Chapter 6: A Cruel Evolution Part 2

“Shit,” said Tremaine, shaking his head. “It sounds quite possible we could use that as a weapon against them.”

“They have another energy source. A crystal called Zymergillian, worshipped and craved amongst the Trimadians. This particular crystal is the major ingredient that makes up the Door of Endless Light.”

“So that is what it is,” exclaimed Pete. “It is impervious to radiation, can’t cut it, blow it up, not even chip it. It is virtually indestructible.”

“Yes,” continued Sataal. “The hardest known substance discovered to date. Trimadian’s derive their energy and weaponry from this source, and due to its incredible tensile strength covers the hulls of their warships. It is plentiful on Heliostronus, and is their primary mining product. All attempts to steal it have been fruitless, let alone attempting to manufacture it. Zymergillian is extremely complex, and the Trimadians guard their secrets from everyone. Their technology grows quickly, and they have developed it to power their engine drives. Not one known race to date can match the speed of their ships. Once Zymergillian is processed, they call it Zymergy. Interstellar travel, which, if you were capable of, would take you Earthlings generations to travel. Zymergy takes only a matter of days or weeks, depending on the point of origin and destination. For example, Heliostronus in the Nextraprime galaxy is one hundred and forty million light years from here. Utilizing Zymergy powered engines would take only a few days at the most. They have always devoted all resources into refining and experimenting with this incredible substance.

“There were rumors Zymergillian was also present on Earth thousands of years ago, and possibly on Ahmadeus. So naturally, they established mining sites on both planets. I am not too familiar with the human history, but for a short period there were many human slaves at the Trimadian’s mercy. Some humans were even relocated to Heliostronus.”

Pete was ecstatic. “This is fascinating, this alters our popular history, and this is what I need to learn. You must spend some time on Earth with us. Perhaps you can help unravel some mysteries.”

“Yes, of course, but my men need me here to, we live in dangerous times. Now, where was I? That’s right. Unfortunately, for the Trimadians, their scientists calculated that their beloved home world would soon be dry in a few thousand years, so the hunt was on. That was yet, another reason why they attacked other planets that held the possibility of fresh supplies.”

He took another long drink. The humans had wisely learnt to go easy on the Cantal’s supply of liquor, which was at least ten times stronger than their own.

“So, how did you form the Cantal rebellion?” Tremaine asked.

“In my position as a chief scientist for the Trimadians, I oversaw most technical projects. I became one of the most trusted high-ranking officials to serve under my master, Lord Marone of the Empyream fleet. One day, Marone discovered my extracurricular activities. Whether he was tipped off or had his own suspicions, I don’t know. Nevertheless, my notes on Crytaalic crystals and their effects on implantation he classed as acceptable and useful. However, he managed to break into a coded file I thought I had removed from the computer. A proposal to use Crytaalic to free the Cantals from the tyranny of the Trimadians was not taken so well. It was pure blasphemy. I managed to escape before they could arrest me.

“Marone put a bounty on my head, to capture me alive, in order to further extract and study my secret chemical research to overcome the Cathexistomes’ power. He knew it could be a very valuable weapon against any outside Trimadian group that could attack his fleet.”

Sataal stood, his face screwed up in painful recollection, his voice strained with emotion.

“However, to this day, Marone has never caught me. I paid a price though, in retaliation, Marone executed my whole family and known friends as punishment for my betrayal. I will never let them catch me alive. I believe in my cause too much. I cannot let the Cantals die out. One day, I swear I will seek revenge against the Trimadians as a whole.”

He sat down again, amongst his men and the humans and not a word was spoken. Though there was strong camaraderie, Pete could feel the deep ache in the rebel leader’s heart.

Sataal took a deep breath and continued. “Of course, with my extensive knowledge of the technical projects, I became their number one enemy. Naturally cautious, they would make the other Trimadian scientists modify their technology to minimize any security breaches.” He grinned. “I managed to escape from Heliostronus in a small ship, with a load of equipment that we still use now…”

Pete had reluctantly excused himself to relieve his aching bladder. It had occurred to him that though OBF had made positive contact by opening the portal to Ahmadeus, it could become a double-edged sword with the likelihood that these parasites may discover an unsuspecting Earth.

Sure enough, it did not take long for Doctor Reynolds’ worst fears to be realized when he matched up symbols and signs from the Cantals’ documentation with evidence he had collated from the Temple of Junghis in a time when Ancient Egypt was known as the Kingdom of the Old World. He made the astonishing discovery that the Cantal race had links to human history—that the Trimadians had visited Earth, around six millennia ago as shown in the Junghis temple. However, there was no indication they had returned, or were going to return. All evidence of stories and rock drawings depicting the Cantals, humans, and a variety of other alien visits to Earth over thousands of years now firmly housed in Divisions’ headquarters.

As virtual nil evidence of the Trimadian invasion existed, it was not surprising that was overlooked. Dr. Reynolds concluded it was due to strict censorship by the Trimadian leaders. Judging by how the Trimadians wanted to destroy the Cantal’s depiction only further strengthened that belief.

After the campsite meeting, Tremaine, through orders from Pilcher, had extended an official invitation to Sataal and his men to visit their homebase, to get a more human induction.

Sataal did in fact visit Earth several times and allowed Divisions’ physicians to examine him. On the outside, Cantals were almost identical to the human race, except the average height was between six and seven feet tall. Internally, they had an extra lung and a stronger heart, and their physical strength was ten times better. Many lived in high mountains so the thin oxygen was not a problem. This made the Earth scientists hungry for a Trimadian, or just the Cathexistome to study.

Now, OBF1 were once more facing Sataal and a group of his men. Not one for small talk, which suited Tremaine, Sataal stated, “The Trimadians are openly fighting the Locum and are losing. The Locum will simply wipe them out in a matter of weeks if this destruction continues.”

“Well, it can’t be all that bad,” Tremaine understated. “They are as bad as one another.” He scratched his skull. “By the way, how do you know all this?”

“We have managed to get spies aboard several Trimadian warships. Some are amongst the Trimadians’ high ranking elite, who can send transmissions via a secure frequency to this very spot, where I can keep an eye on the situation as it happens.”

“Why not sit back and watch them all get their asses kicked!” exclaimed Tremaine.

“But you can’t just replace one enemy with another that could be ten times worse. We have to control the Locum before they kill all organic life and take over our technology. It is only a matter of time before Graffa is in their path,” Sataal shot back.

“He has a point,” Mason agreed.

The Trimadians and the Locum were indeed old enemies, and since the inception of the BSP on Earth, Divisions and the OBF project were now part of the equation. Inevitably, alliances needed to be established to stop any enemy gaining power and momentum.

The conversation went flat from that point. They knew Sataal was a reliable source of information, and he had kept them up to date on all occasions in the past. He felt he owed them that.

Ironically, when the Earth humans had visited his planet for the first time, there was distrust and a battle almost broke out.

In fact, as soon as OBF1 set foot on Ahmadeus, they had landed smack in the middle of a skirmish between a group of Cantal rebels and Trimadians attacking from the sky.

They had sent a probe through but the video image sent back looked as if it had been jammed against a rock. Therefore, when they went through the BSP, they got the shock of their lives when they found they had landed abruptly in a fierce battle. The first meeting of the two races took a little over twenty-five minutes. A real rude awakening, as Tremaine had succinctly stated.

They had discovered Sataal, badly wounded, with his men under heavy attack. When OBF1 tried to communicate their friendly intentions, they just missed getting shot down by the Cantals. However, with the quick thinking of Tremaine—barking the order to drop weapons, and surrender to the Cantals, who thought they were Trimadian spies.

With this sudden distraction, the Trimadians, who had all their forces deployed in the skies at that time, saw and took advantage by almost blowing the team and Cantals to smithereens by shattering the ground with the most tornado like bombing Tremaine and Mason had ever witnessed. Both parties found themselves thrust together in a circumstantial common bond just to survive the fury of the attack. Through all the obscene noise and destruction and with the group of Cantals virtually wiped out, the OBF1 team grabbed a wounded Sataal and hid in bushes.

As this was their first visit to an alien world, the visit was a short one. They had just less than three minutes to wait until the time was right for their homebase to open the door, before the enemy stopped them. Luckily, Earth was on time. Tremaine signaled an emergency code to let them through the BSP, foregoing the necessary security scans—which ultimately saved Sataal’s life.

Sataal had gone on to a full recovery and a lengthy, but relatively friendly interrogation from the OBF leaders and Divisions’ overseer.

Pete Reynolds had studied the records himself and stealthily copied a portion of the interrogation on his personal computer diary. He was intrigued with Sataal’s recollection of his first meeting with the Earth humans:

“We were patrolling the area and had come across the probe, which was not there fifteen minutes earlier, when our last patrol had gone through. We were actually studying the probe itself when an armada of Trimadian warships attacked us. While trying to escape, the Door of Endless Light activated. The appearance of creatures that looked like us coming through the doorway was incredible. We instantly suspected the humans were Trimadian spies, accentuated by the sudden presence of the enemy attack.

“It had been thousands of years since humans or Graffites as we call them, appeared through the sacred doorway. The Cantals were a free race; the usage of the Door of Endless Light in our culture was only for exploration and discovery. We were a simple, peaceful species. The Trimadians have always claimed that the Door is their creation and no other race can access it. The Trimadians confiscated the Door’s navigational crystals, including the sunlight–generator crystal used for opening the door, to keep the Cantals from escaping. No one knows who, when, or what race had really created it. However, throughout the centuries and under the Trimadians’ rule, every generation of the Cantals were brainwashed into believing the Trimadians were the creators of all.”