"You will all be safe and will be returned to your base after the storm has passed. In the meantime, please explore and enjoy yourselves. Please don't start any trouble; this may be a civilian city, but the guards will not tolerate aggression towards anyone," the Shifter said.
The guards escorted the team out. Her mind flashed again, and she blinked frantically, processing this new information. Though she had only been on the base for a short time, in her heart, she felt a tug towards the north as if she knew where the city was, now. She looked down at herself; it appeared that the memory sharing didn't change her into a Shifter.
“Incredible,” Jennifer said. The Shifter’s lips curled into a smile. “I never learned that part about a Shifter before.” As quick as the smile came, it evaporated as the word “Shifter” came out of her mouth. It scowled at the word before regaining composure. Though the creature demonstrated patience and a natural calm, that word seemed to strike a nerve. She made a mental note of that.
“I will ask you do not call me that again,” he said sharply. His face lifted from that scowl into a neutral stoicism.
“Why’s that?”
“That crude human word devalues millions of years of evolution and our trials as a species, for the sake of convenience and to degrade our culture. We are Nulani, I ask that you call us by that name from now on.”
She couldn’t lose her chance at bringing the Shifter back to the base. She wouldn’t miss the opportunity because of one misstep. She raised her hands at him in surrender. “I apologize, I didn’t know. If I may ask, what is your name?”
“I do not expect you understand for one so young, I forgive you. I am Coordinate Prime Oosuloc Tali,” he said.
“I’ll stick with Tali for short.”
“That is fine.”
“How can I believe that the memory you showed me was real and not just fabricated to trick us?” Jennifer asked.
The Shifter – no, the Nulani – smiled. “Truth is one of the greatest weapons one can wield. I gain no benefit from deception. My wish is for this conflict to end. That is what we have in common.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“You are bitter that the war took your father away from you. You are bitter that he was not around to raise you and you feel anger towards him for not showing up to your mother’s funeral. You want to end the conflict between us, but you do not know how.”
That was another truth; she did want this conflict to end. The truth was a weapon, and he was beating her with it.
“I want to win for my species,” she said. She didn’t even believe the words that came out.
“You say that as one of the many brainwashed humans, but you don’t believe those words. In truth, you despise the mindless zealots who throw themselves at this conflict.” His true form might be translucent, but to him she was transparent. Her head sunk. She spoke to a dark reflection of herself, a more honest reflection.
“It doesn’t matter what I want, it’s what I’m supposed to do.”
“That’s not how your mother raised you.” He said. Although she had overstepped the boundary before, he was the one who had overstepped it this time. Even if he spoke the truth, she would not tolerate the evocation of her dead mother. She stood ready to leave after that. She turned away from him.
“How dare you.” She said gruffly.
He stood and reached for her, past the helmet line. “I apologize, but I know the truth that lies within you, even if you refuse to see it. I know the truth to all of this.”
“Maybe we can learn more about each other in the base?” She had spent too much time here. If she couldn’t succeed at her mission, it was best to leave. She had already learned much from their encounter that they could use. If Charlie Team didn’t return, she felt as if she could mount a rescue mission and go to the city herself.
“You want to probe my mind and learn about us, under the guise of the information, so your father, the commander of this base can exterminate us.” He said simply.
“Did you scan all my memories?” she asked, shocked.
“All the way up until our meeting.” He remained calm.
“How do you know they won’t just open fire if I act as if I’m in danger?”
“It would not serve either of our purposes to end each other.”
“End each other? Do you have an invisible army at your back?”
"My death would only perpetuate the cycle of violence, and it might even come back here."
She kept her back to him. “So you don’t have any intention of coming with me?”
He shook his head. Tali, as she decided she would call him, shed the form of Jennifer and assumed his true form. “I wish to remain free. This world rebukes those who do not embrace the nature of it. It is why humans will never win.”
“What is the nature of this planet?” Jennifer asked.
“If you come back to my city, you will know.” He said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“It doesn’t work because my species will not hurt you for seeking knowledge, unlike ours.” He spoke almost sadly.
“What do you mean?” Jennifer asked.
***
Darian climbed the ladder up to the western sniper’s nest. If the commander wouldn’t take the initiative and end that creature before it could lead an assault on the base, he would. The memory of the soldiers coming to his private school with two flags for his parents returned, along with his burning hatred for the Nulani.
His parents were on the last leg of their tour, after which they would return home in time for his graduation. Little did he know, as a younger man, that he would never see them again. A boy who had been destined to pursue a career in business was now shoehorned, in his mind, to walk the path of his parents. He would end any threat to humanity, so as to spare every child the pain of losing their parents to this savage species. He climbed the rails up into the relatively small tower. The soldier, stationed there, held a fifty-caliber sniper rifle trained in the direction of the Nulani.
“Hey,” Darian said in an innocent tone. He approached the sniper cautiously.
“Can I help you?”
"Yeah, you can actually." He stood behind him. With a swift motion, he knocked the rifle out of his hands and wrapped his arm around the sniper's neck in a chokehold. The sniper struggled, but after a few moments, he lost consciousness. Darian tossed him to the side and picked up the rifle.
Together with Jennifer, he was one of the few to graduate top of his class, with his specialty being in long-range weapons. He aimed out to where the Nulani and Jennifer stood. She was facing away from him, ready to walk away. He adjusted his sights to calculate the distance. The crosshairs hovered slightly above the Shifter’s head.
“I’ll protect you, if no one else will, Jenny. They won’t take you away from me, too.”
He took a deep breath.
Chapter Five
“How can you guarantee my safety if I chose this path?” Jennifer said.
“If you come under the banner of peace, we will return the favor in kind.” He turned away from her. They began walking away from each other.
"I'll let the Commander know, and we'll form a small team to go to your city."
“I am pleased to hear this.”
“Maybe we had it wrong.” She turned back to him.
“Once you get to the city, you will know everything about us.” He replied.
“Maybe.” Jennifer allowed herself to feel slightly hopeful.
“I hope one day we will stand together on this field as friends, Jennifer Raynor” As he walked away, he gave her a thumbs up. Though he faced away from her, she knew he was smiling. Maybe they did have it wrong. If this was a manipulative tactic, then why go through all the risk and trouble? Maybe there was merit to his words.
He stood still. He closed his eyes. “Jennifer Raynor?”
“Yeah?”
"Bewa-" An ear-shattering boom t
hundered from the direction of the base. It was so loud that even a mile away, in the tree line, birds and other creatures flew from the trees. In the blink of an eye, the bullet pierced through the back of Tali's head, bursting it like an exploding watermelon. His body flailed like a rag doll, from the force of the impact, as his body collapsed to the ground. His blue blood flowed forth from his open neck.
She stared in horror as she whirled back toward the base. The soldiers on the wall took defensive stances. Commander Raynor’s guards surrounded him with their weapons pointed in every direction.
“Who fired that?” Raynor yelled out. He twisted and turned his body to gauge his surroundings.
“Shot came from the western nest, sir,” one of the guards said.
"Who's in that nest?"
“Davis, sir.”
“Get a team over there and find out what’s going on. Now!”
Jennifer edged toward the corpse of her failed mission. Why did Raynor command them to fire? Did they assume she’d failed and wanted to eliminate the creature before it could get away? Maybe it was a mercy, not having to be in the war anymore and avoiding torture by the humans. She sat next to the lifeless creature.
She felt something she didn't expect to feel. She felt sad for the creature. Was it a side effect of the memory sharing or was it because a being that came in peace died a dishonorable death? Whatever it was, she decided to stay there for a while and avoid the inevitable scolding from her father for failure. Not to mention the looks she would get from the other zealots for failure. She had ailed, a rare occurrence for her.
Raynor left the wall with his four guards and walked across the darkened soil of the base. Two soldiers were escorting a defeated Darian. They pushed him to the ground in front of Raynor, who didn’t say a word to the young man. He only looked at him with disdain. Not for killing the Nulani, but for disobeying a direct order and putting his daughter at risk. Any miscalculation would have put her in danger, and that’s something for which he would make Darian pay the price.
Darian panted, as he craned his head up toward Raynor. With venom in his voice, he said, "I only did what you didn't have the balls to do."
Raynor didn't dignify the rogue trainee with a response. He continued to walk forward. The two guards lifted Darian off the ground and pushed him toward the brig.
"That was quite a show," one of Raynor's entourage said. The commotion in the base had died down, but the guards had their rifles up and ready for anything. After a few minutes of walking, they ended up in front of the headquarters.
“I don’t care that it’s dead, just be prepared for retaliation. I want extra guards posted at all hours. Be ready for a counter attack.” Raynor instructed.
“But sir, it’s already over.” One of the guards said.
“What do you mean?” For a moment Raynor was confused. He saw all four of the guards aiming their weapons at him. He refused to beg or show fear. Not again. His final thoughts were only of Jennifer and her mother.
“I see. Do what you must.”
Chapter Six
Jennifer put on her helmet and stood. As she turned around rifle shots erupted from within the base. She began to sprint towards the enclosure. She counted six soldiers along the wall, firing within the base. Whether they were killing or defending she couldn’t know. As she watched, two of the soldiers fell off the wall and out of the gate. Her visor highlighted the figures of the other four soldiers. She was relieved that Santiago was still alive.
"How did they get in?" One of the guards in the brig asked the other. He cracked open the door to observe the chaos outside. In a fire-fight like this, it was impossible to tell friend from foe. How could they be sure that they fought the Nulani and not just each other? Darian sat at the back of the jail cell. The room itself had an almost blinding white interior. They had stripped off his uniform and, as a prisoner, he now sat on a bench in his pants and sleeveless shirt. The jail door itself was rather primitive by their standards; it was made up of vertical bars that could only be unlocked by a key card.
He smirked at the guards with smug vindication. The Nulani had attacked, and now their assault had one less attacker. He should be in the fight, not stuck in here. They needed him, so he needed to escape. He needed a plan. More shots and yelling sounded from outside the building. He approached the bars of the jail cell’s door. He wrapped his hands around the bars.
One of the soldiers started to slip out of the door to join the fray, only to have bullets riddle his body as soon as he attempted to leave. His now lifeless body fell into the room again. The other guard dragged him all the way in and locked the door. Only Darian and the other guard remained.
"Hey, let me out, I can help." Darian pleaded.
The guard ignored him, while he mulled over his options. The way the fight was going, survival was becoming more important than the need to watch a prisoner. He would make a break for it and hope to get to another base.
"Stay here." He shouted. More shots ricocheted off the door. His chance would arrive, and he would leave Darian to fend for himself.
“No. Come here, listen to me,” Darian practically begged at this point.
The guard sighed, and then charged towards Darian, with his chest puffed out, in the hope of silencing him, through intimidation. “What?” he shouted.
Darian released his grip on the bars and extended his arms out. He wrapped his arms around the guard and pulled him in like a spider preying on an insect. The guard struggled and flailed, but Darian’s grip was iron. The guard quickly lost consciousness. Instead of gently guiding the guard to the floor, he dropped him carelessly. He only cared about the keycard strapped to the guard’s side.
Darian rifled through the guard’s belongings and found the keycard. He reached around and with a loud beep and a click, the door opened. He quickly mixed and matched the uniforms of the two guards for his new suit. With a new and slightly bloodied uniform, he pulled open the door. Unlike the guard, bullets didn't wait for him as he opened the door.
The four traitorous guards that had ended Raynor’s life were carrying a large metal crate that, even with all four of them, seemed as incredibly heavy. Above the sound of the rifles that ricocheted around the base, a loud whirring from a ship overruled all other noises. Darian ran through the base, mostly dodging the fight. He crawled up the western wall. He saw the enemy collecting dead bodies towards the center of the base near the large crate. An airship landed and picked up the fighters.
***
The gates remained closed as Jennifer tried to find a way in. The smooth dark metal of the wall prohibited climbing it. She was trapped outside. She didn't know if her father was still alive. She ran along the wall until she tripped over a body. She recovered herself. She turned to find Santiago, his hand clamped over an open wound. She gently removed his helmet. Blood gurgled from his mouth and trickled down his face towards the ground. He coughed the blood out to show his crimson-stained teeth. Her visor lifted up so she could see each other.
“It’ll be all right, Santiago, just hold on.” She thought seeing her face would help. She just needed a minute to patch him up. They were outside the wall. There was time. He grabbed her by suit and pulled her close.
"Jenny, run," he choked out. "There's a base east of here. Go there; tell them we-" his words trailed off. His soft hands released the grip on her suit and he fell back to the ground, as the final breath left his body. She gently laid him down. She reached around his neck and yanked his dog tags off. The little plate glowed with a luminescent name, R. Santiago. She placed it in a side pocket, and before she rose, she took his rifle's ammo clip.
She ran towards the tree line not towards the eastern base, but north, ahead toward the Nulani city. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and ran. Before even thirty seconds had passed, a series of explosions erupted from the base. A shockwave rippled out. As she turned around to inspect it, the force of the shockwave sent her flying. She crashed to the ground and blacked out.
A constant ringing thrummed in her ear. Her eyes fluttered open as more explosions erupted from the base. The inferno billowed and rained metals and chunks of building, and other materials down on the golden plains of grass like an erupting volcano. She crawled forward as a ship flew off towards the west.
She tried to stagger up but fell. A white-hot pain came from her side. She turned belly up and sprawled herself on the ground. She had to get out of there. She held her hand to her side. With her glove still missing she felt the flow of blood dripping from a cut. She felt around for anything she could use to stem the flow. She removed her other glove and held it on the wound. She would figure out a better way once she was safe.
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