She tried to get her bearings, but it was tough while she breathed in hard, quick intakes. Her hand was empty, and she craned her neck, seeing the pistol reflecting the sunlight from a good forty yards behind them. The Sprite moved with grace she hadn’t expected, and soon they were at the cavern’s gaping entry.
Other Sprites were inside, banging fists to their chests, grunting and snorting their pleasure at the prize. Jules began to summon her powers, letting the energy fill her veins, feeling it in her toes and fingertips, but she refrained from using them yet. She had a chance to record and report here, and she wasn’t going to squander the opportunity.
Gravity took over as the Sprite released her from its huge grip, and she clattered to the ground before scurrying away. She pressed her back into the cave wall and took stock of the situation. There were at least twenty of the Sprites inside, a handful of them giant, three or four times her height. They were close to the pictures Awali had shown them, but far more intimidating. Their heads were small ovals, eyes white with tiny pricks of black in the centers. They moved like wild animals, all stalking and swaying in the hips.
Then she saw their children, the little ones hiding behind their parents, pointing at Jules. They’d never seen something like her before, and her glowing eyes were drawing their attention. She peered past them, seeing a bale of the wheat spread out over the floor in the corner of the cavern.
“Jules, come in, Jules.” She heard her mother’s voice in her earpiece.
“I’m okay, Mom.” Jules thought there might be a chance to end this with a positive resolution, like her father would strive for. One of the adults crouched near her, knocking her hard in the helmet with a fist. It was testing the material, trying to wrap its small brain around what it was seeing.
“Jules, just get out of there.” Her mother’s voice was panicked.
“Mom, I’ll try to talk to them.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She ignored her mother and stood, the nearest Sprite stepping toward her as she did so. Jules tried to make herself appear larger, inflating her chest and spreading her arms out. The energy filled her, and she lowered the shield, not wanting to startle them even more with a glowing sphere in the dim cave. “I’m Jules Parker. We’re here to discuss…”
The fist caught her in the side of the head, sending her sprawling. She thought the glass of her helmet might have been compromised, and her ears rang from the impact. The Sprites were cheering, grunting and hopping up and down, sending dust falling from the ceiling above.
She tried to jump to her feet, but another one struck out, hitting her in the ribs. She felt the attack, even through the armored suit. The Sprite looked at its hand, howling in pain at punching the hard material.
It came for her, and she slid away, rolling to her feet. It was time to escape.
“Jules, where are you… they’re outside the caves.” Jules heard them through her earpiece, their boisterous cries echoing.
“I’ll be right…”
The sound of gunfire erupted outside, and Jules filled with her powers, sending a protective sphere around herself. Her eyes glowed brightly, and she floated from the cave, her bubble preventing the Sprites from grabbing hold of her. She’d hoped for a positive outcome, but that wasn’t going to happen. Now she only wanted to evacuate with Dean and her mother alive. There were dozens of the monsters, surrounding the other two, and a few of the Sprites dropped as pulse beams struck them.
So much for observing and retreating. Jules lifted, ready to lower toward her mother right as one of them broke through the gun fire, hitting Dean in the helmet with a rock. Dean fell hard, his gun flying from his hand. Her mother struggled to help him, but the Sprites were on them, taking them both to the ground.
Jules screamed, fury burning inside her. These weren’t creatures you could reason with. They were devils, and like the evil monsters they were, they needed to be cleansed from existence.
Jules thrummed with rage, and she shot her hands forward, invisible tendrils shooting into the flesh of the naked Sprites. They melted under her insistence, flesh sizzling, bones crackling as the power oozed into them.
Jules cried out, tears falling over her cheeks as she tore through the bodies, sending pieces of the Sprites all over the rocky ground, searching for her mother and Dean. She didn’t stop until every last Sprite was gone, and only then did she settle to the ground, wading through the mess to find the two motionless bodies inside their armored EVAs.
The power drained from her, leaving her an empty husk as she knelt beside her mother, wiping the remains of a Sprite from Mary’s mask. Her mom stared back, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a silent scream.
____________
I had no idea what to expect inside, but I gripped my gun tightly, holding it up, ready to fire at any invaders. The room was quiet, empty.
I moved through the ship, checking the corners, but nothing was out of place. In the cargo hold, I shifted the stacked crates and found the box I kept my trinkets hidden inside. I sifted through them, finding my communicator and the compact Kalentrek where I’d left them. My pulse raced as I shifted the devices, missing the one I’d never wanted anyone to ever find.
The time-travel device was gone.
How was this possible? If only my DNA could gain access into here, how had someone passed through? I needed to return to my ship, because it had to have been Jules. But the blood. Why was there blood? I rushed from the cargo hold, through the fake room we’d used to trap Lom of Pleva on Udoon Station, and back into my cellar.
I climbed the steps carved out of the earth and pressed through the cellar doors, snow falling on my forehead. I went inside my house, grabbing the cleanest food storage I had and a knife. I returned to the cellar, prying a blood sample from the floor, and placed it in the container. I sealed it, and locked up behind me before setting my alarm and running to the shuttle.
I had to check the blood sample before I did anything.
The shuttle lifted from the ground, and I pushed the engines as fast as they’d go, returning toward the portals across the ocean.
____________
The entire area was a mess, and Jules slipped on what used to be a piece of a Sprite. “Mom, I…”
“Don’t apologize, Ju,” Dean said, pulling her into a hug. “You saved us. They were about to tear us limb from limb.”
“But… they were only animals. There were children…” Jules wanted to cry but found her ducts empty.
“He’s right. It was them or us,” Mary said.
“I could have saved you another way. Left without hurting them,” she said, unable to shake the memory of the fury that had burned so hotly in her chest at the thought of harm befalling Dean or her mother.
“They would have been more agitated than ever. The Tedaus would have paid for it,” Mary assured her. Even now, covered in the guts of their enemy, her mom was being kind and comforting her. Jules could only wish to grow up to be half the woman Mary Parker was.
“What do we do?” Jules asked, waving a hand over the mess. Some bird-like animals were hovering overhead, likely drawn by the thought of a meal, and she had to fight the urge to throw up.
“We leave here,” Dean said, helping steady Jules.
They moved to the outer edges of the forest, and Dean stayed at the rear, keeping watch for any more Sprites. There was no evidence to indicate retaliation, but Jules assumed there would be more, maybe at a different cave along the fields.
The three-mile journey to Awali’s home was arduous, and it was dark by the time they stepped out of the crops, their footsteps slow and difficult.
Her mother fell to her knees as they emerged, and Jules lowered to the grass beside her. She heard the Tedaus before she saw their slight forms wavering in the dark night. They were a bustle of noises, and she realized it was some sort of alarm, a shrill whistle coming from their thin lips. It was dark, the moon only a sliver in the expansive black sky.
; Awali pressed through the throng of Tedaus surrounding them, and she smiled widely. “You have done it? You have saved us?”
Mary stood, and Jules wondered how this looked. They’d left five hours ago, fresh and clean, and had come back in the dark of night, covered in dried blood and guts.
“We don’t know if any remain, but they’ll likely not bother you for some time. I’ll inform the Alliance they’re to come and search the caves to ensure you will no longer be bothered,” Mary said grimly.
“Thank you, Gatekeepers. We owe you our lives.”
“No you don’t. Just hold up your end of the bargain. We welcome you into the Alliance of Worlds,” Mary said, and Jules sprang to her feet, feeling slightly renewed as the locals cheered their freedom from the oppressive Sprites.
____________
I found Doctor Nick aboard Horizon, and he seemed shocked to see me. I didn’t blame him. It was an off hour, and Nick had been in his suite, sleeping beside his wife Clare. He left her dreaming and motioned for me to follow him to his medical bay. His hair stuck up at odd angles, and he wore a robe rather than a lab coat.
“Dean, you look… a little crazy. What are you doing here?” He glanced at the food container in my hand.
I held it up. “For this. I need you to compare this blood with mine,” I told him.
His brow furrowed. “What… shouldn’t you know if it’s your blood?”
I followed him into his office, the lights turning on as we stepped inside. “You’d think so. It’s a strange request, but I have good reason.” I couldn’t tell him about the time-travel device, because I didn’t want to worry everyone about Lom. Only a select few were privy to what really happened that day, and it was for the best.
“I’ll have to take your blood,” he told me, and I rolled up my sleeve.
“Be my guest.”
A couple minutes later, he had both samples in a humming device in the wall, and after a few quick button taps, the machine started its analysis. “Dean, is there something you want to tell me?”
Nick was a good friend and had been there for me for a long time. He was the one who’d delivered Jules, so I decided a little transparency was necessary. “I have a room where I seal off a few… dangerous items I’ve collected over the years. No one but me can enter, but it looks like someone else has been inside.”
“What tipped you off?” Nick asked.
“Something’s missing.” I peered at the samples, wondering what the results would be. I had a good guess.
“Nothing too important, I hope.”
“I hope not too, but that all depends on who took it,” I said.
The device chimed, indicating its analysis was complete. “Dean, it looks like you took it.”
I slapped a hand to my thigh, trying to think how this could have happened. “I don’t understand.”
Nick leaned on a desk, half sitting as he rubbed his chin. “As you know, the Kraski performed extensive testing, resulting in the hybrids.”
I nodded, following along. “But the Kraski are as good as gone.”
“It only takes one.”
I considered this, but it didn’t feel right. “I mean, where are we with direct DNA matching? Can someone be duplicated?”
Nick grimaced. “It’s been done for years, Dean. I mean, we were cloning things on Earth before the Event; it was just highly regulated. Some races out here have been cloning food sources for years, growing meat from cells. There’s also a planet far from here, I think I heard Lord Crul mention it to Magnus once…”
“And?”
“Every single member of their society is the same person. Same DNA, exact clones. They’re an asexual being, identical in every aspect,” Nick said.
“How is that possible?” The concept sent shivers over my arms.
“They’re pioneers. I suspect there was one, and they created a clone, and it continued from there,” he replied.
“Then it’s possible that someone’s made another Dean Parker?” I asked.
He nodded. “There’s a chance. Judging by the sample you brought to me, I’d say it’s a good chance.”
“Great. Just what I needed. Okay, thank you, Nick. How’s Clare?” I asked, trying to distract the million questions from my mind.
“She’s really good.”
“And the kids?”
“Staying on New Spero with family while we’re on this mission,” he said. It was clear he missed them. They were still young, and if I knew Nick and Clare, they wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by their family.
“It’s hard leaving them behind, isn’t it? Hugo’s at the Academy now,” I told him. “Is this mission as dangerous as Magnus led me to believe?”
“I hope not.” Nick yawned, sticking his palm over his mouth.
“Thanks for the help. Sorry for bothering you so late.” I shook his hand, and he patted my back with his free hand.
“Anytime. It’s good to see you. Please ask if there’s anything I can do.”
“I will.” I left, wandering through the familiar corridors of Horizon, wondering what the other Dean was up to.
Eleven
“You did what?” I asked my daughter. She looked away sheepishly, and I uncrossed my arms, not wanting to come across as so overbearing. I lowered my voice. “I’m sorry. I’ve had an interesting day. You’re okay? Both of you?”
Mary nodded, and I noticed a bruise along her right cheek. Jules’ face was pale, and her hand rested on her stomach like she was going to be sick.
“We already told you,” Jules said softly.
“I thought this was a simple mission about crops. What happened?”
“Dean, you have to stop interrogating us. They needed our help, and we offered to do some recon and see what we could learn about their adversaries. We had no idea we’d encounter such a violent enclave of monsters!” Mary shouted the last, her hand shaking as she pointed at me. I deflated.
“I’m sorry, you two.” I hugged my wife, pulling her close, and Jules came over, holding her mother’s hand.
The computer chimed, advising me someone was at the door. I told it to let them in, and bootsteps came pounding down the hall. It could only be one person.
“Captain Parker, what were you thinking, leaving Light without telling your commander?” Slate asked, his face scrunched up in a deep frown.
“I wasn’t, Slate. Take a seat.” I indicated the empty plush chair across from the couch, and he stared at it for a moment before sitting.
“You shouldn’t have done that. I had to hear about it after scouring the ship for you. The portal guards were the ones to tell me,” he said.
I ran a hand through my hair and tried to smile at him. “I needed to check on something after speaking with Fontem.”
“And what could be so important that you’d rush away from your new post without saying so?” Slate asked, and I glanced at Mary, then to Jules, who were both intrigued by the question as well.
I’d been unsure what to divulge, but these were my family, and if anyone would understand, it was them. “Fontem told me he had another cache of treasures out there.”
Jules scooted to the edge of the couch, her expression shifting from upset to excited. The girl loved adventure, perhaps even more than I did. “He does? Where is it? Can we visit? What’s in there? Does he know what I am?” Her queries came fast and hard.
I squinted as I looked at her, almost seeing the tiny five-year-old girl in there somewhere, only she was fifteen now, trying to be an adult on most days. “He showed me, but it’s a long and perilous journey there. He made sure no one would find it.”
“Can we go? I mean, after we drop Brik off at home?” Jules asked.
“Honey, there are some factors to consider…” Mary started to say, but Slate cut her off.
“Boss, what does this have to do with you rushing off of Light?” He spoke slowly.
“Something about the conversation set off alarm bells, and I don’t know why. I needed to
see the time-travel device. To make sure it was there,” I admitted.
“And?” Jules asked.
“And it appears like there’s a clone of me out there.” I watched their expressions go from interested to confused, and I continued. “The device was tucked away somewhere safe, but only Jules or I could access it. And unless Jules brought a sample of my blood, dripped it on the floor, took the time-travel device, and left, locking the door behind her, then that’s the only answer.”
The three of them remained silent, peering from one to the other. Mary spoke first. “Wait, it’s gone?”
I nodded.
“What about the other stuff?” Jules asked. She was aware the Kalentrek I’d found while on the Deltra space station was among the other tools. It was extremely dangerous.
“It’s all accounted for.”
“What does this mean?” Slate asked.
“It means someone’s cloned me, I guess. And they knew about the device.” I slunk back into the couch, exhausted.
“This has to do with Lom, doesn’t it?” Mary asked.
“Probably.”
“What can they do with that device? You sent someone into the future, but what happens when they head into the past? Can they change our present?” Jules’ voice was quiet.
“I don’t have an answer for that,” I conceded.
“But we know who does,” Jules said, standing up.
“We’ll talk to Fontem tomorrow. You’ve been through a lot today, and everyone needs some rest.” I rose, turning to Slate. “I’m sorry about running off like that. It won’t happen again, Commander.”
Slate grinned at this. “I’m glad you’re all okay. We’re moving for Oliarn Dian to drop off the Lucat. We’ll arrive in forty-seven hours.”
“Great. I’ll see you bright and early on the bridge, Slate.” The others said goodnight to our friend, and soon the three of us were left alone in our massive quarters.
“A clone, Dean?” Mary shook her head.
The Survivors (Book 12): New Discovery Page 9