The Last Story by Christopher Pike Page A

DNA. Each center in each human being was able to tap into a different frequency. When they were "plugged" back into their power source, the rest of the Confederation, these centers would vibrate with incredible energy. The whole of the galaxy would shine, and stand as a beacon for the remainder of the universe. In a sense, being contacted by the Elders was the same as being contacted by their more subtle half.

    At least that was what they said.

    "They are me," Sarteen whispered to herself in her quarters. "But they are not me. I had forgotten them.

    They did not forget me."

    She was alone. Her room was dark, except for the glow of her viewing screen, which remained fixed on the distant sun, and the glimmer of her crystal column, which, by some strange alchemy, shone without an external power source. After linking with the Elders, she had been inspired to build a staff made up of different precious stones that she had collected from a dozen worlds. No one had told her to construct the thing and so far she had shown it to no one, not even her dear friend Pareen. The staff was roughly as tall as a human being. The first seven stones were set at equal distances along the top half of the gold rod; the remaining five were fixed in a silver wheel that crowned the pointed top. These last five were the unseen centers, Sarteen believed. The ones above and beyond the body. They were the cosmic centers that connected them directly to the Prime Creator.

    Each of the jewels she had used had come to her as if by magic: one she had found in the cave of an asteroid that tumbled between the stars; another in the manytentacled arms of a giant insect that had crawled out of a burrow in a tree as tall as a mountain; and still another had fallen from a sweet fruit she had bitten into on a planet where there was only one tiny island, the rest water. When the jewels began to glow, as she set them in place, she leaped back in surprise. And since then she had been unable to stop staring at the staff. It was almost as if looking at it were like staring into a mirror and seeing a goddess.

    "How did I forget?" she asked the crystal staff.

    The communicator on her desk beeped. "Yes?" she said.

    "Pareen here. Something is terribly wrong."

    "Specify?"

    "Our fleet is under attack. A large fleet of alien vessels, with incredible speed and power, has appeared close to Malanak. The fifth planet is under heavy bombardment.

    What is your command?"

    Sarteen stood. For some reason, the news did not surprise her.

    "I will be on the bridge in a minute," she said. "For now, veer us away from Earth."

    Pareen was shocked. "Turn away? But our people need our help."

    "Do as I say. I am on my way."

    How different the mood on the bridge was from when they had exited hyperspace. Rather than coming home to a wonderful party, they had returned to invasion.

    Sarteen found it impossible to believe the Elders had anything to do with the attack, yet the coincidence was disturbing. Why today, when all sorrow was supposed to end?

    "Report?" she snapped as she stepped onto the bridge.

    Pareen glanced up from his monitors. "Approximately three hundred alien vessels have materialized inside the orbit of Malanak. We are fighting back, but these ships, though small, are exceedingly powerful and maneuverable.

    Already, in this short time, ten percent of our fleet has been destroyed. The aliens have demanded our immediate and unconditional surrender. Our admiral is considering giving in to their demand."

    "Have you been able to confirm the status of Malanak?" Sarteen asked.

    "It has been destroyed," Pareen said.

    Sarteen was shocked. "The entire planet? That's not possible."

    "The destruction is confirmed. It is rubble."

    Sarteen was confused. "How were these alien ships able to exit hyperspace so close to the sun?" Ordinarily they could come out of a hyperjump only far from the powerful gravitational pull of the sun, or any star, for that matter. Gravity greatly