I, Propitiator: "Chapter 5"

Chapter 5

Distance cannot separate the love of one so true from reaching their beloved. The very spirit of their love resides with the beloved.

It had been about ten days since we had been living comfortably in the safe-house; Mom was back, having landed in what you might call a dinghy. The purpose of these uncomfortable vessels of space travel was concealability among the Terran population. It was simple, just put a bunch of boxes around the side of the garage you parked the darn thing and no one would ever guess you were hiding a spaceship under it all. However, we didn’t actually hide it, because the same night Mom landed, Oliver took the space-dinghy back up to the Sol System Space Station. As it sounded to me, his commanding officer, Captain Dalton had signed him up in a tipirship competition that was to last the next few days. Now having purposed in his mind that he would inform Kanda of his temporary departure, he searched for an hour attempting to find her, but she would not see him. At the time, it appeared to me that she was too hurt from their last notable encounter; however, this wasn’t quite the case. Since Kanda was off making a mental map of the surrounding area at Zurui’s demand, Oliver eventually informed me that he could not find Kanda and having run out of time, reported to Captain Dalton.

Oliver was given a streamlined crimson spacesuit as he then proceeded to the outer level of the station for the competition. He blinked a few times in the blinding light that usually wasn’t there. Soon he realized this was being televised in the station as well as on all nearby resistance ships. An admiral stood on a platform as the competing lieutenants were being directed to line up so the cameras could get a good shot of all the contestants. Admiral Fitzdaniels then explained, “Welcome skilled tipir wielders. We have asked each captain stationed in this section of space to submit their three most skilled lieutenants for this tourney. Therefore, you have been placed here by someone who knows of your accomplishments. This is more than an event testing your tipir abilities, but one that challenges your aptitude to use it under difficult circumstance, as a team, individually, and with respectable character. The winner of these events will be promoted to commander as well as receive another prize that will be told only to the champion. You will be evaluated by three judges, Admiral Johnson, who will be focusing on your endurance, myself who will have special interest in effectiveness, and lastly yet certainly most importantly, the Prime I, as he’ll evaluate things you wouldn’t consider. May the strength of the Ies be with you all.”

Then Admiral Johnson came to the platform, saying, “The first event of this three-day competition is a free-for-all battle atop this station. By slashing a hole in a fellow I’s suit, you eliminate them from this event. Once half of the competitors have been eliminated from the field, this round will end. Should you find yourself eliminated, you will immediately be teleported back inside the station. Tipirs ready?”

A flurry of energy staffs suddenly leapt up, each in front of their specific wielder. Yet Oliver’s mind was back on Kanda, wondering what she was really up to. This placed him at a serious disadvantage, because as Admiral Johnson was instructing them all to begin: he was just getting his tipir out.

Allow me to explain the exact conditions, Oliver stood on the edge of a tower and was facing off against about one hundred fifty other skilled lieutenants, all having physical abilities notably greater than that of a Terran. As if that was not dangerous enough, they were all equipped with weapons while Oliver had yet to prepare his own.

Despite these odds, Oliver snapped into gear and was the first to actually eliminate another I from the battle. As a series of shots came at him, Oliver pulled another I, who was trying to sneak up behind him, over his shoulder to block the volley of energy shots. Yet Oliver wasn’t thinking clearly still as he stated, “The enemies of the Prime I are those that refuse his leadership.”

His tipir just spun around, seeing no one that was truly against him. Oliver slapped his head wondering how he made such an obvious error. Then as another combatant came at him, Oliver stated, “The words of the Prime I are like a shield against all that come against me.”

At these words, the tipir formed a shield around Oliver and blocked off the lieutenant from getting to Oliver. This also left that lieutenant exposed to another combatant who finished him off. Oliver then noticed that a series of Ies had begun fighting back to back, leaving a column of emptiness. So he grabbed his tipir and holding horizontally, Oliver slid between all of them, eliminating around twenty or so in a single strike. This however was not enough, as with only eighty Ies left on the field, he didn’t account for the next volley of energy shots that sprung up.

Kanda and Kakios sat behind the bushes in the backyard of the safe house, whispering. Kanda cautioned, “This place is difficult to penetrate even with Oliver busy at the space station. This is essentially the only blind spot in their property surveillance, giving you no maneuverability. The level of interior traps is extensive. I recommend trying to apprehend her while she is at school or out with Daedalus.”

Kakios looked momentarily confused, “Daedalus? Who’s that?”

“I suppose you could say he’s her boyfriend, but Sarah would say they are just friends, even though she clearly likes him.”

Kakios ran his hand through his hair, before saying, “I have to re-think this, if she’s spending a lot of time with a boy, he may prove useful or a liability… find out what you can about him.”

“What shall I say about my mysterious disappearance?”

Kakios shrugged, “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

Admiral Fitzdaniels addressed the contestants, “All of you who were not eliminated in the first round are safe. The rest of you get a second chance, but allow me to warn you that only twenty-five of you will be taste victory. You have been placed into teams of five; the first five teams to complete the challenge will advance to the next round.”

Admiral Johnson continued, “The challenge is to gain a total of thirty points from all the judges by demonstrating excellent teamwork and tipirship. Use all the strategy you want. Basically, you’ll all go in at the same time, but if you get hit by enemy fire, you will be sent back to your team’s initial starting point. If your team stays too close to the restart point, you will loose points. Judges are allowed to give points for whatever reason they see fit. You now have ten minutes to communicate with your fellow teammates.”

Oliver looked at the ticket he had been given a few minutes ago. By basic reasoning, he determined that instead of finding his teammates in person, sitting down and reaching them telepathically would prove more effective. So he telepathically reached out to the others listed on the paper. ‘Hey guys, this is Lieutenant Avner, anyone got a specific game plan?’

Then Lieutenant Tam, another I, best distinguished by his blue hair, responded in the same fashion, ‘It seems logical to me that we have a general direction from the start point that we stick to, say west?’

Before Oliver could formulate an opinion to respond, someone else in their group, who was notably brawny, flatly stated, ‘You guys to as you like, however my tactics work best on their own.’

‘But we’re being evaluated on teamwork, so that doesn’t make sense. Perhaps an ambush? That would allow you to use your talents as a single soldier as well as benefit from the support of a team effort.’ Oliver interjected.

From there they were all in unified thought. As if their strategy wasn’t impressive enough, Lieutenant Tam was able to use his tipir with pure telepathy, a rare skill that allowed him to control it without uttering a word. As a result of their many advantages, they quickly gained thirty points and secured their seat in the next round.

The Prime I carefully watched the tournament unfold. Yet, like Oliver, his mind was elsewhere. Longing for Terra Lapsa, the desire to free the planet from Zurui and protect it from the Arashad Regime weighed heavily on his heart. The Prime I, as Itxaro understood it, truly did value that little blue marble. What a mystery this was to many others, even those on the A.R.S. Zoelight, that of all the places in the universe, the most powerful being in the entire resistance would fall in love with a lost planet that did not know him. The Prime I sought the restoration of a planet that tricked many of his own race to become blind to the real universe around them. He sought a real relationship with those on his ship. He was no doubt a different kind of leader. He was the Prime I.