Phasers of Anstractor

by Greg Dragon

  “I spent much of my young days as a Marine here, in Meluvia. It was where I learned how to relax and enjoy life. It was where I first made love and where I learned the true meaning of sacrifice. I feel as much at home here as I do on Vestalia, the Helysian, or on Tyhera with you.”

  “So your first girlfriend was a Meluvian, then? Is that what you said?”

  “Something like that. I was a new officer recruit, having graduated with honors from the cadet academy as a first class colonel. I had been with girls on the ship—being first class had its perks—but when I fought for the bridge of Traxis, I met a lot of exotic, beautiful women. How can I explain it? Meluvian women are different than humans. They are extremely sexual and—never mind, it will merely upset you if I continue. Look, Rhee, when the war for Traxis ended, the commander had to force me to come back to Helysian, since I was depressed. I was quite content to drink and have sex with prostitutes for eternity. That’s the way I was introduced to Meluvia.”

  “Sitting around feeling sorry for yourself? Outside of the sex, Rafian, that sounds nothing like you. What about your beloved Vestalia, the land you swore to win back for humanity?”

  Rafian took note of the hint of sarcasm in Marian’s voice and turned over to look into her eyes as he spoke. Those sparks of light inside of her pupils were always a source of mystery for him. All Tyherans had this feature, and when he was there and without memory, he thought himself a freak for not having it. It was an odd curiosity for anyone who ran into Marian within Anstractor; the sparks in her eyes were brilliant and could be seen even when the lights were out. She looked at the wall as if bored, then closed her eyes to feel the gentle hum of the engines as the shuttle kept its course.

  “Sorry, I went off on a tangent about my lusty past there. But I love Meluvia and its people; they have always treated us humans as brothers and sisters.”

  “We could live here, Raf. Just us. In one of those lovely penthouse suites overlooking the old city."

  “That sounds extremely Vestalian, Rhee. Are you sure you’re not from here?”

  As he said that, they heard a tiny knock on their door and Marian hopped up and touched the panel next to it. The red glass shimmered and grew transparent as the crimson color fled from the center towards its edges. Within seconds, the image of Tayden Lark appeared outside, smiling, with Frank OTA in tow. Marian quickly opened the door and they stepped inside and motioned for her to lock them in.

  “What’s going on?” Rafian asked. He sat up, confused by the intrusion.

  Without hesitating, Tayden plopped down on the bed and smiled at him. Since the day when she had scolded him, he hadn’t talked to her outside of the realm of work and duty. Her smile had something behind it – a possible plea for peace, a returning to what they once were. But he wasn’t ready to let her back in. The hurt of her words and the embarrassment were too much for him to forget. He felt her staring and gave her a false smile before locking eyes with Marian.

  “Aren’t these rooms just the coziest?” Tayden began as she lay comfortably on the bed. Frank stood near the door, trying his best to appear in good spirits.

  “Is there something we can help you with, Tayden?” Marian asked, slightly annoyed by the intrusion.

  Tayden noticed her tone and then sprang up to stand next to Frank. Frank OTA, like Rafian and Camille before him, was a Marine of the Helysian. He had fought with Val Tracker and had built up an impressive war resume before the Phaser agency drafted him. He was a remarkable soldier, but revered Rafian VCA to the point where he was visibly uncomfortable around him. Tayden had handled most of his training in many ways, and kept him to herself when many of the other Phaser women inquired upon his interests. Rafian felt a twinge of jealousy over he and Tayden, but he couldn’t explain why, or what brought on the feelings.

  “Sorry to mess up your alone time, Marian. I know you don’t get to see him often, but I wanted to talk with Raf about the meeting today,” Tayden said.

  “What’s wrong?” Rafian asked.

  “Well, it’s Cero Dillis, the representative from Genese – you did notice that he was missing from our meeting, right?”

  “Yes, I was disappointed that Cero missed it. What about him?” Rafian said. He sat up to look at Tayden, hoping that she wasn’t about to tell him that Cero was dead.

  “Our friends tell me that Rend detected that Cero was corrupted and being controlled by a Geralos infiltrator. He locked him up on the Rendron before flying out to meet us and now the Genesians are calling it an act of hostility from a so-called ally.”

  “I wonder why he hasn’t told me or the other commanders about this. It is very uncharacteristic of Rend to—we cannot allow infighting during this war, Tayden. You know that.”

  “Of course I know that, as does Rend, so he released him back to the Genesians, but Frank thinks that it may cause us some problems down the line. Genese has always been an ally of Vestalia, but we’ve done several things to weaken the bond over the years and this was a major one.”

  “It most definitely was, but Rend has faced Geralos corruption more than anyone we know. I would take his word over the Genesians on Cero being corrupt, but this is really bad. We will need to play it forward and watch our backs when the Genesians are involved.”

  Tayden had taken a seat next to the sink and Frank stood at attention with his back to the door. He hated the idea of the Geralos violating human minds, but he knew that it was part of the war. Their enemy used the brains of human beings to transmit thought into others and as badly as he wanted to sever the pattern, it was going to take a really long time for them to get there.

  “I think that I will personally travel to Genese, talk to their leaders, and draw the corruption out of Cero for them to see.”

  “Rafian, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Marian began, but he squeezed her hand to calm her down.

  “It will be a homecoming for me. I will fix our alliance, set up crystals in case of anything, and kill Cero Dillis.”

  “Why not send Marika? That is her specialty,” Marian asked, thinking on the relatively easy way Marika had killed the red lord, Queran Kyle. “It would be nothing for her to do it, and it would allow you to do the diplomatic portions of the mission without being accused.”

  “I agree, Raf. You have a team. There is no reason to make this into a solo mission,” Tayden said. She moved to sit next to Marian, as if proximity gave them strength in changing his mind. Frank remained silent and just stared at him, wondering what the commander would decide was best for the mission.

  “I have to talk to the Geralos that holds Cero to let him know that their corruption will carry a heavy toll from now on. Every time they invade the mind of one of our leaders, I will take out a city on their world. I am going to invade his mind and meet this Geralos in the plains of Cilas’s consciousness.”

  “You will do no such thing!” Tayden said, her bubbly appearance growing suddenly dark. She looked at him as if he were a lunatic. “The last time you did that, it hurt you badly. You looked as if you were dying and it frightened the hell out of me. Marian and Frank did not see the look in your eyes when I found you. No, Raf, I cannot let you do it. Who will find you this time? Who will pull you back when you are lost to the world and stuck in that crazy psychotic limbo? You need to think this through. Let us help you bring Genese back around and if you have to do the mind thing, one of us will be there.”

  Marian spoke up. “It will be me. I will accompany Rafian and help with the Genesians. It will allow me to see the streets of the city where my husband was raised and answer many of the questions that I have about him.”

  Tayden thanked Marian and then got up to leave the room. Rafian noticed that Frank had not said anything the entire time. He stopped him short when he reached the door.

  “What do you think, Frank? You’ve always been a man of solid strategy and intelligence. You’ve been quiet. What do you think I should do about Genese?”

 
“Pardon me for saying this, Raf, as I mean it with the utmost respect, but I think you should learn to trust us to handle missions just like you do. We all want to win the war and get back to peace as much as you do, and we are more than qualified,” Frank said. He was being careful and it bothered Rafian that he would be afraid to speak candidly with him.

  “Thanks, brother. Duly noted,” he said to the big man, his tone cheery, as if he was happy to hear his opinion.

  When the pair had left and the door shut, Marian walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

  “It almost killed me when you went into that coma after the first time you invaded the mind of a Geralos, Rafian. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, and I just worried that you would never wake up. My world—at least the way that I knew it as a young girl—is gone. My parents, my sister, my allies; everyone, gone. You are my only family now and though we can clone to repair our bodies, I don’t know what that does to our mental state, Rafian. Do you need to do this?”

  Rafian thought about it for a time and knew that he was being unnecessarily reckless with the situation. But if he could meet the invaders and threaten them, they would think twice about corrupting minds. They would know that Rafian VCA had the ability to do what they could do and then they would fear him. They would say, “What would stop an angry human like Rafian from corrupting one of our commanders and destroying our planet?” It would make them want to seek terms; it could be a major strike for the alliance.

  “You won’t lose me, Marian.”

  “I love how you say that as if you have control over—” she started to say but could not finish, since he lifted her into his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They hadn’t been together in a while and even though Tayden’s intrusion had killed the intimacy of their retreat, Rafian couldn’t resist the way he felt about her. The sheer nightgown and her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders were enough to wipe out any thoughts of the prior conversation, or any worry for what he intended to do to the Geralos.

  After what could easily have been a lifetime of pleasure, Marian laid next to her husband, staring up at the metal ceiling of their room.

  “You need not worry about me, Marian. Everything I do is calculated when it comes to the Geralos. I may be a reckless fighter, but believe me, I have thought this through.”

  “I know you have, Raf, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear. But let’s drop it. I am enjoying my time here lying with you and listening to the hum of the shuttle. Isn’t it peaceful?” she asked in Tyheran.

  “It really is.”

  Memory 10

  Maes was worried. He paced the room, rubbing his hands, not knowing what the leaders would say to him when he called. He was in a sewer beneath the large Meluvian city of Dystalis. He had landed his ship on a building and found his way to the streets of the city at night, slipping into the sewers and setting himself up a temporary home. He drew a symbol on the communications tablet that he held and after a while, the face of a Geralos woman appeared.

  “This is main control. What is your business?” she asked.

  He replied with his name, rank and credentials. Before long an angry, older Geralos showed up on the screen and the moment that Maes had feared was upon him. He set the tablet on a stone platform and the face took on a holographic representation and hovered above it. Soon the entire body of the man materialized and his image stood before Maes, tall and impressive. The cyborg spy bowed to the hologram, but the figure kept a look of disdain on his face. It then began shouting at Maes, but the spy kept his head low.

  “Three destroyers, Colonel. Three! Do you know how many soldiers died trying to give you the distraction needed for the Phasers?”

  “Yes, General. I know that many lost their lives,” Maes admitted, “But it has paid off. I now know much about the Phasers. I can capture one and bring him in for study, and we can find out about their power.”

  The Geralos on the hologram sat down and began to eat something from a tray. He was nonchalant in his movements, but his eyes were calculating.

  “You are a liar, Maes Van Senthyn. And why are you dressed in that ridiculous armor? Have you no pride?”

  “This is my new body, sir. I am outfitted with cybernetics and some artificial vitals.”

  This made the Geralos stop eating and he examined Maes with new interest, his eyes wide, as if he were shocked. “You merged yourself with a machine then. What other atrocities have you done?”

  This last question made Maes lose his grip on his formalities and he stood up angrily and jabbed a finger at the hologram. “You and the council sent me on this mission because you were desperate! I came face to face with our enemy and survived, but that is not enough for you. Of course I made desperate decisions on my desperate mission. You sit there, plump, eating at Ri-las fruit and pick at me. You forget that I am the best you have! The souls of the soldiers on those three ships are as much on your shoulders as they are mine. You don’t know these Phasers; you don’t know that we are all going to die from them!”

  The outburst was too much for the general and he stood up fast, knocking his plate of food over as he did, but too angry to care. “There is no Geral for you to return to, Maes Van Senthyn. You and your despicable new body are not welcome here.”

  “So, I hear that one of our temples mysteriously got destroyed and many of our kind were killed. How many human corpses did you find in the rubble?”

  Maes had found out about the temple onboard Helysian, when the news had reached them. The Phasers would occasionally leak information to military ships about their strikes; it was a way to keep morale high and let their allies know that they were on the frontlines of the fight. He didn’t want to bring it up to anyone from Geral, since it was a source of great shame to them, but it was a necessary trump card for the elitist General Krylat Par.

  “How do you know about the temple?” he asked, the shock revealed in his face as it transformed from smug disdain to panic.

  “Oh, I guess you don’t realize that our vulnerability is the public knowledge of the entire galactic alliance. See, while I am an abomination due to my necessary life-sustaining enhancements, our entire people are the laughingstock of our enemy. Phasers can touch us at will, General; their power is that immense. The gods have left our graces and have empowered the humans with gifts that can bring about our demise. This is why you must help me. Take your head out of your rear for long enough to look at the big picture. I have been close with the Phasers. I know their limitations.”

  The general walked closer to his comm projector so that his entire body was now massive compared to Maes’s. His face seemed to have aged twenty years from the news he’d just heard but he adjusted his jacket and looked around, as if he was making sure that no one could hear him.

  “What do you need from me?” he whispered.

  “I need to create a distraction that will drive the humans out of Vestalia for a time. I need an order of cleansing for the city of Dystalis on Meluvia. I need you to send in the Crak-Ti.”

  The general nodded and then closed the comm channel, embarrassed that one such as Maes Van Senthyn had outmaneuvered him. If the Alliance knew that they were vulnerable to attack by the Phasers, then what would stop them from unifying and staging an all-out attack on Geral? As a commander in the military, he would lose face and if it came to light that he’d had this information from Maes but chose pride over action, they would execute him and his family would be made into servants until the end of their bloodline.

  Maes smiled when the general left, because he knew that all he had to do was wait. The Crak-Ti were legendary for a reason, and no matter how good the Phasers were, they would not be able to stop the damage Meluvia would soon suffer.

  ~*~*~*~

  Val Tracker sat with Rafian VCA at the top of a tower deep inside the territory of Ariqua, Vestalia overlooking a group of Geralos marching around a sizable barracks. They had decided to scout the place out to see its
defenses, as it was to be the next target for liberation. The area where they sat had tall bushes and large insects that wanted badly to get at their flesh, but both men wore 3B suits that radiated an aura that kept them away.

  “Ever wonder how Geralos breed?” Val asked as he looked through his scope at the commander of the marching regiment.

  “What? Do you see a pretty little lizard thing you want to lay down with?”

  “Yes, actually, that one right there. You see how she walks? Now that’s a woman.”

  “You know that most Phasers are convinced that you have and will thype anything, right?” Rafian asked.

  “They can think what they will. The only person whose opinion I care about is right here, brother. No disrespect to Marika, of course.”

  Rafian, who had gotten distracted from a bit of lengthy thought, looked at his friend and nodded. “My parents were from this country.”

  “Aren’t you an orphan?”

  “Yeah, but there are times when I can sense things. Last night I dreamt of my parents rushing me onto a ship and it was in this very territory, back when there were high-rises and a growing young city.”

  “We’ll get back there, Raf. No worries, brother. Just a couple million lizards’ souls and we will be back there.”

  “Yeah, I know. So how’s your Casanian killer?”

  Val couldn't mask the massive smile that took over his face at the mention of Marika. “Let’s just say I’m glad I met her, bro. She’s run off again, by the way. Not sure if you knew about it.”

  “Yes, I know. She and Marian have gotten extremely close. Marika is the best assassin I have ever seen, and as a Phaser, she’s a pretty dangerous enemy to have. Whoever they’re going after is one unlucky cruta.”

  “You don’t know the half of what skills that girl has.”

  “Val, you can go ahead and keep that to yourself. You know that I’m a seeker. If you want your girlfriend in my head, showing me her skills, that’s on you. But I wouldn’t advise it. Next thing you know, thoughts become reality and Marika and I are joined at the hip… bow and stern. Catch my drift?” He made a motion with his hands to make sure that his friend understood his meaning.