Chapter 8 – All Things Are Ready

Mei-Wan stood with her team behind the curtain backstage at the same Conference Center she gave her first talk about the Ancient Progenitors in what seemed a lifetime ago.

Dani turned to her and smiled.

“The smile is getting better,” Harold said to Dani.

“Is it?” Dani asked Mei-Wan. “You like it?”

“I do,” Mei-Wan replied.

Harold snickered. “Be careful with that phrase.”

Susan Tanega smiled. “Unless of course you’ve already said it to Dani.”

Mei-Wan rolled her eyes. “No, we aren’t engaged… yet.”

“What’s the holdup?” Emily Taalan asked. “You two belong together.”

Mei-Wan looked at Dani who was staring at her. “When we’re ready.”

“I must be strategic in my timing,” Dani said, causing chuckles from the others.

“What exactly is being engaged?” Neelan asked.

“It’s the final step before getting married,” Harold replied.

A chime sounded backstage.

“One minute,” Nick Robinson told them all. He looked at Mei-Wan. “You ready?”

“Are you?” she asked back.

“Oh yeah,” Nick said with a wide smile. He turned to Harold. “Hey, in case they start throwing vegetables at us, be ready to fire up the Athena’s engines. We may need a rescue.”

“I’ve got our escape route all planned out,” Harold said with a grin.

Mei-Wan’s attention drifted as they waited. She had tried to keep thoughts of Jack and the Temporal Engineers from her mind the last twenty-four hours, and had largely been successful. But now, as the moment of their presentation was upon them, it all returned. Perhaps she had imagined all those connections. Perhaps Jack had nothing to do with what the Engineers were up to, and… perhaps she had nothing to do with it as well. Her timeline transitions could simply be a byproduct of having shifted several years ago. She could simply be an observer to someone else’s plan, and nothing more.

And maybe she was focused on Jack again because it was just another way to still cling to that fantasy of a life with him she had imagined years ago. It was time to finally let him go. Jack McCall wasn’t the center of her universe any longer, Dani was. They were going to make a new life together, and it was time to start living it.

Mei-Wan turned her attention to the last remarks by Andrea Lofgren, the Chairperson of the Federation Archaeological Council as she was introducing them to the crowd in the hall.

“And now I will turn over the stage to Doctor Mei-Wan Lau, executive director of the Kel-j’na Archaeological Institute, and her team as they expand our knowledge of our galaxy’s past and ourselves.”

“You’re up,” Nick said to Mei-Wan.

She took a breath, and looked at Dani a last time before hurrying out onto the stage.

Mei-Wan stopped as a spotlight illuminated her.

“Six years ago, I stood on this stage providing you evidence for the existence of the beings we call the Ancient Progenitors,” Mei-Wan said to the crowd in the auditorium. “And I showed how they had seeded humanoid life throughout this galaxy.” She took a breath. “But tonight, my team and I will provide evidence of the kind of beings the Ancient Progenitors were, and what they were up to five billion years ago.”

Mei-Wan let that sink in a moment.

“Tonight, you will see incontrovertible evidence that the entities responsible for the existence of most of us in this hall were brutal conquerors intent on eradicating from this galaxy all life different from themselves.”

Mei-Wan held back a smile, trying not to react to the gasps and murmurings from the audience. She knew she had their attention now.

Nick Robinson stepped out onto the opposite side of the stage, casting a quick grin at Mei-Wan, then turning to the audience as she took a step back. Between them a holographic image of the Milky Way Galaxy appeared. Then a large section of the stars in it turned red.

“This is where the Ancient Progenitor conquest of this galaxy began,” Nick said as a single star flared bright blue within the red region of the projection. “This is where their genocidal rampage had its start.”

Mei-Wan watched the crowd as Nick proceeded to show them how their ancestors spread suffering and death across the galaxy.

After this night, humanoid life would never look at itself the same way again, and for good or bad, Mei-Wan knew she was going to be responsible for that change in perception.

***

Belvedere stood in his San Francisco office, peering out at the Bay Bridge as the morning sun shinned down on this section of planet Earth. He was quite pleased with how the 301 Committee meeting had transpired. Everything was falling into place exactly as required.

And if that continued, Belvedere would get the vengeance he so craved. His life had been ruined by one person and he wanted that person to suffer just as he had.

A soft beeping emanated from beneath his jacket sleeve.

Belvedere touched a spot on his wrist.

His jacket shimmered a moment, then faded away, its holographic projection having been discontinued. His Engineer armor was on full display.

He smiled at the multitude of controls spread out on his forearm. Belvedere touched one of those controls.

A few feet in front of him, a new holographic projection came to life, but this was of a person, a woman with charcoal black eyes.

Nekbet. She wore the ornate red and black clothing she often did when addressing one of her Temporal Engineers.

“How is the plan proceeding?” she asked.

Belvedere smiled. “The Federation is focusing inward, and its president is facing internal division which should make him malleable to a stronger defense posture within the next few months.”

The projection of Nekbet nodded. “What of the rogue, Ahwi Dasari?”

“She has not reappeared,” Belvedere said. “But I have clandestine surveillance watching for her. I suspect when she does appear she will do so close to Mei-Wan or to McCall.”

“She is to be eliminated when she appears again,” Nekbet said with no emotion.

“It will be done,” Belvedere said.

“I must ask something of you, something which may put you in danger,” Nekbet said.

He thought a moment, but cast the doubts from his mind. “I am here to serve.”

“When we pull the rest of the Engineers from the timeline, I need you to remain past the threshold of the boundary condition.”

Belvedere took a long breath before speaking. “But if I do that I won’t be able to return to our realm.”

“I know,” she said. “If there was any other way, I wouldn’t ask it of you.”

He hesitated only a moment. “What do you need done?”

“You must make certain there are no deviations past the boundary condition,” Nekbet said. “Jack McCall must remain available until we need him again. He is the key component to defeating Dajjal Therion, and setting the timeline along the course we have designed.”

“Wakernaggle believes he can persuade McCall to step back onto the path he had planned for him,” Belvedere said. “McCall will chafe at the meaningless existence before him, stewing at his fate. But that will position him properly for the task ahead.”

“Understand, McCall cannot be eliminated,” Nekbet said. “But he must not interfere in larger events until the time is right.”

“I understand,” Belvedere said. “And Mei-Wan?”

“Her course is set.” Nekbet smiled. “She will convince Therion his plans are proceeding, lulling him into a complacent bravado. Remaining in the timeline will allow you to witness her demise at his hands. I hope you savor it.”

Belvedere knew that was the incentive to get him to remain rather than retreating to their realm, and it was more than enough to do so. “I look forward to it.”

“We will contact you again once the timeline exits the boundary field,” Nekbet said. “Perfection is at hand.”

Belvedere nodded as the projection faded away.

“I do so look forward to your end, Mei-Wan,” Belvedere murmured as he stood alone in his empty office. “I will enjoy every moment of it.”

* * *

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