The Evaran Origin

by Adair Hart

  Levaran raised a finger. “It’s the universal translator. Although I don’t have my own ship yet,” she said, gesturing at Evaran, “his has the same functionality. Your nanobots have interfaced with it, and you can now understand different languages and writing.”

  Dr. Bryson joined Dan in examining the segment. “No kidding. That’s awesome. You mean I can now understand … say, German … or Russian?”

  Dr. Snowden chuckled. “You’re just excited to be able to read research papers in their native language.”

  “Well … yeah,” said Dr. Bryson. He shook his head. “Having a hard time distinguishing you from the Albert I know.”

  Dan nodded. “Same here.”

  Sarah half smiled.

  Dr. Snowden took a moment to look them over. “Yeah, and vice versa.”

  Evaran motioned forward. “Let us head to the bridge. It is approximately a mile ahead.”

  “A mile?” asked Dan.

  Emily grinned. “That was me and Uncle Albert’s same expression when we first learned these distances.”

  Dan nodded at Emily. “Well … hell. Let’s get a move on then before any of those draug things come.”

  Emily smiled.

  Dr. Snowden had thought Emily would be all over the place, and maybe she was, but she seemed to be holding it together. Perhaps the knowledge that this was not her real father helped, but it was hard to see much to distinguish that.

  Emily swiveled her head at Dr. Snowden.

  He grinned.

  When they reached the center of the main bridge concourse, Evaran and Levaran paused to scan around.

  The sound of weapon fire punctuated the silence they had been enjoying.

  Edev flew back toward the entrance. After a few minutes, she came back and said, “Tolkus Gare signature detected.”

  “Shields out. Now!” said Evaran as he extended his utility handle into a baton.

  Levaran gestured at V. “Take Dan and the others to the bridge.”

  “Acknowledged,” said V. He motioned forward. “Dan, Sarah, and Dr. Bryson, please follow me.”

  Dan pivoted his head toward Dr. Snowden.

  “I’ll go with them,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran nodded as he motioned back toward the entrance. Levaran and Emily followed him.

  Dan watched as the distance increased between the two groups. “They’re going to fight, aren’t they?”

  Dr. Snowden nodded. “They should be able to handle it. V, show a projection from Edev’s perspective.”

  “Acknowledged,” said V. A projection shot out above his head, showing an isometric view of Evaran, Levaran, and Emily approaching the entrance.

  A thermal signature of a humanoid appeared near the entrance and then moved to the side. Labels showed that Tolkus was using a camouflage effect. Following behind him were the vanguard of a draug brood.

  Dr. Bryson’s eyes widened. “Woah. I can see why you began to believe. Those are the draug?”

  “Yeah. Nasty creatures,” said Dr. Snowden. “They fell from the ceiling in a surprise attack on us. This Tolkus Gare, though, is going to make this more difficult.”

  Dr. Bryson shot Dan a look. “This is pretty crazy.”

  “Tell me about it,” said Dan. He gestured at the projection. “Emily’s going to fight?”

  Dr. Snowden put two hands out and shook them. “Trust me, she’s more than qualified. She used to be more … innocent, then got trapped on a prison planet, alone, for over nine months. She is much tougher now. A lot like you, actually.”

  “That sounds horrible,” said Sarah.

  Dan raised his eyebrows.

  “The prison-planet thing,” she said, swatting Dan’s arm.

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes misted a bit. “I’m … I’m still trying to adjust to the new her.” He forced a smile as he cast a sidelong glance at them.

  “Looks like you’re doing a damn fine job picking up where my duplicate left off,” said Dan.

  Dr. Snowden nodded.

  The projection showed Tolkus Gare creeping along the wall. Tolkus paused for a moment and held still.

  Dr. Snowden realized that Tolkus did not know he could be seen.

  Evaran and the others opened fire on the draug pouring into the concourse entrance.

  The draug had more numbers than Dr. Snowden remembered. There were the armored pill-bug-like ones, the ant-like soldiers, and the spiderlike ones. There were two large ones that reminded him of a cross between a praying mantis and a spider. It was like the whole brood was agitated.

  “That Tolkus guy trained them here,” said Dr. Bryson.

  “Trained?” asked Dan.

  “Ohh … umm … lured them. Sorry, that’s an old gaming term.”

  “Definitely looks that way,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran went to the left and began firing repulsion beams.

  Levaran stepped forward a bit and angled her repulsion blasts at the ground of the incoming swarm.

  Emily, to Levaran’s right, swept the ceiling and walls.

  The coordinated effort was keeping the swarm at bay. However, there were too many. When the large ones got to the front of the swarm, the repulsion beams’ effectiveness ended.

  Evaran transformed his utility handle into a staff, and Emily did the same with her PSD.

  Levaran activated an energy shield in the shape of a gauntlet around her right hand.

  Together, they charged into the swarm.

  Sarah gulped. “I can’t believe they’re going into that!”

  “They’ll be okay,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran and Emily danced inside the swarm, ducking jabs by the soldiers, and knocking the smaller draug back.

  Levaran charged head-on into the first large one.

  It grabbed her with one of its claws, and when it tried to lift her, it struggled.

  She seized it by the arm and raised it off the ground.

  The arm snapped, and the large draug emitted a high shriek that caused others to swarm onto her.

  She disentangled herself from the claw and swung the large draug in a circle to push the other draug away. When a space opened up, she launched it.

  Evaran and Emily cleared the immediate area near Levaran with a combination of melee strikes and repulsion and stun beams.

  Levaran used the moment to charge the second big one.

  The large draug snapped at her as she drew near.

  She dodged the attack and punched the draug in its chest, sending it hurtling back and clearing a path.

  Evaran and Emily used the distraction to funnel the remaining draug into the void and were able to push the swarm back.

  Dan pointed at Tolkus in the projection. “He looks like he’s about to take a shot.”

  Dr. Snowden nodded. “If you saw it, you can be sure they know it too.”

  As if on cue, Evaran positioned himself to block Tolkus’s shot. Evaran leaned his head slightly to the side. “Take care of the swarm. I’m going after Tolkus.” He shot a repulsion beam at Tolkus, causing him to sprawl back. A stun beam made the camouflage shimmer for a moment, then dissipate.

  Tolkus shook his head and tried to orientate himself. He tossed an object in front of Evaran.

  A smoke-filled explosion sent Evaran sliding back as he raised his shield to deflect it.

  Levaran and Emily had turned to face the explosion, allowing the draug behind the ones that were knocked down to swarm ahead of and around them.

  Tolkus shot a grapple at the entrance, where an opening had occurred, and pulled himself toward it. As he landed, the large draug that Levaran had punched surged forward and grabbed him. It held him in place, and he screamed as smaller draug tore him to shreds.

  “Holy shit,” said Dan.

  Sarah dry heaved as she turned away.

  “That is … brutal,” said Dr. Bryson with wide eyes and a hand on his chin.

  Evaran rejoined Levaran and Emily, and with some focus, they were able to cause the draug to retreat.


  Dr. Snowden and the others reached the bridge door as Evaran, Levaran, and Emily began to come back.

  Dan exhaled. “I’m tense, and I wasn’t even in the fight.”

  “It takes some getting used to,” said Dr. Snowden. “Since Emily and I have been traveling, danger is just part of the routine.”

  Dan shook his head. “Wish I could help, but it seems I’m way out of my league here.”

  “Not as much as you might think. Give it time. Remember, you have nanobots. You’re a lot stronger and faster now,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Dan harrumphed. He looked down the concourse. “Just glad you guys were here. Waking up with no one around and having to deal with that would be a nightmare.”

  Dr. Snowden nodded.

  Emily surveyed the entrance area strewn with dead draug. Others were scurrying out of the room. Her nanobots were pulsing. After lowering her helmet and wiping the sweat off her face, she beamed a big smile. “Yeah! How about that!”

  Evaran tilted his head toward Emily.

  She pretended to study something on her forearm. Although she knew that Evaran did not want her to sensationalize violence, sometimes the heat of the moment overtook her. The draug got payback, even if they were a parallel-universe version. It was proof that her training in the draug simulation had payed off.

  Levaran walked up to Emily and raised her hand. “You did well. High five for a good fight.”

  Emily laughed as she complied. She saw Evaran narrow his eyes in the background. It was the first time she saw a difference in Evaran’s and Levaran’s attitudes toward violence. Levaran seemed to almost relish fighting, whereas Evaran avoided it if possible. She avoided Evaran’s gaze as they headed back.

  “V said that the others are at the bridge door now,” said Evaran. “Edev, take my UIC to the panel.” He pulled his UIC off his belt and held it in the air.

  “On it,” said Edev. She flew by Evaran and, with one of her segmented arms, grabbed the UIC and headed off into the distance.

  “I can work on getting the door open as we go,” said Evaran.

  “Efficient,” said Emily. She fidgeted with her fingers. “Tolkus Gare … I guess you won’t need to capture him now.”

  Evaran nodded. “It will not be a great loss. I would have liked to have given him over to an old friend.”

  “Warden Borox,” said Levaran, gesturing at Emily.

  Emily wrinkled her eyebrows. “You knew the warden by name?”

  “I did,” said Evaran. “Tolkus Gare was not the only one causing mayhem in this region of space and time.”

  “Huh,” said Emily. “With it being just Jerzan now, things should be a bit easier.”

  “We shall see,” said Evaran. “The slight differences here have so far been anything but small.”

  Emily nodded.

  When they were halfway back, a clanking sound rang out. The group paused.

  Emily’s eyes widened. “I know that sound. Security drones, right?”

  “It appears someone activated them. We need to move,” said Evaran. As they ran, he interacted with his ARI. “There is someone on the bridge, fighting me for control of the door.”

  Emily surveyed the ceiling. As she expected, the hatch doors that lined the top of the side walls were opening, and metallic spiderlike drones were emerging. She remembered what they could do, and being on the opposite end of them was not a good place to be.

  As Dr. Snowden and the others came into view, she saw that the door was moving up and down. There was enough space to go under, but energy blasts were hitting the area just under the door. She was thankful that Dr. Snowden had moved the others off to the side. When she neared the door, she activated her shield, then slid under the door while reflecting the beams.

  Once inside, she saw an armored Krotovore near the front of the room using the workstations as cover. She gritted her teeth. “We’re not here to hurt you! Stop firing!”

  The Krotovore continued to fire.

  Levaran had joined Emily, and the both of them charged up and around a workstation. Their shields reflected the Krotovore’s beams.

  The Krotovore pulled out a small, jagged knife with a blue glow.

  Emily knocked it out of the Krotovore’s hands with her staff while Levaran grabbed the Krotovore and pushed it to the ground.

  Emily peered back and saw that Evaran had gotten the door raised, and everyone was rushing in.

  “Please. Don’t hurt me,” said the Krotovore.

  Levaran pointed a finger. “Sit.”

  The Krotovore’s multiple eyes blinked rapidly as it complied.

  Emily saw that the bridge door was closing, and just in time.

  The narrowing gap between the door and the floor revealed a swarm of security drones racing toward the bridge. Once the door was closed, the others joined Levaran and Emily around the Krotovore.

  “Who are you?” asked Levaran.

  “I’m Second Commander Kri’tokhaar. How can you speak our tongue?”

  “It’s not important. What is important is that your ship is in disarray. We need to adjust the thrusters so that the ship will not crash into the planet,” said Levaran.

  “And then what … ?”

  “We’re going to activate the main engines so that this ship flies into the sun,” said Levaran.

  Kri’tokhaar fidgeted around. “You want to destroy the ship?”

  “Yes. It’s not supposed to be here. Jumping through space and time via the rifts and abducting apex predators has consequences.”

  Kri’tokhaar sighed. “I … I didn’t agree with the first commander on the abducting part. How … how do you know that?”

  “We know many things,” said Levaran as her eyes sparkled. She placed her UIC on one of the workstations.

  “What is that?” asked Kri’tokhaar.

  “Something that gives me access to the controls and information from here,” said Levaran. She interacted with her ARI, and after a moment, she said, “The security drones have been recalled, and data transfer is in progress.”

  “Why do you want this information?”

  “You are a very curious Krotovore. It’s for our own knowledge and also for your Matriarch De’zokaar,” said Levaran.

  Kri’tokhaar trembled. “So you know our matriarch.”

  “We do.”

  “How do you know where she is? We’ve been lost for a long time now.”

  Levaran nodded. “From when you launched, you’re six hundred thousand years in the past, in what you call the Wuus’riken galaxy, or Andromeda as it’s known to us.”

  Kri’tokhaar shuddered. “Time travel … we speculated that the rifts had a temporal component. However this … so far away …” He emitted a low guzzling sound. “What will become of me? Am I your prisoner now?”

  Levaran glanced at Evaran, who nodded. She cocked her head back. “You’re not our prisoner. We can take you home. I don’t know what’ll happen to you when you go back, though.”

  “You can time travel … and go that distance?” asked Kri’tokhaar.

  “Yes. The choice is yours.”

  Kri’tokhaar stood. “I’ll take it. Anything is better than here.”

  “Okay,” said Levaran.

  Emily narrowed her eyes as she watched Levaran introduce the rest of the crew to Kri’tokhaar. It struck her that she was not angry with Kri’tokhaar, or really any Krotovore. They were unsuspecting players in a time loop. Looking at Dan and Sarah, it was evident there was disgust in their eyes. They would not understand, at least not yet. Dr. Bryson did not surprise her either in his reaction. He was like Dr. Snowden in many ways, and his curiosity could override almost any emotion.

  Levaran cleared her throat. “I would not expect a warm welcome from those you have captured and tortured in your virtual simulation.”

  Kri’tokhaar dipped his head and moved off to the side. He slumped against the wall and searched the ground.

  Emily walked over to him. “You’ll get through this.”


  Kri’tokhaar inspected her. “You were one of the captured?”

  “Not in this universe,” she said with a half smile.

  Kri’tokhaar sighed. “I’m not sure I understand, but … you’re not angry with me? I would understand if you are.”

  She shrugged. “I might have been initially. However, this is life. When it gets rough, you learn, adapt, and evolve.”

  “You’re empathetic, and wise,” said Kri’tokhaar. He made a slight hissing sound. “If I had tried to stop the first commander, he would have killed me and someone else would have taken my place. It’s the way of the Krotovore. Obedience is absolute.”

  She pulled her lips to the right. “The first commander should have stuck to the original mission then, yeah?”

  Kri’tokhaar nodded. “Your friends … I suspect they do not share your sentiment.”

  She observed Dan eying Kri’tokhaar. “They’ll get over it. What’s important now is that we need to get off this ship, and we may need your help.”

  “You shall have it,” said Kri’tokhaar. “If this is my chance at some redemption, then so be it.”

  She laid a hand on Kri’tokhaar’s armored shoulder, then headed over to Dan and the others. “I know you may be angry with Kri’tokhaar, but what happened has happened. We need to focus on the next step.”

  Dan gritted his teeth and shot her a defiant look. “My tolerance has limits.”

  “It’s best to channel that energy into something positive,” she said, returning a defiant look.

  Dan’s eyes widened as he glanced at Sarah, then back at Emily. “That’s what Sarah always tells me.”

  “And what my dad taught me,” said Emily with softened eyes.

  Dan studied her for a moment as his face relaxed. “Well … hell. You’re like the best of me and Sarah, but a hell of a lot tougher.”

  Emily smiled. “I had a good teacher.”

  “I helped train her in combat,” said Dr. Snowden, shaking his fists in a boxing manner.

  “Analysis. I do not think that is correct,” said V.

  Everyone shared a moment of light laughter.

  Evaran raised a finger. “It appears we have more visitors. Transferring to the main screen.”

  Dr. Snowden shook his head. “It’s a like a party that just won’t stop.”