/ Duel Universe

/ Author: The Cowboy of Oklahoma

/ Ch 50.1: Eight Months Later

/ word count: 1444

Personal Journal Entry: 290

Name: Formal Lieutenant Commander Shelly Carson, Formerly of the HMS Baddeck

Entry: Evaluation

Topic: Review

Clearance: Unrestricted

[system command: File Open]

EMT: 94731

JD: 2982080, D: 558

January 30, 2080, Day 288

JD: 0302080

Eight months ago, Ka'an had told us the next morning about how we were supposed to get back to the Encampment asap, but we weren't really listening to him that night. We took turns mounting each other with several rest breaks in between just to let ourselves recharge a bit. Ka'an took the brunt of the activity, but he didn't hold back even once all night. We all wanted several turns to ride him, and we went until we couldn't continue, but eventually, we had to stop. We slept in one big spoon with Ka'an in the middle.

Now, why have I gone into so many personal details? Why am I willing to tell you all of this? Well, if you hadn't noticed some chapters ago, Former Captain Ka'an Freeman: Formerly of the HMS Baddeck, stopped writing this story, and I had to finish it for him. There could be a number of reasons why this happened, he was hurt, he was gravely injured and wanted me to finish it for him before he passed, or he was in the brig and wasn't allowed a computer. No. The reason I am willing to give you all of this information freely is because he's no longer with us. It is getting harder to move lately and I have tests to perform at the doctor's later, but let me elaborate some more and continue this story to its conclusion before I am forced to go.

January 31, 2080, Day 289

JD: 0312080

Spirit Castle

We had made it back after nearly thirty hours away from the Encampment, Command wanted Ka'an to be tossed into the brig, but with the Device finished and it was time to attack. Ka'an and I were summoned to the palace to partake in the final war meeting before we were deployed to Earth to start pushing the goo back and retake our home! Every Council member, every commander, and representatives of every friendly monster clan were present. We all paid attention to what the General and her Majesty were going to tell us.

"The Device is complete and ready for deployment!" General Marcellus pointed out.

"The goo has started to show resistance to duel energy, our window of opportunity is closing rapidly or we will fail!" Dark Magician Girl laid out, "the portals are beginning to be crowded by the goo and creeping closer to spilling over."

"We have estimated that we only have about one week of time at most before we have to activate the Device or we will fail in this endeavor!" General Marcellus explained.

"We shall gather the remainder of our kin together to make one final push," Dark Magician Girl said, "while we do this, it will be up to your human duelists to make the initial push to gain a foothold."

"And on that note, Captains! You have already been given a list of our finest recruits, who would best be to deploy, and where. You follow these instructions to the letter! Any deviation could cause the whole plan to backfire and we would instantly lose!" General Marcellus explained.

"Now, we will direct you to your designated portals and suggested battle groups for maximum efficiency!" Dark Magician Girl stated then told everyone where to go.

After the meeting, Ka'an stayed behind to speak with her Majesty about something important. If I had to guess, it has something to do with what we did before returning here yesterday. They spoke in private for nearly an hour before he came out to the landing platform. Ka'an and I made our way to our home, gearing up, grabbing our decks and duel disks, but he also grabbed another box that he tried to hide from me, then refused to speak about. Oddly enough, Akiza was sent to report with one of the other corvette ships. I guess her dueling skills, and deck were needed elsewhere, but I was hoping that she could have stayed with me during the battle. We reported to the HMS Baddeck, Ka'an took back command of the vessel and I was back in the second-in-command position. We readied the ship and her crew for departure. Removing any unnecessary personnel, children, and or parent that needed to stay behind for their safety. Then we got clearance to depart from our holding pattern, to head for the opening of the nearest portal that led back to our world.

"Ground Command, this is the HMS Baddeck, requesting permission to enter portal forty-seven," our radio operator signaled.

"HMS Baddeck, this is Ground Command, what is the reason to head over so soon?"

"The Captain wants to recon the immediate area near the portals on the other side. May help with the overall battle plan."

"Permission granted, Baddeck. Head across and report back what you find."

"Roger Command, Baddeck out."

We left the fleet and crossed the portal to see just what had become of our home world. Some of us had an idea of what to expect, two of us to be exact, the rest of the bridge crew, and subsequently the rest when the Captain ordered all monitors onboard to show what was outside the forward view screen. The gasps from the bridge crew were and the silence that followed, if a pin had dropped on the planet's surface, we would have heard it.

"What…how are we supposed to deal with that?" A crew member asked under their breath.

The whole planet was covered with the despicable black goo. It looked like an ocean of pure blackness.

"Increase the zoom one hundred percent!" Ka'an ordered.

We all watched as the screen jumped from point to point until it was like looking down from just a few hundred feet. We watched as the goo sloshed and lapped over on itself, but then it froze in place. We wondered if the feed had gone dead, or if it was the screen that had frozen, then the goo began to move and smooth out like a sheet of ice. What happened next sent chills down everyone's spine, even Ka'ans', I watched as he clenched a fist and narrowed his eyes. The goo surface shifted, then flattened out. Bumps and hills began to lift and surge aside. Ka'an ordered the view to be zoomed out to see a bigger picture, and what we saw can best be described as a massive, unsettling grin that covered half the surface of the world.

"I'm coming for you, you freak!" Ka'an whispered to himself, I just happened to be standing close enough to hear him.

"Head back to the portal! We need to inform the Council of what we discovered," Ka'an ordered, "the goo is waiting for us!"

Present Day

Footfalls came from outside my door and a knock shortly followed, "Miss Carson, are we ready for our check-up?" Came the voice of a young female nurse.

"Come in!" I called out.

Nurse Dragonmaid stepped in and was accompanied by Hysteric Fairy who was holding a pad and ink quill.

"You look like you're coming along nicely, by human standards. The test today should be the final one until the big day," Dragonmaid explained.

"Thanks, how are the other girls comin' along with theirs?" I asked.

"Everyone is doing fine, they're a little behind where you are now, but no one is showing ill symptoms. In fact, one has a surprise to tell you later," she said.

"Oh? Can I get a snibbit of a clue?" I asked.

"I best not give anything away, or you may figure it out before she tells you," she said.

"Oh, alright. Keep yer secret then. Let's get this test over with so I can go visit the girls," I complained.

We got to it and couldn't have ended sooner than it did. I hurried my way to where I knew Akiza was supposed to be and knocked on her door eagerly.

"Aki?" I called out.

"Come in sis!" She said.

I opened the door to see her sitting on a medic bed, massaging her temples.

"Ya' alright sis?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just got a migraine from all the lights in my eyes, that's all," she explained.

"Why don't we go find Moonie and go get some treats," I suggested, "then we can get to this secret I've been hearing about."

The faint grin on Akiza's face was barely visible as she turned away to lead the way out.