Evolution's Essence

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  Marines were informed of the allowance of Oliver and those with him, but believed him to be an Elder Hunter and nothing more. So they didn’t try stopping them after the evacuation order sounded throughout the city to get all scientists and archeologists out of harm’s way.

  Aquerril said “Mistress Void has eliminated the threat from above and is slowly approaching. Master, the enemy is attempting to self destruct. In ninety two seconds his body will reach critical mass and exceed my internal defenses by seven hundred percent and destroy the stability of this world.”

  “I’m coming.” Oliver’s power spiked and he could not submit Stone and Steven to the inertia forces he was about to unleash. He ascended and Gathered an excess of power by opening the mental image of a lever and focusing the torrent into a telekinetic stream down both feet as if they were engines. A loud whirl came from the Liger Pride as their engines superheated the air to fly forth, leaving the Hunter’s behind. Oliver released the power down both feet and shot ahead fast as a bullet, aiming straight for the center of the city where stood the great citadel overlooking everything. He managed to catch up with the Pride with fire shooting out behind them. The chip calculated distance and time to impact was a mere four and a half seconds.

  “Hot damn! I never get used to how fast they can go.” Laughed Steven as he tried flying as fast as possible, unable to keep up.

  “We are faster and stronger than before. Get ready, Brother. This will not be easy and do not forget his Star-saber is poisoned.”

  “Haven’t forgot that. And Mrs. Void gave me an antidote if you get hit just in case.” The lancer said.

  Oliver cut the stream of energy propelling him over the great city and flipped over, creating a dense barrier as he collided through the wall of the castle on the same level as the AI core. Aquerril perfectly opened a hole in the barrier that was flipped inwards, through the walls to resist attack. Being water, his impact with the liquid wall made the hall explode with droplets as his mind felt out the lone creature being peppered by droplets that hit like bullets.

  “Knew this was your doing!” sneered a tall man with glowing black eyes behind a new ceramic mask. He was covered in an armor that looked more like snakeskin beneath new and shiny plate armor. Oliver’s momentum slowed and he landed solidly fifteen meters from the other. In his right hand was a sparkling white longsword and the other held a dagger like last time. The accumulated power for self-destruction vanished when noticing Oliver’s entrance created a gaping opening in the wall. “Thanks for the escape hole, Solarian. Let me show gratitude by finishing what I started last time and take your head to Father.”

  This time Oliver was ready and was too smart to taunt because the tactic was expected and calculated. Last time Oliver shattered the man’s leg with a kick, his denser and heavier bones shattering the human counterpart. And the man was afraid, that was clear. It became more pronounced as Ligers came pouring through the hole roaring and in their razor sharp spiked armor no less.

  The Corrupted man was a fast thinker too and raised a hand out of trained reflex at the incoming giant cats and attempted to blast them apart and it would have worked if not for Oliver sending his immense power through Nova who directed the Pride attacking in the hallway fifty meters wide and thrice as tall on the topmost level of this building. A visibly seen sphere surrounded the felines now running down the fleeing person. His own speed barely kept from being bitten by the swift Pride.

  Nova stayed back as Oliver blazed down the hall, his cape snapping as his speeds exceeded seventy kilometers an hour. The Pride moved away as if one mind as Oliver swung the blade and threw the shield forward.

  Caught by surprise from behind, the arm of the enemy holding the dagger was cut clean off as the shield forced the barrier-shielded man to the ground. Armor meant nothing to the cutlass who’s edge was sharp as a single atom. No matter how hard. Only psionic energy and a blade of similar origin stood a chance at blocking such a keen edge. Before Oliver could capitalize and cut off the other arm he was hit by a concussive Kinetic Blast and thrown over while the Ligers were thrown back. It didn’t cause injuries, but it gave time for the person to get up and yell. “Father! Get me out of here!”

  “Too bad so sad!” Steven replied as he surprised the attacker from above and smashed the flail down and shattered the barrier in millions of sparks. Stone exploded from the floor beneath right then, using the battleaxe to make a slicing wave and even managed to sever a leg while flying up through the floor, holstering the axe and initiating electricity through his armor to give the target the most shocking bear hug in existence.

  “Ahhh!!!” he yelled as the Hunter’s armor sent him into convulsions and Stone’s great strength locked tight, muscles straining to their limits. He tightened even further, breaking the lower spine with a satisfying crunch.

  Plan working, Oliver seemed to just appear such was his speed and he yelled as he brought the cutlass down to feel nary a sensation of resistance as he removed the right arm at the shoulder and followed the same motion to the remaining leg without endangering Stone. He moved as he sensed movement and easily evaded Steven’s spear piercing the Corrupted through the middle, missing Stone’s helmet by mere millimeters and funneled power to the spear. “Got ‘EM!”

  Stone jumped back, drawling the hatchets with a hole in their faces and readied for further attacks. Steven’s lance kept the electrical charge to a point where focus to use the Psionic arts was impossible. Oliver though hooked the shield back underneath his cape and willed the Valek to heat up, just like he tried when trying to see if raw beast was better cooked. It wasn’t, but the extreme heat allowed him to cauterize the four missing limbs as well as use a scanner built into the top of his left hand to scan and find the spear missed all major organ and arteries.

  “Ha! Shocked grub anybody?” Steven joked seriously.

  The Ligers’ surrounded them, Nova staying back as usual, in eleven feral mouths were spheres of condensed plasma in readying Kinetic Blasts if there was any more tricks.

  “This is for hurting my husband, Fucker!” Renee suddenly appeared and punched the spitted person fully in the face the moment they got close. The ceramic shattered and she grimaced as she landed on the balls of her feet. “Yep, infested and fucking ugly.” Said the hellcat. “Armor stays up. He’s got Keptl spores in his blood, Boys.”

  Without the mask hiding, the Corrupted One was grotesque to say the least. Wormlike bubbles under puckered and inflamed red skin moved unnaturally as Keptl blood cells began to corrupt anatomy. Spores create worms that take over the host and remake them in time. Usually infestation takes a week and this is the last stage before the host’s biology begins to reshape into another Keptl minion who is mindless and controllable.

  Realizing he had been bested, he planned to give them nothing. Even through the screaming pain electrocuting what remained of the body he managed to move his jaw enough to crack a back false tooth.

  Renee realized this the moment symptoms were different from what he was experiencing and acted fast. She smiled. “Nice try, Fucker! I’m getting what I want regardless of what you believe.” And raised her right arm to launch a black tendril from her bracelet. At the end was a sucker-like appendage from an octopi tentacle. It latched onto the middle of his hideous forehead and removed after a few moments before connecting to her own forehead, clean of any spores.

  Called brain-hacker, a Valek can download the memories of any sentient creature and transfer images and feelings. It cannot transfer consciousness, but Renee just downloaded everything from the subject who was already dead from a fast acting poison that kills in seconds. Seconds were more than enough to get information.

  Downside to the brain-hacker is it applies a lot of mental strain. Oliver electrified his sword to clean it, slid it in the sheath and managed to scoop her into his arms before she collapsed onto the bloodied floor. He moved her away as Steven let the dead body fall and slammed his heavy boot in the skull to make sure the job was fin
ished for good. It squished like a watermelon.

  Another kick was for Elder Scimitar.

  “Red?” Oliver whispered, laying her down. His hard helmet rippled and became malleable to retract into his suit. Golden mist seeped from his eyes that were worried. He hadn’t expected her to do it. He planned to take the memories.

  Eyes shifted fast under shadowed lids as she assimilated the information nanoseconds at a time. In a few more silent moments her eyes opened as Oliver pulled his energy back from the Pride and stored it in the device on his right arm. “Olly?” she whispered, sat up and shook her head. “Damn it. I hate the after effects.”

  “Mrs. Void, are you alright?”

  Green eyes let out mist the same color looked up at a blood soaked Stone as Satellite circled above. She gave an evil grin. “Oh yeah. That bastard had all the answers to our recent problems and now I got them. I couldn’t take the puzzle pieces from the cores, but I’ve hit the mother lode and we don’t have much time if you want to catch Chandler and the bitch responsible for screwing with Deegen’s head and signing his death warrant, both in bed together.”

  Though she couldn’t see it, she knew Stone was mighty fearsome behind the faceplate. So too was Steven who came up ready for more action, ready to get revenge on a Hunter brother and sister, Bell the wolf.

  “They are in on it, Mrs. Void?” Stone said with ice and danger in his voice.

  “Damn right. Olly, you better send word to the Elders for an armada of six hundred battle cruisers. A… a dreadnought I think the Creelin call such a ship. Chandler has made ten thousand more ‘Corrupt Ones’ just like him and the new corpse knew he planned to use them to kill all the Hunters after uncovering whatever secrets were in the puzzle we’re searching for. He’s got a private fortress and has been funding it without anyone knowing about it on a carrier class starship with weapons equal to fifty battleships. It is so damn big and heavy it takes sixteen days to ready FTL. Make the armada go to Zerika to amass the forces. It’s about five days FTL from it right now. Don’t waste a second, the ship rivals the Emperor’s ship in defense and exceeds firepower.”

  Aquerril appeared and said “Master, I have located the point of origin from transmission to the Corrupted One.”

  “Show me.” Beside the woman appeared a star chart Oliver instantly memorized it and zoomed in on a gigantic ship armed to the teeth.

  “That’s the ship!” Renee pointed from her memory.

  “Fuck me.” Steven whispered in dread.

  “Aside from a visual, Master, I cannot penetrate the interior. My long range visual scans cannot bypass a field I do not have the ability to circumvent.”

  “Thank you, Aquerril. You’ve done more than enough. Begin city repair, but remain on standby in event of another attack. Also please keep a constant visual and contact me for any relevant updates on that ship. Disengage the defensive protocols inside the city unless you pick up more Corrupted bio-signs.” She smiled and disappeared.

  Oliver stood and tapped his ear for the imbedded crystal for a long range communication. He kept his hand hiding a golden metal tooth than began to glow by the ear. With it, he had access to do this “Priority alert to all Hunters within ten days travel to Zerika. This is High Elder Void. There is a credible threat to all Hunters by President Chandler of Galicom. Right now he holds a powerful ship called a dreadnought in empty space five days FTL from Zerika that exceeds firepower in Emperor Coleson’s imperial destroyer. Commandeer all battle cruisers and immediately enter FTL for Zerika. The ship holds enemies capable enough to destroy and take over our order if we do not act now. Elder Scythe is ranking Elder on Zerika at present. He will assume temporary command. All Elders are commanded by me to arrive there for full council if you can make it in time or not. I repeat…” he did just that near word for word.

  All ships within the message under that criteria were rushed to answer the call as soon as it came to an end.

  One minute after word spread there came a call from the oldest living human Hunter. Grandest Vanishing Claw. “Brother Void, all Elders are listening to us at the moment. I’m on the imperial destroyer Gaia standing with the Emperor as we speak. Give me specifics right now of the situation, from the beginning for those not up to speed.”

  So began the account of private matters of the newly discovered lost cities to a silent audience all on the move or hurrying to a ship. He told of the ‘Corrupted One’ and the subsequent battle and of Elder Scimitar’s aid in saving him. He explained some of what he did here on Mereddia to set up a trap to block teleportation and contain him. Spoke of the most recent heated battle and Renee added her own accounts from what she learned using a brain-hack.

  Silence dominated for about a minute when a soft spoken male voice calmly joined the network of Elder Hunters. “Everyone, this is Emperor Coleson, first of all I wish to thank you for doing all this Mr. Oliver Void. And I agree your actions are justified. I ask you transmit an encrypted file on this grievous situation and add the visuals on what we face so a plan of action can be established. Since I believe you are our best hope to avoid bloodshed and seek justice, may I ask you use your gifts in the battle and make sure they cannot use their teleportation to leave. I’ve read you can do many things beyond our understanding. Can you prevent a field of sorts to make sure when we appear in normal space they cannot leave?”

  “Simple matter. I’ve already begun mental calculations to replicate the same effect here on the city over a broader range.”

  “Good. Good.” He sighed over the link. “Then I leave you in charge of readying the Hunters to stop a travesty before it can be unleashed. It is good Mrs. Void says the others like this assassin are still in growth chambers. Save what you can, but Chandler and the two women he’s mated to are to be detained and sit for an Elder’s Council and be publically executed so justice is made. Know this, my fleet is two days from Zerika and we will join the fight. My ship, Gaia, will face the enemy to take on the heaviest fire. I’ve recently had a shield upgrade to the Gaia before leaving Earth Chandler doesn’t know of. Short of a star exploding, my ship and fleet can take a heavy beating. We’ll meet soon, Solarian.”

  “Look forward to it. If you will excuse me, I’ve got a lot of work to do.” He canceled the call by tapping his ear again. “Well?”

  “My skills as medic will be needed.” Renee was adamant she’d go.

  “Like we’re going to miss out on the fun, but we’ve got to go back to finish up in the frostbitten city. The captain won’t like twiddling his thumbs.” Visor chirped, looking at the wall of water solidifying the earlier gap of Oliver’s grand entrance.

  “Yeah, and we need to make sure our daughter is taken care of for a couple days and Sparky is coming too.” Renee added on.

  “Okay. We’ll incinerate the mess to lift the quarantine, get cleaned, let the Marines secure the area again and head back. Let’s go freeze our asses off again. While you lot do that I’ll meet up with Marines I’m assuming Mrs. Void’s pilots from earlier are being detained and set up an armed detail to send them to Verard for torture and get additional details along the way.” Steven joked and added coldly. “I’ll execute the bastards involved in the conspiracy for Deegen and Bell. I really liked them… Oh, would you look at that.”

  Eyes turned to where the burly hunter pointed on the ground to watch the white longsword Star-saber begin to decompose before their very eyes into dust. Its bonds breaking apart with the death of the wielder. The incomplete Valek on the same armored arm likewise decomposed. Taking an opportunity Oliver scooped the remains into individual containers for further study.

  They then began doing exactly as planned and fixed things before leaving the atmosphere again to leave.

  Six hours after, the group returned to the frozen world and Oliver sent the Ligers to resume running a perimeter with their cubs. Before flying down the large tunnel made in a perfect circle he glanced up at the many moons he had to move away from the planet for safety reasons. Without alte
ring their orbit they were too close to the thin atmosphere and created a flash-freeze effect where the temperature got so cold so fast near all thermal energy is lost in a handful of seconds. The few Beasts who lived for millennia under such conditions were most definitely a robust species not to be underestimated.

  Armor returned to warm and furry for the Solarian duo and they led the way down back to the solid nano-wall, placed their hands on it. A soft blue silhouette responded to their touch to read their access and the wall rippled. They then stepped right in to be greeted by a pair. Breena and the captain who said “Welcome back, Lads. I’m glad to see ye all doing well with me own two eyes.”

  “Hi, Papa. It was rather fun finally getting valuable answers why we’ve had so much trouble since my idiot was found.”

  “Aye, Lass. Chandler has no chance now that his whole operation is now in yer pretty little head.” Jake chuckled. “While we go meet up with Andrea, Jessica and Jacob, I wish to hear what ye know.”

  Breena looked over her man’s form and nodded without her helmet on covering her youthful dark features. The city was indeed cold, but nowhere near that of temperatures outside the nano-wall. Stone first followed her example then the others mirrored it. Their breath frosting the air.

  “Papa, Chandler has been seeking revenge ever since he was expelled from the Hunter order over five centuries ago. The guy I hacked was called Subject Ten K. As in ten thousand. Chandler has been planning this the entire time. Trying to create a product to exceed the Hunters, kill them and sell the clones for hefty profits over security robots. Chandler mistakenly spoke with Ten K in confidence, believing the system that made the abomination be unable to expose his secrets.”