Origin Equation

by Charles F Millhouse

  Da’Mira broke her gaze from the monitor and sat in an office-type chair and looked at the plate of sautéed mushrooms, onions and steak on a plate. She drew her moistened tongue across her lips and picked up the fork, shoving the vegetables in her mouth and slicing the steak into mouth sized bites, before biting into them. The meat melted in her mouth and she drew a satisfying breath.

  “Better?” Quinton asked?

  “Much,” Da’Mira replied and took another bite.

  Quinton went back to staring at Da’Mira, and again she refused to fall for his incessant looks and took a third bite, mixing the vegetables and meat together.

  After several minutes of quiet, Quinton blurted out, “Damn it, Da’Mira what’s wrong with you?”

  Da’Mira stopped chewing and swallowed. She took a sip of water, and smiled slightly and asked, “What do you mean?”

  Quinton acted like Da’Mira smacked him. His face reddened, and he pushed back from the table. “You really cut it, you know that?”

  Da’Mira finished the last of her food, and replied, “Why don’t you just say what’s on your mind brother.”

  “I want to know what happened out there.”

  Da’Mira laughed and pushed her plate back.

  “You haven’t been forthcoming with the details. Clearly its haunting you.”

  Da’Mira stood up and stepped away from Quinton, eyed him for a long minute and asked, “What makes you think that?”

  Quinton stood too, and eyed Da’Mira up and down, said, “Look at you. The way you dress, your lack of body paint. This isn’t the Da’Mira Tannador I remember.”

  “This is the real Da’Mira Tannador. I don’t need fancy clothes, or exotic body paint to define who I am. I never did. I wore it to keep up pretense. You know that.”

  “But the creature, Uklavar.”

  “He’s baleful and without remorse. He scared the shit out of me, and everyone else in the expedition,” Da’Mira said and her thoughts turned to Charles, Hyta and Jonna. She missed them. In all the people she had ever met, they were the closest to being friends. And My Own, she thought.

  “But he didn’t change you?”

  “What is this change you’re talking about?” Da’Mira demanded.

  “You’re scared,” Quinton blurted out.

  “Damn right, I’m scared. You would be too if you saw him. I hope you never have to come face to face with him. That encounter will forever change you.”

  Quinton stepped around Da’Mira, and he snagged her by the shoulders and said, “Tell me one thing sis. Can we stop him?”

  “Huh...” That’s when Da’Mira realized it. It wasn’t her fears Quinton wanted to know about. He was trying to deal with his own. He had been given the leadership of House Tannador. That had to scare the shit out of him. Even if things were normal, it would be hard for someone to become leader of a house, and with a galactic war looming, it had to be even more difficult.

  “Are you alright, brother?”

  Quinton’s face flushed white, and he said, “I’m not ready to do this... I’m not.”

  “None of us are,” Da’Mira said. “But together we can be strong. I know we can.”

  Quinton drew a breath to speak, but the words stuck in his throat, and his eyes glared over as the grip on Da’Mira’s arms intensified.

  She jerked away and turned toward the monitor. She inhaled a frightened breath as her skin pricked cold. Avery was staring at her through the monitor, his gaze aloof and vile.

  Da’Mira and Quinton joined Moyah, Colin and Martin outside the chamber door minutes after Avery woke. None of them voiced their concerns. If they had, they might have talked each other out of going into the room. Da’Mira remembered when Uklavar woke and although this paled in comparison, there was a spark of apprehension between everyone.

  Moyah reached for a pad mounted on the wall next to the door and keyed in a sequence. Martin slipped his pistol out of its holster and the whine from Colin’s splinter rifle drew everyone’s attention to them.

  “We’re just being cautious,” Colin said.

  All eyes went back to the door when it slid aside. Martin forced himself forward and entered the room first. Moyah followed, then Da’Mira, Quinton and finally Colin. Avery stood on the opposite side of the room – his back against the wall.

  “You’re all so serious,” Avery said with a devilish grin. “Why so grim.”

  Moyah took a step forward and kept a chair between her and Avery, but before she could speak, Avery said, “You haven’t changed in seventy-five years. I do wish you’d share your beauty tips.”

  “We’ve never met,” Moyah said.

  Avery gave a girlish chuckle, and the words slipped off his tongue, said, “Things were a lot different then. But we have met before. We spoke of flowers in the spring.”

  Moyah glanced at Da’Mira, but kept her attention on Avery and said, “Iris and I had a long conversation once about spring flowers, because there wasn’t anything else to talk about, and it broke the tension in the room.”

  “It didn’t work,” Avery said. “You ordered a bottle of wine and some cheese in hopes food would staunch the uneasiness between us.”

  Moyah gripped the back of the chair in front of her and said, “Iris...?”

  “Iris...? as in Iris Lexor?” Colin asked.

  Avery gave a throaty giggle, and said, “Perplexing isn’t it?”

  “What are you saying,” Da’Mira asked. “That you’re Iris Lexor?”

  “I’ve heard it told you’re the smart one between you and your brother. But I’m not too sure. He’s busy studying me, looking for something to use against me. While you go for the frontal attack.”

  Da’Mira rolled her brow, said, “It’s always worked for me in the past.”

  “Iris Lexor is dead,” Moyah said.

  “You think so?” Avery asked.

  “He’s mad,” Colin said keeping his rifle trained on Avery.

  “Delicious,” Avery said. “You don’t know, and you’d never know if I didn’t tell you what I am.”

  Quinton finally spoke up, and asked, “What are you?”

  “Do you really want to waste time trying to figure me out, when you should be concentrating on Uklavar.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Colin whispered.

  “How do you know that name,” Da’Mira asked. “No one on Earth, outside this room, knows it.”

  “Gregaor did,” Avery said. “Seems he knew a great deal about the horned beast. Even served him, until he died. He was a man of great sadness. Never getting a chance to tell you how he felt about you, my dear.”

  “I know how Gregaor felt about me. It was no secret,” Da’Mira said. “I loved him once.”

  “I knew Avery, quite well,” Colin said from the back of the room. “You might look like him, you might even sound like him, but you aren’t Avery Lexor.”

  “You always were a smart one,” Avery said.

  “Who is he then?” Da’Mira asked.

  Moyah stepped forward, and said, “Not who. But what.”

  Da’Mira held her breath, not trying to jump to conclusions. She joined Moyah, eyed Avery and said, “If you’re not Avery Lexor, then who are you?”

  Avery gave a toothy grin, squared his shoulders, straightened his jacket and said, “That could be hard to explain. I am Avery. But I am also Gregaor Xavier, and Doctor Regan Odak, and a dock worker on the lower levels of Watchtower. I am a great number of people, but most importantly, I am Iris Lexor, I am ORACLE, and I am everywhere.”

  Moyah took another step closer to Avery, and Commander Martin went to her side. She looked at Da’Mira and said, “I don’t think we are talking to Avery anymore, but a combined mind.”

  “How is that even possible?” Da’Mira asked.

  “There’s no point in telling you,” Avery said. “You wouldn’t believe it anyway. All you need know is the man you once knew as Avery Lexor has become something greater, as you shall become.”

  “He’s st
alling,” Colin said.

  A signal beamed through the com terminal and Moyah backed away from Avery, turned and pressed a button at the panel’s base and said, “This is Lady Everhart.”

  A panicked voice came back across the panel, saying, “Milady, there are a number of ships heading in this direction. They are Monarch shuttles and Fortitude transports.”

  Moyah stared at Avery, who stood calmly, with his arms folded behind his back and a smug look planted on his face.

  “You’re deciding if what I’ve said is the truth,” Avery said. “I can assure you it is. You see, I might be in this room with you, but I am also on those shuttles, and I’m on the Watchtower, and on Gatehouse. By tomorrow I will inhabit the Orlanders high-orbit sanctuary, even though I control sixty percent of their security force already, and soon, my ORACLE mind will have infected Highgarden. You won’t be able to stop me.”

  Colin rose his splinter rifle and pointed it at Avery and asked, “What if I blow off your fucking head.”

  “Besides the pleasure it would give you to kill this body, Colin McGregor, it won’t stop those ships from coming, and it won’t stop me from invading your minds. You’re all destined to be downloaded into the ORACLE mainframe and become part of the central core.”

  “Are we believing any of this?” Quinton asked.

  “Milady, we need to get you to safety,” Martin said with urgency.

  His gun still pointed at Avery’s head, Colin asked, “What do you want me to do?”

  Da’Mira glanced at Moyah, who gave a nod of agreement. “Kill him,” she said.

  Colin didn’t hesitate, he fired off a single shot, the pulse blast cut through Avery’s skull and he dropped to the floor – his body jerking and writhing in a series of involuntary motions. Quinton looked away.

  “Please, Milady. You need to be taken to a safe location,” Martin warned.

  “I don’t think there’s such a place,” Quinton said.

  Da’Mira grimaced, said, “If this is true, and Iris is part of the ORACLE mainframe now, with the ability to take over the bodies of others... how...”

  “To do that, her mental power must be incredible,” Quinton said.

  “That’s a conversation for another time,” Moyah said as she was ushered out of the room by her intrepid commander.

  A warning siren clamored through the space platform, and a voice echoed over the intercom that a series of ships were docking in the landing bays.

  “Should we call for help from the moon base?” Quinton asked as the group rushed up the corridor.

  “No,” Moyah said. “Right now, our defense forces are unknown to ORACLE and I’d like to keep it that way. We have to repel boarders, and hope we can–”

  The deck vibrated violently and Da’Mira stumbled forward landing on her right knee. Colin snagged her arm in his grip and helped her up. She saw destress on his face, but he didn’t voice his trepidation. A cold nervous chill raced up Da’Mira’s back. She was never one to frighten easy, but right now, it seemed that things had gotten far worse than anyone could have imagined.

  “The lifts aren’t working,” Moyah said as she repeatedly pressed the control along the elevator doors.

  “The stairs then,” Quinton said turning the group with him. “Everyone – stay together. We don’t want to get separated.”

  Da’Mira beamed with pride. It seemed that Quinton worked well under pressure, and that his worries about leading family Tannador was for naught. She’d heard her father tongue lash Quinton more than once. Hek’Dara was a meanspirited man, but if he could have seen Quinton take charge, he might have not been such a harsh father.

  The group followed Quinton’s lead and made a mad dash to the other side of the corridor. Again, the deck rocked and everyone in the gathering stumbled. Da’Mira braced herself against the wall. Seconds later, a blast rocketed from somewhere and again the deck shuddered.

  “They mean business,” Martin said as he stood guard over Moyah.

  “They’re probably pissed because we killed Avery,” Colin replied.

  “There’s no time to worry about that now,” Moyah said. “There is an escape shuttle one level down. It’s our best hope.”

  “What about the rest of your people on the station?” Colin asked.

  Moyah nodded, and she crossed the hall to a communication terminal and with a press of a button she spoke into it, saying, “Attention all personnel, we are being boarded. Make every effort to use an escape pod. Rendezvous at the prearranged coordinates, and good luck.”

  “That was kind of vague, wasn’t it?” Da’Mira asked.

  “There wasn’t time to explain. Anyway, when some of my people are captured by ORACLE, parts of my operation will become known.”

  “Only parts?” Quinton asked.

  “Not everyone on Evergarden knows of Uklavar. In fact, only us handful know of the moon base at all. If anything, we must get off this station before being captured. So, if I’ve explained enough...”

  Da’Mira didn’t impede their flight any further and followed Moyah toward the end of the corridor and the stairs. Then, everything went black.

  “The lights!” Quinton shouted.

  The entire deck was dark, but the light from the stairwell cut through the door’s small window like a beacon.

  Martin yelled, “This way, toward the light.”

  Da’Mira turned, she felt out ahead of her, hoping to find Colin, but instead all she grabbed was air. The floor quaked again, and again she dropped to the floor. “Damn it,” she mumbled.

  “You’ve got to stop falling down,” Colin said as he hoisted her to her feet. He clasped his hand in hers and told her, “Don’t let go.”

  A portion of a wall at the end of the corridor exploded. Sepia dulled the hall, and muffled Da’Mira’s hearing. The flash-bang lasted for mere seconds, long enough for a squad of Orlander security men to poor through the opening. The lights from the end of their weapons cut through the haze of smoke lingering on the air. Weapons fire followed, and Da’Mira lost sight of the others. Colin pulled her through an open door.

  “Stay back,” he told her taking position at the opening.

  “Are you mad, you can barely see, how the hell are you going to...”

  “Keep quiet,” Colin snapped. The lights from the approaching Orlanders came nearer.

  Da’Mira hunkered down but didn’t take her eyes off of him. She studied the sharp lines of Colin’s body, never really noticing him before. He was brave. Braver than anyone she’d ever met. Facing certain death, he didn’t recoil but instead, attacked.

  Colin didn’t fire his splinter rifle, probably not to alert the oncoming soldiers of his presence. When one of the Orlander men came close, Colin attacked. His movements were quick, precise and silent. The first of the oncoming soldiers were unprepared as Colin snapped one of the men’s neck.

  He kicked the discarded weapon back to Da’Mira and she hurriedly switched off the light on the weapon’s barrel. She picked up the gun and held it close, only prepared to use it, if there was no other alternative.

  Another Orlander officer dropped to the floor seconds later and again Colin kicked the dead man’s weapon back to Da’Mira and she followed the same procedure as the last gun. For a few minutes no one came within arms-reach. Some gunfire up the hall sent cords of anxiety through her chest. Have they found the others? Da’Mira wondered. Her hands trembled like tuning forks, but she fought to get them under control when Colin whispered, “Hey.”

  Da’Mira’s eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she saw Colin clearer now. “What?” she whispered back.

  “They’re moving off,” Colin said.

  “Why?”

  “How the hell should I know. Come on.”

  Da’Mira fought herself to her feet, they felt like rubber, but she managed to join Colin at the door.

  “Keep close to me. We’re going to have to move fast, and quiet.”

  “Alright, Da’Mira whispered, wondering if that gunfire
had been directed toward her brother. She put it out of her mind and followed Colin up the hall.

  The Highlander jutted up the corridor hunkered over, and Da’Mira mimicked his actions. More light from an Orlander rifle appeared, and Colin threw up his hand for her to stop. Da’Mira melted her body against the wall hoping she wouldn’t be seen, she quelled her breathing – a sheen of sweat formed on her face, her heart fluttered.

  A lone trooper appeared stalking up the corridor and Colin stepped forward as the soldier passed, but when he attempted to place the man in a headlock, the soldier’s rifle discharged. Footfalls raced in their direction.

  Colin rammed his elbow into the man’s nose, and when the trooper staggered backward, he fired off a right cross sending the soldier to the deck.

  “Here there!” a man shouted.

  “Don’t move, or we’ll shoot,” a woman warned.

  Colin grabbed Da’Mira’s hand and together they ran for the stairwell. Light stung her eyes and temporally blinded her when they entered the well-lit staircase, but she didn’t let go of Colin’s hand as they rushed down the stairs.

  The door above them flung open, and echoes of boots slapping the floor in chase filled the stairwell.

  Da’Mira picked up her pace, dragging Colin along with her.

  “Woe,” Colin said pulling Da’Mira to an abrupt stop when they reached a door one flight down. He shoved a finger at the floor and ordered, “Wait.”

  Da’Mira’s brow furrowed. She understood Colin was being cautious. The new level could be crawling with Orlander cronies, and that would end their escape rather quickly. She nodded her understanding, and when Colin threw open the door, she drew a hesitant breath and followed him through.

  The lights hadn’t gone out on the lower level, and Da’Mira considered that a good sign. There was still a chance of escaping, but when they found the shuttle Moyah told them about still in its bay, a cold chill pricked up her skin. With the shuttle still there, it meant that Quinton and the others were still on Evergarden, someplace.

  Colin pulled open a double-vacuum sealed door, the pressure from the other side made a low whine hissing sound when the seal was broke. “In,” he said.

  “We can’t,” Da’Mira said.