Origins of the Prime

by Christopher Vale

  Dawn crept over to the bat and gently lifted it, trying to stay as quiet as possible. She raised the bat up over her head and began slowly and silently stalking toward Arnulf. She took each step with great care, fearing what would happen if he realized that she was there before she was able to slug him. She finally stepped to the spot just behind Arnulf’s chair and was just about to swing downward when he spoke.

  “What are you doing with that rattlesnake?” he asked her without turning. Dawn’s eyes shot to the bat in her hand and realized that it was no longer a bat at all, but a hissing rattlesnake ready to strike. With a squeal, she dropped the snake and leapt back. The snake coiled and watched her as she cowered near the wall, its tail shaking the rattle menacingly. She hated snakes. Hated them more than anything.

  Arnulf stood and walked around the back of the chair. He stepped beside the snake, reached down, and grabbed it by the tail. It did not strike him. He flung the snake at her as if were a whip and she released a scream of terror. She felt the snake’s mouth clamp around her neck, but when she opened her eyes she saw that it wasn’t a snake at all, but rather a long leash. He had put a leash on her just as he said he would.

  Arnulf laughed. “Come pet,” he said and yanked the leash, jerking her to the floor. “Heel,” he laughed as he patted his leg. Dawn looked up at him, her face a mixture of terror and disgust. “What made you think you could defeat me, Dawn?” Dawn didn’t speak. “I have been preparing for this moment for decades,” he explained. “I meditate, focus on the ship, focus my thoughts on the forms I could take in this place. Focus on creating any environment I wanted. To turn any object into what I want it to be.” As he spoke, he gave the leash a tug. “But, the CIA gives you some drugs, experiments on you as a little girl which gives you some interesting abilities, and you think you can match me?”

  Dawn looked at him surprised. “Oh yes, I know all about it,” Arnulf smiled. “I know how you became Psion, where your powers really came from. But you are still loyal to the government that did this to you. Unlike these ingrates,” he said waving at the battle on the movie screen. “I offered them infinite power, but they turned against me. And here is Dawn, still serving the government that experimented on her. Your loyalty is unquestioned. That is good. I want loyal servants like that. And yes, you will serve me, Dawn.” He licked his lips. “When I’m done with your friends, you’ll beg to serve me. And I’m not talking about just up here,” he said as he tapped the temple of his head. “I’m going to put a leash around your real physical neck and you’ll thank me for it.”

  Her real neck? Arnulf’s monologuing had reminded her that this wasn’t real. For all of his bluster about spending decades training himself to master this place, he was still unable to separate himself mentally from the physical world. He needed an actual captain’s chair for his body to sit in. He used a cage and a leash. He transformed himself into a dragon. He held on tight to the physical world because he did not understand any other way.

  That was the trick. That was the way to defeat him. She had to separate her mind from the illusion of the physical. But how? Dawn turned her head and peered at the giant movie screen upon which Arnulf watched Axel, Rolf, and the others battle for their lives against a seemingly never ending wave of enemy forces. She saw her own body, her real body, lying in the center of a circle they had formed around her to protect her and each other. She stared at the screen as she pushed her self to her feet. That unconscious body on the video screen was her actual physical form, not what stood in this room and there was no leash around its neck. That meant the leash did not really exist. In fact, this room did not really exist.

  “Who told you that you could stand?” Arnulf sneered. “Get back down on the floor where you belong!” he shouted as he yanked the leash expecting to pull her back down. However, instead of pulling Dawn back to the ground, the collar flew off of her neck as if passing through thin air.

  Dawn turned her head to look at Arnulf. He stared at her wide-eyed, his mouth agape. “This is the end for you Arnulf,” she said stoically. Suddenly, Arnulf was lifted into the air and pinned against the wall.

  “Axel,” Dawn said and heard him answer. “Get ready to fry Arnulf. Give it all you’ve got, I’m bringing down the walls.”

  “No!” Arnulf shouted. Light began to fill the room as the walls came down in the physical world. Arnulf reached into the holster on his hip and quickly drew his pistol and fired. Though the bullet could not harm her, it still startled Dawn and caused her to release her mental grip on Arnulf. He fell, sliding down the wall, landing on his feet and he leapt to the captain’s chair, slamming the palm of his hand on a cartoonishly large red button.

  Arnulf cackled. “If I’m going to die, so are you!”

  Dawn knew he was right, she could feel that the ship had begun the self destruct countdown. Then she disappeared.

  ***

  The Nazibots moved in closer and closer. There were just too many of them to defeat. Tom was out of ammo completely and using his rifle and bayonet to fight hand-to-hand. Their protective circle had retracted inward so far that they were dangerously close to stepping on Dawn’s unconscious body.

  Alena continued to fight fiercely out amongst the Nazibots. She danced from one to the other at blinding speed, stabbing and slashing and narrowly avoiding their stun blasts. She swung one sword to the right, the other to the left, and two robots collapsed as their heads rolled away from their bodies. She charged deep into the horde of Nazibots, slaying as many as she could, as quickly as she could. However, like a hydra, it seemed that two would arise for every one she slew. How could they possibly defeat them all? Suddenly, Alena was hit from behind by a stun blast, knocking her to the ground.

  “Lena!” Alexi shouted as he tried desperately to reach her, to save her from the crush of robots. There were too many blocking his path and no matter how many times he swung his mighty hammer and no matter how many Nazibots he destroyed, the attackers just kept coming and coming.

  When Alexi shouted Alena’s name, Axel glanced over his shoulder and saw that she was down. He saw Alexi helplessly attempting to fight his way to his sister. Axel wanted to help. He wanted to scorch a path to Alena, scoop her up in his arms and carry her to safety, but there was nothing he could do. If he abandoned his section of the circle, it would collapse. He turned back to the fight raging against the bots before him, though it was Arnulf he really wanted to fight. It was Arnulf that Axel yearned to kill.

  As if on cue, Axel heard Dawn’s voice in his head. “Axel, get ready to fry Arnulf. Give it all you’ve got, I’m bringing down the walls.”

  Axel did not understand how that was possible. How could Dawn bring down the walls? It did not matter. He trusted Dawn and she told him to be ready, so he would be ready. He turned to face the wall that stood between him and Arnulf. Suddenly, it started to lower. Axel drew the surrounding energy into him and began to glow with a blue aura. He would not use all of the energy he had though. He did not want to make the same mistake as last time and be left with no energy at all and thousands of Nazibots to deal with.

  As the protective walls opened Axel saw Arnulf standing before him, his body old and frail as if he had been inside for decades instead of hours. The base had released him, the organic material no longer bonded to his body. Arnulf stood alone. He glanced down into Axel’s eyes and Axel hesitated for just a moment as he stared at the old wrinkled and dying face. Axel almost pitied him, but then he noticed the hatred burning in Arnulf’s eyes, the evil that drove men to conquer and destroy. With a cry, Axel released his full charge at Arnulf. He heard the briefest of screams as Arnulf was struck, his body burning to a crisp before it collapsed charred and lifeless to the floor.

  The Nazibots suddenly stopped coming. Instead they turned and walked away, melding back into the walls from whence they had come. Alexi ran to Alena. She was bruised and scratched but had suffered no overly traumatic injuries. Her brother helped her to her feet. “Are you alright?” he ask
ed as she leaned against his massive form.

  “Yes,” she said softly. “Just weak.”

  Axel stepped up to Arnulf’s body and squatted down to stare at the remains. Not much was left, just some remains of charred muscle tissue and blackened bones. Axel smiled, finally confident that he had finished Arnulf for good.

  “Run!” They all heard Dawn’s voice echoing in their heads this time. “Arnulf set the self destruct, this entire place is going to blow!” Everyone glanced at one another.

  “Well, didn’t you hear the lady?” Tom shouted, no longer doubting the voice speaking to him. “Let’s move!”

  “Rolf, get Dawn!” Axel commanded and his brother nodded before running over and scooping Dawn’s body up into his arms.

  “Can you walk?” Alexi asked Alena.

  “Yes, let us hurry,” she said.

  Axel led the way along the corridor, running as fast as he could, continuously glancing over his shoulder to ensure everyone was behind him. They reached the “elevator” tubes quickly and Axel turned to the others.

  “Go! Go! Go!” he shouted as everyone chose a tube. Axel chose one of the remaining tubes and stepped inside, floating like before. “Let’s go Psion!” he shouted at Dawn and felt his body begin to lift up into the air. They soon reached the correct floor and stopped, everyone leaping out.

  Alena’s speed was recovering and she led the way, sprinting quickly, though all the while conscious of the others so as not to leave them far behind. The others sprinted as fast as they could manage in an attempt to keep up with her. A couple of turns and they were in the temple again. They quickly ran through the stone corridor and out into the daylight, momentarily blinded by the brightness of the sun.

  “Halt!” they heard and squinted through the sunlight to see several Marines aiming rifles at them. Two helicopters set nearby, as men loaded the bodies of their fallen aboard.

  “It’s alright!” Tom said as the dashed to the front, blocking them from shooting Alena. He looked at the crew chief. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here, this place is about to blow. The chief nodded and gave the command for everyone to load up. Everyone climbed aboard the choppers as the blades began to whir to life. Realizing the explosion could happen any second, the pilots did not wait for the others to strap themselves in, but began lifting off the ground as soon as the helicopters were ready.

  The helicopters flew away over the jungle canopy as fast as they could manage, but were rocked as the temple exploded in an enormous flash of light. Just as the sound of the explosion reached his ears, Axel saw Dawn sit straight up as if she were coming out of a nightmare. She glanced around uncertain of her surroundings. Axel moved over to her and threw an arm over her shoulder. “You alright kid?” he asked. “I thought we’d lost you.”

  Dawn began to laugh, leaning over and burying her face in Axel’s chest. The laughter was contagious. Soon everyone, even Alena and Alexi were laughing—laughing from the relief they felt at having escaped with their lives.

  Axel’s eyes fell on Alena and Alexi. “I guess you two are coming with us,” he smiled. “You know, the six of us could make one hell of a team.”

  Alena returned his smile. “We would Axel,” she said as she stood and crossed the helicopter to where Axel still knelt beside Dawn. Alena leaned over and kissed Axel on the lips causing Dawn to become visibly irritated. Alena pulled away and smiled as she stared into his eyes. “If you, any of you,” she said as her eyes took in the entirety of Team Blitzkrieg, “ever wish to join the right side, I promise you, Moscow will welcome you with open arms. But we have no desire to serve the fascists.” She then stood and walked back to the other side of the helicopter and stood close to Alexi. “Take care,” she said.

  “Take care? You’re leaving?” Tom asked with a chuckle. “Where are you going to go?”

  Alena smiled at him. “Say good-bye Alexi,” she said.

  “Bye Rolf, bye everybody.”

  “Bye,” Rolf replied.

  Suddenly Alexi snatched Alena around the waist and leapt out of the helicopter.

  The others quickly jumped over to the side staring down into the jungle below, but Alexi and Alena had disappeared beneath the trees. Tom shook his head in amazement before glancing up at Rolf. “Can you do that?” he asked. Rolf only shrugged and then went back and sat down, enjoying the ride and the relative safety of the helicopter.

  Tom glanced out of the chopper door one more time before finding his seat. “Well, we’ve got a lot to explain when we get back,” Tom said to the others. “Dawn, what happened in there?” Dawn stared blankly into nothing. “Dawn,” Tom said, snapping her out of it.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “Are you alright?”

  “I think so,” she said forcing a smile, but then returned to her blank gaze.

  “Let it go,” Axel said. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk later. Back in the States.”

  The helicopters flew back over the border into South Vietnam.

  Chapter 26

  Washington, D.C.

  Axel, Rolf, Dawn, and Tom walked into the conference room at CSOS headquarters, having returned from Vietnam the evening before. They were surprised to not only see Ian, but CIA Deputy Director for Special Projects Cleveland Durst, General Rance Maguire of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and NASA Deputy Director for Extra-Terrestrial Defense, Dr. Alphonso Lehman. There was another man in the room, with dark eyes matching his dark suit, who was not introduced to them. As usual, Martha was there to take notes and minutes as needed. This time she operated a tape recorder as well.

  Ian motioned for everyone to sit and the debriefing began. Everyone sat except the mystery man who stood near the window peering out. Ian and the others sat across the table from Team Blitzkreig. Ian smiled at them. “Alright, let’s begin,” he said and then pointed to the tape recorder, “Martha, if you would be so kind…” Martha nodded and began recording the meeting.

  “First, I’d like to say that we’re all relieved that you made it back alive,” Ian said, “and that…” but he was cut off by the General.

  “What happened to all those Marines?” General Maguire asked.

  “They were killed by Soviet agents, sir,” Tom said.

  “And the Soviet agents?” the General asked.

  “They escaped.”

  “Why did you let them escape?” the General asked pointedly, his eyebrows arched menacingly.

  Tom opened his mouth to explain that Alexi and Alena had leapt out of a moving helicopter into the jungles of North Vietnam, but before he could, the mystery man spoke.

  “No one gives a crap, General,” he snapped as he turned to face them. “Drop it.”

  The General swallowed hard, and looked away. The mystery man turned back to the window.

  “You understand that the President is not thrilled that you lost the asset,” the CIA man said referring to the alien base.

  “Yes, sir, we do realize that,” Tom said.

  “You were sent to Vietnam to find and secure an extremely important facility. Not only did you not do so, you let it be destroyed and an entire platoon of America’s finest were killed in the process. If you ask me, I think this entire operation was a complete failure and demonstrates the ineptitude of not only your team, but this entire office,” the CIA man continued. “In fact, I am going to recommend that Agent Williams be reassigned back to CIA where we can put her talents to better use.” He sat back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Dawn is a vital member of our team, and none of us would have survived without her,” Axel snapped at the CIA Deputy Director. Dawn laid a calming hand on his knee under the table and smiled pleasantly at Durst.

  “I think I’ll stay here at the CSOS,” she said.

  “That’s not really up to you, Agent,” Durst snapped. “The CIA spent a lot of money on you. Sending you to college, and…other things.”

  “Would you like to discuss those other things?” Dawn asked him, her voice still
friendly, but firm. “Would you like to discuss how I first became involved with the CIA? What y’all did to me?”

  “Agent, I don’t think this is…” he began, but she cut him off.

  “I’m staying at the CSOS. At the CIA I’m nothing but a freak. Here I can make a difference.”

  “Well, I’ll have to discuss that with the Director and the President,” Durst said.

  “You are all grating on my nerves,” the mystery man said with an exasperated sigh. “Get out, I’ll speak to them alone.” Everyone looked at him quizzically. “Director Johnson, you and your assistant may stay, but the rest of you leave,” he said much more firmly this time.

  Everyone not a part of the CSOS stood and reluctantly left the room. The mystery man then finally left the window and walked over to them, flipping off the tape recorder as he passed. He sat at the head of the table and looked down both sides.

  “All those men are concerned with is the politics of the situation. They play games while the real world advances in spite of them. They are all fighting for scraps beneath the masters’ table.”

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Tom asked.

  The man in black smiled. “Who I am is not important. Who I represent is.”

  “And who do you represent?” asked Axel.

  The man chuckled. “The masters,” he said with a smile. His answer was unnerving and everyone’s eyes shot to Ian, but Ian offered no further explanation, only nodded confirmation to them.

  The man in black’s eyes then fell on Dawn. “Agent Williams, have no concerns. You are much too valuable to give back to the CIA to run failed missions with erroneous purposes. That is just smoke and mirrors,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Keeps everyone guessing at our real purposes. Our real enemies.”