PART 35

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"So, Draco," Allan said, taking a bite out of the tray of meats that had appeared before him, "what is the catch?"

Draco, without missing a bite, responded. "I don't know what you are talking about. What do you mean by 'The Catch?'"

"You seem oddly focused on me, the conflict, and making sure nothing ends this galaxy. But I get the distinct feeling that you and your people would be highly unaffected by the death of all the 'mortals' or the gods."

That stopped Draco. He smiled, his slightly distorted head making the gesture something of nightmares. "You are correct; we would be completely unaffected. You are close but not quite there."

"What do you mean, not quite there?"

"I mean, you are almost asking the right questions, but the scale you humans think on is always so grand, so vast. Think smaller."

Allan thought for a moment, trying to parse out what he meant. Like a lightbulb, a thought popped into his head. "Why do You care so much about me?"

"Ohh, warmer, so very close, one more try. Think a little bigger on the back end." Draco said as if coaching a pet through a difficult trick, which Allan thought was an apt analogy.

"Why do You care so much about this Galaxy slash reality?" Allan said, padding his chances slightly.

"Bravo," Draco said, "the right question is, why do I care so much about this particular galaxy? The correct answer to that is something so far out of my ability to relay to you in terms that you would understand that I should not try. However, I will do my best."

Allan looked at him eagerly, and Draco washed down the food with a glittering drink. "You humans have something called an ant farm, correct?"

"The children's toy?" Allan asked, confused.

"Yes, well, you are like my own ant farm. All the little mortals in this galaxy are mine. If you were all to die, I could easily recreate this galaxy or another with entirely new rules. However, the gods, as you call them, are entities who existed, in their galaxy, on a similar level to my people..." Draco trailed off in thought.

Draco surprised Allan then by locking eyes with him and asking a question. "Where do my people come from, or where do the Gods come from?"

"I barely understand where my people come from. I am sure I could not even begin to guess at the sources of your people or the gods." Allan said hesitantly.

"That is a good answer. I have asked as many of my people as possible where we come from, and none of them know. But since the gods arrived in this galaxy, we have begun to derive some semblance of a theory about where we come from and what our purpose is. I have grown to care deeply for your all, especially the gods. So I wondered, 'Could I create a God?' At least a god as you know it. It is a complex question, one I have not quite answered, but I know deep in my being that I will never be able to answer this question without the galaxy that has already surprised me so much." Draco stopped and looked thoughtful once more.

"So, sorry to sound stupid, but what the hell does that have to do with me?" Allan asked, somewhat angry. "Why the hell did I have to die? What is the point of any of this involving me?"

Draco seemed to shake himself before responding. "I do not know. While I am able to see many possible futures and the effects that certain things will have on those futures, I am not all-knowing or all-powerful. That is one of the reasons my people allowed the gods to inhabit this galaxy as they saw fit. It gave them greater influence, and we might be able to affect reality at our level by observing how they affect it at their level. As for you, you became the favorite of many of the gods through your various actions. That is how I became aware of you, and you have won me over in your way. While I may never fully understand you, and you never fully understand me, know that you are my friend Allan. I will do what I can to help you, but I have done what I can at this point."

Allan mulled what Draco had said over as he worked on a giant turkey leg. "If you can't do anything directly, can you tell me something?"

Draco shrugged non-committal, and Allan contained speaking. "What do I need to do to ensure that I come out ahead of this, alive, and I lose as little as possible."

The look that came over Draco was one of sadness. "The fact that you have already accepted you will lose something is a testament to how difficult your life has been and how harsh you humans are to one another. For that, I am sorry. But to answer your question, there is not much I can tell you other than the fact that there are more futures where you fail than those where you succeed. In those where you prevail, the one commonality is that you embrace everything offered to you by your allies and refuse everything from the enemy."

Draco looked as if he wanted to say more, but Xulgra popped into reality. "Allan, you must awaken now; danger approaches."

Allan nodded and stood, taking a drink of water. "Thank you, Draco, you have helped me more than you know. I would love to hear more about your people if we get the chance. If I do not see you again, I would have you know it is great to have you as a friend."

Draco nodded, and with a swish of his dragon-like claw, Allan was awakening back on board the Solstice.

A sound similar to a claxon was blaring through the ship as Allan jumped to his feet. Elunitra was gone, and Aly was also scrambling to her feet and moving as rapidly as she could toward the bridge. When they got there, they were quickly joined by Jalla, Nara, and Allan's mother.

"Allan, What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"Not sure, Mom. We are going to find out." Allan said as Aly began tapping away.

One of the many displays set into various surfaces around the bridge suddenly sprung to life, and on it was a ship, made for maybe five or ten people, but looking like of the most gruesome things any of them had ever seen. Allan could only assume it was the enemy as he watched the ship head straight for them, making as if to dock, he began issuing orders.

"Aly, Jalla, get your weapons and return to the bridge; Mother, stay here. Nara, after the three of them are back inside the bridge, you seal the doors into here and kill anything that is not me that tries to get in." Allan took off at a sprint, pushing the comms device he always carried into his ear.

"And what are you going to do?" Aly asked via her comms, the sound of her feet padding against the halls of the ship in the background.

"I am going to put on my armor again and see what these bastards are made of," Allan said, and Aly could tell he was already miles away in his mind.

"Be safe, and come back to me," Aly said, closing the channel.

Allan got to his armor and had it halfway on when he got word from Nara that the doors to the bridge were secured, and she was standing guard outside them. Then Aly came back on the comms channel. "Allan, they are currently making the final approach to the small airlock just to the left of the cargo hold."

"Copy that. I'll be there in five minutes." Allan said as he finished the final steps to don the armor, making sure he could access the god-killing blade from the outside of the armor and feel its plates close around his back.

The run through the ship to the designated air lock took twenty seconds, with the AI-guided technologies of the suite boosting Allan's already considerable abilities. When he got there, an indicator above the door told him the intruders were actively trying to breach the door. Allan smiled. "Time for a surprise."

Allan slapped his palm on the pad to open the door and greet their guests.

Aly watched the three massive humanoids climb into the airlock and begin opening the inner doors on the security feed. She was panicking, and just as she was about to tell Allan to come back and think of a new plan when the inner doors opened, and there stood Allan with his armor, face mask up, and a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Can I help you boys?" Allan asked the three stunned giants. Then his facemask slammed down, and the things on the screen seemed to blur. The entire scuffle seemed to last no more than a few moments, and suddenly Allan was pulling a knife that glimmered on screen and slicing the neck of the first giant. Just as quickly, Allan ran the blade across the inner elbows, thighs, and backs of knees of the second giant, who dropped to the ground. The third giant slammed a massive fist into Allan, sending him flying back out of the airlock, and then followed him out.

Allan struggled to his feet on the screen as the security AI switched feeds to follow the fight. "That fucking hurt. You pack some punch, big boy. But you know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

The third giant spoke. "Submit to the Empire of Black Sun, or be purified. Children of the gods will be cleansed and the gods killed; rejoice, liberation is at hand."

"See, that seems like a problem, as I am a child of Death," Allan said, his suit suddenly sprouting a snubnosed emitter and firing a garage of laser charges that seemed to bounce off the giant.

"The Traitor Xul'Gra finally created a life of his own. That explains much, but you will be cleansed just like the others." The giant pulled his arm back to try and hit Allan again.

"No thanks," Allan said and then seemed to flash behind the giant, an effect of the teleportation system and the request he had quietly sent to Aly as the giant talked. The instant he reappeared behind the giant, Allan jumped and drove the knife with all his weight into the top of the giant's head, dropping him to the ground dead.

Allan looked around, and the second giant still grumbled in the airlock. "Aly, send Nara down here; tell her we are taking a prisoner and restraining them in the cargo hold."

Allan leaned down and pulled one of the useless limbs of the giant, gutting a trail from the severe tendons in the elbow, up the bicep to the shoulder, a strange hiss coming from the knife, and a muted grunt of pain from the giant.

Allan smiled. "It seems we have similar biologies and physiologies; I want you to know we are going to have a very long conversation, and one day, I may let you die. But you tried to invade my home, and you must suffer enough for three, so brace yourself."

Allan saw a small glimmer of fear in the giant's eyes as Nara arrived to help him drag the crippled giant to the cargo hold.