Linilya Elf – Sorry about the Legolas-less chapter, but he's in this one, I promise.
Onhiro – Yeah, they did destroy Numenor. But like you mentioned in an earlier review, then they would take all the glory and the fun and it would be an awfully short fic. As for The Company (Weyland-Yutani), you're really going to hate them in future chapters. Mwahaha.
Lt Commander Richie – (bites nails down to the core) I can't give it away. You'll find out soon enough, but I promise things will work themselves out.
A/N – I'm on a roll, two chapters up within one week, yahoo! Just a reminder that when you hear the name Crystal, it's actually Ariedel's real name.
Disclaimers - Please see Chapter 1. But I do want a gift-wrapped Legolas under my tree for Christmas this year (I'm talking about a real one, not an action figure :oP ).
Chapter 6 – A Large Miracle
Avalon
Earth date: December 20, 2357ad
Freak stood on a raised platform, six hundred feet from the ground and hanging near the top of his A-Class ship, The Rebel. The night sky was pouring rain and even with the extreme light streaming from a hundred floodlamps around the vessel, Freak couldn't see a damned thing. He threw a wrench at the mechanic harnessed to the side of the ship. The mechanic had been working on a hatch that kept unsealing during space flight and causing all kinds of problems. "This should have been done sixteen hours ago! Get this thing fixed now or next time I'm taking my business elsewhere!"
The terrified mechanic quickly nodded. "I'll get it done. I'll get it done."
"You have one hour and then I'm lifting off whether you're still hooked onto the ship or not!" Freak worked the controls of the platform and it slowly swung away from the ship. While he was high enough off the ground, he took the moment to observe the loading of the Armored Personnel Carrier, or APC for short. It was a necessity on a ship the size of The Rebel. Freak had purchased the APC three years ago from the military when they had decided to retire them for newer models. The two Dropships had also been purchased from the military. It had been Blue Light Specials all around that day.
A chirp came from his belt and he retrieved his com unit, pressing it into his ear. "Yeah?" He listened to the voice on the unit, covering his other ear to block out the sound of the rain pinging on the exterior of the ship. "What's the rendezvous point?" he yelled in response. "Okay, go ahead and confirm the time." He put the com unit back into a pocket hanging from his belt. All was pretty much set to go, except for the hatch still being worked on. He worked the controls of the platform again, maneuvering it down to the ground. As he stepped off, Max Zion ran up to him. He was one of the crewmen on the ship.
"Dropships are loaded and tucked in tight, boss," hollered Zion over the rain.
"What about our arsenal?" asked Freak.
"The artillery bay is wall to wall. We couldn't fit a ship rat in there if we tried."
Freak slapped Zion on the back. "Good job, Zee. I knew I could count on you."
The two men hustled toward one of the ramps and went inside to get out of the rain. There was still a lot of activity in the main loading bay. The APC was being parked in its secure spot to prevent it from being bounced around during the takeoff and landing. A variety of forklifts carried crates to different parts of the ship. The crates not only contained the provisions they usually needed during missions, but they also brought provisions to be dropped off at specific colonies that were in dire need of certain supplies. Freak always volunteered to drop supplies off to colonies on his route to whatever mission he was on. He was a sucker for people in need.
While the outfitting of the ship continued, Freak took the opportunity for some quiet time in his quarters. He stripped out of his wet clothing, down to his boxers and teeshirt. Then he sat in his favorite recliner and used a remote to turn on the stereo unit built into the wall. The room soon filled with the sounds of an old 21st century band called Staind, playing "Outside", one of their mellower tunes. Freak had a soft spot for loud and obnoxious tunes from that era. He preferred it over the stringy synthetic music being played nowadays.
The moment the music began, he pulled out a fat cigar and lit it. Then he reclined back and sang along to the music. "I'm on the outside and I'm looking in. I can see through you, see your true colors. Cuz inside you're ugly, ugly like me. I can see through you, see to the real you." He closed his eyes and let the music fill his head as he smoked his cigar.
It was a ritual he performed before leaving any planet. Before cryosleep.
§
An hour later, with the job on the hatch finally complete and everything loaded, The Rebel's engines came to life. Powerful thrusters pushed the enormous ship from the ground and it slowly lifted toward the sky. When it reached orbit, the crew prepared for cryosleep, just before the ship plunged into hyperspace.
Avalon
Earth date: December 21, 2357ad
Seth sat in the dark, his attention focused on the small screen in front of him. The image of his sister was speaking to him from the screen. It was a recording of the last transmission she had sent from Earth to Avalon months ago…just before the infestation of Gateway. He had hoped that either she never made it to Gateway and was currently living on Earth or that she had managed to translocate off the station before it became infested with aliens. But he knew that if she hadn't made it to Gateway then she would have sent him another transmission, telling him that she was safe. Then again, just because he didn't receive another transmission didn't mean that she had been on the station when they blew it up. Hopefully she had translocated off and simply had no means to communicate with him.
On the screen Crystal was in the middle of explaining what had happened to her after she had transmutated to SR-682. Seth had watched the recording so many times that he practically had it memorized. But he watched it again and again. It made him feel somewhat secure that she might actually still be alive.
"It was a beautiful wedding. You should have seen my dress. It was white with layers and layers of silk."
Seth heard himself respond on the recording. "I wish I could have been there."
Crystal's expression grew sad. "I know." Then she straightened up. "But anyway, we were on our way to Mirkwood. That's where Legolas lives. And we stopped for a couple of nights in this other place where the Elves lived in trees." She paused and glanced off screen for a moment. "What? Oh, right." She turned back to the screen. "Legolas says the name of the place is Lothlorien. They had these lights all around, but I couldn't figure out how they worked because I didn't see any wiring anywhere. So we were there for two or three days, I think, before we received a message from Aragorn. He's a friend of Legolas and also the king of Gondor. He lives in this stunning white city with seven levels. God, I wish I could have taken some pictures."
"So you're running in pretty high circles, huh?" asked Seth in the recording.
Crystal laughed. "Yeah, how about that. So anyway we got the message from Aragorn, which was accompanied by a wooden box containing, get this, the head of an alien. At first I thought maybe somebody took care of the job I had been sent to do. But when I asked the messenger if it was the only one, the guy shook his head and said there had been others. So that's how I knew the alien wasn't alone."
"How were you able to kill them?"
"Actually I didn't do any of the killing. Aragorn's guards and Legolas did most of it. But there were too many. We didn't think we would last another attack, so Legolas took a group of men to the nest during the day, to try and burn it. From what Legolas told me later was that they were attacked and he was the only one that managed to cut himself free of the resin. Then he killed whatever was alive in the nest, the queen and the alpha drone."
"By himself? What kind of weapon did he use?"
"Bow and arrow."
Seth recalled how shocked he was when he first heard Crystal say it. "A bow and arrow?" he heard himself respond with disbelief in his voice. "That's not possible."
"Well, it is with Legolas. Anyway, Randle Dorian translocated to the planet, found me and we went in search of Legolas. Randle also had explosives with him which we used later. Luckily I found Legolas when I did. He was messed up pretty bad and Randle got a reading that Legolas was impregnated. That's the reason I had to get him to Gateway."
"I know. But he's okay now, right?"
"Yeah, he's perfectly fine."
"So where are you now?" asked Seth.
"I'm on a belated honeymoon in Tahiti on Earth."
"I'm glad to hear that, but all I really care about is that you're okay."
"I swear I'm fine."
"When are you coming home?"
"I…uh…I'm not sure, Seth. That's the reason I'm calling. Warner wants to use Legolas in one of his experiments. Apparently Legolas developed some kind of connection with the baby queen before they extracted her from him. Warner picked up on it and thought it would be a great idea to use Legolas as his pawn to communicate with the aliens. I can't let that happen so I'm not sure if I'll be coming back or not."
"You can't mean that, Crystal. You can't just disappear."
"It's something I have to do. I love him, Seth."
"I don't like it, but I understand."
Crystal motioned for someone off screen and that's when Seth first saw Legolas. Good-looking with long blonde hair and pointed ears. Legolas was just the kind of guy Seth imagined his sister would fall for. "Seth, this is Legolas. Legolas, this is my brother, Seth."
"Tis a pleasure to meet you, Seth," said Legolas.
"I suppose I should thank you for everything you did for my sister, Legolas. I'm glad she ran into you and not someone who wouldn't have helped her in the situation she was in."
"There is no need to thank me." Then he smiled. "She enchanted me from the moment I first set eyes upon her."
"Yeah, she certainly has a way, doesn't she?"
Crystal laughed beside Legolas. "Hey, I resent that, dear brother of mine."
"So I hear you're a prince. Does that make my sister a princess?"
"It does. She will make a fine queen someday."
Seth smiled to himself. "Oh God, no. That's totally gonna go to her head."
Legolas frowned. "I do not jest, Seth."
"Yeah, I guess not. Just do me a favor, Legolas. Take care of her for me, will you?"
"Tis no reason to ask it of me as a favor. I do it because I love her."
"Good-bye then."
"Good-bye," said Legolas before he left the screen.
Tears welled up in Crystal's eyes as she turned back to the screen. "How's Kira?"
"She's doing a lot better."
"Give her a hug and a kiss for me and tell her I love her."
"I will."
"We're going to Gateway tomorrow morning and translocating to Arda…I mean, SR-682. Good-bye, Seth. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby. Good-bye."
The transmission ended and the screen went blank.
Seth blinked back the tears that threatened. If Crystal had managed to translocate to SR-682, then by now several years would have passed according to the time difference. He and Freak had calculated for every year that passed in their solar system, about twenty years passed on SR-682. So Seth figured about ten or eleven years had passed in the last six months. He prayed Crystal was alive and living well.
Rohan and Gondor
(Ariedel's POV)
A week passed since we left Edoras and Legolas continued to have horrible dreams. He desperately wanted to stay awake, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep just seemed to overwhelm him. Afterward he would wake up crying out and mumbling about Elves being taken in Valinor.
We were currently on our way to Minas Tirith and had passed the border from Rohan into Gondor three days earlier. Éomer and Lothíriel had decided to go to Minas Tirith with us, bringing their son, Elfwine and a large procession of Rohirrim, including Gamling and Gambold. I felt safer with the larger company we were in.
I couldn't believe what I had heard when Gambold described what had attacked their horses and one of their men. None of these people had been in Gondor or Ithilien when the aliens attacked over eleven years ago, so there was no way they could have known what the aliens looked like, especially not a queen. His description confirmed that there was definitely a queen on the loose. Apparently a flying one, which meant it had impregnated what Legolas said was a Fell beast. It baffled me to think that an egg had survived the explosion of the mountain. An impossibility almost. But there was just no other way to explain it.
The fact that Legolas had witnessed the deaths in his dreams was another thing that baffled me. I wondered if he had developed a link with this new queen, just as he had on Gateway when they had extracted one from his chest. But the link between him and the queen on Gateway was explainable because they had developed a connection during the time she was inside him. Legolas had no physical tie with this other queen. How was it that he could sense her and see what she did? The dream he had described was exactly the way Gambold had described the attack. It was as if Legolas had seen it through the mind of the queen as she was attacking.
A single queen was a serious threat in itself. But being isolated, without a drone to breed with, was far more dangerous. It would kill without provocation and not just to feed.
After we had left Edoras, I began to think of ways we could lure the thing into a trap and kill it. A single queen could be killed with a dozen well-placed arrows from some skilled archers. I actually began to think we could easily pull it off.
That is until Legolas began to tell me that he was witnessing Elves being taken, but not killed. There was only one explanation for that. A drone was alive somewhere, which meant that two eggs had survived the destruction of the horde. The drone was undoubtedly collecting hosts and the queen would find him.
Legolas seemed certain that it was happening in Valinor. It was a place where only Elves were allowed to go. A place where they could spend their immortal lives in tranquility. For so long I had assumed he was talking about a place like Heaven. But it wasn't like that at all. It was a physical place on the planet, a land in the West, a peaceful place.
Well, with a drone and queen roaming around, there wouldn't be any peace. There would be chaos and death.
When we stopped for the night I helped Alma put the kids to bed in a small tent she shared with them. Our guards put up our tent and when I went inside, I had expected to find Legolas in it. But he wasn't. I went around the campsite, hoping to find him with Éomer or Gamling. Neither had seen him since he had untacked the horses. The campsite was well-lit, but beyond the perimeter was complete darkness, so I couldn't even see if he had wandered away somewhere.
I found Rhovan lying near the kids' tent. "Rhovan, dulu nin rado herdir lin." (help me find your master)
The white tiger stood up and I quickly grabbed his tail before he disappeared into the darkness. The devoted beast slowed his pace to keep me from stumbling over things I couldn't see. It seemed like he knew where he was going and I let him guide me. The moon was finally visible when a thick cloud drifted away and the soft glow reached the ground.
That's when I saw Legolas. He was standing on the very edge of a cliff up ahead, a cliff I hadn't even known was there.
I released Rhovan's tail and the big cat plopped down on the ground. "Legolas?" I called out to him.
He turned his head slightly to look in my direction over his shoulder. The cliff was just beyond a steep incline, so he reached a hand down to me and pulled me up with him.
"Are you all right?" It didn't escape my notice that he had been looking out in a westerly direction.
"Valinor is in unfathomable peril." He shivered as he turned back in that direction. "I can feel it."
I wrapped both of my arms around his left arm, looking out as well. Not that I could see anything anyway, but I really wanted to know what he was feeling. "Legolas, what can we possibly do? Can we sail there and see if everyone's all right?"
Legolas shook his head. "Tis not possible. Only the immortal are allowed upon the shores unless the Valar grant special permission. Such was the case for Frodo and Bilbo Baggins."
"What about Gandalf?"
"He is one of the Maiar, a servant of the Valar."
"I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark here and ask this. If there's an alien in Valinor, then why did the Valar allow it to be there?"
He shook his head. "I know not the answer, Ariedel."
"But how did the thing get there? It couldn't have swum all the way."
"Do you remember the night back home when I could not speak of the dream I had?"
"Yes."
"I dreamt that an alien stowed on a ship sailing west and killed everyone aboard just before it reached Valinor. The creature is there now, I know it."
"All right, let's just say that it is there. Can't the people or the Valar kill it?"
"There are no weapons in Valinor. None were ever needed after the evil of Melkor had been washed away from the lands. And the Valar are spirit that can assume solid flesh for only a short time. I know not if their powers have any affect on something not of our universe."
"Well, we have to do something. We can't just let this thing kill everyone because that's exactly what it's going to do unless we stop it."
"The queen is with him. I have seen their union and I have seen over a hundred Elves trapped in their resin construct."
"Oh God, no. She's going to lay eggs and…They'll sweep across the land like a tidal wave. There won't be anyone left to rescue."
Legolas turned back toward the darkness as if he saw something I couldn't see. "I sense something else…"
"Like what?"
"Tis almost as if another strange entity has come to Arda." He shivered again. "With malicious intent."
"You mean something besides the aliens?"
"Aye…I cannot describe the unease I feel, or where it comes from. Tis a far greater nemesis I sense."
Just as I was about to ask what could possibly be worse than the aliens, Rhovan suddenly began to roar. I recognized it as one of excitement and not to warn of approaching danger.
Legolas took my hand and led me down the incline.
We followed Rhovan at a jog back to camp and found that another company of Elves had arrived. Dismounting from his horse was Thranduil. We rushed over to greet him.
"Adar, why are you here?" asked Legolas, despite the relief I saw in his face at his father's presence.
"I felt a strong desire to be at your side, ion," replied the king. (son)
"I am glad you are here. There is something I need to discuss with you."
We invited Thranduil into our tent and sat down on the cushions.
Legolas brought him up to speed, telling him about the dreams and visions and his belief that Valinor was in serious trouble. At the end, he asked his father the inevitable question. "What are we to do, adar?"
"We must make haste to the Grey Havens and sail with a company of armed Elves," replied Thranduil, obviously not doubting his son's beliefs for even a split second.
I shook my head. "By the time we reach Valinor, we'll be looking at a thousand or more aliens running around. You have no idea how quickly they multiply. We're going to need a fleet of ships, with hundreds of warriors."
Legolas ran his hand over his face in frustration. "We cannot possibly build a fleet of ships in such a short time and we do not have an army to march upon them. We are fucked."
He often cursed in my language, having unfortunately picked up the words from my occasional tantrums. I think I would have laughed had the situation not been so grave.
"We must find a way and quickly," said Thranduil, not in the least bit enraged by Legolas's cursing. "I will send a message by hawk to the Grey Havens instructing Círdan to begin constructing as many ships as he can."
"Who's Círdan?" I asked curiously.
"He is the shipwright in the Grey Havens," replied Legolas. "He builds the ships for the Elves to sail west." Then he turned to Thranduil. "We will speak to Aragorn when we reach Minas Tirith. I am certain he will send his people to the Grey Havens to help build more ships."
"How much further is Minas Tirith from here?" I asked.
"Four days if we shorten our rest times."
"Then that's what we'll do. If we're going to find a way to stop these aliens, we should really head to the Grey Havens as soon as possible. Aragorn will send his men to Valinor, too, won't he?" I asked.
"That is not possible, Ariedel," replied Thranduil. "Only the immortal are allowed on the shores of the Undying Lands."
I stared at him with my mouth open. "So I keep hearing. Does that mean I can't go with my husband to fight the aliens?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Maybe it'll be allowed under these extreme circumstances. We need the help of every abled body."
"Tis not a possibility under any circumstance unless the Valar themselves were to grant it." Thranduil looked solemn. "I fear that no matter whatever endeavors we make, they may not be enough. It will take nothing short of a large miracle to accomplish this."
In Space
The Rebel came out of hyperspace and abruptly slowed to a crawl, or what might have been that. To the human eye, the ship would have appeared to be hurdling as fast as a comet. Inside the ship, the captain and crew was awakened by the computer. Coming out of cryosleep was similar to a bear awakening from hibernation…starved. They filled up on whatever food the processors spit out. Typical military fare. Even though the ship was no longer registered as military, the equipment within it was still standard military.
Freak ate with his crew. He didn't believe in rank, just as long as they acknowledged who the boss was. While they ate and goofed off, Freak made note of those in attendance. He only had five in his crew, besides himself. They all had their specialty, which was vital to every single one of his missions. Max "Zee" Zion, engineer; Lauren "6-pack" Sanchez, weapons tech; John "Sushi" Takashi, systems tech; and Brian "Loop" Lipinski, communications and medic. Then there was Bishop 52106, the android unit Freak conveniently commissioned for cheap change. Since all of the Bishop androids were named Bishop, Freak liked to be different. So he sometimes called his android Bob. The Rebel was hardly ever piloted on manual. The computer took care of it all, as long as it was programmed correctly. All in all, for his ship, there was no need for a staff of a hundred, not like some other starships of the same class.
"So where's Her Highness?" asked Lipinski.
"Probably in the quarters that were assigned to her," replied Bishop in the quiet voice that was typical of the Bishop androids.
Freak knew Loop was referring to the special guest they had picked up halfway to their destination. When they had picked her up, Freak welcomed her aboard, assigned her quarters and a cryochamber. Now she was nowhere in sight. Unless she was waiting for the rest of the crew to eat and leave. His guest wasn't exactly a social butterfly and he really didn't blame her.
"She obviously prefers solitude over any of us," added Bishop.
"So, what're you saying, Bishop, that we're not good company?" asked Lipinski in mock insult.
Freak decided the moment was right for his usual speech before each mission. "All right, everyone listen up," he said as he stood up at the table and waited for the room to grow quiet. "We got two days before we reach our destination. That's SR-682, for all of you meatheads who didn't pay attention before we left Avalon. The planet is labeled as non-tech, which means The Rebel won't be entering the atmosphere, but will remain in orbit. It also means only one Dropship will be going down in the beginning. And I'll be going alone." He waited for the rumblings and complaints to end before he continued. "I've got a little side job I gotta take care of before we try to infiltrate the Company compound. So while I'm gone, I want you all to work on getting me the following. Get a fix on the compound down to one hundred meters, if not the exact location. I need full schematics of all levels, as detailed as possible. Use infrared and tell me exactly how many people are on the premises. If they own any xenomorphs, I need to know how many and that includes any unhatched eggs."
Zion leaned toward Takashi. "Xenomorph. That's another word for aliens, just in case you didn't know that."
John Takashi showed no emotion on his face as he turned to Zion and then casually turned back to Freak.
Zion snorted and turned away. The other guy just had no sense of humor whatsoever.
Freak eyed Zion briefly for the interruption, then continued. "Depending on how my initial meeting goes, when I return I may or may not have visitors. I don't think I need to remind you to be on your best behavior. Let's use the time we have now before we reach orbit to do our jobs. And I want the other Dropship in ready mode just in case I have a problem down there. Are we all clear?" Freak watched as the crew around the table confirmed their understanding with nods. "Okay, let's do it."
With as much silence and grace as a fox in a henhouse, the crew of The Rebel went on to prepare for their arrival.
Freak watched them depart and then decided to go pay his guest a visit, just to make sure she had come out of cryosleep without any ill effects.
Hmmmmmm…who could "she" be? Does anyone think they know?