by Nick Braker
Magnus kept a firm grip on the old man’s helmet as Tillair frantically tried to retrieve his helmet blindly. Magnus pushed him away with his legs as he twisted off what remained of his own helmet and replaced it with Tillair’s. The helmet sealed and oxygen filled his suit again, heat and air pressure replaced the cold and emptiness of space. Magnus collapsed onto the black ash covering the surface of Kron. He took gulping lungs full of air. Every breath warmed his throat and lungs, breaking or melting the ice that had frozen his flesh.
Someone spoke. What were they saying? A few of the words were recognizable even with his damaged ears. Something about winning and choosing. Was it Manushri? She would announce the victor at the end of the contest. Was it over?
“...will be all,” Manushri said.
Magnus could see shadows of gray and white where there was nothing but blackness before. Vague outlines of shapes formed in front of him with flashes of light dancing around erratically. His vision was returning. Magnus pushed himself up, getting his feet under him. The lighter gravity helped but he couldn’t see or hear well. Two pairs of hands grabbed his arms. He suppressed his reaction to attack back. Tillair was gone and these had to be the guards that escorted him everywhere. They guided him up a ramp. They placed him in one of their decontamination chambers and when the cycle finished they sat him down in one of the spaceship’s seats.
“Our doctor will help you now,” someone said.
They twisted his helmet off. Magnus leaned back letting them work on him.
“Is Tillair dead?” he asked, fumbling with the words. His tongue and lips didn’t move well. They were numb and he tasted blood.
“Yes,” someone responded.
“I’m sorry,” Magnus said. “I had to. I didn’t want to. I had to.”
He felt a prick in his right arm from a needle stick.
Kron - Citron
Saturday, December 5, 1987 - 03:10pm
Magnus
Magnus’ senses had not healed. Decompression had damaged him extensively and even with his Aliri augmentation, it would take days to recover. He lay on a medical bed in one of Kron’s healing facilities. He had no idea how big it was, how many people were here or any other details. He could only manage to focus his eyes on vague outlines and silhouettes of the people moving around him. Color and detail blurred into shades of gray and fuzzy outlines. Hearing had returned but only if the sound was loud enough.
Magnus had less than two hours to choose the time for the final battle and the contest had to take place within those two hours. He was in no shape to fight, period. Forasia had won. Magnus had underestimated Tillair. His shrewdness and deception had nearly killed Magnus. His arrogance, also known as cockiness, had allowed him to drop his guard and fall for an obvious trick. He chided himself. The fate of humanity rested on the shoulders of an idiot. When would he learn? His old life was over and he could never go back. He had to do this right with zero mistakes. His mistakes had just caused Earth their existence.
An outline of one of the Kron females moved next to him on his left. Was it his doctor again? He sniffed the air but even that sense had not returned.
“My doctors tell me you are not well.”
“Katerra?” Magnus said, not believing his damaged ears.
“Yes,” Katerra answered.
“Is anyone else here? Are we alone?” he asked.
“No and yes, I ordered them to leave,” she said.
“Is this one of your lucid—”
“Yes and no,” she said, anticipating his question. “I have learned to block the children’s aberrant emotions. I have come to realize that human children are extremely prone to emotional outbursts. If human adults are similar, it also explains why my Omarii return from Earth compromised. The Aliri have intentionally fed us bad data from Earth for decades now. Your planet’s gravity, for example, is nearly twice that of Kron. Correct?”
“As I understand it, yes,” he said, nodding. “I believe that is right.”
“Our interception of the information from the Aliri probes scattered across your solar system must have been detected and Alestron falsified the information. They were intentionally feeding us bad data for years. They changed the information just enough to make us believe you were a different humanoid species.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I told you,” she said. “All of their efforts lead to one thing... to trick Earth into fighting us like they tricked the Cortians.”
“Wait, you attacked us first,” he said.
“More subterfuge on their part,” Katerra responded.
He let it go. Did it matter now? He was in bed with the Kron... in some ways, literally.
“Are the Cortians humanoid?” he asked.
“Yes, but that is a story for another time. Right now, we need to talk about the last contest. You’ll be ready to fight.”
Magnus shook his head.
“I won’t be able to recover in time,” he said. “The five-day limit is just a few hours away.”
Katerra placed her hand on his shoulder.
“I know but there is something I can do.” He could hear her smiling as she spoke.
“More augmentations?” he asked. “I’m done with that shit.”
“No,” she said. Her lips pursed and she paused. Something occurred to her. “Strange...”
“What?” he asked.
“Normally, I would just order it done but...”
“But what?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
“Katerra?” he prodded.
“I... feel the need to warn you first.”
“And that is bad?”
She dismissed his question.
“It will be a dangerous option,” Katerra said.
“Ah shit,” Magnus said. “This is the part where you tell me my life is on the line? What the hell is new?”
“Well, you will absolutely die if you do not accept my offer of help. Your current physical condition will lead to your death in the final battle.”
“And if I accept your offer?” he asked.
“You will have a chance at defeating Forasia again.”
“Better odds?” he asked.
“No,” she said, bending over to kiss him on the cheek.
“Why did you do that?”
Katerra didn’t answer but he felt her warm hands resting on his arm.
“Varuuk will visit you after I leave. Accept the gift he will bring you.”
Katerra’s actions and behavior didn’t line up with who he knew her to be. She acted differently than he remembered and he had no idea what prompted it. Katerra removed her hands from his arm. Was she afraid for his life? What was this gift she couldn’t speak of?
“What is it he’s bringing?” Magnus asked.
She didn’t respond.
“Katerra?” he said. “Are you there?”
She had left, leaving him alone in their medical bay. He half rolled his eyes, reflecting on her words. There was a chance he could fight the third battle. How? She clearly alluded to something she could do to help him. She also said he could die from her gift. He had two hours to announce the time of the fight and to begin it. The Baal-Shir ritual lasted only five days and time was running out.
Magnus felt a cold hand on his. He suppressed his reaction to jerk away. This was not Katerra.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“Your servant, Varuuk.”
“You are not—”
“My queen has asked me to give this to you,” Varuuk said. “You must drink this juice while it is hot.”
“You can actually speak and you speak very well,” Magnus said, ignoring Varuuk’s instructions. “Why so silent before?”
Varuuk paused.
“I had nothing to say.”
Magnus wanted to roll his eyes again. Were they all like this? He sighed inwardly.
“What is it I’m drinking?” Magnus asked.
“I do not know... but it will help you.”
>
“Why do I have to drink it hot?”
“I do not know—”
Holy shit.
“Never mind,” Magnus said, interrupting Varuuk.
Varuuk handed Magnus the drink. The metal cup that held the fluid burned his hands. He wanted to argue about why he needed to drink it scalding hot but he knew the answers he’d get.
“This will help me?” Magnus asked.
“The queen said it, therefore it must be true,” Varuuk said. His voice held reverence as if god had spoken to him. He believed what he said without a shred of doubt. He started to ask Varuuk another question but bit his partially numb tongue.
“This is going to hurt, isn’t?” Magnus asked.
“Yes.”
Magnus put the cup to his lips. The smell assaulted his nostrils. It must be horrendous under normal circumstances considering he couldn’t smell anything up to this point. The acrid, bile-like smell from a toilet after puking in it from a long night of drinking came to mind... only a hundred times worse... and it was hot. This would literally burn his insides on the way down.
He took a breath, brought the cup to his lips and drank. The liquid boiled his tongue, throat and stomach as it raced downward. His only consolation was there were only two gulps of the strange drink to swallow. Magnus dropped the cup, doubling over. He withheld a gut-wrenching scream as the liquid burned him from inside. He grabbed the edge of the bed trying to hold himself in place. The thought of slicing his stomach open just to drain the burning hot liquid crossed his mind. Varuuk’s cold hands helped hold him on the table. Varuuk braced Magnus as he began to spasm backwards before doubling over again.
The pain vanished.
“You’re better now, my master,” Varuuk said. “Enjoy.”
“What the hell?” Magnus said, blinking several times.
The light in the room brightened. Varuuk’s steps as he crossed the semi-hard surface of the medical bay grew louder as Varuuk walked farther away. The door Varuuk approached opened with a slight hum and closed as he left. His hands formed in front of him as his vision returned. The pain in his mouth, throat and abdomen disappeared, replaced with a euphoric feeling of... wellness and... happiness. He felt better than he possibly thought he could. He checked his arms, legs and face. The skin had returned to normal. The bruised and tender flesh had healed to a healthy peach color.
Katerra’s drink had healed him. He sat up feeling no pain, absolutely nothing hurt. The juice wasn’t through though. Magnus felt giddy. The effect was so strong he wanted to laugh aloud. His senses had returned to normal and his body had recovered completely. The lingering aftereffect was more than euphoric, it felt like a drug. Was he high? It was unnatural to feel this good, he had to be high.
A Kron woman entered, grabbing an electronic tablet near the door. She wore Kron’s typical gray clothing beneath a thin, dark purple coat. Her hair was strawberry blond. She had it rolled up and tucked behind her in an intricate braid. The woman’s dark brown eyes scanned the tablet intently as she slowly walked toward his bed.
“Ara doe fa vi?” she said, finally looking at him.
Magnus gave her a blank look.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, touching her forehead. “That was my language, not yours. How are you feeling? My name is Yaren. I’m your doctor.”
Magnus couldn’t explain it even if he wanted to try. He had to keep Katerra’s secret. Would her interference be construed as breaking the laws of the Baal-Shir ritual? He didn’t know and it didn’t matter. He had to act fast.
“Humans heal quickly. I’m fine,” he said.
“What?” Yaren said, looking up from her tablet for the first time. “You can’t be—”
The metal cup! Find the cup.
Magnus jumped off the bed, raising his arms up to show her and trying to keep her attention on him.
“You’re my doctor, okay,” he said, moving closer to her. He scanned the floor as he did, trying to locate the cup he had dropped. He had to block her from seeing it first. “So, do I have your permission to leave?”
“You can’t—”
“Look, we humans have special gifts. I was able to regenerate my cells,” Magnus said, lying. “Where’s my clothes? Gotta get going.”
Magnus didn’t see the cup and gave up searching for it. Varuuk must have retrieved it. He shifted gears and opened a closet nearby, finding his clothes inside. He dressed as the Kron doctor continued to stare at him, stunned.
“You can’t be—”
“You did great, doc,” Magnus said, patting her on the shoulder as he walked out.
“Doc?” she asked as the door shut behind him.
Kron - Citron
Saturday, December 5, 1987 - 04:10pm
Magnus
Magnus stood to Manushri’s right, staying out of sight of her video communication device. He wanted to see Forasia’s face but he wanted to make sure she could not see him. It took less than ten seconds but Forasia answered Manushri’s call. Forasia’s face formed on Manushri’s monitor.
“Manushri?” Forasia said. She looked smug and unconcerned. “What do I owe the pleasure of your call? Are you preparing to announce my victory?” Forasia crossed her arms waiting for Manushri to speak. “Well?”
“Magnus defeated the first of the ritual’s two contests and he has announced the third will begin immediately.”
Forasia scoffed. “He can barely stay conscious. Does he plan to throw away his life like Tillair?” Forasia asked.
Manushri didn’t react. Magnus raised an eyebrow. Her control impressed Magnus.
“You will come to the queen’s thrown room and we will announce the final contest,” Manushri said. “That will be all.” Manushri cut the connection.
“I am curious, Magnus. Have you chosen the location of the final battle?” Manushri asked. “You may, of course, deign to answer.”
“I haven’t,” he said. “I must kill four Ryikoda capable women and as I understand it, one or more of them would sacrifice their lives to give those that remain an advantage over me, similar to what the Japanese did with Hara-Kiri. I really don’t have a location that would give me an edge over them.”
“Perhaps,” Manushri said, “you aren’t looking in the right place. I cannot counsel you on your choice, of course.”
Was Manushri giving him a clue? She said she would not break any law, not even for her life mate. Would she break it for Katerra, her queen? Her words were designed to make him think outside the box. What was she getting at?
“Katerra will join us,” Manushri said. “Perhaps the two of you will find an appropriate location. One you both are comfortable with.”
Magnus respected Manushri but her help would not be direct. He had to figure this out on his own.
“What—” Magnus started to say.
Forasia entered the queen’s thrown room, stopping in her tracks as she stared at Magnus. She tensed and Magnus smiled.
“I see,” Forasia said, relaxing her shoulders. “You were not as injured as you led us to believe, Magnus of Earth. No matter.” She walked directly toward Magnus, standing in front of him. She pinched the skin of his shoulder through his shirt. “Your flesh is restored, I see.”
“Don’t poke the bear,” he said, pulling away.
“I’m not familiar with that phrase but I would guess it was meant as a threat.” Forasia said, facing him squarely. She stood as tall as Magnus and stared into his eyes, unblinking. “Shall we finish it here? Right now?”
“It would be my pleasure but we both know you’re baiting me,” he said. “Enjoy it while you can.”
“While I can?” Forasia said, shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re about to see what four of us can do together.”
Katerra entered the room through her chamber door. A light gray gown covered her from neck to ankle with two additional pieces of the same material tied to her wrists and each side of her hip. The pieces hung down to her knees. The gown hugged her sleek body. Katerra walked towa
rd Forasia and stopped inches from her. Magnus hid his reaction but she was breathtaking. Forasia turned from Magnus to face Katerra.
“You’ve recovered as well, sister,” Forasia said.
Magnus kept his face deadpan. Inwardly he reeled. Forasia was Katerra’s sister? No one mentioned it, not even Katerra. Several other options were added to his list of Forasia’s motives. Was it anger for Katerra killing their mother? Was Forasia upset for not becoming queen over Katerra? He kept his eyes down, if he looked at her, she would suspect he was upset for not being kept in the loop about Forasia and her motives.
“Your concern for my health is... nice but was my health ever in question?” Katerra asked, smiling sweetly at Forasia.
“That will be enough of that,” Manushri said. “My queen. We must begin.”
“Of course,” Katerra said. “Proceed.”
Manushri bowed and then turned away from the group. “Computer, project my face to the people of Kron. Activate audio.”
Blip.
“Magnus of Earth has chosen this moment to complete the final battle. It will take place immediately. Forasia of Citron and the house Merak, will you choose your allotted four for the final battle?”
“I do,” she said. “The people of Kron must survive against these humans—”
“That will be enough,” Manushri said, cutting her off.
Forasia smiled, nodding to Manushri. If Forasia won, Manushri’s veiled threat of suicide wouldn’t matter. Forasia’s look told Magnus exactly how she felt right now. She would kill Manushri herself.
“Magnus of Earth have you chosen the location of the final contest?” Manushri asked.
Magnus paused staring at Manushri for a clue from her earlier words. She wanted to tell him but her moral code would not allow it. He had to pick a place on Kron or their moon that would give him an advantage, something that would neutralize the Ryikoda warriors. Katerra waited for his answer, too. They had both discussed their options on three occasions but each time they came up with no clear solution. Her eyes locked with his as he considered his options. It was suicide without some kind of edge against the Kron women.