Havok Bringer

Koametes stood before me, confidence on full display. Elation practically dripping from her pores as she basked in her victory.

I still couldn't put it together, though. Why was she doing this? I knew that I was some piece on the chessboard for the Coeus, but was I really so important that a ranking member of their society would alter the plans already in place? Not only did she need me, but she went out of her way to meet me and convince me to cut corners in a place that was created specifically to test the participant's ability to overcome challenges on a level never seen by a member of the human race?

My mind was racing, but there was no going back now. I turned to see Kaj and Sherlock approaching as I stood back to my feet. This was another defeat, another opportunity for Coeus and the senior powers in the galaxy to prove just how helpless I really was. This feeling of helplessness was starting to get really old.

I turned back to face Koametes, as Kaj and Sherlock joined me on either side. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the cold winter air. The air rushed into my lungs, and I held it until I could feel them burning. I slowly exhaled and opened my eyes to see her standing, her hand back on the hilt of her sword as if her show of outrageous power wasn't enough to dissuade me from any attempt at violence.

"What now?" I asked. As much as I wanted to, it was impossible for me to hide the defeat in my voice. I was not only being forced to take on another unknown challenge and risk my life, but I was being forced to do it in a way that raised the stakes tremendously for me and my crew.

"Now you say your goodbyes. There will be no time for preparation, I'm afraid." The administrator raised her right hand, palm up, as she spoke. Behind her, an arched portal identical to the one I used at the end of the first floor materialized. The center of the arch was filled with the same shimmering obsidian substance, which seemed to writhe within the confines of the arch.

I turned to Kaj, "I will need you, Kaj. Be patient, I will find you as soon as possible."

"You must protect yourself, Captain. I have done what I can to prepare you; now it is up to you. Do not make rash decisions; prioritize self-preservation over everything. You often speak of patience; now it is time for you to also practice patience. We will be waiting for you. Do not rush, do not put the mission in jeopardy."

I looked down as he spoke, "I'm sorry about all this, Kaj."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry, Captain? You are my sworn brother. I chose to bind myself to you, I chose to follow you, I chose to train you. You have honor, Andrew Dawes. I will not regret the decisions I made willingly; I will instead embrace them. I have no regrets, and I hold no malice toward you. You are my leader because I chose you to be my leader. Now, I need you to accept that your friends, your crew, have chosen you to lead them. Your planet and species are depending on you to save them. This is a thankless task that you have been given, but it is a task that must be completed, nonetheless. I will see you on the other side, Captain. Until then," Kaj looked at the Administrator, "Do me a favor and try to wipe the grin off this bitches face." With those words, Kaj's projection flickered out.

I turned to Sherlock, "Any words of wisdom?"

Sherlock tilted his head and stared at me, "Don't die. If you die, I die, and I'm rather enjoying living. When you find me, I will be ready to help you chop the head off this infernal monster." Sherlock turned to walk away before stopping and looking back over his shoulder, "Oh, and don't dally. I've been watching Downton Abbey during our downtime, and I'm afraid I've become rather addicted. I would hate to think that I don't get to finish it." Then he was gone as well.

Sherlock was an asshole, no doubt about it, but he was starting to grow on me, and it was painful to see another friend disappear.

I turned back to the Administrator, who was now standing beside the archway. "If this is a trick…If somehow this backfires, I need you to understand something," I turned to stand directly in front of her, looking up into those purple eyes. "I will do everything in my power to kill you. Not today, not tomorrow, but there will be a day in the future when you have become fat with power, and you have forgotten about the little human you used to advance your plans. You will be comfortable and warm in your home, maybe surrounded by family. That is when I will come for you. I will steal your joy and burn your comfort before I bury my blade in your beating heart. You will die looking in my eyes, and you will know then that you shouldn't have fucked with Captain Andrew Dawes."

She didn't speak, and I didn't give her time. I walked past her, standing there in the snow and cutting wind, and disappeared into the alien archway.

The world twisted, and my stomach churned as a feeling of weightlessness hit me. Then, right before I vomited all over myself, my world went black. Pain pulsed through my body as a dry moan escaped from my lips. My ears were ringing and tight with pressure. The transition through this portal was several times more intense than the others.

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I was lying on the ground, my body splayed against what felt like cold, wet stone. I tried to open my eyes to get a sense of where I was, but they were crusted with mucus and burned as they opened. I sat up and tried cleaning the gunk from my eyes, rubbing them to try and regain my sense of sight.

"Ugh…what the….ullp," the nausea hit fast and was overwhelming. I got to all fours and began wretching violently, my stomach emptying its contents onto the ground beneath me. On the plus side, this caused my eyes to water and helped flush some of the gunk from them, allowing me to get a glimpse of my surroundings, finally.

I was in a city? Not an Earth city, not a dead city with no electricity. This wasn't Earth; it couldn't be. The orbs knocked out power to every city on Earth years ago. No, this wasn't Earth, I confirmed as I looked up to see towering buildings bursting into the dark sky as far as I could see. The buildings were monoliths of engineering, the likes of which I had never seen. Black glass exteriors with beautiful metallic trim and neon accent lighting exploding in every imaginable color.

Augmented reality advertisements played on the surface of the building directly in front of me. An alien child of a species that I was not familiar with chased a butterfly through a meadow of thigh-high green grass, laughing and jumping as he played. The sun was bright in the sky, and the grass swayed in the wind as he ran. When the boy caught the butterfly, the camera zoomed in to show that his face was now twisted and maniacal. He held the butterfly in his hand as it slowly flapped its wings and walked along the palm of his hand. Then the boy crushed the butterfly in his palm before holding the dirty hand to his head in a salute.

"Being a child is no excuse for weakness! All Glory to the Galactic Council!" he shouted as the camera zoomed out to show that he was now standing in an organized military formation with other children his age, all dressed in uniforms and marching in unison across what seemed to be some sort of military school campus. The screen went black and was replaced by bold white text that read:

All MUST SERVE!

GLORY CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED THROUGH STRENGTH!

STRENGTH CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED BY ERADICATING WEAKNESS!

MAY THE COUNCIL BE OUR GUIDE!

**This message brought to you by the G.C.M.F – Glory to the Council.

"Wha…" My mouth froze as my mind tried to consolidate what I had just seen, "What the hell was that?!"

It was obviously pro-council propaganda, and it was one of the most disturbing things I had ever seen. I stood up and tried to gather my senses and get back to the task of figuring out where I was, only to look down and realize that once again I was naked.

"Oh, what the… this is just bullshit!" I said as I assumed the all too familiar position of covering my groin with my hands. I looked up to see a couple walking down the street. I wasn't sure what species they were, but they looked similar to Koametes with some minor differences. Different colored eyes to start. These people had deep amber eyes that almost glowed in the darkness. The male had onyx black hair, and the female had crimson red hair; both had designer hairstyles. The male was wearing a charcoal grey suit with a knee-length jacket and high collar; his white shirt was open to the bottom of his chest, showing distinct, intricate tattoos. The woman wore a flowing white dress that seemed to be almost glued to her toned figure. Her shoes, at first glance, seemed to be aggressive stilettos, but I was not familiar with the material. With every step, a flourish of color burst through the material of each shoe. The couple stared at me before clasping hands and hurriedly trotting away.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" I reached toward them to ask for help before realizing I had uncovered my private parts by accident. I sighed in frustration and decided to make my way toward a nearby alley to escape curious onlookers. I wasn't sure where I was, but based on the advanced engineering and appearance of a functioning society, I was sure that there would be some sort of police presence. I couldn't afford to alert the local authorities before I could get my bearings. I needed to figure out where I was, get access to supplies, and determine how to locate and free my crew. First things first, find some damn clothes.

"Yer not from round here are ya, brud," the voice cams from behind me as I backed into the dark alley, "Ye canna be floppin round wit yer bits and pieces flappin in the breeze. Wha's a meatbag sorts of ye doin bare balled in the streets of the capital?" the voice asked as a piece of cold metal pushed into my back between my shoulders.

"Whoah! I don't want any trouble!" I said as I put my hands up.

"Cover that cock, brud. Nobody wan see yer pipe flappin round, hear? I'm bout to hit ya with a query. If you come correct I'll nah be likely to give you another hole. Ya say somethin I ain't wanting to hear, well… there aint an easy way o' puttin it. The total number o' holes on that weird pale body o' yers goes up by one."

I returned my hands to my groin and breathed slowly, "Ask your question then."

The cold metal pressed deeper into my tender flesh as I winced.

"Do the Council be your guide?" the voice asked.

The question landed like a ton of bricks. What was the right answer? Why is he asking this? What if I answer wrong? This whole situation was escalating out of my control. I had things to do, I needed to save my crew, and instead, I was getting held up in an alley, not five minutes after waking up in this city.

Breathe, Andrew, just breathe, I thought to myself as the old mantra calmed me enough to choke out a response.

"The council can get fucked." I said as I flexed every muscle in my body, closed my eyes tight against the impending pain, and prepared for the results of my answer.

"Hah," the man gave me a curious chuckle before pressing the metal deeper into my already bruising flesh.

I heard a click followed by a stinging pain between my shoulders, and everything went black.