Noontime Dark
by Chris Corliss
Sector G
Mathetae Alethia
The small team slowly moved over the
terrain, scouting it out while encircling their target. When the team was
thirty tracks from their target the
team leader gave the command to turn on the benders on
their suits. Soon the members of the team faded away from sight, the only
indication of their
existence was their footsteps.
The team surrounded their target, a
young man in his twenties. He stood upright in the open land, heedless
of the sun beating down on him. He wore
black pants with a short sleeve gray shirt tucked into
them. A black snake skin belt with a silver buckle wrapped itself around
his pants, as if remembering
the days when it was alive. His black shoes were slightly
dirty and dusty, perhaps from walking to this location. The target ran
his fingers through his short
dark brown hair as he scanned the horizon from behind
his green sunglasses.
He stopped suddenly as he spotted a small dust cloud rise into the air a short distance from him. A smile crept over his face.
"First Mate Loren Sharpel, how good to see you again. I was starting to get worried that you would not make it."
Slowly the air in front of the man
shimmered and soon another man appeared in that spot. He was wearing a
suit that had various circuitry running
over it which pulsed slightly with energy. In his hands
he held a rifle aimed at the man's heart.
"Who are you?" came a metallic voice from the now visible man.
The man wearing the green glasses slightly
cocked his head to the side. Underneath his breath he spoke a word of activation.
He looked again at the
man holding the rifle, his eye glasses displaying information
on the inside of the lens about the man.
*This is not who I thought it was.*
"I am a simple servant," replied the man wearing the green glasses.
"I want name, DOB, employer, and how you got to this planet!" the metallic voice rang out again.
"Name? What is a name but some tag
you associate with a life form. As for DOB, what does it matter?
Should I say I am a hundred or ten?
It is worthless data. As for employer, well, if I told you, you would
not believe it. That is why I will
show you."
With this the man wearing the green sunglasses smiled and pointed behind the man.
The man remained still but the other
members in his team, still invisible, looked around and realized that they
were surrounded. Behind them stood
beings that stood like men but were lions in appearance.
Golden fur covered their bodies with large manes crowning their heads in
dark brown colors.
Emerald cat eyes looked out from underneath bushy eye
brows. They had hands the size of a man's face with fingers and an opposable
thumb ending
in retractable claws. Light brown clothing covered their
torsos, providing protection from the sun and also camouflaging them. In
their hands were long
metallic spears covered in shifting patterns of black
lines and circles that intertwine with each other. The spears were pointed
at the heads of the members
of the team.
One of the invisible men became visible
as he turned off his bender. The lion-man behind him remained motionless
but ready to strike. The man stood
for a few seconds until his helmet visor turned clear,
revealing a clean shaven man. The man wearing the green sunglasses smiled
once again and turned
his attention to the second man.
"I take it your journey has a been a good one, First Mate?"
The second man sighed and then shook
his head. Slowly moving his hands from his side he reached up and pulled
his helmet off. His face remained
straight but inside thoughts were racing around his mind
wildly. The last time Loren saw this man was about a year ago. At that
chance meeting the man
told him that he would become a first mate in the space
navy. Not only that but he also deposited a large amount of money into
his account with the
promise of more if he would finish an assignment for
him. Loren tried to grab the man at that time but he simply disappeared.
Now on a remote planet,
in a different system, this same man stood before him.
The only question is how, and what was this assignment he had for him.
"It has been a journey," Loren said in a terse tone.
"Good to hear that. As you can see,
I have kept my end of the bargain. And I can only assume that your presence
here is an acknowledgment that you
are going to keep your end."
"Yes."
"Good! Shall we get down to business?"
"I want answers to my questions first!" Loren exploded with anger and confusion written on his face.
"Well! I see your temper has not left you. Fire away then, what are your questions?"
"Who... what... are these things behind me?"
One of the lion-men stepped forward.
Though dressed very similar to the other ones, this one also had a pair
of arm bands that had the same
type of black lines and circles covering them like the
spears. The other distinguishing feature was that his mane was pulled back
through a single
silver ring.
"We are Mathetae, rulers of this planet."
Loren thought for a few seconds before continuing.
"So, tell me Mathetae, why should I be scared of you and your spear wielding friends?"
The Mathetae that stepped forward growled deeply.
"Fear us because we are stronger."
With this said the Mathetae quickly
swung his spear around and pointed it at the other man that was visible.
Next thing the humans saw was a blue
lightning bolt streak from the end of the spear towards
the man and upon impact, incinerate him. The smell of ozone filled the
air along with a brief hint
of burnt flesh. The man with the green glasses simply
smiled at Loren.
"Did I mention that they can be short on patience?"
Loren was stunned into silence.
"Any more questions? No. Did not think
so. So, on to business. You have been brought here for a reason.
Your mission is to get...."
Without warning the area started to get darker by the second. Everyone looked up to see a clear sky.
"What is going on?" Loren asked to no one in general.
A faint voice came through the First Mate's ear piece,
"Sir, it seems that the planets in
this system are beginning to align themselves. The area you are in happens
to
be the penumbra of a solar eclipse."
An unnatural darkness came swiftly
upon the still air of the day. Everyone stood in silence, uncertain of
what was happening and what was going
to happen. The only visible thing in the heavy, oppressive,
darkness was the glow of the display on the forearm of Loren's suit. Slowly
that too began
to dim until it went dark. That meant only one thing.
His suit's power generator was dead. Nothing could be seen and the only
sound was that of people
breathing in unison.
"It is an omen," one of the Mathetae stated in a low growl.
Another one mumbled under his breath, "Interesting..."
Loren started to slowly shift his hand
to the weapon on his side. Now was the time to strike and take control
of the situation. If there was one thing he
did not like was not being in control.
He could only hope that his team members were having the
same idea as he was having right now...