Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Almost there
Over the next teo days, I take my final four exams. (Which is whyI havent' updated recently.)

Expect an update Thursday or Friday.

Sol

XIII

Simon slammed the door to his room behind him. “Rena!” he hissed, trying to keep the volume low.

Rena and Von were there, having returned from the ruins of their ship. She was on his bed reading a book; Von was toying with what looked like a remote control.

“Good afternoon,” she said.

“Shove it,” Simon spat, tossing his school supplies on the floor. “Tybalt went to my school!”

Rena instantly sat up, alert. “That is very unfortunate,” she said. “What happened?”

Simon related the entire incident to her. She and Von listened carefully. When he was done, Von whistled, an odd hissing sound. “Wow,” he said. “I’m sorry…”

“There is nothing to apologize for, Von,” Rena said simply. “This situation was inevitable.”

Simon glared at her. “You knew this would happen?”

“It was bound to,” she replied. “Tybalt didn’t get to his position by genetics alone. It was only a matter of time until he found you. It was just unfortunate that it was so soon. I’d wanted more time-“

Simon slammed his fist into the wall. “That freak is with Susan! Weren’t you listening?!”

“She’s in no danger,” Rena said simply.

Simon sighed. “You don’t get it, do you? Maybe you don’t care about her, but I do!”

“No, no…” Von said hesitantly. “Really, she’s not in any danger.”

“Why not?”

Von cleared his throat. “There’s no reason to hurt her. And if anything happened to her, it’d draw attention to Tybalt that he just doesn’t want.”

“That’s what he said…” Simon said slowly. “But why the sudden shift in his priorities? Last night, he seemed ready to take me out. What happened?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” Rena said
thoughtfully. “I imagine that I know the answer, but it is not pleasant…”

“What? Come on, I really think that maybe I should know. I mean, it can’t possibly be any worse than-“

“Natas is going to invade your planet.”

There was a moment of silence. Then, “What?”

Rena flexed her hands. “You have to understand the position that Natas is in. His home base is currently under heavy assault; most of its resources have been depleted. The statistics Tybalt must have sent him about this planet must be incredibly enticing. He will establish his new military base on this planet, and be able to go on the offensive after your species has been enslaved.”

“Oh my God…”

“Yes, praying might not be such a bad idea. Your planet cannot defend itself from this sort of attack.”

Simon slumped against the wall; the hits just kept on coming. “Well….is there any way
to…”

Von nodded. “If we can get back to Felinon, and alert them before Natas arrives…”

“No,” Rena said. “That is highly improbable.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do, is there?” Simon asked.

“Actually, there is. All invasion forces are horribly vulnerable in their embryonic stage. If we could strike before Natas gets a stranglehold on this town, we can disrupt his entire plan long enough for the Planetary Militia ships to arrive.”

Simon nodded. “Wait…this town? Why here?”

“It’s where you are. Or, more accurately, where the Sol system is. Natas still wants that as well, remember?”

“So this is all my fault?”

Von shook his head emphatically ‘no’. Rena thought for a second. “Well, in a manner of speaking…”

“Rena!” Von said sharply.

“Lying about the truth won’t alter the facts, Von,” she said. “If the Sol system hadn’t bonded to him, Tybalt would have been gone by now. It is not through any malicious actions on the sol-being’s part, but if he hadn’t been bonded to the system, his planet would not be in danger.”

Simon had been silent for several minutes. Finally, he looked up, glaring at both of the aliens.

“Get out.”

“I beg your pardon?” Rena asked sharply.

“I said, get the hell out of my room. Get out!”

Von crept back, offended. “But Simon…”

“No! Just shut up! I am sick of this crap! I don’t want to know any of this, and I don’t want to know you!”

“You will not speak that way to me, sol being,” Rena said, standing up. “You cannot ignore the reality of the situation.”

“The hell I can’t! An alien killer is hanging out with the only decent person I know, the whole world is screwed, everyone in town’s gonna’ be an alien slave, and it’s my fault? No! No, I don’ want to know this! I don’t want any part of this!”

Rena glared at him. “I am a princess of the Ichnet Clan,” she growled. “You will not disrespect me as such! This situation goes beyond your personal feelings!”

“Another thing I’m sick of is your damn high-and-mighty attitude,” Simon spat. “I don’t care if you’re a frickin’ Martian princess. This is Earth, and this is my room, on my turf, and I don’t have to listen to you! Now get out!”

Rena stared at him for several minutes. If looks could kill, both Simon and Rena would have been dead by the other’s eyes. Von had backed into a corner; he hated confrontations…

“If you do this,” Rena said slowly, icily. “You are the biggest fool, and the most ungrateful cretin, that this planet has ever produced. I am offering you a chance to save your
race.”

“I don’t frickin’ care,” Simon said, just as slow and icy. “This is your mess, and I never wanted to be a part of it.”

Rena scoffed disdainfully. “Very well, sol-being. If that is your decision, I cannot change it. Come, Von; we’re leaving.”

Rena pressed a button on her armor, and her form shimmered. Suddenly, she stood as the same young Hispanic woman she had been when they met. She opened Simon’s window and climbed out.

“But…” Von said. “But Simon, I thought…”

“You heard her,” Simon said slowly. “Go with her.”

“Fine,” Von snapped, hurt. “I thought we were friends.” He climbed out after Rena.

Simon watched them walk away, and then closed the window. “Friends?” he asked himself. “No way. Not by a long shot.”

---
“Is that the planet?”

“You got it, chief. Tybalt landed down there; I’m pinpointing where his ship is parked. If he’s there, your Sol System is sure to be there, too.”

“Excellent.”
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