2199 Extinction

After putting on some easier-to-manage clothes, we followed Amancia around, checking out various points of attack. Each point of attack also has an escape plan in case something goes wrong. If I die or get arrested, it will all be in vain. But honestly, it’s all going to come down to what he does while he is here. For the past six weeks, we have planned and plotted, if we can’t manage to stop him while he’s here, I don’t think we ever will. I heard rumors that Malum’s ship is due, at any moment.

Thankfully, I haven’t had any more blackouts, and Amlican has kept to his promise and stayed in his room. No more weird dreams, either. I knock on the door to Amancia’s apartment. I can hear shouting inside, and a few moments later Amancia is opening the door just wide enough to stick her head out.

“We have a problem,” she whispers. “Malum is here, talking with my father. He must have arrived earlier than we planned.”

“What does he want?” I whisper back, taking my cue from her.

“Someone betrayed him, and he is here to get permission from daddy to kill that man,” she explains quickly.

“Why does he need permission?” Amlican asks.

“Because nothing is done here, especially to a Copaie, without daddy’s permission. If one were to do what one wanted, and not ask, they would risk an all-out open war with the Copaie.”

“Amancia! Let your guests in and go to your room. We are having a private conversation.” a male Copaie voice demands.

“Yes, sir! Sorry sir!” she says opening the door wide. To us, she whispers, “Hurry up. We can spy on them from the hallway.”

We step inside and the first thing I notice is the floor is covered in lush, yellow, grass, making it nice and soft. Orange vines, thicker than my arm, grow up the walls and partially obscure the doorframes. Flowers of assorted sizes and hues grow, everywhere. In one corner, near a small waterfall and pond, is a couch and two recliners. Wow! It looks like a jungle in here. Even smells like one.

Malum sits on the couch, one leg across the other, arms folded across his chest. In a recliner, across from him, sits a male Copaie, discernable by the lack of hair on his head. This must be Amancia’s father, Soltig, the Copaie general. He is relaxed-looking incomparison to Malum. He is in charge, and he knows it. My first instinct is to attack Malum, here and now, but I decide against it.

I don’t know what Amancia’s father would do. She did say that one would have to have her daddy’s permission before doing, anything, in this city. We walk towards the pond and as we pass by, I turn my head to check it out. Small white flowers and large green leaves cover parts of the pond. I can see movement below the surface of the water, but the plants are too thick to make out what it is.

Probably some sort of fish fills the pond. Suddenly, there is a loud shrieking noise and I look up to see a small, flying, creature, circling above us. Its body is no bigger than my hand and covered in purple skin. It doesn’t have any feathers, anywhere. Not even on the wings, they are just stretched skin covering from its body to its wingtip.

At the end of the wings, I see three small fingers like appendages, that I’m guessing, is used for climbing. The mouth is long and full of sharp, pointy, teeth. Two, very sharp talons are heading straight for Amancia. She stops and turns her head. Amlican and I stop as well. I am curious to see what will happen. But the only thing that does happen is that the strange creature lands on her shoulder and nuzzles her face.

She gently pats its head and shoos it away, causing it to take flight and head back toward the rocky waterfall. She starts walking, again, and we follow behind, stopping on the other side of the wall. We listen quietly, trying to figure out what is going on and where Malum plans to go, next.

“Mangone needs to be taken care of. An example needs to be made from him.” Malum says.

“Who is this friend of yours? She must be someone special if you are willing to risk a war between our people.” Amancia’s father, Soltig, says.

“I’m not willing to risk a war,” He pauses a moment before continuing calmly. “yet. But I will not put up with anyone getting in the way of my plans. I need you to get rid of him before I do.”

“Like you did with the traitorous Xerxes captain?” Soltig asks.

Malum is silent a moment, before answering, “The Xerxes Captain met an... untimely end. I would hate for anyone else to be met with the very same fate.”

“Yes, that would be unfortunate.” Soltig pauses. “Very well, you may do whatever you see fit, with Mangone. But, be warned. If that princess of yours shows up here, in Natatilis, she will become a prisoner of the Copaie. I am sorry but we cannot allow peace on Talfar to come so easily.”

“What are you guys doing?” a voice asks from behind us. All three of us jump, and we turn around to see an older Copaie female, with a stern look on her face. Uh-oh! Busted!

“Oh, it’s just you, mom. You scared us.” Amancia says.

“You didn’t answer me.” Amancia’s mother says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I would like an explanation as well.” says a male voice. Soltig comes around and stands beside Amancia’s mother. Apparently, the conversation with Malum came to an end.

“Mom, Dad, this is Astra. She has come to kill Malum. That is why we were spying. We meant no disrespect, but we had to know what he was planning so we can form our plan.” she explains.

“Astra? Like our granddaughter?” Amancia’s mother asks.

“Yes. The very same Astra. Your granddaughter, from the future.”

Amancia’s mother studies my face and I shift uncomfortably.

“I don’t think I’m the same one,” I say.

“Yes, you are,” Amancia says, turning to me.

“I drugged both yours and Amlican’s drinks a few weeks back when we first met. I’m sure you realized something was wrong. Memory blackouts. Doing things, you would not normally do. I’m sorry but I needed a blood sample. I had to know for myself if you were my baby. The eyes are what convinced me, such a rare sight, even amongst our people. And the test turned out positive. One hundred percent my child.”

Doing things, we normally would not do? Does that mean, what I think it means?

“I thought something was off that night, but I couldn’t figure out what. Why didn’t you just ask for a blood sample?”

“Would you have given me, a complete stranger, some blood?” she asks.

“Well, no. I guess not.”

“Well, there you go,” she says as if no other explanation is needed.

“Hmph,” Soltig says. “That still doesn’t explain why you need to kill him.”

I have to think fast. What explanation would win him over to my side? Saving a Talfarian Queen is not going to work. Maybe if he knows about the extinction of the Copaie…

“Malum released a virus, in the atmosphere of Saltu, that attacked and destroyed only the DNA of Copaie. In my timeline, I am the only Copaie left. The rest are extinct. The virus quickly spread, it was carried by non-Copaie as well, but it didn’t affect them, they were just carriers.” I quickly explain.

“Then how are you still alive? How do we know that you aren’t infected as well?” Soltig demands.

“Because I was nowhere near Saltu when it was released,” I say.

“Where were you?” he asks. I shift uncomfortably a moment, my mind flying through possible excuses, before answering “On Talfar.”

“Why were you there?” he demands, again.

“For me,” Amlican says, coming to my rescue. “We are in love. We met on a space station similar to this one, in the Draczious Galaxy.”

“What?!” Soltig explodes. “No granddaughter of mine is going to have children with a filthy Talfarian!”

“Honey, calm down. No one said anything about her having children with the boy. She is here to get rid of Malum. Let’s just focus on that.” Amancia’s mother says.

“Alright,” he says. He continues to grumble under his breath.

“Where is he going?” I ask, cautiously.

“To prepare for the arrival of the future Talfarian Queen,” Soltig says.

“Do we have your permission to get rid of him, then, daddy?” Amancia asks.

“Yes. Fine. But I don’t want to see any show of affection from you two. Understood?” he says looking at me and then at Amlican.

“Understood.” Amlican and I say at the same time.

“Good. Get out of here.” Soltig says.

We leave the apartment of my grandparents and head to the elevator, riding it down to the first floor. It’s a long ride from the one hundred and fifth floor, the penthouse, but it gives us plenty of time to talk.

“So, what’s the plan?” Amlican asks.

“I don’t know,” I say.

Amancia draws Amlican into a conversation, but my mind is still on what I overheard Malum saying. He is planning to kill someone named Mangone. I wonder what will happen if I stop that? “Amancia?”

“Yes?” she asks.

“Who is Mangone? What I mean is, where is he located?”

“He deals in illegal trades. If it’s rare and illegal, chances are he has it or can get a hold of it. More than likely, you can find him in one of the bars. Playing Blukum.” she says.

Blukum. A dangerous card game, played only by the shadiest of men. Many a female is sold into slavery via that game. I better keep on my guard. I feel the jump, indicating the elevator is stopping, followed by the ding and the doors sliding open.

“Can you take us there?” I ask as the noise from the crowd of people fills the elevator.

“You have a plan?” Amancia asks stepping off of the elevator.

“Yes, but first I need to stop by one of those clothing shops. Can you loan me some more credits?” I ask, following her.

“Since you are my child, future or not, then the answer is yes,” she says.

“What kind of clothing are you looking for? The shop we go to will depend on the clothing that you are wanting.”

“I need a dress, something to catch the attention of every male that lays eyes on me. So, the shorter and tighter we can get it, the better.” I say.

“Hm. I know the perfect store.” Amancia says, weaving in and out, through the crowd of people.

“What exactly is your plan?” Amlican asks, walking beside me as we follow Amancia.

“If Mangone is the type to play Blukum, I have the perfect deal for him.”

“No! No way! Not a chance! You, want to sell yourself to him?! I don’t like that idea. I’m not going to just stand by and watch you do that. I’m not about to let you.” Amlican objects.

“What do you mean let me? I’m grown and will do whatever I see fit. I don’t need a male to tell me what I can and can’t do. Besides, I have no intention of following through with selling myself. I just want to distract him and force him to deal with Malum. It’s better than one of us having to do it.” I explain. “Just trust me.”

We stop outside a shop. The windows display a colorful arrangement of dresses. We go inside and shift through the dresses on the racks. None of these looks right.

“Here. What about this one?” Amancia asks, holding up a short orange dress.

“No. Not quite.” I say. “It’s short enough but not the right color.”

“How about this one?” Amlican says holding up an even shorter dark green dress.

“Yes! That is it. That is the one I need. Amancia, will you go find me a matching pair of shoes, while I put this on?” I ask, taking the dress from Amlican.

“Sure. The dressing area is over there. I will bring the shoes as soon as I pay for everything.” Amancia says, pointing to the far-left back corner. I head for the back, the dress draped over my arm.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Amlican asks as he follows behind me.

“Yes. It’s the only plan I can come up with on such short notice. But if you have a better idea, I would love to hear it.” I say, reaching out and grabbing the curtain in the closest dressing room.

“No? Nothing? That’s what I thought.” I pull the curtain shut and quickly get undressed. The more Mangone sees of me the more likely my plan will work. I step into the green dress and have to wiggle my hips a bit to pull it up over them. Once over them, I have to tug a little to pull it up over my chest.

I look over at the floor-to-ceiling mirror for the final adjustments. The dress is exactly what I was hoping for. It’s a dark green color that works perfectly with my light-yellow skin. It’s not only short, the hem stopping just an inch above the middle of my thigh, but it’s so tight that you can see every curve of my body. The top of the dress dips so low that my chest looks as if it will fall out at any moment.

I pull my hair out of its ponytail and give my head a small shake. I run my fingers through my hair, giving it a finishing touch. I bend over, which is hard to do in this dress, and grab my time travel jacket, pulling it on over the dress. It’s not like anyone but I can see it anyway. And I’m not about to go anywhere without it.

“Here, put these on,” Amancia says, pushing a pair of dark green spiked heels, under the curtain. I put the spiked heels on and take one last look in the mirror before pushing the curtain open. “How do I look?”

Amlican’s mouth drops open and he just stares.

“Amlican?” I ask, starting to feel self-conscious. He doesn’t stop staring and still doesn’t answer. “Well, I don’t have any other ideas. It’s either this or we go back to the future and just forget about it. I’ll get executed and you can go on with your life, marry, have kids, and forget I ever existed.” I say annoyed.

“I... uh ...you look...”Amlican starts.

“You look exactly like the type of girls that Mangone sells,” Amancia says, rolling her eyes at Amlican.

“Follow me, guys, I’ll take you to Mangone’s favorite bar.” Amancia leads the way, followed by me, and Amlican takes up the rear.

I get plenty of stares from men and angry looks from the women. I hate dressing this way, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

And I am desperate. We arrive at the bar and step into the dimly lit atmosphere. I can hear talking and laughter and see men of many different alien species gathered, slapping each other on the back in comradery or punching each other in the face in anger. As we walk past the tables, the conversations stop, and I can feel their eyes on me.

​We stop at a table in the back room, behind the bar. The table in front of us has six different males playing cards. But the one that stands out is a large muscular Copaie. Every part of him that I can see is covered in black tattooed stripes. That must be Mangone. And judging by the substantial number of tattooed stripes, he is ruthless. What the heck was I thinking? I can’t offer myself to him. What if he chains me up before I can get away? This was a bad idea.

Amancia clears her throat. “Mangone?”

​ “Not now, I’m... busy...” Mangone starts, as he looks up from his card game. “Oh, well, look at that. The General’s daughter has decided to join us.” he sneers. “Go away. No females allowed unless you plan on becoming my wife!” He laughs and the rest of the table joins him. ​

“Ugh! Gross! Not in a thousand lifetimes! My friend has a proposition for you.” Amancia says, stepping to the side so that Mangone can see me. ​

Mangone looks me up and down and lets out a loud whistle. “Now, what can I do for you, beautiful?”

“Malum is on his way to kill you. I need you to kill him, instead.” I say, nervously. The room erupts with laughter. Once it dies down, I continue. “In exchange for this, I will give myself to you. Be your new wife.” ​

Mangone is quite a moment. “Alright, sexy. I like what I see. It’s a deal. I will kill him for you. I suppose you want to watch him die?” he says, jerking my arm and sitting me down in his lap. ​

“Yes. After that, I’m all yours.” I say, attempting to get up. ​

“You already are all mine,” he says, placing his hand on my thigh. ​

“How much do you want for her?” one of the other Copaie asks. This one is missing half of his nose.

“This little beauty isn’t for sale. I’m keeping her for myself.” Mangone says.

​I turn and slap him in the face. “Get your filthy hand off my leg!”

He, in turn, punches me in the face, and says, “You belong to me now! I will touch you however I please, whenever I please. As my future wife, you better get used to that. Or were you lying to me? You weren’t planning on betraying me, were you?” He grabs my chin and jerks my face upwards so that I am forced to look him in the eyes. ​

Fear floods my mind and I temporarily panic. I feel a river of blood running from my nose. I hear the sounds of a fight behind me and Mangone lets go of my face.

“Kill them both!” he shouts, grabbing my arm in an iron grip as if anticipating my escape.

​I turn around in time to see one of Mangone’s thugs pulling a knife out of Amancia’s body. She collapses in a lifeless heap beside Amlican’s dead body. I scream and scream. Mangone’s hand shoots out and slaps me across the face, very effectively cutting off my scream.

“What have you done?!” I hear a familiar voice shout. ​

“General, sir! I can explain.” Mangone exclaims.

​ ​“Astra!” the general shouts.

​ ​Mangone let’s go of my arm. ​

“You are still alive? Thank goodness. You know what to do!” the general shouts. ​

I take advantage of his distraction, kick off my heels and run full force out of the bar. I don’t stop until I am far away from the bar. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! That didn’t work at all. I have to go back and stop myself from trying that. He is too big of a slimeball. I double tap on the sleeve to make the monitor pop up, then I enter in thirty minutes ago and try again.

Everything goes black and when my vision returns, I run barefooted towards the shop. I find the shop and look inside. No sign of myself, Amlican, or Amancia. Good, we have not gotten here, yet. Now, what do I do? How do I stop myself from this disastrous decision? Maybe if I manage to somehow close down the shop. I walk around the shop trying to figure it out when I spot a small section of wiring sticking out from behind a small display monitor.

I grab the wiring and jerk it with all my strength, pulling the wires completely loose. This causes a system-wide failure, and the power goes off. Thank goodness the owner took shortcuts. I hear the owner cursing about having to close early, as I run out of the shop. I hide behind a mannequin in the shop next door and wait to see what happens. I watch as the owner hangs a handprinted closed sign in the window. After a few minutes, Amancia, Amlican, and I show up.

“Aw, man! It’s closed. Now what?” I hear Amancia say.

“I don’t know. I’m out of ideas. I guess the whole Mangone thing was pretty stupid anyway. If he’s as dangerous as he sounds, the whole plan could have been blown apart. We will just have to think of another way to get rid of Malum.” The other me says.

“I think it’s for the best.” I hear Amlican saying, as my vision starts to fade to black. “I didn’t like the idea of you dressing in that kind of clothing.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say. Suddenly, I feel as if I got punched in the gut, and I fall to my knees. Tears fill my eyes as a vision of Amlican and Amancia, dead, fills my mind. What the? Did I just time travel, again?

“Are you okay?” Amlican asks.

Concern fills his face as he reaches down and helps me to stand. I look up at the shop, again, and see the closed sign. Yep, definitely, time traveled. I can see everything that would have happened had I stuck with the original plan. I climb unsteadily to my feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just tripped over a loose piece of flooring or something.” I hear a lot of noise and see a crowd gathering a few hundred feet away. “Let’s go see what’s happening,” I say.

We make our way towards the gathering crowd. And suddenly a loud booming voice fills the air, and the crowd goes silent.

“We are wanting the Nova princess. She is here, we know. The Talfarian has her. Bring to us the Talfar princess or everyone will die.”

The Talfar princess? That has to be my mother! Oh, no! We are too late! My eyes frantically search the crowd. Where is she? Where is she? Aha! I spot her standing off to the side. She looks to be about my age. My heart is filled with warmth at the sight of her. But then I notice someone who fills me with rage. Malum. And he is leading my mother away from the crowd.