TGOD - Ra Goes On A Killing Spree

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Meanwhile, in a distant realm....

Q was laughing maniacally while holding his head. Around him, manifestations of his almost-omnipotent power appeared and disappeared frantically as he was unable to control himself. Planets created, planets gone. A Klingon Battlecruiser was firing wildly at the swarming Kilrathi fighters while the Green Lantern Corps tried to stop them, only to disappear and returned to their respective universe.

At first Q tought it would have been easy. Q, after all, is an omnipotent. Or so foolishly he thought. With a snap of finger, he materialized himself in the Center of Chaos, thinking he could have comprehended -and even subdued- them in easy instant.

And Q -overconfident as usual- had paid the price.

As a completely dark humaniod tormented him in his endless dreams, Q was overwhelmed with insanity as the New Gods before him. The Spectre, The Living Tribunal, and even the Anti-Monitor. All had fallen to the trickery of the mysterious Dark Messenger who represented the Nuclear of Chaos.

And the piping sound, and the peculiar hint of drums, continued to swallow the multiverses.

[Destructionator XV]

Lord Adam begins to stir in his bed, and finally opens his eyes, which he promptly shuts again when the full daylight from the window pours into his pupils.

"Ugh... computer, what is the time?"

"THE TIME IS ELEVEN EIGHTEEN HOURS"

"Cthulhu Christ! way to sleep in," he mumbles while standing up, then puts on his normal clothing. He walks over to the Lady, still in bed, and touches her arm. Instinctivly, she pulls a dagger out from under her pillow and holds it to his throat, but then she wakes up and lowers her guard.

"Whiskey tango," she begins to say while rubbing her eyes, "what time is it?"

"11:19."

"Holy fuck, we slept for 14 hours?!"

"Yeah... and we were supposed to meet Kreshna at 9. And we missed some calls," noting a blinking light on the commpanel on the wall.

She finally rolls out of bed, and puts her normal clothes on top of her sleeping clothes, hiding her feminine shape under layers of armour and cloth.

The two of them walk up to a replicator and request 'QR-1' and a little round suppliment materilized, a result of joint research between A'millian doctors and Asgard scientists, this small cake like substince could give a person all the nutrients he needs for most the day.

It wasn't as good as a real meal , but it made great quick meals, and good emergency or combat rations. But it tasted terrible.

They eat it and quickly drink a cup of water.

"Well," the Lady speaks, "we'd better find Kresh."

"Indeed. Computer, access guest records; locate Sith Inquisitor Kreshna."

"SITH INQUISITOR KRESHNA IS CHECKED INTO THE ROYAL HOTEL"

They leave their room and walk to the other side of the castle, to the transporter room.

Seconds later, they materialize in a swirl of light right inside the hotel room with the others.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"Milady!" Irene was caught in surprise as Lord and Lady Adam materialized out of thin air in the hotel's suite.

Darth Kreshna was surprised as well, but then mumbled, "So," he muttered, "there ain't no privacy even in Presidential Suite? What if you beam in while Irene and I....." his words were quickly followed by a muffled groan as Irene naughtily pinched his hip. Galadriel pretended not to look at them, while Ra stared at the window.

As things got serious again, the party quickly briefed the Lord and Lady about the whole situation. "..........so we were actually trying to obtain approval of some sort to investigate the shuttle, but you... I mean your butler has been rejecting any audiences since this morning. So we, ahem, could not wait and decided to probe it using magic." The Sith Inquisitor noticed Lord Adam's disapproving expression, then quickly continued while pointing at Ra, "uh, it was HIS idea! Really!!" The party broke into short laughter as the Goa'uld System Lord was whistling innocently while Darth Kreshna kept pointing at him.

"Alright, let's get serious now," Irene eventually said, "so that's the whole situation."

"Any suggestion how we should proceed next?"




=======================================================

Meanwhile, aboard the Death Star.....

Admiral Ronald McKenzie discussed the whole situation on Earth with Lord Detritus while they were distracted by the news in the Holo-TV.

".......and the case of memory loss continues to spread among Earth population. Meanwhile, certain structures and places have disappeared as if they had never existed. Worse, there have been major riots in major cities like New York, Tokyo, Jakarta....." the news anchor spoke.

McKenzie's communicator beeped. "Acknowledged!" he spoke with stern voice.

"Sir, there has been a riot aboard the Death Star"

"Damn! Not here. Not aboard this station too." McKenzie muttered, "described the situation."

"Some people have lost their memory and wondered why they were abroad the battlestation. Most of them don't even remember the Empire anymore. Now they have gone into mass histeria. We have send a squad of Anti-Riot Trooper, but we're barely containing them."

"Send more troopers and try to contact Darth Kreshna, wherever he is!"

"Yes Sir!"

McKenzie and Detritus stared at each other.......

[Ra]

"Are you armed, Tau'ri?" Ra asked Ellen.

"What in the Abyss is a Tau'ri?" Ellen quipped. "Sounds like a sedan."

"It sounds better than 'earthling', doesn't it?"

"I suppose it does."

"But are you armed?"

"Besides my magic, yes, I have a Beretta on me."

Ra snickered. "Time to upgrade. Galadriel has a lightsaber, Patterson has a blaster, I have a ribbon device, Kane has naquada-based bullets. Here."

Ra handed the sorceress a strange weapon shaped like a coiled serpant.

"It's a zat'nikatel. One shot stuns, two kills, three does some wierd disappearing act," Ra explained.

"Zat'ni-what?"

"Yeah, Tau'ri simply call them 'zat's'."

Ellen then noticed the transporter effect, and said, "Hey, guys, we got visitors."

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"Zat'ni-what?"

"Yeah, Tau'ri simply call them 'zat's'."

Ellen then noticed the transporter effect, and said, "Hey, guys, we got visitors."

"Transporter? Another one?" Darth Kreshna turned to Lord Adam, "did you bring aides or such?"

His words were cut when several people dressed in black materialized out of thin air while spraying the room with SMG. The Sith quickly drawed his lightsaber and deflected most of the bullets, while Irene ducked behind a sofa and returning fire with her blaster.

"WHO WERE THOSE CLOWNS?"

More and more invaders beamed in..........

[Ra]

Ra dove behind a table, while Kane dropped two with his gold pistol, seeming to almost enjoy the experience. Ellen tried using her zat, to no effect.

"Oh, fuck it!"

Throwing the alien weapon down, she ducked, and moved her hands in precise motions, her concentration not faultering under the intense gun battle.

The very room seemed to brighten, to the point of it becoming impossible for any of the attackers to see. Then, the sorceress swooped around to one of the attackers, and concentrating deeply again, causing arcs of electricity to leap from her elegant fingers. The attacker went down quickly.

Now was Galadriel's chance. With a distinctive sound, her ivory lightsaber engaged, its energy blade cleaving an attacker in two. But things weren't going to be this easy, the Elven queen just knew it.

[Ra]

"What the hell just happened?" Ra asked.

"HOW MANY TIMES, throughout this war, and ensuing chaos, have you asked that?" Galadriel inquired in return.

"Too many to count," conceded the Goa'uld.

"Uh, yeah. Who were those dudes, and why did they beam in the very second they did?" asked Ellen, pointing to the Lord and Lady. "Some kind of assassination attempt?"

"Probably," Ra intoned. "Someone must not like the trade deals between the various powers."

"NOBODY likes the trade deals," Lord Adam fussed. "Myself included."

Ellen waved her hands, and said, "Look, something bad is happening. We came here to figure out what's going on, and how to stop it, not debate trade embargoes!"

The group looked at the half-elven sorceress in pure astonishment. She was right, and they knew it.

"Some kind of thing is coming for my planet, and we've seen the evidence. When I examined the space ship, there was clearly some kind of magical imprint on it. A very powerful one. Think of it like a photo negative."

"Go on, dear," the Lady nodded, getting the idea.

"I could see what the ship went through. It was powerful, but not organized. Anything but; it was a storm of pure magical... chaos," Ellen continued. "As I said before, I couldn't make out whatever was at the center of it, but my... instincts tell me, it's focused around a single entity. The one Galadriel mentioned."

"And it's heading for Earth," Lord Adam noted. "Why? Why not A'millian Prime? Coruscant? Heliopolis?"

"Because Earth is pathetic and weak," Ra muttered.

"Come on, you idiot, let's actually think about-"

Galadriel held up a hand, and said, "The fool is unintentionally correct. Earth is vulnerable, and offers the least resistance. Why do you think the entity pulled this Earth out of its own Plane?"

"Or pulled our plane into it's?" Ra inquired.

"In the end, that does not matter. This is a world of great magical potential, unlike the one you know," the Elf continued. "Power this entity can use."

"We never have been that great at combating magic, the war with the Guardians proved as much," Ra conceded.

Ellen smiled, and said, "Then, for what it's worth, you always have me to help out."

"Indeed, child," Galadriel nodded, smiling regally.

[Destructionator XV]

"Wait wait, let me get this straight," the A'millian lord comfusingly questioned, "there is another magical entity out there, another one of great power, again going for earth, and to accomplish it's task, it is dragging out a weak Earth from another realm? At this point, I ask if it is all worth it. Why not just Death Star Earth and be done with it? I do not want to waste more of my lives on some far away world, a world that doesn't even know our existance."

[Ra]

"So, our lives are meaningless to you, then?" Ellen snapped. "Arrogant alien son of a bitch!"

"That's enough," Ra said, rolling his eyes.

"Is it?" Ellen scowled. "He just said we should all be blown out of existance, because we're too low for him to help. I'm assuming that's what a death star is. Some kind of nuclear weapon. If this is the kind of person you call an ally, then Freyr forbid I meet your enemy. Galadriel, I want out of here."

"You were brought here against your will, I must confess," Galadriel sighed. "Though I did hope to request your aid. I am sorry, Ellen. We will return to Earth, and soon."

"I'd prefer we left right now."

"The girl's right," Kane intoned. He had far too much to lose in this new Earth. "I'm returning to my ship. Ellen, anyone else, you may come as you want, but I'll be breaking orbit in five minutes. Don't be late."

Galadriel sighed. This wasn't going well.

Ra cared little for that Earth as well, but said nothing. This Ellen was a powerful ally, and he wouldn't shoot himself in the foot, like Lord Adam had.

[Destructionator XV]

Lord Adam and the Lady walk out of the room, without looking back.

"Not our problem," the Lord tells himself.

[Ra]

"Fuck him," Ellen muttered. "Kane, get us out of here."

"I don't take orders, but that sounds like the best thing to do right now. Revelation, we're leaving."

The coldness of Ra's "allies" infuriated Ellen. She gnashed her teeth as the Asgard transporters engaged, causing everyone to reappear on the NOD cruiser's bridge.

"Thanks to this genius and her smart mouth, we lost the only help we could get," Ra fussed.

"Shut the fuck up," Ellen raged. "He didn't give a damn regardless!"

"The Tau'ri hothead is correct," Baal commented. "That A'millian fool was not going to compromise. He's too pissed about your trade agreement."

"That's his problem, not mine," Ra chuckled.

"What are we to do now?" Galadriel sighed, sitting at an abandoned crew station.

"Go to talk to my allies," Ellen said, calming down. "Princess Estrith, in the Elven city of Gardsten, can help us. She'll also have some knowledge of whatever threat is coming, if anyone does."

"Doesn't sound like much, but hopefully your friend will be more recieving than the A'millians," Kane said, polishing his pistol yet again.

"That is the wisest course of action," Galadriel replied. "We haven't much time, and trying to reform the old alliances is only wasting that time. The alliance with the A'millians stood upon a thread, made during a time of desperation and crisis. Until this entity indeed threatens the A'millians, they will not aid us."

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," Ellen sighed.

Finally, the Revelation broke orbit, and entering a hyperspace window, left A'millian Prime far behind. It reached Earth several minutes later.

[Narsil]

Narsil's ship left darkspeed. Much like lightspeed in many respects, but at the speed of dark. Which was much faster. The faerie looked on at A'millian prime, only to see the ship that he'd just been following on afterwards vanish yet again into hyperspace.

"Which way are they going?" he asked the sensor's officer.

"Back to Earth."

"Fuck, follow them at Ludicrous Speed!"

The ship turned itself around, and vanished in a streak of plaid.

[Ra]

Now over Earth, Kane looked over a map of Earth.

"Where is this 'elf city'?" the NOD messiah inquired.

"It's just west of Denver," Ellen said.

Zooming in on the map, he saw it. Kane then said, "I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the West Coast. San Francisco, Seattle and Tacoma, Los Angeles, they're all so small."

"That's because all but one of them are Elven cities too," Ellen replied. "I guess your Earth is different."

"The Earth I know doesn't even have elves," Ra muttered.

Ellen gave Kane the exact location of Estrith's palace. Soon, the group was whisked away once more by the transporters, appearing outside a beautiful, serene mansion. A limousine pulled up just as they appeared.

Suddenly, two elves in dress uniforms saw the new arrivals, and left their posts, running with weapons drawn. From behind, two more elves approached, armed with automatic assault rifles.

"Hold!" one of the guards shouted.

"It's alright, we're here to see the Princess," Ellen said.

"Ellen Regner?" the elf answered. "These aren't your usual companions."

"I know," the sorceress answered, "But we need to-"

"Yes, I knew you would need my help, young Ellen," a female voice answered.

The group glanced around, to see a tall, red-haired elf standing in front of the palace's main door, dressed in a white business suit. Her beauty was undeniable, her very skin seeming to shine with a subtle natural light. Only Galadriel rivaled her sheer elegance. Her deep, green eyes greeted the group.

"Welcome to Gardsten," said the elf. "I am, as you know, Princess Estrith, the Third Heir. We have... much to discuss."

[Narsil]

A sleek ship appeared in a flash of plaid in Earth Orbit. Or it would have appeared had it not been cloaked, so there was merely the brief flash of plaid. Lord Vader sighed mechanically, a rather strange sound, really, against the wall of the Bridge, "Are they going to be staying there this time?"

Narsil chuckled, "Hopefully."

The Doctor grinned, "Let's go down there, eh?"

"Aye, I'm tired of waiting around this bloody ship," Rhona added.

[Ra]

Soon, the group was welcomed inside Princess Estrith's inviting mansion. Its interior was wide and comforting, full of light. Large windows provided an excellent view of the mountainside below.

"Ellen, it is good to see you again," Estrith smiled.

"And it's always great to see you, ma'am," Ellen grinned. "I only... wish it were under less dire circumstances."

"You know something about the threat that approaches the world?" Estrith inquired.

"Yes, it's some kind of chaotic entity," Ellen said. "Almost like a god in power. And from what I could tell, it may be here at any time."

"The Atlanteans have gone into a fervor," Estrith explained, holding a flower lightly in her hand as she spoke. "They claim this entity is the final wrath they have long predicted. Some of our own religious figures even claim Ragnarok has come."

"We would know if it was Ragnarok," Ellen said. "But this can't be much better."

"No, it is not," Estrith agreed. "And it must be opposed."

"This entity may be playing on the fears of the Atlanteans," Galadriel said, having a sudden insight.

"That may be true, my friend," Estrith agreed. "This... event... seems to be identical to the tale the Atlanteans spun, to justify their war on civilization. No one in the wider world actually believed this myth; but now, it seems to have come true. That cannot be coincidence."

"There... is something we can do to stop it, right?" Ellen inquired.

Estrith closed her eyes, thinking, and channelling magical foresight. She then said, "Yes. But I cannot see whether or not it will be successful. But I can tell you now, the Atlanteans will not do anything to stop it."

"Why?" Ellen inquired. "If this is identical to what they predicted..."

Estrith looked her in the eye, saying, "Quite the contrary, dear Ellen. Atlantis..."

Ellen's mouth went agape. She could only utter, "No..."

[Narsil]

"Where are they?" Narsil asked, "And after you've found where the ship went, send us down via the Murder-Cloning Device known as the Starfleet Transporter."

"That sounds painful," Rose said.

"Oh, my dear girl, you don't even know the half of it." Narsil shuddered absently.

"We found them," the officer on duty said, "should we send you down via transporter now?"

"Ye-" Narsil was cut off instantly by Rose's yell of, "No."

"You got a better idea?" Rhona asked, "And I mean that seriously, I don't want to be 'transported' either."

"The TARDIS," the Doctor piped up, "we'll go via TARDIS."

"Agreed," Vader said, "and I'll be coming down with you this time."

"Aw, you guys are never any fun." Narsil whined.

Surely enough, however, there was soon a Police Box materialised on the front lawn of Princess Estrith's palace.

[Ra]

"Ugh, I just mowed the lawn," a gardener fussed.

==============

Soon the doors burst open as several elven bodyguards, all in business suits, escorted several figures into the palace. One was tall, and clad in black body armor.

"Looks like a Kull Warrior," Ra muttered.

The imposing figure only breathed back in deep, mechanical breaths.

"M'lady, these people were caught coming in on the lawn. Do you know who they are?" a bodyguard inquired.

"No, I'm afraid not," Estrith sighed. "Who are they?"

"Quite the menagery, Lady Estrith," the bodyguard sighed. "Two humans, a cyborg soldier, an outsider, and a vampire."

"A vampire?" Ellen shuddered. "By the Aesir, she'd better not be one of Viorica's goons."

[Narsil]

"I take offense to that!" Rhona blurted, "I'm no one's goon!"

"And I'm not a soldier," Vader said coldly, "I find your lack of respect disturbing, elf."

"Well," Rose said in an attempt to change the subject, "this is a nice place at least."

"Aye," the Doctor grinned, speaking in a scottish accent, "haven'ae seen a place this neyce since Ah visited Queen Victoria this one time, same time Ah got Knighted and Banished in the same day, and o'er the same incident."

"Identify yourselves," Estrith said.

"Rose," the blonde-haired woman said.

"Alastrann McLaughlin," Narsil said, "or Narsil, if you prefer."

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon," the Doctor said, holding up a small card which showed amazingly accurate credentials.

"Rhona," the vampire glared at Ellen, "and you'd do well to remember it."

"Darth Vader," the black armoured one said coldly and detachedly, "you may address me as 'Lord', 'Sir' or 'Master', if you prefer."

"How charming," Narsil said with a pleasant and friendly smile, "just ignore him milady. And we're sorry for the intrusion, you just can't trust an old and busted TARDIS for any form of accuracy."

[Ra]

"Well, excuse me, Rhona, but I happened to have a very... bad... experience with another vampire," Ellen shuddered.

"I care not," dismissed the vampire.

"Whatever," Ra huffed, "We need to figure out what we're going to do. At the very least, defeating this chaos thingy will restore the universe to normal."

"So, you have also seen how the delicate balance of things has been upset," Estrith sighed.

"Indeed we have," Galadriel nodded. "The doings of this entity."

"I fear... there may be more than one entity at work," Estrith said.

"Yes, we saw evidence of that too," Ellen agreed. "That revelation was what caused our last attempt to get help to fail."

"Both are exploiting each other, and not knowing that neither is the master. But their goals are far different. One is merely trying to trick the other, a player of games. While the one we all see so plainly... He is the architect of this dire plot."

"Two entities," Baal muttered. "As if one wasn't enough."

"They are diametrically opposed," said Estrith.

"Order..." Ellen muttered.

"And chaos," Galadriel finished.

[Narsil]

"What the bloody hell are you lot talking about?" Narsil spoke up.

[Ra]

The group could only stare, before Galadriel sighed, and decided to explain the entire thing to the new arrivals. They listened, save Rhona, who was busy filing her nails. Galadriel conveniently left the part about the A'millians and outer space out, in order to not supremely confuse Estrith and the elves.

Ra fell asleep during the exposition, until Ellen elbowed the Goa'uld in the ribs. Estrith glared at him.

"And that, I fear, is what is happening," Galadriel finally finished. "This world is under the being's shadow, and we now believe it may recruit one of the world's empires to fight by its side."

"This being is nothing next to the power of the Force," Darth Vader hissed.

"Oh, aye, sounds so scarry," Rhona dismissively said.

[Narsil]

"With the amount of times you use that line, Vader," Narsil remarked, "I'd be unsurprised to find that you percive the the mesmerising capability of bare breasts on a human man to be insignificant next to the power of the Force."

Rose laughed and then returned to seriousness, "Well, we'll be glad to help you."

"O' course," the Doctor said, "we'll be glad tae help ye all ou' o' this mess ye've gotten yerselves intae."

Vader remained silent, seething where he was in the middle of the room, "Let us get this straight, I'm only in this to get myself healed and returned to normal, so don't expect me to be all happy and joyful about it."

"Just ignore him," Narsil said, "he'll be glad to help you."

Rhona rolled her eyes and sighed, "Aright then."

[Destructionator XV]

The Lord Adam returns to his office, with the Lady at his side, who closes the door behind her before starting to speak.

"I'm afraid I must disagree with your words today, old friend. As Knights, it is our duty to protect the innocent, no matter where--"

"It is our duty," he interjects, "as leaders, to do what is best for our people and our nation."

"This is true, but to shut out all pleas for help? Not so long ago we assisted many peoples."

"Yes, and we paid the price. Worlds destroyed, starfleets devastated. If out enemies were to know we are vunerable, we could continue paying that price. One far away world is not worth the loss of our great nation."

"But to advocate annihaliting them?"

"I will concede that was a little extreme, but it did illustrate a point."

"What point? That we are morally bankrupt savages?"

"No, it goes to show that when something is causing more trouble than it is worth, you sever it."

"Severing ties with something is not the same as destroying it completly."

"But it is the logical extension of the doctrine. As it is there, it will continue attracting trouble, trouble which has in the past harmed us. To protect ourselves, we could make a preemtive strike."

"That has crossed from moral cowardance into moral repugnancy."

"Need I remind you that we have done the same thing before, albiet on a smaller scale."

"No, this is different. This is mass genocide simply to rid an annoyance."

"Simply an annoyance? Old friend, we have fought more battles together than most armies have ever seen. We have ruled our Empire for nearly a milennium. You and I both know full well that nothing like this is mearly an `annoyance'."

"Bullshit. Leaving them on their own I can understand, for pragmatic resons, but destroying them is going out of our way to harm innocents."

"It is defending ourselves. I already conceded that it is indeed extreme, but it is an option that should not be discounted."

"Surely you have not forgotten out code of honour? Article three section one -"

"To protect innocents regardless of personal cost. I know it well. Tell me, how is this any different than staging an attack on a civilian city and framing someone else as an excuse to make allies?"

"They needed a reality check, many more were certainly saved-"

"So the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?"

"Yes, that is logical, however a moral decision must be made from the most probable outcome. On Tasis III, we knew, beyond any reasonable doubt, that they were going to be attacked and destroyed if they were not prepared. We give them the wake up call they needed to prepare, and ultimatily saved their entire world at the loss of what, one hundred thousand?"

"And those one hundred thousand were excusable because it saved 8 billion. Now look at this: 6.5 billion people on Earth lost in exchange for 1.2 trillion A'millians."

"False analogy. We have no way of knowing this threat will ever actually affect us. And even if it did, it most certainly would not cost us that much! There is no logical defense for destroying them all."

"Perhaps you're right. But surely you agree assisting them is not worth the cost?"

"I do not know at this point. What we should have done is gathered more information before pissing them off like that. I know you are a better diplomat than that."

"But what would we gain from it?"

"We don't need to gain from helping those in need. It is the honurable thing to do."

"So by that logic we should just depleat all our resources helping others."

"Nice black white fallacy. Are you sure your brain is functioning properly? I have never seen you reason so poorly."

"You seem to be missing out on the praticality and the cost of what you are proposing. By leaving them alone, we might, might get out of this unscathed. By devoting resources in their defense, we guarentee losses."

"Losses of warriors. In an honourable nation, warriors die for their people."

"Precisly, their people. Not people in far away worlds. Not when it could have an adverse affect on our own home."

"Let's at least gather more information. No commitment, no warriors risked, just intelligence. Agreed?"

"That seems reasonable, but nothing too much. We will not fall into the same trap as we did with the Guardians."

"Agreed. I suggest we get started by looking at that spacecraft."

"And let's not let this get in the way of our duties? We still have an empire to run; we can't be out gallanting about on starships..... but Gods that sounds fun."

"Duty it is," she said, but the look on her face saying quite the opposite.

"Let's just get back to work for now."

"Yeah...."

.........

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Aboard Death Star Three, orbiting Mars.....

Instead of going directly to Earth with Ra, Kreshna and Irene had decided to stop by the Death Star first. Upon their arrival, Admiral Ronald McKenzie briefed them the situation.

"So you have decided to move away from Earth's orbit?"

"I found it so far as the only way to avoid the 'different history' phenomenon."

"Wise move, Ronald. A brash Imperial commander would have tried to re-conquer Earth, but that would only spell greater disaster to Death Star population. However," Kreshna paused for a moment, "I would need a strike force."

"You're going to Earth? Haven't you consider the risk? What if you totally lost your memory like the others? Or you suddenly believe that you are some Earthling named Joe Cletus and no longer Darth Kreshna?"

Darth Kreshna replied by explaining the phenomenon he and Irene experienced aboard the shuttle, and implied that probably it was the Phoenix Fire that protected them from time-contiunity problem.

"But why don't we just destroy Earth like the A'millan ruler had suggested? I mean, if Earth is the source of all these 'memory loss' phenomenon, it should be destroyed. In fact, we have been waiting for your authorization."

"Because....." Darth Kreshna paused for a moment, then changed his words, "Ron, try to enter Earth's orbit again and see what happens to the crew. You don't want to take the risk, do you?"

"What are you talking about; the phenomenon were spreading in such a low rate that it did not cripple this battle station," he emphasized the phrase, "and while we are orbiting Mars now, it will take mere minutes of exposure time to destroy Earth. One shot, and it's all done. So tell me, why don't we destroy Earth outright?"

"Because..... Because this is my battlestation and I said so."

Admiral Ronald McKenzie stared at Darth Kreshna for a long moment, and then gave up, "alright, then. This is your private Death Star after all. But promise to leave Earth once the situation is uncontrollable; then the Death Star should move in and destroy it with a single shot."

"Oh, by the way," Ronald continued, "Detritus has been aboard the station since you left."

"Detritus?" Kreshna was getting interested now, "hey, I'd like to see him. Probably he will be interested to join me investigating Earth. Trust me, Ron. If we can discover what's going on, we don't need to destroy Earth."

But despite his words, there was something he did not tell Admiral McKenzie. It was the true reason of his refusal of destroying Earth outright with the Death Star.

It was the dreams. The never-ending dreams that haunted him and Irene since their experience during the flight.

The peculiar, never ending sequence of dreams that strangely seemed to form a chain of relevation.

The dreams where every single one of them had the appearance of a completely dark person who called himself 'Nyarlathotep'.

[Ra]

The overreaching question on the group's mind of late was, where did Kane and Baal vanish off to? Neither had been seen since first coming to Estrith's palace. Ellen and the elven princess had both been very busy as of late, usually speaking together or meditating over something.

Galadriel, meanwhile, had also been busy with Estrith, discussing the situation with her, and trying to formulate a strategy. Estrith knew much about the Atlanteans and the current geo-political climate, something that everyone direly needed to get a grasp of.

But Ra noticed most of all, Ellen had been making lots of calls on her cell phone. The sorceress seemed to know lots of people, and the enigmatic, cautious way she spoke to them told volumes. He supposed they worked for the 'secret organization' Ellen had mentioned during one of her time aboard the Revelation.

The half-elf walked calmly down a wide ivory hallway within the palace, now dressed in a business outfit. Cute was a grand understatement. Ra walked up behind her, and said, "We should talk."

"Oh?" Ellen inquired, glancing over.

"You seem to know lots of people," Ra noted.

"I suppose I do," the sorceress smirked.

"Lots of people we could use," Ra continued. "Any allies on this planet would be helpful."

"That's why I was calling them," Ellen explained. "Lots of my... friends... seem to know a thing or two about what's going on."

"Would any of them know about this Atlantis, or is their knowledge restricted locally?" asked Ra.

"Actually, they do range further than you think," Ellen replied. "Some of them are privy to some military information. The Air Force has been seeing some strange things coming out of Atlantis."

"Such as?" Ra inquired.

"Wizards, but they say there's something strange about them," Ellen shrugged. "White, mangled faces, little emotion, it's probably nothing. But knowing magic, it could also be damn near anything. I don't like it."

Ra pondered a moment, but he was too focused on Ellen's face to really get very far. He then said, "We may need to speak with some of these contacts in person..."

"Sounds like a plan," Ellen chimed.