Skip to main content

Theta Mists Part Twelve

 




Part Twelve

 

           

        The air inside the dome was electric—thick with the charged tension of the mists, now a living force that surged and howled through every corridor and crevice. Outside, violent storms lit up the wilderness, bolts of alien energy fracturing the sky and leaving jagged scars in their wake. Inside the dome, chaos reigned. Lights flickered and failed, casting the colony in a stuttering twilight. Alarms wailed, their shrill tones barely cutting through the panicked shouts of colonists and the ominous rumble from deep beneath their feet.

Aiden and Kael stumbled through the dimly lit corridors, their breaths ragged as sympathetic officers led them toward the outer gates. Behind them, Valryn moved with preternatural grace, the Seraphim’s glowing eyes scanning every shadow, every sound. Their presence was a beacon amid the chaos, their form radiant and otherworldly as if it alone could hold back the unraveling world.

“They’re reaching the core,” Valryn murmured, their voice almost drowned by the cacophony. “The Naerissyn is fracturing. We are running out of time.”

Aiden’s chest tightened. The images from the Seraphim’s vision haunted him—fractured webs, dying worlds, Earth engulfed in chaos. He hadn’t come to Theta-13 to be a hero. He’d come to survive, to endure his contract and return home. But now, survival meant something else entirely.

The officer leading them stopped at a junction, her face pale and streaked with sweat. “This is as far as we go,” she said, her voice trembling. “The overseers have locked down the rigs. You’ll have to get in yourselves.”

Kael stepped forward, her gaze hard as steel. “Thank you. Get as many people out of here as you can.”

The officer nodded, hesitated, then turned and disappeared into the mist-filled corridors.

As they approached the mining rigs, the air grew hotter, the metallic tang of ozone sharp in their noses. The ground trembled beneath their feet, the vibrations growing stronger with every step.

The rigs loomed ahead, towering machines of steel and greed, their massive drills plunging into the heart of the moon. Aiden could see the overseers clustered near the central console, their faces lit by the eerie glow of holographic displays. They were arguing, gesturing wildly, but their voices were lost in the deafening roar of machinery.

Kael’s voice was tight with fury. “They’re still drilling. Even now.”

“They do not see,” Valryn said, their tone heavy with sadness. “They will not see until it is too late.”

Aiden squared his shoulders and stepped forward, his voice cutting through the din. “Shut it down! You’re going to destroy everything!”

The overseers turned as one, their expressions a mix of surprise and defiance. The lead overseer, a broad-shouldered man with a face like carved granite, stepped forward. “You’ve got some nerve showing your face here, Sol. You’re a fugitive. And you’re trespassing on corporate property.”

Kael spat at his feet. “Property? This moon is alive, and you’re killing it!”

“It’s just a rock,” the overseer shot back, his voice cold. “A resource. And we’re doing what we’re paid to do—extracting it.”

Valryn stepped forward, their presence silencing the room. The glow of their body intensified, and the air around them seemed to shimmer. “This ‘rock,’ as you call it, sustains your world and countless others. Its destruction will not end with this moon. It will unmake your future.”

The overseer hesitated, his jaw tightening. “Even if I believed you, it’s not my call to make. The operation comes from the top. I’ve got my orders.”

“Then disobey them,” Aiden said, his voice raw. “You’ve seen what’s happening out there. You can feel it under your feet. This isn’t just about money or orders. It’s about survival—yours, mine, everyone’s. Shut it down.”

The overseer’s eyes flickered with uncertainty, but before he could respond, the ground beneath them heaved violently. A fissure cracked through the floor, spewing mist and a blinding pulse of light. The holographic displays shorted out, sparks flying as the rig groaned under the strain.

Valryn turned to Aiden and Kael, their expression grim. “The Naerissyn is collapsing. If it breaks completely, it will drag everything with it. But there is another way.”

“What way?” Kael demanded.

Valryn’s wings unfolded slightly, their luminous edges shimmering like a dying star. “We can sever Theta-13 from the web before it collapses. The destruction will stop here, sparing the rest of the universe. But it will take all of us—our energy, our existence. And those who remain on the moon will share our fate.”

Aiden felt his stomach drop. “You mean… you’ll die. And anyone left here will die too.”

Valryn nodded solemnly. “It is the only way.”

The overseers stared at the Seraphim, their defiance crumbling into fear. Aiden clenched his fists, his mind racing. He had come to this moon to escape, to endure, to go home. Now, home felt like a distant dream slipping through his fingers.

The rig groaned again, another tremor shaking the room. The mists thickened, crackling with energy, and Aiden knew the time for choices was nearly over.

 

------------

 

The storm roared like a dying god, a cacophony of rage and despair that consumed the sky and ground alike. The mists had become something more than vapor, twisting and writhing as if alive, lashing out with tendrils of crackling energy. In the heart of the chaos, the Seraphim stood, their radiant forms a stark contrast to the encroaching darkness. They were like celestial warriors, their wings shimmering with an ethereal light that seemed to hold the storm at bay.

Valryn stepped forward, their arms raised, and a haunting chant began to flow from the Seraphim. It wasn’t sound but something deeper—an ancient resonance that vibrated through the air, through the ground, through the very marrow of those who heard it. The Naerissyn responded, its luminescent web of energy surging upward, splitting the mists with threads of blinding light. The moon trembled, its core resonating with the ritual as if reluctant to be severed but knowing it had no choice.

Aiden and Kael were a blur of motion, their voices hoarse from shouting orders as they herded panicked colonists toward the few functioning escape vessels. The dome had become a boiling pot of chaos, its residents clawing for survival.

“Move! Keep moving!” Kael barked, pulling a crying child from a stumbling mother and shoving them both toward the open hatch of a shuttle.

Aiden’s heart pounded as he dragged a wounded man to the loading bay, his arms burning from the effort. “We don’t have time for this,” he muttered, though his actions betrayed the words.

Above them, the storm fractured into shards of light as a fleet of sleek, angular ships descended, their black hulls gleaming with menace. The naval fleet had arrived. From the flagship, Admiral Kosari’s voice boomed across the comms.

“Stand down, Seraphim! Cease your ritual, or we will open fire!”

The Seraphim did not falter. Their chant grew louder, the resonance deepening until it felt as though the moon itself were singing in harmony.

Aiden glanced upward, his chest tightening as the fleet’s cannons began to charge. “Damn it,” he hissed. “Kael, we’ve got to hurry!”

But even as he spoke, the first salvo struck. Explosions bloomed in the air, their fiery petals tearing through the mists. The Seraphim were unfazed, their glowing forms unyielding, though the ground around them shattered, sending debris flying.

The Reavers and Keepers, once enemies, fought side by side, their makeshift weapons clashing against the fleet’s ground forces. A Reaver hurled a spiked club into the fray, while a Keeper struck down a marine with a precise energy blast. It was a brutal, chaotic symphony, but it bought precious time for the evacuees.

Kael grabbed Aiden’s arm, her grip like iron. “This is suicide, Aiden! We’ve done what we can. We need to get out of here!”

He turned to her, his face etched with resolve. “You go. You can still make it.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “What? No. You’re coming with me!”

“I can’t,” he said, his voice breaking. “This isn’t just about surviving anymore. If they stop the Seraphim, it’s over for everyone—for Earth, for every world connected to this place.”

Kael shook her head, her voice cracking. “You don’t owe them this! You don’t owe anyone anything!”

Aiden cupped her face with shaking hands. “I know. But I can’t leave. Not now.”

Tears filled her eyes as she pulled him into a fierce embrace. “You idiot. You stupid, self-sacrificing idiot.”

He smiled weakly. “Take care of yourself, Kael. And make sure they know what happened here.”

Before she could argue further, he turned and ran toward the Seraphim, the ground quaking beneath his feet.

Valryn’s wings flared as Aiden approached, their light casting him in a celestial glow. “You have chosen to stay,” the Seraphim said, their voice both question and statement.

Aiden nodded, his breath ragged. “If this is how it ends, I want to make sure it counts.”

Valryn extended a hand, their elongated fingers delicate yet strong. “Then stand with us, Aiden Sol. Witness the severance of a dying star.”

As the ritual reached its crescendo, the Naerissyn’s light pierced the heavens, cutting through the fleet’s ships like blades of molten gold. The Seraphim’s chant swelled, a final harmony that promised both salvation and sacrifice.

And Aiden stood among them, a mere mortal amidst gods, ready to face the end.

 

-----------

The final moments of Theta-13 were both blinding and silent, a paradox of light and stillness. The Naerissyn surged one last time, its radiant web of energy unraveling in a cascade of colors that defied description. The Seraphim’s chant, resonant and eternal, echoed across the moon, their words a hymn to the dying star they had sworn to protect. Aiden stood among them, his face illuminated by the impossible brilliance, his heart heavy yet resolved.

The ground beneath them fractured and trembled, the mists twisting into spiraling columns that reached for the sky. Valryn extended his wings, their shimmering expanse encircling the group like a protective cocoon. Aiden looked to him, their eyes meeting in a fleeting moment of understanding—a shared acceptance of the sacrifice they were making.

And then, the light consumed them all.

Across the galaxy, on Earth and other worlds tethered to the Naerissyn, the sky shimmered briefly, as if exhaling a long-held breath. The web dimmed, its brilliance subdued but stable. The ripple of collapse the Seraphim had foreseen never came. The connected worlds held firm, their fragile ecosystems spared from the cascading destruction that had loomed so close.

On Theta-13, there was nothing. The moon had vanished, severed from existence in a final, luminous burst that left the naval fleet drifting in silence. The void it left behind was stark and cold, a reminder of what had been lost.

Admiral Kosari stood on the bridge of her flagship, her face pale and drawn as she stared at the empty expanse. The weight of what she had witnessed bore down on her, but she turned to her crew with a firm command. “Set course for Earth. We’ve done enough here.”

Months later, Kael stood before a crowded chamber in Geneva, Earth’s seat of galactic diplomacy. Her face was lined with exhaustion, her voice raw from countless retellings of Theta-13’s final hours. She carried a small data crystal in her hand, Aiden’s final message encoded within.

“I was there,” she began, her voice steady despite the trembling in her hands. “I saw Theta-13’s end. I stood alongside Aiden Sol, a man falsely accused, a man who found his purpose in a moment of despair. He chose to stay, to fight for something greater than himself. He and the Seraphim saved us all.”

The room was silent, the weight of her words sinking into the gathered diplomats and scientists. Kael placed the crystal on the table before her, activating it. A hologram of Aiden appeared, his face gaunt but resolute, his voice carrying the raw sincerity that had defined him in those final moments.

“To whoever hears this,” he said, “know that Theta-13 wasn’t just a moon. It was a lifeline, a thread in a web so vast we can barely comprehend it. The Seraphim gave their lives to protect that web, to save us from our own greed. I don’t know if humanity will change, but I hope you’ll try. Because this galaxy isn’t just ours—it belongs to all of us.”

The hologram flickered and faded, leaving the room in heavy silence.

Kael stepped back, her hands clenched at her sides. “Aiden believed we could be better. That’s why he stayed. That’s why they all stayed. We owe it to them to honor their sacrifice—not with monuments, but with change.”

Years passed, and Theta-13 became a legend. Some called it a cautionary tale, a warning about humanity’s recklessness in the face of the unknown. Others saw it as a spark, a call to explore the galaxy with newfound respect and understanding.

The Naerissyn, though dimmer, continued to weave its silent threads, connecting worlds that now spoke of the Seraphim and Aiden Sol as saviors.

On a quiet hill overlooking a bustling spaceport, Kael sat alone, gazing up at the stars. She carried their memory with her, a reminder of the cost of ignorance and the potential for redemption.

And as humanity stepped forward into the galaxy, it did so with the echo of Theta-13 lingering in its soul—a reminder of what was lost and a hope for what might yet be found.

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cocaine Cola and Recovery

  Buy Cocaine Cola  The first time I held a composition notebook in my hands at rehab, I felt like a soldier clutching a sword in a battle I wasn’t sure I could win. Recovery—from alcoholism, from myself—was not the hero’s journey I had romanticized in my more delusional moments. It was more like crawling through a swamp with a broken compass. And yet, somehow, amid the sweat-soaked nightmares and the relentless peeling back of layers I had spent years constructing, I found the spark to create. Let me start at the beginning—or rather, one of the beginnings. You see, alcoholism has a funny way of offering you new beginnings all the time, but they’re never the kind you want. I had just hit one of those new beginnings, a rock bottom that made me look at myself and think, “This can’t be it. This cannot be how the story ends.” The days leading up to rehab are a blur, like a badly edited montage of shame, regret, and staggering attempts at normalcy. But once I walked through those ...

Demons Within - Out Now!

  Buy Now Demons Within is a fictional story that hits on the true madness of alcoholism and addiction. Written through the lens of a crime thriller, the storyline takes place in the Capitol region of New York State and features a series of twists and turns. The protagonist, Bill Dillard, is a retired homicide detective who has struggled with alcoholism and addiction for the past two decades. His drinking destroyed his marriage, strained his relationships, and left him alone in the world. Yet after his ex-wife is found brutally murdered in a cabin in upstate New York, Bill finds himself thrust into the investigation, determined to uncover the truth. As the plot ramps up, Bill’s disease brings him to the depths of despair, including his ultimate rock bottom, before finding the strength to pull himself up in order to solve the crime. This riveting, unputdownable, engrossing page-turner is available now in Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook - exclusively on Amazon.  Now

My Books

  My Books **Discover Worlds Beyond Your Imagination**   Step into the library of my mind—a place where stories run wild, characters come alive, and each book is a doorway to a different world. From the crackle of a freshly turned page to the glow of your favorite device, these tales are waiting for you to dive in.   Imagine holding a map that leads to laughter, heartbreak, mystery, or adventure. That’s what you’ll find here—books that whisper, shout, and sing. Each one is crafted with care, shaped by midnight musings and coffee-fueled mornings.   Amazon may be the bustling metropolis where most of you stop by, but these stories stretch far and wide—Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, and more. No matter where you like to read, there’s a seat waiting for you.   Ready to explore? Click “My Books” at the top or bottom of this page and see what’s waiting for you. Each book is a ticket. All you have to do is choose your destination.   My Books