Ok, so this is one of the books I'm working on right now.
Now, I am aware that the beginning may sound like some kind of Twilight parody; blank white guy, average black-haired girl, guy is strong, impresses girl, stuff like that. But DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S...well, in this case, DO judge a book by it's cover:
You can see it's CLEARLY a science-fiction book, not a fantasy book. Any similarities to the abomination called Twilight are PURELY coincidental, and should be pointed out through PM to me and/or Kayla. I have Gaz Latte, the person who does a review of Twilight, reading my book now to see what she thinks of it, so no don't say I'm not scared about it becoming the #2 favorite book of the die-hard Twilight buff.
Another warning: I may have left some stuff from the editing stage. If you spot something, like author notes or underscore blanks, let me know so I can fix them.
That said, without further ado, The Replicator...(criticism is welcome)...
THE REPLICATOR CHAPTER I ~ A young girl walks down Robert Place. She lived in house number 13 on the street. A two apartment, green house.
The girl's long black hair blew in the wind. Her backpack weighed down her back, and her shoes were slightly worn. All in all, an average girl.
She was coming home from school. It was a little cloudy. She had a lot of homework to do. Another normal day.
Her name was Eva Hollenbeck. You may recognize the name. The late Professor Jason Hollenbeck was a Forensic Psychologist. But people called him the Cerebrologist, because he focused his studies on the brain in general.
No one had really high hopes for Eva. Not even herself. She planned to become a normal woman, move out at the right time, get a normal job. Nothing fancy.
She looked up. A small pinpoint in the sky, but bright as the sun. It was falling. A contrail followed it. It was moving fast by the look of it. The contrail was thick and extended a long way behind it.
She dismissed it as a jetliner. What else could it be? Just another normal thing to see in her normal life.
She walked in her house...
* * * * *
"Bye mom!", Eva yelled back, as she got on the bus.
"Bye honey! Have a good day at school!"
She walked down the aisle, trying to find a good seat. The first seat she spotted was fairly close to the door, and her best friend, Dianne Weathers was there. But she was sitting with Henry Denver…recently Dianne and Henry had become closer. It would not surprise Eva if they started dating. And she didn't want to be anywhere near that...
There was a completely empty seat on the left side…but it was next to a new kid. He looked paranoid. He was almost paper white, but it was offset by a sort of gold tint. He had ear-phones and it looked like he was listening to an iPod. The closer she walked to him, he lowered his head, as if to hide from her...
Yea, she skipped that seat. As she walked past him, he raised his head and looked warily at her over his shoulder.
There. Another empty seat. She sat down. The bus started moving.
She pulled out one of her school books to pass the time. She didn't like school. That would be pretty much sacrilege. But she did want to pass school. Her average grade was B+. That was good enough for her. But if she could do better, she might as well. She flipped to page ––
Suddenly, she heard knuckle hit flesh from behind her. She looked back to see Enan. Nobody really knew his last name. He never told anyone. If he ever did, they were to out of it to hear or comprehend what he was telling them. He was big, burly, but not muscular per se. More just sturdy. Kind of chubby too.
She whirled back in her seat. She found the girl in front of her was conveniently using a mirror. She watched Enan. He finished the kid he was working on with a nice few knuckles square to his jaw. Then he started gesturing and looking in Eva's direction.
Please no, please no, she thought to herself. He wasn't known to beat up a girl. But he did annoy them crazy. You know guys who think they're all that, right?
He started walking down the aisle. 3 feet…2 feet…1 foot…6 inches…1 foot…
He walked right past her. She breathed a heavy sigh.
He pushed the paranoid kid by the head. He'd gone back to nonchalantly listening to his music. His head bobbed a bit, and his hair perked up a little, but otherwise, he seemed to have no worries about this particular bully.
"Hey, nerd," He said.
The kid kept listening to his music.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! I said you look like a nerd!", the bully nudged him again.
He looked up, "Oh? Is it the ear-phones?"
Enan thought about that, "Yea, the ear-phones are nerdy."
The kid just stared at him, "Well, I've seen you wearing ear-phones too. That doesn't make you nerdy, now does it?"
Enan frowned, "No. But that's different. Ear-Phones don't make me look nerdy. But you're nerdy even without the ear-phones."
He made a nonchalant expression, "Well, there you go. It's not the ear-phones," he turned away.
The bully grabbed his ear-phones and tried to snap them them.
"Hey! My dad bought those!", the kid said.
"Aaaw, what if I break them you gonna go crying to your daddy?", Enan taunted.
The kid sighed, "All I'm saying is he payed some money for those."
Enan snorted, "Yea? What? Like 20 bucks?"
He looked up at the burly guy, "Does $20 sound like a lot to you?"
The bully fumbled, and started counting visibly, "Uuum…uuuh…yea, yea, $20 is a lot."
He squinted, "Well, there you go. He bought them for $30 more than $20."
The bully snorted again, "Yea right. Ear-phones don't cost $60."
He tilted his head, "30 plus 20 is 50. And, he did buy them for that much."
After a few seconds, the bully frowned, snapped the ear-phones, and threw the earphones in the kid's face.
The kid raised an eyebrow, "What's your problem?"
The bully got right in his face, "You just watch yourself. Or I'll do worse to your face someday."
He walked away. The kid just sat back in his seat like nothing happened and chuckled.
After Enan was back in the rear, Eva walked up to him, "Did they really cost that much?"
He looked at her, "Come again?"
She laughed, "The ear-phones. Did they really cost $50?"
He smiled, "With the iPod they came with? Yes."
She laughed, "My name is Eva.", she extended her hand.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then he also extended his hand, "Sirius. Sirius Kelly."
"You handled him pretty well. I don't think anyone in the school could face up to him with that much composure. Congratulations.", Eva said.
He just chuckled, "Well, you don't know just how hard it was to keep my cool. He thinks he's so smart. I hate people like that. But, violence would've just escalated the situation. If he needs some self-esteem, let him rip my ear-phones. I have another pair at home."
Eva thought for a minute. The kid didn't seem too bad. And if Enan was near you, you usually preferred to sit next to someone, "Do you mind if I sit here? With Enan on the bus, I'm not sure if I want to sit alone.", she said, pointing to the seat next to him.
"Uh, sure. Just don't break my iPod in half, huh? I only have one of those."
CHAPTER II ~ "Class dismissed. Have a good summer everyone!", Mrs. Ulai said, almost crying. It was the end of sophomore year. This was an old school, so there parameters were a little strange. They had 5th grade through 10th. Mrs. Ulai loved spending time with her students. Even Enan liked her. She was very sentimental. When her classes move off to a new school for Junior year, she always got sad. Eva's sister told her that 3 years ago when she was in this class.
Eva picked up her books and watched as Dianne, Sirius, Henry, Enan, and everyone else in her class she'd seen that morning did the same. Dianne and Eva gave Mrs. Ulai a hug. Sirius made sure to shake her hand. Enan waved to her.
It was summer, obviously. We'd had a pretty bad winter so we had a lot of snow days. It was June 16th. Eva wasn't particularly into the heat, but Enan and Sirius seemed to like it. Maybe that was the only thing they had in common. Besides their blonde hair.
"…and Henry's thinking of going to this show, and he asked me to go with him!", Dianne finally finished.
Eva couldn't have been happier for Dianne, or more grateful that she'd shut up, "That's nice!", she spotted the kid from the bus, "Sirius! Come here!"
He looked around, and walked over, "Hey, Eva. What's going on?"
She gestured to Dianne, "This is my friend Dianne."
She smiled, "Hi."
He nodded, "Sirius Kelly. Nice to meet you."
"Did you know that Sirius has been here since early last month.", asked Eva.
"Really? How come we've never seen you around?"
He shrugged, "I like to stay in the back. In the dark little corners planning my evil schemes."
They laughed, "You didn't strike me as the scared kind that sit in the back Sirius. Especially since you stood up to Enan," Eva said.
"Oh no, not scared. I just like to stay back, out of the way of…progress," he stated cryptically.
They laughed again, and started walking toward the bus. Enan was already on, and the bus was shaking side-to-side. Hopefully, he had had his fill of punches today.
Dianne and Henry sat on one side, Eva and Sirius on the other. Dianne and Eva sat on the inner side of the seats, and the guys on the window sides. Sirius and Henry weren't friends, so they really didn't need to talk.
Henry spent a lot of time trying to get Dianne's attention, and succeeding. As a result, Eva was able to observe Sirius' stranger habits sporadically.
For one thing, on the bus-ride he seemed to occupy himself very well staring out the window into space. Now and then his head would twitch in one direction, as if he spotted something. And he rarely spoke unless spoken to.
"Sirius? Why do keep looking out the window?"
"Huh? Oh, uh…no reason. I just like looking at nature.", He smiled.
She tilted her head, and went back to her half conversation.
* * * * *
"Sirius!?", came Eva's voice.
"Yes? What is it?", he awoke from his stupor.
"I've said your name 5 times now."
"Oh, sorry. I…ummm, I zoned out."
She stared, "Well…ok. I was just wondering if you'd like to come to my house and hang out with Dianne, Henry, and I."
He thought for a second, "Oh…sure. I don't have anything else to do."
"You sound hesitant."
"Well, it's just that I can't really call you all my friends yet. I just met you. I wasn't expecting it. Surprised, not unsure."
She smiled, "We like meeting new people. So you'll come?"
He nodded, "Yeah, sure!"
Henry, "I'd like to get to know you too, Sirius. But it was Eva who suggested you come along."
Sirius smiled, "Thanks, both of you. What are you planning on doing?"
He shrugged, "Hanging. We're gonna watch T.V., play video-games, stuff like that. The usual."
"Ah. The usual. Ever do anything physical?"
Henry looked surprised, "Of course. I was more concerned about you."
Sirius shook his head, "Just because I like science means I don't exercise?"
He looked ashamed, "No. Just…sorry."
"It's fine," Sirius laughed, "It's just a little annoying when people think that my skin color effects my health and fitness."
Eva put her hand on Sirius' arm, "It's fine. We'll do a lot of stuff."
Sirius smiled. Then he started looking out the window again…
"Hey, Eva!", rumbled a familiar voice from the back of the bus.
Sirius rolled his eyes. Henry hid behind Dianne. Dianne cowered back in her seat. Eva could do nothing.
"What are ya' doing today!?", Enan taunted.
"I have plans.", she said, clearly agitated.
"Oh yea? With your wimpy friends? Why don't you hang out with me and my gang?"
"No thanks. I have plans.", she said again, clearly ready to punch him in the face.
"Aw, come on!", he grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her to her feet right in front of him.
"Get off me!", she screamed, "Ugh! Your breath smells! Leave me alone!"
She tried to push him, but he just grabbed her hands and her shoulders with his big hands. She tried to kick but he blocked her every move.
He had her in a vice-like grip, "Come on. Just for today."
Sirius stood up, "Hey, why don't you leave her alone."
Eva fell to the floor as Enan released her. She got up, ready to judo kick his back.
Sirius signaled to her. No, he said in effect. She backed down, confused.
"What? What are you going to do? Gonna pull your handy dandy karate on me. Oh, and I'm not afraid of knifes."
"No karate. No knifes. Just suggesting you leave her alone."
He laughed, "Yea sure," he brought his hand up to punch Sirius in the gut.
Sirius moved, almost a blur, and put his palm right in the way of Enan's fist.
Enan's fist visibly crumpled. His face displayed extreme pain. He was paralyzed. Sirius carefully removed Enan's fist from his palm. Then sat him down in the seat behind him.
Dianne, Henry, and Eva stared at him. Just then, the bus stopped.
Sirius walked to the door, turned to them and said, "This is my stop. I'll see you in…30 minutes?"
Eva nodded slowly. Sirius walked off the bus…
CHAPTER III ~ "What was that!?", Henry punched Sirius lightly on the shoulder.
"What are you talking about? I told him I know some moves."
"Oh no, that wasn't a move. That was brute strength! You're hiding something…"
Sirius flinched, "Hiding? No. No, I'm not hiding anything."
"Well," Dianne started, "I don't see why you'd have to if you can pull a stunt like that."
Eva laughed, "Well, I think Henry's concerned about himself now. He's not competing against you in any trials."
Henry looked a little defensive, then he just chuckled, "Well, nothing like fighting anyway," he looked at Sirius.
Sirius stared back at him. Suddenly his face frowned.
"So, we could play the X-cube. Or…the Simpsons just came on! Who wants to watch T.V.?", Eva asked.
"X-cube! X-cube!", Dianne voted.
They looked at Sirius and Henry to find them locked in a staring contest.
"Um…you guys ok? Something wrong?"
Sirius squinted, then quickly looked away, "No. No, not at all. And I'd like to play the X-cube. I've heard a lot about it."
Henry's eyes follow Sirius, "Yea. Me too.", he said slowly.
Eva slowly looked away, and went to turn on the gaming machine.
They played for about 3 hours. The staring match was forgotten by everyone –– except Sirius.
"Whew!", Dianne said, falling back on the couch, "That was fun!"
Eva sat down next to her, "You can say that again."
Henry fell back on the couch, "Whew! That was fun!"
They all chuckled. Except Sirius. He just smiled, "Well. Now what?"
Henry got up, "I think I should be going home."
Dianne whined, "Already?"
"Yea. My, uh, mother wants me home. Schoolwork, you know," he groaned, and stretched.
"Oh, alright," Eva said, "See you around."
Henry stared at her. His eyes almost shone with malice for a split second. Then he smiled, "Yea. I'll be seeing you around."
He took one last glance at Sirius, then walked out the front door.
Eva tapped Sirius on the shoulder, "Hey? What was that all about?"
"What?", He asked.
She rolled her eyes, "That little staring thing you and Henry pulled. Do you know him. At least think you know him?"
Sirius sighed, "Yea, I think I know him," he allowed.
She tilted her head, "You don't sound to pleased."
He smiled, "Well. Suffice it to say, I hope I don't know him."
He walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?", Eva asked.
"Oh, I should be going too. Just to catch up on…stuff. If not for homework."
She raised one eyebrow, "Alright. Nice seeing you," She walked over and shook his hand.
He cleared his throat, "Likewise," he walked out.
Eva looked at Dianne and shrugged.
"You like him or something?", Dianne asked.
"Well, he's a good friend yes.", she answered.
"Come on, you met him this morning.", Dianne retorted.
Eva rolled her eyes, "I didn't say I like him-like him. As a friend. He's reserved, kinda shy. Kind. Just seems like a nice friend."
Dianne, "Okay. Whatever you say."
CHAPTER IV ~
––––––––––––––––––––––
TWO WEEKS LATER
––––––––––––––––––––––
In two weeks a lot can happen. Eva and Dianne were still friends, but Henry managed to attract most, if not all Dianne's attention. Instead of becoming friends, Henry and Sirius had become even more separate. Sirius and Eva, however, had become great friends. Sirius' house was conveniently located 1 block away from Eva's.
Sirius and Eva went to a lot of the summertime events together. So did Henry and Dianne. But not all four together. Ever.
They were at a fair now. It was the Montana State fair. Eva and Sirius were at one end, about to get on the MegaMeteorite Rollercoaster, and Dianne and Henry were trying out the Panic Pendulum.
Sirius smiled broadly when he climbed in the meteor-car. He stroked the side as if a long lost pet.
"You like this ride so far?", Eva asked.
"Uh, yea. Well, the cars anyway.", he smiled.
"All aboard! Starting the ride in…30 seconds.", came the voice of the operator.
30 seconds later, the cars began moving slowly. Then faster. Faster. They went up a 4 meter high bump. Fell down. The kinetic energy pushed and pulled them up the next hill, twice the size. Kinetic energy from the first hill, and potential energy building up along their climb, the next hill really got them going. 50 miles per hour in 4 seconds.
Curves, loops, turns. A normal roller coaster. But Sirius was not focused on the ride. Eva saw him staring at the other side of the park. She looked, and saw the pendulum swinging. She knew Diane was on it. Dianne texted her earlier. And so, Henry was too.
"Don't worry Sirius, I'm sure we'll hang out with them later.", she said, not really sure herself.
"No, I'm not worried about that.", Sirius said. His eyes squinted.
She raised an eyebrow, "What are you worried about?"
He shook his head, "Nothing. I'm just…they're…nothing."
It was all she could do not to laugh, "What is it? You do stuff like this all the time."
"What stuff?"
"You start to say something weird. Confusing. And then you just…looking for a word…"
"Withdraw?"
"I was going to say bail, but that works."
He sighed, "You know, I really don't know. It's…it's just a habit. I told you, I feel like staying out of the way. If I'm in the way for too long? I just pull back."
She allowed it, "Alright. I guess that's a good explanation."
He chuckled, "Thanks. I think."
The ride slowly coasted to a stop, "Alright," the operator said, completely void of emotion, "Rides over. Have a nice day."
Sirius got up, followed by Eva. Sirius looked around cautiously for a second, then reached behind his back. He went up to the man, "Heres a little tip. Keep it for yourself."
He pulled out some money, and handed it to the operator.
The guy went wide eyed at the sight of 1,000 dollars, "Thanks!"
Sirius nodded, "Don't mention it."
Eva turned around, "Come on Sirius!"
He turned, "Coming…", and chased after her.
On the other side of the park, Dianne and Henry were just getting off their ride. Dianne wanted to get some cotton candy, but Henry didn't want any. Finally, he told her to go find another ride, and he would get them cotton candy.
Once she left, he went behind the cotton candy stand and pulled out a strange device. He punched a few keys, "Is the orbital strike ready yet?"
A voice came from the other side, "Yes sir. The Cheires is ready for transport."
"Very good," Henry confirmed, "I'll apprise you when the time is right."
"Aye sir."
Henry got up and walked back out. He found Dianne by the Ferrety Ferris Wheel. She waved to him.
"Where's the cotton candy?", she whined.
"Uh, they were just making another batch. Let's get some after the ride.", he explained.
"Oh, ok…", she allowed, dissapointedly.
* * * * *
Sirius and Eva were walking home. After all, Eva didn't live far from the fairgrounds. And Sirius lived a block away from her house. Eva suggested she would like some exercise, and Sirius could use whatever color the dimming evening sun could give him.
"That was fun," She said, "I don't think we even laid eyes on Dianne or Henry."
Sirius just hmphed. On most of the walk home he was quiet.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't even turn, "Nothing. But when the evening falls and the sunsets come out…"
She sighed, "It is beautiful isn't it?"
He cleared his throat, "Well, yea, but I was going to say that the atmosphere is clearer in the evening. And the sunset is so bright that any dark objects in low orbit are easily seen."
"What? Sirius, you're not making sense. I mean, I understand what you just said, yes. But, why would you be looking for objects on the horizon when you're missing the sunset?"
He raised an eyebrow, "Do you believe in aliens?", he blurted.
She laughed, "No. But you do, right? You're just waiting for them to beam you up, is that it?", she laughed again.
"I do, yes. But no, I'm not waiting for them to "beam" me up. I'm waiting for them to…to "beam" you up.", he said.
She gasped mockingly, "Oh no! You think they want me!? Maybe I should run home and jump in my basement?"
He frowned, "I'm serious, Eva. I don't want anything to happen to you."
It sounded more personal than he was trying to convey.
She stopped and made an appreciative face, "Aw, Sirius, that's sweet. But I really don't think any little green man is going to be kidnapping me any time soon."
Just then, they came up on her house, "Well, Sirius…thanks for walking me home…it was fun. The fair/beach I mean. Thanks."
He shrugged, "No problem. What are friends for?"
She smiled warmly. She walked up to him and hugged him.
Then, almost as an afterthought, she let go, leaned forward, and kissed him.
His eyebrows shot up, "Um…what was that for?"
She looked a little embarrassed, "For…being such a good friend."
"Ah…thanks. For the compliment, I mean."
She walked into her house. And as she closed the door, Sirius turned. But he found it hard to walk. He looked behind him once more, and then began the trek around the block.
He began talking to himself, "What are you doing Sirius? This wasn't supposed to happen. It can't happen. What are you doing!?"
"I'll tell you what you're doing," An all to familiar voice rumbled from an alley between two houses, "You're going down, that's what you're doing."
As he looked down the passage, a hand grabbed him by his shirt collar, and pulled him in.
When it finally let go, Sirius' vision adjusted to the dark. He saw Enan standing there, with his 'gang' just hanging around. Drinking beer, smoking. One was counting cash. 6 in all, including Enan.
Sirius immediately tried the tactics he used two weeks ago, "Well, technically, going down isn't what I'm really doing. It's…"
Enan cut him off, "Oh just shut up, idiot. I didn't capture you to have Grammy lessons."
"Uh, that's grammar.", Sirius corrected.
Enan rolled his eyes, "I said SHUT UP!"
Sirius chuckled, "You just can't win can you. Whenever you try to say a complete sentence, you fall right into another little trip."
Enan squinted viciously, "I. Said. BE QUIET! Or I'll throw you all the way home to your mother!"
Sirius laughed, "No, you said shut up. And I don't have a mother."
"Of course you do! You wouldn't be alive if you didn't have a mother!", Enan said furiously.
"Well, obviously I had a mother, genius. But she died.", Sirius retorted.
Enan had enough, "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm done with this batter.", he started to walk away.
"That's banter."
Enan grumbled some colorful vocabulary under his breath. He climbed up a 5 foot ladder. He sat down at the top, "All right everyone. Let him have it."
Sirius looked at the group, and everything fell into place. He wondered why he had been stupid enough to not realize it yet. They wanted revenge for what he did to Enan.
Oh great, Sirius thought, Just what I need. More publicity.
CHAPTER V ~ Sirius watched as the bullies approached him. Bully 1, walked closest and began to pull his arm back. As he swung…
Sirius ducked, and head-butted his stomach. Bully 1 instantly fell, holding his stomach in a fetal position.
Sirius looked at the others, then Enan for a moment. Then he took off running.
"Get him, you idiots!", Enan screamed.
Enan's henchmen ran after Sirius. Bully 2 reached him first. He jumped him. To his surprise, Sirius kept running a further 5 meters before losing his balance.
Once he fell, all 3 bullies chasing him lept onto him. It almost looked like a pile of worms, how they were squirming around.
After a few seconds, Sirius literally burst from the pile. One of the bullies went up into the air about a foot above Sirius' head. He landed on the ground moaning. He managed to get back up and limp away.
The 3 remaining bullies were still being loyal to Enan, who was now following like a circling vulture watching the lions hunt a wildebeast.
Sirius finally decided that now was the time to leave. He jumped about 3 feet in the air, and smacked Bully 3, the closest opponent, right in the face. He twisted around and managed to kick Bully 4's feet out from under him before he landed. Then he jumped on 4 and used him as a platform to jump, do a triple flip in the air, and slam Bully 5's face straight to the ground.
He made sure none of them were too seriously injured to get help, then ran.
Enan was surprised, but not startled. He leapt into action, trailing after Sirius. He kept picking up speed to catch him.
Sirius looked over his shoulder and saw Enan following him. He ran faster.
As Sirius cut around a corner, Enan was able to cut across the island in the middle of the street and tackle him there. This time, Sirius fell immediately.
As a wind began howling, Sirius flipped over on his back, and Enan pinned him down by the shoulders, "Did you really think you could avoid me!?"
Sirius frowned, "What do you want?"
Enan began to talk, but Sirius wasn't listening because something whisped to life behind Enan.
"…and now you will pay!!!", Enan finished.
Sirius shook his shoulders loose, pushed Enan up with his hands, and kicked him ten feet like it was nothing, all the while focused on the being that had appeared out of nowhere. Enan landed with a thud.
Sirius jumped to his feet, and ran across the small grass field on the side of the road. There, proudly erect and happily floating 2 inches above the ground was Henry Denver.
Henry floated down and landed noiselessly on his feet.
"Hello. I thought you'd like to know you were right. That one day, two weeks ago? Yea, you were right. You do know me.", with that, "Henry" literally blew into the wind, sublimating in 1 second flat.
Anyone else would've wet their pants, ran screaming, or maybe even just tried to forget it. But not Sirius.
"No. No!", Sirius yelled. He ran back the way he came, running carelessly past Enan's motionless body.
He ran and ran and ran. And then he realized where he was running to. He was headed for Eva's house. He ran until he felt like he hadn't run as fast in his life.
When he finally reached the 13th house on Robert Place, it was now just two pillars. The pillars stood there as if dumbfounded. Their job was to hold the house frame up, and now that it collapsed they were the only things left standing. But the house hadn't just collapsed.
Sirius walked up to the ruins, and saw that the house's remains were smoldering, glowing a light blue. It had been incinerated. But there was no smoke. It had been no fire.
It was flak from an advanced energy weapon system. Shot from orbit.
An alien ship.
CHAPTER V ~ Aboard the Respitorn flagship Cheires, Supreme Admiral Respot(Pronounced /RES-poh/) was standing in the little ****pit reserved for him and his second-in-command, Captain Jurgen.
Behind them both was a tall dome made of a glass-like alloy called transtierite. There was also a tight-fitting force-field in case the subject broke the almost unbreakable transtierite.
The subject in question was Eva. When the Respitorn destroyed her home, they had transported her up. What she referred to as beaming.
"Let me out!", She screamed futilely for the hundredth time, kicking the dome walls. She had made a tiny, tiny crack. So tiny in fact, she could not see it.
The captain decided that enough was enough, "Oh, would you shut up already? You will not escape. No one will help you. No one can hear you."
"You can," she retorted.
He sighed, "You're a very annoying and persistent human."
She rolled her eyes, "Yea, I picked it up from a friend of mine."
"Well, you might want to drop that habit. It wont help you here. It'll only harm you here."
"Well then, why don't you let me go?"
Jurgen went back to staring at the stars Respot was watching. Eva went back to trying to break the dome.
A few minutes went by. Some minor systems shorted out, but were fixed. A minor security breach, but the rebel was executed. A complete coincidence. It had nothing to do with the greater breach to come.
Half an hour or so later, the ship rocked. A creaking sound traveled through the interior as if a boat on the ocean. The Admiral quietly shuddered.
The Captain looked around. His eyes were wide. He felt exposed, and ready to defend the ship, himself, and the Admiral. The ship rocked again.
Respot stared at Jurgen, "Maybe you should check the sensors?"
Jurgen looked dumbfounded for a second, "Oh, oh right. Of course. Forgive me, sir."
Jurgen walked up to a terminal. It was touch screen. Eva watched. Her iPhone was touch-screen. But nothing was efficient enough in human technology to be used in vehicles or anything along those lines.
"There appears to be a hull breach on deck 12. About a centimeter in diameter."
"A centimeter? Like…"
"Like a Replicator bug.", Jurgen interrupted.
Respot stared at him. The SIC cringed, "Sorry, sir."
The Admiral walked over to the terminal Jurgen was at a second ago. He punched several keys, "Initiating anti-Replicator charge."
An energy charge traveled along the outer hull of the ship. Anything on the outside would be knocked unconscious immediately. But their adversary was not outside anymore.
The admiral smacked the console, "It's inside. Initiate code 4756."
"Yes sir.", Captain Jurgen walked over to a wall and hit a single button. The lights dimmed and turned an orangey color. Then, he and the Admiral…vanished. They appeared to dissolve into thin air.
Eva looked around. She pressed up against the walls of her dome. Several minutes went by.
The doors behind her burst open. In came a mechanical bird-like creature. It walked on it's arms like legs, and it's little legs were used as arms. The tail carried an electric charge. As the body was made of metal, some of the charge was carried through the rest of the body.
It roared a strange smoky roar.
It walked towards Eva's dome. She backed up against the wall.
As it approached her, the Captain materialized behind it, silent as snow. Then…his tail grew somehow, now 2 feet in circumference. It came flying towards the beast.
It ducked as the tail almost came to it's head. Then it turned as the tail came back, and shot it's tail at the others'. The captain dispersed before the electric charge could effect him.
The admiral materialized behind the mech and tried the same attack, only with two tails. One tail approached. The creature ducked. The second tail made a dive and swatted the head of the mech.
It fell on it's side. Then…it glowed. All over it, the body just glowed. It appeared to…liquify. It rippled, and then it disappeared.
Except the Respitorn officials were not done. They spread out like blankets. They literally seemed to occupied only length and width dimensions. They fell to the floor.
A small speck glowed on the floor, and the air rippled. It became a big sphere. Obviously the mech had not really disappeared. The sphere thrived with live electric voltage.
The captain and admiral landed on it, and were immediately shocked. The electricity lasted for about ten seconds, then the sphere rippled and became the mechanical arm-walker again, and the blanket-respitorn fell to the floor.
The creature walked over and took on a humanoid form. The head was hairless and had three bumpy ridges on it's head. It looked immensely strong.
The whitish humanoid lifted it's arms and smashed the dome. Eva ran out from under the mech, and tried to go out the door. But the mech transformed again into the bird-thing and snatched her with it's legs. It them proceeded to make a spherical cage of transtierite between the "feet", and trapped her once again.
It turned it's head to the ****pit window and it's eyes began to glow. Some form of energy weapon shot from it's eyes, and shattered the transtierite window. As the emergency force-fields came on, it jumped out. The electromagnetic field it emitted around its body allowed it to simply jump through the fields like they were thin air.
Eva sighed, "I don't suppose you want to let me go either, huh?", she asked, not expecting a response. She slumped onto the side.
"On the contrary," came a computerish voice, "I have the upmost intent to release you. We're going back to Earth."
She got up with a start. The voice had scared her, but she answered, "Really? How can I trust you? I was…beamed up or whatever…to a strange alien ship with actual extraterrestrials on it. They captured me and held me hostage in a glass dome…"
"Transtierite," the thing corrected automatically.
She rolled her eyes, "Next thing I know, another alien, this time mechanical, shows up and captures me. Holds me captive in a trantierite sphere. Besides the sphere, I see nothing different. What reason do I have to trust you?"
Nothing was said. For a minute.
"Just do it.", it said.
"What?"
"Trust me. As far as I can see, you have no one to trust anyway. You need to trust something. It's not healthy to doubt everything you see and know. I did rescue you from the Respitorn didn't I?
"Respitorn? That's what they're called?", she asked.
"You are avoiding answering me. You do not want to face the fact that you have no one to trust, correct?"
She slumped again, "I did."
The mech was silent again.
"Would knowing my name help?", it said.
She sighed, "Maybe."
After a moment, "Regulus. My name is Regulus."
She nodded and made a face like she was impressed, "I didn't think I would really get a name out of you."
"Well, You can never really know a person unless you know them well."
She hmphed, "What a proverbial saying."
"Well it's true. Trust me."
* * * * *
Back on the Cheires, Admiral Respot and Captain Jurgen were regaining consciousness and reverting back to their natural form. A strange creature with two nightcap like appendages on their heads. Huge eyes pierced you like they could see through you. Where fore-arms would be, a rat-tail like tentacle appeared. Their tails were normal, but where they would have feet was a flowing mist, like the mist at the bottom of a waterfall, only blue.
It was a Respitorn nature. From the first time they evaporate as young, they prefer a gaseous state to a solid existence. In the strictest sense, Respitorn are a cloud of vapor, floating. There is a scientific reason they can use this ability, but that's not important.
"Admir-", Jurgen managed to cough out, "Admiral, are you ok?"
Supreme Admiral Respot floated up to Jurgen's height, "I am alive Jurgen. That is enough. We were attacked by the Replicator and are still alive. That is all that matters."
Jurgen coughed, "Right. What do we do now, sir?"
Respot stared him down like a child who was asking what comes after 4, "We call the Sovereign, Jurgen, we call the Sovereign."
Jurgen's eyes went wide, "Yes sir, of course."
"I'm surprised he hasn't called us yet. After all, this is his ship."
Jurgen pressed the button on the wall behind him, "Sovereign Jhothez to the bridge."
Jurgen walked up the the Admiral, "Yes, I've been meaning to ask that sir; why are we commanding his ship?"
Respot closed his eyes in dismay, "Because, Captain, the Sovereign has a lot of duties. He will command the ship in emergencies, but otherwise it's just one more of too many jobs to take care of. We take it of his shoulders."
"Right, right.", Jurgen allowed.
The doors at the back of the ship parted with a roar. A human male walked in, with a smug expression on his face.
Henry Denver.
The Admiral had a look of shock on his face, "Sovereign?"
Henry/Jhothez spoke, "Yes Admiral. I've actually gotten to like this form. Don't worry, I'm not rebelling."
Respot stammered, "I – I wasn't suggesting anything, sir."
Jhothez laughed, "No, I don't suppose you were. No, I quite like walking around on these tiny feet, feeling my internal organs work their business."
Respot nodded, "Yes sir."
Jhothez walked up to the dome and inspected the shattered edges, "So, I see the prisoner has escaped.", he said, nonchalantly.
Respot, "Aye, Sovereign. I am very sorry…"
Jhothez smiled, but you could see inside he was fuming, "How did she escape, and why haven't you sent security teams after her?"
Respot took a breath, "Well, sir, the Replicator smashed the – "
Jhothez slammed a console, "The Replicator!? You let the Replicator on my ship!?"
Jurgen stood up for his superior, "With all due respect Sovereign, how else did you think she could've escaped?"
Sovereign Henry stared at him. His shoulders laxed and he sighed, rolling his eyes, "What is this, another officer I can charge with insubordination!?"
Jurgen reeled back against the wall, eyes closed, "No please, Sovereign! I don't want to die! I'm sorry!"
The Sovereign chuckled, "Do you really think I could charge you with insubordination!?", he laughed hardily.
Jurgen took a moment to recover, and then started laughing with him.
The the Admiral joined in. They laughed so hard, most people realized something was wrong with the abrupt stop.
Tsssuuuu!
Back on the bridge, the last remaining vaporous atoms of Captain Jurgen fell to the ground, rotting.
"I will charge you with calling your superior unintelligible, and backing down from a stand so easily. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if the Replicator interrogated him. But now we don't have to worry about that, do we.", all the while he was talking to the spot where Jurgen had been.
He turned to Respot, "So, who is the senior officer on board besides us."
The Admiral was shaking, "Um, Commander Getryn…"
"Very good. Tell him to get up here and take the Captain's place. Tell the fleet to begin Operation Aerigus. Take us back to earth. I'm going to my quarters.", Sovereign Henry left the bridge.
CHAPTER V ~ On the trip back to earth, which took only 15 minutes, Regulus had transformed into a saucer-like ship, and created a ****pit for Eva and his Humanoid extenuation to watch from. As well as quarters, and most of the other rooms and thing humans needed to live.
He explained his ability very simply, "I am a micro-android bug who has the mastery of matter-energy replication."
Eva thought about that, "You mean like replicators? From that Star Trek show?"
"Kind of. Only I have an android intelligence.", Regulus answered.
"Well, I got that.", Eva said.
"Approaching earth, dropping out of hyperlight speed in 5…4…3…2…"
The saucer slowed and came to a halt in orbit of earth. But it was not alone. 20 other ships were there, 3 unique designs, and 17 saucer-like transports. All Respitorn ships.
"Oh no…", Regulus trailed off.
"Oh god…it's an invasion isn't it?", Eva asked.
Regulus was surprised by how well Human intuition worked, "Yes, it is. Of the most serious kind. And the biggest threat is to you."
"Well, I would think so, they're surrounding our planet!"
"No, I mean YOU; Eva. There after you.", Regulus explained.
"Me!? Why me?"
Regulus looked at her for a second, "I'll tell you later. Right now, we have to stop the invasion.", he looked back and saw her giving him a strange look.
"Us? You and I, against a whole army of these…these things?"
"Respitorn."
"Whatever, the point is, how are we going to do this?"
Regulus frowned, "Your family has influence with the local government. If you could get them to skip peaceful fronts with this invasion, and coordinate with the rest of the world, it could be…"
"Nipped in the bud?", Eva finished for him.
"Exactly. And I could help battle them. As long as I have enough energy to replicate with, I'll be fine," he turned and started pressing buttons. The ship banked left and went around the Respitorn ships. A brief fire-fight broke out, but nothing serious happened.
"Why did they let us off the hook so quickly?", Eva asked.
Regulus gulped, "I have a feeling things are going less smoothly for them than we think…let me scan those transports."
He punched a few more buttons. The results came up.
"Each transport only has one life-sign…"
Eva pieced it together, "The captains'…"
Regulus looked at her, "The invasion force is already on Earth."
"Well, hurry! Get us landed!", Eva screamed.
Regulus, realizing how futile it was, still piloted the ship down.
The saucer reached the ground. Six legs appeared symmetrically from the ship, and thudded softly as the ship reached the ground. A door and ramp replicated, and out walked Eva and Regulus. As Regulus walked off the last step, he reverted the ship back into energy and absorbed it. It rippled and disappeared.
"I don't see anything. Do you?", Eva said.
Regulus stared into the distance. He replicated binocular lenses over his eyes. Then telescopic, then remotuscopic.
It just kinda ends there. I will get to editing it soon enough.
