10

Chapter 56

In a swirl of dazzling blue lights…David materialized on the alien planet.

The lines and contours engulfed him for a split second…his frame appearing ghostly.

When his body appeared whole…he paused for a moment.

He scanned his surroundings slowly.

The sky was a drab and storm-like gray; a deafening wind beat at his face and hands with the force of a human fist.

David took a step forward…studying the gritty landscape with his eyes.

Course dirt crushed beneath his foot; it matched the color of its surroundings.

"What am I doing?" he thought to himself.

He started slowly walking forward…one foot in front of the other at a rhythmic pace.

His phaser dangled at his side in an in-precise fashion as he strolled; he glanced over the landscape again and again…desperately searching for some clue.

Or some direction.

As he moved…he spotted a small red blob on the ground; he quickened his pace slightly.

As he neared…the image became clearer.

He knelt down to pick it up; a wave of rage tingled throughout his body.

His eyes narrowed…and his knuckle clenched around the object.

It was a piece of a cloth…torn from a Starfleet uniform.

Stained with blood.

After about five minutes of walking…David arrived at a small mountain over-looking the bleak field.

Laying about ten feet in front of an opening to a cave was an array of large, jagged boulders.

The boulders were arranged in an irregular fashion…small gaps between several…and large openings between others.

They appeared as a small obstacle course…and on the other side, David spotted the reflection of an image poking out from behind the boulder farthest from himself.

Another wave of anger washed over him; he clenched his jaw…and raised his phaser in the direction of the image.

He slowly moved forward…halting at the nearest boulder to him.

He paused there for a moment…apprehensive to make any movement or sound.

He slowly pulled two communicators from his belt; he examined them each in the palm of his hand…the image of a helpless officer flashing through his head.

He heard a sound to the fore of him; it was the same voice from before.

A garbled…alien language.

It sounded more like guttural contrivances then a cohesive language.

David glanced down at the communicators; he noticed his hand was jittering…the devices flopping about ever so slightly.

He clenched one between his teeth…and with dexterity tossed the other, missing his mark by a few feet.

He flipped his device open…and held it inches from his mouth.

He waited there silently…patiently.

After a moment passed…he could see a hand reach down and grab it.

A green…scaly hand.

The sight of it…sent chills up his spine.

After another moment of silent passed…an array of static escaped from the speaker.

David could feel himself shivering from the gushing winds swirling around him; he focused his mind on the task at hand…drowning out all other grievances.

"Commander Moore," the voice was disconcertingly familiar. David ignored his anxiety.

"Lo-Chem," he growled. His grip on his communicator tightened as he spoke.

"We have finally come full circle…this is an exciting moment in our relationship,"

David could hear the pleading cries of the young girl in the background; his body tensed in vicious rage.

"Let her go!"

"You know…I really can't do that,"

A laser blast passed a foot from David's head; he quickly knelt down behind a boulder…peeking out to return a shot.

"Let…her…go!"

David could hear a low chuckle over the line.

"I must fulfill my duty,"

David threw another frantic blast.

"I…" he paused…feeling overwhelmed.

David slowly slid down the side of the rock-face…feeling helpless to Lo-Chem's stubbornness.

"I can't," he whispered.

He could hear another laugh over the line; this one was slightly unnerving…dripping with a disconcerting instability.

"He's too much,"

"Oh, Commander. Where did you go?"

David cringed with disgust.

"I could never overcome someone like him,"

His communicator slipped from his hand…clattering to the ground…creating a ripple in the dirt.

David hung his head low…a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"Father tells me I must perform my duty,"

David's eyes moved towards the device. A dread started to grow in him.

"He tells me you are the enemy,"

"What?" David said quietly.

Another laser blast shot a few feet passed David; he hardly noticed it.

"He says that if I do not stop you…you will destroy my people,"

David snatched the communicator.

"You don't even know who we are!"

"It does not matter…I know what I must be,"

David's knuckle clenched so tightly around the device…his whole hand turned pale.

"What is that!?"

A brief pause…the only sound was the young girls cries and the wind beating wildly.

"I must carry on the tradition of my father and my grandfather. We are men of honor."

David's eyes widened; a flush of terror spread through his body. Every limb and nerve shook with chills.

His father had once said those exact words to him.

David now recognized the voice; it was his own.

David's terror molded into a bitter rage; he leapt to his feet and threw a handful of shots.

"I'm coming for you!"

David stood in plain view…no longer hiding.

Lo-Chem stepped from his hiding place…young girl in his arms.

His body and face were hideous; his face was twisted with repulsive psychosis.

The two men met eye to eye…for the first time.

Lo-Chem slowly raised his communicator to his mouth…a hideous grin spreading from ear to ear.

"Its been a pleasure talking to you, David. We must go now…we have things we must do,"

Lo-Chem let out a haunting, maniacal laugh. It reverberated through David's ear drums like a war drum.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

David started running towards him…firing frantically.

As he neared…Lo-Chem and the girl slipped into the cavern behind them.

Dickie materialized in the same general vicinity David had just moments ago.

Phaser at the ready…he took a brief sweeping glance.

A small indentation in the soil caught his eye; he slowly knelt down for a closer look.

It was a pair of boot prints; he slowly raised his head and noticed a path leading to the cave.

Dickie leapt to his feet and took off…the wind whipping harshly at his back.

He could feel his anxiety growing as he moved.

David moved slowly through the cavern hallways…his hand sliding along the jagged walls on either side.

He stumbled and nearly tripped ever so often on the out-cropping of jagged points and veins on the ground beneath him; he continued moving…his feet hardly spread apart to maintain his balance.

Around him swirled sounds of his feet against the hard rock face…and droplets of water splashing on the ground.

In the distance…he could hear voices echoing…gently bleeding back in his direction.

He could hear himself breath; it was heavy and so distracting…he felt as though he could stop at any moment.

His heart nearly pounded right out of his chest; his legs and arms shook…growing more intense as he moved forward.

The darkness and the surrounding walls began to create an effect of claustrophobia; David began to feel panicked more and more by the second.

"Breathe, dammit,"

He stumbled and fell; he paused there for a moment…inhaling and exhaling…propping himself up with his elbow.

He looked forward…and the darkness seemed to stretch on for eternity.

He started breathing faster and faster.

"Pleassseeee! Nooo!" the girl cried in the distance.

David felt a pang of regret; he wished someone could take his place.

He felt inadequate for this situation; completely un-prepared.

But he was the only one there.

He forced himself to his feet slowly…and reminded himself of what Lo-Chem had said just moments ago.

David turned a corner; he could see a dim light at the end of tunnel.

He began moving faster…practically sprinting.

As he grew closer…he could make out what lied ahead.

It was a small room created by years of erosion; the light protruded from a crevice in the ceiling.

David began running faster and faster; he arrived at the threshold of the opening…and spared no time.

He glanced around quickly and spotted the pair; Lo-Chem was sitting on top of the girl…removing her clothing.

David raised his phaser…just as Lo-Chem noticed him and turned around.

He fired immediately…knocking the weapon out of his grip.

Flames of pure hatred erupted from his eyes; he tossed his phaser to the ground…and closed in on the General.

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"

David began thrashing the alien with all his might; he slammed down into the rock-face below with a bone-crushing left hook.

"YOU FUCKING MURDERER!"

He climbed on top of him and began pummeling him relentlessly…again and again.

"I HATE YOU!"

Blood splattered onto his hands and face; he continued smashing the aliens face in with his knuckles.

"YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!"

As soon as the words left his lips…David paused.

His eyes grew like saucers…and chills ran throughout his body.

For a split-second…he saw the face of himself from before on Lo-Chem.

The face that he had finally let go of.

He looked down at his hands; he let out a yelp of terror.

He slowly looked up at the girl; she cowered in the corner…half-undressed…fear in her eyes.

Fear of him.

His hands began shaking violently; the image of the blood on them haunted him.

He stumbled backwards…and collapsed against the wall.

His whole body began shaking at this point.

"What have I done," he moaned…on the verge of tears.

He heard the sound of footsteps…but he disregarded it.

"David,"

David did not respond; he remained fixed in his trace.

Dickie slowly entered…pausing to take in the whole scene.

He slowly moved towards the young girl; he knelt down in front of her…and pulled her face towards his with his finger.

"Are you alright?" he growled.

Her eyes slowly drifted to David; Dickie slowly turned around…and watched him for a moment.

"I can't…" a tear rolled down his cheek.

"I can't hold it in anymore,"

The memory of him at the dock flashed before his eyes; he could see the innocence in his childhood self's face. He could feel the tenderness from his father.

Then the memory of the last thing he said to his father popped into his head; more tears started streaming down his cheeks.

Dickie slowly moved towards him…yanking him to his feet by his uniform.

A look of bitter anger was on his face.

"David!"

David looked Dickie in the eyes; the bitterness on his face slowly melted away.

"I just wanted him to love me," David said quietly.

Dickie felt his heart leap out of his chest; for the first time…he completely understood David.

And didn't feel so bitter towards him anymore.

"I know," he said quietly.

Dickie reluctantly embraced David…and said nothing else.