Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera A.K. DuBoff (guided reading books TXT) đ
- Author: A.K. DuBoff
Book online «Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera A.K. DuBoff (guided reading books TXT) đ». Author A.K. DuBoff
Crisâ face lit up while he read the text while Saera looked confused.
âLooks like the treaty text to me,â Cris said.
âI can only make out the occasional word. What does it say?â Saera asked.
âToday we strike an accord,â Cris began the rough translation in slightly stuttered cadence as he worked out the words. âPeace will⊠endure so long as the terms are upheld. The⊠destructive Gates will remain sealed. Each race will stay in its⊠designated realm. If ever the Gates are reopened by Tarans, they will be destroyed.â
âI think that last bit is more âwiped out for all timeâ,â Wil said.
âUh, Iâm not a fan of either of those translations.â Saera scowled at the inscription.
âMe either, but this is helpful. We know for certain that our violation is tied to that tech, specifically.â
âBut why?â Saera asked.
Wil reread the text. There was no further explanation. âIt doesnât say. Bomax, I thought thereâd be more here.â
âThere might be.â Cris looked closer. âDoes that look like micro inscriptions to you?â He pointed to the vertical height of the circular disk.
Sure enough, it looked like it could be rows of tiny text.
âWe need to magnify that.â Wil captured an image of the band on his handheld and projected it as a holographic image, zooming in until the characters were easily read.
Wil pored over the text. There were pages and pages of informationâall of the details theyâd been missing. âStars! I canât believe it.â
âWhat?â Saera asked, peeking over his shoulder.
âThose Gatekeeper-Taran hybrids? Apparently, theyâre not new. Thatâs how the Gatekeepers first made contact with our Taran ancestors, by going to live among them. But they were found out, and the Priesthood started studying them. They were fascinated by them being impervious to telepathy, but that they still possessed a link with one another.â
âThat sounds familiar.â
âThe nulls. That side effect from the Priesthoodâs neurotoxin.â The pieces began to fall into place in Wilâs mind as he reflected on the tech the Priesthood had deployed during their last stand and bid for ascension. They had deployed the neurotoxin as a means of telepathically networking the masses across multiple Taran worlds. âIf I had to wager, I bet you they used this research as a foundation for the neurotoxinâtried to isolate the ânetworkingâ component, but it also made a small percentage of people nulls in the process.â
She shook her head. âWeâve had evidence of aliens right in front of us for decades and didnât know it.â
âThat explains why we couldnât identify many of the sequences in the neurotoxin.â
Saera crossed her arms. âThis is so messed up.â
Cris scoffed. âThe Priesthood would do anything to further their own ends. I canât say Iâm shocked by this.â
âYou realize what this means, though,â Saera said.
He tilted his head, not sure what she was getting at.
âThey knew about higher-dimensional life. They understood that such beings were networked as one to move beyond their physical forms.â
The realization hit Wil like a punch in the gut. âThis text is where the Priesthood got the very idea of ascension.â
âTaking inspiration from a war that almost wiped out Tarans once.â
He shook his head. âAnd willing to do it all again with no regard for what would happen to everyone else.â
Saera stared with disgust at the documentation. âNot that I needed a reminder about why they had to go, but wow. Kind of makes me want to take them down all over again.â
âI second that.â Cris took a deep breath. âIt all makes perfect sense. We should have known there was more.â
âWe wanted to close that chapter and never look back. I wonât blame us for not wanting to dig too deeply at the time.â As TSS High Commander, Wil knew that was too dismissive an approach. Duty should come before personal feelings. But, stars, the Priesthood made it difficult to remain objective.
âAll right, so we have confirmation that the treaty violation is for the Gate tech itself,â Saera summarized. âArvonen and his Gate research cronies obviously wonât be an issue anymore, since the Gatekeepers dealt with them. But we canât be certain they were working alone. If this tech is the crux of the whole issue, we need to root out anyone potentially pursuing that kind of research and put a stop to it.â
âYes, agreed.â The TSSâ resources were about to be stretched very thin. Wil had been in that situation before, but he hadnât expected to find himself faced with that challenge again. Our people are well-trained and capable. Weâre ready for this, he tried to assure himself.
âThereâs something else strange in here,â Cris said, continuing to scroll through the text while Wil and Saera talked.
âGood or bad strange?â Wil asked as he tried to catch up to what his father was reading.
âMore a curiosity. Itâs about Earth. Itâs mentioned in these documents.â
Wil snapped to attention. âWait, what?â
Saera looked between the two of them. âThat doesnât make any sense.â
âIâm as surprised as you are.â Cris paused in thought.
âIt raises an interesting point, though,â Wil jumped in as he began thinking through the branching possibilities. âWhy has the Taran government and the Priesthood gone to such lengths to protect the planet?â
âHumans are of Taran descent, regardless of whether they know about us or not,â Cris surmised.
âYes, but there are other rogue colony worlds that arenât provided the same protections. What makes Earth special?â
âI always figured it was the proximity of TSS Headquarters,â Saera said. âThe moon would be in bad shape if the planet blew up.â
Wil cocked his
Comments (0)