Hypernova Series: Worlds At war Page 20

  “You came to Altair as a child, damaged and ruined.”

  Ron stares off into the distance, contemplating, before looking back down at him.

  “All I can remember from when I was abducted...is a fire, and children screaming. I never bothered wondering why I can’t recall more than that.”

  Ulmu coughs blood before continuing,

  “Whatever the Citadel erased, they did it for your own good.”

  I intervene.

  “Sir, with all due respect. It’s not their job to decide that for us!”

  “Please...Finn-”

  He stutters while dry-heaving into his hand. My tone instantly softens. Ron holds him closer and we share a glance of concern.

  “I don’t know why Odium looks like Finn, or why he comes from Earth, but I know it can’t be good.”

  Ulmu’s large eyes soften into dull pools of grey.

  “I trust the two of you will have the will-power to overcome Odium and his army. Because if there's one thing I have learned from the two of you, it is that you both exhibit great love for one another. The kind that not even most advanced species comprehend. Hold onto that love for one another and never let it go. No matter what the truth is…”

  “Arriving at The Citadel. A-A-0001.”

  The ship rumbles and hums to a standstill. Ulmu closes his eyes.

  “No! Sir, please! We can’t lose somebody else…”

  Tears pool behind my glasses. I refuse to push them down. A sob racks my body and I grip him tightly by the shirt.

  “You trusted me when I first came to Altair and helped me gain the courage I needed to become a soldier. I couldn’t imagine a better mentor or friend. So please, please don’t die.”

  Ron starts crying as well. He looks away from Ulmu, as if he is ashamed to see his role-model in such a state.

  “Finn...Ron...stop.”

  Ulmu smiles.

  “I may have assisted you. But, all-in-all, that courage and determination to do what’s right came from you. I’m sure that even without me, the two of you would continue to do exceptional things, so keep fighting. For me, and everybody else who we’ve lost along the way.”

  Ron grips Ulmu’s hand and finally shares his deepest-sentiments.

  “Don’t die, Ulmu. You are one of the only ones I trust. I’m scared of my past. I’m scared of what may have happened between Odium and me. I can’t fight this war without your support! You...you're like a father to me.”

  Ulmu opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. He closes his eyes and slips into the crook of Ron’s arm. His chest deflates before resting completely. His fingers loosen and his head lolls slightly to the left.

  We remain silent for a long while. Staring down at our Godsonion with tears streaming down out faces.

  “No...dammit!”

  I punch the floor causing my knuckles to crack from the impact. I crouch down resting my forehead against the cold metal.

  Yet another friend dead...at the hands of Odium no less.

  “Finn. I don’t know if I can do this.”

  Ron’s soft brown eyes are riddled with grief. His face contorts as he sobs.

  “Both Miv and Ulmu...are dead, and who knows how many soldiers we just lost during that attack. Who knows if the others are still alive? I’m so tired. I want to go home.”

  “Stop it!”

  I grab him by the shoulders and shake him.

  “I told you once already! We keep moving forward. Or else, what was their sacrifice for!? And yes. It hurts. But it’s supposed to hurt. That means we loved them. What’s grief if not the loss of love? So, hold onto this feeling and carry it with you as we fight this battle. Together. Just like always.”

  Ron is speechless. He gives a sheepish nod.

  “I understand…”

  But his sentiment is weak.

  “No you don’t.” I bite back. “Tell me this. No matter what the truth is. You’ll keep fighting.”

  “Finn, I can’t do that. I don’t know if I still have the will or the strength.”

  “I don’t believe that,” I tell him “but if you can’t, then I will...and you’ll be forced to follow me and protect me. Even if you don’t want to. Because that’s what big brothers do. They watch out for their nerdy, slightly-sarcastic, over the top little brothers.”

  He cracks a half-hearted smile.

  “How can you say all this with so much confidence?”

  I glance down at Ulmu. Despite his spirit having moved on, he looks happy and content.

  “Because ...I know that you would want me to do the same thing. To keep moving forward, even if you were gone. I know deep-down in my heart that our friends feel the same way. It’s that combined love that’s keeping me strong.”

  “Ok, Finn. I promise.”

  He sounds like a new man.

  “That’s what I like to hear.”

  “Incoming message. Docking control is requesting I.D”

  Ron and I take a moment to collect ourselves.

  “Guess...It’s time to meet the High Council.”

  Ron nods behind his waning tears. His breath is laboured and he looks as if he is about to nod off.

  “We’ll finally get the answers we deserve...”

  ∆∆∆

  I leave Ron to say his final goodbyes to Ulmu and crawl back up to the pilot’s bay. The moment I cross the threshold into the bay, my jaw drops and I stifle a gasp.

  This is The Citadel!?

  Roughly one parsec away are three steel asteroid-belts that look like enormous onion-rings. The largest is on the outskirts, followed by the second and third rotating on an axis around a steel ‘planet’. Said planet is decorated with gold patterns in the shape of flowers. All the steel belts are connected to the center-planet by indescribably long elevator shafts with clear windows that carry soldiers from one ring to the next.

  The largest ring, I estimate, is a whopping 4,000 kilometers wide.

  That’s almost the size of Australia! Or Pluto!

  And I thought Altair was impressive...

  In a place of this size, will we even get a chance to see the High Council? I’m starting to doubt that we are even an issue in the eyes of the borderline gods that control the universes.

  “Bzzt! Requesting Docking I.D. Failure to comply will result in immediate aggressive force.”

  My body is heavy, and it takes every bit of my willpower to lift my arm and reply.

  “M- my name is Finn Bates! From planet Earth. I’m an Aster from Altair HQ. We are badly injured…and have a casualty on board. Please respond.”

  It takes a moment for a snake-like voice, complete with hisses between every syllable, to respond.

  “Yes’sss, I underss’stand. Order your vessel to dock at s’station 0-974/B. A crew of medics will be ready to assist you. I ass’sume you have already been fitted with a Rhinometer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Access granted.”

  I do as the docking control alien said and punch the coordinates into our A.I. As we approach the outer ring, a shadow looms over us. The sheer mass of this outpost is indescribable. A port with a golden force-field blinks open, allowing us entry. Immediately, it shimmers shut again. Everything on the inside reminds me of Altair. The same technology, the same steel walls and floor. But the decor is startlingly different. Instead of Kraken statues and class photos, everything is lined with bright gold accents and sparkling champagne-colored lights which cast a warm, golden hue. Makes me feel like I need to be in a suit or tux to even step foot in this place.

  The A.I parks our vessel. Below, I see Phenders and engineers in bright gold uniforms exchange worried glances before bolting out of the nearest exit door. All around us, battleships painted with gold trim remain lifeless and empty...what the hell is going on?

  But I have no choice but to cast my worries aside. I clamber down the ladder and meet Ron at the exit. He is carrying Ulmu in his arms. He gave Ulmu the courtesy of closing his eyes and covering hi
m with an orange ‘first-aid’ blanket.

  “Ron...I can carry him if you want.”

  I’m not saying this just to be nice. I’m scared Ron is going to faint and drop our poor Godsonion in the process. My elder sibling shakes his head. He steadies his shaking legs and leads the way down the ramp.

  “This is the only time I’ll be able to help him the way he helped me. I’ll carry him to the end.”

  “Ok.”

  We step off the ramp. Immediately, my heart sinks. Sometimes, when something really-really-super-duper bad is about to happen. You get this instinctual pit in your gut. The hairs on your arms stand on end. Your muscles tense...my hand lingers towards the holster of my gun.

  Then it happens.

  A swarm of Citadel Avers come barging into the bay. They are pointing plasma pistols at my face. Their fingers (-or otherwise alien like-appendages) tease the triggers.

  “Ron and Finn Bates from Planet Earth!” I shout.

  An alien of the same race as the cafeteria lady on Altair (Paypin, otherwise known as an Oozan) appears from the crowd.

  “You are both under arrest for the murder of Godsonion Ulmu. You are also under suspicion of collaborating with the criminal known as Odium, along with insubordination and a breach of trust with the High Council.”

  My response is lightning fast and filled with venom.

  “What now? You gonna’ read us our rights? Get us a lawyer?! Maybe start paying us in heaps of Galaxy Coin? Cause we aren’t traitors!”

  My frustration has reached its peak. No amount of self-awareness or intelligence will stop my verbal assault.

  “You lot better stop calling yourselves the smartest beings in the galaxy!”

  “I’ve heard enough…”

  The Oozan orders his men to approach. Unwillingly, and with no other options, I raise my hands in the air. They take Ulmu away from Ron who looks heartbroken and petrified.

  “Arrest them and put them in the holding cells!”

  Ron remains silent as they place gold cuffs onto his hands and arms. In the meantime, I continue flapping my gums.

  “After everything we’ve done for The Citadel, do you seriously think we’re traitors? How did you get to that conclusion? I’m starting to think you can’t add 1 + 1!”

  The leader glides up to me. He forms a fist with his left blob and hits me in the gut.

  “Agh!”

  I collapse onto my knees and the Avers put me in cuffs that bruise my skin. A smile plays on my lips as I glare up at the jerk who just punched my already swollen ribs.

  “I didn’t think a pile of talking jello could hit so hard.”

  “Finn, stop it. This won’t help us,” Ron says.

  I look over at him, and once again his eyes are fading.

  “Wait!” I shout as they lift us to our feet.

  “My brother is seriously injured. Please, get him to a medic.”

  The Oozan addresses us contemptuously.

  “You will both be fully healed. This time tomorrow, you will both be on trial before the High Council.”

  A smile lingers on my lips…

  “Funnily enough. We wanted to ask them a few questions ourselves.”

  I Got the Jailhouse Blues

  So here I am. Sitting in a jail-cell on The Citadel. Ron is one cell away from mine. I can’t see or hear him, but I know he is grovelling in self-pity just as I am.

  Being betrayed by the people you fought so hard to protect makes you feel like a piece of garbage that they mindlessly tossed aside, floating down the street. Then they kick you to the curb and you keep aimlessly floating around, lost and confused. Nobody bothers to pick you up, ‘cos you’re trash.

  Man, I am getting way too existential about this whole thing.

  But I can’t help it. I’m mad, and I’m the type of person who doesn’t take betrayal well; as does anybody, but sometimes I take it to a whole new level. Think of my father! He started drowning himself in work, divorced my mom, and now he’s pretty-much dead to me.

  One thing I still can’t wrap my brain around is...why do they think we betrayed them?

  It takes a moment to fit the pieces together.

  Firstly, Odium is a human. They must know that somehow and assumed that, because we are the same race, we are working together.

  Secondly, Odium is somehow involved in our lost memories, which the High Council erased. Perhaps...they think our memories have resurfaced fully? Maybe they assume that for some odd-reason, Ron and I are now buddy-buddy with the universe’s #1 terrorist.

  Thirdly, our trips to Creyenia and Aronevia have had some serious backlash. Maybe the Council has come to the decision that we are just too much trouble?

  Lastly...Godonsion Ulmu died in our care.

  I pray that there is some proof that gets us off the hook for that, but at this point, everything is word of mouth. Are they really going to trust the words of two humans who might be working with Odium?

  Sadly, I don’t know the answer.

  Everything feels twisted and wrong. Last time we concluded our adventures, I was looking towards a new hope. Eager, and ready to discover the truth behind a magical crystal.

  Now I know the truth.

  The crystal is named Verenzibol, and it gives Odium almost unlimited power. Not only that. But Altair is destroyed, and I don’t know which of my friends made it out of the attack alive. The Citadel has betrayed me...and I’m homesick.

  I miss my mom.

  I’m starting to understand why Ron is always so tempted to throw in the towel and return to Earth. At first, it’s fine. You’re so distracted by new experiences and adventure that you forget all about your home. Then things settle down for a moment. Like now. You get a twisted feeling in your gut. All you want is be hugged and told ‘welcome home’. But both my homes have been uprooted. I have this haunting sadness that’s telling me ‘you don’t belong anywhere’

  It hurts.

  “Finn…”

  “Ron?”

  I sit up in bed. I’m currently caged in a ten-foot by six-foot room with metal walls and a blue plasma shield. The guard outside my door went for a break ten minutes ago.

  Desperately, I scan the room wondering how Ron’s voice is carrying so well through steel...that’s when I find it. A tiny hole the size of a pen carved into the bottom of the right-hand wall. I get on my hands and knees and press my face near the entrance.

  I can only see a bit of Ron’s shirt through the hole. He must be lying on his back. I decide to do the same.

  “Have they got a medic-bot to see you yet?”

  “Yep...I feel good as new.”

  He says while sounding like a beaten dog.

  “Ron. I’m homesick.”

  “Me too, bud.”

  “What are they going to do to us? Why do they think we betrayed them?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, but it must have something to do with our erased memories.”

  “That’s just what I was thinking,” I say.

  We sit in silence for a moment. I hear him take a deep breath before speaking.

  “You said it yourself. We can’t give up, Finn, no matter how much we want to go home.”

  Suddenly his voice perks up.

  “Besides, think about it this way...home isn’t a place. It’s a people. I’m at home on Altair when I’m with Naki, Nuyen, and Kisoi. I’m home back on Earth when I’m with you.”

  Hearing Ron say that, the lonely feeling I was drowning in a moment ago is replaced with a wave of relief.

  “Thank you, Ron.”

  “Not a’ worry my dude’”

  We chuckle in unison.

  “Just remember this, lil’ bro. Tomorrow, we’ll get a chance to get all our questions answered. The whole million of em’”

  That’s right!

  A playful grin erupts on my face.

  I’m going to discover the mystery behind Odium, the truth of our memories, and save the universes while clearing our names!

&n
bsp; And the best part is?

  I’m not doing it alone.

  * * *

  Afterword

  The Bates brothers epic space-adventures conclude in "Book 3: Odiums Revenge" set to release the Fall of 2022

  Praise For Author

  PRAISE FOR BOOK 1

  I really enjoyed this book from start to finish and my daughter who is 13 also powered through it as well and thoroughly enjoyed it.

  - Julia Hayward, Amazon Reviews

  This was an easy fun read. Would highly recommend for any young adult reader. Space, action, family, and blossoming romance. Great little adventure escape! Highly recommended.

  - Angela, Amazon Reviews

  The Hypernova Series is really difficult to put down once you start it, the author did a very good job in creating the start of what could be a very big universe of stories.

  - Alex Rei, Facebook Reviews

  Books By This Author

  Hypernova Series: Mystery Of Planet Creyenia

  When Finn was twelve years old, his elder brother, Ron, disappeared without a trace. Five years later he's back and needs Finn's help in an astronomical way. Ron has become a member of the Citadel, a collection of the universes, smartest extraterrestrial beings who voyage between worlds and galaxies saving lives. Ron is having trouble finding a teammate, and thinks his brother is the perfect fit. Finn accepts the role for personal reasons and is thrown into a catastrophic world filled with adventure and peril.