Part Three: The End Of Everything
JANUARY 20th, 2001, ANTIMORPH FLAGSHIP ANUBIS, IN ORBIT OF YEERK-OCCUPIED PLANET, TALORAAN…
DAVID
In an instant, as LaRouche pulled us out of Z-Space, the Yeerks knew we had arrived.
The video screen in the front of the bridge lit up with a scowling Hork-Bajir face.
"David Taggart! I am Kulak 281, of the Khaz-Modhan Pool, on Bajir. In the name of our Emperor, Melkor 2120 of the Sammath-Nuir Pool of Mordoria, I demand that you surrender unconditionally to the Pool Ship Destructor, immediately!"
"In your dreams, Yeerk. I want to speak to your new Emperor, at once!" I said in my most commanding voice.
Kulak 281 laughed villainously, "Our great and mighty Emperor would not give you the honour of minding his fecal matter, so why would he allow you to address him directly?"
I smiled in a most sinister matter, "Be my guest, you can do exactly as Sauron 001 did, and ignore us when we wish to speak with him, and wait for our new weapon to wreak havoc on your planet. You don't want another Taxxis on you hands, do you, Yeerk?"
The Controller considered this carefully.
"You shall be allowed to communicate with the Emperor over these channels."
The screen went black, and was immediately replaced with a demonic visage.
The creature on the screen had a sickening yellow skin, scaly and glittering, with numerous crimson stripes alongside his head and body, like an alien tiger. It's head, human-like in shape, boasted a black tuft of hair, in braids, flowing onto the floor. The creature itself was humanoid, with violent red eyes and a sharp nose. From it's mouth grew dozens of sharp, jagged teeth. It's ears were elfin, pointed and thin, while it's arms where dotted with bulging muscles and ended in imposing, feral claws. It's legs were strong, and a tail, thinner than a Hork-Bajir's but thicker than an Andalites, ended in a deadly barb.
I could easily guess at what this creature was: A Hockner, a race forgotten by the Yeerks and Andalites alike, subjugated more than two decades ago and ruled in secrecy by the Yeerk in front of me, Melkor 2120.
"You," Melkor said in a sharp and deep voice, "are the human who has caused my Empire so much grief."
"You were expecting maybe the Easter Bunny?" I asked, sarcastically.
"Do not attempt to make fun, human, for I am Melkor 2120, the Emperor of this galaxy!"
"Wow, you sure have a high opinion of yourself," muttered Aleks, to my left side.
"You have made a request to speak with me! Do you wish to plead for your lives? Beg for mercy? You shall find none of that with me!"
"Shut the FUCK up," I said, strongly, to an outraged Hockner-Controller.
"You would speak like that to me?! I shall have you obliterated! You will be turned into slime! Your host-family's will be fed to Taxxons, alive! You will…"
I cut him off, "I am not here to beg or plead. It's you who should be doing that."
Melkor looked both shocked and offended, "And why is that?"
"I have a device of unimaginable destructive power, which I shall now demonstrate on this planet," I motioned out the window, pointing to Taloraan, below, "Take this…demonstration…to heart, for it is but a mere splinter of my total power."
I spoke to Ceri, "Launch the bomb. Set it's destructive radius to encompass the planet, but leave all ships in orbit out of range."
Yes…just making the last calculations…and now I'm imputing them into the hard drive…yes…It's done!
"Set it loose!"
Ceri punched a few things into his keypad, and from out the window, we saw a silver cube, five feet in diameter, falling out of the belly of the Anubis, to the planet below.
Falling…
Falling…
Falling…
A flash of light! I covered my eyes from the brightness, as did my crew.
I heard a loud pop!
I removed my fingers from my eyelids…Taloraan was gone, and it was replaced by an empty void.
"Captain!" Came the voice of Kulak 281, "The planet is…gone! It's not on visual or thermal scans…not on infrared or anything at all!"
"It's gone because I destroyed it!" I shouted, "You fools, I have used a new weapon, of power unimaginable to you!"
Kulak continued, "We're picking up some faint…very faint…radio transmissions."
Melkor roared, "Play them!"
The transmissions, being on our communications channel, were audible to us.
In the faintest, faintest English, I heard:
"…everywhere! Can't see…'thing but fire! It's all shadow and…'ire…contact with all support craft…," Static interrupted the line of speech, "Good God! What the HELL is that? What the HELL IS THAT!?!? No, please, NOOO! Save us! Save us all!"
The transmission went dead.
After a few seconds of silence, Ripper spoke, "Holy shit…what the fuck was that?"
Sara's eyes broke into tears, "Oh Jesus…what did we do? What did we do to them?"
Ceri offered a solution, Perhaps we sent them to another reality…a parallel dimension, so to speak. It would seem likely, but none of the probes I ever sent through reported anything of the sort.
Melkor was at a loss for words.
"What the blaze did you do, Taggart?"
"I destroyed it, just as I will destroy the homeworld of Mordoria, or maybe Bajir…or Nahara…or Pentasera…or any other world you occupy. I could easily wipe out the entire Moria system…or more. I have many of these bombs," I lied. I had only one more.
"What do you want from us, Taggart?" The Emperor asked.
"You shall immediately remove all troops and personnel from the planet Terra Firma, leaving any and all Yeerk or Andalite technology behind for the use of the indigenous population. Every and all human being under your control will be freed of Yeerk infestation and will be given safe transport to Terra Firma. For three systems on all sides of the Sol system, there will be a de-militarized zone, in which no Imperial craft will enter. If these demands are met, your Empire will be spared. Refuse, and I shall obliterate you all."
LaROUCHE
"We shall…consider…these demands, Taggart. You will soon hear from us…" Said Melkor, dazed and shocked, seemingly in a trance.
"You have a day to make your decision."
David cut off the communication, and turned to face me at the helm.
"LaRouche, take us into Z-Space, set the course for the Moria system."
I punched in the course, Z-Space turning the view in the window to brilliant whiteness.
I was shocked…David had destroyed an entire planet. I was even more sickened than when we had devastated all of Taxxis with human nuclear weaponry.
Judging from that radio transmission, David had indeed sent those poor troops and miners on Taloraan to another dimension, and a damn unpleasant one, at that.
Christ…he had sent them to Hell, itself…
"David," I said, staring into Z-Space, "Do you really expect them to comply?"
David let loose a loud, maniacal laugh. "No, LaRouche. I expect them to die. Even if they give in to all my demands, I'm still going to erase their home system from the very fabric of the universe…they have ruined us all..spat on our souls…destroyed our lives. They must PAY for it! They must be DESTROYED! They must answer for every crime, every atrocity, every grievance, ever last God-damned MURDER must be atoned for! Everyone will get what they DESERVE!" David ranted, lost in his own mind.
I turned and faced him. His eyes were blazing red with fury, swear dripping from his brow, his face cloaked in shadow.
"I will crush and destroy and mutilate and torture all who call themselves Yeerks…"
I started walking towards him, my mind clouded in turmoil…David had finally lost it, and now he was going to murder TRILLIONS of Yeerks, even if they complied with his demands.
Sweet God…David was mad!
"I will pulverize and annihilate their Empire for its wrongs!"
"Yeah! Way to KILL those DOGS!" Snarled Ripper, jumping up and down.
I was near David now, his arms raised in the air, motioning wildly, completely lost in his own rage.
My hand coiled into a fist…
"I will visit the judgement of every GOD and every DEMON upon them, for MY name is a HOLY name! I am LEGION! The BEAST! I come to bring my FURY upon all, and I bring HELL with me! I bring HELL with me!!!!!"
I swung at David, my fist connecting directly with his face.
David went down.
Silence. Grim, unbreakable silence, terrible as all Hell itself.
David looked up, snarling, "After all I've done for you, Marc LaRouche, your just going to betray me like this?!"
I looked at him, determined, "David, I've taken a vow to defend this sorry universe, and that means doing this that others cannot. If I am the last thing that stands between you, and mass genocide, then I will stand in the face of all you would bring."
David was on his feet now, his clone's muscles gleaming, "You want to take a fuck at me?" He snarled to my face.
"Let's do it."
I leaped, he dove!
Our bodies connected in the air, fists and legs flailing wildly at each other, trying to do some damage.
"It is TIME!" Aleks cried out, dashing down the hallway and down the stairs that let to the Engine room.
Ripper called, "KILL the DOG, Dave! RIP him to SHREDS!"
His jeering was interrupted by Skorre's fist knocking him cold against the wall.
I punched David in the neck, but his clone was too strong. I was thrown back against the helm, my back flaring up in red-hot pain.
Suddenly, there was a loud, piercing shriek. Aleks!
"AAAAHHHRRRRRRRRGGGG!!!!!"
"Aleks!" Cried Sara, sitting helpless in the corner.
"MY HAND! OH, GOD! MY HAND IS ON FUCKING FIRE!!!"
David! Said Ceri, exasperated, Everything in the lower hold is getting hot! There has been an explosion in the missile bay!
"Stabalize it!" Shouted David, punching me in the face.
I cannot! The second bomb is unstable! It's readings are off the chart! It's potentcy has skyrocketed!
I shot my elbow into David's face, Skorre kicking Ceri against the consol.
"Fix it!" Skorre shouted, "Do not let that bomb go off!"
I can't! It's beyond my control!
"Fix it!" I shouted.
Then…
Time stopped.
For a fleeting instant, all was perfect…serene…the universe and all it contained was in harmony.
Then…I saw every molecule of the universe, all states of matter and being, ripped apart, torn into miniature, swirling vortex's of fire and shadow…
Not just us…everything…
The last expression on David's face was one of delight.
I head a sadistic chuckle, "Heh, heh…finally, the one that counts, gets the job done."
Before I blacked out, I saw a single, burning, red stone, floating in a void of nothingness. It hung there…time had stopped!
Time had stopped…but it had ended all the same.
AUTHORS NOTE: Two chapters left! Look for them to be both up on Christmas Eve! One in the daytime, the other at night!