Genesis

by Filip Forsberg

  The dragonfly maneuvered smoothly in the air and glided forward unseen. He looked down at the screen. Arik and Umbra stood next to each other and looked down toward a shining object in front of them. Jonathan could not really see what it was, so he maneuvered around the dragonfly to get a better angle and get closer.

  The screen that Jonathan held in his hands showed the three Fabergé-eggs on the table and a strange object that he did not manage to identify. He pushed a control on the screen and sent the video back to the Amber Group. A few seconds passed before Marie's clear voice was heard in his head.

  "Have you already found Fabergé-eggs?"

  He did not answer but pressed a menu on the screen and started writing.

  Objects localized. Arik Zimki and Umbra Venandi localized. Maja Buch not localized.

  "Ok, good. Select these coordinates and see if you can send out a couple of other dragonflies that can help you locate Maja. I know it's a long shot, but we must try. If we leave her there, she will surely be killed. Sending DNA profile of Maja Buch now. "

  Roger.

  He worked quickly and loaded the DNA profile into the databank. He activated the three remaining dragonflies and sent them out to search for Maja's specific DNA profile. While they were searching, he turned his gaze back on the shiny object that Arik and Umbra seemed so fascinated with. He had never seen anything like it. He zoomed in and saw that if was like a flat ring of some kind, but it was not what caught his interest. It was the fact that the ring seemed to pulsate with light.

  * * *

  He waited in the shadows. Jonathan watched the screen intently and saw how Arik and Umbra discussed. She seemed to be agitated and her voice was fierce.

  "What do you mean? I have done everything that you asked me about. I got all the Fabergé-eggs, I got all those parts of that thing, I got Arne Buch’s daughter. What more do you want? I don't know why the parts don't go together, I have no idea how it works. "

  Arik glared on her.

  "But did you hear nothing from Dagmar? Didn’t she talk anything on how they should be fused? I guess Arne knew how to go about it when you had all three, I just must understand what to do for it to succeed. "

  Umbra shrugged with frustration.

  "Dagmar is dead. The only thing we have access to is Maja, but that was after all why I took her. I didn't know if there was a special instruction to put them together, so I thought Maja had to be the next best thing. "

  Arik softened slightly.

  "Ok, let’s fetch her and we'll see if she can be of any actual benefit. Make sure she wakes up and get her here."

  Umbra nodded, spun around and stormed out of the room.

  Jonathan saw how Arik followed Umbra with his gaze when she went out. She was furious. When she left the room, Arik turned to the shining ring again and pulled out a chair. He sat down and started analyzing the ring in detail. Jonathan studied him while he worked. It was not hard to be impressed by his stubbornness and devotion when he studied the ring. More than thirty minutes passed when Arik pushed back the chair and stood up.

  Jonathan glanced at his holo-band and his legs ached. On the screen, Arik pulled out something that resembled a velvet cloth and pulled it over the luminous ring. Jonathan could see how it shined under the veil. Arik stood quietly for a few seconds before he turned and walked out of the room. Now Jonathan had his chance, he waited five minutes until he was sure that Arik would not come back. But it was still a gamble, he could not be sure. He lifted his holo-band and activated it.

  "I’m going in."

  Marie responded almost immediately.

  "Ok, have you located Maja, what about the dragonflies?"

  “Negative. But there is a holo-plate next to the object. Hopefully, it can give me some clue. "

  "Ok."

  Jonathan pulled up a miniaturized version of a laser cutter and cut through the grate in front of him. With one hand he held the cut off part of the grate, so it did not fall when he cut a hole big enough for him to get through. He gently pulled the cut section toward him and put it against the wall in the tunnel where he was.

  He quickly packed up his stuff and pulled on his backpack. He carefully jumped down and waited a few seconds to make sure that no alarms were tripped. He ran up to the table where Arik had placed the luminous ring and Jonathan gently pulled the velvet veil to the side. He gasped. The small ring did not resemble anything he had seen before. It was thin, barely ten centimeters in diameter and in its center was a smaller hole.

  But it was not what captivated Jonathan, it was its color, or rather its colors. It was like the ring somehow was alive. He could not put any other word on it. Colors that he had never seen washed over the ring as waves hit a beach. Rhythmically, they traveled around the ring in a never-ceasing movement. It was hypnotizing, and he had to make a conscious effort to stop staring at it.

  Quickly, he pulled the veil around it and carefully packed it down in his backpack. He stretched after box. Gently he opened the lid and his heart jumped over a beat. The three Fabergé-eggs lay neatly lined up and he let his hands glide over them, they were amazingly beautiful and with trembling hands, he also packed them down in his backpack. He activated his holo-band.

  "I have everything but Maja."

  Marie's voice hesitated.

  “All? I need more information. "

  "The Fabergé-eggs and the pieces were something that they picked out. They brought together the parts to something that looks like, "now it was his turn to hesitate," it resembles a flat, luminous ring. I don't know how else to describe it. "

  "Do you have the eggs and the item that was hidden in the eggs?"

  "Yes, Arik and Umbra brought together the three parts that were hidden in the eggs and in some way, they seem to be partly fused now. And yes, even the three Fabergé-eggs are in my backpack. "

  "Amazing, Backmann is doing thumbs up next to me. What about Maja? "

  Jonathan chuckled.

  "Two out of three is well pretty good?"

  Marie hesitated.

  "You can't mean you will leave Maja?"

  "No, of course not. I just tried to lighten up the mood a bit. I have a holo-plate here that I'll investigate to see if I can get any idea where they keep her captive. "

  Jonathan terminated the conversation, picked up the holo-plate and began to read. Several minutes passed while he navigated the menus and looked for clues as to where Maja was hidden but found nothing. He was so focused on it, that he did not hear how the door at the end of the room slid up and two people came in.

  * * *

  Umbra held Maja firmly by her arm and led her through the door when she froze. At first, she did not believe her eyes when she saw the man named Jonathan Jarl in front of her. Jonathan did not move a muscle when he slowly laid down the holo-plate.

  "Thank you for your help."

  Umbra frowned.

  "Excuse me?"

  Jonathan nodded at Maja, that on unstable legs wobbled but straightened when Umbra increased pressure.

  "Thank you for taking Maja here. Then I don't have to run around looking for her. That was kind of you."

  Umbra found his arrogance remarkable. That he had come here, in their most sacred of places, and now stood and mocked her was more than what she could tolerate. She smiled coldly.

  "You're going to die, it's that simple, you'll die a slow, agonizing death."

  Jonathan glanced over at Maja. She seemed disoriented and her hair clung matted along one side of her face. Umbra held a firm grip on her arm and when Umbra took a step forward, she pulled Maja with her who stumbled forward on unstable legs.

  "Let her go."

  Umbra was so surprised by Jonathan's voice that she stopped in her step. She stared a couple of seconds at Jonathan before she burst out laughing.

  "You’re really something, you know that? I have defeated you twice and yet you stand here and think you can tell me what to do." she blinked, "the third time a charm as they say."

 
; "I don’t like to repeat myself", his tone sharpened, "let her go."

  Before Umbra had time to respond, the door slid open and Arik Zimki came into the room. He held a holo-plate that he read while he walked and did not look up when he entered.

  "Umbra, do you have Maja with you? We need new... " His voice fell silent when he almost stumbled into Umbra and Maja. He stared at them, then his gaze slid over Umbra's shoulder and watched Jonathan stand at the table. If he was surprised, he did not show it. He moved around Umbra and Maja and walked over to a side table and laid down the holo-plate.

  "Jonathan Jarl, I suppose? How very nice to meet. "

  Jonathan did not respond. Arik took no notice but continued.

  "Umbra has told me a lot about you. She has told a great deal about your meetings. And what I could understand from what she told me was that you ought to be dead? "

  Jonathan smiled.

  "Sorry to disappoint you."

  Arik laughed and clapped his hands.

  "Not to worry, Jonathan. I'm sure Umbra will make sure this time and make me proud. "

  * * *

  Arik studied the spectacle in front of him. Umbra was strong, fast and fit. And she had her unique ability. It had always given her an advantage, he had read the whole dossier that John Vendrick III had compiled on her and therefore he was not nervous. Jonathan moved fast but Umbra was much faster. Umbra threw away Maja as a rag-doll and she hit the wall and collapsed into a pile on the floor.

  "The third time’s a charm."

  A faint taste of metal filled Jonathan's mouth. He would only get a chance, he would have to gamble all to have any chance of winning. Umbra smiled.

  "To give you a chance, I will not use my ability. What do you say about that?"

  Jonathan looked blankly at her.

  "You do what you want, I’ll beat you, either way, let Maja go and let us leave with the Fabergé-eggs. "

  Umbra glanced over the table and saw that it was empty. She glared at Jonathan.

  "You have the eggs? And the pieces of the key? "

  Now it was Jonathan's turn to smile.

  "You’re sharp."

  Umbra stretched out a hand.

  "Give me them."

  "Come and take them."

  Umbra snickered and began to move forward. She was like mercury. Jonathan barely had time to raise his arms and protect himself before Umbra struck a fast, hard jab at his midsection that he only partially succeeded to block. Pain echoed within him when a rib got a hard slap and he lost his breath for a moment. Umbra smiled, her white teeth flashed as he held his arm to his side.

  She moved left, her movements were like water and Jonathan spun around to catch up, but she was faster. Yet again she struck a short jab. The clenched fist struck like a hammer and the impact boomed within him. He stumbled backward and was close to falling but managed to stay upright. Umbra laughed.

  "Was that all you had? That was not much to cheer for, was it? " In the corner of her eye, she saw how her father nodded appreciatingly.

  * * *

  Arik was satisfied. Umbra completely dominated the fight. Jonathan did not have a chance. There seemed to be no risk that he would defeat Umbra. But despite that, Arik had summoned backup. Six clones were on their way up to assist if something went wrong but when he saw how superior Umbra was, the clones would probably just have to carry out a corpse. He chuckled.

  "Good, my daughter. Finish it now. "

  Umbra nodded at her father.

  "For you, father."

  The door slid up and the clones came into the room. The tall men were all well-trained and seemed to be in ultimate physical form. They all had high cheekbones and moved with an inherent force that reminded Arik of a caged panther. They were not as perfected as the clones that the Tabula Rasa scientists had developed but they were still formidable.

  Umbra moved towards, this time even faster than before. She struck a harder blow to his jaw and Jonathan's head was thrown to the side. He stumbled backward and sank down on his knees. He gasped, and blood dripped on the floor.

  "I didn't think you would use your power."

  She laughed.

  "I lied."

  Jonathan pulled his hand over his mouth and he saw how it became red. Umbra stood in front of him as he kneeled in front of her. Small droplets of blood dripped on the floor and created a puddle in front of him. The clones stood in a semi-circle around them. It flickered before his eyes and he pulled up his holo-band.

  "Then I also have a power you haven't seen before."

  He activated the feature that Marie had downloaded onto his holo-band.

  * * *

  Umbra gasped. In front of her, Jonathan had begun to tremble. She had not seen anything like it in all her life except when she saw herself in the mirror. It was not an ability she knew that someone else in the whole world had. She had never even heard of anyone who could something similar. And now Jonathan Jarl had the ability? She watched him intently and while she did, the vibrations intensified around the contours that shaped Jonathan. She heard how the clones began to speak excitedly with each other.

  "What's going on? What is he doing? "

  Jonathan rose, and Umbra felt a twinge of uncertainty. Several Jonathans rose as the first Jonathan stood up. It was like seeing a kaleidoscope of the same person, while moving the same way just a fraction of a second after. The first Jonathan rose, and Umbra saw how a dozen copies of him moved after in the same pattern until all copies dwelt in the same place as the first. Umbra tried to conceal her hesitation.

  "That was very impressive, where did you learn it?"

  Jonathan smiled.

  "You're not the only one with tricks, you know."

  Umbra pushed aside her doubts and nodded.

  "So true, so true."

  She took a step forward and her confidence slowly returned. Jonathan tweaked something on his holo-band. Umbra continued to move towards him when she saw the now twenty copies of Jonathan's arm moving up and down. Before he could do anything more, she threw herself at him. Jonathan moved quickly and slipped softly to the side when Umbra screamed. Around her, a swarm of Jonathans disappeared, they ran from each other as spokes on a wheel. She grabbed onto one of them but fell almost over when she fell straight through the hologram. The six clones stood petrified and stared at the wildly running Jonathans. Umbra roared.

  "Get him! Get them all! "

  When they heard Umbra screaming, the six clones jolted from their paralysis and threw themselves against the many Jonathans and all flew through air when they moved through the holograms. One of the clones hit the edge of a table and stumbled down on his knees with blood gushing out of a deep cut on his head. Another threw himself against a fleeing Jonathan but only found air when he did and landed with a crash on the floor and a shattering sound was heard when the man's arm snapped.

  Arik could not move when all the commotion around him exploded and tried to bring order to the chaos that swept through in front of him. A swarm of events around him meant that he no longer had an overview of what was going on. In front of him, Umbra roared more orders to the clones who tried desperately to find the real Jonathan. Two of the many Jonathans set course towards each other, each followed by a clone. Arik stared at them, still unable to move. The two quickly approached and to his astonishment, they ran through each other, but the pursuing clones did not react quickly enough. They ran into each other with a violent crash and Arik could hear how one of the clone’s nose was crushed.

  Umbra glanced over at Maja who had managed to get up into a half-seated position. Maja gaped with astonishment when she saw the chaos around her. Umbra shrieked at her.

  "Stay there!"

  Maja ignored her and tried to get up. Umbra jumped up, pulled out a short rod that was attached to her back and rushed towards her. Just before she arrived at her, something moved in her field of vision. She cursed herself that she was so careless when she realized it was the real Jonathan.

  She t
ried to twist her body, so she would come outside his reach but knew instinctively that it would not suffice. A fierce blow hit her on the side of her head and darkness rushed forward as a fast train and swallowed her.

  * * *

  Jonathan reached for Maja, who took his hand. He pulled her on her feet.

  "I'm here to help you. Follow me. "

  Maja nodded when he uttered the words. She wobbled but Jonathan grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward. The battery in his holo-band was almost exhausted and the holographic copies of him would disappear any second. His mind raced. He looked down at the unconscious Umbra and saw her holo-band on her wrist.

  He tore it off and quickly put it into his pocket. Arik had come out of his paralysis and roared orders to the remaining clones that were still chasing the holographic copies by Jonathan. He pointed at Jonathan and Maja.

  “There! Take them! "

  Two of the clones that were closest to Jonathan stopped and glared at them. They began to move towards Jonathan. Jonathan glanced down at Umbra’s lifeless body and the short rod that protruded beneath her body. In a sweeping movement, he bent down and pulled it out. He weighed the weapon in his hand. The rod was relatively short, barely half a meter long but was made of heavy, solid wood.

  It felt well-balanced in his hand and he made a few strikes with it. The clones stopped as one as the now armed Jonathan motioned for them to continue.

  “Come on, it’s just me. "

  The two clones resumed their movement like one. They were now no more than three meters away from Jonathan and one of the clones threw himself forward in a surprise attack. Jonathan pushed Maja, so she again fell to the ground and took a step sideways. When the clone was by his side, Jonathan thrust his rod against the man's thorax and he felt the ribs give way. The man groaned when the rod impacted his body, but he could not stop the blow and crashing into the wall behind Jonathan. He lied motionless on the ground. The second clone stopped when he saw how quickly Jonathan had neutralized his brother.