The Purge
July 25, 2001
Star date 2414.11.23

When man sins, his sins come to find him. That I know is true, but the reason why it's done has eluded me for many moons.
Donovan Biccarro (2196-2245)

The winter winds wrapped the castle in a tight grip. Not enough to choke, but to give extreme pain and discomfort. Kero sat at his desk looking at the monitor with news and information pouring in all sides like a hurricane. There was the war on Literofuss, the villagers strike against the King, and the birth of a child. She was like no other. Rumors said that she was special, some type of Starchild.

I've got no time to attend to some birth of a child, beside there's too much to do here.

Kero's office was placed on the far side of the castle, facing the south. On warm days he could see part of the village below. The hill did have advantages, he could see far above the commons, and on the other side of the forest, another village populated by the humans.

The humans did have strange customs, many he could not understand. Yet he longed to be friends with them. That would mean a change of venue; there was no chance of his father changing plans now.

The mahogany desk and the cool wooden floors were no match for a Tageron who yearned for warmer weather that was several months away. Yet the cold just kept irritating him. It bit through the heavy sweater and the warmth of fireplace that he took care of every now and then.

The midmorning sun did not give any warmth on that day or any day other this particular winter. The king ordered that the castle walls to be reinforced with heavy concrete and insulation, but it was of little use. The wind and the cold came right on in as before. Only now, they stood all the time and never left.

He rose and rubbed his eyes. His paws hurt and his body ached. The door knocked and he knew that the news was not good.

"Come in," Kero ordered.

"It's only me." Jolly opened the door and peeked in to see if someone else was here, but there was none. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes dashed around the cold and dark office with Kero's desk against the window and the curtains drawn tight.

Her outfit of light and dark blue was offset by a floppy hat and her pointy ears. The Tageron seal laid in sharp contrast to everything else on her. The gold and purple seal of a Tiger raising its paw as if to strike. The words around it said something of power and majesty to the kingdom forever. But that was lost a long time ago.

She was a rare one, because she worked for the king and Kero. Her loyalty was to no one and something he so longed to acquire. The Tagerons were considered unusual people. Not because of their bravery, but because it reminded her of an old picture book. It was that of a Tiger named Tigger. Sure they looked about the same, but Tigger never got angry or kill people. For that, the Tagerons were certainly different.

"I haven't heard from father. It's not like him. I should have heard something by now." He walked up to her and looked into her eyes of dark blue. Jolly was startled not by his lack of emotional output but by his casual response.

She glanced down trying not to upset him, but felt compelled to give him some reassurance. "Maybe he got caught up with the negotiations."

She glanced over the desk and looked at the monitor. Kero turned it off by a flick of the communicator on his wrist.

"I'm sorry, but that is privileged information." He looked into her eyes, and her smile disappeared.

"Why are so upset about the code?" Anger flared in her voice and he knew that she was right, for a change.

"Because if it right, then this girl is something to be reckoned with." He glanced at the monitor and turned it back on. He rewound the last pictures until the baby appeared. Two poor people dressed in rags and holding a baby in her arms.

She is no older than 25 or 26, give or take. But how could this event lead to anything?

He shrugged and looked at Jolly again. "The code is all I have left here. Without it, time has no meaning. I went searching for the battles of 2246 and came up with some disturbing evidence."

He turned and opened his drawer and carefully unwound the charts. They were old and decaying. Some of it was missing and torn. On them was a timeline from 2084, the year the humans arrive until now, 2414. In between there were patches of white and blue dates.

"Look at the pattern from the year 2240 to 2285. It seems that someone had carefully erased it and inserted something else."

Jolly looked up and frowned. "But how can this be? What criteria would someone do this?"

"I don't know, but I'm beginning to suspect that this has been going on for some time now. In fact, I believe that it is still continuing as we speak."

She dropped the charts and her bells jangled from her hat. "Why? How..." She started to day but felt the words left her mouth in a vapor.

" I don't know, but I'm afraid to find out why." He picked up the charts and placed them back in his drawer.

"Don't tell anyone about this." Her eyes meet Kero's once again. Her scared and frightened look was offset by his charm and grace.

She turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her. She wondered what all this meant. Was there something that was never mentioned or did forgot to tell us why it happened?

In the end she found no answer only more questions. Down the hallway, Jolly could see the grand library with its oak doors and statues of King Hebo standing over it. She pressed her hands to the door and opened it.

Inside, there were magnificent books about the history of Earth, Tageron and Species X. As far as she could remember, they had no idea who Species X was or where they came from. But that was then, and this was certainly not now.

A high bookcase and computer were placed on the left side of the wall. No light entered the room, except for a glass lantern and a lone desk standing next to a computer. No one ventured in here, for this place was the keeper of records, and his name was Geralus.