by L. S. Mercer
The soldier smiled.
“I think we’re going to need a diversion.” He said.
Damon nodded and rubbed his free hand against his chin.
“I can do that.” He responded.
“Okay, you draw the fire with those sick moves of yours. And we’ll take out the gun when he’s facing the other way.” Said the soldier, receiving multiple nods from the other troops.
“Sick moves huh?” Asked Damon with a chuckle. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”
The soldier cocked his rifle and grinned.
Damon looked up to the top of the building, noticing a few spots where he could jump on top. He backed up to get a better calculation and leaped upwards. To his surprise, he jumped all the way to the top without needing to land on anything but the roof. As he looked down, the soldiers were once again wide-eyed, staring up at him.
“Not bad.” Yelled Damon.
Without wasting any more time, he ran to the other side of the roof and jumped off. The laser was ready for him, but not fast enough to hit him. The bullets slammed into the walls just behind where he was falling to the ground. As soon as he landed, Damon took off in a zig-zag formation to try and gain the focus of the cannoneer. It worked. The shooter seemed to have completely forgotten about the other soldiers, who shot him dead within seconds. As the firing stopped, so did Damon; he turned to see his men already moving along the walls of the work camp.
“Easy.” Muttered Damon as he met back up with the men.
“Didn’t look easy.” Replied a soldier.
“Okay, let’s get these prisoners to safety.” Ordered Damon as he stepped out into the entrance of the camp.
“You two stay behind in case reinforcements arrive before we can evacuate the camp.” Said a soldier.
“Yes, sir.” Said the two that he was talking to.
Damon walked through the gateway. There were no more Kharan in sight, making him slightly uncomfortable.
“Think they already took the prisoners?” Asked Damon.
The soldier next to him raised his shoulders in response.
“Good answer.” He replied.
A Kharan came bounding around the corner, not expecting to see Alliance soldiers face to face with him. His eyes bugged out of his head and he disarmed himself immediately. A soldier quickly tied the Kharan’s hands behind his back and forced him to his knees; he gestured for Damon and the others to keep moving. They went down the path that the Kharan had come from in hopes of finding the holding cells or a work zone of some sort.
“Well, guess we found them.” Muttered a soldier.
Damon looked up at the sign before them. It read “Cellblocks and mines” which was pretty simple to understand. He used his sword to cut open the locking mechanism to the gate and gestured for a couple of his men to move in. As the gate opened, the men got immediately ripped apart by heavy fire; their bodies flying into the ground with great speed.
Damon sprang into action, jumping against the walls of the small entryway to avoid fire. He was starting to figure out how his powers worked; every time he was in danger, time seemed to slow down enough to give him the chance to avoid it. He dodged each shot expertly and stabbed a Kharan in the chest while kicking the other one in the arms, causing his gun to fall to the ground. After dispatching the discombobulated Kharan, everything went silent once again.
“Who are you?” Asked a voice from behind him.
Damon turned quickly to see who it was and if he was going to have to kill him or not. The man speaking to him looked like some sort of doctor. Black hair with a streak of gray; and a dirty, white lab coat. Behind the man stood a small crowd of what Damon could only assume were Ostillion’s, judging by their appearances. One, in particular, couldn’t ever be forgotten by Damon. Saia, the Queen of Ostillion.
“Damon Blackwing of the Galactic Alliance at your service.” Replied Damon, bowing his head to everyone. “And you are?”
The man had gasped silently at the sound of his name, Damon could only assume he’d heard of him before.
“Doctor Sebastian Carter.” He replied.
“And Queen Saia.” Said Damon, looking at Saia.
Saia walked forward with a forced smile upon her face.
“I thought I’d never see you again my boy.” She cooed, placing her hands on Damon’s shoulders.
“No wonder Ostillion is gone. It’s without you.” Said Damon.
“Ostillion became too toxic after the bombs.” She replied. “We tried to get to Outpost Alpha, but the Kharan captured us.”
“Well, Aela will be pleased to have you.” He said.
Damon gestured for his remaining men to come over to them.
“Get them back to the command center in one piece.” He ordered.
The soldiers nodded and ordered the people to stay together and follow them. The only person who remained still was the doctor; he was still looking at Damon as if he knew him from somewhere.
“Yes, doc?” Asked Damon, raising his brow.
Sebastian waited for them to get out of sight before starting to move again.
“There is still someone here we must save.” He said.
Damon followed the doctor’s lead.
“Where are they.” He asked.
“Medical center.” Mumbled Sebastian.
Damon activated his sword, just in case anymore Kharan happened to be wandering the area.
“What a mess.” Whispered Sebastian as he stepped over the two dead Alliance soldiers in the entrance. “Can I asked you something, Damon?”
“Shoot.”
“Do you know Adrian Blackwing by chance?” He asked.
Damon stopped dead in his tracks; a feeling of despair washed over him at the sound of his brother’s name.
“Yeah, he was my brother.”
Sebastian turned and looked Damon in the eyes.
“Is your brother. Adrian is still alive.” He grumbled.
“What?” Exclaimed Damon, grabbing the doctor’s shoulder.
“He’s a little, uh, different these days though.” Replied Sebastian.
Damon couldn’t help but smile at the news.
“Tell me everything.” He demanded.
* * *
“The Alliance would have placed a tracking chip in Damon’s body somewhere, in case they needed to find him.” Mumbled Sam as he typed away on a terminal.
“Yeah, but those kind of codes are usually secret.” Replied Gerrig.
“Got it!” Shouted Sam.
Gerrig nearly fell off of the pillar he was standing against.
“That’s impossible.” He gasped.
Sam beamed at him, but his smile quickly faded when he mapped out the area.
“Bad news.” He grumbled. “Work camps.”
Gerrig let out a sigh and lightly kicked the side of the pillar. He moved toward Sam and picked his pistol up from the table next to the terminal.
“Let’s go get your boyfriend then.” He groused.
Sam blushed and kicked Gerrig in the leg.
The two got their things together and continued to their destination. Along the way, Sam and Gerrig went over the various situations and what it would take to break someone out of the work camps. Sam suggested that the guard would be light since the Alliance were invading the planet; whereas Gerrig was suggesting the opposite. That the soldiers of the Kharan fleet would actually be using the camps as a staging ground, meaning more resistance. There was no way to actually be sure of anything until they were there.
The streets were a ghost town, aside from the Alliance soldiers moving covertly throughout the buildings; which didn’t worry them much, since they were wearing Alliance badges on their armor. The trade district seemed to be at a ceasefire, making every eerily silent, and even more uncomfortable for the two.
“There it is.” Whispered Gerrig, pointing to the big work camps sign.
“Great observation.” Retorted Sam.
Just as he’d spoken, Sam dipped behind a fallen building. He’d s
potted a Kharan scout just in time for them both to get behind the cover. The scout was sneaking amongst the rubble, closing in on the squad moving just to the west of them. Sam gestured for Gerrig to stay put and crept to the edge of the debris to get an idea of where the Kharan was located now. As his eyes peaked around the corner, he came face to face with the hulking brute.
“Make a sound and you’re dead.” Whispered Sam.
The scout’s face fell. Sam figured he’d believed what he was telling him; it was true after all, Sam just didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire if the Alliance decided to attack him. The Kharan motioned for Sam to get back behind the debris, but he just raised his brow at him; he wondered what kind of game the Kharan was playing. All of a sudden, gunshots erupted from both sides, along with a few simultaneous pulse grenades going off. The scout jumped up to run but was gunned down within seconds, falling to the ground in a pool of dark, black Kharan blood. Gerrig used his large, muscular arm to hold Sam against the rubble until the firing came to a halt; Sam wiggled free and snuck back over to the corner to check out the damages.
The Alliance soldiers now were crossing over to where the rest of the Kharan must have been lying in wait. One of the soldiers motioned for Sam and Gerrig, implying that it was safe to come out.
“What are you guys doing here?” He asked.
Gerrig shrugged at the soldier.
“We came here with Damon Blackwing.” Replied Sam.
The soldier smiled at Sam.
“Damon’s in the work camps, it’s clear if you want to head over there.” He said.
The greatest feeling of relief shot through Sam as he absorbed the soldier’s words. For a minute he’d been worried that Damon might’ve already been dead; but now that seemed like a distant, uncomfortable memory.
“Thank you, sir.” Said Sam, already turning to head to the camps.
“Stay safe, panic buttons if you see the Kharan.” The soldier shouted after them.
Gerrig gave the soldier a wave as he followed behind his friend. Together they walked to the work camps, which were just a few feet away from where they had already been before.
“Sam, what’s that.” Gasped Gerrig, grabbing Sam’s arm.
Sam looked above, where Gerrig’s eyes were locked.
A Ghan transport was coming to a hover over the camps; it opened it’s doors, allowing troops to repel down.
As far as they knew, the Ghan were neutral in the current war; they had no reason to be there. A loud, piercing screech came from behind them. As Sam and Gerrig turned around, they were horrified. Ghan fighters were flying into the Kharan airspace, dropping pulse bombs all across the battlefield.
The explosions were deafening; a couple of them even close enough to almost take Sam off of his feet.
“Damon.” Whispered Sam.
They took off towards the work camps, fearing for their captain’s life. But as they got to the gates, they came to a stop. A Tracer jumped from the transport, but he wasn’t like any other Tracer they’d ever seen before. He had almost an entire body, aside from the joints in his legs, which were still translucent to show the wiring; he wore a black trenchcoat; but what was most intriguing of all, he had a strange weaponed clipped to his side; whoever it was, he was quite intimidating in appearance.
“We can’t go in there.” Whispered Gerrig.
“If we don’t, Damon will die.” Argued Sam.
Sam tried to move forward but Gerrig grabbed him.
“If we do, we die!” He hissed.
Sam shook his hands off of him.
“Do what you want. I’m saving my friend.” He said.
Chapter 21
“So you’re saying that the big scary metal man was my brother?” Asked Damon, handing Sebastian a scalpel.
“Yes, and scary he is. He has these, unexplainable powers.” Muttered Sebastian.
“Powers?” Asked Damon.
The doctor stopped and looked him dead in the eyes.
“He can make things move with his mind.” He stammered.
Damon sat in silence for a moment; he wondered if Adrian was the one that mysterious man was referring to. If so, whatever power he was given, Damon could possibly do the same. Deciding to test out his theory, Damon looked at the tools on the surgical cabinet and told them to move. Nothing happened; he imagined picking them up as if using his own hands. To his surprise, the tools all began to rise up from the cabinet in unison, floating to Damon’s eye level.
“Doc.” Whispered Damon.
Sebastian turned to look at him; his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He slowly put down his scalpel and inched over to the tools, staring at them with a mix of horror and surprise.
“All my theories just went out the window.” Whispered Sebastian as he plucked a pick out of the floating mass of tools.
Damon imagined putting the tools back down, and down they went. Nice and gentle. Even though they were back onto the surface, Damon stared at them for the longest time. He wondered what kind of game that strange man must be playing if he’d given the powers to both him and his brother; and how could he even expect Damon to kill Adrian, even if he was evil.
The thought of his brother being evil in the first place seemed absurd to him, but it wouldn’t be the first time that someone in their family had been consumed by power.
“Almost done.” Muttered Sebastian. “You’ll be out of here soon.”
Sebastian patted the patient’s shoulder and went back to work on cutting her open. Surgery was always something that Damon couldn’t bear to watch, for most of it, he’d just been staring at the walls or focused on the doctor himself.
“Freeze.” Said a voice, startling both Sebastian and Damon.
The sound of multiple carbines clicked behind them; Damon turned around to see who it was.
“Ghan?” Asked Damon, surprised.
The soldiers ignored him.
“How did you sneak up on us?” Asked Sebastian.
“Quite easily Doctor.” Muttered the robotic voice of a person they both immediately recognized.
Draxis turned the corner of the entryway, wiping the Kharan dust off of his sleek, black trenchcoat. He smiled as he looked upon his former friend.
“Damon!” Said Aela through his communicator. “Damon come in!”
Draxis turned to look at Damon, surprised by the name. As he scanned his brother up and down, a slight grin came across his face; He nodded to approve Damon’s call.
“Aela!” Shouted Damon in a sarcastic tone. “Long time-”
“Shut up.” She interjected. “That energy signal, I’m picking it up again at the work camps.”
“Yeah. I’m looking right at it.” He replied. “Look Aela, I’ll explain later, I’m kind of busy.”
Damon cut the transmission before she could argue with him.
“Adrian, this patient will die if I don’t continue with my work.” Complained Sebastian.
Draxis walked over to look at the patient; he placed his hand over her face and tensed it. The patient’s body began to writhe as if she were in the worst pain of her life; within seconds she once again became still. Sebastian stared at the woman, once again devastated by Draxis’ actions.
“Adrian you can’t just-” Started Damon.
Draxis used his power to push Damon into the wall.
“Stop, calling, me, that.” He seethed.
“I see you haven’t lost your temper.” Grumbled Damon, brushing off some dust from his shoulder.
Draxis smiled briefly, only to replace it with a frown once again. With nothing left to be done in the medical bay, Draxis motioned to his troops.
“Take them outside.” He growled, flipping his coat around and storming out of the room.
As the group moved through the entrance doors, they came face to face with Sam and Gerrig, who were trying to sneak in unnoticed. When Draxis saw them, he instantly read their intentions, which made him smile widely as the soldiers took them at gunpoint as well.
/> The bombing from the Ghan ships exploded all around the Trade District. To Damon, it appeared that both sides had officially lost the war, but Draxis wasn’t satisfied; he wanted to burn the entire trio of planets to the ground and build it all from the ashes.
“On your knees!” Ordered the soldiers.
Damon and the others complied with their demands, though not willingly.
“Your war is lost I’m afraid.” Said Draxis, his voice oozing with pleasure.
Draxis turned to Damon with a grin upon his face; he was quite pleased with himself.
“Not yet.” Replied Damon, returning the famous Blackwing grin.
Draxis’ smile faded as his brother spoke, replaced with rage and confusion.
“You see, you’ve just taken family feud to another level. I’m just getting started brother.” Continued Damon.
Draxis shot out his hand to give Damon a minor thrashing with his powers; but to his surprise, Damon did exactly the same. Their energies collided with each other, becoming useless on both sides.
“What is this?” Asked Draxis, his eyes wide with fury.
Damon grinned and used his other hand to knock his brother off of his feet. As Draxis fell to the ground, so did his hold, giving Damon another free hand. Damon used that free hand to push the soldiers away from his friends.
“You didn’t think that you’d be the only one did you?” Jested Damon, pulling his blade from his utility belt.
As the sword ignited, Draxis looked up at it with wonder. He’d failed to notice it before, but it begged the question, how did Damon come to have all of this? His pathetic little brother, possessing the power of the gods, it was impossible.
“Not the only one.” Muttered Draxis, placing his palms against the soft, Kharan dirt. “Just the better one!”
Suddenly, Draxis shot up to his feet and brandished his own energy blade; his was much more sinister looking. A smile appeared on his face once again; he was ready to face his brother in combat, eager even.
Damon inched towards his brother, his sword stuck out like a swordfish, ready to slash at a moments notice. Draxis, being the more seasoned fighter, traced his steps from a distance. He knew that if Damon got close enough, he’d immediately take a shot. Although that would be good for him, he wanted to get a feel for Damon’s powers first.