by J Hawk
Ion watched as one of the dragonflies came close to his face, its pink wings fluttering beautifully. “Meaning?”
“That the plague crystal is now with us,” Dantox said in a slow, impressing tone. “and not with the Xeni is the last, best hope for the world. And so and we need to strive to make sure that one last hope is not lost. We need to protect the crystal with all we have, and keep it hidden from them. Keep it well off their hands. For without the crystal they’re powerless. And keeping it off their reach is the only way we can save everything now.”
“And so,” took over Mantra, sitting a little straighter on his chair. “we will give ourselves over to it. To the cause of staying here and keeping the crystal hidden and safe,” His voice went soft. “at whatever cost we must bear.”
Ion watched the fluttering golden wings of the dragonfly on their table, comprehending what he had just heard a moment late.
“You mean to say that we’re supposed to stay idle here and babysit the crystal … and in the meantime, as they blow off ten planets, and we’re supposed to watch and do nothing?” He shifted his gaze between the two masters. “You mean we aren’t going to try and help?”
Mantra inhaled slowly and said, “For the greater good.”
“The greater good?” Ion couldn’t believe this. “But billions of lives are at stake!”
“No, Ion.” Dantox shook his head. “Much more is at stake. Trillions. The entire spectrum is at stake, and we hold the key to saving them. We must keep ourselves from making a reckless move now.”
“We need to safely keep the plague crystal away from the Xeni’s hands.” explained Mantra. “And if we leave this place, and play the hero by trying to save the ten planets, we run a very great risk of losing the plague crystal to them. They have their eyes all over the spectrum. And this planet is remote and off the reaches of civilisation. We are safe here. The plague crystal is safe here. We can’t abandon this safety at any cost, and risk losing the crystal to them.”
Ion couldn’t hold down his anger at what he was hearing. He rose in his seat, his chair toppling over backwards. Some of the dragonflies buzzing close to him scurried away fearfully.
“But we’re the last surviving members of the Nyon! We’re supposed to be the upkeepers of peace and harmony. And if there’s one time where there’s a threat to peace and harmony, it’s now! We’ve got to do something to stop those bombs going off!”
Mantra rose in his chair as well, but slowly, and he locked his white eyes with Ion in a stern, imposing manner.
“Listen to reason, Ion. We can’t leave this planet and abandon our greatest task, which the entire brotherhood died for. And what’s more: there’s nothing that can be done! If we’re going to want to find those ten bombs amidst thousands of planets within the span of ten hours, we’ll be needing nothing less than the search team of an army!” He held his hands out, gesturing to the abandoned, shack like place the three lone Nyon were now in. “Does it look like we have one? All we have is three surviving members of the brotherhood of Nyon comprising two sad old laggards and an angry young man, and a group of butterflies!” He ended angrily, gesturing to the dragonfly like creatures buzzing around them.
Dantox nodded, slightly more patiently. “Believe us, Ion. We are not asking you to take pleasure in what you are doing, or this entire situation. A war has its casualties, and we need to endure them for the sake of the greater good.”
Mantra withdrew the plague crystal from his pocket and gently placed it on the table between them, close to the gold winged dragonfly.
“As long as this remains away from them, all is well.”
And he settled to his seat, giving a consoling nod to Ion who continued to stand there for a few seconds. Then, with a deep breath, he too sank to his seat, folding his arms. A heavy silence fell between them, through which only the faint buzzing of the dragonflies could be heard.
Great. Thought ion, feeling a hopeless gloom drown him from within. It’s gonna be great watching the world burn while we sit here and do nothing.
He fixed a worn out stare on the golden winged dragonfly by the edge of their table, trying to wash away the guilt.
__________
Meanwhile, a million miles away, in the light barren cave, Zardin stood with his hands fastened behind his back. Standing behind him, his presence hardly known to anyone but Zardin’s inner senses, was Redgarn. Both of them were standing before a holographic screen perched at the front of the cave, showcasing a most intriguing scene.
With the camera angle at the bottom right, the screen showed Mantra, Dantox and Ion seated around the table. And the plague crystal amidst them on the table.
The video recording device, cleverly disguised as a live golden winged butterfly, was doing a fantastic job in transmitting this to them – something that would claim top prize in their list of gains for the day. The final gain.
“The transmission comes from the planet Utakor.” Zardin said.
He could sense the grin creeping across Redgarn’s features in the darkness. “Excellent…”
They had found the plague crystal. They knew where it was.
Everything was now complete.
Once they acquired the crystal, they would have all that they needed.
Just after Redgarn had returned, the Xeni had installed countless secret video transmission devices across the spectrum. They were all hidden and ingeniously disguised, such as the golden winged butterfly they were now watching this through … And one of their video devices had just hit lucky.
“So,” Zardin turned to face Redgarn, the two of them standing feet apart in the darkness. “shall we send in our men? I think they would enjoy eradicating the last three of our enemies, and taking what they had stolen from us.”
In the gloom, nothing could have been visible of Redgarn’s features, but Zardin didn’t require illumination: he could feel Redgarn’s eyes angled in a thoughtful frown as he quietly stroked his chin for a second.
And then, a smile cracked on his thin lips.
“No. we’ll send … someone else for this task.” he said, a hidden glee in his savage voice. “The task of killing those three cursed Nyon and getting the crystal back.”
“Send someone else, huh?” Zardin repeated thoughtfully. “Very well. Whom do you have in mind?”
A harsh, rumbling noise broke through the silence in the cave as Redgarn laughed. “Only the very worst.”
The sound of that voice would have made anyone’s scalp prickle.
“Tell me the planet’s co ordinates,” the man said. “And I’ll take care of them. All three of them.”
He was hooded and cloaked, standing opposite to Zardin and Redgarn. Nothing could be seen of his face, which was soaked in darkness beneath his hood.
Redgarn nodded and gave the co ordinates of Utakor, and the exact location as to where the three were. In that abandoned restaurant. He told him what they were meaning to recover from them.
“Consider the task done.” hissed the man, a brutal fervour in his voice now. “I will send my men for it. Within minutes, they will bring you the crystal … and the three of the Nyon’s heads along with it.”
To be continued …
In THE RISING SUN – Episode 5
