by Adair Hart
Both the right and left screen faded, and a bronze-skinned male wearing a white robe-like outfit with a light-blue belt appeared on the screen. A golden mantle rested on his shoulders with a silver bar on the right side and a blue circle on the left side.
“Is that a Helian?” whispered Emily.
Evaran nodded. “Yes, before they had personal holograph emitters. In the future, they look different. V, open communications.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Helian interacted with the glass desk he sat behind. “Alien ship, identify yourself.”
“I am Evaran on my ship, the Torvatta. With me are the humans Dr. Albert Snowden and his niece, Emily.”
“Origin?”
“Travelers beyond the Galvin Rim.”
“Interesting answer. Purpose?” asked the Helian.
“We are looking for someone.”
“Lost and found,” said the Helian with a smirk. He tapped in rapid succession at his desk. “I’m relaying to you the rules and regulations for this planet. You’re expected to obey it at all times. Failure to do so will result in a quick and exact response from the Helian authority. Is that understood?”
Evaran nodded. “Perfectly.”
“Landing coordinates have been relayed. You will be escorted in and need to register once you are down.”
The screen faded.
Dr. Snowden looked out the left front window. “Well, that was interesting …”
Evaran half smiled. “This beacon and greeting is not present in the future.”
“The Helians sorta looked like the Purifiers,” said Emily.
“They do a bit. V, take us in.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta flew toward a spot in the Atlantic Ocean, forty miles west of the southern region of modern-day Portugal. Two small ships flew alongside the Torvatta.
Dr. Snowden noted that although they looked advanced, they were not nearly as cutting-edge as what he had seen on Kreagus.
As the Torvatta approached the ocean surface, a domed city shimmered into view with a bubble-like shield around it. The city sat on an eight-pointed star base. In the middle was a large structure that rose to the clouds. Around it were various smaller buildings. On the underside were underwater structures that clung to the floating city. A square portion of the shielding faded away, and the two ships escorting them flew off. The Torvatta flew through the opening, and after a moment, it landed on a pad on one of the arms of the star.
Dr. Snowden noted that the point of the star arm had enough landing pads to fit a dozen or so Torvattas. Since the Torvatta landed facing toward the inner part of the city, he got a good view. The city seemed low-tech compared to Kreagus, but still much more high-tech than what was on Earth at the time, or even in his time. He briefly wondered if they would be visited by a docking authority.
They exited the Torvatta. Evaran took point while Dr. Snowden, Emily, and V in body mode trailed behind him. A Helian dressed similarly to the one they spoke to on the screen approached them.
The only difference that Dr. Snowden could see was that on the gold mantle, there were two silver bars on the right side.
The Helian bent his arms so that his hands were touching in front of his chest. The left hand was palm up, and the right hand was a fist. “Welcome to Atlantis. You’ll need to register yourselves and your ship. Follow me.”
They followed the Helian along the wide path that led away from the landing pad. After a moment, the Helian stopped before a metallic canopy-like structure with side walls. It stood about thirty feet tall and extended forward roughly ten feet.
Two Helians with silver light armor stood at attention in front of the structure. They had a single silver bar on their right arms and a blue circle on their upper left arms. What stood out to Dr. Snowden was the sleek black weapon in their hands. It was medium sized and looked like it packed a punch.
The Helian that was escorting them tapped a button on his silver forearm guard. He waved for them to go through the structure.
They walked through the structure, and halfway through, the walls lit up red.
The Helian scrambled toward them. He interacted with a screen that had appeared above his right forearm band while looking at Evaran. “We can’t detect your internals, although you have mass.”
Evaran nodded. “That is to be expected. We are not from this planet.”
“I don’t think so. What are you?” asked the Helian.
“From your perspective, an Outsider.”
The Helian looked down at his screen, then looked at Dr. Snowden and Emily. “It appears you two are infected with some disease.”
Evaran raised a hand. “It is not a disease. They are Wildborn. It is inherent in their makeup.”
Dr. Snowden grinned. It was odd to see Evaran use deception, but when he did, it was convincing. Dr. Snowden wondered if Evaran had used it on him and Emily before.
The Helian snorted. “The only normal one is the robot. Go figure.” He exited the structure ahead of them and waved them forward. Once they were through, he said, “You’re registered, as is your ship. An agent is on his way to help you.”
“Thank you,” said Evaran.
“Don’t thank me yet. These missing person cases seem to be occurring a lot lately.”
“How many so far?”
“Around thirteen this month. Usually get one or two a year.”
Evaran narrowed his eyes. “That is odd. Thank you for your help.”
The Helian nodded and exited back toward the landing pad.
“Seems like whatever is going on has already started,” said Dr. Snowden.
Evaran looked around. “It would appear that way.”
Five minutes later, another Helian arrived. He was dressed similarly to the one that registered them, except he had two silver bars on the right side of his mantle and a red square on the left side. The Helian performed a salute while surveying them. “I’m Special Agent Asher. If you’ll follow me to my office, we can file your claim.”
Dr. Snowden nodded and did a Helian salute in return.
Asher smiled. “It’s not expected for you to emulate our cultural greeting. We understand that there are a variety of cultures that have different greeting rituals.”
“Just trying to fit in,” said Dr. Snowden with a half grin.
“It’s appreciated,” said Asher. He nodded and waved at them to follow him.
As they walked, Dr. Snowden hustled up alongside Asher. “So … these bars and symbols on your mantles … I’m guessing some type of rank system?”
Asher grinned. “You got it. Left side symbol represents the branch of the Helian authority that you work for, right side is rank. In my case, the red square represents the investigative branch, and the two silver bars means I’m a special agent. One silver bar would be a general agent. My specialty is investigating missing persons cases.”
“Huh … how many branches are there?”
“More than we need,” said Asher, chuckling.
They reached an interior courtyard where Dr. Snowden saw Helians engaged in discussion. After stepping onto a ramp that moved upward, he studied the Helians. There were various symbols and bars and even outfit differences. If the Helians were this advanced this far back in human history, it was no wonder to him that they represented Earth when the Kreagan Star Empire came knocking. The version of Helians he knew from the future had glowing eyes and wings. Then again, Evaran had mentioned personal hologram emitters, making them look like angels. He suspected that was not by coincidence.
After several minutes, they disembarked from the ramp and entered Asher’s office a short distance away.
Asher gestured for them to sit as he took his seat.
After they sat, Evaran raised a finger. “Before we begin, we have not lost anyone. We are actually looking for someone.”
Asher paused, then eased back into his chair. “Well … that’s different. Who’re you looking for?”
“Lord
Vygon.”
“The Daedrould?”
“Yes.”
Asher tapped at his desk, causing a screen to rise up in front of him. After a few quick motions, he twisted his fingers on the screen, causing it to orient toward them. He pointed at a glowing circle. “He’s here. I’m afraid if you want to get a hold of him, you will have to activate our communication beacon there.”
Emily studied the screen. “Looks like it’s in Illinois. Near St. Louis.”
Asher cocked his head and wrinkled his eyebrows.
Emily cleared her throat. “With all this technology, can’t you just contact him?”
Asher narrowed his eyes. “Hardly. The Daedrould don’t like to be contacted directly. They prefer you go to their territory, activate the beacon we set up, and then they send someone to get you.”
Dr. Snowden smirked. “They don’t like visitors.”
“Now you’re beginning to understand the Daedrould,” said Asher. He faced Evaran. “I’m curious, though. I’ve heard whispers of your name. Involved in previous events, yet no one seems to really know who it is or what the involvement was. You wouldn’t happen to be that person, would you?”
“We just arrived on Earth, so it could not be me,” said Evaran.
Asher nodded. “Yeah … that’s what I figured. Probably someone else with a similar name. Anyways, good luck meeting Lord Vygon, but I wouldn’t expect a warm greeting. He is a Daedrould after all.”
Dr. Snowden fidgeted in his seat. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well … I guess you wouldn’t know,” said Asher. “There is a pecking order of nonhumans on this planet. Daedrould are at the bottom, we’re at the top. Daedrould kill their own kind and harass humanity. We organize our own and try to protect humanity. If all the Daedroulds were gone, Earth would be better off.”
Dr. Snowden thought about John. His face turned a light shade of red. The memories of what he learned traveling with Evaran about the Helians’ involvement in off-world human slavery galloped through his mind. “You sure about that protecting part?”
“Of course.”
Dr. Snowden stood up and pounded the desk. His breathing went haphazard. “I’d suggest you look into the human slavery you’re involved in!”
Asher jerked his head back. “Excuse me?”
“Dr. Snowden!” said Evaran. He stood and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Dr. Snowden’s heartbeat rampaged through him. He turned to look at Evaran and was startled out of his rage by Evaran’s intense gaze. After an awkward moment, he licked his lips and nodded. He flung his arm into the air in a dismissive gesture. “I’m okay.”
Evaran bowed at Asher. “We appreciate your help and will be on our way.”
“Okay … ,” said Asher with wide eyes. “If you … uh … need any more help, let me know.”
Evaran nodded as they exited the office.
Emily squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Uncle Albert?”
Dr. Snowden turned his head toward her. “I’m fine. Just … lost my cool is all.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked forward. It was more than just losing his temper. Anger control was always an issue in his life, and as of late, he seemed to escalate from normal to blind rage in just a few seconds. Something was off. At first he thought it might have been the nanobots, but he could feel them trying to calm him down. It must be something else. Maybe it was just the stress of traveling with Evaran. Seemed every place they went, there was always danger. He shook his head.
It took an hour for them to get to the Torvatta and fly over to the spot Agent Asher had showed them.
Dr. Snowden sat on a slab in the medical lab. “Anything?”
Evaran perused a console next to the slab. “I am not seeing anything. I do recall seeing some notes on your anger from the virtual simulation. However, this change appears to be recent.”
“Uncle Albert’s always been short-tempered,” said Emily as she squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm.
Dr. Snowden sighed. “Yeah … but I’ve always been able to keep it under wraps. I’m not sure what’s causing me to fly into a rage. I didn’t have this problem when we helped the Fredorians.”
Evaran cocked his head. “Well … you had another emotion that overrode any anger you might have had, and even then, it did flare through at times.”
“Yeah … can’t say I miss that whole fear thing.”
Evaran rubbed his chin as he studied Dr. Snowden. “Starting tomorrow, we will begin a new program. Every morning, you and I will have a session. It will take time, but I believe you can control it.”
Dr. Snowden nodded. He half smiled at Emily. “At least you won’t have as many opportunities to call me a jerk face.”
Emily swatted his arm as she smiled at him. “I wouldn’t bet on it!”
They shared a laugh.
V walked into the room. “We have landed.”
“Excellent,” said Evaran. “You two can wait here while I investigate.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. “I’d like to go. Really could use the fresh air.”
Emily nodded. “Me too.”
Dr. Snowden studied Emily. While he wanted to go, he wanted her to stay, in case things got out of hand. There was no way she would be by herself, though, even if it was just on the Torvatta. It was not her nature, and he suspected that as much as he needed to control his anger, she would one day need to learn to be comfortable being by herself. He slid off the slab.
“Analysis. I could use some fresh air as well.”
Emily and Dr. Snowden chuckled.
Evaran half smiled. “Fine. Before we go, follow me to the research lab. I have made some adjustments to your PSDs’ design and need to sync them with the Torvatta.”
They assembled in the research lab.
Evaran stood next to a table that had a rubberlike mat on half of it and a glass-like top on the other. He gestured at the side with the rubber mat. “Place your PSDs there.”
Dr. Snowden and Emily complied.
Evaran tapped at the glass, and a projection of the PSDs appeared. He extended his hand toward it, causing a menu to appear off to the side. With a quick motion of his hands, he selected sync, which caused the PSDs’ projection to change to a slightly bulkier model. After waving his hand toward the rubber mat, the PSDs morphed to match the projection. Evaran handed the PSDs back to them.
Emily looked her PSD over. “Three buttons now?”
“Yes,” said Evaran. “The first and second are customizable. The third projects a miniature screen above the PSD that lets you switch between what the buttons will do. You can also access the main interface from there as well. On the side is a small switch that toggles if the PSD expands or shows a projection.”
Emily opened and closed her PSD in both modes.
“Why the upgrade?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Evaran nodded. “After the events of our last adventure, I realized that in a survival situation, you would need something more robust than what the PSD offered. To that end, I have added a survival modification as well as some training videos I did long ago. You will notice the end is a bit wider. That is to support a wider array of options for the morphable metal.”
“That’s pretty cool,” said Emily. “What type of survival options we talking about?”
Evaran half grinned. “I figured you would be interested in that. In addition to information, you can now extend a container that will purify water. There is also a food pellet dispenser option, but I would caution you on using them. Each pellet contains your caloric requirements for one day, and it is packed with all the vitamins you need. Your nanobots know how to distribute it. It would be detrimental on anyone else. There is about a nine-month supply there.”
“The PSD is using dimensional mechanics for the dispenser, right?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“That is correct,” said Evaran. “Okay, are we ready?”
Dr. Snowden and Emily nodded and pocketed the PSDs.
They exited the Torvatta and entere
d a forest clearing.
“V, scout mode.”
“Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged,” said V. He took off flying through the trees.
“According to Agent Asher, the beacon is masked as a tree nearby,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden looked around. “Well, at least we aren’t too far away.” The strong smell of the forest pervaded his nostrils. Sunlight filtered down through the trees, creating rays of light. Although he did not hear any animals, the unmistakable sound of buzzing insects was ever present. He was sure Emily would love that.
They trudged through the forest, making sure to walk around dense clusters of trees. V flew back and projected a hologram. It showed two Native Americans hunting off in the distance. “Analysis. Two humanoids detected.”
Evaran studied the projection. “I do not think either is Lord Vygon.”
Emily smiled. “Well, this is the archaic period. They are probably hunter-gatherers out … hunting and gathering.”
“Look at you,” said Dr. Snowden. “Miss History over here.”
Emily swatted Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Maybe you should have read some of the books I suggested for you.”
Dr. Snowden grinned.
“V, distraction hologram,” said Evaran.
“Acknowledged,” said V. He shot off through the forest.
They continued their journey, pausing every now and then to verify they were on the right course. Dr. Snowden had pulled out his PSD and enabled the navigation system. He pointed forward as they walked, and the PSD would show a holographic arrow with the distance above it ahead of him. It was like a compass and global positioning system in one.
V arrived back ten minutes later. “Analysis. The humanoids have fled.”
“Excellent,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden tilted his head. “What hologram did you use?”
“A grizzly bear.”
“Well, that would definitely do it.”
“I increased it to four times its normal size and doubled its movement speed.”
Emily’s eyes popped open. “Uhh … yeah … that’d do it.”