by J. D. Tew
“His luminescent holographic image was gone, and there I stood, a leader who promised to re-assemble my crew into fighting form. I would try like hell to make good on that promise.”
Time for a break. Promises, I have made a bunch. No way to live up to them in this prison cell. I’ll continue in a minute, and give my throat a rest. Before I do, I remember back to that day and conversation that I had with Trazuline? After all I had been through to travel and meet Zane in the first place, and then Trazuline went and exercised the notion of killing Zane, the supposed good Omnian.
Kill an Omnian...
“The only Omnian I wanted dead, was Odion. But I wasn’t about to let anyone get in my way—Zane, Trazuline, or even the wicked warden of this prison.”
7 THEODORE: RESURRECTION
After a five minute break, I stretch, and a tear on my shirt rips a bit further. I grab up the tablet and do the deed of recording for the Premier and his puppets.
“After King Trazuline and I contacted Lincoln with our rolesks, I was dreading my message to my crew. There was still a painful burn wound on my hands, caused by the battle on Tritillia when I had cradled a raging electric sword; the injury occurred moments before I killed Odion’s apprentice, Travis.”
Travis was an Earth kid like me, just minding his business one day, and the next, he was committing to Odion’s evil bidding. He was a belligerent bully, vulnerable to evil; he and I reluctantly shared a friend that died tragically back on Earth due to a fatal accident—Jason. Travis and I were definitely not compatible.
Jason, Travis, and I; we could have been a good clique of friends if our relationship ever had the chance to develop, but the Omnians of the galaxies do not care about the intricate social ties of three kids on Earth. War doesn’t discriminate. My friend Jason died at the cliffs in Taylor Falls in Minnesota; it was a tragic accident at face value, but I always wondered if Zane and his Dietons had something to do with it.
Jason’s sudden departure from life placed a rift between Travis and I, which Travis conveniently exploited to turn toward evil. I, on the other hand, veered toward the good of the galaxies, or at least I hoped. Our feud started and ended by the sword, which sent Travis toward his demise, something I think Odion didn’t plan on.
Still within my plain white dorm, aboard Freebird, I took a moment to inventory my gear; I couldn’t save the galaxies without a little help from technology. My weapons were far more advanced than anything on Earth.
My acquaintance with the galaxies began when a necklace bearing a jewel magically hovered through a window in my home on Earth by way of its own force; it was called Megadenom’s amulet. It warned me of approaching dangers, but in the manner it alerted me was sometimes annoying, as it became warm and bright, heating up on my chest in the event the slightest hint of danger was near. It only reached scorching temperature when the likelihood of my death was more than probable.
I had an Elon suit, a pliable bio-elastic armor, which increased its hardness based on the reflexive responses of its plant matrix. To employ the suit, I would press a central button on a harness resting over my chest. The armor would then emerge organically and envelope my entire body. Upon the threat of impact from any level of danger, the suit would increase the hardness of its own pliable wood substance, reaching an almost petrified temporary state. The material used in the making of the suit was harvested from an ancient tree on the jungle planet of Tritillia, a tree that not only was sentient but had uncanny defensive and reflexive attributes.
There was also a set of bracers that were a gift to me and every member of my crew, as an honorary inauguration to our first incursion into outer space. We received them on the Uriel, from Zane. These bracers, made of interlocked riveted titanium chain mail, deployed upon voice command. The titanium was micro-cast, making the bracers seamless. They were perfect for hand-to-hand combat, as well as protection from the blows of enemies. Astoundingly light weight, the weight of these bracers was equivalent to a full can of pop.
For my feet, I had a pair of portatransmechanical lifters which, simply put, allowed me to hover in the air. They were the size and shape of ski boots, and had a wireless connection to the nanocom in my brain. All I needed to do was think about flying, and the boots would take flight upon my command. The boots also used holograms, projected by thousands of fiber optic cameras lining the outside surface of the boots, to make me invisible. It was a feature I rarely used, because it gave me an unfair and in some ways, an immoral advantage.
Finally, Wrath. My gun blade, which functioned as a sword and projectile weapon, was a million years old and designed by Armizards; the best weapon developers in the galaxies. I had never met an Armizard, not yet anyway, but based on the sword alone, I knew Armizards were efficient at what they did. If I pressed the button on Wrath, the lethal teal phosphoritite and magnesium blade would emerge, scaring any foe that opposed me. Unfortunately, while I still had second-degree burns on my hands, the heat from its blade would cause me severe discomfort, so I had to focus on healing first. I placed Wrath on my weapons rack, after powering it down.
I went to the infirmary immediately to heal my wounds with some deflicontis mucilage; the healing sap of a deflicontis tree, which was multiversally renowned for its healing attributes. There were a few vials remaining after I had exhausted one during my recovery after previous battles.
Beyond my blistered hands, which were instantly healing, my crew and I had an objective, and our only access to information outside of what we already knew was through a Karshiz native, Nilo.
Karshiz is a massive planet with a gravitational pull similar to Earth, but its hurricane-style winds and vast desert plains kept the desert planet of Karshiz bleak, and mainly uncharted. Karshiz was once covered by oceans, similar to Earth around the age of the dinosaurs. An asteroid the size of Earth’s moon collided upon Karshiz with enough velocity to propel it toward two suns, upon which they captured this planet in their gravitational pull. Karshiz suffered major drought and hyper-evaporation and became a massive arid planet, although these developments did not stop a major race from colonizing the planet hundreds of thousands of years later.
Our temporary captain, Nilo, wasn’t a hairy beast-man like the native population residing on Karshiz; he was a Rangier. Rangiers were a species that shared many characteristics with humans; especially the proclivity to adapt to extenuating circumstances.
Nilo held the key to our next move. Despite the fact that Karshiz was not his first home, he was our only guide to the planet Karshiz and our liaison. We couldn’t stay near the volatile environment of the planet Tritillia and we definitely wouldn’t chart a course for Sephera, not without a master plan. It was too dangerous to soar through space with warships lurking, Odion on the hunt, and Zane scorned. All I knew is that we needed Liam’s brawn and Lincoln’s intellect for our crew’s mission.
Like Nilo was our liaison to Karshiz, Lincoln was our potential gateway to a world we knew only tidbits about, Sephera. And I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want to be with my friend; Sepheran or not, he was still Lincoln.
The first step of saving Liam and Linc was informing the group of what King Trazuline and I did. I hoped to have full support before I even stepped a foot on the main deck. I walked in the direction of the observation deck and saw my acolytes huddling around the navigation tables. Nilo was cursing everyone for fiddling with buttons.
‘I am serious! Do not touch another button.’
‘Dude relax; these buttons are rad,’ Dan said. He was looking rad himself, with his fighting gear dangling loosely. He was probably exhausted from the battle. If anyone had stamina, it was Dan. I felt he should have taken off his battle gear right after we escaped. It was as if he wanted to re-live the moment, but war still profoundly troubles me. That is the difference between a private and a general.
‘Okay everyone, listen-up!’ I yelled, interrupting Nilo’s scolding of my crew.
Dan stopped fooling with the cabinets and said,
‘What are you going on about now, Dude? We just finished destroying two evil apprentices of Odion. What else do you want from us, man?’
‘Hold on, Dan.’
‘No! Are you forgetting that we just saved your ass?’ Dan asked with arms crossed and sweat-dried clumped hair from the battle hours before.
I snarled, ‘No disrespect. Keep it above the belt, Dan.’
Dan shook his head and looked at me anew, as if with glassy eyes. ‘I’m sorry. But everything that is happening to us is so fricken strange.’ His tone was now more tinged with respect, rather than disdain.
Mariah hopped up and said, ‘This situation is perfectly normal to me.’ She had an amusingly sarcastic tone.
‘Okay, time for an update.’ I announced. Everyone looked at me, patiently waiting for what I would spew. ‘Alright, I just communicated with Trazuline... and Lincoln.’
‘What!’ Mariah yelled. She and Lincoln savored a puppy-love relationship before he was murdered. From her shocked and mortified expression. I wondered if perhaps it was too soon to reveal the mission, but to me it was better sooner than later.
‘I’m sorry Mariah, I know this must be very hard on you, but you’d want to know. I used my rolesk to connect to Lincoln on Sephera!’
She ran over to me, and hugged the crap out of me. So ferocious was her grip that I feared passing out from asphyxiation.
‘Easy, Mariah!’ I managed to blurt out before going blue in the face.
She laughed with glee and started performing the jazz moves that’d been engrained in her mind since grade school dance lessons. ‘Lincoln’s alive!’ she whooped, running over to the two other guys to hug them, one at a time. They were cheering, too, and exclaiming to one another.
‘High five!’ Dan shouted to Nilo, and held his hand up in anticipation. Nilo didn’t disappoint him—in fact, he ran up to Dan, and did a big leap, smacking Dan’s hand so hard that I thought it would bring him tears. Then Dan and Nilo came up to me, too, embracing away. Now, guys hugging each other outside of come-from-behind victories at sports—that’s one thing that needs to be preserved on film forever.
I hated to break up their party, but I had to. I held up my arm and yelled, ‘But Lincoln’s Sepheran now! He’s not human!’
Mariah gave me a duh expression. ‘Of course I know that. I saw him die!’ She brushed away a rogue tear. ‘But he’s here somewhere! How soon can we see him?’
‘Well, he’s on Sephera,” I said. ‘I told Linc that we’re coming for him, but first, our objective is to seek out the Wildem desert on Karshiz, and our target of acquisition is Liam. The mission to Sephera will commence later.’
‘Wa-hoo! We’re going to get Liam back, too!’ Dan shouted out, his face flushed with joy. It was like pandemonium all over again. If I could make announcements like this every day, my approval rating would continuously climb.
Mariah and Nilo were already hugging each other once more. ‘Wow, best news I’ve heard since that horrible battle,’ Mariah said, brushing away more fresh tears. ‘I can’t wait to see Lincoln. But why Liam first? Why can’t we get Lincoln now, if you know where he is?’ She was stalking me with those insistent eyes. Damn. So hard for me to evade a pretty woman’s evocative begging request.
I stood firm. ‘Easy. Karshiz is closer,’ I said. ‘And easier to sneak into. Sephera, on the other hand, is highly guarded.’
Nilo jumped up from the captain’s seat, astonished. He said, ‘Do you realize what you’re saying, Theodore? Sephera is one of the most heavily fortified planets in all of the Galaxies! There are fifty, that’s right, I said fifty roaming ships just like this one, guarding it. They orbit Sephera, waiting like bored kids, and are just praying for a few courageous idiots to attempt rescuing the Sepheran version of their lost ones. You’re golo, man!’ Golo was a Rangier term, meaning stupid or ignorant. Nilo had a vein that ran across the temple of his head that pulsed and laid bare his anger.
Mariah cut between us. ‘Let’s just hear what Theodore has to say, we don’t have any other choice, and this is be better than anything I have been able to come up with.’ I figured she would side with me. Although Mariah was an erupting geyser of ideas of her own, she chose to stay quiet and defer to my leadership.
‘I’d do anything for Lincoln, but I really miss Earth,’ Dan said. We’ve made it alive so far, and I don’t want to turn into a Sepheran and never go home again.’
‘Dan has a good point,’ Mariah said sullenly. ‘Isn’t it time to cut our losses?’ She shook her head. ‘God, forgive me. I sound so cruel.’
‘It’s okay, Mariah,’ I said tenderly. ‘There’s no wrong or right about it.’
Nilo jumped into the conversation again, now much more sympathetic. ‘Okay, here’s what I can do! I’ll bring you guys back to Karshiz. We can restore core power to the ship. Right now, we’re not far from the atmosphere of Karshiz anyway. I will help you with this crazy notion of returning to my planet, and finding Liam, but beyond that...’ Nilo said, pausing to puff with frustration, ‘you’re on your own.’
There was a deadening silence as we three contemplated the unthinkable—a mission without Nilo.
Nilo looked half-apologetic. ‘I already have a job policing time violators, not to mention a life in Karshiz.’
‘You’re leaving us?’ Dan demanded, his face showing disbelief. ‘After we’ve all been in together?’
Mariah laid a hand on Dan’s shoulder. ‘Honey, he did far more than we could ask for. He didn’t even sign up with us, when we all escaped Earth. As he said, he has his own life, and perhaps he misses his family.’
‘What about me?’ Dan asked, aghast that no one ever asked about his family.
‘Well, I hate to say this, but Ted’s right,’ Mariah said. ‘If we all go back to doing skateboard tricks, or taking piano lessons, enjoying the way life was, we’re doing nothing to stop Odion from invading our planet.’
‘Exactly!’ I interjected.
‘You think Odion’s after Earth. You have no proof,’ Dan said, glowering at me.
Nilo chortled. “Oh, ho, ho. Dream on, frat boy.’ He puffed out his cheeks. ‘Take my word for it, Odion will be on Earth pretty soon with a hundred fleets of Dacturons. If he hasn’t already.’
Dan sighed. He knew we were right.
‘Okay, we all agree on the next steps. Nilo has done his share, and we badly need Liam and Lincoln back. And we have to, we just have to keep fighting Odion until he’s gone. There is no ifs or buts about it.’ I took a deep breath, and said, ‘We should land in a remote location. No sense in showcasing a wild entrance.’
‘I agree with Theodore’ Mariah said. ‘We should do what we can to jam any radars in the area, as well.’
‘All great ideas. We will implement these in the plan.’ I pushed my chest outward and said, ‘Get some rest, and then we’ll prepare for Karshiz. We will find Liam.’
‘Yes sir,’ Dan said, saluting me casually. He left down the hallway to his dorm. Apparently everyone was still confused, but now they were gung-ho on our mission. That frank little talk we had worked wonders. I was still asserting my control, but I treated my team like equals. Everyone felt the better for venting out.
I looked over at Mariah, she rested her hand on my shoulder in a way that said thanks. ‘I’m going to tend to the inboard conservatory. Maybe I can think there,’ Mariah said. She walked down the central hallway, dragging her fingers along the transparent panels that shielded the ship’s circuitry. From this hall sector of the ship, the only thing separating us from the beauty of space was a layer of tempered alloy glass that ran along the ceiling. The stars of outer space passed along this canvas like grains of salt rolling off a pelt of black velvet.
The loss of Lincoln proved how strong Mariah was, as she endured his death at an intimate level. I believed that she was capable of anything. I too, had lost my best friend, and was dealing with it in my own way. My way of dealing with loss was slightly different; Lincoln chose for me to live and to dishon
or this gift, would be to dishonor his ultimate sacrifice.
It was Dan that needed galvanization. During my life, I learned motivation was deeply rooted in every individual. It took more than just a superficial touch to ignite an inclination for a desired directive. If I wanted Dan to join, not just participate, but truly immerse himself in the new mission, then I had to focus on what he stood to gain from the adventure—excitement.
Nilo hung back after the crew parted ways to separate quarters of the ship, and looked as if he was itching to tell me something. After adjusting our heading slightly, he pressed a couple of the ship’s numerous buttons, pulled a lever, and programmed the ship back into autopilot.
‘Theodore, I’m glad I have you alone for a moment. There are a few things I left out about the planet Sephera. I didn’t want to say anything before, because well, you can see how devoted she is.’
‘Mariah? Yeah I know. By the way, I wanted to say thanks since you joined our crew. I appreciate all that you have done for us, Nilo. You saved us.”
‘Let’s not go kissing each other’s ear lobes just yet,’ Nilo said. My laughter from his weird reference to my gratitude interrupted him briefly, and he continued. ‘Are you done? What I have been meaning to tell you is that there are two ways into Sephera’s atmospheric barrier; neither of them really gives you an easy option. One is highly improbable and probably not even worth mentioning, but for the sake of being complete I will tell you. King Trazuline’s Opposition recruits Sepherans for our war effort and it is commanded by Pritok. Do you remember him?’
‘No. From what everyone told me, I think he brought my crew through the capital of Karshiz and saved their necks from an ambush, while I was on Tritillia, preparing for battle. I never met him though.’
‘Sounds about right. Pritok is King Trazuline’s head captain. Let’s just say, I would get my lips ripped off by Pritok for even mentioning this to you. They use teleports that are Dietonically stretched to gain access to Sepherans. During my objective to counter the attempts on your life on Tritillia, I was very close to the king, and I learned about this covert transport. King Trazuline is recruiting several of the Sepherans for the Opposition, I think. There is no way we can even begin to figure out the information necessary to intercept one of these transmissions, because, like I said, it’s highly covert and they never teleport to the same coordinates twice.’