We traveled in an elevator to Quadrant Delta. It took some time and I figured Echo and Delta were very far apart. Whatever Delta was, Pallas didn’t want it near anyone. When the doors opened, it wasn’t out into a hallway as I had imagined. There was a narrow passageway, barely wide enough for one person. The Red Woman went first, then me, and finally the two guards. Another guard, faceless with a black visor over his features, was standing in front of a white door at the end.
“Well, what are you standing there for?” she asked him. “Let us pass.”
“Only the anomaly is allowed inside,” he replied in a mechanical voice.
The Red Woman gasped. “No, he wouldn’t allow himself to be alone with her…without me.”
The faceless guard nodded to the two behind me.
“Madam Secretary,” said one. “Come with us.”
She turned around, staring not at them, but at me. Her face was as red as her dress. “This is outrageous!”
I was glad to be rid of her, but nervous as to being alone with Pallas. She protested, cursing, as the two guards grabbed her and hauled her away. I was alone with the faceless and mechanical guard. He turned and pushed a button on the wall and the white door slid open.
“You may proceed,” he said.
As I walked past him, I noticed that he was actually a machine—an android. I was fascinated by him, desiring to know more, but he shut the door in my face, and I was forced to turn around and examine the room I was in, finally discovering Quadrant Delta.
Everything was black. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear water rushing, and birds chirping.
“Hello?”
My voice echoed. The room seemed very large. I waited and waited, but nothing happened. I decided to take a few more steps until I was no longer in the dark, but greeted with blinding light. I thought I was in another Examining Room, but it wasn’t a light bulb that shined down upon me. It was the sun. I was standing on a sandy shore with a wide blue ocean before me. White fluffy clouds spread across the blue sky. And the sun, a big, orange sphere, greeted me. I saw something in the distance. I took my hands and cupped them around my eyes, blocking out the sun. Beyond was trees—a vast forest—an explosion of green everywhere.
Firm, but gentle hands rested on my shoulders. “Does this look familiar?” asked a deep voice.
I panicked, scared, and went to flee from his embrace, but he held me rooted to the sandy shore. He was so strong.
“Are you Pallas?”
“I am for the people of Sanctuary. But that’s not my real name—as ‘Ava’ is not your real name…princess.”
“Why did you call me that?”
As we communicated, I felt like I knew him, knew his voice, but I wasn’t sure of who he was.
“Remember,” he said softly. He placed his warm hand over my eyes and then removed it.
The sun moved its position in the sky. It was heading west, falling towards the horizon. Two people were swimming out in the vast ocean. They were far away, but I could see them as if they were right in front of me. It was me with my long lavender hair, smiling, laughing, and having fun, as I swam in the water, playfully being chased by a man with shoulder-length black hair. He finally caught me or I let him catch me, I didn’t know, and as we held each other, twirling around in the blue water, I saw his face. He was no longer the shadow of my mind who I had been plagued with seeing ever since my arrival and awakening in the Corporation. He was the man I loved.
I watched us swim, reaching the other side of the shore, and then I took off running, daring him to catch me, as we coursed through the thick, green forest, laughing as we went. We disappeared and only the waves crashing in the ocean could be heard and the birds twittering in the forest.
“I’ve missed you, my love.”
His grip on me loosened and I turned quickly to see the man behind me. It was him—the black-haired man from my vision—the shadow of my mind. All reason vanished as I pulled him to me, embracing him with all my superior strength. He gently grabbed my face and planted his soft lips against mine, kissing me long and deep. It was like I was on fire, burning, melting away my cold interior. Any questions I had vanished as we melted with each other. It took him to pull away for me to catch my breath.
We stared at each other, savoring one another. I saw his eyes—pitch black, just like his hair. He wore black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt with a few buttons loosened, exposing a patch of black chest hair. He was barefoot; his toes barely visible beneath the sand. But who was he? And who was I?
“I don’t remember being here,” I said, looking out at the ocean.
He brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “It was a long time ago. We arrived here in the year 2013. Of course, it wasn’t here exactly, but in an actual ocean and an actual forest on Earth.” He swept his hand at the ocean. “This isn’t real. I built it to remember you.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I could never let you go.”
I grabbed his hand, holding it to my chest, over my rapidly beating heart. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
“You’re a Stargazer. I’m not. We are both from the same planet, but of different races. I am immortal—a slave to the Stargazers. You, on the other hand, are royalty—a princess. We fell in love. It was greeted with absolute horror by your father, the Overlord. So, we escaped—stole a ship—and traveled in space—trying to find a suitable place to live. We came upon here, Earth, and settled. We were accepted. No one tried to imprison us or study us. They thought we were just like them—human. We learned their language very quickly and integrated into society.” He smiled at me affectionately. “We were very happy, just the two of us, with no one to denounce our love.”
“What happened?” I asked, in total shock of everything he was telling me, but at the same time, relieved to know the truth.
He held me close as if I was going to run away. “We were found by a member of the royal guard. I tried to lead him away from you, but I failed, and when I came back, you were gone. I assumed you were already in space, heading back to our planet. I spent the next 500 years as a hermit, depressed, cursing my fate as an immortal. I wanted to die if I couldn’t be with you.”
“But I was found, here, on this planet.”
“Five hundred years ago, the Stargazers began their attack of planet Earth. They were led by a new Overlord who sought to colonize and extract the planet’s resources. Their home world was no longer capable of supporting life; their sun was slowly dying. I stayed away, knowing they would be looking for me, thinking I had kidnapped you to this planet instead of you willingly joining me because you loved me. Even as an immortal, they could still find ways to punish me. But when I happened across a Stargazer patrol, they knew nothing of me and what I had done. They thought I was a lost slave, having disembarked from the arrival ship, still orbiting Earth. I was admitted into the service of the Overlord, who quickly subdued Earth. I bided my time, waiting, and then with the help of humans, I crushed as many Stargazers as I could. I was…ruthless in my vengeance—my desire to inflict harm upon the ones who didn’t want us to be together. I built Sanctuary—the dome—and the Corporation. I invited all the humans to be a part of this society, but there were many who resisted me. I’ve been dealing with them and the Stargazers ever since.”
I pulled away from him. “Look at what you’ve done! This place is a dictatorship!”
He furrowed his brow at me, shocked. “I had to restore order.”
“Not at the expense of people’s freedoms—of their lives.”
Unexpectedly, he chuckled, wagging his finger at me. “You know, you were like this all those years ago. You became too human, living beside them, even for that short time.”
“What happened to me? Where did I go? It’s been a 1,000 years.”
“The guard who found you—he took you back to his ship—orbiting Earth—and placed you in containment—you were essentially asleep for 1,000 years. I found this out recently, with the Stargazer who died before you.”
“Who was she? How did she recognize me?”
“She is born and bred to serve royal blood. She knew you were special. She’s a member of the royal guard—that’s why I’m concerned—she’s guard to the Overlord.”
“You’re afraid of him.”
“You should be too. I defeated the last one, but he had a small army. I’m afraid this one will come better prepared.”
I grabbed my head. It was starting to hurt. He approached me, but I backed away, my shoes finding resistance in the sand.
“If I was asleep for 1,000 years up in space how was I discovered on Earth?”
“The guard who held you didn’t get far. His ship malfunctioned somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. He died as his body was ejected into space. Thankfully, the ship regained some control and locked you in. It took 1,000 years, but you slowly came back to Earth, back to me. The ship plunged through the atmosphere and you landed in a containment pod. The rebels came across you first and took you with them to their camp. It was being monitored by Medusa. A Retrieval Squad went to capture the rebels.” He gave a crooked smile. “It was all a big shock when you arrived, wearing camouflage like the rebels, but with that gorgeous lavender hair of yours.”
“They dressed me?”
He smiled. “You were naked in the containment pod.”
I felt my knees get weak and I crashed onto the sand. He held me up, and for some reason I let him, despite my disdain for his actions over the course of 500 years. I still loved him.
“What’s your name?”
He laughed as he held me in his arms. “It’s extremely long in Stellar, but you can call me Julius.”
“What’s my name?”
“It’s actually quite similar to ‘Ava’. It’s Avalora.” He smiled. “It sounds better in Stellar.”
“So, John was close.”
“Yes, Dr. John Goode.” Julius narrowed his eyes at me. “I was most displeased when you kissed him…and Loren for that matter.”
“You-you’re supposed to be Loren’s uncle, but that’s not true, is it?”
“No, it isn’t. I pretend to be.”
“Why?”
“Would you believe I desired a child? Loren’s parents were traitors and had to die, but he was all alone. I pitied him as I did John. Loren needed someone other than me to spend time with. I was overseeing a city, after all.”
“But I felt so close to Loren. I fell in love with him. How could that be if I loved you?”
“When Loren was ten years old, he was in the rose garden, studying bugs.” He smiled, reminiscing. “Well, he happened across a snake—a venomous snake. I thought all had been removed from the dome, but I guess it’d slithered on in, like the spy that it was. Loren was bit and he died instantly. I knew I was the only one who could save him. I injected him with my blood, which has healing and rejuvenation properties. It took several hours, but Loren was reborn.” He looked at me curiously. “I assume you’re attracted to Loren because my blood was coursing through his veins. You were drawn to him. Although, why did you kiss John?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I found him…comforting.”
“Well, now that you know who I am, only I will be comforting you from now on.”
He leaned in to give me another kiss, but I pulled away, fighting the urge to give into him.
“What?” He advanced towards me in all his dark beauty.
I held up my hands in a halt motion. “You had me tortured! You had me confined! You knew all along I was a Stargazer. You made me suffer all this time!”
“I had to be sure. You could have been a clone, a spy sent to lure me out, sent from the Overlord.”
“What about this supposed Sanctuary? You have people executed! What about Victor? You sent him to that Stargazer to die!”
His eyes seemed to turn even blacker. “I have to maintain order!”
“What about Henrietta? How can you condone slavery when you used to be one?”
“Slaves are essential to the Corporation. There must be servitude for Utopia to exist!”
“You accuse me of acting too human. I forgive like the humans, but you forsake compassion by adhering to a philosophy that is morally wrong!”
He clenched his jaw, silent. Then he closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled. “I’m going to excuse what you said. You’ve been asleep for far too long. You’re confused.” He allowed himself to smile. “Now that you know the truth, you’ll stay with me, in my quarters, and then all this nonsense you’ve been throwing at me will vanish. We’ll be happy again. You’ll be my partner in Sanctuary. They will look upon you as my queen.”
“Do you hear yourself? You’re delusional! I’m the enemy! How can you tell a society to hate me, and then love me?”
“It’s simple. I’ll decree it.”
“What about the rebels? Will they be pardoned like the Stargazers?”
“If they abide by my laws, yes, they will.”
“Were you always like this? Back on our home planet and before I was taken away?”
He advanced towards me and I kept on walking backwards until the water from the ocean lapped my feet and lower legs.
He noticed my distress and stopped. “You may not remember, but I do. I was a slave! I served! My fate was sealed forever in that life. You—you were the only one who saw how horrible that was to society. You accepted me for who I was.”
“Who were you?”
He smiled. “I was wild when I was around you. I subdued myself in front of your family, but when were alone, we danced as equals. We swam in the purple waters near twinkling forests that were alive with lights all day and all night. We loved each other under the twin moons—”
“Stop, Julius! Just stop, will you?”
“I loved you like no other could!” he continued with passion. “I still love you. I can give you more than John or Loren or any other miserable human on this planet!”
“How can you talk of love when you act so cruelly, with such barbarity? When will I displease you? When will I be executed as a traitor?”
I felt an incredible surge of strength, building up from inside, in my chest, as an immeasurable amount of hatred filled me from top to bottom. I narrowed my eyes at Julius. He must have sensed something that I didn’t know about because he looked scared—very scared.
“Ava, please calm down!”
I trembled as my whole body convulsed and with one loud scream, my fury was unleashed, my lavender hair whipping wildly around my face, as the sand was thrown up in the air with a great propelling speed. The water around my legs churned and I could hear the ocean loud and chaotic as it rose up in a towering tsunami, slamming down upon the forest in the distance, felling every tree and silencing the songbirds.
Julius advanced towards me, despite my rampage. “My love, don’t do this! Please!”
I was beyond reason at that point. I didn’t care who stood before me. I was out for total destruction, no matter who got in the way. The door to the room slid open and the android advanced towards me. The light from the hall momentarily brought me back to where I was—the Corporation. I had to get out. I had to! I ran forward, meeting the android head on. We crashed into each other. I heard metal cracking, hoses hissing, and sparks flying as we brawled down the length of the narrow passage way, until we both crashed through the wall, shattering like glass.
We fell. He went faster than me because of his weight. I was like a feather, slowly descending upon a green plain below. I was outside the Corporation. I was aware of the dome, of Sanctuary, before me. It was a white pearl city, beautiful, despite its flaws. The android crashed onto the grass; sparks flew out from its severed remains. It twitched and popped, lying there helpless.
Soon, I knew I would join it. I thought of Victor, Henrietta, John, Loren, and all the others trapped inside this dome, along with the rebels outside, and the Stargazers, trying to find a place in this world.
But mostly I thought of Julius. My rage inside Quadrant Delta had brought back all the memories of my home world. It was a beautiful place, full of wonder, but it was dark with its acceptance of servitude. I remembered being appalled at the idea of a slave race—immortally bound to serve. Julius was my personal slave. I wanted to give him his freedom, but he wanted to serve me, not only as his princess, but as his true love. He adored me and I adored him. I gave up everything that I knew to be with him, travel across the galaxy, to places unknown, to people who were alien—all to be with my one and only love. If I had never been torn from him, he would have stayed that wild, but gentle soul. Now, he was a monster and I was ashamed for still ardently loving him. He and I were bound.
I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable. It was very bright out until a dark shadow blocked my view of the sun. I opened my eyes to witness a large black ship hovering near the clouds. I knew it instantly—it was a mother ship—the vessel of the Overlord. So, he had finally arrived. Sanctuary would be destroyed. I found myself glad to be dying with my friends and even with those who didn’t accept me for being different. We would all be at peace now, even Julius.
My last thoughts were of him and the man he used to be as a cold force stilled my beating heart. I thought I was dead. I wanted to be dead, but I opened my eyes, and found myself looking upon several beings, all with lavender hair. I was lying on a black table in a black room with dim lavender light above my eyes. The Stargazers before me were all young and looked at me with curiosity and fear, which I couldn’t understand.
A male Stargazer approached, older, with dark purple hair, long to his shoulders. He went to one knee before me. He barked Stellar at the others. I understood what he said.
He told them to bow to their new Overlord.