An excerpt from "EL*AN*RA" by Solara.

Chapter Nineteen: MEBSUTA

Copyright 1991 by Solara.
All Rights Reserved.

Several days before the fortnight had passed, AAla-dar arrived on Mebsuta. He wanted everything to be in readiness for his meeting with Kurala. Choosing the most luxurious of their guest suites, he had it fully stocked with Vega wafers plus a few other delicacies he thought she might like to try.

Although his heart was surging with emotion, AAla-dar refused to allow himself to indulge in any projections about Kurala's impending visit. Knowing her, it was impossible to determine how things might be between them. It was important that he focus on the task at hand, which was to prevent a cataclysmic war. AAla-dar was well aware that all the potentialities were at hand for the beginning of a major intergalactic war, the likes of which had not been seen for countless millenniums.

And he was certain that Kurala held the key. If he could get through to her, possibly the war could be averted before it had even begun. How ironic that he was also in love with this woman! That's probably why he was given this task of calling to the core of her Essence, doing whatever measures he could to return her to the light before it was too late for all of them.

During this time, Kurala was journeying to Mebsuta. She too, was engulfed with her emotions, constantly pushing aside her expectations. Not knowing what to anticipate or even what AAla-dar wished to discuss with her, she finally refused to allow herself to think about it. Instead she concentrated on studying the various star charts she had been accumulating so that she could become more familiar with celestial navigation, knowing that this knowledge would be essential to her survival in the times to come.

These studies came easily to Kurala. It was as if she already knew the myriad star patternings and coordinants of the various vectors and simply needed to dust off her cellular memory banks. Sometimes, while concentrating on the key quadrants of vectors or the co-sine frequencies surrounding null zone overlaps, Kurala would begin to remember traveling on the starry currents with a timeless ease. The funny thing was that she never felt herself to be within a star ship; it was just her alone in her body, almost like flying. These reoccurring memories were so familiar!

Engrossed in her studies and experiences of remembrance, Kurala's journey passed by swiftly and without strain. As Mebsuta drew ever closer, she was swept along by a tide of rising excitement. Quickly changing into a stunning suit of red and purple with a long, narrow skirt, Kurala was ready to meet AAla-dar. (She wanted badly to impress him with her newly discovered sophistication.)



Glancing out the window at Mebsuta, she saw that the planet was covered with dense vegetation in lowland valleys out of which jutted high pointed rocky peaks. What a fascinating place! Then the futuristic spaceport came into sight --- large spheres floating in the air and strange towers. Kurala had never seen anything like it.

AAla-dar watched the long awaited black ship with the purple orchid land and felt a swelling inside his heart. Kurala had come! Standing alone outside the spaceport entrance, he waited impatiently for the hatch to open and Kurala to disembark. And suddenly, there she was, the woman of his dreams! AAla-dar wanted to run to her and sweep her up in his arms, but forced himself to wait until she approached. Kurala was even more beautiful than he remembered her; something had profoundly changed within her since he had seen her last. She no longer emanated cruelty and ruthlessness.

Kurala saw AAla-dar standing by himself at the doorway to the spaceport and was instantly filled with joy. He looked so familiar to her, as if she had been with him only yesterday. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. Suppressing a smile, her being, nevertheless, glowed with delight.

There they stood, in front of each other now, gazing deeply into the other's eyes, not daring yet to speak. They both knew irrevocably, that the love between them had grown stronger still. Standing there in silence, their eyes drank thirstily from the chalice of their shared love. Not needing to touch or speak, they realized that somehow, they had become one.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, AAla-dar spoke. "Kurala, you have come."

"Yes, AAla-dar, I am here," Kurala replied, unable to withdraw her eyes from his.

"Shall we go inside?" he asked. Tossing her head in approval, she walked with him into the spaceport to their private accommodations.

Upon entering their suite, Kurala noted the exquisite luxury of the guest apartment. This time she did not attempt to mask her surprise. "Why, AAla-dar, this is simply beautiful. I've never seen anyplace like it! This makes our gorgeous room on Deneb look like nothing special. How do you find these places? I never knew such beauty existed."

"I'm glad you find it to your liking," said AAla-dar modestly, while greatly pleased that she was appreciative. He had thought that she would like Mebsuta. (Just wait until she sees the island pavilions on Arion! he thought to himself. He was saving those for later). Then AAla-dar pulled Kurala into his arms and kissed her. They stood melting together for a long while, both of them basking in the glow of their long suppressed love.

Important as it was, the urgent business between them would have to wait. For the call of a rare, great love urged them to surrender fully, and this they did with total abandon. It was the only thing that either of them could do. All thoughts had been erased, all plans came to a total halt, the rest of the universe ceased to exist. Nothing else mattered except being together, merging into one.

Three days passed by thus in No-Time. Days of few words, except the sweet murmurs of love. Days with no nourishment of food, even Vega wafers had been forgotten, for who needed physical food when the manna of purest love was available. Days and nights which blurred into oneness even as the barriers between their separate beings dissolved away. Only bliss remained, bliss of a sublime quality they had never before perceived as possible.

At last, they knew that they must return to time, for there was much for them to do. With great tenderness, they drew apart, returning to their separate identities as much they could. Discovering a raging hunger, they spent over an hour eating Vega wafers and some of the other delicacies which AAla-dar had stocked. Finally they got down to the business at hand.

"Kurala, I know that you are responsible for the capture of our supply depot at X432 in Vector 4 and that you were aided by the Maldon renegades. What I don't know is how did you ever get Maldon to help you? They're a pretty rough bunch," AAla-dar began.

"It was quite easy, actually. I guess you could say that I impressed them with a combination of my navigation skills and my female charm." Kurala smiled with remembrance of her experiences on Maldon. "Quintron has a heart of mush under all his toughness." Then she shared with AAla-dar some of her experiences there. Both of them laughed so hard that they had tears running down their faces.

"Kurala, you are really something! Parts of you are unbelievably innocent. If you had any idea of what you are getting yourself into . . . Well if anyone could melt the hearts of the cowboys at Maldon, especially crusty old Commander Quintron, you're the one! But why did you want to seize our supply depot?" he asked with interest.

"We needed additional warships and weapons," Kurala answered calmly.

"Why do you need them? You haven't been invading planets lately," he said.

"Because I am declaring war on the Dark Lords of Orion." Kurala wasn't afraid to tell AAla-dar the truth. In fact, she was actually relieved that she could talk to someone whom she trusted. "We have been raising an army called UNA, Universal Nations Army, so we can finally become free of the OMNI's tyranny."

AAla-dar couldn't believe what he had just heard. "You are declaring war against the OMNI?" he stated incredulously. "Last time I saw you, you were proud to be working in alliance with them. What has happened?"

Kurala told him of her return to Galaxitron after their last meeting, how Shamo had received Orion implants and of her anger at the Dark Lords. This was followed by her visit to Maldon.

She continued, "The worst thing that happened was during that night on my ship in Maldon while I was waiting for their decision. For the first time, I was seized by terrible doubts as to whether I should take on the Dark Lords. I even considered asking you for your help. But after Maldon decided to help me, I couldn't pull out."

"Oh Kurala, I wish you had contacted me; it would have been a lot simpler to handle back then. You know that I would have come and helped you. Commander Quintron and I go back a long way. We could have worked something out."

"Well, I didn't, for whatever reason. I have changed so much since I first met you that I don't even know who I am anymore. I can't even trust myself." Kurala almost began to cry, but hastily pulled herself together. She didn't want AAla-dar to see how weak and confused she had become. Next she told him of her return to Galaxitron, about the healer Neptha and how Shamo worsened and didn't recognize her anymore. Speaking of Neptha, reminded her of the message she had received from him. "Do you know Neptha El Ra? Is she one of the Confederation's spies?" she asked.

"I have never heard of Neptha. However, I did send the message to you. The way we do it isn't by sending messages to particular individuals, but rather by assigning them to a certain level of resonance where they are received by those attuned to that frequency," AAla-dar explained.

"Tell me Kurala, have you had any contact with the Dark Lords recently?" he asked.

"None. Somehow, they must not be aware of what we are doing," she said.

"That is not possible. The OMNI always know everything that is going on, especially within their own territories. For some reason, they must be choosing not to act," AAla-dar replied with certainty.
Kurala's heart filled briefly with ominous dread. "Well, it's just as well they haven't contacted us yet, since it gives us more time to prepare ourselves," she said courageously.

AAla-dar sat quietly lost in thought. How was he going to impress upon Kurala the gravity of their situation? Now that she had lost much of her lust for power and control, she emanated a beautiful innocence. He didn't want to destroy that, for along with her high spirited independence, it was the source of much of her strength. And she was going to need all her strength and courage in the times to come, no matter what course of action was followed. Yet, somehow she must be made to understand the full implications of what was going on.

"Let me attempt to explain to you what's happening," he began. "This is what has been put into play since our supply depot was seized. Right now the forces of the Intergalactic Confederation have been placed on full alert. Their fleets are positioning themselves along key quadrants in various sectors. They still don't know if the Dark Lords of Orion are involved, so it is likely that if they encounter any of the OMNI's forces, that battles may ensue."

AAla-dar continued, "We may also assume that the Dark Lords have been placed in full combat readiness and that their squadrons are being dispersed to various strategic positions. Since they are aware of the existence of a third force and the Confederation isn't, this places them in a position of superiority over the Intergalactic Confederation, upsetting the balance between dark and light within our entire universe. The reason why Galaxitron has not been attacked by now is probably because it serves the OMNI's purpose to keep the Confederation in the dark about the UNA forces."

He glanced at Kurala who listened attentively. "Then there is the matter of Maldon which has never been known to engage in any actions except to achieve their own selfish concerns. Even though you may have charmed them, and I'm sure you did, don't ever fool yourself into thinking that you have the upper hand with them or that they have any sense of honor, because they don't. The reason that each of them was kicked out of the Confederation is because they were unable to follow higher authority. They're all a bunch of hardened outlaws who have no respect for anyone!"

"So what do you suggest that I do?" Kurala asked, finally seeing the implications of her actions.

"Before you decide what to do, I want you to be fully aware of where all of this is leading. Currently, there are three opposing forces of battle-ready fleets roaming around the skies all itching to fight. We are on the brink of a massive intergalactic war that can only be devastating to everyone! Something has to be done to diffuse this situation immediately." AAla-dar paused and took Kurala's hand. "I must serve the Confederation above all else, but I will aid you in any way that I can as long as it

"AAla-dar, if I removed my own forces from UNA, what would Maldon do? And what about the OMNI? Surely they will destroy our planet. Can your Confederation promise to protect Galaxitron?" she asked. Kurala couldn't believe that she was actually considering a shift in alignment to the Intergalactic Confederation! But, somehow, this made her feel greatly relieved, as if a gigantic burden was about to be removed from her.

This was the question he had been dreading to hear, for there was no easy answer to it. "Maldon would attempt to make reprisals on you, for they don't like being made fools of. Plus, now they'll be in trouble with the Dark Lords. Knowing Quintron, he'll probably try to make a trade with the OMNI, you for their freedom. The only place where you would be safe is deep within Confederation territory. Galaxitron itself, cannot be protected because it is located within the quadrants of the Dark Lords. Whatever way we look at it, your spider people are doomed unless they are evacuated immediately."

"AAla-dar, there is another possibility that you haven't looked at. What if UNA takes on the OMNI and wins. Then we could live peaceably alongside your Confederation and there would be no more strife in this universe." Kurala said with conviction.

"UNA cannot vanquish the Dark Lords. It simply isn't strong enough. You have captured one of our supply depots. Do you have any idea how many supply depots we have? And the Confederation itself with their vast resources, doesn't consider making war against the OMNI!" he replied.

"What if the Intergalactic Confederation came to the aid of UNA. Together we should be able to win," Kurala implored passionately.

AAla-dar had not thought of this option before. "Yes, united together, we might win. But I doubt that the Confederation would even consider it."

"But if they are the forces of light, don't they want to rid the universe of the forces of dark?" she asked.

"Yes, of course they do and we have battled with the Dark Lords for aeons. But neither of us ever wins the war, because it's impossible to win. We are in a universe of duality, Kurala. Within duality, one half of duality can never win. There is never a final, decisive battle, because just when you think the war is either lost or won, the pendulum swings back in the opposite direction. Fighting duality is like fighting with part of yourself, one hand hitting the other hand. It's frustrating and ultimately pointless."

"AAla-dar, isn't there some way we could get the Intergalactic Confederation to aid us? Would it help if I went to them? I'm not honorable like you are, but I can't just abandon Galaxitron. I know that it's an ugly, impoverished planet, but it's the only home I have."

As he was thinking of what effect a plea for help by Kurala would have upon the Confederation, a siren began to wail ominously throughout the building.

Kurala jumped up with surprise. "What is it, AAla-dar?"

"Full alert readiness, Alpha Code Frequency. This is serious!" He picked up the phone and pushed some buttons rapidly. "Commander AAla-dar reporting. Info please. . . Coordinates . . . Thanks." He clicked the coordinates into his pocket computer. Turning to her, he said, "Well, Kurala, your war has already begun. UNA forces led by Quintron have engaged with a small contingent of the OMNI. I have to return to the Confederation immediately. O.K. my love, what are you going to do? Do you want to come with me?"

"You know that I want to be with you," Kurala said firmly. "But I can't leave my planet unprotected, not now, if the war has really begun. Please see if you can get the Confederation to help us."

"I'll do whatever I can, but don't count on us. And if you need me, try to send a message through Neptha. Remember that l will always love you, Kurala!" Grabbing his bag, AAla-dar gave her a quick kiss and was gone.