Stripped Bare

We had no other Choice

Dante POV

Damien's condition could only be reversed by a plant that grew on our home planet. But as far as my parents could remember, our home had been destroyed by the sudden influx of beast-like creatures, rampaging their way into making the planet habitable for their kind and a superior race of humans.

This had led to my people seeking refuge on the very planet the intruders had originally come from, planet Earth, with the help of Damien's father, Darius, or Zarynthian as they knew him.

Zarynthian, a citizen of New Earth, had taken it upon himself to save our species from extinction, by helping us survive under the Earth's core. Now here, I was forced to decide, due to the gravity of the situation, which had left my beloved in a coma, no thanks to a substance, created by Bader's accomplices.

Darius/ Zarynthian had the foresight to give me the commission to command the space station with the intention for it to be a guiding light to a path for a new home for my people. I had accepted it, knowing that Damien would willingly be by my side, but not in this condition.

I was distraught but if it was going to take a lifetime for my lover to heal properly and thoroughly, I would go to the ends of the Earth and beyond the stars to do it.

So now, the task was up to me, and as we prepared to leave, my heart felt heavy with the prospect of leaving these wonderful people, who have become not only my friends but were whom I considered my family.

Dr. Sam Grenley and her staff made sure that Damien was safely ensconced in the hyper-baric chamber which would be his home during the journey into space, until we could rendezvous with the space station, before continuing onto the home planet.

Zack had prepared us with the correct coordinates beforehand, making sure all the details were in place. Bron had offered to come with us, but Darius was already heart-broken that Damien would be leaving in that condition, and I sensed the man's worry escalating for his other son.

The only thing that I could do was to console the man, in the hopes that we would find the cure soon, which could help restore my beloved Damien to his former self.

It was literally heartbreaking as I embraced my newfound friends. I could not believe how time had passed, and that we had shared so many memorable moments, however brief, due to the circumstances of our missions. I recalled every single precious moment of having first met Walid, then Sam and Randy.

In my mind's eye, I perceived the looming shadow of General Adams, my adoptive father's twin brother, the discovery of which had given me quite a shocking revelation, and my first introduction to The Organization, which would become my home, opening me up to opportunities I never thought I'd have.

If it wasn't for any of these people, who now stood before me, sorrowful at having to say 'goodbye', that I would never have met the one person whom I had fallen in love with...Damien.

Randy Junior, Randy's little boy, even gave up his favorite toy for Damien to have as a keepsake. I promised the young man that I would pass it onto his 'Unka' as soon as I was able.

Since I was in command of the mother ship, KALA, Gaia and Prion boarded the other ship, with Kyron guiding the others to follow us. As our ships shook off the earthly graves that were once their hiding place, I turned back once more to see the faces of my friends whom I would miss for the longest time, but this was to be the most important journey of my life, as my beloved Damien's life depended on it.

The plant, KAVNAR-8 was on my home planet, and now that we had prevented its' demise, I was certain we would find it intact, and that our people would be received with open arms.

Darius' head technician, Zack and his most trusted AI Unit, Arturo would be together with us, to stay on board the space station to help with Damien's recovery once I made sure my people were safely settled.

Then, I would make my return journey to the station to assist wherever I could once we found the plant, taking its' medicinal oils to create a compound to be mixed with the batch of antidote Zack had made.

My parents would make the journey back with me and stay on the space station for a while, before departing for home. This was the plan, and hopefully nothing would stand in our way.

We remained in constant communication with Darius and his team on Earth, as we sped towards the space station first, to deposit Zack, Arturo and Damien there, but a huge anomaly stood in our way.

I had never encountered a black hole before, but from what my parents had told me, it was quite a scary experience since it could deposit us anywhere in the galaxy, even far from our designated destination!

But it's gravitational pull was immense, drawing the ship into its' center with such velocity, that even our thrusters had little or no effect on it. We even tried using our abilities on it, but for some reason, it was giving me a migraine as the process was quite exhaustive, depleting our energies.

As we succumbed to the sheer force of it, I was suddenly aware of a low hum invading our ears which we were all subjected to. The mind-numbing hum grew louder in consistency, as we were drawn inside the massive black hole.

For a moment, it felt as if all time and space had ground to a standstill. The humming was no longer present, as our ship continued to float in nothingness for what seemed like an eternity. We were almost at the point of despair, since we had no means to contact anyone, for being in a black hole created a barrier, ceasing all communication devices, until we could find our way out of it hopefully.

I had to try, since I was the only one of my people it seemed that had the strength to pull us out of here. I asked for the help of the collective, and felt their own life force surge through me. Aiming my hands out towards the blackness, I remembered the chant that Damien had taught me.

Using it to retain my focus as well as calm my mind, I centered all my energy into that blackness, trying to pinpoint the way forwards. I ordered the ensign to ease the ship into preparation mode, for the jump to lightspeed. It was not until my young Ensign, Miro yelled out loud, seeing some form of light beyond the blackness.

I gave the signal as soon we finally found a way out of the anomaly and emerged, fleeing from it as we made the leap. The sudden crackling of interplanetary jargon awakened our communication devices to life once more, and we were relieved to hear Darius on the other end of it.

After having explained our situation, and of how our initial plan had been botched, we were now checking our coordinates, hoping to find some solution of getting back to the station.

But then, through our communications, I felt drawn to the huge bay windows that displayed a great, and glorious sight to us...we were home!