15

Emily lowered her faceplate after stepping through the rift door. She had kept it up so she could use her suit’s temperature controls. Pushing a cart with Lee’s heavy robotic body was a bit more work than she had expected. She parked the cart off to the side. A whooshing sound made her jump a bit. She relaxed when she realized it was just the shielding going up around the rift door rods.

Commander Darius ran up to the cart. “What happened? Where is Agent Malz and the other agents?”

Evaran laid Count Boris on the ground and joined Darius next to the cart. “Caltorus’s group overran Agent Malz’s position, then joined Count Boris and his Raskarian soldiers in fighting us. We were defeated, and Lee was executed by Count Boris. Thankfully, we escaped and then captured Count Boris.”

“How … how did you lose?”

“Caltorus’s power is more formidable than even I expected. He poses a grave danger to this world.”

Darius sighed while rubbing his temples. He shook his head as his eyes narrowed. “Manager Lee was one of our best. He helped in the transition of his species to Earth, and he was … a personal friend. I’ll … I’ll need to contact his son, Manager Zed, per protocol.”

“I understand,” said Evaran.

“I’d like you to brief us when you get settled. Say … in three hours?”

“Fair enough,” said Evaran. He faced the group. “Get something to eat, and then rest. You do not need to be at the briefing.”

Emily shook her head. “I’ll get something to eat, but I’m going to that briefing. No way I’m missing that.”

“Very well. I need to corroborate a few things as it is,” said Evaran. “Commander Darius, where will the briefing be held?”

“I’ll show you,” he said. With a wave of his hand, a Helian guard got behind the cart. “Take Manager Lee’s body to the morgue.”

“Yes, sir,” said the Helian guard. He began to push the cart out of the room.

Darius glowered at Count Boris’s limp body. He flagged two guards to come over. “Take this filth and put him in a cell.”

The guards did a Helian salute and then picked up Count Boris. They exited the room.

Darius glanced at Evaran. “Come, I’ll show you the conference room. I need to handle some internal affairs after that.”

“Lead on,” said Evaran.

Emily followed everyone out of the room. After being shown the conference room, she got something to eat with Dr. Snowden, Robert, and Jake. Robert was not happy with what had happened. She saw his face go from happy at having Jake back, to horrified at Jake explaining their capture. Robert looked like he was ready to give Count Boris a piece of his mind. Had Robert come, she was not sure he would have survived.

Dr. Snowden was unusually quiet. She could see he was mulling over things. Like him, she had begun to get to know Lee, and just like that, he was gone, along with Agent Malz and his team. With Dr. Snowden’s recent struggle with death, having to witness it was probably not helping. Jake, like her, was trying to make the best of it. She liked his approach to dealing with adversity. Get knocked down, get back up, and go again. It aligned closely with how she thought.

After three hours, everyone assembled in the briefing room.

Darius instructed everyone to sit on one side of a U-shaped table that spanned half the room. A large screen sat across from the open area, so everyone sitting had good view of it. Darius motioned for Evaran to go to the screen, then interacted with a table console.

Four holograms appeared sitting on the other side of the table, each in their own spot.

Darius pointed at the one nearest the center of the table, then at the others in sequence. “These are Council Members Ardorin, Grodis, Tellic, and Jendox. With the departure of the other council members, Ardorin is now first elder.”

The council members bowed their heads in unison.

Ardorin looked at Evaran. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Evaran did a slight bow. “I am sorry to hear about the Helian split.”

“Your concern is warranted. The split was bound to happen at some point. Why Caltorus decided to involve you is a mystery, one I suspect will be resolved with them on the wrong side.”

“I would agree,” said Evaran. He placed his hands behind his back and paced around. “First things first. I wanted to address Manager Lee. He was a credit to the Helian effort to save his species. Although I only knew of him during this situation, he proved to be strong, courageous, and loyal to the end. Before he died, he offered himself up to spare others. I am better for having known him.”

Emily’s throat constricted.

“I did not know Agent Malz or his men, but they died believing what they were doing was important. Based on what I saw, they did not go out easily.”

“Your words are kind, and the council appreciates it,” said Ardorin.

Evaran bowed slightly and then interacted with his ARI. A bird’s-eye view of the area on the other world appeared. He pointed at the first red dot. “That is the rift door. We went through it there, and Agent Malz’s men secured it. The humanoids manning the defenses were Druuz, a draconian race. One thing to note is that this was a world that contains shadow matter, which is distinct from baryonic matter as you know it.”

“You said … shadow matter?” asked Ardorin.

“I did,” said Evaran. “Humans refer to it as dark matter, but is just one type in that group. Shadow matter can interact with baryonic matter normally, but also has unique properties when interacting with shadow matter itself.”

“Where in the universe is this shadow-matter world?”

Evaran wagged a finger. “Unknown for the moment. They typically exist between galaxies or in dark matter clusters within a galaxy. I have personally seen several locations before, but for this, I would need a quantum beacon and my Torvatta. Nonetheless, we were able to reach it from here.”

Ardorin looked at the other council members, then motioned at Evaran. “Continue.”

The screen showed a dotted line up to the second guard post. A yellow dot appeared before the guard post. “The yellow dot is where we fought ten of Count Boris’s men near a second guard post. They were dealt with. Agent Malz’s men retrieved them.” The screen showed a dot in the jungle off to the side. “This is where we discovered a ruined village and a member of a sentient species that Count Boris has been committing genocide against. She told a horrible tale.”

Emily shook her head. “Don’t forget that they said the rift door fell from the sky.”

“Fell?” asked Ardorin.

“Emily is correct. I am unsure how a rift door falls from the sky, but the end result is clear. It would seem that someone or something has the capability to send rift doors through space.”

“That’s troubling,” said Ardorin. “No place would be safe from it.”

“I concur. I have seen a main rift stone able to open locations without the need of gates, but this method would not require that.” Another red dot appeared on the screen. “After clearing the second guard post, we went to this fort location. It was lightly guarded. We were able to get to the control center that Count Boris had set up, but there was not much information there. Upon leaving, we fought Count Boris and his soldiers. Caltorus appeared with his Druuz army, along with the Decatron, Psyotica, and Ares. We … were not successful in defending ourselves.”

“We got our asses kicked,” said Jake, chuckling.

“As Jake alluded to, we were outmatched.”

“You were outmatched?” said Grodis. “Is that even possible?”

“For that encounter, yes. However, I was able to ascertain several things. One, Ares has off-planet connections. The beam used to disable me and the constraints that held me are known. They came from Seeros Industries. Leftovers from when Seeros wanted to capture me.”

“We know of Seeros from our Kreagan contacts. So Ares got these from Seeros,” said Ardorin.

“Not quite. Seeros challenged me in the past, and he is … no longer around.”

Emily saw several of the council members gulp.

Evaran shook a finger. “Nonetheless, the fact that Ares has these connections means he has access to advanced technology. Humans, and nonhumans by extension, outside of Helians, are not allowed off Earth per the Kreagan contract, unless it is in the natural development of humanity’s technological evolution. Ares violating that is an issue. The other major issue is that you are dealing with Caltorus, who I now know is a Dridakar, a being with an exotic energy known as elicidium that allows shadow matter to mix with baryonic matter in one being. Usually the shadow-matter aspect is dominant. It allows transformation into several forms. He is forced into a humanoid one here on Earth due to the lack of shadow matter here, but on worlds with shadow matter, he can transform into something else. Caltorus is worshiped as a god by the Druuz.”

Ardorin checked with the other council members, who shook their heads or shrugged. He looked at Evaran. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“You would not have. They are extremely rare, but they do possess common traits. They are faster and smarter, and when the body they are bound to dies, they still exist as pure shadow matter, but require another body with elicidium energy in order to manifest.”

“Like a ghost,” said Emily.

“Somewhat, but even in that form, they cannot be seen by any type of light. They can be detected by sensitive gravitational sensors, though.”

Ardorin furrowed his eyebrows. “Okay … so we’re dealing with a Dridakar. It sounds like if he died, it would resolve this issue.”

“I have another plan for him, one that will not only allow him to live, but also serve justice. He just needs to be captured.”

Tellic snorted. “It sounds a lot easier to find his location, then blow it up.”

“And if he finds another host body with an elicidium energy strand, the situation will occur again,” said Evaran.

Tellic clenched his jaw and looked down.

“Nonetheless, the goal of this trip through the rift door was to discover where it went and determine if my Torvatta was there. I now know my Torvatta is not there.” He raised a finger. “However, that world had a sentient species that was evolving. Knowledge pollution has already occurred. With Count Boris out of the picture, I am hoping they can rebuild.”

“Count Boris will rot in a cell now,” said Darius.

“And he will answer for his crimes,” said Evaran. “I have sealed off entry to that world from Caltorus’s rift door. He will never be able to go there again. I would ask that you help the world clear up the remaining Raskarian soldiers there, but I understand you are undermanned.”

“We are,” said Ardorin. “Not only are we stretched thin, but there are many groups who are becoming more powerful due to numbers or technology, or in the case of Caltorus … creating a powerful following.”

“I understand. I may have a plan to help them when this is all over,” said Evaran. “The next step is to talk tomorrow morning at ten a.m. with Bruno, Red Lightning, and Count Boris and see if we can gather any more information. After that, we will need to formulate a plan to remove Caltorus’s control of existing Helian bases across the world. This includes the one with the second rift door. Since the rift controllers were linked at one point, I can determine where the other one is.”

“Why didn’t you just go after Caltorus’s base on Earth first then?” asked Ardorin.

Evaran placed his hands behind his back. “There is no knowledge of what to expect, how to approach it, or even how to breach its defenses, if any. I do believe it will be well defended, and although my group is formidable, I do not think we could have breached it with my small team. Had the first rift door been heavily defended on the other side, we would have tried a different plan. However, what is done is done. I suspect the second set of coordinates, wherever they lead, will be much more guarded now.”

“You can bet it will be defended after this,” said Darius.

“It most likely is. The difference is on Earth, we have allies we can recruit to the cause, and can approach with a wider attack surface, versus one tiny rift door opening.”

“Makes strategic sense. What allies were you thinking of? We’re not well liked here anymore,” said Darius.

“That is something I will handle,” said Evaran. “It would have helped to have Manager Lee accompany us.”

“Well, his son, Manager Zed, is on his way here now. He will take over those responsibilities.”

Evaran tilted his head. “I see. Now, are there any questions?”

Emily half smiled as the council members all spoke together, trying to be the first to get their question out. She listened for the next hour as they tried to pry information out of Evaran on various topics unrelated to the current problem. Telling the Helians what was to be done was a reoccurring theme.

She wondered what Manager Zed would be like, or if any of Lee’s traits carried over to him. Her mind also went over what allies they would recruit. If it was anything like the last time they helped the Helians, then she knew to expect meeting a new cast of power players with unique personalities. Nothing was ever dull when traveling with Evaran. After everyone cleared out of the briefing room, she headed to her quarters. Looking at her PSD, she saw it was 10:30 p.m. Her body let her know it was time to sleep, and she agreed. Dr. Snowden had already taken off to bed, so it looked like he was ready to sleep too.

Dr. Snowden’s eyes popped open as he looked around the crystal fort’s courtyard. Caltorus and all the Wildborn were assembled, along with hordes of Druuz and Raskarian soldiers. His eyes homed in on the posts next to Caltorus. Evaran was tied up with his hands behind the post. His lifeless eyes made Dr. Snowden gasp. Next to Evaran were Emily, Jake, Robert, and V in body mode. All were tied to a post like Evaran was. Dr. Snowden shook his head. This had to be a dream. He focused on Caltorus. “This isn’t how it happened.”

“In your reality. In this one, you lose, I win. You escaped death once. I’m here to collect.”

“I don’t think so. This is a dream. You’re. Not. Real.”

Caltorus smiled as he tossed his hands to the side. “What was it that Evaran said? Oh … that’s right. There’s a dream layer, similar to a life layer. He called it morphable matter.” He looked around. “And you have made all of this, and by extension, me. Another realm to conquer. I will begin with you.” He strode forward.

“Then you’re in for a surprise,” said Dr. Snowden. He spit at Caltorus.

Caltorus paused to wipe the spit off his face. “This is your master plan? To spit on me? Pathetic.”

Dr. Snowden swallowed hard. Caltorus should have begun to dissolve. The spit wasn’t working.

Caltorus reached Dr. Snowden and grabbed him by the throat. He lifted Dr. Snowden off the ground. “Your insolence knows no bounds!” He squeezed hard.

Dr. Snowden went limp as the crowd cheered. Although he could no longer feel anything, he could still hear. What was going on? He gasped as he appeared back in the courtyard. The setup was the same. Caltorus was back where he had started along with the Druuz, Raskarians, and Wildborn. It was like a reset had been performed. His breathing went erratic.

“Uncle Albert! Help!” said Emily.

Dr. Snowden snapped his head toward the posts. All were dead except for Emily, who was being approached by a larger-than-average Druuz. Dr. Snowden tried to rush over, but his feet were not moving.

“Ahh, yes,” said Caltorus. “You think you can escape by dying once? I don’t think so. You will die, over and over, in creative ways.” He gestured at the others on the posts. “We will explore how to make each death painful.”

The brute began to club Emily to death.

“Stop it!” said Dr. Snowden, foaming at the mouth.

“Seems he has a soft spot for his niece.” Caltorus nodded at Dr. Snowden. The brute walked over and stood in front of him.

“I’m not afraid of you!”

The brute raised his club and then smashed Dr. Snowden’s head.

Dr. Snowden went to the pure darkness he had seen earlier. Like before, he reappeared and everything was reset, except this time everyone was alive on the posts.

“Back again so soon?” asked Caltorus. He waved a hand, and a twisted-looking duplicate of Dr. Snowden appeared.

Dr. Snowden wrinkled his eyes. He realized that no matter what he did, he would always die. The only thing he could do was make something of the time he had.

Caltorus pointed at the posts. The twisted Dr. Snowden clone smiled with a big grin as he headed over. Caltorus smiled. “Let’s see what nastiness you do to your friends.”

Dr. Snowden tried to move but could not. He shook his head and closed his eyes. “I’m not playing your game.” He could feel pressure around him, and then no sensation. He opened his eyes, and the dream had reset again. This time Levaran stood next to him. “Levaran!”

Levaran smiled. “You are on your way.”

“What is this!” said Caltorus. He stood up and pointed at Levaran. “You weren’t invited to this reality.” He shook and yelled and then grew fifty feet tall. “You will be removed!”

Levaran placed both hands on Dr. Snowden’s shoulders. “I am here to help you fight, but only you can win this. Death is only a phase. You must. Accept. What. You. Are.”

Caltorus grabbed Levaran and pulled her away.

“I … I don’t understand!” said Dr. Snowden.

“You must!” said Levaran as she went limp.

Dr. Snowden woke up and struggled to breathe. He scanned the room. It was quiet. The new dream was horrifying, and he could feel the sweat rolling off his body. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for his nanobots to calm him. After his breathing normalized, he stood up and got a drink of water, then sat on a chair in the living area of the room.

He tried to figure out what the accepting thing was about. Maybe he was supposed to accept that he was more than human. That was something he had already accepted, though, so it must be something else, something new. He sighed and retrieved his PSD. It was 9:30 a.m. As bad as the dream was, at least he had slept. He got cleaned up and hustled over to Emily’s room. She was usually up early but would be getting ready to go to the detention center viewing at 10:00 a.m. When he arrived at her door, he knocked furiously.

“Who is it?” asked Emily.

“It’s me,” said Dr. Snowden.

Emily opened the door. She wore a robe, and her hair was damp. “What’s—Are you okay?”

Dr. Snowden sighed. “I had another dream, but this one was different.”

Emily closed the door after Dr. Snowden had entered.

They sat in the living area.

“So what was it like?” asked Emily. “Whatever it was, it’s really freaked you out. More than the other one.”

Dr. Snowden gulped and then began to describe the dream to her. After twenty minutes, he looked at his PSD. “Oh, no, we’re going to be late!”

Emily smiled. “That’s fine. What’s important is if you’re okay now.”

“I’ll be okay. We can analyze this later.” He stood and gestured at the door. “Let’s go!”

Jake ran his thumb across his palm as he watched people file into the detention center viewing room. It wrapped around the square main room and allowed one-way viewing. In the main room were Evaran and Commander Darius. It was 10:00 a.m., and Jake had not seen Dr. Snowden or Emily at breakfast. They were not in the viewing room yet either. Probably slept in late, something he almost did too. Robert had woken him up and now sat next to him on a soft couch. Jake had to give the Helians some credit about having a comfortable viewing room that could seat up to about twenty people. They even had a built-in replicator.

He eyed the large metallic outline of a doorway in the main room. He knew that the cells would slide up to it and lock in place and then the force field would go transparent. The Helians knew how to incarcerate people. Even if someone did break through the force field while being held in the back, they would be met by a thick wall of metal.

Dr. Snowden rushed into the room and took a seat. “Has Evaran started yet?”

Jake shook his head. “Not yet. I think he’s waiting for everyone to show up.”

Dr. Snowden surveyed the room. His eyes landed on V hovering nearby. “Ahh, that’s how he knows who’s here.”

“Acknowledged,” said V.

Emily burst into the room and took a seat next to Dr. Snowden. “Hope we didn’t hold anything up.”

“It’s cool,” said Jake with a smile.

Emily smiled back.

Robert raised an eyebrow at Jake.

Jake sighed.

Evaran faced the viewing room. “Although I cannot see you through these walls, V has shown me that you are all there. Can you hear me?”

Everyone said yes.

“Good. V will relay any communication you might have. Know that only Commander Darius and I will hear it,” said Evaran. He nodded at Darius, who headed over to a console.

After a moment, the first cell with Red Lightning slid into place. The force field went transparent.

Red Lightning stood and shot red arcs of electricity at the force field. “It’ll take more than keeping me here to break me!”

Jake noticed her hair was frazzled and she had bags under her eyes. It was apparent that despite what she was saying, she was exhausted.

Evaran placed his hands behind his back. “So you wish to stay incarcerated?”

“I’m not telling you shit. You’ll answer to Caltorus for this!”

“I see,” said Evaran. “Very well.” He circled a finger in the air.

The force field went dark, and her cell slid out of view from the viewing port. The next cell slid into place, and the force field turned transparent.

Jake noticed Bruno looked ragged. Like Red Lightning, Jake suspected that Bruno did not sleep well.

Evaran stood in front of the cell as Bruno approached the force field. “Did you not sleep?”

Bruno licked his lips. “This place is … confining.”

“I see that being caged bothers you.”

“No one should ever be caged!”

“And what would you suggest for those who are caught doing bad things?” asked Evaran.

“Bad is subjective.”

Evaran tilted his head. “The situation has changed. Count Boris is now in a cell. One of the worlds that Caltorus’s rift door coordinates went to has been shut off from Caltorus.”

“Good for you,” said Bruno. His gaze roamed around Evaran. “Where’s manager man? There’s no way he’d miss this.”

“Unfortunately, Count Boris killed him.”

Bruno eyed Evaran. “Did he die in your presence?”

“He did.”

“That must make you mad.”

Evaran half smiled. “Lee was a good person. I think even you knew that. His death will be avenged, and all those associated will be punished.”

Bruno clenched his jaw for a moment. “And me by association.” He sighed. “I’m never getting out of here, am I?”

“It does not have to be that way. If you cooperate, I will take you back to your world. If you do not, you will be subjected to the same punishment as Caltorus.”

Bruno began to breathe heavier. “I can’t stay here. What do you want from me?”

“Everything you know about Caltorus and his operation.”

“Like … now?”

Evaran pointed at Darius.

Darius cleared his throat. “A console will be accessible to you in your cell. Put everything you know in it. Per Evaran, there is also some history for you to read. It’s high-level, and if you repeat any of it to Evaran, all bets are off. He … wants you to know who he is.”

Bruno shook his head. “This is the worst contract ever.”

The force field went dark, and Bruno’s cell slid away. Count Boris’s cell slid into place next.

After the force field went transparent, Count Boris stormed up to it. “Let me out of here!”

“After killing Manager Lee? Committing genocide on a less-advanced society? And that does not even begin to address all the issues Commander Darius has listed out.”

“I can’t believe I almost had you. You’re not as invulnerable as everyone says you are,” said Count Boris.

“That is because you do not understand.”

“What’s to understand? Without your Torvatta, you were taken down.”

“Yes, by a Dridakar and his army. I will deal with that after this is done. Know this. I will get my Torvatta back, and you will be punished.”

“You really underestimate Caltorus. He’s a true god,” said Count Boris.

“He is not, and I know what he is. I have dealt with others of his kind. I am still standing. The others are not.”

Count Boris licked his lips. “Yeah … well … it’s not like he’s alone.”

“I know that. With you, Bruno, and Red Lightning out of the picture, he is losing his support. It is only a matter of time before he is captured.”

“Yeah … good luck with that. You have no idea of the scope of what you’re facing,” said Count Boris.

“Caltorus pales in comparison to the beings and species I have faced. I am ancient … even by his standards. Yes, he is powerful, and I am sure he has connections outside this world, but he will face justice, just like you will.”

Count Boris shook his head. “You’re so arrogant.”

Evaran rubbed his chin for a moment. “I do not normally speak of the future. However, I will at this point. You know I am a time traveler, so I do not need to go over that with you.” He raised a finger. “There is no mention of you in the future. There are several conclusions that can be drawn from that. You are either dead, or you were punished.”

Count Boris swallowed hard. “The future can be changed. I heard about the alternate timeline where the Purifiers dominated this planet and beyond.”

“You are correct. However, you should also know I always correct the timeline, and your lack of presence in the future is part of the stable timeline.”

“Whatever. I’m not helping you with anything.”

“I know this. I just wanted to give you something to think about while you sit in that cell, day after day, alone,” said Evaran. He circled a finger in the air.

“You’ll be the one who pays for imprisoning me. Mark my words. Caltorus won’t be as kind a second time.”

Evaran stared at Count Boris.

The force field went dark, and the cell slid away.

Jake exhaled from his mouth. The tension was thick. Evaran had been calm and collected, yet his very presence could be menacing if someone crossed him. Count Boris had no idea what Evaran was truly capable of. Jake knew from talking with Lord Noskov that Evaran was a universal force, and anyone who got on his bad side did not fare well. This was not just according to Lord Noskov. The tales came from all over the planet. Evaran was even known outside Earth.

“That was pretty intense,” said Dr. Snowden.

“Yeah,” said Emily. “Count Boris and the others don’t know what we know.”

Robert nodded. “From what I’ve seen so far, I feel special knowing Evaran helped us. I mean … Greecho was nowhere near the level of these guys, yet Evaran took the time to look out for us. How rare is that?”

Emily smiled. “That’s just Evaran. If he gets involved and makes something a priority, he will see it through.”

“I like it,” said Robert. “I don’t see that too often. His character is pure. He’s like … a beacon of hope.”

“I still feel bad about Lee,” said Dr. Snowden.

“Me too,” said Jake. “I never really got to know the managers. Now I’m sorta wishing I had.”

“Manager Lee’s son is coming soon. You can always start there.”

“I plan on it. I don’t know how that’ll play with Lord Noskov and crew, but … after all this, I think he’ll understand.”

Evaran and Darius entered the room.

“You think Bruno will give up any information?” asked Dr. Snowden.

Evaran nodded. “In time. Although he did not say it outright, he has claustrophobia. It will not take him long to cooperate. I do not see that occurring with Red Lightning or Count Boris.”

“What’s our next step then?” asked Emily.

“Manager Zed will be here within the next two hours. We will meet with him and figure out our next step. Before then, I need to speak with you and Dr. Snowden, alone.”

Jake smiled. “I get the drift. My presence might be too much to handle.”

“Analysis. I do not think this is the case,” said V.

“I know, I was kidding.” Jake looked up at Robert. “Looks like it’s me and you, Dad.”

“C’mon, let’s give them their privacy,” said Robert.

Darius raised his head a bit. “I have some things to prepare for Manager Zed’s arrival. I will leave you to it.”

“It is appreciated,” said Evaran.

Jake peeped back as he was about to leave. A part of him wanted to be in the room, but he understood that he was not a traveling companion like Dr. Snowden and Emily. He wished he had the same relationship that they had with Evaran. Maybe they would fill Jake in later. He sighed as he exited the room.