Repo Earth

by Jeff Walsh

  A moment of silence lingered and Tira turned to take his seat.

  “Did you ever figure out what happened to the Imperium?” Bartl asked just before Tira sat.

  Tira slowly righted himself and looked at Bartl, but said nothing.

  Bartl allowed the silence to hang in the air for a short time.

  “No?” Bartl finally said. “Nothing?”

  Tira glared at Bartl. It was clear that Bartl was antagonizing him, but in truth, no one knew exactly what happened to the Imperium, and that concerned the Commander.

  Bartl nodded to himself. “I thought not.” he said. “Real shame, I mean for you. It's a great a story. Would you like to hear it?”

  Tira said nothing.

  “Before we get into that Commander,” Taam said, enunciating Tira's title sarcastically. “I'd like to commend you and your men. You're all extremely thorough when scanning and searching people.”

  Tira's eyes darted to Taam. His mind raced. This was how the Heezarians played their game. They reveled in the moments prior to executing their plans. Tira couldn't fathom how they could escape. They were locked down. The Captain had played the Heezarians perfectly.

  “But if I could make a suggestion,” Taam continued. “Fractured-particle-cloaks really should be a part of your weapons scan. You never know when you're going to come across someone crazy enough to wire one into a vac-suit.”

  Anthony glanced over at Taam. A section of air rippled for a moment. Then, tiny little squares broke apart revealing two phaser pistols strapped to his back.

  “Soldiers,” Tira belted out. “Fire!”

  With blurring speed the Attillian soldiers began to fire. Anthony smirked and looked to Bartl. Every shot collided and diffused as it smashed into white hexagonal lights.

  “How do you like that short range shielding we installed in your new body?” Bartl said to Anthony.

  “You know,” Anthony said. “I don't think these Attillians realized I'm no longer human.”

  “I think you're right,” Taam said sarcastically. “I'm also willing to bet that they haven't given Genny any of her meds.”

  Taam pulled the two pistols free and tossed one to Bartl.

  Tira's eyes narrowed, as he watched the scene before him. His skin darkened. A sign of fury within the Attillian race.

  Genny smirked and balled her hands into fists. Dark circles began to appear around her eyes.

  “Nope,” she said. “They sure haven't.”

  ҉

  “Unfortunately,” Kora said. “The ekklisian interface is not an option.”

  “What?” Marcus said. “Why? I don't care if I die at this point. I've failed. I'm the one who brought Vex here. I'm the one who allowed him to do this to Volja. And that means I'm the one responsible for fixing this.”

  “It is not an option,” Kora said. “I do not say so out of some responsibility to your life. It is simply not a solution as you believe it to be. Should you connect with Volja in a full ekklisian you would perish far too soon to be of any use. Your life would be wasted.”

  “So there really is nothing left to do?” Marcus asked. “Volja is going to die, and we just have to stand around and watch?”

  “Affirmitive,” Kora said.

  Marcus glanced toward the brass doors. Somewhere beyond, Vex was killing Volja. He breathed deep and looked back toward Kora. “Take me to him,” he said. “Take me to Vex.”

  “As you wish,” Kora said.

  The two strode across the room to the brass doors. Marcus caught a hint of light that flashed through the thin opening between the two doors. A second later Kora pushed them open and Marcus was staring into the massive control center of Volja. At the center, Vex was looking over a dozen or more displays.

  Marcus watched as Vex turned his head slightly toward them. He said nothing, nearly paying them no attention other than to see who'd entered the room. Marcus strode across the room quickly and approached Vex.

  “Why?” Marcus blurted out. “Why all of this?

  Vex didn't bother to turn around and for a second Marcus thought he was being ignored.

  “Because it is mine to take,” Vex said. “This universe, everything in it, operates under one simple rule: power wins. It is a commonality even on your world. The records of your planet's earliest interactions are written not by those who were overcome, but by those who overcame. Power bestows itself upon those are willing to take it. You ask me why I do what I do, and the answer is: because I can. It is the reason Volja lay powerless at my doing. It is the reason why the Core, and soon the universe will bend its knee to my throne. Only I was strong enough to take it, and not even Volja itself could stop me.”

  Marcus stood there quietly just staring at the back of Vex for a moment. “You posture yourself as though everyone is beneath you,” he finally said. “But look at you, you're nothing more than a monstrosity of life. You claim power, you force loyalty, everything you are is based in fear.”

  Vex laughed slightly. “People obey what they fear.”

  “It's not them I'm talking about,” Marcus said. “It's you. You're afraid. You believe your only course of action is to gain absolute power or you'll be left with nothing. You're afraid of being alone, and you're right. The Core, Prime Command, heck I'm willing to bet that even your own people would leave you if given the chance.”

  Vex turned and glared at Marcus.

  “Wow,” Marcus said. He chuckled slightly. “You're nothing more than a bully.” Marcus started to laugh.

  Vex now squared himself with Marcus. The Attillian towered over him, but Marcus payed him no attention.

  “Here we are,” Marcus continued. “All the way out in space, who knows how far I am from Earth, and in the end I'm standing face to face with nothing more than an alien bully.”

  Vex stepped forward and kicked. Marcus barely had time to flinch. A blue light held Vex's foot just inches from Marcus' face.

  “Physical violence cannot be committed against species 042 without express consent,” Kora said.

  Marcus spun and looked to her.

  “It is one of the only remaining operations files I have left,” she said to Marcus.

  Vex dropped his foot and Kora's energy shield dissipated. “That's easy enough to solve,” he said.

  Vex walked back to one of the control stations and began to slide his hands across its interface. Marcus watched as lists of files were being deleted or corrupted in some way. Vex's Phyzzer program had given him nearly full control of Volja's system.

  “How'd you do it?” Marcus blurted out. He wanted to distract Vex, cause him to slow down whatever it was he was doing. “I thought everyone in the universe believed Volja to be some mystery planet. But you knew it wasn't. You knew Volja was more than a place. How?”

  Again, Vex said nothing at first, and Marcus wondered if the Attillian captain was done conversing with him. Marcus understood his position with Vex; without Kora's protection he was nothing more than a fly waiting to be swatted.

  “As I said,” Vex stated. “Power is given to those who take it. I have known of the Zatarii for quite some time. There has been far more written of them than most believe, you must simply know where to look. Once I learned of the original seven creators, and their true nature, overcoming them was the next logical step. I set my focus on designing a program that would wipe away the life of any Zatarii without destroying the gifts it could give. However, gaining access to any one of these creature proved to be a near impossible task.”

  Marcus watched as Vex stood upright. He'd finished whatever it was he needed to do. This time, Marcus knew, if Vex wished to strike him there'd be no interference from Kora.

  Vex walked over and leered down at Marcus. “If I wish,” he said quietly to Marcus. “I can now snap your head clean from your body before your next breath. Keep this in mind should you wish to try and provoke me once more.”

  Marcus looked up at Vex. The two locked eyes. Marcus wouldn't back down. His only hope at this point w
as that somehow Vex would reveal a weakness, some sort of way to stop him.

  “As I was saying,” Vex continued. “Knowing how to gain access to Volja had proved nearly impossible.”

  “Until,” Marcus said.

  “Until your species was revealed,” Vex said. “Ancient writings told of a very specific user Volja had interacted with in the past. It wasn't enough to know your species was a match, we needed to know the specifics of who on your planet could interact.”

  “But you didn't have enough time to figure that out,” Marcus said.

  Vex said nothing.

  “The Heezarians managed to phase Earth before you could get to it,” Marcus said.

  “The Heezarians did what they do best,” Vex said. “Annoy. Nothing more.”

  “But it wasn't just annoyance,” Marcus said. “They managed to get three of us off Earth before they phased it. Not only were they one step ahead of you, they took what you wanted.”

  Vex laughed sarcastically. “You give the Heezarians far too much credit,” Vex said. “The Heezarians acted exactly as I expected. It was simply a matter of putting a plan into action to get what we wanted. As it was, we needed to separate you, any of you, from the others.”

  “And that's where Halen came in,” Marcus said.

  “Halen was an efficient tool,” Vex said. “Albeit an arrogant one, he did serve his purpose. The Imperium split your group up and sent each of you in different directions. You and that annoying AI went one way, the rest another. With Taam and Bartl together you were the logical choice to hunt down. I knew convincing you to join me was futile. So I would need to gain your trust. Once you were upon Qynn, it was a simple matter of destroying the pod along with the AI program inside. I wanted you to watch as your only means of travel and your only friend in space was obliterated before your eyes. You were alone and afraid. All I had to do was offer a helping hand and you practically fell into my arms.”

  Marcus gritted his teeth. Everything had been planned out. Vex used Alvin. He used him to build Marcus' trust, and it worked flawlessly.

  “Once I fed you the story of being the Heezarian's old friend you were mine,” Vex said. Every word that poured from his mouth dripped with malevolence.

  “And the real Omnis?” Marcus asked.

  Vex smiled wide.

  Marcus looked to the floor.

  “After I allowed you to rescue your friends aboard the scav vessel everything was in place,” Vex said. “It was simply a matter of waiting for you to arrive on the Starfaller. Although, I hadn't expected it to be you alone. Tell me, why is it they sent only you to Volja?”

  “It doesn't matter,” Marcus said.

  “Indeed,” Vex retorted. “We are merely passing the time. I assure you I'll give you no opening. You are delaying nothing. I understand our banter to be a means to an end. You're hoping for some weakness to manifest itself, some possibility to your victory. I assure you, no such thing exsists. This is the end, spend it how you wish.”

  Marcus cursed to himself. It seemed Vex had accounted for everything. As Marcus looked around the overwhelming feeling of defeat began to press down on his shoulders.

  “So what now?” Marcus muttered.

  “Now?” Vex answered. “Now you wait. Your part in all of this is not over. Once Volja is in my full command you and your friends will be returned home, safely. Your rescue from the Heezarians will be broadcast across the universe. It will be used to usher in a new age for the Core. An age powered by the Attillian empire. And in a small way, it was all made possible by you,” Vex mocked.

  Vex turned and walked back to the central station. He sat and began working it once more.

  Marcus just stared at him for a moment, with his mind blank. He looked to Kora who had said nothing the entire time.

  “I'm sorry,” he said to her. “There really is nothing we can do. My mind is too full.”

  Marcus paused and shook his head. “Wait, what did I just say?” He asked aloud.

  Kora tilted her head in confusion.

  “Sorry,” Marcus said. “It's just, those words, they just sort of came out.” An image flashed in his mind and just as quickly it left. Marcus tilted his head slightly. His mind felt strange.

  “Are you alright sir?/” Kora asked.

  “I,” Marcus started to stay. The image flashed and vanished once more. “I don't know. I keep seeing something in my mind but I can't hold it.

  “That may be your mind processing its interaction with Volja from earlier,” Kora said. Marcus looked to Kora. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Closing his eyes Marcus focused his mind.

  Images, flashes a of blurry face came and went. Then images of Earth, or was it Volja, appeared and disappeared. Everything flashed by so quickly he couldn't make anything out.

  Something was wrong, Marcus thought. No, he pushed the idea away. Not wrong, different. The scan, it wasn't what Marcus thought. Volja knew Marcus wouldn't be able to interface with him. The scan served a greater purpose.

  Marcus closed his eyes as he pushed his thoughts around. He could feel something, a piece of information that was missing. A glass nearly full of water flashed in his mind again, but this time he saw it all. The image changed suddenly; this time it was over flowing. And as fast as that image came, the glass became empty.

  Marcus' mind went blank and he opened his eyes.

  “Sir,” Kora said. “Are you alright?”

  Marcus shook his head. He closed his eyes and focused once more. The same images of the glass came again but this time slower. Marcus steadied his breathing and then, as if on loop, the glass of water went through its sequence over and over.

  “C'mon” Marcus blurted out at himself. He knew Volja was telling him something, but he couldn't figure it out. He watched over and over again as the images of the glass came in succession: partially full, overflowing, empty.

  “See it!” He yelled at himself. His eyes opened and darted toward Vex who had turned for a moment to see what was happening. Marcus just looked back at him. After a moment Vex gave a dismissive look and went back to work.

  “C'mon Marcus,” he said to himself. “What are you missing?”

  “Sir?” Kora asked.

  “I'm missing something,” Marcus said quietly. “Something in the interaction with Volja. I keep seeing these three images over and over and I think Volja put them there.”

  “That is most unusual,” Kora said.

  Marcus took a deep breath and steadied himself. He cleared his mind and focused. “Okay,” he said. “Just talk it out. What are you seeing? Keep it simple.” He closed his eyes. “A glass with water in it, then too much water, then empty,” he said. With eyes still shut, “Okay, so the glass, it's not full, then too full, then empty. It's Not full. Then it's too full. Then it's empty. Not full...too full...”

  Marcus snapped his eyes open wide and looked at Kora.

  “Kora,” he said. “Earlier, you said I'm unable to interact fully with Volja because of my current mental capacity, correct?”

  “Affirmative,” Kora answered.

  Marcus darted toward the brass doors. Kora lingered for a moment then quickly followed. As the two reached the brass doors Marcus looked to her and said, “Can you get me back to my ship?”

  “Affirmative,” Kora answered.

  “Alright then,” Marcus said. “Listen up, I think Volja just gave me a plan.”

  Chapter 24

  Tira turned and fired his energy blaster at Genny who was holding two soldiers aloft. In response, she hurled one of the men toward Tira. The commander dove out of the way; the soldier careened through the air and crashed into one of the pilots. The impact shattered the pilot's workstation and the two soldiers fell limp to the floor. Tira spun as he rolled across the floor and fired another shot at Genny and struck her in the face. Reeling back, she dropped the other soldier and snapped her gaze at Tira. Her smoldering, charred skin hung loose from her face. A split second later her injury healed. Genny gritted her
teeth as the rage within intensified.

  Bartl fired three shots at members of the bridge crew who were calling in reinforcements. Taam put an energy blast into the chest of the soldier Genny dropped and took aim at the doorway to the bridge.

  “Stay with us Genny,” Taam yelled out. “It's yours to control.”

  Genny heard Taam and focused her mind. She pushed against the rage. It's mine to control, she thought.

  Another group of soldiers poured in from the bridge entryway. Taam spun and dropped four of them before they could take cover.

  “Commander,” one crewman yelled out. “We just lost comm and tracking with the captain.”

  Tira took cover behind the captain's chair. He spun and looked to the crewman. “Get him back, now!”

  ҉

  Vex worked the station he'd been using but to no avail. He stood and stepped back from it. Everything was dark; no console or workstation in the entire control room was active. Even the lights had gone out. Frustrated at the inconvenience, Vex kicked forward and the workstation broke free from the ground. It tumbled forward smashing through two other stations and caving in a third before it came to a stop.

  The brass doors to the control center burst open.

  “Sorry,” Marcus said as he entered the room. “But I'm afraid Volja is no longer yours to murder.”

  “You,” Vex said. He snapped his gaze toward the doors. Marcus strode into the room followed closely by Kora.

  “Of course me,” Marcus responded. “Who else could it have been?” Marcus finished sarcastically.

  Vex stepped toward him and Marcus rose his hand into the air indicating to Vex that he should halt. Vex paused for a moment.

  “I know in situations like these you like to demonstrate your superior strength,” Marcus said. “However, your power, your 'advantage',” Marcus made air quotes with his hands. “It's all gone now.”

  Vex laughed. “You think a simple power outage stops me?” Vex questioned Marcus. “The program is already within the core. It had reached its destination before you awoke from the scan earlier. I was using this control center as nothing more than a relay to the Starfaller.”