Interstellar Spark

Chapter 2

Natasha's voice rang out, steady and clear: "All personnel to stations. Activate every probe—close-range scans of the planet, including life detectors. Report any findings at once."Pera shot her a glance, her expression all but saying, Isn't this overkill? Life on a rock like this?But before the thought could settle, a cry crackled through the comms: "Good heavens! The life detector's pinged—something's moving, and fast!"

Silence gripped the ship, every soul frozen in disbelief.

Then Natasha's voice cut through, urgent yet composed: "Tanks One and Two, pursue the lifeform. Use only paralyzing or cryogenic weapons—no harm must come to it. Repeat..."

The brutal daylight had passed at last. Bone-chilling cold replaced the scorching heat; howling winds stood in for the earth-shattering firestorms.

Vast plumes of gas erupted from the planet's core—some spiraling into the void, others sinking back to join the frigid currents, whipping the gales into a frenzy.

He clambered from the thickening melt pool, kneeling on the ground, his head tilted to the star-strewn splendor of the night sky.

A long, glowing shape hung there, suspended in the dark—an oddity unlike any he'd seen. In his long life, gazing at the heavens countless times, this was the first intruder from beyond his world.

Fear didn't touch him—only awe and a tremor of astonishment.

He adjusted the energy in his eyes, pulling the strange object closer for scrutiny. Then, from its side, openings yawned, spitting smaller versions of itself that dove toward him.

He leaped up and bolted down the mountain toward the cave, running at full tilt.

His uncanny senses flared—he knew the beings within those objects had spotted him, were studying him, casting strange wavelengths across his form.

His mind stretched skyward, locking onto the shapes, speeds, and positions of five smaller crafts. Further still, it probed inside, "seeing" what lay within.

A wild yell tore from him as he stumbled, crashing onto the icy rock. For the first time since birth, he'd fallen without danger prompting it.

Because he'd "seen" beings from the tales—his own kind. Fragile and softer, yes, but unmistakably kin. Three bore the shapes and contours of the women from legend.

The wind sharpened, biting deeper.

He lay still, thoughts churning. He could flee, of course—back to the cave. But to what end? Death would find him eventually.

These kin, whatever their intent, might kill him at worst. Why not seize this final chance?The five objects swelled larger, hovering overhead. A booming voice rang from one, but its meaning eluded him.

He sprang up, arms raised, shouting his willingness, his readiness to join them.With a rumble, a tank settled onto a boulder a hundred meters off. Joy surged in his chest as he raced toward it.

A flash of white burst forth—a frigid blast from the tank's launcher hurling him backward. Numbing cold seeped into his nerves.

Rage flared within him. He'd done them no wrong—why this assault?Another beam lanced down, bathing him in light. His inner energy surged, burning away the paralysis.

He leaped up and sprinted for the cave. The tank swooped, spraying two gobs of cryogenic fluid.He staggered, tumbling as thick, white frost encased him.

Crack! His power shattered the frozen shell like powder, and he ran again, desperate.

This time, he'd learned. His senses pierced the enemy craft, reading their moves.

When they fired liquid or beams, he felt it coming, dodging as he had the firestorms. No matter their barrage, they couldn't touch him.

Fury roared in his heart like a blaze, yet he refused to strike back. No one knew life's worth better than he.

And these were his kind—he'd not harm them, no matter their brutality or malice.The cave loomed ahead.

Through the night viewport, Natasha and Pera gaped at the "Inferno Being" below—swift as a specter, weaving through paralyzing rays and cryo-blasts with ease.

Pera gritted her teeth. "We're out of time! The return trip's over an hour, and we've fifteen minutes at most. Use the neural cannon!"

Natasha's face drained of color, shaking her head. "That'd turn him to a husk. Wait!"The neural cannon fired a heat-nuclear beam that shredded a creature's nervous system—leaving the body intact but the mind ruined.

Pera pressed, frantic. "Only its wide beam can catch him! Decide fast! The ninth planet's about to crumble, and Noah One's buried in that bizarre, solid muck."

"He's the living key now—sacrifice one to save the Federation!" she urged.Her words struck hard. Natasha clenched her jaw. "Fine."

He darted like lightning through a flurry of attacks, vaulting off a twenty-meter rock to land nimbly on the gravel below, then leaping onto another ten-meter boulder.

Natasha, tracking his shadow, gasped. Impossible! On a world with thrice Earth's gravity, a three-meter jumper there would manage a mere tenth here.

That meant, on Earth, he could soar thirty meters—near flight itself.Even the neural cannon might miss.

Then he froze, staring at the cave's entrance—now a collapsed ruin against the cliff. Without it, where would he find the vital water drops?

The landing craft hovered in the wild winds. Beside Natasha, Pera shouted, "Fire!"

A blinding flash engulfed him, rendering him a translucent, weightless silhouette. He stumbled and fell.