“Finish him,” Gallik said. “We have no more time to waste.”
Oskar heaved and stood up, with one arm drooped down and the other clutching his loaded blaster. He saw the specter of a man and knew it wouldn’t work, but he pointed his weapon at him anyway. Instinct drove him to do so.
“Guns won’t work on me,” the young man said.
“Let’s see you dodge then.”
His mind caught up with his motives and Oskar noticed the real target standing behind the defector. A red and black warrior caste Druuga, clutching the gem. Gallik’s eyes opened wide while Oskar fired and the defector shifted, his body becoming literal aether. The bolt whizzed past him and seared through the Druuga’s hand, causing a chain reaction from both the kinetic force and radiating heat that blew the lizard’s arm to bits and knocked Oscar back. Gallik screamed from the searing pain, and the heat that sealed his wounds shut. The bloody roar echoed through the station as Gallik took a knee and tried in futility to cradle his lost appendage.
Oskar watched from his grounded position while shards of the Titan Crystal flew through walls like phantoms in the aether, passing into somewhere beyond the station. It was an awesome sight, like a thousand petals falling from a cherry tree. In an instant, the pieces vanished from sight, flung across through deep space. Oskar felt the throbbing in his shoulder and pulled down his uniform to see that nebulous mark radiating across his skin.
“Clever, Space Knight,” the young man said, walking out. “I guess I’m leaving.”
“What?” Gallik yelled. “No, you finish the job!”
“You can’t pay my fee anymore, Gallik. That was the last of your finances up in smoke.”
“Bastard! I’ll make you pay!”
Gallik grabbed a thermal blade from a nearby Druuga corpse and charged forward, but Oskar saw the act unfold. The defector shifted through him, landing behind as he clutched the lizard’s throat with a small blade. Gallik stood still, the fire drained from him.
“That’s what I thought,” the defector said. “You and your underlings will fly me to the nearest space port, and then I will leave without claiming your head as collateral. Does your nut sized brain comprehend that?”
“Y…yes,” Gallik said.
The defector released him and continued on his way. Moments later, the remaining Druuga followed suit, some grunting, though most of them frightened. With the science lab finally quiet, Olivia grabbed Oscar by the waist and helped hoist him up to his feet.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” he said. “That’s going to be one heck of an awkward ride.”
Epilogue
One Thousand Pieces
A sliding door shut behind Oskar after he waltzed into Jinako Station’s central boardroom. The chairs, normally fitted for Ninijians, were mildly uncomfortable, though he and Olivia managed to fit snugly into them. Oscar sat on the long end of a wide table that stretched across a plainly decorated carpet. He glanced across at Olivia, who didn’t seem to pay him much attention, instead crossing her arms with her head held down. Her facial expression didn’t look too well either.
The door opened behind him and Tela walked in, followed by some impressive looking staff unusually intimidating for their stature. Tela took a seat at the table’s far end while his entourage sat toward the opposite. Oskar felt a lump in his throat on the way here, and it hadn’t gone away yet.
“Do not mind them,” Tela said. “I am the one who makes the final judgment.”
“Judgment?” Oskar asked.
“I want to hear of your experiences. We hold very little data regarding the Titan Crystal.”
“Well, it’s gone for one,” Oskar said, leaning back in his chair.
Tela placed his hands on the short table and sighed deeply.
“I know that. Can you elaborate, Space Knight Frei?”
“I can,” Olivia said. “It’s clear to me the gem reacted to residual aether in the area. The heat from Oscar’s blaster bolt formed the catalyst.”
“Interesting,” Tela said. “You are saying the Titan Crystal was transformed into aether?”
“Exactly.”
“How unfortunate,” Tela replied. He stopped for a moment, lost in thought, though his eyes hardly wandered. “Perhaps the universe is better off without it though.”
“Master Tela!” one of the other Ninijians shouted. “How can you say that?”
“Just four short cycles upon receiving it,” Tela began. “Look at what our discovery has brought us. The galaxies are not ready for this.”
For once, Oskar felt the same way.
“I agree with you,” Oskar said. “Even if you could recover the pieces, you couldn’t protect it. Not without an army behind you.”
Tela smiled.
“Perhaps one day, we will have one.”
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