“My pleasure. Should we schedule a trip to Arizona while we’re at it?” Neil asked. “I hear the deserts really are beautiful out there.”
“Oh, come on, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kenwar begged.
Sang sighed. “No, Neil, no need to take any trips. Just lock him up. Don’t let him near these pods. Can we get the team up and running?”
“They all went home for the night,” O’Hara said. “But I’ll monitor you guys. It’ll be just like old times.”
“Great,” Sang said as she popped the pill into her mouth and climbed into the pod. “You coming, Van?”
Van didn’t know what else to do, so he grabbed one of the pills from Neil and popped it right into his mouth. He felt the familiar rush of adrenaline run through his entire body as the pill kicked in. It had an almost immediate effect. His eyes widened, he felt his heartrate skyrocket, and his hands began to shake.
“You okay, bud?” Neil asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Van said as he climbed into his own pod. He was far from fine, but at least the distraction of focusing on finding out some more information about these aliens would prevent him from having to think about what his future would actually entail. He took a deep breath as the pod sealed over him. This job just kept getting worse and worse.
Chapter Eleven
Van opened his eyes to realize that he was still standing outside of the feasting tent. No one else was around. He could hear a bird chirping its same repetitive song over and over again, probably glitching due to it being Sleep Time.
Sang stumbled out of the tower. “Van!” she cried. “I’m in here!”
“Are you okay?” Van asked. “You’re acting really erratic. I mean, punching out Kenwar? Taking drugs? What’s gotten into you?”
“Something… something just snapped in me when he said he was cutting the program,” Sang said as she led Van inside of the tower. “I don’t know what it was, but I just knew that I had to get back inside of this game. I think… I think I bonded with Jet or something. When those aliens sent that message into my mind, they pushed so much data in there. Van, I know everyone else isn’t convinced, but I know in my heart of hearts that Draco is a real threat.”
Van shrugged. “I believe you, too, but who’s going to take our word for it? We’re losing all support. Only Neil and O’Hara seem to believe us at this point.”
“At least we can count on them,” Sang said.
“Yeah,” Van said, remembering all of the many threats that Neil had levied against him. “Thank God for Neil.”
“There you are!” Sang said, turning to face Jet as the dragon came climbing down the stairs. “Please, we’re in a lot of trouble with our superiors. No one else is here. Tell us the truth. What are you? Who are you? Why are you here?”
Jet just looked at them both.
“Come on,” Van said. “We’ve been risking our lives by playing this game—can’t you help us out?
Jet still said nothing. Van went to open his mouth again, but yelped instead as he felt the ground fall out from beneath him.
“Ahhhhhh!” Van and Sang screamed as they both fell.
“Now you will see,” Jet said as he flew alongside of them. Darkness rapidly surrounded them and, for a split second, Van couldn’t see a thing. Suddenly, though, as if someone had turned a light switch on, the darkness became filled with stars and nebulae.
“W-what’s going on?” Sang gasped. They had both stopped falling and were now floating in space.
“I have no idea!” Van said. He could see dozens of planets and moons all around them. He found that he could control his movement by kicking his legs as if he were swimming. He began to swim around in circles, looking around at the beautiful galactic landscape before him.
“I have longed for speech,” Jet said, “so I thank you both. But we must be quick, for I fear Draco might intercept this communication. Behold!”
A large planet rushed into view, as if someone had pulled it towards them with a gigantic magnet. The planet was barren and rocky, except for one continent that seemed to be lush and full of green.
“Long ago, Draco came to visit my people,” Jet said. “But we did not know about them. They were experts at hiding themselves. Instead, they slowly converted people to their cause. Over time… over much time, my race began to experience a string of problems all at once. Famine broke out, nuclear reactors began to melt down, governments that had once been peaceful turned violent, and dictators rose. Within a year, a single year, everything was different. Billions of us died—some due to war, some to famine, but all due to Draco.”
“What?” Sang whispered. “That’s horrible.”
“They did things that are unspeakable in order to gain control of our planet secretly. They gave us gifts, gifts that we did not realize were from a foreign race. One such gift was these pods. That was how they determined who was worthy.”
“I knew it!” Sang gasped. Van said nothing; he merely watched the dragon in silence.
“Draco was patient. It took them twenty years to build up a support network of spies and loyalists. They promised, they bribed, they threatened. Our race was destroyed not through direct warfare, but through a long, drawn out chess game. A nuclear reactor worker converted to their cause could easily sabotage a plant. A government official who was promised true power could easily support a coup. Nowhere was safe. When the infrastructure was destroyed… Draco moved in. They settled down and began to set up their own regime. After their rulers were placed on the planet, they moved on.”
Van was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. The planet zoomed in on the lush, green continent.
“Some of us were savvy. We caught on early and discovered that something was wrong. We worked hard to fight back, but very few would believe us. We were able to convince one of our nations to listen, however, and Draco’s influence was expelled. We were able to stop some of the cataclysmic events from affecting us. We survived, but barely.”
“Why hasn’t Draco wiped you out yet?” Van asked.
Jet shook his head. “Draco has no teeth. They are manipulators because they are not warriors. They see direct combat as beneath them, and respect only cunning and strength. We earned our survival because we were strong enough to fight back, strong enough to see what was happening. They allow us to live on our continent in peace, but we cannot leave.”
“So why are you here?” Sang asked. “More specifically, how did you get here?”
“It’s a game of cat and mouse, to borrow your vernacular,” Jet said. He waved his claws, causing a large pod to appear before them. It was the exact same kind of pod that Van and Sang climbed in and out of every day. “We found a way to install a work-around on their haptic systems. We can beam information directly into it. Our plan has been to find a violent, angrier race that could stop Draco. You are that race.”
“We are not a violent and angry race,” Van shot back. “We have done so much good for this world!”
Jet frowned. A newspaper floated behind him. It read Wright Brothers Fly! It was dated December 18, 1903. A day after the first flight that had ever happened.
“You discovered aerial technology,” Jet said. “A rare thing to happen without influence from Draco. Yet, it only took you forty-two years to use that discovery for this.” A nuclear cloud appeared behind Jet, and it was bright enough to where Van had to shield his eyes. He could feel the warmth emanating from the mushroom.
“That doesn’t prove we’re a violent race,” Van said, feeling a little embarassed for his species.
“My point is that your violence is a good thing. The galaxy is full of strange beings, and many of them are peaceful. My people are such beings. We developed nuclear technology before we developed our first firearm,” Jet said. “Your people have perfected the art of killing anything that moves.”