Operation: Phoenix, X'ehmahr's Fate, Pt. 3

        by CyberPyro (cybrpyro@iac.net)

        [Author's Note: These events happen within 96 hours of Samhain's
death at the hands of X'ehmahr.]

        [It is time.] said a Servant of the Empress.
        [Excellent.] replied X'ehmahr as she finished off her meal.  She'd 
spent her time feasting on the delicacies of the Empress' hunting grounds.
She couldn't remember when prey had been so nourishing.  Every creature that
fell to her claws and teeth had such _life_ that she could almost _feel_ the
prey's thoughts as digestion took hold.
 
...

        Chancellor Brown, head of Hamilton University, had a serious
situation on his hands: a lot of his students, 18 to be exact, had
disappeared in the past 24 hours.  No trace, no hint, not even a clue existed
as to what had happened to them; they were just gone.
        FBI agents could find nothing in common between all the disappeared
students:  four of the males were athletes, three incredibly promising
students in their departments, two were ex-military personnel, five typical
students, the student body president, and the last, his oldest son.  Of the
two women, one was a brilliant aerospace engineering student and the other a
volleyball player.  But of the 16 men and 2 women involved, only 3 knew each
other on even a passing basis.
        He sighed heavily as his secretary informed him that several
concerned parents had arrived to talk to him.

...


        X'ehmahr strode confidently down the grand corridor leading to the
Empress' main chamber.  She had succeeded brilliantly as a member of the
G'l'zakk Clan and would be rewarded with something only she could have 
attained.
        At the top of the stairs leading to the main floor, X'ehmahr again
noted the assembled immortals, the leaders of her race.  The same sense of a
much larger audience than the one present came to her again.  Something akin
to pride swelled in her -- the X'hirjq leaders were here to watch her be 
rewarded.  This was better than she could have thought.
        [Greetings, Empress!] X'ehmahr exclaimed.  She no longer cared if her
excitement showed.
        [As promised, you will become what no X'hirjq has ever been.  My 
informants report you feasted long and well in my grounds.  You are prepared.
Any comments?] said the Empress, her thoughts filling the room from her seat
in the X'hirq'a'al's massive jaws.
        [I am ...] started X'ehmahr before her ruler's attention focused on
her alone.  She had misjudged the Empress' power; She Who Wears White's
thoughts flowed around her body, ruffling her black robes and indenting her
scales in places as though a claw had physically touched her.  X'ehmahr bowed
her head, remembering the proper behavior for a mortal in such company.
[... I am ready, your Majesty.]
        [Excellent.  The transformation begins.] said the Empress, as her
will extended across the chamber and enveloped the black robed figure in
front of her.  X'ehmahr hissed in shock, her coloration assuming a light gray
color to match her emotions.  She had misjudged the Empress' power as one
could be fooled by a crystal clear lake -- what appeared to be shallow water
was in fact very deep.  In her terror, X'ehmahr found humility, the power
holding her body showing itself to be many fold her wildest estimate.  No
X'hirjq in the assembled company flinched as the noise of tearing fabric
echoed throughout the room.
        X'ehmahr hissed again , her 7'9" 450lb, muscular frame shuddering
violently as the Empress' will ripped the black robes from her body in a dark
cloud of threads and tiny scraps of cloth.  She looked up, prepared to voice
a protest, but screeched in horror instead.
        The perception of power that humbled her revealed itself to be an
illusion, a petty wrapping concealing power beyond mortal comprehension.  
X'ehmhar attempted to divert her attention lest she lose herself in this
revelation, but found a glimpse was too much.  The Empress had complete
control of her mind, body, and soul.  Feeling still belonged to her, by her
ruler's permission, but nothing else.
        She howled in agony, a searing sensation erupting in her stomachs.
Her eyes saw blue-green phosphorescent blood splatter across her own claws as
talons stabbed deeply into her body's abdomen.
        The firestorm in her stomachs spread across her entire body,
eclipsing the pain of her talons digging into her flesh.  X'ehmahr understood
as the deluge of agony flooded her soul: her body had gone into rebellion at
the encouragement of the Empress.  She watched helplessly as her flesh
acquired free will, the elaborate contracts the held her together forgotten
as each item pursued its own designs.
        In its opening act of rebellion, the muscles moved with their own 
intent, ignoring the contracts they'd made with bone, organs, and skin.
Bone, having its own plans ignored cartilage and left its sockets, moving
where it pleased.  Each member of the collective know as Organ made its own
plan, their alliances completely forgotten in the anarchy of their home.
        Skin, suffering the most from these changes, ripped open in several
places when it couldn't react fast enough.  Scales parted from Face without a
farewell, landing with a wet flap on the floor.  Claw reached up to shoulder
and scraped across Chest, Scales leaving in a crumpled wave.
        Blood, always eager to escape, pooled around Feet and spread across
the floor as Throat issued an ear-splitting scream.  Tail splattered blood
across the metal floor as it struck the surface, more of its bone ridges
leaving with every impact.
        The Empress looked at what used to be a full X'hirjq in front of her
and slowed its transformations long enough for X'ehmahr's mind to speak.  The
figure, raw muscles and nerve ends, pulsing blood in many places lifted what
remained of its head to look at its maker.  A wet rasping noise indicated an
attempt to draw enough breath to speak.  It choked, something in its throat
deciding to leave, and doubled forward to expel the obstacle.
        A stream of blue-green phosphorescent blood and tissue, intermingled
with a batch of X'hirjq shark-like teeth, splattered onto the floor adding to
the already large pool of bio-matter.  What remained of X'ehmahr righted
itself and stared at the Empress in abject horror, only one thought in its
mind:
        [w ... *agony* ... wh ... *intense pain* ... why?]
        [X'ehmahr,] began the Empress, leaning forward on her bench, [you
have dishonored your Clan, myself and the X'hirjq race by your actions.  Upon
the honor of our Hunt we declared that 20* key Jihaddi would be slain in
accordance with our Laws and our Alliance with Barney.]
        *{20 is a base 6 number, 12 to humans.}
        [..but ... *waivering of consciousness*.. but, I...] pleaded X'ehmahr
as a large section of her snout decided to leave, plopping onto the floor.
        [*ENOUGH*] snarled the Empress, the body toppling over from her
anger. X'ehmahr left her imprint in blood and extraneous tissue as she rolled
to the side.  [You failed *miserably* at upholding Honor!  Your actions
showed Clan G'lzakk their cultural flaws and for that you shall be praised:
you showed us an unintentional failure so it could be corrected.]
        [*unending pain* ...  _please_ *horror* ... I ..] as X'ehmahr
pleaded, as her tail smacked into the deck and then lost half its length as
tissue separated.
        [You will be spared no mercy, for your actions were of free will.]
pronounced the Empress.  [Your transformation, in all of its sufferings, will
be your current incarnation's atonement for your crimes.]
        With this final statement, X'ehmahr's body convulsed, blood and
tissues flowing in slow, steady amounts, as her throat made an ear-wrenching
noise that echoed from the furthest chambers of the Throne Room.

...

        [It is complete.] said the Empress as she looked at the final product
of her efforts laying in the vast pool of bio-matter that used to be
X'ehmahr.  The soul of the traitorous X'hirjq still retained a hold on its
new body, though it could not speak until consciousness had been recovered.
        [The body will be cared for appropriately, your Highness] said her
physician, the blue-green sparkling trim of her robe marking her station in
life.  Behind her, assistants gingerly picked the new form out of the useless
bio-materials clinging to it so they could nourish and clean their patient.
        After they departed, a cleaning crew arrived to remove close to 300
pounds of useless waste from the Throne Room's floor.  After all, this was
just the first item in a long list of things to occur today.

...

        Fifty four figures walked onto the Throne Room floor to find the
Empress standing at the base of the X'hirq'a'al's massive skeleton, waiting
for them. Thirty six of the company wore black robes and held white staves.
The remaining eighteen wore royal purple robes.
        "Greetings humans," said the Empress, her tone and inflection
conveying flawless American English.  "Have you enjoyed being our guests?"
The group of young humans nodded agreement, genuine fondness in their hearts
for their experiences aboard the X'hirjq MotherShip.
        "Good, your satisfaction pleases me and honors our Clans," continued 
the Empress.  "At our request, each of you came to visit of your individual
free wills.  Now that we have the information we needed, you may return to
your homeworld any time before our task in this system is complete."
        "Can I remain here when the X'hirjq are finished?" asked David Brown.
        "I want to stay as well," said Alisha Horne.
        "You two aren't the only ones," added Jose Ortiz as others voiced a
similar opinion.
        "You may remain," agreed the Empress.  "Quarters will be assigned to
whomever wishes to stay.  You will be trained in our laws, duties, et. al. so
you may be citizens in our culture."*

...

        The human laid on the table, wrapped in warm robes, as its eyes
looked into the murk above it.  Its mind could make no sense of all its
sensory input; verything was a jumble and mass of confusion.  A tall X'hirjq
-- yes!  it could recognize something -- clad in white approached with two
blue clad fellows.
        [For your dishonorable slaying of Samhain, X'ehmahr, the body you
inhabited is now forfeited to him so that he may continue a life you would
have ended.  I hereby condemn your soul to 1,000 years of training from
D'ffqziii of the Clan T'qaal'xqa and X'ssh'jq of the Clan X'hirq'a'al.
D'ffqziii will show what it is to live with Honor as an Adversary and
X'ssh'jq will demonstrate Honor as your Ally, Purpose, and Reason for
Existence.  It is so ordered,] commanded the Empress.
        The body before her shuddered slightly as the soul attached to it was
pulled away and deposited in the care of one of the blue-clad immortals.  The
human body continued to breathe as life-support mechanisms kicked in,
silently performing their functions.
        [The first half of my debt has been paid.] announced the Empress to
the immortals.  [If the Hunt Mistress wills it, the rest will be atoned.]

THE END of 'The Fate of X'ehmahr'

... but ...

TO BE CONTINUED.  :)=

* In the end, seven humans remained aboard while the others left.  Five of
the seven became exemplary members of X'hirjq culture and were adopted as
full members of the Clan X'hirq'a'al.


                                                        CyberPyro

Copyright, Pyrokinetic Productions, Inc. (1996)