Nemesis

by Christian Kallias

  “Still, you’re both very resourceful, and the Earth Alliance could use you.”

  While Tar’Lock wouldn’t mind rejoining his commission, especially now with the looming danger of the Spectres abounding, he knew Talon would never go for it. He had too much hatred, however misplaced, toward the Alliance, and Tar’Lock was quite fond of his captain. Even more so after all they’d been through lately.

  “I doubt it’s in the cards.”

  “Well, the offer stands nonetheless.”

  Tar’Lock nodded. “Thanks.”

  They both quietly looked at the regen tank. After a few minutes, Altair broke the silence.

  “Do you mind if I ask how you’re doing, Tar’Lock? To be honest with you, I didn’t expect our paths to cross so soon after the anniversary reunion of our victory over the Furies.”

  “I didn’t either. And in such circumstances,” Tar’Lock said, his latest series of clicks sounding like a sad song.

  “I know how you feel. We thought we were safe now that the Furies are gone, and here we are, with another shadow threat hanging over our heads.” Altair sighed. “I had hoped we would have more time to prepare.”

  Tar’Lock’s eyes widened. “You knew this was coming?”

  “No, not really. But Chase told me he felt that the Spectres would eventually return. He didn’t think it made much sense for them to send Tanak’Vor in our dimension just to micromanage the Furies. They obviously had longer-term plans. Gods know what they are.”

  “We’ll probably know soon enough. If they used Arakan like a puppet to wipe us out of existence by controlling the Furies, it stands to reason that whatever plans they have for us must not be pretty.”

  “I’m sure they won’t be. Whatever they are, we can’t afford to let them achieve their goals,” said Altair.

  “I have no doubt we’ll fight them. At least you have a cohesive Alliance, finally working together instead of fighting among themselves. That has to count for something.”

  Altair looked straight inside Tar’Lock’s eyes.

  “Right?” insisted Tar’Lock.

  “Right,” said Altair with a slight nod before putting a hand on Tar’Lock’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Tar’Lock wondered how sincere Altair was being. While he had learned to respect the former Obsidian Emperor during the war, he had little to no doubts that Altair knew of his feelings for Ryonna.

  “Thanks to you,” said Tar’Lock. “It seems I owe you my life twice over now. At the very least.”

  “Let’s not keep a running tally, okay? That’s what friends are for.”

  Tar’Lock attempted a smile, but deep inside he really wondered if he could ever consider Altair a friend. His feelings for Ryonna were too strong for him to like the guy she was with now, no matter how much of a stand-up person Altair was, and honorable, too.

  Tar’Lock thoughts went to a place he knew he shouldn’t venture, but he couldn’t help it.

  “How’s Ryonna doing? Is she on board?”

  Altair twitched slightly. “No, she’s not. She’s been on Droxia. Some internal affairs to take care of.”

  “How does she like her ambassador position?”

  “I think she enjoys it very much.”

  Tar’Lock clicked. “That’s surprising.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Ryonna is the most badass warrior I know next to Chase. With courage the size of a planet and with enough power to snap both our necks with her fingers, if she wanted to. It’s just weird to think of her working behind a desk.“

  “Well, the war was over. She had to adjust as we all did.”

  “Looks like her warrior abilities might be needed once more in the near future. How does that make you feel?”

  Tar’Lock could sense that Altair didn’t want to answer this question and had to take a moment to formulate a response that would be neutral.

  “Ambassador Ryonna is free to choose her own path, I’ll support whatever she decides.”

  I bet you will. Not like she’ll need your permission, though.

  Tar’Lock wasn’t proud of how he handled this part of the conversation, but his heartache was simply too fresh. He knew deep down that he and Ryonna could never be anything else but friends, and though he still harbored some anger toward her for the death of his sister, he was still very much in love with the Droxian warrior.

  “Well…when you see her, say hi for me.”

  “Sure thing. Would you like to grab something to eat?”

  “I’d rather stay and be here when Talon steps out of the regen tank if that’s okay with you?”

  “Sure thing, Tar’Lock. I’m sure we’ll have other occasions to share a meal in the future. Let me know if you or Talon need anything, okay?”

  “Will do. Thanks again, Altair.”

  Altair nodded and walked away.

  After over two days of travel, the Iron Fire was only minutes away from entering Earth’s hyperspace. Chase and Daniel were alone on the bridge, and since Chase didn’t need a crew to fly the ship, they were sent to their quarters to rest after the eventful journey to the unknown regions.

  “I didn’t expect us to be back home so soon,” said Chase from his captain’s chair.

  “Me neither. But I have to admit it feels good. Not exactly a fan of flying space hydras. That thing is sure to give me nightmares for years to come.”

  Chase chuckled. “Ka’Rij said there are not that many flying around anymore. They’re a rare sighting, even in the unknown regions.”

  “That makes me feel sooo much better,” said Daniel sarcastically. “It’s not like shit tends to gravitate around us, right?”

  Chase smiled. “Fair point. At least we made new allies. That can’t be a bad thing, considering.”

  “Speaking of, it took me a while to assimilate Altair’s last holo-communication. I can’t believe the Spectres are back already.”

  “You and me both, bro.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “What else? What we always do. Fight them. Right now we know very little about their forces. It could just be a scout force or a remnant from the Fury War we weren’t aware of. After all, the soul ships destroyed the inter-dimensional device.”

  “Okay, thanks for the reassuring speech. Now please tell me what your gut is telling you.”

  “You sure you want to know?”

  Daniel stared at Chase for a few seconds that seemed to last for several minutes before nodding.

  “They’re coming. I feel it in my very bones.”

  “You’re right. I shouldn’t ask questions I don’t want to hear the answer to.”

  They both chuckled.

  “We’re about to exit hyperspace,” said Daniel.

  Chase got up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m gonna get Ka’Rij, Argos, and Chris to a shuttle.”

  “Chase?”

  “Yes?”

  “I hope with all my heart that Ka’Rij’s tears will cure Sarah. We all miss her.”

  “I know. Thanks, bro.”

  28

  Nyx couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Zarna stepping onto the bridge. The arachnoid female looked around and saw the multiple headless warriors scattered on the floor.

  “Where is my Spectre Master?” she inquired, her voice shaking.

  “I’m afraid he’s indisposed…permanently. But I’ll gladly send you to join him.”

  “You have no idea what you have done, Nyx.”

  “Oh, I know exactly what I’ve done. I’ve freed myself from your grasp and your nefarious plan to use my DNA to breed a hybrid.”

  Zarna’s face registered surprise, and Nyx could tell that Zarna didn’t expect her to know about this pet project.

  “It doesn’t matter, the hybrids are gone, and so will you be in a minute. If you have any last words, now’s the time.”

  “You just delayed the inevitable. Deep down I’m sure you know that. We w
ere right to bet on your DNA, you’re the first of your kind that managed to kill a Spectre.”

  “That’s not entirely true, Zarna. But I think you know that.”

  “Then let me rephrase: in this dimension.”

  “This dimension where your corpse can remain and decay for all eternity. I’m getting out of here.”

  “There’s no escape.”

  “We both know this ship is my ticket out of here. But you know what? Maybe I’ll return one day and burn you all to the ground.”

  “I don’t know how you managed to acquire all this information, but it doesn’t matter, you’ll never be able to stop my masters.”

  “I would worry more about your own life if I were you, especially since it’s about to end.”

  “That’s your problem, Nyx. You’re always talking too much instead of acting, and that is why you’ll lose.”

  Zarna reached for a control on her wrist armor, but her finger stopped a centimeter away from pressing down.

  Nyx slowly approached. She enjoyed every second of it as she could sense the fear growing to utter terror inside her tormentor’s soul. Zarna tried to talk, but Nyx blocked her mouth with telekinetic energy.

  “It’s not pleasant, is it? The feeling of being trapped with no escape? Not that I’m expecting an answer out of you,” Nyx said, smirking. “I want you to know that this time you’re not escaping my wrath, but we’re on the clock, and unfortunately, I won’t have time to make you suffer the way you truly deserve.”

  Zarna noticeably swallowed hard as she and Nyx stood face to face. Nyx’s aura morphed to Ultra Fury form with lightning bolts sizzling all around her. The energy waves made every hair on Zarna’s black skin crawl.

  “Goodbye, bitch.”

  So much energy was shot into Zarna’s body that Nyx was somewhat surprised that the arachnoid didn’t implode on the spot. Instead, Zarna glowed orange as the energy burned her from within.

  Nyx let go of her telekinetic grasp, and as soon as she did, Zarna released an agonizing screech. The intense sound threatened to pierce Nyx’s eardrums.

  She removed her hand from the arachnoid’s shoulder, her palm still open, then turned and took a few steps back. Zarna continued to burn from the inside out and soon her agonizing scream diminished as her vocal cords fused with the rest of her body from the intense heat.

  Nyx brought her open palm to shoulder level and smiled before making a tight fist. Zarna exploded into millions of pieces of charred arachnoid flesh.

  A deep breath of satisfaction escaped Nyx as her aura died out and her hair fell back down to cover her shoulders.

  Ares materialized onto the bridge of the Spectre’s prototype ship.

  “What the hell is that smell?”

  Nyx smirked. “That would be Zarna.”

  “Oh…well, she stinks.”

  “Yeah, and I once thought she reeked from the outside. How are we doing?”

  “We’re ready to activate the inter-dimensional drive.”

  “You’re sure it’s going to work?”

  “If it doesn’t, I don’t think either of us is going to survive.”

  “Easy for you to say, you already lost your body.”

  “It’s going to work—I think.”

  Nyx growled. “If it fails, I’ll kill you.”

  “I’m already dead, remember.”

  “As I’ve said before, I’ll kill you again, then.”

  Ares chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

  “Shouldn’t we be aboard a transport, ready to leave the ship before it blows into a million pieces?”

  “The snag in that plan is that won’t work. They don’t have anything jump-worthy in their landing bays. Apparently, the alarm we heard was not only meant to find us but also for scientists aboard the ship to escape.”

  Nyx raised her eyebrows. “I hope it doesn’t mean what I think it means.”

  “I wouldn’t know, I can sense strong emotions, but I can’t read minds clearly.”

  “They better not have taken a copy of their research with my DNA.”

  “Right now, even if they did, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

  “We could pursue and destroy them.”

  “We don’t have the time, the Spectres have sent an entire armada to these coordinates. If we don’t leave here within five minutes, they’ll blow us to pieces.”

  Nyx’s frustration was palpable. She hated the idea of her DNA reproducing hybrids to be used as cannon fodder against their enemies. But Ares was right, five minutes wasn’t enough time to do anything about it.

  “How the hell are we supposed to survive if we have to destroy this ship when we arrive on the other side? Shouldn’t we just bring it back to your people?”

  “I’ve thought about that, and I’ve tried memorizing as much as I can about the inter-dimensional drive specs. But since it’s the only working version of the drive in existence, it’s too dangerous. Also, we don’t know the state of the other dimension; they could have started their invasion already. I’ve seen records of a fleet of ships, at least a partial one, making it through the portal when Erevos was destroyed.

  “How long ago was that? Surely your people would fight an invasion.”

  “I have no idea, and there’s a huge time dilation between this dimension and ours.”

  “Take a wild guess?”

  “I don’t know, months, maybe a couple of years passed on the other side. I’m not sure since I don’t know how long I’ve been out floating in space after—”

  But Ares stopped short.

  “After my planet blew up,” Nyx finished the sentence for him.

  Ares nodded.

  “Which brings me back to how are we escaping this ship once we’re on the other side?”

  “I’ll teleport us out.”

  “What if there’s nothing in range to teleport us to?”

  “Let’s just say that in this shape, range isn’t much of an issue for me.”

  “Alright then, what are we waiting for?”

  “Go to the terminal in front of you.”

  Nyx approached it. “Now what?”

  Ares stepped closer to Nyx and touched her hand. She felt warmth going through her.

  “See that red holo-control?”

  “I do.”

  “Press it when you’re ready.”

  Nyx didn’t wait and touched the holo-control. The ship’s inter-dimensional drive hummed to life, and a red wormhole-looking anomaly filled the viewport, illuminating the walls and pieces of equipment with crimson hues.

  The anomaly swallowed the Spectre’s ship into the darkness just before collapsing in on itself.

  Chase’s heartbeat raced with each new step he took inside med-bay one in the medical premises of the Earth Alliance. Accompanied by Chris, Argos, and Ka’Rij, they were directed toward a pair of suspended animation pods resting near one another.

  In one laid Sarah, with black tendrils still showing on her neck, and the other one contained Chase’s aunt, Aphroditis.

  Chase wanted to speak but was too overwhelmed. He stood and looked at Sarah through the pod’s glass. Chris must have sensed his state, so he spoke first.

  “Do you have enough tears for both of them?”

  “Yes, I can produce enough,” answered Ka’Rij.

  “Without compromising their potency?” added Argos.

  “The tears are as potent as they can be. Drawing more of them does not change their composition or efficiency. As a matter of fact, one tear is enough to heal every ailment I’ve come across in the galaxy.”

  Chase hoped with all his heart that Ka’Rij wouldn’t be proven wrong today. He couldn’t envision a world without Sarah by his side.

  The Earth Alliance doctor gave Ka’Rij two small vials. He took the first one and placed it near his tear duct. A watery liquid that looked like glistening diamonds dropped into the vial. He closed it and handed it to the doctor. While he repeated this procedure with the second vial, Argos asked a que
stion he assumed was on everyone’s mind.

  “Who goes first?”

  “Let’s manage expectations here,” said Chris in an uncannily cold tone. “I think we should bring Aphroditis back first, see how she reacts to the tears.”

  Chase was glad someone made that decision for him. Sure he wanted to try it on Sarah as soon as possible, but trying his aunt first, even though they didn’t suffer from the same ailment, would at least demonstrate if the tears of the Dragonmen were as potent as he said.

  The doctor didn’t wait and inserted the first vial into a small compartment on the outside of pod with Aphroditis inside. The slot swallowed the vial and injected it into the patient and then started the stasis reanimation procedure.

  Everyone held their breath, but they didn’t have to wait long. The holo-display embedded on the pod’s glass came to life, showing Aphroditis with very low vital signs. All metrics were in either the red or orange. The metrics increased, changing colors from yellow to a bright green until all her vitals hit their maximum values, and she returned to a healthy state.

  “That’s—that’s amazing and borderline impossible,” said the doctor. “I never expected the healing to go so fast. If these readings are right, I think we can take her out of the pod right now.”

  Chase nodded, hopeful that the cure would work for both of them equally. It only took a few more seconds for the stasis pod to finish its cycle. Aphroditis slowly blinked her eyes open and looked around.

  The doctor opened the stasis pod and steam rose, engulfing them before it dissipated into the med-lab.

  “What happened? Why am I still alive?” she asked.

  Chase took a step forward. “How do you feel?”

  “I—I feel perfectly fine, which is confusing. I thought I was dead or at the very least, dying.”

  Chase smiled. “No, you’re in great shape, now, thanks to our friend Ka’Rij over there.”

  The Dragonman of Kyria took a slight bow.

  Aphroditis looked at him with curiosity.

  The doctor helped Aphroditis step out of the stasis pod, and she caught a glimpse of Sarah in the pod next to her.

  “Is that. . .? What’s wrong with her?”