NEBULAR Collection 3 - Morgotradon: Episodes 12 - 16 Read online

  »Perhaps you should fight a more worthy opponent, Raghoon of Persia?« a voice suddenly sounded from the door.

  Morgotradon’s eyes widened and he turned around to see who was speaking. A woman with a drawn sword and a golden shield was standing in the room, blocking the exit.

  »The real Morgotradon would have never conducted himself like this. He was an honorable man!« the woman shouted. »You’re going to die, Brotherhood agent!«

  Morgotradon jumped from the bed to his robe and pulled a similar looking sword from underneath it.

  »Vasina of Atlantika!« he screamed in shock and anger. »I recognize you!«

  »I can no longer say that of you. You are no longer a Progonaut Fleet officer!« she replied grimly.

  »How did you get here without my alarm system sounding?« he responded as coldly.

  »It worked, but you were busy, I see!«

  »Vasina?« Maya Ivanova said mutedly, not believing her eyes.

  Morgotradon pointed his sword at Vasina and stormed toward her with a loud battle cry. She countered his thrust with her shield. The defensive energy field produced by the golden shield threw him across the room. With a painful scream, he slammed into a wall. Maya ran over to Vasina, taking cover behind her.

  Squinting, with hateful eyes, the former Raghoon looked at the two women.

  »That won’t save you … you’ll both die!«

  The sandman opened the door

  Knockmerg ignored his guards’ reports. The portal had flared up three times, but there could have been numerous reasons for that. Since no incoming transport had been received, he chalked it up to a malfunction of some sort.

  Or it could be that his guards were trying to lure him outside and kill him. Knockmerg had to be constantly on the lookout for Treugolans who craved his position as leader. Nevertheless, he decided to make his rounds through the fortress to see how his prisoners were doing. The Lord of the World had ordered him not to kill prisoners, but he hadn’t said that he couldn’t have fun with them. The Treugolan leader reveled in his superior position and bathed in the fear these beings had for him. It satisfied his sadistic personality.

  As Knockmerg walked through the corridors to the cells, he noticed that one of the guards had disobeyed his orders to stay awake. He was lying on the floor asleep. Knockmerg kicked the guard in the side, but the guard didn’t move. He seemed alive, but unconscious! The guard’s muscles were paralyzed, almost as if he had received a hit from a shocker stick.

  He left the guard behind and cautiously continued his walk. He shrugged it off; it was not unknown for his guards to fight even to the point of shocking or murdering each other.

  At a corridor junction, he found another guard on the floor.

  Knockmerg pulled his shocker from his belt and readied the weapon in his right hand. His left hefted a sharp combat hatchet; he whirled it around his wrist.

  Slowly, he continued walking … and found a third guard on the floor. All the guards he had found so far were alive, but paralyzed.

  Knockmerg screamed out in rage. His scream echoed through the prison wing.

  »What is this? A revolt? An uprising against me? You want to get rid of me? Who questions my superiority? Show yourself, you cowards, or go into the dunes as food for the sand fleas!«

  He didn’t get an answer.

  Something wasn’t right. It was completely silent inside this wing. Normally, he could hear the whining, the moaning and groaning of the maltreated prisoners.

  He looked around uncertainly, his eyes sparkling in rage.

  Whoever started this game will die for it!

  Knockmerg stopped before the cell with the Human, Fosset, inside. The lock had been broken open and removed.

  »Who opened this cell?« he yelled into the corridor. The echoes rebounded; none of his horde showed their faces or answered him.

  He kicked the door all the way open.

  Fosset was crouching on the floor, his cellmate close by. The Lotrian, an insectoid being, was shaking like a leaf on a tree, fearful for his life.

  The look of fear in the eyes of the Lotrian pleased Knockmerg immensely.

  Everything seemed alright, but …

  The Human was not behaving as expected! He was usually nervous when he saw Knockmerg, but this time Fosset was very calm. He even presented a broad smile!

  »Why are you showing your teeth in my presence, Human? Do you want me to kick them in, one by one?« Knockmerg growled, and looked around in the cell.

  Fosset got up, towering over Knockmerg by almost a meter, looking down on him.

  »If I were as small as you, I’d be more polite and cautious what I said, you gnome!« Fosset addressed him coolly.

  Knockmerg stepped back and wavered for a moment. He must not have heard right. Then he regained his self-control, whirling the hatchet at Fosset.

  »I’d be happy to cut you shorter, Human! Who opened your cell? If you answer quickly enough, I’ll leave you with one arm!« he threatened.

  Raging, Knockmerg stepped closer toward Fosset. The Human needed to be punished for his words.

  »The sandman opened the door!« Fosset mocked.

  »Who?« Knockmerg didn’t understand the terrestrial term.

  A dull bang sounded and Knockmerg’s head was enveloped by a light-blue aura. He felt a strong energy jolt racing down his spine. His legs collapsed and he fell hard to the floor – paralyzed!

  Fosset clenched his fists as if he wanted to jump Knockmerg. Suddenly, two men appeared out of nowhere, one of them grabbing Fosset and holding him back.

  Knockmerg couldn’t move a limb, but he could hear every word spoken inside the cell.

  »STOP! The ugly gnome is helpless! Revenge is not a good companion,« one of the two men advised softly. The newcomers obviously possessed superior weapons to have so easily taken out Knockmerg.

  »Let him be … and disable all the other guards! Vasina flew to the Crystal Base to look for Maya Ivanova – we didn’t find her here inside the fortress. Stay here, Fosset, and wait for our signal. We’ll be back in a short while.«

  Both men disappeared again while Fosset stared at the gnome on the floor. He had to control himself with all his might not to kill Knockmerg for everything the gnome had done to him and the prisoners.

  Before Vasina went to the Crystal Palace, she had paralyzed the guards with Arkroid’s and Pi’s help and located Fosset. The philanthropist had an implanted emergency transmitter that activated if Fosset’s vital signs reached a critical level. It had been devised for medical reasons, but now it functioned as a true emergency beacon whose weak signals had been detected by the Techno-Ferry.

  My best friend

  Morgotradon seemed ready to pounce.

  »Retreat, Maya Ivanova, quickly! I shall try to hold him here,« Vasina hissed at Maya keeping her eyes fixed on Morgotradon.

  »I don’t know how you survived all these years, but this is your last day, Vasina of Atlantika! You don’t know who you are facing!« Morgotradon announced coolly.

  Vasina looked at him, sized him up, and laughed.

  »I know that you’re a traitor and a Brotherhood agent! Don’t expect any mercy from me!«

  Morgotradon leaped forward with a battle cry, aiming for Vasina’s left knee. He quickly turned around and swung at Vasina’s head, missing her by millimeters. A lock of her black hair fell to the floor.

  He laughed.

  »If you like, I’ll cut all your hair from your pretty head.«

  Vasina pressed her lips together and jumped forward to try to gain the upper hand. She was forced to defend against a series of hits that rained down on her in fast succession. Slowly, she was able to back Morgotradon out of the room, into the adjacent hall.

  »You still know how to handle the sword – but not well enough, Princess! You should’ve brought an energy weapon!« he teased her.

  Again he launched a barrage of hits at her. Vasina lost her footing and staggered. Recovering, she was able to use her sh
ield, pushing him further into the room.

  Morgotradon looked at her with hate-filled eyes.

  »Huh … the Princess of Atlantika needs to carry her shield all by herself. Can’t you afford a shield bearer? Who was it again … the young boy, who adored you like a goddess? Herkales?«

  Vasina concentrated her efforts. She knew he was trying to make her angry, so she would make mistakes. She needed to cut Morgotradon off from his clothes, and could not allow him to return to the bedroom where he might have energy weapons of his own. He would not hesitate to use them!

  Again Vasina drove him back with a few solid hits. Her sword barely missed his head. Then they both paused, glancing at each other.

  »What did you do to the crystal statues in the other room, you pervert?« she yelled at him, breathing heavily.

  »Are you already running out of breath, my dear Princess? Those are botched trials. Not all lifeforms react to the crystals in the same way. Sometimes the crystals grow out of control. The correct dosage is important to prepare the agitators, do you understand? No? Perhaps I should try them on you, let you find out for yourself. Better to have two sex-slaves than just one. What do you think?«

  Morgotradon’s laugh disgusted her. He didn’t value life at all!

  »As Queen of Atlantika and ruler over the Progonaut Houses, I sentence you to death!« she shouted at him and whirled her sword over her head. »The sentence is to be executed at once!«

  Morgotradon thrust toward Vasina and drove her back. Their sword blades buzzed through the air, each of them trying to gain an advantage. Morgotradon made a surprise move and hit her with his sword hilt on her head. Vasina fell, briefly unconscious.

  Morgotradon laughed hard and held his sword at her chest, ready to stab her.

  »You should’ve brought an energy weapon!« he mocked again. »Sword fights are not your game, Vasina!«

  Suddenly, Maya Ivanova was standing in the hall and screaming at him, »Is this what you‘re looking for?«

  She held a Treugolan shocker in her right hand. She must have found it in one of the adjacent rooms.

  »Drop your sword, Morgotradon … NOW!« she commanded harshly. He ignored her command. She fired the weapon at him, grazing his right arm.

  The sword fell out of his hand and at the same time, he leaped at Maya with a curse of pain. Maya didn’t have time to fire her weapon twice. He gripped her, with his left hand, by the throat and effortlessly lifted her up into the air, pinning her against a wall.

  Maya Ivanova heard her neck crackling, but the hateful look in Morgotradon’s eyes was worse than the pain.

  »I gave you a chance, Human woman! A chance no other woman ever had. I offered you immortality! – Power! You’ve chosen death! So be it!«

  Maya croaked, her face starting to turn blue. With all her might she tried, uselessly, to kick at his groin. Her arms started to twitch nerveless, when he suddenly let her go.

  Maya hit the floor hard and tried to crawl away from him. Morgotradon didn’t move; he just looked down at her, a confused, uncomprehending look on his face. He slowly turned around, as his legs collapsed, falling face down onto the floor.

  With a scream Maya jumped back, and hit the wall. Fine crystal dust rained down on her; she tried frantically to sweep it off her shoulders.

  Morgotradon was still breathing then he slumped and lay still.

  Vasina’s sword was stuck in his back.

  Breathing heavily, bleeding from her head wound, Vasina came over to Maya, pausing to kick the Brotherhood agent in the side.

  »That was tough!« was all she said as she reached for Maya’s hand.

  »We haven’t met, but I’ve heard a lot about you,« Ivanova remarked in a croaking voice. »I won’t forget what you’ve done for me. I’d about given up. Who was this monster?«

  Maya rose on trembling knees and watched Vasina pull her sword out of Morgotradon’s back. The fatal wound was barely visible, nor did it seem to bleed much.

  »He used to be a Progonaut fleet commander. You may not want to believe this, but I knew him as a Raghoon of the House of Persia, an honorable man, one who had earned the trust of the Progonaut Senate. This … here …,« she gestured at Morgotradon, »… is not the person I knew.«

  »Wait!« Maya requested, before Vasina could turn to leave the scene. She ran back to the bedroom and returned with the memory cube in her hand. »I think you’ll want this! It tells his story and the stories of many of your proud and courageous people.«

  Vasina took the cube and put it in a pocket, while she glanced around.

  »We have to get out of here fast. Are you strong enough? There are probably security measures in place that will activate after his death.«

  »A moment, please,« Maya held Vasina’s arm. »I’m not leaving without my friend. Please, help me!«

  »Your friend?« Vasina inquired incredulously.

  »My best friend!« Maya said, and walked out of the hall.

  »Wait!« Vasina yelled after her. She looked down at Morgotradon one last time, and then followed Maya.

  They entered Morgotradon’s abode, built deep into the volcano. After fifteen minutes they discovered a wing with prison cells, and found Paafnas. He was lying on the floor, and did not react to their presence.

  »Come on in!« Maya told Vasina. Still shifting her eyes looking for possible enemies, Vasina entered the cell.

  »Is that your friend?« Vasina asked worriedly.

  »His name is Paafnas. He’s a neuronal analyzer from the planet Pleunat. He’s coming with us!«

  Maya lifted the alien effortlessly; Paafnas was a lot lighter than he looked. They left the cell and headed for the exit.

  Vasina had switched her sword for an energy weapon, holding the shield in front of them. Several symbols suddenly activated on the shield’s inner casing. Vasina stopped briefly.

  »What is it?«

  »Warning symbols. Energy sources have been activated in this area. We have to hurry!«

  When they reached the Crystal Palace’s outer perimeters, Vasina stopped again.

  »Look!«

  The shield had engulfed Vasina, Maya and Paafnas in a light-blue energy field.

  »What’s happened?« Maya asked testily.

  »Morgotradon … he’s gone!« Vasina yelled.

  Maya twitched. The spot where Vasina had left Morgotradon’s body was empty.

  »Come!« Vasina commanded in a hard voice.

  Maya did her best to keep up, and they finally arrived at the large overhanging terrace.

  »His spaceship is gone, too!« Maya looked at the empty landing field.

  Vasina deactivated her shield and ran over to the landing field. She looked around and noted the after glare of the Tachyon Portal.

  She activated the comm-link to the Techno-Ferry, to warn the ship.

  »Techno-Ferry, a transport via the Tachyon Portal just occurred. Can you detect the transmit vector and follow it with your sensors?«

  »Already done, Vasina,« the ship replied. »I’ve also detected an energy source of a higher order which is being established inside the volcano as we speak. It could be a weapon or a self-destruction.«

  Vasina paled.

  »Understood!« she acknowledged.

  »Who were you talking to?« Maya wanted to know.

  »That was our ship,« she replied. »You'll find out more later.«

  »You should know that there’s a fleet of Trox guardians deployed in this system,« Maya told her. Vasina nodded her acknowledgement.

  »We have a more serious problem,« Vasina explained. »Our ship can’t land here without the Trox detecting it, and we can’t stay here. A mechanism has been activated that will probably vaporize the entire volcano and adjacent area … and we’re in the middle of it!«

  All of them

  Lai Pi and Arkroid systematically paralyzed the Treugolan guards and returned to Fosset’s cell. The philanthropist was still sitting on the floor, together with his cellmate, and jumped up as Arkr
oid and Pi deactivated their dimensional shields and entered the small room.

  »I’m glad to see you. I was afraid that Knockmerg would recover from his paralysis before you came back,« Fosset said, relieved. »Since when do we have such stealth technology?«

  »It’s not ours,« Arkroid replied, and noticed that his communicator had activated. A second later Vasina’s voice sounded urgently from the device.

  »Arkroid … we’re in trouble! The Lord of the World has escaped and fled through the portal with his ship. I don’t know why he left instead of sending his guard ships after us. Maybe it was the wound I dealt him. No normal Human or Progonaut could have survived an injury like that! Unknown energy sources are coming online inside his abode. The Techno-Ferry is expecting the worst.«

  »How is Maya Ivanova doing?« Arkroid asked quickly.

  »She’s okay and with me. We’ll leave the Crystal Base and come over to you. My shield’s gravitation technology is strong enough for the three of us.«

  »Three of you?« Pi inquired, mesmerized.

  »We’re bringing another being with us. Ivanova insisted. The being is very weak.«

  Vasina broke the link.

  Arkroid looked at Knockmerg, still lying motionless on the floor, breathing flatly.

  »I don’t know how much longer the paralysis will last. We don’t know anything about these gnomes. We took care of twenty of them. Do you know how many are living inside the fortress?« he asked Fosset.

  »No idea. Fifty, maybe more. We never saw them all together. And I have no idea where the other Treugolans could be.«

  Knockmerg began to make soft noises and stirred.

  »Let’s go, Fosset! He’s coming to. The other ones are also probably …«

  »… but what about all the other prisoners?« Fosset interrupted. »We can’t just leave them! The Treugolans will wake up looking for revenge and they’ll take it out on the other prisoners – to their deaths!«

  »Please, help me,« a murmured voice came from their universal translation device. The device translating the whistling noises from Fosset’s cellmate.

  Arkroid and Pi looked at each other guiltily.