NEBULAR Collection 7 - Guardians of the Continuum: Episodes 31 - 34

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »No! Stop it!« Chambers shouted via the comm-system. »You’ll hit Gamze if you continue firing around like mad! Watch it, there’re more! I can see them! There are hundreds!«

  Fosset cursed, looked up and watched as a piece of the hull was disintegrated just above his head.

  They take apart the ship and come through the ceiling, he thought panic struck.

  A bunch of tentacles snaked into the cockpit, grabbed Fosset by the shoulders and yanked him violently upward. Welf Rouven, who tried to hold Fosset by the legs, received a blow to the helmet. A second later, Fosset had disappeared through the hole.

  »Damn it! What happens to us!« Dorothea DaDiva shouted angrily and pulled back with a horrified scream when an octopus-like robot shoved his head through an opening of the fuselage, peering inside the Hawk. »What the …?«

  Without a sound, the cockpit’s windshield shattered into tiny fragments which fell like a hail of fine glass granules inside the cargo space. Chambers clung to his seat and manually locked the emergency safety belts. Several tentacles grabbed him and pulled him out of the cockpit, along with his seat. His screams could be heard via the intercom for a couple of seconds until he fell silent. Kokrint’s turn came only seconds later; he didn’t even try to fight it.

  Welf Rouven and Dorothea DaDiva looked at each other, silent and wide-eyed. Then both were hit by an energy beam and lost control of their bodies. Weightless and paralyzed, both began to float uncontrollably inside the Hawk until, finally, they were grabbed by a robot’s tentacles and also dragged out of the ship.

  As if in a trance and in the merciless grip of an attacker, Fosset was watching from a bird’s eye view how his Hawk was systematically dismantled. One crew member after another was pulled out by force and finally, the ship thrown away.

  I misjudged the situation, thought Fosset dejected and groaned under the hard grip of the robot. Now we can only hope for mercy. The Guard of the Continuum has sent an entire army of robots to apprehend us. How could I have been so naive?

  Fossett was looking for the other crew members, but couldn’t see anything in the chaos.

  I’ve lost sight of them! Why did Arkroid do that? We’re doomed!

  Like a raging swarm of hornets, the robots hovered around as if they were looking for more victims. Suddenly, they changed their direction synchronously, similar to a swarm of migratory birds and flew back to the ship fragment, directly into the brightly lit energy field which covered the damaged arm.

  That must be thousands, he thought depressed, unable to move. They paralyzed me, but I’m still conscious.

  As if in a dream sequence Fosset witnessed the approach to the energy field, which viewed up close, presented itself very differently.

  It’s not a defense field that seals the damaged section, Fosset realized. The arm or tentacle of this monster is, with its thickened end, embedded inside the energy field, as if it wants to grab us from a strange dimension.

  Fosset also realized that the blue, glowing medium emanated from the edges of this bright area that filled almost the entire undefined space by now.

  The Guard of the Continuum has been trying to return to his dimension, Fosset suspected tired. But he’s stuck in our continuum. The passage to his dimension is leaking. The blue fluid-like stream is flowing like water from a leaky pipe.

  Fosset followed in horror as the robot flew toward the flickering wound in the space-time continuum, wanting to pull him in.

  No, please! he heard himself call out inwardly before he was absorbed by the dimensional rift.

  Then came a shock that tortured his entire body, making him scream mentally. However, the pain also ensured that his numb senses suddenly awoke again. With misty eyes, he found himself in a new environment and saw the crew members again. All were conscious! They were suspended in a floating position, about five meters above a bizarre surface which seemed like liquid magma with bubbles that burst in showers of sparks.

  Where have they brought us? What kind of a strange place is this? It looks as if we would be floating above the mouth of a volcano, he thought uneasily.

  Although Fosset could see his team members, he was still unable to speak or just to lift a finger. Then suddenly, there was a voice in his head that made him wince.

  My boy, you’re in big trouble again. Do you always need to do this and worry your old mother?

  Fosset was electrified. Suddenly, there was a movement in front of him. A Human figure formed from the ascending vapor of the liquid magma. He knew the character! He couldn’t believe his eyes and thought stunned, Mother? You are here? How is that possible?

  My son, the voice in his head replied. If you are completely dead like me, then you can be at any time at any place in the universe. I know, you’d be excited to see what fantastic worlds and wonders I could show you in the Milky Way. But who knows, maybe you’ll follow me soon.

  You’re dead for over ten years. I can’t believe that we meet again, here, of all places, thought Fosset intently, looking in disbelief at the being that looked so much like his mother. We both could not read minds, but now we communicate in this way with each other. I want to wake up from this nightmare, immediately! You’re not my mother!

  Just accept it as is and realize that some things are predestined, like the demise of your people, said the mental voice, filled with a trace of spite.

  My people, thought Fosset. Would Humanity not also be your people?

  Oh, you caught me, thought the manifestation amused. It leaned back while laughing loudly and heartily.

  Look, it whispered tenderly in Fosset’s mind, filling him with emotions. Directly in front of his mother, a glowing sphere materialized that slightly pulsated like a glaring energy matrix.

  What is that? Fosset asked while looking at her smiling face.

  Your demise, she answered with joy. You wouldn’t understand it anyway, even if I’d explain it to you. I don’t want to keep you in suspense, dear. This is a modified Original Spark whose energy balance I manipulated. It has almost reached the critical point. It took nearly a thousand years to find an Original Spark in the continuum and about the same amount of time to charge it up like this. In the process, it consumed the energy of several suns, but now, the mutation is accomplished.

  Fosset focused on the glowing sphere which radiated in a dark, reddish light.

  Why do you appear in the form of my late mother and what are you going to do with the Original Spark? You can’t fool me! You are a Guardian of the Continuum!

  The apparition smiled silently for a moment to herself.

  My son is a smart Human. I’m thrilled to share my triumph with you before you also die. All of these people who live on your primitive worlds, won’t have enough time to think about the calamity which they will be facing soon.

  What are you going to do? Fosset felt shocked.

  I’m going to hurl the Original Spark into your sun, which will spontaneously turn into a supernova. No one will escape the disaster, and your entire Solar System will be purged from the universe. This is my answer as an ambassador of enslaved people. Eye for an eye, as I can read from your own deep-rooted memories.

  Fosset tried to move, but his body was still paralyzed. He watched the reactions of his crew, but they were caught in the stasis. Only their wide open eyes told what they were thinking.

  They’ve heard everything! he thought

  The Guardian of the Continuum, in the form of Fosset’s mother, spread out his arms as if to embrace the Original Spark.

  He celebrates this act as a ritual, Fosset thought, shuddering. He really means it!

  You will die with us because your former ship is only a wreck. The supernova’s fiery wave will reach into the Oort Cloud and destroy everything. You cannot escape your own vengeance, Fosset made a desperate attempt.

  A silent chuckle made Fosset cringe.

  You’re a small-minded person, but who can blame you? I created the space anomaly over the last few years and filled it with tachyoni
c wind to protect the fragments of my former Guardian vessel. Even if the supernova destabilized this space-time zone, I am prepared and will retreat from this continuum.

  Fosset uttered a mental scream.

  You’re a beast! The Frigonan was right! You’re a demon that came from Hell …!

  … and I came to get you all! the Guardian completed Fosset’s sentence with an ugly laugh.

  Prisoner of the demon

  It took hours before the paralysis subsided and Fosset could formulate clear words again. His throat was hurting when he was speaking. Invisible energy fields were holding him and his team still in a state of suspension. Under his feet lava was bubbling and so far there was no way of escape in sight.

  At least, I can move my head and look around, thought Fosset relieved.

  »What a strange jail,« Fosset said with a brittle voice after a short time while coughing violently. »I have no idea where we are. These strange surrounding on board the wreck?«

  »Does it really matter now? Thanks to your egomaniacal assessment, we are now all trapped here, with no chance of rescue or assistance. Perhaps, the Guardian of the Continuum keeps us here forever in this suspended position, before he finishes us off,« Dorothea hissed at Fosset. »Someone needs to explain to me, why he presented himself to me as my late father.«

  »Wait!« Welf Rouven shouted. »To me, the Guardian gave the impression as if he were my deceased sister. Marie had been killed in an accident seven years ago!«

  »Obviously, everyone has perceived this being in different but very personal ways. A crazy story,« commented Chambers.

  »All illusions, lies and deceit!« Gamze Acun shouted energetically and fished a handkerchief from a side pocket. »The Guardian wants to intimidate us, deceive us or grab our emotions for his game. I bet that there’s no real lava beneath our feet. Somehow, we’re being manipulated, only to intimidate us.«

  Slowly, the handkerchief sailed down while everybody was watching intently. Even before the direct contact with the glowing ground, the handkerchief caught fire and eventually vaporized with a brief hiss.

  »Really, a very realistic illusion,« Welf Rouven commented sardonically.

  »Did everybody understand what this monster wants to do?« Fosset asked mutedly.

  »Our scientific knowledge is just enough to understand what this guy intends to do,« Chambers replied bitterly. »The only question is what drives the Guardian to such an act of madness?«

  »Eye for eye, he said,« Fosset whispered. »It could be interpreted in such a way that we must have done something to his people. So, he’s looking for revenge in a similar way. But how is that possible?«

  »It’s a misunderstanding!« Welf Rouven shouted again. »What else could it be? The Guardian came out in the wrong solar system, and now, we have to pay for it. Humanity has contact to other civilizations only for a short time! What was it that we could have done?«

  Suddenly, a hissing column of smoke appeared before the prisoners. Then, a glowing, slowly rotating sculpture grew out of the smoke, looking like a Greek god, carved from the lava. The sculpture was snow-white, became bigger and bigger and finally reached three meters in height. Glowing rock flowed around the legs of the statue, which suddenly opened its eyes, glaring at the prisoners. The figure’s eyes glowed and flashed fire, as the molten rock at its feet. When the sculpture began to speak, the prisoners were again confronted with the seriousness of the situation.

  It is refreshing to listen to you. This, I had been denied for many years.

  We’re aware that we are being listened to, Fosset replied dispassionately in his mind.

  The antique-looking sculpture changed back to Fosset’s mother. Her message resonated painfully in Fosset’s head, followed by several mental echoes.

  But my boy, I don’t care about your small talk. These are your feelings and fears, your self-preservation instincts, your slowly rising fears of death which are overpowering you more and more, the longer you wait in my dungeon on your death. There are your grave doubts, your nagging remorse that you brought your friends here, but also the hope of salvation, which will never be fulfilled. How incredibly satisfying and electrifying it will be when I receive these mental outcrys of billions of beings of your species, shortly after your sun exploded.

  You’re crazy and completely insane, replied Fosset and closed his eyes. He no longer wanted to see the Guardian in the form of his mother. We’re Human beings and have feelings; we don’t need to be ashamed of it. Come to the point and decide what you want to do with us.

  The voice in Fosset’s head remained hard and unforgiving.

  I have decided to throw you into your sun, together with the Original Spark. You will return to where you came from and from which you were formed – stardust!

  »But only in your wildest dreams, Guardian!« a loud and confident voice sounded.

  Surprised, Fosset opened his eyes and saw how, at first, a very thin, brightly flashing gap materialized in space, then widened, looking like an open door, from which the light flooded into a dark room. A shadow became visible, and a split second later, a man stepped through a door, looking up to the prisoners.

  He wears a silver suit, stands in the fire and seems to be totally calm, Fosset thought speechless.

  The Guardian of the Continuum froze after hearing the words of the unexpected visitor. He didn’t dare to move. His contours blurred, and his appearance was no longer recognizable.

  He hides behind a protective field, thought Fosset stunned.

  »Don’t be afraid,« the soothing and gentle voice of the unknown man sounded again. »He can’t harm you. I’m protecting you.«

  Fosset was flabbergasted.

  Who is that man and where does he come from? he thought perplexed.

  The far reaching lake of molten lava suddenly began to boil. Everywhere hot gas bubbles rose to the surface. Fosset held his breath, as, from the lava lake, the Guardian’s robot army appeared. The young man, with a dark complexion and curly hair, didn’t seem to be worried. He paid no attention to the Guardian either, but just lowered his eyes.

  It flashed brightly in the ranks of the octopus robots. In a rapid staccato of light flashes, the army disappeared so impressively and quickly as they had appeared.

  You’re the one! the Guardian’s enraged and hateful mental cry threatened to burst Fosset’s head.

  The Guardian had decided to attack and raced toward the young man, who, after a wink of his eyes, appeared right behind him while flinging a swarm of small metallic objects into the Guardian’s protective field. The Guardian’s field flashed brightly when the objects hit it.

  The prisoners followed the fight with burning eyes.

  These projectiles came right from his fingertips! thought Fossett amazed. What’s going on here?

  The Guardian’s responded immediately. A bright green energy beam shot from the re-stabilized defense field and hit an invisible aura, which enveloped the man’s body. The man didn’t even sway and reflected the beam at an acute angle, directly into the lava. The energy beam penetrated the lava and seemed to have hit an important aggregate which exploded violently, leading to subsequent eruptions. The environment changed suddenly, and the lava sea froze before Fosset’s eyes. Rising gas bubbles came to a standstill, suspended in the air above the glowing surface as if someone had stopped time as in a movie.

  On this time-frozen lava lake, two beings wrestled and collided head-on. The two completely different protective fields lit up when they touched each other. The unknown man’s defensive system tried to neutralize the Guardian’s system and vice versa.

  Stalemate! Neither of them can win, thought Fosset nervously.

  From the fingers, between the hair and out of the man’s chest, tentacle-like metallic appendages grew, grabbed the Guardian and drilled themselves into his protective field. A lightning storm was unleashed above the two fighters, filling the room with ghostly shadows. Fosset closed his blinded eyes. Suddenly, a plasma beam flashed fro
m the prisoners’ location and hit the Guardian in the back.

  They didn’t take away Chambers’ plasma gun, or he carries a second weapon, they didn’t find, Fosset thought.

  »Chambers!« Fosset yelled in horror, but couldn’t prevent Chambers to aim at the Guardian again. When the Guardian turned around to the prisoners, the unknown helper took the favorable moment and spread his arms. The Guardian froze in the middle of the body rotation. At the same time, Fosset felt the sensation of falling and prepared himself for the impact. The energetic shackles had disappeared, but the fall was slowed down gently. The group landed softly on the ground.

  Chambers aimed again, but the stranger shook his head.

  »I have frozen the time! We have four minutes to leave this place, then the time-stasis becomes unstable, and the Guardian will react. We disappear, and the spook is over!«

  Again an energy curtain opened, and the stranger demanded that Fosset and his companions hurry up.

  »Through there?« Dorothea shouted horrified and pointed at the energy window.

  »Please,« the stranger murmured and smiled at her.

  »Go now!« Fosset shouted and pushed his group forward. Before Fosset stepped through the energy window, he turned around and asked, »What about you?«

  »I still need to do something and catch up with you later,« the man replied calmly.

  »What’s your name?« Fosset wanted to know.

  »My name is Hassan,« replied the stranger. »Hassan Khalil.«

  Cosmic lightning

  They stumbled through the energy gate and looked into the flashing muzzles of numerous plasma weapons. Before Gamze Acun got used to the light conditions, she heard an excited shout, »Lower your arms and secure them! These are our people!«

  Fosset’s team had come out directly inside the command central of the Solar Pride and was met by the alarmed and apparently surprised ship security detail.

  Fosset was the last one to arrive. It only took him a second to assess the situation.

  »On your stations! Start immediately! Full reverse thrust! Escape course!«