{"id":674,"date":"2017-06-16T07:26:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T11:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/?page_id=674"},"modified":"2023-11-16T09:49:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T14:49:11","slug":"the-ojunta-stone","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/?page_id=674","title":{"rendered":"The Ojunta Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B08CNFR2F2\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1003 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-scaled.jpg 1706w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-768x1153.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-1023x1536.jpg 1023w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Ojunta-Stone-eBook-Cover-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dragon Eyes<\/em><\/strong> began this bold science fiction adventure.\u00a0 Then <strong><em>Sibyls\u2019 Orb<\/em><\/strong> dragged you inexorably into the beating heart of this mystical walk on the wild side of science fiction.\u00a0 But now, this twisted tale of mystical intrigue will weave your mind forever into <strong><em>The Ojunta Stone.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It all began forty years ago, during the Anoza Rebellion, when the rebels abandoned an anoza science officer and his team on the human world, Galatea. To their horror, they discovered the unspeakable evil that had been done there by their own people, anoza.\u00a0 But evil begets evil.\u00a0 Before the day was done, the rebels had killed one of their own and left the rest to die.\u00a0 So it was, in his despair, that the Ojunta Stone found him.\u00a0 So it was, that the science officer, a good man, became ensnared in the ancient evil\u2026 consumed by it.<\/p>\n<p>Forty years later, on a distant anoza world, a meeting was held of Council of the Crescent Moon in the Temple of Shem Kazat.\u00a0 Seven times they circled the sacred fire.\u00a0 Incense rose unto the heavens.\u00a0 When the power of them was full, within the Sibyl\u2019s Orb, only a brief vision was seen to give Toron, the smallest of clues, to hunt down this ancient evil.\u00a0 But the vision was of a time and place forty years in the past.\u00a0 How could that possibly help him now?<\/p>\n<p>Toron had survived the Anoza Rebellion\u2019s best attempt to kill him, but this time he found himself wound full-up into the same intrigues with a new face.\u00a0 This time, he faced an even more cunning opponent who had cheated death and hid amongst his people for the past forty years.<\/p>\n<p>But Captain Chon Ko Gonin and the crew of the Green Jinn had already unknowingly joined this quest.\u00a0 They thought they were hunting down a pair of criminals guilty of the most unspeakable war crimes, but quickly found themselves embroiled by the same ancient evil of the Ojunta Stone.<\/p>\n<p>This time, only the Dragon Warrior could save them, but to do that, he must first find the Alchemist of the Cozmos to discover the secret of the stone.\u00a0 Then, he must find a golden butterfly and a silver dragonfly.\u00a0 But Ojunta was not about to be so easily defeated.<\/p>\n<p>No matter what the outcome, you will be left to ask yourself; Is this magic or is this science?\u00a0 After all, quantum physics is not exactly what any sane person would call \u2018logical\u2019 now; right?\u00a0 So, you had better be prepared as <strong><em>The Ojunta Stone<\/em><\/strong> pushes that thought to its limits and severely tests the boundaries of belief.\u00a0 After all, this is science fiction, not fantasy\u2026 or is it?<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/h2>\n<h3>Please purchase my books from these fine retailers.<\/h3>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/amazon_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1132\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/amazon_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"129\" height=\"45\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/amazon_1.jpg 899w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/amazon_1-300x104.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/amazon_1-768x267.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 129px) 100vw, 129px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B08CNFR2F2\/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ojunta Stone on Amazon as a Kindle or Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/The-Ojunta-Stone-Audiobook\/B08CFYL6RC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ojunta Stone as an audio book at Audible.com<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/The-Ojunta-Stone-Audiobook\/B08CFYL6RC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"\" class=\"bc-pub-block bc-image-inset-border js-only-element\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51U1uH+3rNL._SL500_.jpg\" alt=\"The Ojunta Stone audiobook cover art\" width=\"254\" height=\"254\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Amazon Kindle<br \/>\n<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Print Length:<\/b> 174 pages<\/li>\n<li><b>Publisher:<\/b> Five Moons Publications; 2 edition (July 8, 2020)<\/li>\n<li><b>Publication Date:<\/b> July 8, 2020<\/li>\n<li id=\"sold-by-merchant\"><b>Sold by:<\/b>\u00a0Amazon.com Services LLC<\/li>\n<li><b>Language:<\/b> English<\/li>\n<li><b>ASIN:<\/b> B08CNFR2F2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>6&#215;9 Amazon Paperback<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>Series:<\/b> Tails of the Green Jinn (Book 3)<\/li>\n<li><b>Paperback:<\/b> 212 pages<\/li>\n<li><b>Publisher:<\/b> Independently published (July 10, 2020)<\/li>\n<li><b>Language:<\/b> English<\/li>\n<li><b>ISBN-13:<\/b> 979-8665307008<\/li>\n<li><b>ASIN:<\/b> B08CPB7NVW<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/1032397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1117 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Smashwords.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"48\" \/><\/a><\/h4>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/x\/id1523367776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/s\/2940164184940\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barnes &amp; Noble<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/store.kobobooks.com\/en-us\/Search?Query=9781005321345\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardners.com\/Search\/KeywordAnonymous\/eBook?Keyword=9781005321345\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gardners<\/a><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">SAMPLE CHAPTERS<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Prologue<\/h2>\n<p>A science team from the Anoza Rebel Battleship Kip\u2019nari\u2019aptu walked out of a quantum portal onto the surface of a planet that the humans called \u2018Galatea.\u2019\u00a0 They had been told that they were to run a preliminary survey.\u00a0 Galatea was a planet of incredible beauty.\u00a0 It had been very lovingly developed for human habitation by Cain, the CEO of the evil human Syndicate, for his own personal use.\u00a0 So, the buildings were all made of the most beautiful blocks of Galatea\u2019s finest granite. All of the human buildings and structures flowed along the natural curves of the landscape.\u00a0 As beautiful as they were, though, they were still not as beautiful as the magnificent Anoza stone buildings the science team was used to.\u00a0 They had not been lovingly constructed and decorated by skilled Anoza artisan craftsmen. \u00a0Even so, they were still very nice.<\/p>\n<p>The science team approached a magnificently appointed stone archway that opened into a magnificent garden beyond, but when they passed through it, they came upon a scene they never expected.\u00a0\u00a0 There were dead humans left laying where they had been shot, in now dried pools of their own blood.\u00a0 The stench of death hit them like a cold, hard slap in the face.\u00a0 The science officers were horrified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShades of Hades!\u201d Kiiori, one of science technicians, exclaimed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow could this be?\u201d Shemet asked Piatu Tahrek, the Chief Science Officer.<\/p>\n<p>Piatu was at once infuriated and disgusted. \u201cThis is not what we were told,\u201d he agreed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey told us that they had relocated all of these evil humans!\u201d Ninla reminded the group. \u201cThat was an outright lie, and this is the indisputable evidence of it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is nothing short of a crime,\u201d Shemet gave voice to the opinion of all. This was wrong by everything that every Anoza had been taught from birth.<\/p>\n<p>Just as wrong, ten minutes later, a tough squad of Anoza elite troopers arrived unannounced through another quantum portal.\u00a0 No one had said anything to Chief Science Officer Piatu Tahrek about any troops.\u00a0 He approached their squad leader and took him aside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u00a0 We were told that all of the humans here were relocated!\u201d Piatu said privately but firmly to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach of them chose their own fate,\u201d the stone-faced squad leader growled back at him. \u201cThey could have either gone quietly or die.\u00a0 These humans did not choose wisely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of them were armed! \u00a0And some of them were shot in the back!\u201d Piatu responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were nothing but evil human scum,\u201d the squad leader answered him dismissively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we are Anoza!\u201d Piatu insisted. \u201cWe are better than this!\u00a0 What happened here is a crime by any Anoza standard!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHigh Commander Kim Dakara thought that you would react this way.\u00a0 Today, you have not chosen wisely.\u201d\u00a0 Without so much as another word, the squad leader pulled out his pulse pistol and shot Piatu!<\/p>\n<p>~~~<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe shot Piatu in cold blood!\u201d Dorian told his daughter some forty years later with the same look of shock and horror on his face as the day that it had happened. \u201cHe killed Piatu without a moment\u2019s hesitation or a second thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ixianne was aghast at what her father had just told her.\u00a0 It took her a few seconds to recover enough for her to ask him, \u201cSo, what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo?\u00a0 Do?\u00a0 I was just young science officer.\u00a0 What could I possibly do against battle-hardened elite troops?\u201d\u00a0 It took Dorian several seconds to compose himself enough to continue.<\/p>\n<p>~~~<\/p>\n<p>The commando squad leader turned to face the rest of the science team.\u00a0 He could see the look of shock and horror on their faces.\u00a0 They were frozen with fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis day, you have all chosen your fates,\u201d he growled at them. \u201cBy order of High Commander Kim Dakara, you will be left here to live out your days.\u201d\u00a0 And, with that said, a quantum portal formed behind the troops.\u00a0 They all streamed back through it while two of them leveled their weapons at the science team to ensure that none of them dared to move.\u00a0 The last two men backed through the portal after all the others.\u00a0 It dissolved moments later.<\/p>\n<p>Dorian was the first member of the science team to recover enough to run over to Piatu.\u00a0 But despite all of their best efforts to save him, Piatu died.\u00a0 The whole time, Lalu tried desperately to contact their ship for help.\u00a0 No one answered her.\u00a0 Then, as she watched in dismay, the quantum-com network disconnected from them altogether.\u00a0 They were being deliberately abandoned here and cut off from all communications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow what will we do?\u201d Kiiori asked.<\/p>\n<p>Dorian had been second in command.\u00a0 Now the burden of command was his.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur first order of business here is to survive,\u201d Dorian told her. \u201cEveryone, scan the local area.\u00a0 See what we can find to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are human androids all self-stored in a building over there,\u201d Massimo reported as he pointed to it.\u00a0 Shemet found a number of fully orbital transports all docked to the main building\u2019s entry wing.\u00a0 Lalu found stores of human food and water while Ninla scanned and mapped the habitable buildings before them.\u00a0 They had come prepared for nothing more than a simple science mission. \u00a0Instead, this became a mission of survival.<\/p>\n<p>While the rest of them went into a beautifully appointed building to make it their impromptu headquarters, Dorian and Massimo organized the androids to remove all of the dead humans and Piatu.\u00a0 The bodies were all taken to a flat, barren spot outside of the compound and laid out in proper Anoza fashion.\u00a0 The bodies were all wrapped in white cotton sheets and set upon a stack of natural wood.\u00a0 No formal words were spoken as the funeral pyre was set ablaze.\u00a0 They all just stood there respectfully in stunned silence and watched until the fire was only a few burning embers.\u00a0 Day one was the worst.\u00a0 It was the pit of despair.<\/p>\n<p>Kiiori did the best she could to cook proper Anoza meals with the human ingredients at hand and spices that she could only smell and do her best with.\u00a0 She loved cooking and so found this to be a pleasing challenge for her culinary skills.\u00a0 The next morning found her teaching the android cook to make typical Anoza flatbreads.\u00a0 The spices were not exactly correct but very close, to everyone else\u2019s great relief.<\/p>\n<p>On the second day, Massimo found the human quantum-com units that had all been left behind when the anoza troops had forced the humans to move in such a big hurry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat can we do with this?\u201d Massimo asked Dorian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can monitor the human communications,\u201d Dorian decided, \u201cand see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u00a0 What are you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have no idea what the future will bring,\u201d Dorian decided, \u201cbut at least it is a tie to the outside and a hope for rescue.\u201d\u00a0 Everyone else agreed with Dorian and so they made a schedule to share the monitoring task.<\/p>\n<p>Massimo returned all of the androids to their previously assigned tasks.\u00a0 The androids would tend to the farms and see to the maintenance of the buildings and equipment.\u00a0 They would run and maintain the crude fusion reactors that powered all of this.\u00a0 So, survival here would be easy and maybe even pleasant with the androids doing all of the work.\u00a0 The anoza science crew settled in and listened to reports of the war from the humans\u2019 perspective over the quantum-com.<\/p>\n<p>~~~<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the end, you were rescued by the People\u2019s Fleet, though,\u201d Ixianne repeated what her father had told her and her mother long ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, but only after they defeated Kim Dakara and his rebels.\u201d\u00a0 Dorian, like so many of his fellow crewmen, were not Rebels.\u00a0 They were caught up in the middle of the Rebellion and swept along in it like a leaf in a hurricane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut there is more to this story,\u201d Ixianne told her father after several seconds of silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are so much like your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI watched her read the expressions on your face a thousand times,\u201d she confessed, but pressed on, \u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know me.\u00a0 I am naturally curious.\u00a0 I could not just sit there.\u00a0 While we waited for the war to end, I went exploring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese humans were indeed evil and clever beyond what you would expect.\u00a0 Even so, Anoza technology is a million years more advanced than theirs. \u00a0I found their secrets, but needless to say, I kept that information to myself.\u00a0 After the war, I went back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found the evil human\u2019s hidden gold?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a lot more than just gold,\u201d Dorian agreed. \u201cThere were diamonds and platinum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut didn\u2019t that belong to the humans?\u201d Ixianne reasoned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot so.\u00a0 The evil humans stole it from other humans, but then they killed everyone.\u00a0 So, now there is no one left alive for me to return it to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it does not belong to the humans, then does it not belong to the People\u2019s Fleet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would have had they found it, but they did not.\u00a0 I found it.\u201d\u00a0 At least, that was Dorian\u2019s rationalization for doing what he did. \u201cI left it right where it was.\u00a0 I made no effort to hide it any more than the humans had.\u00a0 Had the People\u2019s Fleet found it, it would have belonged to them, but they never even looked for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf what you did was legal, then why did you hide it for more than forty years, even to this day?\u201d Ixianne once more questioned his logic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst and foremost, when I found it, I was not exactly a member of the People\u2019s Fleet.\u00a0 Even though that was not by my own choice, officially, I was still a member of the Rebels.\u00a0 That fact alone took months for the People\u2019s Fleet to confirm that I was hijacked along with many others.\u00a0 Even so, you know what would have happened had I told them what I found?\u00a0 They would have confiscated it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then you could have claimed it as legally yours,\u201d she reasoned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, I most certainly could have done that, but then it would have been tied up in the People\u2019s Courts for many years while its caretakers would have squandered it while they dragged out the proceedings for as long as they possibly could.\u00a0 They would have done everything they could to drive me broke in legal fees while they used up even more of my fortune.\u00a0 In the end, they would have left me with nothing, even had I won my claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh.\u00a0 Yes, indeed,\u201d Ixianne had to agree.\u00a0 He was right.\u00a0 That is exactly what would have happened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter the war, I went back.\u00a0 I told everyone that I made a little money and invested it wisely and that I did do, but I have much more than any of them would ever suspect.\u00a0 That is what makes this all possible.\u00a0 Other than that, I live the life of an honest man of means,\u201d Dorian explained to his daughter. \u201cYou know that I pay my taxes honestly and give generously to those in need.\u00a0 I have secretly made my fellow science teammates financially comfortable for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ixianne may not have been completely comfortable with her father\u2019s moral position on this, but now she had to see where this conversation was going.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo now you are telling me,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know where I do business, but I need you to take the next step.\u00a0 I need you to learn the secrets.\u00a0 You will carry on after me.\u00a0 You will know the secrets as well as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u00a0 I will learn your secrets,\u201d she agreed with reservations that she kept to herself.<\/p>\n<h2>Chapter 1: It all started with a vision.<\/h2>\n<p>On a distant world, a wood fire burned in the pit at the center of Shem Kazat, a very ancient Anoza Temple, as five moons rose into the crisp, clear night sky above.\u00a0 A man in formal robes threw a small handful of incense into the fire.\u00a0 The smoke of it went up into the heavens.\u00a0 The smell of it filled the air as the Council of the Crescent Moon once more met in their formal robes.<\/p>\n<p>Three times did they circle the fire counterclockwise to begin this before a quantum portal opened.\u00a0 Through it, stepped Destiny and Phoebe.\u00a0 Cozmo followed them carrying the Sibyl\u2019s Orb in its pouch.\u00a0 He stepped aside as Destiny and Phoebe joined the Council to circle the fire now four times clockwise.\u00a0 And so, the circle was complete.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Stones of Ojunta stole a secret,\u201d Toron said in a loud voice. \u201cThe secret has a place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the other robed members threw a handful of powdered incense on the fire.\u00a0 The council waited until the smell of it was full to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCozmo, come forth,\u201d Phoebe commanded.<\/p>\n<p>Cozmo came forward holding the Orb out to her.\u00a0 She carefully removed it from its pouch and set it onto an invisible force field that held it suspended in the air before her.\u00a0 Then she placed her hands upon the Orb and closed her eyes.\u00a0 All of the others joined hands in a circle with Phoebe in their center.\u00a0 The Sibyl\u2019s Orb sparkled with the power of it until its shimmering light filled them all.<\/p>\n<p>A world beyond beauty appeared, full of peace and bliss.\u00a0 Wisps of high clouds highlighted a magnificent deep blue sky.\u00a0 Multicolored birds\u2019 songs could be heard.\u00a0 This world was lush and fruitful wherever you looked.\u00a0 Beautiful buildings with once magnificent courtyards had once been home to humans here, but no more.\u00a0 The buildings were in disrepair, and its gardens had all gone wild.<\/p>\n<p>Only one structure stood out.\u00a0 It stood alone, remote from all the others, at the very edge of an open desert.\u00a0 However, its gardens all were well kept and manicured.\u00a0 Even the desert dared not encroach upon its space.\u00a0 Its stone structure had withstood the test of time.\u00a0 Its pathways were all swept and clean, its lawns all perfectly trimmed and edged.\u00a0 And yet, it was empty\u2026 save for its android caretakers.<\/p>\n<p>The sight of it filled Destiny with fear, but she would not give in.\u00a0 She fought back against the ancient evil that was trying to cloak itself in her fear.\u00a0 The entire Council became her strength and filled her with their peace.<\/p>\n<p>And so, a vision of the past appeared.\u00a0 It was a man, a human.\u00a0 He was smiling and cordial, but in him dwelt great evil.\u00a0 He spoke words that were unimportant but put his hand on the wall and spoke to it.\u00a0 Stars appeared.\u00a0 The man pointed to some of them as he spoke, but then that vision faded.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly another face appeared\u2026 an Anoza face\u2026 and he wore the uniform of the Anoza People\u2019s Fleet.\u00a0 But then the vision ended as quickly has it had appeared.<\/p>\n<p>The Sibyl\u2019s Orb went quiet and no longer filled them with its power and light.\u00a0 The members all released each other\u2019s hands and took a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air to clear their minds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI must tell Dallas Blake right away,\u201d Toron told the group, but he knew full well that the ball was in his court on this one.\u00a0 The man he saw was anoza, not human.\u00a0 He wore the uniform of the Anoza People\u2019s Fleet.\u00a0 Toron sent the images of the man from his anoza version of a mindlink to his official private server on Akkad.<\/p>\n<p>~~~<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, Toron crossed the quantum portal from his home directly to his office on Akkad.\u00a0 Unlike human governments, Anoza government ran like a well-oiled machine on its own.\u00a0 So, there was a whole list of messages waiting for him, but none of them was urgent.\u00a0 Being a member of the High Council gave him secure access to any information that he needed.\u00a0 He entered the picture of the anoza man\u2019s face into the system and requested an identity.<\/p>\n<p>While he waited for a reply, he looked at several of the messages, thinking that his request would take a while.\u00a0 Instead, his virtual display suddenly came up with a secondary request for his personal identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is highly irregular,\u201d he mumbled but let his camera scan his retinas.<\/p>\n<p>The security screen was suddenly replaced by a woman\u2019s face, live and in 3-D.\u00a0 She was as surprised to see him, as he was to find her on his display.\u00a0 She was even more surprised to read who he was in a banner at the bottom of her display.\u00a0 Toron was equally surprised to see the woman identified as Liilu Nirba, Chief Investigator, People\u2019s Secret Service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHigh Council, how may I be of service?\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to discuss this matter with you personally, not over a network 3-D display.\u00a0 Where is your office?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sent him a map file to her office.<\/p>\n<p>~~~<\/p>\n<p>When the High Council\u2019s image dissolved, Liilu was sincerely puzzled.\u00a0 What interest could High Council Toron possibly have in her current case?\u00a0 This case was nothing like any other that she had ever investigated, and now it was taking yet another unexpected turn.<\/p>\n<p>Toron\u2019s passing through security in the Secret Service building quickly brought out the Director.\u00a0 She was as surprised at this visit as Liilu had been.\u00a0 Now Toron had to be careful, or she would interpose herself into this.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDirector Jarinatu,\u201d he greeted her. \u201cSo nice to see you.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped to formally greet her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow can I be of service?\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI urgently need some very sensitive intel directly from one of your people,\u201d he told her quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d She asked him quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChief Investigator, Liilu Nirba,\u201d he whispered to her.<\/p>\n<p>She turned and led him directly to Liilu Nirba\u2019s office.\u00a0 The door opened as they approached.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you,\u201d Toron told Director Jarinatu.\u00a0 She stopped at the door.\u00a0 He continued on into the office. To Director Jarinatu\u2019s surprise, the door closed behind him.\u00a0 Liilu saw the door close behind him and the look on Director Jarinatu\u2019s face as it did.\u00a0 Now she was even more intrigued as to what this was all about.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour system identified this man,\u201d Toron said to Liilu as he put the 3-D picture up on her display.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d she replied after several pointed seconds. \u201cThat is Dorian Calisiian, but that is an old picture of him.\u201d\u00a0 She put a recent 3-D photo up next to his image for comparison. \u201cYour picture of him is forty years old, when he was a science officer in the People\u2019s Fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Toron agreed with her. \u201cThat is exactly correct.\u00a0 Why are you investigating him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty years ago, Sumai Raktiash, the Chief Investigator before me, found a pattern of money developing that exactly matched how the Rebellion\u2019s conspirators moved their money.\u00a0 We were at first very alarmed.\u00a0 Had the Rebellion not been totally defeated?\u00a0 Then, we found that he exchanged gold and diamonds that were strangely radioactive for the money.\u00a0 It all emitted exotic quantum Xi particles.\u00a0\u00a0 Sumai was then even more concerned, but Dorian Calisiian only made very few very brief surprise appearances, and never in the same place twice.\u00a0 So, it was incredibly difficult to track down with limited resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor many years did Sumai hunt this man down.\u00a0 He was very elusive.\u00a0 Dorian Calisiian has some very nice homes on seven different planets but was never to be found in any of them.\u00a0 Then Sumai retired.\u00a0 When he did, he left the case to me.\u00a0 I found that Dorian Calisiian had a wife and daughter.\u00a0 They could easily be found in any one of these homes and moved around as frequently as it served their purposes.\u00a0 Even so, we could never find Dorian Calisiian coming or going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack when I first took on this case, Dorian Calisiian was using different dealers to exchange his gold, diamonds, and platinum every time.\u00a0 So, it was not possible for us to catch him in the exchange.\u00a0 As the years passed, though, he became less cautious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen, one of our agents spotted him going into one of the dealers one day two years ago.\u00a0 The agent used that opportunity to set a swarm of micro-drones to follow him.\u00a0 That is how I found his private network of rings,\u201d she explained to Toron.\u00a0 Anoza called quantum portals \u2018rings\u2019 because that is what the Anoza versions looked like \u2013 a thick, gray metal ring large enough for you to walk through.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, he eluded you by moving across his own private rings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, he did.\u00a0 So, I solved that.\u00a0 My micro-drones tagged his rings.\u00a0 When we thought that we had found them all, my own ring technicians secretly bugged them.\u00a0 Now I can sit in my office and track Dorian Calisiian from planet to planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you have not yet arrested him,\u201d Toron concluded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u00a0 I have not,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd why would that be?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very complicated legal issue, actually.\u00a0 Dorian Calisiian did not turn out to be a rebel nor was he a terrorist.\u00a0 In fact, he honestly declares his income and pays his taxes.\u00a0 For all of the work that we have put into this case, as far as we can tell, there appears to be no crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he has unregistered private rings,\u201d Toron reasoned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he does, but that is a minor infraction,\u201d she replied. \u201cHe will pay the fines and disappear once more.\u00a0 But then he will be wise to us, and I will never find him again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is something we are missing,\u201d Toron told her. \u201cWhen I saw him, he was dressed in a People\u2019s Fleet uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou saw him?\u201d Liilu asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, I saw him as he was forty years ago when he was but a young officer in the People\u2019s Fleet,\u201d Toron told her only what she needed to know. \u201cBring up his Fleet service record.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liilu had been over all of this long ago.\u00a0 Sumai Raktiash had gone over all of this long before her. \u00a0She didn\u2019t exactly see the point, but Toron was High Council.\u00a0 Who was she to question the High Council?\u00a0 She and Toron did not have to look at Dorian\u2019s service record very long to discover\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was left marooned on the human planet, Galatea, by Kim Dakara during the rebellion! That is where he found the source of his ill-gotten gains\u2026 while he was an officer in the People\u2019s Fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut at the time, he was a rebel,\u201d Liilu reasoned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot by his own testimony,\u201d Toron countered. \u201cAccording to his official review at the time, he swore that he was never a rebel, but hijacked.\u00a0 It was so affirmed by the Fleet Review Board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when he was rescued, he brought nothing of any note with him,\u201d Liilu replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, yes he did.\u00a0 He secretly brought back the knowledge of where the valuables were hidden.\u00a0 It was his duty to disclose that information to the People\u2019s Fleet.\u00a0 That fortune was all stolen from humans by the Syndicate.\u00a0 It rightfully belonged to the humans, not to Dorian Calisiian,\u201d Toron stated his understanding of the law. \u201cAfter his rescue, he served out his term in the People\u2019s Fleet.\u00a0 From there you lost him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, we did,\u201d Liilu agreed after looking at the records from Sumai.\u00a0 The light was coming on for her. \u201cBut I have no record of my swarm ever following him through a portal to any human planet\u2026 but he has not made any large sales of valuables since I tagged him, either.\u00a0 On the other hand, he seems to be overdue for one.\u00a0 He should have made one by now, but has not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toron called Director Jarinatu to join him in Liilu\u2019s office.\u00a0 She arrived so quickly that she had to have been waiting nearby.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will put whatever resources onto Chief Inspector Liilu Nirba\u2019s case that she needs.\u00a0 She has my full confidence.\u00a0 I do not want her interfered with in any way.\u00a0 I want her in full control of this matter.\u00a0 She will communicate directly with me.\u00a0 Am I clearly understood?\u201d he asked her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, High Council.\u00a0 It will be so,\u201d she answered, but he could hear some equivocation in her response.<\/p>\n<p>He smiled at her. \u201cGood.\u00a0 That is why I brought this matter to you.\u00a0 I must also tell you that this whole project is Special Access Only.\u00a0 I am to be your only contact.\u00a0 When it has concluded, I will be putting commendations in the personnel files for each of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now that brought a smile to Director Jarinatu\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48\" style=\"width: 183px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DDP_logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DDP_logo.jpg\" alt=\"Double Dragon Publishing\" width=\"183\" height=\"216\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Double Dragon Publishing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Double Dragon Publishing originally published this novel until 7\/7\/2020 when they closed business.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Paperback<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>ISBN-10:<\/b> 1728950864<\/li>\n<li><b>ISBN-13:<\/b> 978-1728950860<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kindle Version<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>Publisher:<\/b> Double Dragon eBooks (September 11, 2018)<\/li>\n<li><b>Publication Date:<\/b> September 11, 2018<\/li>\n<li id=\"sold-by-merchant\"><b>Sold by:<\/b>\u00a0Amazon Digital Services LLC<\/li>\n<li><b>Language:<\/b> English<\/li>\n<li><b>ASIN:<\/b> B07H8JFXYN<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ojunta Stone at Double Dragon Publishing<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dragon Eyes began this bold science fiction adventure.\u00a0 Then Sibyls\u2019 Orb dragged you inexorably into the beating heart of this mystical walk on the wild side of science fiction.\u00a0 But now, this twisted tale of mystical intrigue will weave your mind forever into The Ojunta Stone. It all began forty years ago, during the Anoza &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/?page_id=674\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Ojunta Stone<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-674","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=674"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/674\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fivemoons.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}