Beyond Light

Cosmical Redefinition.

“What’s happening?” asked a soldier, raising his TR6. The others did the same, aiming at the device in the center.

“Hold your weapons,” ordered John. “Don’t fire.”

The blue hologram slowly built itself, like the virtual 3D representation of a spaceship getting assembled. All the light parts eventually formed a particular shape John had seen before: a short prism of six faces. The face staring at them possessed a smaller hexagon, filled with eight red lights resembling the eyes of a spider.

The translucid blue light vanished for a second, and the colors of the holographic figure turned to dark shades of grey and black. The octoeyes glowed and glared in a red intenser than blood itself, as well as the smaller lights on both lower and upper sections.

“...It’s that thing,” Derek bit his own teeth and frowned. He almost wanted to lower his dual Rowies and unleash fire.

“So, Goliath is presenting himself to us,” mocked Doctor Winslow. “I knew that thing got something to do with all of this.”

The soldiers were about to speak, but they were interrupted. A spine-chilling, distorted, and grave voice spoke through the device.

“So, the lessers desiring greatness have come. Again. Interesting. Resilience is what makes you so interesting, human.”

John’s heart skipped a beat. “...Who are you?”

“...Salvation. I am salvation. The one who shall guide your species Beyond Light and darkness. You are weak in your current form. But I can make you stronger. I shall make you stronger. It’s your destiny on the greatest plan of everything.”

The three men in nightingale armor traded looks. “What’s that about?" asked John. "Did you attack the Eternity of Return? What are your intentions? Where is everyone your insects kidnapped?”

“Your current form won’t survive," the colossal ignored his question. "your conscience won’t survive. It’s useless. You must join us. I will guide you forwards to the ascension you were planned to achieve, ever since you were meaningless bacteria.”

Confusion and the breeze of anxiety flooded the alien laboratory. John kept insisting. “I’ll ask again. Who are you? Where are the humans you kidnaped?”

But the machine still didn't care about his mundane questions. “Cosmical redefinition awaits. Tell me something. Why are you so eager to reach what you were destined to? You do not comprehend anything.”

“Doesn’t that sound like...?” Derek and John crossed looks, sharing the same feeling.

The colossal ship continued. “But I will guide you to understanding, as I have done before with your relatives. Bend yourselves to us. Fighting is futile.”

John’s trip to the remains of the Eternity of Return kicked in; he remembered the similar things the corrupted Hydra murmured before collapsing to her death. She didn’t say any nonsense out of her damage...

“So, this bastard did attack and kill our people,” growled Derek. John realized how the big man was the epitome of a drill sergeant. “Where is everyone? We’re not going to ask again.”

“To reach your next form, you must submit first. With our help,” responded the holographic machine. “Your arrogance is going to be the first weakness you must get rid of, lesser creature. And it’s in my job to mend you.”

“What the heck is the meaning of that?” asked Heinrich, but again, the colossal platform didn’t care. The hologram ended, and the image dissipated.

“Answer us, you coward!” barked Sergeant Williams. “Damn. Seems like we lost it.”

“And now we know what happened. This fucker took our people and god-knows-what he plans to do with them,” John felt scorching impotence rushing in his chest.

Although they now knew —albeit vaguely— that it was that 100km large ship the one who obliterated the Eternity of Return, what made John feel the most anger was how they still didn’t know anything about the dreadnought's crew. About Blair. They weren’t making any progress. But it was clear that gigantic monster had lured them into something.

“So, what the heck was it talking about?” said Doctor Winslow. “Sounded like a crazy old-deluded cultist. Like the ones in the movies.”

“Hey, keep quiet,” Derek suddenly said, keeping himself still. “Can you hear that?”

They all stood still and looked right, left, and up with frowns and mildly open lips. After a few seconds, a mild hissing, similar to cryopods initiating a thawing process sounded.

“Hey, look at those tanks,” a soldier signaled upwards.

They looked at the tanks filled with fluorescent green extending more than 100 meters up. The first 50 pods at the first row on the ground began to drain their liquid interiors. Empty, their hatches slowly rose up, showing inside humanoid figures in black and white.

“What the?!” yelled a soldier.

The six of them rose their TR6 and aimed. The hatches ended to spread, and the figures inside fell to the metallic floor, like scuba divers with lungs about to explode. They gasped and panted for air, and didn’t seem to notice the humans around them.

Their distance would not allow them to spot anything better; John took the first step ahead, his L23n firework shooter going first. “Wait! What do you think you’re doing?” complained Medchief Winslow. Derek tapped his chest and pointed his two SMGs to give him cover.

John noticed what they had on them, feeling a swirl of surprise, relief, discomfort, and daringness: mauled white clothes of golden margins, stained with red and blue blood spots, black burns, and green liquid; the unmistakable ceremonial INN uniform.

John's heart skipped a beat. The signals indeed came from the Eternity of Return, after all. That machine must have amplified the strength of their biochips.

Biochips! He activated the Personnel Recognition Analyzer (PRA) integrated on his helmet; the names of all of them got displayed on his HUD above their heads; Hector Gomez, Stacy Winston, Ruth Clark, Jebb Eriksson, Alberto Ramirez, Linda Hoffmann… The names of Blair Star or Jay Cortez didn’t figure out between them.

“Damn,” Derek and Heinrich approached. “these are our people. That monster must have done something to them.”

“Goliath, Goliath, Goliath... What kind of thing did you do to our pups?“ Doctor Winslow approached the first crewman three meters in front of them. John read his identification as ‘Alberto Ramirez’.

“Wait there!” Derek yelled lowly. “You don’t know if…”

“What?” Heinrich raised his boot and jabbed the thawed man in front. “Who are you? Can you speak?”

The man didn’t respond. He kept looking down. Now that John thought about it, no faces could be seen between them, either by darkness or because they were hunching to the ground so much like prisoners begging for mercy.

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” insisted Heinrich again, pushing the man harder. He yielded, falling on his back.

What they thought was still human revealed its true appearance once exposed to the green light coming from above. “Oh my damned god,” cursed Derek. “Look at what they did to them.”

The only human thing left was his figure; his face had been so carved that only mauled, rotting pieces of flesh detaching from their skulls remained. His eyeballs had been replaced by two circular devices illuminating in red, and his nose was gone, revealing the central hole on his cranium

His mouth was permanently open. A black, cylindrical device stuck out from it and extended through his chin like a bear trap.

But the worst was his chest and hands; his torso was open up, but instead of showing blood and organs, it was crammed with smaller devices making a whole circuit inside him. His hands were missing, replaced by fingerless tubes with red lights on their middle. His legs had also been cut off; replaced by thick, bent prostheses.

“Goddamnit,” said Heinrich. “What the f**k is this madness?

John had never thought the unadapted medic would complain about something being twisted. He felt his heart contracting on itself with a frozen press. That goddamn monster.

“Well, sorry, I’m making you a favor,” pronounced Doctor Winslow. The thunder of a polonium-chloride shot whistled through the room, making everyone jump on themselves and look at him.

The lobotomized, disfigured man laid on a growing puddle of his blood. The med chief saved his AM1 pistol back on his waist. “Sorry. You must understand it.”

“What the hell was that for?” Derek jabbed his chest. “You just killed him!”

“Him?” Doctor Winslow defended himself. “Not him. It. There’s nothing we can do. The best is to just kill them all.”

Derek wore anger on his mature face. He raised his shoulders and was about to respond, but John intervened. “Stop, you two.”

Thinking that Blair could be inside of any of those unopen pods, transformed into one of those twisted living carcasses was something his mind was unable to process, but as the leader, he needed to remain cool-headed no matter what.

“This is what that thing meant when it told us to join its ‘Redefinition, ‘Ascension, ‘Greatest plan… Goddamnit,” he said.

“Things are gonna get friggin’ intense soon. What do we do with these ones left?” Doctor Winslow swept his hand to signal the altered crewmen around. They all were immobile, breathing hard and making dry noises on the floor, numb to any external stimuli. “I say we put them to sleep...”

“You say we kill them?” Derek argued again. “The people we came to rescue in the first place? You are insane.”

“What? Can you say otherwise? These people are dead. This is no longer them. The best we can do is to euthanize them. It’s clear Goliath is planning to do something with them. Let’s frustrate his madness some bit.”

Derek looked with disdain at him and then at John. “Commander? What should we do?”

John’s mind was paralyzed. He knew that Heinrich was right. There was nothing they could do for them, and that giant ship obviously wanted them for its ‘Ascension’ or whatever delusions it believed in. But Derek was right too. They had come there to save them, not to kill them...

What would Blair have done if he found John in that place in such a condition? He would have tried to save him, despite how lobotomized and transformed his mind and body were. Even if he was not there, it didn’t feel right to just put a bullet on those people's heads and leave them to rot there.

“Cap?” said Heinrich. “I know what you must be thinking, but they can’t be saved. They’re all gone.”

John didn’t respond, still overwhelmed by his thoughts. But he had to make a decision; as the commander and captain, if he hesitated or didn’t act fast everything could go wrong. He drowned his feelings.

“Alright,” he slowly nodded. “the Doctor’s right. These are no longer our people.”

Derek wanted to say something, but he kept himself quiet. He understood it too, but as John had heard, the Sergeant Major had lost many people in the past that he could have saved. Was he trying to not commit any more mistakes? John empathized with him, but there was nothing to be saved in that place of morbid grim.

Doctor Winslow drew his AM1. “You’ve heard him,” John informed the soldiers. “Let’s do it.”

They all traded hesitating looks, but looking at the withered carcasses lying on the ground made them realize they were actually going to do an act of mercy. But the cylindrical device in the middle of the room dazzled in red, grabbing everyone’s attention.

The distorted voice spoke again. “Why are you so cruel and inconsiderate? These are your brothers and sisters. You ought to defend them, not harm them. We are all an eternal family bound to a destiny of joint greatness. Blood protects blood. It doesn't harm it.”

Fire and shots began to thunder outside of the diamond-shaped room. “Commander Star? We’re under fire! Those robots have returned!” a soldier screamed through the com. channel. Shots and explosions came from his side.

"Hold on," responded John. "We're coming back!"

“But I will teach you the eternal lesson,” continued the super alien ship. “Vow before us. Join us and adopt your next form.”

“We need to get outta here!” cried a soldier. The fifty human experiments abandoned their numbness. They clumsily began to get up, letting out growls and shrieks of grief, pain, and anger. They stared with intense hatred at the pure humans and lounged.

“Let’s go. Fire at will!" ordered John.