by Shea Oliver
The four men spread out as they entered the alley, knowing their prey was compromised and alone. The man who appeared to be the leader stepped deeper into the alley and called into the dark. “You traitorous son of a bitch! Now you get what’s coming to you!”
“Four against one doesn’t seem fair,” came a voice from behind the men. Captain Luciano stood at the opening of the alley, still twirling the small pen-like object in his fingers.
“Get out of here, dumbshit, and live to see another day,” called the leader.
Luciano stood there, continuing to twirl the object through his fingers. The largest of the men stepped back towards Luciano and began to take a swing. As the man’s arm moved through the air, the object in Luciano’s hand suddenly swelled and expanded into a six-foot long staff, glowing blue at each end. Before the man’s fist landed, the staff spun through the air, redirecting the blow harmlessly past Luciano’s face. With the brute off balance, Luciano stepped back, dropped low, and struck the staff across the man’s midsection. As the man began to double over in pain, Luciano came upright, bringing the other end of the staff hard across the man’s head. Without a word or utterance, the man flailed out and collapsed on the ground.
The next two men were already moving towards Luciano, who reacted quickly, with fluid, graceful movements. Within a few seconds, both men were sprawled on the ground unconscious. The leader took a step in the direction of Luciano, drawing a laser gun. Luciano spun the staff to a vertical position holding it in front of him. The two blasts from the gun were absorbed by an energy shield that emanated from the tips of the staff, protecting the Captain.
“Boo,” asserted Colonel Agastya, who had quietly slipped a few inches from the leader’s back. As the man spun, Agastya leveraged the man’s weight, twisting and breaking his gun arm. The man crumbled to the ground in pain.
Agastya picked up the laser gun and shoved it in the man’s face. “Time to start talking.”
Over the next few minutes, the man explained that he and his fellow attackers were infantry soldiers and that General Chaldea had convinced them that Colonel Agastya was the lead traitor in a conspiracy bent on destroying the Donovackia military, the Corporation, and even the Ministry itself. The men’s task was to kill Agastya and then kill his traitorous accomplice—Ionia Villegas.
“What now?” asked Captain Luciano.
“I need you to get these men into military detention immediately,” replied the Colonel.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll have Military Justice meet me at the General’s apartment,” Colonel Agastya replied, “and by the way, I like your new toy.”
*****
The Colonel waved his hand over the lock to the General’s door, and the door swung open. General Chaldea rose from the couch in the middle of the room where he was sitting, dropping the bottle that was in his hands. “What in the hell do you think you are doing, Colonel?”
“It’s over. For you, it’s all over now,” Colonel Agastya stated.
The General, stepping towards the Colonel, began to take a swing at his face. Without hesitation, Agastya blocked the punch and drove his knee hard into the General’s groin. “That was for your wife, Camdrin,” remarked the Colonel, “and this is for your kids.” The upper cut came solidly through the General’s bent-forward face, sending him backwards, crashing over the couch.
Colonel Agastya could hear him fumbling around behind the couch. The telltale buzz of an energy blaster being powered on from behind the couch caused Colonel Agastya to dive to the side as two Military Justice Enforcement Officers decked out in battle armor stepped into the apartment, drawing their sidearms.
Agastya heard the energy blaster fire as he hit the ground and waited for a blow that he was afraid would hit him or near him.
“Sir,” called out the Military Justice Enforcement Officer.
Agastya rolled over and stood up. The blood spatter on the far wall told the Colonel that it truly was over for the General. Walking over, he looked on the floor behind the couch. The General’s body lay on the floor. The back half of his head was missing, and the energy blaster that the General had stuck in his own mouth was still in the General’s hand.
*****
A few days later, Earmon Terman set three empty glasses on the bar counter. It was early afternoon, and there were no customers in Boatman’s Pub and Grub. He headed back into the kitchen to help with getting ready for the evening crowd, knowing he would come back shortly for a toast.
When he returned, Colonel Agastya and Captain Luciano were just pulling up their stools in front of the three glasses. He walked over, selected the appropriate bottle, and poured. “Here’s to the Grenadines Special,” announced Earmon, as the three men lifted their glasses and sipped some of the golden-yellow liquid.
“Alright,” Captain Luciano added, as he looked at the liquid in the glass, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to enjoy this as much as you, but I am beginning to appreciate it.”
“Some say it’s an acquired taste,” began the bartender. “I think it has something to do with the whole experience of it.” Earmon finished his drink and headed to help the other customers that were beginning to come into the bar.
“How’s Camdrin and her boys?” asked Agastya.
“They seem to be doing okay. None of this is easy, but I think they will be good in the future. Right now, my wife is at their house, helping them pack. They are all three heading to the other side of Koranth to try to find the boys’ sister,” explained Captain Luciano. They both agreed that it was good for all three of them to go find the daughter and hoped that they could find closure and peace together.
“Have you made a decision yet, Agastya?” asked the Captain. “Will you accept the promotion to General?”
Colonel Agastya slowly pulled a folded picture out his pocket and laid it on the bar. Captain Luciano looked at the photo and immediately knew that the woman sitting on the beach was Aridatha Dolce, the Colonel’s lost love. He knew that he owed much to her. Without the Colonel’s regret of letting her go, Agastya would have never stopped him from making the same mistake. He read the words on the photo and looked at this friend, not knowing what to say.
They looked up as Earmon began refilling the three glasses on the bar. He raised his glass, and the two officers did the same. As Earmon looked down at the picture, he began his toast, “In this life, my friends, there are some regrets you may be forced to take to your grave. Here’s to those that we choose not to.”
After finishing their drinks, they said their goodbyes. As he walked towards the door, Jecamiah Agastya, looked at the picture and read the words at the bottom one more time, before folding it and placing it back in his pocket.
Even today, my gaze falls over the waves
For far away what my heart so deeply craves
On a distant shore, I can only hope to pray
That my true love will come and finally stay
Chapter 31
Lost in the Mountains
Commander Conall Bornani scanned the screen that hung in the air of the bridge of the spaceship. They had slipped the ship into orbit around the planet called Earth, and the ship’s systems continuously scanned for a perfect landing spot. He was excited to be so close to finally reaching their destination and was confident that his crew would do their jobs well.
The last two years aboard the ship had been a completely new experience for Kadamba. He’d spent much of his time, previous to boarding the ship, in the outdoors, training for the military. At first, he had felt like a trapped animal. He couldn’t get out, but over time that had faded. Compared to the rest of the crew, he was completely unprepared. The other eleven members of the crew had two years to prepare for the mission before they actually launched. Kadamba had nothing but a few hours of preparation right before the launch.
At first, the crew had been very distant from him. He could hear the rumblings about his past and what he had done. He focused his effo
rts on learning what the others knew of this planet called Earth, immersing himself in learning a predominant language called English. He scoured and studied all of the information that he could about the planet. The last exploratory mission had discovered a planet that had emerged from a second global war. A country called the United States of America had entered the war late, but had led its allies to victory. That was some forty years before. He tried to imagine what the planet would be like when they arrived. What would have changed? Would this United States still be dominant? Would more wars have erupted?
Kadamba learned the details of how their mission would proceed. It was fairly straightforward on its face. Part of the crew would study the planet’s technology, infrastructure, and trade. They would make an assessment of whether a planet had developed to an optimum point for invasion and “development.” It became a fairly simple two-part question in Kadamba’s mind. First, could the planet provide enough goods and products to make putting a portal in place profitable? Second, could the planet provide the power and infrastructure required to get a portal running once it arrived?
That was only part of the equation, and Kadamba was not to be included in making those assessments. He was simply a bodyguard for the less palatable part of the mission—discovering whether the planet had any Transprophetics and killing them. Eventually, humans would evolve to have members of their population develop certain characteristics, like the ability to move things without touching them. Once scientists on a planet validated and understood Transprophetic capabilities, everything would change fairly quickly. He’d studied these Transprophetics in school and had seen them in various media, but he’d never met one in person. What would they be like? Would they somehow be different?
Kadamba didn’t really like the man that he would be protecting, Dr. Nahash Tarea. He wasn’t a medical doctor; the title was bestowed on him because of some very non-medical advanced educational degree. Apparently, it had something to do with religions and the foundation of truth. The man was wiry, and his hair reminded Kadamba of the man called Greasy that he’d met in prison. His hair was thin and just looked dirty in the way it clung to his head. When he spoke, the words seemed to come out in a hiss. No matter what he said, Kadamba always felt like the man was talking down to him, trying to make Kadamba feel small, unimportant, and insignificant.
Their job on the planet seemed fairly black and white, at least on the surface. They would simply be there to discover whether any Transprophetics had appeared. Kadamba hoped it was a simple question to answer. He hoped that when they arrived on Earth that there would be Transprophetics on the planet’s media, and maybe even that Transprophetics would be leading governments and religions. The doctor had explained that it was unlikely that it would be that easy of a job. Human nature, as it is, will reject that which is different. Those with Transprophetic abilities may hide their abilities for a generation or two out of fear. A few may try to exploit their abilities, but only if they understand that they have them. Often the first few generations of Transprophetics can’t control their abilities. That’s where Tarea’s expertise would come in most useful.
According to the doctor, they would most likely find a Transprophetic in one of two places. Almost every culture on every planet had some type of “magic.” It was part of human nature to want to hope that the abilities of a Transprophetic were real. Paradoxically, Transprophetics that sought to hide their skills would often hide them in plain sight. Often those would be magicians that performed shows. That was an easy place for a Transprophetic to hide and to use his or her talents with people believing that it was nothing more than illusions and trickery.
The second place where Transprophetics might be found would be around religion. A person who was a little different often could seem to be divine. When strange things happened around a person over which they seemed to have some influence, a god or gods were often given credit for the unusual capabilities.
When they neared the planet, they began picking up the planet’s broadcast signals. Kadamba had been disappointed that Transprophetics weren’t anywhere obvious. If they did exist on the planet, it might take a bit of work to find one.
“Commander has called a meeting in 15 minutes,” Dr. Nahash Tarea announced, as Kadamba watched a video that the ship’s systems had recorded. “I don’t know why you need to be in this meeting, but apparently you do.”
“I’ll be there,” replied Kadamba.
“What are you watching?” asked Dr. Tarea.
“Apparently, it is a comedy show,” replied Kadamba. “Actually, it is pretty funny. It’s about . . .”
“Just be at the meeting,” interrupted Tarea, as he walked away.
Kadamba returned to watching the show. He wondered if it really was how some of these Earthlings might think about aliens. It seemed terribly odd to Kadamba. He was a human, but he would be an alien here on Earth. He’d watched a few shows about aliens that the ship’s systems had captured as they approached Earth. Some were serious, but this one was funny, especially the alien.
Growing up in a world that knew there was life on other planets was all Kadamba had known. But on Earth, no one knew whether there was life or not on other planets. If there was, no one knew what it would be like. That made this show even more intriguing. The female lead on the show knew that the alien, named Mork, was from another planet, but he was human, just like everyone everywhere. The alien tried to understand Earthling behavior and fit in, usually with humorous results.
Kadamba stopped the video and headed to the meeting.
*****
Aerial photos and maps were appearing, slowly moving, and disappearing on the walls of the spaceship’s meeting room.
Commander Bornani began to speak once all the crew members were in the room.
“It’s hard to believe, at times, that we’re so close to Earth,” he began. “After all the years of preparation and travel, we’re almost there.”
He tapped a few places on the conference table, and an image of the planet appeared. They all watched as the planet began to spin, zooming into the planet’s surface, and creating a three-dimensional map on the table’s surface.
“The ship’s system has identified the most ideal landing point for us,” he noted, pointing to a small canyon-like feature right by a lake. “This is Fat Bottom Lake, in the Rocky Mountains. It is secluded. We’ll land here near the lake in this canyon. Our home, this ship, will be destroyed after we land. The return vessel can easily be submerged in this lake, as it is very deep and murky. The only thing that will be hidden will be a small remote that will resurface the return vessel.”
“What about this small building over here?” asked one of the other soldiers, pointing to a small structure away from the lake and canyon.
“As best as we can tell, it is a small dwelling that is currently occupied,” replied the commander. “Hopefully, it is. When we land, we’ll need supplies and some intelligence to get us started. If there are inhabitants living there, we’ll have a place to start.”
The final preparations were put in place to land the ship. Kadamba looked over the map multiple times, as did the other military members of the crew. They created multiple scenarios for what would happen when they landed. The one assumption that Kadamba hoped was true was that no one on the planet would know that they were there. The technology from Koranth and Zoranth was far superior, so landing the ship undetected on the planet should be easy.
“I know I probably don’t have to say this,” began the Commander as the meeting was winding down, “but nothing, absolutely nothing from Koranth and Zoranth, aside from the return vessel, can come with us.”
He turned around and opened a box on the floor behind him and passed out clear, sealed bags with each of their assigned clothing.
“Leave the bag sealed. After we land, we’ll each walk out of this ship naked, with nothing but the clothes that are in the bags. I will personally leave your dead body on this ship if you try to bring anything with
you.”
After the meeting adjourned, Kadamba returned to his quarters. It was very small, but it was space that was his alone. He’d been in the quarters of the other members of the crew. He knew all of them had brought things from home. In some ways, he was now glad that he hadn’t. Every one of them would be leaving something behind that would be destroyed with the ship. He curled up in his bunk, trying to put his excitement aside and get to sleep.
The sky was grey above the Landing, and Ka walked quickly to the edge of the building to look out across the city. Rain was falling in the distance, and his view was obstructed by low clouds. He sat down on the bench to wait.
After some time had passed, Ka stood up and began walking around. This wasn’t like Alorus not to show up at some point. Usually, he would appear shortly after Ka arrived. Even during these two years aboard the spaceship, Alorus remained distant.
Ka began to walk around the Landing. Alorus wasn’t in the playground or near the lifts. The storm seemed to grow closer as Ka wandered around, looking for the boy. As he was passing the food vendors, he thought he heard a sniffle. He opened the door to the small kiosk that sold the Freezies that Stelky had loved so much.
When he looked inside, he found the boy curled up in a corner of the small building. “What are you doing, Alorus?”
“I’m scared, Ka,” confided the boy. “The storm is almost here. Why did you have to kill me and bring me with you? Why did they let you get away and come to another planet?”
Ka stepped into the little building and sat down on the floor. Alorus pulled himself up farther into the corner, sniffling as if he had been crying.
“You know I am sorry, Alorus. I wish I knew what else to say.”
They both sat on the floor, waiting for the other to say something. But neither of them spoke. Ka wished that Alorus wasn’t with him, but that just wasn’t an option anymore. Wherever Ka would go, Alorus would always be with him.