Project - Prometheus Ch. 15

"Very good sir! If you will lie back down on the bed please, so that the tests can proceed? I will also need you to strip down to your underwear, sir," she responded.

Smirking, Alex stripped down as requested and got back on the bed, lying on the flat of his back. Every woman present had their eyes on him, and he chuckled inwardly. He had no doubts that his lovers were getting an eyeful. He was also sure that both Shazza and the doctor were looking him over as well, considering how much attention he lavished on his body.

Alex lay as still as he could, as robotic arms and probes descended on him, each one holding some sort of sampling device. Blood and bone marrow samples were taken, along with as many organ biopsies and tissue samples as well. The doctor was thorough and left nothing to chance, checking and rechecking her list.

"You done with all the poking and prodding doctor? Or do I need to be a pincushion for a bit longer?" Alex asked.

"Smart ass! But I am done and have everything I need to run all the tests I want and need. You can put your clothes back on," she told him. The last statement was met with pouts from Nats and Kas, who weren't shy about getting an eyeful of their man.

"We at least settled on some non-invasive scans and checks, to be sure that you were stable and still with us. Most of them turned up nothing unusual, but, one scan was... interesting," Korsa told him.

"What scan yielded results?" Alex asked, as he finished belting his tunic.

"The scan of your brain. The signals that were emitting from your head are the ones that are responsible for dreaming. But the results were off the charts! Whatever kind of dream you were having, it must have been a vivid one! I've never seen results like this!" Korsa enthused, but the look on her face spoke of worry.

"Do you remember anything of the dream?" Nats asked, worry also creasing her beautiful face.

"I saw... I don't know what I saw," Alex started, then looked up and saw that Shazza was still there. "Sergeant, if you please, this is a conversation I'd like to have with my ladies and the doctor."

"Oh! Yes, sir! I'll head back to my post!" she replied with a salute, before turning on her heel and leaving.

"Sir, she stays. I believe she might have some valuable insight into what may have happened," Korsa stated, barring the Xuul'khan from leaving.

"Are you certain Doctor?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

For the briefest moment, Alex thought he saw... hurt?... in Shazza's eyes but chalked it up to his head still trying to focus. Once he nodded his assent, Alex turned his focus to the women remaining and spoke his mind. He told them of everything he witnessed and heard, remembering it easily. The looks on their faces were bewildered, but Alex was unsure if they believed him.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but..." he started before he was cut off.

"These 'Violet Ladies' they said that you were invited to go there?" Korsa asked him.

"Yeah. Told me that it took me long enough to get there. I don't now what's going on and given everything that's happened, I have more questions than answers," the Commodore stated.

"As do I, but I think we have a clue of at least what may have happened," Korsa stated, before heading back to a nearby console.

"What kind of a clue are you taking about Mama?" Natalya asked.

"This kind of clue."

Everyone present was weirded out when Korsa brought up a holorecord of the event. She focused it more on Alex, the angle decent enough from the Sentry that recorded it. She then activated the slow motion part of it and everyone saw how Alex had broken the bonds that held him. A brief flash of violet energy came from him, dissolving the energy that imprisoned him.

Korsa continued the recording, slowing down again when the old man tried to entrap Alex once more. Again, a flash of violet energy burst out of Alex, driving back the grey. When he hit the old man, his fist was wreathed in the same energy as before. It flashed the moment he hit the old man, sending him flying a considerable distance.

"You see, I knew that something else had to be at play there. I know that you're strong, but not strong enough to send a man flying almost fifty feet, with one punch," Korsa told him. Alex was wide eyed and speechless at this, unable to comprehend what exactly had happened.

"Whatever happened to you in that 'realm' you visited and what happened before you went there, are connected somehow. In some unknown way, you were able to tap into energies that were superior to what the old man had. I don't know the how or why, but the footage and evidence is there, plain as day," Korsa told the three lovers.

"I don't know what the hell this is, but it definitely bears investigating!" Kasumi stated.

"Shazza, why don't you tell them what you know?" Korsa asked the black-skinned woman gently.

"When we went to check on you... that energy you used!" Kasumi snapped her fingers, the pieces falling into place.

"Is it the same energy that the old man used?" Natalya asked, her voice filled with concern. A deluge of questions followed immediately, everyone curious and worried about what this could mean. Korsa raised her arms for silence and soon got it, before encouraging the green-eyed woman to share what she knew.

"Since Korsa freed me, those memories of that power are... fragmented, but I will tell you what I can. Among my people, there is a power source, an energy, that we can use, but only if you are trained for it. Training to use such energy requires being connected to it in some way. Almost every noble Lord and Lady could use it, but there were those who could use it, who were not nobles," Shazza began.

"Often, such individuals are taken the moment these... energies, manifest themselves. Mostly it shows in children at a young age, but it does sometime delay in revealing itself. It almost never shows in gown adults, but it does happen. When they are taken, a ritual is performed, to bind their energies, forcing a level of control. They are then... trained, to use these abilities. Such training is... brutal... and not everyone survives," Shazza went on, shivering involuntarily.

"Wouldn't they try to up their survivability or lighten the training?" Kasumi asked, bewildered and disgusted at the callous disregard for life.

"Such... softness... is frowned upon. My... the Xuul'khani people are a hard people. Only the strong and the hard survive, as it is their belief that only the strong and hard are fit to survive and rule. Weakness is... expunged so that it is culled from any who seek it," Shazza responded.

"I cannot recall much of my training, but I do remember that emotion is a key factor. A trigger point, if you will. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful your energy and how effective it is when you use it," Shazza finished.

"So, powerful emotion is what draws it out? That makes a lot of sense," Alex mused as he crossed his arms, head bowing in thought.

"You have something to add Commodore sir?" Korsa asked, catching what he said.

"Yeah. When that old bastard had us all trapped, I was first paralyzed with fear. Mostly about how I was going to everyone out of that situation. It was when he started moving around Kas and Nats, giving them untoward looks, something in me just snapped," he let on.

"I saw those looks and I didn't like them either. Someone looking like that at these two triggered it?" Korsa asked dubiously.

"It was more than that. Something, I don't know what, was telling me that his intent with them was, for lack of a better word, evil. I also saw how he was looking at you, Shazza and the others present. That's when a fury just dropped in on me and I just... I don't know what I did, but it helped me get free," Alex explained.

"When he laughed after I got loose, it got even worse. The first thought in my head was, 'No one laughs at me asshole! And no one fucks with my ladies!' When he tried to hit me with... whatever he was conjuring... I knew that I had to lay him out. It was after I hit the son of a bitch that, the scale of what I did started to sink in," Alex finished.

"Those are some serious emotions! Whatever you were channeling, it must have been strong enough to weaken his hold on everyone. His bonds fell away from us seconds after you pulverized his face!" Korsa joked.

"I hit him that hard??"

In response, Korsa brought up the video again, showcasing the old man's face when he stared at Alex. She then let it play, giving everyone a clear view of what happened. Korsa put the video in slow motion when Alex hit the elderly Artucian, purple blood spraying in a wide arc. Slowing it again when the old man picked himself up, Korsa paused the vid and zoomed in on his face. The man's lips were split open, he was missing quite a few teeth and his jaw hung lopsidedly.

"Still think you didn't mash his face pretty good?" Korsa asked with a chuckle.

Everyone was in disbelief at the display of raw power that Alex had summoned to beat the old man. Both Natalya and Kasumi though, were looking at Alex with smoldering bedroom eyes, which promised to blaze in full when they had him alone. Shazza looked at Alex with a... hunger... that she wanted to satiate. Even Korsa gave the big man a look that spoke of... more than one kind of approval.

"Ok, I'll admit, I've never hit anyone hard enough to do that! But... it is good to know that I'm capable of delivering such blows if I have to!" Alex laughed.

"To deliver such strikes with magic is surely a sign that you were gifted!" Luminia said as she walked into the room.

"Ambassador! Come to check on the Commodore?" Korsa asked.

"Yes! The Assembly have been asking after him and demanding to know if he is still alive! I can at least deliver good news to them then!" the alien woman stated, all four eyes swiveling back to Alex.

"You called this energy, 'magic?'" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. It is the best word we have for what one can do, when they channel the power of the gods!" Luminia stated as she looked at Alex with a sense of reverence.

"Is there anything you can tell us about this... 'magic', as you call it?" Natalya wondered, plucking the question out of Korsa's mouth.

"A legend, which is only told to chiefs and their successors. My mother told it to me, not long before I was taken," Lumi replied.

"Well? Let's hear it!" Alex demanded.

"Back when the Artucian lived on our homeworld, just as we began to reach for the stars, we made contact with an alien race. They were ancient, beyond even what we had thought possible! But they treated us with dignity and respect and told us of how they had been watching over us. How they were waiting for us to become more aware of ourselves as a race, before speaking to us," Luminia began.

"The name they called themselves is lost to time, but there was a name that we gave them. We called them, Tsarra Khantal, which in your tongue would mean..."

"Star Striders," Kasumi replied.

"Yes. How do you know what I am speaking?" the four eyed woman wondered.

"I've been studying up on your language. It's a bit difficult at times, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of your use of verbs and nouns," the redhead admitted. Luminia smiled and nodded to the woman respectfully before continuing her story.

"When they arrived, they offered us much in the manner of advancements. Where we had struggled, the Tsarra Khantal(Star Striders) uplifted us. From them, we learned much about other civilizations, how to navigate the stars, among many other things. The most precious of which, was the magic of the Lifeblood of the universe and how we could channel it to our benefit."

"The number of Artucian who could touch the Lifeblood were few. But those who could, were revered as gods among my people. It is because of these select individuals, that we advanced as both a people and a society. These Sariin(Sages) were the greatest and wisest of us. Because of them, we entered into an age of great peace, that lasted for generations," Luminia continued.

"As a people, we had become something that even our wildest dreams could not even imagine. We learned much of the galaxy and the universe, hoping to further explore it and unlock its mysteries. Soon after we had come to this point, the Tsarra Khantal, pleased with how we had progressed as a race, left us," Luminia went on.

"Wait, they just left you behind? Why would they give you these amazing gifts, then just vanish??" Natalya blurted out.

"Letting a child learn to walk on their own, Nats," Korsa said, understanding the Star Striders' wisdom behind it.

"That was what my people believed as well, Korsa. Now that we had those who could use the Lifeblood as the Tsarra Khantal could, we believed it was time for us to reach for greater things. We began an endeavor, to seek out other races as we once were, to bring them to the wisdom that we had learned. Though, before we could find any other peaceful races, the... Xuul'khan... found us."

"Though we had become a peaceful people, that didn't mean that we didn't prepare for the possibility of war. The Sariin, with their great knowledge, went forth to do battle with the Xuul'khan. Though it was soon apparent, that even the mighty Sariin were outmatched. One by one, they fell, with the Xuul'khan driving us back to our homeworld," Lumi lamented.

"The Sariin made one final stand against the Xuul'khan, buying us what time they could, to save as many as possible. When the Sariin died, so did all knowledge of what we were and what we had achieved as a people. Our race boarded the great Ark during the battle, and we ran as far as we could. The rest of the story, you already know," Luminia finished.

"So, it seems that this... 'magic', goes beyond the boundaries of each race. The way it appears, and manifests seems to be random," Korsa mused.

"If I had more to tell you, I could Doctor," Luminia told her friend.

"I know."

"What about me? I could help!" Shazza piped up.

"How?" Kas inquired.

"My mind. Within it are the memories of when I had trained in this... Lifeblood! I could access those memories to help find some answers! The knowledge is here! I just need to find it!" she said, tapping her head with her forefinger.

"Though the help is appreciated Shazza, as your doctor, I would advise against it,' Korsa replied gently.

"Why is that doctor?" Alex asked.

"Simply put sir, her mind is still healing. There is much that is still reorganizing itself within it. Going in now would be like walking into and F-five tornado, naked," the Khontaran woman explained. Alex and the rest of the crew nodded, the explanation making sense to them. Shazza hung her head, looking a bit crestfallen that she wouldn't be able to help that way.

"Hey," Korsa said as she walked up and lifted Shazza's head up. "That doesn't mean we can't explore the idea at a later date. Just now, I would rather you get better than push yourself too hard. OK?"

Shazza nodded and smiled a little, now that she knew the idea was not a total loss. She and the rest of the crew would simply have to exercise some patience before they went delving into her mind. That and Korsa was right, as her dreams had been one big mish mash of nonsense lately. She was going to require more time before everything righted itself with her.

"Maybe we could have a look around the Dead Snows for clues!" Kasumi said suddenly, snapping her fingers. "Whatever power he was using, it had to be of a similar vein to what Ale... the Commodore was able to use!"

"You make an excellent point Captain! That old bastard had to have learned it all somehow! We just need to find out where he learned it from!" Alex agreed while giving her an affectionate smile.

"Artucian patrols have been ranging around, but carefully, hoping that there aren't anymore surprises. I've been keeping in contact with them and so far, they have found nothing," Luminia informed the lot of them.

"Well, let's head on down and give them a hand in looking!" Alex grinned as he hopped to and led the way out of the hospital wing.

"Just to be safe, sir, I recommend that everyone stop by the armory and load up. Don't want any more... issues, cropping up," Natalya said, her concern for Alex's safety evident.

"Worry not, Lt. Commander. We will take every precaution necessary and I agree with arming up. But that means everyone should have some measure of protection," he said, looking at Shazza and Luminia.

"You think we would need armor, sir?" Shazza asked in surprise.

"That old man took a serious interest in you while we were all held by his energies. No one takes risks needlessly on my watch. As for you ambassador, I'm pretty sure your mother would murder us if we didn't ensure that you had some protection yourself," Alex smirked.

Luminia burst out laughing, her mirth infecting everyone else present. Everyone was laughing so hard that they were soon clutching their sides. It took them all a few minutes to recover before any of them could speak properly.

"You're right, Commodore! She probably would do that!" Lumi said over a final fit of giggles.

"Any mother would!" Korsa wheezed as she stood up straight.

"Well then, let's get going. Jaesa, you have the ship. We're headed planetside," Alex called out as he turned and left the hospital wing. The rest of the women present followed the big man, headed for the monorail station. After everyone boarded, they headed for the armory nearest to the main hangar bay where Inari was periodically dropping off salvage.

"Commander Sunara, do you copy? Commander Sunara, come in please," Alex called out, trying to raise the woman.

"Commodore? It's good to hear your voice sir! I trust you are feeling better?" the woman asked, her image coming through on his wrist comms.

"Much better Commander, thank you for asking. I take it that you are still making salvage runs?" he wondered.

"Yes sir! Captain McKenzie didn't see the point in stopping the crew from working. Even though your condition was largely unknown, we still have a job to do," she replied.

"Very good Commander. How long before you arrive at the Perseus with a load of salvage?"

"Maybe ten minutes sir. The Sentries are still loading up and tying down my newest load before I can take it up," she responded.

"Excellent. Myself and the crew are on the way to the hangar bay and will expect a lift planetside. There's a lot of questions that remain unanswered and we are going to start looking for clues," he told her.

"Clues? Clues about what, sir?" she asked, bewildered.

"You'll be briefed by the Captain at the end of the day, Commander. Either way, there are things that we must look for and discover, if we are to move forward," he replied cryptically.

"Aye aye, sir. I should be on my way up soon. Starwitch, out," Inari said before cutting the line.

With that, the crew arrived at a station in the belly of the ship and moved to the armory nearby. Like they had before for the crew of the Darkstrider, both Kasumi and Alex demonstrated the use of the armoring chassis for Shazza and Luminia. Lumi was astounded by how such a machine worked, her mouth hanging open in wonder. Shazza, though a part of an advanced race, was no less impressed by it.

"How does the vacc suit come off?" the black skinned woman wondered.

"The suits are designed to come apart in the field but are also broken back down into nano particles when not in use. It saves on suit maintenance and ensures a proper fit, no matter the gender or species," Kasumi informed her.

Shazza nodded, impressed by the foresight of such a process. Both her and Luminia stepped into the armoring frame, with Shazza selecting Myrmidon chassis, with Luminia going for a Hoplite. Once both women were armored, everyone selected their weapons and left the armory.