by Jedi Reach
“Yeah?” he asked.
Xenia used meditative concentration to analyze her freakish nightmare while Jace spoke on the phone. After a few seconds, he hanged up.
“Was I that loud?” Xenia asked, embarrassed.
“It’s not you. There’s something else that needs our attention.”
**************
The Nova Leaders got dressed and hurried outside where they rendezvous with Scott, Aiden and a couple soldiers in the airport area. When Jace and Xenia moved to the others, Xenia had already sensed what was going on.
“You’re not going to believe this!” Scott said to Jace when they arrived. The Engineer looked at one of the soldiers and nodded at them. The soldier stepped forward with his automatic rifle and opened fire in the air at nothing. The bullets smacked into an invisible object. Another soldier grabbed an RPG and fired in the same direction. The silhouette of a disc shaped object dodged the rocket half a second before impact. Xenia moved in front of the men and looked overhead, a deep longing pulling her while the missed rocket exploded in the clouds above.
“Reveal yourself to me.” she said in her native language.
The beamship uncloaked and as its invisibility dissipated, Xenia realized who it belonged to.
“Daisha.” she said.
**************
Xenia sat inside Daisha for hours uncovering information while the rest of the crew waited outside the ship in the hangar area, discussing their next move. The minute Xenia entered Daisha; the ship’s AI replayed the last events of its original pilot’s fight through a holographic screen. She got to see firsthand her horrible dream wasn’t by coincidence. Lars was in trouble and his last-ditch effort was to send Daisha to Xenia.
It was interesting to the alien beauty. Lars wasn’t a fan of Xenia being on earth and even praised when she destroyed her own ship, lest it fell into earthling hands, and now, she had his ship with full access to its arsenal and information banks. Xenia wanted to explore her home world through Daisha, figure out what she had been missing since she had been gone, but her brother was too strong on her mind.
“Daisha, can you track him?” Xenia asked.
A collection of holograms displaying various information, including geography, terrain and map details, appeared on Xenia’s right.
“This was the information I could find based on his suit’s trackers.” Daisha replied.
Xenia studied the graphs carefully.
“Russia?” she quizzed. “Daisha, allow Jace Wills on board.”
“Access granted.” Daisha replied.
‘Come to the ship.’ Xenia telepathically called to Jace.
“I knew this would happen.” she shook her head as she went through various ship details, scrolling with her finger on the holographic image. A beam of yellow light appeared in the room and Jace materialized after it faded.
“Hey,” he immediately went to Xenia. “Thank you for allowing me on board.”
“Right now, it has less to do with that and more with necessity.” Xenia replied.
“I understand,” Jace nodded. “What did you find out?”
“My brother fought Adron and his squadron. He was taken after the defeat.”
“Squadron?” Jace quizzed.
Xenia pressed a few buttons on the terminal and a holographic replay of Lars’ last fight displayed overhead.
“Can you pause?” Jace asked.
“Sure.” Xenia stopped the feed.
“Go back,” Jace directed. “Okay, there.”
“That’s the Scion named Victoria.” Xenia wondered aloud.
“Looks that way. Can you go forward a bit?” Jace directed.
Xenia fast-forwarded the feed.
“There, stop.” Jace said.
Xenia halted the feed at a part where flames engulfed the camera and fried the jetpack.
“Only one person I know could create pyrokinesis like that.”
“Unit 6.” Xenia discerned.
“How did he get them to fight for his side?” Jace quizzed.
“We’re the ones that put them there, it couldn’t have been hard to find motivation against us and our forces.” Xenia replied.
“Good point.” Jace looked at the holograms for a moment before peering at Xenia and noticing her distressed face.
“You alright?” he asked.
“No. I want to save my brother.” she said.
“We will. I promise you, we will.” Jace looked her straight in the eyes.
“Father would hold me responsible for anything that happens to him. I’d be a bad earthling influence.” Xenia said bitterly.
“Does your father know the situation we’re dealing with?” Jace asked.
“With Adron? Yes?”
“No, not just Adron. With everyone, including the CIA and thanks to Stone being out of the picture, us being screwed?”
Xenia hanged her head.
“He does not.”
“Xenia, I’m sorry, but daddy’s going to have to be understanding whether he likes it or not. You’ve been on the clock trying to fix everything and now, your brother’s life has fallen into your hands. Dad will need to cut you a little slack and be reasonable because right now, we have a lot on our plate, and we need to keep ourselves together if we want to overcome this.”
“You’re right. I still don’t have very peaceful feelings right now though.”
Jace rested his hand on Xenia’s. She was very tense.
“Neither do I, but we’ll get through it, okay? I promise you; we’ll get through it.” he replied.
Xenia took a deep breath and nodded.
“Right,” she turned around and accessed another terminal. “There’s more. Lars didn’t only send me Daisha, he allowed me full access to the entire ship and its weaponry.”
Sections of the ship opened inside displaying various alien technology, weaponry and a hover-bike that resembled an earthling motorcycle without wheels. Xenia got out of her chair and moved to the collection, Jace close behind.
“I’m not ready to present anything here to the rest of Nova or other earthlings. Not yet. Lars entrusted me and I want to keep these exclusive for now. Only you will have access.” Xenia said.
“I understand.” Jace replied.
“Will you help me Jace? I know what my brother has been like, but he’s my brother. I have to help him.” Xenia pleaded.
“Of course. He’s your brother; that’s your family. We’re going to go get him. I already gave you my word.”
“This can’t be a war operation. This must be a rescue mission. I don’t want to jeopardize my brother’s life. No crazy firepower.” Xenia scolded.
“You got it. So, tell me, do you know how to use anything here?” Jace asked.
“My brother and I may have chosen different paths but it’s standard practice that any of our people who travel off-world must be trained in self-defense and defense-based weaponry. I am qualified to use everything on this ship.” Xenia said.
“What about that bike?” Jace pointed at the hover-bike.
“You mean the Zalblade? That’s actually among my favorites.” Xenia replied.
“I’d love to see you on it.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, absolutely.”
“Sure, though we must hurry after this.”
Xenia moved to the bike, trailed her fingers on it, and crossed her leg over the seat before sitting on it. Jace couldn’t help noticing her ass as she did and for a second, it alleviated the heavy mood.
“There’s something I can’t help but wonder.” Jace scratched his chin.
“What is it?” Xenia asked.
“Why would your brother send you this ship? He is all for self-destruction of your equipment if it gets into the wrong hands, so why would he take the chance to send it here? Isn’t it possible the ship could’ve been harmed on route?” Jace quizzed.
Xenia also thought about the question.
“Unless he didn’t want to take any chance t
he self-destruction device could go wrong…” Jace’s mind was bubbling with connections.
“…because Adron could reverse engineer if it did.” Xenia finished his thought.
Both their eyes widened as they glanced at each other.
“Adron’s trying to leave Earth.” they discerned.
CHAPTER 22
Lars slowly opened his eyes and found himself tied up and subdued to a wall in the caverns. Virol covered his wrists and ankles. The hunter tried to move even though he knew there was no escape. After some struggle, Lars dropped his head and a sigh left his lips. Thoughts went into his mind repeatedly about his mistakes. He berated himself for not being wiser.
While he had a certain set of fair rules in his head, his opponent simply didn’t care. Lars underestimated Adron’s charisma. He had hoped the capture would be through sheer brute force, but ironically, the overlord outplayed the hunter’s inflexibility. Adron entered the cave and gazed at Lars. The two men traded looks, each of them, curious of the other’s next move.
“I see you’ve awakened,” Adron folded his arms behind his back and paced around the room. “It’s been a long time since I came in contact with a Federation member and the first thing I am greeted with is hostility.”
“Save your poison. You know the crimes you are responsible for.” Lars snapped.
“The crimes I was accused of by the same ones who always deployed me?” Adron replied.
“You went out of control! You disobeyed direct orders!”
“Something you can never do apparently, even if it is for the greater good…”
Lars became silent.
He wasn’t sure what Adron was getting at.
“…ah yes, how could I forget? I was once like you too.”
“You are nothing like me.” Lars said bitterly.
“Titles and names change but the essence always remains the same. How do you think we started? We were the federation’s bounty hunters. We captured the rogues. We captured the transgressors and the aggressors. Oh yes, I was very much like you; even arrogant and unwise too.”
“If this is an attempt to gravitate to your alliance, then forget it. You’re wasting your time.”
“I do not care to convince you of anything. I want you to know the truth…” Adron moved directly in front of Lars and his virol headpiece receded. His black, beady eyes stared into Lars’. “…tell me, what do you see?”
Lars shook his head and laughed.
“The virol clearly doesn’t scare you. Ask yourself why you wanted this mission so bad.” Adron continued.
“I took on this mission for justice.” Lars replied.
The hunter figured he’d bite.
If these were going to be his last words, why not?
“That’s exactly what I said when I disobeyed the federation’s orders. Hell, it was even carved on The Abolisher vessels.”
Lars glanced at Adron carefully.
“The federation was far from mistakes. The Abolishers wanted to stop a plague that could destroy the entire galaxy and due to rigorous rules, we were deemed defectors.”
“What are you talking about? Saving the galaxy?” Lars shook his head. Adron moved in front of him and displayed the virol suit behaving to the overlord’s whims.
“Had we not stopped this in its tracks, what would have become of the known galaxy? I took in this evil so the rest of our people could sleep at night. That was the sacrifice The Abolishers made. We stopped an epidemic before it broke free. Now imagine, what would have happened if we did wait?” Adron paced around while he talked. “You might not have even been born to come chase me. Who knows? Maybe we would’ve even been heroes at the cost of millions upon millions, even billions of lives. Only after those lives were lost, we’d be considered heroes. The irony. We went to destroy the problem before it got out of hand.”
“Nobody’s denying what you did for the federation. It was the betrayal that mattered.” Lars answered.
A silence emanated as both men observed each other.
“I think I know why you chose this mission. I think you see me as a future of what you can become.” Adron finally said.
Lars simply listened as Adron spoke.
“I was no different from you, a specialist. The best of the best. When times of war and chaos are at hand, weapons like us are only ones they can use to truly accomplish anything; but what happens when those weapons become outdated? When their policies are no longer in line with new governmental order? We get tossed aside.”
“Federation has changed since your time. You’re living in the past.” Lars replied.
“Am I?” Adron retorted.
“What’s your plan Adron?” Lars sighed.
“I suppose I should engage in a little devious monologuing.” Adron replied.
Lars laughed.
“You don’t have to tell me anything. Even if you kill me, there will be more. Others will take my place. You’ll never evade justice.” the hunter grew angry.
“Aha, and that’s your problem. Don’t you find it unappealing to be just another copy?”
“I am part of the Syraise Federation. We are each one pillar and together–“
“-we unify as one to support our brothers and sisters under the sun!” Adron interrupted Lars and moved closer to him. “I cannot tell you how many times I recited the Syraise anthem. Are you sure the federation has changed?”
“Does it matter?” Lars huffed.
“Without order, chaos ensues. However, if rules become so controlling that it blinds you from reason, then you end up in a situation where you find yourself defeated by earthlings…”
Lars felt his heart sink.
“…I am to hypothesize, federation handed you a certain set of rules that you couldn’t operate outside of. You went so far with those rules even refusing the help of lesser evolved creatures like earthlings, that you ended up being defeated by a band of them, simply because I realized that I needed help whereas you, in your eagerness; that youthful arrogance and stubbornness; went ahead so far in your boxed ideology that you illogically disregarded your own safety. All because you want to do it all on your own. I am guessing the Herald offered you help and you probably refused it.”
Lars furrowed his eyebrows and twisted his face.
“Don’t you dare talk about her.”
“I admire your courage Lars,” Adron rose to his feet. “If you learn to use your grip wisely, it’ll become an advantage.”
“I should thank you for the advice. Still, I can’t shake it, remembering the fact that you led your crew to die.” Lars said. Adron spun around and clenched his fists.
“How long is it going to be until your earth friends join the same fate?” the hunter snarled.
Adron calmed himself.
“You’re good hunter. The best of the best.” he finally said.
“So were you until you betrayed your oath and betrayed your people.” Lars bitterly replied.
“For the greater good.” Adron held his head high.
“The end doesn’t justify the means. So many people killed.”
“And now you get to grow up in a world,” Adron’s virol covered his face. “Without it being destroyed by the past.” he said, the virol distorting his voice.
Lars hanged his head, thinking on Adron’s words.
“That will be all. I only wanted to talk a bit before we began the extraction.” Adron continued.
“I was wondering when you’d begin the torture.” Lars readied himself.
Adron erupted with laughter.
“What?” Lars asked.
“It’s typical training weapons like us become immune to torture practices. Standard procedure as I’m sure you are aware of.” Adron replied.
Lars raised his eyebrows.
Adron stretched his hand at Lars and a black mist engulfed the hunter’s nostrils, immediately causing him to fall asleep.
“What good would torture do when I can just extract the information directly?” A
dron said while thin, black currents covered in electricity whirled around Lars’ head.
CHAPTER 23
Jace, Xenia, Aiden and Scott met and discussed the leads Xenia provided on Lars that night. They agreed their focus would be on rescuing and extracting Lars over provoking an all-out war against Adron and his forces. Xenia didn’t want to take any chances risking her brother’s life and thanks to the shift in leadership from Stone to Bakker, the operation remained limited to the main four and secret.
Scott piloted the Nova UFO ship toward the target. The rest of the team, Xenia, Jace and Aiden, each had new form fitting suits that were black and white in color, encased with virol countermeasures. Xenia tied her blindfold to her face while Jace fastened his bio-mask and Aiden slipped into his heavy robot armor.
Scott had a few upgrades to offer the rest of his team in addition to their suits. Jace no longer needed a hand-held weapon. Scott engineered a glove that acted as an advanced 3D-Printer to Jace’s imagination. The Nova Leader simply had to use his imagination and it manifested through the glove. Xenia’s suit upgrades focused on amplifying her telekinetic capabilities. However, the ET decided to use Daisha and its equipment, and she gave instructions to Jace should she need backup to pilot the ship as well.
“We’re coming up on the target area. Slowing speeds and sending a probe.” Scott announced to the crew while they checked their gear. A tiny drone shot out of the Nova UFO and raced ahead of the mothership. The drone circled the snowy mountains and gathered information about the place and its geography in detail.
“What did you find?” Xenia came to Scott’s side, looking at the various computers in the cockpit.
Scott pointed at the lower left screen.
“There’s a collection of energy signatures inside the cavern. Seems you may have been right. There’s someone out here alright.” Scott said.
Jace looked over Scott’s shoulder. Xenia eyed him.
‘What do you think?’ She telepathically asked.
“Go time.” Jace announced.
**************
“Something’s weird.” Lea said to Adron inside cavern.