Turning point Chapter 25 – Oberoth
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"You surrender?!" the suspicious in Replicator's voice was palpable.
"Yes. By one condition!" said Alarick, 'Negotiating with machines. Oh, Goddess!'
"And what is that you want, Wraith?" the weapons of the machines were still aimed at him.
"I want you to remove the toxic nannies from her", his eyes pointed to the pale woman on the floor. For his horror Alarick could feel her body was slowly falling into a comatose state.
The Replicator looked at her, twisting his mouth,
"What we have here? A Wraith showing care for the food? Are you trying to play us stupid?" he pointed the gun at the unconscious human, ready to finish her.
Alarick became aware his heart will jump out his chest,
"No, I swear! She is not an ordinary human. You can see she is from Lantea!" he searched for bait, for something that will make this parody of a man save her, "We are here as a jointly working strike team. You know we and the new humans in Lantea are in alliance!"
This made the machine stops and took a second look at the woman. Then his eyes became glazed. Alarick has seen that look before – the machine was communicating.
Seconds felt like centuries. While he was waiting for the answer that will give life or kill them, he realized that the close proximity of death had forced him to face the truth,
'I love her!'
In that moment everything happened in the past months run in his head. Their first meeting, the feedings, her courage, the sexual attraction…
'If she dies, I die…' the thought hit him like a solar storm, 'So this is how humans felt when they are in love!'
This feeling was an object of open mockery and sneer from the Wraith for centuries. And till now Alarick has sheared the common opinion that love is just a pathetic human way to excuse the weakness of their nature.
'How is possible to feel splendid and terrible in the same time? Not caring if my life will end but being in pain that she will die?' this human thing was that rejected every Wraith instinct he was aware of was giving him a new and not so welcomed sensations.
"She will be spared", announced the Replicator and the deadly nannies spreading on her breasts and chest stopped and started to shrink.
Alarick raised his hands behind his head and slowly knelt on the floor under the astonished gazes of the Asurans. Behind him his Wraith followed him.
"Ah, you are bringing us the guests, Enrod. Very good!" exclaimed Oberoth and a creepy smile showed on his face.
A group of Replicators had gathered in the Command Room watching on the holoscreens the battle with the joint Wraith-Lantean fleet.
He slowly circled around the Wraith and then looked at the woman, carried by two of his soldiers.
"Excellent, Enrod. Such a lovely specimen we have here", Enrod seemed very pleased by the appreciation of his leader.
Oberoth came closer to leading Wraith, recognizing that he is in charged,
"I haven't seen a member of the Royal Caste from a long time", the smile on his face wasn't exactly pleasant,
"If I read the markings on your face correctly then we have in our hands something that our scientists have only dreamt about – an offspring of the High Queen. Your genes must be highly praised" he was amused by the attempts of the Wraith to remain calm.
Then Oberoth turned his back to the Wraith and stepped forward to the woman,
"And this is a scientist of the humans from Earth that occupy Lantea..." he took a doubtful look at the snow white face of the woman,
"Or not humans but a damned Lantean from Earth", he hissed and the other Replicators focused hatefully at her.
A nod at one of the soldiers and the assistant put a silver disk on the glistening pool of nannies on her breasts and the metallic liquid form absorbed into the disk and then was taken from the Replicator.
The woman's chest moved and she woke up taking a deep breath. The shining blue eyes opened wide at the sight of the Replicators and kneeling Wraith. Her guards quickly pulled her up on her feet.
Oberoth has to admit that she was very attractive even in the black uniform. He noticed her worried looks at the leading Wraith and his smile turned into a smirk,
"Oh, that was sweet. A Lantean feeling sympathy for a Wraith", the gathered Replicators laughed.
Something seemed vaguely familiar with that Lantead and Oberoth was not sure what. While he was trying to figure what was that exactly, the assistant that had taken the nannies from the woman hurriedly rushed through the door and nearly throwing a data tablet in his hands. Raising his eyebrows – a habit of behaving like a human that Oberoth was so proud of – he looked at the information on the tablet.
"Not only a Lantean has been sent to us but a direct descendant of the man who created and betrayed us!" his words caught the undivided attention of the Replicators and even the Wraith.
"What?!" the woman looked astounded.
Oberoth's move was like a blur and before she could blink he grasped her hair, yanking her back and hearing her shriek while she trying to free herself,
"Are you denying you are carrying the genes of the Lantean scientist called Janus?" he asked.
"No, he is my grand – grand etc. father and it's not my fault he has screwed you!" she stood on her toes in an effort to keep the hair on head.
"Nevertheless, you will carry the punishment for his treachery", screamed Oberoth and raising his hand he plunged his fingers in her head.
Suddenly he found himself in a cage. The bars were glittering with eerie green light and he was feeling helpless.
"What is this? Where am I?" he screamed and slowly from the darkness emerged the figure of the Lantean female. She looked at him and with a seductive move her finger traced the lines of his face. Oberoth tried to step away but he couldn't. The gesture striking reminds him of the same act he has seen a Wraith Queen does with a captured human.
"Let me show you what your overconfidence will bring to Asurans", the words were whispered with a hint of a smile.
Visions started to show in his mind.
He is pulling out his hand from her while she is standing with bent head and the golden flocks of her hair are hiding the triumph smile of her lips.
He is ordering the Replicators to get out and then taking the restraints off the Wraith.
He is standing frozen as she is kissing one of Wraith, burrowing her hands in the long white hair.
And then the final vision came – of her deactivating the alarm program and looking at him with a mixture of pity and determination on her face.
She allowed him to move his eyes only to see how the particles of his body are disintegrating. As he was watching the nannies flying to something that call for them, he heard her voice,
"Farewell, Oberoth. I hope your soul will find peace"
He found himself again in the cage but this time she was looking at him seriously. Even under her strong hold of him Oberoth could feel the fading,
"The Lanteans told us we don't have souls", he said. In these simple words all of the bitter anger that has driven him and the others of his kind reached the surface.
"They believed in very strange things that led them to their doom. Every living being has a soul, even the ones who are not organic..."
For the first time since the Rebellion against their Creators Oberoth felt the previous esteem. Not the blind worship he has experienced a millennium ago but a new strong feeling of veneration towards that exceptional Lantean.
"If you have led the Lantea back then we would have never rebelled. I wish the things have been different" he honestly confessed.
"We all have made our mistakes in the past" she answered and while his world was fading fast he heard her last words,
"And every end of life is just a beginning of another cycle of creation"
Alarick looked how the last particles of the Leader of the Asurans flew through the door and then looked at Miranda. The taste of their quick kiss was still sweet on his lips.
'Now what?' he asked her.
"Commander, the planet is about to explode and the shielding is preventing the teleport beams!"
'Now, we climb as fast as we can to the Jumper Bay!' she replied and he gave the order to his warriors.
Jumping and forcing the door open of the Jumper Bay was the fastest thing Alarick has ever done in his life.
She activated the nearest Jumper and headed in. Alarick and the other Wraith followed her getting the back seats while Miranda sat on the pilot chair and her hands touched the controls.
The hatch closed and he watched how the Jumper got off the ground and plunged through the hangar's doors into the Gate Room.
The destruction of the planet has reached the point where everything on the surface was turning into hot lava. The walls of the Gate room were melting and the only solid thing was the Stargate. Alarick knew that the limited shields of the Jumper stayed between them and the hell outside.
'Dial the Stargate!', her command sounded in his head and Alarick obeyed pushing the keys.
Obviously the power source of the Stargate was still intact because the shining pool of the forming wormhole appeared.
The Jumper entered in the ring a second before the planet exploded, destroying the Stargate and a whole star system of Pegasus Galaxy.
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