IT WAS LIKE A scene from a movie a young woman driving, alone, on a deserted road at night. The car putters out and rolls to a stop. Her every attempt to restart the car ended in failure, which only added to her frustration. Sighing heavily, she leaned her head against the steering wheel and closed her aqua blue eyes with a starburst of hazel in the middle. Her chestnut coloured locks fell softly off her shoulders. All she wanted was a nice quiet vacation. Was that really such a terrible thing?
The car shook slightly. She slowly lifted her head and looked around. Her two tone coloured eyes checked the mirrors and still she saw nothing. Feeling uneasy she placed a protective shield around herself. Something she had been able to do since childhood.
"That was strange, there isn't any wind." The woman said barely above a whisper.
The car shook again. The young woman let out a startled squeak unable to stop herself. Her hand reached quickly for the button to roll up the windows. She pressed the button again and nothing happened.
Power she needed power. Reaching for the ignition, she turned the key. Once again the car would not start. Shock registered in her unique eyes when she suddenly realized that she wasn't glowing and her shield was not up.
The light came from above her. It was bright and blinding. The young woman shielded her eyes against it. A strange feeling crept over her. She was light headed and dizzy. Unable to fight it, darkness claimed her. The light disappeared from the sky. An empty car was left behind and Destiny was gone….
THE LARGE MAN WALKED into the ship Control Room. He was a Destroyer, one of many. They were a group of soldiers brought together by the Council. His team was one of three. There were only Eleven Destroyers under his command. They were the smallest group but the most effective.
Zeuz sat down in the chair and read the information on the computer. There was nothing from the other Destroyers about a Phant nest or any attacks from the Veron. Zeuz ran a hand over his face. The Phant were nasty, vicious creatures and they had been spreading like a disease across the galaxy with the help from the Veron for the past two years. He hated the Veron as much as he hated the Phant.
Their home planet Ulzan had been attacked and many had died. His mate and offspring had been slaughtered. Zeuz blinked trying to rid himself of the memory of finding Aprii with her stomach ripped open. The child had been torn from her body. It had been their first.
He hadn't been the only one to lose loved ones in the attack. Every member of the Destroyers had lost family and friends. Every Destroyer had pledged to rid the worlds of these menus or die trying.
"Is there any news?" Maccar asked coming up beside him.
Zeuz looked at his childhood friend. He shook his head. "No."
"It's been days, where could that ship have gone?" Maccar asked.
"I don't know." The blonde headed warrior replied. He hit a couple of buttons to bring up the solar system map. "We caught sight of them here. What they were doing that close to the Ninth System is beyond me."
Zeuz followed the Phant ships progress with his finger.
"The only planet with a breathable atmosphere would be this planet." He brought the planet on screen with a touch.
"It's called Blizack." They both said at the same time.
"Do you want to continue following their plasma trail or set coordinates and go straight there?" Maccar asked in wonderment.
"Let's set coordinates for the planet. I have a feeling the Phant ship is trying to distract us from the real destination."
Maccar walked up to the control panel and programmed the computer. Pressing the alarm button to alert the rest of the Destroyers, it wasn't long before the others joined them.
"There's been a change in plans. We are going to Blizack." Zeuz informed them.
"How long before we arrive?" A Destroyer asked.
"We arrive in three days." He replied.
"Do you think there might be a nest?" Another soldier asked.
"It could be possible, we should expect anything. The planet isn't supposed to be inhabited. If there is a nest the surface scan should pick it up."
The soldiers left. Zeuz and Maccar looked at one another. They walked over to the map. Learning everything they possibly could about the planet.
* * * * *
Three days later...
DESTINY WAS FLOATING, SHE couldn't quite focus on her surroundings everything looked funny. She felt as though she were looking through a fog and must be dreaming. That or she was on the set of a Sci-fi movie.
The chestnut haired beauty lay on a table. The light above her was blinding. It was the reason she felt so weak and disorientated. Destiny centered herself. Achieving this task with great difficulty, she then focused on the light above her. Releasing an energy ball, sparks flew into the air, the light went out.
The angry looking grey men scurried about. Weak and shaky, Destiny slid from the table. She was unable to support herself, her legs buckled beneath her. Small explosions circled her. The grey men were frantic now. Had she used too much power? Her mind raced. No, she thought as the entire ship rocked and shook. They were under attack.
The Destroyers watched as the Veron ship was hurled into a collision course with the planet. Within minutes the ship had crashed on Blizack.
"Let's get a surface scan of the area." Zeuz ordered.
"Are we going to land?" Maccar asked.
"Yes. We'll search the wreckage and look for possible survivors. If the ships database isn't destroyed we'll need to download it. Maybe it will have the locations of the other nests."
"You heard the man. Let's suit up." Maccar said.
Destiny was barely conscience. She felt herself being lifted and moved. There were strange sounds, grunts and growls that rang softly in her ears. The air was dense and she had trouble breathing. With the lack of oxygen she passed out.
The young woman woke to blood curdling screams. There was a glowing light seeping from parts of the rock walls. Without moving, she looked across the luminescent room and what she witnessed was truly grotesque. The gray men were being savagely torn apart by creatures about the size of small dogs. There were several of them. Pulling her eyes away she saw other larger creatures. They were letting the little ones feed.
Destiny looked around the room. She frowned realizing she wasn't aboard the ship. They had crashed. Someone had shot them down. Her eyes focused on the creatures again. They were almost done and not even bones were going to be left. She looked past them toward the far side of the room where most of the larger creatures crouched. There was only one way out and she would have to go through them. She sat up slowly her eyes never left the creatures. The larger turned their attention to her watching but not making any move toward her. She kept perfectly still, knowing that if she moved again they would attack.
The woman placed her protective shield around herself. It was a mistake. The glow lit up the room and it attracted everybody's attention. Destiny screamed as a dozen or more small creatures jumped on her. The weight of them caused her to fall back onto the floor. They snarled and tore at her. The creatures became more frenzied in their attack, hissing in rage, when they couldn't break through her shield. Destiny screamed again, releasing an energy ball. It hit her attackers like a shockwave sending them flying in all directions. The larger creatures snarled, lunging into attack.
The Destroyers stopped again when they picked up the readings. Some type of new weapon, one they had never come across before.
"Looks like some of the Veron survived the crash. Nothing gets off this planet alive." Zeuz told them.
The men separated into three groups and entered the lair. Weapons loaded, head recorders on and vital sign recorders on. If they found a breeder like they thought then they would need the footage to study her. The Destroyers went through the maze of luminescent tunnels. This lair was much larger than the others but so far they had not seen any Phant or picked up any movement.
"Maccar," Zeuz said into his headpiece.
"Yes?" The man replied.
"Have you seen anything yet?"
"No, nothing yet," Maccar replied.
"Lacus," Zeuz spoke to the leader of the third squad. There was no answer. He put a hand to his headpiece. "Lacus report."
"We've entered a nursery." Lacus finally spoke. "Sir there's bodies everywhere."
"Bodies,"
"Phant bodies, adults and babies. They're all dead."
"Lacus stay put and then secure the area. Maccar head for that nursery, I'll meet you there."
Destiny ran and realized that this place was a maze. She had no idea where she was. I've already been this way she thought as she ran past dead creatures. I'm going in circles. Coming to a fork, she stopped and looked from one direction to the other. Which way?
The woman swung back around to the left, snarls and hisses echoed in that direction. It was the same behind her so she went to the right. The adult creatures were coming up behind her fast. The Destroyers surveyed the nursery. None could believe their eyes.
"Lacus are you getting any readings?" Zeuz asked.
"No, there are no readings of a weapon having ever been fired and no burn marks." The man shook his head. "They were just blown apart."
"What type of weapon could have done this?" Maccar questioned.
"I don't know." The man replied.
"We've got movement." Daan yelled from the entrance. He looked at his scanner again.
"Sir,"
Zeuz and Maccar rushed to his side, both looking at the scanner. The Phant were headed right for them. They were coming hard and fast. The large men looked at each other. The Phant were chasing something.
Destiny rounded the corner. The young woman skidded to a stop and her eyes widened in shock. The blast from the weapon knocked her, literally, through the wall. The Destroyers didn't have time to react they were suddenly under attack. Snarls and screams of rage rung through the air.
They managed to drive the creatures back but only enough to make their way back inside the nursery. Not even their bombs had any real effect. The Phant were in a complete frenzy.
Destiny lifted her head. She touched her hand to her forehead. Blood, the battle echoed in her ears. She looked up in time to see one of those creatures crawling through the hole she had made. The young woman threw an energy ball. The creature flew backward through the hole only to be replaced by another one. Destiny released another energy ball and another. There was far too many of them.
Rising to her feet, she raised her hands, palms facing up. Red-hot fire smouldered and grew. Destiny turned her palms forward and released a wall of fire that consumed everything in its path.
The Destroyers shouted and dove for cover. After it was over, the men crawled from their hiding spots from inside the nursery. Maccar and Lacus checked to make sure everyone was all right.
Zeuz walked to the entrance. The large man shouldered his weapon after nudging one of the dead creatures with his foot. Frowning, he walked down the tunnel and stopped in front of the hole. He shook his head.
"What was a female doing here?"
The man stepped through the hole. Where was the body? Had she survived? How? What's more who had detonated that bomb? He had never seen one designed to create a wall of fire before.
Zeuz stopped in mid step. Standing against the wall was the female, her eyes wide. Why was she looking at him like that? Realization hit, she was looking past him. The sound of a heavy body dropping to the ground came from behind him. He swung around to face it. His eyes widened, the creature was huge. It was a Breeder. A savage snarl echoed loudly as it lashed out, knocking the helmet from his head. Zeuz staggered back nearly falling to the ground. His gaze locked with the young woman's.
Destiny looked at the large blonde haired man. His emerald green eyes spoke to her, 'I'm sorry.' Just then the creature struck again knocking him across the room. He lay there unmoving. The creature advanced on him. It hissed and snarled in rage as it struggled to get to him.
Destiny lifted her left hand. The more her hand rose the higher off the ground the large creature went. It screamed in rage, lashing out again and again. The woman slowly lifted her right hand. An energy ball smouldered in her palm. Her face was a mask of stone. She released the ball. The explosion vibrated throughout the lair, shaking the ground beneath her feet. Destiny fell back from the blast and hit the wall.
The Destroyers moved up the corridor. The men slowly entered the room and looked at pieces of what used to be a very large Phant Breeder. Maccar went to his friend's side. Kneeling, he rolled Zeuz over and called his name. Zeuz opened his eyes and looked at his friend. The Destroyer sat up slowly, frowning.
"What happened?" He asked.
"You tell me. Didn't you set off that explosion?" Maccar asked him.
"No." Zeuz said, looking around the room. "Where is the female?"
Maccar looked at his friend worried.
"Zeuz the female didn't survive. She couldn't have."
"The female was alive. She was in this room against that wall." He said pointing and his friend nodded before turning to the other men.
"Men spread out and find the female." He ordered as he helped his friend to his feet. Bending down, he retrieved the man's fallen helmet.
"It's smashed." Maccar said fiddling with the recorder.
"We've found her. She's alive." Lacus said coming up to them.
A Destroyer walked toward them with the unconscious woman in his arms. The Destroyers left the planet and all of the creatures were dead.
