Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet

by Matthew Kadish

  “Beautiful, Supreme?” asked Abraxas.

  “The moment,” said Zarrod. “These quiet moments before the storm. There’s a certain energy to them. Can’t you feel it?”

  Truth be told, Abraxas felt nothing.

  “Of course, Supreme,” he replied. “It is… quite exciting.”

  Zarrod looked at him as if he knew Abraxas had no concept of what he was talking about. But it didn’t seem to matter. He turned his gaze back up to the viewscreen. “We stand on the precipice of our ultimate triumph,” he said, “to achieve that which our Lords have set before us. The part we’ve played will be the first step in their plan. Soon, all life in this wretched universe will be extinguished… and we shall bear witness to its beginning right here. These moments leading up to that… what could they be called other than beautiful?”

  “Futile,” came a quiet voice.

  Zarrod and Abraxas looked down toward the Regal girl as she gazed up at them, her sapphire eyes hard and cold.

  “Enjoy these moments while you can, Deathlord,” she said. “Because your plan will not work. Whatever it is, I’ll see it fail… so help me, I will.”

  Zarrod stepped forward and reached out his hand. The girl was jerked up into the air, her body twitching as his invisible hooks dug into her. She was raised to eye-level with the Deathlord Supreme, who gazed at her with his terrible, burning red eyes.

  “Still trying to fight me, I see,” said Zarrod.

  “You might as well kill me…” said the girl through gritted teeth. “I’ll never help you. Never!”

  “You will,” said Zarrod. “You’re strong; I’ll give you that. I was hoping to have control of you by now, but it matters not. Eventually you’ll succumb to the slythru. But until then, I have other ways of controlling you.”

  “You have nothing,” the girl replied.

  “Don’t I?” said Zarrod as he released the girl from his hold once more. She fell to the ground as the Deathlord moved to a nearby console. “Your will may be strong, Blood of the Ancients, but you do have one glaring weakness…”

  The girl gazed at him defiantly as if daring him to reveal her shortcoming as Zarrod tapped a few keys on the console. The Deathlord looked at her, happy to oblige.

  “You care far too much for your friends,” Zarrod said.

  With one more push of a button, a flash of purple light teleported two more Deathlords to the bridge right behind the girl. When she turned and looked at the new arrivals, she gasped. Between them was an ugly alien creature, with an oblong head, large eyes, and green skin. The Deathlords held him up limply between the two of them, and his large eyes drooped half-closed from either pain, exhaustion, or a bit of both.

  “Professor!” squealed the girl.

  The alien looked up, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the Regal. “Your Majesty…” he started to say before one of the Deathlords reached up and began culling him.

  The Professor’s ghostly image seeped through his skin and the alien started screaming in agony as he was being torn between life and death. His cries of pain echoed throughout the bridge.

  “NO!” cried the girl as she attempted to get to her feet and rush to her friend’s aid. But before she could even regain her footing, Zarrod’s clawed hand clamped down around the back of her neck and held her still, forcing her to look at her friend as he was tortured.

  “Think back,” Zarrod grumbled. “Think about what I was doing to you after you tried to escape me. And now, imagine it ten times worse. That’s what he has been going through.”

  Fresh tears found their way down the girl’s cheeks as the Deathlord guards released their hold on their alien captive, who crumpled to the ground in a heap, blubbering and sobbing pathetically.

  “The type of pain we can inflict, Princess, is beyond anything you can comprehend,” said Zarrod. “We can keep you alive indefinitely, never allowing you to escape it. We can hold off the madness, to prevent you from accepting it. We can give you unending agony for as long as we wish.”

  The Deathlords reached out toward the Professor again, and the alien started to spasm, crying out at the top of his lungs as his captors ripped at his soul.

  “STOP!” cried out the girl. “PLEASE!”

  The alien screamed louder.

  “It will be never ending for him,” said Zarrod. “Unless you cooperate.”

  The girl stared wide-eyed at her companion as he convulsed, thrashing about as though he were being ripped apart by the invisible knives of the Deathlord’s magic. She hesitated, knowing what it would mean to give in, and yet, it was obvious what decision she would ultimately make. The Supreme was correct – she did have one glaring weakness, which she now had to accept she was unable to overcome.

  “I will!” she said urgently. “I’ll cooperate! Just, please, stop hurting him!”

  Zarrod gave a nod to the guards, who released the alien from their death grips. The pathetic beast lay on the ground, whimpering, as Zarrod released his hold over the girl. She scrambled to her friend’s side.

  “Professor,” she said quietly, cradling his head. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

  The alien’s large eyes focused upon her. “Your… Majesty…” he said weakly. “You mustn’t… help them…”

  “Shhhhhh…” said the girl, softly stroking the alien’s forehead. “It’ll be okay. I promise. Just… just stay with me.”

  “As always…” the alien responded. “I am… at your service…”

  A sad smile grew on the girl’s lips. Abraxas found their entire exchange pathetically annoying. So much so, he had to resist the urge to punch something.

  “We are approaching the oasis, Supreme,” reported an Acolyte, blissfully taking Abraxas’s attention away from the lesser life-forms.

  Zarrod turned and gazed up at the viewscreen as the last remnants of the nebula cloud cleared away, revealing the Ghost Planet of Terahades.

  As though its mere presence were enough to scare away the dust and gas, the planet sat in the middle of a large empty oasis within the nebula. The planet glowed pale white, as if it were being illuminated by a sun that was not there. Its surface seemed to move and shift, so slightly one would think his eyes were playing tricks on him. And surrounding the planet was a large, slightly golden shell – the planet’s shield – around which the Deathlord fleet had already taken position.

  “Open a channel to the fleet,” ordered Zarrod as he approached the holo-transmission platform on the bridge.

  The Acolytes did as commanded, opening a fleet-wide holographic transmission, blasting the Deathlord Supreme’s image to every Planetkiller ship. Zarrod stood, proud and imposing, gazing up at the Ghost Planet on the viewscreen as his ship began its approach.

  “My followers,” he said. “For years, we have worked. For years, we have waited. And now, the time has come for our efforts to be rewarded. Before you is the task handed down to us from our creators. They charged us with freeing their brethren from this prison, and on this day, we will have achieved that goal.”

  Abraxas and the other Deathlords on the bridge stomped their feet – a sign of excitement over the Supreme’s words, which every Deathlord on the other ships would surely be doing as well.

  “This is but the first step in the grand plan laid out by our masters,” Zarrod continued. “Even now, Supreme Verrutus, Supreme Melegogg, and Supreme Ashtoroth work tirelessly to bring the other aspects of our Lords’ commands to fruition. And once they do, we will sweep across every corner of the universe, wiping out everything that stands in our way!”

  More stomping. Abraxas gazed at Zarrod, his chest swelling with the type of excitement he felt before charging into battle.

  “We are Deathlords,” said Zarrod, “granted ultimate power and control over the end of all things. That is the gift our creators gave to us. No fear. No uncertainty. Only order and mastery over that which all life cowers before and can never hope to understand. It is our charge to clear the way for our Lords’ retu
rn by doing what we were created to do – spread death. Extinguish all life in the universe. Cleanse all abominations and aberrations that have spawned, and return purity to the Void!”

  The stomping on the bridge increased, the rhythmic thump-thump-thump echoing off the walls. Zarrod’s words washed over them like pure ecstasy, and Abraxas could feel the very core of his body blaze with the fire of the moment.

  “Now is that moment – the moment that heralds the end of all things. The return of our Lords is at hand, and you shall all reap the rewards they will bestow upon you when they are resurrected. I hereby command all ships of the fleet to fire their primary weapons on the planet, and then to bear witness as I, Deathlord Supreme Zarrod, prove once and for all that the Ancient Heretics, with all their technology, are no match for the power and might of the Deathlords!”

  An ecstatic scream erupted from Abraxas as he raised his fist into the air. All other Deathlords on the bridge erupted as well, celebrating their moment of victory. They had done all that was asked of them, and now, nothing could stop them.

  On the viewscreen, the Planetkiller fleet fired their primary weapons one by one. Strong beams of swirling, ghostly light shot forth toward the planet. Each beam struck the shield surrounding the planet and spread across its surface until it met with the discharge of a beam from a sister ship, eventually enveloping the shield entirely with the chaotic death energy stored at the core temple of each vessel.

  Abraxas glanced at the Regal girl and her alien companion and rejoiced as they stared at the viewscreen in abject fear of what they were witnessing.

  Zarrod gazed at the scene that played out before him. As soon as the planet’s shield was completely enveloped, he closed his eyes and reached out both his hands. The air around him seemed to shimmer and swirl. His long cape fluttered as the Deathlord Supreme took on a sickly white aura that seemed to emanate from his brilliant armor.

  A small portion of the planetary shield began to twist and ripple as the death energy on top of it attacked, stabbing into it, bubbling on its surface, trying to force its way through.

  The air in the bridge began to turn electric as lights dimmed on-and-off and an incessant howling sound whistled through the room. The Deathlord Supreme stood resolute, unmoving, as he concentrated all his energy on the planet before him. His armor started to shimmer and glow even brighter as his skin deepened into the purest black imaginable.

  Slowly, the death energy began to open a breech in the planetary shield as the fleet continued to fire. More and more of the energy worked its way into the opening, and with Zarrod’s urging, forced a bigger and bigger breach – until it was large enough to fly a Planetkiller through.

  “Forward,” ordered Abraxas. “Fly us into the breech!”

  The Acolytes hopped to as the ship started its approach toward the planet. Abraxas gazed at the viewscreen. The planet looked different once it was unobstructed by the shield. Its surface was still, dry, and desolate, and pocked all over by massive craters. It was nothing like the haunting surface he’d come to know – yet another trick of the Ancient Heretics, no doubt.

  Abraxas looked at Zarrod, who stood mightily on the holo-transmission platform, opening the impassible shield through the sheer force of his will. It was a feat unheard of by any within the Deathlords, and yet, here he was, revealing just how powerful a Deathlord could be.

  “Shields up,” commanded Abraxas as the ship neared the breech. “Full power. Prepare to brace them against the opening.”

  The Acolytes funneled the mothership’s shields into the opening, using the power of the ship to take some of the strain off Zarrod and to keep the breech from fluctuating enough to damage their vessel. Abraxas kept a close eye on his console monitors as the ship passed through the Ghost Planet’s shield. He watched the death energy strain and rage against the shield that fought with all its might to close the hole in its surface.

  When the ship was clear, Abraxas ordered the shields lowered. Zarrod released his grip on the death energy and the rearview screen on Abraxas’s monitor showed the planetary shield slam shut once more.

  Zarrod fell to one knee as everything around him returned to normal. Abraxas gazed at the Deathlord Supreme, pride welling within him. It was obvious the effort had taken a great deal out of his leader, but as Abraxas looked past him and saw on the viewscreen overhead the encroaching terrain of the Ghost Planet coming up to meet them, he couldn’t help but remember the pure power he had just witnessed. And at that moment, he finally understood what the Supreme had been trying to tell him.

  It was, indeed, beautiful.

  Chapter 38

  Meanwhile, Jack and the others were barreling through hyperspace on the Earthship. After reviewing the ship’s logs and accessing everything about the Planetkiller fleet and the Ghost Planet itself acquired from the ship’s interface with the Deathlord mothership, Heckubus Moriarty had come up with an adequately evil enough strategy to rescue the Princess. His idea, while risky, has since been widely regarded by many military historians across the galaxy to be, all things considered, a rather good plan.

  “I’d just like ta go on record and say this is the worst plan ever,” grumbled Scallywag.

  “Noted,” replied Jack.

  “Worst. Plan. Ever.”

  “Pah,” muttered Heckubus. “I’ve had far worse plans…”

  “I bet you have,” replied the pirate.

  “Not many, though…” whispered Heckubus.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Huh?” replied the robot. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Shut up, all of you,” said Jack. “The plan’s great. It’s totally going to work.”

  “I wish I had yer confidence, lad,” grumbled Scallywag.

  “Don’t worry. Totally awesome Ancient starship, remember?” reassured Jack. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Ya put an awful lot of faith in this vessel o’ yours, Earthman,” said Scallywag. “For my sake, I hope yer right.”

  Me, too, Jack thought, as he flipped some switches on his chair’s console, repositioning the ship’s maneuvering thrusters in anticipation of what he was about to attempt. He and Heckubus had spent the better part of the last four hours formulating the rescue plan, and though the robot was confident his scheme would work, a lot of it depended on Jack to deliver.

  I can do this, thought Jack. I will do this! For Anna. For Shepherd. For everyone I’ve lost… I’ll do this.

  Jack placed his hands on the control orbs of his chair and readied himself. He got the same feeling in his stomach that he always did right before he led his team into a game of Arena Deathmatch. He just hoped he was as good at the real thing as he had been at the simulation.

  “Heckubus,” said Jack. “Get ready to make those navigation calculations.”

  Heckubus checked his tethered connection to the ship’s systems. “All set,” he replied.

  “Scally, prepare the weapons. Get ready to defend the ship.”

  Scallywag tapped a few buttons on his console. “Weapons ready,” he murmured.

  “Grohm…” said Jack, looking at the hulking Rognok beside him.

  Grohm glared down at Jack and grunted.

  “Um… just try not to break anything,” said Jack.

  Grohm snorted.

  Jack took a deep breath and checked his holoscreen. Their destination was seconds away.

  “Let’s rock,” he said.

  Jack dropped the ship out of lightspeed and opened a hyperspace window, flying the ship through it and into the familiar darkness of space. He looked out the viewscreen and in the distance saw the same brilliant nebula as before, signaling the correct location.

  “This is the place,” said Jack.

  “Sensors are picking up your massive wall of space bugs, Earthman,” said Heckubus.

  “Space bugs,” said Scallywag shaking his head. “Now I’ve seen everything.”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” said Jack, angling his ship toward the massive wall of
black before him. “Get ready with those jump coordinates, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep them at bay.”

  “You worry about your part, Earthman,” said Heckubus. “I have mine well in hand.”

  “Space bugs…” muttered Scallywag.

  Jack kept an eye on his sensor readings as he maneuvered the ship toward the massive swarm of insects that had almost devoured them during his first escape from the Deathlord fleet. They were already beginning to stir as he approached, but he wanted to get the attention of as many of the insects as possible.

  “Time to make ‘em angry,” said Jack. “Open fire!”

  Jack turned the ship, strafing the insect wall while Scallywag let loose a few blaster bolts from the ship’s weapon batteries. The blasts poked into the solid black of the massive swarm like angry red needles.

  Alarms on the ship beeped as the sensors relayed their reactions. Immediately, thousands of the tiny insects began to separate from their swarm and chase after the ship.

  “That got their panties ruffled,” said Scallywag.

  “You ready, Heckubus?” asked Jack.

  “Yes, but you’re going to need to get them closer…” replied the robot.

  Jack glanced at Heckubus. “Um… closer?”

  “I can only extend your ship’s Quantum Entanglement field so far you know,” snapped Heckubus. “I’m not a miracle worker.”

  “Did I just hear ya right?” asked Scallywag. “Ya want to bring the ship-eating space bugs closer to our ship?”

  “Yes,” replied the robot. “Oh, and if you could get them to surround us, too, that would be optimal. No sense in leaving any behind.”

  “Um… surround us?” asked Jack, suddenly wondering about how well this plan would actually work.

  “The shields should hold them off long enough,” replied Heckubus. “Totally awesome Ancient starship, remember? Whatever that means.”

  “Aren’t we… like… going to need those shields for the fight?” asked Jack.

  Heckubus sighed. “You get the bugs, or you get the shields. Not both. Did I really need to explain this to you? It’s rather obvious, I’d say.”