The Harmony Divide- Never Alone

by Dominick Gerard

  Jenn used Natalie’s memories to determine the best location for the portal. They had to be discreet. She enveloped the ship and felt her way through the interior. Though she couldn’t pick up the shapes of actual people from so far away, she could feel a flurry of movement within the various compartments of the spacecraft. She focused on the room from Natalie’s memories where she had the strange encounter with the Senior Centurion. It didn’t feel like there was anybody in the room, but she couldn’t be completely sure. She opened her eyes and nodded at Natalie to ready herself.

  Jenn pulled energy from the reactor and formed the wormhole between the two locations. It opened directly in front of Natalie, the monotone gray of the ship showing up on the other side. Natalie jumped through immediately without a glance backward. Jenn waited twenty seconds, then closed it. She couldn’t risk keeping it open and having soldiers come back through.

  She turned to the SEALs, banishing her worry for Natalie to the back of her mind. She was strong, she would come out just fine. “Officer Scott, would you mind introducing me to the rest of your fire team, please?”

  “Yes, ma’am. To my left here is Petty Officer First Class Raymond Henderson. To his left is Petty Officer Second Class John Strickland. The character at the end is Petty Officer First Class Eli Garza.”

  Henderson and Strickland had similar builds with the latter being slightly shorter. Henderson had dark hair and a thick goatee. Strickland had short blonde hair and a clean-shaven face. His left ear lobe was missing. Scar tissue marred the side of his head where it should have been. He wore sunglasses and was oddly still at all times, never fidgeting or looking around. He stood straight-backed and alert. Henderson, on the other hand, kept surveying the area and was constantly leaning on his toes, ready to jump into action.

  “Nice to meet you all. Would you please accompany me to the battlefield? I would be grateful for your protection until you can meet up or contact your commanders. If they haven’t done so already you need to get them to pull back and give me space to work. I’ll handle the rest.”

  Officer Scott listened to her until she was finished, then waited a few seconds to see if she was going to explain more. He finally shook his head, disbelief clouding his gaze. “Just about anywhere outside this facility will do, ma’am. The enemy is spread out and aggressive. They’ve pushed us back, so the best place may be right outside the main door. Our backs will be covered, and we can secure the area before you come through. We’ll radio command and relay your instructions.”

  “Excellent. Are you ready?”

  “Henderson, you have point. Garza, you’re on left and Strick you secure right. I’ll be watching her back. One more thing, ma’am. That woman, Natalie, moves… she’s faster than any person I’ve ever seen. Who is she?”

  Jenn smiled at the soldier. “Natalie is special. Very special.” She offered no more explanation.

  The officer shook his head and whistled softly again. “That’s one word I’d use, ma’am. We’re ready.”

  They brought their weapons up and got in formation around Jenn. Jenn pulled heavily on the reactor again to replenish what she had just used then prepared the portal in her mind. A few seconds later the wormhole popped into existence. The SEALs got to work and made their way through the portal.

  Natalie

  Natalie stepped through the portal into a familiar room. Before she met Jenn, she had no feelings about the place. No opinion. It was something she had to do just like everything else. The pain from the conditioning machines was part of the duty she had to the Legion. Now, however, she looked around the room in utter disgust and contempt.

  She listened carefully for any activity as the portal winked out. There was nothing but the normal hum of the spacecraft engines and her own heartbeat. Natalie shivered. She was really alone this time. No Jenn in her head or her dreams, no portal connecting them. The solitude gnawed at her nerves.

  She looked back at where the portal had been, anxiety rising like water in a slowly filling tank. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on her breathing. Why did she have to be so afraid? Now wasn’t the time for this.

  She jerked her head towards the far side of the room as she heard an unexpected sound. Gun fire? She heard it again. Impossible. The sounds were faint, but she was sure that’s what they were. She crept to the door, silently pushing the button to open it. Beyond was a hallway she had stood in more times than she could count while waiting for her conditioning.

  She reached over her shoulders absentmindedly to feel the hilts of her swords while she listened. More shots. They had to be coming from the cargo hold near the ship’s docking bay. She crouched, making her way swiftly toward the noise.

  As Natalie ran, the gun fire grew louder. The shots came in short, intense bursts then there was silence for a few seconds until it started again. She slowed to a stop as she realized the sounds were moving toward her.

  Adrenaline rushed through Natalie’s veins as she pulled her swords from their sheaths and hid herself around a corner. She had a firearm, but she preferred the swords. They would slice through armor like butter. She held her swords close to her as if embracing them. She missed the feel of them. The sense of comfort they gave her would likely make others uneasy, but they were a part of her. An extension of her being.

  Several figures were approaching at a run. Natalie counted at least four sets of feet. The group rounded the corner and used the wall for cover, as she had done, while they attempted to reload. Before they could do so a figure rushed around the corner. With a single swipe of his sword, the nearest soldier lost his head. The newcomer pulled his sidearm free in a smooth motion and fired at the others.

  Natalie was shocked to hear the near silent pop of the energy weapon the new soldier was firing. They were extremely rare and usually reserved for members of leadership or the highest decorated soldiers in the Legion.

  Armor hissed and blood splattered as the soldier continued to fire from one knee. He ceased only when the last of the four soldiers lay unmoving on the floor. The aggressor got swiftly to his feet and continued down the hallway.

  Natalie’s helmet identified him as the Senior Centurion she’d had the strange encounter with in the pain conditioning room. She smiled. Perfect.

  As he came around the corner Natalie kicked the energy weapon out of his hands and attacked. Her blades swung in a blur of motion as she tried to push him back, but he recovered quickly and blocked her blows, dodging gracefully away. Natalie surged forward with such force and speed that the Centurion gave up some ground. She feinted left, but he anticipated her and blocked the hit.

  To her surprise he pushed forward on the offensive with a series of precise attacks meant to make her lose her balance. She deflected each one, but each strike became more difficult to predict. The Centurion pushed even more. His sword darted and swiped in seemingly random places. Natalie gritted her teeth with the effort of fending him off. His next attack took a small chunk off the armor on her forearm. Aren’t you something? she thought, smirking under her helmet. Too bad I’m something better.

  Natalie countered, her smile growing. She pushed herself to full capacity, given her injuries. The Centurion was ready, but he still couldn’t stop her. A blanket of calm confidence washed over her, every strike forceful and accurate. She hadn't felt so in control for a long time. This was a dance she knew, a game she was built for. And no one would beat her at it.

  The Centurion’s back was nearly up against the wall. He was frantically moving and blocking with everything he had. Natalie pushed one last time, a flurry of blows raining down on her opponent. She knocked the sword from his hand, landed a swift kick to his head, and pinned him against the wall. She held the tip of her sword to his throat, applying just enough pressure that a bead of brilliant red blood welled up beneath it, seeping through the armor.

  The Centurion froze, death millimeters from him. Natalie imagined the fear in his eyes under the helmet, then remembered he was nothing more than a
robot. He likely felt nothing right now, despite having a blade at his throat. A pang of guilt and pity flashed through Natalie, but her weapon didn’t even twitch.

  An odd whimper sounded behind her and Natalie whipped around. A soldier stood there, holding the energy weapon gingerly in his hands. He stood slightly slouched and looked down at the weapon like he was unsure what to do with it. Natalie studied him, waiting for the next move while she kept the Centurion up against the wall. The soldier looked back up at her and took a few tentative steps forward. Natalie raised her free sword toward him and he recoiled like a frightened animal. After a moment, during which he seemed to realize she wasn’t going to behead him immediately, he straightened and held the weapon out to her.

  Natalie looked at the weapon, back up to the soldier, then to the Senior Centurion. He slowly lifted his arms up, disengaged his helmet, and pulled it off. Natalie pulled back a few inches, letting the drop of blood drip down the front of his armor.

  The Centurion was bald and had a large scar from his left temple through his left eye, ending at the edge of his nose. The eye was missing from its socket, wrinkled skin and scar tissue taking its place. He had dark bushy eyebrows and a nose that had been broken many times. Natalie would have guessed he was about 40 years old.

  “Lay the weapon back down, Samuel.” The Senior Centurion had a deep, gravelly voice. He spoke with confidence and authority.

  Natalie looked at the soldier and watched him place the weapon on the ground and back away from her. She stared at him with ill-disguised confusion. While names were perfectly common on Earth, they didn’t exist in the Legion. You had a serial number and your helmet identified your fellow soldiers in the field. Not to mention, you never shied away from a weapon.

  “Samuel?” she asked. He nodded, still looking frightened.

  The Senior Centurion spoke again. “He liked the sound of the name. Forgive him for not speaking. He is an engineering technician on this ship and the Leadership does not like their most intelligent soldiers communicating, so his tongue was removed.”

  Natalie looked back at Samuel again, mouth set in a thin line. “Take your helmet off.”

  Samuel did so without hesitation. He was much younger than Natalie expected, about her age and height. He had shockingly pale skin and was handsome for his age. Red hair and blue eyes contrasted brilliantly with his pale skin. Natalie gasped. She felt like she was looking at a male version of herself. A memory flashed in her mind of outstretched arms she couldn’t reach and desperate shrieks that echoed through her mind.

  “You… you’re… I don’t…” she sputtered.

  “Your brother.” The Senior Centurion answered her unasked question. “One of them. You have two and he is the reason we are both here. He freed me and helped free the others on this ship as well. We need you above everyone else here and I know you need us.”

  Natalie remained silent and kept her swords pointed out in both directions. She looked back and forth between the two men several times. What the hell did she do? This shouldn’t even be possible. Her mind spun.

  “I assume you are here to take over the ship. This is good. Let me be plain in our intentions. We wish to be free from the Leadership’s endless wars and tyranny. We want to free as many people as possible and let them decide if they want to serve the Leadership or join forces with us. As for Samuel and I, we will die before we serve their evil again.”

  Natalie pulled her swords back and jabbed them straight into the floor. They penetrated several inches and stood quivering as she let them go. She disengaged her helmet and threw it off. It bounced away from her across the floor.

  “Brothers! My brother?” she said pointing at the younger man.

  Samuel looked away as if uncomfortable with seeing her without her helmet. He seemed timid and uncomfortable to Natalie. He couldn’t maintain eye contact and now that his helmet was off he kept running his hand through his messy hair.

  The Centurion frowned. “Please be patient with him. He is… different.”

  Natalie threw up her hands and began to pace. “This is ridiculous! There’s no way. I don’t remember anything about my family before I joined the Legion. They wipe everything away from your mind. How could he possibly know?”

  “He freed himself years ago and has been working on his own to learn who he was and what he can do to help others. He is a brilliant man.” The Centurion paused, looking at Natalie closely. Concern was etched across his face. “What happened to you down there?”

  She ran her hand through her hair then put her hands on her hips as she looked at the two men. She tried to calm herself down and think of a response to his question. There had been no time to process what had happened and she could only think of one word to describe it.

  “Clarity.”

  The Centurion looked at her and nodded in understanding. She got the feeling the man knew well enough that she wouldn’t - or couldn’t - answer with more detail.

  “How many do you have?” Natalie asked.

  “We had seven, but we were betrayed. The six of us remaining on the ship were set to gather and plan our takeover. It would have been our only chance with so many of the legion deployed. One of our members revealed the location of our meeting place and we were attacked. I was able to kill the one who betrayed us while escaping with Samuel. The rest perished. He has disabled the tracking inside our helmets so we may move without notice. There will be a full security mobilization to hunt us down.”

  Natalie’s heart sank. “The one off the ship didn’t make it either. She saved me down there and told me to tell you she died a free woman.”

  The Senior Centurion grimaced and shook his head. “Yes. She let me know what was going on in that facility and then we lost contact. I’ll honor her.”

  “That’s all well and good, but we can’t take this ship with three people, one of whom doesn’t appear to know how to fight.”

  “Praetorian, that’s why we came for you when we detected you were back on board. I still do not know how you got back on this ship.”

  Samuel motioned with his hands for attention. He then traced a circle in the air with one hand, inserting the index finger of his other hand through it. He repeated the gesture with opposite hands and looked back up, a pleased smiled on his face.

  Natalie cocked her head to one side and gave him a perplexed look. Part of her wanted to laugh at what he had just done. She resisted the urge, but still found it amusing the way he demonstrated entering and exiting a wormhole. She didn’t know how he knew about it, and she didn’t care. She simply nodded her head and his smile grew even larger. The Senior Centurion stood staring at Samuel and didn’t give any indication whether he understood him or not.

  “Have all the soldiers been deployed?” Natalie asked.

  “Roughly half of the soldiers on this ship are deployed at the facility. The other half are preparing to deploy.”

  “Okay, we have two jobs and we have to move now. One is to disable the weapon systems and the other is to prevent those soldiers from deploying.”

  “The Cohort has received orders directly from the leadership to deploy to the surface if any resistance is encountered. I cannot override an order from the leadership. The soldiers would not listen, as you well know. There does not appear to be anything I can do to stop the deployment.”

  Natalie sighed. Nothing can be simple, can it? “Can you two disable those weapons systems? I’ll take care of the soldiers. You take the energy weapon. Your job is more time sensitive.”

  “We can do this, correct?” he asked Samuel who replied with an eye roll.

  “Good. Praetorian, even if we stop the weapons and the soldiers it will only be temporary. Even you cannot hold them off forever.”

  “We don’t need forever. Just stop those weapons from firing and my secret weapon will show up. After that the ship is ours and, Centurion, the name’s Natalie.”

  “As you say, Praetorian Natalie. Fight well.” He abruptly picked up their helme
ts and moved down the hallway with Samuel in tow. Samuel looked back at Natalie a few times as he was pulled away, frowning. Natalie watched them move around the next corner and disappear. She had so many questions for Samuel, but she couldn’t take the time to ask them now. She had a mission and that was all that mattered.

  Natalie picked up her helmet and put it back on then took off at a run toward the docking bay where she would have to face an army of soldiers gathering to deploy.

  She smiled as she ran. Now the real fun starts.

  Jenn

  Jenn waited a few seconds before passing through the portal to allow time for the SEALs to get into position. As she stepped through, she pushed out her field to scan the area. Numerous soldiers from both sides of the conflict flickered to life, creating pockets in the field.

  The Americans had formed a barrier between the Obliti forces and the outlying area. Jenn felt a few large pieces of equipment and other mobile weapons systems deployed among their ranks, the rapid pulses of gunfire and explosions dotted randomly throughout. Every few seconds she could feel a massive source of energy impact and disperse in a violent explosion of heated gas and particles, scattering the American forces. Each blast from the ship overhead could be taking a life, however, Jenn couldn’t help but admire the amount of energy being wielded from the ship’s weapons. It was impressive. If she could harness that much… She shook her head, focusing.

  The Obliti didn’t seem to be pushing out any longer. They were arranged in a tight semicircle extended out from the entrance of the facility. Those soldiers felt different to Jenn. Their helmets and other equipment were easily distinguishable.