Moon & Black Stars

Nightfall

Music=
1. Cherub Rock
-Smashing Pumpkins
2. That's How Strong My Love Is
-Alicia Keys

"Love is more to the people than fire & water."
-Confucius 

UFOtext=
I. Crescent Lake
i)  The white hot sun crashed behind the dunes. The stars erupted in the sky. In the final ray of faint red light, Astira touched her i6. Her small earring translated the strange words of the Dragon-

"We travel bearing gifts for the Clan of the Tiger. I bring my best concubine as a humble gift to the newly elected successor of the Tiger Master- his former greatness who now resides in the Seventh Cloud of Heaven."

The Dragon waved his robed arm in a slow flourish toward Astira. She felt kooky, but she winked at the two border guards.

"Show me your passports."

The Face of the Dragon looked puzzled & took mild offense.

"That won't be necessary. I bring gifts for everyone."

The Dragon smiled & produced two small brightly colored bags- each bag filled with small treasures from a festival of boats. And so it was, & so written. Within a few short minutes, Astira, Jamu & the Dragon entered the small villa by the Crescent Lake- the only body of water on the barren desert planet.

The stars burned bright. Time passed. Astira stood on a narrow balcony looking over the small intimate groups of people persisting through the long cool night. She could barely make out their voices drifting high above the low humming of the dunes. Suddenly, her i6 spoke softly-

"Astira, Joshua is on hyperspace link & would like to speak with you now."

Astira spaced out. But she recovered her presence of mind.

"Joshua, where are you?"

"The Dark Island."

"You are in danger. The Mule knows where you are."

"No. I am not in danger. I am with Vivienne. She is powerful. She has told me many things about the Mule. The Second Foundation doesn't really know anything about the Mule. The First Speaker on Trantor is ruined. Psychohistory now collapses. It is everywhere blue deviations as shown by Aristarchus. But Vivienne tells me much about the Mule. Now I know why the origin of the Mule is unknown."

"Explain that one."

"Second Foundation never uncovered the early history of the Mule as a boy. The reason is simple. The Mule is over 50,000 years old & travels to Future Infinity."

Astira paused.

"Wow- that one fossil ass for sure...How you know this? "

"I have felt the kiss of death from Princess Leizu."

ii)  Like a dark wing cast from heaven- beneath the stars the fleeting shadow of Princess Lei flew along the thin crescent path of moonlight separating the diamonds of water from the infinite abyss of humming sand. Her dark wing ceased its celestial motion.

"Where are you from?" The man's faint words died somewhere far away upon the ethereal breeze.

"The Star of Kashmir." The words of the Princess twinkled across the desert dunes.

The man in the dark formed a twisted smile.

"The Yin of our cosmos- what is this worth to you?"

"What is the worth of the Yang in our cosmos? What is the worth of the day without the night?" asked the Princess.

"You talk in riddles. How many credits from the Empire?"

"The credits of the Empire are soon to be worthless. I bring credits from the Foundation."

The Princess stood in the humming breeze, her gown flowing in ribbons of moonlight.

"I see. Very well. How many credits from the Foundation?"

"Enough. That's all you need to know. First up, I need to see the Yin diamond."

The man in the turban stood still in the dark.

"My dear Princess, you don't need to see a thing."

The man pulled out a blaster & pointed it at the Princess. Princess Lei stood still- not moving a millimeter.

"My dear Princess, how many credits is your life worth as a slave?" The man broke into a wide grin.

A stray transient cloud passed over the moon. Like a dark wing a shadow fell across the path. The blaster flew crazily into the air & splashed into the glittering water. A dark avenger emerged from the desert & put his boot firmly on the neck of the man.

"Ali- you were never any good at closing a deal."

And the Count brushed off his dinner jacket & pulled up the man by the scruff of his desert robe.

 


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Yueyaquan

The Crescent Lake

Music=
1. Low
  -Coldplay

"Better a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without."
-Confucius



UFOtext=
I. London Town

The cold sun greeted the New Year. London Town awakened, & the rosy spirit of Christmas passed away like a dream in the night. 

"Where is the Yin diamond now?" asked the Count.

"Who can say for sure. The mystery of the missing Yin & Yang diamonds now becomes a perfect symmetry- two black shooting stars lost in a blink of galactic history."

The Count smiled faintly- with irony. The eyes of Princess Lei fell stricken. The London Owl sat up high & unruffled.

"Listen." said the Count.

"Over the last few days I spoke with a few unsavory characters- business partners of Yogi, shall we say."

The Count then paused in a moment of thoughtful equilibrium. He continued.

"Yogi's fingerprints are on the Yin diamond. The highest black market bidders are to be found in the Far East. That leads to the trail of stars in the Silk Path. And that leads to a small island gateway- best known to smugglers & thieves."

"Kiritimati?" asked the Princess.

"No my Lady. The Pearl of Dreams is only a myth of the ancient Dark Island galactic dynasties. That is- a myth in the eyes of many, such as Yogi & the Mule- but a certain truth witnessed by our own eyes. And to our very own eyes we must be true."

The Count gazed warmly upon the Princess, as if she were an exotic jasmine bloom, forever open in the summer crescent of a tropical ring world.

"And the name of this gateway to the Silk Path?" asked the London Owl.

"To the people of the Far East, it is known as Yueyaquan. Others know it as the Crescent Lake- a small island of water in the vast inhospitable ocean of sand dunes known as the Gobi desert."

And the cold sun of London Town rose like a white moon in a vast ocean of invisible stars.

II. The Humming Dunes

Astira checked her i6 hyperspace link. No Joshua. Disappeared that one.

"No word." said Astira.

The Dragon stood, facing away and toward the high dunes. The red sun rapidly sank below the dunes. Suddenly, the stars lit up the visible dome of darkening sky.

"The Mule leads only to danger. The future of our galaxy remains in dark peril. Joshua is now one bright star missing from the sky."

Astira stood grim & silent. Only the mad eerie humming of the dunes could be heard. It never stopped. Ever. She quietly put away her i6. 

"We need to pack up & load the sand crawler." said Jamu.

"We need to crawl at night when it is cool & we cannot be seen."

"You mean freezing cold at night- like witch's tit." said Astira. 

She walked awkwardly in her trek boots, each step sinking ankle deep, trapped in loose packed sand. Frustrated, she quietly whispered a curse. Then, after tedious struggle, she finally jumped on board the low riding sand crawler. Relief.

Jamu mounted his camel & lead the sand crawler up the steep dune. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks & turned around.

"Lay low. There's a ship!" whispered Jamu.

And no sooner had his words died on the humming dunes, the starless shadow of a huge black ship flew eerily silent over the small group of travelers.

"Who the hell flies so low & crazy?" hissed Astira.

The Dragon turned calmly to Astira.

"The Mule."

And the cold night stars carried only the humming of the dunes.

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