Salera's Storm

CHAPTER 32

  Kalin

  Kalin heard the thwack of a Barra and a body thump the ground.

  “Dad!” cried Rina.

  She ran out of Kalin’s sight and he readied his Barra. Vorkis squatted to pick up the box, and then stopped. His stare slowly went from Kalin’s black boots to the nozzle of the Barra.

  “Back off,” said Kalin, shutting the box with his boot. He stepped out from behind the wall, keeping the Barra hoisted to his shoulder, his aim steady.

  Vorkis eased up to his feet with his hands in the air, still dressed in Uru. Rina was helping Justin.

  “You surprised me again, cousin,” said Vorkis. “I was unaware of your Xevniors.”

  “You always did presume too much,” said Kalin, noticing a small Hapton on Vorkis’ wrist.

  The round device resembled an Earth-human wristwatch and allowed remote access to certain programs on vessels. Three red lights were blinking on its face.

  “You detonated your own ship. You killed all your men.”

  “Of course I did,” said Vorkis. “You didn’t expect anything less.”

  Vorkis’ kick to Kalin’s stomach was so fast and strong, the Barra flew out of his hands and he crashed against the cement wall, crumbling the concrete. Kalin immediately ignited his Xevniors, lifting Vorkis in the air and bashing him on the ground, belly down. Without hesitating, Kalin jumped to his feet and kicked him in the ribs, flipping him onto his back then knelt beside him and clamped his hands around his neck.

  “This is for Disa,” he said, squeezing hard and relighting his Xevniors.

  Vorkis desperately flailed his arms, trying to reach him. Kalin kept himself at arm’s distance, tightening his grip. Suddenly, a laser blast tore into Kalin’s stomach. His body flew in to the air and slammed into the wall, then slid down to sitting on the ground. His head wobbled as he placed his hand over the large bloody hole.

  “No!” shouted Rina and she began running to Kalin.

  “Die, Saleran filth!” yelled Vurro, who fired again.

  Justin pulled her back and a pair of white beams shot out from his eyes. They hit the blue pulse of the Barra and exploded. Kalin blinked several times, not believing what he’d just seen.

  “You? But—” said Rina.

  Vorkis was getting to his feet. Kalin stiffened up and reactivated his Xevniors. Vorkis crumpled to the ground in pain.

  “You will die!” shouted Vurro. Two more laser blasts headed for Kalin.

  Justin dove towards Kalin with outstretched arms. Instantly, a clear purple shield surrounded them. The laser beams struck the energy barricade and dispersed into white twinkles. Justin landed on the ground next to him. Although Kalin’s Xevniors were passing through the shield, he halted them, too weak to continue. His bloodied hand slipped to his side and he closed his eyes. Vivid memories of Salera and his family raced through his mind and, for the first time since their deaths, he wanted to live. Salera deserved to be teeming with life, with children, with families, with the glory she once had. He finally understood what everyone had been trying to tell him.

  Someone touched his hand and he opened his eyes.

  “Hang on,” said Justin on one knee. “You’ll be all right.”

  He held Kalin’s wrist and pointed his left palm at Rina. A yellow beam shot out and raised her off the grass, pulling her towards them.

  “Woooo!” said Rina.

  She slid through the shield and stopped abruptly next to Justin and Kalin. Justin tapped the small gray case on Kalin’s belt. Rina smiled.

  “How did you know about Sarvins?” she asked, surprised.

  “I read his mind,” he said. “Stay here.”

  Justin stepped outside the shield, Kalin staring after him in awe. The technology was way beyond Salera. Rina knelt beside him and removed the case from his belt. Kalin gazed into her green eyes as she poured the orange crystals on his head.

  “You were right,” he said in a weak voice. His vision was fading. “You were right all along.” Each breath was becoming shallower.

  “You’re a good guy, Kalin,” she said, touching his cheek. Tears lined her dark lashes. “A real hero I’m proud to call my friend. Now don’t talk.” She placed her fingers over his mouth. “I know what you’re feeling; I’ve been there. Save your strength and let the crystals do their job.”

  “You can’t have the Pril,” Justin said to Vorkis.

  Vurro was going to shoot again when Vorkis raised his hand and he stopped, lowering the Barra.

  “Who are you?” asked Vorkis.

  “I’ll tell you this only once,” said Justin. His right fist was beginning to glow. “Leave this world and never return.”

  Kalin struggled to his feet. “This is my fight,” he said aloud, keeping a fixed glare on Vorkis. Despite feeling weak, he straightened up, ready to take him on.

  “Infidels!” shouted Vurro, who fired again.

  Justin raised his glowing fist and caught the beam in his hand. He raised his other palm and swung his arm back, yanking the Barra out of Vurro’s hands and flinging it back towards Rina. A lavender beam from Justin’s hand formed a transparent sphere around Vurro. He was yelling and banging on the bubble as it rose higher into the atmosphere, lifting him out of sight. He dusted his hands off and turned to Kalin.

  “He’s all yours, son,” said Justin.

  “Well, then,” said Vorkis, “we shall fight again and this time you will lo—”

  Before Vorkis could finish his words, Kalin’s Xevniors sent Vorkis flying back into the giant tree. Kalin leapt in the air and flipped, slipping the Norin blade from his boot and ramming it into Vorkis’ leg as he landed. Vorkis screamed in pain and kicked Kalin in the face, making him tumble away.

  “Now I will kill you with your own weapon,” stated Vorkis, sliding the knife out of his leg.

  Kalin jumped to his feet and held out his upturned palm. The Norin blade flew out of Vorkis’ hand and straight back to Kalin where he caught it. Startled by the loss of the weapon, Vorkis didn’t catch sight of Kalin’s leap in the air towards him. He pounced on Vorkis’ chest and began repeatedly punching his face until he heard bones cracking. Vorkis grabbed Kalin’s fist with his right hand and flung him off. Kalin rolled to his feet and lunged at Vorkis again, who was struggling to stand, when suddenly, Vorkis blasted his Xevniors at Rina.

  Kalin skidded to a stop as he saw the beams hit Rina in the chest, throwing her back into the cement wall. The wide beams shrunk to a pinpoint on the Pril in her necklace then reversed direction and went crashing back into Vorkis’ eyes. He screamed and collapsed back, holding his face. Rina’s body slid to the floor, leaving a blood trail on the wall.

  “No!” cried Kalin, rushing to her.

  “I got her,” said Justin, who was already holding her in his arms. “Finish this, son.”

  Kalin trembled with the fiery hatred inside him. Although Vorkis was on his back and near convulsing, it was no relief. He had to die; but then Kalin noticed the change. All the hair on Vorkis’ head and face was gone, burned off, leaving charred, smoldering skin. His eyes were completely black, the lids seared and crisp. The left side of his face was drooping, morphing his cindered eye. On the right side, his lips had burned off, revealing black, rotted teeth. Blood streaked out of his nose from the several lesions splitting it open. His once cream-colored skin was a slimy crimson and peeling away. Nothing was left of his Saleran characteristics. Vorkis now looked like the monster he truly was. Justice had finally begun and this time he would end it. Vorkis staggered to his feet. His enemy had no more to give.

  “You can never defeat me,” said Vorkis, and he pressed his thumb onto his left forearm. Teleporter beams ignited.

  Kalin dove for the nearby Barra and rolled, shooting into the beam. Vorkis doubled over, holding his stomach, then was gone in a flash of light.

  “Marante!” he said. “Find the destination of that teleport!”

  There was silence. Kalin stood up, panting.

  Marante an
swered, “Apparently, Vorkis had an Ensit implant and altered a short-range scan to bounce him through the Neuron Field. That form of teleporting is dangerous and in his weakened state, there is a strong possibility he did not survive. However, we detected the signature of a space pod leaving orbit at warp speed but unfortunately, there is no way to track it. I am sorry, my friend, he is gone.”

  Kalin roared until his lungs burned. He slumped to his knees, trembling and holding a stomach that seemed on fire. Did he kill him? He didn’t know for sure. A small hand touched his shoulder.

  “He bent over,” said a voice from behind, “I think you got him.”

  Kalin turned to see Rina and Justin. He jumped to his feet and hugged her tight, lifting her off the ground.

  “I’m so glad you’re alive,” he said, grateful he could hold her again.

  “Yeah, but I can’t breathe,” she said, straining. “Ease up.”

  “Sorry,” he said and let her down. “I’m not sure if he’s dead.”

  “I sensed his physical pain,” said Justin. “You hit him, but whether he’s dead or not only time will tell.”

  “I can’t worry about him anymore,” said Kalin. He touched Rina’s cheek. “There are more important things in life.”

  He cupped her face and kissed her on the lips. She struggled to get free then stopped. She was enjoying the moment.

  “You have a great kiss,” said Kalin, trying not to tremble from the hormonal excitement. Why was his body reacting like this? He took a deep breath and turned to Justin. “How did you do this?” he asked, furtively glancing at Rina. Reeling back was not easy.

  “What you call Pril can do amazing things. Cellular regeneration is just one of them.”

  “I thought it was Mom,” said Rina looking at Justin.

  “No, baby, it’s been me all along,” he said. “Mary was the one who insisted on not telling you sooner. She felt your life would be simpler if you believed you were an Earth-human.” He lovingly touched her cheek. “We had planned on telling you before you turned twenty-one, but with your mother’s death I put it off. Forgive me, sweetheart.”

  “I guess you did what you thought was best,” she said. Then she noticed the blood. “Your shoulder—you’re hurt.”

  “Bauman shot me but thanks to the ring, my wound is healed. I’m okay.”

  “Good,” she said. “Now tell me, where am I from?”

  “You’re from a planet called Verlea,” said Justin, “three hundred galaxies from here.”

  “Three hundred?” reiterated Kalin.

  “Yes, a short trip.”

  “That’s amazing, Dad. So the stories were real.”

  “Yes, they were real,” said Justin. “Your Earth-human mother, Mary, wanted you to know your heritage. Your real mother, Eliana, and I chose Earth because of the quality of people, knowing we could easily protect ourselves and meld into their way of life. Our galaxy had several civilizations just aching to get their hands on Verlean technology, so when the planet exploded, we knew we were targets if anyone discovered we’d survived. Therefore, Earth and the seclusion of the Rocky Mountains seemed a good place to start anew, but then our guidance system failed.

  “You were three months old when we crashed at night not far from here. The ship broke in half, exposing the cockpit. I was thrown from the vessel but Eliana was badly injured and on the second level with you. She wrapped you in a fireproof blanket and tossed you to me. I ran several hundred feet away and placed you in a safe area then hurried back to save her. Verlean ships were designed to inhibit a mass explosion, vaporizing instead of creating more damage, and Eliana disintegrated along with the ship.

  “Mary witnessed the whole event and decided to help you and me. Eventually, I fell in love with her. She insisted she be the one to tell you Verlea’s history so if the government ever became suspicious of aliens living amongst us, she wanted them to suspect her, knowing her anatomy would prove otherwise. I didn’t want to put her in that kind of danger but she was stubborn. Wayne was the only person who ever suspected anything odd about you, so I used the Rycon to alter his thoughts.”

  “You mean the guy with the blue hair?” asked Kalin.

  “Yes,” said Justin. “Rina’s punches that threw him twenty feet back are what made him suspicious. No harm was done and he retained all his memories.”

  “You can actually change single thoughts?” asked Kalin. “Even memories?”

  “Yes, but I don’t like doing it. No one’s mind should ever be tampered with.”

  “So what’s the real name of Pril?” asked Rina.

  “It’s called Rycon and I’ll teach you how to use it.”

  Kalin gazed up at the sky and wondered if Vorkis was dead.

  Shooting into a teleporter beam sometimes worked, sometimes it didn’t. He closed his eyes as the aching in his heart began again. The nightmares are going to haunt me forever.

  He felt Justin’s hand touch his shoulder.

  “I know what it’s like to lose your family and your people,” said Justin.

  “No one could ever feel what I’ve been through,” said Kalin.

  “Rina and I are the last of our race,” explained Justin. “Three hundred and fifty billion Verlean-humans died because twelve people made the wrong decision. The pain will always be there, Kalin, but with time, it will subside enough to let you live a normal life.”

  “My little sister died in my arms,” said Kalin, wanting the pain in his chest to stop. “Nothing will erase that memory.”

  “Before my ship vaporized, Eliana shouted she loved me and asked me to care for our baby.”

  He stopped talking and closed his eyes. Kalin sensed his hurt.

  Justin looked at him again and continued, “She knew it was her end and there was nothing I could do to save her. I had warned the Verlean Council the planetary shield would fail against an explosive Resdin comet that size; its mass was enormous. They laughed at me and said I was crazy. Three days later, Verlea exploded. There were times I wanted to create a Time Teleporter and kill the Council, but I would have changed history and altered my future, my daughter’s future—a worse mistake than theirs. You, on the other hand, are Salera’s future and history. You alone have the chance to make your planet better than before, make it more glorious. Enjoy your heritage and the world you were raised on. This is your moment, your time, Kalin. Make the most of it.”

  Justin’s words reminded Kalin of his father, Altor, who many times was reasonable, confident, a man who instilled hope and courage, a true leader.

  Can I actually live a normal life? thought Kalin.

  Marante was right. Revenge had overtaken him. He was willing to let a whole civilization die just to kill one man. How could he have let himself get this far? In all his missions with the Federation, not once had he ever considered allowing even one death, never mind the deaths of so many. He was a Saleran, a savior of lives, not a mass murderer. Remorse began to set in.

  “I’m sorry, Kalin,” said Rina. “I wish there was a way to fix this.”

  She had the most beautiful face he’d ever seen.

  “I’m just glad you’re alive,” he said. “I’m sorry for risking the lives of you and your world. No death is worth him.”

  Marante’s voice came over the Comlink. “Captain, we have a problem.”

  Kalin inhaled a deep breath, feeling his inner strength return.

  “So much for pain and sorrow,” he said. “Go.”

  “Four armed missiles have been launched from an orbiting probe. Their trajectory will take them to a terra lesion zone approximately one thousand miles southeast of you. If they impact, over twenty million will die.”