by Troy Snyder
Before Alexander could protest about their injuries and to the new orders the man was out the door. The man said nothing of him breaking orders or of Richard’s ire for doing such. He lay there for a moment staring at the folder when Raixo appeared at his side again.
“Apparently, we’re at war with you, Raixo.”
“Yes, but in our defense, you fired first.”
“Why are you here?”
“We came to understand why Quetzalcoatl was awoken. He is a very dangerous enemy. The people of old could have killed him, but they have since died. Now no one has the power to stand against him. If he reaches his home system he will regain his hold over its people. My people and the other main powers have been at war for some time. That is why we left earth, it was a neutral zone, but the war was becoming too intense so we abandoned the planet to concentrate on our homes. We are weakened by that war now; we stand no chance against Quetzalcoatl should he rally his forces.”
“Why not unite and fight him?”
“The wounds of war are too deep. We had hoped we could get here to stop him before he left the planet, destroy his ship, but as that man had mentioned it is too late. We must leave and return to our planet and prepare for a confrontation that no one is ready for.”
“Let me talk to your people and mine. I will try to stop our nonsense war and give you aid.”
“My friend, I don’t think humans can help us in the coming war. You have no energy to fight that we know of. The weapons we wear run on it, besides humans fight barbarically, using guns and projectiles. The wars of our planets are honorable, we fight in close combat. Except for those cowards the Alfar archers and Broushin assassins, they are both weak. Though the Broushin at least have skilled warriors, the Alfar are more cowardly with their men that fight from distance. Their only redeeming quality being their spearmen.”
“Right, I’ll pretend any of that made sense. So, you fight with swords?”
“Yes, that is the human word. Watch,” Raixo commanded.
Before his eyes the metallic material of the suit started from Raixo’s hand and made its watery form slowly appear as a double headed axe. It solidified in his hand and became a deadly weapon.
“Impressive.”
“The drawback is if you drop it or it breaks the weapon will dissipate. You will need to take the fighting time to forge your weapon again.” He let his weapon slowly melt back into his suit.
“Ok, so humans might not be able to help in the fight, but maybe we can help with supplies or manpower to build things.”
“I suppose… I’ll need to take you to my king first. He is a good man and a powerful warrior.”
“Alright, how do we get out of here?”
“With these,” He showed Alexander a silver bracelet, just a bland silver circle. Alexander had no idea where he had been keeping them.
“What is it?”
“This is a suit. It will activate with your energy, you should have enough to use it if you broke Quetzalcoatl’s seal. I will show you.”
Alexander slid on the bracelet marveling at its warmth. He felt suddenly powerful, as if he had not been injured at all. The energy that was dormant inside was welling up.
“One more thing… and this is going to hurt.” Raixo produced a torc of gold from a now revealed bag at his side. It had a small black box at the back and two large ball shapes on the ends. “This will help you learn languages, but it will hurt connecting. Are you sure you wish to do this?”
“I’m on so much morphine right now I don’t think I’ll feel a thing.”
Raixo wrapped the torc around Alexander’s neck, removing the tiny box the size of half his pinky finger and only the width of it, and placing it near the back of his head. He sent a small flow of energy into the box and immediately Alexander reacted. His face contorted into a silent scream and his body convulsed. As the pain slowly dissipated Alexander breathed heavily with tears in his eyes.
“Cerebral connection complete,” The collar said in a voice much like Alexander’s.
“Gal du nie?” Raixo questioned. “Gal du nie?” he repeated.
“Language scanned. Cerebral Connection Activated,” the torc spoke.
“Can you understand?” Raixo asked again in his native tongue.
“Yes, and who the hell invented this shit? That hurt like hell!” Alexander replied in the same tongue, “But it works.” He rubbed the back of his head feeling for the tiny object only to find it had disappeared.
“Ha! I warned you; now concentrate your energy into the brace on your arm. It will cover you in armor then simply tell that armor to disappear and you will become cloaked.” Raixo said slipping back into the human tongue he had become fond of. "This brace is simple, so even you, with unstable energy, should be able to use it."
Alexander did as he was told and concentrated, but in all truth, he had no idea what he was doing. He pictured the bracelet in his mind and imagined himself flowing into it. The armor began to creep up his arm in its water like state. The warmth of it soothed him.
After moment he was encased in the armor. The mask of rage came about his face and the eyes lit up blue. Alexander could see a display hud in front of his eyes. It showed his body, his bones, and his injuries. “Scanning” flashed on the screen.
“Injuries detected, activating healing procedures.” It read.
Alexander felt a stinging then numbing pain in his injuries as they healed. He began to rise from his bed, his full strength returning to him through the suit, he felt alive, slightly worn out, but alive and free of pain. He flexed his hands and stretched his stiff limbs. Then he remembered what he was told, he imagined in his mind disappearing. The suit reacted and he was gone.
Antonio stared as the two figures went over a few more details of their plan before disappearing. The door opened as if by itself, and closed behind them leaving Antonio alone with Trent, who was still comatose.
“Things are about to get insane,” he said under his breath, then lay back down to go to sleep.
Chapter 5:
Quetzalcoatl’s retracted the metallic arm protruding from his suit. The smell of iron filled his nose, blood. This place had once been his prison. Now it was a tomb for these lesser creatures. He was infinitely lucky they had trapped him with his brace. Built by the Broushin, modified by the Alfar, and fortified from the Craxi, his brace allowed him to form a near indestructible suit. Along with his energy, Quetzalcoatl was, in his mind, a true God.
He eyed the bodies of his vanquished foes. The four men in the camouflage were the toughest to bring down. After the first one he killed the others seemed to enter a state of berserk rage. They fought him like creatures from the deepest part of the underworld, he thought, but in the end, they were no match for him.
Quetzalcoatl’s armor had receded from his arm. He eyed the wound there, a deep gash. The second man in the camouflage that he had captured in his tentacled grip caused the wound, Alexander they called him. Pity, he thought, he would have made an excellent warrior. His energy had been so great in his rage that even the human blade he carried broke through his armor and tore a wound in his arm.
The armor covered his arm once again and he allowed it to heal as he walked over the bodies and rubble to a wall. It was now letting off a steady blue glow and Quetzalcoatl reached out his hand to touch it. The warmth filled him, but at the same time caused doubt. The energy was the same as the one soldier who wounded him, if he was more than a mere human, things could have gone much differently for Quetzalcoatl, and he knew it. As he eyed the bodies again for any sign of life, a shiver went down his spine, if there were more like him out there his mission would be harder than he thought.
Quetzalcoatl pressed a series of symbols on the wall and it began to collapse in on itself. The blue lines began to follow down a pathway opening in the wall. Following this path lead by the glow of energy Quetzalcoatl found exactly what he was looking for. There in waiting was an emergency shuttle. It was old, but would still be in w
orking order, and with luck, would have ordinance on board.
Scanning the ship’s hull Quetzalcoatl noticed something; the ship was not made by his captors, the Stalassians. This was a Broushin vessel.
“DVERGAR! DWARVES!” Quetzalcoatl shouted, using the racial slur towards the Broushin and slamming his fist into the ship’s hull.
Not only had his own people, the Stalassians, conspired against him, but now these miniature creatures? BAH, He thought. He assumed the Alfar and Craxi must have been involved as well. Their cunning and trickery was known far and wide. He would show them all. He would enslave all their races and dominate the galaxy, but first he must get home. He looked at the triangular craft once more in disgust before boarding it.
Onboard everything was much larger than expected from such short people. If you lack height, make up for it in grandeur he supposed. Everything was written in Broushin, a language he most detested, but learned none the less. It took some time before he figured out the controls, but when he did the rest was simple.
The ship began to start up causing a low rumbling noise then settling into a dull hum. Quetzalcoatl flicked several switches on the dashboard and the ship began to light up. He felt large in his small chair, but knew it was the best he could hope for. He looked around in the open area and saw chairs for two more people, unneeded he thought, remembering his two guards killed during his capture. He walked into a hallway behind the cockpit and saw two rooms to his right and one to his left, contemplating taking one for his own, but decided it was best for something else he had in mind, he sensed another emanating energy not far off. It was unrefined, but it was noticeable.
Quetzalcoatl walked past the rooms and through the second door on his left into a kitchen. Like all things on the ship the chairs and other furniture was small, meant for the short peoples of the Broushin, but the room was quite nicely built. Almost all things were covered in silver filigree and wonderfully chiseled with beautiful patterns. More evidence of their compensation, he smiled.
The kitchen had many cabinets, doors, shelves, all hosting a variety of foods, utensils and other tools one may need. The food was beyond salvageable and all the utensils were covered in thick amounts dust. Walking over to the sink Quetzalcoatl hopped against hope that at least this survived the long wait, but as he turned the water on it gave a low rumble then a puff of dust. All the supplies he would need were gone, and he knew before too long that whoever monitored the prison would come for him. He had to leave, and soon.
Coming to a decision Quetzalcoatl bounded back up the stairs and into his seat at the flight controls. With a few more adjustments the ship’s exterior began to glow in blue lines, like all Broushin devices. Two wings on the side of the triangular ship and one on the top began to extend outward as the ship prepared for takeoff.
With another press of a button the ceiling began to divide into a circular opening. Rocks, soil, and any manner of things above fell into the pit. Quetzalcoatl grabbed the controls and the ship began to lift into the air.
Above the ground Quetzalcoatl could see things had changed since his imprisonment, but he knew exactly where he wanted to go, Tenochtitlan.
It took Quetzalcoatl a very short period of time in his ship to reach the city he knew as Tenochtitlan. However, it was much different than what he remembered. All around different types of building sprouted out of the ground. Flying around he noticed his once favorite city was now in ruins and surrounded by horrid looking structures and the water that once surrounded it was gone. He would deal with this offense soon enough, but first he needed supplies.
Quetzalcoatl found a landing spot on paved ground that was surrounded by buildings. As he landed he noticed a number of wheeled vehicles trying to move out of the way. One not so lucky vehicle got crushed under the weight of his ship. Once landed, he opened the back cargo bay doors and climbed down a ladder that was hidden beneath a sealable cover not far off from the chair he was sitting in.
The ladder brought Quetzalcoatl down into the storage bay; it was a large room, empty of course. He could see the bay door in the back was open, thankfully nothing blocked it, and he plodded his way down the ramp. At the bottom the sun beat on his face, a feeling he had not had in such a long time it seemed alien to him, but at the same time so wonderfully delicious.
The humans around him stared in awe or ran away screaming. He was not used to this reaction. Before he was imprisoned these people would bow to him in honor and reverence. He was a God and he deserved to be respected. Anger flared in him. He concentrated his energy into his bracelet. The watery form of the metallic arm began to form again. He grabbed a man, wrapping the arm around his waist and yanking the man toward him. People around that were staring in awe now fled in fear.
“How dare you not bow to your God?” Quetzalcoatl screamed at the man in ancient Aztec.
“Oh Dios, por favor no me mates!” The man pleaded in a different language.
The difference struck Quetzalcoatl, had the world really changed this much? The man began to pray, his eyes clenched shut and his hands locked together. Sweat ran down his face and his entire body was convulsing in terror.
“Language scanned, cerebral connection activated.” The torc around Quetzalcoatl’s neck spoke.
“I will ask you once, slave.” Quetzalcoatl spat at the man in the new language. He pushed his snake like face into the man’s causing the man to shut his eyes once more. “Where is your food and water?”
The man raised an arm to the side to point. His entire arm was shaking and shortly after pointing the man went limp. He had passed out from the shock and terror of the ordeal.
Quetzalcoatl looked where the man had pointed and then turned back to him. He contemplated ripping the man in half but decided to continue with his original plan. He stowed the man in the cargo bay and locked down his ship. Picking up a large sack he had taken from the ship, he walked to the building the man had indicated before.
The door slid open on its own, much to Quetzalcoatl’s surprise. He took a moment to admire how far these people had come before walking into the door. There was a ding as he walked through the threshold and he looked quickly around ready to defend himself.
After a moment of standing tensed Quetzalcoatl realized there was no danger. Looking around he saw many of the lesser creatures staring at him.
“People of Tenochtitlan, I mean you no harm,” He lied attempting to receive help. “I merely wish to be supplied with food and water then I will be on my way. Make no mistake, if you resist in any way I will destroy you. All I ask is for you to bring me enough food and water to fill this bag,” He finished throwing the bag on the floor in front of them.
The people stood still for a moment, but before Quetzalcoatl was about to unleash his rage upon them a little girl stepped up to him and placed the soda she had been drinking into the bag. Quetzalcoatl kneeled down to her and thanked her. She responded with a smile.
“Are you a snake?” She asked.
“Curious and brave,” Quetzalcoatl marveled, this was the power he sensed. “No, my dear, I am a god. I am the mighty Quetzalcoatl. I used to rule these lands before I was betrayed.”
“Are you a good god?”
“I am. I just want to go home right now, but I need your help. Think you can do that for me?”
The little girl nodded her head.
“Then I have a gift for you.”
Quetzalcoatl took off his necklace made of the purest gold. It was formed in the shape of a large snake eating its own tail, a piece a jewelry he had… liberated, from a Craxi general so long ago. The little girl lifted her long dark hair for him to place it around her neck. She smiled even broader, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, she felt like a princess. She took Quetzalcoatl’s hand and led him down the aisles.
Soon the entire bag was full of food and water. He formed another tentacle arm from his brace and grabbed the large sack, lifting it into the air as if it were weightless.
Quetzalco
atl turned to the girl, if he could convince her to join him this would be easier than what he had in mind, kidnapping the people. “What is your name little one?” He asked gently.
“Gabriella,” she replied.
“Well then Gabriella, would you like to come with me?”
Quickly the child’s mom overcame her fear and felt the need to protect her child and stood in front of her. She was shaking her head vigorously, but she was obviously too afraid to form words.
Quetzalcoatl tried to remain calm, but anger was building inside of him. He had wasted too much time being nice already he had to move. “You may come too if you wish,” he said to the girl’s mother. “I remember those who help me and stand beside me. You will be treated like royalty and protected.” He was very well practiced in deceit; if this did not work he would have to resort to violence.
The mother remained still and many others stood with her now. They were not going to go willingly it seemed. Quetzalcoatl simply smiled, the features of his snake like face contorting showing fangs beneath.
“Very well then,” he said with vehemence.
Quetzalcoatl was much like his father. He loved the thrill of a fight. Concentrating his energy into his wrist once more he created several more arms, grabbing eight people including the young girl, Gabriella, and her mother. People screamed and attempted to break loose as he hauled them and his supplies out of the door with another ding.
Outside there were several new wheeled vehicles he had never seen before. Their lights flashed at him and several men held out the primitive projectile weapons he had seen in his previous encounter. They all had sweat on their faces and looked like at any moment they would turn and flee.
“Drop the people and place your hands on your head!” One man seemed to shout louder than normal. It must be that device he held to his mouth, Quetzalcoatl thought.
Quetzalcoatl ignored them and continued to walk forward, these lower life forms were not going to give him orders. The man continued to shout warnings to stop moving and to release his prisoners as the people in the metallic arms screamed for help and begged for freedom. Quetzalcoatl could feel the rising tension and covered himself completely in the silvery armor.