The Protector

Danielle sat up in bed watching the latest episode of some reality show or another. Her brown, shoulder-length hair messily framed her face as she watched intently. The last twinges of migraine receded to the back of her mind. It seemed to completely subside, something that hadn’t actually happened in almost four years. Over that time, she had seen a total seventy-three doctors; twenty-four of them neurologists, but none of them could tell her what was wrong. A few of her friends would occasionally pass the time speculating, but the only possibility they could agree on was that her symptoms were caused by a psychological disorder. None of them would ever mention this to her. There was, however, a more noble cause to her symptoms that not even Danielle knew of.

Danielle got out of bed, throwing her hair back out of her face as she walked out of the tiny bedroom. Standing at the bedroom door, she looked around at the disgrace of her home. Dirty clothes littered the hallway floor, her cat curled comfortably on top. Her oldest son sat at the computer in his room. In the kitchen, dishes were piled haphazardly in the sink. The floors hadn’t been swept in days, or possibly weeks. She couldn’t remember. She lost hours and sometimes days when she had a migraine. She learned to live with the constant pain, and to survive when the pain became unbearable, which it often did.

She stacked the dishes neatly on the counter and prepared to wash what she could. Her head began to twinge as she scrubbed. Techno music floated in from her son’s room. “Sweetie,” she called. “Could you turn that down a little?”

The volume dropped as Chad walked into the room. “Is that better?”

“Yeah. Thanks, sweetie.”

“Are you okay, ma?”

Danielle sighed. “I’m fine.”

Captain Maurice Palmer stared intently at the monitor in front of him. “I don’t understand it!” He said, running his hand through his thinning red hair. On the screen a planet called Earth (he knew from textbooks) loomed in front of him. “This planet is far less advanced than us. We have no interest here, and they shouldn’t even be able to detect us, yet, somehow, they have managed to entrap us. Lieutenant Sparks, what kind of barrier is it that they are using?”

A man with short, raven-colored hair stepped up beside him. “According to our readings, sir, they aren’t. To be honest, it doesn’t make any sense at all. Our scanners detect nothing out of the ordinary, other than a high energy level surrounding us, but nothing that could sustain even a pathetic attempt at a barrier, much less one capable of containing us. One of their weapons could easily break through it. The concentration of energy does seem to follow us, but it can’t stop us. Right now, the energy closer to the planet is weaker, while the energy just behind our ship is strong.”

Captain Palmer looked at his lieutenant. “How weak and how strong?”

Lieutenant Sparks sighed. “At its strongest point, not even enough to sustain a-”

“How much?” Palmer interrupted.

“Strong-point, hundred forty-seven ATs. Weak-point, three.”

Palmer stood, glaring at his lieutenant. “Then please tell me, lieutenant, why I can’t move my ship more than a few kilometers. And why this energy, that can’t sustain a barrier, is able to hold off my cannons.”

Sparks looked straight ahead, refusing to even glance over at his captain. “We don’t know, sir. There’s no logical explanation.”

Palmer pressed a few keys on his computer, propelling the ship as close to the planet as he could. “Then ready the plasma torpedoes.”

Sparks finally looked at his captain, a look of pure terror on his face. “Maurice. That will destroy the entire planet.”

Palmer didn’t flinch. “I know.”

Sparks stood eye to eye with his captain, glaring. “And possibly our ship.”

“My ship, lieutenant. Surely, I don’t have to remind you of that.”

Danielle gripped the countertop. Her knuckles had long since turned white, nails scratching desperately at the countertop. With all her energy, she willed herself to let go of the counter and walk the few steps over to the pantry. She pulled a bottle of pain pills from the top shelf. She struggled with the lid as she moved back to the bedroom, leaning hard against the wall for balance. When the lid was finally free from the bottle, she popped three pills in her mouth and collapsed on the bed.

Danielle was surrounded by blackness. She turned to face a big ball of light. There was a haze between her and the ball, blurring the other object between them. That was where she needed to be. As she moved forward ever so slowly, she felt an entirely new sensation: power in the place of the weakness the migraines left her. She neared the haze, which seemed to be a cube, and in the center was a square, black, like everything else, and somehow different. It seemed reflective, but she wasn’t sure how.

The back of her right hand burned, and for a moment, she lost control of it completely. Then a power greater than her own grabbed her and yanked her forward, through the haze and beyond.

The ship rumbled as something streaked across the monitor, gone as fast as it had appeared. Captain Palmer lurched forward when he saw it. “What the hell? Sparks. Readings.”

Sparks stood, still staring at another monitor. “It was a surge in energy, Captain. Twenty thousand ATs and it seemed to pull some from our ship. Preliminary readings show nothing was damaged, but I’m running a full scan to be certain. We should have the results soon.”

“There’s nothing in this quadrant capable of producing even one thousand alpha tams, much less twenty thousand. Where did that come from?”

Lieutenant Sparks rubbed his head in confusion. “It was generated behind us, sir.”

“I know the layout of my ship, Lieutenant. I need to know what generated the energy.”

Sparks stared at the monitor in front of him. “Nothing, sir. There’s nothing anywhere near us.”

Captain Palmer sank back into his chair. “Of course. A barrier that can’t hold us is keeping us from moving and "nothing" generated twenty thousand ATs. That’s perfectly logical. Are the torpedoes ready yet?”

“They’re charged to eighty-five percent, sir.”

Danielle’s hand continued to burn and the rest of her body tingled. It felt as though something was crawling under her skin. The rough sheets under her made the crawling sensation worse. She heard a slow, rhythmic beeping somewhere above her.

Danielle opened her eyes and shot up in the bed, realizing she was in a hospital. The beeping (which she realized was from the heart monitor) sped up. She pressed the button on the bed rail to page a nurse.

Her son was instantly by her side. “Ma, calm down. It’s okay.”

Danielle suddenly heard static, but a woman’s bored voice easily floated through it. “Yes?”

All too familiar with the process, Danielle leaned back onto the bed. “Bring my release papers, please. I’m refusing any further treatment.”

More static and the same woman’s voice entered from the bed rail. “A doctor will be with you in a few moments, Ms. Reese.”

“Thank you.”

While looking up at her son, Danielle scratched her nose, then her arm. “I hate when they give me morphine. The itching is as bad as the migraines. How long have I been here this time?”

“You’ve been out for two days. I brought you in last night, about hours ago.”

A man in a white lab coat walked into the door. “Danielle.” He smiled. “Leaving so soon?”

Danielle smiled back at him, scratching her stomach without thinking about it. “Unless you’ve come up with my miracle cure, Dr. Prescott,” she teased.

The man chuckled. “Not this time, I’m afraid. Here are your papers. I’d tell you that you should stay for observation, but you’ll probably refuse like always.”

She signed the papers and handed them back. “Not always. I stayed twice and all you did was poke me with needles.”

“You’re not going to hold that against me, are you?”

Danielle laughed. “Of course not!” Her smile faded. “Anything new I should know about?”

He smiled sadly at her. “There is one surgery that’s a possibility, but it’s still in early testing stages. If it gets approved, I’ll let you in on all the details.”

She sighed as he pulled the IV out of her hand. “Thanks doctor.”

“Be careful on the way home.”

Later that night, another migraine woke Danielle up from her sleep. Sweat covered her body, tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. She gasped for air, though it never helped. Moaning, she clutched her head tightly, praying the pain would ease soon. Chad appeared kneeling by her side. “I’ll be okay,” she sobbed. She glanced over at the clock, the red light much too bright. She ripped the cord from the wall and threw the clock across the room. “Go next door… tell Katherine… what’s… going on.”

Reluctantly, he stood and left.

Danielle shoved her head against her pillow, clenching her teeth. When the pain spiked, she shrieked in agony, then sobbed even harder. She tried desperately to get out of bed. With all her weight against the wall, she managed to walk. The room was spinning and she had to stop several times to maintain what little balance she had. She grabbed a little orange bottle off of her bookcase and tried to open it. She was weak from the pain and her hands were shaking so badly that when she did finally get the lid off, she lost her balance completely. The room jerked around and suddenly tilted. The floor reached up to keep her from falling. Pills scattered in front of her, but the room spun faster and the world turned black before she could reach out for one.

Danielle stared down at the center of the room. The bed needed to be made and pills were scattered across the floor, but that wasn’t what held her attention. It was her body that worried her, sprawled out on the floor, hair damp with sweat, skin pale and probably cold. She waved her hand and the pills scooted back into the bottle, which recapped itself and hopped back onto the bookcase. She leaned down to pick her body up, but was soon distracted by the white hair that fell into her face. As she waved her hand again, her lifeless body moved onto the bed and slid underneath the comforter. She walked across the hall and into the bathroom to look in the mirror. She was the same, except her shoulder-length brown hair was now waist-length and platinum blonde.

She looked up at the ceiling as the front door opened. She had to get to the haze and that black square. Chad could take care of the house while she was away. She closed her eyes and vanished from the apartment.

Lieutenant Sparks turned away from the monitor. “Captain. Torpedoes are fully charged.”

Captain Palmer’s hand hovered just above a green button on the console in front of him. In his mind, he was weighing, one last time, the options before him when a female with long, platinum hair appeared in front of him. “I am The Protector.” She stated firmly. “My name is-”

Palmer pressed the button, firing two torpedoes at the female. A purple haze surrounded the female instantly, completely shielding her from their view and also engulfing the torpedoes.

Slowly, the haze around her began to fade, which seemed to feed the barrier surrounding the ship.

When the haze around the female vanished completely, Captain Palmer could see the rage in the female’s eyes. He was shocked when his ship began shaking again.

“Captain! Energy level’s at a hundred thousand ATs and rising! Sir, the ship can’t take much more!”

The ship’s power soon failed and sparks were the only source of light. The shaking suddenly stopped and the sparks slowly died.

Lieutenant Sparks’ shaky voice, although quiet, was too loud for the deafening silence. “Sir, our ships aren’t built to handle that much energy at once. If the damage is repairable-“

“We don’t have the equipment to repair it,” Palmer finished. “The cryolosis chambers probably failed, meaning the rest of the crew died inside and we can’t pull energy from them to make it home.” He sighed in defeat. “It’s just you and me now, James. Thank you.”

“For what, Captain?”

Palmer stood and faced the darkness where he knew his lieutenant was standing. “For remaining here to fight with me, instead of fleeing as I’m sure the rest of my crew tried.”

A light from behind Palmer illuminated the room, revealing Sparks’ pale, terrified face just before he collapsed to the floor.

Hand on his gun, he turned to face the light, only to find he stood face to face with the female. Though seeming somewhat stern, he found no traces of the rage he had seen in her eyes before.

“Forgive me, Captain Palmer, for entering your vessel without your permission. As I am sure you’ve noticed, your weapons are of no use against me. I am the Protector. On Earth, I am known simply as Danielle. You, however, may call me what you like. I want to first apologize for holding you here for so long without notice. I am in part, a human from Earth, which at first, kept me from coming to you. Your ship is carrying weapons meant to destroy my planet and I’m afraid I can’t allow them to be delivered. Would you willingly give them to me?”

Palmer’s voice shook as he spoke. “That’s not my decision to make.”

Danielle sighed. “Of course. May I use your equipment?”

It was Palmer’s turn to sigh. “It’s beyond repair, but I guess I can’t stop you from trying.”

Danielle smiled. “No, you can’t. But it is your ship and I thought it’d be polite, if nothing else, to ask your permission first.” She touched one of the panels beside her and turned to face the monitor that lit up.

A man appeared on the screen, gray hair belying his youth. Palmer bowed when he saw the man.

“Hello, Omega,” Danielle said. “I am the Protector. The ship that I have been detaining is carrying weapons that I will not allow to be delivered. I will, of course, pay you for them.”

The Omega spoke harshly. “If you want weapons, I would happily have some delivered to you, but detaining my best ship and delaying the delivery was a mistake on your part.”

Anger coursed through Danielle’s veins, but she fought to keep it under control. “I have no use for your weapons. I am simply trying to stop this delivery. Will you give permission for me to take them?”

“If I refuse?”

“Then I will have you removed from power.”

The Omega laughed. “See if you can do that before I destroy your planet.”

As the screen flickered and became black, Palmer could see the rage in the Protector’s eyes again.

“Amuse me for a moment, Captain Palmer. If the choice were yours, would you give me the weapons you carry?”

Palmer stood, shaking. “Yes. You’ve given me no other choice.”

Danielle raised her hand as if she were going to take something out of the air. “I have the ability to repair the damage I have caused,” Her hair began to float around her body, as if a strong wind were blowing, “including restoring lives that I have taken.” The ships lights came back on and machines whirred back to life. “Tell me, Mr. Palmer, if I promised that no harm would come to you, your crew, or your ship, would you believe me?”

In one of the monitors, Palmer noticed some of his crew looking around the ship, obviously confused. He looked back at Danielle. “Yes, Protector, I would.”

Danielle smiled warmly at the man. “One final question: do you trust me?”

“I’m not sure why, but I do.”

Danielle grabbed The Omega by the throat the moment he appeared and threw him to the floor. “Hello again, Omega.”

The Omega gasped for air, his eyes wide with confusion and fear.

“Surely you remember, only moments ago, when I told you I’d have you removed from power. Well, I lied. I’m having the power removed from you.” She looked up at Palmer and raised her free hand to him. “Take my hand.”

When Palmer did as he was told, The Omega screamed out in agony. He struggled desperately to break away from her grip, but The Protector held him in place effortlessly. When she did finally release him, he vanished entirely.

Palmer stared at the female, feeling the vast amount of power The Omega had controlled and knowing that it was nothing compared to hers. “Why didn’t you just take the missiles? Why did you want permission?”

Danielle stood. “My planet is not at war with any other planet for the moment. Most don’t even know of the existence of other life forms. For now, that is how it should be, and how I want to keep it. Taking the weapons would have caused a war that my people are not yet ready to fight.

“You are now The Omega. And since I had your permission, I took the liberty of replacing the missiles with twice the payment your planet was offered.” She smiled and bowed her head. “Enjoy your rule, Omega. May it be a long one. As thanks for your cooperation, I am sending you home. There, you’ll find that your people are expecting your return.” Since Palmer looked confused, she elaborated. “Your people worship and obey the power, not the person. Use the power wisely. And good luck, Captain.” She winked at him and he was gone, along with his ship.

Danielle opened her eyes. Techno music floated in from her son’s room. As she sat up in her bed, she realized that she felt no pain at all. She walked to her son’s room and leaned against the door frame. “Morning, sweetie.”

Chad turned to face his mother. “Morning, ma. Is my music too loud?”

Danielle smiled, finding that she liked the music now that her head wasn’t pounding to the same beat. “No sweetie. I was going to tell you to turn it up so I could hear it while I wash the dishes.”