The Astronaut: Conclusion

The walls of the cave reappeared, damp and dark. Shigori's eyes burnt red, tears rolled down his eyes. "Father". He squealed again. 

"The cube is a projector from the past. Gliesian technology. The epigram inscribed on it is a warning, one that suggests revenge for the sacrifice that we just witnessed". Gauntlet broke the silence. "Is that correct Lord Shigori?". 

The winged Unomedan nodded. "Gliesian blood. I can sense the presence of seven of them on this planet. Father's creations". He buried his head in his wings again. 

I couldn't control my emotions. Father? 

"Excuse me Lord Shigori? Is the father you are constantly remembering, the God Itzumna? Are you his descendent? If so, how are you alive after so many centuries? Isn't your planet....umm....extinct?".  

He made his way up to me. In the blue light, I saw him swooping down on me, his face inches away from mine. I froze completely, unable to breathe. 

"Yes, I am Shigori, the 7th son of Itzumna. I am surprised you know so much about Unomeda. 70 earth years is one Unomedan year. 50 earth years is one Gliesian year". He retreated back to the dark recesses of the cave. 

"Do you mean that Tiago was alive when this young Gliesian was sacrificed by the Mayans?". M16 spoke. 

"Then Tiago's motive for destroying humanity is somewhat clear now. That Gliesian kid must be related to him or the other six Gliesians on earth!". Spear concluded. 

Gauntlet's watch started blinking red, emergency signal. We ran out of the cave, almost tumbling over each other. AATF had issued a worldwide threat alert. Gliesians?

We reached Gauntlet's office and saw 7 screens lit up before our eyes. News agencies reporting mass gatherings from seven places on Earth; the pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge(Britain), Teotihuacan(Mexico), Baghdad(Iraq), Kyoto Imperial Palace(Japan) and Sacsayhuaman, 80 miles from AATF, Lima, where we now stand. 

Must be a thousand people at least at each of these locations. One man in a black suit leads each group at seven separate locations. And then, in a split second, the whole world gasped out.  

The leader of each gathering orchestrated a finger and the people pulled out daggers in unison. 7 fingers snapped around the globe and seven thousand people pushed daggers through their own hearts together. Just a split second and thousands committed suicide on camera, in unison. 

I sat down on the floor, clenching my head. M16 collapsed with a thud, rendered unconscious. The Gliesians have made their move, the daggers have gone in just the way the little Gliesian kid has sacrificed so many centuries ago. 

The bugle has been heard, it's war. 

Gauntlet sprang into action, he gathered a team of five and set out for the nearest site. Spear and Kalashnikov lifted M16 and brought him back to his senses. I disappeared amidst all the confusion. 

The door to the cave granted me access as a senior AATF executive and I progressed through the dark once again, with the help of a small light projector. Shigori, help us. 

The dark abyss around me disappeared, I stood on a sloping meadow under a red gibbous moon on some otherworldly night, far away from any place on earth. The planets and stars in the sky are unfamiliar, so is the bluegrass underneath my feet. I felt a large presence behind me. 

"I can read your mind'. Shigori said calmly. "You are on Unomeda, do you like it here?". 

"This is an illusion, isn't it? Unomeda is gone!". I replied hastily. 

"You cannot defeat the Gliesians. This is the end of humanity, I'm afraid". Said the winged God, sitting down on the grass square foot. 

"Please Lord Shigori". I begged. "They can move through reflective surfaces. They can travel through light waves. We can't catch them. They have already slaughtered seven thousand of our people. Please Lord, mercy". 

"The disparity in our creations is huge. Gliesians are far more intelligent and powerful than you earthlings. Seven of them are capable of terminating your entire solar system. This is your personal war, I'm afraid. I cannot choose sides". 

I stood up. "Fine then. Sit here and watch another civilization getting destroyed like yours. Watch humans perish into oblivion while you do nothing for centuries. Is this how you honor your father? By letting some galactic warmongers destroy His creations? Shame on a God likes you. You are nothing more than a degenerate, some insignificant vermin who wandered hopelessly to earth. Take me back. I order you". 

"How dare you talk ill of me?". The winged creature lifted me up by the neck and I started losing breath. He's choking me to death. Before I passed out, I felt his fingers relaxing. I fell to the ground, fidgeting to catch a breath. 

Shigori spread his wings and conjured a pitch-black ball and handed it over to me. 

"This is a perfect black body. Detonate this ball and everything within a 10 square kilometer radius will be engulfed by only darkness, rendering the Gliesian light manipulation technique useless. I have already incorporated the coordinates if the Gliesian spacecraft in your watch. Act wisely." 

The world around me disappeared. I found myself back at the cave. I made my way to Spear, holding the concentrated darkness trapped within the ball in my hand. The fate of humanity rests in my hands.

Two days have passed, nothing new has been reported since the mass massacre. A team of expert AATF members has gathered at my Andaman base. Gauntlet, M16, Kalashnikov, Excalibur from London, Boomerang from Oceania division has graced my office in the wilderness of this inhabited island. The dagger has recovered well, still not ready for action. 

The coordinates given by Shigori for the Gliesian spaceship points us deep within a jungle in Nauru islands in Oceania, Boomerang's domain. In addition to our members, galactic police have sent an emergency backup team with anti-telekinesis technology and extermination lasers. We have readied brain wave blocking helmets and protective gear if things do down south. Our success solely lies in detonating the ball after gathering all the aliens in one place. The plan is in place, we execute it tonight. It has to be a sneak attack. I started the interdimensional matter transporter, a highly advanced Z rated alien tech that I have improvised upon. It disintegrates the human body into atoms and transports them at speed greater than that of light to any place desirable. We shall reach the coordinates in Nauru in a second. Spear suggested we take heat vision goggles and motion sensor gyroscopes for the mission. We agreed in unison. All geared up, we cranked up the matter transporter. Time to save the earth. 

In a clearing within a tropical jungle, our execution team lands in the moonlight. The backup team of galactic enforcers disperses throughout the island. Our thermal scanners catch what deceives our naked eyes. The Gliesian spaceship stands tall on six pods. 

"Stand back". Kalashnikov takes charge and launches a high power missed towards the spacecraft, sending a ripple through the island. It blows up and fires rages. Within an instant, we form a circle with our backs to each other, lasers at the ready. Soon enough, our heat sensors pick up seven bodies in the vicinity. Gliesians. 

"Now!". Screamed Spear and I detonated the Unomedan ball of darkness. Everything went black. No way for Tiago to escape now. We can see them panicking through our heat visions. Time to terminate them. 

Boomerang started walking towards them with a confounded look on his eyes. Shit! Where's his helmet! They are taking control of him. 

M16 acted the quickest, he took out a tapered gun and shot Boomerang. Our man collapsed on the ground, senseless. Smart move from M16, we possibly couldn't've terminated seven Gliesians before the took Boomerang hostage. 

"Ah! Scimitar! Did you bring a banana smoothie for me?".

My blood curdled in hatred. "You son of a bitch, I'll kill you for what you did to Dagger!". In a moment of rash decision, I broke the circle and charged towards Tiago. A mistake. The S rated alien wound me up with his tentacles, one tentacle ready to pierce through my heart. "Thanks for the smoothie. goodbye". 

That is it, that's the end for me. 

Blood spattered all over my face as a laser flew past me and blew Tiago's head open. Dagger !!

A dagger appeared from behind the ship. She had sneaked in through the matter transporter! Tiago lies dead on the ground, Dagger gets her revenge. 

We took instant advantage of the diversion and took out the remaining aliens, shellshocked by the death of their leader. 

The darkness lifted slowly and we let our bodies drop on the ground in exhaustion. 

"We did it, amigos! We saved earth! Woohooo!". Shouted Gauntlet in elation. We all smiled, I embraced Dagger in a tight hug. I felt proud of her. But, every joy in my long life had been short-lived. So was this. 

A jolt of lightning and M16 collapsed in a puddle of blood, followed by Boomerang. Dead. A tall Gliesian figure appeared blood on its tentacles. An 8th Gliesian, one who has just murdered two of my comrades, a larger, faster and dangerous-looking one. 

I blinked for a second. The Gliesian disappeared. The next thing I know, a tentacle shoots straight towards my heart. I look death in the eye. Dagger screams out in fear, breaking the deathly silence of the night. 

I feel the warmth of His wings around me. Lord Shigori? Have I joined you in Unomeda? Is this what death feels like? So warm? So welcoming?

I regained consciousness. Shigori had blocked the attack like a guardian angel. But, the tentacle had pierced his abdomen and sent silver blood gushing out of the open wound. However, his talons had pierced through the Gliesian's torso. A stalemate. 

"Was it your child King Mariz? The one sacrificed in the name of my father?". Shigori spoke. This Gliesian is a king, so Tiago was a pawn after all. This emperor wishes to destroy humanity to take revenge for his son's murder. Centuries have passed for us since the incident, only a few years for a growing Gliesian father. 

"Lord Shigori? You're alive? Please Lord, let this father avenge his son. Humans must atone for their sins". Mariz spoke, coughing up blood. 

"No King Mariz, no more death. These humans do not deserve to die because of their long-gone ancestors. Close your eyes. Reunite with your son". Shigori put Mariz's body down, motionless. 

"Gauntlet, Scimitar, come here." The Unomedan signaled us towards him as he fell to the ground, fatally wounded by the attack. 

"Let's take him back to my lab ASAP. Dagger, crank up the matter transporter. Nothing will happen to you Lord Shigori." I started crying. 

"No. It's time for me to leave. We Unomedans shall live on through you humans for thousands of years. You have made my father proud of today. It is time for me to join my own people in the afterlife. Thank you Gauntlet for taking care of me. Thank you Scimitar for making me feel alive after centuries. My father used to say one thing when I was a kid, he was proud of humans, talked about a thing called emotions. I think I get it now. Feelings."

And God breathed his last.