Forward -
Sorry for taking so long to post this but I hit two major impediments:
1: Suffered a bit of writer’s block
2: Discovered r/chooseybeggers, r/maliciouscompliance, r/revengepro and r/entitledparents! (Hilarious YouTube streams of them being read.)

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Curtain Fall - Chapter 19

The entirety of the Security council and the president himself was virtually gathered to discus the events in Brazil. Accusations began flying as soon as it was revealed that the soldiers involved in the attack on the boat carrying the Brazilians had been from the American base. Secretary Spears desperately denied any involvement in the action. While many were not convinced Director Feber found the shock and outrage somewhat convincing. ‘Could the attack been a rogue action inspired by his xenophobia but not directly ordered?’, he wondered to himself. He saw that the meeting threatened to devolve to blame seeking and risked interjecting, “Is who is responsible really the primary issue here sirs? I suspect that the Tarneerans aren’t especially concerned with that. I suspect that what does concern them is the impression we don’t have control of our own men!”

He paused as president nodded and encouraged David to continue. Clearing his throat he saw several council members bite back a retort and he continued, “What we are now face with are several possible consequences. The first is the effects of finding the women dead or captive of a foreign power. If dead, I suspect we will a poisoned relationship for the foreseeable future. The best we’ll be able to hope for is an isolationist situation far worse than the worst of the Cold War. A Cold War with a nation of telekinetics and projective empaths. While the impression I’ve gathered is that Adrasteia was exceptional, even lesser manifestations of these abilities make them unparalleled spies and operatives. From a technological perspective, while they aren’t as advanced in the technologies we know, I strongly suspect that we’ve not seen even a fraction the knowledge and technologies they have advanced.” As the council digested this, he continued.

“While our experience with the astonishing abilities that Adrasteia has and continues to manifest have always been non-lethal,” David handed a page listing actions attributed to both the hero in Albuquerque and the increasing number of visions across the country, “the actions on the second boat suggest that the Tarneerans as a people are not opposed to using lethal force. While not an absolute certainty, the types of weapons involved point to them killing the second boat. Preliminary evidence suggests that the Tarneerans killed too quickly for the soldiers to even use their weapons.” The council members were silent at hearing this until the representative of the CIA presented a question.

“David,” the officer asked, “you suggest that the Tarneerans themselves may have been responsible for the attack on the second boat. If that is true then they may have already recovered their women! Why haven’t they mentioned it?”

David nodded with concern in his eyes. “Yes that is a question I’ve asked myself. A likely answer is that those who rescued them haven’t returned to their people for some reason. What I learned in a conference with High Mother Anarra might indicate this. We overheard arguments suggesting that the women’s location was not known to her while we spoke.” He looked at the men he saw in his video screen. “I must admit another possibility however. The possibility that they have lost any trust they have in our peaceful overtures. If the situation were reversed and officials of high importance of ours had been attacked and kidnapped but we rescued, how eager would we be to alerting them immediately?”

The president then asked, “Based on this, what are our options and what do you recommend?”

David looked at his table for a moment. Then he raised his face to look again at the assembled, “I’ll begin with my recommendations. First, we need to identify how that rogue troop came to decide that the attack was warranted. My suspicion is that there are elements who felt that returning Adrasteia would be disastrous. While I feel you would never order such an action Secretary Spears,” assured David, “clearly there seem to be those under your command who feel it was needed.”

David then shook his head. “My next thought is one I am less sanguine with, but I feel obligated to offer. Based on what we translated during our most recent conference with the High Mother, I fear that she no longer feels as constrained with regards to dealing with us. I fear she may be willing to exact retribution for the attacks and may begin to take action to root out and deal with the threat to her people’s kidnapping. We may soon be on the receiving end of covert acts. As a result, I fear we need to increase our readiness to respond, or withdraw to reduce any temptation to retaliate.”

The president then asked for other opinions. A number of strong voices were heard. The opinions falling into the two expected camps: that of those counseling caution against acts that would be perceived as aggressive or hostile. The other seizing on David’s reluctant option of increasing readiness. Finally the president sided with the more hawkish camp and ordered an increase in general readiness, inspite of David’s concerns.

It was decided to prepare by bringing an artillery unit into range as well as arranging for the potential positioning of a cruise missile with a tactical nuclear payload as a last resort. It was a shame that the continued presence of the atmospheric “bubbles” had effectively reduced the Air Force to almost complete impotence. It would have allowed them to seem to ease tension by reducing their presence while keeping the ability to respond.

Carol had crossed into the territory controlled by the non-humans and had begun watching them. The first of the revelations that had come first was the relatively small population she spied. 3 modest sized cities were all she could find. Less than half a million. A half million who walked and acted much as she would expect an isolated community to. Most activity she could see was oriented at agrarian pursuits. That wasn’t to say that they didn’t have technology of sorts; She had seen rail transport and lights. No combustion vehicles though. No sign of heavy industry.

Carol had been very cautious in getting too close to these people though, as they really did look like Jill and if they had similar powers to Jill they might easily find or sense her. Even with her care, there were a handful of times that she started to attract the notice of several women. It was only her ability to ‘cloak’ herself in the plant life that allowed her to stay undiscovered.

She quickly found that the aliens supported a matriarchal society. The men, to her surprise seemed content in their lesser status. This in spite of the fact that she could quickly see that they possessed telekinesis! While she saw none that were comparable to Jill’s (theirs was clearly more localized) it was still enough to make them superior physically to the women.

Another interesting thing she noticed was that there were significantly more women than men! Children could be found in equal numbers, but somewhere in adulthood the ratio shifted. Was it that the men died younger? Violence? Without being able to ask, she couldn’t know.

With in the day of her stalking, she also noticed that the city she was closest to found itself stirred as if it were a bee hive struck by a stick. She had watched the normally placid community suddenly become more aggressive, with patrols leaving the city increasing dramatically. The male patrols were all uniformly armed with a strange high tech seeming spear. She also watched two teams of women, escorted by men head towards the barrier. Some of the men acted as guards and some carried a wooden crate. One group headed in the direction of the American base, the other farther down the river.

With this increased activity, Carol retreated into the forest again and settled to commune if possible with Jill. ‘Jill my love! I don’t know how much you can hear me, but something has stirred the people who look like you up. They look as if they are preparing for combat or something. I think it might be with the Americans!’

She waited but felt nothing immediately. Cursing their separation she continued, sending her thoughts.

Just as Carol had given up hope she felt a change in her surroundings an a ghostly image of Jill appeared before her. With a look of boundless tenderness the apparition spoke, ‘Carol my heart! I miss you so much! I am searching for a way back to you...’ With this, Carol felt a feather light and loving touch on her cheek. The Jill’s expression grew concerned, ‘What frightens you so?’

Carol repeated what she could and she watched Jill’s eyes darken. ‘Find out more if you can but safely my love. I am coming...’ Jill faded away.

“I hope so love, I hope so...”, Carol said quietly.

That afternoon Carol saw a large entourage leave the city in a large vehicle on one of the rails and heading towards one of the other cities. She almost ignored it until she watched several of the men carry a stretcher to the vehicle. A stretcher on which Jill’s body lay! Her heart leapt and she almost revealed herself as she was seized with an almost animalistic need to protect her lover. With great difficulty she restrained herself and forced herself to be content with simply shadowing the group as they traveled.

The next day Tirielen, Anarra and Turi watched as their three wayward girls were brought back into the palace. Itimori and De’elen hovered around Asha’s body as she was carried on a litter. They were followed by five women attired as healers and Charu.

Seeing Anarra, Itimori exclaimed, “High Mother! We were saved by Beleyaavan. Turi! We have your daughter!” Itimori’s eyes filled with pain however as she continued, “She seems gravely injured however. Forgive me for failing to protect her.”

Turi, who rushed to Asha’s side looked up, “No forgiveness is needed Iti, you could not stop what happened in the human lands.” She weeping openly, caressed her daughter. “Oh my baby! What have you done?”

Anarra turned to the Beleyaavan healers and asked, “How much time will you need to begin the healing?”

Kalpaina, responded quickly, “Give us tonight, Mother, to rest and confer with your healers to prepare. We should be ready to work the first healings tomorrow.

“First?”

“Yes High Mother,”. Kalpaina replied, “We fear that her injuries from causing a Nexus are grave.” She then touched Turi. “You will also partake in this healing! If ever there was a need for a mother’s love and psychic touch, I can’t think of it.”

Still weeping, Turi nodded and still looking at Asha choked out, “All of creation couldn’t keep me from you my baby!”

Asha was taken away and as most of the healers followed, Anarra touched Kalpaina, indicating she should wait. Once the two were left behind, Anarra looked with concern to the healer and inquired, “What of that halo of energy healer?”, referring to the strange web arising from Asha’s form, “I’ve never seen its like before.”

“Nor have we, High Mother,” Kalpaina replied, “What I can say is that Asha’s form even now draws some sort of strange support, almost like n’dmi me'a from it. With it her body is sustained; even healed at a never before seen rate!”

“Where is the energy from?”, Annara asked.

“We don’t know Mother. What ever is happening, it benefits her, but we don’t know its source.” Anarra was troubled by this but pursued it no further as the healer didn’t seemed frightened of it.

On Anarra’s palace grounds there was a beautifully tended grove containing a large circle of standing stones made from large crystals of various colors. If not for the crystalline nature of the standing stones, it would have looked very much like one of the circles not uncommonly found in Ireland. It was here that the healing would take place.

At dawn the healers, having decided that even now they needed more power than normal, chose to use the ritual space for High Nexus workings. The healers gathered themselves, and with Turi, Charu and the shell of Asha, all marched with ceremonial slowness to the circle. Each step they took allowed them to shift themselves more into the mental state they would need to begin the healing.

Carol watched the precession and could easily see this as she was hidden within the grove. It was the closest significant tree growth to the palace and she had settled there the previous night so that she might observe who moved within the palace.

She watched, remaining as still and quiet as possible while the entourage moved to the circle and gently placed Jill’s form onto a flat round stone in the center of the circle. Eight of eleven then gathered around and clasped hands while two, an older woman and a woman who almost could be related to Jill, waited outside of the circle.

The eight closed their eyes and began a strange wordless humming. As they did, Carol watched almost spellbound as sparks of light began to grow within the stones. She also began to feel a strange pressure! It was almost as if she could see that feeling of resolve and determination you get as you work yourself up emotionally for a momentous task. Carol couldn’t suppress old memories that resonated to the feeling; like when as a child she geared herself up to make that first dive from the ‘high dive board’ or the time she first came out to her parents that she was gay. It was almost as if she could see the understanding of potential danger and the resolve to conquer it.

‘Jill!’ Carol thought fiercely, ‘I see you! Oh please hear me beloved! These Brazilians are doing something, and you are in the center of it!’

Jill was now convinced that there was a link from ‘here’ to Earth. The pool had a connection to her home. A connection that travelled away from this reality she had created and touched the reality of Earth. If that were the case, could she find and follow it? It had to move through the Chaos outside. She resolved then to return through the arch and locate it.

Returning to the arch with a thought, she stepped through it and returned to almost primordial chaos surrounding. She first decided to focus her attention more closely at where she had come from; her reality. It took time, but she eventually began to resolve it in her non-senses. Slowly, she sensed a pinpoint of something. A blemish that with concentration became an arch shuddering with concrete certainty amidst the blissful potential that surrounded her and was her when she was here. This blemish was on a curvature of collapsed chaos. A curvature that became a ball shaped form. Then slightly further along the ball an ever so faint thread of ‘slightly’ less collapsed potential that moved away (if ‘away’ wasn’t just her limited visualization of what she perceived. ‘Dang! I’m getting a headache just thinking of this!’, she thought with some amusement, ‘Neils Bohr eat your heart out!’

Aware of the thread, she ‘followed’ it and found another much larger curvature. This had many more threads leading away from it. Is Earth inside this one?!?

She ‘looked’ and ‘listened’. Then, ever so faintly, ‘I see you! Oh please hear me beloved! These Brazilians are doing something, and you are in the center of it!’

Exerting mental effort and feeling as if she were metaphorically wiping a window smudged with dirt clean, she looked in and saw Carol hidden in a strange tree staring at something a short distance away. She followed Carol’s gaze and saw several women, hands linked, around a body that shown brightly to Jill. IT WAS HER!!! Not simply a body that looked a lot like her but she felt a connection; a visceral familiarity! The best way to describe what she felt and perceived was the feeling of your favorite slippers, just waiting for you to slip them on. So she did...

The healers finished forming the protective barrier to shield them from distracting random emotions and then began to really focus on the child before them. Their deepest examinations had revealed very little of the child. Only the barest evidence of her n’dmi (mind/spirit) could be found at all. Yet since her body thrived beyond anything they could expect or explain it must be there! And then there was this seeming network of something that drew what seemed like non-Tarneeran n’dmi me'a into Asha’s shell-like body.

The only theories they could come up with was that when she accidentally invoked the nexus with the humans the innate incompatibility between human and Tarneeran mental/spiritual energies had injured and traumatized her so badly that she had retreated as far into her mind as possible. Once withdrawn she’d unconsciously erected barriers to shield herself. The depth into herself she’d withdrawn and the inability of them to sense her, due to the barriers she’d raised suggested that if she could be saved, her natural power, when she matured, would be beyond anything they’d ever seen; save in legends of the far past!

They had talked late into the night in an effort to work out a way to proceed and had decided that they had to pierce the barrier that Asha had erected. Once acheived they would present in as protected manner as possible Turi in the hope that Asha would recognize the love of her mother and come to it. The greatest danger would be that they break down this barrier too violently. Too forceful and Asha’s subconscious would view it as an attack and she might attempt to flee so far as to be forever lost, or even strike back and inadvertently attack in return. While they didn’t fear that an adolescent just coming into her power (even immense power) could hurt them, her injured psyche might injure itself further.

Because of this, they ramped up protections as much as the could around them and personally as they formed the nexus for this working. Then they gently began to push and probe.

Mridulae, the first healer to Anarra, was the focus of the nexus and was the primary director of their efforts. As she/they initially pressed in she felt no resistance, as if Asha really was gone. She/they cast about in the echoing space that should be where Asha’s mind/spirit should be. Nothing! For what seemed like an endless time she looked and finally found a tiny point of... something? It wasn’t n’dmi me'a, nor the human counterpart. It was something that their collective minds couldn’t grasp. Their minds seemed to shy away from it as if it was so far outside of rational understanding that to truly comprehend what they sensed would rip sanity asunder! She/they recoiled, but as she/they withdrew this thing pulsed!

Seized with an unreasoning terror, she/they began to flee. Now aware of it she/they felt it pulse again and as she/they fled she/they suddenly felt something coming. Something so alien that she/they could feel it pulling and twisting their perceptions like bread dough being kneaded. With a terrible wail the nexus shattered and the women in it all fell shrieking.

Carol, for her part, watched the circled women begin screaming and then fall convulsing to the ground. At the same time, the three standing outside the circle threw up their hands as if to shield themselves from Jill and also cried out.

It was then she saw Jill’s form suddenly take a deep breath and open it’s eyes. As life returned to Jill, Carol suddenly felt her love’s presence!

Unable to contain herself Carol squealed with joy and leapt from her perch. She quickly dashed past the women surrounding Jill and pounced on the round stone and gathered Jill into her arms. Jill looked at Carol, her eyes lighting up and she returned the hug, passionately kissing her love. Then she stiffened, and pulled back a bit.

She looked around them to the few women who hadn’t been completely incapacitated and muttered, “Ah Huston? We may have a problem...”