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Episode 31: The Day the Bombs Fell
"Where's the bus?" eight year-old Derek asked his mother. "It was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago." He craned his neck to see down the street.
"Be patient, dear." He'll be here soon. "I'm sure they're just running a little late."
Derek sighed and looked down at the pavement. Just then he heard the sounds of a large engine approaching. He looked up and grinned as the bus pulled up to its stop and the door slid open.
"Alex!" Derek ran to his brother and gave him a big hug.
"It's good to have you home, Alex." Their mother said, coming to hug her older son too.
"Hey, Mom." Alex hugged her back then turned to his little brother, "Looks like you've grow while I've been gone."
"Yeah, a little." Derek said. "So what've you been doing?"
"I'll tell you all about it when we get home, okay." Alex patted his brother on the head, "Come on." He started off towards home as his mother and brother followed quickly, happy that Alex had returned from his grueling Academy training – at least for a while.
Back at home the conversation was heated. Derek's dad had invited several friends from work over and they were talking with Alex about the bombings.
Derek stared at the gathering from the far doorway, wondering if they would ever leave and let him have some time with his brother.
He waited for a long time, hoping at least some of them would leave. He looked at the clock. It was already getting late. The clock read 9PM. At this rate he would have to go to bed before his brother was free to do anything other than talk about this awful disaster.
Finally he gave up and sneaked away up to his room.
He shut the door and looked around, trying to find something he could look at until Dad's friends finally left.
Off in the corner he saw his science project from last school-year. He picked up the shadowbox and stared at it, studying the dozen or so butterflies pinned to the backing. They were still so vibrant. Even though they weren't alive anymore they still held just a little bit of the spark that Earth used to have… before the bombings had started.
Everything had changed that day. It was like the world had just come apart. No one knew what would happen next. When they had discovered that an alien force was bent on the destruction of Earth…
He thought he would see Alex more often than this. Ever since his brother had joined the Earth Defense Academy a year ago they had seen him maybe three times for a week at the most. It seemed like every time he came home he got called back for some reason.
Derek knew it was all important, but why couldn't the military just let their family be happy together for a little while – like they used to be.
The boy started to cry. What little time he would have with his brother was now much shorter. He just wished the grown-ups would leave.
"Derek…?"
He heard his door slowly creak open.
"Derek, what's wrong?" his mother's voice echoed through the sparse room.
Derek shook his head and said tearily, "Go away."
His mother didn't go away. Instead she knelt beside him.
"I always liked your butterfly project." She said, "This yellow one is my favorite." She pointed to a large butterfly near the middle of the group. "I know we don't see them much anymore, at least around here…" she looked at her son and, noting the tears, reached out to wipe them away, "What's wrong?"
Derek didn't say anything for a while, just ran his fingers over the plastic cover of the shadowbox, tracing the butterflies' wings. Then he took a breath and said, "I just wanna spend time with Alex. And I can't because all the grown-ups are crammed in downstairs talking about the bombs," he looked up at his mother, "That's all they do! Just talk!" he said, suddenly angry, "Why can't they just go out and help some of the people whose homes are gone? Why can't they help with food distribution or something? Why can't they just leave us alone?" he started crying harder.
"I know, Derek…" his mother pulled him close, "I'm sorry you can't be with your brother right now… They'll be gone soon."
"But it's late." The boy sniffled.
"Don't worry about that, Derek." His mother smiled, "You can stay up as long as Alex does tonight."
"Really?" Derek asked.
"Really." His mother replied, "Just don't let your father show him any of the rockets you've been building out back. The last thing we need tonight is grumpy neighbors."
"Okay, Mom."
Derek and Alex talked long into the night, even after their parents were asleep. They talked about everything that had happened to them both while Alex was away at school.
Finally, they drifted off to sleep in the bunk bed in Derek's room.
All was quiet until, out of nowhere, an explosion ripped through the still night.
Derek yelped in surprise and jumped out of bed. Alex nearly toppled over the railing on the top bunk trying to jump down.
"What was that?" Derek asked Alex.
"A bomb." Alex said soberly. "They've finally managed to hit this area."
Derek didn't understand, "What do you mean?"
"Before now we haven't really been hit by anything. Yeah, there have been a few hit near the coast, but nothing this far inland."
Another explosion rocked the house.
"Derek, we've got to get Mom and Dad up." Alex motioned for his little brother to follow him, "And I have to get in touch with my squadron leader."
Derek nodded, eyes wide and followed his brother to his parents' room. They were already awake and coming out the bedroom door.
"Alex, what –"
"Bombs, Mom." Alex interrupted his mother, "I have to call in. See if you need to go anywhere."
Alex pulled out a cell phone and made a call.
Within a few seconds someone had picked up.
"This is Alex Wildstar. I'm with my family in Kanto." He said, then listened for a moment before replying, "Yes, of course, I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up.
"They said you're safe where you are for now. But I have to leave. They've called everyone back. Apparently there are bombs coming down all over the country."
"Oh, Alex." His mother hugged him, in tears, "Be careful."
"I will, Mom." He hugged her, then let her go, "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said to Derek and gave him a good-bye hug too. "Bye, Dad." He hugged the last member of his family, then ran back to the bedroom to throw on his uniform.
The bombardment lasted for two solid months, and it wasn't just Japan that was hit. Countries all over the world reported bombs falling in hordes everywhere. It was the worst nightmare anyone could have imagined.
The death toll rose into the millions and the wounded who made it to medical facilities almost always died within a week. The few who survived were irreparably disabled.
Whatever kind of radiation the bombs were laced with, it was killing them all, and rather quickly.
It was soon apparent that they would all have to leave the surface and move underground. Cities were constructed and all who could move did. Even the Academy moved all the facilities they could underground, but they left several bases on the surface.
One day Derek went to visit his brother at his post. Most of the public transportation had been stopped due to the high risk of traveling on the surface, but Derek wanted so badly to go and see his brother that his parents relented and let him go for a day.
The car the base had sent to the bus stop to pick him up pulled up to the main building and let the boy off. He looked around for his brother and it wasn't long before he heard Alex's voice calling his name.
"Derek! Over here!" Alex waved from a bench over by a grassy patch in the shade of the big building.
Derek ran over to his brother and sat down next to him. "Here." He held out the package he'd brought, "Mom sent this with me. Said you'd probably be hungry."
Alex opened the package, "Mom's sushi!" he grabbed a seaweed-wrapped rice and fish roll and bit into it. "Can't get this here. The Academy cafeteria doesn't take the time to make anything this good. Tell mom thanks when you get home."
Derek nodded and watched his brother eat.
"What're you waiting around for? There's no way I can eat all this by myself." He pointed at the food, "I know you're hungry too, I could hear your stomach the second I unwrapped the sushi."
Derek's face brightened and he grabbed a roll, "Thanks." He said, around his first bite.
The two ate in contented silence for a while
"How many times have you been out in space?" Derek asked.
"Twice since I graduated last month." Alex replied, picking up another sushi roll, then paused, "Derek… how're Mom and Dad? With all the bombings I mean."
"They're okay I guess." Derek replied, "Dad thinks we need to move into one of the underground cities. He signs the paperwork today."
"That's probably for the best." Alex nodded, "I'm glad you're all okay though. A lot of the people here have heard that their families were killed or wounded in the bombings."
Derek nodded, "Yeah… it's bad…"
The two sat in silence again, neither one of them feeling like eating any more. Then Alex broached the topic he'd wanted to bring up for a while.
"Derek, you'll be old enough to enroll in the Academy in a few years. Once Mom and Dad get settled why don't you come back for a visit – stay a while and see what we do here?"
Derek shook his head.
"I know you don't like fighting." Alex said, "But sometimes you have to do it to protect the ones you love."
Derek didn't say anything.
"You don't have to make a decision right now, but at least think about it, okay?" Alex said.
Derek nodded reluctantly, "I'll think about it."
The day had gone much too quickly. Derek had gotten to see where his brother worked and lived and even met several of his friends, including a strange quiet one who liked to stay in the labs most of the time.
Everything had gone well and he was ready to go home.
The transport arrived on time and ferried him to the train he would take to the bus station.
He boarded the train. It was old and seemed like it needed a good washing from all the smog and dust it had been traveling through these past many months since the bombings had intensified.
He sat down in his seat and waited for his stop. Everything seemed to be going well until he heard the sound he'd learned to dread – a high whistling, almost like a referee would make during a sports game. It was the sound of death.
Derek jumped out of his seat and huddled under it, hoping that wherever the bomb hit, it wouldn't be near the train.
Ten agonizing seconds later he felt the emergency brakes engage. They squealed, almost louder than the bomb. Then he was thrown across the cabin as the train slammed into the bomb debris scattered over the track ahead.
Derek didn't yell, didn't scream; he simply reached out and grabbed the nearest seat and held on for his life.
He lurched this way and that, breathing hard as people screamed everywhere around him while the car rolled onto his side.
Finally, the train stopped moving and he could see clearly again.
The window a few seats down had been bashed in so he swung from one seat rail to the other until he was right below the opening.
He crawled out and looked up at the darkening sky. That was when his blood froze. There on the horizon was another plume of smoke rising from a second bomb that looked like it had landed right on top of the shelter his parents were working at today.
He looked at the train. It would never run again, not after this.
He jumped down off of the car and took off running in the direction of the cloud.
He went to the bus station to see if he could still catch a ride, but when he got there the only thing left was a gutted wreck where the station had been.
He felt his stomach clench into a sick fist and kept running past the ruins. He ran and ran, longer than he had ever run in his life.
Finally he reached the bus stop where his parents were going to meet him, but instead of a sign and a covered bench, all that was there was a giant crater.
He looked around frantically.
"Mom! Dad!" he ran through the area, heedless of the radiation he was probably exposing himself to. All that mattered to him was finding his parents.
He scoured the crater, looking for anything he could find.
Then he saw something glinting in the dirt just outside the far rim of the crater. He ran to it and reached down to pick it up.
It was his mother's necklace, the one his father had given her in this very spot the day he'd proposed since he didn't have a ring.
Then he knew. He parents were most surely dead.
He fell to his knees and cried until a squad came to check the area for survivors.
Dara kicked the man with every ounce of strength she had. She felt her bare foot connect with something. The gun lodged under her chin flew out of its place and went off.
Dara screamed in surprise and managed to get loose from the Eratite's hold.
Just then she saw the woman – Astra she thought – had tackled the man and was now on top of him, pinning his gun hand to the floor.
She was yelling at him in a language Dara couldn't understand. Fearing for her life, Dara hurried around the other side of her bed and huddled down behind it, trying not to be seen.
Derek was in a rage. Nova held him down as long as she could, but she wasn't heavy enough to hold him down for long.
He pushed her off and jumped to his feet.
"Where'd she go?" he demanded, looking with fiery eyes everywhere for the Gamilon. "Where are you?!" he bellowed, his voice filling the room with its intense hatred.
He started around the bed and discovered her on the floor, curled into a ball.
"Get up and fight!" he challenged the woman.
She looked up at him, confused, pleading with him with her green eyes to leave her alone. She hid her face in a show of attrition, but Derek would have none of it. He reached down and hauled the Gamilon to her feet.
She tried to jump away from him, but he caught her in the jaw with a quick punch.
At this something changed in the woman and she flew at Derek, landing punch after punch on him, sending him reeling backwards. He slammed into the wall, but that didn't make him quit.
"You think you can stop me that easily? You'll pay for all those you've murdered!" he came at the pilot again, fists flying.
"Derek, stop!" Nova's voice broke into his enraged haze and he hesitated for a second.
In that instant the pilot leapt around him and put him in a sleeper hold.
His vision started going black and half a second later he was down, unconscious on the floor.
Dara laid the man down on the floor and then stepped away from him. The woman who had to be Astra stepped slowly towards Dara and reached out a hand again.
Dara looked at her with fearful eyes. Was she angry that Dara had had to knock the man out?
The look in the other woman's eyes made Dara relax just a little bit. Her eyes were definitely Astra's.
Dara had not had the opportunity to meet Astra of Iscandar before, but she had seen pictures and video and she knew that Starsha was still on Iscandar; at least she had been when Dara had left Gamilon, therefore, this couldn't be Starsha. She didn't walk like the queen of Iscandar. Her steps were more bold and less formal than the queen's.
She took the woman's hand and stepped over her downed attacker.
"Astra of Iscandar." Dara tried again to address the woman.
Nova helped the pilot over Derek's unconscious body, both relieved and disturbed. She looked at the pilot with questioning eyes.
Once she'd cleared Derek's body and come to stand beside Nova on the other side of the room the pilot pointed at Nova again and said the same name as before.
Nova shook her head, "No." she said, then pointed to herself, "I'm Nova."
The pilot looked at her, obviously very confused, then repeated Nova's name questioningly. Her name sounded strange rolling off of the Gamilon's foreign tongue, but Nova was glad she'd at least made a little headway communicating with the pilot.
Just then Sandor and Homer burst through the door.
"What happened here?" Sandor demanded, seeing Wildstar passed out on the floor and Nova and pilot huddled as far away from him as possible. Then he saw Wildstar's gun lying on the floor some distance away from him.
"He attacked her." Nova said reluctantly. "I don't know how he knew so quickly that she was awake, but almost as soon as I told the Captain he ran in here and tried to shoot her."
Sandor's eyes clouded and his face grew dark. "Security, you're needed in the quarantine area down in the medical bay." He said into his communicator.
"Aye, Sir." Came the reply. "ETA is one minute."
Sandor put the device away and proceeded to haul Wildstar up off the floor and singlehandedly laid him on the bed the pilot had occupied. He strapped the younger man to the bed, just in case he woke up before the security team got there.
"Now that we're alone," Sandor said as the door closed behind the last security attendant, "Miss Forrester, I think you may need to go too."
"No." Homer said, looking at Nova, "She can stay."
"Are you sure, Homer?" Sandor asked.
"I'm sure." The comm officer replied.
"What's going on…?" Nova asked, feeling very in the dark.
"What you're about to see and hear is not to be told to anyone else onboard the ship." The XO directed.
"Okay…" Nova replied, unsure of what she was agreeing to keep secret, "I won't tell anyone."
Sandor nodded to her, then told Homer, "Please, go ahead."
Dara stared at the two men, studying them. At least they hadn't grabbed her and tried to kill her like the other man had. Then there was the woman who wasn't Astra, this "Nova."
She sat on the bed as the three Eratites seated themselves in chairs opposite her.
She looked at them curiously.
Suddenly the man in yellow and black began to speak, and to Dara's surprise she could understand him. His speech was strange and little backward, but she could tell what he meant well enough to understand.
"I'm Homer." He said. "Who are you?"
"I'm –" she began, then thought about what to say. Should she even be talking to these Eratites? She might reveal something she shouldn't. The doubt ate at her until she looked at Nova again. She might not be Astra, but there was something about her that made Dara want to trust her. She looked into the eyes of the two men and saw in them the same thing she'd seen in Nova.
She began again, "I'm Melda Dietz."
Episode 32: Sentinels of Fear
"Elazar…" the ethereal voice floated through his consciousness. He was out walking the perimeter of the Sentinels' fortress as he usually was. He wanted to venture inside today. Every several days he would go in, in his avatar-form, to see more about what the servants of the Malha were doing.
Nothing much had happened so far, at least, not while he'd been there.
"Elazar…" the woman's voice came again. He recognized it as belonging to the First of the Nine, so he returned from his journeying as a white fox.
"I am here." Elazar replied to the voice. "What is it?"
"We have found out that the Eratite ship is being stalked by servants of the Malha. We do not know what they intend to do, but we have discovered that they have already boarded the ship once. They were frightened away by something and have not returned, yet they still follow her." the voice informed him.
"How did you come across this information?" Elazar asked.
"Mariposa overheard it while she was in the Tower not an hour ago."
"She was in the Tower?" Elazar asked, afraid for the girl's safety. After all, her abilities in stasis were far more limited than his. He could appear and disappear at will, leaving no trace. Mariposa, on the other hand, faded in and out of visibility unpredictably. If her avatar phased too far into the spectrum of visibility, the Sentinels would surely see her and know that she was still here on Phantom, and possibly nearby. Then the hunt for the lost princess would never end.
"She has gone there before." The sleeping woman said, "She has heard much of no consequence, but today she heard more than they would ever want her, or any of us, to know."
"What else did they say?" Elazar asked.
"The Malha has found a prize and is returning here for a time to see if she can learn its secrets. Mariposa said that the Sentinels called the thing some sort of amulet. It seems that the Malha acquired it on a world not far from here."
"And what is so special about this amulet?"
"It is no mere trinket." The voice replied, "It would seem that this is the very first amulet ever minted for the Guardiana followers. It is the original."
Elazar did not reply for a minute. He thought about what little he knew about the Guardiana followers. He had learned some when he had been back on his home-world, but his knowledge had been woefully incomplete. Now that he'd been among the Sentinels for several years he had learned much, but the story of the Guardiana line was still mostly lost to him. He knew the names of a few of the women who had housed the demon-spirit of Guardiana over the centuries, but that was the extent of his knowledge of their lineage, though something in him screamed of danger every time he was near the Sentinels, and when the Malha was near he could smell an odd stench, as though Death itself were standing next to him.
He shivered at the memory of the reek.
"What does she hope to do with this amulet then?" Elazar finally asked.
"We do not know precisely. The Sentinels seem to know about as much as we do about this. The only thing they know is that the Malha will be arriving in two days' time." The voice paused, seeming to want to say something else, but hesitant to do so.
"What else did they say?" Elazar prodded.
"It would seem that the ones who follow the Eratites are about to make another move on them. We do not know what they will do, as the Sentinels do not know either, but… we do not think this news bodes well. Whatever they have planned, it is not meant for good."
Elazar nodded, though he knew the woman could not see him do it. "I understand." He said. "They must be stopped. Somehow."
"There may be one way to let the Eratites know of the danger they are in." the voice offered.
"What?" Elazar asked.
"There is communications hub hidden deep within the Sentinels' Tower. That is how they receive messages from the ship that follows the Eratites. Apparently the unit is not used to send them communiques, though it is capable of doing so. Since that is the only direct link to the Malha's servants, we think it would be the best way to reveal their presence to the Eratites."
"Reveal their presence?" Elazar asked, "The Eratites have not seen them yet?"
"Indeed not." The voice said, "The ship is cloaked so that none may see it, even with the naked eye."
"None?"
"Not unless the ship broadcasts its position somehow… Such as with a strong communications signal, or weapons' fire."
"I see." Elazar said thoughtfully, "I must go to the Sentinels' Tower and see this hub for myself."
"Be careful, friend." The voice cautioned, "It will not be unguarded."
"I know, First of the Nine. Do not worry about me. I can hide well enough. But, for now, do not let Mariposa back into the Tower, at least, not until I've returned with news of my success."
"We will do as you ask."
"Captain." The officer addressed his superior with a salute.
The dark ship's captain gave the other man a condescending look, "Yes?" he said.
"The operative is ready to board the ship, Sir."
"Then tell him to get on with it." The captain said dismissively. "You know we haven't much time before the ship leaves the area. It is quite preferable that we do this before they warp again."
"Aye, Captain." The officer saluted again and sent the order over the comm, "Board the ship."
"Colonel, are you sure they aren't here?" Bane asked Gantz, skeptical that the man had done a thorough enough search of the area to be sure that the Eratites weren't in the vicinity.
"I'm sure." Gantz replied, confident. "They've gone."
"But how do you know that? We've only searched one area."
"The Cobel lent me the use of their time-delver." Gantz replied smugly. "He has been going over the area. His search results have just come back. They are nowhere near here, and we've just picked up a faint warp-trail heading in the direction of Balan."
"Oh." Bane replied, sheepishly, "I was not aware of the time-delver's presence."
"That is because this is my ship, Bane." Gantz looked over at the other man with piercing eyes. "You are here as an advisor, not a member of my crew, and as such, you do not know everything that transpires here."
Bane felt himself blanch a little in embarrassment and fear. "What is going on?" he thought to himself, wondering at the Colonel's sudden strange behavior. Ever since they'd come out of warp Gantz had been oddly obsessed over finally destroying this Eratite ship. A moment later, he received his answer.
"They've finally found my daughter." Gantz said, voice low, "They've found Hilde!"
"Is she alright?" Bane asked, genuinely concerned for the girl.
"She's fine. It seems the Usurper had her hidden right under our noses the whole time. She'd been sent to the palace kitchens to work as a maid."
"I see." Bane replied, "So once we're rid of this Eratite ship…"
"We will go home." Gantz finished Bane's sentence, a look of longing in his eyes. "I received the message just as we came out of warp.
Bane nodded, "I wish you well."
Gantz didn't answer, only issued the order to his crew, "Prepare for warp. Use the coordinates given to you by the time-delver to follow the Eratites."
A chorus of "Yes, sir's" was the only reply.
"Captain, the ship is warping. The operative is not done yet." The executive officer said to his captain.
"Then leave him there until we've time to get him." The captain of the dark ship replied.
"But, Captain, if something goes wrong… we may not be able to get him." The officer protested.
"I am aware." The captain said in annoyance. "Sometimes there are risks involved in revenge, my friend."
The officer did not protest further. The fiery hate in his captain's eyes prevented him. He knew better than to anger the other man. His captain had a reputation for taking his wrath out on his men. If one wished to stay alive aboard this ship, one did not anger the captain unnecessarily.
"Prepare to follow the Gamilon fleet into warp." The captain commanded.
All replied with nervous affirmation, and obeyed.
Elazar crept along the hallway, his soft white fox-paws making no sound on the metal floors. He had no doubt that, could he feel them, the plates that made up the floor would be stone-cold.
So far he had made it half-way down to where he thought the comm hub would be. He had had to phase out of visibility several times, and once had almost been seen by a Sentinel.
He had been watching the "men" – if they could be called that – as they waited for their shift-change.
The sight of them had been terrifying. In all his days here on Phantom he had not seen a Sentinel without his helmet before today. The all-encompassing head-gear hid every part of the Sentinels' faces – a fact that Elazar now appreciated much more.
The things clearly were once men; at least, he thought so. Some of them might once have been women, but it was not possible to tell now. Their faces had greyed, morphed into something so chilling that it was nearly impossible to look the things in the eye or – what was left of their eyes.
The dull black eye-orbs wandered aimlessly, as though they were blind, though Elazar knew they could see. He now realized that their sense of sight was different than his own. Perhaps they saw based on movement, or heat, or some other aspect of detection that he couldn't fathom. Whatever it was, he was not eager to find out.
The Sentinels' faces seemed incomplete. They were alive, yet, not alive.
Suddenly he understood exactly what the things were, and he nearly left the Tower right that very second.
These "Sentinels" were the possessors of bodies they'd taken. The souls once inhabiting them had left long ago, leaving mindless corpses for the dark spirits that served the Malha's Diana to take and use as they would.
Elazar felt chilled at the realization, but resisted the urge to flee and slowly continued on his journey downward, praying to Adonai all the way that the devils he was among could not sense his presence.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he found the hub.
It was just as Mariposa's information had said. There was a Sentinel troupe guarding the room, like the First of the Nine had said.
Elazar phased out of visibility and crept past the guard, holding his breath as he went and praying that he might not be discovered.
He stayed invisible as he wandered around the communications room, looking at everything he could. A few times he had to levitate his avatar so that the tiny fox could see the control panels clearly. He noted the hub's age. It had been here for many years judging by its appearance, though it had been well cared for.
Then there were the myriad control panels he saw. He had no idea what ninety percent of the controls did, so he kept looking until he found the ten percent he did know how to use.
He hovered his avatar closer to the controls, studying them intently, knowing that he would have to return in his physical form in order to accomplish what must be done.
He stared and stared at the images until he could see them burned into his memory.
Once that was done, he slipped by the Sentinels once again and ran for the nearest Tower wall. As soon as he reached it, he phased through the solid surface and became visible again. He sent his white-fox-self hurtling through the trees. When he'd found a place he could safely stop and think, he let his fox form lay down under a thick bush.
Thoughts swarmed through his mind as he processed everything he'd just seen.
"Adonai, I don't know if I can make it in without them catching me, but I have to do something now that they're planning to move on the Eratite ship again. It must be protected; this I know." He prayed from his place in the snow. "Please, don't let them find me until my work is done."
Elazar woke in his pod deep inside Phantom's core. He popped open the pod and carefully stepped out, sending the Nine a farewell as he did and warning them again not to let Mariposa venture out to the Tower until he said otherwise.
He heard a faint reassurance as he left his pod and re-sealed it.
He found and donned the thick coat he had to wear every time he went out during Phantom's winters. The bitter cold was much different from the climate of his homeworld and he wasn't used to the low temperatures.
He pulled the hood over his head and fastened it so that it wouldn't blow off in the screaming wind. He tugged gloves on over his blue hands and made sure that they too were on securely. The last thing he checked were the insulated boots he wore. The shoes had served him well these many years and he was thankful to have found them aboard his ship when he'd landed here so long ago looking for something much different than what he'd found.
He hadn't expected to walk into a war with between the Malha's forces and their nine unconscious captives. Those days had been so uncertain, before he'd found Adonai. Now that he had, he wondered how he'd ever lived without the constant presence of the greatest Friend he had ever known.
Elazar gave his boots one last good tug and stepped out of the cavern and into the passageway leading up to the outside world.
It took him some time to trek uphill through the planet's layers, but finally he reached the opening that led to the surface.
He peeked out into the blazing white winter, looking this way and that.
He pulled out the compass he always took with him on his journeys into Phantom's wilderness. After all, his avatar self wasn't affected by things like cold and wind, but his physical body was, and too much exposure to these freezing temperatures would mean an untimely death, something he couldn't afford at the moment, not with the Eratite ship's safety riding on his shoulders.
He looked down at his compass and, taking the proper heading to get to the Tower, he set off.
Hours later Elazar looked up at the towering silhouette of the Sentinel stronghold. It was just as gray as his avatar's eyes had shown him. The entire structure was encased in metal and the only way in was the front door.
He took a deep breath and ran for an outcropping of rock near the entrance.
The Sentinel guards did not see him.
"Adonai, I don't know how to do this. Grant me an opportunity to enter unseen." He prayed.
He edged towards the end of the rock and peered at the guards.
They were gone.
"What?" he thought, "How?" he looked this way and that, trying to find the Sentinels, but he saw nothing.
With a prayer of gratitude, he sprinted towards the door and slipped inside, unseen.
Once in, he quietly crept through the halls, leaving no sign of his passing.
The way was just as he remembered it from his avatar's eyes, though everything was a bit smaller since he was much larger than a fox.
He made it to the door of the communications hub and was shocked to find that the guards that had been here mere hours ago were now gone.
"What is going on?" he thought, concerned, but glad at the same time that his passage had not been noticed.
He quickly approached the door, expecting to have to break in, but instead, it opened at his beckoning.
Puzzled, he slowly stepped inside.
The door closed behind him and he quickly locked it, wanting no mishaps, should the guards return before his task was complete.
He hurried to the controls and began implementing the plan he'd conceived on his way here.
"Captain, we've successfully followed the Gamilon fleet through their warp. Their calculations were correct. The Eratite ship is here." The officer supplied, wary of the captain's response.
"Thank you." The captain replied, "Fetch our operative once he's completed his work."
"Aye, Sir." The officer replied, quickly leaving the volatile man's side.
The ship grew deathly silent, each crewman studying his own station intently, not wanting to incur the wrath of their captain, but not wanting to miss a chance to garner his praise either.
The only sounds on the bridge of the dark ship were the soft blips and bleeps of the duty stations as they went about their assigned tasks.
Without any warning wild alarms shattered the fragile silence.
"What's going on?" the captain demanded, "Have we been hit?"
"Negative, captain!" one of the crew shouted over the blaring alarms, "We're receiving a comm signal from the Sentinels. It's on all channels, I can't cut it off!"
"Get us out of here, now!" the captain bellowed in rage. "They're going to get us all killed!"
"What about the operative –" the executive officer started to protest.
"Leave him!" the force of the captain's words nearly knocked the officer over. "We cannot afford to be discovered!"
The ship instantly disappeared, warping out of the area, alarms still blaring.
Elazar engaged the program he'd given the hub and relaxed a little as he saw the lights turn green, signaling that the task he'd given the machine was being carried out to his specifications.
He turned to leave and was a step from the door when it opened.
"And here I thought you were dead." The woman's voice chilled Elazar to the bone.
"Aurelia…" he replied, feeling the name bite into his tongue, "You weren't supposed to arrive for another two days."
The woman laughed, "Oh, I never was much for schedules."
"Indeed." Elazar bit back.
"So how is it that you've come to my servants' humble abode?" the Malha asked, feigning courtesy.
"That is a story I will not be telling you, witch." Elazar moved to push his way past her, but the Malha caught him by the throat.
He couldn't breathe. Her grip had grown much stronger over the years.
He sputtered and gasped, trying to take a breath, but he couldn't.
He felt himself losing consciousness.
"Adonai…" was the all of his prayer he could muster in his darkening mind before he completely blacked out.