smoke and the crash landing, his ribs and lungs now ached every time he tried to breath. As he walked slowly toward the doorway, it slid open and a medical team emerged. They rushed to his side as a second team came in, spraying fire retardant chemicals over the wreckage in the middle of the bay.
“I’m fine,” Adam said as he waved away the medical personnel who tried to check his vital signs. “I need to see Captain Xiao.”
“Doesn’t that work out well,” Yen called from the doorway. Leaning against the doorframe, Yen reminded Adam of the young soldier whose life he saved years ago. As Adam got closer, however, he saw that the young psychic soldier was long gone. In his place, an older man stood. Yen’s eyes had sunken from stress and overuse of his powers. His already yellowed skin looked waxy and thick creases had appeared around his eyes and on his forehead. Even his fine dark hair had grown matted from sweat and unkempt.
“You look good, Yen,” Adam lied, embracing his old friend.
“You’re a piss-poor liar,” Yen replied with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t even need to be psychic to know that. But it’s a good lie, so I’ll let it slide.”
Breaking away from his friend, Adam gestured toward his still smoldering fighter. “I’m going to need a new ship. There’s still a lot of fighting to be done.”
“Later, later,” Yen insisted, dropping the fake smile. “First, join me on the bridge. We can catch up while we walk.”
“No offense, Yen,” Adam said, “but we can catch up after the war is won.” Something seemed wrong with Yen, but Adam couldn’t place his finger on it. Still, Adam couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, a feeling only reinforced by the shivers running up his spine.
“It wasn’t a request, Adam,” Yen replied darkly. “I was irritated before, so I didn’t want to hear the details of your miraculous plan. Now I’m being told that the
Adam begrudgingly stepped into the hallway and followed Yen’s lead. Cautiously, he placed a comforting hand on the pistol at his hip. “This is a pretty poor way to treat an old friend,” Adam chided. “After all, I did save you life once.”
“Ancient history,” Yen replied. “I just saved yours, so you can stop using that excuse to try to get me to be more cooperative. Let’s quit the small talk and get down to business. Tell me about your plan.”
Yen walked a few more feet before he realized that Adam was no longer following. He turned and stared into the eyes of the angry Pilgrim. “Is there a problem, Adam?” Yen asked dangerously.
“You’re not the man I met years ago,” Adam said cautiously. He automatically grew defensive as he stared at the husk of his old friend. “There’s a darkness in you now that didn’t exist there before.”
“Spare me your childish rhetoric,” Yen sneered. “You’re not the same either. Our experiences shape who we are. While you were joy-riding around the outskirts of known space, the rest of us were putting our lives on the line to bring down Earth. It changes a man!”
“I can see that,” Adam replied. “It makes you dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Yen mocked. “You have no idea about dangerous.”
“But I’m willing to bet Iana does, doesn’t she?” Adam said.
Yen froze in mid sentence. Reaching out with his power, Yen scanned Adam’s mind. Images of Iana arriving onboard the
“I think it’s time for you to tell me your battle plan,” Yen hissed. “Tell me about your plans, about Iana, about Alcent, and about Keryn.”
At the mention of her name, the images in Adam’s mind shifted from Iana to a snow-filled landscape. Darkness stretched over the buildings in Adam’s memory, casting thick shadows over the streets. Huddled within one of the buildings, sleeping forms sprawled across the thinly matted floors. In the corner of the room, two figures laid together. Adam’s memory focused, showing the two figured writhing together in pleasure. The woman tossed her silvery hair back, revealing tanned skin and a myriad of tattoos tracing the outside of her face.
Yen stared at Adam, stunned. “It was you,” he managed to mutter. “You took her heart from me. You, of all…”
He didn’t finish the sentence as Adam caught Yen with a solid punch on his jaw. Yen staggered backward as his power surged within. Psychic wind tossed Yen’s hair wildly as tendrils erupted from his back and hurtled toward the Pilgrim. Before they could strike, a single gunshot rang out through the wide hallway. The tendrils immediately retracted as Yen clutched his side, where dark blood now poured from a wound. Looking up in disbelief, he finally noticed the pistol clenched tightly in Adam’s hand.
“Not this time, Yen,” Adam warned over the howling wind as he waved the gun dangerously. “I don’t care how strong you’ve become; you’re not going to stop me from leaving.”
“You greatly underestimate me,” Yen said, regaining his composure. “Few people get to make that mistake twice.”
Waving his hand, Yen launched a wave of hurricane strength psychic wind toward Adam. The energy struck the Pilgrim, lifting him from his feet and slamming him into the far wall. Adam squeezed the trigger again, but his shot went wide, slamming into the wall behind Yen’s head. Blue energy poured from Yen’s eyes. Rolling down his arms, the blue energy sheathed his hands in a strong glow. Jerking his hands upward, the gun flew from Adam’s hand and skidded across the floor. Adam climbed to his feet as Yen reached him.
Swinging again, Adam’s fist slammed into a protective field encasing Yen’s head. He felt bones break in his knuckles from the impact and Adam had to clench his jaw to keep from screaming out in pain. Moving in a blur, Yen punched Adam three times in rapid succession. Each blow fell like a hammer, driving Adam’s head backward into the wall behind him. After the last hit, Adam slumped forward, a red smear being left behind him on the white wall. Yen caught him before he could crumple to the floor and kept Adam upright. His side burned from the gunshot wound, feeding his rage.
“Of all the people to steal her from me,” Yen said, holding Adam with one hand while driving his fist into the side of his head with the other, “I would have never guessed that it would be you to betray me!” A punch landed against Adam’s head. “She would have been mine!” He punched him again. “Now she wants nothing to do with me.” And again. “And it’s all.” And again. “Your.” And again. “Fault!”
Adam fell limply against the wall, slipping in and out of consciousness. Gripping him in crushing energy, Yen held him upright. Yen’s brushed a loose hair from his face while he listened to Adam’s labored gasps for air. He stared into the face of his betrayer, now barely recognizable as the once handsome Pilgrim. Bones had shattered all along the right side of Adam’s face, leaving the skin disfigured and spongy.
“You stole her heart,” Yen said calmly. “It’s only fair that I take a suitable replacement.”
His fist glowing brightly, Yen slammed his fist into Adam’s chest. The ribs shattered under the punch and the skin and muscles ruptured as Yen drove his fist straight into the soft organs beneath. Adam gurgled as Yen punctured his lungs. Opening his hand, Yen closed his fingers over Adam’s weakly beating heart and jerked backwards, pulling the life-giving organ from Adam’s chest. His eyes rolling into his head, Adam collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Yen stood reveling in the power as Adam’s blood rolled down his arm and pooled on the floor. The rage slowly left Yen’s body, leaving him calm and composed. “No, no,” Yen said as he stared at the heart. “This one just won’t do. It’s hardly a good replacement.”
Dropping the heart on the floor next to Adam’s body, Yen looked at the mess in the hallway. He’d have to do some work to clean this up.
The
On the tactical display, a single blue triangle appeared from the back side of the sun. Its path was erratic, as though it had suffered severe damage. Though she waited, the second blue triangle never appeared.
“…this is
