Interzeit: A Space Opera (31 page)

“Combatant pilots,” one says, “Must have wandered in here for shelter.”

They all look at each other, deliberating a fateful decision in a frequency that Nol and Iza cannot tune into.

A commotion happens at the far end, more people enter the room, storming to the center.

“The Tetraphaedrome is on course, we’re leaving now for the rendezvous,” A familiar voice echoes through the council chamber.

“Kill them,” the
Kuipterra
n squad leader orders, “We can’t leave them to the cabinet or Martians
.”

They all turn, closing in, preparing to execute
them,
they look
back
at them hopeless and defenseless.

“Wait!”
A
voice cries out, “Belay that,”

“The Prince’s orders were clear!” The squad leader yells back,

Polystratus runs down the ampitheater steps, “I know his intentions better than you Traeri, go on, I’ll meet you at the shuttle.”

The
Kuipterra
n soldiers obey without question, fleeing the room quickly. Polystratus helps them off the table, he and Iza supporting Nol from both sides, dragging him after the fleeing soldiers.

“Good to see you again,” Nol mutters,

Polystratus laughs, “It seems everytime we meet, one of us is about to die.”

“Where are we going?” Iza pants, and they burst out the room.

They go descend deeper into the belly of the cabinet, the world outside still raging and shaking in its terrible war storm.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Polystratus asks, “We’re meeting up with the Tetra, and we’re leaving.”

“What about Earth?” Iza asks,

Polystratus shakes his head, “Earth is lost now, the battle is lost.”

Silently they make it to a perimeter of more
Kuipterra
ns, and several ill-equipped Earthlings. Down more stairs they find
themselves in a shuttle station
. A large train, lights on, is prepped on the track.
The security detail helps them inside, and they depart down the escape tunnels immediately.

Nol sees the familiar form of Septis Calatian, he sits alone at the far end of the car. Grabbing the support bars, Nol hobbles over to him, to get a closer look. His thin face is scuffed, and burnt out, his eyes are like black holes, looking through all of reality, unable to focus in. Polystratus sits down beside him, his resolve scarred and cut from battle.

Izanami joins them, pulling Nol into a seat. He’s too weak to resist, and they all
sit together, united in defeat. The
train rushes underneath the massacre above.

“Why would Maxelus do this?” Septis mumbles, looking at Polystratus,

“Whatever it was who did this Septis, it was no longer Maxelus.
Not yo
ur father,
not for a long time.
”

Septis
winces at the words,

“Your father, and the whole cabinet had gone mad
. They were not in control of themselves, it was, the thing. Whatever is was, it was responsible from the start.”

Septis shakes his head dismissively, “What have we done?” He looks up at Iza and Nol.

“You’re the Earth pilot?” He says recognizing Nol. Nol nods.

“Do you know what we speak of?” Septis asks, “Have you seen it?”

Nol thinks back to his days in the hospital, his memory flashes forward again to Kales, his face slowly disappearing into Deimos. Kales’s face becomes his face, then Clara’s, and then it flies apart into darkness.

“Not in the cabinet,” Nol answers, “They were supposed to protect Earth.”

“It has corrupted everywhere, and everything,” Polystratus says, “Even you Nol, even you.”

Nol shakes his head
in resignation
.
The tunnel shakes and the internal lights flicker as the fire from above intensifies. Each shake is a terrible thrill, a chance against death,
a
gamble run so many times, the chance
s run closer and closer against them
. Eventually it must come for everyone.

“What happened?” Nol asks, “To the Executor?”

“When we went to see him,” Polystratus explains, “He was no longer a man. Since we last met, I had stumbled upon the inner workings of several diplomatic groups. They were comprised of figures from across the entire system, working together in secret. They were trying to develop the next step in
humanity. Something that could live indefinitely, whos
e
intelligence and power could improve itself
faster
. They manipulated several other groups into acting as their dupes and pawns.

Executor Calatian had…either been replaced by this new thing, or had embraced it. Either way he had not been in control of the Cabinet for some time. Its influence grew in the cabinet until most of them were no longer human.

Some must have known, otherwise it would have been a perfect secret.”

“My father he…” Septis interrupts, “Or what he was then, it…was going to
murder
us on site. We went to see him.
I
had
suspected that someone was pulling the strings behind everything. Polystratus warned me about the confrontation, but I was foolishly confident.

The guards hesitated, but ultimately complied. We had to gun them down there, my
own people,
I did not enjoy it. My resolve
faltered afterwards, so Polystratus took the emitter from me and…”

Septis looks through them all again, flying away to his own personal insanity, a hallucinatory re-visitation to the past and its unreality.

“He cut off his head,
and it tumbled off the throne.
But h
is
neck,
and head both remained unbleeding. My father’s body rose from the throne, walking calmly towards the face, which was seizing and foaming at the mouth with animalistic rage.

Polystratus cleaved his body again and again. The pieces fell to the ground, but refused to stop. They pulsed and all of the pieces grew sickening tendrils from their wounds. They flailed around lashing out at us, and scrambling in all directions. We crushed, shot and burned them, but they just…wouldn’t die.

We persisted, and managed to dice some of his body into tiny fragments, no bigger than your palm, but…they just kept crawling, and writhing, like fleshy bugs and worms, escaping. The smallest remains slipped through cracks in the ground, and underneath heavy objects, scattering. Still we did our best to destroy them.”

He shakes his head, laughing nervously. “Part of his spin
e
slithered away, under the main door, I saw it flashing with all these different colors, like lights buried somewhere deep inside it…I have no name for what it was, there is no name for it.”

Izanami looked at them in shock, “Did you destroy it?”

“We had to flee,” Pol
y
stratus continues, “The rest of the security
detail
rushed in, and the rest of the dominos began falling on their own. The Martian’s who were also a part of “it” rushed in to cover up the truth, the horribleness
of its own existence. You
were the
re
to remove our intervention from history.
As they all were.”

They continued on in silence for sometime. Finally after two to three hours
of
travel
,
the train arrived at its destination. They all filed out of the train, moving through the station. Lit with low power emergency lights, they wandered around finding an exit. It was a narrow ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling. One by one they climbed up
it,
the top soldier opens the hatch
,
the early morning light floods in.

The soldiers help Iza and Nol through, the two of them on the brink of total collapse. Finally they scramble to the surface, the ocean surround
ing
them. A small island off the coast, with no visible manmade structures except the conspicuous hatch that now lay open.

The battle lay
in the horizon like a diorama. T
he fighting, explosion
s
and fire still churning and blending together with vigor. The rising sun itself, is darkened, being blotted out by the smoke and debris whirling into the sky.

The ground shakes under there feet, the ocean parts, trembling and splashing outwards, the water hitting
on the shore soaks
them through with the cold spray. The
double tetrahedron
form arises from the deep. It surface is dark, but the casting sun pierces through the gloom just enough the glitter thin rays over the surface. The ocean spray clatters the light into prismatic color, forming a glow around the thin streaks of crystalline purple.

The ship fully emerges dripping profusely with water, the tides around the island rocking and ebbing with tremendous displacement. The craft hovers low over them, a small ship detaches from it, and lands at their feet.

They cram into the small transport area in the back, several soldiers stacked ontop of each other, Nol and Iza are stuffed tightly together in a corner. The overcr
owded transport returns
slowly to the craft, struggling against the cargo.

Nol watches the battle weakly, from the corner. A small window allows him to see the deaths unfolding for a few brief minutes. Finally they dock. As soon the last of the redundant hull doors seals shut, the Nazer blasts upward with full force.

The incredible G force restrains them, even with the compensatory systems within the ship, they are unable to leave their craft, sealed into it, trapped in the dock by the gravity. They are crammed in this pile, Nol feels his consciousness leave him as his nausea grows.

The world goes dark, leaving Iza alone with the
Kuipterra
ns as they hurtle with dangerous velocity into the upper atmosphere. Once the tremendous G force of the moment lessens, everyone finally begins departing. Polystratus and Septis help carry Nol.

Izanami slaps him harshly until he sputters back awake.

“Where are we?” He asks weakly,

“We’re leaving Earth orbit as we speak Nol,” Septis says.

They escort them to the medical bay, but take their leave quickly. Septis gives very specific instructions to the medical staff.

“Treat them as anyone else, but…” He trails off for a moment, “Remove the electronics from the male, they are a danger to us all.”

The team examines Nol’s body, as he slips back away to unconsciousness.

“Sir these implants are deep, we may not be able remove them and…”

“Do what you can,” Septis answers, “But make sure you remove them.”

They prep Nol for
surgery,
Izanami is taken into a separate
room
, and given
anesthetic
, to prepare her
what is to
come.

When she wakes up next, she is alone. In a sterile room on a bed, she shifts around weakly, her sternum still sore. Her torso is wrapped in a strange synthetic material, it shines like a plasticized-latex material, and grips her body firmly.

Her limbs, still sleeping from the sedative, are unstable, and she falls. After several trials she finally regains enough coordination to limp. She pulls the tatters of her
grey pilot
jumpsuit
her
over exposed body. The holey and dirty thing tries to seal, but only manages to loosely grip around her. She ambles barefoot out of her room.

She finds herself in a large medical facility, the hallway branches several different directions. Doctors, medical assistants, and anthrions bustle about tending to a busy schedule. Leaning heavily along the wall she wanders, looking for him.

A medical technician finds her,

“You should be in your room resting Miss,” he says, “Please come with me,”

He tries gently guiding her back to the room, but she refuses, struggling and pummeling him as he grabs her.

He bats her drug hazed
attack off, stepping back.

“Where is Tomson Nol?” she asks, “Where is he?”

“I don’t…I don’t know who you’re talking about Miss.”

Dread and tears hit her, and she asks more angrily.

“Where is he?
You know who I mean!
”

He backs away slowly, grabbing the attention of a doctor. She comes forward,

“Miss you should really rest,” They try to grab her from both sides,

“No!” She screams, “Let me see him! Let me see him!”

The doctor relents, “Fine, please Miss, just calm down, its okay.”

She turns to the technician, he walks off, returning with a wheel chair. They help her in and the doctor wheels her through the hallway.

“We didn’t know what to make of him. The Nol, you speak of. Those implants were unlike anything we had ever seen and yet…”

“What?” Iza
asks
,

“They were so very
Kuipterra
n. They used materials that you can only really get in the outer system, and were designed very…efficiently. Do you know him terrestrial?”

“Yeah…” she answers unenergetically.

They enter a new recovery room, Nol’s crumbled form lays face down on an operating table.

“His vitals are stable,” The talks says quietly, “But we don’t know if
he’ll ever recover. The implants were not designed to be removed, and they were installed at delicate cross sections of his entire nervous system, including his brainstem.

She is wheeled along side his bed, the doctor discusses it with her a bit more
,
then
they mutually part ways. They
leave them, two broken toys in the same corner.

Iza gazes at Nol’s exposed body. Giant sutures and red scarred valleys carve down from his neck down to his hips. A display renders his brainwaves, heart and an array of other information. Everything hums along steadily, but at a low content.

Iza’s head is awash in pain as she comes out of the drugged numbness. Her injuries are compounded by the intense amphetamine withdrawal, the last of Plaskin’s special cocktail left her hours ago, and her body shakes with the lack of new chemicals.

Leaning over him, she traces a finger down the fissures of his back. She gets too close, grazing the surface by accident, his whole body trembles on contact like one giant nerve, his heart rate
spiking
.

She withdraws in panic, allowing him to re-stabilize. Hours pass, she falls asleep, weak from her withdrawal. When she awakens again, several technicians are surrounding Nol, prodding and testing him.

Her mind races with possibilities, she wheels herself near them. As she gets closer he hears his voice answering them weakly.

“Do you feel it, when the probe touches you here,” The technician prods his shoulder blade.

“Yes,”

They continue down his back,

“Yes,”

“Yes,”

“Yes,”

“No,”

“No, there’s nothing,” he whispers as they move on to his legs.

After further tests they grab him gently, and put him on a regular bed, setting him down carefully on his back, he whinces into it, but they manage to get him comfortable, distributing his weight away from the central points of trauma.

His eyes unglazed as he sees Iza.

“Sato!” He croaks, “Sato…”

She nods knowingly,

“Do you think…things will be okay…on Earth I mean?”

“One day maybe,” She says, “Not now, maybe not within our life times.”

“What’s going to happen to them all?” He asks, “I couldn’t save them…I couldn’t even save her…” He trials off.

“Lei died honorably,” Izanami assures him, “She was proud, always, I know that she would have been proud all the way to the end.”

“I kno
w…” Nol says, “I meant
…
” He pauses with contemplation, “S
he’s gone, she has been for a long time, but now it’s…I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Iza says, “Too many have died over this.”

She looks at her own hands, “Too many have died over me, because of me.”

“Do you have any family Izanami?” Nol asks,

She nods dismissively, and they sit together in silence.

Eventually a retinue of security officers visit them. They wear the outfit they became accustomed
with
on Earth. H
elping Nol onto a chair, they begi
n leading them both away.

“Where are we going?” Nol asks,

“King Calatian has requested an audience with you terrestrials. It is a great honor.”

They are led out of the complicated medical facility,
and
exit into a large corridor, it splits and travels over a large gaping void in the center, as they are pushed along it
.
T
hey can see hundreds and hundreds of other corridors and floors going both up and down for what seems like forever.

“Are we on the Tetra?” Iza asks,

The team affirms that they are indeed on the Tetraphaedrome, the mother ship of
Kuipterra
. They are on a
one way
journey away from Earth as they speak.

They are taken to a turbolift, and after punching in the coordinates they whish off quickly inside the small lift car. Several minutes later, they arrive in a large marble hallway, benches stream on the sides of the wall, made to keep crowds of visitors waiting.

They are taken through a large gateway, and find themselves in a lush garden. Vines, and marble structures intertwine cleanly, gentle streaming fountains babble on in the background.

Septis sits at the head of a small table. At his sides are Polystratus, and his uncle Paizo. All three of them are draped in fine soft white. All pristine and plain except for the iridium crown shining still on Septis’s head. They sit, drinking something brewed
in silent contemplation
. The security detail wheels them up to the table, and are subsequently dismissed with little ceremony.

Paizo stands without a word, and serves them both small cups of the tea. Returning to his seat he nods at them warmly.

“So these are the pilots you spoke of nephew?” He finally speaks.

“Yes,” Septis says, “We are the last three of a certain breed,” he turns to them, “Don’t you agree?”

They both nod.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Nol asks.

“
Kuipterra
is leaving Earth for good,” Paizo says, “I’m still uneasy about the situation, but…it seems to be the best course of action.”

Septis nods in agreement, “Earth is lost to our kind now. In the chaos something new will emerge from there. Something so new that we have yet to properly define it, whether it is
technological,
or biological, if it is man-made or if it was the product of some far off place, we do not know.

But I do know…it will no longer be human.

We are pulling back to the safety of the outer system for good. I’m unwillingly to subjugate my people to this new thing, no, the Earth is lost forever. We will never be returning.”

They all sit in silence for a moment, contemplating a life without Earth, a humanity without a home.

“So we run?” Nol says defeated,

“We are the lucky ones,” Polystratus answers, “I saw the death of the new thing, I saw it reveal itself as the Executor.”

“I feel, returning to interfere in with the Earth was a mistake from the beginning,” Septis sighs, “
All these decades, we tried to hold
together a peace, and it slipped through our grasp so easily…”

“Do not worry,” Paizo says, “
Now w
e have a vision for the future.”

“What is that?” Iza asks,

“One day…we are going to drift out to the
Kuiper
belt,” Septis says, “Everyone of us
. Once we’ve taken what we can
in the outer system, we will cast off in search of something new. A grand one way journey out there in the deep vastness of space, generations will rise and fall in the exodus, humanity wandering and seeking.”

“A new system?” Nol asks,

The triumvirate at the table all shake their heads “No, not this time.”

“This is humanity unbounded, and free. A new permutation, one unchained by gravity, and all th
e other hindrances of a planet, something evolving and growing without limits, casting out boldly into the depths of darkness.

Nothing but the void, and black matter, it is a womb from which we can grow safely, away from the predations of anything else.

Emptiness
is the greatest gift of all. W
e
are able to
fill it with whatever we choose.”