Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

56_HENOSIS

"So, what does it do?" Celli asked, only slightly concerned.

"It will give you the ability to stay awake and at full power for..." he tilted his head and looked to Maria.

"Quite a while," she said. "You had a small dose of this when you first came to the Antarious. That's how you were able to remain energized so long without sleeping. The nice thing about it is that there are no harmful side effects. It's all natural: made from the extract of roots and herbs and a few secret ingredients that we don't even know about." She smiled while the Ophilion calmly drank their elixir. They weren't going to worry about secret ingredients in their drinks at this point. "We didn't tell you about that the first time because you had enough to take in."

"The really important thing is about the ceremony," she said. The Ophilion watched her. They realized that they were going to meet many new people. They wondered how they would be accepted on the Henosis. There would be a briefing on the extraction; they would be standing with their flight crews; there would be a ceremony for them – an event that would pull them further into this tight-knit order. They kept drinking, realizing that they would need all the energy they could get.

"Number one – uniforms." Maria raised her eyebrows. The teenagers hadn't considered that. "You will be given Merenthaal-issue official apprentice uniforms for the ceremony and the reception. After that we'll have about four mec-lan before the briefing, during which time some people from the Henosis will give you a tour. You'll only be able to see a very small part of the station; the Henosis is very big. I haven't seen it all." Maria took a sip of her elixir.

"The ceremony is not long or complicated, but it is important. It means a lot to us, especially considering that you are the first apprentices from Ophilion. Two or more Almaron and two or more Meloria are required to confirm your acceptance and testify how you have earned credit up to this point. Arthur, Chi, Miguel and I will stand for the Almaron; your trainers for the Meloria.

The Ophilion listened carefully as Maria explained to them the steps of the ceremony. Although it was relatively simple they wondered if they would conduct themselves correctly; if their nervousness would be too obvious.

Only Jenna had participated in a large community ceremony: her entrance to 'veren-alam' – which means: 'the years in-between'. This is a Regalan ceremony that takes place every year for children who have completed their thirteenth year. Another ceremony takes place at the end of their nineteenth year, after which they are declared adult members of the community and are allowed to declare their desired path of mastery, and, if they wish, to marry and build a home.

They had almost reached the asteroid belt. This time, their approach was very different from the one they had made almost five weeks earlier. This was a peaceful flight in a dream ship. They had found what they were looking for, they had understood what their medallions meant, who the Merenthaal were, and what they were supposed to do.

At that moment in time, sitting in the bridge of the Antarious, everything made sense. The young Ophilion felt gratified and at peace. They realized that this state would not last, but they enjoyed it fully while it did. This flight, with the aliens who had become as close as family, was a precious segment of time.

The Antarious skimmed above the asteroids, the pilot turned right and flew along the top of the belt as if it were a cobblestone road. Ophilion was a bright crescent on the right, the black of space a sea of darkness and stars on the left. The pilot found an opening in the belt and plunged in, making a few smooth turns to avoid large rocks, then exited the bottom of the belt. She turned left and headed into space. Hanthran was visible to their left, and the moon, Helena, to the right. Only Orion had been further from their homeworld.

They watched the stars before them, more brilliant than they had ever seen them. The local arm was visible as a pathway of light – a fountain of brilliance. Arthur, Maria and their apprentices gazed at the scene in silence. Celli's hand found Orion's. Their fingers laced and they breathed in deeply together.

"There," Maria broke the silence after a couple of minutes. "Keep your eyes slightly to the left." A shimmer of silver and white caught their attention. In a few seconds it began to materialize into a shape. Two more seconds and it became a structure. A ship, a station, much larger than what they had imagined, had materialized in front of them.

"The Henosis," They heard Maria say. The Ophilion noticed a peculiar inflection in her voice and a look in her eyes, and also in Arthur's eyes; a kind of intense anticipation. The kind that one has when they haven't been home for quite a while. They wondered how long it had been.

The station, which was a ship, was as big a few sectors of Kypro placed together. An entire city floating in space. It was massive – beyond what they could understand – but also elegant – as all things Merenthaal were. The pilot decreased speed and the mrith gamers held the couch and blinked back the nausea. Gratefully, the discomfort passed quickly this time, aided by the elixir.

They angled softly downward, dipping under the station, heading towards the midway point. They could see a half-sphere cut out of the underside of the station measuring one hundred fifty meters across. As the Antarious angled toward it they could see multiple decks with ships of various kinds and of various sizes.

They came to a full stop under the center of the dome and began to rise vertically. They passed through the vacuum barrier and into the port, watching the decks, stocked with Merenthaal ships, pass them by, until they came to rest on a middle deck. They felt the ship softly touch down.

As they rose to leave the bridge they stopped to take in the view. From their vantage point they could see what looked like scores of ships – maybe two hundred – filling most of the spaces on the multiple levels of decks that encircled the port, tapering out as they reached the vacuum barrier at the widest point, and tapering in towards the top of the half-sphere port.

The ships, the lights – people moving about, checking equipment and tending to the transports – in some ways it was the antithesis of Ren-Celor, the underground mechanic center which they had left behind that morning when they flew out with the Chiefs to introduce them to the Merenthaal.

The serenity of the flight from East Camp had come to a conclusion. The four young Ophilion realized that everything would change – again. The enigmatic nature of the Antarion made it difficult to predict what was actually going to happen or where they would end up tomorrow.

The aliens, as was their habit, gave them minimal information, introduced new factors without warning, were unpredictable and cavalier, required them to make hazardous decisions and take serious risks; but, they cared about them, accepted them, trusted them, and those three things alone compensated.

They stood and followed the Antarion out of the bridge, down the hallway, heading towards the main hatch. They felt the effects of the secret ingredients in the elixir and were grateful. As they walked they sensed a kind of balance and physical and mental acuity that was new to them. It was intoxicating and reassuring. Whatever awaited them, whatever challenges they were presented with, they would meet them in the way they had so far: head on, and as a team.

END OF BOOK ONE