Repo Earth

by Jeff Walsh

  Vex looked to Marcus who in return gave him one last look of pity. A second later, the scene, everything around the Starfaller crew, flashed white. A second later their vision cleared.

  Vex and his entire army were now standing on a rocky plateau. The sky a deep red with four suns appearing overhead, but none of the crew could identify exactly where they were. Before them splayed out a sea of black, oily liquid.

  “Captain,” Tira said.

  Yet, before he said another word the Starfaller crew watched as the expansive sea of black liquid rose into the air forming a massive, faceless creature. Its face, empty and void, began to swirl and take shape.

  “I don't understand Captain,” Tira said. “Where are we?”

  Vex ignored his commander, but instead focused on the creature now taking form before him.

  A face, contorted and agonized, appeared on the enormous creature.

  Vex and the Attillian crew watched as the face continued to morph. Every iteration, every change looked more agonizing.

  “Vex Draughn,” the creature said. “I am that which you decimated. I am that which you slaughtered.”

  Tira turned his attention away from Vex and peered at the face now roiling upon the monstrosity. “The hive mother,” he said. “The human has banished us to the den of the Zorg hive mother.”

  The face swirled for a moment longer then vanished. The large form melted away. As it did, the vast ocean of black liquid rose into the air. From every direction, towering waves formed, surrounding the Attillian army.

  Tira spun, his eyes darting all around. Vex stood unmoved.

  “Sir,” Tira said. “The hive mother, she controls the water.”

  “No Commander Tira,” Vex said. “She is the water.”

  The Zorg entity climbed taller and taller, towering over the Attillians. The walls lingered high into the air for a moment, causing a disturbing moment of silence. Then slowly, the walls began to tilt inward. The Attillians helplessly watched as this creature formed a dome, completely encapsulating them. As they stood within the pitch black darkness of their enemy the hive mother spoke once more.

  “I spare not one this day.”

  Within the blink of an eye the hive mother receded in on herself crushing everything within.

  “Not another breath shall be taken,” the hive mother said. “My children have now been given justice. May their consciousness reside within me for the rest of my days.”

  ҉

  “They're gone,” Anthony said. “You did it. Marcus you did it,” he cheered.

  Marcus turned toward his friends. His eyes locked with Genny once more. She climbed to her feet but before she took a step Taam grabbed her arm. She turned to look at Taam. His eyes watered and reddened. She looked back to her husband who was now walking toward them. It was then that Genny saw what Taam had seen earlier. Marcus looked at each of them.

  “I'm sorry,” Marcus said. “It was the only way.”

  Chapter 25

  “I don't understand,” Genny said. “What's happening?”

  Marcus looked to the others then back to Genny. “I apologize,” he said. “I know of you. I know of our past, and that we are married. But I am no longer myself.”

  “What do you mean?” Genny said. “Of course you're you.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks. The vacancy of life behind her husband's eyes confirmed the truth of the situation.

  “In order to save you all, including Volja,” Kora interjected. “Marcus offered his mind and body to Volja, thus sacrificing himself. It is through his actions that we all stand here now.”

  “So the rumors were true?” Taam said. “Volja really isn't a planet, but some sort of life form.”

  “Affirmative,” Kora answered. “Volja is a living creature, a being known as a Zatarii. However, your realm of existence is not Volja's true home. Long ago Volja sustained an injury while returning to its realm. An injury to the systems that allow the Zatarii to traverse different realities. Thus, Volja has been trapped within this reality ever since.”

  “What does this have to do with Marcus?” Genny asked. She pushed back the tears and reached out and gripped Marcus' hand. There was a cold indifference to his touch. Her breath became short. Her eyes were filled with tears of agony.

  “Stuck and alone,” Kora continued. “Volja adopted a group of people who were also unable to return to their home. A catastrophic event had caused the ancient humans to become drifters through space. Volja understood their plight and sympathized. Thus Volja offered your great ancestors a home. And for millennia humans and Volja coexisted.”

  “So what happened?” Anthony asked. He looked at Marcus who, in return, glanced back. His eyes averted from Marcus. Whoever stood there, that gaze was no longer his friend's. Nothing but a stranger stood with them. “How'd we all end up on Earth?”

  “The comfort Volja provided the humans, for so very long, had begun to takes its toll on your ancestors,” Kora answered. “Your people no longer pushed themselves, they no longer pursued the passions of life. It was decided that they must, for their future generations, return to a lifestyle where comforts were earned, not given.”

  “So they packed up and set out for Earth,” Taam said.

  “Affirmative,” Kora answered.

  “Please stop,” Genny blurted out. “I don't care about all of that.” Her face crumpled as she spoke. Every word looked agonizing. “What's happened to Marcus? Please, tell me, where is my husband?”

  “I apologize to you miss,” Kora answered. “However, I am obligated to carry out this tale, for it was your husband that asked me to explain this to you all.”

  Genny nodded and forced her emotions back. She teetered on the edge of hysterics. This close to the end and it was Marcus who had been lost.

  Kora took Genny's silence as permission to continue. “Once the human race left Volja,” Kora said. “Volja, once more, felt alone. It was unable to return home, however, having been a home for others had filled Volja with a sense of purpose. Thus, Volja sought out others to help. However, not all in the universe are as peaceful, or kind, as your ancestors.”

  “As these others joined with Volja,” she continued. “They saw the financial opportunities and immense power contained within. Just as the Attillians desired, so others attempted to take this entity as their own. It understood that it did not belong to this realm. The power and knowledge of the Zatarii was to be protected at all cost.”

  “Volja fought back,” Bartl said.

  “Affirmative,” Kora answered. “Volja banished its attackers and scattered them across the universe. But in the attack Volja had sustained even further damage, this time to its core. Under normal circumstances it would've been a simple repair, however, the entirety of Volja's life-systems needed to be rebooted.”

  “But it was alone,” Anthony said.

  “Correct,” Zora answered. “Under normal conditions the Zatarii would care for each other, and the only beings Volja trusted we the humans. Neither was available, and for a reboot of this magnitude a secondary party was required. Thus, in an attempt to protect itself Volja looped its operations protocols which prevented the damage from spreading. However, it was this loop that has caused its appearance and disappearance for so long. With its final act, Volja created a genetic safety protocol only humans or fellow Zatarii could access.

  “Which is why anyone else who entered Volja's atmo was whisked away,” Bartl said.

  “Correct,” Marcus finally spoke up. “However, in order to initiate the required reboot a human would need to interact with Volja in its more vulnerable state. A processes known as an Ekklisian link was required This forms a direct link between the minds of both the human and Volja.”

  Marcus looked at Genny. She was clutching his hand and he could feel her shaking. Tears began to roll down her face.

  “To interact with Volja in such a manner required a special person,” Marcus continued. “The ancient humans who would perform such interactions were raised
to do so from childhood. The process of communing with Volja was extremely dangerous without proper preparation. Doing so would cost any living being their life. Unfortunately, my mind had not been properly prepared.”

  “And yet here you stand,” Taam said “I get that you're not you, but you're also not dead. Whatever it is, somehow, you figured out how to do it.”

  “The Marcus you knew did indeed, but the cost of doing so was great,” Marcus said. “The interaction with Volja needed a clear mind. A mind without clutter. My mind was not such; I was far too old, and had experienced far too much. My memories and knowledge, everything in my life that made me who I was, hindered me from interacting with Volja and accomplishing our goal. And because of this inability to complete the task this very group set out to accomplish, Volja's life, and all of yours, were at risk.”

  “So you got rid of all that somehow,” Anthony said.

  “Correct,” Marcus said. “I sacrificed who I was in order to save all of you.”

  “No,” Genny cried. “Please no. Not after all of this. Not here at the end.”

  “While I am still physically Marcus, I have no clear recollections of who I was prior,” Marcus said. “All that remains are shadows of my former life. I just know that if I had not sacrificed myself, everyone would have died.”

  “If I may?” Kora interjected. “Before Marcus offered himself to Volja to save you all, he asked me to record a message.”

  Genny turned to Kora.

  Kora began to speak, but it was no longer her voice, instead, it was Marcus.

  “Well everyone,” Marcus said. “This sucks. It turns out Volja is a lot more than a planet, and while I have in fact landed on Volja, I also made one heck of an error.” You could hear the embarrassment in Marcus' voice. “I kind of, sorta, let Vex Draughn trick me into believing he was Omnis Zept. I then kind of brought him to the planet with me. I also might have given him access to Volja's systems. I'm sorry to tell you Taam and Bartl, but Omnis was killed by Vex in order to gain my trust.”

  “Because of my mistake,” Marcus continued. He cleared his throat and steeled his words. “Vex has nearly taken over Volja. I'm no longer able to pull you from the Starfaller. And if I don't do something, you and Volja are going to die. I have a plan to save everyone, but I'm afraid none of you are going to like it.”

  Genny stepped back toward Marcus and touched his face. She stared into his eyes as his voice came from Kora.

  “I need to interface with Volja,” Marcus said. “But, if I do that as I am, it's going to kill me. Now if it were that simple, if all I had to do was sacrifice myself to save all of you, there'd be no question. I'd do that in a second to save you Genny. But my dying doesn't actually accomplish anything. I need to be able to interface with Volja and survive. But it turns out,” Marcus chuckled. “I'm too smart. I have too many memories; my mind is too cluttered. However, I'm pretty sure I've figured out a way to work around that.”

  Genny was sobbing. She reached down and grabbed Marcus' hand. She clutched it between hers, held it to her chest, and rested her head on his.

  “Ellidron has a PLN on his ship,” Marcus said.

  “No,” Taam whispered.

  “From what I understand I can erase everything I know using this thing,” Marcus said. “The Marcus you know will be wiped away, but in doing so it'll allow me to interface with Volja. I don't know how much of me will be left, but Genny, I want you to know, every memory and every thought I can keep, it'll all be of you.”

  Genny was sobbing as she closed her eyes. Her body shook as she listened to Marcus' voice.

  “I don't know what I'll be when this is over,” Marcus said. “But I want you all to know some things. Taam and Bartl, I know you did everything you could to keep us safe. And none of this is your fault. You didn't drag any of us out here. And I want you both to know that I've enjoyed every minute of being in space. Well,” Marcus paused. “Maybe not these exact minutes, but you get what I mean.”

  Bartl blurted out a laugh, and choked back his tears. Taam's eyes began to water up.

  “Anthony,” Marcus said. “You're a freaking robot. How cool is that? Do me a favor and learn some cool robot stuff. You're like a brother I never had, so please, make sure Genny gets home safe, for me. You've been the greatest friend anyone could've had. I know what you've done for me over these past few years, and it's meant the world to me.”

  Anthony wiped at his face and cursed.

  “And Genny, I know this is probably the worst time to do this,” Marcus said. “But, I'm sorry. I've put you through some stuff over the last few years because of my mistake. But you never made me pay for it; you never once faltered by my side. You were there for me in ways I couldn't have ever dreamed. I love you.”

  The entire group heard a small click, and Kora looked around. “That's all he said.”

  Genny looked up to Marcus who was looking back at her. With tears streaming down her face she reached up and touched his face. “Please Marcus, you have to be in there somewhere. You promised.”

  Taam looked to Bartl.

  “I understand why you're upset,” Marcus said. “But this was the only way I could save you all.”

  “This won't stay a secret,” Taam said. “Your name will go out to the ends of the universe.”

  “You're a hero,” Bartl said. “A legend. You single-handedly defeated the Attillian empire and snatched Volja from the grasp of the Core. Everyone will know what you did today.”

  Anthony looked to his friend. “I'll never think of you as anything less than the best friend anyone could've ever had.” Anthony reached up and wrapped his arms around Marcus and Genny. Tears rolled down his face, he wiped them away and said, “Plus, it's not like your dead. Right? You're right here, just a little memory problem.”

  “You saved us all,” Genny said as she caressed Marcus' face.

  “I'm sorry I was unable to retain a small amount of myself for you,” Marcus said to Genny.

  Genny reached up and placed her hand on his lips. “Just stop. You saved everyone. Anthony's right, you're alive. We made memories once, we can do it again.”

  “Thank you for under...Gah!” Marcus screamed.

  He pushed away from Genny and fell to his knees. “What's happen...” He screamed out in torment once more. His hands grabbed at head. Marcus bellowed in pain once more and began to shake violently.

  “What's happening?” Anthony yelled out.

  “Help him,” Genny cried out to Kora. “Please. What's going on?”

  Taam and Bartl launched forward, but Marcus swatted them away. He screamed out in pain once again.

  “Marcus,” Genny yelled. “We're trying to help you. You need to tell us what's happening.”

  Marcus let out a long excruciating scream. He pushed up off the ground and fell back, his body limp.

  Genny ran forward and grabbed him. “He's not breathing. Help! He's not breathing.”

  Anthony looked at Kora, “Do something, please!”

  “I'm sorry sir,” Kora responded. “But there's nothing I can do.”

  Marcus suddenly inhaled. His limbs swung out wildly. The look of confusion and panic ran across his face. After a few quick breaths Marcus appeared to get his bearings once more and calmed down.

  He slowly sat up. Everyone appeared to be frozen in place. Genny, still crouching down next to Marcus, locked her gaze into his eyes.

  “Holy crap that hurt,” Marcus aired out.

  Genny sat back for a moment, her hand resting on Marcus' chest. A moment later he reached and took a hold of her hand. His breathing steadied.

  “That was seriously not fun,” Marcus said. “I don't recommend doing that.”

  Genny reached up and grabbed his face. She turned him so the two of them were now face to face.

  “Hey Sweetie,” Marcus said with a sly smile on his face.

  Genny froze in place once more and just stared at Marcus for a moment.

  “What...what did you just call me?�
�� She asked.

  Marcus answered slowly and somewhat sarcastically, “Sweetie.”

  “Is it you?” Genny's mind reeled back to the day when Marcus had lost everything. It was around that time when he'd stopped calling her that. She grabbed his face. “Is it really you?” She could barely push out the word as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  He nodded as he rubbed at his temples. “Yeah,” he said. “It's me, memories and all.”

  Bartl stood dumbfounded for a moment, then suddenly blurted out in laughter. “Holy smokes my boy, that was brilliant. Ridiculously dangerous, but brilliant none-the-less.”

  Taam stood for a moment, just as confused as Genny and Anthony. Then it struck him and he chuckled, “Did you...that's risky even by my standards.”

  “What?” Anthony said. “C'mon, you two promised to stop doing that.”

  “The Psionic Link Network, remember?” Marcus said to them. “A memory microwave timer, you can forget, or recall, just about anything at any time.”

  Taam started laughing while he shook his head in disbelief.

  “I used it to clear my mind,” Marcus said. “But set it to beam everything back after it was all over.”

  Genny pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around Marcus.

  Marcus took the moment to just be in her arms once more.

  After a moment he looked to the others and smiled.

  “Once my mind was clear,” he said. “I interfaced with Volja and rebooted the system. After that Volja sort of took over until the PLN started beaming everything back. Which by the way, having a lifetime worth of memories beamed back into your head is extremely painful. I definitely would avoid it if possible.”

  Genny stood and helped Marcus to his feet. He was shaky and still very weak.

  Marcus looked to Kora. “Planet's all yours. With the core fully rebooted Volja has been completely repaired.”

  “So what now?” Anthony asked.

  “Volja is done playing house for others,” Marcus answered. “It's time to find a way back home.”

  “Thank you sir,” Kora said. “Volja wishes me to tell you that you will forever be in its memory.”