Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life (27 page)

Zoren flinched as the first shot rang out. He watched on as Kalrea was struck another two times in quick succession. He saw her collapse to her knees, before her body hit the floor.

Zoren gazed at his wife.

Sabri, I’m sorry I was not there for you. I love you. Please, forgive me.
He had tears in his eyes.
I should have been with you.

Zoren looked up to see Hifmo walk over to Kalrea. He pulled a railgun from its holster and pointed it at her head. The two men who were outside now entered the room.

‘Wait!’ Lady Sathodee ordered. ‘Is she dead?’

‘I think so, but I was going to make sure,’ Hifmo replied.

Lady Sathodee bent down and lifted Kalrea’s head by the hair to check if she was really dead. Seeing there was no sign of life, she let her head fall back onto the ground, without care.

‘I want to find out what she is and where she gets her powers from. Look at her wounds, they don’t look right. They almost appear to be artificial.’ She gestured to the two men. ‘Take her body to the doctor. Tell her to dissect her. I want to know what gave her that power.’

They marched over and lifted Kalrea’s body by her arms and then dragged her from the room. A trail of blue liquid was left smeared over the mirrored floor.

‘And clean this mess up,’ she said, waving the railgun in the direction of the floor behind them. She then turned and pointed the railgun at Zoren.

He pressed the telementor on his wrist, but nothing happened.

Zoren did not feel frightened anymore. Deep inside he knew that if he was about to die, then that would mean he would be with Sabri.

‘You would be dead now too if you weren’t worth so much to me,’ Lady Sathodee commented. ‘Bring him here!’ she ordered Hifmo.

‘Why don’t you kill me then?’ Zoren shouted at her. ‘You lied to me, you killed my wife! You killed my son!’

He got to his feet and rushed towards her, but Hifmo moved quickly to stop him by striking him in the face. The force lifted him off his feet and he fell onto his back.

Shit! That… that hurts!
he thought, while gasping for air.
Bastard!

Hifmo gripped him roughly by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

Zoren was still trying to breathe. ‘What… What are you… you going to do? We… made a deal!’

‘Deal’s off!’ Lady Sathodee said. ‘Now give me that thing on your wrist, before I decide to cut your arm off.’

Zoren undid the telementor. She snatched it from him.

‘You’ll need this to access the
Aurora
,’ Lady Sathodee said, handing the telementor to Hifmo. ‘You managed to adapt Kalrea’s technology and build a device to jam her defence system. Once you’re onboard the
Aurora,
I expect you to be able to deactivate the main computer system. Call me when you’ve done it, so I can bring a team onboard to get the rest of the Agonians.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ he replied. He pushed Zoren away from him, before fastening the telementor to his wrist.

‘Well, it looks like I have a new ship and a load of Agonians,’ Lady Sathodee said pleased. ‘Come on! I have a nice cell ready for you,’ she said, waving her pistol at Zoren and indicating over towards the door.

‘No wait!’ Zoren said, and without thinking turned and rushed back over to Sabri.

He knew that this could be his last act, given that Lady Sathodee could very easily shoot him in the back. He reached down to Sabri’s hand and removed the marriage band from her wrist. Zoren could sense Lady Sathodee’s eyes burning on his back. He placed the marriage band in his pocket, just as he felt a sharp blow to the head and he fell unconscious.

Kalrea felt an intense anger inside her.

I’ve never felt so much pain. Dying is terrible.

And poor Zoren, what must he be going through now?

I promise they’re going to pay for killing Sabri.

She watched Hifmo enter the
Aurora’s
Pojin lift. He was searching around for a way to operate it and waved a small scanning device around the lift.

He won’t find any buttons. Here, let me help.

Bridge!

The Pojin lift door closed, surprising Hifmo. Five seconds later it opened onto the bridge of the
Aurora
. Hifmo waved his railgun from side-to-side peering out from the doorway. Once he realised no one was there, he walked calmly out. Again he used a small device to scan the interior of the room.

Kalrea checked for Zoren, who had meanwhile been transferred to Lady Sathodee’s ship, the
De’fego.

Good, now he’s safe.

Time to activate another drone. Downloading.

Kalrea opened her eyes on the new drone. She glanced around the maintenance area, before looking at her reflection on the surface of a nearby monitor.

At least there’s no dust this time.

She scanned the
De’fego
, which was standing alongside the
Aurora,
and detected that they were starting the ship’s computer system. She then scanned the island for Lady Sathodee. She was now heading over to the building where Kalrea’s body had been taken.

Let’s see how you like being incinerated, Lady Sathodee.

*****

Back on the island, Kalrea’s body was thrown onto a stone table.

‘Lady Sathodee wants to know what race she is and where she gets her power from,’ one of the men who had dragged her there said.

The woman doctor studied Kalrea’s wounds.

‘Unusual blood,’ she said, pressing her hand into one of the wounds. ‘It’s got the feeling of a lubricant. Wait a minute! This isn’t tissue; it looks like some kind of artificial compound.’

She glanced quickly up and down Kalrea’s body and then felt Kalrea’s arms and legs.

‘From the outside she looks and feels like anyone else.’ She now felt the interior of the wound again, and said, ‘But inside she’s different. This is definitely not living tissue. I believe this could be some type of machine. Yes, definitely some type of machine. Fascinating! A machine which can walk and talk; in fact, act like any one of us. That would mean Kalrea is not a living thing like us, more a kind of artificial intelligence.’

‘So this isn’t a person?’ the man asked.

Meanwhile, on the stone table, Kalrea’s drone was inert, but its systems were still partially operational.

Emergency power cell activated.

Secondary system start.

No motor functions.

Emergency link to nuronic matrix established.

The woman doctor replied to the man, ‘Depends on your definition of a person.’ She quickly moved a scanning device over the body. ‘You have to inform Lady Sathodee about this.’

Command received.

Self-destruct initiated.

‘Wait! There are signs of neural activity,’ the woman doctor said, checking a display on the scanning device. ‘I’m also reading a power source. No, that can’t be right!’ And then the drone exploded.

*****

The
Aurora
shook like there was a quake.

Hifmo’s eyes scanned around the bridge wondering what was happening. He tried to scan the seatra in the middle of the room, before moving to one of the consoles.

‘That won’t do you any good, Hifmo,’ Kalrea said over the bridge address system. ‘I’m not going to let you scan anything.’

‘Kalrea!’ Hifmo said with surprise. ‘Is that you?’

The Pojin lift door closed.

‘Don’t go way, I’ll be there in a minute,’ Kalrea replied sternly. ‘You said we had some unfinished business, well the time has come to finish that fight we started.’

‘But, I saw you dead.’

He pointed his railgun around the room as if he was expecting someone to appear.

‘I didn’t enjoy that experience. Being shot is not a good way to die.’

‘How can you be talking to me now?’

‘Perhaps I didn’t die. Maybe I’m more than what you think I am.’

‘I don’t understand. Where are you, Kalrea?’

‘I’m all around you. In the walls, the ceiling, the consoles.’ Kalrea knew he was concerned, if not frightened. He was searching for another way off the bridge.

‘There’s no way out of this room, Hifmo. You’re now mine.’

The Pojin lift door opened.

‘What the! It can’t be,’ Hifmo said in astonishment, as Kalrea emerged.

‘Oh! It can be!’ Kalrea replied, now speaking from the drone. She rushed towards him.

Hifmo fired at her, but this time she had her defence matrix.

‘No jamming device here.’

Kalrea grabbed the gun from Hifmo and crushed it in her hand.

He’s not even frightened,
Kalrea thought, staring into his eyes.
He should be.

‘You can’t harm me, Kalrea.’

‘Oh, I know, but you’re now here on my ship, inside me. You’ve got nowhere to run and you’re wearing the telementor.’

Hifmo glanced at the telementor on his wrist, then with a puzzled expression back to Kalrea.

Kalrea continued, ‘Now, if you were a Qinant, I could use that telementor to telepathically communicate with you. If I try and do that with other races, then they would most likely suffer brain damage.’

The face of the telementor turned blue.

‘What’s happening?’ Hifmo said.

‘Oh, I’ve paralysed you. I know I can’t kill you, but your mind, well that’s something else. I will find out where the Agonians are, so to save your mind I’ll ask you this once and only once. Where are they?’

‘I’ll never tell you. You can’t harm me.’

‘Oh, I can and you will tell me. Welcome to my hell!’

Hifmo fell unconscious and collapsed onto the floor.

Hifmo awoke with the feeling that someone was trying to strangle him. He was being held by the throat and his legs were dangling in the air. He opened his eyes and focused on the person who was trying to kill him.

In a strained and quiet voice he managed to say, ‘Kalrea! What are you doing?’

Kalrea was holding Hifmo by the throat above an open lift shaft. She suddenly let go of him. He gasped as he realised there was no floor beneath him.

‘Ah!’ he shouted, as he fell through the air down the shaft. He glimpsed Kalrea standing at the edge to the open lift door above him.

Hifmo struck the side of the shaft and then slammed into a stationary lift, passing through its roof and landing onto the floor. He felt an intense pain all over his body, which then subsided as his body regenerated. He breathed heavily as he lay motionless, staring at a base of the lift wall, his face resting against the floor.

‘What happened? Wait, I’ve been here before! I’m… I’m in the Liyp building, back on Onliv. I’ve just been made immortal.’ He felt an intense pain behind his eyes. ‘How can I be here?’

He blacked out for a moment.

When Hifmo opened his eyes again, he was now peering down at a Frindul captain, who was clutching at his shirt with his bony hands and was gasping for air.

‘Now, where am I?’ Hifmo said and glanced around. He was on the bridge of the
Ringal
.

‘Why am I here?’ he asked the captain, but he did not reply. ‘I’m on the
Ringal
, but it was destroyed by Kalrea eight days ago.’ He glanced around the room and then down at a monitor in front of him. Displayed on it was the image of an Antrolo transport. ‘Wait! That’s Kalrea’s ship! Destroy… Ah!’ he cried out, as the pain increased behind his eyes. He viewed the monitor again. ‘I’ve never seen a ship like that before. I need to… I need… What do I need to do? Who’s that lying on the floor?’

There was a distant explosion. A rush of air hit him from behind, followed by an intense heat. Then, he was thrust into the far wall just as it broke into many pieces. He was now floating in space.

‘Ah, this feels good. So relaxing!’ He froze and lost all senses for a moment.

Hifmo shivered as he tried to open his eyes. The light from a nearby window was so bright that he had to shield them. ‘I seem to be on Linud. Yes, in the palace.’

‘Are they the jamming devices?’ someone standing behind him asked.

Hifmo was now in a room. He turned to the person.

‘Lord Saylmon! I… I…’ He peered down at a table in front of him where two jet-black boxes lay.

Lord Saylmon picked one up. He held it in both hands and said, ‘It’s very light! Is it empty?’ He tossed it in the air.

‘Careful, Lord Saylmon!’ Hifmo said nervously. ‘Kalrea’s technology is different from anything we know.’

‘How does it work then?’ he said, handing it to Hifmo. ‘How will this disable Kalrea’s defence shield?’

Hifmo closed his eyes for a moment.

‘Ah, I still feel that pain behind my eyes,’ he said.

‘Hifmo!’ Lord Saylmon said. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes... Yes sir. I… I took these from her shuttle. There were three in all, but one was damaged in the crash. My scans of them indicated that they are some kind of scanning device. They would have been used on ships far more advanced than ours.’

‘What do you mean, Hifmo?’

‘Well, if our ships had energy shields, then these would have allowed Kalrea to penetrate them and access any systems within. I’ve adapted them to disrupt Kalrea’s defence shield.’

‘What if it doesn’t work on Kalrea and my mother can’t kill her?’ Lord Saylmon said.

‘Then Lady Sathodee said she would have to resort to more extreme measures.’

‘What will she do?’

‘Destroy the
Aurora
and all onboard.’

‘The Agonians also! Is my mother mad? Let’s hope this works. You need to get one of these to Trafth. My mother estimates Kalrea will be there in about three days, and it’s going to take you two days to get to Trafth from here.’

‘Wait a minute! I think... No, I know I’ve already travelled to Trafth and given one of them to Lady Sathodee. I… I’m confused. I shouldn’t be here.’

‘Damn right you shouldn’t be here. The sooner you get to Trafth the better,’ Lord Saylmon said.

‘How did I get here? I can’t remember. Oh, my head, what’s happening inside my head?’

Lord Saylmon was talking ‘…Hifmo, I’m so excited. My blessing of immortality will happen as soon as my mother returns from Trafth. I’ll be immortal like you and my mother. Hifmo, are you listening to me?’

‘Who are you?’ Hifmo said to him.

‘Are you all right, Hifmo? You look as if you’re going to faint.’

‘I don’t feel… Ah… my head! Help… me.’

Hifmo collapsed.

‘Wake up, Hifmo!’

Hifmo opened his eyes.

‘Lady Sathodee, I was… I…’

He glanced around. He was lying on the floor of a large room.

‘I must have been dreaming!’

‘Get up, we have work to do,’ Lady Sathodee said.

Hifmo got quickly to his feet. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘We need to get the Agonians moved. Kalrea’s on to us. She knows where they are.’

‘But how? Only you and I know where they are.’ He felt pain once more behind his eyes. He touched his forehead and then gazed down at his hand, which was covered with sweat. ‘Wait, where am I?’

‘Hifmo, focus! We don’t have much time.’

He peered at Lady Sathodee. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t feel too good.’

‘It can’t be anything serious, you’re immortal. I need you to get the Agonians. You can remember where they are, can’t you?’

‘Yes, I… I think so. But I can’t remember who I am!’

‘I don’t believe you. Tell me where they are then?’

‘Your son, Lord Saylmon has them on Linud. See I know where they are. You asked him to store them, while you dealt with Kalrea. The pain! Why do I feel pain?’

He stared at Lady Sathodee. ‘Wait a minute! You’re not Lady… Lady. What’s her name? You’re Kalrea!’

‘Hello, Hifmo. How do you like my world? Let’s see, what do you fear? Ah yes, pihob snakes. Now why would you be frightened of them?’

Hifmo eyes widened, as he watched Kalrea. Her hair was moving. Then four pihob snakes dropped to the floor.

He wanted to run, but his feet would not move. His heart quickened as the snakes reached his feet.

‘No! No!’

*****

Kalrea glanced down at Hifmo, who was lying motionless on the floor of the bridge of the
Aurora
.

‘Now I know the Agonians are on Linud,’ Kalrea said. ‘I’m sorry Hifmo that you are immortal. When you wake up you’ll wish you could die, but of course that’s not possible for you.’

Kalrea bent down and unfastened the telementor from his wrist.

Hifmo slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Kalrea, he franticly pushed himself away from her, sliding on his back-side over the floor, until he hit the base of a wall. There was horror in his eyes and the look of fear all over his face. He tried to speak, but was unable. She tried to approach him, but he started to panic, hiding his face from her.

She left him there and turned her attention to Zoren.

Now that they’ve started the computers onboard the De’fego, I can find a way to get Zoren off the ship.

Searching for access points. Breaking encryption. Accessing computer system.

Where are the crew? Eleven are on the bridge and one is in the living space.

Seal all doors.

Access cell door. Open!