Nemesis

by Christian Kallias

  “I sure could use it,” admitted Chris.

  “As soon as we’ve seen what this dragon is and wants, we’ll all go into tanks. But I just want you both to know that I’m glad you guys are here.”

  Argos nodded, but Chris stayed silent, his arms crossed against his chest, mimicking his uncle’s favorite posture.

  While they all longed for a regen tank, they needed to see what the dragon would do and if it could establish contact.

  The dragon flew right in front of the nose of the ship and peered in at them.

  Thank you, said Chase telepathically, hoping the creature would understand him.

  Telepathic communication transcended languages, and Chase had long suspected that whenever he did engage with a race that spoke another language, his brain would translate on the fly, like a universal translator.

  You’re welcome.

  We owe you our lives. Is there anything we can do to thank you for your help?

  As a matter of fact…Would you mind if I came aboard?

  Chase looked right and left as if to size up the dimensions of the bridge, which wasn’t even a fraction of the creature’s wingspan.

  I’m afraid I don’t think we have a room big enough for you to get in. You’re nearly as large as our ship.

  This is not my only form.

  Before Chase could ask what the creature meant by that, the dragon began shrinking, and as it did, it morphed into a more humanoid shape with wings.

  “What the hell is going on?” asked Daniel.

  “Get ready to receive this…being,” said Chase when he couldn’t put a label on what it was he was looking at. “He’ll be our guest, at least until we hear what he has to say.”

  “He?” asked Chris.

  “His voice sure sounds male.”

  From the looks on both Argos’ and Chris’ faces, Chase surmised that he had been the only one who heard the dragon’s telepathic conversation.

  “Sorry,” Chase added. “He asked me if he could come aboard, and from his voice, I think he’s a male. That is if their species have gender.”

  The dragon shrank all the way to humanoid size, a large figure still, slightly bigger than a Droxian, Chase estimated. His wings shrunk as well and folded behind him. The scaly skin slightly changed color: from the pitch black of the dragon to a dark shade of gray. The crystals he had in full dragon form had morphed inside his body and were no longer visible. He had deep-blue shining eyes.

  “Should we beam him inside?” asked Daniel.

  “I’m not sure, I’ll ask him.”

  But before Chase could ask the question, the dragon had disappeared from space.

  “That won’t be necessary,” said the dragon from the other side of the bridge.

  Everyone turned, shocked and surprised.

  The dragon walked down the small ramp to the center of the room. He stopped near Daniel and bowed.

  “Thank you for allowing me on board, Captain.”

  Daniel blinked a few times, still trying to understand what happened and not sure what to say.

  “I—I’m not the captain of this ship. And…you’re welcome, I guess.”

  “Who’s the commanding officer, then?”

  Daniel, his fingers slightly shaking, pointed toward Chase. “He is.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Chase could tell Daniel was as dumbfounded as they all were with the dragon’s manners. There was something about such an imposing being displaying such humanlike courtesy that was surprising and felt out of place.

  When Chase walked toward the dragon and reached out, he noticed the dragon was squinting intensely, and his eyes were watery.

  “Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

  “My kind is sensitive to strong light, especially the synthetic kind. It’s quite uncomfortable at the moment. I can barely see you.”

  “I’m sorry. Let me take care of that for you.”

  Chase mentally reached the computer and lowered the artificial lights to a candlelight-like dimness.

  “Is that any better?” he said as he extended a hand of friendship.

  The dragon blinked multiple times while his pupils adjusted to the light. Then his expression changed radically, and before Chase knew it, the dragon took a knee and lowered his head.

  “Forgive me, Master Dragonheart.”

  “Dragonheart?” echoed Argos.

  “Master?” Chris said, dumbfounded.

  Rain was a rare occurrence on Asgard, especially during this time of the year. But it had been heavily raining ever since Odin had been killed. As if the planet itself was mourning the loss of her king.

  She was not the only one. The entire Asgardian population was shocked over the announcement about Odin, who had lived and reigned for so many millennia.

  The streets of Asgard City were filled with mourning people attending their king’s funeral. Atop the center spire in the middle of the city shone a capsule containing Odin’s remains. Bells resounded throughout the planet as it rose slowly upward.

  The capsule was glowing gold as translucent rings of yellow light pulsed skyward.

  Thor, like everybody else, was drenched as he watched his father rise to his place of eternal rest.

  “I can’t believe he’s gone,” sobbed Loki by his side.

  “Not now, Loki, it’s disrespectful to talk during the ceremony, you know that.”

  As the capsule reached the halfway point between the surface and the top of the planet’s atmosphere, thirty royal guards brandished their lances to the heavens and fired green plasma bolts.

  After a few minutes, the capsule reached its destination over the planet. It ignited and dispersed the king’s ashes into space.

  As the light died off, the Asgardian royal guards shot one last farewell salvo of green fire toward the heavens.

  A massive holo-projection of Odin’s bust took shape in the sky. It would stay there for an entire month as the people of Asgard mourned, at which point, another ceremony would take place, the one where Thor would officially be crowned the new King of Asgard.

  Onboard the Prometheus, and throughout the ship, lights flickered madly before the engines turned off and the emergency lighting kicked in. The soft blue illumination gave the ship’s corridors a peaceful glow.

  Athena’s old ship, also called Prometheus had been badly damaged during the Fury War. Thanks to the Alliance sharing the new tech it had developed from the merging of various races systems, the new iteration of this ship had received the latest and most innovative technologies. It didn’t bode well that there would be a power failure so early in its deployment and barely a couple of weeks after its maiden voyage.

  Athena was in her quarters when she felt the engines die.

  “Athena to the bridge. Status report?”

  But there was no answer. Perhaps the power fluctuations having caused the engines to shut down had affected other systems. She tried hailing engineering next with similar results.

  “I miss my old ship,” she said with a long sigh.

  She reached out with her mind. Poseidon, any idea what’s going on?

  I’m not sure. Almost every system suddenly turned itself off. I’m heading to engineering. I’ll report back to you when I know more.

  Athena’s quarters were on the same deck, and something told her to also head to engineering.

  I’ll meet you there.

  Understood.

  It took less than a minute for Athena to reach engineering, and immediately upon arrival, she knew something was wrong as she heard crewmen screaming in agony from the other side of the sliding doors.

  She rushed inside and saw the creature standing in the center of the room, holding one of her engineers by the neck.

  “Let him go at once!” she commanded.

  The Spectre turned around and established eye contact with Athena. “As you wish,” said the Spectre, the corner of his mouth curling into a wicked smile as he crushed the windpipe of his prey. He then opened hi
s hand and let the dead Olympian crumple to the floor, joining several other dead engineers scattered around him.

  Athena didn’t personally know the man the creature had killed, but rage filled her soul, nonetheless. Her kind had been nearly wiped out by Arakan and the Furies, and only a few thousand Olympians survived. Every death brought the entire race a little closer to extinction.

  Athena aimed an open palm at the Spectre as her blue aura engulfed her, shining brightly and sending her beautiful blonde hair whirling up into the air. In a swift move, she created a bright-blue fireball and fired at the Spectre.

  He faced her without trying to dodge her attack, and the fireball impacted with his torso. The fireball fizzled against the creature’s thick black skin.

  “That tickles. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that again.”

  Athena’s heartbeat accelerated. “What the hell are you, and what are you doing on my ship?”

  17

  Loki almost didn’t pick up the incoming subspace call. He knew who was on the other side of the call, and he had no desire to talk to the monster that had killed his father.

  “What the fuck do you want? I gave you everything you asked for, and as a thank you you’ve killed my father!”

  “I suggest you change your tone, Loki. You’re obviously grieving, so I’ll let this one pass. But don’t make the mistake to think I’ll tolerate being spoken to in this fashion in the future,” said Asrak’Vor.

  Loki’s anger boiled to the surface of his psyche, and it took considerable self-control to lower his outrage and not lash out further.

  Loki took a deep breath. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Better…I did not intend to kill your father, but he erupted into the throne room like a volcano and left me no other choice. I gave him plenty of opportunities to stay alive, but he refused them all.”

  That didn’t surprise Loki. Odin had always been a proud Asgardian, fearing no one, even foes more powerful than him. In this case, that pride had cost him his life.

  “And I wish I could rip your head off, but in the spirit of future cooperation, I will take your words as a half-hearted apology.”

  Asrak’Vor smiled. “Not exactly the sentiment I was going for, but because your father’s soul has strengthened my abilities quite a bit, I’m willing to meet you halfway. So if it makes you feel better about it, so be it.”

  To say that this was the last thing Loki wanted to hear was an understatement of massive proportions. He’d never wished his father to be killed. To protect their world, Loki had accepted the Spectre’s deal, which also included protecting his father. But Loki knew very well that it was his inattention that brought the King of Asgard to the throne room in the middle of the night. It was an equal split for Loki between hating the Spectre and hating himself.

  Even though it would be easier to hate someone else and deflect the blame and focus his anger onto Asrak’Vor, Loki knew better. His carelessness was at the root of the tragedy, and he would have to live with it for the rest of his life.

  “I’m not sure what you are expecting me to say or do.”

  “I’m not expecting you to do anything. I just called to say that I’m pleased with our transaction and hope we can cooperate again in the future if need be.”

  In your dreams. If you ever set foot on Asgard, I’ll fucking kill you myself.

  However, Loki once more bit his tongue and nodded instead.

  “Oh,” Asrak’Vor continued, “and thank you for the Asgardian ship you provided us; your men are good at following orders. I feared they wouldn’t respond well to my authority, but I’m glad to see they’re as loyal as you said they would be.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, if you don’t mind, I have plenty of things to do.”

  Loki didn’t wait for the Spectre to answer and ended the holo-transmission. He then shot a fireball at the holo-terminal, projecting sparks and molten metal all around him.

  Loki’s eyes watered and turned red from the inner rage rousing his soul.

  The Dragonman’s words echoed inside Chase’s head—Master Dragonheart. The Atlantian ship, Dragos, had also called him Dragonheart. Was it a coincidence or was there a link?

  “Please rise, there is no need for that,” Chase said.

  The Dragonman rose but kept his eyes downcast.

  “Why did you take a knee?”

  “You’re him. You are Dragonheart. My people have been waiting for your return. I never expected to find you on this ship, though I now understand why I felt compelled to drive the hydra away. Destiny wanted me to find you today.”

  “I don’t know who you think I am, but I think you’re mistaken. I’m a Fury Olympian hybrid, and my name is Chase.”

  The Dragonman shook his head. “No mistake, you are who I believe you to be. Finding you is a godsend, and as the prophecy foretold, you arrived in a great time of need, as we certainly could use your help.”

  “Who’s we?” asked Argos coldly.

  “Forgive me, I should have introduced myself. I am Ka’Rij. One of the last remaining Dragonmen of Kyria.”

  The name Kyria struck a chord with Chase. He recognized the name from the Kyrian snake venom he once used, the same substance Argos had been highly addicted to.

  “Why do you think we can help?” asked Chase.

  “The planet where we sought refuge after Kyria was destroyed is under attack. The prophecy states that Dragonheart would return in our hour of need and help us defeat the enemy.”

  “That’s all well and good,” said Chris, “but it seems to me you’re way more powerful than we are, so how can we help you?”

  Ka’Rij looked at the boy. “The defiant one. It’s an honor to meet you as well.”

  “I don’t know what you think you know about me, but my name is Chris.”

  “I did not mean any disrespect, young master Chris.”

  “Stop that, we don’t call each other master around here.”

  “Very well. To answer your question, we Dragonmen can only transform into full-blown dragons in space. There’s something in our world’s atmosphere that prevents us from taking this form, which is when we’re most powerful. We still have powers in our humanoid form, but without the right conditions, they’re limited.”

  “I don’t suppose you can take the fight into space then?” asked Argos.

  Ka’Rij shook his head. “The enemy figured out our weakness, and ever since, we’ve been losing the war. One on one we’re stronger than they are, but they do have strength in vastly higher numbers. Many of my fellow soldiers have perished already. It’s only a matter of time before the last of my people are killed. I can’t let that happen.”

  “I see,” said Chase. “Do you know why the hydra attacked us?”

  “That surprised me as well. Hydras aren’t inherently aggressive.”

  “That makes us feel so special,” said Argos without even trying to hide his sarcasm. “This one certainly seemed intent on killing us, and by any means necessary.”

  “Yes, I sensed that,” answered Ka’Rij. “It acted as if killing you was a matter of life and death. It’s the first time I’ve seen a hydra so determined to kill. As I said, it’s usually not in their nature.”

  Chase wondered why that was. He had tried to calm the creature by connecting to its mind, but it was enraged beyond anything he had ever sensed and reminded him of the few times he had lost control of his emotions. Like when he fought his brother on Damocles-3 or the state of pure rage he entered before killing Tanak’Vor.

  “Well, hopefully, we’ve not made an enemy of their kind,” said Chase absently.

  “There are very few hydras left. Perhaps that was the reason for this one’s aggression. It may have been protecting its nest,” said Ka’Rij.

  Could we have jumped right in the middle of the creature’s nest?

  That would certainly explain its reaction to their presence. Trying to defend unborn children would warrant such aggressiveness.

  Ka’Rij
interrupted Chase’s train of thought.

  “So, will you help us?”

  “We were actually on a mission of our own,” said Chase.

  When sadness filled the Dragonman’s eyes, Chase knew he couldn’t dismiss this request from the being who just saved all their lives.

  “However,” said Chase, “maybe we can help one another.”

  “How so?”

  “Do you know of any powerful healing methods that could bring the near-dead back to life? Without going into too much detail, my wife was mortally wounded and is now in stasis. While Furies can heal others, we seem powerless against what ails her. That’s why we’re here, searching for a potential cure.”

  Ka’Rij smiled. “Then we were really destined to meet. Tears of the Dragonmen have incredible healing capabilities. I’ll gladly try to heal your wife myself if you’re willing to help me and my people.”

  This moment reminded Chase of his first mission with Sarah. They had aided Ryonna, someone they didn’t know they could trust, but a deep bond and friendship were established, and together they fought many battles.

  “Then we have a deal. We’ll do everything we can to help you, but you’ll need to guide us in this part of space, I’m afraid we don’t even have a starmap of the area.”

  “Not a problem, my world isn’t very far from here.”

  Nyx stopped in front of a large door and froze.

  “What is it?” asked a bodiless Ares. It made little sense for him to keep his energy form where he was sticking out like a sore thumb.

  “Shut up, Ares. I’m trying to concentrate…I’m pretty sure there’s a terminal behind there, but I’m sensing at least two arachnoids. I can dispatch them quickly as I’m not sensing any warrior-class energy emanating from them.”

  “I believe you can, but our last encounter nearly resulted in catastrophe, so perhaps we should consider stealth. I question whether you can dispatch them both without one of them managing calling for reinforcements first.”

  “Watch me,” she smirked as she prepared to walk through the door.