by Greg Dragon
“Why are you here?” he asked Maes, looking around to see if there were any other Geralos hiding in the bushes. “You landed near our base but I don’t see any damage. My Phaser didn’t report on any citizens dying and you seem to have come alone. You were on my home ship, the Helysian, and you damaged my second favorite planet. I don’t understand you. You’re either an obsessed fan of mine, or this has been the greatest sequence of circumstance that the galaxy has ever known. Why are you here?
“My name is Maes Van Senthyn, and like you, I am a true son of Anstractor. I was tasked to learn about you Phasers… and I did. My mission was to learn where you train, well, here … I … am.” And he gestured to the agency that stood behind Rafian. “See, Rafian, we are the same, are we not? Warriors that finish the mission.” He winked when he said this, and the hint at the Phaser code let Rafian know that he knew a lot about them.
“Yes you accomplished your mission, alright. You know our code, know our location, and injured three of my people. What happens next, Maes? Will a bunch of Geralos of your skill or better land and wipe us out?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Maes smirked. “You think that attacking my ego will make me reveal the grand plan to you, Rafian. I am no sophisticated, Ri-Las fruit-eating lizard like the ones you have fought before. I am Crak-Ti, and you will learn to respect me.”
He stood up and tested the grip on his las-sword as he looked down at it. Rafian found himself admiring his bravado, even in the face of apparent death. Maes was injured and dying and Rafian was fresh and ready. He could have rushed in and taken Maes’s head, but he needed to know his plans, and the Geralos warrior had given him a lot.
“Why don’t you take a warrior’s death and let me take your head without struggle?”
“A while back I would have done that, Rafian. Surely losing to one such as you would please the gods. But you will get no surrender from me today, Phaser master. I am still able to fight, despite my appearances.”
Rafian glanced back at where Dott lay and shook his head at her to stand down. “The time for talking is over, lizard. Draw your blade and let us finish this.”
“I was saving this for you, Rafian, just in case the gods allowed me the honor of killing you.” He took out a pill from his coat and swallowed it quickly as Rafian watched on in horror. The mechanic parts tightened into his flesh and his color changed into a darker shade of green. “See, Rafian, as good as new, ready to fight the master.”
He smiled widely to show off his wicked, jagged teeth and Rafian charged him with his shoulder. On impact, Maes slammed into the side of his ship and fell to the ground. They grappled with one another as Rafian placed his hands around Maes’s throat and the Geralos fought desperately to keep his trachea open. The shoulder charge was at a speed that Maes could not understand and it seemed as if Rafian had simply vanished and was on top of him, choking the life out of him. He used his metal arms and legs to push him off, but Rafian rolled and sprung up, this time with his las-sword loose and humming with life.
Maes got to his feet and ran at Rafian, waving the las-sword this way and that to throw him off. But Rafian was of Mera-Ku and he ignored the blade and again rammed Maes with his shoulder. The move was again unexpected and it caused Maes to lose his sword. He clutched his chest, gasping for breath as Rafian stood over him with no expression on his face.
“Surely, you can do better than this,” Rafian said, his tone dry and bored. “I left my wife in Meluvia to come fight you. The least you can do is put up a challenge.”
The words drove Maes to anger as he dropped all of the warrior etiquette to become enraged. He threw up dust towards Rafian’s face, rolled to grab his sword, and was on his feet again. This time their blades met, and though Rafian’s style was unorthodox, Maes remained defensive to counter him, and then struck at his legs when he saw an opening. The las-sword of Maes Van Senthyn swung at the Supreme Leader’s legs, but he jumped and spun to dodge it. The spin was followed through with one leg and then another as Rafian’s tornado kick slammed into Maes’s jaw, causing him to fall to the side as he lost his balance from the swing.
Rafian walked up to him and kicked his sword away as Maes reached for it to protect himself. Rafian lifted his las-sword, drove it into the Geralos’s abdomen, and twisted it before withdrawing it amidst the blood-curdling screams of Maes Van Senthyn. The fight was gone from the deadly spy, and he looked up at the Vestalian sun and smiled at the opportunity to die as a martyr. In Geral they would honor him and his family name would be lifted. He had done them well, and they would be proud.
“Go ahead, do it,” Maes muttered as the pill’s effects began to wear off and the weariness of the day took over. He could feel his life going, and his vision blurred as he saw Rafian above him, ready to finish him off.
“You won’t get the il ad ach tchi from me, Maes,” Rafian said in the Geralos tongue as he powered down his las-sword and sheathed it. He walked over to where his cloak had fallen, dusted it off, and then swung it over his massive shoulders. He then walked back to where Maes lay and knelt next to him to watch him die.
“You are exactly what we were taught to believe,” Maes said amidst the hot ichor that poured freshly from his mouth as the life began to leave his body. “No...Honor. Just walking, talking, food.” And he began to laugh at his own words. He had called home to the General to report his findings and would have waited for the cavalry to come in, had it not been for Frank who had discovered his ship. The Phaser had immediately fired a rocket at him and while he barely escaped, he found himself in a sword fight immediately after.
Dott shouldered her rifle and ran up to Rafian. “This piece of schtill tracked me home. Please tell me that no one else has been hurt tonight for my carelessness. Please tell me this is over.”
“Well, I don’t know about over Dott, but I know that this doesn’t look good. A Geralos that can make itself look like us, heal itself with cybernetics, and track us even when we jump. This is but one lizard and he got to you, Laern, Val and Frank. What if they send ten of them?”
“Then we better be ready to face them.”
The tear opened up from the crystal that Dott had thrown earlier and Marian stepped through. She ran over to Rafian and Dott.
“What is this?” she asked as she looked down at Maes who was still not dead.
“This, my dear, is the start of a whole new set of problems for our Vestalian home,” Rafian said as he looked over at her.
“I came back to tell you that the Crak-Ti have returned. We need to jump back to Meluvia.”
Rafian shook his head at the misfortune they’d suffered at the hand of Maes and took Marian’s hands into his own. “I’m glad you’re here with me.” He said to her, and she smiled and hugged him, happy to hear the words. “You got this from here, rookie?” He winked at Dott, and she smiled and nodded as he opened a tear.
“Seeing you fight makes me feel like a rookie, Commander,” she said as he moved to step through.
“Secure our home, Phaser Ace,” he said to her, and he and his wife were gone in an instant.
She walked back to the base to see if Maes had damaged anything and Frank collected the Geralos corpse and place him inside of the lab for research. Next, they checked the tracker and video system and saw where Maes had entered the medical building and left. He had been in there for an hour, so they assumed that he had gone in to finish off Val and Laern.
They ran inside to check on the injured and were surprised to find everything intact. The patients were either sleeping or in stasis and the readouts looked normal. Dott turned to Frank and he looked down at her, their eyes reflecting the same worry.
“That lizard was here to spy on us,” Dott said finally as she walked over to Laern’s tank and touched it. “We’re about to be raided and if our Phasers are in bad shape on Meluvia, we may have to evacuate the city immediately.”
About The Author
GREG DRAGON has been a creat
ive writer for several years and has authored on topics of relationship, finance, physical fitness and more through different sources of media. In particular, his online magazine has been a source of much pragmatic information, which has been helpful to many. As a result, his work continues to grow with a large and loyal fan base.
This Florida author brings exciting action and drama to his written work. His storylines keep readers engaged with characters that come to life from the beautiful celestial scenes of science fiction, to the gritty world of urban drama.
See Greg’s author page at gregdragon.com or keep up with his latest books and appearances through email.
