Sometimes it happens to the best of them....

E'eysha

There is no shame in fear. Those who feel no fear are utter fools, useless for all but the most blunt of attacks. Good for shock troopers, but not much else. A warrior (male or female) must, however, not let it control them. That actually applies to anyone, understand. Not just warriors. That is the difference between the brave and the cowardly.

That said, I must admit that I was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Zerm from out of the blue so I guess I can't complain that the others were also shocked into inaction for a few moments as well. The again, by the Jester, I know that hostile act would have been the most foolish of responses. Not only would it get us kill....no....sometimes forget about us being Champions. Well, it would have gotten us seriously injured if we would have attacked (Zerm is dangerous even without the Crystallic). Also it would have been counterproductive! This is the mage who we need to transform the still sleeping Pixie woman named Fred back to human so as to save his...er...her sanity.

Now, that all said I still am a touch....leery around this fellow. See, like my other analog sisters (and brother), we Thessamers and "our" Zerms have a history, let us just say. Like many other Astra analogs, my great-aunt Helena, when my great-grandmother was queen, slew Horkus the Wicked, only to be ensnared by Zerm the Unspeakable, who had trained him...and may hold her yet (re: 232)! Then again, she might be one of the four Helenas rescued from the ruins of Atlantis on Terra Prime. One of the four is surely from Terra Prime, but nobody can figure out which one. The normal means of checking quantum signature and other scientific means of identification fail, as well as the magical means of checking Matrixes, because of the simple fact that the long term effects of exposure of Atlantian magic they experienced while magically frozen, living naked statues scrambled such signs beyond redemption. Can't even confirm it through quizing them on history of the world outside Aqualaria, for alas like many Aqualarias of Helena's day....we Amazons had been rather isolationist (and insular to be truthful) to the outside world. Very isolationist. She had travelled outside those borders, but not....much. That and hadn't really learned much history outside those borders (kind of frowned upon by my grandmother, doing to much of that).

That said, I believe you can see why I'm leery about this Zerm, despite the fact he's not like his evil twin analog brothers. He still can be dangerous if aroused. Just ask Triakoth, who'll tell you about the story of a foolish adventurer who'd strayed into a griffin's nest in the search for either gold or (failing that) griffins to slay so as to sell the body parts for magical spell components!

http://www.terraprimedatabase.com/CharacterPicPickleJuice.htm

Yes, while with a sense of decency and ethics, this Zerm still must be handled carefully.

That said, the Professor seems to be able not only to placate the rather annoyed Atlantian mage, but surprise him as well in the process! I can see it's a tough sell, but...the Professor (with inputs from the Doctor) manages to convince Zerm the truth of the matter about what principles the TARDISes work, science. That and what "science" actually was. Understand, from what Triakoth told us in his encounter with this mage, Zerm was under the mistaken impression that "scientists" were mages who employed a style of magery lost to those of his now vanished Atlantis. Being that after having fled from that realm (with assasins hot on his tail) and rarely travelled to other realms after settling down on a remote corner of the multi-verse (and then apparently not to any "high technology" world)....

Well, you get the picture. It's a total shift of paradigns for Zerm, by the looks on his face.

Think that equation (oh that thing again) of Dr. Vincent was what clinched it for him!

Now he's looking at us with....a lot of respect (and perhaps a bit of fear?) That and a dawning look of delight at a newly discovered facet. I do remember Triakoth saying that this particular Zerm had been an "archiologist" of sorts. A quest for knowledge had lead him to the very steps of the Dark Tower of Midworld!

....

At a guess I believe he arrived sometime after Roland the Gunslinger and his friends entered and helped set things aright inside there. Else I would rather think that Zerm wouldn't have been so fond of the memory. Doesn't seem the type to take pleasure in seeing what (until recently) was the lynchpin of reality being in real danger of destruction.

Just glad he's not angery at us now, anyway....

Well, anyway, that said Zerm appear to be really happy have met us now back on Terra Prime (something that is yet to happen to us, by the way). He says he'll be glad to aid us with our problems. Even offers to teleport us over to Ratcliffe's place to finish up our...business with that Battle Computer after we take care of that Dalek Emperor. He adds that he wishes that he wasn't honor bound to stay on his new homeworld to protect those who'd saved him. Wished he could go out to explore this new realm he'd been made aware of, but....

Well, just as well. Wouldn't feel comfortable with him about, as bad as that might make me sound.

Anyway....

Being that Smith's duplicity has already been revealed and he is now on the run from Gilmore's men, I believe that bit of business is taken care of so shan't be too sad to depart immediately after this business. Oh, they haven't caught up with Smith yet, but I shan't worry about it....

....

I'll come to regret that later....

We have the pleasure of watching the Professor bait the Emperor (some prune faced fellow by the name of Darvos) into launching the Hand of Omega, which hurls uptime back to the Dalek home solar system and makes it's sun explode.

I still smile how Inquirer, after seeing Darvos having just fallen for the trap and then bragging about becoming the new Lords of Time, having hooked one finger of hers into something like a hook and making like a fish who'd been snared.

Angered, Darvos had demanded to know what that meant and I answered.

"It means you've been had," I say sweetly, despite the Professor looking annoyed at me "getting in on the act".

Sputtering, Darvos watched as events played out proving me correct.

Begging for mercy, Darvos watches as the Professor basically rebuffs him and leaving him to his fate.

As the connection between the doomed Dalek ship and the Doctor's communication terminal (a cobbled together mass of various bits and pieced of contemporary earth machinary), we all turn and see that Zerm seems to be looking up at the ceiling as if seeing something.

"Oh no you don't," I hear him mutter softly but savagely, "A lawful body has judged and passed sentence upon you and you shan't scurry away from your ka!"

Briefly I remember that "ka" is a word on Midworld (Roland's world) translates something as akin to "fate" and that somewhere along the lines I learned that Zerm's ancestors hale originally from Midworld. From the anger in his voice I somehow get the wild impression that having seen his society turn corrupt and decadent, non-justice serving but self serving, that that bitterness has welled up here and is about to strike.....something or somebody!

Suddenly, without even a flash, a grey object appears before him....that glows with an eldritch light. It's Darvos (tin can and all), spell frozen. Zerm smiles a savage smile as he lowers his Crystallic. The Atlantian mage has for some reason teleported that prune faced villian out of the way of the Hand of Omega!

"In the TV show it looked like he got away in an escape pod," Betty says soflty to herself.

....

Okay, the mage has teleported Darvos away from his escape pod before he could get away, scott free.

"His life is over," he said simplly as the form disappears, "Yet he lives despite the executioner coming. By Atlantian custom, if guilty person condemned to death escapes....it is by the law of man and the Gods that any who encounter him must complete that sentence met out."

"You're going to kill him?" Ace asks, not sure she wants to witness a death sentence carried out despite everything today.

"'Tis true he is a waste of flesh," Zerm says sternly, looking at Darvos, "But he still draws breath...in one fashion or another. Death is one means of carrying out such a sentence placed upon him, but there are other ways to have justice done. That lifeforce could be used for....a more needful thing...."

"Those who saved me...I owe my life to.....and their numbers are so dimished by those damn hunters," I hear him say softly to himself, grinding his teeth in furry.

The form begins to blur and shift right before it winks out of existence.

Given the past method of operation I have heard of on this Zerm, I can guess where the body of Darvos is now. That and what shape (and species) it now is. It might still be alive, but it's former owner isn't in the driver's seat (as it were) any more.

He'll broke no arguements over what he's done, as few as he gets.

"Christ on a Crutch," my love, Gilmuriel swears softly, summing things up pretty much.

No, not somebody I'd like to do a lot of business with, despite his morals. Very volatile and dangerous, Zerm is.

Best to be done with it as swiftly as possible.

I still shiver when I look back at that display of temper by Zerm, though.

Later, having somewhat recovered from our chill, we have tracked down the distraught Battle Computer (only Dalek left who hasn't disintigrated itself in suicidal dismay over what just happened to Skara) and we witness something that I had only thought could be said in jest. The Professor, a fellow that Ragan says has a gift for gab, basically....talks the metallic thing to death.

"'Tis the day of many wonderous sights," Inquirer mutters to herself, "First time I ever saw something like that! Death by mouth!!"

She mutters something statalogical, and then we all get down to the what we must do next, now.

Later I shall find out that that one Time Lord of legend got curious in what we did with a device similar to what he had created so long ago. Wanting to see just how the Hand handled the beating it got while breaking the pixie's silvery magical prison, he'll (with Rassilon's aid) capture it in midflight back to Dr. What's Galifrey to study it. That will lead to some very intersting, mysterious result that only mages can decypher. That said, the test results (after the Hand is released back into Dr. What's reality), the results will lead to an interesting blip in another case (re: 19938).

That case will become relevant in a moment here. Trust me.

Well, looks like we have everything tied up and we are ready to go. Getting the pixie restored and her sanity saved should be a breeze (as I've heard it called). But when we awaken the pixie back at Zerm's place (he teleported us all there, with TARDISes), we run into a problem.

Seems that three is a more magical number than I've learned in my magical studies. Seems that while we could cure her hear and now, it would have serious reprocussions (through some kind of lecture that Zerm gave us to explain something about Ka-lines....sorry, but I couldn't follow it). Bottom line, there are two other people out there who are somehow mystically linked to this pixie. We must gather those others together for Zerm's cure to work (and not have serious side effects). That entails us being teleported (via Zerm) into the very heart of this....Oracle's lair to try to track them down.

He's vague on exactly how, but....get this....he says that it's the best way for successs according to his divinations through his Cards.

The Professor looks like he'd rather like to say something cutting about the Tarrot deck Zerm used, but decides to just keep quiet for safety sake. Zerm, I know, probably wouldn't take kindly to it.

Well, we pop into the very heart of this lair. Zerm says that some friends of his (Oberon and A'tisti of the Light Elves) saw to that. Some kind of meaning that basically gives me to believe that the Oracle is rather....dead.

So be it. Man caused too much havoc for my taste anyway. Need not run into him while we are poking about, right?

.....

Seems that we overlooked a small detail. That or Zerm didn't look for life inside the Professor's TARDIS.

He hadn't locked it, and guess who ducked into it to hide from his hunters?

Finally having made his way back out of the confusing interior, Smith sees us. Enraged by our revealing his duplicity, he pulls forth his sub-machinegun and tries to mow us down!

Only....somebody pops into this lair right as the first burst goes out. The burst goes wild, because their had been a bright flash of light accompanying that pop.

Captian Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, looks shocked as he collapses to the ground.....a lot of holes in his chest!

Parvel Chekov and some other man in a red shirt, enraged, fire as one and hit the still blinded Smith head on....phasors on kill!

Man is dead before he even hits the floor.

Others are appearing as all this happens (some kind of gate/tunnel) when Inquirer seems to see something dangerous in the works. Already, I see that Uhura (dress in civilian cloths for some reason), and....Jarlath's gang are here!!

She leaps forward past them all, cat swift, and strikes another Redshirt before he can step through.

1. She gives off a muffled scream as the gate collapses on her still outreaching left hand, severing it.....

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