Y:14 D:53

  Argos main gate

  Eldon was at the perimeter of the clearing, walking toward the gate with his weapons

  sheathed. Alex was notified and realized that he was coming in peace, so he

  immediately walked out to greet him.

  “Hello, Eldon,” said Alex. “Welcome back to Argos.”

  “Hello, Alex,” replied Eldon. “I am back because I want to talk with you.”

  They began walking toward a small park near the center of the city. “Why the

  change of plans?” asked Alex.

  “It’s been too long alone here.”

  “I don’t understand. If you are alone, then how did you know we are here?

  How did you maintain the observation plane that you used to find us? Also, there are

  many species who know of you.”

  “The Serpents,” said Eldon.

  “Yes. The Naga were very clear in their knowledge of you.”

  “They are very hard to deal with. Under water, I can’t fight easily, and they

  tend to make their homes near the shores.”

  “I am not sure I understand,” said Alex.

  “It’s been too long. I have forgotten how many years it has been since I spoke

  with someone. I give up now. I need some company.”

  “Calm down, Eldon,” said Alex, turning toward him and holding his shoulder. “I

  can hardly understand what you are saying to me. Being alone is very hard, but this

  is over now.”

  “Thank you,” said Eldon, moved by Alex’s words. “I never liked attacking

  everyone in the first place.”

  “Tell me why you did it.”

  “It was my order; I was equipped with a device that replicates itself and can

  also make weapons and parts for my base and planes.”

  “Ordered by whom?”

  In the meantime, Jain and the other leaders were listening in on the

  conversation. When Eldon mentioned that he had working machines, Steve and

  Margaret’s eyes opened wide. “We need those machines,” Steve said.

  “Definitely we do,” answered Margaret.

  Eldon sat down on a bench and took a deep breath. “I will tell you my story,

  Alex.”

  “I am more than eager to hear it.”

  “I am one of the youngest members of my people. I am not even sure if there

  are still any of my people out there. A couple of years before I was born, a war broke

  out. A war that destroyed everything.” Eldon looked up, like he was searching for the

  words in the sky. “I was barely thirty circles old when all the mothers of our species

  died. Our enemy tried to kill us with a poison, a virus that would harm us. But it only

  worked on our females. I don’t know why it did not affect us males or how they

  infected all of us with it, but they did. After that, we hid and waited for the war to end.

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  Unable to reproduce, we had only one hope left. That the kings would return for us.”

  “What kings?” asked Alex.

  “I have to take you a bit further back. I was not alive then and I never had the

  chance to hear details of this story.”

  “It does not matter,” said Alex compassionately. “Just tell me what you know.”

  “My people come from the fourth planet in this system. We call it Spi. Back

  before the war, all of the planets were filled with people of many species. We all lived

  in peace, which is hard to imagine, but we did. Through the guidance of the great

  kings, the people prospered and advanced to the point where they began traveling to

  the stars. There they met the Thropi. They were an evil species that caused the great

  war.”

  “You fought against another alien species?”

  “No, they caused us to fight. I know it sounds strange, and I am not sure

  exactly how, but the story goes like that. They caused war to break out here, and

  soon the kings were forced to flee. They made spaceships and got themselves away.

  Then our people were blamed for the war. We were blamed because we did not grow

  old and die. So, they attacked us with the virus that killed off our females.”

  “How did you get here then?” asked Alex.

  “These are the parts I do know for fact. After hundreds of years, the war

  began to fade. Great battles were replaced with small fights. Alliances began forming

  and breaking on a daily basis. The borders were set, and every species was on its

  own, with little interaction between them. That’s when our leaders made the plan.”

  “What is that plan?”

  “We thought our kings would return to bring balance. We had to simply last

  until then. After we realized that we were the last species with access to technology,

  we set a plan in motion. Since we were very few, we would train in combat for years,

  and then, after we had perfected the art of death, we were equipped with these

  swords and other tools which make us the strongest of all. Then we established

  ourselves in various places of each world with a device that notifies us when

  someone is using electromagnetism. Then we scout the areas and go destroy them

  before they get to advance further.”

  “I think I understand. But who could develop electromagnetism using

  technologies while they are living in small tribes? I don’t see how this would make

  sense.”

  “Today it seems to be the case. But until a few thousand years ago, old-world

  technologies resurfaced in isolated areas which would give a small group of people

  amazing powers. That’s what I was hunting and destroying. This way we made sure

  we would not have anyone advanced enough to challenge us until our kings return.

  Now I realize that it was probably us that made this world return to the age of no

  technology by systematically destroying it.”

  “I understand. So, that means there are more of you in the world now?”

  “Judging from the area I supervise, there should be about ten of us on every

  planet. Besides Spi, our base was there, so there should be all hundred thousand

  that had survived the war underground. Now that I think about it, I don’t think many

  must have made it this far. I might even be the last of my kind. That is why I was so

  excited when I first saw you. It seemed to me that the kings had returned.”

  “I think I see a picture of your past, Eldon. You are welcome to stay here with

  us if you so choose. You don’t need to be alone anymore.”

  “You know,” said Eldon, “there was a time when I was building my legend and

  fighting all the time. I had even met others of my kind over the years. But the feeling

  began to fade. I realized I did not enjoy the killing. I dreamt of the days of the kings,

  when all these great cities were filled with life and movement.”

  “Perhaps one day you will see them like that again,” said Alex with a smile.

  “Let me introduce you to the rest of the team.”

  After the team welcomed Eldon in their ranks, Anais escorted Eldon to his

  room.

  Juuda was the first to address the situation. “I like the idea of an ally, but don’t

  you think you should have at least informed us that you would invite him to stay?” he

  said, frowning.

  “I have to agree,” said Jain. “It is strange that we let him stay here so easily.”

  Alex looked around and saw that they all agreed that his actions were rushed.

  “I will not lie. I had not planned this. After talking with him, I realized that we can’t kick

  him out,” he said apologetically. “You all heard him. He could very well be the last of

  his species.”

  “He could very well be lying,” said Bara.

  “I don’t think he is lying.” said Juuda. “I actually agree with Alex’s decision to

  invite him. I just did not expect that it would happen without first discussing it with us.”

  “Let’s keep an eye on him at all times for a while and be prepared for the

  worst,” said Jain. Everyone agreed and proceeded to discuss other matters.