A/N: Here I go again readers, I bring to you the start of another, hopefully as successful as 'Shield of Humanity', story that I am sure many of you will be excited about.
Son of Rose
Chapter 1: E.S Icarus
Deep Space
Soaring through the vastness of space like a rifle bullet flying through the sky after being fired from a powerful rifle. The 'Earth Ship Icarus,' a star crosser class mid-size ship, was the ship of Greg Universe; father of the young man piloting it. There were two young men inside of the ship, both wearing tight black coverall suits with green markings on the shoulders, arms and sides of their suits with silver earth emblems on their left breasts.
"My name is Captain Steven Universe and I am twenty years old. I am a member of the Earth Warden Forces. The E.W.F is the planet's military space branch. It is our duty to protect the earth and all of its colonies from hostile alien forces threatening the earth and the solar system. Despite that being our primary task, there are other roles we are assigned to. Sometimes we are soldiers, other times we are security but mostly we are watchdogs for the people of earth. Although I may look human, I am in fact not. I am a gem human-hybrid. My father is human while my mother is a gem.
My partner sitting beside me is Lieutenant Colonel Lars Barriga. Despite him appearing human, he is what many of us in the E.W.F is known as "enhanced humans." Enhanced humans are soldiers or any member of a military branch from planet earth that had gem shard or chunks surgically embedded somewhere inside of their bodies. This enables soldiers to move faster, react faster, enhances their durability and extends their lives exponentially."
Lars, on the other hand, leaned back against his seat, one leg resting on top of his control panel as he read about the myth of Anchises and Aphrodite. His normally black eyes glinted a beautiful emerald as he becomes more invested in the story of the divine greek goddess's fling with the mortal prince and shepherd. Steven checked the Galactic Positioning System to see if they were still on course. With everything appearing normal and stable, he turned to his partner.
"Lars?"
"Yeah, bro?"
"Do you regret joining me on this journey?"
"Oh for the love of...this question again man?" Lars said, annoyed.
"I'm sorry man it's just that, you didn't have to come with me, it's not like I need protection," Steven told him.
Putting his book down for a moment on top of the controls panel, Lars replied to him. "Listen bro, I did it partly for your father who begged me to tag along with you so you don't end up dying. Another reason I did it was to get away from the damn brass who are always on my ass about my performances. And because you're my best friend man, you think I was going to let you go travel on your own to find your mother all by yourself? You're crazy man, crazy."
Steven chuckled to himself. He and Lars bumped fists before he turned back around on his seat and looked out the rectangular window into the vast expanse of space. The stars and galaxies were nothing passing streaks of lights that seem to stretch into eternity as the E.S Icarus flew through space.
"Ship" Steven spoke to the ship's computer.
"Yes Captain Universe, how may be of assistance?"
"I'm going to fall asleep for a little bit. Can you play some classical music for me?"
"What classical piece would you like to listen to?"
"I don't know, choose one for me."
Dmitri Shostakovitch's "Waltz No. 2" began to play softly inside of the ship. With a satisfied smile, he crossed his arms over his chest, hung his head low and closed his eyes. He allowed the soft and smooth sounds of this waltz music lull him into a sleepy trance as he thought back to how this entire journey started.
X
[One month ago]
X
"I can't do this anymore Greg, I just can't," Rose said loudly.
"For a stupid reason like that? After many years together, married, you want to throw it all of this away because i'm no longer young? Are you serious?!" Greg yelled, heartbroken and in tears.
"Your son is now a man and a soldier for this planet. He's even reached the position of captain. He commands his own fleet. I have no more reason to continue to stay with you."
"No more reason? We got married because we love each other. What about me Rose?! What about my feelings!"
"Greg, you knew how I felt about a human's mortality before I ever said 'I do.' I have been on your planet for a very long time, as far back as man began to record history. I was and still am the real physical incarnation of all of your world's cultures goddesses. I have coupled with kings, emperors, princes and bore them all children. I have even laid with women, but unlike with you, I was never truly in love with any of them. I didn't care for any of them or my children until I met you, twenty years ago. Although I fell in love with you, that was not enough to halt old age from rearing its ugly head in you as well. You refused to have one of my gem shards embedded into you. If you had done so, I would stay with you much longer."
"So just like that, you're going to run off again on me, is that it? I was never really anything to you besides a passing fancy?" Greg said, his voice flat and gone emotionless.
"I'm sorry my love. You still have time to change all of that. You know what you have to do. If we ever meet again, this is farewell."
Steven listened to all of this from outside of his parent's bedroom. He couldn't believed what he had finished hearing. His perfect world, the image of a perfect family he thought he had, had been shattered with this revelation. There was no sense or appearance of warmth or care in his eyes anymore. His stoic face spoke volumes. Before his mother could walk outside and find him eavesdropping on the conversation, he had vanished in the blink of an eye. Although she did not see him, Rose knew her son, one of many children in a line that extended to the first kings of the planet, had learned of her true nature; like many of her children before him. She knew all too well that one of two things would happen to him. He would grow cold towards her and hate for all his life, or he would try to convince her to change her mind.
"Ready or not mother, I'm coming for you." He muttered softly and determinedly to himself.
Back to the present, Lars continued reading from his book of Greek stories and myths. He came upon the section of the story that contained Homer's hymn to Aphrodite. One section in particular grabbed his attention. He whispered it softly to himself.
"I would not choose that you, Anchises, be that way, amongst the immortal ones, immortal and living for all days to come. If you could only stay the way you are, in looks and constitution, staying alive as my lawfully-wedded husband, then sorrow would not have to envelop me and my sturdy mind. But now wretched old age will envelop you, pitilessly, just as it catches up with every man. It is baneful, it wears you down, and even the gods shrink back from it. As for me, I will have a great disgrace in the eyes of the immortal ones, a disgrace that will last for all days to come, without end, all on account of you.
As for you, in order that I may tell you in the proper order everything that I have in my mind, I too will come back to you as the fifth anniversary approaches, bringing you your son. And the moment you see this young seedling, Aeneas, with your eyes, you will be happy to look at him. For he will be very godlike. And straightaway you shall take him to windy Ilion. And if any mortal human asks you what mother got your dear son beneath her girdle, keep in mind to tell him as I command you. Say that he is the offspring of one of the flower-faced Nymphs who live on this beautiful mountain, shaded over by forests. But if you say out loud and boast with arrogance and pride, that you made love to the Lady of Kythera, the one with the beautiful garlands, then Zeus in his anger will smite you with a smoking thunderbolt. Now then, everything has been said to you. You take note in your mind. And refrain from naming me. Avoid the jealousy of the gods." So saying, she bolted away towards the windy sky."
Lars closed his book and stared back at Steven who was sound asleep at this point. As he was about to wake his partner and captain up, something massive in size and scope rumbled past above them. The force and speed it traveled at shook the medium sized ship to its very structural core. Steven fell out of his seat, awaked and shaking violently alongside the side, while Lars clung to his seat and struggled not to fall off of it. From the main windows of their ship, Lars and Steven saw moon sized pink diamond fly past them. In the light of nearby stars, it beamed with the majesty and glory of a trillion diamonds. It was a sight that was burned itself into their memories forever. But beside the massive size of this diamond floating through space, Steven's own gemstone that was in place of his navel, glowed brightly.
"That's her!" Steven cried out with excitement.
"Who?!" Lars shouted.
"It's my damn mother! My gemstone glows when im in her presence, or when she's under extreme distress!"
"I wonder what could be causing her so much distress!" Lars yelled as the ship continued to shake violently.
Steven fought against the shaking of the ship and forced himself on his feet. He sat down on his seat and manually piloted the ship to pursue his mother. His gemstone glowed brighter and brighter, illuminating the entirety of the ship's interior. His normally black eyes colored changed to pink as a look of serious determination overcame him.
"Steven are you fucking crazy?! That ship is massive! We're never going to be able to keep up, let alone board it, so stop trying to chase it! Its defenses must be top notch"
"I won't! My mother has ran away from responsibility for far too long! Someone has to put her in her place! If none of her other children were able to do so, then I'll change that damnit!"
Lars managed to find his footing and lunged over to Steven to force him off the navigation sphere that was used to pilot their ship. But in a flash of pink light, The young captain erected four pink knights with shields and swords to keep Lars back. It was just one out of many abilities as a Hybrid that he had access to.
Lars tapped into his own gem shard power and used it to break through his captain's knights. He punched through their shields while avoiding their swords. His superhuman strength shattered them like glass. The pink diamond intercepted them and fired a barrage of lasers at the ship beneath it. Steven and Lars erected two shields around the ship. Steven's was a solid pink bubble, Lars added emerald plating on the bubble, double reinforcing it. The laser struck their shields, fracturing them until ultimately striking the hull of the ship.
Smoking and unable to continue flying, the E.S Icarus went tumbling towards a nearby earth like planet. Its gravity pulled them in faster, covering the ship in roiling flames, before crashing into the planet's surface like a meteroite.
- Continued in Chapter 2
