BETH

Footsteps outside her quarters. They didn’t sound like Milo’s. She raised her chin from her knees.

“You,” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta looked disappointed. “Yes, me. I know it has been a while since I last came and talked. You are not as talkative or friendly as back on the Au-delà. There, I said it, the plain, cold truth. Scold me, now.”

“Why would I do that?” Beth started, but then she realized that Dr. Birgitta carried an axe in her hands. “Is this the twist? It will turn out that you had been under Saif’s control all the time and now was the time to strike me down. With an axe, nonetheless. Almost a bit poetic. You do know that the dark ages was a long time ago.”

Dr. Birgitta smiled, with the usual rows of teeth showing. “Well, are you surprised? No, you very well know that your brother burnt any influence that could have remained. I am here to offer you a gift and I want to talk to my friend.”

Talking had the ability to push the mind into lines of thoughts that she would rather avoid. Did her temples tingle again? She massaged the sides of her head.

“If you want to talk, then talk. I am not stopping you,” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta put down the axe, it was entirely in metal and had a smooth, sharp blade. Could that be titanium? It might be.

“How are you feeling, Beth?” Birgitta asked. Her tone was gentle, the scientist did care for her. But that would matter little when Saif’s control made her hammer Birgitta into pieces.

“Your skin is not turned into metal today. That is a good sign. It has been a long time since I saw you out of your battle mode,” Dr. Birgitta said. “You have shown interest in my work. I like that the time you spend not worrying too much about the future is when you are studying my research. It’s as if I have a hand in getting you to feel better.”

Was it surprising that her browsing history had been recorded? No. But still there was a flame of anger in the back of her head. She should have been explicitly told that she was monitored.

“We have decided to make a poll to name the aliens. Because we cannot run around like this and call them ‘aliens’, ‘orb/sphere’ and ‘flesh’ anymore. Don’t you agree?” Dr. Birgitta said. “I think it is appropriate.”

“Ridiculous,” Beth said. “How can you name that which you don’t know? The only information you have gathered was from dissecting one of their people. They are sentient. Should you not ask the beings, what they want to be called before making your own decision? It seems rude. What if some alien race came rolling in and started to name humans ‘two-feet-evil-flesh-creatures’? How fun would that be?”

Dr. Brigtta stepped back, “Maybe you are right. I didn’t think like that and neither did the others. But it is not easy being personal with creatures you have not met.”

“Of course I am right!” Beth said.

Dr. Birgitta paused for several moments before continuing. Had Beth hurt her feelings? The scientist just needed to know the truth.

“Do you remember the gravity core back at the Au-delà?” Dr. Birgitta said. “How it was the only electronic device still online when every other piece of hardware failed. I have a theory and I would like your opinion on it. Assume that the aliens came to make peace. Would not negotiations be made easier if all parties were under the pressure of gravity? Having people floating around while trying to sharpen their arguments, would be amusing to watch, but in the end not very practical.”

There would be no talk without communications and how did you communicate with alien lifeforms? How would you attack that problem at all? There was no simple way of translating languages without any overlap or any ancestral lines. Would they show a picture of an object and then wait for the aliens to say what it was? What if they didn’t even speak?

Dr. Birgitta must have observed her face frowned in deep thought. “The hologram is the key. I think they wanted to use it to breach the communication’s barrier.”

Beth looked up. “The hologram! They noticed our eyes! They observed that we could process visual data. That was their plan.”

“I knew it,” Dr. Birgitta said. “You are still inside there.”

But the moment ended for her and her chin dropped down again. But there were merits to Birgitta’s idea. It just needed to be tested and iterated over. Perfected. How would you do that before meeting the aliens? It was just a guessing game. Would they go through a series of images and display and vocalise their definitions and syntax? Or would it be a series of video feeds? Birgitta had grown quiet. Beth glanced up towards her. Dr. Birgitta was no longer in her quarters. She had left and Beth had missed it. The metal axe laid on one of the seats. A single and straight bladed axe. Its edge looked sharp. The handle had a slight bent to it. Was it made to be thrown?

Dr. Birgitta had carried the conversation and then sneaked out when Beth was trapped in her thoughts. Something in the back of her head nagged her, why had she not asked how Birgitta was doing? How did the doctor process everything that happened to her? She might have lost people too and here Beth sat in her own corner of the world and felt sorry for herself. Selfish and rude. She promised to ask her during the next opportunity.

CARL

“That is a trap,” Carl said.

Amanda sat beside him, they crowded in the dreadnought’s bridge. He had held her hand for a moment before the presentation had begun. Decha stood in front of the view screen and behind the pilots’ stations, studying what was displayed.

Lisa put a hand on Carl’s shoulder, the coldness of her power seeped into his skin, making him shudder. But there was something reassuring about it, Amanda stared at them, but he ignored her.

“But it will take us a step closer to her,” Lisa said, it was almost as if her power of ice translated into her voice and choice of words.

Decha paced the width of the wall. “Yes, that is why we will spring it. Right into it. Our ship can tank anything they can throw at us. Even if our weapons are taken offline or if they hide behind a thick cover, like the rats they are, we have me. This will be an easy win for us.”

What a self important asshole.

“Fuck you,” Lisa said. “I have heard a lot of weird ideas during my days, but this might take the price. I love the concept of charging right in, but what you are talking about is madness.”

Decha smiled, not the happy smile people usually smiled, but that weird, almost sadistically looking smile, she knew anger came attached with it. “I don’t even know you, or you me. Why should I listen to you? I have served Saif since the very beginning and he would not have sent me along for this mission unless he wanted it done properly. That is what I do, make things roll in their intended direction. We spring the trap.”

Lisa’s lips shook, the anger pulled at her, her hands tensed into fists. Carl felt it too, it was shoving time and with the three of them, what chance would Decha stand?

“No, we are not,” Carl said. “I was assigned lead for this mission and I will see it through. We are not risking all the people on this ship.”

Decha laughed. “You said what? And I should do as you say? You little children.”

“I am the le…,” Carl started, but was interrupted by Decha’s fist when it impacted his face.

Sweetness crept forth, his mind was calm, but his body ready to lash out. Molten rock dripped out between his fingers.

“You three. Good luck on your away mission,” Decha said.

Carl was pulled backwards, Amanda and Lisa falling with him. They fell into the newly opened portal.

MILO

“Here we go,” Leo said, grabbing the steering sticks even tighter.

The Final Sight came into matching velocity with the asteroid, which also took up most of the main view screen. They moved closer, slowly and steady. Leo didn’t flinch, but for Milo it felt like ants crawled inside his overalls. It was one of those moments where his well being would be affected by the result of the action, but he had no ability to affect the outcome. The Final Sight touched down, a brief series of vibrations traveled through the vessel. But it became still and silent.

“You can breathe now, Blue,” Sam said, smiling. Obviously enjoying making fun of him.

“You can shove that thermos somewhere,” Milo said.

Sam laughed. “You will not admit it, but you are growing into that uniform. You are growing comfortable with the standard crew banter.”

Milo shook his head, turning to Leo instead. “That was some fine flying.”

“Thanks. Going cold,” Leo mumbled, flipping switches and locking down the ship.

Drive cone went offline. The light dimmed until near darkness, the temperature turned down and Milo felt the chill across his spine, the ventilation fans and life support functions slowed down. Enough for them to be kept alive, but in a stale and smelly atmosphere. The hum of the fusion reactor grew quiet. When the Final Sight ran cold, its systems were slowed or even in some cases powered down, to shed its temperature profile. No thermal scans would be able to detect them.

“Leo, I want your hands on the triggers. The timing is too difficult for Blue to handle,” Sam said, turning to Milo. “Don’t take it personally. I know you have been trained to use the gun controls. This is a bit too critical.”

Milo nodded, relieved that Leo would take that responsibility instead of him.

“I will keep the sensors at passive,” Leo said. “There is not much time left, if you need to empty the bladder or brew a cup of coffee you go ahead and do that before it’s too late. Some auxiliary systems will be running a few more minutes.”

“I will stay,” Milo said, not wanting to state how nervous he felt and leaving the bridge might cause him to have second thoughts.

Sam handed him a filled mug of coffee. “Two sugar cubes?”

“Nah,” Milo said, grabbing the mug. The steam wetted his face.

“You have changed. It is so clear. Meaner attitude, leaner shape, more open to talk with people and no sugar cubes in your coffee. I am glad for you,” Sam said.

Milo looked away, not knowing how to respond. “Well, when the world demands of you to be better, you better become better.”

“That is some wordplay right there,” Sam said. “Did you make that up just now, or did you hear it from one of the movies in the Final Sight’s list?”

Milo hesitated. “What? Does the ship have movies?”

“You didn’t know? It’s protocol. We always update the library when docked, and our last time was at Europe13,” Sam said.

The betrayal sank into his gut. Some entertainment would have made this journey a bit easier.

“It’s not like you have time for that anyhow, you are training all the time,” Sam said. “You have come a long way from the days when repairing this old boat’s electrical grid was disrupting your free time.”

Milo clanked his mug against Sam’s. “For progression.”

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“Motion,” Leo said, pulling up the event to the display, but talking to his hand terminal. “Claire, be prepared to power up the reactor. We might need some sharp maneuvers.”

A dreadnought was a vicious kind of starship. Packing enough firepower to level a planet, given enough time. It didn’t look like a monster, it looked like a bigger corvette, but a hundred times larger.

“Capt’n tell me when,” Leo said, sweat prickled in his forehead. The veteran pilot was nervous, Milo didn’t blame him. If they failed, they would be hauled back to Saif and his gloating victory, or just shot to smithereens behind these asteroids. One of those options was better than the other.

“Make cold target locking, no active sensor pings,” Sam said. “We will only get one chance for a first strike.”

Milo’s fingers dug into the armrest of his seat, the biggest lightning bolt he could summon would not impact this series of events. It almost seemed as the dreadnought crawled through space, but in reality it flew fast, it has probably been braking for quite some time. They had taken the bait, otherwise they would not have started their brake so aggressively.

“Fingers are on the triggers, Capt’n,” Leo said. “The nukes’ thrusters are warming up.”

“Once they discover the mines,” Sam said. “Not a second before. When will the accelerated asteroids come in?”

Dr. Birgitta leaned forward, she had been quiet up until now. “A bit late, but they are arriving.”

The repurposed probes were scattered across a large section, the dreadnought’s trajectory would take it straight into them. Sam wanted their focus directed towards the mines, since how would they manage the barrages of nukes and volleys of railgun shots when the mines blew up in their face? A trap within a trap. The trick was to have the first trap not too obvious, make the enemy think they had fooled you, at least that was how Sam had explained it to him.

Milo leaned back, forcing himself to relax. His body was all tense.

The projectiles were painted white on the display, otherwise they were invisible, as they left the dreadnought’s railguns, flying towards the mines. Their target had taken the bait.

“We can’t wait for Birgitta. Fire!” Sam yelled, waving an arm.

“Nukes are awake and away!” Leo yelled. “The asteroid mounted railgun is spewing out iron.”

This was the moment all their planning and preparations hinged upon.

The dreadnought’s railguns turned, the whole boat turned. Nukes were deployed to counteract their two barrages of nukes. Laser turrets picked new targets.

“Birgitta, where are the asteroids you promised me?” Sam asked.

Dr. Birgitta stood up. “Coming soon. They cannot go any faster.”

But the trap’s third layer made it all possible.

“Leo, we need to keep their attention occupied. Put the Final Sight over the asteroid’s horizon. Do it,” Sam said.

Leo hesitated. “Their cannons will chew us to pieces.”

“Do it! And open fire,” Sam said. “We are dead if their drive cone is not destroyed. Go!”

Milo grabbed the armrests and clenched his jaw. The bridge’s lighting became bright, cold mode deactivated. Leo hands worked the sticks as the Final Sight came loose from the asteroid, they floated above their only protection against the dreadnought’s cannons.

“Firing,” Leo said, pulling on the triggers on the rail gun.

Nuclear explosions showed up on the main screen. Something had hit the dreadnought, gotten through its defenesives.

“We have impacts!” Leo yelled.

It was working and when Birgitta’s asteroids came flying in, the deal would be sealed.

An invisible tug pulled at him and the warmth hit his senses before the fire did. Milo turned. A portal came into existence between the Captain’s seat and the bridge’s main bulkhead door. Sweetness crept onto his mouth before he realized it. A man engulfed in molten rocks and fire stepped out from the event horizon. How and what? Milo hesitated, Sam put his acid spitting shotgun to the invader’s face and fired. The green ooze only sizzled against Carl’s barrier.

Carl. Danger.

Milo got up to his feet, the sweet taste of water rushed into him, his electrical barrier came up and he leapt forward. Carl’s power was superior to his, especially if he had no access to the blood deposit, but he could stall. Press him. They rolled across the floor, heat bled through his barrier, keeping his eyes open was difficult. Carl’s fiery fist came down on him, glancing his face, the smell of burnt flesh reminded him.

Needed to create distance.

Sam yelled, firing his shotgun and fiddling with controls on his seat, but Carl barely noticed.

Milo pushed with his legs and committed two lightning bolts at Carl, who staggered back. Stronger and better connected to his power, but he would need blood to be able to turn this fight. If he tapped into the ship, what would happen to the reactor? Streams of lava struck and crackled against his barrier, he fell down to one knee. No access hub nearby, his vision was tinted with fire. Was that Sam’s rig behind Carl? Carl was shoved to the side by the combat suit’s laser cannon, its muzzles spinning and spewing beams at its target.

“Catch it!” Sam yelled, launching a battery pack at him.

Milo was weakened and not ready, the battery slipped between his fingers and bounced off the floor.

“Capt’n!” Leo yelled.

A milky, translucent arm swiped from the floor, slicing right through one of the legs of Sam’s rig. The rig fell to its side, blood and oil trickled from the cut. Amanda hunted them from inside the floor.

Milo scrambled to the battery, his fingers grasping it.

The world slowed down as his body drank the electric energy. His capacity grew. A dark cloud grew i slowmotion out from a point behind Carl. Milo’s mind darted across the battery’s circuitry, he felt the very pathways the free-energy traveled. The stored energy dwindled as his capacity increased. The moment came to an end, the world sped up again and Carl fell into the wormhole.

...Empowered. The additional capacity was intoxicating. Everything around him appeared different, as if the world became sharper. He was the conduit of excited electrons.

Milo tore into the blood deposit and the sweet taste was exchanged with that of iron. His hands extended forward, but his prey had escaped him. What a coward and weakling.

Amanda’s milky white arms came up from the floor, grabbing for his leg. Milo discharged two lightning bolts before her fingers made contact. The arms fell down, and a woman’s scream of agony echoed through the bridge.

“Don’t run, you coward!” Milo yelled at the floor.

Sam’s combat suit flaked and the Captain exited, Diego standing over him with his medical scanner.

“Where did he go? Those balls, portaling straight into the bridge,” Sam said, rubbing at his leg. The leg was hurt, but still attached to his body.

“If you would not have thrown as shitty, I would have gotten him,” Milo said, electricity crackling under his breath.

Sam stared hard at him.

“Movements and heat are registered a deck down!” Leo said. “Trajectory: the reactor!”

“I am going after him,” Milo said.

Milo knew what he needed to do. He let the blood rush into him, the tendrils grew vibrant. The path was clear, he went into a sprint. His feet moved like pistons, the tendrils snaking and crackling around him, almost giving him additional speed. Tendrils were left in his wake. But he needed more speed.

In his mind, the third deposit grew distinct. Its color was milky with a dash of yellow.

He pressed forward, his breathing became frantic.

Faster.

Forward.

The bent was taken mid stride. His mind flew closer to the deposit. Within reach. He strode forward. He reached and tore into it.

The iron taste of blood was exchanged with something bitter. His mind made the connection for him: adrenaline.

His body transformed. He sped up, his physical form folded into light.

He was lightning.

Milo thundered through the corridor as a lightning bolt. His vision was unclear, the only sound was that of crackling electricity. Guided by his intentions and will, he bounced and twisted his way through the corridors at the speed of light. His mind had little chance of processing what happened outside his new form. He passed access hubs and an idea struck him, but he had no time to test it right now.

The bitter taste of adrenaline faded and the blood flooded again. He crashed into something, his body returned. It had taken a second gulp of adrenaline to transform back. He rolled across the floor until he hit the reactor’s outer shell. Carl leaned against the opposite wall with blood seeping down his side. When in lightning form Milo had struck him. His prey was wounded, weakened, time for the killing blow. A woman covered in an ice barrier stepped up to Carl’s side. Whoever it was they would share his fate.

Milo’s legs were shaky, but his will was true. He stood up, using the outer shell for balance. Carl shook his head and pressed against his side, where the wound was located. Milo’s reserve of blood would not last long, he needed to act. The icy woman stepped forward, beams of ice discharged from her palms.

Milo rolled to the side, avoiding the danger and sprung up on his feet.

Milo extended two palms, two lightning bolts thundered forward. The barriers of molten rock and ice held firm.

A fiery fist came fast and low, it seared into his electrical barrier and Milo tried to step away as the fist sank closer. The fist connected to his gut, an agony of fire. His teeth clasped tight, sweat stuck to his eyes. A second fist of ice cracked his head back.

Distance.

Milo leapt away from the storm of heat and cold. They had to be dealt from a distance. But Carl reacted fast, jumping after him, streams of magma pouring in Milo’s direction. Milo stumbled back. The blood was down to a trickle.

A roar.

Something struck at Carl’s face, but the object was deflected to the side and embedded itself into the floor besides Milo. Beth’s axe.

“You!” Beth yelled, going after the woman in ice, shoving Carl out of her way.

Beth, in metal skin, was on top of the woman and fighting off Carl at the same time, before Milo came to his feet. Beth’s hands kept grasping for a grip around his throat and arms, but she kept slipping against the flow of molten rocks. Her metal skin was immune against electricity. Lightning bolts thundered away from his palms. The bolts crashed into Beth, but who stayed unaffected, and bounced off her at Carl. Carl’s barrier shook and gave away, the electrical tendrils thundered at him. Beth pinned the dazed Carl down. They had won.

Even in defeat Carl wore a face of calm, of focus. His mouth turned into a smile and Milo reacted too late. A drop of blood slid between Carl’s parted lips. In an instant, the barrier of molten rock grew hotter. Carl’s lava curling fist impacted Beth and sent her flying. Milo grabbed the axe, its blade gleaming from Carl’s fire and threw it, and he also discharged lightning bolts behind it. Carl was barely fazed, grabbing the weapon in mid air and tossing it aside, and the bolts sizzled against his barrier. Lisa stood up from the floor, beside him.

Milo stepped back, but Beth was back on her feet on his side again.

“You will die here, Carl,” Milo said, electricity crackling in his hands.

“And you too, Lisa Rands,” Beth said.

A small dark cloud came to life behind Carl and Lisa.

Carl noticed the cloud behind him and winked. “I am spent.”

Carl grabbed Lisa and the two of them fell into the portal before it closed.

…weakened and drained. The flow of blood stopped and took with it all his confidence. Milo stumbled, but caught the wall before landing on his face. The sweetness replaced the iron taste and his tendrils came back to life, but much weaker.

“We fought them off,” Beth said. “But why would it have to be Lisa? Fuck her.”

Milo massaged his head, the headache that had bloomed when the blood came to an end he almost missed. “You mean THE Lisa Rands, who tried to kill you back on the Au-delà?”

Beth nodded. “I had hoped that I had seen the last of her. She is insane. Maybe her personality fits well alongside Saif. The same kind of crazy.”

“That’s insane,” Milo said. “But we won.”

“We didn’t win. This was a draw if I have ever seen one,” Beth said and plucked the axe from the floor. “This thing is a detriment.”

“Don’t be like that. Help me to the bridge,” Milo said, letting the sweetness retreat. It would have been invigorating to drain a second fuel cell now.

Beth’s skin stayed metal as she carried him. She carried him as if he weighed nothing.

Sam stood up from the Captain’s seat. “Great! You saved the reactor. Good work. Sit down and enjoy our slim escape.”

“Escape? We had him by the ropes, we had won. They are the ones fleeing,” Milo said. “Did anyone see Amanda leave, after I electrocuted her?”

Sam shook his head. “If she was knocked out, she must have fallen through the floor and been portaled off when the others were.”

“Sounds about right,” Milo said. “But still, I would love it to have the sensors looking for motions that don’t belong to the crew. Leo? She spooks me.”

“Of course. They are never ending searching,” Leo said. ”Their drive cone is damaged. While you were fighting, Birgitta’s asteroids came around and struck their drive cone’s edge. It cracked nicely, they are crippled. We are leaving before their bombardments tear down this asteroid. It is the only thin shielding us from their dreadnought,” Leo said, flipping switches and manning the steering controls. Leo must have hidden their ship again, after the fight in the bridge broke out.

They could not feel the acceleration, because the inertia meshes kept them protected, but the display evidently told them they were flying away. The war was far from over. They were alive and their ship intact, the battle had ended in their favor.

Diego came up, scanner in hand and examined Milo. “Dehydrated. Decreased hemoglobin levels and a lower amount of adrenaline. Must have been a loco fight.”

“I was wrong. The third deposit, of adrenaline by the way, didn’t make me fast. But, in a way it did,” Milo said. “It has a transformative effect. For a split second I became electricity and moved through the corridor like a lightning bolt.”

Beth turned in his direction. “I heard you. That sound of thunder still echoes inside my skull. Did you notice when Carl found his blood deposit?”

“He fueled with blood?” Diego asked, his voice trembling.

Milo nodded. “He did. The change was distinct. His power grew more intense, his fire hotter. But I believe that it was his first time, since he used it quickly. It depletes fast if you don’t put a lid on it.”

Birgitta leaned on the door frame. “It’s an ominous sign that they are learning. What will we do if more of them fuel with blood?”

“Then our advantage is gone,” Milo said.

Beth grabbed the coffee cup Sam handed her. “Thank you. I will be in my quarters. Birgitta, we will talk later.”

She walked away, Milo thought about going after her but decided it would be more appropriate to let her be. It had been her first time outside that room since they left Europe13. She needed some slack. Her road to recovery was long and twisted. But he saw the signs of it leading in the right direction.

Milo also received a cup. The steam washed over his face like a warm hug. Beth would not admit it, but he saw the jealousy in her eyes. Now two known powered people could use blood and she was not one of them. The competitive scholar in her might have a hard time accepting that.

“You transformed into lightning?” Dr. Birgitta said. “You fueled with adrenaline?”

Milo nodded. “Yeah. I was lightning.”

“You are going to tell me all the juicy details,” Dr. Birgitta said, stepping forward.