by Brett Vonsik
“I second that,” Anders added with more vigor than Nikki expected given his sickly condition.
Without warning Nikki didn’t feel well. Dizziness and a feeling of being disconnected from her surroundings grew intense. Then a seizure hit her. Nikki felt it, was aware of the seizure and what it was doing to her, the painful spasms everywhere and her inability to control her body. Time no longer mattered, nor could she measure it. Only the spasms mattered . . . painful and intense. Then it all subsided. Relief washed over her as she realized she now slumped over one of the beds. She hoped it was Rogaan’s, then chastised herself for the selfish thought. Anders and Doctor Dunkle lifted her up from under her arms back to her feet where her shaky legs were almost unable to keep the rest of her upright, forcing her to keep hands clamped to the edge of the bed. She realized she no longer held a gun in her hands. Where it was she didn’t know. A mix of contemptuous and guilty feelings washed over her concerning the weapon as she realized which bed she leaned against. It’s Aren’s bed. Nikki felt disappointed.
“Dunkle, evacuate the precious cargo,” the captain ordered over the med-lab’s intercom. Pain filled the man’s shaky voice, his singsong inflection almost nonexistent.
Doctor Dunkle tapped his ePaper to acknowledge he understood his orders when bullets riddled the starboard door, leaving indentations in an almost horizontal line across the door. A second burst of fire from outside the lab made indentations at the upper edge of the door where one of the locking lugs secured the door. A third burst left indentations at the lower edge of the door where the second set of lugs locked the door in place.
“Ah . . . Doctor, what do we do?” Nikki almost cried her words as fear and panic gripped her hard. She looked to Anders for answers, who now stood with a much-improved complexion, but he looked as dumbfounded as she felt.
“Emergency in med-lab,” Doctor Dunkle called out to what Nikki assumed was the ship’s intercom. “Enemy soldiers attempting to breach laboratory exterior doors starboard—”
Boom! A stunning and deafening explosion knocked Nikki to the floor. She lay on the cool surface for what seemed a long time. An acrid smell filled her nose causing her to choke. Her ears rang loud, and her head throbbed in pain. Nikki sucked in a breath that brought on intense choking as acrid air filled and stung her lungs. She regretted taking the breath even after the intense coughing subsided. She vaguely remained aware of the doctor and Anders by their pain-filled groaning. The screeching sound of metal being bent pierced the ringing in her head. Nikki struggled to open her eyes . . . clear her head. Who would think opening one’s eyes would require so much effort? Again, she tried. Blurry spots of light dominated her vision. She blinked hard several times before regaining enough of her sight to see the fuzzy outline of a Tyr Soldier peel back the lab’s starboard-side sliding door.
Gunfire rang out just above her, causing the ringing in her ears to hurt as projectiles struck the Tyr Soldier’s upper chest and shoulder, careening off the black armor into the surrounding walls or exploding on contact. The small explosions caused the dark-armored soldier to reel back some. Nikki hoped they punched through the armor somehow and hurt him. Her hope evaporated away when she saw the Tyr Soldier’s left arm raise and fire a pair of dartlike projectiles over her. She heard the trembling voice of Doctor Dunkle above her before he collapsed partly on top of her. The weight of his body across her legs made it difficult for her to move . . . to get up and run.
Anders, lying on the floor between Nikki and the Tyr Soldier, raised his gun with a trembling hand and fired repeatedly. Projectiles careened off the dark armor, then ripped holes in the walls and ceiling. The exploding projectiles peppered the black armor in several places and walls beyond. Before Nikki realized what was happening, the Tyr Soldier cleared the mangled lab door, grabbed Anders by the neck and shoulder yanking him from the floor, then bull-rushed him into the wall on the opposite side of the lab with a loud thud. Nikki feared Anders to be broken and killed by the impact. She rolled over trying to see him better with the hope he still lived. Anders struggled against his overpowering foe and still held his gun. He then fired it several more times at point-blank range into the armored chest of his tormentor. Anders cried out in pain as the first projectile ricocheted off the armor, striking himself in the shoulder, the second projectile exploded abdomen high. Anders dropped his gun to grab at his chest and stomach with twitching movements betraying the terrible pain he felt.
He’s dying! Nikki feared for Anders. He’s killing him! She pulled herself out from under the barely moving doctor and looked for something to hit the Tyr Soldier with. She could not allow the Tyr Soldier to kill Anders. She found the doctor’s gun lying by her feet. Her emotions swirled in conflict. She never thought of shooting a gun, let alone actually shooting someone. Anders yelled out in agony. She decided. It was an easier choice than she thought. Picking up the gun with both hands, she pointed it at the soldier’s back. Her hands trembled, visibly shook. She fired. Nikki didn’t know how many times she pulled the trigger or if she hit her target. The next thing she knew, the Tyr Soldier had her in his grasp, tossing her into the wall next to where Anders lay on the floor with his back propped up against the wall. She felt weightless when tossed, then the painful impact of the wall jarring her back, shoulders, neck, and head, then the thud of her body on the floor. The impact with the floor shot pains through her hips and legs as her head landed on Ander’s thighs. A horrid synthetic voice hissed, sending a wave of chills through Nikki. “How dare you defy the Tyr!”
The Tyr Soldier grabbed both Nikki and Anders by the necks and lifted them up with their backs against the lab’s outer wall, such their feet no longer touched the floor, then stated, “Your punishments—Death.”
Pain racked Nikki as her neck stretched. She gripped the armored left gauntlet of the soldier with both of her hands, trying to keep her neck from breaking. She did her best to pry one of the fingers from her throat. Nikki choked. The Tyr Soldier was too strong. She couldn’t breathe. I’m going to die. Nikki feared dying. She wasn’t ready to die. Panic took her over, and she kicked wildly at the dark armor in front of her. Nothing. Nikki’s vision started turning gray. Her struggles slowed, and she struck with less force as her energy to fight off her killer waned. I’m dead. Nikki begrudgingly accepted her fate. She looked away from the black face shield of the Tyr Soldier in front of her where she could see her reflection. She didn’t want to watch herself die. She wasn’t ready for this. An erratic melody of beeps drew her attention to the biobeds over the left shoulder of her would-be killer where two strangers . . . no, they were more than strangers—lay oblivious to what was happening. They would also die this day, and she could do nothing about it. The erratic tones were from Rogaan’s heart rate and brain wave EEG rhythms displayed on the bio-monitors above his head, showing increases in both along with unsynchronized brain patterns. The world darkened for her. A surge of panic welled up inside her at the thought of her last breath. Her heart raced as anxiety filled her every emotion. She felt it as much as she felt anything before in her life. Calm. A soothing calm suddenly fell over her. With harmonious tones, the monitor above Rogaan’s head displayed all of his brain waves and brain hemisphere locked in synchronization. His heart rate strong and steady. Nikki looked back into the black face shield of the Tyr Soldier where her reflection stared back at her. She smiled. The Tyr Soldier tilted his head, confused at and pondering Nikki’s reaction to her imminent death.
Nikki knew it was coming before she saw the thick, muscular arm with its metallic forearm guard come crashing down on the left arm of the Tyr Soldier. She felt the release of the armored hand from her throat and her short fall to the floor where she crumpled in a slumped kneeling position gasping for air. Looking up, she saw the Tyr Soldier stunned by the blow with his arm dangling down. He released Anders from his right gauntlet, allowing his limp body to fall to the floor with a thud before turning toward a foe he hadn’t ant
icipated. Facing the Tyr Soldier was the muscular build of a white-robed six-foot figure standing ready in a relaxed fight stance. His unkempt hair obscured much of his face, but Nikki knew what it looked like . . . knew how he set his jaw when readying himself for battle. She felt his confidence . . . his determination. She smiled. The Tyr Soldier swung a right-handed haymaker at his foe with the obvious intent to end this battle in one shot. Rogaan easily ducked the sweeping attack with surprising speed, then hit his armored foe in the chest with a right-handed palm strike complete with rotation of his upper body and hips. The Tyr Soldier flew backward, slamming into the locked port-side pocket-door leading to the crew lounge. The metal door was left with an indentation of the Tyr Soldier as the dark-armored warrior landed on his boots in a slouched stance. It appeared he was stunned by the blow. His left arm snapped toward Rogaan, then fired a pair of what Nikki now knew as TASER darts. Rogaan deflected them away with his dark blue forearm guards. Rogaan’s arms moved in a blur, further surprising both Nikki and the dark-armored U.N. warrior. The Tyr Soldier raised his right arm at Rogaan firing a burst of projectiles. In a blur, Rogaan rotated his upper body and used his forearm guards to deflect most of the projectiles. Several hit Rogaan’s left hand and unguarded wrist, passing completely through and destroying a secondary monitor below the main one to the biobed he slept in a moment before. The other projectiles deflected by the metallic guards ricocheted around the room. Rogaan’s demeanor turned dark . . . angry . . . enraged. He launched himself at the Tyr Soldier with a quickness catching Nikki by surprise. Rogaan landed in front of the dark-armored Tyr Soldier, striking him with a straight right-hand punch to the head that he held for a long moment with his foe’s helmet pinned to the dented door. The Tyr Soldier’s body slumped limp. When Rogaan withdrew his punch, the dark-armored U.N. warrior fell to the floor in a heap . . . lifeless. Nikki, surprisingly, realized the shape of Rogaan’s right forearm guard changed, reformed with an added spikelike blade extending from his fist. A vertical slot was left in the dented pocket-door where the helmet of the dead Tyr Soldier had been pinned. Rogaan had completely driven his blade through helmet and door. Blood slowly dripped onto the floor of the lab from the vertical slots in the black helmet.
Rogaan stood up as he examined the unmoving body of his foe with eyes practiced at the task. When satisfied that what he set out to do was done, he turned his attention to Nikki and Anders. He looked her over briefly, then moved to Anders without a change of expression. Nikki wondered at what Rogaan saw when he “examined” her. On Anders, Rogaan immediately found wounds on his shoulder and side. Rogaan’s forearm guards, his Ra’Sakti, reshaped itself as if liquid metal crawling over his skin to his hands where it conformed with dark blue metallic tendrils over his palms and fingers. Placing his hands on Anders’s wounds, Rogaan concentrated for a few moments before Anders started twitching wildly, then fell still. Without ceremony, Rogaan rose, leaving the still and unconscious Anders on the floor. Then, Rogaan’s attention turned to Aren. He stepped to a spot in-between the two biobeds. Staring at the biobed monitor displaying Aren’s erratic bio-readings, Rogaan appeared to understand what he looked at. Aren’s bio-signs were weak and getting worse, as if Aren was dying. Nikki wondered at that. How could Rogaan know or understand the English displays? Rogaan then passed his hands over Aren’s body in what appeared to be a quick examination of his friend. As he did with Anders, Rogaan placed his hands over a growing red spot on Aren’s side, then concentrated for a few moments. Aren did not stir. Leaning over his friend, Rogaan spoke to Aren, “Negeltu, ga dusa.”
Nikki understood Rogaan’s words though she knew he didn’t speak them in English or any language known . . . “Awake, my friend.” A look of concern grew on Rogaan’s face when Aren didn’t respond. He then started looking around Aren’s bed for something, inspecting shelves and opening compartments. Frustrated is how Nikki interpreted Rogaan once his search ended with hands on hips.
“Mese me Aren’s Agni zagin duruna?” Rogaan asked Nikki.
Nikki sat shocked as Rogaan addressed her directly. Until now, his presence felt like a living dream, and for the first time he became real to her instead of a manifestation of her mind. “Where is Aren’s Agni stone placed?” Nikki stammered trying to answer him, but not knowing what facts to answer with made her attempt at meaningful communication sound incoherent, ending in Nikki feeling red-faced; stupid.
“Aren’s Agni zagin?” Rogaan asked again with raised brows. “Aren me itti namhul ma aste shu Agni kalag shu lirum.”
“I don’t know where Aren’s Agni is,” Nikki answered Rogaan’s request for his friend’s crystal stone. He wanted it to use on his friend to regain health and physical strength.
“How in the hell do you understand him?” Anders groaned out his question.
Nikki jumped nervously to a crouch at Anders’s words and tone. She thought Anders unconscious, or worse. Looking at him, Nikki found Anders rousing from the floor with more vigor than she thought possible. He was close to death a few moments ago. Now . . . ? She decided she better answer him or find herself on the annoyance end of his questions. “I just do. Remember, I told you . . . Antaalin.”
“I never heard of Antaalin,” Anders argued as he raised himself to a sitting position against the wall. “Where are you getting this from? It doesn’t exist.”
“Antaalin is the more complex ancient root language of Sumerian,” Nikki replied with conviction. “Rogaan’s sort of speaking Sumerian when he speaks Antaalin.”
“Sort of speaking what . . . this Antaalin or Sumerian?” Anders cynically asked.
“Antaalin . . . Sumerian is a simplified form of it,” Nikki replied honestly.
“Aren needs his Agni stone!” Rogaan spoke slowly as if to get the words right, but his forceful tone made it clear he expected to be listened to.
Nikki looked at Rogaan with mouth slung open in astonishment as she stood up. He spoke English. She shook her head to wake herself. “How . . . How do you know how to speak English?”
“Not difficult . . .” Rogaan replied having to think of the words as he spoke. “Ni estugar ima udi. I listen in rest.”
“This is remarkable . . . beyond remarkable.” Excited, Nikki looked to Anders wanting to share this extraordinary moment with the only other person conscious that could appreciate the discovery. “Do you know what this means? Rogaan learned English without any training. He learned in his rest . . . when he was unconscious with us hauling him around South America—”
Bursts of gunfire rattled and unintelligible yelling came from several directions outside the med-lab . . . on the same level and aft and also from above.
“Agni stone?” Rogaan spoke with a calm, yet impatient tone.
“I don’t know where his Agni stone is . . .” Nikki told Rogaan a second time before pointing at Doctor Dunkle. “But he might.”
Rogaan stood motionless for a few moments, then stepped to the unconscious doctor and dropped to one knee. He placed his hands to either side of Doctor Dunkle’s head. Those dark blue metallic tendrils crawled out across his palms and fingers again. Nikki shivered as the flowing metal crawled over Rogaan’s hands. Rogaan seemed to command it, and it appeared to obey him. Still, she feared it, but didn’t know why. Rogaan concentrated a few moments before Doctor Dunkle’s limp body started to twitch and spasm. The doctor suddenly opened his eyes with a wild fearful stare.
“Calm . . .” Rogaan instructed the doctor in an even tone.
Doctor Dunkle focused his eyes on Rogaan. “What the hell was that?”
“Kalag zu zumru,” Rogaan answered the confused doctor, then continued, slowly speaking. “Mending your body. Sanu we mese Aren’s Agni zagin me duruna?”
“What are you talking about?” Doctor Dunkle asked Rogaan with a shaky voice while his body shivered terribly. Rolling over to look at Anders, Doctor Dunkle asked again with a trembling voice, “What’s Subject One
asking?”
“I don’t know,” Anders answered before pointing an unsteady finger at Nikki. “She’s the one that seems to speak his language.”
Doctor Dunkle appeared more confused looking between Anders and Nikki. A stout hand grabbed the doctor by the back of the neck and another at his left shoulder. Surprise exploded on the doctor’s face, then turned to fear as he was easily yanked to his feet. Shaking, Doctor Dunkle slowly turned to face Subject One once Rogaan released his grip.
“He’s asking for his friend’s Agni stone, Doctor Dunkle,” Nikki translated.
“I don’t know what that is,” Doctor Dunkle replied while keeping his eyes fixed on Subject One. “Tell Subject One, I don’t know what he’s asking.”
“It’s the gemstone Aren had,” Nikki clarified. “The one you told me looked odd for a mineral.”
“Subject Two’s gemstone is in the lab safe,” Doctor Dunkle answered with an uncertain quality in his voice. “Tell Subject One that . . . what I said.”
“His name is Roga of the House An, or Rogaan in common speech,” Nikki corrected the doctor. “And you might want to get that gemstone. It seems to be important for Aren to heal.”
Doctor Dunkle stood on unsteady legs while wearing a face of indecision. He looked to Anders, then Nikki, before nervously returning his gaze to Subject O . . . Rogaan. The doctor took a fearful step back at Rogaan’s glare. With those eyes and his muscular build, Subject . . . Roga of . . . the House An . . . , Rogaan, carried himself in an intimidating way. With a shaky voice, the doctor spoke as he pointed to the floor in front of the holo-display. “It’s there. I’ll open the safe and get it for you . . . for Subject Tw . . . Aren . . .”
Doctor Dunkle kneeled, then waved his hand just above the floor three time before a green illuminated keypad revealed itself on the floor plate. Nikki moved closer. Her curiosity won out over her cautiousness. The doctor attempted to input a five-digit code several times with his shaking hand. The keypad turned red, then green after the first attempt, then red along with a harsh warning beep on the second attempt before disappearing. Doctor Dunkle looked nervously at Rogaan. “I’m sorry. Let me try again.”
