Rodger:

We are not going to let the Gorgon slip through our fingers. We have her location, and a teleportation capsule ready. Now, we did talk about leaving that to the police, but Wei shot down the idea. The Gorgon will be able to attack us again, even with a chip in her brain. So, there is only one alternative, really.

I stare at Ferenc, who is in position to get whoever comes out of the capsule out. The glass around the capsule flashes green, and suddenly, there is a Naga inside. She looks confused. Even more so, when Ferenc yanks the door of the capsule open, and places handcuffs around her wrists.

“What are you doing?” She asks. Yet, Ferenc doesn’t give her any responses. I slither closer to the two, to get a better look. My breath hitches, when I see the familiar face of my ex-wife.

“Albena?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Just what is the meaning of this, Rodger! How dare you kidnap me?” She snaps at me. Albena and I were married for a total of 100 years. Then, after our son’s death, I went into politics, and she started her own business. I never thought that the business would be weapon smuggling.

“You will be put through a truth test,” I say, my tone cold and detached. In the past, it would have disturbed me, if someone accused Albena of trying to cause a mass extinction. Yet, now I just feel numb.

As I look into her face, which is twisted with hatred, I can’t help but wonder why I was this blind. I should have known what she is up to, while I was still a Prime Minister.

Pulling out my phone, I ignore her yelling. With a heavy heart, I begin the truth test.

“Albena Vicente, did you order the destruction of the planet Olradus 600,” her brown eyes look from my face, to the screen behind me. Finally, she gives me a smirk so vile, that I want to berate myself for ever loving her.

“Did you think that the divorce is the end? That I would let you have your happy ever after?” Her tone is mocking. Still, she can’t hurt me, like how she used to. I have grown immune to emotional pain, during my time as a Prime Minister.

“Answer the question,” Ferenc hisses by her side. He opens his mouth, and I can see that his fangs are extending.

“I have a question for all of you as well. Do you honestly believe that I work alone?” She might as well have answered the original question, instead of giving us a veiled threat.

“You will tell us everything, then, we will decide what we are going to do with you,” Wei says from the doorway. Albena’s eyes flare with so much hatred when she sees him, that I have to take a step back.

“Murder core, you are a blight on the Cosmos,” she screams. Wei just shrugs.

“You can say whatever you want, Gorgon. But your game is over. You won’t be able to escape,” Wei steps to the side, so that Tim can enter. He looks grim, but determined. “Tim here is a master at picking people’s brains for clues.”

“How is Nate going to take this?” I ask Tim. He doesn’t look at me.

“I have a contract with Wei,” Tim almost sounds like he has been chewing on a lemon up to now. So, he doesn’t want to do this, but Wei is making him.

“Don’t you come closer to me!” Albena yells. A part of me wants to protect her. Yet, I know that the lives of millions of Dru’dru, and other races, depend on us getting the information we need.

“You will never be the same again,” Tim says. I blink at that. Is he going to reprogram her? Tim goes to the woman, and places a hand on top of her hair. The next thing she does, is to scream. Her pain is obvious in her voice. Tim’s eyes glaze over. As if he is seeing something only, he can see.

When Albena nearly falls on the ground, Ferenc catches her. Her tail is already limp and looking like it can’t hold her up, anymore. Tim turns to Wei.

“She has a superior. A dark elf man, known as Barik. I know just where he can be found,” I begin to shake my head at Wei. He looks at me, and places a finger against his lips.

“Not a word to anyone about this, husband,” Wei doesn’t often call me husband. Normally, he just calls me Rod. He won’t listen to reason; I know that much. I spare Albena one last look, and turn around to leave.

“Stay here,” Wei commands me in a cold tone.

I turn around, only to see him tinkering with the teleport capsule. He turns to Timmy, and nods at him.

I suppose that Wei needs him to enter the coordinates. Minutes later, there is a very confused dark elf in the room. Although, his confusion doesn’t last, when he sees Albena. Slumped to the ground, with droll coming out of her mouth.

“Oh, so you do have claws,” the man I suppose is the Barik Tim spoke about, says. He looks at Albena one last time, before holding his hands up. “I demand a fair trial.”

“You don’t know the new rules, that come with the new planet,” Wei says, looking at the dark elf as if he were a pile of feces on the ground. “We are done running. If we let you live, then we will need to run again. I should say I am sorry, but I am not. Not after what you did to my planet!”

“Wei, wait,” I say, but Wei already nods at Tim. With an empty look in his eyes, Timmy produces a needle out of black mana. The next thing I know, he is hurling it at Barik. When the dark elf falls to the ground, and blood pools around his head, Wei finally lets out the breath he was holding.

“This stays between us. As far as everyone is concerned, the Gorgon was never caught. Do you all understand?” Wei asks. We all nod, and watch, as Barik’s corpse turns into mana, and is absorbed into the crystal. Soon after, Albena is ejected outside the crystal. She trashes for a while, and then chokes from lack of air. I close my eyes.

Personally, I find it rather ironic, that we are now in the same situation as the one Tim was in, after he repaired the crystal. Wei comes to me, and places a hand against my cheek.

“We will be isolated, but peaceful. After 100 years, I will release everyone from the crystal, and we will populate Phoenix 1. Now, you should concentrate on making a star for the planet. And Rod? Know I did this for everyone, not just for myself,” I nod then, since no words come to me. At least, Wei is somewhat honest. He doesn’t claim that he did this only for the rest of us.

My arguments which favored Timmy repeat in my mind as a broken record. I place a hand over Wei’s, which is still on my cheek.

“You should get reprogrammed,” I tell him.

“I should, but I won’t,” Wei says, as he takes his hand off my cheek. Already, I miss the warmth that came with his touch. Something that I have the feeling will haunt me, until the rest of my days.