Hawks Effect_Dangerous Reunion

by Rael Wissdorf

  “Wait,” she warned.

  The four watched as Gavrael looked over at them. A few awkward moments passed before the Aeternus officer finally shrugged and walked out of earshot. Sinza gestured to the other women to huddle closer, advising them to keep their voices low.

  “What happened to you out there when you fought Praetor Laurina?” Lil’ Doro began. “At first you acted like you’d never held a weapon before. The next thing you know, you were mopping up the floor with him!”

  Sinza nodded in agreement. “When I first saw you on the screen in our cell, you looked pretty bad. I wasn’t sure you’d make it by the time I got there to try and rescue you,” she said. “Something must’ve happened during the time those black-robed creeps took me down to the staging area, cuz you were battling him toe to toe, and you smacked down that giant ax he hurled at you.

  “What?” asked Galicia, who looked at her older sister in amazement, and then back to her comrade. “Sinza, why you didn’t tell me Laurina was taking such a beating in the Arena?” she whispered fiercely.

  The dark-haired commando sighed before replying.

  “I watched it onscreen while you were preparing to blow the door of our cell, and head off to find a Recharge station. There was no reason to mention it because it would have been a distraction. If you remember, you were already pretty frazzled at the time.”

  Galicia winced at the memory. “Yeah, I remember. Still…”

  “Look, I did what I had to do. We had to find a way to save your sister ASAP, and the fact that she was being beaten up at the time was irrelevant,” Sinza said with finality. “The mission-“

  “Always comes first, yes I know,” the blonde Initiator finished with a bit of irritation.

  “Sinza told you true Galicia,” Doro whispered. “Praetor’s pounding of your sister was pretty distressing to watch.”

  Laurina shuddered as she thought about the first half of her fight with the armored gladiator. No one really knew how close to death she had been. As terrifying as that was, the bloodlust she felt when that power came over her was even more frightening.

  Now it’s time for this blighter to feel some pain.

  The sudden memory of her words brought a dark clarity to her mind as Laurina dropped heavily onto the floor, drawing her knees to her chest, as she sat with her head down next to the other women. In that moment, all of her previous rationalizations regarding her destruction of Praetor were rendered meaningless. No matter how she wanted to couch it, one fact remained abundantly clear.

  She had willed it to happen.

  “Are you alright, Laurina?” Doro asked concerned.

  The others echoed their concern as they listened to her muffled sobs.

  Finally, Galicia edged closer to her sister and placed a loving arm around her shoulders.

  “It must’ve been horrible, Laur,” she soothed. “But it might help if you talked about it.”

  That was just it. The last thing Laurina wanted was for Galicia to think of her as a monster for what she had done. Still, when the redhead lifted her head and caught sight of her sister’s worried expression, something in that look caused her reluctance to speak about her experience to melt away like ice.

  “They’re right Gal. He thrashed me pretty good. I thought I was a goner too, but ever since I’ve arrived in this world, something strange keeps happening inside of me. All of a sudden this weird power starts flowing through me at the damnedest times and…”

  The redhead explained it all to the women: the Jumping from the rooftops in “Brooklyn”, and at the empty warehouse during her encounter with Gavrael, the feeling of electricity in her legs as she leaped to narrowly avoid Praetor’s spiked shoulder, and finally when the energy filled her to bursting, and she easily defeated the armored warrior.

  Doro whistled sharply.

  “It was something to see alright,” she said. “Especially when she plunged her arms into Praetor’s chest and ripped out his heart. It was terrifying.”

  Galicia gazed incredulously at her sister for a moment before allowing her chin to fall to her chest.

  “It must have been bloody horrific,” she whispered.

  Upon hearing the details, a plan began to form in Sinza’s mind. “Now we’re getting somewhere. If you can muster up this power of yours, we can get away from these soldiers, and find a safe place to lay low.”

  “That’s just it,” Laurina replied sadly. “I can’t seem to call it up on my own or control it. It’s very unpredictable. When we were running from those black-robed blighters, I didn’t feel a thing. I don’t understand it. The power just seems to come and go on its own.”

  Sinza frowned seeing that her plan had immediately gone up in smoke. The four women sat quietly for a moment, each contemplating Laurina’s revelation. Presently, a hopeful look appeared on the commando’s face.

  “Well in spite of its unpredictability, from what you’ve told us, it seems to me that your power’s been getting stronger when it does show itself,” she said. “Maybe whatever’s happening to you is still evolving. With a little luck and enough time, maybe you’ll get a handle on it.”

  Still evolving? If that’s true, what will happen to me once that power is fully realized?

  Laurina stared down at her hands which were limply clasped together in her lap.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter 15

  After careful consideration, the women agreed to not discuss Laurina’s fleeting powers with their new “benefactors.” As they changed the tone of their conversation to other things, Lieutenant Gavrael walked over to them with a canteen and a small bundle.

  “You seem to be feeling better now,” he smiled. “Is there anything else you require? More water perhaps, or another DuMor bar?”

  “How ‘bout our guns?” Sinza asked sarcastically.

  The white-haired officer sighed.

  “I am afraid Captain Asamodai ordered that they be confiscated, due to your status as enemy combatants.”

  “Why is it that everyone keeps referring to us as terrorists,” Galicia groaned with frustration. “When all we’re trying to do is help?”

  “Forget it, Gal,” Sinza interrupted, raising her palm. “They’ve got us, and they know we can’t do anything about it. At this point, all we can hope for is that maybe someone in their chain of command will listen to reason.”

  “I promise you will get a chance to speak to the Council, and explain your actions. From what we already know, it is obvious that there is more to this whole situation than is currently evident. Fear not, however. You are officially considered under our protection, rather than under arrest.

  “On a different note,” Gavrael continued. “We’re going to have to get you women into some different clothing.”

  He smiled wryly. “That is unless you picked out those outfits for yourselves.”

  Laurina laughed softly.

  “Obviously if it were up to me, I would have picked something a bit more…functional.”

  “Give me a moment please,” he responded.

  The four women watched as the Aeternus officer walked over to one of the nearby groups of soldiers. They were sitting on several old crates, playing a card game. Seeing him approach, they started to rise, but Gavrael waved them to stay where they were. After a quiet discussion, four of them reached into the packs they carried.

  While they were preoccupied, Laurina reached over and pulled her sister close enough to whisper in her ear.

  “We need to figure out a way to get outta here Gal,” she said urgently. “We need to find the place where I arrived and get back home to our world.”

  A look of sadness passed over the blonde’s face before she replied.

  “It’s not that simple Laur. I made a huge mistake sending you that message before I was sent here. You shouldn’t have come in the first place.”

  “Nonsense,” Laurina replied. “When Colonel Keren told me it was you I was supposed to help, I jumped at the chance. No way
was I gonna leave you in danger. Not if I could help it.”

  “The stakes have changed, and right now we’re in the safest place we could be.”

  Laurina turned and faced her sister.

  “You sound like you’ve given up Gal! I’ve never known you to be a quitter. Sinza looks pretty capable to me, and I know Doro is. If we could find a way to escape, we could—“

  “We could what?” Galicia hissed. “Where would we go? Every flippin’ Cluster is after us right now cuz they think we are terrorists, and most would kill us on sight. Aeternus at least has the right of law. Besides, you have no idea how serious the situation is. This is bigger than just the two of us!”

  Laurina was about protest further but held her peace when she saw Lieutenant Gavrael returning with four small dark bundles, each about the size of a deck of playing cards.

  “Fortunately, because of the rigors of what we do, our duty packs come standard with an extra uniform. You can thank these men for their sacrifice to your comfort.”

  He pointed toward the group, and four of the soldiers waved to the women absently, before going back to their cards. Galicia unfolded the compact bundle and held the suit in front of her. It was about 20 inches long and resembled an infant’s jumper.

  “Are you kidding?” she asked. “Maybe Doro can crawl into this thing, but I sure can’t.”

  Gavrael chuckled at her reaction.

  “Don’t worry. The suit stretches to fit the wearer.”

  And indeed, the women were surprised when Sinza put an arm into the neck of the suit, and the material stretched to accommodate her efforts. Five minutes later, the four emerged from the warehouse’s restroom where they went to change, fully dressed in the stealth garments. Each one was amazed at how comfortable the material felt to the skin, and impressed with how tough it was. It was form flattering as well. From the tallest to the smallest, the suits fit each wearer perfectly.

  “My compliments to your tailor,” Sinza quipped.

  So glad you are pleased,” Gavrael responded with a laugh.

  “Lieutenant!”

  Suddenly the humorous mood of the group was shattered, as Captain Asamodai appeared, looking all business.

  “A word if you please.”

  Nodding to Laurina, Gavrael excused himself and made his way over to his superior officer. Asamodai’s face was stern as he guided him over to the other side of the large room. His firm voice had captured the attention of every man and woman in the warehouse, causing them to wonder what was going on. Each person present kept a close eye on the two men, listening intently. While the Captain did his best to keep his voice low, it still carried within the cavernous space.

  “Lieutenant,” he said tightly. “While I can understand your deviation from the mission parameters, I’m not comfortable with you fraternizing so freely with our captives. I appreciate your attempt to make them feel comfortable, but it’s going to be tough enough surviving this mission without having to be worried about possible interference or subversion brought on by your chumminess with those two terrorists and the whore of the Arena!”

  “Jeez!” Doro whispered in exasperation, hanging her head. “Does the whole world think I sleep with every gladiator of the Arena?"

  Galicia patted the small fighter on the shoulder.

  “Well love, if you don't, you sure play it up as if you do.”

  “I'm a Character, for Source’s sake! I’m only giving them what they want to see, that's all. Don't they know the difference between acting and reality?”

  Laurina shook her head dismissively.

  "The bloke's an idiot Doro. Screw him!"

  "Well, don't really screw him," Galicia said with a grin.

  The three women erupted in laughter until Sinza made a cutting gesture toward them.

  “Be quiet! Listen and learn!”

  Meanwhile, the Aeternus officers were too engrossed in their conversation to pay attention to the women. For the most part, Gavrael took the stern lecture from Asamodai in silence. He had experienced it before, and while he chafed from it at times, it was familiar, and he knew what to expect. His tattooed superior cleared his throat and continued.

  “Lieutenant, I will be frank. We lost six good men today, and while the Towers consider them to be expendable, they were still my men, and I am not happy about it. While I applaud your quick thinking in capturing the terrorists and believe me, it saves us the trouble of tracking them down later, that action was not part of this mission, and now poses a problem of security. The inclusion of the Arena rat increases it more so. It’s bad enough maneuvering with trained personnel…”

  Gavrael could see where he was headed and interjected.

  “As I mentioned to you before, it could not be helped Captain,” he said, adding an undercutting tone to the last word. “Laurina refused to come without the others, and because of the importance of our mission, I was not about to risk losing her potential cooperation with Aeternus, or waste time arguing about it. Since all four women were being pursued by Athena’s guards at the time, we had no choice but to intervene. Besides, under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do.

  “In addition, our initial position has changed, and we need to assess all of our options. Based on what we have learned, the Council needs to be briefed on the prospect that the destruction of the Interface may indeed be the best thing to do under the circumstances. The possibility exists that the two terrorists were actually trying to save us all. We need to question them further before anyone makes any rash decisions.”

  “Are you insane?” the captain responded incredulously. “Destroying the Interface would destroy the Source. Doubtless, you are aware of that little fact Lieutenant!”

  “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

  Captain Asamodai nodded.

  “Are you so sure of that Asa?” Gavrael asked. “We have had so many revelations lately that were formerly beneath our radar, that both our core beliefs and our entire way of life have all been shaken. This alone warrants a pause to assess our position on everything. How do we really know that the information we were taught is the truth?”

  The tattooed captain stiffened at the words of his friend and subordinate.

  “Don’t tell me you believe their drivel Gav! I’m surprised at you. Did you forget your training so easily? The Source and the Interface are intrinsically connected together. You know that. I know that. Any idiot in the Service knows that.”

  “I was once thought that the Guardian was connected to the Source as well,” the Lieutenant replied. “But look where we find ourselves now!”

  “That is a separate matter!”

  “Is it?”

  “Lieutenant. I suggest that you keep your wits about you, and not allow the misinformation of the terrorists to cloud your judgment, no matter how seductive the women may be. Or how much the Laurina woman looks like…"

  “My judgment is not clouded!” Gavrael interrupted abruptly.

  Laurina started at the mention of her name.

  What is this? Our sword-wielding savior cut that Captain off right quick. Who is this person that they say I look like? And what’s that got to do with Gavrael? What’s that got to do with anything in fact?

  Meanwhile, Sinza, who was listening intently to Asamodai, had finally heard enough. Bristling at his words, she quickly rose to her feet.

  “You fool!” she exclaimed. “The Source is protected. The destruction of the Interface would have no effect on that Power or your world. That line of reasoning is the carefully crafted propaganda of the Draconian high command. They have their own agenda for preserving the Interface which they keep secret from the general public. But like bleating sheep, you and the rest have bought into their comfortable lies without knowing it. Tell me, how can a loyal officer of Aeternus be so quick to trust what they say?”

  Captain Asamodai, caught by surprise by her unbidden comments, stared back at Sinza with open-mouthed amazement. He was not a man accustomed to having his authorit
y challenged, and his face reddened as her audacity triggered his anger. Gavrael barely suppressed a smile at his superior’s discomfort. He had never seen anyone defy Asa so brazenly before. Before the Aeternus captain could respond, Laurina suddenly spoke up.

  “Can someone please tell me what you people are talking about? What is this Interface, and why is it so important to everything?”

  Sinza turned and replied, “Sorry to tell you this Laurina, but you have been betrayed and abused from the very beginning. But you aren’t the only one.”

  Pointing a finger at Captain Asamodai, she continued. “This man and his whole righteous Cluster are totally unaware of the danger we now find ourselves in.

  “The Interface is a gateway between universes that was discovered by a joint effort between the Sempai and Doromanbay, two other factions that exist within this world of Nedara. In an effort to improve the Script, they manipulated it, and in time made First Contact with a group of scientists in our world which they call the Carbon World. Eventually, an agreement was made between the two universes to exchange Biogenesis and Code. It was a secret but peaceful arrangement that was beneficial to both scientific communities. That is until security became lax on both sides.

  “Not long ago, a man named Tantalos was captured by the Draconista, the army of Aeternus’s rival, the Draconians. This man happened to be the commander and chief negotiator of the Doromanbay Cluster, as well as the main contact to our world. At the same time, our comrade in New Mexico, Dr. Wiles was murdered, and Colonel Keren stepped in his place. Galicia and I have learned that Keren struck a deal with Sucellos Aatos, Grandmaster of the Draconians. They are planning an attempt to somehow siphon power from the Source in order to further their plans for the military conquest of both worlds. If they succeed with this plan, they would command vast legions of altered soldiers, capable of taking total control of not only Nedara but our world as well.”

  “Old news,” Asamodai spat. “The story of Tantalos and Dr. Wiles is already known to us. The rest of what you say is suspect; the poisonous, misguided words of a terrorist.”