Volume 6: Gamma-11, Chapter 6.9

Lunch was surprisingly rowdy with the way the soldiers pelted me with questions. Right away they wanted to know about my genetic enhancements and how powerful I was. I already knew it was public knowledge since it had been submitted to my military records, but it was funny how people still doubted the validity of those reports; apparently the records for how strong and fast I’d become were considered unbelievable for most people.

A few of them wanted to test their strength against me with arm-wrestling, but after I beat Kinn using a single finger, they believed all the reports.

From there they started asking questions about my previous missions and what the Predazoans were like, and while I enjoyed the camaraderie, it actually bummed me out when I realized how often I’d done this, and yet all the new friends I made along the way were usually taken away from me for one reason or another.

I missed a lot of the friends I made back on

The Radiance

, like Zyno and Kianna, Tillia, Yun, Wit and Gorgam. Hell, I was even beginning to miss Kotlokk, Lobae and Vinnago at this point.

Then there were all the random people who crossed our path back in the Holistia Nebula—one-time friends who gave us a reprieve from all the mission work. There was Almana and her crew on Vyrane I really hoped were doing alright and hadn’t been killed to keep the Empire’s secrets. And of course, the crew from

Jessipie-90

had their memories wiped—wouldn’t remember me at all if I was somehow able to reunite with them.

It kind of soured my mood at the idea of making temporary friends once again, but I was still cordial with the group. However, I made sure to guard my heart to not get too attached with the soldiers who I’d surely be separated from at the end of the mission same as always.

Once we finished our lunch we returned to the briefing room as a group so Dryden and Crisson could go over all the gear that’d be available once we were planet-side. I was glad to hear we wouldn’t have to worry about limited supplies this time around.

The day finished with hours upon hours of briefing over the smallest of details for the mission, and yet we’d need to resume the next day until Dryden had it in his mind we’d be able to recite the operational protocols in our sleep.

The soldiers asked if I wanted to spend the downtime with them in some of the recreational centers on

The Judicator

, but I told them all I was pretty wiped and wanted to crash back at my room.

I just didn’t have it in me to be social now—too lonely thinking about all the friends that’ve been taken from me, and of course being without my Eve.

I wondered how she was doing now locked up in her cell, all alone and probably in that weird stasis state. I couldn’t help but think she wasn’t missing me anywhere near as much as I missed her now.

The next couple days followed the same pattern with the constant briefings and meetings, going over disengaging tactics and deescalation techniques to keep us out of trouble with the locals. We also went over the gojen’s culture and laws ad nauseum until I was already sick of their people and lifestyle even though we hadn’t even made it to their planet yet.

The soldiers continued to invite me to hang out with their group, and while I did have my meals with them and talked openly and freely, I still ended my nights back in my room alone, unable to give them anymore of myself for now.

Time passed quickly and before I knew it we exited void space, and

The Judicator

moved to orbit Congoren for several hours while they finished the final preparations for the mission.

I didn’t have any personal belongings with me, so I just had a generic mission pack of supplies provided, and I carried the gear along as I made my way to the shuttle bay to make the drop planet-side and finally reunite with Eve.

I saw the rest of our team had already gathered around the dropship we were going to take to the planet, another one of those stealth shuttles that looked like a large oval bus with dark chrome plating that would make it look invisible from a distance out in space.

For the most part everyone was just wearing padded jumpsuits, rather plain clothes that would protect us from the harsh desert environment on the planet while also helping to maintain the boundaries of the illusion for the gojen disguise. I could see there were already a couple of people on our team who had their disguises active, and they wore the gojen’s traditional garments of simple robes and wrappings to protect them from sandstorms.

When Dryden finally saw me, he broke off from his heated discussion with the researchers and made his way quickly towards me, an angry look on his face.

“Alpha-03 is totally out of control; you need to reign her in immediately before we can head down to the planet.” He snapped.

I dropped my pack and glared at the man, “Good morning to you too, what the hell are you talking about?”

The two researchers followed along after us; there was Lialonn, a female who belonged to the same pale green alien race as Crisson, slender and pretty with long, dark hair tied up in a high ponytail, and then Thorrio, a slate-grey alien male, a little on the shorter side, kind of stocky, but with plain mammalian features like the rest—although he just had little nubs on the sides of his head rather than ears. Both looked rather nervous now, surely over whatever was happening with Eve.

I turned to the researchers, “What’s going on?”

Lialonn shook her head quickly, “I don’t know, when we first entered void space Alpha-03 seemed to enter some strange stasis state, but when we exited void space she reactivated and started going crazy—won’t listen to anything we say. She’s in a wild state of hyper-aggression right now, nothing we can do to calm it either.”

My heart fluttered a little and I couldn’t help but hope maybe Eve was upset over being separated with me, “Has she said anything about me?”

Thorrio sighed, “No, she hasn’t said anything, just keeps shrieking and growling—no idea what’s set her off.”

My hope drained away quickly, but there was still a spark I held onto thinking maybe she was just refusing to talk with anyone else until I could reunite with her.

I turned to Dryden, “Where is she?”

He gestured to the dropship, “We have her on the shuttle, but we haven’t been able to secure her yet with how she’s fighting against her cell.”

I felt a brief flash of anger at the idea Eve was still contained within the cell, but I held it down for now as I quickly made my way up into the shuttle.

The soldiers all moved aside quickly to let me through, and I could see at the far end of the shuttle was the mobile containment cell, in dark-mode so I couldn’t see what was happening inside.

I rushed over quickly to deactivate the dark-mode, and right away when the barrier cleared I could see Eve was in a wildly distressed state. Her body was still half-encased in that weird leathery cocoon, but it was tattered and frayed, with erratic netting securing her in the middle of the containment unit. One of her arms was free and she was slashing against the barrier with elongated black claws, snarling and hissing at nothing in particular, snapping her fangs as though trying to bite something in front of her.

I pressed my hands against the cell, “Eve, Evie sweetie it’s me—it’s Adam!”

Eve’s eyes looked wild and feral, but when she heard my voice she finally calmed down her shrieking, and I could see recognition in her ears. Her mouth relaxed and she lowered her claws as she looked at me, head cocked to the side like some predator looking at something and trying to decide whether or not it was prey.

I gestured to myself, “It’s Adam, remember?”

I didn’t know what to feel in that moment, if I should be scared or concerned, but once Eve fully recognized who I was, her eyes and face brightened right up, and she trilled happily at me—just like she had so long ago on Earth when she was in her child-like form and couldn’t use actual words.

The trilling noises were cute and happy, but I couldn’t even imagine what caused Eve to regress like that.

“Can you understand me, Evie? What’s going on sweet-thing?” I pressed.

I could tell Eve was still in her normal, humanoid form—her true form, just covered inside that weird cocoon. Her face was normal—flawless and beautiful as always, but there was something in her gaze that made her look wild—feral maybe, but it looked like the normal light of intelligence wasn’t in her eyes now.

Eve put her hand against the barrier right over my hand, and her smile fell away quickly when she noticed she wasn’t able to touch me directly.

I shook my head slowly, “Evie, what have they done to you?”

“

We

didn’t do anything.” Dryden said quickly from just a few feet behind me, “We were fine with leaving her well-enough alone after she refused to engage when the Lord Generals called her in for questioning. We left her in that cell on her own the entire time we were traveling through void space—and she seemed fine with solitary confinement. But like Lialonn said, ever since we returned to our dimension, she’s been like this.”

I didn’t want to believe it—I wanted to blame Eve’s erratic state on the Empire, but I knew Dryden was telling the truth.

Whatever Eve did back in void space—turning into a void conduit or whatever, it first caused her to withdraw into herself, and now it seems to have caused this weird devolution.

I moved my hand back and forth against the barrier, and Eve trilled a cute little giggle as she followed her hand along with mine.

“Evie, what have you done to yourself?” I said under my breath.

“What was that?” Dryden pressed.

I ignored his probing and turned to glare at him, “You need to let her out of there immediately, she’s clearly distressed and needs me to calm her down.”

Dryden just scoffed, “Absolutely out of the question, she’s in a far too volatile state to risk letting her out now—no guarantee you can calm her down at all.” He stood up tall and crossed his arms as he returned my glare with his own, “Beside, you know the new protocol the Lord Generals established; until Alpha-03 shows herself compliant by listening to our orders, she’s to remain in the containment unit.”

I was about to snap back and ask how the fuck she was going to show herself compliant if she was stuck in a cage, but Dryden turned and left me there without another word, heading outside the shuttle to see to rest of the team’s preparations.

I heard a low growl and turned back to see Eve had her dark lips peeled back in a snarl, displaying lengthened white fangs as she watched Dryden leave.

I put my hand up on the barrier and Eve calm down right away, then put her hand up to mirror mine.

“Please just talk to me Evie, what the hell’s going on? Is this a bit—a ruse? Is this part of your plan to…” I looked around to make sure we were totally alone, but I knew I still shouldn’t risk it by saying anything aloud.

~Is this part of your plan to get us free?~

I vibrated at her through our secret inner-ear bone communicator.

Eve flinched back in surprise and swatted up at her ear as though she thought a fly was buzzing around her.

I let out a long weary sigh, no idea what I should do next.

“Eve, at least tell me you know who I am? Please at least give me that much.” I said, sounding quite desperate then.

Eve kept her eyes on me, and while she seemed in a weirdly primitive state, I could recognize the fondness she had for me clear on her face—might’ve still been love.

Actually, it reminded me of how she’d been watching me constantly while we were on the emergency shuttle after we escaped the Derrion System, a strange, dreamy smile on her face while looking at me with that predatory stare.

Was this devolution always bound to happen after her time in the void? Did she scramble her brains or some shit when she became the void conduit or whatever? Or had she somehow evolved beyond mortal constraints through her void soul, and this regressing Eve was just the physical remnant of her old body and life?

I didn’t want any of that to be true, I wanted to believe my Eve was still in there somewhere and that she was working on a way to get us free from the Empire.

But I felt truly lost then—defeated by the Lord Generals once more, and as the simple Eve trilled musically after me, I leaned my head against the barrier to her cell and closed my eyes, wondering what my next move should be.

“I love you Evie, I hope you at least still know that.” I said, and after a few silent moments of recentering myself, I left Evie there to prepare with the rest of the crew for the mission ahead.