by Jake Bible
"How?" Roak asked.
"That's pretty simple," Reck said and sat back down. "Everything is made up of the same energy as everything else. The energy as matter that created the planets also created all the beings. For a med pod to work on a being it must draw energy from the universe, or the ship specifically, and transform that energy into a being's body so it may heal. Really it's just accelerating the transference of energy that would happen from natural healing."
"But we're not from this universe, so we're stealing energy that isn't ours to steal," Roak said.
"Yep," Reck agreed. "We have a finite amount that we can draw from before the very building blocks of this universe start rejecting us."
"Bummer," Yellow Eyes said. "Sucks to be you two."
"Why are you here?" Reck asked.
"Sheesh. Way to make a guy feel welcome," Yellow Eyes replied.
"No, really, why are you here?" Reck asked again.
"Oh, right," Yellow Eyes said. "I'm supposed to set up."
"For…?" Reck asked.
"The meeting," Yellow Eyes said. "Hessa called a meeting. And since Roak can't leave the med bay then we're bringing the meeting to him."
"I'm in all the Hells at once," Roak said.
"I hear ya," Yellow Eyes said. "Meetings, right?"
"Can someone get him out of here?" Roak asked.
"No can do," Yellow Eyes said. "I'm part of the meeting. I got an invite."
"Just relax, Roak," Hessa said. "The meeting won't take long."
"Already has," Roak replied, but he relaxed back into the med table as much as the uncomfortable surface would allow.
Slowly, the remainder of the ship's occupants began to appear in the med bay.
Pol Hammon, the old dark tech in a young new body. Poq, the android and former Galactic Vice Detective from Jafla base. Nimm. Ally. Even Skabz made an appearance, although he took a seat as far away from the rest as he could get. Yellow Eyes waved to him as the Skrang sat in the corner, pouting.
"That's everybody, right?" Roak said. "Let's get this crap over with."
"We're waiting for the others," Hessa said.
"Who in all the Hells else is on my ship?" Roak snapped. He grunted with pain.
"You deserve that," Hessa said.
"Fine. Our ship," Roak said.
"No one else is onboard," Hessa said. "We'll be communicating via holo with the others."
"Is that wise?" Poq asked. "Father can trace the signal."
"We have a window," Pol said. "A small window, but a window."
"We have approximately eighteen galactic standard minutes," Hessa said.
"Approximately," Pol said.
Hessa didn't have a face per se, but Roak knew she was scowling at the dark tech. Roak grinned in spite of himself. Pretty much everyone cringed at the sight.
"Can we fix that?" Yellow Eyes asked, waving his nubs at Roak's face. "Can that be healed?"
"Hilarious," Roak said.
One by one, holos began to appear in the med bay.
Meshara and Kalaka from the Cervile refugee ship.
Sha Tog from the Skrang refugee ships.
General Gerber, the members of Drop Team Zero, and a few FIS agents that Roak didn't recognize. One, Agent Prime, he did recognize, but the man looked distracted and never made eye contact.
"Where's Bhangul?" Roak asked.
"We've lost contact with the Dornopheous," Gerber said. "We don't know if the planet has been taken by Father or if it was outright destroyed."
"Eight Million Gods dammit," Roak muttered. "Hessa?"
"Don't even ask, Roak," Hessa said. "We cannot go check on the Dornopheous."
"I'm with Roak," Reck said. "Can't we transport there fast and see if the planet still exists at least?"
"As keen as you seem to be to spring Father's traps," Gerber said, "your luck will run out. Stay away until we have more intel."
"Bhangul is a friend," Roak said. "We owe it to him…" He trailed off and sighed some more. "We owe it to him not to die."
"Now you are finally making sense," Hessa said. "General Gerber? Would you care to start the meeting off?"
"Not particularly, but I probably have the most information out of anyone," Gerber said.
All eyes were on the general's holo. Roak struggled to see the man, and most of the others, from his supine position, but he could see enough to know that the man was extremely agitated. Roak would even say the man was scared.
"We're all there is from the Galactic Fleet," Gerber said. "We attempted to track down others that I thought may have been able to go to ground, but they were either one of two things."
"Dead or taken over," Reck said. "Right?"
"Exactly," Gerber said.
"I thought you'd located quite a few FIS agents," Nimm said.
"Me too," Gerber said. "I was wrong."
"What numbers are we looking at then?" Roak asked.
"You are looking at them," Gerber said.
"That was a figure of speech," Roak replied.
"I'm not being figurative," Gerber said. "I'm being literal. I have one drop team and three FIS agents. For those that have not met them, these three are Agents Prime, Reign, and Stand."
Agent Prime still did not look up from what he was doing despite his name being mentioned. The other two nodded. One was a giant of a man and looked to be a mix of many different races. All huge. The other was a Jesperian woman that eyed the group with close to open hostility. Most beings in the galaxy did not trust Jesperians. The feeling went both ways.
"What about Crush?" Hessa asked. "Is he not-?"
"No," Gerber said with complete finality.
"What are the numbers being controlled by Father?" Roak asked.
"The entire GF," Gerber said. "Or what's left after he destroyed as much of the Fleet as he could before gaining control."
"Give me numbers, General," Roak said.
"Over three hundred warships of various sizes and classes," Gerber said. "With full crews."
"Shit," Nimm said. "That's several full armadas worth of firepower. How do we fight that?"
"We can't," Gerber said.
"Meshara?" Hessa asked. "How fare the Cervile?"
"How fare the Cervile," Yellow Eyes snickered. "How fare the Cervile. Oh, my Lords and Ladies, how fare thee, I ask? How-?"
"No," Roak snapped.
Yellow Eyes shut up.
"Not well," Meshara stated bluntly. "Cervile are not meant to be crammed into tight quarters such as we are. So far we have headed off six different viral outbreaks. Cervile immune systems are extremely durable, but we need open air soon or we will not fight off the seventh outbreak."
"What numbers can the Cervile provide to the fight?" Gerber asked.
"None," Meshara said.
"Before everyone starts barking and complaining," Kalaka interrupted, "believe her when she says we have none. We're fighting to survive on this ship. No one is in any shape to fight out there in the galaxy."
"They only have the one ship anyway," Skabz said from the corner. "Pah. Losers."
"You don't have any ship, asshole," Reck said. "So keep your lizard trap shut."
"That was a little racist," Yellow Eyes whispered. "Maybe even a lot racist."
"Whatever," Skabz said and concentrated his attention on a spot on the ceiling.
"Sha?" Gerber asked. "Where are we with Skrang assistance?"
"We are now up to eight Skrang destroyers," Sha stated proudly. "We can do a good amount of damage with eight…"
Sha trailed off and glanced to his right, obviously listening to someone.
"Sha?" Gerber asked.
"Hold on," Sha said and held up a scaly finger. The finger slowly lowered. "How many? How soon?"
"Sha?" Roak asked.
"I said hold on!" Sha shouted.
"This can't be good," Yellow Eyes said.
"I have to go," Sha said suddenly. "I'm sending data to Hessa."
The holo disappeared almost before h
e was finished speaking.
"Hessa?" Roak asked.
"Ships have appeared in the system where they are hiding," Hessa said. "Oh dear…"
"Father found them," Reck said. "Can we get there to help?"
"We will not be of use to them," Hessa said. "It is not Father. It is much worse."
"Worse than Father?" Roak asked. "What could be…? B'clo'no's."
"Yes," Hessa said. "The data sent shows at least twenty-five B'clo'no warships entered the system."
"How'd they find them?" Reck asked. She stood up and turned to Pol. "Our time isn't up."
"I may have miscalculated," Pol said, slightly panicked as he brought up a holo interface from his wrist. "No. My calculations are correct. The B'clo'nos found them some other way."
"The Skrang have a traitor," Skabz said. "Some weak-willed little pussy-ass crybaby terpigshit Skrang turned traitor and sold them out."
"Skrang don't turn traitor," Poq stated.
"What in all the Hells do you know about the Skrang, Mr. Synthetic?" Skabz laughed. "What all you beings know about my people can fit in my boot. Why do you think I bailed on them and became a bounty hunter?"
"Because even the Skrang hate you," Roak said. "They kicked you out. You didn't leave."
"Wrong, old man," Skabz said. "I left. Saying they kicked me out gave me an instant rep. But Skrang don't kick out Skrang. Skrang kill Skrang."
"Despite Pol insisting that his window of communication is correct, I believe we should cut comms now," Gerber said. "We'll talk again at the agreed upon time."
His holo disappeared.
"Same here," Kalaka said and the connection to the Cervile was gone too.
Those still present didn't say anything. Then all eyes turned to Roak.
"What?" Roak finally asked when no one piped up.
"What's the next move?" Reck asked. "Our allies aren't exactly an overwhelming force."
"They're about to be a lot smaller," Skabz said. "B'clo'nos don't joke around. No way eight destroyers can fight off twenty-five B'clo'no warships."
"Hessa, do we know where Sha and the other Skrang are hiding?" Roak asked.
"Yes, but-"
"Transport us there now," Roak ordered.
"Roak, that is-"
"Now, Hessa!" Roak shouted.
Hessa did not respond.
"Did we transport?" Roak asked.
"No, we did not," Pol said. He held up his interface. "I blocked Hessa from transporting."
"Which I was not going to do anyway," Hessa said with barely controlled anger in her voice. "Do not ever block me again, Pol."
"My apologies," Pol said. "But I could not risk you and Roak's co-dependent relationship jeopardizing our lives. We will wait until it is over then we will investigate."
"They'll be dead by then," Skabz said.
"Can someone make him go away?" Roak asked.
"Yes," Hessa said and Skabz was moltransed out of the med bay. "That better?"
"I have much work to do," Poq said and left the med bay without another word.
"Good," Pol said. "We should all talk."
"I'll leave you all to it," Ally said. She leaned over and gave Roak a long, soft kiss before patting his cheek and walking away. "We'll still be having our talk too. Don't think I've dropped it."
Roak tried to watch her go, but twisting his head to the side sent waves of nausea through him.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to it," Yellow Eyes said. "I'm starving anyway. Think I'll grab some-"
"You should stay as well," Pol said. "You will want to hear this."
"I will?" Yellow Eyes replied.
"You will," Pol said.
"Out with it, Pol," Roak said.
"Yes, well…" Pol took a deep breath. "I have finished studying all of Bishop's files. I was able to separate out which ones are authentic Bishop and which ones are strictly Father's fabrications. Then I discovered a third category."
"Anyone else sick of the suspense?" Roak snapped. "Out with it, Pol!"
"It appears there are authentic Father files," Pol said. "Data on where he came from. Everything we need to know on Mother. And, also…"
"Should I punch him?" Reck asked Roak.
"Please," Roak said.
"Time and date," Hessa said.
"Not now!" Roak yelled.
"Everyone calm down," Pol said. "I need you to remain calm."
No one responded.
Pol grimaced.
"There is another reason that Roak is no longer able to heal," Pol said. "While, yes, it’s because of the other universe origin, it is also because he is not, well… And neither is Reck, I might add…"
"Add? You didn't say anything," Reck said. "I'm going to punch him."
"You are clones," Pol stated. "You both are clones."
"Oh, snap!" Yellow Eyes exclaimed. "Wait, we knew that. He already told us that, right?"
"Yes," Roak said. "So, what is it you really want to say?"
"Father created clones to find himself a body," Pol said.
"A body? He doesn't have a body?" Reck asked.
"That is…unknown," Pol said then faced Yellow Eyes. "That's not all. He didn't see the sibling clones as the success he'd hoped for."
"What? What's wrong with us?" Reck asked.
"Think about it," Roak said.
"Shit," Reck said. "The healing part."
"He sees you as defective," Pol said.
"He always has," Roak said.
"Great. Defective," Yellow Eyes said and pointed at Pol. "Why is he still staring at me?"
"Because you are an attempt at creating the god body Father truly wanted," Pol said to Yellow Eyes.
"Oh…" Yellow Eyes said. "I think I'm going to be sick."
He was gone in a blur, leaving an uncomfortable Pol standing alone next to two very dangerous beings that were just told they were defective.
5.
Minutes ticked by without anyone saying anything.
Then Yellow Eyes returned. He wiped his mouth and nodded at the rest.
"I needed to gargle," he said. "What'd I miss?"
"Nothing," Roak said. "Explain, Pol."
"Let me start with Yellow Eyes," Pol said. "His explanation is easiest due to his singular nature. Also due to the fact that his origin is based in our universe, so the understanding of his makeup is a little more straight forward."
"I see, I see," Yellow Eyes said and scratched at what passed for a chin. "Do continue."
Reck tried to punch him, but Yellow Eyes was ready for it and dodged the attack without blinking.
"This is very serious and you should pay attention," Pol said. He cleared his throat. "Vat #38852679."
"What's that?" Reck asked.
"His official name," Pol said. "Although, he is not a he, but a they. Completely non-binary when it comes to gender."
"Sometimes a man is a man and a woman is a woman and a Yellow Eyes is just a Yellow Eyes," Yellow Eyes said in a strange, exaggerated voice.
"Or sometimes you're Vat #38852679," Reck said.
"Not liking the ring of that," Yellow Eyes said.
"Are you saying there were thirty-eight million attempts before him?" Roak asked Pol, ignoring both Yellow Eyes and Reck.
"At least," Pol replied. "And as many after."
"Can you tell us if he succeeded?" Reck asked.
"No," Pol stated flatly. "I wish I could. Believe me. I wish I could."
"He hasn't succeeded yet," Roak said. "Or we'd know. His ego won't let him keep it secret."
"Unless it's part of one of his sadistic surprises," Reck countered.
"I think we're past that," Roak responded. "We'd know if he has his own body."
"What's the guy need a body for when he can control like…everyone?" Yellow Eyes asked.
"He is risking annihilation every time he transfers his consciousness through the tear between the universes," Pol said. "Most of his energy and resources are allocated to keeping the tear stable. It is why he took
the planets. If he could acquire a true physical presence in this universe then he could close the gap and not waste any resources."
"And a physical body made in this universe would draw from the energy of this universe," Roak said. "He could heal."
"Yes," Pol said. "Although, he may be attempting to avoid the need for healing altogether. If Yellow Eyes' body is any indication."
"Personally, he should have quit with me," Yellow Eyes said and ran his nubs up and down his spindly body. "You don't mess with this kind of sexy."
Reck shook her head and walked off to pace by the wall.
"Oh, come on," Yellow Eyes said, "you were thinking it."
"I swear…" Reck muttered.
"WAG Corp," Roak said to Pol. "Can you hack them? See if they succeeded in creating Father a body?"
"WAG Corp is gone," Pol said. "Wiped out of existence."
"Then either he has the body, but can't transfer yet," Roak said, "or the theory doesn't hold out and he can't transfer at all."
"Two possibilities," Pol said. "A third would be that he moved everything to GF facilities now that he has control of the Fleet's entire Science Division."
"That's not good," Reck said. "No. That's fucking bad. Really fucking bad."
"Make a note to see if Gerber can find out," Roak said. "That it for Yellow Eyes?"
"For now, yes," Pol said.
"Go get yourself some stew," Roak said. Yellow Eyes didn't have to be told twice and was gone in a blur. "But leave some for me!"
Pol shifted uncomfortably. "I am unsure where to start with the two of you."
"Beginnings are good," Reck said.
"Yes, well, I do not have the beginning," Pol said. "What I have is a list of names and a list of attributes. Reck is obviously good with tech. Roak has a certain knack for surviving anything thrown at him."
"We're both good at that," Reck said.
"True. One hundred percent true," Pol said. "I'd say you and your late siblings are exceptional when it comes to survivability. But, to put it crudely, all of Roak's eggs were put in the survivability basket."
"That was stupid," Roak said.
"On the contrary," Pol said. "Especially if Father was going to originally use one of you as his permanent body in this universe."
"But that still leaves the universal energy issue," Reck said.
"Which is why it looks like he scrapped the idea and moved on to the WAG Corp scenario," Pol said.
