I, Propitiator: "Chapter 9"

Chapter 9

Love blesses those upon whom it befalls. Apart from love, there is no such thing as a gift.

Commander Lewis and Itxaro flew the A.R.S. Lightning out to a nearby planet to investigate a strange reading they had picked up on long-range sensors. As they neared the frozen rock, it became clear that the signal was coming from within a cave on the surface of the planet. Flying to the mouth, Commander Lewis set down as Itxaro began taking detailed scans. Eventually she stated, “It doesn’t seem to match anything we’re familiar with, but if hunches held any weight, mine would lead me to believe that this signal is not naturally occurring. It seems to be far too thermal to match anything here and there’s something about this place that feels wrong.”

Commander Lewis nodded, “You’re right about the strangeness about the place, however it seems silly to me that we’ve come all the way out here just to take some scans. Why not investigate further?”

“You’re the commander, don’t look to me…”

“Of course, just wondering what you were thinking.”

They got out on foot and walking into the cave; Decion awaited them.

Oliver sprinted up the mountain top as fast as he could. This final field of battle was not exactly what he had been hoping for. On a mountain, having the higher ground was vital, and Tam seemed to be one stride ahead of him as they raced to the top, occasionally exchanging shots at each other. Eventually Tam made it up, leaving Oliver with the task of defending himself from the lower terrain. Tam fired a few shots, trying to keep Oliver at a distance, this however did not help Tam any as Oliver merely deflected the shots and advanced up to meet his opponent. With a fury of strikes to the chest, Oliver managed to knock the tipir away from Tam, this however didn’t prove of much help for Oliver either as Tam simply telepathically controlled his tipir to fire more shots which Oliver had to take the time to deflect. Eventually Oliver stated, “A sound shield is the light of the Prime I.” and with that any shot fired at Oliver simply bounced off an invisible wall.

Oliver then swung his tipir at Tam’s angles. Tam jumped up and attempted to kick Oliver in the chest. Yet Oliver ducked to avoid being knocked off the mountain, and then fired a shot at Tam while he was still in the air. However by this time, Tam had retracted his tipir and deflected the shot. Oliver then chased after Tam, only to be caught with the lower ground again. Remembering Tam’s last maneuver, Oliver sliced at his legs yet again; predicting the jump kick, Oliver caught the lieutenant’s leg and threw him behind himself. Oliver now had the higher ground and had inflicted some minor damage to his opponent. From there, Oliver and Tam locked tipirs Tam used a clean roundhouse to break it, sending Oliver stumbling back a foot or so. Before Tam could deliver another blow though, Oliver shot Tam’s right arm with an energy bolt. This wasn’t enough though as Tam switch hands and kept attacking. Oliver block the next attack which had been aimed at his right shoulder, then in a spin kick sent Tam farther down the mountain. Pursuing his opponent, it was now clear that Oliver had the upper hand. Within a few more minutes of tipirs locking and close-quarter combat, the Prime I ended the round. Oliver had won the tournament.

Commander Lewis stepped inside the cave the freezing winds battered against the environmental suit. Itxaro was close behind, but not as hasty or eager to look inside the place as the commander was. They trekked through the frozen rocks until they came to a large clearing, obviously man-made. In the center of this clearing was an obelisk, glowing in the dimly lit room. Eventually, they reached the strange obelisk and the commander reached out to touch it. Itxaro swatted his hand. She then apologized saying, “Sir, you don’t know what that thing is. My apologies, but it’s too risky, this would be a breach of protocol.”

“Very well then, how shall we proceed?”

“Perhaps, an artificial…”

As she spoke a rumble had begun. Recognizing this strange development, she stopped midsentence and looked at him with a sense of bewilderment. Commander Lewis didn’t know what it was either, but as he turned it was clear that they had walked into a trap. A giant android had cut off their pathway out and it seemed to be equipped with a various array of weapons they would have great difficulty against. In a chillingly automated voice, the machine stated, “I am Decion, prepare to die.”

With a loud screeching sound, the android shot the obelisk, causing a detonation of all sorts. The room was filled with a toxin, designed to paralyze all it came in contact with, this however had virtually no effect as the environmental suits withstood chemical warfare. However, the blast also knocked both the commander and Itxaro off their feet and separated them by a good 50 yards or so. Then Decion moved forward, further separating them by blockaded any path they had to get to each other. He then fired a shot at Itxaro’s legs, but she managed to roll out of the way. Commander Lewis was up on his feet, but this was not to anyone’s advantage, because Decion had a tracking feature that allowed him to predict all possible movements in order of most probable if the target was up and moving already. So as the commander dodged the first shot coming his way, he had no way to avoid the next shot that sealed his fate.

Oliver walked out onto the stage where the rest of the lieutenants were gathered. Admiral Johnson called Lieutenant Xanders to the front. “For your excellent tipirship and stunning efforts in the scenario battles, it pleases me to present you with third place for the tournament of wielders.”

Then calling Lieutenant Tam to the front he continued, “For exemplary performance and brilliant strategizing, it pleases me to present you with second place and promotion to lieutenant commander.”

Finally, as the crowds grew silent, he called Oliver to the front. “Lieutenant Avner, you left this tournament because you received a call for help from a friend. The Prime I marked this as a display of true chivalry and graced you with the chance to win this tournament in the final event. You did not disappoint and for all your valiant feats, the Prime I has given me the honor of promoting you to the rank of commander. Congratulations on winning first place!”

After receiving the medal and all the other festive activities were dealt with, Captain Dalton pulled Oliver aside. The captain warmly greeted Oliver, then stated, “You are to rendezvous with the A.R.S. Zoelight as soon as possible. The Prime I wishes to give you the final part of your reward for winning the tourney. Once again, congratulations commander.”

Suddenly it hit him that he was now a commander. Oliver thanked him and inquired how and where he was supposed to meet with the Prime I. Dalton answered, “Take the A.R.S. Victory and send them a transmission when you pass the asteroid belt.”

Oliver nodded and as he turned to leave he stated, “Thanks for entering me into the tournament.”

“You deserved it, Commander Avner.”

Oliver didn’t fully agree with the captain’s statement, but took the compliment anyways. From there Oliver walked down to the docking bays, Oliver still had to clear his stuff on earth so he could get to the resistance’s flagship.

Itxaro ran toward the entrance of the cave. Turning behind, she fired her tipir at the roof of the cave. It was clear that Commander Lewis was dead, and she could beam him out of the cave anyways. It was imperative at least she get out and alert the Prime I. Then the question remained, why did the regime lure them here? What was being planned?

Zurui smiled as he saw that Decion had managed to kill the commander of the A.R.S. Zoelight. That could prove to be a valuable distraction as he headed straight for the location of the Prime I. If anyone was capable of overthrowing the regime, it was the Prime I. He had already caused many to believe that the regime was evil, which in it of itself was a vicious blow. It was so much easier to control people if they have no reason to fight back. Yet this so-called king was raising up an army, sabotaging regime efforts to bring unity to the universe and bringing a new way of life to all who crossed his path. Zurui craved the death of this troublemaker. He would not rest until he could sabotage the efforts of the saboteur.

Oliver teleported himself down to his computer in the safe-house. From there he sent a series of emails to various teachers and friends stating that he would be out of town for the next few days. Afterwards, he brought mom and me onboard and so we could travel to the A.R.S. Zoelight. As soon as everyone was on the ship and Commander Avner had received clearance from Mason, he punched in the coordinates and we were off. David then excused himself from the control room so that he could talk to Ciera, his girlfriend. Oliver stayed in the control room, fascinated with all the new adaptations Mason and David had put into it. It held a new antimatter generator for the engines and twin ion cannons, giving it a strong punch for such a small ship. Furthermore, it was covered in ablative armor to defend against enemy fire and if that failed, the ship also had meta-distance thrusters that allowed them to fold the space around them to outmaneuver and out-fly most enemy ships. The A.R.S. Victory was built to live up to its name, seemingly regardless of its captain. After loosing several hours to simply examining the ship from the control room, Mason came in and stated, “You should probably get some sleep: you don’t want to be yawning in the presence of the Prime I.”

Oliver nodded and turned in for bed… he had a long day ahead of him.