At that point in time and the relation of elevation from the floor in which the alien breathed in his face ultimately turned the tide in his favor. He quickly visualized the creature’s form from that split second glimpse he acquired when he first entered the building. Like a jolt of lightning, the Matakeo slammed his head forward. When the double-rimmed edge of his helmet impacted it cracked the bridge of the alien’s nose. Legion released his grip and dropped him.
Without delay, he struck the smelly creature in what he believed was his gut. The blow made contact with the cloaking device strapped about its waist deactivating it. The creature became visible.
“How fortunate for me,” Darius laughed out loud as he swung again. This time his clutched fist smashed into his opponent’s genitalia. The creature doubled over. A burning sensation permeated throughout its groin and caused it to experience temporary blindness. Several convulsions followed. Yellow mucus and partially digested food spewed from its mouth, coating the man’s right arm.
“How dare you!” Darius thrust the toe of his boot into the alien’s groin area two times. He stood there feeling satisfied as he watched the monster fall to his knees. Seconds later, the alien’s ugly face smashed into the floor. Then his eyes rolled up within its skull. An arm twitched three times before the creature gasped for one last breath. Instantly, there was a howling issued from its lungs. The scream sounded as if hundreds of souls cried out in torment.
Darius checked the Legion to see if it had a pulse. Once he was sure it was dead, he stepped over to see if he could assist a young lady who lied on the floor. He checked for a pulse on her as well. It was faint.
The lady’s head had swollen to two times larger than its normal size. Her eyes glazed over and popped out of her head. Facial skin was stretched until there were small tears and separations in the flesh. There was no way to help her. He pulled back some flesh on her neck.
“Whoa,” he was amazed. He located the culprit behind the woman’s dilemma. This was the first time he had seen a Mataley Sponge doing its dirty work. Glancing at the name tag on her shirt, it was evident that she was an employee from the Group Home.
There was no time to scrutinize things any longer. Rising to his feet, he brushed himself off and exited the clinic. On the way to the door he stopped and picked up his echo blade. After placing the weapon into its sheath, he stepped out on the street.
Why had I not recognized Telly as he ran out of the clinic? I had seen a picture of him. Okay, clear my head. Focus.
Recalling the direction in which he saw the man run, approximately eleven minutes ago, he gave chase. He topped the hill at the intersection of Main Street and Two Moons Avenue. As he approached the corner, he stopped. Darn it! Too much time had elapsed. He knew the odds of finding the man were going to be slim at best.
Darius turned his attention toward the east. About three blocks down there was a small gathering of people. A small flag went up on this one. As he closed ground on the group five more onlookers had joined the throng. He was certain Telly would be found there. All he could hope for was he was not too late.
All of the attention seemed to center on an area down an alley. All but two of the spectators seemed oblivious to what was going on. One, a middle-aged woman, was trying to explain to the others what she believed was going on. Since she was the first to arrive on the scene, she felt as if it was her responsibility to tell the story. Amazingly, every time someone new showed up her explanation became lengthier and stretched from the truth.
The second was a young man in his late teens. The majority of the commotion was being caused by him. He zeroed in a finger on someone down the alley. All the while he kept yelling, “Hey. Come check out the retard!”
Darius pushed his way into the middle of the crowd. With a stern warning, he told them to disperse. They did. However, when they reached the other side of the street they reassembled. There they stood, continuing to observe and anticipating what might take place next.
The jeering youngster was the only one who did not vacate the area. To make things worse, he called Darius out.
“Hey. Are you some kind of Matakeo wannabe?” Placing both of his hands to his abdomen he roared with laughter. “You get that gear from a surplus store, cowboy?” To the boy’s astonishment, he quickly realized the man did not find his ridiculing funny.
“Really would not matter if I were a Matakeo or not, now would it?” Darius stepped forward until he was toe to toe with the mouthy kid. He did his best not to laugh when the boy stuck his chest into his own. The teen snarled.
“I can do better than that.” Flexing his pectoral muscles together, Darius pushed his chest against the boy's. The force behind it caused the boy to lose his balance. Stumbling back, the lad came to a quick conclusion. This wannabe was much too strong for him. He really was not looking for a fight anyway. Taking his leave, he disappeared around a corner.
Darius made his way down the alley. Three hundred feet away he could see Telly. The scared man periodically stuck his head out from behind a trash dumpster. Once he was within one hundred feet of him he called out.
“Telly?” The man popped his head out again to view him.
“Telly, I am your friend.”
Telly quickly retracted his head back behind the metal can. From this vantage point, he felt secure but was still able to keep an eye on the stranger.
“I do not know you!” A ten-foot high, concrete upright was directly behind him. Feeling trapped, he quivered with fear.
Darius approached the frightened man slowly. He placed his hand upon Telly’s right shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. They were both standing in a pool of brown goop that seeped out of the dumpster.
“Come on, Telly. Let’s get you to some place safe.”
A reflection on the puddle caught his attention. He discerned the image as that of a stealth ripple caused by a cloaking device. His reflexes responded with the speed of lightning. While he still had one hand on the shoulder of the witness he pivoted in a one-eighty. As he did so, his free hand went for his blade. In one flawless motion, his left knee made contact with the concrete surface. At the same time he slid the weapon up and out. He powered it on. The sword hummed. He pushed Telly further behind the dumpster to help protect him.
“Cover your ears!”
With clenched teeth, Darius thrust his weapon forward and up at a right angle. The sword made a crackling noise in the atmosphere. Even though the Legion could not be seen, it was heard. As the blade made contact with its rib cage, it exhaled a blood curdling scream. A second later, the agonizing cry was drowned out by the thunderous clap of reverberation from the weapon as it ripped through the alien’s organs and bones.
Telly had cupped his hands over his ears. As he viewed the event, with the exception of blinking his eyes when the weapon thundered, he imagined himself being his champion.
Darius heard the lifeless body of the assassin crash to the hard surface. As its upper body made contact with the street, a shower of gray blood splattered on his arm. He glanced at the essence on his limb. Then he looked at his other arm, the one that sported the half dried vomit from the first Legion back at the clinic. Skeptically, he shook his head.
“Gee. This is not my day for keeping my clothes clean.” About that time, perched high above him on a lamp post, a winged creature voided itself. Unbeknown to Darius, the fowl’s waste made a pulpy little plop on the top of his helmet.
Darius knelt down next to the witness and placed the echo blade back into its sheath.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
“You are not hurt, are you?”
“That was really cool,” Telly changed the subject.
“What was cool?”
“You destroyed that evil.”
“Let us hope it was the last one.”
“You can never get rid of evil completely,” Telly said straight-faced.
“You are right about that.” Darius took a moment to think about h
is options. Should I report back to the priest? Maybe hiding the witness for now would be a better option? As he pondered on these things he noticed Telly touching the back of his head.
“Are you sure you did not get hurt?”
“In the air tunnel I did.”
“Air tunnel? Oh, the ventilation system. Can I look at the sore on your head?”
“Sure. Can you stop the hurt?”
“Well, I cannot promise that.” Darius reached out his hands and placed them on Telly’s head. “Let me make sure it is not infected.” He turned the half-doctored head towards him. His heart skipped a beat.
Surely his eyes were deceiving him. What he was looking upon was impossible. However, there was no mistaking the mark on the crown of his head. There was no questioning what this meant. The implications were astounding, even more so than Catharsis being murdered. This was the supernatural birthmark of a Matakeo.
There was no time to think about the hows and whys. He knew he had stumbled on to something big here. The only logical action at this point was to put Telly into hiding. Off world seemed like the only option; but where?
He unfastened his helmet and removed it. Gently, he placed it upon Telly’s head. For a brief second, he stared at the splotch of bird white on the head piece with puzzlement.
“Keep this on. Do not take it off for any reason, unless I tell you to. You understand?”
“Yep.” Telly was quick to reply. “Can I carry your weapon?”
“No.”
Telly frowned.
“Let’s go.” Darius put his arm around him. As they turned to leave, six Matakeo approached them.
“You are a tad bit too late,” Darius said with sarcasm.
The leader of the group came forward, separating himself from the rest of the squad. This one was four years his junior. Even though they had never worked together, they both knew the other by name.
“Darius.”
“Buker.”
The aura of pleasantry quickly dissolved. Five restless hands rested upon the hilts of echo blades. One of the younger Matakeo in the detail appeared to be on edge and anxious to put his weapon to use. Darius could not recall ever meeting the jumpy one before. However, he did recognize the other four. Tase’, Stump, Mezzo and Fritter. Of course, these were their nicknames.
Darius had skills unmatched by most. There was no exception with the other Matakeo. One would be a match. The last thing he wanted was to duel six equals all at once. The measure of combined skill amongst these men was more than an unfair fight for him. He kept no reservations as to his intentions. Cautiously, he rested his hands at his sides.
“Darius Talek.” Buker addressed him with the authority of one who enforces the law. “You are under arrest for murder and attempted murder.”
“You are joking, right?”
“I am not accustomed to repeating myself,” he replied. Buker’s face showed no emotion to it whatsoever. “Slowly release your weapon belt and toss it on the ground.”
“How much is Abdominous paying you?” Darius questioned. He did not expect any kind of answer, let alone the truth. However, he hoped for a chance to glean a small clue from whatever answer he received. “I cannot believe you have sold out?”
“Money has nothing to do with it.”
Well there was a small amount of information. Not much, yet Darius concluded that something on a larger scale was obviously taking place. Especially since he discovered this witness had the mark of a Matakeo. What a turn of events.
Deliberately, he unbuckled his belt and tossed it at the feet of his captor. Buker motioned for Tase’ to retrieve it.
Fritter came around behind and grabbed one of Darius’ arms. Pulling it behind him, he fastened a restraint around the wrist. He repeated the process with the other arm. Now Darius was secured and ready to be transported.
Telly had been quiet all this time. Now, for reasons beyond his ability to grasp, he decided to speak up.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Rearing back his leg, he swung it forward and toed Buker in his shin. “You are treating him like an evil one. He is a good man!”
Buker could not speak. A burning sensation saturated his leg. He bent over to rub at the afflicted area. All the while, he kept his head tilted up to keep an eye on everything.
Tase’ took the opportunity to be assertive. “Do that again and I will show you how I acquired my name.”
Darius did his best to ease the tension. “Telly, please settle down. These men are only using precautionary measures to ensure your safety.” He did not believe this himself but did not want his witness getting hurt in the process.
“Okay,” Telly answered back. He gave everyone the evil eye.
Buker, through clenched jaw, was finally able to speak once again. “Let’s go.”
The Matakeo escorted Darius and Telly out of the alley and into a waiting vehicle. There was one who had been observing since Darius had entered the medical clinic. Teron had concealed herself, constantly moving in and out of the shadows. Sneaking into the medical clinic, where she took the cloaking device off of the dead Legion. Then she exited the building, invisible, before civil authorities appeared on the scene. She was also in the alley when the second Legion attempted to kill her friend. Her weapon was drawn and ready. The cloaking unit allowed her to see the other cloaked Legion. She was standing behind the Legion when Darius shoved his echo blade into its chest, only for the point to sear completely through it and stop within a foot of her face. Even though she was not able to examine her cheek right away, she was aware of the reverberation burn that would contrast her features for weeks to come. When the squad of Matakeo came to take the two from the alley, she was there, hidden but next to them. After fumbling around on the second Legion, she retrieved the cloaking tool from it also. Then she gave chase after the vehicle that held the two captives.
9
The Banimpire admired herself in front of a full length mirror. She faced the glass with an air of conceit. The dress she had chosen for tonight’s event was amazingly stunning; elegant, with a touch of naughty. Twisting her torso to the right, she viewed her attire from the new angle. Then she performed a long study of the left side. Face to face once again, she acted out a scene for no one to see but herself.
Masquerading as if the richest Doyen from planet Earth had been introduced to her, she extended her right arm and let her wrist relax, allowing the hand to tilt at a downward angle. Pretending the man kissed her knuckles, she blushed. Oh how her imagination weaved. Then she visualized the man romancing her. Her imagination was intense and daring, startling and provocative. These things and more would the ambassador from Corporate Earth want to do. She was sure of it.
The com on the night stand interrupted her.
“Sorry your highness,” said the operator. “You have a high priority message from Puritania.”
“Thank you,” she grumbled. “Please put it through.”
“Yes your highness.”
Malign was upset that her fantasy had been disturbed.
“What do you want?” After a short pause she added, “fat man.”
“You will call me Mister Competent from now on.” Abdominous was so sure of himself.
“We’ll see about that. Do you have the witness?”
“Yes. I have the patsy in custody as well.” The priest savored the thought of doing bad things to Darius. “Unfortunately, one of your invisible buddies is dead. Not that it matters. His corpse helped to play it all out for the authorities. They think it was a random attack by the Legion.”
“You just keep them behind bars. Understood?”
“Yes my Banimpire.”
“I will be sending someone to pick them up shortly. Do not do anything to harm either one of them. Do I make myself clear?”
“Oh, come on.” The priest sounded disappointed. “This guy has been a thorn in my side for way too long. I just want to inflict some pain, not kill him.”
“Look idiot!” Her patience w
ith him was wearing thin. “He had better be alive and functional when I receive him. Do you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“What?” She screamed intentionally.
“Y…y…yes my…I mean, your Worship.”
With the touch of a finger she terminated the call. This brought comfort to her ears. The day would come when she would have him put to death and enjoy watching it. For now, he still had some usefulness left in him. She shook her head violently, like an animal would remove water from its hair. A smile appeared upon her face.
10
A shuttle cleared the gravitational pull of Luminescence and sped toward Omphalos Naval Harbor. Mecurial stared out a starboard side window. From this vantage point, he could view the port. As always, its brilliant lighting continued to illuminate and bedazzle, cutting a huge path through the dark matter just above the atmosphere of the planet.
Off to the left he could see the Lumi armada. In his recollection, this was the first time all their ships had been in harbor at one time. Fifty, heavy battle-cruisers were positioned in formation out by the break. These mammoths were powered by four, ionic vacuum drives. Their bows pointed toward the deep of space which allowed the sterns to shimmer as they basked in the afterglow of the main harbor. Five years ago most of these ships were still in dry dock being built. Each one of these colossal ships was approximately ten thousand feet in length. Their sterns measured close to three thousand-four hundred feet across and the bow’s expanse was two thousand feet. Six hundred and sixty crew members manned each one. Mounted atop each one were twin S/A ion-exchange cannons. These massive guns had the capability of firing from orbital space and hit a target on a planet's surface with eighty-seven percent accuracy.
Matakeo: Echoes of the Future Page 6
