Crimsonstar/Homecoming: Part II
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Fourteen hours. The drone Dr. Sheppard and her assistant, Robby, had sent through the portal to Andromeda 3 lasted fourteen hours. After that their video capture showed the drone simply falling apart and collapsing in a pile of junk. Another drone sent in after the first one had the same results. Fourteen hours later it too had just fallen apart. Now she was out two advanced survey drones and Portal Corps was down six hundred thousand dollars. They decided to risk one more drone, but this one was sent to simply extract the debris from the first two and return it to their lab. At first they weren’t even sure if the drone would be able to return with the wreckage. The trip there could have easily been a one way ticket as far as they had known. Fortunately the portal did prove to be bi-directional and they were able to bring the scrap metal back for inspection.
She leaned back from the electron microscope, rubbing her eyes. She had been studying various bits of the drones from wiring, to circuit boards to it’s outer casing. Every piece she looked at confirmed what had happened to both of the drones. Atrophy. She grabbed her coffee mug, saw it was empty, stood up to refill it and noticed the coffee pot was also empty. “Who’s turn was it to make a new pot?” she asked staring into the bottom of the glass pot.
“Your’s” answered Robby without looking up from the electro analysis scans he had taken. She prepared a fresh pot and rested her hands on the table top as it brewed. She was more holding herself up then resting her hands. The two of them had been studying the remains for hours. “What time is it?” she groaned.
“Either too late or too early depending on your viewpoint.” He said. He turned around, dropping his file of test results on the table. “So, what’s your opinion?” he said digging into a bag of potato chips, finding it empty and crumpled it up and threw it at the trash can where it missed and landed on the floor. Neither one moved to get it, they were both too exhausted to care.
“Molecular breakdown.” She said and started preparing her mug with cream and sugar. She didn’t even wait for the pot to finish, grabbing it as soon as it had brewed enough for one mug. Robby nodded to her. “I’d have to agree. Everything I’ve looked at it suggests that part of the drones composition was just, missing.” She sat down, taking a piece of a damaged circuit board looking at it briefly before tossing it back on the table. “That’s what I’m seeing. The best way I can even think of describing it is like a model airplane that was put together without any glue. The things just fell apart.”
“But why? What’s causing them to just, disintegrate? “
“I’d say thirty million light years.”
“Huh?”
“The distance to Andromeda, it’s too far to send a physical object through the portal. The structural integrity of the drones literally becomes weakened, and they molecules simply lose cohesion.” She said. “The stresses the energy matrix the portal creates must affect the polarity of the atoms causing them to lose their chemical bond.”
“So, kind of like the transporter in Star Trek? All the molecules aren’t getting reassembled right from one point to the next.” He said. Jessica took a sip of her coffee while rubbing her forehead with her free hand. “Robby, please don’t use fantasy television show science for your analogies.” He got up and poured himself a fresh mug of coffee, stopping to collect the discarded bag and toss it in the wastebasket he’d previously missed. “Okay so, what does this mean?”
She started to gather the pieces of the demolished drones and returning them to the sample cases they had been brought in. “It means we sure as hell don’t want to send anything living through it. Which means Marsius won’t be going home through it either.”
“Couldn’t we boost the power on the portal? Maybe amplify the connection signal.” He suggested. She shook her head. “Management is already bitching about the drain on the power supply now. They’re definitely not going to let us sap any more. Besides, even if we could send him there, the molecular breakdown would only give him maybe two hours, and I’m not sure if the damage would or could be repaired on the return trip.” She set the sample bins on the pallets reserved for waste and started to gather their notes. “If we had our own individual power supply, then maybe we could manage it.”
“What about your sister, Samantha? Didn’t you say she’s dating some rich guy, heir to some chemical company? You know the rich, they’re always looking for some new technology to invest in hoping to increase their riches.” She grabbed her purse, heading to the door. “I am not opening this to private funding and risk getting some starry eyed millionaire looking to further his financial empire at the expense of exploiting the Andromedan system, or Marsius. I’m going to the ladies room. I think we’re done for the night, morning,…whatever.”
“O-kay then.” Robby said watching her go. He started cleaning up and noticed the issue of Fantastic Figures magazine that was sticking out of the pocket of her coat. The cover featured Crimsonstar. He glanced back at the door, then back to the magazine. “I think I see why she’s so invested in this project.”
She entered her apartment as the sun was just starting to peer over the horizon. She undressed as she walked down the hall to her bedroom, leaving her clothes wherever they dropped, she would put them in the wash later. Opening the doors to her walk in closet she stepped in to the back corner. She placed the magazine on the special rack she bought for the various magazines and comics she had collected of him. The walls were covered with his posters, flyers of public his public appearances, newspapers of his arrival and his fight in the Rikti war. She picked up the new action figure of him that Kemler toys had produced, stroked the almost lifelike hair, smoothed down his cape. She gave it a little kiss on the head before sitting it back down on the table along with the other assorted toys made in his likeness that she had accumulated. She fell asleep with the children’s blanket that bore his symbol and name held to her breast.
Three Weeks later..
Dr. Sheppard’s testing facility had ceased looking like a scientific research lab and more like a military operation. Armed guards from the Marines were now posted at the doors to her lab, at the back of the room at the emergency exits, and one on each side of the portal. Also, agents of the NSA were present from the time she came in early in the morning until when she left late in the evening. She did not at all care for their presence but at least most of them simply stood as observers in the back of the room, occasionally speaking softly into small microphones hidden in the sleeves of their suits. Most of them with the exception of Agent Reynolds. He was constantly watching her every move as if he expected her at any moment to produce and detonate a nuclear device. Then there was his endless parade of questions. Dr. Sheppard did not trust him. She tolerated him and his agents simply because in order to continue her work, she either had to accept them in her lab, or discontinue the work altogether.
“The matter is not open for discussion.” He had told her when they showed up at Portal Corps, along with full military detachment. “Your work represents a severe risk to national safety and as of now all of your records and future contacts with the Andromeda system will be done under our supervision. You will be kept on hand as it is of course your work that’s made contact possible, but we will decide if and when you make further contact and the extent to what information said contact will contain.”
“This is bullshit.” She said defiantly, her hands on her hips. Marsius had come with them when they swarmed across the Portal Corps grounds, but he stayed behind Agent Reynolds, not speaking. Jessica could tell that even in this matter, he had no control. Agent Reynolds took a clipboard from an agent off to his right side and handed it to her so she could read the documents there. “No, what’s bullshit is your willingness to open a transdimensional portal to another galaxy without federal approval. I’m sure you’re aware of mandate R452.775/A445.” She shook her head as she started to read over the document that showed that not only did the NSA now control her work, but that the CEO of Portal Corps himself had signed over full authority to them.
“No, what is mandate, R452……whatever.” She asked, flipping through pages madly. He flipped the clipboard pages to a particular sheet and tapped it. “Instituted after the Rikti attacks, it states that any and all existing or future technologies designed and built for the express purpose of extra-terrestrial contact or transport be approved and overseen by the National Security Office and national defense under order of the Commander in Chief.” He snatched the clipboard away from her. “I could have you arrested where you stand for not having first contacted us before you even hooked your portals up to the Andromedan ship.”
“You have to be kidding me? You think the Andromedan’s could even prove to be the same kind of threat to the planet that the Rikti were?” She pointed at Marsius. “Just look at Marsius, he even came here to help us fend off their attack, for God’s sake!” Agent Reynolds snapped his fingers and his aide handed him another folder which he in turn thrust in front of her.
“I’ve already looked at Marisus. I suggest you do the same.” He said. “Major Glenn!” he yelled and a Marine officer stepped up to him. “You may begin your sweeps and implementing security measures.” And he turned away from Dr. Sheppard leaving her to read the file he had handed her. She quickly scanned it and looked up at Marisus who still stood silently. “My God, Marsius, is this true?” she asked, but all he could do was nod to her, not meeting her eyes.
They were the only two in the break room at Portal Corps. Agent Sheppard and his men had ushered them out of the lab while they set up new security protocols. They sat down with the cheap cheeseburgers and fries they had purchased from the commissary.
“These are,…..horrible.” Marsius said after having taken a bite of his and slowly chewed it. “I think even the synthesized protein foods my ship produces are better than this.”
“Well I don’t know about those, but I agree, this is disgusting.” Jessica said. She set hers down back on the plate and slid it away from her. She folded her hands in front of her face looking at him. He took a drink of his water and returned her stare. He set it down, let out a long sigh. “It was over the summer. I had decided to relocate myself to an apartment in Founders Falls. Before then I was basically still living in my ship when it was located in the warehouse the city provided me, out in the crash zone.”
“I remember reading something about that.” She said.
“I had come to the realization that Earth was now my home, and if I was going to accept that, then I needed to make an attempt to become part of the populace as well. I started to work more extensively with other heroes, getting to know the men and women who also put their lives on the line for the safety of others. I met Alumette and the members of the Dawn Patrol. I had known of their organization five years ago when I arrived on Earth to help fight off the Rikti. I worked with them, and got to know them and they graciously invited me into their ranks. Of course I had worked briefly with other groups of heroes, but Dawn Patrol was the first one where I felt the members were as committed as I to the long term goal of a better, unified planet, and not just containing the evils of the world. Only as I continued to work with them I become more and more aware that despite our best efforts, the world was not ready to change. I became, frustrated.”
“Earth and her people have such a great capacity to become a wonderful, beautiful world, much like my home in Andromeda. But I was seeing too few men and women, taking the steps toward making Earth the paradise it could and should be. Wars are fought for land, religious differences, or mineral resources. In all this I saw nothing but waste and apathy on the part of your leaders. I,….took it upon myself to correct that.”
“What do you mean by ‘correct’?” Jessica asked. Marsius looked away from her, staring down at the table top. “I went to the United Nations Security Council and made it known that Earth would be unified, by my hand. I declared that if they would not put aside the petty differences among themselves and the rest of the world, I would do it for them.” He looked back up at her. “Their response was naturally not what I was expecting.”
She put her hand to her mouth, trying to lessen the shocked look on her face. “Oh my God, Marsius.”
“It doesn’t end there. Once I realized that not only were they not going to accept my plan, to say nothing of the quickly approaching security forces about to storm in on me, I immediately left and decided on another course of action. I believed that I had been foolhardy to try and force all the nations to change at once and that it must start with one nation and work outward from there. Then I made yet another foolish decision and made my way for the Camp David Presidential retreat.”
“I caused quite a bit of damage there on the armed forces, and even had a run in with Eagle’s Claw, a super human team that exists for the sole purpose of protecting the President.” He noticed that she had slid back slightly from their table. She had her hands in her lap and her face looked as if she might at any moment abandon him there. “Jessica, it is important that you know this, I was never intending to hurt him. I was enraged, yes, but my sole purpose was to talk with the man, to try and get him to see that this country, America, for all its might and power among the world, HAD to be the one to lead the way for change. My actions were fueled by what can only be called by you as a God complex, and like many before me, I had noble goals, but did not exercise any common sense in carrying them out.”
“I had been warned of course that my actions would not be successful. There was one member of the Dawn Patrol, someone I consider very close to me, who tried to reason with me. She told me that while she agreed with me on the point that Earth needed to be one, the way I was going to do it was not the right way to achieve its unification.”
“She?” Jessica said a small frown betraying her hidden emotions. Marsius nodded. “Yes, and it was also her that came to my aid when I needed it most. She learned of my battle with Eagle’s Claw as it was happening and went out of her way to not only make a phone call to desperately get hold of someone in charge at Camp David, but she provided them with my entire dossier from the Dawn Patrol’s files. She has never said so, but I believe she put her own status in peril by doing so. Had Gra…Alumette, not made that phone call, I would no doubt wouldn't be sitting here today. Later, when the fight was over, and I had spent several hours in incarceration, I went to her apartment, tired, beaten and humiliated. I went to beg forgiveness for having not heeded her words, and to thank her for having come to my rescue. She could have easily turned me away, instead she not only forgave me, but took it upon herself to tend my injuries and help me come to terms with my short lived insanity.” He looked up at her. “And that, Jessica, is why you now have NSA agents taking control of your project. As Agent Reynolds so eloquently told me, I am now under their watchful eye and they want to ensure that what happened with me doesn’t occur again with another individual, or group of individuals from Andromeda.”
Jessica had slid her chair back to the table now. She no longer had a fearful look on her face and Marsius noticed a quiet sadness in her eyes. “She is very special to you, isn’t she?” He didn’t answer prompting her to reach out her hand and tap the small half star pin on his uniform. “Is that what this is about then? I’ve seen recent photos of her, and she’s wearing one that twins yours.” He looked down at it touching it with his finger.
“No, this came before, which is what made her actions all the more extraordinary. It signifies that we form a Binary.”
“Binary?”
“In the Star Brigade officers are often assigned lower ranking members to work with them as a team. It is meant to be a form of training for newer Brigade members. On occasion a pair will work so well together that the command structure of the Brigade will determine that their interests will be best served by a permanent union. They are designated as a Binary and become partners for their duration in the Brigade. In some rare instances, an officer may request that a current partner he or she works with become their Binary. I noticed that Grace shared a proficiency and zeal in combat that equaled my own. Over the course of our work together we have gotten to the point that we need not even exchange verbal communication. We know what the other will do in a situation before even others in our team will. To be a Binary with another means to always look out for your partner, to constantly be a source of strength for them both during combat and in their personal lives.” He looked back up at Jessica. “Since I had long since come to the decision that Earth was now my home, I asked her for the honor of becoming my Binary.”
“Well then, her taking care of you after all that was her duty, right?”
“You could perceive it that way, but when one has been disgraced from the actions of their Binary partner, they may petition to have the union dissolved by the Star Brigade. Naturally, since the Brigade command is not here, she did not have that option, so I gave her the choice. She refused to take it.”
“And I noticed that you stopped calling her by code name and used her real name.” She said and Marsius thought he could see tears in her eyes but she quickly turned away. He was about to press the issue when Agent Reynolds entered the break room. Jessica quickly stood up turning away from them both. “Okay Dr. Sheppard, Marsius. We’re done with our preparations. Now, I’d like to see this portal of yours at work, and I’ll decide from there if your claims of there being no security risk are valid.” Jessica turned to look at Marsius for a brief moment, and then stormed out of the break room, glaring hatefully at Agent Reynolds as she walked past him.
She got home early that night for the first time in weeks. She hadn’t eaten all day and even though she could feel her stomach protesting its emptiness, she didn’t feel up to the task of forcing herself to eat. She undressed slowly and entered the walk in closet to find a new nightgown. Her collection of him seemed to mock her from the corner she had it tucked in. She carefully removed the pushpins from one of his posters, tears streaming down her face. Hurt gave way to rage and she ripped the poster down violently. She smashed her hands down on the small table, figurines and toys falling down around her feet. Collapsing against the wall she let the weight of her body pull her down to the floor, as her legs gave out beneath her. “Why? Why can’t he love me?” she sobbed, burying her face into her arms crossed on her knees.
Agent Reynolds stood in the research lab at Portal Corps, a twisted piece of metal in his hands. Marsius sat on a stool at the end of the table going through one of the sample bins that Jessica had set on the table for them. He was as surprised from the news as Reynolds appeared to be. Reynolds smirked as he glanced at Marsius, dropping the junk back in the bin.
“So Marsius, like I told you the other day. It was only a matter of time before Dr. Sheppard’s portal here would allow physical transport to Andromeda.” Marsius took one final look at the debris, and then slid the bin away from him. “Jessica, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked her.
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it didn’t work.” She looked quickly at Reynolds. “And it doesn’t work. You can see for yourself it’s not safe for human travel.” Marsius stood up, crossed his arms. “Still Jessica, you should have told me you were going to attempt this.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke. “I spent several hours with Reynolds and his men arguing that the portal couldn’t make physical contact and now I find out that it can. Had you not shown us this both together, I’m sure he would have a hard time believing that I was unaware of this development.” He said. Jessica moved over close to him, her arms out as if she was pleading for help in the street from a stranger.
“Marsius, I did it for you. I want to help you get home. I thought you’d be happy. I thought maybe…”
“Maybe what?” Marsius asked as he and Reynolds studied her, waiting for reply. She lowered her gaze. “Nothing.” She said and turned away from them both. “Anyway it doesn’t matter, the portal isn’t safe.” She said. Reynolds let out a heavy breath, picked up a huge folder that lay on the table.
“MmHmm, well according to these notes made by both you and your research assistant, Robert Holcomb, you both believe that an increase in the portal’s power supply would solve this molecular breakdown issue. Is that right?” he said, holding the file out to her. She took the folder from him, practically snatching it in disgust.
“Okay, yes. Robby and I both feel that the transport can be made safe. There. Are you happy now?” she said. Agent Reynolds smiled. “More than you know, Dr. Sheppard.”
Dr. Sheppard stepped to the table between them and opened the folder to spread out her research notes. “Then you should also know that it’s going to take an extreme power source to even hope to achieve a safe transport. I’m already draining resources past what Portal Corps management is comfortable with. They’re not going to let me access the power grid any further that what I have.” Agent Reynolds pulled out his cell phone, stepped off to the side. “Oh I think they will.”
Marsius watched as Reynolds spoke softly into his phone, his arms still crossed, his brow knitted in thought. Jessica looked up to him. “Marsius?” she inquired.
“Grace was right.” He said. Jessica flinched slightly at the mention of Grace’s name, but Marsius didn’t notice. “She was right about what?” she whispered. Marsius held up a finger as Reynolds turned around and closed his phone. “Dr. Sheppard, I think within the next few hours you’ll have more than enough of a power supply to make successful physical transport to Andromeda. I’d suggest you start configuring your portal and running new simulations.” He said. Marsius stepped between her and Reynolds stopping her before she could protest. “Agent Reynolds, I think an explanation is required. You originally told me that the NSA didn’t want Dr. Sheppard’s portal to make transport possible. Now you’re all but guaranteeing it. I’d like to know why.” He said coldly.
Agent Reynolds pulled a bottle of water from a refrigerator there in the research lab, took a seat on a stool as he opened it. He took a long draught off it and recapped it, set it on the table. “Your girlfriend, she’s a real ball breaker.” He said. Jessica slowly looked at Reynolds, then to Marsius. “Girlfriend?” she said, her voice quavered but neither Marsius or Reynolds seemed to notice. “She also hit pretty close to home with her line of BS she tried to sell me on the phone. Closer than I think even she realized.”
Marsius uncrossed his arms, pulled out the stool on the opposite side of the table and sat down. “She’s not my girlfriend.” Reynolds smiled as he opened his water again. He turned to Dr. Sheppard and the two marine guards that stood at the lab door. “Let us have the room.” He said. They waited as Dr. Sheppard and the guards at the door left the lab.
When it was just the two of them in the research lab and he produced a thick folder of his own from his briefcase and laid it on the table in front of Marsius He motioned at it by nodding toward it. “Go ahead, take a look. I’ll take full responsibility for divulging this information.” He said. Marsius opened the folder, it was filled with profiles of heroes in the city, along with known criminals and others that appeared to be simple citizens.
“What are these?” Marsius asked.
“Profiles of all known extraterrestrials on Earth.” Reynolds replied. Marsius looked up at him. “Aliens? You’re tracking aliens?” he asked.
“Before the Rikti invasion the number of known aliens residing on our planet was under fifty. Since then that number has increased to well over two thousand. So far we’ve been lucky in that most of them are individuals, lost or stranded, like you. We want to make sure we stay lucky. At this moment we’ve been blessed that there hasn’t been any more invasion forces like the Rikti have set it’s sights on Earth. We want to keep it that way.”
“I’ve told you before, Agent Reynolds, neither I or the Andromedans are a threat to the planet.” Agent Reynolds held up a hand. “I agree.” He said and pulled out a stool and had a seat. “Marsius, we don’t want to keep tabs on you as I originally told you. We would like to know if we can count on the Andromedan worlds and the Star Brigade to help Earth defend against any future alien invasion.” Marsius stood up, crossed over to him. “Why didn’t you simply tell me this from the beginning? Why the lies and misdirection?” Agent Reynolds sighed and held up his hands. “Plausible deniability. It was easier to keep you in the dark until such time as it became necessary that you know. That way if her project was compromised, you could honestly refute what our intentions are. Dr. Sheppard has confirmed that they have been able to make physical transport to Andromeda and that now means you need to know.”
“Compromised?” Marsius asked. Reynolds nodded. “Marsius there are several other factions out there that would love to have their hands on an interstellar portal. My job was to also make sure that her experiment was secure and that word of her accomplishment stayed within the walls of Portal Corps. I’m not apologizing for having lied to you, it’s my job, it’s what I do. Now you can choose to get past that and help us and you continue this work, or we can just make sure Dr. Sheppard’s experiment stops here.”
He looked over at Reynolds. “I don’t care for the way you and the NSA chose to handle this, but I must concede that your concerns are accurate. There very well could be another threat to Earth in the future. My mission five years ago was to help repel the Rikti, and protect Earth. It still is. I will do what I can to form an alliance with Earth and the Star Brigade when next I contact Nova Strangham.”
Reynolds nodded, taking his cell phone out. “Good, I’m glad to hear that.” He turned his attention back to his phone. “Send her in.” he said and hung up. The doors to the reseach lab opened and Dr. Sheppard walked in “Doctor, I believe you had just had some news delivered to you that you’d like to share?” he said. She came up to both of them, her eyes darting quickly back and forth between them. “I’ve been granted access to the other power conduits within the building. I think we can try to send another probe and see what happens.”
Look at the way she hangs around him. She never leaves more than a few feet between him and her. And she’s always touching him somehow, an arm around his shoulders or resting a hand on his arm, or leaning against him. She studied the photographs in the magazine article.
“Man, she is so awesome.” Robby said as he came over and looked over her shoulder. He bent down to start making the final preparations on the drone. “I’d love the chance to go out with her.” He looked up at Jessica, her gaze was fixed on the magazine. “You really got it bad for him, don’t you?” he asked and turned to see her fingernails digging into the cover of the magazine. “You may as well forget about him. Superheroes are like movie stars, you know? They tend to date and marry within their own members.” He said and went back to preparing the drone.
Date and marry within their own members. She thought to herself. Yes, they do. She looked up at Marsius as he stood in front of the portal, talking into his communicator. I bet he’s talking to her now.
They were seated at a small booth out of earshot in the corner of the Pocket D nightclub having drinks. Marsius had elected to have a soft drink, Reynolds ordered beer.
“I hate my job.” Reynolds said. Marsius raised an eyebrow at his statement. “I know, I come across as a real hard ass, don’t I? It’s okay, I know I do.” He sighed, sat up in his bench, resting his forearms on the table. “I used to love it, watching out for the welfare of the country, and Hell, sometimes even the world. At first it was easy to leave people in the dark, to tell them little white lies in the interest of keeping them safe. Somewhere along the line it got hard. I’m always having to keep an ongoing mental list of who knows what lie and which version.” He took a long drink from his beer. He looked up at Marsius who remained silent. Finally he leaned back in his seat again. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to talk about how much my job sucks. Marsius, how much do you know about Dr. Sheppard?” He asked.
“Not much, I’m afraid to admit. She contacted me about four months ago, asking if I would be interested in aiding her in her project. When she told me that it involved making contact with Andromeda, I naturally said yes.”
“Do you know she’s in love with you?” Reynolds asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“MmHmm, I didn’t think so. She watches your every move when she knows you’re not looking. Whenever you get near her, she fidgets with her hands, her lab coat. Her assistant says she has a habit of checking her hair and makeup when she knows you’re coming by. And she gets extremely nervous and agitated when you speak of your friend, Ms. Courbier. Earlier today when you mentioned the possibility of having her there for the transport test of the portal, she got white as a sheet.”
“You’re being ridiculous. Jessica is simply trying to make sure that as few people as possible learn of her project, as you instructed, I might add.”
“A project that she started simply to get close to you.”
“What are you saying?” Marsius asked. Reynolds finished his beer, looked at his watch. “I’m saying you should be careful with her, she’s not as strong as she appears, and it may have unfavorable consequences.”
All night she spent, cutting the fabric, picking the colors, should it be dark or light? Sewing pieces together, trying on the leggings, then the top, find a belt that works, nothing too flashy. A mask, there should be one, but should it cover the whole head, or just the face? Weapons, should they be lethal? Codenames, what’s taken? Is there a registry to check? So many questions.
Marsius stood on the rooftop of one the tallest buildings that hadn’t been destroyed in the fight five years ago. It was almost a mile away from the crash site, but he could still see the Rikti ship easily, the force field that had been placed around it pulsed and lit up the night sky around for several blocks. Some said that on a clear evening you could see the faint glow of it from Founders Falls. On the streets below he could hear the grinding of the steel tracks of the tanks that kept a constant patrol in the area. The crash site was the one location where the Rikti still had control. The main invading force had been fought back years ago, but with the collapse of their portal in their home dimension several hundred of them found themselves trapped on Earth.
“Strange that you were mortal enemies of my home galaxy centuries ago and now we both find ourselves trapped together on the same world.” He said, looking at the ship, remembering the day he crashed his own starship into to bring it down. His palm phone beeped that he had an incoming call.
“Hello?” he said.
“Marsius? It’s Jessica, we’ve had a development, Agent Reynolds wants to know if you can come in.” She said, her voice sounded strained, tired.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He said and he left the crash site.
