Victernus - Chapter 29
Athius pointed with both of his hands, envisioning a certain way to build his house. He was in a small, wide cave just behind a waterfall. He asked, "What do you think, Gala? We could build it right here - we'll just have to carve some of the rock out to make it more square." Gala examined the cave and nodded, "Yeah, I can see it here." She pointed to one end of the mouth of the cave, "We can have steps there so that we don't get wet." He agreed, "Sure! I can probably use one of the laser rifles to cut the rock - I'll just have to modify them a little bit." While they were fantasizing, Namara climbed up and over the edge of the cave. He grunted and then got to his feet, "So, I hear you want to build a house in this cave." Athius nodded, "That's right." He smiled and then gestured to himself, "Well, if you need any help, I am a bit of an architect." Mahalia climbed up after him and grunted, "That's a lie, and you know it." Namara huffed, "I was trained for it." She stood up and teased, "You never got your whole degree. You know you can't practice it without getting one from-" she coughed, "an accredited university." He laughed, leaning forward a little bit, remembering how much he had learned outside of the establishments of the old society and how much he could do now that it had toppled. When he saw that both Athius and Gala were clueless, he waved it off, "Don't worry about it guys, you won't understand. I can still help you." Athius shrugged, "Alright. Well, what do you have in mind?" Namara positioned himself close to the edge, beside the waterfall, and examined the space with a critical eye. He paused and then started, "I have no idea," before breaking out into laughter. Between spurts, he chuckled, "I'll probably take a look at it again later." Mahalia came close and gave him a little push on his shoulder, "You silly wolf, you!" Athius watched in amusement when Namara tried to stand. He let out a frightened yelp as he quickly lost his balance and then tipped backwards, falling down into the river with a splash. Mahalia widened her eyes and looked down over the edge. When Namara popped his head out from the water, he grumbled, "Hey!" She chuckled apologetically, "Sorry... I didn't mean to." Athius came to the mouth and looked down with Mahalia. Namara waded to the edge and crawled out. When he stood up, he looked down at his dripping body and turned away from them, shaking himself. After finishing, he looked back down and appeared to be unsatisfied. He put his hand on the ground and then broke into a sprint before jumping and doing a twist in the air. Water spread everywhere, and when he landed, he was both dry and very fluffy. Gala approached Mahalia and Athius from behind and then put her hands on both of their shoulders. She asked mischievously, "Are you guys in the mood for a swim?" Both of them moved away from the edge quickly, escaping her grasp. Athius objected, "No no no!" She laughed and crossed her arms, "I'm just kidding." Namara climbed back up to the cave and then stared down at himself in annoyance. He tried to push down the fur around his neck with his hand, but it only puffed back out. He sighed. Mahalia watched him and chuckled, teasing, "Fluffy wolf!" He blushed, lowering his ears and curling his tail a little. Athius smiled, but then suggested, "Hey, why don't we go back to the ship for a little while? It's getting kind of hot, and I want to try a few things with the laser rifles." Mahalia agreed, "You're right... I guess it gets hot fast here, if this is summer. I'm a bit hungry too, so I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing." Namara jumped out of the cave to the grass beside the river, leaving his embarrassment behind. He watched them from below and said, "Yeah, it is getting kinda hot..." Athius climbed down from the cave with Gala and Mahalia following close behind. When they reached the grass, they decided to stay close to the trees so that they would be shaded from the hot sun. But, because it started to get hot in the shade as well, Athius asked Mahalia, "Do you have any way of contacting Theo? Maybe he could transport us back to the ship or something?" "Oh yeah..." She pulled out one of the small black squares that Theo had given them and then pressed a small button on it. "He said that these could be used as beacons. It will alert him on the ship, and he can decide there whether or not to bring us back. I don't know if we're in range, but it's worth a shot." Namara rested on one of the trees ahead of the group, panting heavily. He banged it with a fist and said, "I guess this planet might not be the best place for us..." Mahalia placed her hand on his shoulder worriedly, "Are you alright? You look like you're having trouble there." He nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright." In an attempt to show it, he walked forward with confidence, only to stumble and fall onto his hands and knees. When he started panting harder, a green glow formed around the group and they were transported to the bridge. His breathing turned raspy as he yelled, "Theo, what took you so long?!" Theo's voice emerged from above him, "Calm yourself, I just got the long-range transporters online! I'm in the process of taking off though - something seems to be wrong with the satellite shield." Namara fell onto his side and then rolled to his back. He glanced to his left and saw the planet through the window. The sky was turning an eerie orange color. He growled, easing his panting a little bit, "I thought you said it was going to protect us!" While Mahalia got down on the ground and blew on him softly in an attempt to help cool him faster, Theo launched the ship into the air and forced it into space as fast as he could make it go. He grumbled, "It was, but it looks like someone has tampered with the code. I didn't see the bug until I brought it online, and then it wouldn't let me turn it off." Namara smiled at Mahalia's efforts. He continued, "Well, I don't want to destroy this place... Shoot the darn things if you have to!" While the ship ascended back into space, the view of the planet was still clear through the window - and it was a horrid sight. Gala, who had sat down at another station beside Athius, exclaimed, "It says that the external temperature of the ship is thirteen-hundred degrees?!" Namara groaned, "No! Shoot the satellites already!" Outside, they saw fires break out all over the planet until there was only red and orange on the surface. The oceans fizzed away, loads of steam rising up in their stead. Smoke and fire replaced the green, blue, and white of the beautiful planet that they had landed on only a few hours earlier. A silent rage filled Namara. He grumbled, "Gather the satellites and find another planet. Fix them. If this happens again, we're not using them." Theo refrained from speaking. He set a course to the nearest satellite, wishing that he hadn't been so reckless. But, as he did this and the Starlight Alpha turned towards the first one, two gigantic grey ships came into view, similar in design to their own. A smaller, sleeker one that was black and red rested in between them. Namara's eyes widened, and he yelled, "What is that?!" Athius, who had been learning about the ship's systems with Theo, ran a quick scan on the two grey ships. The result came back quickly, and he spoke in an annoyed manner, "It's the Selanians. They followed us here somehow. All of them." Namara gestured for Mahalia to give him some space. He grabbed the top of the console beside him and then pulled himself up tiredly. While he did this, the window was replaced with the smiling face of Lynn sitting in the cockpit of his ship. Lynn bribed, "Turn over your ship and your satellites and I'll let you go peacefully." Namara stood on his feet, but his knees and his shoulders were bent down in his rage. He sucked in some air and growled, "I will give you one chance to leave us alone. Otherwise, I will destroy you." Lynn teased, "Oh, is the wolfy angry? Did someone pull one of his hairs out?" He turned to Theo and ordered, "Turn it off." When the screen turned off, a blast from Lynn's ship smashed against their shield. Namara grabbed the console to keep his balance. He narrowed his eyes and then spoke with malevolence, "Destroy them." Theo hesitated, "But, Namara..." He shouted, "Do it, or I'll do it myself! I want to be sure that this filth is dead for good. We gave them a chance to escape, and now they're biting us back." Theo nodded shakily and then activated the weapons systems. He directed them towards the Selanian ships and then fired. Several laser bursts burned against the area just outside their bridge area, weakening the shields there. Namara continued, "Athius, swing around their ships so we can disable their engines." Athius pulled up the helm controls at his station and then programmed a course for the ship to follow. The ship move forward and maneuvered downward, heading to the rear of Selanian ships. While it did this, sparks flew out of some of the wall consoles as the ships sent out a barrage of laser warheads. The group hung on to their seats, unsure of if they would make it. Athius shouted, "Our shields are going out fast!" Namara watched the window carefully. Once they were in shooting range of their engines, he ordered, "Athius, keep the ship moving forward - I don't want to get caught in the blasts. Theo, direct everything we've got towards those engines. Do one at a time." Theo nodded and then activated as many of the lasers and warheads as he could find. All of them sped to one of the ships, smashing into the shields with great force. When the shields collapsed, the weapons got through and went right into their engines. A few small explosions resulted at first, but they caused a chain reaction throughout the ship. They got bigger and bigger until the entire ship burst. The blast wave collided with the ship beside it, weakening its shields and then breaking through. The explosions began on the second ship as well, and then it too exploded, incinerating all of the Selanians on board. Some of the blast reached the Starlight Alpha, nearly dropping its shields. Namara did not feel satisfied yet. He asked, "Where's Lynn? Did he die in the explosions too?" Lynn appeared on the screen again, but this time he was angry. He said, "You're a monster, Namara, and so are your friends! This isn't the last time you'll see me." The window returned back to normal. Lynn's ship realigned and then charged into hyperspace. Namara growled and then stepped back, sitting in the captain's chair. He told Athius, "Follow him - now's our best chance to get rid of him before he becomes a serious problem... and I know he will if we don't do this now." Athius aligned the ship in the way that Lynn's did and then shot the ship into hyperspace. He scanned forward for the ship, only to come out of hyperspace a few seconds later. They were in another solar system that was very close to the other. He headed for a small, barely-habitable planet, and said, "He's here. The ship shows that he's orbiting that planet up ahead." Namara stood forward and whispered to himself, "What are you doing, Lynn?" He continued by ordering, "Bring the ship into a low orbit. Let's see if we can get rid of him for good..." When Athius brought the ship close to the planet, he felt bewildered. He checked the scans again a few times before saying, "I don't see him anymore." Namara tilted his head, "What do you mean?" "I mean, the scans say he's gone. There is no hyperspace trail or anything. He's just gone." When the ship got into orbit, he continued, "Well, perhaps he's just on the other side and the planet is blocking it out. Go around." Athius nodded and moved the ship forward, heading around to the other side of the planet. He felt Gala holding his arm tightly in anticipation. Looking around the bridge, he saw that they were all nervous except for Namara. When the ship reached the other side and still found nothing, he sighed and stopped it. "I don't know where he could have gone." Three laser blasts hit the ship. Athius shouted, "The shields are down! I still don't see Lynn..." Looking back up, he saw a green glow appear around Namara before causing him to disappear. He raised an eyebrow, only to be met with Lynn's face on the screen again. Lynn shouted, "If I can't have Namara's body, I'll take his family with me!" before disconnecting from the screen again. Something smashed into the ship. Just after they surged forward, they lost artificial gravity. They grabbed their consoles, trying not to fly off and hit the window. When Theo got back into his seat, he shouted, "He's rammed his ship into ours! I can't stabilize it..." He looked up at Mahalia, who was still trying to get settled in her chair, and spoke out of fear, "He's split the ship in half... We're falling towards the planet." Mahalia yelled back, "Well get us out of here! The transporters still work, right?" He checked them and then nodded excitedly, "Yes, they do!" She pointed, "Send Athius and Gala first." He agreed and then saw the transporter log. He examined it carefully and then said, "Wait a minute... Namara was transported to the surface! I'll send you guys to where he is, alright?" Athius stood up slowly and then reached for Gala's hand. Even though she was afraid, she took his hand and then rose with him. He glanced at Theo and smiled, "I guess I'll see you guys there." The glow surrounded the couple and
then they were beamed off of the ship.
Namara was standing near the top of a big hill, staring up into the sky. He heard the sound of the transporter behind him and then Athius' voice shortly after, "Namara, you're okay!" He turned around and smiled, "Oh, yes! Where are the others?" Gala filled in for Athius, "They're in the process of transporting everyone off the ship. It shouldn't be long." He turned around and climbed onto a big rock that was at the steeper end of the hill. He watched the sky, seeing just a sliver of the ships as they burst into flames. Athius shouted, "Look!" Namara turned back and then watched as the transporter glow formed in front of them. He raised his eyebrow and stopped. The transporter was forming someone's image, but only barely. It flickered on and off. He looked up into the sky as the two ships got closer. Half of the Starlight Alpha was spiraling down on its own course while the other was merged with Lynn's ship, falling fast. The sound of the transporter got a little louder. He looked back at it and saw that the glow was just a little bit brighter. Mahalia's image was contained within. He waited in anticipation, only to be met with a sudden wave of despair. The glow shorted out and then dust formed in its place. He lowered his ears, facing surprised stares from both Athius and Gala. After running back to the rock, he watched the ships descending near them at a high speed. The two ships split apart, only to spiral around each other towards the ground like two giant fireballs in the night. Pieces of metal separated from both ships, flying off in random directions. What didn't fly ended up disintegrating instead. All of what contained Namara's hopes was falling down right before him, and he was powerless to stop it. They collided with the ground. The front of the Starlight Alpha smashed inward and then the whole thing exploded. It incinerated both Lynn's ship and the evergreen forest that it landed in. Namara braced himself for the shockwave, which nearly knocked him off of the rock anyway. When the explosion settled, the trees lit each other on fire. The remains of the ships toppled to the ground and the metal screeched loudly as it fell. Namara stared at the wreckage while all kinds of emotions surged within him. Out of anger, he rose and then roared at it, stretching out his arms in defiance. His voice echoed through the air. When he ceased, he collapsed slowly and wept bitterly. His whole body shook. He tried to hug the rock so that its intensity would lessen, but it did not help any. All he could think of was that he had failed, and that he really was a monster. In that moment, he felt that it was all over. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up just slightly, he saw Athius there with a concerned look on his face. And then, he felt Athius' arms wrap around his back and pull him into a hug. In response, he curled up, still shaking and crying madly. He apologized, whispering his thoughts to them, I'm sorry for bringing you into this, guys... I didn't know... Athius rubbed his back and assured him, "It's okay, Namara. We're sad too, but... we're here now. We can't stop now." He nodded, trying to bring himself to stop. He felt Gala sit beside him quietly and then reminded himself that they were the only people left. If he was to do any good at all in his life, it would have to be to help them get on their feet and restart. He assured himself of this, and then said shakily, "I will help you... and I will teach you of what I failed to do, if it is what you want." Athius rose back to his feet and then took Namara's hand, offering to pull him up. He responded, "Do whatever you need to. We're alone now." Namara got up with Athius' help and then wiped his face clean of the tears. He glanced at Athius, and then Gala, and then looked up at the stars. Through his watery eyes, they seemed to twinkle down at him gently. He whispered, "I will make a home for you," and then passed into what he thought would be the final stretch of his life.