"Everybody to the floor, I'm armed!" Opera shouted clearly as she stepped through the doors and stood fearlessly on the bridge, in the presence of other armed men. But Opera's weapon was much larger than the ship's crew's firearms, and unsure of the capabilities of the 3-eyed woman's impressive rifle, they followed her orders and hit the floor.
"What is going on!?" a middle-aged woman who stood beside the pilot at the controls whirled around to face Opera.
"I said hit the floor!" Opera ordered as she aimed her gun right at the inquisitive middle-aged woman.
"Don't shoot....." Opera's victim slowly raised her arms in the air, as did the pilot beside her.
"Rena, go take the weapons away from the crew members on the floor," Opera told her friend while still holding her own gun aimed at the middle-aged woman, prepared to fire were the woman to try and escape.
"Yes, Opera," Rena shakily agreed as she turned to her task of taking the firearms away from the men sprawled on the floor.
"Let Rena take your weapons! One wrong move, and this woman here gets it!" Opera yelled for all to hear. Then she turned back to face her target. "Now then, who are you?" she asked the middle-aged woman, stepping closer so that the barrel of her gigantic gun was pointed very close to the woman's face.
The woman swallowed hard as she struggled to conceal her fear, breaking into a cold sweat. She was staring confidently right down the barrel of Opera's gun, her mouth set into a straight line, and it was evident that she would not answer Opera's query.
Opera smirked at the woman's courage. "If you wish to remain anonymous then, tell me this, have you ever felt the blinding, searing heat of a bar of pure and fatal light burning into your flesh?" Opera's threat elevated in meaning with her choice words, and the woman began to shiver, her arms raising higher into the air as a reflex. Slowly, Opera moved the barrel of her weapon down, so that it was now aimed directly at the woman's heart. The woman gulped again.
"Hey.......what's this?" Opera noticed the light reflecting off of a golden pendant hanging around the woman's neck. Still pointing her gun at the woman, Opera reached her other hand forward, gently grasping the edge of the pendant between her fingers, and holding it up and looking more closely at it. It appeared to be a small locket, oval in shape, and was intricately engraved with the image of beautiful vines and flowers. Carefully she opened it, and stretched it out to reveal 3 frames displaying 3 photographs. The first picture showed a young bearded man, who, Opera noticed, resembled the woman she now threatened to shoot. The second photo was of a vibrant young woman, smiling beautiful, wisps of her soft blond hair framing her angelic face. Opera gasped as she surveyed the third picture. It showed a young boy, frizzy blond hair framing his slightly tanned face, with bright blue eyes that twinkled, and a mischievous grin.
"Rena! Rena! Come look at this!" Opera was awestruck as she gazed at the photo of the young boy.
"What is it, Opera?" Rena piled up the firearms, which she had taken from the crew, in the middle of the floor, but held on to one to protect herself. Puzzled, she approached Opera, looking over the 3-eyed woman's shoulder at the dainty locket she held.
"Rena........isn't that Claude?" Opera pointed at the photo of the young boy.
Rena gasped as she saw the image of her husband, tears coming to her eyes. ".......it is Claude......" she quietly murmured as she took it into her own hand, stroking it gently with her thumb, lost in her memories of him.
"What does this mean?" Opera stood on guard again and held her finger over the trigger of her gun, raising it up again so that the end of it's barrel grazed across the woman's jaw.
The woman swallowed hard again, but this time, chose to break the silence. "It means that Claude is my nephew," she explained as she slowly lowered her arms.
"Keep those arms up, missy," Opera ordered, this woman who claimed to be Claude's aunt might actually be lying.
"Claude is your nephew?" Rena somewhat believed the woman. "Than who are you?" Rena recognized the woman as she was the same person who had kidnapped Claude in the first place.
Though Opera wasn't successful in getting the woman to identify herself, the woman took pity on Reno's tears, and chose to tell the truth. "I am Commander Rachel Kenni, sister to Commander Ronixis Kenni, Claude's father."
"You are the woman who attacked Claude and I down on Expel," Rena's anger rose as she remembered the pain and anguish and illness she suffered from the attack and her time before coming to the ship. "You twisted woman........why did you kidnap my husband!?!?" Rena screamed as she glared at Rachel.
"Rena! Calm down! The stress isn't good for the baby!" Opera reminded her friend of her pregnancy.
Rachel gasped. "You are with child, child? Am I going to be a great-aunt?"
"Don't change the subject!" Rena screeched, an angry fire burning in her eyes as tears streamed down her face. "Where is Claude!?"
Rachel looked away, uneasy and feeling guilty about her actions. She hadn't realized on Expel that the blue-haired woman with Claude was pregnant. And even when Claude had attacked her in the infirmary, and told her that Rena was pregnant, Rachel didn't believe him, she ignored his pleas to be returned to Expel. But now, Rachel saw for herself that Claude's words were true, that this blue-haired, pointed-eared woman who claimed to be Claude's wife was indeed very heavy with child, her swollen belly evident even though it was covered by a long dress.
"Answer me, dammit!!" Rena shrieked as she drew her right hand back in the air, then let it flow forward, her open palm crashing harshly into the left side of Rachel's face in a painful slap.
The force of the slap caused Rachel to lose her balance, and she fell back, her arms stretching behind her to break her fall as she leaned back against the control panel. The sting of the smack finally reached Rachel and her left hand reached up instinctively to cup the bruise that was forming on her cheek. Anger boiled in Rachel as she lost her pride, embarrassed that her usual cat-like reflexes hadn't responded to stop Rena from slapping her. Rachel glared up at her nephew's wife, her eyes meeting and locking with Rena's in a hateful stare. But then Rena raised her hand in the air once more, and it appeared as if she would slap Rachel again. But, unexpectedly, Opera played the role of Rachel's savior.
"Rena! Stop!" Opera commanded as she firmly grasped Rena's wrist, stopping her from reaching out to strike Rachel again.
Rena angrily turned to face her friend, but then broke down as she saw that Opera didn't support her form of justice. Rena's rage slipped away, and was replaced by a wave of emotion, of sadness and disappointment, and she collapsed in Opera's reassuring embrace, letting her tears fall freely.
"Now, now, Rena. It's alright," Opera gently soothed her wailing friend.
Rachel gained her confidence again, her ego pushing through. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Apology accepted," she assumed and crossed her arms.
It was Opera's turn to glare at Claude's aunt. "How the hell do you come up with that conclusion!?" she aimed her gun at Rachel again.
Rachel instinctively raised her arms in the air again. "I forgive you for your actions," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Think before you speak," Opera told Rachel as she raised the barrel of her weapon to point at Rachel's heart.
Rachel gulped. "Perhaps what I mean to say is.......I apologized for my actions," Rachel reasoned that the best way out of this predicament would be to be truthful, as this Opera woman seemed to enjoy threatening her with her magnificent and large gun.
"Alright," Opera agreed. "Now tell Rena here what you did with her husband."
"Yes!" Rena exclaimed as she dried her eyes. "What did you do to Claude!? Why did you kidnap him!?"
Rachel took a deep breath. "It's a long story," she finally said. "If I cherished him like a nephew, then it probably wouldn't have been a kidnapping," Rachel exclaimed.
"What?" Rena was confused. "What do you mean, that you don't consider Claude as family? That you don't care about him at all?"
Rachel shrugged with indifference. "I guess you could say that."
Rena brow furrowed in sorrow. "How can you think that!? He is your nephew! And you're telling me that you don't care for your family!?"
"I didn't say that," Rachel's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I told you, it's a long story. It all started before Claude was even born."
"That is so cruel! You never gave him a chance! You hated him before he ever saw you!?" Rena's anger surfaced again.
"Rena, please, give Rachel a chance to explain herself," Opera calmed Rena down.
"Thank you, Opera," Rachel continued. "I recall it well, the best time of my life was before Claude was born," Rachel saw that Rena was glaring at her with that remark, but she continued her story. "I was respected as the most successful Commander in the entire Earth Federation. My rank was of the highest degree, I accomplished all my missions, and I established my image as a magnificent Commander. My younger brother Ronixis also chose to be a Commander, yet his skills and mission accomplishments never quite matched mine, he was a hard worker, but he could never comprehend the successes I achieved. I gained high status and respect, understood as the finest Commander. I was granted a large budget to complete my missions, the largest spacecraft in the Federation, and quality crew and maintenance staff. I got the recognition I deserved, I was very happy. But then my hard-earned respect slipped away with Ronixis's congratulations."
"Congratulations?" Rena pondered. "What do you mean?"
Rachel sighed. "Congratulations for he and his wife, as they would soon be parents."
"They were pregnant with Claude....." Opera regarded.
"That's right," Rachel, seemingly sad, nodded her head in agreement. "It was Claude's conception that sealed my downfall. Which proves to you why I treated him so harshly."
"What happened?" Rena took pity, and wished to know more.
"It was, of course, a proud moment for Ronixis when it was discovered that he would finally be a father. But the Federation actually seemed more proud than the father to be. Astrologers and psychics somehow had the idea that the alignment of the stars dictated that my brother's coming child would prove to be the hero of the universe. It seemed foolish to believe such things, it isn't the celestial bodies that decide fate, I believe. But still the Federation cast its attention to Ronixis, suddenly having an interest in everything he did. All his missions previous to Claude's conception were re-evaluated, and thought to be grand accomplishments. And though they were, they weren't as important as the missions I had triumphed. Still, Ronixis's popularity flourished, while the Earth Federation completely ignored me. Less and less missions were being assigned to me, and were instead given to Ronixis, which he executed with skill and success. I still struggled to keep my status, but my efforts were futile. I lost my recognition, my well-deserved respect. All to my brother, only because he would be a father. And at first it seemed fair, he had worked hard all his life, and it was finally his time to shine in the spotlight. I must admit, I was jealous at first, but then I reasoned that it was only fair. I thought that it would only be a matter of time for the Earth Federation to remember me again, and then I would gain my high-status once again. But I was wrong."
"Ronixis's popularity maintained?" Opera inquired. "And the Federation completely ignored you."
Rachel bent her head, embarrassed at her envy of her brother. "Claude's birth was joyous, everyone was proud. That blond baby was the darling of the Federation, Ronixis pledging that his son would follow in his footsteps, and become a grand Commander; like father, like son. Indeed, I was happy as well, that bright and cheerful, blue-eyed boy helped me to come out of my depression, I was earning respect again as Claude's aunt. But only as Claude's aunt, not as the great Commander Rachel. The Federation still ignored me, I did not gain my high-status as the never-failing Commander I once was. All my planned missions were handed to Ronixis, my giant spaceship renamed the Calnus and given to him as well. My life was meaningless without respect. My choice career had blundered."
"Everything you had worked so hard for........taken away just to celebrate a birth," Rena, for some reason, felt ashamed, as her husband was the reason why this honest woman lost her standings.
"Even though I was the hardest working Commander in the entire Federation, I was treated as if I were just an amateur. I was insanely jealous of my brother's glory, he had achieved it flawlessly, with barely any effort. But once he gained it, he proved himself worthy by accomplishing any and every mission he was given. Still, I envied him, I worked just as hard as him but rarely received any attention. I became enraged and sinfully jealous, and I focused my raw, hurtful emotions on Claude, as he was what caused me to lose everything. I treated him harshly, I didn't love him as an aunt should," Rachel bowed her head in shame.
"But then Ronixis died," Opera prompted the story to continue.
Rachel looked as if she would cry. "Yes, my dear brother died. He had been on a mission, searching for Claude. He reported that he had found Claude, but Claude wished to return to the planet he had been found on in order to bid farewell to his friends, which I assume, are you two women. But Claude tricked his father, and stayed on the planet, even when it faced oblivion. The planet was destroyed, and all mourned for Claude's death. Though I acted bitterly towards Claude, I still cared for him, as he was my nephew, so I faced sadness too when I learned of his death. I guess he didn't actually die though, as I see he's alive today. But Ronixis took it pretty bad, as any father would. His pride and joy, lost forever, as he believed. And then he faced the same horrible fate, when an unknown power attacked and destroyed the Calnus, killing all aboard, including my brother. The entire Earth Federation weeped, their legendary Commander was gone," Rachel's teas became evident as they slowly slid down the sides of her ," Rena begged, tears also building up in her eyes.
Rachel nodded her head. "Ronixis......was a magnificent Commander, I must admit. With him gone, the Federation felt they had lost, that he was the basis for everything about them. They still ignored me. But over the past 3 years, I've made myself known, come out of depression and spoken out, wanting to take on my brother's planned missions. At first the Federation was despondent, believing that I would not be successful as Ronixis obviously would be. But I persisted and was finally granted the responsibilities again. I was regaining respect again, climbing high to express my skills and standards, my capabilities and willingness to never give up, my image as a grand Commander. I've worked my hardest these past 3 years, and slowly gained recognition again. And to prove to the Federation that I was the best, I took on the impossible mission of finding Claude, as some still believed that he was still alive. It seemed preposterous, that my nephew, assumed to be long dead, was still alive and healthy. I felt that by taking on the mission, even though I would fail, the federation would come to believe in me again, and I would come out on top once more. But then I did find him, and The Federation's old respect for my brother pushed through, and I was completely ignored once again. The Federation suddenly had all this faith in Claude, believing him to be the best, like they believed Ronixis was, but Claude hadn't even done anything yet to earn that glory. My old envies and jealousy rose again, and I treated Claude harshly and relentlessly. I have worked hard all my life, and I was invisible, ignored by the Federation. I deserve better than this!" Rachel spitefully exclaimed as her tears burned rage.
"So.....you are jealous that you have worked hard all your life, but receive no recognition or credit, yet Ronixis works without as much energy, and gets all the respect?" Opera inquired. "Sounds like gender discrimination to me. Unless of course the Federation saw more possibility in your brother and your nephew than they saw in you."
"Are you saying that all my hard work was in vain!? That I didn't earn respect, just because of my behavior!?" Rachel shouted angrily.
"That is exactly what I am saying!" Opera retorted. "You are overreacting! You became insanely jealous when the spotlight wasn't on you! Perhaps if you showed more compassion, and pride in that your brother was succeeding only with your help, then maybe the Federation wouldn't have ignored you! The universe does not revolve around you! There are many other great entities worthy of attention besides you! Understand that!"
Rachel froze. This strange 3-eyed woman was exactly right. Rachel hung her head in shame, embarrassed at her years of behaving irrationally and brutally towards her nephew. ".....I-I never realized that before........I don't know what to say........" she buried her face in her hands, sinking down to the floor and folding her legs beneath her, weeping bitterly.
Rena could understand Rachel's pain. For some reason, she felt the need to comfort this woman who had hurt her before. Rena slowly knelt down beside Rachel, wrapping her arms around her and embracing her, trying to comfort her. "There, there, it's not too late to change......"
"How can you ever forgive me?" Rachel murmured between tears. "I've been rude and cruel to you, I attacked you! How can you want to help me?"
"I need your help, Commander Rachel," Rena explained. "You are the only one who knows where Claude has gone, and I need to know. I need to be with him, as my child will come soon."
Rachel looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes. ".......yes, Claude will be a father......such a blessing......." Rachel smiled at Rena in understanding. Rena smiled back.
"So, where is Claude?" Opera repeated the question she had asked before she learned the entire story. "Why did you take him in the first place?"
Rachel stood up and dusted herself off. "Claude is no longer here. He has already left for the Calnus II."
"The Calnus II?" the name seemed familiar to Rena.
"Yes," Rachel continued. "Claude is needed to fight in a battle against the Ten Wise Men."
"The Ten Wise Men!?!?" Opera and Rena exclaimed at the same time.
"Or so I'm told," Rachel confirmed. "It appears that there has been a disturbance on a distant planet, called Milocinia, where these strange men and a woman asked for Claude. We at the Earth Federation tried to compromise, we had believed for so long that Claude was dead. But the head of the enemy force, Indalecio and Filia, demanded for Claude, threatening to destroy Earth if their demands weren't met. Panicking, the Federation sent me to look for Claude, but the enemy force decided that since they'd have to wait for Claude, that they would fight until he arrived. The war goes on at this time, on Milocinia, but Indalecio and his gang are too powerful, they have already slaughtered thousands of the Federation's forces. I had to take Claude, I had no choice, for if I didn't, thousands more would be mercilessly killed. The enemy will not tell us why they want Claude, that they will proclaim their reasons once Ronixis's son is in their presence."
Rena feared the worst. "But Claude can't take them on all by himself! They are too powerful!"
"They will probably do away with him, like they did to his father," Opera sighed.
"Are you saying that these Ten Wise Men are the same people who murdered my brother!?" Rachel gasped.
"We saw the destruction of the Calnus with our own eyes," Rena did not want to recall that painful memory.
Rachel's heart heaved, and she made a bold decision. "Get up off the floor, men!" Rachel commanded the crew members who were still sprawled on the floor, ordered there in the first place by Opera when she had first arrived. "Get up and get busy, men! We have to go after Commander Kenni!" Rachel ordered. The men started scrambling around.
"Commander Kenni?" Rena was confused.
"Claude is now Commander Kenni. The Earth Federation saw it best to make him a Commander so he could more easily complete his mission of stopping the Ten Wise Men," Rachel explained.
"We have to go after Claude?" Opera scratched her head. "Where is he?"
"Just before you two women stole aboard, Commander Kenni, along with Second-Commander Saunders and Assistant Brice, left in a Speed Shuttle, heading to Milocinia, where his ship the Calnus II is waiting to take him into battle. A Speed Shuttle is much quicker that a regular ship, it is used for emergencies where a person has to be somewhere as soon as possible, and it travels seven times as fast as my ship. It was the only one I had. So if we were to go after him now, it would be a week before we arrived," Rachel resolved.
"Then what are we waiting for!?" Opera exclaimed. "Let's go! Claude needs us with him if he even has the slightest chance of surviving!"
Rachel smiled. "Right! Let's get moving, men! Turn this ship around! We have to go after Commander Kenni as fast as we can!"
"Yes sir, Commander Rachel!" the crew's voices agreed in a chorus. They began frantically bustling about, shouting to one another of what to do and flipping switches and buttons on the control panel. Suddenly the ship quaked, and it slowly turned around. The engines warmed up, and the Tolden began moving forward, away from Expel, heading in the direction that Claude had left them.
"What can we do once we get there?" Opera asked.
Rachel sighed. "I'm not sure......the Ten Wise Men are very strong, from what I've heard. When I told Claude about the battle, he seemed to know about the Ten Wise Men, as do you two ladies. Tell me, have you met them before?"
Rena slowly nodded her head. "When I first met Claude, there was a disturbance on my planet, Expel. We teamed up and decided to investigate the problem, along the way meeting Opera, here," Rena pointed to the 3-eyed woman standing beside her. "Opera, along with many others, joined Claude and I in our quest. We eventually found that the Ten Wise Men were causing the evil upon Expel, and they wanted to conquer the universe, and if they couldn't have that, they would destroy it. But Claude and I and our small party managed to defeat and destroy the Ten Wise men.......or so we thought........"
"How did the Ten Wise Men come back?" Opera finished Rena's sentence.
Rachel shrugged. "I was told that a strange woman on Milocinia, her name was Filia, proclaimed that the Ten Wise Men's souls tortured her until she was too weak to hold them off any longer, then they overcame her and used her to find bodies to house their souls, so that they would have physical forms to complete their ambitions. The first taken was Agent Stark, a reporter for the Earth Federation, and the son of Second Commander Saunders. I heard that Filia lured him, then used her evil magic to place Indalecio's soul into him, so that Agent Stark is now Indalecio. We can't kill the Ten Wise Men, even if we wanted to, as we would be killing citizens of the Earth Federation, the Ten Wise Men have taken over the bodies of workers for the Federation, and we fear that if we kill Indalecio, then we would be killing Agent Stark as well. It is unknown how we should go about to defeat the Ten Wise Men without killing the innocents whose bodies they stole."
"A tough predicament," Opera stroked her chin.
"We at the Earth Federation saw it best to leave the strategizing and planning to Commander Kenni, as he has encountered the Ten Wise Men before, and knows how he defeated them before. So hopefully, he can beat them again," Rachel bowed her head in prayer.
Rena thought deeply, silently evaluating Claude's chances now of defeating the Ten Wise Men. She knew Claude would have a better chance of succeeding with herself and Opera at his side, but the Ten Wise Men also appeared to be much more stronger now, and had a defense system, the bodies of the innocent workers of the Earth Federation which Indalecio and his gang inhabited.
"War....." Rena recounted the word that described the pain and suffering that she would meet on Milocinia. Her hand instinctively went to gently rub her swollen belly. "......I hope my child does not see that anguish......" she feared that her baby would be born when she would be fighting with Claude.
A single tear fell from Rena's eye as she looked out the windshield of the ship, watching as Expel moved towards the edge of the window, slowly sliding out of view, until it had disappeared entirely. In one hand she grasped a gun she had taken from one of Rachel's crew, and she had held onto it for her protection. Carefully she placed it in her leather pouch, she would possibly need it later. As she put it gently in the bottom of her bag, her hand brushed against another gun-shaped weapon, the Holy Twin, the firearm she would give to Claude when they would re-unite. For some reason, the name of the LEA metal-powered weapon sparked an interest within Rena, she recalled how Mayor Regis had told her that the name predicted Claude's future.......but how could that be? The name referred to.......oh, no, it couldn't be! But if it was fact, Rena would be so happy. A kind smile crept across Rena's face.
"The Holy Twin.......the holy twins......." Rena reasoned, the name seemed so right now. Her hands went back to rubbing her pregnant stomach. "Don't worry Claude, I'm coming," she quietly said to herself as she smiled and looked down at her swollen abdomen. "Don't worry, we're coming.....all three of us......."
"What is going on!?" a middle-aged woman who stood beside the pilot at the controls whirled around to face Opera.
"I said hit the floor!" Opera ordered as she aimed her gun right at the inquisitive middle-aged woman.
"Don't shoot....." Opera's victim slowly raised her arms in the air, as did the pilot beside her.
"Rena, go take the weapons away from the crew members on the floor," Opera told her friend while still holding her own gun aimed at the middle-aged woman, prepared to fire were the woman to try and escape.
"Yes, Opera," Rena shakily agreed as she turned to her task of taking the firearms away from the men sprawled on the floor.
"Let Rena take your weapons! One wrong move, and this woman here gets it!" Opera yelled for all to hear. Then she turned back to face her target. "Now then, who are you?" she asked the middle-aged woman, stepping closer so that the barrel of her gigantic gun was pointed very close to the woman's face.
The woman swallowed hard as she struggled to conceal her fear, breaking into a cold sweat. She was staring confidently right down the barrel of Opera's gun, her mouth set into a straight line, and it was evident that she would not answer Opera's query.
Opera smirked at the woman's courage. "If you wish to remain anonymous then, tell me this, have you ever felt the blinding, searing heat of a bar of pure and fatal light burning into your flesh?" Opera's threat elevated in meaning with her choice words, and the woman began to shiver, her arms raising higher into the air as a reflex. Slowly, Opera moved the barrel of her weapon down, so that it was now aimed directly at the woman's heart. The woman gulped again.
"Hey.......what's this?" Opera noticed the light reflecting off of a golden pendant hanging around the woman's neck. Still pointing her gun at the woman, Opera reached her other hand forward, gently grasping the edge of the pendant between her fingers, and holding it up and looking more closely at it. It appeared to be a small locket, oval in shape, and was intricately engraved with the image of beautiful vines and flowers. Carefully she opened it, and stretched it out to reveal 3 frames displaying 3 photographs. The first picture showed a young bearded man, who, Opera noticed, resembled the woman she now threatened to shoot. The second photo was of a vibrant young woman, smiling beautiful, wisps of her soft blond hair framing her angelic face. Opera gasped as she surveyed the third picture. It showed a young boy, frizzy blond hair framing his slightly tanned face, with bright blue eyes that twinkled, and a mischievous grin.
"Rena! Rena! Come look at this!" Opera was awestruck as she gazed at the photo of the young boy.
"What is it, Opera?" Rena piled up the firearms, which she had taken from the crew, in the middle of the floor, but held on to one to protect herself. Puzzled, she approached Opera, looking over the 3-eyed woman's shoulder at the dainty locket she held.
"Rena........isn't that Claude?" Opera pointed at the photo of the young boy.
Rena gasped as she saw the image of her husband, tears coming to her eyes. ".......it is Claude......" she quietly murmured as she took it into her own hand, stroking it gently with her thumb, lost in her memories of him.
"What does this mean?" Opera stood on guard again and held her finger over the trigger of her gun, raising it up again so that the end of it's barrel grazed across the woman's jaw.
The woman swallowed hard again, but this time, chose to break the silence. "It means that Claude is my nephew," she explained as she slowly lowered her arms.
"Keep those arms up, missy," Opera ordered, this woman who claimed to be Claude's aunt might actually be lying.
"Claude is your nephew?" Rena somewhat believed the woman. "Than who are you?" Rena recognized the woman as she was the same person who had kidnapped Claude in the first place.
Though Opera wasn't successful in getting the woman to identify herself, the woman took pity on Reno's tears, and chose to tell the truth. "I am Commander Rachel Kenni, sister to Commander Ronixis Kenni, Claude's father."
"You are the woman who attacked Claude and I down on Expel," Rena's anger rose as she remembered the pain and anguish and illness she suffered from the attack and her time before coming to the ship. "You twisted woman........why did you kidnap my husband!?!?" Rena screamed as she glared at Rachel.
"Rena! Calm down! The stress isn't good for the baby!" Opera reminded her friend of her pregnancy.
Rachel gasped. "You are with child, child? Am I going to be a great-aunt?"
"Don't change the subject!" Rena screeched, an angry fire burning in her eyes as tears streamed down her face. "Where is Claude!?"
Rachel looked away, uneasy and feeling guilty about her actions. She hadn't realized on Expel that the blue-haired woman with Claude was pregnant. And even when Claude had attacked her in the infirmary, and told her that Rena was pregnant, Rachel didn't believe him, she ignored his pleas to be returned to Expel. But now, Rachel saw for herself that Claude's words were true, that this blue-haired, pointed-eared woman who claimed to be Claude's wife was indeed very heavy with child, her swollen belly evident even though it was covered by a long dress.
"Answer me, dammit!!" Rena shrieked as she drew her right hand back in the air, then let it flow forward, her open palm crashing harshly into the left side of Rachel's face in a painful slap.
The force of the slap caused Rachel to lose her balance, and she fell back, her arms stretching behind her to break her fall as she leaned back against the control panel. The sting of the smack finally reached Rachel and her left hand reached up instinctively to cup the bruise that was forming on her cheek. Anger boiled in Rachel as she lost her pride, embarrassed that her usual cat-like reflexes hadn't responded to stop Rena from slapping her. Rachel glared up at her nephew's wife, her eyes meeting and locking with Rena's in a hateful stare. But then Rena raised her hand in the air once more, and it appeared as if she would slap Rachel again. But, unexpectedly, Opera played the role of Rachel's savior.
"Rena! Stop!" Opera commanded as she firmly grasped Rena's wrist, stopping her from reaching out to strike Rachel again.
Rena angrily turned to face her friend, but then broke down as she saw that Opera didn't support her form of justice. Rena's rage slipped away, and was replaced by a wave of emotion, of sadness and disappointment, and she collapsed in Opera's reassuring embrace, letting her tears fall freely.
"Now, now, Rena. It's alright," Opera gently soothed her wailing friend.
Rachel gained her confidence again, her ego pushing through. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Apology accepted," she assumed and crossed her arms.
It was Opera's turn to glare at Claude's aunt. "How the hell do you come up with that conclusion!?" she aimed her gun at Rachel again.
Rachel instinctively raised her arms in the air again. "I forgive you for your actions," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Think before you speak," Opera told Rachel as she raised the barrel of her weapon to point at Rachel's heart.
Rachel gulped. "Perhaps what I mean to say is.......I apologized for my actions," Rachel reasoned that the best way out of this predicament would be to be truthful, as this Opera woman seemed to enjoy threatening her with her magnificent and large gun.
"Alright," Opera agreed. "Now tell Rena here what you did with her husband."
"Yes!" Rena exclaimed as she dried her eyes. "What did you do to Claude!? Why did you kidnap him!?"
Rachel took a deep breath. "It's a long story," she finally said. "If I cherished him like a nephew, then it probably wouldn't have been a kidnapping," Rachel exclaimed.
"What?" Rena was confused. "What do you mean, that you don't consider Claude as family? That you don't care about him at all?"
Rachel shrugged with indifference. "I guess you could say that."
Rena brow furrowed in sorrow. "How can you think that!? He is your nephew! And you're telling me that you don't care for your family!?"
"I didn't say that," Rachel's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I told you, it's a long story. It all started before Claude was even born."
"That is so cruel! You never gave him a chance! You hated him before he ever saw you!?" Rena's anger surfaced again.
"Rena, please, give Rachel a chance to explain herself," Opera calmed Rena down.
"Thank you, Opera," Rachel continued. "I recall it well, the best time of my life was before Claude was born," Rachel saw that Rena was glaring at her with that remark, but she continued her story. "I was respected as the most successful Commander in the entire Earth Federation. My rank was of the highest degree, I accomplished all my missions, and I established my image as a magnificent Commander. My younger brother Ronixis also chose to be a Commander, yet his skills and mission accomplishments never quite matched mine, he was a hard worker, but he could never comprehend the successes I achieved. I gained high status and respect, understood as the finest Commander. I was granted a large budget to complete my missions, the largest spacecraft in the Federation, and quality crew and maintenance staff. I got the recognition I deserved, I was very happy. But then my hard-earned respect slipped away with Ronixis's congratulations."
"Congratulations?" Rena pondered. "What do you mean?"
Rachel sighed. "Congratulations for he and his wife, as they would soon be parents."
"They were pregnant with Claude....." Opera regarded.
"That's right," Rachel, seemingly sad, nodded her head in agreement. "It was Claude's conception that sealed my downfall. Which proves to you why I treated him so harshly."
"What happened?" Rena took pity, and wished to know more.
"It was, of course, a proud moment for Ronixis when it was discovered that he would finally be a father. But the Federation actually seemed more proud than the father to be. Astrologers and psychics somehow had the idea that the alignment of the stars dictated that my brother's coming child would prove to be the hero of the universe. It seemed foolish to believe such things, it isn't the celestial bodies that decide fate, I believe. But still the Federation cast its attention to Ronixis, suddenly having an interest in everything he did. All his missions previous to Claude's conception were re-evaluated, and thought to be grand accomplishments. And though they were, they weren't as important as the missions I had triumphed. Still, Ronixis's popularity flourished, while the Earth Federation completely ignored me. Less and less missions were being assigned to me, and were instead given to Ronixis, which he executed with skill and success. I still struggled to keep my status, but my efforts were futile. I lost my recognition, my well-deserved respect. All to my brother, only because he would be a father. And at first it seemed fair, he had worked hard all his life, and it was finally his time to shine in the spotlight. I must admit, I was jealous at first, but then I reasoned that it was only fair. I thought that it would only be a matter of time for the Earth Federation to remember me again, and then I would gain my high-status once again. But I was wrong."
"Ronixis's popularity maintained?" Opera inquired. "And the Federation completely ignored you."
Rachel bent her head, embarrassed at her envy of her brother. "Claude's birth was joyous, everyone was proud. That blond baby was the darling of the Federation, Ronixis pledging that his son would follow in his footsteps, and become a grand Commander; like father, like son. Indeed, I was happy as well, that bright and cheerful, blue-eyed boy helped me to come out of my depression, I was earning respect again as Claude's aunt. But only as Claude's aunt, not as the great Commander Rachel. The Federation still ignored me, I did not gain my high-status as the never-failing Commander I once was. All my planned missions were handed to Ronixis, my giant spaceship renamed the Calnus and given to him as well. My life was meaningless without respect. My choice career had blundered."
"Everything you had worked so hard for........taken away just to celebrate a birth," Rena, for some reason, felt ashamed, as her husband was the reason why this honest woman lost her standings.
"Even though I was the hardest working Commander in the entire Federation, I was treated as if I were just an amateur. I was insanely jealous of my brother's glory, he had achieved it flawlessly, with barely any effort. But once he gained it, he proved himself worthy by accomplishing any and every mission he was given. Still, I envied him, I worked just as hard as him but rarely received any attention. I became enraged and sinfully jealous, and I focused my raw, hurtful emotions on Claude, as he was what caused me to lose everything. I treated him harshly, I didn't love him as an aunt should," Rachel bowed her head in shame.
"But then Ronixis died," Opera prompted the story to continue.
Rachel looked as if she would cry. "Yes, my dear brother died. He had been on a mission, searching for Claude. He reported that he had found Claude, but Claude wished to return to the planet he had been found on in order to bid farewell to his friends, which I assume, are you two women. But Claude tricked his father, and stayed on the planet, even when it faced oblivion. The planet was destroyed, and all mourned for Claude's death. Though I acted bitterly towards Claude, I still cared for him, as he was my nephew, so I faced sadness too when I learned of his death. I guess he didn't actually die though, as I see he's alive today. But Ronixis took it pretty bad, as any father would. His pride and joy, lost forever, as he believed. And then he faced the same horrible fate, when an unknown power attacked and destroyed the Calnus, killing all aboard, including my brother. The entire Earth Federation weeped, their legendary Commander was gone," Rachel's teas became evident as they slowly slid down the sides of her ," Rena begged, tears also building up in her eyes.
Rachel nodded her head. "Ronixis......was a magnificent Commander, I must admit. With him gone, the Federation felt they had lost, that he was the basis for everything about them. They still ignored me. But over the past 3 years, I've made myself known, come out of depression and spoken out, wanting to take on my brother's planned missions. At first the Federation was despondent, believing that I would not be successful as Ronixis obviously would be. But I persisted and was finally granted the responsibilities again. I was regaining respect again, climbing high to express my skills and standards, my capabilities and willingness to never give up, my image as a grand Commander. I've worked my hardest these past 3 years, and slowly gained recognition again. And to prove to the Federation that I was the best, I took on the impossible mission of finding Claude, as some still believed that he was still alive. It seemed preposterous, that my nephew, assumed to be long dead, was still alive and healthy. I felt that by taking on the mission, even though I would fail, the federation would come to believe in me again, and I would come out on top once more. But then I did find him, and The Federation's old respect for my brother pushed through, and I was completely ignored once again. The Federation suddenly had all this faith in Claude, believing him to be the best, like they believed Ronixis was, but Claude hadn't even done anything yet to earn that glory. My old envies and jealousy rose again, and I treated Claude harshly and relentlessly. I have worked hard all my life, and I was invisible, ignored by the Federation. I deserve better than this!" Rachel spitefully exclaimed as her tears burned rage.
"So.....you are jealous that you have worked hard all your life, but receive no recognition or credit, yet Ronixis works without as much energy, and gets all the respect?" Opera inquired. "Sounds like gender discrimination to me. Unless of course the Federation saw more possibility in your brother and your nephew than they saw in you."
"Are you saying that all my hard work was in vain!? That I didn't earn respect, just because of my behavior!?" Rachel shouted angrily.
"That is exactly what I am saying!" Opera retorted. "You are overreacting! You became insanely jealous when the spotlight wasn't on you! Perhaps if you showed more compassion, and pride in that your brother was succeeding only with your help, then maybe the Federation wouldn't have ignored you! The universe does not revolve around you! There are many other great entities worthy of attention besides you! Understand that!"
Rachel froze. This strange 3-eyed woman was exactly right. Rachel hung her head in shame, embarrassed at her years of behaving irrationally and brutally towards her nephew. ".....I-I never realized that before........I don't know what to say........" she buried her face in her hands, sinking down to the floor and folding her legs beneath her, weeping bitterly.
Rena could understand Rachel's pain. For some reason, she felt the need to comfort this woman who had hurt her before. Rena slowly knelt down beside Rachel, wrapping her arms around her and embracing her, trying to comfort her. "There, there, it's not too late to change......"
"How can you ever forgive me?" Rachel murmured between tears. "I've been rude and cruel to you, I attacked you! How can you want to help me?"
"I need your help, Commander Rachel," Rena explained. "You are the only one who knows where Claude has gone, and I need to know. I need to be with him, as my child will come soon."
Rachel looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes. ".......yes, Claude will be a father......such a blessing......." Rachel smiled at Rena in understanding. Rena smiled back.
"So, where is Claude?" Opera repeated the question she had asked before she learned the entire story. "Why did you take him in the first place?"
Rachel stood up and dusted herself off. "Claude is no longer here. He has already left for the Calnus II."
"The Calnus II?" the name seemed familiar to Rena.
"Yes," Rachel continued. "Claude is needed to fight in a battle against the Ten Wise Men."
"The Ten Wise Men!?!?" Opera and Rena exclaimed at the same time.
"Or so I'm told," Rachel confirmed. "It appears that there has been a disturbance on a distant planet, called Milocinia, where these strange men and a woman asked for Claude. We at the Earth Federation tried to compromise, we had believed for so long that Claude was dead. But the head of the enemy force, Indalecio and Filia, demanded for Claude, threatening to destroy Earth if their demands weren't met. Panicking, the Federation sent me to look for Claude, but the enemy force decided that since they'd have to wait for Claude, that they would fight until he arrived. The war goes on at this time, on Milocinia, but Indalecio and his gang are too powerful, they have already slaughtered thousands of the Federation's forces. I had to take Claude, I had no choice, for if I didn't, thousands more would be mercilessly killed. The enemy will not tell us why they want Claude, that they will proclaim their reasons once Ronixis's son is in their presence."
Rena feared the worst. "But Claude can't take them on all by himself! They are too powerful!"
"They will probably do away with him, like they did to his father," Opera sighed.
"Are you saying that these Ten Wise Men are the same people who murdered my brother!?" Rachel gasped.
"We saw the destruction of the Calnus with our own eyes," Rena did not want to recall that painful memory.
Rachel's heart heaved, and she made a bold decision. "Get up off the floor, men!" Rachel commanded the crew members who were still sprawled on the floor, ordered there in the first place by Opera when she had first arrived. "Get up and get busy, men! We have to go after Commander Kenni!" Rachel ordered. The men started scrambling around.
"Commander Kenni?" Rena was confused.
"Claude is now Commander Kenni. The Earth Federation saw it best to make him a Commander so he could more easily complete his mission of stopping the Ten Wise Men," Rachel explained.
"We have to go after Claude?" Opera scratched her head. "Where is he?"
"Just before you two women stole aboard, Commander Kenni, along with Second-Commander Saunders and Assistant Brice, left in a Speed Shuttle, heading to Milocinia, where his ship the Calnus II is waiting to take him into battle. A Speed Shuttle is much quicker that a regular ship, it is used for emergencies where a person has to be somewhere as soon as possible, and it travels seven times as fast as my ship. It was the only one I had. So if we were to go after him now, it would be a week before we arrived," Rachel resolved.
"Then what are we waiting for!?" Opera exclaimed. "Let's go! Claude needs us with him if he even has the slightest chance of surviving!"
Rachel smiled. "Right! Let's get moving, men! Turn this ship around! We have to go after Commander Kenni as fast as we can!"
"Yes sir, Commander Rachel!" the crew's voices agreed in a chorus. They began frantically bustling about, shouting to one another of what to do and flipping switches and buttons on the control panel. Suddenly the ship quaked, and it slowly turned around. The engines warmed up, and the Tolden began moving forward, away from Expel, heading in the direction that Claude had left them.
"What can we do once we get there?" Opera asked.
Rachel sighed. "I'm not sure......the Ten Wise Men are very strong, from what I've heard. When I told Claude about the battle, he seemed to know about the Ten Wise Men, as do you two ladies. Tell me, have you met them before?"
Rena slowly nodded her head. "When I first met Claude, there was a disturbance on my planet, Expel. We teamed up and decided to investigate the problem, along the way meeting Opera, here," Rena pointed to the 3-eyed woman standing beside her. "Opera, along with many others, joined Claude and I in our quest. We eventually found that the Ten Wise Men were causing the evil upon Expel, and they wanted to conquer the universe, and if they couldn't have that, they would destroy it. But Claude and I and our small party managed to defeat and destroy the Ten Wise men.......or so we thought........"
"How did the Ten Wise Men come back?" Opera finished Rena's sentence.
Rachel shrugged. "I was told that a strange woman on Milocinia, her name was Filia, proclaimed that the Ten Wise Men's souls tortured her until she was too weak to hold them off any longer, then they overcame her and used her to find bodies to house their souls, so that they would have physical forms to complete their ambitions. The first taken was Agent Stark, a reporter for the Earth Federation, and the son of Second Commander Saunders. I heard that Filia lured him, then used her evil magic to place Indalecio's soul into him, so that Agent Stark is now Indalecio. We can't kill the Ten Wise Men, even if we wanted to, as we would be killing citizens of the Earth Federation, the Ten Wise Men have taken over the bodies of workers for the Federation, and we fear that if we kill Indalecio, then we would be killing Agent Stark as well. It is unknown how we should go about to defeat the Ten Wise Men without killing the innocents whose bodies they stole."
"A tough predicament," Opera stroked her chin.
"We at the Earth Federation saw it best to leave the strategizing and planning to Commander Kenni, as he has encountered the Ten Wise Men before, and knows how he defeated them before. So hopefully, he can beat them again," Rachel bowed her head in prayer.
Rena thought deeply, silently evaluating Claude's chances now of defeating the Ten Wise Men. She knew Claude would have a better chance of succeeding with herself and Opera at his side, but the Ten Wise Men also appeared to be much more stronger now, and had a defense system, the bodies of the innocent workers of the Earth Federation which Indalecio and his gang inhabited.
"War....." Rena recounted the word that described the pain and suffering that she would meet on Milocinia. Her hand instinctively went to gently rub her swollen belly. "......I hope my child does not see that anguish......" she feared that her baby would be born when she would be fighting with Claude.
A single tear fell from Rena's eye as she looked out the windshield of the ship, watching as Expel moved towards the edge of the window, slowly sliding out of view, until it had disappeared entirely. In one hand she grasped a gun she had taken from one of Rachel's crew, and she had held onto it for her protection. Carefully she placed it in her leather pouch, she would possibly need it later. As she put it gently in the bottom of her bag, her hand brushed against another gun-shaped weapon, the Holy Twin, the firearm she would give to Claude when they would re-unite. For some reason, the name of the LEA metal-powered weapon sparked an interest within Rena, she recalled how Mayor Regis had told her that the name predicted Claude's future.......but how could that be? The name referred to.......oh, no, it couldn't be! But if it was fact, Rena would be so happy. A kind smile crept across Rena's face.
"The Holy Twin.......the holy twins......." Rena reasoned, the name seemed so right now. Her hands went back to rubbing her pregnant stomach. "Don't worry Claude, I'm coming," she quietly said to herself as she smiled and looked down at her swollen abdomen. "Don't worry, we're coming.....all three of us......."