by Lucas Flint
“Cadet Calvin Cluster, uh, sir,” said Bolt, standing straight and saluting Commander Nova. “At your service.”
Commander Nova eyed Bolt carefully as if he wasn’t entirely sure he believed that Bolt was who he said he was. “Interesting. Were you two just having a meeting with Chief Aster?”
“We were,” said Captain Galaxy, “but—”
“Let me guess,” Commander Nova interrupted, “you two suspect Aster of being the traitor, right?”
Both Bolt and Captain Galaxy started when Commander Nova said that. Captain Galaxy nearly knocked over the laptop, while Bolt just stumbled into the chair, which he grabbed to steady himself.
“What?” said Captain Galaxy, her face paler than usual. “We didn’t say Chief Aster was the traitor. Why would you think we’d think—”
“Because I suspect the same thing,” said Commander Nova. “And no need to keep lying to me about what you are doing. We can speak frankly and openly here, at least until Aster gets back.”
Captain Galaxy visibly relaxed. “Oh, okay, Commander. I was worried for a second there that you might be on Aster’s side because you were one of the Commanders who voted for him.”
“Actually, I didn’t vote for him,” Commander Nova corrected. “But you are wise to be wary of me nonetheless. It is hard to know who you can and cannot trust here, especially given the evidence that suggests that Aster may not be on our side.”
“I know, sir,” said Captain Galaxy. “Why did you come here anyway, if I may ask?”
“To speak with Aster regarding the number of men we lost in the battle with the Darzens earlier,” said Commander Nova. His eyes shifted over to Bolt. “I take it that you aren’t actually a Cadet, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” said Bolt, also relaxing. “I’m actually Kevin Jason or, as I prefer to be called, Bolt. I’m a superhero from another universe and I’m trying to stop the Dread God.”
Commander Nova raised an eyebrow. “First Space brought a native out of his universe and now Galaxy as well? You two are lucky we have more important things to worry about at the moment than agents who break that rule.”
“You aren’t going to punish me for it?” said Captain Galaxy.
Commander Nova shook his head. “No, of course not. As I said, we have more important things to worry about currently, such as exposing Aster’s treachery to the rest of the Agency. I’m still not entirely sure what Aster is trying to do, but given how he is obviously allied with the Dread God, it cannot be any good. It is good to know that I am not the only one to suspect him of betraying the Agency.”
There was something off about the way Commander Nova spoke that seemed strangely familiar to Bolt. Commander Nova’s green eyes also seemed fairly familiar, but for the life of him, Bolt could not remember where he might have heard Commander Nova’s way of speaking before. It was probably not worth worrying about, though it nagged Bolt anyway.
“Have you discovered any evidence of Aster’s betrayal yet?” said Commander Nova, addressing Captain Galaxy.
“No, sir,” said Captain Galaxy, glancing at the laptop before her. “I’m still downloading his files and haven’t checked any of them yet. Almost done.”
“Good job,” said Commander Nova. “Once you finish downloading those files, could you send them to me as well? I have an analyst on board my ship, the Terra, who could easily go through the files and find anything incriminating for us. She’s very quick and intelligent.”
“Sure,” said Captain Galaxy. “Really, Commander, you don’t know how much of a relief it is to know that we can trust you. Space and I really thought we were on our own for a while there and felt like we couldn’t trust anyone in the Agency.”
“Yes, Aster is very good at casting such illusions,” said Commander Nova, nodding. “Aster has taken measures to ensure that no one can speak about him behind his back. It’s a common tactic of manipulators. Gaslight dissidents into believing that they are alone even when they make up a clear majority.”
“Yeah,” said Bolt, nodding. “I wonder if that’s how the Dread God controls his worshipers. How many of those Darzens do you think actually worship him because they believe in him and how many worship him because they are afraid of what would happen if they don’t?”
Commander Nova paused and looked at Bolt with a strange look in his eyes. “Why would you think about such a thing, young man? The Darzens are very monolithic in their worship of the Dread God. Are you suggesting we should try to reach out toward them?”
Bolt shook his head quickly. “No, not at all. I don’t really think that any of the Darzens can be reasoned with. It was just a thought that crossed my mind. That’s all.”
Commander Nova adjusted the collar of his costume, an irritated look on his face. “Well, it’s a pointless thing to even think about. The Darzens have worshiped the Dread God for millions of years. Even if there are any unbelievers among them, they are probably an irrelevant minority who wouldn’t help us even if we somehow contacted them. The Darzens are known for their hostility toward outsiders, which isn’t even fueled by their religion.”
“It’s not?” said Bolt, frowning. “I thought the Darzens hated outsiders because the Dread God told them to.”
“That’s partially it, but not entirely,” said Commander Nova. “You see, the Darzens believe that they are superior to every other species out there. Everywhere they’ve conquered, they’ve always set up a caste system with themselves on top and the conquered people on the bottom. The Dread God doesn’t really care how they organize conquered societies so long as they are forced to worship and praise him.”
“Huh,” said Bolt. “I didn’t know that. You seem awfully knowledgeable about the Darzens.”
“I simply believe in the old proverb, ‘Know your enemy,’” said Commander Nova simply. “Therefore, I’ve taken it upon myself to study the Darzen people and how they think and what they believe. I’m very good at it.”
“No, you aren’t.”
Bolt looked over his shoulder to see Captain Galaxy looking up at Commander Nova. But now she was looking at Commander Nova with a mixture of distrust and skepticism, which Bolt found odd, given how not even two minutes earlier she had treated the Commander like a good ally.
“Excuse me?” said Commander Nova, a hint of confusion in his voice. “Did you just accuse me of not being very good at research?”
“Yeah, I did,” said Captain Galaxy, nodding. “Everyone knows that Commander Nathan Nova hates research and doesn’t like doing it himself even when he has to. Commander Nova has the biggest and most well-paid research staff out of any of the Commanders because he hates doing it himself that much.”
“I believe you are misinformed, Captain,” said Commander Nova. “Perhaps you heard too many rumors that Commander Meteor spread about me. Besides, even if I normally dislike research, I can’t afford to let my own personal dislikes get in the way of doing what is necessary to win this war.”
“I didn’t hear any rumors from anyone,” said Captain Galaxy. She pointed at him. “You told me so yourself repeatedly over the years, especially when I was a Cadet on your ship and you were my Captain. It was one of your most distinguishing features to the point where other Cadets and Captains made jokes about it.”
A visible sweat line began to appear on Commander Nova’s forehead, which he wiped away with the sleeve of his shirt. “I—”
“And the real Commander Nova always wipes his sweat off with a handkerchief,” said Captain Galaxy. “Not the sleeve of his shirt like you just did, because the real Commander Nova didn’t think it was very professional to wipe your face with your own clothing.”
“Real Commander Nova?” Bolt repeated. “Galaxy, are you saying that this guy isn’t Commander Nova?”
“All I’m saying is that I’ve noticed some rather suspicious behavior coming from this guy who claims to be Commander Nova,” said Captain Galaxy. Her eyes narrowed. “And don’t try to lie to me or Bolt. Otherwise, things will g
et very violent very quickly.”
Commander Nova was silent for what seemed like an eternity, his eyes darting back and forth as if he was attempting to find a way to escape. But then, without warning, Commander Nova started clapping.
“Good job, good job,” said Commander Nova. His voice had a distinct distortion to it that stirred memories in the back of Bolt’s head, though he still couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before. “I underestimated your intelligence, female human. I thought that possessing the body of one of your Commanders would be enough to fool you, but it appears I didn’t mimic the habits of this human as well as I could have.”
Now Bolt suddenly remembered where he had heard the odd distortion in Commander Nova’s voice. It had come from his own mouth not too long ago, when a Darzen soldier had possessed him back in his universe, and it was just as disturbing to hear coming from Commander Nova’s mouth as it had been to hear it come from his.
“You’re a Darzen,” said Bolt, pointing at Commander Nova. “Aren’t you?”
Commander Nova stopped clapping. “Yes, I am. I have simply abandoned my real body in favor of possessing this one. You know how that all works, given how you suffered from it yourself not too long ago.”
“And you recognize me, even though I haven’t seen you before,” said Bolt.
Commander Nova—or the Darzen—smiled. “Every Darzen shares its memories with all of the other Darzens when they die. We’re not quite a hive mind like the Pokacu—the Dread God has blessed us with more individuality than that—but this does give us a certain advantage over other peoples because it means we can learn from the mistakes of our fellow Darzens much quicker than most species can.”
“And you are the one who killed Chief Nebula, too, aren’t you?” said Captain Galaxy. She was visibly shaking with anger now. “You monster.”
Nova ran his hands down his body. “Not in this body, I assure you, but rather in the body of a Cadet who had been left behind due to his lack of experience in interdimensional warfare. That Cadet is dead now, but his body proved useful in gaining access to Nebula’s office and murdering her while everyone was distracted.”
“Why did you take over Nova’s body?” said Bolt. “Why not go back to Jinkopa or wherever you’re from?”
“Because I am still following the Dread Priest’s orders,” said Nova. “The IEA poses no real threat to the Dread God’s plans, but they are still a thorn in the side of my people and therefore must be destroyed from within. I have even made sure to direct all suspicion to Chief Aster, even though Aster is as loyal to your Agency as anyone else.”
Bolt smirked. “Should have thought this through a bit more before you revealed yourself to us. It won’t take us long to reveal your true identity to everyone. Then your little plan to undermine the IEA from within will fail.”
Nova’s smile became even more chilling. “Now it is your turn to underestimate me. You see, I didn’t come here to speak with Aster. I came here to let him know that the Agency’s days are numbered. Or perhaps I should say, it’s minutes are numbered.”
Nova raised his right arm. On the touch screen built into the forearm of his suit was a timer which displayed the digits ‘10:00,’ which Bolt did not understand until the timer began counting down rapidly.
“In ten minutes,” said Nova calmly, “no more, no less … the shields around the HQ will drop and all of the airlocks will open and every single living creature on this station will die.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Men!” Chief Aster snapped at his bodyguards. “We’re heading back to my office! Now!”
“Can we come with?” said Beams. “Some of our friends are with Galaxy in the office and we wanted to make sure they’re okay, too.”
“Fine,” said Chief Aster. “I still don’t like what you guys were doing to my ship, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment. Let’s go.”
Just as those words escaped Aster’s mouth, three dimensional portals suddenly exploded open before them. From out of the portals rushed a dozen Darzens, each one armed with swords, axes, and laser guns. Aster’s bodyguards immediately took aim at the rampaging Darzens, but they were quickly mobbed by the Darzen soldiers, who tore them apart like wild hyenas on a boar.
Aster, on the other hand, backed away from the Darzens as fast as he could, along with Beams, Mr. Space, Hypno, and Sparky. But they stopped against the database of the Odyssey, leaving them with nowhere to run as they watched the Darzen soldiers rip Aster’s bodyguards to shreds.
“Darzens?” said Aster in disbelief. “Where did they come from?”
“They must be attacking HQ again,” said Mr. Space. “Or maybe trying to stop us from getting back to your office.”
“But why would they do that?” said Hypno. “What is so important about Aster’s office?”
Aster’s eyes widened. “Crap. My office also doubles as the main command center for HQ, including access to HQ’s main controls.”
“What’s so bad about that?” said Beams.
“That means that anyone who gets control of my office gets control of HQ,” Aster explained quickly. “And anyone who controls HQ can also control the air levels of the base.”
“Meaning that whoever controls your base can also decide who lives and who dies?” said Beams in horror.
“Exactly,” said Aster. “Which is why I need to get back to my office pronto. The traitor, whoever he is, must be planning to kill us all by gaining access to my office and opening the airlocks.”
“Do you think that Bolt and the others will be able to stop them?” said Beams hopefully.
“Maybe, maybe not,” said Aster. “Sure didn’t sound like they were having much luck on Galaxy’s phone call, did it?”
“Regardless, we need to get up there right away,” said Mr. Space. “Aster, can you open a portal back to your office?”
“I could, but you guys will need to distract those Darzens first,” said Aster, gesturing at the Darzens. “Keep them away from me so I can get away.”
“All right,” said Mr. Space. He looked at Beams. “Ready to kick some butt?”
Beams nodded. “Always.”
With the energy from his boost still flowing through him, Beams launched himself through the air toward the Darzen soldiers. The Darzens had finished tearing apart Aster’s bodyguards, but as Beams flew over them, he rained down several laser blasts upon them. The blasts didn’t hit too many of the Darzens, but it did make them scatter and run around in confusion, attempting to avoid being hit, which instantly made them less organized than before.
Landing softly on the floor, Beams saw two Darzens rushing toward him. One of them had an ax and the other had a sword, but both looking eager to kill him. He fired two lasers at the Darzens, but the ax-wielder deflected both lasers with the flat of his weapon and the sword-wielder jumped forward to slash him.
Beams jumped backward, just barely avoiding the sword-wielder’s blade. As he landed again, Beams fired off another laser blast, striking the sword-wield in the face and sending him stumbling past his ax-wielding friend, who rushed toward Beams and swung his ax as soon as he got close enough.
But Beams jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the ax head, and landed behind the ax-wielder. At the same time, however, the sword-wielder rushed forward, stabbing his sword at Beams.
There was no time for Beams to shoot back, but he did jump into the air again at the last second. The sword-wielder, who had been running toward Beams, accidentally stabbed his sword into the back of his ax-wielding friend, causing his essence to leak out. The ax-wielder roared in pain and spun around, perhaps instinctively, and slashed the chest of his sword-wielding friend, making his armor begin to leak as well.
“Beams!” Mr. Space suddenly shouted from across the room. “Catch!”
Mr. Space tossed Beams a small disk, which Beams caught and looked at.
“What is this?” said Beams.
“Toss it at the Darzens!” Mr. Space shouted.
He ducked, avoiding a blow from a Darzen he was fighting. “You’ll see!”
Uncertain about the disk, Beams nonetheless tossed it at the two Darzens. The disk landed between them, and as soon as it did, a green barrier suddenly expanded from the disk and covered both of the Darzens. The two soldiers looked around in confusion for a moment before they started screaming in pain, dropping their weapons and falling to their knees, which was when Beams noticed that their energy forms leaking out of their armor were being disintegrated by the energy barrier.
In less than a second, both of the Darzens had stopped screaming and now lay on the floor of the cargo hold as still as corpses. The green barrier flickered and vanished, but Beams didn’t try to go near it, because whatever could kill two Darzens so easily like that had to be dangerous to humans, which made him briefly wonder why Mr. Space had been carrying one around at all.
Shaking his head, Beams looked back toward the rest of the battle. Mr. Space was fighting several Darzens at once, jumping and dodging their attacks, occasionally firing back with a sound blaster. Sparky was helping him, moving through the crowd of Darzens and punching and kicking them with what looked like electrified fists and feet. As for Hypno, he had apparently managed to hypnotize one of the Darzens into fighting its comrade, because he stood off to the side watching two Darzens fight each other with an amused grin on his face.
Aster hadn’t moved from where Beams had left him. He was busily tapping the touch screen on his arm, perhaps trying to open a dimensional portal back to his office. He was not paying attention to the fight at all from what Beams could tell, which was probably why he didn’t notice one of the Darzens break off from the main group and charge toward him with its ax raised over its head.
Alarmed, Beams leaped across the room and landed in between the charging Darzen and Aster. He lashed out with a kick, striking the Darzen in the chest, but the blow barely seemed to slow the Darzen down. The Darzen brought its ax down on Beams’ head, but Beams blasted the ax head with his lasers, shattering it into a million pieces. The Darzen grunted in surprise before Beams followed up with another blast to the chest, sending the Darzen staggering backward from the blow.
