by Jedi Reach
“What do you sense?” Adron asked her.
Lea took a deep breath.
“Scions.” she said.
“Lars has an impressive consciousness block. I need more time.” Adron replied.
“We need to hurry then.” Lea grew antsy.
“Can you hold them off?” Adron asked.
“I think I can.”
Adron moved directly in front of Lea and caressed her cheek.
“I’ll need you to.” he said. Virol wrapped covered Lea’s body while Adron looked into her eyes.
**************
Sven patrolled the outside of the cavern while Victoria wrapped herself in various stolen jackets.
“You’re not cold? Not even the slightest?” she raised her voice at Sven who was focused on the night’s scenery.
“I don’t get cold.” Sven grunted.
“Good to know.” Victoria rolled her eyes.
Sven suddenly stopped.
“What is it now?” she said, standing up and peering over.
“I know that smell.” Sven said.
A shadow leapt between Sven and Victoria, charged at Sven and speared him off the ledge before the Scion had a chance to react. Victoria got to her feet and ran towards the ledge, but another shadow suddenly appeared, waved his hand at her and she fell to the ground unconscious.
“First two handled. No sign of Adron or Lea yet.” Jace said to his comms as the invisibility faded. The Nova Leader ventured into the cavern to find Lars while Sven tumbled down the snowy ledges fighting his ambusher. The Scion grew furious when he realized his nose was right on the mark.
“Hello crazy.” Aiden said once the two got some distance in the snow to observe each other.
“Five.” Sven gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so hard blood was sure to come out. Sven howled and blue flames engulfed his entire body. He fired blasts of fire at Aiden. The Viking avoided what attacks he could and once he got the opening, closed the distance. A brawl erupted between the two that caused both men to roll further and further down the slippery mountain slopes.
Jace ventured inside the cavern and found himself impressed by how much intricacy went into building the virol structure. It looked like vines spread across the walls, floors and ceiling. A portal opened and Lea hopped out, encased in a virol suit like Adron’s.
She swung at Jace, the virol on her arm transformed into a sword-like weapon. The Nova Leader stood still, and Lea’s sword-arm froze an inch from his neck. Another shadow uncloaked from invisibility – Xenia. The alien telekinetically gripped Lea and tossed her into the nearby wall.
“Where is Lars!” Xenia yelled while telekinetically pinning Lea to the floor. Lea grunted and groaned trying to break free. Xenia moved in front of her and looked the Scion in the eyes, the alien’s glowing pupils shining underneath the blindfold.
“Where is my brother!” Xenia demanded.
Lea looked at the ceiling and the ground and thought of an idea. Why not use gravity? She opened an entry portal underneath her and an exit one on the roof. She fell through the ground and appeared over Xenia. Before either Xenia or Jace could counter, Lea pounced on top of Xenia and opened another portal underneath them. The two women fell through the new portal which closed immediately after, leaving Jace in the cavern alone.
A portal opened out in the snow at the side of the mountain and Xenia and Lea tumbled out. Xenia tried catching herself while Lea took advantage of the alien’s disorient. Lea swung with a bladed virol arm. Xenia halted the attack inches from her face, held her palm out, and an invisible shockwave moved through space and punched Lea in the chest, flooring the Scion instantly.
The impact was so devastating that when Lea was knocked off her feet, she realized she was in serious danger taking Xenia alone. Lea opened another portal and leapt into it, but Xenia telekinetically gripped her just inches from getting away. Lea fought with all her willpower and the portal managed to close though a small part of her virol suit was ripped off from the sheer force of Xenia’s telekinesis. Xenia looked out into the snowy wilderness and wondered how far Lea taken her.
“Scott, where am I?” she spoke into her comms.
Scott paid attention to her position on the Nova ship’s radar.
“Not that far. I can pick you up?” Scott replied.
“No, just point me to the right direction.” Xenia said.
“Roger.”
Scott uploaded the coordinates to Xenia’s wrist computer wirelessly.
“Daisha, Zalblade.” Xenia said.
Daisha appeared overhead and shot a small hand-held gadget that dropped above Xenia and levitated into her hands. Xenia pressed a button on the device, and it morphed into a glove that extended and transformed into a hover-bike. Xenia got on board the bike and accelerated toward the cavern’s direction.
Jace continued into the cavern until he came across Lars, battered and unconscious. Jace cautiously moved into the room, wondering where Adron could be. Adron suddenly appeared behind him and unleashed a swarm of black vines that moved like waves. Jace held his left hand out and the attack absorbed into his glove. He switched feet and alternated putting his right hand forward, and in a second, the sound barrier broke and blue-electromagnetic sparks encased an invisible yet powerful force slammed into Adron. Jace quickly turned around and shot a device at Lars that attached to the alien and encased him in transparent matter. Lars dematerialized from sight a second after.
“Target on-board!” Scott announced.
A shattering scream penetrated Scott’s ear and rendered the Engineer into a seizure. Victoria had awoken outside, and using her echo location, she found the invisible Nova ship. Victoria placed more force into her scream, and the Nova ship fell out of the sky.
Xenia noticed the commotion on her way back. She telekinetically reached for three spear-like weapons on-board the Zalblade and hurled them at Victoria’s area. The hurled spears crashed near Victoria and exploded with bolts of electrical discharges. The currents struck Victoria and she became locked in a stasis. The spears then hurried back to Xenia and floated alongside her bike.
Lea appeared from a portal upon Xenia’s distraction and kicked the alien off her Zalblade. Xenia caught her balance midair and skillfully landed back on her bike. She held her hand forward and two spears hurled at Lea. Lea quickly slipped into another portal and warped away.
Back in the cavern, Adron charged at Jace. The overlord smashed into an invisible barrier that started malfunctioning after impact. Jace checked his vitals. The virol countermeasures were working, yet Adron’s power was incredibly immense. A blow or two more like that and the Nova Leader would be stripped of his energy shield.
Adron attacked again and Jace tried to dodge, only for Adron to fake the attack, use his lightning speed and slam Jace into the wall. Jace’s shields abruptly failed and he faced Adron one on one in melee range. Adron sliced high and Jace rolled underneath, avoiding the attack, but Adron pummeled the Nova Leader from behind, sending Jace face first into the opposite wall.
There was no way this fight could continue if Jace wanted to make it out alive. Adron was simply inhuman compared to Jace and the Nova Leader was down, giving the perfect opportunity for the overlord to finish the fight. Adron struck again, Jace turned around and caught the attack in his hands, confident that the virol countermeasures would work.
The virol started passing through his armor. The Nova Leader began feeling the virus push into his skin. He could feel the parasitical mist entering his bloodstream. His mind became clogged with a history of all the terror the plague had gone through from host to host.
Resist, he told himself. Resist!
“You see it, don’t you?” Adron asked.
A portal opened next to Adron and a long virol-whip hurled at Jace and smacked him away from Adron. The Nova Leader rolled to the side, pressed some buttons on his wrist computer and vanished. Jace phased inside the Nova ship and found Scott unconscious.
“Scott, wake u
p!” he shook the Engineer, blood leaking out of his lips as he spoke.
Scott slowly started coming out of his seizure while Jace got on the central comms.
“Xenia, Aiden, let’s go! NOW!” he ordered.
Jace slid his fingers across the ship’s control panel and the UFO soared into the air. Aiden was still locked in a duel with Sven and neither Scion wanted to stop fighting. Xenia steered her Zalblade toward them. Her sudden appearance distracted Sven. The brute hurled his fire blasts at her while she dexterously evaded, using the terrain’s slopes to her advantage. This gave Aiden enough time to get clear and beamed up by the Nova ship. Xenia, however, was in trouble. Adron and Lea had made their way out the cavern and now, Sven had his focus on her.
“Jace?!” Xenia said over comms.
“I got you,” he immediately replied. “Scott take over.”
Jace moved away from the control panel while Scott limped toward it. Jace pressed a gadget on his belt. A thin layer of light wrapped around his body and he disappeared.
Xenia was being relentlessly pursued by Adron, Lea and Sven who were all closing the distance through Lea’s portal usage. As Xenia gained distance from her attackers, Lea would open another portal and either one or two of her and her allies would appear with an attack Xenia had to narrowly dodge. Phasing in the middle of combat was dangerous. If they phased prematurely, they could end up rearranged wrongly at the teleporter location. Xenia needed a clearing.
Sven appeared from one of the portals and unleashed a blast of fire that toppled Xenia and her bike into the air. Xenia braced her fall using telekinesis, but she still took a hard fall regardless. Her bike slid onto the ice slopes while Adron and Lea appeared from another portal between Xenia and her bike. Daisha suddenly appeared overhead and unleashed an array of lasers that forced Adron to shield himself and Lea from the tremendous firepower. A beam of light wrapped around Xenia and her Zalblade and they vanished a second after. Xenia phased on board Daisha. Jace stepped away from the controls and went toward her.
“Daisha, get us out of here.” Jace said as he limped over to Xenia.
“You alright?” he asked her.
Xenia couldn’t help but notice her lover’s limp.
“I’m fine, are you okay?” she asked, worried.
“I’ll live.” Jace replied.
Xenia held her hand on his chest.
“We need to get back to base. You need treatment.”
“I’ll be fine, seriously. Let’s focus on Lars for now.” Jace tapped his bio-mask and radioed his comms. “Scott? Beam Lars over here.”
“Roger. Beaming him to your ship now.” Scott replied.
A beam of light appeared in the middle of the ship then faded shortly after, leaving behind an unconscious Lars. Xenia got to her feet and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.” she said to Jace.
Jace nodded at her.
“See about him.” Jace replied.
Lars started groaning and tossing about.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright. I’m here.” Xenia went to his side and helped him sit in an upright position. She observed his injuries.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” Lars said.
Xenia pressed on Lars’ chest and he croaked with pain.
“He’s hurt bad. We need to take him to the facility; I can’t operate on him here and I can’t trust anyone else to deal with Syraise biology.” Xenia looked back at Jace.
“Of course. He’ll be safe.” Jace replied.
Lars coughed.
“Easy, easy.” Xenia instructed him.
“Thank you,” Lars looked at her then at Jace. “Both of you.”
Jace nodded at him. Xenia was pleasantly surprised by Lars’ thanks, especially after he directed it to Jace.
**************
Victoria got of her stasis and she went to meet the others, who were further ahead in the snowy night.
“Why did we let them go?!” Sven huffed.
“We didn’t.” Adron replied and opened his palm.
A psychic-holographic image appeared in his hand, showing Site X.
CHAPTER 24
The Nova Team docked at Site X and rushed Lars to the intensive care while Jace got patched up. Xenia used medical equipment from Daisha along with her extensive knowledge on physiology to lead a team of medical staff to treat Lars. Sometime later in the operation, Jace, Scott and Aiden observed from another room through observatory glass.
“I have a question,” Scott asked aloud. “This is Xenia’s brother, and while there are some physical similarities, there’s a huge difference. How come Xenia’s pupils’ glow while Lars’ doesn’t? I thought her whole race came like that.”
“Xenia may be from the Syraise Federation but even among them, she’s an outsider; an alien amongst aliens…”
Aiden and Scott paid attention to Jace. Information about Xenia’s eyes were limited only about the effects. It was never scientifically studied because part of Xenia’s arrest arrangement was that she wouldn’t become a guinea pig for science.
“…she’s what’s called a Herald by her people. It’s a rare genetic mutation that greatly enhances psionic capabilities. If I remember correctly, Xenia told me the scale for Heralds generally went up to 5. She broke old records and went to 11. They had to set a whole new scale because of her.”
“Jesus Christ.” Scott blurted out.
“Usually her federation sends Heralds across pilgrimages in known space to help uplift lesser evolved worlds,” Jace looked at Scott and Aiden. “Xenia’s pilgrimage was here. That’s why she didn’t leave earth. She wasn’t finished, even after her arrest.”
“Kinda’ makes sense why she stayed with us. She’s an outsider like us. Don’t matter if she’s ET or not.” Aiden nodded respectfully.
“You can say that.” Jace said as looked through the glass.
Xenia entered the room and threw away her current pair of medical gloves.
“How is he?” Jace asked.
“He’s hurt but he will make it. He won’t be battle ready soon however.” Xenia replied.
“What of infection? Anything?” Scott questioned.
“No. Our species is immune to virol. We were vaccinated centuries ago.” Xenia said.
One of the doctors entered the room.
“Ma’am, he’s awake.” he said.
“Excuse me.” Xenia said as she left with the doctor for the other room.
Jace’s phone started ringing.
“Hello?” he picked up.
“Jace, I understand you have some special cargo at Site X.” Bakker said on the other line.
Jace ended the call.
“What was that?” Aiden asked.
“Bakker’s coming. Things are about to get hairy.” Jace replied.
“What should we do?” Aiden asked.
Jace scratched his chin, locked in thought.
Inside the other room, Xenia went to her brother’s side.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked.
“Better, thank you.” Lars fixed himself in an upright position.
“Not the place you’d want to end up, I know.” Xenia said.
“No.” Lars looked around the environment nervously.
“I nullified the vibrations here. You will be fine for a few hours before we need to move you.” Xenia said.
“Xenia, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Xenia waited in silence.
“I’m sorry. You were right.” he said.
“Now isn’t the time, Lars.”
“No, you need to hear it now because I’m not sure how much longer we can hold out here. How is Daisha?”
“Daisha is fine. Operational.”
“Where is she?”
Xenia looked around the room before peering back to her brother.
“Here. Safe. I couldn’t risk taking you on an interstellar travel in your critical condition. I had to patch you up first
.” she said.
Lars’ breath grew short and he started groaning.
“Easy.” Xenia rested her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Lars was on fire.
“Xenia,” Lars struggled to speak. “We’re not safe here!”
Xenia observed her brother carefully. His veins and the sclera of his eyes were slowly turning black.
“Lars…” Xenia whispered.
**************
Coils of violent electrical currents surged inside Site X’s hangars. The workers inside the aircraft storage were unsure if it was a Nova experiment or danger. The currents gravitated to a central point and exploded with tremendous force, flinging the workers aside. A portal emerged from the ashes and out of it, Adron walked out followed by Lea, Sven and Victoria who were all covered in virol from head to toe.
Lea observed their surroundings.
“Isn’t that the same ship they always teleport to whenever they’re in danger?” she said while gazing at the Nova UFO, the virol distorting her voice. Adron glanced at ship. The virol on his right arm extended into a long, thick whip, and with it, he smacked the Nova UFO away then sliced it in half. The ship exploded and the force set off a domino of explosions from the other aircraft in the hangar while the virol shielded Adron and his squad from danger.
“Not anymore.” Adron replied.
**************
A tremor rocked the earth from the hangars all the way to the medical facility on the other side of Site X.
“The fuck was that?” Aiden bellowed.
The base’s alarms went off.
“He’s here.” Lars said to his sister in the other room.
Xenia’s eyes widened.
Jace barged into the room a second after.
“We need to go. NOW!” he ordered.
Aiden entered the room and assisted Lars by holstering the alien’s arm over the Viking’s shoulder to carry him. The Nova crew darted into the hallways, armed guards passing by them with readied rifles.
“Scott, get those drones up and running.” Jace said while fastening his bio-mask.