by Marc Stevens
Scholar Burlor was standing in front of the soldiers waving his arms and yelling, “HOLD YOUR FIRE!”
Klutch dragged me away from the Chaalt warrior. I noticed Coonts in his armor, his weapons pointed at the troops. Justice added his input as well.
“Commander, Scholar Burlor is saying the Chaalt invading our compound are the containment team sent to recover the Prule. It would be advisable to cease hostilities. The Chaalt are displaying very advanced technology and it would be prudent to at least listen to what they have to say.”
Klutch released me and I wiped the blood from my mouth. Tria was helping the grizzled old bitch to her feet, but the hag pushed her away. That did not sit well with me. I reached down and picked up the warped spar.
“You push Tria again and I will break this off in your ass. If you need that translated, my A.I. can spell it out for you.”
The old warrior looked like she could have chewed her way out of an airlock. In a blur of motion, she drew one of her weapons and pointed it in my face. Tria screamed and tried to step in front of me. I pulled her behind me. All of the portside rail cannon hatches popped open on the Legacy and the weapons swung around to point at the Chaalt containment team. Klutch pulled Tria out of the line of fire. The odor in the air was asphyxiating. No one seemed to notice.
I stood there staring down the barrel of the Chaalt’s weapon. I reached up and casually placed my finger on one side of my nose and blew bloody snot between her feet. To my surprise, the corners of the warrior’s mouth twitched upward, then the expression disappeared. She was still trying to stare a hole through me but holstered her weapon.
I looked back at her. “Are we going to talk now or do you want to go a couple more rounds?”
The expression on the warrior’s face softened ever so slightly.
4
Scholar Burlor turned away from the troopers, walked over and stood between me and the Chaalt Commander. He looked at me.
“Please, let’s be civilized and talk this out. There are no enemies here.”
He turned and faced the Chaalt.
“As you can see, I am well and in control of the situation. Nathan Myers rescued my daughter and I from Eiger’s forces. I will be able to lead this investigation without further assistance.”
The surprised look on the Chaalt Commander’s face was on full display. She did not break eye contact with me.
“Could you explain to me just how this simple-minded fool managed to survive an encounter with Eiger?”
Klutch had let go of Tria and she was now at my side. The Chaalt team leader gave her a sideways glance insinuating disapproval. Tria hooked her arms in mine. Her actions elicited a frown from the warrior. I leaned forward into the old Chaalt’s face.
“I did what should have been done long ago by the gutless advanced races. Soldiers like you in particular. I…KICKED…THEIR…ASSES!”
Tria pulled me back. I smiled at the old Commander. Her face darkened with rage. Tria stepped in front of me.
“Do not incite her, Nathan. She is Kala Mor Dee.”
“I don’t give a crap what her name is. If she was the badass she makes herself out to be, she should have put an end to Drayen and Eiger a long time ago. Where I come from, that makes her all mouth and no ass.”
I looked over Tria’s shoulder. The old Commander’s face was a steely-eyed mask of anger. “I hope you are picking up what I’m putting down.”
Tria pulled me a couple of steps away. “Nathan! Kala Mor Dee is not her name, it is a title given to Operative Sael Nalen a great many years ago. It means “Deadliest of all.”
That wiped the silly smirk off my face. I now grudgingly looked at the Operative with new found respect. I did not know how old Sael was, but my jaw still felt like she hit me with a hammer. “Tria, what the hell are they doing here and how did they find us?”
There was an expression of Tria’s face I had seldom seen. It looked like hurt. She turned and looked at her father. It was sinking in now. No one knew of this place until I brought Tria’s father here. I gave him a withering stare and his eyes went wide.
Tria pulled me back around. “No Nathan, it is not as it seems! There are things that cannot be revealed. Please listen before you pass judgement.”
The beast was a monkey on my back, and at the moment, it was biding its time by sticking me in the guts with a sharp stick. I know Tria would not betray my trust, but I needed some straight answers from someone, and I needed them now.
I looked at Operative Nalen. “How did you find this place?”
The old warrior’s eyes narrowed. I could tell no one has ever been up in her grill before, and I was just getting started.
“I owe you no answers, human. That information is on a restricted need-to-know basis and until you make it on that list, your simple mind doesn’t need to know.”
Now the beast was kicking me in the balls. Man was I ever getting pissed! That would be the last time the gnarly old bat would call me simple-minded. Tria was pulling on my arm and shaking her head no. I could feel the venom coming and I needed to let it out before the beast did.
“You and your troops have ten minutes to get off my base and clear my orbitals. The clock is running. If you don’t get your old wrinkled ass in gear, I will shoot them down!”
The Operative was dumbstruck at my outburst and her hands went to her pistols. I leaned into her face.
“Go ahead and draw your weapons! You think you have seen the worst of me? YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF DOING!”
My hearing was zoning in and out. I could hear the beast that is my rage laughing out loud, then Tria yelling out, “NO NATHAN!”
The old warrior lost her look of anger. Her mouth opened in surprise and she took a step backwards. The beast was coming and she somehow knew it. I could hear Tria’s father yelling. He was telling Sael Nalen that I went into Drayen’s outpost and now there was only dust. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to regain my self-control. I could see the aura Tria said I possessed. It was visible to me. It was no longer the bright, shining star light she told me about. It was turning a vile, inky black. It was fangs and claws with two hellish red eyes. It was the horror from my dreams and it was reaching out for Sael Nalen. The operative must have sensed the Oolaran demon inside of me. She drew her pistols and then her swords as she continued to back up. I was trying to close the lid on Pandora’s box, but my will to do so was ebbing.
The beast was yelling out. You may be called Kala Mor Dee, BUT I AM KALA MOR DEE!
I became aware I was being held in a tight embrace. My eyes came back to focus on my surroundings. Tria was holding me with fear in her eyes. The pained expression on her face beat down the will of the beast. I closed my arms around her and all thoughts of anger were gone. The Oolaran monster inside me was forced back into its prison. Looking around, I noticed everyone had given me a wide berth. I held Tria tight and kissed her lightly on the cheek. The beast was gone. She let go of me and turned away. She marched up to her father and in a not so kind voice, let him know how things were going to be.
“There will be no more secrets. You must be truthful so we can move forward for the good of all, or you can leave and never come back to this place.”
Her father was speechless. I looked over to where Sael Nalen had retreated and her soldiers had formed a barricade. They again appeared to be shimmering columns of molten metal. The old warrior put her weapons away. Her troops became visible once again. They parted and the Operative approached us. She quickly regained her composure. I let the smallest of smiles cross my face when the old warrior stopped ten feet from me. That was one of your smarter choices!
“I cannot fathom why your maker would infect your aura with such a demon, but it is not a gift. Keep your hellish curse away from me, Human, or you will suffer the consequences.”
Tria looked at me, hoping the Operative’s threat would not incite the beast once more. I was forcing the Oolaran devil back into its cage, but its wretched mirth was
grating. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath letting it out slowly, the beast fading with it. Sael Nalen was watching me carefully. She still had two of her hands on her pistols.
She looked at Tria’s father. “Perhaps some things need to be addressed by the truth. Not all things, but some things. Scholar Burlor, your daughter is bound by an oath, but you are exempt from such things. Let the human know what is necessary. If I decide that it is not, I will let you know.”
Tria’s father had a look of relief on his face. Tria came back to my side and held onto my arm. I gave a sharp whistle that made everyone jump and stare at me. Looking at Klutch and Coonts, I held a finger up and twirled it over my head, then called out, “bring the scientists.” That garnered me a frown from the Operative, but I didn’t care.
I turned to her and said, “These are my people and what is said will go no further.”
Sael Nalen nodded to Tria’s father and he shook his head in agreement. The Grawl scientists made their way from the Legacy and gathered around me. One by one they all touched my hands and then stood quietly behind me. Tria’s father looked impressed. Sael Nalen had a look of disbelief.
I looked at the Operative. “How did you find this place?”
She crossed both sets of arms and nodded in Scholar Burlor’s direction. I again drew in a breath and let it out. Tria squeezed my arm a little tighter. Turning to her father, I gave him a questioning look.
“My people are familiar with DEHD core technology. We have a similar jump drive.”
The Scholar was talking to me but was keeping eye contact with the Operative. He continued. “The Chaalt military has the ability to monitor certain exotic distortion waves.”
The look on the Operative’s face became stern. My patience was growing thin and I stepped in front of the Operative so the Scholar was forced to look at me. He hesitated. The Operative stepped from behind me looking angered. I ignored her.
“As you were saying Scholar Burlor?”
He continued. “There has not been a transition signature of an Oolaran designed jump drive for over two hundred years. The phenomenon was recorded and your entrance and exit locations plotted. It took little time to decipher the telemetry. Some of the information coincided with data I supplied to my superiors during my daughter’s visit. Parallels were drawn and connected to the data. The containment teams were dispatched to investigate and assess the situation.”
I chewed on the information for a few moments. “I take it all data on our discoveries was going to be disclosed to your superiors?”
The Scholar cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“Was Sael Nalen ordered to seize the storage vessel if it contained a Prule?”
The Operative blurted, “Do not answer that question!”
I gave the old warrior an evil smile. “You just did, Sael Nalen.”
The Operative grimaced at the silly mistake.
I turned my gaze back to the Scholar. “How did the containment team make their insertion?”
The Scholar started to answer. “You had no shie…
Sael Nalen yelled out, “SILENCE!”
I whirled to face the old Operative. Her stare was full of spite. Mine had turned noxious. I said out loud, “Justice!”
Justice broadcast for all to hear. “Shield dome active, Commander.”
Sael turned her malice on Scholar Burlor. “You fool!”
Tria had all she could stomach. “This madness must stop! We are solving nothing. The fruitless display of authority is mindless stupidity. You will not find the answers you seek if you continue on this path. If you will not cooperate then leave! You sicken us with your arrogance. Your recklessness helps no one!”
The old warhorse had a look on her face that said the last meal she had eaten was spoiled. “The human’s questions are self-serving and will settle nothing. We did not come here to reveal military secrets to a primate!”
The look on Tria’s face said she was the one now running out of patience. “You will address him as Mister Myers or you will not address him at all! Do you understand what I say Sael Nalen or do we need to discuss it in private elsewhere?”
The look on the Operative’s face was surprise, then anger. “You soil your ancestry by taking up with this…”
Tria was in the old Chaalt’s face in the blink of an eye. “Go ahead Operative, say it! I dare you.”
They stood eye to eye. There was an emanation coming from Tria I had only felt in combat. Her intentions were deadly. The Grawl standing behind us were moving back with looks of apprehension on their faces. They wondered if the conflict would start anew.
The Operative blinked then stepped back. Her next words were dripping with contempt. “Fine, but Mr. Myers will address me as Senior Operative!”
Tria’s father came forward and made it a point to address me as Tria instructed. “Please Mr. Myers, let us examine the stasis vessel to determine the nature of what it might contain.”
“I have conditions that will be met or there will be no cooperation.”
Scholar Burlor looked at Sael Nalen, then back at me. “What do you require?”
“You will have your troops board your vessels and leave this star system. I have made countless enemies seeking revenge for their losses. Your ships located over my base of operations could lead to the detection of this facility.”
Scholar Burlor tried to speak. “Mr. Myers, our military vessels have---”
The Senior Operative cut him off midsentence. “All but my flagship shall relocate to another star system. My ship will remain to patrol the outer regions of the system.”
The look she was giving Tria’s father translated to “hold your tongue.” It was enough for me to surmise they had cloaking and negation capability on their warships. The Senior Operative extended her arm toward her troops palm up. Her troopers formed a small circle. She stared at me.
“Justice, disable the shield for twenty seconds.”
“Affirmative, Commander, shield is now down. T-minus twenty seconds and counting.”
The Operative curled her fingers upward. There was a flash and a thunderclap of air rushing in to fill the void they had once occupied. I would love to get my hands on that tech. The Grawl scientists started talking among themselves at the display of advanced tech. Every possible hypothesis was being discussed and the additional noise was distracting. Before the containment team made their sudden appearance, I was going to greet the Grawl. I was also going to ask them about the large structure that had been erected in the back of the hangar. There was now a building with an immense airlock on the side of it. The collection of artifacts that used to be stored in various places in the hangar area was nowhere to be seen. I had to assume they now occupied the new structure. A quick analysis with my implants estimated the square footage of the new building at over fifty thousand square feet. The Grawl had been very busy while the crew and I were gone. Turning my back to the Scholar and the Operative, I motioned to Xul and he separated from the scientists and stood before me.
“How can I be of service, Nathan Myers?”
I smiled at the little Grawl. He was one of the managing scientists I had rescued from the research station. Apparently, he was voted back into a leadership position by his peers.
“Xul, I need a quick debrief on the new building structure. I also want you and Graf to accompany Tria and I when we show the Chaalt our discoveries.”
The Grawl scientist nodded then turned, holding up his hand with two fingers extended. It reminded me of an old Earth sign of peace! Graf came forward and they quietly conversed. Graf turned and held up three fingers, and Jaran joined him. The Grawl had established their chain of command in my absence. I wondered if their lack of implant use was because there was no central processing unit to channel the signals. At some point, we would address the issue. They spoke for a moment in low tones, then Jaran turned away and addressed the rest of the scientists. Xul and Graf stood at my side as Jaran and the rest of the Grawl moved to the perso
nnel lifts that take you to the common areas.
5
I looked back at the Operative and it was obvious she was annoyed by the delay. The Scholar had a questioning look on his face. Taking Tria by the hand, I led her and the Grawl several steps away.
“Xul, we don’t have time for a full debrief on all of your current research. I would, however, like to be up to speed on the new building.”
“Yes of course! After much discussion, we determined it would be wise to construct a structure to protect us from the possibility of explosive decompression. This facility is hundreds of years old. The field in the entry tunnel retains the atmosphere in this area and, if the outer doors were open and the field failed, anyone not wearing a cloak suit would perish. We will address the redundancy issue with the retention field in the near future.”
The expressions on my face alerted the Grawl scientist to the fact I needed a much shorter version of the briefing. Tria squeezed my arm to calm my impatience.
“My apologies Nathan Myers, the lower escape tunnel that leads to a remote hangar was filled with a huge supply of prefabricated building materials. We used a quantity of the materials with Justice’s help to construct the building. We have built individual labs and storage areas for the artifacts. The compartmentalized storage areas will limit the possibility of accidental contamination of the entire base by foreign contagions or rogue nanites.”
I had forgotten all about the escape tunnel. I never had a chance to investigate it because of the nonstop issues we had been encountering. Glancing over my shoulder at the angry looks, I turned back to the Grawl.