After she was briefed about the incident and told the mysterious figure's identity, she ordered the refugee barracks cleared and transferred to another building. Now, the room was empty but for the security team, Ga’an, Brother Cavil, and herself, trying to assess the unwelcomed guest who had appeared at their doorstep.
“So…” Rebecca stopped to measure the prisoner, clasping her hands behind her back. “Tell me one more time. Why should I let you live?” She turned and looked at Ga’an. “There are people here who are all too eager to shred you to pieces.” She was right about that statement. The representative of their enemy, their arch-nemesis, Sim’Ra had four guards around him with their rifles pointed at the tall alien, though his arms and legs were tied to the chair he sat on. Another seven stood between him and Ga’an, trying to tame the ex-Praetor.
The bald figure smiled without a hint of fear. The ornaments attached to his right ear clinked. “Because you need me.”
“Need you?” Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “You keep repeating that, but, as you can see, we are doing fine.”
Sim’Ra smiled again, his dark eyes shimmering in the dim light of the room. “Admiral Conway, you are lost in this shimmering illusion of safety. This,” he looked through the small window with a view of the nearby hills and the to his right, “this new haven of yours is but a grave. Nothing more.”
Rebecca sighed in agitation, clenching her fists. The bite of fingernails against skin calmed her a bit. Sim’Ra had spoken gibberish for the last half hour, circling around her words, and that wry smile of his was getting on her nerves. Her threats to let Ga’an chew the man alive sounded more appealing by the minute. “All right, let me level with you.” She pulled a chair before Sim’Ra’s. “You and your kind are responsible for genocide. That earns you the right to be executed on sight. Quite painfully, if possible. The only reason I am letting you breathe for the time being is because my curiosity getting the better of me.” She leaned closer to the tall figure, locking his dead stare with her own. “My friend, you are doomed beyond the point of reason and in no condition to play games with me.”
The Baeal looked at her with an equal will, without a flinch. “We all are.”
That was it. Rebecca couldn’t keep her anger at bay and stood up in haste. “I do not have the time for this, nor any interest in suffering this charade.” She headed for the door without looking back. “Mr. Ga’an, execute our prisoner at the town center immediately.”
Her first officer gave a lustful growl. “With pleasure.”
A low laugh stopped her. The rich voice sounded as if there were several people behind it at the same time. She turned back.
Sim’Ra looked at her, ignoring the ancient walking toward him, cracking his fists. “I will speak but only to Raymond Harris.”
“You do not get to have demands,” Ga’an roared and struck Sim’Ra with a force that would break a human’s neck.
Sim’Ra slowly turned his head and licked his lips, still looking at Rebecca. “Only to him.”
Rebecca walked toward the origin of her recent nightmares. “He was the key against your forces on the field. What makes you think I would deliver him to the person who very much wants him out of the picture?”
Sim’Ra laughed again. “You are pathetic.” He looked around the room. Some of the marines turned their stares away in fear. He looked at Brother Cavil, Ga’an, and stopped his gaze on Rebecca. “You have no idea what is going on, do you?”
Rebecca took a step forward. “Speak.”
Sim’Ra chuckled, and that earned another heavy blow from the Praetor, who was full of excuses to hit him harder, faster, and more.
“Mr. Ga’an.” Rebecca put a hand on the first officer’s arm before he could swing another punch. He growled and stepped back. “Speak,” Rebecca repeated. Her voice might have melted rocks, but the dark figure simply smiled and nodded.
“Your little stunt back in Sol ended whatever hope my people had. Your planet and race are safe. As safe as anyone could be under the circumstances. My race is reduced to but a few survivors.”
Was that a hint of regret in his voice? “I cannot say I am saddened by your losses.” Rebecca smiled. “So, you are defeated. And we have a home to go back to.”
“Our doom was sealed long before we arrived at your plane, Admiral. Acts of desperation.”
“How so?”
Sim’Ra smiled again. It wasn’t a mocking one this time, but more like a wise man stating the obvious. “As I said, I will not speak without Raymond Harris being present.”
“Why?” Rebecca leaned her head to the left. “Why do you need him so much?”
Sim’Ra mimicked her move, leaning his head to his right, leveling with her. “Because he knows the time has come.”
“He knows what?”
“That we are not the ones the prophecies spoke of, and She, the messenger of doom, is here. I feel Her presence even now, lingering at the edge of this… safety.”
“Feel Her presence?”
“I am a planar creature, Admiral Conway. When another entity touches a plane, every planar creature feels the vibrations. Her case, it is planet shattering quakes that I feel.” Sim’Ra’s smile vanished, “And everything is trembling.”
Rebecca remembered what Ray had shown them back on Deviator before the battle of Earth. She felt numbness and cold sweat running down her back. She slowly turned to look at Brother Cavil. “Find Mr. Harris. Fast.”
ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
“Son! Son! Son!” a muffled voice sounded outside the door, followed by panting and coughs.
“Dad.”
Ray came out of the bedroom, his hair still wet from the shower, wrapping himself in a bedsheet. “I heard him.” He clumsily knotted the sheet around his waist. “Half the planet heard him.”
“Son! S—” another cough, heavier this time, interrupted the voice behind the door.
“I think you should let him in before he chokes himself to death,” Sarah said over her cup of kasma tea. She winked at Elaine, and Elaine smiled back.
Ray threw up his arms and opened the door.
“Son!” Brother Cavil puffed. “I”—he hissed, bending over to breathe—“Admiral—”
“Slow down, old man,” he guided Brother Cavil to a nearby chair. “Relax.” He turned and gestured at Sarah to get some water. “You already tried to die on us once. I won’t take it, especially not in my house.”
Brother Cavil waved his hand in dismissal. “Yes, yes.” He noticed the young woman sitting on the couch, one of the shops in New Eden sold and looked at Ray with questioning eyes.
“Old man, meet Elaine, my daughter.”
Brother Cavil’s face brightened. He stood up from his seat in a rush, knocking over the chair. “Oh, Light.” He turned to catch the chair and hit the cup of water, sending it flying.
“Brother…” Ray was wet, the sheet covering him turning into a transparent cloak.
“Oh, Light.” Brother Cavil dabbed at the water with the arm of his robe but untied the sheet altogether. “Oh, Light and everything almighty in between!” He shut his eyes in panic.
“Brother…” Ray reached for the fallen sheet, but the wet fabric tangled his feet, and he fell on his back like a rock. A naked rock.
“I am so sorry, son! It was an accident.” Brother Cavil reached for Ray’s arm, his eyes still closed. He caught Ray’s leg instead and tried to pull him up.
“Old man, stop it.”
“What? I am trying to help—” Brother Cavil cracked an eye and yanked his hand back, dropping Ray’s leg hard. “Oh… Sorry.”
Sarah and Elaine laughed. They laughed hard. “This is”—Sarah tried to breathe—“Elaine, this is Brother Cavil.”
“So nice to meet you.” Elaine reached for Brother Cavil’s hand, covering her mouth with her other, still giggling.
“This was a rather interesting and demanding interaction, I must admit,” the old man said, straightening his robe to retain a notion of his dignity.
“Accidents happen. No need to overreact.”
“Accidents. Yes.” Ray stood up, managing to drape the bedsheet around his hips at last.
“Your daughter, she is way prettier than that old photo of yours.”
“What photo?” Elaine asked.
“Oh, this man created trouble more than a few times for that pendant with your photo in it.”
Elaine’s laughter turned into a loving smile. “I didn’t think you still kept that thing,” she said to Ray.
“I wouldn’t separate from it even if it meant the end of the world.”
Brother Cavil nodded in agreement. “At one point or two, he risked that as well, going after the pendant when he was supposed to save the galaxy and all.”
“Yes,” Elaine said. “I’ve been told that he’s some sort of hero now.”
“I would not call him a hero exactly,” Brother Cavil started, but a questioning—and somewhat threatening—look from Ray stopped him. “Anyway, it seems we need your help one more time, son.”
Ray’s face dropped, his lines showing the apparent worry. “So, it’s time.”
Brother Cavil was taken aback, “You know what I am talking about?”
“Yes.” Ray cut off further questions firmly. “I know it.”
Brother Cavil nodded slowly. “The inevitable doom and evil have finally caught up with us as that shady character said it would.”
“Sim’Ra.” Ray grimaced, remembering the Baeal leader’s preaches of doom. You thought it would end. You thought he was lying. No, Ray corrected himself, you hoped.
“What’s he talking about?” Elaine asked, but Ray was deep in thought.
“Come,” Sarah said, pulling Elaine aside. “Things didn’t end with that battle over Earth, and there’s more than meets the eye.”
“When isn’t there?”
Ray licked his lips, watching Sarah tell Elaine about the prophecy surrounding him in detail. “I can’t lose Elaine again, Brother.” He turned to face the old man, lowering his voice. “I don’t want any part in this.”
“None of us do, son.” Brother Cavil assured him. “I did not want to watch my father die in my arms or get shot, and I most certainly did not want my beautiful city of Bunari to burn to ashes…” A heavy sigh followed his words. “But these things happened, and there is no turning back. We are all caught in a web, and we must do our best to get out of it. The fate that surrounds you pulled every one of us toward you, including your daughter. I think it is best to see it through rather than digging your head in the sand.”
Ray clicked his tongue and nodded. “You’re right as always. Well, not always, but in this matter, at least.”
Brother Cavil shrugged. “I am a wise man, after all.”
“Sure. So, how do you know it started?”
“Oh, about that.” Brother Cavil said, his shoulders dropping. “Now, Ga’an already gave me enough trouble about it, and I do not want to have to deal with your childish reactions as well.”
“What?”
“Just promise me you will hold yourself.”
“Old man…”
“All right, all right. He is here.”
Ray narrowed his eyes. “Who? Caius? I saw him fall into flames.”
“No, no,” Brother Cavil waved away the idea. “Let that demon rot in the depths of hell.”
“Fair and square.”
“The other one. Sim’Ra. He was one of the passengers of that cargo ship.”
“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Ray whispered, more to himself than to the old man.
“I am afraid not, son. How he hid all that time, I cannot tell.” Brother Cavil knit his brows. “Actually, a great many things I cannot explain about him. Like, how he even survived your magic doing,” Brother Cavil waved his hands in the air.
“Elaine,” Ray turned to his daughter. “That man who helped you. Did you see his face?”
“Never in full. He preferred to stay away most of the time.” Elaine said. “He was tall, very tall, and he had dark skin and a deep voice. Why? He was a nice man. Nothing out of the ordinary. Well, maybe except for his height. But he hid his face most of the time.”
Ray closed his eyes, sighing. “He probably changed his appearance anyway.”
“I do not know his game, son,” the old man said. He looked genuinely confused. “You knew he was here?”
“No, but Elaine said someone tall protected her. I didn’t think… there’s this alarm ringing in my head that I can’t ignore.” Ray moved for the door.
“Son, do you think you can find out about it in some decent clothing? That sheet is still wet, and it shows your… landing gear.”
Ray sighed in surrender.
INFESTED
“What has happened?”
“I don’t know. Some bug,” Liam’s voice trembled.
“Chef, come on. I need to know what has happened.” The nurse asked again, rushing the boy James to a nearby operating room. Another male nurse held an IV bag nearby, his hair damped from the effort to keep the boy still.
“Some bug stung him in the eye!” Liam’s hands shook. The boy’s face was crimson and swollen to almost twice its normal size. His right eye had disappeared within the softened tissue shortly after they left the forest, and now the yellow pus poured out like a broken pipe. The strange liquid covered James’s clothes and hands.
“What kind of a bug?” Nurse Erika asked, “I need another sedative here!” she shouted over her shoulder at one of the other nurses. The boy’s seizures were getting worse. “Was it flying?” She looked at Liam.
“Yes,” Liam whispered absently, unable to take his eyes off James’s face. “It was like a torch bug or a bee.”
“All right.” Erika and the other nurse, Gurney, pushed the cart into the operating room. A doctor and another nurse were already inside, hastily readying the operating table. “Now, I want you to go and clean yourself as best as you can. We’ll look after James.” Erika waved an orderly standing near the entrance to accompany Liam and shut the doors tight.
Liam peered through the frosted glass but gave up soon after the yellow liquid covered the window. Not that there was much he could do, but he still felt awful.
“This way, Chef.”
He blinked at the sudden voice of the caretaker and nodded vaguely. By the time they reached the decontamination area, Liam’s shock had turned into panic. He rushed past his escort and dived under the shower, ignoring his clothes. The more he rubbed away the yellow pus and forced it off his skin, the more it spread on his arms and legs. He didn’t realize he was shouting hysterically until he noticed several nurses and a doctor staring at him. Before he could explain himself—his body wasn’t responding to his commands—a tall blond nurse held him from behind, and the doctor rushed in with a syringe and shot the contents in his neck. How barbaric… I feel… in this century…
Darkness welcomed him.
***
Liam opened his eyes into the night. He felt dizzy and tired but managed to convince his body to stand up. He was inside a patient room, next to an old woman who was deeply asleep. She didn’t look military and was too old and fragile to be on board a superdreadnought anyway. She was probably one of the refugees from the new ship. Instead, he turned to look through the glass window. It was one of the rooms that faced the forest, and at this hour, the trees seemed even more taunting than before. He grimaced at the clock on the wall. It was way past midnight. “Damn, it’s cold.” Liam rubbed his arms, trying to push back the shivers and silence the grumbling of his stomach.
The corridor outside his room was empty except for a janitor focused on mopping the metal floor, who didn’t even raise his head. Fine by me. Liam passed the man and the few rooms lined up facing each other, reaching the mess hall's glass doors. He startled when Erika’s voice welcomed him from behind.
“How are you feeling?”
“Uh, yes. Much better, thanks.” He turned to face the woman. “How… how’s James?”
Erika’
s face changed color. “He is in a medically induced coma, Chef. The damage is too severe. Doctor Neilla went to Deviator to search the ship’s archives, but it is not easy to come up with a fix without knowing which bug bit him. We can only guess the toxicology in this alien environment. Hopefully, we will have some answers by morning and will start treating him. Until then, he will stay asleep to slow the spread. We are injecting him with anti-allergens.”
Liam nodded. “The boy’s done for, isn’t he?”
Erika didn’t say anything, and she didn’t have to.
“I get it.”
“You must be hungry. I am done with my shift and was about to grab a bite. Care to join me?” She gave a warm smile. It soothed Liam’s heart.
Liam sighed, “That would be nice, Miss Brown, yes.”
“Come on, Chef, it is just Erika.”
“Erika.” His smile was clumsy. “I’m starving.”
***
“Well, it is not like the ones you cooked, but it feels nice to have something warm and fresh,” Erika said over her bite. “Another day with emergency rations, and I would eat my left foot.”
Liam chuckled. “I know what you mean.” He didn’t. Well, he was happy to be eating something other than emergency rations. They had endured those until the first crops grew on New Eden, but it was nothing like the food he could cook on board the superdreadnought. Still, it never disturbed Liam as much as being on this forsaken rock.
“So anyway, how are you coping with life on the planet?”
Balance of Power: The Blackened Prophecy Book 2 Page 5
