by James McEwan
It wasn’t long before they were in complete and utter chaos. Bodies bumping in to each other, their weapons fire was going every which way. They were doing more damage to their own than the Marines were doing to them. A young Marine found the whole scene funny and started laughing until a laser bolt struck him in the chest. The impact pushed him backward a bit. He rocked forward again and looked down at his chest and much to his relief the bolt failed to penetrate his armor, but there was a nice black scorch mark on his armor. Grunt had seen the Marine get hit and he reacted and jumped out of his cover and grabbed the Marine. Their armor had a carry handle built into the back of the armor which made it easier to handle when out of the armor, and more importantly it was means of dragging wounded Marines out of harm’s way. Grunt was wearing powered armor, which gave him strength many times that of a human. He yanked the Marine across the hall and back to a position of cover. He tossed him against the wall as if he was a rag doll not several hundred pounds of Marine, armor and weapon. He started checking the Marine for damage, “Where are you hit?” Grunt asked.
“I’m good Sir, the armor took it,” the Marine answered.
Because Grunt wasn’t in the squad with the Marine he couldn’t access the Marine’s armor’s computer. That information is shared only with squad mates, squad leaders and medics. Grunt found this to be a little frustrating as he was used to being in charge of every bit of information on the battle field, but now he was not even supposed to be in combat anymore. As the commanding officer of the New Alliance’s Marine Corps, he had to even borrow a suit of armor as he wasn’t issued any. “Good, now back on your feet Marine and get back in the fight,” he said as he helped the Marine back to his feet.
The fight was intense but short. The Marines had the upper hand. They were trained and equipped to fight in zero g, the enemy was not. The Marines mopped up the remaining NGE boarders and then they boarded the enemy’s boarding crafts. The single pilot who was still a living human surrendered without a fight.
The counter attack against the Wesson had failed and the damage done to the Wesson, although heavy to the port side, it did little to stop her guns from firing. The enemy ships were now in full retreat. What was left of the enemy fleet was either on the far side of the planet or had cut and run altogether.
Chapter 23
St. Claire was sitting in the Eden’s command chair on the bridge enjoying a cup of coffee between space folds. He found that a hot cup of coffee seemed to help him recover from the effects of the jump. He took a sip of the hot black goodness when Eve’s ever present voice came over the bridges speakers. “Incoming burst transmission for you Domenic.” Eve was one of just a handful of people who used his full first name. His close friends called him Dom, and everyone else just called him St. Claire or Sir.
Eve nonetheless often treated all of them like children and, in a way, was like a mom to them. This version of Eve she was the heart and soul of the Eden and she was more than just their current home. “It must be from Amanda. No one else knows where we are or what frequency to send it on. Well, if she is risking a transmission, even a burst transmission, then it must be important. Put it on the screen please.”
Burst transmissions were not like regular transmissions. They were one way and heavily encrypted. The data is compressed down so the quality was not as good as a normal communication. They were usually short and to the point and hard to intercept. But any transmissions where always a risk.
St. Claire waited for Eve to decrypt the transmission and put it on the screen. He made use of the time to take another sip of his coffee. The main screen flashed and an image of Amanda Hayes appeared it was low quality but the sound was clear enough. “Dom, we believe that Ruby has new found powers and she used them to stow away on the Eden. We believe she intends to find Thad and try to help him. Please find her and explain the errors of her ways and that she has to stay with the Eden when you make planet fall. Also, Dom she is your responsibility now. I am amending your orders. You are to continue with the current mission, but at any time that the mission places her safety at risk, you are to abort. I will not lose her, understood? Hayes out.” The screen went dark and then was replaced with the normal view of the space in front of the Eden.
St. Claire took a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it out in a long-controlled breath. “Eve,” he said calmly, “When were you going to tell me about Ruby?”
“I was trying to figure out the right time and way to explain her presence,” Eve replied sounding almost afraid to discuss the matter.
“The right time would have been when we could still have dropped her off with her grandmother. Not when we are one jump away from the target. Damn it Eve, what in the Hell am I supposed to do now?”
The screen flashed again and Eve put up the security footage of Ruby’s little demonstration with the stuff bear. “I don’t really think you have to worry about her safety. I believe she can take care of herself. I am more worried about us and our safety. If she has a preteen tantrum she could tear the ship apart and all of us with it. Besides her powers might come in handy in a pinch,” Eve said.
He watched the footage and listened to Eve’s explanation and any anger he felt towards her melted away as he understood why she did what she did. By not telling on her, Eve was acting on the best interests of the crew, not to mention self-preservation. “I get it, but that still leaves the question what do we do with her?”
“With who?” Kára asked as she entered the bridge.
“Ruby,” he replied.
“Ruby? What do you mean?” She asked a bit confused as she hadn’t felt her mind since they left her on Earth.
“She is here on the Eden, she has been hiding in her room,” Eve explained before St. Claire could say anything.
Still not understanding the problem, Kára placed her hands on her hips, “So what’s the problem? Obviously she knows her family is in danger and she wants to help. I think that it is about time she gets a chance to join the fight.”
St. Claire was floored. The thought of a child in combat was unthinkable, at least by human standards. “She is just a child,” he offered in exchange.
“So, what?!? Eli children start their training much younger, I remember the first time I picked up a practice sword, I was barely big enough to lift it. I must have been about three I think,” Kára said her eyes rolling slightly to the right as she recalled the memories.
St. Claire was constantly learning about the Eli and by now he wasn’t shocked anymore. This revelation still had enough surprise to it that he raised an eyebrow. “I should have guessed, but there is more to this than you know. Eve show her.”
Eve replayed the footage of the stuffed bear and when it was over Kára stood silent for a moment. “I see. I could sense power in her, but this is something else. She needs training and a lot of it or else she could become extremely dangerous.”
“Well that is an understatement,” St. Claire said a bit flippantly.
“No! You don’t understand,” Kára said with a tone that froze the blood in his veins. “Eve I need to see Ruby’s medical file and show me her DNA profile. All of it, please.”
The file appeared on the main view screen and the two looked at the complex DNA profile as it scrolled by. “What are you looking for?” St. Claire asked.
“There, stop,” Kára said as she pointed to a part of the profile. “That! See that? That is Eli DNA. Now it makes sense.”
“What makes sense?” St. Claire was feeling really confused.
“Eli are not the only species in the universe that have mental powers, but each species has what I would call a flavor to their powers. Some flavors are quite pleasant while others not so much. Every time I touched Ruby’s mind the flavor was familiar, but everything about her seemed human and I couldn’t understand why her powers felt, well, Eli-like. Now I know why. They are Eli powers. It is extremely rare for humans to have any type of ESP powers and even though those who do have a pleasant, but
different flavor to them. Ruby never felt quite human nor Eli so I never knew what it was. The blended DNA is what made the blended flavor, if you follow my analogy.” Kára explained
“I’m following,” St. Claire acknowledged her.
“This combination of DNA is not natural or by mistake. This is by design and it is dangerous. You need to understand that when my people reached the point of ascension they had developed many powerful abilities. Most of the truly powerful ascended and changed into a form of energy being and they have not been heard from since. In spite of this, there was a class of Eli that didn’t ascend. They were extremely powerful and some of them chose to use their powers for themselves and they nearly destroyed the Eli all together. This is why over the countless centuries the mental abilities of the Eli have been hated and feared. They have largely been bred out of the Eli for fear of a repeat performance,” Kára explained.
“Okay, I get it she has some major juice, but what are you saying about training her? I mean who has the experience and skills to train a mind like hers?” He asked.
“I have heard of a few Eli.” she paused as she struggled to find the right word. “There is no real word in your language that translates well. The closest word is monk, maybe.”
“Okay, let’s go with that. So somewhere out there are some Eli monks that can train her, but to what end?” St. Claire asked
“She is a nuke and if she isn’t handled right she could destroy half the damn galaxy with a mere thought. The monks would teach her how to control her thoughts and how to keep her from wiping out all of, let’s say humanity, because she got upset,” Kára answered him.
“Oh shit” was all that St. Claire said as he mulled the thought over in his mind.
“I don’t know what they were thinking when they made her, but I do know that we need to keep her safe and out of the hands of the Enemy. If that twisted monster gets ahold of her he could twist her into a weapon so dark and so dangerous that not even he could control her. I’m telling you Dominic, if even a fraction of the stories about the powers of the ancient Eli are true.” Kára shuddered.
“That bad?” St. Claire said as he had never seen her shudder before.
“Yes. There was a story I remember from one of the ancient manuscripts I read, that told of an Eli woman who was one of the Nari. That is what they were called; It means The Exalted. Doty Serene Pfosi was her name if I remember corectly, not that it matters. As the story goes she found out that her lover was not exactly what you would call faithful. When she found out that the other lover also happened to be a man, she lost it. She destroyed the planet and everyone who lived on it was destroyed. All to kill one man. She burned it with their star and she did it with a mere thought. Now over the centuries many Eli have discounted the story and attribute the destruction of the planet to the systems star going supernova. Yet they can’t explain why such a young star would go supernova nor can they explain why it happened at the same time that old Doty screamed at her lover that his lover would burn.”
St. Claire understood there were many things in the universe that he didn’t understand, but this story was a little much for him, “You really believe that?”
“Believe what?” Kára asked
“You know, believe that she could make a star go supernova just by thinking about it?” He asked.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that I have been wondering the universe for a little over three thousand years and I have seen my fair share of things that have both defied explanation and terrified me,” Kára said thinking back over all the things she had seen.
Her statement made him really think, “I would hate to see what scares you.”
“We have to find the Nari-jin,” Kára said and St. Claire gave her a strange look not understanding what she had just said.
“Nari-jin?” St. Claire asked.
“That is what they are called the Eli monks. Nari-jin,” she repeated the name.
“Okay, it’s going to have to wait until after this mission,” St. Claire said standing up.
“I know. We need to find Thad and the twins and they need to know. Also, I need to inform Amanda. She will not be happy about releasing your team to run off to find a group of Eli monks who may not even exist any longer,” Kára agreed.
“Wait a minute here. You don’t even know if there are any of these Nari-jin still around?” St. Claire asked. He was a little surprised that she would tell him and not know.
“Most of them were killed off long ago. Long before I was born, but I have heard rumors and stories that some still exist, but that was many years ago. I don’t know if there are any left, but if there are I must find them,” She said looking at the main viewer as if the stars were looking back at her.
“What do you mean you?” St. Claire asked.
“I mean Ruby and I will have to go alone. Where I will be going humans will not be welcome and it will be hard enough to explain one let alone two. Besides, Thaddeus will need you more than I will. This fight has just begun and let me tell you, it took centuries and all of the Eli people to beat the Nephilim the first time. Granted this is just one Nephilim but, mark my words, he will not be easily defeated nor will it be quick and without great cost.” Kára said.
St. Claire wasn’t really happy about the thought of her running off by herself, but then again, she was over three thousand years old and she has been able to take care of herself so far. “Alright, but you get to explain all this to the Hammers. I will not be the one he gets mad at.”
Chapter 24
Thad and Eve made their way to the bone ridge and when they got there they found that one of the large hairy pig like creatures was still there. There was a humanoid figure dressed in raggedy robes. It was busy pumping water into a large inflatable basin. The water was coming from a hose that looked like it came from a door cut right into the side of the massive rib bone. As they got closer they could see that it was a door that was part of the bone and behind it lay stairs that led downward into the darkness. The beast stuck its snout into the water and lapped it up.
Thad walked up and pet the side of the beast’s head and said, “Hello”. The figure who had been manning the hose had not noticed him until he spoke. The person in the robe was obviously startled by Thad saying hello so much so that they jerked the hose up and sprayed Thad in the face. Normally Thad would have been somewhat upset by this, but in this case the cold wet water felt like a small slice of heaven as it cooled his skin and washed away the dirt, sand, and dried blood that was caked on his skin.
Thad had his mouth open and was about to say something else when the water hit him in the face. He took a mouth full of the cool liquid. He swished it around in his dry mouth before spitting most of it out. “Thanks, I needed that. Now can you understand me?” The figure in the robes just stood there not moving.
Thad tried again to communicate, “Look I’m not going to hurt you. I just need some information.” Thad took a step closer and was rewarded with another spray to the face. He backed off, “Okay, okay I get it,” but before he could say another word the figure sprayed him again and this time laughed. The sound of the laughter was that of a woman’s.
Because they didn’t know if the figure in the robes would be friendly or not Eve had crept around the other side of the beast and behind the robed figure unnoticed, but even Eve thought it was funny and she laughed out loud. This made the robed figure yelp in surprise and she swung around to come face to face with Eve. Hose still in hand she sprayed Eve in the face, and this time it was Thad who laughed.
“Who are you?” she finally spoke. She spoke English, but with a heavy accent. It was apparent English was not her first language. Eve wiped the water and sand from her face and said, “My name is Eve and my friend over there is Thaddeus.” Thad waved a friendly hello.
“What are you doing here and why do you walk in the desert unprotected?” The female asked.
“Long story, but if you don’t mind we would like to get out of th
is heat and maybe get a little food?” Thad said hoping that she stayed friendly.
“You should leave now before he finds you here, he will kill you,” she pointed to Thad, “and take you as a slave or worse a wife,” she said pointing at Eve.
“Who?” Eve asked, but before the woman in the robes could answer a larger robed figure emerged from the door. He was not wearing the helmet cover so Thad and Eve could see he was a human male. He was dark and swarthy; his eyes were as black as his hair and his dark skin showed many a year of hard desert living.
“What are you going on about now you Ya Bint El-Khinzir?” he spoke in a combination of Earth English and a form of Arabic that had not been spoken for a hundred years or so.
“Daughter of pig,” Thad said to let the man know that he spoke his language, “Now that’s not very nice, now is it?”
The man looked incensed that Thad had spoken to him, “Who are you to address me in such a fashion, dog? Don’t you know who I am?”
Thad had no clue nor cared who the man was, “I have no idea who you are but I will tell you what. Why don’t you tell me who you are and I will let you know who I am and why I think I can talk to you any damn way I please.”
The man grimaced and he produced a gun from underneath his robes. He shot Thad in the chest three times. The first round was stopped by Thad’s body armor, however, the other two had found areas where the armor had been damaged by the fall through the trees and the laser bolts passed right through it and through Thad. Thad just sighed and looked annoyed.