Shadow Corps

by Justin Sloan

  Dex kept his robe wrapped around Napalm and said something, to which Carma nodded and motioned for Samantha and Kwan to follow her.

  “He’ll take care of Napalm. Let’s get to the bridge and see what’s happening.”

  Samantha didn’t want to leave him, but one glance at the slight glow coming from the robe that held him told her he was in good hands. Something was at work here that she couldn’t begin to understand. She ran after Kwan and Carma, hoping they could keep the ship from being torn apart.

  14

  HADRIAN’S SHIP: THE FINAL GATE

  Hadrian stood at the control center of his ship, watching as his blasters and turrets took turns tearing the enemy ships from the sky. Unfortunately, they weren’t doing a damn thing against the Scurries that had now caught up with them. These creatures, pure black with many limbs, lived on the space dragon. But now they were clawing at the metal of his ship and searing through it with their laser eyes.

  He had thought there was no chance of the dragon finding them, that they were safe. That is, until he saw that boy with the mark of his race. Now it all made sense, though he hated the answer. One of his own was alive… but who?

  Whoever it was had to be stopped. They would be thrown into a maximum-security alliance prison at best, killed at worst. He had just found out there was one more of his species alive, and he knew all too well that it would be up to him to stop him.

  If his survival came down to it, Hadrian knew how he would respond, and he had no reason to think the other would act any differently. What this meant, of course, was that at the end of their journey, only one would be left alive.

  He closed his eyes, focusing his energy.

  For a moment the entire universe flowed across his mind, little snippets of possible futures playing out—the horrors, the beauties, all of it. Then he was there, and a wave of energy swept over his ship like a blanket of destruction that he slipped through without a scratch.

  Scurries were shattered to bits, limbs and pieces of carapace left to float through the emptiness of space.

  But the space dragon was too powerful for such a simple attack as that, and it was gaining on them fast.

  If he had Napalm here too, perhaps they could create an energy wave strong enough to push his foe back so they could reach the gate.

  Relief washed over him as he heard the doors open, knowing they had arrived. In walked Samantha, Carma, and Kwan. No sign of Dex or Napalm.

  “Where are they?” Hadrian asked, voice betraying his worry.

  “Napalm was hit,” Carma replied, running up to see that the display now showed images from around the ship. Floating parts of the Scurries, and in the center display, the rear image of the space dragon closing in on them. Its many horns were starting to glow as it charged up. Massive wings spread out from behind it, and though they couldn’t see the body, Hadrian recognized the beast.

  He had survived then, but only barely.

  But without Napalm, he felt a sensation unfelt for quite some time—fear.

  “What is it?” Samantha asked.

  “The gate’s very near, but the dragon is closing fast on us. If Napalm were here…” He turned to Carma. “Dex, you say? He has the robes around him?” Carma nodded and Samantha frowned. Before she could ask, though, he explained. “Dex’s robes are advanced biotech, almost to that magitech level. One robe accelerates the healing process, merging some of itself with the one in need of healing.”

  “And the other layers of robes?” Samantha asked.

  “I’ll let him tell you,” Hadrian replied. “The point is, if he can heal fast enough… Kwan, go check on them and let them know they are needed here as soon as possible. In the meantime…” His eyes wandered to Samantha.

  She took a step back. “No, I don’t… I told you I can’t remember how.”

  “You might not have a choice.”

  “And if I blow a hole in the ship?”

  He winced, considering that. “It’s a real possibility.”

  She stared up at him, eyes wide and full of doubt. “I…”

  “Have no choice,” he finished for her. “Come, close your eyes, focus. Feel the universe, reach out and pull on it, let it flow through you.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, she closed her eyes.

  “Now I need you with me,” he said. “Focus on the energy around us and pushing it to the rear of the ship, throwing it… On three…”

  He counted and prepared to push, but nothing came from her.

  “It’s not working,” she said, stating the obvious.

  He turned to his captain and said, “Fire everything we have at it. We have to stall for time.” He nodded at Samantha, trying to look encouraging. “We need to make this work, do you understand me? I need you to recall what you learned, return to your past self if you must, and bring everything you can into this before—”

  With a loud explosion, the ship rocked. Everyone looked toward the screens to see a second shot coming at them, a yellow burst of light that exploded on the ship’s force field. It rocked again, harder.

  “It was ready faster than we anticipated,” the captain said. “Weapons engaged.”

  Lasers and turrets opened up on the dragon, but at this range, Hadrian knew it wouldn’t do much.

  “Samantha, now!” he shouted, turning back to her and realizing the effect of his frustration. Her eyes looked betrayed, but she was stronger than that. Setting her jaw, she breathed deep and closed her eyes. Hadrian felt a movement around him. He closed his too, focusing, and said, “NOW!”

  The wave of energy tore past them, joining the weapons in a strike against the space dragon.

  Hadrian stared at the screen, Samantha looking up beside him, and they waited. It must have closed on them, because now the weapons were in range. Missiles exploded and the force hit a second later, causing the dragon to flinch… and then ROAR!

  It continued at them, unfazed.

  “Holy shit,” Samantha said, earning her a frown from the captain.

  Hadrian just stared. He knew it was no good. He was about to say so, when the doors slid open again and Dex came in with Napalm at his side.

  “Someone said my skills were in demand?” Napalm said with a grin. He was still injured, but his wounds looked like they had been healing for weeks instead of mere minutes.

  “We’re going to need all three of us,” Hadrian said, motioning him over. “It’s stronger than anything I’ve ever seen.”

  Napalm sucked in a breath at the sight of the full beast.

  “Three?” he asked, then glanced over at Samantha. She gave him a confident nod. “Then let’s not waste another second.”

  Together, they closed their eyes. Hadrian said the word, and he felt a wave spread through the galaxy—this time growing with intensity as it expanded. He stepped forward, eager to see what would happen.

  The dragon’s horns glowed bright and it let out its own attack. Hadrian braced himself, unable to blink or turn away.

  Space seemed to ripple as the wave of energy reached outward, destroying the attack and smashing the dragon in the face like a wall. It reeled back, roaring, as particles of glowing horn drifted off into space.

  Before the dragon had a chance to recover, another image showed on the display. The gate.

  “Captain, get us out of here!” Hadrian commanded. He turned to his seat and strapped in, hoping to hide his exhaustion from the effort of the battle.

  Soon they were at the gate and passing through the purple light. As soon as they exited, he would shut off the nodes, so the space dragon couldn’t follow. Then they would find the one responsible for allowing their enemies through the gates.

  If they didn’t hurry, who knows where the enemy could attack. In fact, he thought as his mouth went dry, they might have already caused more damage than he could imagine.

  With a sigh, he focused on the path ahead, on the knowledge that they were doing all in their power, and on the pride he felt in Samantha for being able
to find her connection to the universe once again.

  SAMANTHA KEPT THINKING about how it had felt when the powers had coursed through her again. It was like everything from her youth came back. Like a window to her past had been painted over, and now someone had stripped away the paint. Each snippet of memory felt clear, washing over her with the metallic scent of blood and gunpowder, the cool breeze on a warm morning when she had sat with her mother before a gunfight, watching the sunrise and talking about the old days.

  Then a memory came into focus of a time with Dan, when he had found her wandering the desert of Arizona, lost and confused. It had been the low point of her life, a time when she had almost given up. She hated that version of herself and wanted to banish it from her mind forever. But she couldn’t separate it from the smile she had seen on Dan’s face and the way he had embraced her after running over and shouting her name.

  They had barely known each other then, and she had nearly killed him with an explosion. The reception was completely unexpected, yet very welcome. Soon she was back on her feet, coming to realize that Dan had started a real resistance—one with access to drones and weapons. And now, mechs.

  Only now she was up here, without a clue as to how he and his LRR were holding out.

  Closing her eyes, trying to block out the thoughts, a final one slammed into her. One in a grocery store with Hadrian, holding her against her will with his powers, looking very different from the mentor she now stood next to.

  “It’ll pass,” his smooth voice said, and she opened her eyes to stare at him. He smiled. “The use of our powers frees up parts of the brain generally untapped. We have to open up those parts of the brain to access the power.”

  “And then the memories…” She shuddered. “But you… I remember a different side of you.”

  He nodded, thoughtful. “There is much I can’t explain yet, but you must trust that I have your best interests at heart. All we do is for the survival of the alliance, and for Earth. You are key to both of those.”

  The others in the command center were glancing around nervously at this exchange.

  “It’s not the first time I’ve been used,” she said, then stormed out, followed a moment later by Napalm.

  A glance at his wounds made her feel like her problems were very petty. But she remained silent, unable to push out the negativity. She continued to the mess hall, not complaining when he sat down next to her at one of the tables.

  “You know,” he started, “we’ll be there soon. We’ll meet some of the most powerful beings in the universe, the Elders. Is this pouty face really the one you want them to see when they meet you?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “Shut up.”

  “There you go. A laugh never killed anyone.”

  “Since our job is apparently to kill a lot of someones, maybe laughing shouldn’t be part of our existence anymore.”

  “I’m going to imagine that you’re still being affected by using so much energy.” He eyed her skeptically. “I like that explanation way more than you just being a teenage girl.”

  “I’m not just a teenage girl.”

  “But you are a girl, right?”

  This time she hit him, playfully, in the shoulder.

  He laughed and said, “Hmm, doesn’t hit like a girl.”

  “I’ve known plenty of girls who could hit harder than most boys. Me included.”

  “And you’re a teenager.”

  She considered this, not sure how to think of her response. “I am sixteen, yes. But I feel like I’ve lived fifty lives, if you know what I mean.”

  Napalm nodded. “Definitely.” For a long moment he stared at her, and then said, “If I ever had a daughter, I’d want her to be as kickass as you are. I mean, what parent would have to worry about you being safe with what you can do?”

  “Yeah, well, both of my parents are gone, so it doesn’t matter.”

  “So that’s it.”

  She frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “Why you expect so much out of Hadrian. No parents, then he comes along with all his powers and this strong, fatherly attitude about him… of course you’d want him to be perfect.”

  “I expect everyone around me to be perfect,” she replied. “Present company included.”

  “Me?” He scoffed, his fiery eyes flashing for a moment. “The first time I used my powers, it left me raw, vulnerable. I lashed out. Nearly killed my entire family when I accidentally leveled the whole building we lived in.”

  Samantha stared, caught off guard by his opening up and unsure if she should say something.

  After a moment, he continued. “I saved them all… all but the one I loved. She was precious, a treasure to my planet, and then she was gone.”

  “I—I’m so sorry.”

  “So was I.” He ran his hands together, pushing as if trying to remove gloves. “It was bad. Dark places. Thoughts of ending my life. But in the end, I chose to study my power, to work on the craft until I knew without a doubt that I could be sure nothing like that would ever happen again. And in so doing, I became more powerful, so much so that Hadrian chose me out of all the members of my planet. Just as he chose you.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not doubting my ability. I was there. I saw what I was capable of.”

  “But…?”

  “It’s just, the memories, the feelings of distrust I felt toward him when we first met. All of that came flooding back, and it hit me. How do we know we’re on the right side here? We’ve been doling out a lot of justice, without really bothering to step back and ask that question.”

  He smiled knowingly. “The fact that you’re having those thoughts is good. It shows me your heart’s in the right place.”

  “My heart would be in a better place if it had answers.”

  “How’s this then?” He stood, hands behind his back and at ease, as if briefing a superior in the military. “The first time I met Hadrian, he saved my life. He is therefore responsible for all of the lives I have saved since. And he returned more than once to my planet when times were tough. But it wasn’t all violence, either. One time he took me to a lake and showed me what happened to his world, to the love of his life, and to his people. It was… horrible, and real. I saw it in his eyes—and eyes don’t lie. At least, not to me.”

  He looked down so that his eyes met hers, and she couldn’t turn away from the fire there.

  “I want to do what’s right. I want to believe in him… but not blindly.”

  “You see, you’re telling the truth there.” Napalm held out a hand. “You have the desire to believe, but there’s no proof. Not yet, or at least, not in the sense that you want. But you can choose to have faith. Faith in him, and faith in me when I tell you that he is trustworthy and that we’re on the right path.”

  She considered this, wanting nothing more than to accept. Finally, she took his hand and nodded, repeating the word, “Faith.”

  “That’s all we can ask for in times like this. Come, we’ll be landing soon and you’re going to want to see this.” As they walked, he gave her a broad smile. “Welcome back, kiddo.”

  “I’m not a kiddo,” she snapped back, then smiled. “But yeah, thanks. If… if you can show me how to control that aftershock, I’d love to be able to never act like such a brat again.”

  He chuckled and said, “I will. We would all love that, I’m sure.”

  To everyone’s credit, they were all moving on, nobody mentioning the outburst.

  “Would anyone here like to see something magical?” Hadrian said, turning with a sparkle in his eyes. He nodded to the captain, who brought up the display screens to show the image directly in front of them.

  They were rapidly approaching a large planet of deep pinks, purples, and areas of green. Blue flowed through it all, and she knew it must have some similarities to Earth, but was obviously vastly different in terms of its plant life.

  The sight took Samantha’s breath away, along with any worries or doubts. All she felt in
that moment of first seeing Entono Fos Prime was a burning passion to rid the universe of evil. It was time to grow up. No more training, only kicking butt in the name of survival.

  15

  ENTONO FOS PRIME

  This was the first time Samantha had stepped foot on a planet of such beauty.

  It felt magical, like a painter might have imagined Earth to have looked like once, long before the invasion. Orange and pink light sparkled off of misty waterfalls in the distance, tall hills with lush vegetation growing as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t the shades of green from back home, but more of a purple and red that reminded her of a tulip field in a dream.

  They had landed in a high-tech facility in the slopes of a mountain, then taken a path out and around to the side, where a valley led to a series of buildings with high, slanted roofs.

  “It’s so…” Carma started.

  “Majestic,” Samantha finished for her.

  “I was going to say similar to my homeworld, but yeah, that fits.”

  Samantha turned to Napalm and Dex. “If you two tell me your worlds are the same, I’m going to feel like Earthers got a pretty shitty deal.”

  Napalm laughed. “My world’s more like islands of land surrounded by lakes of fire. Not the most pleasant. But his…?” He turned to Dex, but Dex just kept moving forward.

  “You all don’t want to see Dex’s world,” Hadrian commented. “There’re worse places in the universe, but not many. In fact, Earth is one of the more beautiful planets in the universe, if you know where to look.”

  “I’m guessing those places are areas man has yet to get its hands on,” Samantha replied.

  He nodded. “Somehow, your people have a way of really messing up everything you touch. Now, let’s not pretend that’s an anomaly, though. Much of the universe shares that in common with you all.”

  “But your people didn’t?”

  “When we inhabited our planet, we increased its beauty. We did not destroy it.”