Bennu began to check out the site. It was obvious why the Survey Team had chosen it - because of the astonishing number of Sensitives in the local tribe. It certainly wasn't for the quality of the building stone, which had deteriorated very badly. The surfaces, both horizontal and vertical, were quite splintered and fallen rock littered the area ... He stood disgustedly on the top of one of the mounds. He KNEW that this was the right site and STILL - nothing!
Wrong! There WAS Yago. It may seem surprising that he would attack in full sunlight, but he had had an idea. He would lose the mindfight, of course, but the mound was fairly high and rather unstable, there were lots of sharp rocks at the base, and with luck ...
It was a well-conceived plan. Bennu had just spent most of his energy driving Yago off when, to Bennu's horror, the edge he was standing on crumbled. Helplessly, he found himself sliding down the face of the mound in a welter of rocks.
As he came to a rest at the bottom, a particularly large one whizzed by his head and smashed itself and some of the earlier debris to smithereens. He didn't notice - he was unconscious. Yago had missed a clean kill by less than a foot.
When Bennu woke up, he realized how lucky had been. His medallion was unbroken, he could easily repair the damage to himself, and he had landed on the sunny side of the mound. After Recharging and repairing, he rested. Holding his medallion idly and looking at the Sun, his thoughts drifted back to his childhood. He remembered a lecture ...
"We revere Suns for the energy they give to power all Life, and for the special energies we can control. But Suns, though their lives are long, die, too, a fact for which we are deeply grateful. When the Universe was young, the only elements in it were hydrogen and helium. All of the others so necessary for the existence of planets and the life on them, come from the supernova explosions of dying stars. Hence, we honor the Phoenix as the symbol of birth from death." So true! Then he Recharged again and freed himself from the rubble.
He stood up - and gasped. The Sun, now lower in the sky, shone directly upon where he stood, and that boulder had uncovered something long hidden. Embedded in a block of Impervite (skillfully colored and textured to resemble the local rocks), the strongest material his race could make, was the Sign he had been seeking!
Though humans could rarely make Good out of Evil, The Light, when it chose to intervene in mortal affairs, not uncommonly DID. Had it not been for Yago's attack, Bennu might not have located the Sign for quite a while.
OK, he'd finally found that which he sought. But where was the opening mechanism? He'd searched thoroughly, and it was only by "chance" that he found the Sign. He propped the carving he carried with him up against a convenient rock and looked back and forth, back and forth. A pebble fell from above and knocked the carving off its perch.
He bent down to pick it up - and found himself looking at the Phoenix symbol on the back. Front, back. Well, why not? He circled the mound and began digging into the debris located exactly halfway around the base. Yes, there it was - embedded in another disguised Impervite block was the seal he had sought for so long. Thanking The Light, he placed his medallion against it and activated his Power. There was the "boom" of rock being blasted away, followed by the squeal of long-closed doors opening. His excitement rising steadily, he strode through the familiarly designed passageway (he hadn't lost ALL of his Training memories, after all!) and into the central chamber.
Yes! There it was - Mira's resting place. He placed his medallion against its reverse on the sleep chamber. The computer awoke from its rest mode, automatically displaying the timer countdown. He then activated the manual arousal circuits. Soon the lid swung open and his search was ended.
Mira stood up. She was a fairly typical Eldebrani woman - about 6' tall, blonde,blue-eyed, and well-developed, both in musculature and cleavage.
Mira: "Bennu, you have Awakened me! What emergency has occurred?"
Bennu explained his own Awakening, his loss of memory, Premminger, and Yago.
Both were so shaken up - Mira by Bennu's story, and Bennu by the emotional release of finally finding Mira, that neither noticed that they were actually speaking in addition to using telepathy!
Mira: "At least we have relatively little to fear from Yago. Together, we can easily dominate him."
Bennu: "He'll still make trouble for the Earth people, I'm sure."
Both of them sighed.
Mira: "I'm sure you're curious about your Mission - what ARE you grinning about? You specifically said none of that data was refreshed!"
Bennu carefully removed the folded-up photograph he'd saved from the UFO paperback. "Found this in a book I was reading while in a bus station. That's surely a Capezzi probeship the locals took a photograph of. If I couldn't figure out our Mission after seeing that, the Wise have seriously overestimated my abilities!"
Mira laughed. "And that would never be true, my Partner. But, before we have to get to work, let us enjoy a Sunbath together!"
They strode of of the mound, removed their tops, and basked in the rays of the late afternoon Sun. Then they redressed.
Suddenly, Mira's eyes narrowed. "I sense enemies approaching."
Bennu had been learning English - he not only used a potty word, but spoke it quite loudly, too. The all-too-familiar pattern of Premminger's mind was present.
Mira laughed: "Bennu, we are together now!"
They held hands and waited for Premminger and company to approach. When the range closed sufficiently, the two of them activated the Light. Its power was not merely doubled, but at least quadrupled. All of the agents, disgusted by the instruments of death they carried, threw them away. All but Premminger.
The seed Yago had planted in his mind during their encounter sprouted and bore fruit. The Unlight and the Uttercold swept over him and the Voice filled his mind. It spoke an irresistible "Come to Me. Come, Come ..." The Vortex beckoned. Premminger, his hand shaking, aimed his gun at the source of the Light and fired.
However, the apparent source lay between the two minds generating it, and the bullet whizzed between Bennu and Mira. Jose, meanwhile, had been running towards Premminger and wrested the gun from his grasp. Alas, as he did so, the gun fired again, and Jose fell to the ground, gravely wounded.
The Light swept his thoughts into the minds of all present. "You ... SHOT ... me! I'm dying!"
For once, Premminger's training served the cause of Good. "Agent shot!" temporarily broke even Yago's hold on him, and he snapped out of it into reality. Gazing in horror at Jose, Premminger, for the first time in his adult life, actually thought of somebody else first.
Premminger: "I've heard some wild stories about your powers, and I think they're pure bull. But if there's any truth to them, please help Jose."
Bennu knelt down by the stricken agent. The Healing Light swept over Jose, the wound in his chest closed, and his color changed from ashy pale to a more normal one.
Premminger refused to look at Bennu, but he had to watch Jose. Even though he saw, he still couldn't accept.
Bennu: "He will live, though it was close, and he's lost considerable blood. Better get him to a hospital, though. Now will you accept our help?"
Premminger: "I - can't. I'm afraid!"
Bennu sighed sadly. He had seen a clear mental image of what Premminger was thinking of doing, and it involved a gun. Perhaps it was for the best for Premminger, and it certainly was for the rest of the world. He spoke slowly: "You fear the Light and the Truth it brings. Then you must live with the Unlight of Yago - or die with it."
Jose sat up. He, too, had sensed Premminger's intentions. "Justin, you have always said that you had to know something with your senses to believe in it. Do I look like you shot me not ten minutes ago?"
Premminger turned slowly to face Bennu: "What do I do?"
Bennu: "You must accept the Light. Perhaps it will be easier if you focus on my medallion."
Even Premminger had to admit that the physical sight was attractive. Whoever had designed it was certainly an artist. And the light gently streaming out of it made it even more beautiful. There was a brief pause as everything hung in the balance - the Light, the Unlight, and death.
Then the Unlight began to reassert itself. Premminger remembered the lance of Light that had saved him during his first encounter and, left with no other choice, opened his mind to Bennu. Several minutes later, Bennu had done all he could. He was a Healer, not a worker of miracles, and Premminger was still not a very nice person. But at least, he now had the chance to improve himself. Whether he used that chance or not was up to him.
Premminger spoke - and again, for the first time as an adult, said and meant things - this time "Thank you" and "I'm sorry". "Bennu, thank you. I'm sorry for how I've harassed you. But it was just so hard for me to believe in aliens from space, never mind the Light."
Then he spoke to Mira: "I'm glad to have met you, too." He shook his head, partially in astonishment and partially in resignation at this extraordinary turn of events, and turned to leave.
Bennu: //Poor Premminger! Wait until he learns about the Capezzi!//
The two of them nearly collapsed in a most Immature display of laughter.
The departing agents couldn't imagine what Bennu and Mira found so astonishingly funny, but then, they were aliens.
Copyright July 30, 2000/revised Feb 7, 2001 Three Cheeks Productions (Richard Kaplan)