Dark Universe & Forbidden Love

by Hao Yang

  “I didn’t sent any signal through the ring.”

  “I know. This is weird. Usually only the Oracle could trigger this kind of signal. Never mind. Jason, I will get you out of there!”

  “Lisania, I need to ask you something. Did you remove Gloria from my memory?”

  Jason was waiting for Lisania’s reply, but there was nothing.

  When Jason was talking with Lisania, the flag vessel of the Fifth fleet passed through the debris field and docked with the Cruiser General Klizan. The moment the door opened, Klaycon and others rush to the flag vessel for their lives. Nissen and Carila almost fell over. Kalan finally met his son. They hugged for several second. Then Klaycon asked him about his mother and other family members. Kalan had no idea of their current status.

  Later, they sat down and talked about what happened. Kalan finally had a picture and he didn’t believe the eyeball could do that. Because it was just an eyeball not a brain. There was no way it could execute complex plans. Klaycon didn’t argue with his father, because he was so exhausted. He hadn’t slept in the past several days.

  Doensen checked the cruiser with some soldiers. He saw the eyeball with his own eyes and now he understood what Kalan said before. He came to Kalan and said, “You see this. The ring changed color.” Doensen showed Kalan the ring. Now it was bloody red.

  “Yea, any idea why?” Kalan said and took over the ring.

  “No. But it happened when we got close to the cruiser.” Doensen said in confusion.

  “What about the debris field?”

  “I sent several vessels to check it. The initial analysis of the wreckage suggested that those Estian destroyed their own vessels.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Missile wreckages and hull fragments.”

  “How can that be possible?” Kalan asked in surprise.

  “I don’t know.” Doensen shook his head.

  “It doesn’t matter. We are going home now.”

  “It does matter. What if the same thing happened to us? Then we will never make it home!” Doensen said seriously.

  “What do you suggest then?” Kalan said unhappily.

  “I don’t know.” Doensen sighed. He wanted to go home yesterday.

  “Then we are going home!” Kalan said decisively. He planned to use the eyeball to influence the deputy chiefs of other fleets.

  Chapter 113

  Nightmares scared Klaycon awake. He sat up on the bed, trying to recall the details. But all he could remember was blood, death and distorted faces. He couldn’t even tell who those faces belonged to. Panic and frightened, he walked around in the cabin. He remembered this feeling. He had same one when he was on the cruiser. Then he looked out of the window and caught that they were right now in an asteroid belt, drifting along millions of rocks and minor planets. Klaycon couldn’t even see other vessels due to the high density of rocks.

  “Why are we here?” Klaycon talked to himself. He swiftly dressed up and ran out of his cabin.

  Ten minutes later, he reached his father’s cabin and woke him up. Kalan was just as surprised as Klaycon. They rushed to the bridge.

  Doensen was chatting with a colonel when Kalan and Klaycon walked in.

  “That was short. I need some sleep as well.” Doensen said easily.

  “Where are we? Why are we in this asteroid belt?” Kalan asked hastily.

  “Our patrols reported that other Glycan fleets were approaching us, so we hide here just for a moment.”

  “How do you know they want to attack us? Did you establish the communication?” Kalan asked impatiently.

  “We did. They are Fourth, Eleventh and Twenty-second fleet. They ask us to surrender.” Doensen said calmly.

  “Fourth fleet was guarding a planet. They couldn’t be here. 22nd fleet was far away.” Kalan said firmly.

  “This must have something to do with the eyeball.” Klaycon said in a scared voice.

  “Shut up!” Kalan shouted.

  Klaycon backed away quickly, casting his eyes down.

  “Doensen, can I talk to you in private?” Kalan asked nicely.

  They went into a nearby compartment and locked the door behind them.

  “There are so many places to go. Why did you make the decision to come to this asteroid belt?” Kalan asked.

  “It just popped out of my head.” Doensen said innocently.

  “In an asteroid field like this, our radar can’t see anything. We can’t even keep the communication flow among our vessels. Do you see what I mean?” Kalan said uneasily.

  “I know all that. I don’t know why I just had this idea at that moment.” Doensen said in embarrassment.

  “How long have we been here?”

  “About two hours.”

  “Where is Cruiser General Klizan?”

  “Some two kilometers away. Why you suddenly ask this?” Doensen sounded confused.

  “Keep a close eye on the cruiser, put a tracer on it and send more patrols out. We need to leave here as soon as possible.” Kalan said seriously.

  Doensen ran out of the compartment and gave the order right away.

  The fleet was slowly leaving the asteroid belt. Lisania was piloting a Glycan fighter jet and flying close to the carrier. She learned about the big Hylocan eyeball from several soldiers while they were talking about it in panic. But right now, she was more concerned about Jason and she knew she had to make a move right now.

  “Flight control. This is patrol 34. Request refuel.” Lisania called in.

  “Patrol 34, request granted.”

  “Copy that.” Lisania said calmly. She knew there was no way her fleet could defeat this Glycan fleet. But since they were in the asteroid belt right now, their radar had so many blind spots and her soldiers could take this chance to sneak in. Then she could single out the flag vessel and she might have a shot to save Jason.

  Thinking about this, Lisania had one of vessels in her fleet follow her closely and headed to the landing zone. When she got close, she used her ability and gave those Glycans in the hangar a notion that they had to leave the hangar right away. It worked well and hangar soon cleared out. She and her soldiers got on board without a fight. They quickly put on biological suits which made them look exactly the same as Glycans.

  “Major, you take 20 guys with you, secure the bridge and take the carrier out of the formation. I will take the rest with me. Once you have the bridge, let me know.” Lisania said calmly as she slung a rifle over her shoulder.

  “Roger that.” A tall Hylocan nodded.

  They parted away in two groups. Lisania led 10 guys to the back of the vessel. When they passed by Glycans, no one even looked at them. After they made a turn at an intersection, Lisania stopped as she saw Gloria fighting a Glycan soldier outside the compartment where Jason was held. Gloria quickly gained the upper hand and knocked the soldier down. Then she noticed Lisania and her soldiers. She wasn’t expecting the backup would come this quick. Just at this moment, Lisania deactivated her biological suit and Gloria recognized Lisania right away.

  “Finally, we meet again!” Gloria said angrily.

  “You didn’t really learn from last time.” Lisania said in a relaxed tone.

  Gloria darted to Lisania, taking a swipe at her face. But Lisania saw this move even before Gloria started it. She slid aside and punched her head, knocking her unconscious. Jason came out of the compartment, ran to Gloria, and held her gently.

  “Jason, we gotta move. This Glycan girl can’t come along.” Lisania said firmly.

  Jason paused for a second and then nodded. He slowly put Gloria on the deck.

  Lisania got the message from the major. They had secured the bridge. She asked them to maneuver the carrier close to Cruiser General Klizan so that she could use her power to manipulate the crew on the cruiser.

  They fought off the reinforced Glycans and headed to the docking bay.

  Chapter 114

  When Hylocan took over the bridge, Kalan was in the weapon ba
y. He quickly gathered all available hands and launched the counter-attack. They swiftly overcame the initial panic and turned the tide on Hylocan. Kalan had soldiers sever the lines for communication and weapon control. Right now, he and hundreds of soldiers were waiting for the robots to cut a hole on the door opening to the bridge.

  In the docking bay, Lisania requested the crew on Cruiser General Klizan to dock the cruiser with the carrier. Once Jason, Lisania and her soldiers came aboard the cruiser, they blasted their way to the bridge and took it over. Jason quickly jumped into the pilot seat, his right shoulder bleeding badly.

  “Alright, I am ready to go.” Jason shouted.

  “Wait. My soldiers are still out there!” Lisania shouted.

  “Hurry!” Jason said.

  “Major, get out of there. We are in the docking bay.” Lisania said hastily to the communicator.

  “My queen, take off. We can’t make it! They are about to break into. Get out before it’s too late.”

  Lisania paused for a second, and then she nodded to Jason. He quickly engaged the cruiser into the dark matter passageway. The cruiser blasted off into the darkness.

  Tired and hungry, Jason closed his eyes and sunk into the chair. Lisania walked to him and said, “Come here. We need to take care of that.” She pointed at Jason’s shoulder.

  “Thanks.” Jason said happily and followed Lisania to a nearby compartment. Lisania sprayed some mist on Jason’s shoulder and asked, “So did you miss me?”

  “My friend told me our story, so I only know your name before I saw you today.” Jason said slowly.

  “At least, you sound like you miss me.” Lisania said emotionally.

  “Then you shouldn’t delete my memory.”

  “You think I want to?” Lisania said sadly.

  Jason glanced over at Lisania. She was looking at him gently, her eyes filled with tears.

  “I didn’t have choice.” Lisania said in a low voice, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Jason didn’t say anything. He somehow found it hard to believe this beautiful and graceful Hylocan girl was in love with him. But he loved Gloria and he knew it in his heart. He took out some tools from a first aid kit and checked the wounds on his cheeks and tongue.

  Watching Jason did it in a clumsy way, Lisania took over the tools and fixed those wounds for him. Now Jason felt much better. Suddenly, Lisania leaned in and kissed Jason on his lips. Jason was thinking about pushing her away, but the delicate feel of her lips echoed something far in his memory. After several seconds, she slowly broke off and said, “Do you remember this?”

  Jason turned his head away.

  “You love Gloria, don’t you? I guess this is just fate. Even if you had me delete your memory about her, you still can find her.” Lisania sighed.

  “I asked you to delete her from my memory?” Jason asked in confusion.

  Lisania knew Jason wouldn’t believe her. It didn’t matter anyway, because Jason and Gloria were together again.

  “Knock! Knock! Knock!”

  Lisania opened the door. A soldier saluted Lisania and said, “My queen, we have emerged from the dark matter passageway. I have contacted our fleet and they will be here soon.”

  “Any sign of Glycan fleet?”

  “No. In the meantime, you may want to look at that thing.” The soldier said in a scared voice.

  “The eyeball?”

  “Yes, my queen.”

  While Jason and Lisania were walking to the middle part of the cruiser, Jason briefly told Lisania how he got involved in all this and what he knew about the eyeball.

  When Lisania actually saw the eyeball, she couldn’t hide her surprise. It took her a while to put her jaw back to where it should be. She stared at the eyeball as it looked at her.

  “So what is it?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t really know. I can’t read it.”

  “I am pretty sure this thing killed all the crew.”

  “I am not surprised. I don’t know how powerful this eyeball is.”

  Jason then told Lisania about the ring and how it changed from black to bloody red. Lisania told him that the ring was originally designed to protect whoever wearing it from the Oracle’s mind-reading ability. Later the queen Vioael had the ring added a small feature. When the oracle tried to read the queen’s mind, it would change color and send a signal to notify queen’s guards. It was the signal that led Lisania to Jason.

  Jason now understood how important the ring was, but he lost it.

  “Lisania, I am sorry. I lost the ring.” Jason said in embarrassment.

  “Don’t worry about it. It was just a ring. It has done its job and led me to you.” Lisania said happily.

  “Thank you for saving me.” Jason said gratefully.

  “Jason, I can do anything for you. I love you.” Lisania said seriously.

  It came to this moment again. Jason could feel Lisania’s love and he felt bad to say no to her.

  “Sorry.” Jason said quietly. It was so quiet that he almost couldn’t hear it.

  Lisania let out a sigh and walked away.

  Chapter 115

  Hylocan fleet soon arrived at Lisania’s location. The fleet commander and several high rank officers boarded the cruiser and checked out the eyeball. They immediately realized its value and significance.

  Jason was in the hangar bay. There were still two reconnaissance jets in there. It reminded Jason of Gloria. They took one and it didn’t went very smooth that time. Now he was going to start another trip. While Jason was checking the jet, Lisania walked to him and said, “I am wondering whether you will leave without saying goodbye.”

  “Lisania, it is time for me to leave.” Jason said calmly. He wanted to say something like we would keep in touch, but he realized that it would get both of them in trouble.

  “Can I see you again?” Lisania asked in a begging voice.

  “I don’t know.” Jason sighed.

  Lisania smiled reluctantly and then she ran off like a maniac.

  Jason heaved a sigh of relief and climbed into the cockpit.

  While Jason was just about to take off, he heard metal cracking sound and then felt the cruiser was shaking.

  “Jason, get out, now!” Lisania called in.

  “What is going on?”

  “I don’t know. Something is pulling us! Get out!”

  Jason hit a button and the hangar gate slid open. He flew the jet out and saw the bow of the cruiser was disappearing. The vessels in the Hylocan fleet were firing their cannons and big guns. The cruiser was backing off at its full speed. A vessel flew to the cruiser and docked with it. Hylocans were running to that vessel through the docking passageway.

  “Lisania, get out of there!” Jason shouted to the communicator.

  “I am on the way. Are you out?”

  “Yes. Hurry.”

  “I know. You get out of here. I gave the order to fire at the cruiser when everyone is out.” Lisania’s voice was calm and clear.

  All of a sudden, a fin at the rear of the cruiser broke into pieces and one big piece stabbed into the docking passageway.

  “Lisania, the docking way was damaged. There are lifeboat at the back of the cruiser. You can make it.”

  “OK. OK.”

  “Hurry!” Jason shouted. The Hylocan vessel detached from the cruiser and flew away. The middle part of the cruiser had disappeared. Jason stared at the rear of the cruiser, waiting for the lifeboats. A small gate near the tail opened but stopped at halfway.

  “Jason, I am stuck.”

  Jason saw several Hylocan vessels coming for Lisania. But they are too far away. At the same time, the tail section started to disappear. Jason maneuvered the fighter to the cruiser, meters away from the tail.

  “Lisania, I will fire at the gate. On my count.” Jason said hastily. He could felt something was pulling his jet as well.

  “Now!” Jason fired two shots and destroyed the gate. A lifeboat shot out like a bullet.

  “Yes, it wo
rked! Jason, it worked!” Lisania shouted excitedly.

  But nobody answered her. The cruiser and Jason’s jet both disappeared into the void.

  Chapter 116

  Jason wasn’t prepared to make that sacrifice when he decided to save Lisania, but he didn’t regret what he did. At least, he was still alive, but he had no idea where he was. It was pitch black without a star and all gauges were down. Jason wasn’t that worried, because he believed whoever pulled this could kill him in a snap. He went ahead and took a good nap.

  After he woke up, he was shocked at the view. It was a warm and sunny afternoon. There were blue sky, green grass, a lush forest and several small wooden houses. Jason couldn’t believe his eyes. He slammed his face several times to make sure he was awake.

  “It’s real. This is real!” Jason sputtered to himself. He jumped out of the cockpit and walked cautiously on the soft grass. As he got closer to the wooden houses, he saw a dozen of kids running around happily. When he looked more carefully, he saw both first and second class species. A farmer like guy greeted Jason with a kind smile and said, “Hi, my name is Elen. You must have lots of questions. But before that, would you like to have something to drink?”

  “Why not? I am Jason, by the way.” Jason said politely. He couldn’t tell Elen’s species.

  While they were walking in the forest, Jason saw more and more small wooden houses. They looked different from one to another, but all built in a simple and easy style. He also saw a Glycan chatting with a Hylocan. Then there were Uainanese, Yaseen, Oireitan, Dolanz, Ajiese, Lysisese, Jynese, Tizuee, Diilre, Intinese, Sulan, Lozisusis and other species.

  Jason followed Elen and entered into a wooden house. The inside was spacious and well illuminated by a light ball suspending in the air. Jason sat on a chair and watch Elen pour some liquid from a green plant into a cup made by leaves.

  “There you go.” Elen said as he handed the cup to Jason.

  “Thank you.” Jason said as he took a sip. It was ice cold and tasted like fountain.

  Elen sat across the table and said, “You are different.”