by Justin Sloan
“Is that a problem?” Hadrian asked.
“No… no problem. Just making sure I understand your request so I can properly deal with my grief.”
Ferder cleared his throat, and Samantha turned, surprised to see him there. “Our problems are all relative, aren’t they?”
For a moment, Jackal was silent, then cursed. “Yeah, I mean… sorry, man.” He pulled his helmet back, glancing at the red, glowing sunglasses on Ferder. “They’re working?”
“I was able to spot you all, but it’s still like finding shapes in murky water.”
Hadrian put a hand on Ferder’s shoulder. “It’s agreed, then. Jackal will look at his life in perspective and not be a whiny little bitch, while Ferder and I go participate in a special sort of Arzanian diplomacy.”
“If that means what I think it means—” Jackal started, but Hadrian held up a hand.
“Joking, Jackal. Just joking.” He glanced over at Samantha and then grimaced. “Sorry, even I start to lose myself on this planet.”
That’s when it hit Samantha, this strange warm tingling she was feeling. “It’s like a drug,” she said, glancing around again at the falling golden flakes. “Wow.”
Hadrian nodded. “It explains so much about Carma’s people. And… it’s the reason I advise that most of us stay on the ship. Why we all have to watch ourselves while here.”
“Damn, boss,” Napalm said as he turned back to Hadrian. “With all this landing on so much of Carma’s exposed skin, I’m surprised she could still get pissed at you. Shouldn’t the stuff have nullified such negativity?”
“That’s how much this upsets her,” Hadrian replied. “But trust me, this is for the best. We need Arzan on our side, and we need it completely.”
With a nod, he gestured to Samantha to follow, while the rest returned to the ship to keep guard. She saw the Shadows arguing with Napalm, and one Arzanian man risking a glance out through the doors. But soon they had all disappeared inside, and it was just Samantha and Hadrian walking alone. They passed tall buildings that reminded her of curved blades, many of them covered in glass that reflected the glowing flakes like a disco ball, but more calming and beautiful.
Guards stood atop some of the buildings, and more than once a patrol ship zoomed by, each with the look of a dagger.
“Why am I here?” she asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s… interesting, to be able to see other planets like this, but why me?”
“The others would be at higher risk of causing trouble,” Hadrian replied.
“No, I mean… here. Up here with you.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, his cloak flowing behind him in a regal way. “Sam, you’re strong. Your potential rivals the best of them. Haven’t I made this clear?”
She narrowed her eyes in thought, then nodded and felt her shoulders relax. “Something I remembered, when Carma did that energy thing to me, and it got me thinking about something Karstrack said. About… my dad.”
Hadrian tensed at that, though barely. “What was it he said?”
“That my dad was looking for me. Odd thing was, he referred to him as father, as if… maybe I’m related to Karstrack too. I mean, assuming anything he said on the matter wasn’t complete bull.”
“Assuming that…” Hadrian grimaced. “But even the darkest night has some light. What are you asking, Sam?”
“I don’t know, but, I get the feeling you know something about all this.”
He cocked his head, then turned back to watch the road ahead of them as they walked. Only then did Samantha see that the two women he had been speaking to earlier were there too, leading the way from a distance.
It was a while before Hadrian responded, and Samantha had started wondering if he was going to reply at all. She was just giving up hope when he said, “It’s not me, if there’s any question.”
“No, of course not.” Oddly, the response caused a small pain in her chest, followed by a dizzying sensation. It made her wonder what she had been expecting or hoping for. “But… how can you be sure?”
“I’ve only ever loved one,” Hadrian replied. “Emotionally, and physically. That was my Nora.”
It was sweet, and yet, a letdown.
“Sam, you know I think of you like a daughter, and a friend.” Hadrian smiled her way, but those comforting eyes made the fact that he wasn’t her father even more frustrating. “I’ll always be here, in any way that I can. And if finding your father is something you must do, I will do my part to help. Assuming it doesn’t get in the way of saving the universe, of course.”
“Of course,” she replied with a forced laugh.
“What did he say? Karstrack, I mean. What did he say about your father?”
“He said that my father was waiting for me, had been for years. That Karstrack was supposed to find me and bring me to him. But then…” She suddenly remembered the rest of what Karstrack had said, and it dawned on her that she had been foolish. Of course Hadrian wasn’t her dad! And worse, Karstrack had said Hadrian had been keeping her from her dad. “You know who my dad is, but won’t let him close to me. Is it true?”
Hadrian winced, then frowned. “I… I can’t think of who it might possibly be. Honestly.” At a look from Samantha, he added, “You have to believe me. I don’t know what he meant there, but you know that I thought Karstrack dead. That being the case, how could I have possibly tried to keep him from anything, including you?”
“That does make sense,” Samantha admitted, growing more annoyed at the frustration. “I don’t even know why I care, honestly. It’s just… finding out that my dad might not have been from Earth, it’s like someone’s just smashed down a wall that held back my curiosity, a wall I never knew was there.”
“Well, we’ll find an answer for you,” he replied, pausing to put a hand on her shoulder. “I promise.”
She nodded and kept on, letting the hand fall. Now that the question was out of the way, she could turn her attention back to the city. Ahead, the two women had stopped at a building that reminded her of a star, each edge coming out in sharp points and rising up to the golden clouds.
“In there, it’s going to be tough,” Hadrian said. “Just… try not to give them any reason to get upset.”
“Me?”
He turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know how to say this, but you’ve been a bit on edge lately.”
Annoyance flickered, and then was gone, pushed back and hidden. She nodded. “You’re right. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Together they moved up the pink, marble steps and then entered. The entryway was tall, with lamps filled with the gold flakes swirling about in a way that created enough light for a warm glow. At the far end was a large, arched door with a guard on each side. These weren’t the guards Samantha was used to, though. They were tall women with the images of wings painted behind the spot where each stood, like angels. While most women here wore the silks, these two were clad in armor covered in spikes and sharp edges. They wore half-helms on their heads that jutted out at the front and gave them the look of eagles. Each carried a crescent double-blade like Carma had been showing Samantha how to use.
While at first intimidating, the closer Samantha got the more she realized the impression was more primitive than they likely intended. While she was in space training with advanced blasters and enhanced blades—and even a kind of magic—here it was like the old medieval days.
She did wonder at the swirling light in the lamps, and the way Carma had manipulated the golden flakes before. If there was a way to harness that power off-planet, she imagined there could be something incredibly powerful there.
Hadrian paused and the guards opened the doors, revealing a room that Samantha imagined out of old fairy tales. It was similar to the grand ballroom of the palace at Entono Fos, but with intricate carvings and gold trim designs of what looked to be goddesses battling giant serpents.
It was only after a moment’s consideration that she wondered if it was a me
taphor, and had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing. If it wasn’t a metaphor, someone was pretty dense.
At the far end of the room, a circle of chairs was arranged. The two women from outside gestured to two chairs for Hadrian and Samantha, and then stepped back to the wall where more guards stood at attention. The other chairs were occupied by women in various silks in the colors of the sunset—red, purple, pink, and orange. One woman, sitting in an ornate chair opposite the other women, wore all of the colors, including an array of gems in her hair. A leader, Samantha figured.
This woman was the first to speak.
“I am Mistress Reyn,” the woman stated with a solemn nod of her head. “I understand you have an important matter you wish to discuss.”
“The matter is of the utmost importance,” Hadrian replied, sitting tall in his chair, hands placed firmly on his knees. “One that will affect both men and women of your planet. One that, I hope, will bring you together.”
The shock that crossed Reyn’s face wasn’t even slightly concealed. She narrowed her eyes in disgust, then turned to whisper something to the lady next to her before standing.
“This meeting is over,” she stated.
“Sit,” Hadrian commanded. As he stood, he glowed gold and took on the persona of Nora. “For the safety of all Arzanians and the universe, you will listen to what I have to say.”
“Lady Nora,” one of the women stated in shock. Before any of the others could respond, she had run forward and taken Hadrian, or Nora, in an embrace. “How…?”
“How is it possible that I am here after my death?” It was no longer Hadrian’s voice, but a woman’s, one that could only belong to Nora. “It’s complicated, but if you understand the way my people work, less so. When we die, we don’t truly move on, but are absorbed into the bodies of the others from my planet. So it is that Hadrian now houses us all, as he is the only survivor.”
“And so… is this Hadrian we speak to now?” The woman pulled back, hands clasping her upper arms as she became suddenly self-aware. The others were looking on with great interest.
“Hadrian is the only one left, but we aren’t him, no.” Nora stepped forward and took the woman’s hands. “It is I. Nora. My consciousness lives on, though in a different way than before. I no longer care about my own wellbeing. In a way, we carry on to assist the survivor. We have transcended to focus on the protection of the universe. It’s… complicated.”
“I’m sorry,” Samantha said, her mind reeling. She knew this wasn’t the time or place to be asking questions, but this was blowing her mind. “So you have memories separate from Hadrian? This is… really you, in a way?”
Nora nodded.
“And if Karstrack were to appear in Hadrian’s body, I mean—”
“He has transcended,” Nora replied. “As I stated, we serve the universe now, through Hadrian. While he maintains free will and may still be corrupted by the flesh, the same can no longer be said about Karstrack and the rest of us. In addition, I am only here by Hadrian’s will. Normally when our visages show, our powers can be called upon. But very rarely does it make sense to come out as I have now.”
“And why is this time different?”
Nora turned to the woman whose hands she still held. “Eldra is my half-sister. It seemed the only way to get the Arzanians to listen. Am I wrong?”
Eldra turned to her leader, Reyn, and waited.
After a moment, Reyn returned to her seat, and motioned for the others to do the same. Nora stayed with them in Hadrian’s body, smiling once more at her half-sister before returning to the seat beside Samantha.
It was an odd situation, to say the least, but Samantha sat straight, trying her best not to stare at Nora and let the questions fly from her lips as they arose. The universe was a complete crazy-fest, as far as she was concerned at that moment, but for now they had a mission to accomplish.
“What would you propose, er, Nora?” Reyn asked.
Nora blinked, and then it was Hadrian again, the golden glow fading. “I apologize, but to convey what we saw, I must speak again.”
It was hurting Samantha’s head, so she just stared forward. The flash of annoyance at seeing a man again was clear in Reyn’s eyes. Convincing them to work with the men of their planet would be no easy task.
“We have, on our ship, several male Arzanians,” Hadrian said. “They were found, along with several beings from the Shadow Worlds, on a Scrapulent military base. As best we could figure it.”
“And what brought you to a Scrapulent base?” Reyn asked.
“We discovered that the planet Earth’s military tyrant had been under the influence of the Scrapulent.”
“Which should be impossible,” Reyn said, eyes narrowing. Then they went wide, “You’re suggesting the Arzanian males were helping the Scrapulent in this? Those vile—”
“NO!” Hadrian stood, cutting her off. “You must stop seeing them this way. Or at least, most of them. The men we found were being held against their will, their powers at gem creation being sucked out of them.”
Reyn leaned back, considering this.
“You’re saying the Scrapulent were able to control the human because of Arzanian gems?” Eldra asked, then sucked in through her teeth. “It makes sense, but… damn.”
Hadrian nodded, sadly. “It didn’t compute at first, until I realized that had to be the way they were doing it. And it can’t happen again. I’m prepared to do what I can to ensure the Scrapulent keep their distance from Arzan, but my influence only goes so far. You must do your part.”
“And that involves protecting the men?” Reyn asked, irritation heavy in her voice. “I’m sorry to doubt you, Hadrian. But first, you don’t know the gravity of what you ask. Second, this influence of which you speak has diminished greatly as of late, from what I hear.”
“The situation with Entono Fos,” Hadrian countered, “is closely tied to this situation, I believe. While we have broken the connection with Earth and rid them of the Scrapulent, I am fairly certain, the same cannot yet be said of Entono Fos. It is likely this was what caused Karstrack to go over to the enemy, and it’s not unthinkable that he could have helped bring a Scrapulent into the palace.”
“How?” Reyn asked. “Assuming everything is as you say, how did the Scrapulent obtain our men for this?”
“Actually,” Eldra leaned forward, turning to her leader. “There was a rumor that a certain man had returned. A smuggler, or… pirate, if you prefer to call him that.”
“Captain Praks?” another woman asked, fists clenching as the words left her mouth. “The intel network heard that, and we put everyone on alert, thinking it was a ploy to hit us in some new, unexpected way.”
“And yet, it wasn’t a move against us at all,” Reyn stated, eyes going wide with realization. “He likely made his own people think that, only to use the opportunity to sell them off. His flesh and blood, no doubt.”
“Has Praks crossed over too, then?” Eldra asked. “If he’s doing this, does that mean his pirate fleet has abandoned the neutrality of the Shadow Worlds, instead siding with the Great Deceivers?”
Hadrian nodded. “The question is, how much of the Shadow Worlds has gone over? We’d heard the Shadow Worlds were under siege by the Dexetilaitite. But they’re far off, at least a year’s journey at FTL, and we have no gates set up.”
“If that’s the case, Captain Praks has been with the enemy for some time,” Reyn suggested.
“Or he was working with Karstrack, using the gates,” Hadrian offered. “We’ve found at least one remaining, and my hope would be that there are no more. However, that is a hope I doubt we can rely on. I must travel to the Shadow Worlds with my team, to cut off all ties and set up a gate for ourselves, in case there are future problems.”
“You mean to hunt down Captain Praks?” Reyn asked.
Hadrian nodded. “If he is there, we will find him. No more Arzanian slaves at his hand, not after I’m done with him. But we must also e
nsure he has no more of your gems.”
“And when he resists you? You think your little group here can stand against the combined armada of the Shadow Worlds?”
Hadrian held out his hands. “All we have to do is take him out and the rest will follow. By nature, the pirate houses want no part in this fight. They don’t follow others, not unless forced to. They went to the Shadow Worlds to be their own men and women, to live outside of this war, to pillage and plunder as they see fit. Should we allow this to continue? Probably not. But my priority right now is to see that they at least take a stand against being manipulated by the enemy. And if giving them back their freedom is the route toward this and toward ultimate victory over the Great Deceivers, so be it.”
Reyn considered his statement for a moment, and then stood, motioning to the doors. “We will consider your proposal. Please, wait for an answer outside while we discuss.”
Hadrian stood and nodded for Samantha to follow, but as he made for the door he paused at Eldra.
“I am truly sorry for your loss,” he said, bowing his head.
“And yours,” she replied. “May I… see her again, before you go?”
Hadrian hesitated with a glance at Reyn, who nodded. When he turned back to Eldra, he was Nora again.
“I—I’ll miss you,” Eldra said. “I know we never spent much time together, but my visits to your home…”
Nora embraced her. “When all of this is over, you must visit again. Wherever home may be. Hadrian is still here, and even though I’m not the same, I will be happy to have your company.”
“Thank you, Nora. Thank you, Hadrian.” Eldra released her, eyes sparkling gold, and then turned back to her group.
Hadrian returned and joined Samantha outside.
As soon as they were in the main hallway and out of earshot of the guards, Samantha turned to Hadrian with exasperation and confusion. “You’re like one of those Russian dolls, you know that?”