It saddened him to see the pain in the man’s eyes.

He could have lied to the crippled Zendaar, given him hope... but what good would it have done him in the long run?

Besides, he felt like Evken was overreacting. It really wasn’t so bad.

“There can be beauty, too, in imperfections,” Xian pointed out as he waved around him. “Without them, there would be no rain, no insects... And without the Zendaar, this world would be a very different one.”

“And likely the better for it... We have only brought pain to the humans.”

“Your people have also made important contributions to science. That is no small thing.”

“Perhaps. But I guess it won’t matter if the Suryi kill us all...”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“What will you do?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“I want to help.”

Xian glanced at the man as they walked under the rain.

“That is a generous offer, but you saw what they can do to your kind...”

Evken shrugged. “We can hurt each other too. Besides, if they can hurt us like that... can’t we hurt them back?”

“Sadly, no. Quite the opposite. You are even less likely to affect them than a human is.”

“So they are invulnerable?”

“I wouldn’t go so far. There are always ways around obstacles.” They had reached the edges of the city by now and went down a dirt trail that led toward the sea, where Xian had landed his ship.

“For instance,” he continued, “the Suryi cannot kill a human directly. But if they manipulate the elements to, say, rain boulders on them, then humans would die as a consequence.”

“So it’s a matter of finding a way to affect them indirectly...”

Xian nodded. “Actually, there is something the Zendaar can do that might help.”

If Thyria would not assist him—and she’d made it clear she would not—then perhaps Evken would.

“Tell me.”

Xian stopped walking when they reached the spot where his ship waited. Though, of course, no one could see it—not even the Zendaar.

“The mask they destroyed was a tool I used to keep them asleep. Now that it’s destroyed, I no longer have a way to restrain them. However, your people have a power that allows you to put others in a trance. I am hoping this might work on them...”

The rain had stopped by now, though they could still hear thunder roaring in the distance.

“Wouldn’t our flaw make it useless?”

“Not necessarily. It makes you more vulnerable and less likely to hurt them, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything at all. Take me, for instance, I cannot hurt them directly either—though in my case, it is because we are of the same species, if you would. There are genetic blocks that make it impossible for us to harm one another. However, I can still affect them in other ways. If I throw an object at them—or if you do—, they would be struck by it...”

“I don’t understand. Doesn’t that mean you could throw a knife at them? Or even shoot a phaser?”

“Weapons don’t work on us, regardless of who is wielding them... Well, it’s more complicated than that. Some weapons could work, but let’s just say none of those could be found on this world.”

“So what would happen?”

“Depends. A blade would bend or break—or both. A phaser’s ray would be absorbed by our bodies. Old-fashioned bullets would bounce off our skin. I wouldn’t recommend trying to punch one of us, as you’d likely break some bones in the process.”

“You truly are gods,” said Evken in awe.

Xian snorted. “Hardly. Our bodies are just supercharged with nanobots that will deflect or absorb most types of attacks.”

“Could those nanobots be disabled?”

“Hmm. Not that I know of. Though that’s an interesting idea. I’ll have to look into it.”

The red light on Xian’s wristpad flashed. He checked it and found a message from Paul.

“Looks like my son would also like to help...”

“You have a son?”

“Long story. But if you meant what you said, then perhaps we should all meet to discuss strategy.”

“Absolutely.”

***

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It was an odd place for a meeting.

His father had told him to come here, outside the city, in the middle of nowhere. There were only trees here. And mud.

A lot of mud.

He splashed his way through, grumbling and wondering if he had made the right choice.

Suddenly, he heard a sizzling sound and turned his head. A rectangle of light appeared in the air. It grew in size, and a shape appeared within. Then a face popped out—his father’s.

“Over here, Paul!”

He blinked, then headed toward what he realized now to be a door... but into what? Nothingness?

“What is this?” he asked.

“My ship,” grinned Xian. “It can’t be seen from the outside. Makes for perfect camouflage. Come on in.”

Once he’d stepped through, the landscape around disappeared, replaced by lengthy corridors and blackish walls of a substance that felt like metal but obviously was not.

Xian led the way until they arrived in a large room with a large table. A man waited there, sitting in a chair with a cane resting on the table before him.

“Paul, meet Evken of the Zendaar. Evken, this is my son Paul.”

The two nodded at each other.

“You’ve both voiced your intent to help, so I’m going to take you up on that. Though I’ll be honest with you: I don’t know if this will be enough. Our foes are powerful, dedicated to the point of obsession, and relentless.”

“But you have a plan?” asked Paul.

“I’m still piecing things together, but yes.”

“I feel I need to point out,” said Evken, “that my power will not hold them for millennia like your mask did.”

Paul looked between the two of them, confused. “Power?”

“The Zendaar can put people to sleep,” explained Xian. “Or, rather, into a trance. It’s a sort of paralysis. Since this power is neither based on science nor on magic, I think it is likely to work on the runaways. We can use this to hold them long enough to place them in a netherchalk cell.”

“A what now?”

Xian pointed at the walls of the ship. “It’s a special substance from my homeworld. It has many different properties. One of them is that it contains the nanobots’ capacities, effectively rendering us powerless. I had trapped them in such a place, in addition to putting them to sleep, but they found the way out.”

“Could they not find their way out from another cell?”

“Probably. But it’d give us some respite to think and figure out a solution. In fact...” He glanced at Evken. “While we waited for Paul to join us, I looked into your suggestion, and it does seem like there is a way to disable their nanobots. If I could do this, they would become as harmless as humans.”

“So wait,” said Paul as he stared at the netherchalk wall, “does this mean you do not have any powers when you are inside your own ship?”

“Not at all. Each of those properties can be controlled and adjusted depending on our needs. It’s like... like a recipe. Depending on how you dose the ingredients you can obtain a different dish. So to make a cell I would need to enhance a specific aspect of the netherchalk.”

“Well,” said Evken, “I don’t know what our odds are, but if no one has a better idea, we should try this. Where do we start?”

“We wait for their next move. When they hit again—which should be soon—we go to their location. Paul and I will trap them using the elements... I’m guessing you would know how to do this, Paul?”

“Yes.”

“It won’t hold them long, but it doesn’t matter. We just need to keep rebuilding those traps. Our goal is to buy you time, Evken, so you can do your thing. Once they’re paralyzed, we’ll bring them into the ship and lock them up.”

They all agreed.

And as they waited, Xian started to build the netherchalk cell.

***

Despite being the largest sect on Qojja, the Sons of Kahn were also the most recluse. Few ever heard anything from them, or even knew what they were up to. They mostly kept to themselves—much like the followers of Valerian had, though their god was of a much different nature. In fact, of all the gods who lived on this world, Kahn was the most elusive.

None of his followers could claim to have ever seen him, aside from a handful of his highest priests. Occasionally, some believers would be picked to serve the god himself, but of these none would ever be seen or heard from again.

They had bought new clothes, changed their hairstyle, let their beards grow... And, with the help of Victor, they had learned how to talk and behave like the locals.

None of this would hold up against close inspection, of course. They hardly had time to get a thorough education. But it would have to do.

The medicine could help Jack pass for healthy... at least for a few hours. He’d have to keep taking those pills regularly and hope the illusion would hold long enough for them to get close to Kahn.

But that, in itself, was beginning to seem quite the challenge.

Kahn was not like the other gods.

He was picky.

They’d have to show devotion. A lot of it.

So they’d joined the Sons of Kahn and had been going to every cult. They claimed to have come from Naddaq, frustrated with the lack of service to the greatest god of all gods—they had of course first researched the topic, making sure Naddaq was, indeed, bereft of a Kahn chapter.

They had prayed, they had praised... for the most part, they had mimicked the behavior of the others while trying to amplify it. They understood that to make an impression, they would need to stand out. They could not, like they had initially planned, simply ask to be servants. At least, not without first showing true and full devotion.

After a week of this, they approached one of the priests.

“Kahn is great!” said Will, “and we love it here. However, we still feel unfulfilled.”

“Why is this?” asked the priest.

“We do not worship him enough,” protested Jack. “We cannot bask in his almightiness. A god such as he deserves more than what can be done here.”

“What more would you do?”

“Anything!” said the two friends at the same time.

The priest smiled. “It pleases me to hear this. As it would he, the mightiest of gods, surely. You are blessed to have such faith.”

“We only wish to serve him,” said Will, trying to sound as fanatical as he could.

Part of him was amused by the exercise. He had always found religion grating on the nerves and rather irritating. But playing one of these believers was a fun way to mock them, without them even realizing it. The more you exaggerated, the more they seemed to like it.

“One never knows what opportunities our god shall rain upon us,” said the priest.

As he walked away, Jack groaned. “How much longer are we gonna have to keep up with this charade?”

“However long it takes.”

“I don’t know that my body can hold that long...”

Will saw his friend press a hand on his mouth and swallow hard as he stopped himself from coughing.

“It’s okay if one comes out, every once in a while,” he said.

The next day, two priests came to them and requested they follow them.

They were brought into a dimly lit room and offered seats.

Another man sat there, observing them.

“I have been told you wish to serve our god Kahn?”

“We do,” said Will.

“Very much so,” added Jack.

“Why?”

“Why would we not?” asked Will, making himself sound offended.

“He is the greatest god!” claimed Jack. “Does he not deserve our worship?”

“Indeed he does. But it is not of worship we speak here, is it?”

“Is serving our god not a form of worship? Is it not a more thorough form of worship? Is it not what he, the greatest of gods, deserves? Should we not serve him?”

“Is that not our purpose in life?” added Will, now sounding genuinely curious.

“Very well.” The man smiled as he stood and motioned for Will to follow him. “Please come, brother.”

“What about me?” asked Jack with a hint of concern in his voice.

The man looked at him. “Wait here. Someone will come for you shortly.”

Will threw him a look full of doubt before he exited the room, leaving Jack alone with the two silent priests.