“Not that any of that matters,” Lucas said.
“Well, no, it doesn’t.” Keith lowered his voice.
“Okay. Simple enough, right hand, half-turn clockwise, then release,” Michael repeated.
“Exactly,” Keith confirmed.
“Alright, everyone out,” Lucas said as Michael took a knee in front of the artifact. The rest of the group funneled back outside the door. Lucas clapped Michael on the shoulder, turning away as Mia wiped her face full of streaming tears.
“H-hunny, let’s go,” Mia chimed.
“You heard `em,” Michael said. “Out, Keith.”
“Nah, I need to be in here in case something goes wrong. I’ll be fine. I’m the only one capable of assisting—”
Suddenly Michael sprung from the ground, grabbing Keith by the throat and pinning him against the wall. Michael snarled, flashing his fangs as his green eyes pulsated. “Leave! Do it! You said it emits a shock. You have zero protection, Keith!” Michael released him. “Get out!”
Keith coughed. “Y-you’ll have to kill me, Michael. I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
“What the hell is going on?” Lucas poked his head back in.
“Stubborn. Is this a mule barn? I guess he feels right at home,” Michael replied.
“Keith, you know the risk but you’re staying anyway?” Lucas posed. Mia ran up and peeked around him. “Why are you still in here?” she yelled.
“I have to. Garza, get her away from the door. You guys, back up at least a couple hundred feet,” Keith said. Lucas shut the door, saluting them both before he did. Mia’s crying was muffled as the door closed.
Michael turned his back on Keith, glaring over his shoulder. “Stay back as far as possible,” he said.
“Oh, I plan on it,” Keith said.
“I still say you’re stupid.”
“Maybe.”
Michael knelt in front of the device. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes.
“Here goes.” He shook his head as he stretched his arm toward the device. He stopped just before he touched it. Keith waited a few seconds. “Mike.”
“I know, Keith. I…”
“What can I do, friend?” Keith whispered.
“Can you give Vala a message, just in case?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Tell her, let her know I witnessed the single greatest testament to humanity. What she did for me. Not only did she risk her life, she loved me unconditionally. Keith, despite what I am, never once did she make me feel different or less than I was before. The contrary, in fact. She uplifted me. But my decision here is based around her strength. She always gets angry, at first, and I know, down the line, she’ll understand this was the right decision. Had I not known her, I might not have the strength for this moment.” Michael stared over his shoulder at Keith.
Keith nodded slowly and confidently. “You bet. Least I can do.”
Michael turned back, plunging his hand into the artifact with authority. Sparks emitted from the device, sending a jolt through his frame. “Ahhhhhhh!” he yelled. Michael’s body crumpled over lifelessly as his face smacked against the cold floor.
Keith could hear footsteps trotting toward the door. It swung open. “Status?” Garza asked.
Keith looked down at himself, then rushed over to Michael, turning him on his side. “His pulse is very low.” He sighed loudly.
“Is there anything we can do?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. His exoskeleton makes it difficult, and I don’t have access to the equipment I need anymore. It was lost at Solarsystems,” he said as Lucas limped into the doorway.
“Well?” he asked.
“Not good. Not good at all.” Keith shot him a grim glare. No one said a word for several seconds. Lucas turned his back, pulling at his hair.
Mia peeked inside. “Keith’s alright, isn’t he? Please?”
“Yeah, he’s good.” Garza sighed.
“What about, Michael?” she asked.
Keith buried his face in his hands, rubbing his face. He slowly touched Michael’s shoulder. “Hey, my friend. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I wanted to say a few words,” he whispered. “I never got to tell you how much you helped me by just being yourself. You and Vala both. The two of you sacrificed yourselves for each other. That made me a believer. It showed me that life’s worth living, even if you have to start all over again,” Keith said with his hand on Michael’s head. He stood, staring at him. “Thank you.”
“The man understood the risk, and I knew we could count on him,” Lucas said.
“Michael’s pulse is very low. Not sure what’ll happen, but I feel so helpless,” Keith said.
“Maybe we should put him back in the sun?” Garza suggested.
“It won’t matter, this isn’t linked to low power.” Keith said.
“This is the point where I believe it’s out of our hands. We don’t have the resources to do any more. Everyone, out!” Lucas ordered. “Don’t disrespect his sacrifice. We have a job to do.”
“Now, we have to play the waiting game,” Garza said.
“Mia, hunny, can you please take the truck home and wait for me?” Keith asked with glossy eyes.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Please, I’ll be home, soon.” Keith stared at her, and she snapped away from him. Garza followed Mia with her eyes as she marched off.
Lucas noticed Michael’s hand still in the device. “How long?” he asked.
“I’d guess the Omega’s arrival in less than five minutes,” Keith said as Mia sped off, bouncing across the road.
“You said it’s in Arizona.” Garza squinted.
“Exactly,” Keith said.
“That’s over fifteen hundred miles from here.”
Right then, a loud explosion was heard behind them. Their heads whipped around. “There’s no way.” Garza said.
“Don’t think in terms of your understanding of travel time. It doesn’t work like that,” Keith said. Garza tiptoed around the side of the barn, panning in all directions. She stopped on a dime, hunkering low. Her eyes widened as she pointed into the tree line.
Lucas stepped toward Garza as she stood with her mouth open.
“Does it see us?” Keith asked.
Lucas observed the Omega’s entrance. It hovered behind the barn about five hundred feet away, just above the forest. Beneath the Omega, the tree line had been flattened as if a bomb had detonated directly above them, flattening them atop one another.
“Yes, I can see and hear you clearly.” The Omega’s voice rumbled as it slowly floated toward them. The electronic deep male voice sounded less monotone, more authoritative.
Lucas slowly raised his hand. “We turned on the device and—”
“I understand this. Every time it’s activated, I lose a degree of control momentarily. We all do until its disengaged.” The Omega stared into the sky briefly, its tentacles whipping around erratically like an irritated cat’s tail.
Lucas hobbled toward the Omega, glaring up at it. “I’m sorry for what happened. Colonel Ritter—”
“Is dead.” The Omega interrupted.
“Oh. Well, I had no idea,” Lucas said.
“Not one hour ago. He pleaded for his life, stating he had no idea where the artifact was.”
“He wasn’t lying, not that time. Please understand his views on the artifact differ wildly from ours.” Lucas gestured toward Garza.
“Yet you chose to deal with him?” the Omega asked.
“I didn’t have much choice. Not to mention he seemed compliant before all this happened,” Lucas replied.
The Omega began to dig one of its tentacles into the soil in frustration. “You failed your people, Lucas. At the very least, you should have informed me of Ritter’s unreliable behavior.”
“Well, that’s why we’re here now. We wanted to lead you away from the military and give you what’s yours, peacefully, so that you can—”
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The Omega’s head snapped toward the barn. “You have the artifact inside this, structure?”
“Yes,” Lucas said.
The Omega floated toward the barn within two dozen feet. One of its tentacles extended outward much longer than the rest as it appeared to narrow to a bladed edge.
“We’ll get it for you,” Lucas asked, observing the Omega was too tall to fit through the door.
“I don’t require further assistance from you!” the Omega shouted. Lucas put his hand over his chest as the deafening roar resonated through him like a booming subwoofer. A loud crack erupted as the Omega’s tentacle whipped clean through the barn’s roof.
The cut was precise, straight through like a high-powered laser. Wood planks and tin roofing flew into the air, some of it intact. Just before gravity began to pull the debris back down, the Omega suspended it in midair.
The Omega circled around the suspended chaos, even brushing against some of the debris. It gestured toward the barn’s materials hanging in the balance. Keith took a half step back. “Oh my,” he whispered.
The Omega turned its head toward them as they marveled at his telekinesis.
“Let the chips fall where they may,” the Omega said.
“Say again?” Lucas asked confused.
“That’s what Colonel Ritter said before he ordered the bombing of a civilian area in Phoenix. I intercepted much of their communications,” it replied.
“After what he did with the artifact, can’t say I’m surprised. I’m embarrassed,” Lucas said.
“It’s more of a fundamental flaw with those in power here. Can’t say I’m surprised by anything I’ve seen in war, but when I noticed your species’ disinterest for the innocent, I disregarded them as well. I used mobs of human corpses as swords, spears, shields, whatever I pleased. Mostly as a statement. If humanity doesn’t matter to you, then why should they matter to me? I’m not sure the connection was made,” the Omega explained.
“I saw it. I-I was there,” Keith said, biting his tongue. No sooner than he finished his statement, he seemed to regret it.
“And, somehow, you survived?” the Omega asked.
“I was being transmitted to an augmented reality feed, a camera from one of the tanks in Phoenix,” Keith replied.
The Omega leaned forward, its red eyes glowed through its ashy skin. “Then you weren’t really there at all then, were you? Or else you wouldn’t be here,” it said.
Keith glanced at Lucas. “No one survived in Phoenix?”
“As of an hour ago, no humans remain in that settlement.”
“Oh no.” Keith buried his face in his hands.
“I think you should be more appalled at your leadership. They were responsible for a great deal of causalities. Do you know what the standing order was from the US Military?” it asked.
“To destroy you at all costs,” Lucas said.
The Omega paused for a moment. “No, that would have been admirable, respected. No, your leaders only wanted to disable me.”
“Reverse engineering.” Keith sighed, glaring at Lucas.
“Yes, but more astonishing is that they were willing to continue bombing civilian areas to cripple me instead of engaging directly to eliminate the threat. Your leaders were willing to prolong the collateral damage and suffering just for a chance to capture me,” the Omega explained.
The Omega flung the suspended debris into the forest behind them with the flick of a finger. Keith, Lucas, and Garza ducked for cover. The barn’s tin roof could be heard crashing into tree limbs. “The chips fell unexpectedly, as you can see. I was not captured, and over three million humans are dead. For what? Reclaiming the artifact was a simple request, but in this, I have learned a great deal about your species.”
Lucas slumped his head. “I feel partly responsible for those deaths.”
“To your credit, you attempted to satisfy the transaction. Unfortunately, most of your species has an obsession with power disguised as morality.” The Omega floated over and peered into the barn. It snapped toward Lucas, then stared at Michael. “Now this is quite unexpected.”
Keith glanced at Lucas. He gulped as the Omega scanned over Michael.
“You’ve attempted to recreate one my masters? You mean to enslave us, don’t you?” the Omega shouted.
“No-no, that’s a military unit. We used the materials from the ship to create his lightweight exoskeleton. Nothing more,” Keith said.
“Of all things, you used skeletal remains from the race that enslaved my people to save weight?” the Omega questioned.
“Well, we had no idea their relationship to you then, but yes, we used the materials for durability. They were also resilient to many things: fire, corrosion, properties that materials here cannot withstand, as well,” Keith said.
“I’m aware of the attributes of these materials. How many of these abominations have you created?” The Omega glared down at Michael.
“Only one, I can assure you,” Keith said.
“You don’t even know why our masters created such resilient skeletal systems,” the Omega said.
“F-for battle?” Keith stuttered.
“No. The reason for my existence, all of my kind for that matter, is so we could acquire workers, the subclasses beneath me. Our masters were fanatics with immortality, and as their organic bodies decayed, they supplemented this material and replaced or bonded it to their fragile bones. Thousands of tribes and species were enslaved to construct these new bodies for them. I was not a worker, but a warrior, fighting for the master’s expansion and longevity, to enslave more species or acquire their resources.”
The Omega stared at Lucas for a few moments. “I must inform you that I couldn’t be more disappointed with this outcome. My mission was to recover the device with limited causalities, but I’ve failed,” it said.
“We’re just glad it’s not any worse, and now that you have the device, this conflict can end,” Lucas said.
The Omega dipped its head. “Yes, this would have been an ideal conclusion to my stay, but unfortunately, I cannot leave until my mission is complete,” it said.
“I thought it was?” Keith asked.
“Partly, yes. But upon further familiarity with your species, I’ve discovered a striking resemblance to that of my former masters. Granted, you are tens of thousands of years behind, but the core remains incredibly similar.”
“What, wait! How are we similar to that?” Lucas’ mouth dropped.
“Expendability. In one way or another, your species chooses oppression above all else. Economically, socially, and even physical slavery is still abundant, despite perception. You could pose a danger to other galactic beings, and your unrelenting quest to reverse engineer the masters’ technology will only speed up the pace. By my own calculations, this could take a mere fifteen thousand years, assuming you survive any unforeseen planetary disasters,” the Omega explained.
Garza and Lucas snapped toward one another in confusion. “Fifteen thousand years? You’re worried about a possible threat from us that far into the future?” Lucas demanded.
“Don’t be so quick to reveal your limited perspective of time. We cannot risk the enslavement of our kind, not again. You’re a curious colony of primates, an aggressive, avaricious, irrational, emotionally driven subspecies. Even if we were equals, it matters not, you are only nine billion strong. I have trillions to protect. You understand this vast difference, don’t you?” The Omega tilted its head.
“Yes, yes, but wait. There’s nothing we can do? Surely there has to be a way!” Lucas stepped forward.
“I will say that, over our short interaction, you appear to be trustworthy, however incompetent. I do believe the reasoning behind your actions is sound. You want the best for your own kind, but there is no hope for them simply because of the class system. I will destroy the artifact, and after that, I regret to inform you, I will continue my campaign here.” The Omega’s headdress pulsed red as it went into a trance. Electricity skipp
ed about its body while its eyes glowed red.
“What about all our cultures, our history. You would just erase it?” Lucas pleaded.
“Extinction is the only absolute. Understand, there are hundreds of thousands of civilizations in the galaxy, and life will carry on elsewhere.” The Omega snapped out of the trance and stabbed Lucas through the chest with its tentacle, lifting him several feet off of the ground.
Garza fell to one knee as Lucas gasped for air, staring at the wound just above the heart. The Omega slung him toward the vehicle. Lucas tumbled violently, smashing into the truck.
“Nooo!” Garza yelled, snatching out her pistol and firing at Omega.
“Lucas,” Keith whispered in shock, reaching out toward him.
The alien seemed annoyed with Garza’s attack, but ignored her, arching a tentacle toward the artifact in a downward slashing motion. Just before impact, a roaring engine was heard as the creature was smashed into by an SUV, knocking it to the side.
“Vala!” Keith’s jaw dropped.
Her SUV bounced toward the forest and spun sideways in the dirt, stopping just before impacting a tree.
Vala jumped out. “Iris, stay put! Where’s Michael?” she yelled, panning around.
Iris stared at the alien, tilting her head in awe through the window. “Look, he’s got one like me. That’s what he’s using to hurt people.” She touched her headband.
Iris closed her eyes, ripping the Omega’s crown from its head as it scrambled to reel it back in with its tentacles.
“Got it!” Iris shouted. The metallic crown was hurled high into the air, out of its reach.
The Omega lowered slowly from its levitation, both feet on the ground. “No matter. Telekinesis is only one weapon in my disposal.”
Iris got out of the SUV, touching her headband as the Omega stampeded toward her. Garza fired a .45 caliber pistol from behind it. It twirled around, swinging its body and whipping its tentacles, emitting a cracking sound, slamming Garza against the pickup near Lucas. “Urrgh!”
Symphony of Descension: Echo Effect book 2 Page 13
