Unknown Date

The three moved like nothing Pope had ever seen. Faster than any human. Coordinated and deadly. Before Pope could react, Viper had closed the distance. The reptilian unleashed a rain of blows, each fist striking like an anvil dropped from a rooftop. The old soldier was on his knees with spots before his eyes. His protective nimbus seemed much less effective stopping physical attacks than energy based ones.

This was proven again when protoplasmic Lisathi stretched out spiked tentacles. Despite Pope's attempt to dodge, the alien's arms wrapped around him and constricted. He could feel the spikes gouging his skin and his muscles and bone pressing together painfully. Nothing popped, but it felt like a close thing.

Locked in place, struggling to recover from the two attacks, Pope was a sitting duck for Bota's massive blade. The giant's powerful swing sliced through Pope's nimbus, laying open a gory gash along his chest and shoulder. Black blood splattered in a dark fan across the red sand.

"Arrgh!" Pope cried out as he sprawled on his back. His nimbus flickered. Blackness pulled him towards unconsciousness.

Then a portal opened inside of him. Energy poured in, pushing back the black webs of oblivion. Ae the rejuvenation rushed through his body, Pope felt completely energized. His wound was still bleeding but he felt like he had woken from a week's restful sleep. He jerked to his feet and threw his arms wide. "Enough!"

Brighter than ever before, his nimbus pulsed in a ring. The coruscating purple power crashed into the Reivers, slamming them off their feet and into the walls of the pit. Viper crashed hard, the wal fracturing where he struck. Lisathi seemed to splash like a half-filled water balloon. Bota's impact knocked spectators off their feet for a third of the arena.

Slowly Pope's nimbus contracted, leaving the three Reivers broken against the stone. Only the giant started to stir.

Pope sent a full-strength pulse blast to prevent Bota's recovery. No need to kill them if they'll stay down. There's been enough death today.

Straightening his shoulders, Pope turned to Skaith. "Better. But not good enough."

His voice was easily heard over the silence of the crowd.

"A worthy opponent!" the Reiver chieftain roared. "Someone to test my own mettle. The pit is well pleased." He tossed Naomi aside and leapt through the mesh to the sands.

Ok, so how much tougher could this guy be? Pope thought. With these powers I can take anything he can dish out. He cocked his fist back, a pulse blast ready, and motioned with his off hand for the pirate to come forward.

Skaith backed up, planted one foot against the concrete wall and showed his teeth in a tight rictus. A second later he literally rocketed forward, flames jetting out of his cybernetic feet. He crossed the sand almost quicker than Pope could follow.

Pope raised a gravity wall between them, but Skaith smashed through it without losing momentum. Desperately, the old soldier tried to dodge. The oncoming alien anticipated the move and adjusting his aim. Skaith's robotic right fist slammed into Pope's unarmored head.

One punch! was Pope's last thought for quite a while.

~ ~ ~

Pope woke to pain throughout his body. He was in a bed, covered in a dark red sheet. The room was small, with grey walls that might once have been white or light blue/green. There were stains and odd smells all around. The doorway was blocked by a door made of metal bars and sounds of activity came from beyond. Pope attempted to rise only to discover he was manacled to the bed. He tried to flare his nimbus to melt the shackles. Opening the portal inside him to draw the energy caused pain to stab through his chest, but no other effect. Crap! They've blocked my powers again.

He found he could not even lift his head, which was held down by a strap across his brow. The power blockage did not stop him from shifting his vision to see through the walls. He could tell he was in a medical wing of the Reiver headquarters, a large building that looked like it had once had a different function. He noticed the multi-layered aerial and orbital defenses were still in place.

His sharp ears picked up sounds of movement and other activities, numerous voices speaking in unknown languages, and the occasional distant scream. The scents were more varied and even less recognizable. After several minutes he detected a familiar set of mechanical footsteps headed in his direction.

"It took you long enough, Bri," Skaith said as he unlocked the door to enter. Again his voice was relayed and translated through a speaker on Pope's collar. "You have been out for three days."

The Reiver leader grabbed the sheet, uncovering Pope. A mirror seemed to appear in the air over his bed, allowing him to see himself. The first thing he noticed was that he was nude. Almost as quickly he realized he was not blue, but was in his normal Oran form. Then he saw that a glowing device had been implanted in his chest, covering his sternum and spreading over half of each pectoral. It glowed with pulsing purple light and deep scarlet energy and a cable trailed from the implant up in to the ceiling. Finally, he noted the bindings holding him immobile on the bed.

"Isn't that a thing of beauty?" Skaith said. "I can't even remember my first implant. On Neoni, most sprogs are implanted in the crèche. But that," the alien gestured to the glowing device, "that is a masterpiece of transdimensional engineering. A human sized hypertap."

"However it was that you got your very own energy conduit, we couldn't let you wander around in such a dangerous state. This ..." he taped the metal with a claw. "... shunts whatever energy you access to our own power grid. We should keep alive you just for this. You'd save us millions."

Pope did not reply. He could feel the implant invading his body, pulling at skin and muscle, scraping his bones. It should have been agonizing but there was no pain. Just a constant suction which he could feel draining him of his power.

"But enough of this. There's someone that wants very much to meet you." Skaith gestured and a small flying pod entered the cell. It was about the size of a baseball. From it sprung an almost solid looking hologram. It was a human looking man with light blue skin, silver white hair, and a shockingly recognizable face. "Say hello to your uncle – Bri Kerai."

"This is the half-breed?" The projected figure bent to look more closely at Pope. It was obvious the language he was speaking was different from Skaith's. The translator tried to match his tone and timbre. "It's so ugly. How could my dear brother ever have brought himself to such a despicable act?"

"What do you want me to do with him?" Skaith asked.

"I want you to kill him now, is as brutal and public a means as possible, recorded so the whole Union can see the barbarism of the Dominion." Oran's supposed uncle snarled. "But I cannot trust you not to betray me and fake the recording and the body. Instead you will hold him until I arrive to confirm his provenance and determine if there are more like it on that wretched world. If it is the last, then I will joyfully document your cruel destruction of this last vestige of a tainted line."

"And if he is not the last? If your brother managed to slip more rightful heirs through your ineffectual fingers?"

"Then I will take my fleet and sterilize the entire planet!" Kerai barked. Flecks of spittle flew out of the holo's field of view.

He's like a bad movie villain. Pope thought. But who knows, maybe that's normal for his race. I hope Naomi makes it out somehow. It doesn't look like I'm going to.

"I will be there in three weeks," Kerai continued more calmly. "Be ready."

With a snap, the projector shut off and the mad uncle's image vanished. Skaith bared his jagged teeth in what might have been either a grin or a sneer on a human. Pope stared at him silently. Though the teenager in him really wanted to say something, this was not the time for snappy quips or brave speeches.

Skaith called out, words the collar did not bother to translate. Several Reivers rushed into the room and plucked Pope from his bed. Careful to keep him chained and guarded they all but dragged him up through the building. On the roof, they thrust him into a cage barely tall enough for him to stand in. The plugged a thick cable into the implant in his chest. He could move, sit or lie down, but the cable leading into the concrete below him was a constant drag.

Three days past. Pope was not guarded, though he could see cameras focused on him. There were stairs on the outside of the building that led to his roof. Occasionally, aliens whom he assumed by their ragged and battered appearance were slaves would bring food. Other aliens, mostly drunkards or children, would come to mock him, even throwing stinking refuse.

"Welcome to the zoo," Pope muttered, just to hear his voice. "See the monkey in the cage."

It started raining. The storm lasted for two days, lighting flashing across the violet clouds. Five times bolts stuck the cage, sending electric energy surging though him, only to be immediately drained through the implant and cable in to the batteries below. During the storm no one came to the roof. He felt the hunger of an empty belly, but it did not gnaw on him like it should have. His body was drawing energy from a different source, even with the implant stealing most of it away.

During his solitary confinement Pope let his mind wander. He relived events from his childhood in 1950's Michigan and from Oran's in 2000's New York. He often compared how he was raised with how his host body's experiences. His was a more typical childhood while Oran's was more eventful.

He spent significant time considering his actions since his awakening in the hospital. I really suck at pretending to be a teenager, he decided. While trying to live his life to make it easier on his friends and family, I've probably destroyed every one of Oran's relationships.

He pictured conversations with Hester and interactions with the kids at school. In every instance he realized he had come across as either patronizing or pedantic. In the last few weeks he had been consciously distancing himself from everyone at school and home. Even his time with the heroes of YoungBlood had not overcome the growing isolation he had been feeling. They're all good kids, but they're still kids. And ultimately, I'm not.

Maybe it would be better if I never made it back. Whoa! Where did that come from? Pope delved deeper in to introspection. He realized that once again his body's hormones were affecting him, leading to thoughts of hopelessness and despair. I guess I'm not really an old man either. Not that I never felt depression. But I was never suicidal. These violent mood swings can really screw with your perspective.

"So what do I do?" He questioned aloud. I keep trying to get out of here. I don't know why the Uncle want's me dead, but that ain't happening. I'll have to wait and see what the situation is if and when I get back to New York. They have to know I am gone. We'll see what level of truth works best for everyone when I get back. Naomi knows the truth and is much more familiar with this world She might have some ideas. If not, I'll have to wing it.

In the middle of the third night a cloaked figure came through the door from the building. He looked through the shroud and saw Dr. Royale. Standing, he searched for anyone that might be following her. On the other side of the door was a hulking alien like the one that had laid him open with the polearm.

"Hold on." She pulled out a device, waved it over to cage lock, and jerked the door open. "Can you walk?"

Pope stepped out of the cage then started stretching. "I can run if needed."

"Then let's go." She led him through the door. He looked at the waiting alien askance. "This is E'far. She's helping us."

"Thank you," Pope said. The giantess wobbled her head and started into the building. "If you let me know which way we're going, I can look ahead."

"That's my line," Naomi joked. Pope looked at her confused. Sighing, she just shook her head. "We'll all keep an eye out."

It took several minutes, with three different detours to avoid Reivers, before they reached a ground-level loading dock. A truck-like machine was being unloaded, boxes and crates floating out from its covered bed. E'far used a flashing hand light to signal the driver. The reptilian wobbled it head, went to one of the three guards, and threw an arm over her shoulder. A clinking bag passed between them. The guard offered a hand sign and walked away, calling to the other guards. They followed and in a minute the dock was free of Reivers. The large alien chivvied Pope and Royale in to the covered conveyance and it quickly drove away leaving the silent giant behind.

Pope gestured to Royale, asking if it was safe to talk.

She pulled out a sensor that looked like the old Star Trek tricorders and waved it around the vehicle. She took out another tool and used it to release his collar. Tossing it out of the back of the truck she smiled at him. "I think we're ok," she said.

"What happened? How'd you get us out?"

"Pretty much what you'd expect in a situation like this. The Reivers took over this planet a few years ago, displacing the local power structures. But the invaders have limited manpower and need get of their supplies and support from the locals. In situations like this there is almost always a resistance. I simply made contact with one of their people and convinced her to help us get out."

Pope thought for a minute. His understanding of historical analogs agreed with her reasoning. Occupiers usually bred a resistance. "How did you ... no that's not important right now," he stopped himself. "What next?"

"We have to find a way to remove that." She tapped the implant on his chest. "Not that I know what it is yet."

"It's a hypertap. I get my powers from an internal conduit to an extradimensional power source." He tapped the implant. "This thing taps that power and redirects it to a power grid. If I'm not plugged into the grid it seems to simply block my conduit.

"So it's preventing you from using your powers."

"Exactly."

"Unfortunately I don't know much about extradimensional energy taps. I know you mentioned your father had built one and its destruction is what unlocked your powers. But it's a technology not used on Earth. It's going to take me some time to study it."

"I know ... or more accurately Oran knew ... how to build a hypertap. He did one for a school project this year. I helped complete it using his memories. Perhaps we can work together on it."

"That's great. If we can remove or disable it that opens a lot more options."

"Like getting into orbit to steal a ship?" Pope suggested.

"Yeah, though we also need to find the navigation data to get back to Earth. I have little idea were in the galaxy we are, much less how to get back home. No, I was really thinking that once your powers are back, we can help lead the resistance against the Reivers. Between your raw power and my special abilities we should be able to tip the balance in their favor."

Pope considered that. "I have some experience with this sort of thing. I don't think I mentioned it, but I was in Army Special Forces from the early '70's to the mid '80's. Training and supporting insurgents was part of our mission. If the Reivers have limited numbers, the technological disparity is not too great, and we can overcome enemy control of air and space, it might work."

The two discussed Naomi's experiences while Pope was held captive. The Reivers saw her has not threat and threw her in the slave pens. She had worked in the fields and the warehouses. After an incident where she stopped an overseer from attacking E'far, the gentle giant had taken Naomi under her wing.

"Aside from my temporal powers, I was born with a latent telepathic ability. Years of training in various mental disciplines allowed me limited control over this power. I can, with sufficient concentration, achieve a mind meld with another sentient. I used this with E'far to learn her language and the languages of the Dominion which are common to the Reivers and the locals." She gestured to her outfit. "I was also able to portal in replacements for my normal gear and to build this for you."

Pope examined the bracer she held out. Using his special vision and EM senses he saw that it was a complex computer with EM broadcast and receiving capabilities. "What is it?" he asked.

"Standard computer/com-unit with most known sector languages in the translator database. It will allow you to communicate with out your collar. It can also read text and interface with the local computers," she said with evident pride.

"Great. I can start inputting some of the hypertap notes so you access."

"That would be very helpful." Naomi smiled.

Looking at her beautiful face, sparkling eyes, and long sandy blond hair Pope felt his breath quicken and his blood start pounding. Damn hormones ...

It was late afternoon when the truck drove into another tunnel. For most of the trip they had alternated driving across flat grasslands and through extended underground passages. Occasionally they saw farms, small towns, or mines. The locals seemed to live equally under and above ground. This particular underground road system was fairly extensive, and they started seeing other traffic. Sometime later they stopped in a well-lit cavern that held a number of buildings and a crowd of aliens.

The driver got out and opened the back gate. She motioned for them to dismount. Pope leapt down, then offered Dr. Royale a hand. She took it and smiled. Several locals gathered around the driver. It was obvious they wanted to know more about her passengers. After a few minutes a small contingent came to the two humans.

"Are you the Ernei, Bri?" one asked through Popes translator.

"So it would seem, though I do not know if I believe it yet." Pope replied.

"Come with us." The order was given without inflection, but that might have been the translator. The speaker moved away from the truck, towards one of the passageways in the side of the cavern. With a shared shrug, the two Earthers followed.