s light. That planet was where they would face their final trial. Where they would find out if the trials they had passed in the Time Palace had been enough to bring them to victory.

Er, actually it wasn’t that planet. That was a gas giant. Tantalus was the slightly dimmer and much closer dot a few degrees to its left. But it was the same principle.

“Take us in, captain,” Conner said.

“Uh, what do you think I’m doing?” Oliver replied.

Conner shrugged. “It just seemed like the thing to say.”

The planet grew in visual size, showing a mixture not of blue and green, but blue and yellow. “Is it all desert?” Oliver mused. After half a minute, when it was closer, he said, “Or no, it’s yellow trees. They must produce xanthophyll rather than chlorophyll.”

“Zanth-a-fill,” Conner said. “Clore-a-fill.”

Oliver looked at him. “That’s right. Xanthophyll and chlorophyll are pigments in plants. Chlorophyll is what makes most plants green, and xanthophyll makes them yellow. It helps them make the most of the energy they get from the sun.”

“Pig-mint,” Conner said.

Myrandah, the medallion of fire, was not particularly hard to find. It was public knowledge that it was kept by the Drumani priests at the Sacred Drumani Temple Grounds. Oliver made a call, and they were warmly invited to visit. Probably because they were viewed as potential converts. They landed at the spaceport in Racana, parking in a great multi-leveled hangar lot that was nearly full. As they walked to the bus station, Conner gawked at the yellow-leaved trees, the jet-black faces, the simple yet pleasing architecture. It was strange, but at the same time, of all the places they had visited, this felt the most yuman.

“I like this planet,” he said, as the bus arrived.

“Mmh, I suppose it’s all right,” Mara said. “I miss the underground.”

“Really?” Conner said.

“I guess people love the place they come from,” Oliver said.

They got on. Oliver and Mara sat next to each other, and Conner sat on the other side. The bus drove them through the city, though Conner saw it as a really big village, because most of the buildings only went up two stories and there were trees everywhere. In front of them, a Tantalian family talked about how this was their seventh annual trip to the Temple Grounds. Conner was starting to get the feeling that it was some kind of campground or amusement park rather than a religious site.

Conner lifted his head from a half-sleep when he realized that the bus was pulling into a drive with pleasant-looking wooden buildings on either side. Mountains stood watch in the distance. The bus stopped, and the passengers got out, some of them carrying bags or suitcases that looked like they might be full of clothes.

“The Temple Grounds are several square miles of trails and well-kept woods,” Oliver explained, “for the sacred wilderness feel, without the dangers of an actual wilderness.”

Conner thought they would follow along with the other passengers, but Oliver led them in a different direction, explaining that those people were signing in for a weekend retreat, whereas the three of them were there to see the priests. They passed a few buildings and walked down a gravel path to a distinguished-looking building.

They entered into a community room, which looked like it might sometimes be filled with chairs. There, talking to a trio of fancily-dressed boys and girl, stood a boy in a silver helmet and a maroon uniform with silver highlights. Lieutenant Jairus Durgna, of the Tarran Empire. He turned to look at them as they walked in. “Well,” he said, smiling like a hunter checking his trap, “look who we have here.”

Conner immediately took a defensive stance, aware of Oliver and Mara doing the same beside him.

“Whoa now,” Durgna said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Violence is prohibited here on the Temple Grounds, right Irom?”

“Indeed,” one of the boys he had been talking to said. Conner wondered if “Irom” was his name or his title. “Here in Drucan’s lands, only recreational fighting is allowed.”

“You stole the medallions that we are going to use to defeat the Disease,” Conner said, glaring lasers at Durgna.

Oliver elbowed him in the ribs. “Not now,” he hissed. “You’re making a bad first impression on the priests.”

Conner let his arms fall to his sides, but he remained tense. He was certain that as soon as the Tarrans found an opportunity they could get away with, they would break the no violence rule.

“Not cool,” Durgna said, “accusing your partners of stealing.”

“Partners?” Conner said, “you coerced them from us at gunpoint!”

Durgna looked taken aback. “Gunpoint? I was completely unaware. I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience my subordinates caused you.”

“Please,” the priest Irom said, “Leave your argument until after you are gone from the Temple Grounds.”

“We should listen to him,” Oliver said.

Conner shut his mouth, but did not stop glaring lasers.

“If you’re really willing to help us,” Oliver said to Durgna, “then let us have the medallions we gave you back.” He held up a hand to silence Conner as he opened his mouth. “And tell us what you are going to use them for. If it is a noble cause, we will let you use the medallions once we are done with them.”

“It is the noblest of causes,” Durgna said, “but alas, we cannot let you use them first, because once you do, they will turn into energy and fly off into hyperspace for whichever of the Shaper’s Backs they originated in, their purpose fulfilled. I can personally assure you, though, that once we have fulfilled our purpose with the medallions, we shall return them to you so that you may defeat this Disease.”

“Sorry if I don’t believe you,” Conner said.

“Well, you have plenty of time to change your mind,” Durgna said, walking around them toward the exit. “Irom, Avi, and Shak will give you the rundown. I look forward to our interactions while we are here.”

The sound of the door closing was a sign of relief for Conner. He relaxed and sighed.

“I am Irom,” one of the boys said. He pointed to the girl. “And this is Avi,” he moved his finger to the other boy, “and Shak. We are the priests of the Sacred Drumani Temple Grounds.”

Conner, Oliver, and Mara made their introductions. “We are here because we are searching for the seven elemental medallions,” Oliver said. “I have a writ from the Great Dooku Flower of Meysenia, if that helps. Our goal is to use them to eradicate the Disease that has been causing so much turmoil all over the galaxy.”

“Yes,” Avi said gravely, “the Disease has swept across the lands, even here. The raptors have been unusually aggressive lately.”

Conner raised his eyebrows, feeling the blood trickle away from his face. “Raptors?”

“A predatory animal,” Shak said in a deep voice. “It runs on two legs, has a long tail and sharp claws, and a head that is mostly teeth.”

“It is not recommended to go away from the common grounds without a ranger for escort,” Irom said, “and you might want to bring a weapon yourself.”

Conner glanced at the tennis racket hooked to his backpack. No, certainly not.

“Here is the deal,” Irom said. “Myrandah is the Drumani sacred relic. It is believed to be the link left behind by Drucan when he ascended to the Virtuous Plane.”

Shak cleared his throat.

Irom inclined his head. “Some think we should say it is known, rather than it is believed, because belief has a connotation of being ephemeral. Regardless, the medallion is very important to us, and cannot be given away lightly. In order for us to make that decision, we have come to an agreement that we we must first take some time to get to know you. If you agree, we will house you here at the Sacred Drumani Temple Grounds for three days, with free room and board, during which time we will assess the quality of your character and your spiritual health. At the end of the three days, we will decide who, if anyone, is worthy to receive Myrandah. Today is the first day. The day after tomorrow, when we take a pilgrimage to the temple, we will make the decision.”

“Doesn’t that make it two days?” Conner asked.

“You could see it that way,” Avi said, “but in the time of Drucan, the number of days was counted as one more than the number of nights. We choose to keep with this tradition, as the day of the pilgrimage cannot be changed, and three is a significant number.”

“Because we will hand over the medallion,” Shak said, “that day will go down in Drumani history. So it is vital that the events leading up to it play out in a way that is pleasing to Drucan.”

“Indeed,” Irom said. “We have also made the same arrangement with Durgna and his people. They will, of course, be staying in a different building as you, for both of your safety.”

“Much appreciated,” Oliver said.

“Also,” Irom said, “we recommend not talking about this with the other people staying at the grounds. They might not react well if they feel you are here to take something important from them.”

Conner and his friends nodded.

“Supper will be served in the dining hall in half an hour,” Avi said. “Until then, feel free to settle in to your rooms.” She gave each of them a key, and directions to the building where they would be staying. “Also, we would be delighted if you joined us for the evening service after supper.”

They left the building and crossed the grounds to the small hotel building where they would be staying. As Conner turned the key in his and Oliver’s door, Mara said, “Can I stay in you guys’ room?” Blood rushed to her face, and she quickly added, “I mean, I don’t really feel safe by myself with Durgna and his people so close by.”

“Oh, uh,” Oliver stammered, his face turning red too. “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

Conner felt heat in his own cheeks. Having a legitimate excuse to sleep in the same room as a girl was . . . exciting.

The room had two beds, both big enough for two people. Conner and Oliver took the one closest to the door, leaving Mara the other one. They had only brought their backpacks from their ship, not thinking that they would have to stay overnight. Conner supposed they would have to borrow some clothes from the locals.

At the dining hall, Conner had no idea what any of the food was. There was some meat, some mashed orange stuff, some yellow plants that were probably vegetables, and chunks of blue goo cut into two-centimeter cubes. He took a little bit of everything, figuring that would give him enough options if he found some of it indigestible.

There were plenty of Tantalians around, all with the same midnight-dark skin. Conner and his friends were the only offworlders in the building. He sat next to Oliver and Mara, at their own table, and picked up a yellow oval leaf the size of his first two fingers put together.

“Digging in before the blessing?” A familiar voice said. Conner looked up sharply to see Durgna sit across from him, helmet absent, showing a clean cut of black hair. Senna and Bloar settled in on either side of him. “That’s naughty.”

“What are you doing here?” Conner demanded.

Durgna put a hand above his heart, feigning offense. “I just saved you face, and this is how you repay me?”

“I won’t give you an inch,” Conner said. He looked at Senna. So beautiful, yet his enemy without compromise. “Any of you.”

Shak’s deep voice ended their word fencing. “Let us all stand to thank our master Drucan.” Everyone in the dining hall rose to their feet. Conner followed suit, feeling a little uncomfortable. Shak began to pray. “This bread we break today, we made with our own hands, as Drucan instructed us.”

“Amen,” the crowd said in unison.

“This building we stand in, we built with our own sweat, as Drucan directed us.”

“Amen,” the crowd said.

“This community we share, we strengthen in peace, as Drucan demonstrated to us.”

“Amen,” the crowd said.

“Let us eat.”

As everyone sat back down, Conner said quietly, “that sounded frightfully like the thing they all said on Mithra.”

“Ritual can be used for many purposes,” Durgna said, taking a knife and fork and elegantly cutting a small piece off the chunk of meat on his plate. “On Mithra, it is used to keep everyone in line. Here, on the other hand, it strengthens the feeling of community.”

“Yeah, well,” Conner said, “it creeps me out.” He looked at the blue cube on his plate. It had been stabbed by the stem of a yellow leaf, and was sagging in a way that looked both unappetizing and sad.

“I suppose you think you are going to win the priests over, so that they will give you the medallion of fire,” Durgna said. “That’s a rather futile effort, don’t you think? I mean, you have several clear disadvantages compared to us. You aren’t Tantalian---anyone can tell by looking at your face---and whether they want to or not, people are naturally biased toward those who look more like themselves. You don’t know anything about the Drumani religion, so you’ll more than likely offend them with every other sentence without having a clue that you’re doing it. And finally, I don’t think you have what it takes to get things done, a trait valued highly among all Tantalians. Just face it, you have no chance.”

Conner felt suddenly aware that Durgna had singled him out for this conversation. Not one of Conner’s companions nor Durgna’s had said a word. Something was going on, and somehow the onus rested upon him. “You’re forgetting something,” he said. “We are doing this for the galaxy. We’re fighting for the best cause. That means no matter what we have to do, no matter what odds we have against us, no matter what goofs we make of ourselves, we’re going to keep trying.”

“Ah, the noble cause tack,” Durgna said. “Don’t think you have the monopoly on that. Our cause is equally just.”

“And how can you expect us to believe that when you won’t even tell us what it is?” Conner said. “I bet you just want their power for yourself.”

“No, no,” Durgna said. “If you must know, our leader is trapped in a prison of talic material. The only way to release him is to use the power of a full set of talia, and the elemental medallions are the only ones known to exist at this point in time.”

“Your leader?” Conner asked.

“He is called the Disassembler,” Durgna said. “He is not yuman, but a being from a world far away. It is his destiny to bring the Tarran Empire to great glory.”

“We’ve heard from the Tarran Empire,” Conner said, feeling like it was somehow right to leave out the detail that it was Electrobolt who had contacted them. “They don’t know that you exist.”

“Whom did you speak to?” Durgna asked.

Conner almost backpedaled, and explained about Electrobolt. But he couldn’t think of any way to do it without stammering his way around the words, and that didn’t feel right for some reason. So he said nothing.

“It is understandable that not everyone in the government would know of us. You know how muddled bureaucracies can be, after all.”

“Byur-ocra-seas,” Conner said.

Durgna blinked three times.

“It’s a new thing I’m doing,” Conner said. “Every time I hear a word I don’t know, I’m sounding it out to try to remember how to say it right.”

Durgna stared blankly at him. Beside him, Senna suppressed a snicker. A moment later, Oliver burst out into a raucous cacophony of laughter. Mara joined in, laughing out loud, surprising considering her shy nature. Durgna stared at him in bewilderment, Bloar glared daggers at him, and Senna held a hand clamped over her mouth, clearly struggling not to join in with Oliver and Mara. Conner’s mouth pulled itself into a grin, and he didn’t fight it. He felt like he had just won something, though he didn’t understand exactly what or how.