"Those foolish beings... Humans, they call themselves. If they weren't so young and ignorant, I would fry then drown the entire species," fumed a beautiful, ageless woman.
Her smooth bald head, long slender neck, and lavender skin gave her an otherworldly beauty. But her cold dark eyes, and the hatred in her voice betrayed a dark side.
"Duscula, you can't blame an entire race for the actions of a few beings in one settlement. And your new arm will be ready soon, it's already over halfway grown."
"You are right of course, Sarran. I don't desire revenge. In fact I wish to reward the one young being who saved my life. Without his assistance, I would not be here speaking with you."
"And those who tried to kill you after your cruiser crashed?" Sarran asked carefully.
"I want to teach them to think before trying to destroy that which they don't understand. I also intend to recover as much of what I left behind as possible," replied Duscula in an emotionless tone.
"As you wish. I live to advise and serve," said Sarran. Almost as an afterthought, he stood and gave a low bow before settling back into his chair.
"And as my long-time second in command, I value your advice. Just remember that I have the final word," she replied sweetly. As she rose gracefully from the sleek, silver ergonomic chair, Duscula smiled.
She passed Sarran, and the long flowing skirt of her exquisite dress brushed his cheek. Energy crackled, and he leaned into it with pleasure.
"Sarran please bring me some water," instructed Duscula, ignoring his reaction.
As she waited, she gazed out of the the portal at the gem of a planet below. "Such a rare oasis... I hope the creatures who live there become worthy of it, in time," mused Duscula.
"Your water," said Sarran, interrupting her thoughts.
"Thank you. Tomorrow I will travel back to that settlement, and resolve things one way or another," said Duscula determinedly.
On Earth:
"How could you be so stupid, Sergeant? You could have killed her. She lost her freakin' arm escaping from your death trap," raged a man in his twenties.
His thick glasses had become so steamed up that he removed them. Dropping the eyeglasses into the pocket of his lab coat, he began to pace.
"You were the one who acted rashly, Dackard. And you are out of line even now! If you hadn't stopped the machine, the subject would be in pieces by now," the older man in the military uniform grumbled.
"The subject, as you call her, has a name. Duscula. And what she could have taught us would have been priceless. But with what you had in mind, her escape didn't cost you much knowledge. As you said she would be in pieces by now. Sir."
Having said Sir with as much contempt as possible, the young scientist strode out of the room.
The enraged sergeant began to follow, then changed his mind and pounded his right fist into his left hand. "Civilians! They should never be allowed near a military base!" he seethed.
As Dackard made his way down a long corridor, his phone rang.
"Hello? Mom? Yeah, everything's fine," he lied.
"Paul, what's wrong? You never could fool me," she replied with worry.
"It's not really anything I can talk about. We're doing some groundbreaking research, and it can get a little intense," he admitted.
"Well when I was working, if things got intense it usually meant someone wanted to do something wrong. You just stick to what you know is right, and everything else will work itself out," she replied kindly.
"I will, thanks for the advice, Mom. I love you, and will talk to you tomorrow," promised Paul Dackard, as he ended the call.
Seconds later, alarms began blaring through the regularly spaced speakers. Covering his ears, he made his way to the closest window. In this case, the one in the extremely modern cafeteria.
Open but completely empty, save for the elderly lady who ensured that hot food was always available, it was surreal. She was staring open-mouthed out of the huge bay window. The normally peaceful scene outside was utter chaos.
Wasseforde Armed Defense Research Installation, or WADRI as it was called by its inhabitants, was surrounded by an old growth forest. In place of a lawn, the facility had a beautiful meadow, with a huge oak visible in the distance.
Instead of a star filled sky and soft shadows, Paul was greeted by purple lightning streaking the sky. A bolt appeared on the verge of hitting the big oak. Amazingly despite the light show, neither the oak or any of the other trees seemed to be on fire.
But neither Paul or the attendant spent too much time looking at the sky. Duscula was quite literally in the spotlight. As she made her way closer to the building, he could see water swirling all around her, in unnatural directions.
"She's like the Weather Sorceress from my favorite video game," he breathed in awe.
Duscula made her way to the main entrance, and was greeted by twenty unfortunate soldiers. Seconds later their guns were in pieces, and they were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.
Once she entered the building, Paul left the cafeteria at a sprint, sliding around corners at top speed. When he spotted Duscula, he slid to a stop.
"Duscula? It's me Paul, the one who helped you. I'm guessing you're here for your ship?" he asked uncertainly, suddenly unsure if approaching her was a good idea.
"Good. I was hoping I would see you again Paul," she replied kindly as she advanced towards him in rapid, graceful strides.
"I'm glad you got away, I'm ashamed of the way you were treated," he said emotionally.
"That wasn't your fault - or anyone else's except for those involved," she replied, and found that she genuinely meant it.
"Your ship is in an inner room," he informed her.
"I don't want to leave anything behind for them to study. Is my arm there as well?" she asked.
"No... Your arm and some of the smaller items from the ship are in the other research room with the sergeant. The room with the machine," he replied.
"We will go there first then," she said matter of factly.
"Are you going to kill him?" Paul asked worriedly.
"No. Would it have bothered you if I did?" she asked curiously.
"Yes... I mean, I know you have a good reason. He would do it to you in a second. But I just don't want anyone to get hurt," he admitted.
"You sound much like my second in command, Paul. Would you be interested in a position as part of my crew? We are a research vessel, purely scientific. You would see places that others of your species won't visit for thousands of years, if ever," offered Duscula.
"I'm honored. And if it were just me, I would accept. But my mother, the woman who gave birth to me, needs me. She has nobody else left," Paul replied sadly, unable to believe that he was turning down such an incredible offer.
"I understand. Our culture has a similar focus on family and other relationships," she said gently.
"I really would love to go though... If things change, is there a way to contact you?" he asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately no, but I will leave you with enough to keep you busy until I can come back and check on your progress," she said with a smile.
Paul stopped in surprise. "After the way you were treated?" he asked, looking at the corridor door leading to the room where the woman in front of him had almost been murdered.
"Yes. And who better to supervise the research than the one who saved my life?" she asked.
Too overcome with emotion to reply, Paul simply nodded.
Two more turns, and they were in front of the room where the sergeant was monitoring the situation. Duscula zapped the lock, and directed the significant amount of water swirling around her towards the now open door.
To be continued!
Describe what you see:
I see a woman with one arm, who probably isn't completely human. Her dress is long and flowing. She doesn't appear to have ears as we know them, and her neck is unusually long. She also has purple and blue tones on her skin. Her eyes appear to be different too, but even zooming in it's difficult to tell.
Around her water is swirling in unnatural directions. Purple lightning is streaking through the sky. The landscape looks like meadows and woodland.
Describe what you feel:
I feel like this woman is very powerful. Maybe she can even control matter with her mind. Obviously she doesn't fear the lightning.