Darius walked in behind Teron and Kwin. “Hey, you two.” He paused long enough to take a quick glance about the waiting room. “What’s up?”
“I was just hanging out with Kwin.” Teron answered.
“I was checking in on the boy’s father. Making sure he was going to be okay.”
Teron knew deep down inside he really did not care for the Earthmen.
“From the looks of it I would have to venture a guess and say he is just fine.” Kwin said with a snarl.
Kwal stepped in front of his twin. “Have you cooled down yet?”
Kwin gritted his teeth.
Darius decided this was a good time to come between the two. “This is not the time or place for argument.”
The brothers found themselves in a stalemate. Kwin looked away. Kwal tied to come across to Darius like he was not going to tolerate him sticking his nose in where it did not belong. The Giefan ignored the disgruntled expression the young man beamed at him.
Mister Jorke hobbled up to the group. Defined lines helped to distinguish this man’s facial features. There was no question as to the stress filled life this father had lived up to this point. He directed his attention toward Kwin.
“Son, where is the trinket?”
“Wow!” The young man was astonished. “You haven’t seen me in years and you are more worried about a stupid charm?” He felt embarrassed after shouting at his father.
“That stupid little charm just so happens to contain information in it that I need.”
“More important than me?”
“Yeah Dad, what are you talking about?” Kwal sounded just as surprised. Even the two Matakeo nudged a bit closer.
“I really need for you to give it back to me now.” The father insisted.
Kwin was not exactly happy with the turn of events over the past couple of days. The aspiration of what he perceived his life to be all about had already been shattered today. He was not for sure if he wanted to stand and face the circumstances like a man, or turn and run as far away from them as he could. At the moment, remaining seemed easier than avoiding the confrontation. He had never felt this way before in his life. The best thing to do was to stay and see if the father he never knew was worth getting to know.
Mother, why could you have not been here to keep this mess together? He longed for Annie’s soothing voice. Then he changed his mind and decided to walk away.
“Don’t you ever turn your back on me son.” The look upon the father’s face was one of regret, yet firm.
He did not even go there. All of the pain that had been bottled up for years surfaced. The hurt became fuel for a fire. This was the spark needed to ignite exposed emotions.
Cautiously, Kwin put his chest to chest. He positioned his face within an inch of his father’s. Pointing an index finger about a centimeter from the nose of who he was accusing, he indicted the man guilty for not being there for him.
“Further more, I don’t care about the trinket!” He shouted as he shook uncontrollably. “You are nothing more than a criminal. If I had known this before we went to Morella, I would have turned the ship around and left your butt there in that cell to rot.” He was so involved with speaking his mind he was not aware of the shower of saliva spraying forth from his mouth.
The father pulled the hem of his shirt up and wiped his face with it. Mister Jorke knew his son was correct. There was justification within the boy’s disrespectful action and it had pierced his heart. He took his time cleaning his face so he could change his composure before anyone could notice. Releasing his shirt, he stared down at the floor. For a moment, he was not able to meet the gaze of his son’s eyes. “I do not know what to say?”
Kwal was shell shocked. What he witnessed was something he could only dream of doing. At that moment he felt smaller than his twin. All the years of beating him in everything they had done meant nothing now. Whoa! Brother has balls, he mused. Ironically, he silently cheered him on.
Teron was giving more acknowledgment to the situation than she should have. Unaware of how embroiled she was, the woman nodded her head in agreement with Kwin’s words.
Mister Jorke could not argue. Not now, not under these circumstances. So he issued forth the words he always wanted to say but was not ready to change his life to back up.
“I am truly sorry, son.”
“Look me in the eye, father!”
The hardened man lifted his head up. He met his accuser’s burning stare. No apology was issued forth a second time. Instead, he extended both arms out in a gesture of forgiveness.
Kwin hesitated for just a second. Then he accepted the invitation and hugged his father. He wanted to cry but forced it back. For a moment he felt like a small boy again; Father coming in to port. Aunt Delores holding the boys’ hands while father ran to greet the boys and give them a big hug. Wait a minute. Kwin remembered those times.
Father always hugged me first. Realizing this changed the anger he was feeling toward his father to one of an unsure acceptance for who he was.
Kwal was not embarrassed, yet he blushed. Observing this gap being bridged between his twin and father is what he desired between himself and the old man. After all the years invested in piracy with his father, there would be no allowing himself to express feelings in that fashion. Kwal reminded himself he was a tough guy.
Mister Jorke pushed away and put some space between him and his son.
“We’re supposed to be men here, so let’s try and control ourselves.”
Darius glanced back at the men. He was growing impatient. Time was running short. Very soon the invading forces would be attacking the Giefan systems. There was no doubt in his mind they would come to Trestle and Custodian as their first objectives. It seemed like the logical move for the enemy to make. Take control of the naval port and the government seat first. Then the rest of the planets would fall without incident.
“Son, where is the trinket?”
“I pitched it.” Kwin replied.
The peaceful expression upon the father’s face vanished quickly. “You did what?” His voice reverberated in the room.
“I...I tossed it away. Down at the docks.”
“Well, I hope for your sake you remember where you threw it.” Mister Jorke was not pleased.
“What is so important about that necklace?” Teron could care less that she spoke out of turn.
“There is a message inside it. Legend has it the encryption is in the ancient language of the Acumen.”
Darius remembered the object he found in the kaleidoscope. He reached into his pocket and touched it. Suddenly, he recalled the prophecy given to him from the Slumpshrill. Now his curiosity had awakened.
Kwal tried to cut in. Judging from the look on his father’s face, he decided it better to remain quiet.
Mister Jorke made a sarcastic gesture with his hands as if to say, thank you for allowing me to finish.
“Supposedly, the message contains information on where to locate the lost sample of angelic DNA. I need to find the Gray Acumen, so I can locate the whereabouts of the sample.”
Darius could not believe his ears. “Did I just hear you say something about DNA from an angel?” Teron nudged her elbow into his side.
“Yes, you did.” Mister Jorke was about as serious as serious can be. “Supposedly, an ancient prophet from Earth stumbled upon it right before the settling of the Giefan Cluster.”
“You would be making reference to the one named Adrian Smithton?” Darius questioned.
“Yeah, that’s the guy.” From the tone the pirate used he might as well have said, whoop-de-do.
“He was a wise man,” Teron interjected her opinion.
“Well, I don’t believe in that religious stuff like he did. However, considering his accomplishments, I guess he would be considered a man of great stature in my book.” Mister Jorke intertwined the fingers of both hands together and flexed those outwards. After popping his knuckles, he continued. “To go as far as to call the man a p
rophet? Well, that is stretching it a bit.”
“He foretold of humanity settling out in the stars in a day when they did not even have the technology to do so.” Darius chimed in.
“So he was a wise man who could see into the future,” the pirate declared. “His messiah never came back to Earth. I don’t see a heavenly kingdom sitting in Jerusalem. Do you?”
Darius was prepared to answer. “The Almighty never clarified when his return would be. He instructed his followers to watch for him.”
“Well, none of that matters to me anyhow. I am just concerned with finding the trinket and then the sole alien who can interpret what is inside it.” He put the conversation to rest. “Let’s go, Kwin. Show me where you left it.”
Hot on Kwin’s heels was his twin brother, with the father hobbling along on the crutches at a steady pace. Just before the trio of family members disappeared through the exit doors, Teron turned to Darius.
“That is what I wanted to tell you about when we were on Luminescence. I had overheard someone in the restroom talking about this Gray Acumen. Supposedly, the Banimpire is searching for him also.”
“Since we are going to the docks ourselves, we might as well see what comes of this. We cannot tarry for long. We need to get to Palatial and alert the reserve forces there. Shall we?” At first, he wanted to tell her about the object in his pocket and about the incident with the Slumpshrill. After deciding the time was not right, he kept it to himself.
“Why not?” Teron replied. “Just long enough to see if what he says about this trinket is legit.”
“Yeah, if the kid can remember where it is?”
As the two Matakeo followed the three men, the female spoke with excitement in her voice. “I was with him when he threw it. I saw where it landed.”
After retracing the course Kwin had taken before, the group arrived at the exact locale in the port where he chucked the necklace.
“Down there in the loading zone.” He pointed in the general direction.
Teron assisted in the pinpointing. “Actually, it was draped around the corner of that colorful shipping crate.” She was sure of the spot. “Right there.”
Mister Jorke stood behind her. He positioned himself so he could see where her finger was pointing. Like sighting in a blaster rifle, he looked over the top of her shoulder and down the arm to the point of the finger. “I don’t see it,” he exclaimed.
“It is no longer there,” Kwin proclaimed.
The father was displeased. He felt like he was being inconvenienced. “Well then, let’s get down there and find it.”
At that very moment, the sunlight reflected off of something at the end of the loading zone. The intense sparkle beamed directly into Kwin’s eye. He squint his eyes to shield them from the brightness of it. Then he focused on where it originated from. As his vision cleared, he noticed a girl sitting on the bottom step of a nearby staircase. Coincidentally, they were the same steps that led down to the loading zone where the trinket was to be. Upon further observation, he realized that the dazzling glare had come from an object that dangled about the girl’s neck. Kwin made his discovery known.
“Look.” His finger gestured at a brown-skinned alien.
“Let’s go,” Mister Jorke bellowed.
“That man is pathetic,” Teron muttered under her breath for only Darius to hear.
Suddenly, a loud shrilling noise pierced the air. On and on it sounded. The lamentation climaxed to a high, resounding pitch. Then it scaled down to a low rumbling roar. The screeching song continued all across Trestle, as it instilled fear into the hearts of all who were on the planet.
“What the hell is that?” Mister Jorke stopped cold in his tracks.
“Early warning sirens,” Darius attempted to shout over the clamor. “We’re under attack!”
“Well, I still want what I came for,” the pirate declared. “Let’s go get her, boys!”
All at once, there was a thunderous sound on the horizon. Small specks swooped down out of the sky from the north. What resembled a swarm of bees quickly enlarged as the objects drew closer. A horde of attack craft and bombers headed for the capitol. The docks were in between the aggressors and their target.
Darius grabbed Teron by the hand and pulled her in the direction of the terrace below them.
“Come on.”
“What are we going to do?” She so desperately wanted a consoling reply.
“We need to find the owner of that freighter down there and have him get us in the air. Hopefully it survives the first wave of this attack.”
Citizens, visitors and workers were running for their very lives. Some knew where they were going while others had no clue. Many were panic stricken and could not move. Multitudes stared in awe at the hundredfold cluster of craft that blasted and bombed the core of their existence. With precision and accuracy, the enemy destroyed key points throughout the port. Thousands of docked ships exploded into plumes of billowing smoke.
The main tanks for refueling the freighters erupted. The flare following the combustion resembled a miniature sun. Before long, the harbor was blanketed with a thick cloud of toxic fumes.
The two Matakeo sprinted past the father and his two sons. They stopped on the platform where the dock office once stood. Dust and smoldering embers were the only evidence that a building had once been erected there.
Darius had to remove a section of steel girder blocking the top of the staircase that led down to the dock. By the time all five had reached the lower platform, the girl with the trinket had run into the cargo bay of the ship.
Darius heard a clap of thunder off in the direction the attack craft had flown. Without a doubt, he knew this sound was the enemy ships banking around to make another pass at the docks. The cargo bay door began to close as he ran toward the ship. He slipped through the tiny crevice just in time. As it closed behind him, the metal door pinched the skin on his right shoulder. He rubbed at the sore spot only after he pressed the switch to reactivate the door.
Kwal began screaming like a little girl before the door reopened. “Oh, please let me in!”
Mister Jorke looked back at his son who had just cried like a sissy.
“You have got to be kidding me?” The man shook his head back and forth in disbelief.
The freighter roared to life just as the entryway became wide enough for the group to enter.
“Hurry up,” Darius demanded. “This pilot is in a hurry to get this ship off the ground.”
The ship lifted off of the platform as the last foot crossed the threshold of the bay. Both engines were on the slant, propelling the craft further away from what little was left of the docks. Once it reached a cruising altitude the pilot eased up on the stick. The craft tapered off its ascent. Unfortunately, it did so right in front of the attackers.
“Where is that girl?”
Darius could not believe the pirate could be concerned about that at a time like this.
“Who cares? Find a place to strap in!” He directed this to all of the stowaways but purposely stared the selfish man coldly in the eyes. “I am going to the cockpit and telling the pilot where to take this boat.”
Everyone else scurried to find a seat. There were none however. Little did they know, Achernarian built freighters come equipped with only two seats and those were in the cockpit; one for the captain and another for the navigator.
Kwal discovered some ceiling-to-floor straps off in a corner. He rushed over and dug through the pile. After thirty seconds of tedious untangling efforts, he produced one large set. Quickly, he found a pair of eyelets anchored in the ceiling and floor. He hung the twelve by eighteen foot cargo net into place quickly.
“Okay,” Kwal announced. “Place your feet up two rungs in the webbing. Grab a cargo strap and fasten it around your waist like this,” he said while demonstrating on himself. “Then wrap your wrists into the rungs of the webbing at chest height. This should keep us safe enough for a hyper jump.”
“Have you
ever done this before?” Teron was not too sure about this.
“No,” was the reply. “I had heard stories about someone who had done it.” Everyone stared at him in disbelief. “It is a worth a try.” Kwal smiled. The rest of the group secured themselves into the webbing.
Several attack craft broke off from the main body. Their goal was to shoot down any craft attempting to escape. The Achernarian cargo ship just so happened to be in their flight path. Once they were in range of the fleeing craft they opened fire on it. The rear shield was one of the most skillfully designed shells in the galaxy. Even though it repelled the onslaught of laser fire it could not keep the ship from being violently shaken. The trembling floor caused Darius to stumble several times before reaching the forward section. He reached the cockpit and pushed the button to open its door. A shocking discovery was just inside the door.
The pilot was the girl with the trinket. In her mind, she believed she was the only soul aboard her departed grandfather’s ship. So when the door slid open and the human entered, she became frightened. Fast as lightning, she unbuckled and levitated from her seat.
Darius found himself in a headlock before he could react to her aggression. The Matakeo could not believe the strength exhibited by the girl. He was truly at a disadvantage.
“I am friendly,” he tried to say through an inhibited wind pipe.
“Oh yeah,” she snarled. “Say’s who?”
“Me!”
The Achernarian teen released her grip. “I could have killed you,” she informed. Then the girl smiled at him. “I assume you were fleeing also?”
“Yes,” Darius sounded relieved, yet slightly confused about how her demeanor had changed so quickly. “Where is the captain?”
“That would be me.”
“What?” He knew this could not be so. “Seriously? Where is he?”
“My grandfather was the owner of this ship.”
“What do you mean “was”?”
The girl sobbed. “He was in the dock office when it was destroyed.” Until now, the girl had been so preoccupied with saving her own life she had not had time to be upset with her loss.
Matakeo: Echoes of the Future Page 20
