Minutes Later. December 17th, 2267. 12:49 Vosture Prime – John’s Homestead

Elias sat down in the chair nearest the window rather sheepishly. Everything had come crashing down upon him. Everything he had been led to believe since arriving at this homestead was a lie. The notion that he, not John, was in control.

He couldn’t help but marvel at just how well John had orchestrated the day’s events. The attack on their base. Stealing a copy of their database, which he brought up casually in conversation just minutes ago, and then tricking Elias into thinking his life was in danger. Elias was now sitting in an incredibly comfortable chair, but he couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable.

“What’s going to happen now?” Elias asked in a sheepish tone.

“The old terms will continue. We will share our perspectives so we can gain a better understanding of what occurred in this world,” John said calmly, “However I’m adding one addendum, if you lie to me I am going to kill you.”

Elias nodded.

John smiled then turned back quickly to watch the screen. Void traffic above the planet was in a general state of panic. The local militia, in the politest of possible terms, ‘bugged the fuck out’ at the sight of the large alien and unknown dreadnaught.

It was a gorgeous-looking ship. Five kilometers long and bright white-silver shone through its sides. The belly was dark gunmetal in contrast. John couldn’t tell if that resulted from some sort of coating or the actual color of whatever material the ship was made of. The spine and belly were bristling with guns. Unlike the Confederate ship design, there didn’t appear to be a spinal-mounted railgun.

“Huh, that’s weird,” John said as he looked at the ship.

“What is?”

“Where’s its main gun?”

Elias cocked his head at his captor for a moment before he recalled the design doctrine of the ships here, “It’s energy-based.”

“Ahhh. Well, not surprisingly everyone is really surprised and not entirely happy to see that. The militia is nowhere in sight and the industrial traffic is requesting immediate vectors out of here.”

“It’s heading to the gate. I doubt they will do anything with anyone unless they try to get too close.”

John nodded, “I hope they avoid the civvies because I can assure you that if we survive this initial assault, I guarantee you an expedition is going to glass a world of yours. Doubly so if the war as we know it was lost. I would enact immolation protocols.”

“Your government would do that?”

“I would do that. Then again, I’m a bit of a belligerent sort,” John paused, “Now then, where were we?”

“Before we do that, I need to know how you pulled that magic trick.”

“How much of the history of old Earth is recalled or taught in your worlds?”

“Very little, beyond the obvious that it is where we originally hailed from.”

“By the time of the Atrixium War, virtually all nations’ militaries began using smart weapons. Pistols and rifles that could only be fired by authorized personnel. Not unlike the technology you used on your pistols. That is except for the United States,” John smiled, “Now, an odd thing happened during the war.”

Elias shook his head, “I’m not sure what odd thing could happen.”

“Well, the U.S. got involved, not all that surprising given their superpower status or their desire to acquire more of this new and unique mineral. It wasn’t mentioned at the time, but entire units of enemy soldiers were eliminated overnight. Or swathes of high-ranking officers just disappeared or were killed well behind enemy lines. Those kinds of rumors were found in every theatre of war the Americans were in. It flummoxed military observers for nearly a hundred years.”

Elias’ eyes opened wide, “Oh my god, they rendered the enemy’s small arms useless.”

John nodded, “Russia in particular was surprisingly easy to shut their weapons down. Their switch to smart guns was viewed internally as idiotic. Given their general unreliable and garbage production capabilities at that time it was thought the majority of their weapons were defective. This caused their leadership to panic and they began digging out all sorts of hideously old firearms to arm their soldiers with.”

“The damage was done by that point,” Elias said.

“It was. The new guns used different calibers and different magazines. It’s hard enough to switch over during peacetime, but during war? China’s technology was more advanced, but equally flawed due to its core technology was copied from the Russians. Our special forces conducted numerous secretive assaults deep into enemy territories and eliminated the enemy. The jamming signal was long gone so there was no record of what had happened with the weapons.”

“The pistols you acquired when we first arrived here. You used them to find a way to disable them.”

“You give me too much credit. It was readily apparent to me that the guns you were using were of the smart variety. I ordered my VI to do the research and found a vulnerability that I exploited. I stole a pistol from one of your men this morning to verify that my initial plan was working as intended.”

Elias sighed loudly, “If I recall correctly, it was after Daphne and Viviana were murdered. More bad luck befell us.”

November 4th, 2267. 09:15 45th Street

The red light shifted to green. Heva was driving the car while Elias sat in the passenger seat filling out paperwork. They were heading to the coroner’s office to inquire about when or if the bodies of their comrades could be released. It was rather annoying that they were forced to go to the facility directly, but they couldn’t get any clear answer over the phone.

Heva was driving in a manual to break up the monotony of the morning. The late morning rush hour traffic was particularly bad. Finally, though it seemed like the worst of it was behind them. Only three short miles to go before they would arrive at their destination.

“Did they give you any reason why you needed to come down in person?” Heva asked.

“No, they were quite unwilling to give any details of any kind to me.”

“When we get back to our residence, I’ll get the truck loaded with the tools necessary to dig the graves.”

“Grave. Daphne is not getting buried by us. She turned her back on us,” Elias said calmly, “In fact, I’ll likely have them just cremate her body and throw it away.”

“I was under the impression that Viviana was leaving with her…”

“Unlike Daphne, Viviana’s guilt hasn’t been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. I am not willing to dishonor her family’s honor for things that we can’t prove.”

Heva turned to look at Elias. He was being deadly serious. Having your body cremated is a grave sin. The disrespect it generates is sufficient to destroy would-be future political leaders and CEOs. Bodies should always be interred. That Elias was willing to do this showed how much he had cut ties to his former fiancé.

She just got quiet at that point and continued to drive towards their destination. Twenty blocks were all they had left. Very little traffic in front of them too. It was a simple drive. But simple things were anything but for the Xenuians during their time in this world.

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The car approached the intersection of Twelfth Ave South. They had a green light. It was their right of way. As the car crossed into the intersection a driver from the opposite direction turned left. They accelerated too enthusiastically during the turn while Heva maintained her speed.

The left-turning vehicle closed the gap too quickly, and the driver kept their foot on the gas. The turning vehicle clipped the back quarter panel right at the tire. That caused the car Heva was driving to start a spin.

The spin would normally be anything but deadly. But due to the poor conditions of the road, the spin changed into a roll when the driver’s side tires dipped into a pair of very noticeable, and generally avoidable, potholes. It didn’t take much, but now the car’s momentum was changing from a flat spin to rolling over on its side. The car was now barrel-rolling towards the corner of the intersection.

Glass shattered and airbags inflated. Down was up and up was down. Until it was the sides, and then normal again, and then reversed yet again. The accident only lasted a short five seconds. A ‘bam-bam’ kind of accident. But in those five seconds, tragedy struck once again.

The a-pillar on the passenger side held firm. Damaged for sure, but it was still structurally sound and kept Elias safe. The second roll bowed out that pillar on the driver’s side, effectively making that side of the car dangerously unsafe if it rolled anymore. While the safety measures inside the car worked as expected, the physical structure failed Heva.

A third and final roll occurred, there was simply too much momentum in the vehicle to prevent it. The roof caved in on her side of the vehicle. She suffered life-ending head and neck injuries, effectively breaking her C1 through C4 vertebrae. Her spinal cord was severed above the C1 due to a shard of bone slicing clean through it.

Death was not instantaneous for her, but at least she was rendered unconscious in the accident. A sharp pain, then darkness was all that she felt. A bitter pill to swallow for sure for the others. Her death would come due to the delay in the time it would take for first responders to get to the accident scene.

No bystanders assisted, much less looked in the car, to see if anyone was injured or even alive. People stepped around the vehicle as if they would a simple mess on the sidewalk and went on about their day. No one would ever know why this was the case, but an extreme lack of empathy ruled that street corner that morning.

Elias, somehow and somehow, was left largely unhurt in the accident. A bloody nose and a couple of scratches from the broken glass were all that befell him. He, like Heva, was rendered unconscious in the accident as well. But unlike Heva, he would awaken in a hospital a couple of hours later. But he wouldn’t be awake for long. The doctors administered a cocktail of useful drugs to him. He fell back asleep in the lonely hospital room, unaware of what happened.

One Day Later. November 5th, 2267. 06:15 St. Mercy’s Hospital

Elias woke up and felt like he had been in a street fight. Every joint ached horribly. And that was ignoring his churning stomach. His eyes finally focused on the ceiling.

“Oh good, you are finally awake,” a nurse said walking into the room, “What was the last thing that you remember?”

The nurse picked up his left arm to check his pulse and felt for certain muscle movements. Elias shook his head groggily as he looked around at his surroundings. Confusion reigned. Where in the hell was he? He stopped moving around and began focusing. What was the last thing he remembered?

“Heva and I were in the car heading to the coroner’s office…” Elias paused as he thought hard, “Car accident. We got struck. Then my world was scrambled, and I woke up. I think I woke up yesterday but it’s such a haze.”

Just then the doctor on-call walked into the office, “Good morning, Elias. Let’s have a look at you.”

The doctor gently took his head and flashed a light in Elias’ eyes. He then squeezed the back of his head gently and worked his way down his neck. They then nodded and smiled.

“Well, the good news is from a physical and neurological perspective, you are fine,” the doctor took a deep breath and looked squarely at Elias, “But I have some very bad news, which in all honesty I’d prefer to avoid giving.”

“She’s dead.”

The doctor looked at the nurse with a somewhat accusatory look. She responded by shaking his head. His look changed to one of confusion and concern when he looked at his patient.

Elias continued, “This world has claimed several of my friend’s lives in a short period. I was never a subscriber to the thought that luck was a thing. It’s hard at this point to refute.”

“I’m sorry, but you are correct. By the time they were able to start extracting her from the vehicle she was already deceased.”

Elias then slid his legs off the bed and took a deep breath, “Am I allowed to leave?”

The doctor nodded, “Yes, but I’d prefer someone pick you up. I’m not sure if anyone in the lobby on this level is waiting for you.”

“I’ll take care of that. Please begin my discharge papers then. I will have my friends submit the paperwork to release Heva’s body into our custody for our burial practices.”

The nurse then left the room and came back moments later, “I’m sorry but your clothing was cut to stick on the monitors.”

Elias was busy pulling off the things the nurses had attached to him, causing the monitors behind him to begin alerting.

“Here’s some new clothes that should fit you. We’re sorry if it’s not to your style.”

Elias took the clothes from the nurse’s hand and forced a smile, “I’m not one to know what fashion styles are in or not. Thank you for this.”

The doctor then placed a hand on Elias’ shoulder and squeezed, “I’m sorry for your loss. I am. Hopefully, things turn around for you.”

“That makes two of us. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d prefer to cloth myself in private.”

The doctor and nurse nodded and left the room. The cold floor was unwelcome to his bare feet. Elias then noticed how sore his body was. He ached all over.

As he was dressing yesterday’s events came into focus. Their car was rear-ended by an over-eager individual turning left. The bad luck curse followed Elias once again. This time it took Heva’s life in the crash. But why had he escaped relatively unscathed?

Those thoughts would plague him for the remainder of the month. Bit by bit he got the new clothes he was given on. He looked around the room and found his wallet and keycard were sitting on a shelf near the door. Elias took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He shook his head before sitting down in the chair to put on his socks and new shoes.

Elias then walked out of the room and headed towards the central portion of the floor. He needed to check out with the head nurse there and then take the elevator down to the main floor. Once there, he’d call home and get a ride.

To his surprise and relief, Elias found Alberic waiting in the pseudo-lobby. He smiled as he walked over to him.

“Thank you.”

“We heard,” Alberic shook his head as he spoke quietly, “The sooner we get off this accursed world the better.”

“I couldn’t agree with your assessment more,” Elias paused as he steadied himself, “I need to finish checking out of here real quick.”

The real quick checkout process, as Elias had thought. Numerous forms needed to be signed and initialed. Then those forms went to someone else for a final review and further signings. After fifteen painfully long minutes, in this case, quite literally, he was finally given his desired release.

Alberic got the elevator and the two were the lone ones in it, heading down twelve stories to the main floor. The music was equal parts annoying and soothing. But like so many things, it was painfully slow.

“We took a look at the construction records, it’s some good news, something we and you desperately need at this time.”

“What’s going on?” Elias said quietly as he stared at the door.

“Construction is expected to be completed in eleven days. The void works transferred two more teams, due to no other projects available to be started. We got them working all on their own on our project.”

Elias nodded.

“I hate to be that guy,” Alberic said softly, “But what the hell happened?”

“Car accident. However, I’m unsure why I survived. Or for that matter, why Heva died?”

Alberic nodded, “We’ll look into the underlying issues. The coroner’s office called as well. They heard about the accident. I can take care of that this afternoon.”

“Order them to cremate and dispose of Daphne’s remains. Have them release Viviana and Heva so we can do a burial for them by our rites and traditions,” Elias said as he took the tablet resting on the seat and logged into it.

Alberic winced at the command as Elias familiarized himself with what the team had been doing in the past day. But he said nothing. All he did was nod and accept the order. It wasn’t his place to say anything to countermand it. Especially when he was the one that effectively forced Elias to murder his former fiancé. He knew the dishonor they were bestowing upon Daphne’s family.

There weren’t more than a few words spoken on the trip back to their safe house. What more really could be said? Elias lost his chance to set things right with Daphne. But she is dead now and that was ultimately the end goal. Though Elias wasn’t directly responsible for her death.

There were reservations, held not only by Alberic but most others, of giving Viviana burial rights. By all rights, she was a traitor too. They didn’t have any proof that she was going to do that. The camera in the bar was catching just part of the back of her head. There was no proof that she had agreed to Daphne’s plan and was willing to abscond with her.

Just adding to the general misery, the team was feeling was the lack of camera footage. One of the four cameras in the bar was functioning at the time. The footage they were able to review showed Daphne successfully hitting on a man. But Viviana wasn’t in the frame and there was no confirmation of what she had done.

The cameras on the streets outside were in dire need of maintenance. Several of them weren’t pointing in the right direction or were out of focus. There wasn’t any direct evidence that another man was walking with them, but Viviana was several yards behind Daphne and her man. The implication here was that Viviana was walking with someone.

When the pair returned to the safehouse Elias quietly retired to his room. When the door locked and sealed behind him the emotions began to flow out. He had kept it together, but the recent actions were too much for him to contain. Everything hit so hard. Another one of their teammates was gone forever.

But Elias was still in love with Daphne. Despite her flaws and vindictiveness, he loved her in some screwed-up way. And now she was gone forever. Murdered by a serial killer, if the police here are to be believed. She was taken from him forever. His dreams of starting a family and having her by his side were up in flames. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing for several minutes.

“I don’t want to be here any longer."