The next morning Selene was on her tablet on a video call with Camden and her mom in the pilots cabin. She was leaned back in a wheeled chair.
Camden was explaining how a giant squirrel thing got close to the colony and one of the few enforcers they had there had to shoot up in the air to scare it away.
"It had eyes like this!"
He pushed his eyes open wider with his fingers.
Mom chortled.
"Was it scary?" Selene asked. Somewhat concerned.
"No it was funny—I hope it comes back!" Camden said enthusiastically.
Zephyr came into the room then. She wore a red thermal with large loops of missing fabric on the sides with no sleeves and a turtleneck collar. With black jeans and shiny black boots.
"Busy?" she asked.
Selene shook her head.
"Well guys I think we better get started here, I'll see you soon okay?"
"Okay, be careful honey. Say goodbye Camden."
"Bye!"
He pushed off the chair and ran towards the door before the camera cut off and the call ended.
"He's so cute." Zephyr said.
Selene scoffed; "You're just seeing him on a good day. He throws some pretty wild tantrums... So, do you think you can guide us to this thing?"
"I think so."
Selene leaned over and pushed the intercom button on a console near her; "Everyone get in here."
After a few minutes everyone gathered inside. Dr. Bryant, Raymond, Danny, and Aboleth. Dr. Bryant wore a teal checkered grey flannel, brown slacks, dark loafers and his typical lab coat.
Raymond wore a long sleeved black shirt and grey cargo-pants. Danny wore a white T-shirt and jeans. Aboleth of course was in the new green uniform with gold accents. She gave everyone a 'Why aren't you in uniform?' look as she entered and saw them.
Selene was wearing similar clothes as yesterday, but this time it was a navy-blue hoodie and black shorts.
"What's going on? Are we leaving already?" Raymond asked.
Zephyr looked to Selene almost as if to ask if she wanted her to explain the situation or not. Selene decided she would.
"We're going to go check out something Zephyr senses. A white statue somewhere. Has anyone else been dreaming of it besides us?"
Danny raised a hand; "That's weird. What do you think it is?"
Raymond also raised a hand.
"So pretty much everyone has seen it... I'm not sure. I think it might be some alien device. My dad said he experienced something similar before when he was on a mission for the Protectorate back in his puck days. But it was some triangle thing that gave him powers like mine when he touched it."
Dr. Bryant looked up at her from his tablet when she said so.
"And you didn't think to share this with me Ms. Carrington? This is quite the story. Telepaths don't typically inherit the same abilities as their parents, and they especially don't inherit their abilities from strange devices."
Selene shrugged. "Didn't seem relevant."
"The entire reason you were assimilated by the Zykra as a queen was due to these abilities. It is quite relevant Ms. Carrington."
It seemed uncharacteristically peeved at this revelation.
"Sorry?" she said insincerely. "Anyway, I'm thinking this might be like that. Who knows? Maybe it's something useful."
She of course knew it was. The preserver made a pretty convincing argument that it would empower one of her human allies.
"Maybe. But it might be a trap too." Raymond said.
Danny pointed at him as if to say 'he has a point'; "Maybe it's some kind of puck or resistance black site where they're testing out telepath stuff and that's what we're sensing."
Dr. Bryant sighed and walked towards the helm of the ship around the hologram table.
"Whether it's an alien device that gives powers to humans or a telepath blacksite we should investigate. If we plan on using this planet to produce Zykra forces it's better that we know for sure."
"Dibs." Danny said.
"On what?" Zephyr chortled.
"On the new psychic powers. Duh."
"You already have psychic powers."
He gave her a skeptical look; "I'm a human candle Zeph... Hardly counts."
From there they bickered for awhile as the ship lifted off and started flying in the direction that Zephyr told them to go. The others seemed to only be having dreams of it like Selene. Only Zephyr had some idea of where to go.
And after about fifteen minutes of flying they found it.
The ship was fast in space—travelling around the planet was almost instantaneous. It was a game of 'colder/warmer' with Zephyr as they honed in on the white obelisks location.
It was fairly big. Two dozen meters tall and six meters wide. Perfectly square with flat sides.
"So weird." Zephyr said.
"You all stay inside, me and Aboleth will check it out with the Zykra we brought."
Danny looked at her in offense.
"Greedy much?"
Selene rolled her eyes. "Who knows what it'll do. If it doesn't do anything when we get close to it, maybe we'll have you all draw straws to touch it."
"I'm not really interested." Zephyr said, "If it did give me powers you'd probably expect me to fight. And I hate violence."
"We could do rock paper scissors for it Danny, I assume Dr. Bryant isn't interested either." Raymond said.
"I'm only interested in studying the origins of this device. The Zykra have already promised me plenty in terms of power."
"Come on." Selene told Aboleth as she pushed off from the console she'd leaned on as she was looking out the window.
It was bigger up close.
It seemed to be partly buried in the planets surface.
There were pillars of rock jutting up from the ground around them for a hundred yards—which wasn't typical for the planets geography.
"So what do we do?"
Aboleth asked.
Selene wasn't sure so she didn't answer right away. She just sort of walked around it. "Don't touch it. When my dad touched the one he found it went inactive since."
The few scantids and munloc they had with them were reacting strangely to the artifact. Snapping at it from a distance, afraid to get closer.
"I don't like the vibes I'm picking up Selene. Kind of intimidating I'm not going to lie."
Selene thought for a moment—back to what the preserver had said. Didn't he say that she personally wouldn't be able to use the device because of her Zykra influence?
"It seems safe enough. Guess we'll have them come out now- maybe it'll react to regular humans—"
An electric bolt appeared from thin air and struck the ground near the obelisk, causing both Aboleth and Selene to flinch at it.
Another bolt sounded as it struck another location close to the first. Then another, and another.
"Selene..." Aboleth began to say, "Let's retreat to a safe distance for now."
The source of the lightning bolts began to turn into a circle of blue electricity. And it grew wider. An electric hum filled the air growing louder as the circle expanded. Revealing a black center.
Once it was about thirty feet wide it stopped growing.
"Maybe we should go into orbit! I don't like this!" Aboleth shouted over the electric sounds and thunder bolts that were striking the ground more rapidly now around the circle.
"Wait!" Selene said.
The Zykra had retreated even further than they were. She felt the same vibes they did.
Disgust. It filled the air more thickly than any other vibe she's ever felt.
A silver object appeared from within the circle. Stepping out onto the brown red soil and thorny vines that covered the ground around.
Selene instinctively raised her helmet over her face.
"Aboleth, get back to the ship." she said.
"I'm not going anywhere without you!" she said protectively. She looked towards the frightened Zykra and her eyes flashed. They forced themselves forward and formed a line ahead of them towards the emerging silver figure.
It's armor was like a mirror.
It was eight feet tall. Humanoid but.. Off. The hips had a strange shape like butterfly wings, they became incredibly narrow at the stomach. With a chest that flared back outwards. The arms were long enough to reach the center of it's thighs.
It's legs were shaped like a goats with black hooves.
If the preserver who spoke to her last was male, this one was likely female. But it was difficult to tell with all the armor. Which conformed to the contours of their body. Smoothed and round.
A round oblong helmet concealed their entire head, and had a blue strip of light where the eyes would be.
The seven fingered hands were gauntleted in the same metal, pointed into claws.
The 'portal' closed behind it. Causing the area to become eerily quiet, before the sound of the wind continued again around them. As the planet was in a perpetual sandstorm essentially.
"Are you with the preservers!?" Selene called out.
The blue light that covered the things eyes flashed. And it disappeared. It triggered all of her instincts and time slowed. More, and more. Until she saw it. It was running. She could mostly tell by the plums of dust their steps left behind.
She felt something wet on her helmets face.
The Zykra in front of her were dead. Then she heard a distant 'thud' and looked over her shoulder to see Aboleth ricocheting off one of the rock pillars before disappearing into the storm.
Her tail shot up next to her and she felt something hit her. Like she's never been hit before. It sure woke her up to say the least, her Zykra instincts were working over time.
She slid about five feet as the dirt built up around her legs in a pile half her size. She gritted her teeth. Aboleth. She thought. This thing wasn't playing around and wasn't here to talk.
Selene slashed out all around her as she leapt from the tiny crater. As she flew through the air she used her vibe sensing abilities to track the source of the preserver and pursued it.
More blows came. Her tail blocked and deflected what it could, she took the rest on the chin. Her sight couldn't keep up with her body or her telepathic senses. Not at first.
The thing was dashing backwards, blocking her tail and arms. Sending sparks flying.
"Stop running!" she shouted. Not expecting her powers to work. And they didn't. It ignored her. Her eyes were beginning to track it's movement. 'Don't chase after it blindly—go to where it would be next.' she thought.
She dashed to the side as quickly as she could and made a hugging motion.
She slid a few feet dragging up the dirt around them as it collided with her arms. Her muscles burned from the struggle, like lifting thousands of pounds of weight. Fighting against her like a giant catfish. It hit her on the top of the head as she held it by the waist.
She lifted and swung it over her shoulder into the ground as hard as she could.
It sounded like a shotgun going off as the preserver hit the ground. Chunks of dirt as big as boulders flew up into the sky several meters and rained down around them.
Selene looked down at the preserver pinned beneath her and it was glaring back.
It struck with one of it's hands- it's fingers collected into a point like a dagger and thrusted straight at her face.
But she caught it just as it stabbed into the surface of her helmet. She felt a prickle of pain in her cheek as she snapped the forearm. The metal vambrace let out a flash of blue light as it broke. Glowing white blood shot out and the thing cried out in pain.
The androgenous voice was like music to her ears at this point. The thrill of battle taking over. Her instincts completely overriding Selene's human side.
She grabbed the preserver by the collar and lifted it closer. Then headbutted it with all her might. It sounded like a car crash.
The helmet made a blue flash and dented slightly. The preserver went limp in her hand. It's head lulling back.
Selene gripped the side of the helmet and ripped it off revealing a sensual preservers face covered in gnashes. White blood dripping out. It was still alive, it's eyes half opened. Fighting to stay conscious.
"Selene!" Zephyr called out, out of breath.
She looked up to see Zephyr standing about ten yards away with Danny and Raymond. Dressed in grey space suits with bulky spherical helmets.
"Where's Dr. Bryant?" Selene asked. With less emotion than she's ever said anything before. She dropped the preserver.
"H-e he went to get Aboleth!"
Selene put a foot on the preserver who was now trying to crawl away.
"The only reason you're not dead yet is because if Aboleth doesn't survive I'm going to make sure to enjoy this." Selene said. Her voice layered many times over with her own at different octaves. Her helmet peeled back revealing eyes with purple flame rolling out.
"What the hell is that?" Raymond asked, slowly stepping to the side to see. Selene could sense their fear. Of her, of the preserver. Their knees weak.
The fight was over so quickly. Selene didn't realize but it took less than 30 seconds. It felt like 5 minutes to her.
"Contact Dr. Bryant. Is Aboleth alive?"
Raymond pressed a button on the little wrist-console attached to his space suit. "Bryant—how's Aboleth?" he asked quickly.
"Alive. Barely. The Zykra are coming to retrieve her and return her to the hive, they'll be able to do more for her than I can."
Selene heard his voice from where she stood. She applied pressure to the foot that pinned the preserver and it cried out again.
"I was on your side." Selene said.
"Selene it's down! Stop! Please!" Zephyr pleaded.
Why did she care so much? This thing just tried to kill them. Very effectively at that. To kill her. The very idea was infuriating.
Selene kicked over the preserver and leaned down until they were face to face.
"One of you came to me and told me to find this. I want to defeat the Zykra as much as you do."
The preserver coughed up blood and spoke; "My people... Would never ally themselves with demons."
Selene let out an exasperated sigh and used her other hand to turn the preservers head to face Zephyr and the others.
"What about them?" she asked.
Selene sensed surprise from the preserver. And a sense of duty, or honor. It pissed Selene off.
"You have not killed them? Why?" the preserver asked weakly.
"I care more about my own people than the Zykra."
"..Impossible. We've fought the demons for eons and never once had the consumed fought for anything other than the endless legion."
Selene shrugged and stepped away. Leaving the preserver gasping weakly in the dirt crater. She was still mad, but things made more sense now.
"I guess the preservers have secret projects too. Why were you here?"
"To guard their heritage from the unclean..." the preserver said. Looking up at the sky.
"Give them the device. I'll make sure they put it to good use." Selene said.
"That... Is not my purpose.."
"It needs medical attention Selene." Raymond said sullenly. They seemed to have some weird attachment to the alien. Even though it almost killed Aboleth.
Selene tried to calm herself down, and get in touch with her human side. She did feel absolutely demonic right now. She wanted to rip it to shreds on a primal level.
"Fine. Take it to the ship. Get one of the crate carriers from the cargo-hold."
Raymond and Danny began running back to the Sequester parked nearby.
Zephyr took a few hesitant steps forward. Tears dripping from her face. Selene could sense her sadness but didn't understand it. She knelt down next to the crater.
"Do not despair for me, human. You were not meant to witness us." it's voice rang out wetly, as if it had blood in it's lungs. It probably did. Selene slammed it hard.
"I-I'm ss-so sorry... Why did you attack my friend?" she asked.
It was quiet in response to her question. But Selene sensed confusion. But then certainty.
"Approach the Obelisk... It will present you... With the means to defeat your friend.. If they ever decide to forsake humanity."
It took awhile for it to say so in between coughs and weak breaths.
Zephyr looked towards the Obelisk and stood shakily. She moved around the crater and approached the obelisk without so much as glancing in Selene's direction.
Selene didn't like the vibes she was sensing from her then. But it's not as though she hated Selene. But there was some distrust there. Which Selene didn't understand—the preserver attacked her first.
Raymond and Danny approached with a crate carrier then. It hovered above the ground about a foot. The preservers legs would hang off it no doubt.
"Listen to me now... Demon.. If what you say is true—do not allow the Zykra to know about us. Or our interest in humanity... Or they will destroy this universe."
"Selene, could you help us lift her?" Raymond asked.
She shook her head.
"She's already dead."
The preservers orange eyes had faded to black pits and an electric humming sound returned.
A blue bolt of electricity struck her armor. Then another. A sequence of small bolts pelted her from different areas, and each area they struck began to evaporate into blue sparks. Like fireflies from a campfire. The blue motes of light drifted off into the air, gradually fading as the body disappeared.
Dr. Bryant was approaching now.
"Queen Ku'senai did not inform me of this alien race."
Selene glared at him suddenly; "She's not your queen. Do not tell her about what happened here. Do you understand?"
She didn't want to have to say it outright what would happen to him if he ever did.
He nodded. His expression difficult to read.
"Say you understand."
"I understand... I understand perfectly well, my Queen." he said sullenly.
Probably the only time she'd ever allow him to call her that. She glanced towards the Obelisk to see Zephyr touching it at the base.
There was a flash of white light around where she was touching it.
They all looked to her then. As she stepped forward and disappeared inside it.