TFF: Ovion Archives

I spun around and dodged a few laser rays and leapt behind a waste bin to regroup.

I was not happy having to use my hidden talents. I was sure I had blown my cover. I hoped they noted my having twitched my rings before the power blast as I had hoped that it would mislead them as to the source of the blue energy.

These guys meant business. I could hear them regroup. I knew it was best to attack while they were down, that I should blast my way out of this while I still had a chance.

My moments of indecision cost me dearly.

A loud blast rang in my ear as the Muslanders' phantom blaster offloaded a few in my direction. The bin disintegrated on impact. As I said they had come prepared and equipped to face all eventualities. Phantom blasters were not your run of the mill weaponry, the bits and pieces of debris from the destroyed bin was evidence of that. It was sheer luck that instinct had my shield instantly up, or I would have disintegrated along with the bin. I was surprised my shield held through. It was stronger than I thought. In fact it felt stronger than it had making me realise that my shield had absorbed the energy from that blast. Shock had my shield flickering out.

Seeing my vulnerability, my attackers switched back to phasers and again I reflexively, threw up a shield in time to block the repetitive phaser shots. The beams ricocheted off my shield every which way and one unintentionally hit a Muslander squarely in his face. The Muslander fell to the ground, presumably dead.

That did it, it was mayhem after that, they opened up fire all around me, using every which weapon that was within their reach landing shots after shots at me while they ducked down low behind various protruding objects, junk that the alleyway was conveniently littered with.

I was a sitting mark in the open with only my shield offering me protection. I spun my shield protectively around myself and prayed it would hold. I could see sparks jettisoned off the sides as shot after shot was fired. The energies from those shots got absorbed by the shield. They were unwittingly empowering me. I drew it all in then I shot back at them beams of blue as well as I could while retaining the shield around me.

A moment later, the firing ceased. I braced myself and took up a defensive stance as I waited for a physical assault.

As I peered through the blue-tinged shield at my attackers, I saw they had parted to reveal a fourth attacker. He was not a Muslander. He was an Ovion, all suited up in Ovion livery. He was tall and angular. I did not doubt his slim frame was all pure muscles and strength. I watched in fascinated horror not sure of what to expect as he casually strode forward then he took a pace back, then two running steps forward, and launched himself into the air and arrowed towards me. His movements were almost a blur to the naked eye but I caught it having been used to having to the eerie speeds and strengths of Johuans my entire life.

I felt the impact, a jolt through my shield. I rolled back on the balls off my feet and fought to keep my balance and shield intact. The Ovion rode the impact back to make a somersault and land on his feet. Without missing a beat, the Ovion proceeded to move around me at lightning speed. He dropped in random sharp blows against my shields that seemed stronger than the blasts of the phantom blaster.

I felt the blows on my shield and knew that if it hadn't been pure energy streaming from my very essence, the shield would have collapsed. That nothing could have held up against that sheer raw power.

I decided to put his attack to my advantage, I crouched low, gathered my energies in, then waved my arms out around me as I expanded my shield and then in an abrupt move I pulled in my arms to my chest and sucked the shield in close around me.

The Ovion lost his balance and stumbled.

I instantly straightened and blew out my shield around me.

The impact had the Ovion tossed forward against the Muslanders. They were all thrown off their feet. I knew I had an opportunity to put all this to an end, one blue shot and they would be gone but I was not yet ready to take another life. The sole death I had caused even if unwittingly was enough to torment me for the rest of my existence no matter how deserving. I was not made to cause harm. So I took the only route I had left, to make a run for it and escape these armed guns.

I took off on foot, flew past my attackers, and ran straight towards the Ovion Centre. An odd choice of destination but it had been instinctive, ingrained from youth to run to the Ovions for protection. So despite, knowing that there had been an Ovion involved in my attack that is where I stupidly run.

I had never run faster in my life. My heart pounded harder every step. I pushed myself to the max, well past my limit. Within moments, the strain of every muscle made itself known, but I push on regardless. The fear in my gut and the adrenaline kicking into my blood gave me the boost I needed.

I shot along a straight path through the now deserted street, with my feet flying over the ground. I pushed on harder and refused to look back to see if I was being followed.

After a moment, I heard a sound behind me. My pursuers were catching up.

I could tell the Ovion was leading the chase. His light footfall gave him away. They were gaining on me.

My pace slowed as doubt closed in. There was no way I could out run an Ovion. They were the fastest creatures alive. My hesitation cost me. There was a pause to the sound of the Ovion's footfall.

Instinct told me to brace myself for an attack. I spun around in time to see his flying leap at me. I threw up my hands instinctively, creating a shield to block him out, but was too late. His hand had reached straight for my neck.

I felt a light jabbing pressure on my jugular, and all went black.

Chapter 3

Smuckface haunting!

SIM

I sensed all was not well as I gradually became aware of my surroundings. The air around me was musty and rank. The smell of tarnished metal and rust mingled with a whiff of strong lubricant and a tinge of organic decaying matter. I silently catalogued all this while I lay there still, with my eyes shut, and my breathing regulated to remain in an at-rest pace. My neck felt sore and was likely bruised. My consciousness registered at least one other occupant in this room. I waited, patiently certain that nothing pleasant would come of my awakening. It wasn't long before I was proved right.

A loud thump that sounded suspiciously like a body hitting the floor very near me had me reassessing my desire to give the appearance of remaining insensible to the world.

I leapt up in a bound. My glance automatically dropped to the floor in the direction where I had registered the thump and took note of the immobile body on the floor before looking up to note the gap from which the body had been dumped and then instinctively jerked to the left, where I had sensed the presence of another.

It was dark in there, and it took me a moment to readjust to my night vision, for the slight dizzy spell that I was still feeling was not helping. I could not clearly discern the other occupant at first. So I kept myself on the alert and gazed steadily at the other cellmate. Eventually, he became clearer to me. I gave him an once-over and noted he was unarmed and a skinny Muslander at that. Since there was nothing from that end to worry about, I dropped to my haunches by the very still body and pressed two fingers to his pulse while keeping vigilant over the other occupant.

"Is he breathing?"

The question came from the dark. The rich, deep timbre of his voice indicated my cellmate was male.

"Just barely," I said. "Where is this?"

"Portu, my dear. You are in Portu, beneath ruler Montakh's villa."

I was silent while I took time to ponder this.

"Why are you here?" he asked before I could.

"No effing idea," I said with a shrug he could not possibly see, for it was dark in there, and while I shared the night vision most Ovions had, this here cellmate of mine was so not an Ovion.

"What about you? Who are you, and why are you here?" I asked determinedly.

"I am Prince Weri of Portu."

"The prince?" I exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes, I am very much alive, not dead, as some bad press have been throwing about. I hear another rumour has it that I have abjured my rule and am currently living it out at Bonnyville," he said, naming the famed tourist spot in the Tubec galaxy.

"Have you been there?" I asked momentarily distracted with that entertaining thought.

"I plan to. In fact, it's my very first destination as soon as I get out of this hellhole." He bared a yellow grin at me as I was finally able to make him out in the dark. His features were becoming glaringly clear just as if it were broad daylight. He was not unhandsome in looks.

I glanced around and could not argue with him over his choice of description of our current abode. I took note of the rusting chains strung across the walls and various assortments of other odd metal fixtures and knew the place doubled up as a torture chamber. His choice of words in describing our little temporary lodgings was more apt than any other.

I gazed about me at what was obviously a dungeon of some kind. I had seriously thought those had gone out of vogue centuries ago, but the current predicament clearly proved otherwise. Ruler Montakh was heinous villain to have kept this dungeon still in such a usable state.

I turned my attention back to the unconscious person at my feet and patted down his pockets for identification or any other useful objects like a key out of here and was not surprised to find nothing. I straightened and then toured the cell, examining the walls at my end while keeping my distance from the other occupant. After all, saying you're a prince does not really make you one. I decided to humour him.

"So why are you imprisoned?" As far as I knew, the prince was not a ruler and had no aspiration to being one. In fact, I distinctly recall having read several radicals in the local web winger that labelled him as the reluctant royal who did his best to lose himself in the masses with his endless charities and sporting activities rather than mingle about with the aristos and debate politics. Even the rumour of Bonnyville came as a surprise. Still, I could not peg anything that he could have done that would have warranted him being imprisoned by his own father.

"It's a long story," he said abruptly.

"I've got time." I moved back to my bench and sat there. I took time to appreciate that whoever put me here took care to place me on the bench carefully rather the drop me on the floor like my new cellmate.

"I'll tell you mine if you'll tell me yours," I said as I looked back up at the prince, and when he remained stubbornly silent, I gave him a cajoling smile, which I wasn't sure he could even see in the dark.

"It's all very simple really. I'm in love with my first cousin, Prince Razul." He paused to give me time to assimilate that. "My uncle objected and so did my dad," he finished with a shrug.

I have mingled with Muslanders long enough not to be shocked by anything they do. So I just nodded my head with understanding. I then pondered over our new cellmate he did not appear to be too damage from the back, so whatever had caused him to go unconscious had to have been in the front. I was not too excited about turning him over to check if he needed some tender loving care.

I looked to the prince. "Do you think we should turn him over?"

"What would that achieve?" he said. "We have nothing to treat him with. I am not about to destroy my clothing to wrap up his injuries." This explained why I was left untouched, but I could not find fault in his reasoning, so I ignored my fading conscience and decided to get a bit of shut eye.

"You have not related your tale," the prince reminded me.

"Well, there's not much to tell," I said with another shrug. "I was walking along the street, heading back home, when some goons off loaded some heavy artillery on me. So here I am," I said with a dramatic pause, waving my hands up to show the 'here'. Then I added just to emphasise that point, "I've no idea why."

Just then, the metal wall on one end started to slide across, and my jailers came in.

Two armed Muslanders headed straight towards me to grip my arms and lead me out. I followed with no thoughts to retaliate.

I figured I needed to know what all this was about and was sure some answers were at the end of the corridor we now headed across. We marched on towards the bright light at the end of the hallway. That had an ominous ring to it.

I took the time to observe my fellow escorts. One was tall with light hair, rough weather-worn skin, and untidy clothes. He wore several layers of clothing and walked in an awkward way that indicated he was carrying too many firearms. He was obviously not a professional.

I gauged I could have him knocked out flat on his back in two minutes. My other companion might take a little longer, I noted on observing his bulging pectorals and steel-like arms, which were very visible in his shirtless state. I took careful note of both their facial features but could not place them as people I'd seen before.

We turned into the glowing doorway, and I was temporarily blinded as my eyes adjusted to the sudden glare.

There were three men in the small room. Not surprisingly, they were Ovions. After all, the Ovions had their hands in everything. I never did believe that they were the good guys as all their propaganda volubly proclaimed them to be. One of these Ovions was the one who had rendered me unconscious.

A small desk and chair was located in the centre of the room. The same damp and rank smell permeated the air. I shuffled over slowly to the chair by the desk and took the seat uninvited.

I hunched over to project a more delicate and traumatised stance.

I felt their gaze on the back of my head, but I remained silent, waiting for them to make the first move.

"I am Xion, on my right is Agent Yi, and on my left is Agent Pol Ti, whom I believe you have met," said the Ovion with dark hair and eyes to match.

I gave a nod to acknowledge the introduction. I turned to Pol Ti and said, "While we have met, we were not really introduced."

All I received for my efforts was a slight smirk from Pol Ti.

I turned back to Xion. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We have been tracking you for quite some time. Four sals to be exact," he said.

I was surprised, not expecting that. "Four sals ago would be about the time I left Vnetor," I thought aloud, recalling the famed Johuan Security Academy, where I had been in training at the Ovion Defence Training Centre.

I was no more than a yena when I joined. How I had got in still amazed me till today.

Only the elite, the highly skilled, and the highly connected got into such a prestigious school. Yet, I had made the mould. I had wondered on the manner of my admission at Vnetor, but my questions were never really answered. The curriculum at Vnetor was so designed that only the most skilled and talented of Johuan could make it through. As such, the students of the school entirely comprised of Johuans. I was the only odd species in the school. Yet, I had held my own in every mode of learning till the day I left, and where I stumbled, I pushed my limits to ensure it went unnoticed.

My departure from Vnetor had been as sudden and as surprising as my entrance. I had tried hard to forget the incident that had made it necessary that I leave before I graduated. I had done my best to remain incognito over the past few sals because of that very incident. I'd be damned if I were to be pulled up to account for it now.

A four sal hunt seemed a paltry amount of time. I had been giving myself a meaningless pat in the back one time too many over the past four sals. It was a mean blow to my pride to have that self-imposed super stealth agent title torn to shreds. It was a little disappointing to note that my efforts to remain elusive had not been up to par with the best of them.

Still, I maintained a façade of calm and indulgence, as if I were dealing with some dimwits who had obviously got the wrong person, even though I knew I could not fool them, and I also knew that they knew I could not fool them.

There was a quiet while, during which no one conversed and during which we each stared at the other, trying to pinpoint all visible weaknesses. At least that was what I was doing on my part. Them, I was not too sure of. Xion finally brought what we both knew was coming to the fore.

"Why did you leave?" Xion asked in a quiet tone, his gaze still intent on mine.

"You know why I left. There is no mystery over that," I said in an equally quiet tone as I gazed back just as intently.

"I'd like to hear it from you," he said.

"Like away," I said facetiously, tongue in cheek.

And when I got no response to that, I added, "Well, there is not much to tell. I had a disagreement with my coach, Miz Wah, and so I packed my bags and walked." I gave him the common version.

"You were seen in a blood covered overall, exiting the campus lab shortly after that disagreement."

"It was cartus blood from an experiment gone wrong," I replied promptly, still maintaining an innocent demeanour.

"Hmm . . . that's a new one." Xion allowed a slight flicker of a grin, acknowledging my humorous pun. Cartus was a unique cross-species, a hybrid of flora and fauna that was unique to Lycus. It had no blood.

"Let me come clean, Sim. We know you killed Alfred Smint, your blade master . . . a weapon in his own right. We know you did not do it using any normal or available means. It was the same weapon you used against Pol Ti when he captured you." He paused in his gentle statement of facts and gave me a steady stare.

"Are you arresting me for that? Is that why I am here? What proof do you have that I did it?" I went on the offensive, still maintaining a calm façade and a gentle tone.

After all, I had spent a good many sals in Vnetor, and my early childhood, as far as I could tell, living amongst the Johuans so I knew how to maintain EM1 instinctively.

EM1 was the term used to explain the state of emotional repression. It represented the acute stage where total emotional detachment was adopted to enable the strategic mind to function unhindered and, therefore, be more responsive to a given situation. All security and defensive staff undergo the Yen Learning's to better control their state of mind to enhance their battle capabilities and to withstand the destructiveness of combat on their personal and mental health. EM1 had been a part of the teachings at Vnetor, one of the many I had failed to excel in. Still, failure or not, it had been ingrained to some extent.

My entire demeanour automatically reflected and subtlety responded to his. That had also been a part of my training that I had learnt very well. Mirror your opponent to throw him off the scent.

"I want to know what happened. I want to know what it is that caused such destruction," said Xion with full determination.

I did somewhat belatedly recall that there had been a rather wide area of destruction. My control had been almost non-existent back then and my skill was even less so. In fact, that had been the first time I had actually used the energy flow. I had only had a hint of the feeling as it had buzzed along the surface of my skin in the past, and that one time, the charge had simply flowed out of me in an explosion that, unfortunately, depending on who's point of view it was, had taken out Alfred Smint in his entirety. I had been in extreme shock thereafter but managed to tow my sorry self out of there as promptly as I could make my numb limbs move, which, as it happened, had been pretty fast since I had been all packed and out of campus, riding in on the first illegal hover that had come my way not a hundred deca-darths later.