I, Propitiator: "Chapter 7"

Chapter 7

Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to Love.” –Virgil

The toxic gas from the Centarian Serpents was starting to make Oliver and Kanda drowsy. As the snakes drew near, Oliver looked into Kanda’s beautiful brown eyes and with a voice so soft and soothing he said, “Kanda, because I love you, everything will be alright.”

Then they both were overcome by sleep as the breath of the monsters was the only air that filled their chamber.

Ensign Kasana moved through the control panel, repairing all the damage the 15 had done, then as Captain Lee was about to faint, she emerged from the panel and with her energy staff struck the mass of goo that was atop him. This was just enough for Captain Lee to finish off the 15 and start to get his bearings. They were no longer in any immediate danger, however seeing as Ensign Kasana had sounded an alarm earlier yet no help had come from the outpost, it was now crystal clear that it was overrun by the enemy.

Oliver awoke in a medical bed. As he sat up, he realized that the ship designs did not match the standard format of either a resistance or regime ship, so he knew not where he was. Then a familiar voice greeted him. “It’s good to see you recovering, Oliver,” Mason stated.

Somewhat stunned, he inquired, “What is this place?”

Mason laughed slightly, “This is the infirmary of your new ship, the A.R.S. Victory.”

“My ship?”

“Well technically your mom’s, but from what the Prime I said, it could very well be yours soon.”

Oliver looked even more confused, so instead he asked, “Where’s Kanda?”

“She’s in her new room, fully recovered from the experience.”

Oliver got up to find her, but Mason blocked his path. “The doctor hasn’t cleared you for departure. You must stay here for now. Shall a message be sent to her?”

Oliver shook his head no, if he was going to see her, he wanted to present her with a person in good health. He simply sat there for a few minutes, trying to sort through what had happened to them. Then he asked, “How did we get here?”

Mason smiled wryly, “David wanted to take the ship for a test flight and your mom radioed us as we were in the area, so eventually we found you two… Do you know how difficult it is to teleport someone out of the stomach of a Centarian Serpent? Do not make me do that again!”

“You should have had my mom do that then…”

Mason laughed lightly, “Probably, but we were very limited on time.”

Oliver nodded, satisfied with the information that he had been presented with. After the doctor cleared him from the infirmary, he found the exact location of Kanda’s room and walked over to it. Before chiming the door, he inhaled deeply, wondering what he would say. He meant what he had said, but why did it he wait until they were about to die to say it? Love didn’t work that way… Did it? Well to Oliver, it shouldn’t have to. Regardless, that is what had happened, so he exhaled and chimed the door. After a few moments of silence, just enough for him to wonder, Kanda answered, “Come in.”

He walked into her room and saw her sitting by the window staring out into space. She didn’t seem to really notice he had entered even though she had verbally opened the door for him. So he took a seat at the table in the middle of the room and collected his thoughts, but before he could say anything she asked, “Did you really mean it?”

“Yes Kanda, with every part of me, I meant it. You are everything to me now. While the tournament was keeping me apart from you, you were at the front of my mind. It occurred to me that you are an I that really has suffered yet overcome that suffering. This to me is beauty: to be tried by the fires yet still maintain one’s identity. So for everything you are and aim to be, I love you.”

Kanda was in tears she felt the sting of everything that was happening, but could not tell him. Everything she saw, Zurui saw. Everything she heard about, he heard. She felt like she had lost her identity. She felt like she didn’t deserve his love. Kanda knew not what more she could say. So as she cried, Oliver moved over to the window and just held her.

Captain Lee loaded the trineon-thermal cannon. He had resolved that the place was now a lost cause and everything must be destroyed. Ensign Kasana wrote in a teleportation algorithm that would teleport any life signs in the tower into various escape pods, all programmed to be weaponless and set to rendezvous with the A.R.S. Zoelight in a day. As soon as she had the program set, Captain Lee fired the new weapon. A magenta-colored aura of radiation hit the tower. It moved in the shape of lightning, so unpredictable and so deadly. Within minutes, the whole complex was melted to the ground and many escape pods were flying off back from where the A.R.S. Lightning had come from.

The next day, Mason teleported Oliver back over to the Sol System Space Station. Apparently, the Prime I had taken into account why Lieutenant Avner had left the tournament and given him the honor of competing directly in the final round should he be able to. The final battle was supposed to be a one-on-one tipir battle, ending the tournament much like the way it was started. However, it was now a three-way free-for-all. Lieutenant Avner was called out to the field first. Then Lieutenant Tam was as well. Finally, someone called Lieutenant Xanders was also called out. As the three of them stood there, Leiutenant Tam telepathically spoke to Oliver, ‘Your reasons for leaving are most admirable, allow me to fight Xanders on my own, whichever of us wins will take you on.’

Oliver shot Xanders a look as if asking whether that was ok with him, as Lieutenant Xanders nodded, so did Oliver. Now if you recall, Lieutenant Tam was eliminated from the first round. This was because he was better at one-on-one then anything else and as a result had difficulty with fighting multiple opponents. So Lieutenant Tam was effectively setting himself up with a decent advantage of not having to worry about being double-teams or caught off-guard, however the other lieutenants didn’t realize this. As the contest started, lieutenant Tam and Lieutenant Xanders moved at alarming seeds, speaking so fast, it would take far too long to tell you every maneuver they made, correlate it to the very words they said that caused such power to be summoned.

The Prime I watched the battle with much anticipation. In his mind, Oliver was the favored contestant, yet he also knew that lieutenant Tam had yet to use he real strength being telepathic combat. Lieutenant Tam was reported for having a high level of mastery in this area of tipirship by his captain, but had yet to show it in this entire tournament, so it was clear to the Prime I that Mr. Tam was saving it for this final event. What a moment that would be: the blaze of energy that would light up the field. For a moment it looked like the Prime I worried how Oliver would survive. Yet the Prime I was not really bothered by this. Captain Lee’s predicament was of more serious consequence. It would soon be necessary to sort through hundreds of escape pods and determine who was friend and who was foe. This would take along time and they could not afford to make a single mistake, because the information on the destruction of the outpost needed to remain hidden until the A.R.S. Zoelight reached the Sol System. This was vital to their plans, which Zurui would love to ruin.

Meanwhile, Daedalus took me to a diner, where we enjoyed a delicious French onion soup and choice cut of prime rib. It was so delectable that words to fully describe such an experience do not seem to exist in English. Regardless, the point is that he was causing me to fall in love with him. For all my life, no one had swept me off my feet or so much as made me melt in their presence. He really was the best man that had ever taken me somewhere, or so it appeared.

After a few hours of combat, Lieutenant Tam managed to eliminate Lieutenant Xanders from the field. Oliver stopped meditating and rose to his feet. He inquired, “Are you ready or do you need a couple minutes of rest to catch your breath as well?”

Lieutenant Tam rolled his eyes a little, but also smiled, “Just thirty seconds.”

Oliver nodded, “Very well, 29… 28… 27…”

David and Mason sat at the edge of their seats, carefully watching the battle that was about to take place, they hoped that Oliver knew what he was about to walk into, but for the way Lieutenant Avner seemed to carry himself, it was very unlikely. Yet despite this, it seemed dishonest to telepathically alert him what was most likely going to happen. So they just kept watching in anxious anticipation, hoping he would have some card up his sleeve as well.