By T.B. Anderson
Copyright Tyler Anderson
Wats
was lost in his tinkering, but he did hear the familiar sound of the door to
his lab sliding open. He recognized Ozer's footsteps, but decided to play
coy and finish making the adjustments to his ear comm. Ozer stood in the
doorway, remaining perfectly still. Wats could guess Ozer was thinking that had not learned anything from the previous night. He smiled and
placed the ear comm back into his ear and took stock of the situation. Ozer
assumed Wats hadn’t heard him come in so that gave him the advantage. His whip
handle was holstered at his thigh, ready to be tested. Wats’ fingers twitched
to hold it. Now it would be his turn to surprise Ozer.
Wats held his hand out and the whip
flew into it, gripping it tightly. In one smooth motion he spun around and
slashed his hand toward Ozer. A string of blue energy crackled and lashed out
from the whip handle and wrapped around Ozer’s right arm. Ozer stumbled back in
surprise, but the tautness of the whip kept him on his feet. He was expecting
an electrical shock, but he was surprised to find the energy was a solid form
with no shock. Wats could see Ozer was impressed, but knew the satisfaction
wouldn’t last long. “This won’t do you much good if I yank if from your hands.”
Wats gave a smug reply, “You can try.” Wats moved his feet slightly to help him
stand firm. Ozer accepted the challenge and yanked his wrapped arm has hard as
he could, but the whip didn’t move and neither did Wats. In fact, Wats didn’t
even appear to be holding it. It was as if it was stuck to his hand. A look of
momentary confusion crossed Ozer’s face.
“I heard what you said last night
and had an idea. What do you think?” A smile began to appear in the corners of
Wats mouth. Wats was enjoying this a little too much, but it wasn’t often that
he could surprise Ozer. “How’d you do it?” Ozer asked with curiosity. Wats
relaxed his body and the energy whip fizzled away, and the handle flew back to
the holster on Wats’ thigh. Wats held up his hand and wiggled his fingers like
he had casted a spell. “Magic,” he replied with a beaming smile. Ozer looked at
him incredulously. “Nah, I’m just kidding you. Magnets and brain power.” Ozer
could now see a new thin piece of metal wrapped around the palm of his right
hand to accompany the metal plate on his left arm where his shield was. Wats
continued with his explanation, “I modified my ear comm to accept commands for
magnets I installed in this band. The whip can only function when it’s
connected to my biometrics. I can also control the force of the energy. That’s
why you didn’t get shocked” Ozer was impressed, “Interesting. I’d love to see
it in real action and see how it performs. But that will have to wait. Your
parents have completed their jump and would like to chat with you before they
enter Solarian’s orbit.” Wats’ mood changed quickly to one of somber. “Lead the
way,” he said.
A few moments later Ozer and Wats entered
the bridge of the ship. The communication button on the console was blinking
red, indicating a transmission was waiting. Wats hesitated for a moment before
tapping the button. He hoped the situation wasn’t as dire as the council had
made it out to be, but he prepared himself for the worst. Finally he gave into
the blinking light and pushed the button. The hologram blinked to life and there
were his parents staring back at him, both smiling. A seed of hope blossomed
inside and the worry subsided a little, but did not completely disappear.
Dallimore looked at his son with care in
his eyes, “Wats, we aren’t sure how well our communications will be once we
enter the planet’s atmosphere so we wanted to talk with you before. If we cut
out you’ll know why. I’ve sent my notes to your tablet on what I’ve found so
far while copying the texts in Ward’s library. You should be able to pick up
right where I left off.” Wats nodded thoughtfully, “Of course.” Dallimore
smiled at his son, “I knew I could count on you. We will most likely be out of
range of communication for the next few days, but we will try to reach contact
you once we find a secure connection on the surface. We’re in good hands here,
so no need to worry about us.” Dallimore put an arm around Ashe and squeezed.
Ashe looked at Wats, he thought he could see tears in her eyes, but he wasn’t
sure if it was the static of the hologram or real tears. She spoke, her voice slightly
timid, ”Wats, your father and I both love you and know that Ozer will keep you
safe. We have to go now, but we will speak again...” The message cut to static
and the hologram disappeared.
It felt as if there was a frog in Wats’
throat and he was finding it difficult to keep his emotions in check. His
parents had left him with Ozer many times befoe while they went out on
missions, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this one was different. His emotions
were bubbling under the surface and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Ozer
wasn’t the type of person he could talk to about his feelings. So he locked
them inside and hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with them.
Ozer stepped up behind him, clearing
his throat. “We best get a move on. Mr. Ward is expecting us soon.” Without
waiting for a response Ozer turned on his heels and headed for the docking
ramp. Wats waited for a moment and then followed.
A half an hour later Wats and Ozer
stood at the front gate of the Ward estate. Wats couldn’t believe he had been
here just yesterday. With everything that had transpired in the last 24 hours
it felt like it had been a week since he was last here, and the effect caused
him to look at Ward’s home with new eyes. The estate was on the outskirts of
Taurden, but Wats hadn’t noticed just how dense the jungle was surrounding the
area. It would be easy to get lost out there or to hide. Yesterday Wats could
hear the chirping of the birds, but today they were quiet. Wats found it
strange and made a mental note.
The security monitor buzzed to life with
Ward appearing on the screen. “Good morning gentlemen. Where are Dallimore and
Ashe?” Wats struggled to find the words and before he could respond, Ozer spoke
up, “They were called away. The council has left Wats and I to complete their
work.” Ward considered his answer for a moment before responding, “Very well.
It is disappointing to see the council put another task over mine.” Wats
finally found his voice, “My deepest apologies sir, but I assure you that my
father would not have sent us if he didn’t believe we couldn’t do the job to
his level of satisfaction.” This seemed to appease Ward and he nodded his head,
“Come in.” The screen went dark and the electrical gate vanished. Wats and Ozer
entered the grounds and the gate hummed to a close behind them. The two of them
walked along the driveway and disappeared around a corner, hidden by the dense
forest.
The doors to the library swung open and
Ward entered the room followed by Wats and Ozer. Ward pointed to the far corner
of the library where Dallimore’s equipment was still set up with a stack of
books piled high on a table next to it. “The books on the right have already
been sorted and the ones on the left still need to be digitized and studied.”
Wats walked around the table and took in the scene. His father was meticulous
when it came to work and his workstation showed it. Everything had its precise
place. Ward straightened a stack of papers and looked at Ozer and then Wats,
“I’ll leave you to your work. I’ll check back in on you in a few hours. If you
need anything you can contact my assistant through the comm.” “Thank you Mr.
Ward,” Wats replied. “Please, just call me Ward. I’ll leave you too it.” Ward walked
away from Wats and Ozer and pulled the doors closed behind him.
Once the doors closed Wats turned to
Ozer, “So will you be scanning or searching?” “Neither. I’m the pilot of your
parents ship and your teacher, not an archivist. But I will watch you,” Ozer said
with a smirk. Wats gave him a death stare while he grabbed the first book from
the top of the stack and placed it in the scanner box. Wats pointed an accusing
finger at Ozer, “You know if I was my father you’d be helping.” “Too right,”
Ozer replied with a laugh and took a seat in a nearby lounge chair, “I like
your father. The jury is still out on you though.” Ozer teased. Even though
Wats had known Ozer his entire life, he still had a hard time figuring him out.
He could be serious one moment and teasing him the next, and Wats wasn’t sure
what exactly flipped the switch for Ozer. Wats smiled to himself. Despite the
unpredictability of Ozer’s personality he was happy to have his friendship.
The scanner hummed to life as Wats began
digitizing the book he had placed inside the box. Wats kept his eyes fixed on
the screen as a flood of information swept across the screen. Wats’ unique
ability to consume and comprehend knowledge at an incredibly rapid rate came in
very handy as an archivist. He wasn’t sure if it was a photographic memory or
just quick comprehension. Sure, he would miss a few things here and there, but
he was always able to go back and fill in the gaps later. His focus was on
finding the important pieces, the hidden treasures buried within the pages of
these books. The scanner hummed to a stop and Wats grabbed the next book from
the pile and placed it inside the scanner, setting the first book off to the
side on the pile his father had started of completed books. Out of the corner
of his eye Wats saw Ozer flipping through a few books from a table nearby.
Nothing seemed to be catching his attention and Wats knew before long Ozer
would bored and would venture out for some fresh air, leaving him alone in the
library. While Wats would miss Ozer’z companionship, he enjoyed the silence
because it was when he did his best thinking.
Hours later Wats was alone in the
library. Ozer had only lasted half an hour before he wanted to venture off and
explore Ward’s estate. So far Wats had found nothing remotely intriguing and
everything he had gathered was what he labeled as dry history. He wanted to
find something mysterious or unexplained. This is where his philosophy differed
from the council’s. They wanted to preserve, but he wanted to discover the unexplained.
Someday he would have to figure out what mattered more, but for now as an
archivist in training he could live in both worlds.
Wats reached for another book and found only
one book remained. He picked it up and turned the book over in his hand. The
cover was extremely worn and the spine of the book was barely holding the pages
together. This book intrigued Wats for some reason and maybe there was some
discovery waiting inside. After a momentary inspection, he placed it on the
scanner. The data filled the screen and Wats watched intently. A symbol popped
up on the screen and went away as quickly as it had appeared. A slow
recognition had begun to form in Wats’ mind. He had seen that symbol before, hadn’t
he? Or was he forcing himself to find some mystery? His finger instinctively pressed
down on the keyboard to pause the scan. He touched the screen with his finger
and scrolled back through the information to the symbol. There it was, now
where had he seen it before? It looked like an ‘A’ on its side with three
additional lines spaced evenly above the traditional line.
Wats stared at the symbol for a long time,
struggling to remember where he recognized it. He was so lost in his thoughts
that he didn’t hear the door to the library open or someone enter the room. Moments
later a voice wrenched Wats from his thoughts, “Excuse me.” The sudden jolt
caused him to stumble and fall from his chair, but he caught himself on the
edge of the desk keeping himself from falling all the way to the floor. He
looked up and saw Ward standing just a few feet away. As Wats pulled himself
back into his chair he cursed at himself silently for not hearing Ward enter
the library. With a tinge of embarrassment Wats greeted Ward, “Ward, I didn’t
hear you come in.” Ward smiled, “I ran into your pilot and he said you were working
alone. I thought I would come see how things were progressing. Anything
interesting?” Wats considered for a moment whether he should ask Ward about the
symbol, after all it was his book. There was no need though because Ward walked
around the desk and peered at the image on the screen. “Ah, interesting.”
With a little hesitancy Wats spoke up,
“It looks familiar to me, but I’m not quite sure why.” Ward took a step forward
and pinched the screen with two of his fingers and rotated the image clockwise.
“It’s an ancient Earth symbol for iron,” Ward answered, and then asked his own
question, “which book did you find this in?” Wats pulled the decaying book from
the scanner box and held it up, “This one.” Ward scratched his chin in
contemplation, “I know that book well. Did you happen to read that book I gave
you yesterday?” Wats perked up at the question, “I did.” “What do you recall
about secret societies?” Ward asked. “Specifically it talked about groups like
the Illuminati and the Order of the Dragon. They were supposedly secret groups
made up of powerful people attempting to control governments from the shadows,”
Wats responded.
Wats could see Ward was impressed that he
had already read the book completely through. “I knew I made the right choice
by sharing that book with you. We are alike you and I. Fascinated by the
stories that live in-between the world of fact or fiction. Let me show you
something else.” Ward walked over to one of the book-lined shelves along the
nearest wall and ran his finger across the spine of the books. Wats wasn’t sure
what to expect. Ward seemed more relaxed than he did the day before when he was
speaking with Dallimore and Ashe. There was a slight giddiness to his demeanor.
Ward found what he was looking for and
plucked the book from the shelf and begun flipping through the pages as he
walked back towards Wats. “This book covers the history of Archon from shortly
after the landing of The Maiden, so there would have been no reason for your
father to even consider archiving the contents. But there is a connection
between that symbol you found and this book.” Ward stopped flipping through the
pages, “Ah ha, here it is.” He set the book down in front of Wats and pointed
to a passage, “When The Maiden arrived there were three other ships that also
ended up here as well. But folklore from the southern lands claimed there was a
fifth ship that crashed in that region. Despite all efforts there was never any
evidence found of a wreckage or anyone who had been aboard it.” Ward snapped
the book shut. “My father believed that there was a fifth ship. His great
grandfather, who was aboard The Maiden, would tell him stories about those who
had gone after the fifth ship.” Wats was sucked in, “What were they looking
for?” Ward smiled, “This is where the story is a little fuzzy. Some say it some
great treasure brought here from Earth while others say it is terrible weapon
of mass destruction. Either way it promised great power to those who sought it
out.”
The hairs on Wats neck prickled, but it
wasn’t from the story. Hadn’t the birds been chirping just a few minutes ago? The
air was suddenly to still as it had been when they arrived at Ward’s estate.
Wats interrupted Ward’s story, “Where did you say that you ran into Ozer?” “He
was in the atrium. Why do you…” Ward was unable to finish his question because
at that moment the doors to the library burst open. A group of five men wearing
masks stalked in through the door with their blasters aimed at Wats and Ward.
Ward took a step back towards Wats in an
attempt to shield him from the intruders. Wats didn’t think Ward could do much,
but he wasn’t going to stop him. “What is the meaning of this?” Ward questioned
the men. The man in front spoke first, his voice crackling through the mask,
“We are here for you Mr. Ward. We would like a word with you.” Ward tried to
stand tall, but Wats could see the man’s knees were shaking slightly. “I’m not
going anywhere with you. How did you get past my security?” The response to his
question was the hum of their blasters warming up to fire.
Wats readied his mind for the attack. His
hand was open and ready to use the whip and his other arm was ready to brace
any blaster fire that his shield would catch. At that moment Wats noticed a
symbol etched into one of the men’s helmets. It was the symbol from the book
weaved into the shape of a fist. Suddenly he remembered why the symbol looked
so familiar, it was the same one he had seen on the handle of the man’s cane he
had followed into the alley. Now that he remembered his mind wanted to piece
the puzzle together, but now wasn’t the time.
Ward gulped, “Please, I don’t want any
violence.” Ward lowered the hand that had been in front of Wats to protect him and
began to slowly walk towards the men. Wats wondered where Ozer was at this
moment. Had he not heard the men enter? “I will go with you, but please leave
the boy alone,” Ward pleaded in a worried tone. Wats could see Ward’s hands
were now shaking visibly. This was not going to end well for Wats, no matter
what the group’s response would be. He began to take stock of the exits in the
room. The only real exit were the doors the men had just come through. His only
viable option would be a window.
One of the men in the group produced a black
cloth sack and a pair of handcuffs. There was no way Wats was going to wait for
the men to shoot at him first. They wanted Ward alive, so they wouldn’t risk
killing him. The closest window to Wats was on his right between two sections
of shelving ten feet away from his current position. He would jump out the
window and find Ozer. After that they would figure out what to do together. His
mind was made up but he would wait until Ward was out of the crossfire, and
then he would jump. Two more steps and Ward would be out of range of the
crossfire. Wats wouldn’t need the whip for his escape, so he balled his right
hand into a fist in preparation to break through the glass. One more step. Ward
was out of the line of crossfire and the men momentarily shifted their focus
completely away from Wats. This was his chance.
Wats sprinted for the window and his
energy shield exploded from his left forearm, creating a barrier from the floor
to over his head to protect him from any blaster fire. The men were caught by
surprise and managed to only fire off a few shots. Wats leaped, throwing his
entire body weight and the force of the shield to crash through the window.
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