by Jedi Reach
“Lea?” Jace couldn’t believe it.
Lea crunched her fist, turned around and opened another portal, allowing the Shadow Man to walk through. She waved her hand over the device he was working on and dematerialized it from sight. The Scion then walked toward the portal she opened.
“Lea!” Jace got to his feet and stumbled to get closer. “Why?!”
Lea stopped, thought for a moment, then turned around.
“Because I’m finally free.” she said.
Both Scions stared at each other.
Is this really happening?
Jace’s suit decay took its toll and the teleportation process began as he watched Lea walk through the portal.
**************
A few minutes later at Site X, Xenia awoke from her sleep and noticed a figure in front of her bed.
“Xenia,” the newcomer unfastened his helmet, revealing a light skinned man with mid-length bronze hair and beard, pointy ears and grey eyes. “We need to talk.”
The mysterious man teleported Xenia and himself onto his spaceship which sat invisible over Site X about three hundred feet in the air. Xenia observed the ship. The inside was not much different from how she remembered her alien craft once was; only a few minor upgrades to the seats and the control panel. The windows were wide opened in a 360-degree angle, allowing a dark view of the surrounding ocean and moon overhead.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a beamship. It’s safe to say federation received my message?” Xenia spoke in her native tongue.
“Loud and clear.” the man said in the same language while he unequipped his gear.
“What happened to you? Are you alright?” Xenia noticed the damage on the suit.
“I’m fine.” he replied and grabbed a first aid kit to attend to the cuts on his back and shoulder.
“Let me help you.” Xenia walked toward him.
“I said I’m fine.” the man halted her and squared her in the eyes. Xenia shook her head.
“I see you’re still the same, Lars. Never wanting help when you can get it.” she said.
“And you?” Lars looked at her while he opened the first aid kit. Two small objects hovered out of the kit, observed Lars’ wounds and shot micro-lasers at the cuts, patching him up. “Has Earth been the paradise you were hoping for?”
Xenia held her tongue before replying.
“My paradise is my thoughts; I don’t need a place to achieve that.” she replied.
“Is that why you decided to stay here?”
“I stayed here because my mission was incomplete and from the looks of things, it was wise I stayed.”
“Perfect,” Lars stopped the first-aid droids and packed them away in their case. “Then you can tell your earth friends to stay out of my way.”
“Can you at least tell me what happened? I was out.”
Lars sighed and glared at Xenia.
“Do you know what came through that portal?” he asked.
Xenia stayed silent. She didn’t want to say it.
“I think you do.” Lars continued.
“Adron.” Xenia confessed.
“That’s right. The same Abolisher we studied in history classes when we were growing up.”
“How can it be?” Xenia shook her head.
“It would seem these underdeveloped earthlings decided to run before they can crawl. They created doorways to other worlds. It just so happened it was to one that should’ve never been opened.”
“I know. What should we do?”
“We? I am going to handle it. You will tell your earth friends to back off. If they weren’t there when I zeroed in on Adron, I would’ve taken care of this already.”
“I can’t do that.”
“What?”
“I said I cannot do that.”
“Why?”
“Because this is their world,” Xenia clenched her fists. “If Adron came to our soil, that would be our problem and our problem alone. He didn’t. They deserve the chance to defend their own planet. We’re all in this together.”
“Defend their planet? Is that a joke?” Lars chuckled. “These are the same earthlings who slave each other, ravage their environment, poison their world and overpopulate it like a plague. They are a cancer to their own world, and you think they can defend it?”
Xenia simply listened. Lars was visibly upset, perhaps it was the adrenaline from battle still flowing.
“No,” Lars shook his head. “The federation sent me and me alone. I’m here to detain Adron and destroy all the technology we provided, including that of Nova’s. We gave earthlings a chance before through you. Never again. Self-destructing your beamship was the best thing you could’ve done.”
“And the earth people should what? Sit back and watch you save the day?”
“Call it whatever you want, I work best alone.” Lars moved to the ship’s console and opened a holographic map. He was not the type to waste time. He wanted Adron like Ahab wanted his whale.
“What about me? Am I to also watch you like some damsel in distress? Are you forgetting what I am?” Xenia quizzed him.
Lars spun around. He thought well before answering.
“You can always come back home.” the hunter said.
“You know I can’t do that.” Xenia replied.
“Then…” Lars took a few steps closer to Xenia and rested his hand on her shoulder. It was a long time since he saw her, let alone even felt her. “…stay out of my way, sister.”
Lars looked at Xenia and Xenia looked at Lars. Both realized this was a stand-still and neither could convince the other of their side. Lars offered his sister a safe port back to Site X on the promise they’ll have another round at this argument.
After Xenia departed, Lars marched to his control console and pressed the buttons on the panel like he was playing a piano. The holographic interface changed into a call. An old, bearded man with pale skin and white hair answered. He was dressed in a form fitting space suit.
“I made contact. The target got away.” Lars said in his native tongue.
The old man scratched his beard.
“Any leads?” he asked.
“A few. The target is blocking several frequencies. It will take time to decipher where he went. I’ve sent the mission details to the council.”
“Good.” the man said.
“Father?” Lars interjected. “If Adron won’t be detained peacefully, does council grant me permission to exercise elimination?”
The old man thought about Lars words carefully.
“If it comes to that, so be it.” he said.
CHAPTER 10
A portal opened to the prison world; the same hellish planet Xenia discovered the pyramid. The tall Shadow Man, Adron, walked out of it, Lea followed behind. The shadowy suit, which was really bio-organic matter, receded to his neckline, unveiling his grey, lean face. He looked over the land with deep thought, those beady, black eyes, plotting the next move. Lea, on the other hand, was uneasy.
“You knew I wouldn’t go back. That’s why you left yourself open. You knew I’d step in.” she said.
Adron looked back at her.
“We’re not that different,” the alien said, carefully observing Lea before turning his attention to the hellish landscape. “I was a prisoner like you. I should’ve died here a long time ago. You’ve freed me,” Adron faced Lea again. “I want to return the favor.”
“How?” Lea asked.
Adron took slow, methodical steps towards the Scion and kneeled in front of her, leveling their height. His hypnotic, black eyes stared into hers.
“You remember those men they sent after us today?” he asked.
“Yea?” Lea gazed at him.
It was difficult for her to decide what to make of the alien. Adron’s presence was encompassing and powerful. It filled the Scion with mixed thoughts. Yet somehow, she didn’t feel fear. Maybe that was what was causing her to be afraid.
“One of them wasn’t from your world
,” Adron pushed the telepathic image of Lars into Lea’s head. “You remember him?”
“I do.” Lea recalled how she reversed his attack.
“He is, how do you say in your earth terms, like a bounty hunter?” Adron rose to his feet and thought more about how to describe it. “Only, he does not hunt for material treasures. Such things do not exist in evolved worlds. He hunts for his honor, and I am his target.”
“Why?” Lea fluttered.
To Lea, Adron wasn’t some beast to put down. She was interested in him and she couldn’t deny he was right about what he said. They were both prisoners.
“He is, as I once was, misguided…” Adron held his hand out and his organic suit spat black goo out of his palms that molted into a ghostly image of Adron’s memories. “…there is something I must share with you. It’s the only way for you to understand.”
Lea felt herself being consumed by the memories as she gazed into the psychic imagery. Adron’s words guided her like a sailboat to another dimension.
‘A long time ago, I was once a hunter like him. The best of the best. The Syraise Federation took pride of my skill and my honor to protect federation worlds. They entrusted me the duty of creating The Abolishers, a specialized peace keeping combat unit that contained members from across this galaxy.
We were the best of the best, the ones our federation called on when they needed sensitive matters dealt with. Matters that no one else would dare to confront. We were the ones who were sent in. The ones who destroyed evil while the rest of the federation slept with both eyes closed.
We were well honored, well esteemed, and secret. There came a time when we discovered a plague that ravaged non-federation worlds and we decided to intervene against federation orders. We saved countless refugees who were running across the galaxy from a civil war.
Federation wanted no part in it, even if the plague would eventually threaten Federation worlds. They wanted to wait until the problem came to them. It was foolish because the plague was a biochemical weapon of mass destruction that fed on and moved in-between worlds.
We would’ve had to confront it sooner or later. That is what we, The Abolishers, did. We traced the virus back to its point of origin. The same race that was in a civil war? We found the other side of them, their evil counterparts, on their home world which became infested and mutilated by the plague. We destroyed and burned the virus from existence.
But the virus didn’t die so easily. Before we could completely eradicate it, the plague infected us. It took our bodies and consumed our minds. By the time Federation found us, they were both outraged and horrified. Decisions were made, and we were deemed to be exiled.’
Lea dropped to the ground in tears.
She felt Adron’s pain like it were her own.
“Federation deported us to worlds like this and stripped us of any means of getting out. They left us to die,” Adron pointed with an open palm at the lightning flashing across the hellish landscape in the distance. “This is where I have been for centuries. But I refused to let my story end by injustice.”
The shadowy matter trembled around Adron.
“I refused to let a plague best me!” he clenched his fists. The bio-organic suit that hugged his body had life of its own, and it feared him. He held his hand out for Lea and the dark, shadowy matter receded from his hand, showing Lea his real grey flesh. “I refused to let the darkness kill me, so I made it obey.”
Lea reached for his hand and allowed him to help her up.
“I should’ve died a long time ago as a weapon of war, but I knew my time wasn’t over. I must find the rest of my surviving kin, and we must fight for our freedom.”
Lea was speechless. So many thoughts coursed through her mind she didn’t know where to begin.
“That man they sent; the hunter, is only the beginning. And those earth men that came after us? That’s only the start of that too. The both of us are in this together whether you like it or not. They will keep sending more and more until we are their prisoners again. Do you want that to happen?”
A memory of Stone flashed into Lea’s mind.
“No,” she confessed and looked up. “What do you want from me?”
Adron looked into her eyes.
“Help me find the rest of The Abolishers.”
**************
The medical facility was swamped back at Site X. Injured soldiers were screaming in agonizing pain, their flesh being torn apart from inside. The doctors had no choice but to sedate them. It was an urgent situation – a viral infection that no one had an answer to. Jace didn’t suffer any infected wounds, but he did receive some heavy blows. The Nova Leader sat outside the med bay, observing his fallen men through the observatory glass; particularly Aiden, who was out cold.
“Thank you.” Jace said to the nurse wrapping his wrist in bandages.
“Of course, sir. Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine, thanks. See to the rest of the men.”
“Understood.”
Thoughts of the defeat swarmed Jace’s mind as the nurse walked away. Worst of it all? Lea. What on earth happened to her? Why did she betray them? Jace tried to hold himself together. There was panic running about the base, the people needed a rock. It wasn’t the time for him to sink into an abyss, he had to stay strong.
Where is Xenia? Jace wondered.
A circle of light imploded in the hallways and Xenia appeared. Some of the staff stumbled at her sudden appearance while others simply didn’t care. They were far too busy trying to tackle the infection crisis.
Speak of the devil, Jace greeted the alien beauty with weary eyes. Xenia looked around, taking note of the situation and the staff’s reaction to it. Her eyes finally met Jace’s.
“Jace!” she rushed over to him.
“Where were you?” the Nova Leader asked, his tone, serious.
“I…” Xenia glanced at any possible eavesdroppers. “…we should talk. Alone.”
“This better be good.” he got out of his seat and walked down the hallway, expecting Xenia to follow. Xenia could sense the tension in the atmosphere. She could cut it with a knife.
“Are you alright?” Xenia asked as she caught up to him.
“I’m fine,” Jace shrugged it off. “What is it you have to tell me?”
An elevator opened and the two walked in.
“Well?” Jace broke the silence.
“My Federation responded to the call. They sent in a specialist.” Xenia said.
“I think I met him. He didn’t talk much though.” Jace recalled the encounter with the newcomer. Xenia looked at Jace. Outside he maintained a calm posture but inside he was boiling.
“His name is Lars. He’s what you could describe as a special cleanup force. The best of the best.” Xenia said.
“Understood.” Jace didn’t seem to care.
The elevator doors opened, and some staff entered for a few levels up. Jace kept his sight fixed on the door while Xenia wondered what on earth was wrong with him. She wanted to probe into his head to find out. The elevator doors opened again, and the staff exited.
“What is going on with you? What happened?” Xenia asked.
“We lost.” Jace shook his head as the elevator doors opened. He walked out and headed for his room. Xenia chased.
“Why did you go without me?” she raised her tone.
“Because you were out cold? How the hell could I have asked you to come?”
“Jace!” Xenia grabbed his arm. The Nova Leader halted and gazed into her eyes. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“We had an opportunity within a certain time window, so I took the chance. I wanted to end this. For all of us.” he confessed.
“What are you talking about ending this?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You, me, Aiden, even Scott. I made this deal to get us out. It was the perfect opportunity, so I took it.”
“At the risk of your own life?”
“Ri
sk of my life is part of the job. It’s what we weapons know best.”
Xenia moved closer to him. “You are not a weapon. You know that.”
The Nova Leader shook his head.
“Xenia, you know I don’t like being vulnerable like this. I’m not good at it. What about you? Why do you still do it?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Xenia raised her eyebrows, worried.
“I can’t imagine how many times your federation asked you to come back home. Is earth really worth your code as a Herald to protect it? I don’t want you to suffer the same fate as us because of our mistakes.”
Xenia dropped her head and sighed.
“This isn’t only your mistake and you know why I’m really here. You know why I haven’t left this world even though I could’ve all this time.” she whispered.
“Your honor as a Herald, right? To complete your mission to earth; leave it a better place than you found it?” Jace recited the words he heard from her a long time ago.
Xenia gazed into his eyes.
“Oh Jace, why do you deny what you already know is true?” she asked.
Jace cocked an eyebrow. He instinctively knew what she meant. Xenia leaned into Jace and before he could say anything else, kissed him on the lips. A fire surged in Jace. He had been waiting so long to taste her that he had forgotten just how the very touch and feel of Xenia had made him high, even in dark times. He wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezed her ass and reeled her in for more. Xenia telepathically opened the door to his room, and they pushed each other inside. It didn’t take long before their clothes were gone, and they were making love.
**************
Jace woke up the next day and went to the balcony porch outside his room. He was still naked, though no one could see him but Xenia if she decided to wake up. The Nova Leader looked over the ocean’s horizon and rested his cheek on his fist as he sat in one of the outdoor chairs, locked in deep thought. Xenia was heavy on his mind – her role in everything, how to keep her safe, and what will happen with them. Then there was Aiden and the injured soldiers – were they alright? Above it all was Adron. Jace may have lost that fight, but he was far from out of it. What bothered him most was not so much losing but if he’d have another go.
