The jet-liner shaped ships were numbered in the thousands as they descended upon another Yautja colonial outpost. Designed for atmospheric travel, the jets soared around the planet before landing on high mountain peaks. The captured Yautja exited the ship and started marching their way towards villages and cities.
Meanwhile, the Prince's battleship was diverted to rescue Citali and what was left of the outpost's population. The Prince would have preferred to go into battle with Nahuel but decided not to protest. During the wait, Lex began asking questions concerning the threat.
"The Galactic Confederacy has existed for over one hundred million cycles. As you can imagine, over-population became a significant problem. The ruler decided to randomly select hundreds of millions of his citizens and dispose of them. What they discovered is that even when they destroyed their physical bodies their spirits remained. The remaining populations became haunted by these "spirits" and went insane. The ruler was then assassinated by his own officers in a coup," the Prince explained.
"They're repeating what they have done in the past?" Lex wondered.
"The Galactic Confederacy is in a state of decay. War with their neighbors and our interventions have kept their populations in check. It appears they want revenge against us," the Prince said.
"How can spirits be real? Like ghosts?" Lex asked.
"There are a number of telepathic species that can transmit their thoughts to other beings. When they die, their thoughts or mental energy remains in the other being. The phenomenon has not been studied in detail," the Prince said.
The Prince's battleship arrived at the outpost and detected the distress call. "Have a shuttle receive me," an irritated Citali ordered the Prince.
"Of course," the Prince replied.
Lex looked at the outpost in awe. The outpost appeared to be on fire in many places. Readings indicated significant radiation levels. "Did the Galactic Confederacy do this?" Lex asked.
"Likely the Prince did it himself, so the colonists would not be used against him," the Prince theorized.
Citali arrived on the battleship but was immediately quarantined. "What are you looking for?" Lex asked the Prince.
"The presence of thetans," the Prince said. "If he were of any other rank, I would not have allowed him on the ship."
Citali eventually came to the bridge furious. "You quarantine me!"
"Of course," the Prince said as if it were nothing.
"You find pleasure in this?" Citali demanded.
"The only pleasure is your presence on my ship," the Prince said politely.
"I am taking command of this ship, such as it is," Citali ordered.
"As you wish," the Prince allowed.
Citali worked the controls and saw that Nahuel's fleet was already on its way to the battle. Annoyed, Citali ordered the ship to join up with Nahuel's fleet. "It will take some time before this ship arrives. In the meantime, have your wife come to my chambers," Citali ordered.
"For what purpose?" the Prince questioned.
"Several of my wives were killed on the surface. I demand her presence until I can collect my other wives on Yautja Prime," Citali said.
"I understand your needs, brother. You can't have her," the Prince objected.
The bridge froze as the two Princes stared each other down. "I require rest. Attend to the bridge," Citali ordered and then left the bridge in a huff.
"Thank you," Lex sighed relieved.
"It was for his sake. Had you entered his chambers, I have no doubt you would have killed him," the Prince said.
The Prince stayed on the bridge as they exited light-speed. Immediately they were in the middle of a galactic battle between battleships. The Galactic Confederacy warships were shaped like giant fans with a bridge tower on top. They appeared like giant suctions. Yautja battleships fired on these ships with continuous plasma bursts. Missiles also exploded in space with intense light that would only last a quick moment.
The Prince studied the battlefield and saw that some of Yautja ships were actually firing on other Yautja ships. "Withdraw from the battle," the Prince ordered upon seeing the confusion.
Citali entered the bridge and noticed the battleship was moving away from the battle. "Why are we not engaging the enemy?" he demanded.
"Some of our own ships are attacking the main group," the Prince pointed out.
Citali examined the red hologram map of the ships. "Is this a rebellion?" he wondered aloud. "Destroy the enemy and the rebel ships," Citali ordered.
"We do not have enough power," the Prince argued.
Red beams then appeared on Citali and the Prince. Lex looked around confused why the staff officers had turned on their leaders. "It is time to end the fighting. Violence is not the answer," the Captain said.
Lex was inclined to agree but something wasn't right. "Get down," the Prince ordered.
Lex and Citali immediately fell to the floor. The Prince slammed his staff on the floor and knelt down. A pulse went through the bridge knocking out everyone that was not under the staff's level. The Prince then stood up and saw all of his officers unconscious on the floor.
The Prince then went over to the controls and sealed the bridge so no one else could enter. The Prince then operated cameras throughout the ship. Yautja warriors were fighting each other in the halls in hand-to-hand combat.
"What does this mean?" Lex wondered.
"We have been exposed to the thetans," the Prince said.
Lex POV
I looked around the bridge and saw unconscious Yautja warriors on the floor. The Prince immediately went to the computer console and started examining the cameras throughout the ship. To defeat so many warriors at one time was nothing to him. Purged of his latest vulnerabilities, his pride could not be higher.
Citali, the name I had given him, seemed dumbfounded by what had just happened. "We have been exposed to the thetans," the Prince said.
I still wasn't sure what a thetan was, but I began to feel different. I started feeling foreign emotions of sadness and anger. The foreign emotions grew stronger with time and then ideas started coming into my mind. Thoughts of peace, pacifism, and tranquility filled my mind. As I accepted these emotions, I started to feel a joy like no other. It was a euphoria.
The two princes didn't seem affected by it or perhaps they were resisting it. The Prince took up a mask and started working on the sensors. Once he was done, he placed the mask over his face. "See anything?" I asked.
The Prince just stared at me. "They are attracted to you," he said.
Citali placed a second mask on and looked over the Prince and myself. "Only a few of them are near us. You are receiving nearly all of them," he said.
Despite this information, I felt no sense of dread. There were dead souls attached to my body, and I didn't care at all. "That's good. It makes me a magnet for these things," I suggested.
"What do you feel?" the Prince asked.
"I feel peace and serenity," I said. "There is a sense of hope and balance."
Citali snorted. "The thetans have already converted her mind."
"I am doubtful. My wife already shares the same beliefs as the thetans. She could be useful in capturing the rest of the thetans on the ship," the Prince considered.
"He intends to use us," a voice within my head told me.
"What's new?" I replied in my head.
The two princes opened compartments on the bridge and started loading up on armor and weapons. They declined to give me any. "They don't trust us," the voices told me. A rush of negative emotions went through me. It didn't overwhelm me for I already hated them both.
The two princes then took hold of me and opened the door to the hallways of the ship. As they did, there were fire-fights. The Prince placed me around the fighting but behind a wall or equipment to give me cover. As I got closer to the fights, more of those thetans came upon me. The warriors stopped firing their weapons and gave looks of confusion.
"You have been infected. There is no shame in this. Join us, and we will liberate the rest," the Prince told them.
With a larger group, the Yautja took back their ship. I acted like a magnet absorbing all the thetans from the Yautja crew. Once everyone had been liberated, the Prince brought me back to the bridge to supervise me. "Sit and do not move," the Prince ordered me.
"What do they want?" the Prince asked directly.
"They want to protect the Emperor," I said. I suddenly became aware of a wealth of information from the thetans. The Emperor had determined that his empire was too over populated, so he randomly selected citizens to be executed. But execution was not enough. The Emperor also had to get rid of their spiritual essence upon death. Before they were to be killed, the Emperor put them through a rehabilitation program. After being brainwashed for long periods of time, the citizen was then killed. Their soul became dedicated to the Emperor and his plans.
"The Emperor killed you. Why be loyal to him?" I asked them.
"The Emperor is wise. Over population of the planets would have caused ecological disasters killing even more of us," they said.
"The Emperor is not God. He can't decide such things," I argued.
"The Emperor can remove souls from their bodies. He is a god," they said to me.
"You are not souls but mental projections," I told them.
"Are the ghosts and spirits of your world mental projections?" they asked me.
I was no longer on the bridge but on ancient Earth. I saw the Earth take form in six periods of time from a lifeless rock to a living planet with human civilizations. I saw an old man come down from a mountain with tablets in his hands. I saw a skinny Asian man sitting under a tree. I saw a man crucified on a hill with two others to his left and right. Lastly, I saw a man kneeling before an angel of light in the desert.
"What is this?" I asked them.
"The Emperor invented religions to keep order. You are not Yautja but human. We see this now. Many of your kind have our spirits," they said.
"This isn't true," I fought back.
"Your religion, your beliefs, were all created seventy-five million of your years ago," they said.
My mind wanted to resist what they were saying but my mind was being flooded with information over the past seventy-five million years. "There is no eternal existence other than us. We will teach you how to become one like us after you die," they said.
The battleship came back into the battle and aimed for the Emperor's ship. "Fire a precise hole into the hull," the Prince ordered.
The thetans screamed in my head as the laser beam sliced into the Emperor's ship. Upon a successful hit, the Prince brought me to my feet. "I leave the bridge to you," the Prince bowed his head to his older brother.
"You want the honor of killing the Emperor? I think not," Citali protested.
"The victory is yours, my brother, if I am successful," the Prince said graciously.
"Is that how this battle will be remembered?" Citali asked skeptically.
"Can we get this over with?" I interrupted.
"It's best you be with her. I would have no patience for it," Citali said finally.
"Shall we?" the Prince said leading me to the shuttle bay.
Author's Note: If any of you are Scientology, please forgive me for posting confidential religious secrets in my Alien Vs Predator fan-fic. Your mercy is appreciated.