by Jedi Reach
“Morning,” Xenia came outside, her nude body still a delicious sight for her lover. “Am I disturbing?”
“No.” Jace feigned a smile.
The alien beauty pulled the chair next to him and sat. The two looked at the ocean’s horizon in silence, both at solace in each other’s presence.
“Xenia?” Jace broke the silence.
Xenia watched him, waiting.
Jace sighed, his eyes trailing off to the big ole’ blue.
“It’s been so many years fighting to be free from being a weapon and so many times I’ve failed and failed others around me. I wanted to use this opportunity because I never give up, even if it kills me. That’s why I was eager to get it done and that’s why I went without you. I wanted to end this bullshit for good – you having to stay here in this world as a prisoner, Aiden having to live a life he hates, and me regretting not having a chance to fight for our people again. I’m sorry I went ahead like that.”
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything,” Xenia rested her hand on his. “I understand you. When I first set out to earth, I wasn’t sure what I’d encounter. They told me tales about how twisted it was and I didn’t care. I felt a tug in me; calling to be here. That’s why I didn’t go back…”
Jace glanced at his lover, observing her as she spoke.
“…what you created with Nova is an amazing ideal. Of course I had to help you with it. I think that if you have a gift then it should be used for good, not for evil, and that’s something you fought for. That’s why I support Nova, and that’s why I’ve supported you. Your ideals are my own.”
“I couldn’t have continued Nova without you. You were the missing piece.” Jace said.
“That’s modest, though you know it was originally your idea. When I found such a creature like you existed here on earth, I told my federation I couldn’t go back. I found the place I needed to be to complete my mission as a Herald, even if things didn’t go the way we planned.”
Jace interlocked his fingers with his lover’s.
“Thank you,” Jace said. “You have done so much that a simple thanks would be an understatement.”
Xenia beamed. “You think so?”
Jace smiled. “I know so. If you weren’t here, I’m not sure how Nova would’ve turned out. It might’ve turned out good without you, but nowhere near as good.”
Xenia’s cheeks started reddening.
“Jace,” she bowed her head. “All this talk about Nova is good, and yes, we do have duties, but I need to be completely honest.”
“Alright?” Jace furrowed his eyebrows.
“The real reason I came here is to be with you. I could’ve left this planet numerous times, but you are the only person I can truly be myself with. My agreed imprisonment was done so at the very least, I could see you again, because if I left this world, I don’t know if Federation would’ve permitted me to return. Jace, I love you.” Xenia said.
Jace got out of his chair and kneeled in front of his lover, gazing into her eyes.
“It’s a good thing you made that call, as frustrating as it might’ve been for me because there’s nobody in this universe that will love you like I do. You’re my everything; my all that I need.”
Jace leaned into Xenia and kissed her. An electrical current passed through them and by the time they were done kissing, all they could do is stare into each other’s eyes, frozen in time.
“Will we be alright?” Xenia held his hand to her cheek.
“Together, we’ll overcome any storm.” Jace responded.
“That’s how I like to hear you speaking.” Xenia said.
“Would you have it any other way?” Jace smirked.
“Not at all.” Xenia also smirked.
Two black helicopters flew from the distance into the nearby vicinity. They sailed overhead, headed for the hangars. Jace’s phone began ringing. The Nova Leader kissed Xenia’s hand and looked into her eyes, making a silent promise before he answered. They didn’t get enough time to have moments like this. They wanted to savor it. Who knew when they’d have another chance to just sit and enjoy each other? Not as specialized task force hunting aliens but as a simple man and a woman.
“Stone?” Jace answered his phone.
“Meet me in the med bay. We have a problem.” Stone said on the other end.
Xenia looked at Jace, Jace, at Xenia.
“Be right there.” Jace said to Stone and ended the call. He turned to Xenia.
“We need more times like this.” Jace said.
“I agree.” Xenia replied.
“Well, back to work. You ready?”
“Let’s go.”
The Nova Leaders swapped like a light switch into full blown work mode. They got dressed, sporting similar black long coats, and headed for the med bay.
**************
Stone took a hard drag on his cigarette as he peered into the observatory glass in the containment section of the med bay. Inside, there were men in hazmat suits operating various medical and analytical equipment on an infected soldier. It was Royce and he was frozen. His gear was removed, and his skin bubbled with sores. Something moved beneath his flesh and the closer it occasionally came to the surface; it blackened his skin. If the soldier was awake, he’d be screaming in pain.
The doctors made sure all the infected were sedated or frozen while they tirelessly tried to figure out what on earth was happening. Xenia and Jace exited the nearby elevator and marched to Stone, passing a few busy staff on the way. The Nova Leaders peered on with Stone for a moment in silence.
“The mission report was forwarded to me,” Stone broke the ice. “I understand you made contact with Lea?”
A thought of the rogue Scion flashed into Jace’s mind.
“That’s right, you read the part she betrayed us?” Jace said with disappointment.
“I did,” Stone took another hard drag on his nicotine stick. “She helped the EBE apparently.”
Neither Xenia nor Jace knew if they should say anything. Stone seemed distressed. The Doctor took another hit on his cigarette and dropped It on the floor. He squashed it with his shoe like he was killing a bug. The vitals on the soldier inside the containment room began skyrocketing. Soon, his whole body was convulsing. Royce woke up, screaming his lungs out in pain. Additional staff rushed into the room to help contain him.
Royce thrashed around, howling like a wild animal. His pupils turned black, just like Adron’s. The soldier broke free of the staff holding him down, backhanded one of them, then tossed another across the room. Stone, Xenia and Jace all stood outside the observatory glass, fixated on the unfolding horror with hanging jaws. More personnel rushed into the room carrying non-lethal weaponry.
“Take it easy!” some tried bargaining with the crazed soldier. Their cries were like the leaves in the wind. Royce couldn’t hear them – his mind, too far gone. He looked at the observatory glass like he could see through it and fixed his sight on Xenia. The soldier charged at her and crashed into the glass, only to fall and get back up again, huffing and panting.
“I think it’s time the two of you told me exactly what’s going on.” Stone hawked the Nova Leaders.
Xenia looked at Jace, Jace, back at her, the two exchanging silent words. Jace sighed, stretched his hand at the crazed soldier and the infected fell to the ground unconscious.
CHAPTER 11
Lea was confused. The Scion hadn’t slept in days. Too much to think about. Should I stay or should I go? She went back and forth, repeatedly. Should I help or should I fight? The thoughts consumed her. Adron was patient. He waited for her to go through all the positives and negatives; the pros and cons of helping him and abandoning her world.
The two were mostly inside the pyramid, the same one Xenia projected into with her astral body. Adron worked night and day on a new doorway, reverse engineering the stolen tech using his psychokinesis while Lea observed him in his natural habitat like a stray pet. Adron wanted this. He wanted Lea to shed her
notions of him being a monster, and instead, see him for who he truly is. One of the alien dogs crept behind Lea. She spun around and yelped. The dog simply moved aside and continued its rounds patrolling the pyramid.
“Thought you would be used to them by now.” Adron commented, his focus fixed on the incomplete doorway ahead of him.
“Yeah, well, I’m not.” Lea scratched her head all embarrassed. She looked around nervously trying to cover up what happened.
“What are they?” she asked.
“They are called virolmorphs, spawns of The Virol.” Adron replied.
“Virol?” Lea moved closer to him.
Adron halted his concentration. His bio-suit’s head part receded to his neckline, unveiling his true face.
“The plague that costed me everything.” the alien said, a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. Lea reached out and touched his suit. Black goo covered her hand.
“Everything?” Lea asked, observing how the suit reacted. It was alive and moving, never stagnant. At first glance, from dark light or from cameras, the suit could easily appear like some giant walking shadow or a demon right out of fantasy. In reality, it was much more. Adron held Lea’s hand and the goo began wrapping further up her arm.
“The same thing that was supposed to be my end became my new beginning. It’s more than a weapon or a suit, it’s whatever I choose it to be. I chose it to protect me, so it does.” the virol moved from Lea’s arm to her chest, then her other arm, and soon, it was spreading across her whole body. The Scion grew uneasy.
“Calm yourself,” Adron said to her. The virol retracted back to its source, the alien himself. “You are under my protection.” he added and went back to working on the doorway.
“The creatures that protect us are spawns of the virol, using the DNA blueprint of hunting animals from this world combined with exposure to the virol strand. That’s how I created them.”
“Fascinating,” Lea looked over at a pack of the creatures in the distance. They were ready to obey their master at will. “How do you control them?”
Adron looked at Lea.
He pointed to his head then went back to work.
“Fascinating.” Lea realized she sounded like Stone observing science. She quickly threw off her interest and went back to thinking about the repercussions. One thing she couldn’t deny was Adron’s creativity. Despite whatever he was, he was also, in some twisted way, an artist. Lea appreciated the strange beauty. It was weird, yet the two of them didn’t exactly have conventional lives. Pot couldn’t call the kettle black.
“Okay,” Lea stood up tall and puffed her chest. “I’ll do it.”
Adron halted his work and clenched his fists. The patrol dogs stopped moving.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I am.” Lea replied.
Adron observed her body language.
Lea seemed assured.
“Why?” he quizzed.
Why would you ask me that? She grew insecure.
Adron took slow steps towards the Scion until the two came face to face, Lea dropping her head back as she stared up at Adron’s towering figure.
“Tell me, why?” Adron gazed into her eyes.
“Because we’re not that different,” Lea clenched her fists. “I was locked away since I was a child. They used me for their experiments, for their weapons. Whatever they wanted I had to do it. I was their puppet…” Lea turned to her right, stretched her hand and opened a portal. A shimmering image of an earthly city in the distance flashed in the portal before it dissipated. “…the truth is I’ve wanted to escape for a long time. Be free from them. All the Scions, all the weapons, the countries, the powers, the world, I don’t care about any of it. I wanted to be free from it. Free from that world.”
Adron felt a whiff of energy pass through him. He was amazed by Lea. The alien gently stroke strands of her long, black hair and caressed her face.
“We both wanted the same thing, halfway across the galaxy,” Adron couldn’t believe the revelation he knew deep down to be true. “Fascinating, we are both our dreams come true.”
Lea touched Adron’s hand and kneaded her face into it. The virol on Adron acted like a pillow to Lea’s cheek, furthering the alien’s curiosity. He didn’t command the suit to do that.
“That is why I’ll help you. We are in this together.” Lea affirmed.
Adron smiled. It was the first time Lea saw that. She never imagined it would happen.
CHAPTER 12
Aiden rolled out of sleep, sat on his bed in the med bay, and watched out the room’s windows. The sun was setting over the ocean in the distance; a beautiful sight, yet Aiden’s perception was completely different. The Viking replayed the beatdown he received from Adron in his head repeatedly. He couldn’t wrap his head around the defeat. Jace and Xenia walked into the room, their sights set for the Viking. Aiden felt their presence getting closer. It only made him feel worse. He wanted to hide.
“How are you feeling?” Jace asked.
Aiden glanced at Jace, his face bruised and swollen.
“Never better.” the Viking smirked.
‘He’s not okay.’ Xenia sent the thought into Jace’s mind.
“If you’re feeling well enough, we have a meeting with Stone, go over some strategy.” Jace said.
“Strategy for what?” Aiden said bitterly. “You were there with me. You know what happened. How are we stopping that?”
“When there’s a will, there’s a way.” Jace affirmed.
Aiden scoffed.
“Hey!” Jace moved closer to Aiden and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I was right there with you. I got my ass kicked too, bud. It’s not the end of the world. We can still be victorious.”
Aiden grabbed a nearby bottle of vodka from the bedhead and started chugging.
‘Wow.’ Xenia pushed the thought to Jace.
‘I know.’ Jace pushed back.
“We’ll see.” the Viking said after finishing half the bottle.
“Come on,” Jace tapped Aiden’s shoulder. “Let’s go. Victory is still ours to take.”
Although Aiden wouldn’t dare admit it, he was happy Jace was there to encourage him. It was what he needed.
**************
Jace and Xenia led Aiden through several corridors toward the command center. When the trio arrived in the room, they were silently greeted by Stone, Bakker, Scott, and other staff members from various positions. Patrol guards remained stationed at every door.
“Jace, Xenia, Aiden…” Scott showed them the way to get prepared for show alongside the other staff. The Engineer tinkered with his holographic touch screen computer. A small beam of light raced from his computer and formed a larger holographic screen in the middle of the room for all to see. “…I’m sure most of you have already gone over the details of the last mission. As already evident, we were unable to detain the EBE or rescue our Scion target. However, all is not a loss.”
Scott tinkered some more with his terminal. The overhead screen displayed various bits of information and recorded feeds from the battle with Adron. Scott paused one of the videos and zoomed into one of the alien dogs in the middle of a pounce.
“These creatures were encountered during the mission. What they are, we’re still in the process of figuring it out. For now, we call them Hell Hounds.”
Aiden suddenly snickered.
“Why not just call them dubious death dogs while you’re at it?” he jeered.
“Well,” Scott scratched his head. “Call them whatever you want. These hell hounds or death dogs if you prefer, aren’t just a ball of ugly…” Scott pressed more buttons at his terminal. The camera feed zoomed in on the hell hound, showing its vicious fangs, spiky, serpent-like head and long, black body with several arms. Information popped up on the screen, displaying various properties and chemical elements. “…these creatures seem to be encased in some sort of infectious, parasitical armor. Upon exposure to the creatures under the right circumstances, this happens
.” Another camera feed emerged next to the hell hound. It was a feed of an infected soldier in a fetal position, brooding and moaning. The room grew anxious. Some staff members wondered if they were infected, especially the doctors who were taking care of the soldiers.
“We’ve confirmed the creatures are the cause for the infection?” Jace questioned.
“That’s right, we ran the tests on the soldiers and checked different light spectrums to determine the similarity in the hell hounds’ armor and the infection in our men.” Scott answered.
“What about Plancks? I’d like to assume it’s not gonna’ be open to the public, is it?” Aiden folded his arms and looked over at Stone.
A flash of men in hazmat suits and other military personnel securing the abandoned Plancks came to Stone’s mind.
“It’s taken care of. We’re working on keeping the area secured.” the Doctor replied.
“I feel better already.” Aiden rolled his eyes.
“What about you Xenia?” Stone glanced at her. “What can you tell us about these things?” the Doctor pointed at the hell hound on the display.
“Not much,” Xenia confessed, concentrating on the image. “It would seem that Adron has found a way to create some sort of parasitical metamorphosis on animal creatures from his own infection.”
“I’m sorry, Adron?” Bakker interrupted. “Parasitical what? His own infection?”
Aiden glanced at Xenia. He wanted to know too. The ET figured this would happen at some point, but she was ready.
“The creature you designate EBE has a name. His name is Adron, an old weapon of war used by my Federation several centuries ago…” Xenia bowed her head with shame. She remembered old memories of herself and her brother, studying history when they were young. “…it was difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that he was still alive. I needed time to figure it out.”