The Evaran Chronicles: The Arrival | The Awakening | The Fredorian Destiny | The Purification | The Time Refugee | The Evaran Origin | The Shadow Connection | The Human Factor | The Cosmic Parallel | The Unification | The Portal Effect | The Time Cube | The Evaran Impact | The Cosmic Artifact | The Cult Of Evaran | The Final Evolution | The Evaran Chronicles Box Set: Books 1-3 | The Evaran Chronicles Box Set: Books 4-6 | The Evaran Chronicles Box Set: Books 7-9 | The Evaran Chronicles Box Set: Books 10-12 | The Evaran Chronicles Box Set: Books 13-15

Seeros-542 hated that he could not go back to the timeline headquarters built by him and other versions of himself. Thanks to Evaran and his team’s destructive tendencies, the headquarters was lost in a dimension somewhere. Seeros-542 swore he would reconnect, and to that end, he had dedicated every resource.

Despite being stranded, he had made the most of it. It was a quiet day at the headquarters he had built to centralize his command. He ran his fair-skinned hand through his silver hair. Although he had initially started with one planet in this timeline, he had expanded to several other planetary systems.

Some of his species, the Antigulans, had come with him. Alongside an army of cyborgs, robots, androids, and AIs, Seeros-542 had everything he needed.

He liked to relax alone with his thoughts in a room at the highest point of the largest tower in the compound. As he stood with his hands behind his white robe, segmented by a metallic belt, he peered out over the city he had built.

Transparent walls and ceiling surrounded him. He had replicated the smell of a sweet melon to fill the air, and with a light breeze allowed to pass through, it would be a good time to take a nap.

A shrill beep blasted the silence.

Seeros-542 sighed as he tapped at the thin black mesh on his hand. He spun around to focus on the hologram of an officer in a two-piece white suit.

“Sir, the portal’s opening,” said the man.

Seeros-542’s eyes narrowed. “I take it there’s been no signal from one of our reconnaissance teams requesting it to be open?”

The officer shook his head.

“I see. Lock down the area and deploy security.”

“Yes, sir.”

The hologram dissipated.

Seeros-542 hustled to an elevator, then went down. He was not sure what could open the only portal he knew in his timeline. It could connect to many places, and he had beefed up security after receiving information on the Evaran incident.

Although the connection to the multi-timeline headquarters had been lost, they had been able to send a final transmission. Domed shielding covered the portal area and gave him time to get down to a nearby command center.

He had his species with him, but he still felt alone without his other versions to confer with. They were the only ones who could talk at his level. Dealing with anyone else was like talking to a youngling. He had conversed with AIs and androids, but they were difficult to talk to, especially in regard to anything creative.

After the elevator stopped, he exited and rushed to the nearest command center. Once there, he studied the various screens showing the portal room. The domed shield was active, and a ten-foot-tall dark-blue-skinned being wearing a formfitting silver one-piece suit stood silently looking around.

The being resembled a human, a species Seeros-542 associated with Evaran’s team. Light blue glowing lines segmented his suit, and his golden eyes glowed on his bald head. Every step he took had some impact.

Seeros-542 went to a nearby communication booth that projected the portal room around him, making it seem as if he was there. His hologram would appear outside the dome shielding in the room. He verified that the universal translator was running and that the other security features, like wall turrets, spider bots, and the upgraded robots in the wall, were ready to burst out. The area was spacious and allowed his projection to walk up to the portal.

“Who are you?” asked Seeros-542.

The being had been looking around but then stared at him.

“The silent type,” said Seeros-542. “You’re apparently powerful enough to open this portal and stroll on through, but this is not someplace you want to do that.”

The being walked to the shielding and touched it. He stuck a finger through, then drew a circle, creating an opening. After stretching the hole, he stepped through and stood face-to-face with Seeros-542’s projection, then moved a hand through it.

Seeros-542’s stomach churned. This being went through a powerful shielding system like it was not there. He was getting Evaran-level vibes from this being. He stepped back.

“Who are you and what do you want?” he asked.

The being stared at him again. “Species. Antigulan. You’re not a threat.”

Seeros-542 shivered. The voice was deep, almost digital-like, with a slight echo.

“You speak. I ask again…who are you?” he asked.

“Your primitive mind may call me Antion.”

Seeros-542 did not like where this was going. “What do you want?”

Antion looked around, then stared back at him. “I seek ones named Evaran.”

Seeros-542 relaxed. “Is that all?”

“Yes. Have you encountered any of them?”

“I’ve not personally encountered them, but I know of those who have met one,” Seeros-542 scowled. “That Evaran stranded me here.”

Antion walked through Seeros-542’s hologram.

“Where are you going?” asked Seeros-542.

“To retrieve your knowledge.”

Seeros-542 scoffed. “I was hoping we could do an exchange of knowledge. It’s obvious you have some power, and I thought we could come to an understanding.”

Antion paused, then turned around. “I do have power, more than you can comprehend. I would never share that with a lesser being unless it was to my advantage. It’s not in this situation. You have knowledge, and I’ll take it.”

“I don’t think so,” said Seeros-542.

He activated the defenses. The wall turrets came alive and fired on Antion, to no avail. Seeros-542’s eyes widened when Antion moved like a blur and jumped the height of the room to smash all the turrets. The gas released seemed to have no effect. Seeros-542 activated the defense robots.

Side panels rose up along the walls and an army of liquid metallic robots surged out.

Antion strolled around, casually tossing and smashing every one he encountered.

Seeros-542 ordered a heavy unit into the room.

Antion grabbed the large teardrop-shaped machine that had stepped in and used it as a hammer to smash the incoming cyborg guards in heavy armor.

Silence fell.

Antion walked through the mist and faced Seeros-542. “I will take your knowledge now.”

“Wait!” said Seeros-542. “There’s no need to destroy my base. I’ll have everything we have on Evaran delivered to you. I don’t want to be involved in whatever feud you have with him.”

“No. Your mind will give me everything I need.”

Seeros-542’s blood chilled. “I need that to live.”

“Irrelevant.”

Seeros-542 ended the projection. He had to escape. After seeing what Antion could do, there would be nothing in the compound to stop him. Seeros-542 had every security detail assigned to stopping Antion, but he knew they would not be able to. They would at least buy him some time.

He exited the room and paused to look at the video feed, where Antion marched through defense forces as if they were not there. Seeros-542 wondered if that was how Seeros-1 felt when Evaran had done the same thing to the multi-timeline headquarters. Seeros-542 was not going to stick around to find out.

Dr. Snowden had always wanted to visit New York City on July 6, 1911, where Walter Snowden, his great-grandfather, ran a globe shop. An image of the storefront would be taken later that day. It was said Walter had been inspired to do so.

Dr. Snowden had roped his niece, Emily Snowden, Evaran, V, an artificial intelligence, Kess, who was Dr. Snowden’s girlfriend, and Jelton Stallryn, Emily’s boyfriend, into going. V had parked Evaran’s ship, the Torvatta, in a safe place and the group had spent the day strolling around the city. However, the real excitement was that Dr. Snowden would get to meet one of his ancestors.

As they walked, he took in the environment. Men wore dark suits with white T-shirts and a variety of colored ties, but it was the hats that stuck out. He liked the look of them and lamented how unusual it would be to wear one in his time.

Some women had dresses while others had dark skirts with light-colored tops. Some had hats as well. It was probably uncomfortable, given the heat. They had left from 12/14/2013 1:00 p.m., a Saturday, and it had been windy and cold in Columbus, Ohio. New York City in the summer, climate-wise, was the opposite of that.

One thing he had read was that foul odors were the norm. His nose had not been ready for the assault of scents that ranged from fecal to some type of oil. There were also other rancid smells, as if someone was butchering animals in the open. Although he had his survival suit on, he could not raise his helmet. Emily’s constant grimacing could not hide her disdain. The others seemed to have no concerns about the smell.

They kept to the sides of the street since it was chaotic in the middle. Early Ford model cars drove along mixed in with horse carriages and trolleys. People wandered around with barely an eye for safety. Dr. Snowden cringed half the time, expecting someone to get hit, only for them to step away at the last moment.

It was noisy, but that was to be expected. The sheer amount of people was more than Dr. Snowden was used to seeing in the street. Groups would stop and chat in the middle of a busy path as others pushed or sidestepped them. It surprised him that there were no altercations, despite hustle and bustle being the norm.

The presence of a few Outsiders and Daedroulds caught Dr. Snowden’s attention. Although he knew they had been around for a long time, he had always viewed photos of the past as human only. It made sense that there were nonhumans in the city, and the few he had detected had stared at the gang, then taken off. They probably wanted nothing to do with a group of cosmic beings.

Kess squeezed his hand. “If you don’t watch it, you’re going to get run over by a horse.”

“Analysis. I would save him,” said V.

“I know you would,” she said, high-fiving him.

Emily motioned ahead. “We’re almost at Snowden’s Globes. Let’s hope it smells better there.”

“I can’t wait to meet my great-grandfather,” said Dr. Snowden. He glanced at Evaran. “Thank you for allowing this. I know it’s risky.”

Evaran raised a finger. “You are well aware of the impacts of meeting your ancestor, and I trust you.”

“We all do, my friend,” said Jelton, laying a hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulder. “If you begin to make a mistake, I’m sure Kess will step in.”

“You know I will,” she said, raising her hand in the air and snapping.

Dr. Snowden did not mind the teasing as everyone laughed. The gang knew he was good-natured, and he saw the ribbing as a sign of trust. He was already floating on a cloud, and Kess’s presence made everything better. His heartbeat accelerated as he examined the street they had to cross.

He deftly followed Evaran as he weaved his way across the street to reach the Snowden’s Globes store. There were a few moments where Dr. Snowden had thought a car would hit him, and Kess had yanked him out of stepping into a massive pile of horse manure. Emily and Jelton had no issues as they slid around obstacles with ease.

The store resembled the pictures he had seen, and he enjoyed seeing it physically versus in a black-and-white photo. He was not sure who had taken the picture, but whoever they were, he was thankful they had.

The group entered.

Dr. Snowden grinned as the odor switched away from what was in the street to a strong glue smell. Shelves on the sides contained globes of varying sizes. The artwork was superb, and although most had the standard display of the seven continents, there were a few with fantasy worlds.

However, it was the fair-skinned man in his forties in black slacks and a white shirt held up by suspenders that everyone focused on. Dr. Snowden knew who it was immediately. It was his great-grandfather, Walter Snowden. His slick hair and mustache were just as Dr. Snowden had remembered from a photo.

Walter stepped from behind a counter and smiled at the group. “Take a look around, and if something catches your eye, let me know.”

Dr. Snowden licked his lips, then extended a hand. “Thank you. I’m Dr. Albert Snowden.”

Walter returned the handshake. “We have the same last name! How about that? And you’re a doctor?”

“Oh, uh…academic title.”

Walter tilted his head.

Emily piped in. “It’s a new thing, mainly from the Midwest and Northwest colleges. It just means he’s done a lot of research. I’m Emily Snowden.”

“Oh.” He grinned. “Another Snowden.”

“You can just call me Albert,” said Dr. Snowden.

Walter sized them up. “Albert, you’re the spitting image of my uncle George.” He examined Emily. “And you’re Aunt Susan’s duplicate.” He beamed big. “Maybe we’re related!”

Dr. Snowden cast a sidelong glance at Emily. “Who knows? Oh, almost forgot. With me are Evaran, V, Kess, and Jelton Stallryn.”

Walter studied the group. “Such unusual names, but I’m glad to meet you all.” He waved a hand around. “Was there a particular globe you were interested in?”

“We just wanted to check out the store, but yeah, we’ll look around.”

“It’s a very nice store, my friend,” said Jelton.

“Indeed,” said Evaran.

Walter placed his hands on his suspenders and puffed his chest out some. “Thank you.”

A kid popped out from the back.

“Gerald! We have customers!” said Walter.

Gerald bowed slightly, then scrambled away.

Dr. Snowden had heard many stories from his grandfather about the globe store, and to see him as a kid was exhilarating.

Evaran gestured at one of the globes with custom artwork. “You have a strong imagination.”

Walter walked over to the globe and sighed. “I like to think so.” His eyes softened. “Imagine what’s out there, beyond this world. Even this world has mysterious places to see. I may not be able to visit them, but my mind can.”

“You are an adventurer at heart.”

“Perhaps so, but I travel by mind, and my body is a storekeeper.”

The group chuckled.

Walter rubbed his chin as he examined the gang.

“Is everything okay?” asked V.

“Yeah, yeah, I just…I don’t mean to be out of line by saying this, but I feel like I’ve known you all for a very long time. I’m very comfortable around you.”

Kess shrugged. “We can have that effect.”

“Apparently so,” said Walter. “As my dad always said: learn, adapt, evolve.”

“I love it. It’s a great creed,” said Dr. Snowden.

He soaked in the experience. He wanted to spend the whole day talking about what was out there, but he knew he could not. It would be amazing to take Walter to see Earth from space or even to an alien world. Dr. Snowden wished he had more time to truly get to know him, but even visiting was risky as it was. It would also be fun to chat with his grandfather as a kid. Maybe their strong imagination was a Snowden thing.

Dr. Snowden suspected it was Walter who took the store photo later on, and he may have been inspired due to this visit. That picture would then make Dr. Snowden want to visit on this day. A time loop. Nothing out of the ordinary when traveling with Evaran.

Emily had loved getting to meet Walter Snowden over the previous few hours. It put into perspective the stories she had heard from her dad and Dr. Snowden about Gerald, her grandfather and Walter’s son. Unfortunately, Gerald had died before she had been born.

V had gotten notice of a summons and alerted the team, so they had said their goodbyes to Walter, then exited the store.

“That was fantastic,” said Dr. Snowden.

Kess put a finger under his chin. “I had to close your mouth half the time.”

He eyed her. “It’s not every day you meet an ancestor. It definitely puts into perspective all the interactions I had with Gerald growing up.”

“I am glad we got to meet him,” said Evaran.

“Yeah, me too.” Emily scrunched her face. “I do wonder if he noticed us—well, Uncle Albert—as he grew up.”

“If he did, he never said anything to me,” said Dr. Snowden.

Jelton wagged a finger. “Perhaps he didn’t want others to think he was imagining things.”

“Possibly. Now, what’s the summons about?” asked Dr. Snowden.

“Analysis. It is to retrieve a cosmic shard and transport it to a different planet.”

“That’s it?”

V tilted his head at Dr. Snowden. “Yes. We are to pick it up in what you would know as the NGC 4696 galaxy in the Centarus cluster, a part of the Hydra-Centarus supercluster. The time index is 6,344,801,742 BC. Once we have procured it, we will move it to another planet in the same galaxy, but in 4,805,333,713 BC.”

Dr. Snowden drew his head back. “Whoa, really? Both are far away, both in space and time.”

“Acknowledged.”

Emily noticed a cosmic energy spike not only in Evaran but also in Jelton. The last shard, which was not a cosmic artifact, had involved Evaran trying to sacrifice himself to remove it.

“I am not sure why we are moving it instead of banishing it,” said Evaran. “Let us go to the Torvatta. I can drop you all off wherever you need to go, then V and I will investigate.”

“I’m going with you,” said Dr. Snowden.

“Same,” said Emily. She swatted Evaran’s arm. “Always trying to offload us.”

Evaran half smiled. “It could be dangerous given our history with cosmic shards.”

“Oh, I know,” said Jelton. He squeezed Emily’s hand. “I go where she goes, and it would be good to travel with the gang again.”

Kess latched on to Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Yeah, I’m going too. Someone has to watch over Albert.”

“Analysis. I think we have been outvoted.”

“Indeed so,” said Evaran. “Very well.”

Emily’s heartbeat accelerated as she thought of doing a summons with Jelton and Kess. This would be the first summons they were doing together, and she would get to spend more time with Jelton. The cosmic shard’s involvement bothered her, but the fact that the Torvatta wanted it moved meant that this shard should not require a sacrifice. However, when dealing with anything cosmic, unpredictability reigned supreme.

The trip back was uneventful. V had slipped into an alley, then stealthed and flown to get the Torvatta. It was a matter of finding a remote spot and boarding. The somewhat sterile smell of the command area relieved her nose, and the silence outside of everyone getting settled in was a nice change from the loud streets.

She sat with Jelton on the left, while Dr. Snowden and Kess were on the other side. V was at the podium as he always was, and Evaran sat in his command chair.

“V, take us to the summons location,” said Evaran.

“Acknowledged.”

Although Emily was tired from the 1911 trip, she was eager to see their destination. After twenty minutes, they had ascended to low orbit. She never got tired of seeing the Torvatta open a portal and fly through, then having everything outside fade in and ease back in when they jumped in time.

“Analysis. We have arrived on November 7, 6,344,801,742 BC, at 10:32 a.m.”

Emily studied the blue-and-green planet. It resembled Earth from this view, but the land masses had a very different configuration. A red dot indicated where they needed to go, and the Torvatta had already begun its descent.

“So this is just a transport summons?” asked Kess.

“I suspect there is more to it,” said Evaran. “However, we are one of the few crews able to move a cosmic shard.”

Kess smirked. “Yeah, not everyone has a Torvatta lying around.”

Jelton pointed at some of the atmospheric labels. “Looks like a similar atmosphere to Earth, maybe a bit warmer. Does this planet have a name?”

“Analysis. It does not. Perhaps we can call it Snowkess.”

“Oh, I like that,” said Kess, raising her hand in the air and snapping.

Dr. Snowden nudged her. “You would.”

“It’s a fine planet name, my friend,” said Jelton.

Emily liked that she would be able to open her helmet, although other conditions might make her close it. She examined the readings from the surface when they broke cloud cover. Pockets and trails of reddish-brown environment pockmarked an otherwise lush green world.

A zoom into one of the areas made her skin crawl. A large hole was in the center and a massive wormlike creature lay nearby. She could never escape bugs. Surrounding the area were creatures resembling UtahRaptors in various configurations, except these all had segmented plates on their back. It reminded her of the Draug brood on the ship that Evaran had rescued her and Dr. Snowden from long ago.

“What is that?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Unknown for the moment,” said Evaran. “V, pass by one of those areas and perform deep scans.”

“Acknowledged.”

Emily’s eyes were glued to the various data labels that popped up when the Torvatta was low enough. It surprised her that the creatures had a dimensional signature. However, no portal had been detected.

Although she had initially seen brutal-looking monsters, there were others that were more bizarre. One was like a walking sphere that munched on vegetation and spewed some type of mist out its back. Another walked around, spiking the ground. There were also smaller worms that had burrowed into greener areas.

“That’s an interesting array of creatures,” said Jelton.

Evaran’s eyes narrowed. “They are terraforming and destroying anything that gets in their way.”

Dr. Snowden wagged a finger at Evaran. “Ah, that makes sense. That would explain why they’re not roaming loose but instead staying close to their area. I noticed those things are dimensional.”

“They are, and I suspect their portals are underground. A large worm burrows up, then the terraforming begins. Perhaps it is a part of their natural cycle.”

Emily grimaced. “They act like big armored and organized bugs.”

“An apt analogy,” said Evaran.

The Torvatta continued on toward the red dot for the summons.

Emily took in the environment as they passed over it. She had moved to the front to peer down, and Jelton had joined her. She reached out and held his hand as she surveyed everything. She was glad she was there with him.

The scene below mirrored what she had seen at a higher altitude. The dimensional invaders were slowly turning this planet into their own, and they had the muscle to do it.

After twenty minutes, the Torvatta approached a mountainous ridge with a forest in front of it.

Emily wrinkled her brow when the red dot registered as being inside the mountain. She had wondered how they would get in there, but the cleared area before a large set of steps into the mountain provided a clue, as did the several hundred life signs inside. The stairs led to a platform with pillars and a huge open entrance.

“So we’re going inside, I’m guessing,” she said.

“It would appear so,” said Evaran. “The registered life signs here are different.”

Dr. Snowden crooked a thumb at V. “Should he investigate in stealth mode before we go in to see what we’re dealing with?”

Evaran paused, then highlighted a mass of creatures moving toward the massive stairs. “Perhaps, but there is another way to introduce ourselves. I suspect these creatures are en route to attack the mountain based on the doors at the top of the stairs closing.”

“Fighting time,” said Jelton.

“Yes, but we can see if that is the creatures’ intent. If so, we will repel them.” Evaran zoomed in a view to the doors. “Note the small holes spread throughout. They would allow defenders to poke or shoot through, depending on the group’s technological level.”

Kess smirked. “Given what we’ve seen, I don’t think this group is advanced.”

“Maybe so. Let us watch to see if we need to intervene. If we do, Dr. Snowden can manage the Torvatta’s stun weapons, and V will go in body mode and join us.”

Emily’s pulse quickened. It was a waiting game now to see what the monsters did. Whoever was in the mountain did not want to let the creatures in. Given what she had seen of them, she would not either. Then again, the defenders might be even rougher. There were a lot of unknowns, but one thing was certain—the cosmic shard was coming out.