This has been designed to act as a standalone episode, but you might find it interesting to read this first
The water flew across the room like a hurricane, directly at the unsuspecting man. His back turned, he was slapping a static filled monitor, and cursing. When the torrent hit, he went down hard.
"Paul, please collect everything. I'm going to take a moment to chat with my former captor," the beautiful alien requested.
"I'll be glad to," replied the young scientist. Soon he had all of the items.
Looking at the scene before him, he gasped. The sergeant had been knocked out by the force of the impact, and was just beginning to stir. Duscula was standing next to him, waiting.
"Would you like some privacy, Duscula?" he asked.
"No Paul, I think I would like you to stay," she replied thoughtfully.
"Ugh... What happened?" groaned the sergeant, as he slowly rose to his knees.
"I came back to collect what is mine. I had to leave under less than ideal circumstances last time, because of your machine," she replied, pointing towards a glass chamber housing a vast array of wicked looking instruments.
As she pointed, purple lightning flew from her hand towards the steel frame. The lights on the control panel lit up, then the console exploded.
Focusing on it for another second, she held her hand with her palm out, and it exploded with a mighty boom. None of the debris touched the people in the room. It was as if it hit an invisible wall.
"I could do that to you too. Or I could have just put you in your own machine, Sergeant. Do you know why I'm going to let you live, when you would have killed me?" Duscula asked in an icy voice.
Mouth open, all the terrified man could do was shake his head. Then he finally whispered one word. "No."
"Because my species is civilized. I'm here on a scientific mission, and simply wanted to investigate this unique world. Killing you would be much like you killing a gorilla in the wild for defending his territory.
You are acting out of ignorance and fear. In time, I hope your species will grow into a people whom we are able to exchange ideas with. Until then, I leave you to your own devices," she said coldly.
Then she called the water back to her, sent it to the ceiling in a powerful whirlpool, and dumped it unceremoniously on the sergeant.
Huddled on the floor, soaked and defeated, he avoided the wrathful gaze of his former captive.
Duscula raised her arm, hand extended, palm up. Hundreds of purple lightning bolts streaked towards every piece of equipment, destroying them all simultaneously. Satisfied, she strode out of the room, with Paul following in stunned silence.
"Where is my ship? I brought the necessary materials to repair it, unless it has been dismantled," she said.
"Only the pieces I collected from the Head Research Room were removed. The higher ups gave explicit orders not to mess with it too much. They wanted to create working replicas to use for war," he replied bitterly, as he led the way through the base's maze of corridors.
"I see... Paul, what do you think most of the beings of your world would do with such technology?" Duscula asked thoughtfully.
"It depends on who it is. Many would use it to do good. But then, there are people like the general too. I think if new technology were released, it should be made available to everyone, all at the same time. This would ensure any attempts at obtaining it won't cause a war, and that no one group or nation gains an advantage. Also, it wouldn't land in a place like this, where it's unlikely to benefit the general public for a long time, if ever," replied Paul.
"I think you have a good idea Paul, at least for some of the smaller things and medical applications. But first, let's get my cruiser running, and get out of here," Duscula said.
"Right, it's two more left turns, then a right. Fourth door on the left," he replied confidently.
"How did you ever learn to navigate this place?" she asked curiously.
"I challenged myself to draw maps of it.The visual aids, combined with the concentration required to create them, gave me a mental image of the entire installation," he replied proudly.
"Of everyone here, you are the only one who has treated me with any measure of respect or kindness. Why did you come to this place?" Duscula asked.
"I was researching AI and the possibility of silicone based life forms at Caltech, when two guys in black suits visited. They said they wanted to show me something that would make my studies look like an antique telephone. Then they took me to New Mexico. After what I saw there... Well let's just say that I'm not allowed much privacy any more. And it's real hard to say no when Uncle Sam asks you to study potential threats to national security instead of pursuing purely academic research," he replied sadly.
"Well, we will just have to do something about that," said Duscula.
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.