The Day the Universe Changed
Season 5, Episode 2
Beltor [moon], Char [planet], Yud-Ek [star system]
12 May; 16:08:33 Hours - Nearly 2 Years Prior
“Yo tordavía no entiendo porque me mandaron aqui cuando pudiera estar ayudando a Gavilun!” Crystal Fernandez, a Lancer of Theo’s Knight’s of Old Glory, hissed as her eyes narrowed and she looked to her left.
She stood in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the sky touching pines of the forest moon, as Baghul shook his head. He stood several feet behind her, the massive Knight whose skin looked to be silver armor. Baghul folded his arms before he growled, “I can’t understand you - I can barely understand your backwater planet’s prime tongue, and you expect me to decipher your tongue-rolling dialect?”
“Permiso?” Crystal snapped as she spun around to face him, “Tú tiene un problema? Eh?”
Baghul looked at her with his steel expression cracking into confusion. Though Crystal’s eyes opened wide, her head nudged forward and she motioned her hands out in front of herself as if to reiterate without speaking. They glared at one another for what felt like an hour before Baghul finally grit his teeth and stormed off, out of the council chambers.
“I hate Humans!”
Several soldiers of the Union walked in just seconds after Baghul had left, they all stood at attention while one approached Crystal and said, “Madam, the resistance leader is still communicating concerns about your meeting.”
Her left eye squinted as she tilted her head slightly. “Porque? They wanted our assistance in combatting the Tuluk Regime!”
“He’s not fond of the fact that a Hae’Lektaes bearer was sent on a diplomatic request.”
“What? He thinks I’m here to assassinate him?” Crystal laughed. “Idiota!”
The Lieutenant shrugged before he admitted, “I’d be cautious too if I was expecting a diplomat and found out a Knight of the feared KOG was who I was meeting,”
“Well, assure hi—” she started to say when her eyes fluttered, “Uh, assure him th-that, assure him, um,” but then her legs went weak as she could faintly hear familiar voices echoing in the distance of her head.
“We’re here for Laes! We’re here for her father, dammit! Not her!”
“Orders are orders, Theo!”
“Yeah, and I’m ordering you all to stand down!”
“The-Theo?” Crystal mumbled as her brown eyes fogged over with a spreading inky blackness.
“I said to stand down!” Theo’s echoing voice grew louder. “I’m your commander! We’re not here for her!”
“Sir, step aside!”
She could hear the priming hum sound of nearly a dozen TAK8 rifles reverberating in her ears, and she was forced to grab ahold of the table in front of her. The soldiers in the chambers with her, all looked at her with growing concern as the Lieutenant took a step in her direction before asking, “Madam? Madam, are you okay?”
“We’re only going to tell you one more time, sir!”
“Helena?” Crystal heard Theo utter as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Step aside, sir!”
“Ay Dios,” Crystal gasped.
The high-pitched whistling of charges being fired consumed Crystal’s ears like a deafening ringing, she stumbled backward where she turned around, and placed her palms on the glass. Crystal could hear an ungodly deep roar that was followed by bloodcurdling screams and pleas. Her face surrendered from horror to sadness as her eyes closed tightly but a black tear broke free from the inner side of her right eye, gliding down her cheek.
Crystal whispered, “Dios ayúdalo…”
Unbeknownst to Crystal, as she was experiencing the vision, Baghul marched back into the chambers with an additional ten soldiers. They all took aim at her as she stood with her back to them, her eyes cleared to the sound of a Voice, “No evil shall prosper against you.”
“Madam!” the Lieutenant now barked at her, “By the orders of the Presidents, you are to surrender the Hae’Lektaes and lay down any and all arms!”
Crystal’s face went stone cold, her pupils shrunk to pinpoints and her nostrils flared. “Yo ahora entiendo… THIS is why I was sent here.”
“We’re not going to tell you again!”
A hum like she heard in her vision echoed just behind her as the fifteen soldiers all charged their rifles. She slowly brought her hands in front of herself, pressing her palms together in a praying gesture before turning around. The first thing her eyes locked with were the glowing crimson eyes of Baghul as there was a smirk that sprawled across his steel face. He took several steps, standing in front of the soldiers where he drew his snub-claymore and growled.
“You have no power over me… Witch!”
“I have no power, only He does.”
A golden burning halo ignited around Crystal’s head as a gold flaming aura began to emanate from her. The soldiers tried steadying their aim as they witnessed her but before Baghul could say or do anymore, one of the soldiers panicked and fired a charge. The blue blast of energy zipped by Baghul straight at Crystal but it ricocheted around her and struck the window, sending glass shattering to the floor and ten stories to the ground below outside.
In a confused and fear-induced frenzy, the soldiers all opened fire. Dozens upon dozens of blue charges zipped from one side of the room to the other, with each one redirecting a mere millisecond before they would’ve hit Crystal. The blue streaks danced around with many hitting the walls, floor, and roof while others struck several soldiers. Crystal hadn’t moved an inch as she stood with her palms together, knowing that none of the charges would harm her but the hairs on the back of her neck lifted again as Baghul now made his move.
The Steel Giant at first took slow step after step before he was in an all-out charge straight at Crystal. Her eyes remained locked on him as Baghul closed the distance between them within seconds, only to thrust his right shoulder forward in an attempt to hit her but the burning aura pushed forward and stopped him. A shockwave exploded out from the giant and cracked the floor before it launched what soldiers were still alive back across the room. Baghul dug his feet into the concrete, fighting to push forward as he grit his teeth and let out a roar.
“You cannot stop me!” he growled, the aura hissed against him and the runes etched into his living-steel skin ignited into a glowing hot red before he inched forward.
Crystal’s eyes no longer remained pinpoints, they now grew three sizes as she pulled her palms apart and faced them forward. Runes of her own ignited in front of her, glowing gold before she swung her hands to her left and right. The line of runes multiplied and scrolled out between the two, Crystal motioned her left hand down and her right up which caused the line to double and triple and then quadruple in both directions as it created a wall. Baghul was not fazed by the display of power, instead, he pushed forward even harder and soon was face-to-face with the rune wall that he at first thrust his snub-claymore at. The blade sparked as it fought to pierce through but the further the Steel Giant managed it, the Kalber forged claymore melted until nothing but a third remained.
“This a trick you learned from Beelezika?” Baghul snarled, tossed what remained of his blade to his right, and then unleashed a ground-shaking right hook that struck the barrier.
Crystal watched as the Wall of Jericho she manifested bent around Baghul’s fist, and she instinctually pivoted to her right. Her hand quickly and firmly grabbed ahold of the hilt of Taelyah, her curve saber, watching Baghul now strike the wall with his left fist before again with his right. The runes one-by-one burned out with each followed strike until just those remained that shifted from one fist to the other, blocking each punch he unleashed while continuing to push closer to Crystal.
She soon found her heels upon the edge, and the Steel Giant threw his arms out to his sides as he let out a rumbling roar.
Though Crystal shot forward, the white hood of her cloak fell back from atop her head as she panted and struggled to breathe. She awoke from her nightmare of what had happened to find herself on a deep-space transport, where she rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. Her dark brown hair fell in front of her face as she looked at her trembling hands, but then quickly she shot up right at the touch of a hand on her back.
Crystal turned to her left, right hand reaching for her saber, only to see a larger man with a beard and a patch over his right eye. He quickly raised his hands, assuring her, “Hey, hey, I mean no harm… You were mumbling and shaking in your sleep, we just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“We?” Crystal uttered, and the man pointed to the woman behind him.
“Yeah, this is my wife - Graisha.”
“N-nice to meet you, but I’d rather not exchange small talk.”
The man, chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay. No worries, Miss. We just were worried and we know none of these rats onboard would’ve checked on ya.”
“You look like you’ve been through a lot,” Graisha said as she stepped closer to Crystal.
“Well, I appreciate your concern but I’m alright.”
“You ex-Union?” the man bluntly asked.
Crystal’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“The blade, your mail, it’s all high grade. You’re not just some Ripper or an ordinary Reaper.”
Crystal didn’t answer him, and his wife was quick to try pulling him away. “Come on, Alastair. She’s clearly okay and doesn’t want our help.”
“Help?” Crystal said and the two turned back to her.
“Yeah, my husband was a member of one of the early Commando units that were responsible for dismantling the Blaque - He tries helping any U-vet he can, he feels he has to.”
“You, you were a Commando?”
Alastair reluctantly nodded. “Yeah.”
“That how you lost your eye?”
“We all lost something on Titus. Many others lost much more.”
“Okay,” Crystal said barely louder than a whisper.
“Okay?” he asked with his left eye squinting.
“If you’re willing to help me, I… I, uh, I could use it.”
Graisha smiled from ear to ear, lunged forward, and hugged Crystal. Crystal, though didn’t hug her back. Her eyes grew large, her head clocked back and she pulled her arms close to her chest as she didn’t know what to do. Alastair let out a laugh as he patted his wife’s back, telling her, “Come on, Honey. It’s too early to be hugging.”
“I’m sorry,” Graisha sighed, “I’m just happy. You looked tormented and like you could really use a helping hand with whatever you’re going through.”
“It, it’s okay,” Crystal said through a forced smile.
“So what can we help you with?” Alastair asked.
“I’m looking for a friend.”
“And you can’t find him? That’s odd, someone with your training can’t track down someone you know…”
“It’s complicated.”
“How complicated?”
“He’s in trouble, and, well, he doesn’t know it,” Crystal told the two as her bottom lip curled down.
“How do you know but he doesn’t?” Alastair folded his arms, saying, “Especially when you can’t find him.”
“I don’t know,” Crystal softly said as she reached into a pouch on her belt, “but I know.”
Alastair’s eye remained squinted as he looked at her but then both his wife and his eyes opened wide as Crystal opened her hand palm side up, revealing a purple and gold glowing crystal - Hex.