Journey to the Dark Side: A Lore Story, REDUX
Written by: S. Bell
Chapter Seven: Sudden Attack
The next day, Lore accompanied the research team on a scout ship to take readings of the planet's atmosphere. Alex was also a part of the team which almost guaranteed that the trip would be far from routine. Prior to boarding, Lore appeared to be staring at Alex. Although Lore was still upset with the events that transpired the night before, he was actually staring at Alex for a different reason.
"What are you looking at circuit brain?" Alex snapped; it was apparent that he was nursing a hangover.
"I'm making the determination of whether or not it would be safe to permit you to board the vessel. It's prohibited for research personnel to go on a mission while they're impaired." Lore replied.
"What?! Well, who the hell put you in charge?!"
"No one's put me 'in charge', but one of my duties is to assure the safety of the research team during each mission. That includes restricting personnel from partaking in the mission if they've been declared unfit for duty." Lore explained with a hint of lingering anger.
"So, do you have any objections of my partaking in this particular mission?" Alex hissed as he stood just inches away from Lore.
"Based on my analysis, I see no reason to ban you from this mission. I permit to board the vessel Mr. Davies." Lore replied with a sly sneer, "Well go on, you do remember how to board don't you? Unless you've finally fried your last functioning brain cell with the poison you've plied yourself with!"
Alex grunted furiously as he boarded the vessel with another research team member and the pilot. He hated the manner in which the android had spoken to him and he despised the fact that he addressed him by his last name. Lore was the last to board the ship and was thoroughly pleased at Alex's irritation.
Once the ship took off, it was a routine trip until they got to their scheduled destination in orbit. Lore heard a strange noise, like someone playing distorted music on water goblets.
"Do you hear that?" he asked Alex.
"Hear what? I don't hear anything, maybe you should oil your ears; they might be getting rusty, tin man." Alex quipped and his assistant began to laugh, "but not as rusty as your taste in poetry. 'Where true Love burns Desire is Love's pure flame…'"
Alex began to laugh hysterically and Lore began to burn with rage.
"But I have to thank you though, Jackie loves romantic crap like that. When I gave her the poem, she nearly fainted and asked me who the author was. She almost caught me there, but I'm way ahead of her, I just told her it was an anonymous piece. She's so naïve at times, but I love her… almost as much as she loves me." Alex continued.
"You filthy thief!" Lore exclaimed furiously through gritted teeth while balling his fists. His rage was enough to fill the pilot and Alex's assistant with concern. They didn't want to be on the ship if the android decided to go off the deep end.
"Hey, it wasn't exactly your poem. You didn't exactly write it yourself you know. In fact, all of your little gifts and tokens actually worked to my advantage. She believes that I've changed and it has strengthened our relationship a whole lot."
Lore began to fantasize about what it would be like to wrap his hands around Alex's throat until his pathetic eyes popped out of their sockets. He wondered what it would be like to watch the life drain from his eyes. The very fantasy seemed very alluring to him, but he shook the thought away. 'What's happening to me? Why am I thinking like this? Why do I enjoy it?' Lore thought to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted when their instruments began picking up some very strange readings and then they saw it. A giant, brilliant crystal headed directly towards them.
"What the hell is that?!" Alex yelled.
"I don't know, but it's on a collision course and it's approaching very fast. I'm getting us out of here!" the pilot replied urgently.
By the time the pilot altered course the crystal was already attacking them. Lore began to read the ship's equipment.
"Shields are down by thirty-five percent! What's the status of navigation?" Lore inquired.
"Offline!" the pilot replied, "we're dead in the water!"
The crystal continued to attack the ship and before they knew it, shield strength had completely dropped. Suddenly, Alex's assistant let out a bloodcurdling scream and in a matter of seconds, he was reduced to a few ounces of dried chemicals. Panic ensued and the pilot and Alex both pleaded for their lives. All the while, Lore was beginning to notice a pattern in the sound of which the crystal was emitting.
"Opening hail frequencies." he announced.
"What? You're gonna try to make friends with it?! What are you —" the pilot exclaimed before he shrieked in immense agony before turning into dust.
"Oh my God! Lore what are we going to do?" Alex panicked but Lore ignored him.
Lore introduced himself to the crystal and began to communicate with it. At first there was some minor miscommunication until he figured out the correct configuration that would translate his voice into the crystal's language.
"Why are you killing our people?" Lore asked as Alex clung to his arm like a frightened child.
The crystal communicated to Lore that it was on the way to Omicron Theta to feed when it came across their vessel. It also communicated that it didn't purposely intend to harm anyone, but needed to consume energy in order to survive.
"Please Lore! Don't let that thing kill me too!" Alex pleaded.
"Silence!" Lore replied sharply, he needed to focus his concentration.
Lore then asked the crystal how long it could survive before its next feeding. Since the crystal had no sense of time, Lore had to figure out a way to quickly convey the concept. Once the crystal finally understood, it told him that it could survive for three weeks since it had just fed upon another planet.
"Do not attack Omicron Theta. I will inform the colony of your situation and they might be able to devise a solution that will preserve your life and preserve the lives on the planet."
The crystal immediately rejected the offer, thinking it was a trick and began to close in on the ship once again.
"Please, I'm telling the truth. Look, if you don't hear back from me in three weeks; then feel free to feast on the planet. But I assure you, I will contact you before then."
There were a few moments of tense silence before the crystal agreed and began to move away but Lore called it back.
"Standby." he requested.
Lore turned around to face Alex, who was shaken and pale.
"Alex, can you see the irony in the predicament you're in? There's a very large, energy-devouring life form outside this vessel and only I can communicate with it. Look at it, look how beautiful it is, almost as beautiful as Jacqueline, don't you agree?"
Alex was confused and, for the first time, terrified of Lore.
"Lore, what are you doing?" he asked.
"You know what's remarkable about this creature," Lore continued, disregarding Alex's question, "it needs a specific type of energy to survive; biological energy. Isn't that fascinating? But how could you appreciate such beauty, you can't even appreciate your own fiancé. You would just as soon destroy this amazing creature like you'd destroy Jacqueline!" Lore hissed, surprised at his own mounting anger.
"I'd never destroy her, I love her! Sometimes I just —"
"Lose control and smack her around a little?!" Lore asked angrily.
"Look, I only do that when I'm drunk alright!"
"But you let yourself get drunk and she pays the price for it! You've wasted the love she's given you!"
"Wait, since when do I have to answer to you anyway android?!" Alex spat.
Lore chuckled, almost manically, before he gave his response.
"Since you're life is in my hands right now." Lore replied with a broad smile.
Alex's heart dropped when he finally realized why Lore had summoned the crystal back. It was for him!
"Lore please! I promise I'll never hurt her again!"
"Isn't that something you've promised her before? If you couldn't keep your promise to her, why should I believe you? But you're right this time, you'll never hurt her again, I'll make sure of that. Then she and I can finally be together." Lore replied with a broad smile and slight chuckle.
"What?! You son of a bitch!" Alex tried to attack, but Lore smacked him away, nearly knocking him unconscious.
Alex landed on the floor as Lore resumed his communiqué with the crystal.
"Come and get it." Lore sang and in an instant Alex was gone. Only a few ounces of dust and the echo of his piercing scream remained.
Lore cringed for a moment before taking a deep breath. Before this incident he had never been responsible for someone's death. For a fraction of a second, doubt crossed his mind about what he had done, but it was quickly replaced by reassurance; comfort of knowing that Alex could never harm Jacqueline again.
"This is for you Jacqueline." Lore whispered as he closed his eyes, "This is for us."
Then he was filled with another feeling, one that had absolutely nothing to do with Jacqueline; he felt an intense wave of pleasure of having complete power and control, if only for a few moments.
Before the crystal left, it regurgitated just enough power to the ship to re-establish shields and navigation control, enabling Lore to return to the surface.