Arlene

## Overview

* Estarian high priestess.
* Her father brought her family to Gaitune from Estaria. He was in the Federation at the time it was called ‘the Empire’.
* She lived several of her early decades on the Merideth Reynolds and took an assignment from Lance when she had decided to leave. Rumors are she is around 90 years old at the time of Retribution.
* Arlene has taught Giles how to tap into planetary power and perform "magic", although definitely easier when he is with her.
* Arelene can create a self-sustaining fireball that generates heat and light.
* Arlene knows her way around grimoires of all the human cultures and the shamanic rituals of even the most far-flung Estarian and Yollin traditions.

## Activities

### The Ascension Myth

#### Activated

At the request of Lance Reynolds Arlene leases the safe house to Molly's team. Lance asked her to appear non-threatening so she appears as very old.

#### Rebirth

Again at Lance's request, Arlene comes back to coach Molly in how to manage her realm shifting. Arlene explains to Molly they will go on a Vision Quest together.

#### Retribution

Arlene agrees to go with the team to the ArchAngel to continue to support Molly.

The Squadron is revisiting old business when the General Shaa, exiled for running a clandestine military effort. has started to rearm. When their first assault fails, Giles volunteers to go in covertly and sabotage them from inside. Sean vehemently disagrees with the plan and goes to Lance. Giles tries to recruit **Arlene** who he worked with in the past to help me get in with less risk. He is determined to go on the mission even though Lance lets him know there is no safety net. The Squad is all he has and they are running off the Federation books.

Giles is outfitted with visual and audio enhancements that are necessary, but will also self-destruct before falling into enemy hands. Sean tries again dissuade him and again fails. Once on Shaa's asteroid Arlene is able to see and hear all that is going on. She is also able to sense the individuals Giles in contact and read their emotional state, just as Molly is learning to do. Arlene helps the Squadron identify when Giles is in mortal danger so they can go in and same him.

#### Cloaked

Giles works with Arlene to determine how the talisman he recovered in Retribution fits in with both the Estarian and Zyhn past histories. He finally understands Arlene was not pushing him away 70 years ago but trying to get him to commit. Instead he completely bailed on the relationship thinking it was an ultimatum. Unfortunately for him in the last 70 years she has moved past wanting any intimate relationship with him but will work with him.

Arlene and Giles agree to teach at Molly's Staðall University, her in interplanetary sociology, and Estarian spirituality, Giles in anthropology.

#### Subversion

Arlene becomes the interface between the Sanguine Squadron and Carol Bates' Spy School/Clandestine operations. Carol has distain for Arlene even though Arlene is an Estarian priestess because of Arlene's work with the Federation. The saving grace at the time is Ben'or has come from Zhyn to see her and is able to help with their work on Academy.

#### Invasion

Giles and Arlene have a theory that Anne not only can receive power but is also an antenna to broadcast use of the power. They suspect the Ascended Race is homing in on her. As the Squadron and the Zhyn "mercenaries" approach the AR fleet, Sean and Karina plan to take Anne and the Little Empress away from the system. However, as the AR approaches Molly, Anne and Arlene all go into a trance.

Molly, Arlene and Anne's trance state is actually a meeting with the Ascended Race. They are very large, very wise, very technically advanced and very loving beings. They welcome the 3 as part of their family.

### Confessions of a Space Anthropologist

#### Rogue Operator

Rogue Operator's dialog starts after Giles and Arlene take a role in Molly's academy in Cloaked but goes into stories from Gile's past. While this is subseries of it's own the book is also identified as Ascension Myth 7.5. However, Anne's kidnapping which occurred before or concurrently with Cloaked is in this book.

Giles found his first Talisman on Earth within the materials recovered of the Sacred Clan space ship. Awhile later he made a trip to Estaria and gave it to the Estarian Elders for safekeeping. **Arlene** explained to the team that the talisman has power that can be controlled by the being holding it. Arlene tried to kill Giles in order to acquire the talisman after the elders were killed. Giles need to find another hiding place for the talisman.

Giles also suspected there were other copies of the talisman based on the multiple constellations on it including Estaria and Zyhn.

Giles and Arlene take The Scamp Princess to Kurilia to ask the Zhyn Emperor for permission to visit the Moons of Orn. They are granted permission but are surprised when the Justicar Beno'or requests to accompany them. The Justicar also probes Giles to see if Arlene is available for dating surprising Giles since many Zhyn would not find an Estarian atrractive.

The three with Scamp figure narrow down the search for the temple to 3 moons after the most obvious, tourist moon proves to be a fake. When they find the temple on the Aibek moon they also find the moon protected by a force field and protected by Zhyn guardians. Giles and Arlene find a cave by the temple and are quickly trapped in the cave behind a barrier Giles and Arlene, They find a hollow at the end of the cave that has oxygen and filled with carvings that they send to Scamp to evaluate.

Arlene does confront Giles about Giles increasingly risky behavior. Giles relates he feels he has done so many "dumb" things in the past he needs to make up for it by doing something heroic. Arlene points out essentially that dumb and dead does not always equate to heroic. In return Giles expresses to Arlene that while they couldn't make it as a romantic couple she would always be one of his best friends.

Scamp deciphers a spell that allow Arlene to reveal a door that leads to a burial area where they find the second talisman behind another force field. Scamp breaks through the forcefield allowing them to get to the talisman. As they are leaving the guards about to kill them when guard Jendyg attacks his fellow guards and helps them escape.

Giles and Arlene realize the long-term goal for solving the puzzle of the talismans is with The Order of the Sacred Ascenders.

#### Rogue Instigator

While Molly and most of the Squadron head off to save Sean, Giles and Arlene take *The Scamp Princess* to search for the next talisman on Mallifrax-8 in the Ferrai Quadrant. Mallifrax-8 was originally known to the ancients as Gaumix. Formerly home to the Essiehkor Kurtherian tribe, long before they evolved and became the race we know of today. It currently colonized by the Queegert and is mining colony extracting etheriam and run by a monarchy that controls access to the planet.

They are given permission to go to the ruins of the temple but are forewarned the Queegert had inspected the temple in the past and taken artifacts. When they arrive at the temple they find it guarded by panther like animals with black and purple fur. After a day of searching they find nothing and return to The Crown. He wines and dines them proposing they help him overthrow the company that dominates the colony in return for reviewing the artifacts the Queegert took from the temple.

Arlene goes to talk with the miners while Giles goes to talk with the MacKegans. Arlene finds the miners ready to rebel, Giles finds the MacKegans fixated on a business model that denies the miners a fair return on their labor based on an agreement only The Crown can change. Arlene and Giles approach the Crown about the change and he pushes it back on them to change the mining and refining situation.

Giles goes off to find a mining engineer and Arlene decides to terrorize the MacKegans. Afterward the miners refer to Arlene as Arlene the Terrible.

The last known position of Bill the engineer is on the Phoenix-Delta Outpost. Giles sets the timer with Scamp at 48 hours at which time if Giles has not returned the Scamp Princess will return to Arlene and Anne. Android TRX9978 aka Trixie is at the dock to take Giles to Bill.

Anne meets with the miners while Arlene is away. Based on her questions and comments the miners label her Anne the Wise. They teach her about etheriam. The main use now is for its structural properties but it also is considered magical by some people if highly refined. In a highly refined state it could also store DNA and even information for millennia. As Anne heads back to the compound she sees Queegert guards unloading a large, lethal machine and heads back to warn the miners.

Arlene sees the war Mechs when she returns and goes to warn the minors who tase her unconscious. When she wakes up she is tied down and the miners accuse her of being a traitor because they saw her go to MacKegans. When Anne finds the miners with Arlene she becomes furious and unleashes her power on the miners.

The guards and Mechs attack the miners with Arlene defending them. Just as Arlene is running out of energy one of the Mechs takes out the other remaining Mech. Giles and Scamp gained control and have essentially ended the battle.

Giles does arrange the final settlement where The Crown has changed the rules, the MacKegans have been bought out by a more ethical company and the refining processes are significantly enhanced.

Anne combines research from the miners, from Giles and from her intuition to show the talismen are actually data storage devices made of etherium. Anne reveals she also has a talisman given to her by her uncle meaning the team now has 4 talismen to evaluate.

## References

1. ↑ Clark, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. The Ascension Myth Complete Omnibus (Books 1-12): Awakened, Activated, Called, Sanctioned, Rebirth, Retribution, Cloaked, Bourne. Committed, Subversion, Invasion, Ascension (p. 902). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2. ↑ Clark, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. The Ascension Myth Complete Omnibus (Books 1-12): Awakened, Activated, Called, Sanctioned, Rebirth, Retribution, Cloaked, Bourne. Committed, Subversion, Invasion, Ascension (p. 1034). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
3. ↑ Clark, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. The Ascension Myth Complete Omnibus (Books 1-12): Awakened, Activated, Called, Sanctioned, Rebirth, Retribution, Cloaked, Bourne. Committed, Subversion, Invasion, Ascension (p. 1034). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
4. ↑ Clarke, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. Giles Kurns: Rogue Operator: Age Of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Confessions Of A Space Anthropologist Book 1) (p. 131). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
5. ↑ Clarke, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. Giles Kurns: Rogue Operator: Age Of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Confessions Of A Space Anthropologist Book 1) (p. 141). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.
6. ↑ Clarke, Ell Leigh; Anderle, Michael. Giles Kurns: Rogue Operator: Age Of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Confessions Of A Space Anthropologist Book 1) (p. 166). LMBPN Publishing. Kindle Edition.