All it took was a smile. Had none of them ever met face to face in the past? Surely, if they had, much blood and death could have been prevented. Baen liked the Humans, even though they could not communicate as of yet. Filem and his crew were working on the translators, but it would take some time, as the Human language must be programmed into them from the Priest, who had readily volunteered. He recited long stories about his people of the island city, much like he did on Earth to the children, and when the alien Filem thought he had enough he turned the recorder over to the technicians, and he and the priest went to join the others who were walking among the ruins looking for artifacts.

Baen could not understand what had happened to her. She had never felt affection for another living thing, being coldly efficient to the extreme, and caring only for her own career within the fleet. Arrella, on the other hand, had always liked everyone she came into contact with, but had never thought to meet a Human. Both were pleasantly surprised, and amazed at the budding friendship among their different species. Sonja was a treasure to find in the depths of space. She loved everyone and this love was contagious, and the alien girls felt it and it sank deep into their unloved hearts. It would be another day before the translators would respond to the new programs, so they learned words slowly from each other, enjoying their explorations and the things they were finding in the ruins. There was a huge structure near the center of the city that had many entrances, all blocked by debris and blown sand that demanded their attentions, and they spent the rest of the daylight hours clearing one of them. It had reached sixty degrees as the sun went directly overhead, but in a few short hours the rapid cooling began, and with parting smiles and hugs from the alien girls to the girls from Earth, they parted for the day.

 Xlacchan was tired from the thin air and Xita, the exertion just now getting the best of her, was sleeping on his lap in the co-pilot’s seat, so Dorian and Sonja retired to their berth. “I think these aliens are very nice. Their ancestors were a cruel horde of conquerors that destroyed civilizations, though it seems likely that these younger ones have gone through some changes. But, can we ever forgive and forget?” Her man held her close. “Never. We might be friends with this crew, but their leaders will want to wipe us out when they discover that we are still alive. They completely destroyed our home world, and then, when they found us on Earth, came down and destroyed a wonderful civilization there as well, murdering millions. I know Amil will feel the same concern that I do when he finds out they are still marauding among the stars. We will keep our feelings from the aliens, and remain friendly with them, but Sonja, please don’t allow yourself to trust them too deeply. What they have always been is in their blood.” She snuggled closer. “Well, those girls are my friends.” She went to sleep with a smile on her face.

Arrella had made nearly the same statement to Baen. “Yes, we can befriend the Humans, but Arrella, we can never fully trust them. When the reports are made of their continued existence, I fear for them. History has shown us what will happen, and though we care for them, it won’t matter when the elders know. They will die.”

Baen handed translators to each of them the next day when they met, she and Arrella and Filem all having them clipped to their tunic as a matter of course. “Good morning! It will be pleasant to be able to speak to you now. Allow me to introduce my friends to you.” This she then did, and Sonja returned her introductions as well, leaving out all mention of their royal status and the fact that Xlacchan was a priest. They did not need to know something they could possibly use against them in some manner. The group walked softly around the many questions asked of one race to another, and all of them, when they got to the entrance they had excavated the day before, pledged that they would not pry into the lives of the others, just enjoy their companionship for however long they may. Each knew of the historical hatred their ancestors had for the other, and left the touchy subjects alone.

As the group worked their way into the ancient structure they found some few broken statues and relics that had been too heavy to carry off in the vast and hurried escape from the planet, and finally made their way into the central arena of the old coliseum. Here, the games had been held, sporting events wherein creatures from many other worlds had met in matches to the death, and where the young warriors of Mars had proven their mettle. There were fifty thousand seats along the tapering inner walls, and concession stands where food, drink, and souvenirs were sold. The high stone walls, reinforced by the many tiers of seats, had been strong enough to withstand the many explosions that had wracked the city, and had kept much of the sand and debris out, leaving the arena exposed to the weak sunlight.

There was a tall bronze-like statue in the very center of the arena, standing over fifty feet, that the patina of ages had turned a deep greenish color, and stains caused by the acid rains and polluted atmosphere far in the past further added to the hoary evidence that the statue had stood there since long before Mars had died. It was of a loincloth covered woman, her bare breasts proud, holding a short sword and resting one foot on the carcass of a gloat, it’s long claws and ferocious fangs triumphed over, it’s terrifying roar silenced by death. Baen said, “Sonja, that woman could have been you! You are the image of her! But look, time has turned her color near to that of me! Perhaps it was destiny that we meet, and come together in this place.” Dorian looked closely at the features of the huge woman, and to his wife, and, other than the fabulous wings, they were identical. He told her this, expressing the awe that he was feeling.

Standing at the foot of the monument, Sonja felt a strange weakness overcome her as she touched it, and she did not hear what her man was saying. She had been battling the creature for nearly an hour, the mighty leaps of the gloat carrying it within hairsbreadth of tearing out her heart, and was bleeding badly from the many cuts and scratches inflicted on her when, flexing her wings, she had risen above the beast and dropped down behind it, ending it’s life with a slash of the sword to the back of it’s muscular neck. The crowd had been wild, but with her victory they rose to their feet and screamed out her name, the multitudinous applause deafening. The noise slowly faded, and then the ghosts of the people were gone. Sonja fainted, falling at the feet of the statue, and Arrella and Baen rushed to her side, pushing Dorian away from their friend in their concern. As she came out of the faint, she became aware of them, and saw the fear in their faces. “What has happened to me?” Baen helped her to her feet. “Sonja! The moment you touched the statue the arena was filled with a roaring crowd of thousands, cheering for you and calling your name as you slew the great killer. Sonja! Sonja! Sonja! You were flying! Your wings were real! Never have I experienced such a wondrous thing!” The poor dazed girl thought back over the incident, and was very frightened. “But, I have never felt that I have lived before. How could it be me? I have no beautiful wings like she does!” Dorian took her arm and pulled her close to his heart. “Yes you do, sweetheart. The instant of your touch they appeared, and have not gone away. We all saw the battle between you and the evil creature! A holy thing has occurred here. Perhaps Baen was right. It was our destiny to be in this place at this time.”

She could feel them then. She thought to move them and they moved. They did not give her discomfort, and though she could feel their weight, and how they were grown from her shoulders, where the muscles and tendons connected, they felt as natural as though they had always been there. “I have become something other than myself!” She sank to her knees and the tears flowed, and the alien girls and Xita, scared, sat on the ground at her side, comforting her as best they could, until the tears stopped. She got to her feet and said to her friends, “I have been reborn. Sonja, goddess warrior of Mars, is once again alive. I’m still me, but someone else as well, sharing the present and the past. Don’t be afraid of me. Each living spirit is rejoined with him or herself at the appropriate point in time. My time has come.”

She had not flown in thousands upon thousands of years, but took to the skies as if it were yesterday, and quickly gained altitude. She felt terribly alone, and couldn’t bear to be near her friends as the emotions welled and almost suffocated her. Agony for what had occurred on Mars was ripping through her as she looked down on the devastation of a once wonderfully green paradise, the gardens of the majestic city dead, the ghosts of the people a shadow on the planet as of clouds passing. Eden was gone.

They waited for her, those she had left behind, and when she had regained control of  herself, she winged her way back to them, and gracefully descended to them. She had had others kneel and bow to her on Earth, during her lifetime there, but to have her friends Xlacchan and Xita, and the aliens do this was totally unexpected. Filem and his companions, and Arrella and Baen, were all prostrate before her, but Dorian, who had also lived a life on Mars, stood smiling and opened his arms to her. She went to him and hugged him fiercely, while he kissed the dried tracks of her tears. “I still love you sweetheart. You  are even more beautiful than before, and the only woman I know who has her own statue!” Sonja told the others to get up, and they did so sheepishly. Baen asked shyly, “Were there many like you, Sonja, in the far past?” She knew the alien was feeling deep guilt for her ancestors atrocities against the Human race and hugged her. “My ancient cousins came to this world from Venus several million years ago, and lived harmoniously with the Martian peoples, serving and protecting them. At one time there were legions, though as time flowed the succeeding generations lost the ability to fly and many left for Earth in the great exodus, helping to establish a community there. I was the last to fly in the skies of Mars.”

Arrella , having been very affectionate of Sonja from the beginning, said, “Your wings are very pretty, nearly translucent, a shade of lavender that I have always admired. I didn’t notice before, but you have tiny ivory horns on your forehead, near the hair line. They are so cute!” Sonja felt them for the first time. “Wow! I had forgotten! That will make me stand out in a crowd!” Baen, getting over the shock to her system that the transformation had caused, said, “Oh. As if the wings wouldn’t!” The girls all laughed and the good feelings were rapidly coming back to them. “I suppose I can accept this, with the help of good friends who don’t reject me. When the people on Earth see me they may stampede away, though, at sight of me.” Xlacchan said, “No, you are wrong. The old legends tell of the winged angels, and the Father who created them. You will be welcomed by all as the return of the Glory. Perhaps the Father, who gave us the Great Serpent, will also come back, in time.”

Filem, receiving a message from the alien compound, said, “Girls, I hate to break up your party, but we must continue our journey. We are behind schedule and must fly. The elders will have our snoods if we return later than their commanded date.” The girls knew their time had run out, and Baen took Sonja aside. “Perhaps we will meet again on yet another world. I would protect you from the elders if I could, you know that, but there are too many in the squadron. Even if I swore them to secrecy, someone would talk, and we would all be put to death for treason. As leader, I must make the report, and knowing this, I hurt tremendously for I have come to love you. Prepare your world, and build your defenses as best you can, for the battle is not over.” Sonja held her close for a moment. “You will always be my friend. I have come to love you and Arrella as well. Maybe our friendship will help somehow, in the future we both know is coming. Farewell.” They kissed and Baen walked away, the unfamiliar mist in her eyes blinding her, and the lump in her throat taking her breath.

Arrella of the soft heart was waiting her turn, sad that she may never see her new friends again, tears flowing freely as she watched Baen’s retreat. Sonja and Xita both came to her then, and took her in their arms in turn, already missing the friendly alien girl. “I don’t know what to say! I don’t want to tell you goodbye! I’ve never met anyone like you Humans, and I like you so much! Xita, I love you, for you have been so nice to me. Sonja, you are truly a person the like of which I shall never see again. A real goddess come to life, and my great honor to have met and known. I don’t want to leave you!” She cried madly for a moment in their arms, then pulled herself away and ran to the alien ships.

They stood watching as the squadron rose from the red dust of Mars and lifted through the thin cold air, and when they were at two thousand feet a blue glow began to emanate from the cluster, and they disappeared in the blink of an eye leaving a fading blue line imprinted on the sky. A moment later a tremendous crack and roll of thunder was heard. Just then, from the corner of his eye, Dorian spotted something move and quickly turned in that direction, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be the form of a man diving into a tunnel entrance. He and Xlacchan gave chase, and caught the suspect hiding in the hole. It was a seemingly Human male, though they were unprepared for the look of him when they drug him out into the weak light. His skin was a very pale white, bleached of all coloring, and his eyes were large, with pupils that retracted to a pinpoint when the light hit them. His body was short and slim, and his head was a little too big for the thin neck that held it. He kept looking at Sonja as if she were a ghost, and was scared nearly to death when he was pulled into her presence. “Where did you come from?” she asked the little man, and the mite replied in the same tongue, “From there.” He was pointing to the ground at their feet.

He had spent the morning outside, having been watching the Earthlings and aliens for the past two days, and had seen the spectacle of the vanquishing of the gloat, and the departure of the squadron. Myths and legends swirled in his brain, and he was terrified. He and his people had often seen the statue in the arena, and now the statue was alive! The aliens had unnerved him, for, knowing the stories of the invasions of old, he had thought they came to exterminate what was left of the tribe, and then, seeing them on friendly terms with Humans had confused him utterly. When the goddess flew through the skies he suffered a faltering heartbeat and thought he was doomed for sure. Now he must face her! His teeth chattered in his quaking, and Sonja, knowing his deep agitation could lead to a seizure, calmly walked over to him and put a tender hand on his cheek. “I am no demon that you need to fear. I am Sonja, your goddess from the old kingdom, reborn. I am here once again to serve and protect you. Place your trust in me, for the Father has sent me to you.”

She took the man’s hand gently, and told him who her companions were, and where they had come from. After the poor fellow found out that they were brothers, descendants of those who fled Mars so long ago, he became much calmer, though was still very excited, knowing now that he was to be the one who would lead them to the underground city, and bring the old gods back to the people. Though he had been banned from the city himself, for being a petty and consistent thief, he had managed to survive for the past few weeks on the garbage that was brought to the surface for disposal on a routine basis. Having been on that detail most of his adult life and knowing where the dumps were, the man was in no danger of starvation, though the half-rotted food was affecting his health in various ways. He explained the situation to Sonja, deeply ashamed of himself, and she said, “They will allow you back in their midst. Show us to them. We shall meet and get to know everyone, and see where that takes us. You are forgiven, and will no longer steal. Such is my word.” She touched his shoulder with the short sword she held, that appeared from nowhere, and the man suddenly was cured of all that ailed him, and was in the peak of health and good spirits, gaining several inches in height and forty pounds of flesh. “Damn!” he said.

“The entrance tunnel is in the arena, under the bottom tier of seats, where the cages were. I tell you, the people are going to foul their breeches when they see you! Come! We must traverse several stadd of dark cold tunnel to reach the city. As the years went by we dug deeper and deeper, and there are hundreds of tunnels connecting the many chambers.” Dorian, asked, “How many of you are there? Do you spend much time on the surface? Is there some form of government yet among your folk?” The questions came too fast for the man, and he said, after a moment, “Lots. No. Yes.” And led them into the hole.

It was dark in there, and cold. They felt their way along, stopping briefly now and then to allow their eyes to adjust, and could gradually make out the man leading them into the bowels of the planet. He moved confidently, able to see in pitch blackness from the countless generations that had spent their lives underground before him, and after an hour of travel they saw a dim glow unobtrusively growing ahead of them. Xlacchan said, “Let there be light!” and Dorian chuckled. “Please! Don’t forget ‘Please’!” The temperature too was slowly improving, though the degrees did a slow climb, the deeper they went, and the chill, so noticeable at top, vanished. “Does it get warm enough to be comfortable down here, or must you dress warmly to survive?” Xita asked the man. “It gets fairly livable, down in the chambers. We have vented the warmth of the planet’s core through our city in ancient lava tubes, others of which also carry our water supply and sanitation. Kept carefully separate, mind you! There was terrible sickness at first.” Dorian said, “Yeah, I can see how that would happen, if the two were mixed!” The usually quiet Xita said, “Shit flavored. Yuck!”

Glow sticks were placed at convenient spots as they got nearer to the city, radioactive materials that took centuries to deteriorate and gave off light as they slowly burned away. The light they cast was of a yellowish nature and faded into the red spectrum as one got further away from the source. They could see the red and yellow areas as they progressed down the incline, and there, far ahead of them, the light was all of the yellow, indicating that they had nearly reached their destination. “I’ll be glad to get there. I don’t care for the dark,” Sonja, who had caught her wings on protruding rocks, told the others.

They came to a large open chamber that was very bright when compared with the stygian darkness they had first encountered, and saw a large group of the white-skinned people going about their activities, who saw them at the same time and gave warning yells to the others that reverberated through the tunnels. Hareemus called to them that all was well, and, recognizing one of their own, though greatly changed since their last sight of him, they calmed somewhat and waited for the new arrivals to reach them.

This folk had priests and council members who issued their laws and regulations, and many of them were in the group, stepping to the front lines so that their view of the statue come to life was not impaired. When they saw that it was indeed the statue that had stood in their midst for eternity they dropped to their knees as one and begged her not to smite them, vowing to change their ways and pleading for forgiveness from any number of imagined violations. Hareemus astounded them. They thought they had banished him to an early death out in the extremes of the dead planet, and here he was, much younger, and stronger than any of them! The tall muscular men and woman that accompanied the statue of the winged goddess were also statues come-to-life they had seen in the dead city on the surface! Their fear was contagious and spread like fire among them and a low moan was rising in pitch to a near-scream. Hareemus stepped to the priest who had his head on the floor in front of him and lifted him up. “Jenis! Control yourself and the people! They have come as friends, from the planet that our own people evacuated Mars for. They are us!” “They are the statues! The statues came alive!” “Only Sonja. But I must tell you, they arrived in a starship such as the legends speak of, and she was one of them that came, and was only transformed as she stood at the feet of herself, the goddess. There were aliens here too, that were of the ones that murdered our world in ages past, that befriended this crew! I SAW them, and heard them speak! She forgave me and made me alive and I now stand before you a changed man! Welcome them! They are here to help us, not harm us in any fashion!”

Jenis, always a skeptical man, looked at the fabulous creature that had been thought of as a god for eons. One that would stand frozen in time for eternity. She was not frozen, and very much smaller than the bronze representation in the arena. She looked Human, but for the magnificent wings and tiny horns. “How did this happen? The statue has stood silent since before time, and now you walk among us and speak and are not the giant we climbed upon as children!” Sonja took his hand and led him to a seat and sat with him, continuing to hold the hand in her own. He felt her warmth, and saw the light of love in her eyes, and began to calm. “Tell the folk to come and be with us, to sit here with me as I tell you my story, so that I may tell it just the one time.” Jenis did as she commanded, without hesitation, the force that was emanating from her overwhelming in it’s power. Still, she held his hand, the kindness in her heart flowing from her and invading his own, and he stood and raised his hands to the people. “The goddess has returned to us in the flesh to bring salvation to our humble existence! Pay heed to what she has to say! Come, all of you, and sit with me at her feet and learn of a shining bright new world!”

The throng did as the priest told them to do, the ingrained blind following of their rulers a thing in their very blood, and sat at Sonja’s feet. Many of them still could not believe she was real, and several of the bolder ones came to touch her before they sat, excitedly telling the others that, yes, she was alive! When silence overcame them finally, she stood and said, “I am from Earth, many millions of miles from here, where our people fled to after the destruction of this planet and our ways of life. Other than being born a princess, to the king and queen of Fella, I have always been just a girl like any of you, and not until I touched the statue in the arena was I aware of any other existence, although I knew from my husband’s own experience that there are many lifetimes for Human’s, not just the one.” She told them of her man finding the Lost City, and killing the would-be assassin, and the long trek across the burning sand, and ended up that part of her story with the caravan back to the city buried in the desert. “We found the starships then, and after the museum was opened and the consecration of the internment was over, we flew to the other side of the world, there meeting Xlacchan and his people, and starting the rebirth of the planet. On a whim we decided to visit the home world of the Human Race, and here we stand. If you will allow, we can send the transports and troop carriers, and bring you home with us. The aliens will return, and there is no protection from them for you here. There are many fine caverns and tunnels on Earth, where you can find happiness and comfort while you adjust to the light of the sun once again, enfolded in the loving arms of your brothers and sisters of Earth. Will you come?”

There was silence for a short time, and then a loud cheer shook the chamber. A young man stood and asked, “Will there be food, other than the slime-covered things we must eat here?”  Xlacchan came forward and began to describe the many and varied types of food to be found in the lush tropical environs around the city of Atlantis, and the drool hung from the young man’s chin. “Any of you who do not wish to go are fools! We missed the boat when it sailed thousands of years ago. Let’s not miss what could be the very last one!”

The assembly applauded his speech wildly, all eager to escape from the dead world, sick to death of the deep dark hole they were forced to live in.

On the outward bound journey from Earth, Dorian had near shat himself as he found out what the strange antennae were on the tail of the ship. Amil’s voice suddenly appeared from out of thin air, saying, “Yo! Anybody? Hey! Dorian! Where in hell you at, boy? If you hear me, push the yellow button on the board! You out there? Hey!” Memories rushed over him, and he knew. He jabbed the communicator and said, “Hey, Amil! How you and everybody doing?” The other king said, “Why, we’re all doing just fine. And you? How’s my girl? You finding anything interesting yet? What’s going on out there?” “Well, we haven’t quite arrived, but shall shortly. I don’t have anything to report as of yet, but I’ll contact you, say, five days from now at this same time. How’s that?” “That will do nicely! Say hello to my baby for me! Later.”

Now, as Dorian exited the tunnel with his friends and angel-woman, and about forty of the whites, with Hareemus importantly leading the way, he went directly to the starship and immediately to the com. He jabbed the button several times, knowing that Amil spent most of his spare time in his own starship, and was rewarded by an instantaneous reply. “That you, son?” “Yeah. Hey, you are never gonna believe what I have to tell you! We met a bunch of those aliens that been trying to exterminate us for twenty thousand years and got to be good friends with them! Damnedest thing I ever saw! Then, the day they had to leave, that girl of yours walks up to some old statue and touches it, and, WHAM! She turns into a winged goddess! Beautiful! That was strange enough, but seconds after the alien squadron blasts off, half of them crying like babies, we catch this weird little guy spying on us and run him down, and buggered if he ain’t part of a clan of Martian people that were left behind when we all took off for Earth! There’s about four hundred of them, and we need you to send the troop transports and cargo ships to evacuate them, as fast as you can get here! How’s everything going with you?”  “Say that again?” “Which part?” “ALL of it! Do you know what I think you just told me?” “About the men from Mars?” “No, you silly sonofa…about my DAUGHTER! You said she has WINGS!” “Well, they’re really pretty, and she can fly extremely well. It appears that in the distant past your girl also lived on Mars, as I did, only way before my time, and has been reunited with her former self. She was a god.” “Oh my god!” “Yes. She is. When can you send the transports?” “I am not sending them, I am bringing them! How long did it take you to get there?” “Two days, roughly.” “See you in two days.”

“Harry! Hey, Hareemus!” The rejuvenated man ran over to him, “Yes, Master?” “I want you to tell all your folks that the ships will be here in two days. Anything they want to take with them had best be packed and ready or it gets left behind. Will you take care of that for me?” “Yes, Master!” He ran for the tunnel with the other forty following, but for one skinny little girl who was infatuated with Sonja and would not leave her. She would have been pretty, if she had only received the proper nourishment, but the poor child had lived on things that were better left unmentioned, and not enough of that. Sonja liked the child very much and didn’t mind her company, for she was curious and bright, and had a wonderful smile.

“What’s your name sweetheart,” she asked the girl, and the kid said, “Meela, but my momma called me MeeMee before her spirit went away.” Sonja was instantly alert. “You have no mother! Is your father still with you?” “No. His spirit went away before I was born. Everyone kind of takes care of me.” The goddess cried for her, and took her on her lap, and the skinny child, seeing the tears, cried a little for herself too. Sonja said, “I will take care of you, MeeMee! You can be my little girl, if you want. Would you like that?” Her little eyes, big from living in the caverns, shed more tears and she hugged the fabulous goddess and said, “Will you be my mommy?” “Yes. I will be your mommy.”

Dorian shook his head and walked back to the starship. “Fine, now I’m a daddy!” He thought back over what he had heard pass between his mate and the child. “Well, she’s a nice kid. Might be nice to have a kid and not have to go through the baby stuff. We’ll see.” He didn’t often talk out loud to himself like that, but there was no one around to hear. He climbed to his seat in the cruiser, and decided to take a short nap and catch up on his dreams. Seemed like every time he drifted off anymore, he remembered a little more of who he had been, a long time ago. He had been a warrior pilot in the battles that had raged with the aliens, and with his co-pilot Andrean had become heroes of the Kingdom, and his father was very proud of him, and pinned the medals to his tunic himself, saying, “You are my son, Prince of my kingdom.” He awoke with a jolt, bolting upright in his seat. “Wow! My father was the King of Mars! Was he also the dead king of Kasil? What on Earth is going on?” The memories were hard to drag out when he was awake, and though he thought hard, it appeared that the only way he was going to learn anything was when he was asleep.

Well, there’s no way I can get back to sleep after THAT slap in the face, he thought, and left his seat and climbed back to the ground. What am I going to do for two whole days, he wondered, and started walking toward the huge hill at the edge of the city. When they had come in for a landing he could have sworn he saw a giant face carved on the top of it, wearing some kind of helmet, but could remember nothing from his previous life that would explain it. “I’ll just climb up there and have a look,” he said to himself, and Xlacchan, hearing his mumble from the sunny spot where he was reclining, said, “Hey, if you’re going to climb that big hill, count me in! I don’t like to just lay around, when I could be up and doing something. Let’s go!”

Dorian told him his thoughts about seeing the giant face as the starship descended, and Xlacchan said, “Hey! I’m not the only one then! I saw it too! A man wearing an Eagle Helmet! I didn’t want to say anything because I thought you would think I was nuts!” “That’s why I didn’t mention it, too! All right. We know it’s up there, then. Let’s go see it up close.”

After the three hundred foot climb in the thin air, they rested on the promontory for a time, looking down on the ruins. “It is still majestic, despite the devastation. You can see how wonderful it was, in your mind’s eye.” The priest agreed, and said, “I wish that I had the memories that come to you, that I was also one of the Men from Mars.” “But you are, my friend! The very same blood flows in your veins! There were no people on the planet Earth before the Martians landed! Every Human on that world came from this place! Someday, you too will begin to remember, for Sonja has said, ‘every man lives more than one life’.” Xlacchan said, “Let that be true. I am pleased with the life I have, but there has to be more! Following the path of the Great Serpent, I have often suspected that there is an endless chain, but He has never appeared to me and told me so! Perhaps now that Sonja has been repatriated she can shed light on this.” They got to their feet and went to the highest point of the hill, and turned and looked out over the craggy features. “Yes. A man of Mars without doubt. He has features quite like your own, Dorian, though it’s hard to tell from this angle. Let’s climb down and take the starship up, like you did for us priests when we discovered the lost city of Atlantis, and then we will see just what he is.” Dorian thought that was a fine idea, and having nothing else to occupy their time, they did just that.

At a thousand feet, the face was sharp and clear, though there was dust piled in the deepest hollows of the eyes and the small grin the ancient warrior wore, and in the grooves of the fantastic eagle’s feathers. The sharp raptor beak was poised to strike, and the eagle’s eye was fierce, matching the look in the face below. “That man didn’t accept abuse from anyone! That is a downright mean smile if I ever saw one!” Dorian said. Xlacchan replied, “If you want to see a smile just like it, look in a mirror. The Face on Mars belongs to you!”

Everything about this dead planet was a shock to Dorian’s system! “That can’t be true! Why, that hill was there when I was here! I don’t remember anything about a ‘face’ on it! We used to climb up there for loving under the light of the two moons, and there was nothing!” The priest said quietly, “It was carved in your honor after your death.”

“You say that with such conviction, Xlacchan, like you know it to be true. You have just sent a shaft of ice through my heart, my friend.” The Atlantian looked him in the eye and said, “I don’t know how this knowledge came to me, but I am positive of the truth of it. This world is full of spirits and unusual things that I have never encountered. Perhaps you are right. I may begin to have memories of this world as you do. Perhaps this was the start. I have always had a belief in the spiritual side of Man.Perhaps the spiritual side has a belief in me.” They parked the starship and walked to the base of one of the ruins and sat there in the weakening sunlight. The warmth of the day didn’t last long, and they soaked up all they could, before retiring to the ship for the night.

Sonja had bathed the five year old girl and found a top of her own that the babe thought was pretty, and was re-sewing it to the little girls size, making a very serviceable dress for the child. She used the gold thread that had been used in the designs of it, and even though she had no needle the sharp ends of the fine wire made their own way through the cloth. MeeMee loved it! “Mommy, it’s so pretty! Will you make more clothes for me when we go to our new home?” Sonja laughed and said, “Why of course I will! And you will have nice soft boots to wear, and sandals, and pretty ribbons and jewels for your hair, and no end of nice things. For now you are a Princess! Dorian and I are the King and Queen of Atlantis, and my mother and father are the King and Queen of Fella! You shall inherit the whole Earth!” The tiny Martian had never been happier. Neither had Sonja. The babe loved her little horns, and the fabulous wings, and said, “Mommy, can I have wings like yours someday?”  “I don’t know sweetheart. Let me think about it for a while. I am very new in this ‘goddess’ business, and must learn as I go along. If I can find a way, you certainly may have them if you wish to.”  With big eyes the child said, “I WISH to, mommy!” She had them. Horns too. Very miniscule, but there.

Xlacchan and Dorian had strolled up to the pair of them just as the little girl made the wish, and were amazed at the sudden change in the child. “Sonja! What have you done to that poor kid!” His wife said, “Not me! She did it herself! I was going to think about it later, and see if I could do something, but she beat me to it! She must have the bloodline and powers passed down from Venus, for no others could become as she has just done, with a wish.”  “Well then, she is even more than a daughter to you; a sister as well!” Xlacchan knelt in front of MeeMee and said to her, “Little princess of Mars, and Venus, and wherever you may have come from before that, I beg to be your humble servant. I have always served the Great Serpent, but no longer wish to follow Him. I have seen so many wonders since coming to Mars that I must choose a new path, and that path will be the one that you tread.” MeeMee was impressed by the big man who wanted to be her servant, and said, “Can he, mommy? I never had a servant before.” Sonja was baffled by the quick turn of events, and turned to Dorian. “What do I say?” “Say ‘yes’. He will watch over her when you are unable to, and protect her from all harm. It will be a good thing, for when we get back to Earth she may have a hard time with the people there, just as you may.”

“So you just wished you had wings and got your wish. That’s pretty neat MeeMee! All I ever get when I wish for something is something else! When you get bigger you will be able to fly with mommy. Won’t that be fun?” Dorian teased her a while longer, then they climbed into the starship for the night. They made sandwiches of smoked wild hog, and washed them down with good cold Atlantis spring water, and went to their berths. Xita was overwhelmed by the change in the babe, and loved her even more, for now she had two goddesses as companions, and would serve and protect the child for the remainder of her life, along with her husband.

Harry came looking for them the following day, and insisted on giving them a guided tour of the ruined city. “I want to show you something the like of you’ve never seen! It’s under the big rock over there!” He pointed to the hill that wore the Face. “I found a small cave on the other side years ago, but never told anyone. It has been my secret, but, that small cave leads to a larger one, and then there is a collapsed wall deep inside. I was scared the first time I went in there, I don’t mind telling you! I found a tunnel inside the wall that led to a beautiful chamber filled with old things that were left behind when Mars was abandoned, junk mostly, and other tunnels that went all over the place, but it was too cold to live in there. Cold and dark. Do you want to see it?” Dorian said, “Why sure! How about you Xlacchan? It’ll give us something to do. Amil won’t arrive until tomorrow, and, to tell the truth, I am becoming bored.” “Yes, let’s go under the rock.”

They made their way through the city of Eden slowly for there was much to see. “Here is the place where I spent my afternoons the last few weeks,” Harry said. It was a square stepped pyramid that rose in five tiers and on the top was a small cubicle with openings on all four sides, from where they could see a fine panorama of the devastated garden they had just traversed, and the many fine shops that had once enclosed it. As Dorian looked out upon the sight, he saw the gardens as they had been in his last sojourn on Mars, and began to describe them to his companions, pointing to the locations of the hibiscus and the rose and the flowering cherry and orange trees. “There were many fabulously pretty continuously blooming plants from all over the universe collected and nurtured by the gardeners, and so many varieties of edible fruit that it stretches the imagination. The shops carried goods from all the known worlds, and at any given time the walkways were thronged with crowds. If the explorers and miners of the past had not been to Earth on their lonesome expeditions, and known of its compatibility for the Humans to adjust and thrive, if they could get there, the Race may have ended here. Many of the fruits were taken as seedlings to Earth and cultivated there. Well, that was a long, long time ago, and there is not even the trace of a root left here now.”

Xlacchan had been silent through the narration and now he pointed to another structure nearby. “There is the Temple of  The Gods.” Dorian glanced over that way. “Why, yes it is! You’re warming up, my friend. Shall we go inspect it? It is pretty well destroyed but we may be able to get inside.” They headed in that direction and while they were climbing over the broken tile and stonework that projected from the sand and dust, Xlacchan saw a shining substance at his feet and knelt and dug it from the hardened crust. It was a medallion on a gold chain, and had a flying goddess of Mars engraved on the glowing ruby-red stone in its center. “This belongs on Sonja’s neck, Dorian. Will you allow me to present it to her?” Dorian took it from him and inspected it. “Are you sure? It is one of a kind, and priceless in it’s antiquity. In all probability another like it will never be found.” “Exactly why she must have it, for that is surely a representation of herself.” The king of Atlantis said, “When we get back from the hill, you may give it to her then. I am certain she will treasure it always.” They continued on for the Rock, and Harry led them to the small tunnel leading into the cave.

They had small powered lights taken from the starship, that worked much like the glow lights in the chambers underground once the hood was removed, and they unclipped them from their belts and proceeded into the stygian blackness. Crawling on their hands and knees for some distance, they then were able to walk erect for a short while, before once again working their way on their bellies to the break in the ancient wall. “A quake must have tumbled the stones here, for the wall was never meant to be breached. Inside the tunnels run in many confusing directions, and I didn’t explore beyond where I knew I couldn’t get lost,” Harry informed them. “The chamber I wanted you to see is down this way.” He led them down the corridor to their destination.

It was a huge open area that was full of relics from the forgotten past of Mars. “I only found this a few weeks back, and never told anyone. We are the first to know of its existence,” Hareemus said as they slowly entered. “There were stories when I was a child of a buried chamber holding the true history of Man, but no one ever found it. Who would have ever suspected it was in the very heart of Eden itself?” Dorian walked to a raised platform in the center of the vast chamber, while the others were touching this and feeling that, and he came to a dust covered stone box the length and breadth of a large body, and suspected it was a sarcophagus holding the remains of some person of import. The lid was askew, and he looked into the recess. A mummy of incredible age lay inside, one unlike anything he had ever seen.

He retraced his steps and said, “Fellows, I think we had better go find Sonja and the child, and bring them here. Let’s hurry, for the afternoon grows short and the cold is coming.” The three men left quickly, and when they had made their way back to the starship, found the girls waiting expectantly. “Where have you boys been? We were just going to go looking for you,” Sonja told them, and Dorian took her aside. “We have found a secret series of chambers under the hill over there, and need you to bring the child and come with us. There are some very strange things in there, from a past so old I knew nothing of it in my former life. I believe they relate to yourself, and the babe, for there is a mummy of a male flying god in the center of what looks to be a throne room.” She got very excited at the news, and took the child’s hand and said, “Lead on!”

They were back inside the entrance to the chamber when Xlacchan remembered the medallion, and nudged Dorian, “Perhaps now is the time to present her with this.” Dorian said, “You may be right. Sonja, Xlacchan has found something and wishes to give it to you. Come here.” She went close to the priest and stood before him, and he showed her the relic.” I don’t remember that, but it certainly looks like me, doesn’t it? Where did you find it?” The priest told of the discovery as they made their way through the gardens of Eden, and of the conviction that it belonged to her. “I would like you to have it, and wear it as a memento of this journey to Mars.” With that, he placed the chain around her neck, and when the clasp closed on itself, they heard a grumbling noise from the area of the old sarcophagus. “Hey!” a raspy voice said, “get me out of this box!”

The mummy rose to a seated position, and, scaring the hell out of them said, “Well, lend a hand! Can’t you see that I have no strength? Help me get out!” Hareemus ran for the door, which instantly closed in front of him, trapping the lot of them in the chamber with the ghost. Dorian cautiously approached the strange being’s tomb, and stepped up on the platform. “Hello, son. Give me an arm up would you?” Dorian held out his arm and the bony fingers closed on it with a feeble grasp, and the young king reached in and lifted the mummy from it’s resting place. Bits of long-dried flesh and cloth fell from it as it rose, turning to dust as it dropped, and several of it’s bones, no longer held together with the glue of life, remained in the place where it had laid. There was no weight to it, and Dorian lifted it free with ease, just as Sonja and the very curious child came near. When it was erect it reached in and picked up it’s other arm bones and reattached them, and the body, withered beyond belief, began to swell and come to life with a crackling rush.

“Welcome, children,” the winged man with the long curved horns said. His hair and beard had continued to grow after death, and he felt his whiskers and said, “I have slept a long time.” The child MeeMee stretched her arms out to the god and he picked her up, and Sonja, a girl born on another world, said, “Hello Father.”

Another ghostly form made it’s presence known, as a great eagle swept across the chamber and landed on the shoulder of the now-lively god. “My friend Ska, from yet another time and place. Sonja, your name reverberated across the vastness when you placed your hand on the monument, and called me from the void. I was on an errand far into the future with others of our kind when your name was shouted to the stars, and when the child Meela made her wish come true the pair of you drew my spirit home.” Sonja said, “I’ve always known of you, Father, but never where your resting place might be.” The Father said, “Yes child. It  was not meant to be known until the gods were awakened. The breach in the wall must be repaired and hidden from all, for the time has not yet come. Your descendant Swan will come in time, and it is for her the task has been set. Take the child and the men from Mars to Earth and prepare for the return of the alien horde. I cannot help you in the coming conflagration, for the power will not return until she stands beside my resting place, many years from now. Time can be bent to suit one’s self, by those with the powers of the gods, and when you become more sure of yourself, you and the young one may be able to visit those of us who shall return. Work on that power, and with the help of your medallion you can do anything you wish. Now, you must depart, for the tomb is calling me back. Goodbye, children, and Dorian, tell Amil I said hello!” He kissed the child and set her on her feet, and hugged the crying Sonja, grinned at the priest, shook hands with the amazed Dorian, and he and the bird vaporized.

Hareemus was still crouched near the door, and nearly screamed as it opened in front of him. “I want to get out of this place! I have ruined my only set of clothes in my fright, and will face ridicule when the people see me!” Sonja glanced at him and gave him a suit of clothes like Xlacchan was wearing and Harry was as fresh and clean as though he had just climbed out of a hot pool. Along with his new clothes he wore a grin as wide as his face would allow, and quickly led them from the chamber.

Sonja, once they emerged to the point where the wall had collapsed, placed her hand on the broken wall and repaired it, sealing the ancient resting place with a strong glazed surface that was part of the huge rock itself, and they exited the cave, which she collapsed behind them. Dorian raised an eyebrow at the feats he was witnessing, and Xlacchan became forever a believer in his new religion. He was carrying Meela, and the child kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him with love when she heard the thoughts tumbling in his mind. “You can do wondrous things like this, child, when you grow tall like Sonja, but you will do them on another world.”

It was nearly dark when they reached the starship, and Hareemus was invited to stay for dinner and a warm place for the night. “What was that majestic bird that the old god had with him? I have never seen such an animal.” Dorian told the young man, “ It was an eagle from Earth, though how it got here is a mystery. Perhaps the god has been to Earth, or perhaps the eagle originated on this world. We shall never know the truth of it.” His wife and the child were making sandwiches for the hungry men, and didn’t hear the question, though if Sonja had she would have quickly ended the doubt. Indeed the great bird had been a part of the history of Earth and Mars both, brought from one world to another by the immigrants of a forgotten age.

Amil and the squadron from Earth arrived as the sun was gaining strength, and the frost and deep chill of the night began to disappear. The three dozen troop transports and cargo transporters had just enough room for the people and their meager possessions, and were loaded and rising from the ground as the long silent twilight of Mars began. Not for many thousand years would man once again leave a footprint in the red dust, and wonder at the ancient ruins of Eden, and look down in awe at the Face on Mars.

It was a fast ride for the people, who had no knowledge of space travel or the machines associated with it, and they braved the experience with the true spirit of Man, who had forever been an adventurous and thrill seeking race, and expectantly awaited their arrival on their new world. They would be instilled in the vast caverns under the city of Atlantis, for their safety and protection from the vastly warmer and brighter planet Earth, until they had been acclimatized and impervious to the hot sunlight. It would take several generations for the pigmentation to return to their skin, blocking the harmful rays, and allowing their eyes to see in the brightness without being horribly burned. They would only emerge from the caverns with the advent of the moonlit night, to share in the bounties of their new home.

They arrived late in the afternoon, and the city of Atlantis welcomed them with open arms. Amil had left a thousand soldiers to prepare the way for them, and they had enlisted several thousand of the citizens, who had cleared the caverns and carried in large amounts of supplies and clothing and food. The people would face a difficult time adjusting to the new waters and foodstuffs, but they would soon overcome the illnesses associated with the changes, and find to their joy that Earth was indeed their home.

As the moon rose over the old city and shone down on the pyramids and palms and flowers and reflected from the many canals, they had never seen anything as beautiful, and the thousands of Atlantians and the soldiers from the far side of the world threw such a celebration for them as they could never have imagined, bringing them back into the brotherhood of Man. Never again would they feel lost or abandoned on a dead world. No one alive at that time knew, but for the original crew that had gone to Mars, of the returning threat of the aliens. That they would come was a certainty, but Dorian felt it best not to frighten the folk until they had time to break the news in a calm setting, at a better time. Amil, with the need to know, was taken into their confidence that first night as the fires burned high, with the little winged girl sitting on his knee, and his fantastic daughter, the goddess Sonja, holding onto his hand.

“We must scour the planet, and find every starship and weapon buried and establish an armed and ready force to repel the alien horde. We may have ten years to get ready for them, or it could occur at any time, but we know they are coming, from what your alien friends have said in warning. Such being the case, tomorrow we begin the hunt. Every major city that was destroyed had been recorded in the old maps carved on the stones of Atlantis, and we will find them and resurrect the tools left behind from the last invasion. May the old gods help and protect us in the dark times ahead.” Amil finished what he had to say, and then told Sonja, “You and this child are the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. Your mother will be frightened at first, but will soon overcome that and love you even more. MeeMee, your new grandmother will spoil you tremendously! Do you think you can handle that?” She dimpled prettily and said, “Yes, grandfather,” and curled up on his lap, folding her small wings and going to sleep.