Banner Artist: Me
Title: Malign: Part 2Author: Chad
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell do not belong to me. No infringement intended.
Rating/Category: AU/ML/Adult
Summary:
Welcome back to the 23rd century. Things have changed.
Beware of Maligns:
Maligns are extremely dangerous and harmful creatures. Though they have the ability to appear human in form, do not be fooled by this mask of humanity they wear. These highly dangerous creatures are far from humane. They are clever, cunning, and deadly. They will kill without remorse or regret. They are masters of deception that possess abilities meant to aid them in their trickery. Because they lack any and all true visceral emotions, Maligns are to be treated as less than living, and therefore are to be terminated on sight. If you suspect someone of being one of these creatures, contact your local authorities immediately and stay far away.
Be wary. Be cautious. Be careful.
The Year is 2230.
It has been twenty years since former MD Lieutenant Dover Blackwell discovered a small malign boy inside of Lacebark Cave.
Twenty years since he freed that boy.
Twenty years since he brought that boy home to live with him.
Twenty years since he gave up his job to protect that boy’s secret.
...Ten years since he disappeared.
Author’s Note: Quotations in italics are being spoken mentally. If you have not yet read Part 1 of Malign, please do so first, or else this will make very little sense to you. Malign: Part 1
Glossary
(Will be added to as the story progresses. Bold definitions have changed or expanded in their original meaning)
– Human Terminology –
Ber-kit: A derogatory name used by male MDs on female operatives. A play on the words ‘berserk’ and ‘kitten’ meant to show the contrast between a woman’s natural femininity and brutality.
Chips: A form of money.
D-Mac: Extremely hazardous explosives
Domicile: A house.
Doughboys: The lead group of MDs in charge of hunting down and killing Maligns. MDs among the most highly trained men and the best equipped to deal with Maligns.
Lavatory: A bathroom
Litter: A mode of transportation. A littler is an automobile that is used for transportation. Instead of being driven it is equip with a computer for which a course is plotted and a person(s) inside of the litter is/are taken to their desired destination.
Maligns: What humans refer to aliens as. Maligns are very powerful and have the ability to mask themselves as humans.
Malign Disposer (MDs): The group of men that hunt down, kill and capture maligns.
Malign Researchers (MRs): A group of scientist that study the genetic makeup of maligns, as well as the effect of Toxin
Toxic Exposure: When a person is infected with Toxin.
Toxin: A poison chemical Maligns give off in order to breach the gap between their species and humans. This agent allows maligns to masquerade as humans.
– Alien Terminology –
Antar: An alien planet, located in the Whirlwind Galaxy. Destroyed thirty years ago.
Al’ights: (Ah-lights) The species of humanoids that once dwelled on Antar.
Ai: (I-ee) An affectionate nickname given to the Prince of Antar.
Ai’Dayn: (I-ee-day-in) An Al’ight name, meaning “Little Prince”
Ai’Zan: (I-ee-zi-an) An Al’ight name, meaning “First Prince”
Gith: The general language spoken by most Al’ights.
Le’Tetra: An Al’ight name for Earth, meaning “Sacred Planet”
Rath: An Al’ight title, meaning “Warrior”
Part 2:
Chapter One
Outer Le’Tetra: Just inside of the Milky Way Galaxy ~2230~
Le’Tetra was a strikingly beautiful planet.
Earth.
That’s what the humans called it.
Ai’Dayn watched the swirls of blues, greens, whites, and browns, as they merged together inside of the planet before him. The sight was very appealing to the easily enthralled eyes of an adolescent Al’ight male. Of course, the eyes of the Al’ight were drawn to beautiful things. The young male Al’ight specifically, was more easily mesmerized by pulchritude than the young females of their species. Therefore, it was considered a great accomplishment for one to have mastered disregarding the enthrallment of beauty.
Ai’Dayn had mastered it long ago.
Nevertheless, as he stood at the window of his temporary home on Base 9, he did not bother with trying to fight the allurement of Earth’s magnificence. Contrarily, Ai’Dayn let his pupils dilate fully, until they completely overtook the whites of his eyes. He watched the planet known as Earth, silently letting the sight of its gorgeous mix of colors capture his attention completely.
Le’Tetra’s colors were beautiful, complementing each other nicely, and blending well together. They were nothing like the harsh reds, oranges, and blacks that were all that remained of his planet. The brutal tones of blood. The austere colors of death. But even in all its glory, Earth was nothing like what Antar had once been. Not in size or beauty, nor power or prominence.
It had been thirty years since the fall of his planet. How peculiar it was to have such memories of a place he’d never even seen. Though Ai’Dayn had not yet been born during the time of Antar’s fall, he was infused with the memories of what his planet had once been. A gift given to him by his father, as he lay dying a mere fourteen years after Antar’s destruction. Ai’Dayn had barely been two years old. After his father’s death, his mother had survived long enough to bestow upon him her precious memories of their home as well. Then she had gone to join his father in the Evermore. The place where Al’ight sprits found their final rest.
Though Le’Tetra was nothing like the memories of Antar he possessed from his parents, Ai’Dayn was very much impressed by the world he saw before him. Earth could not compare to the former beauty of Antar, but this planet did posses something his did not.
The coveted ability to restore Antar to its former state.
Did the species colonizing this planet know of the trove they inhabited? Were they cognizant of the wonderful gift they had been given in being allowed to occupy this heavenly world?
Ai’Dayn doubted it.
He was young still. A mere sixteen years old. But he’d spent most of his short life studying the nature of humans: how they moved, how they lived, how they thought. For the most part, they still remained a mystery to him. However, in his studies, Ai’Dayn had been able to come to one conclusion.
Though they were not all that different in form from the Al’ight species, humans were a selfish creature, rarely thinking of anything aside from their own comforts and needs. They valued the individual self over the community as a whole. Unlike the Al’ight, considering the “I” before the “We”.
Ai’Dayn silently wondered what it would be like to live among these beings. How much different were they truly from his people? Alas, that was something he would never know.
Since the fall, and following destruction of Antar, the Al’ight had been broken up into ten small sectors, and scattered throughout the Milky Way and Whirlwind galaxies. This had been done to spare the survivors the pain and suffering of being enslaved by nearby races. As Prince to the now defunct Antarian throne, and the only surviving member of the Royal House of Antar, Ai’Dayn was prohibited from leaving his home on Base 9, until the day he could return to his true home. Their numbers were small. Not many people had survived the fall of their beloved planet, but they would not remain a lost people forever. With the help of Le’Tetra, Ai’Dayn had faith that Antar would one day soon return to its former glory.
“My prince?”
A strong voice called to Ai’Dayn inside his head, drawing his attention away from the inner musings of his thoughts. The voice belonged to Shay La’Rul. A strange combination of father and older brother, Shay had been his guardian and protector from the moment of Ai’Dayn’s birth.
Ai’Dayn’s first inclination was to ignore La’Rul, but he knew doing so would not stop the man from pestering him until he answered. “What is it, La’Rul?” he responded. Though it was not required that he speak the words out loud. Ai’Dayn preferred this method of contact to the more intimate fashion of mental communication. Frankly, he liked the sound of no one’s voice inside of his head, save for his own.
“You are being called upon,” La’Rul told him.
“By whom?” he asked.
La’Rul did not answer his question. “You’ll speak to me properly, or not at all, Ai.” Unlike Ai’Dayn, La’Rul preferred mental communication to audio. As the former Rath of the fallen Royal House, he lived his life in a constant state of what most would say was paranoia, but he claimed was unremitting anticipation. His motto: Always expect to be betrayed.
Ai’Dayn sighed. “By whom am I being summoned, La’Rul?” he asked mentally.
“By The Al’ight Council, Ai’Dayn. They want to see you right away.”
Ai’Dayn frowned at this information. The Al’ight Council? They had never summoned him before. In fact, for the sake of his own safety, Ai’Dayn was to have as little contact with them as possible. It was imperative that no one, not even the Lords of Al’ight, know the exact location of the remaining Antarian heir. Ai’Dayn groaned inwardly, not caring that La’Rul could hear the sound as clearly as if he had made the noise out loud. Why did the Council want him?
“I am not your messenger, Ai.” La’Rul said, reading Ai’Dayn’s thoughts easily. “Come.”
“But what do they want?” Ai’Dayn asked.
La’Rul’s answer was simple, if not somewhat impertinent. “You.” With that one word explanation, he broke their mental connection.
With a groan of annoyance, Ai’Dayn sucked up his agitation, and headed for the assembly room.
The assembly hall on the deck of Base 9 was a large room with no doors or windows. There was only one way in or out of it. One had to be marked on the hand with an exclusive seal that granted the person special access to the room, via the seal activation teleportation device, located just outside of the room. There were only two people on Base 9 that possessed that seal.
Ai’Dayn and Shay La’Rul.
Despite the restricted access, the room’s interior was nothing spectacular. The circular room was all but empty, aside from nine pedestals spaced around the wall, and one large plinth located in the center of the room. In front of the center plinth, there were two metallic silver Wingback chairs that rose up about ten feet above the ground.
La’Rul was already waiting for him in one of the Wingback chairs when Ai’Dayn entered the room. As he approached his guardian, Ai’Dayn was overcome by the same disturbing sensation that always overwhelmed him whenever he entered the assembly hall. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but something about this room always gave him a bad feeling.
“You’re late,” La’Rul said once Ai’Dayn reached his side.
“I came, just as you asked me,” Ai’Dayn answered defensively. He didn’t much feel like arguing with La’Rul today. Especially since the man seemed to be in a particularly foul mood of late. Then again, La’Rul was always in a foul mood.
Shay La’Rul, The Rath of Antar, was an intense looking man who never laughed and rarely smiled. He had shoulder length brown hair, which he always wore tied away from his face, and eyes a base color of brown. However, like most of the Al’ight, they varied in color, depending upon his change in mood, or level of enthrallment. Right now they were a deep shade of ash gray, reflecting the metallic light of the room.
Though he was more than forty years Ai’Dayn’s senior, La’Rul did not appear more than ten years older than the boy. An affect of the prime virility he maintained as the Rath of Antar. It was said that a viral Rath could retain his youth for more than one hundred years before he began to feel the effects of ageing. Ai’Dayn did not know if that were true or not, but as far as he could tell, Shay had not shown any signs of having aged past his prime.
“Do you know what they seek?” Ai’Dayn asked before taking his seat.
La’Rul shrugged. “I know not.”
Somehow, Ai’Dayn found that hard to believe.
Placing his hand on the center of the plinth, La’Rul closed his eyes, and waited. One by one, the nine pedestals around the room began to glow with light, as a transparent image of each of the respective lords of Antar appeared within the room.
“Greetings, My Lords of the Royal House of Antar,” La’Rul greeted them formally.
“Greetings, My Lord Rath,” they all answered simultaneous.
The Rath glared sharply at Ai’Dayn, when he failed to immediately greet the lords properly. “Ai,” he whispered warningly under his breath.
“Greetings, My Lords of the Royal House of Antar,” Ai’Dayn repeated Shay’s greeting dully.
“Greetings My Royal Prince, Heir to the Royal House of Antar,” The Lords answered formally.
With the introductions made, Ai’Dayn sat back lazily in his chair, preparing himself to be board out of his mind.
“Let us speak in the way of our noble blood brothers,” one of the Lords suggested. They all agreed silently.
Ai’Dayn groaned low in his throat. Now there would be no blocking out the sound of the old men’s voices from his head, as they droned on about their business.
“Sit up!” La’Rul’s voice ordered sharply in his head, speaking on a mental frequency that could only be heard between the two of them.
Knowing not to test La’Rul when he used that tone of voice, Ai’Dayn sat up straight in his chair. “They are tedious,” he complained privately to his guardian.
“They are wise, and you will listen to what they have to say,” La’Rul ordered.
“Shay, please don’t make me.”
“Stop acting like a child, Ai, and start acting like a prince.”
“A bored prince,” he complained.
“A spoiled prince,” La’Rul returned.
Unaware of the private conversation taking place between prince and guardian, one of the Lords began to speak. “My Lords, today we are gathered here to discuss business of the most urgent importance.”
“Yes, we have waited for this day for a long time,” another cut in.
“A glorious day for our people!”
“A time to rejoice!”
The sound of La’Rul’s mental voice broke up the Lord’s exuberant exclamations. “My Lords, are we to sit here and praise our good fortune, or are you to tell us what it is?” he asked.
Ai’Dayn bit back a laugh.
“Yes, My Lord Rath is right,” The same Lord that had initially spoken began to speak again. “Today we have received word from the emissaries we dispatched on to Le’Tetra. They have sent us confirmation that they have finally located the heart.”
For a moment, neither Shay nor Ai’Dayn could speak a word, mentally or otherwise. Even if they had been able to find their voices, there were truly no words to describe the joy the words of the Lord’s had caused within them. Silently, they basked in the wonder of this information they had just received.
The Heart of Le’Tetra had finally been found. After thirty years of searching, the ever pulsing planetary heartbeat that possessed the power to bring a once dying planet back to life, had finally been located.
“But that is not the only news we have to deliver this day.” One of the Lords’s continued.
La’Rul was the first to recover from the shock of hearing that they had finally found the heart of Le’Tetra. “By all means, my Lord, please continue.” he told them. However, Ai’Dayn was still firmly shell-shocked in his seat.
“Yes my Lord Rath. You see, not only has the heart of Le’Tetra been discovered. We have been informed that our emissary has also found evidence that not all the pods we dispatched to the planet have been destroyed as we originally assumed.”
“What are you saying my Lord?” La’Rul asked knowingly.
“We are saying, my Lord, that we now have reason to believe Prince Ai’Zan is still alive.”
If La’Rul and Ai’Dayn had been shocked before, they were completely dumbfounded now. Long ago, in its very first attempt to dispatch emissaries for the heart of Le’Tetra, The Royal Council had sent to Earth a group of secret retrievers whose job was to locate the heart, along with the unborn fetus of the first prince of Antar, Ai’Zan.
Only a prince of Antar had the power to unlock the power in the heart needed to revive their planet. However, shortly after their arrival, the group had been discovered by the humans, and one by one, they’d been assassinated. Antar had never received word of what had become of the First Prince, but it had been assumed that he too had been killed with the rest of the ambassadors. It was why it was so important that the current prince remain safe at all time. He was quiet literally their planet’s only hope.
But that was all about to change. If the first prince was still alive, not only did that mean there was still a chance to harness the heart’s power without having to actually bring it back to Base 9, it meant there was a chance that another all important figurehead of the Al’ight race was still alive. It was a hope the people desperately needed in a time that was bleak with despair.
Ai’Dayn was more speechless than he’d ever been in all of his life. He’d lived his entire life as Antar’s only hope. He had no real family, aside from La’Rul, and relatively no friends. Now there was the possibility that the first prince, thought so long dead, was still alive. And if that were true it only meant one thing to Ai”Dayn.
He had a brother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plat City, New Mexico: MD Training Grounds ~2230~
“God damn it, Stephenson, focus! If that’s how you shoot, you’re gonna find yourself real dead real quick. Now pull it together, you stupid piece of shit, or get the hell off of my training field!”
It was a hot day in New Mexico, just like most every other day before it had been. But the sun seemed to be beaming particularly bright today. It baked down on the men mercilessly as they stood out under it. Even the early morning hour hadn’t stopped them from having to face the sun’s angry wrath. Nor could they escape the angry wrath of their very pissed off captain.
Adder Watson, Captain of MD Squadron B6/214, informally known as the Doughboys, was pissed off for several different reasons. Number one: He was overworked and underpaid. That pissed him off. Number two: In the last four days, he hadn’t gotten even close to the amount of sleep the human body required to function properly. That pissed him off. Number three, and probably the most important reason to be pissed off of all the reasons to be pissed off that there were: he wasn’t getting any.
That really pissed him off.
Lieutenant 209, Officer Kyle Valenti, one of the newest members of Squadron B6/214, elbowed his training partner in the side. “Hey, fifty chips say Cap hasn’t gotten laid in at least a month,” he whispered quietly under his breath.
The words had barely gotten out of his mouth, when Captain Watson came storming past Kyle and his partner, shouting at the top of his lungs. “Straighten out that damn weapon, Holloman. The objective of this exercise is to teach you how to kill maligns, not show you how to shoot their fucking balls off!” Adder yelled loud enough from down the line of men for every one of them to hear him clearly.
Kyle’s partner, Lieutenant 210, laughed as he finished loading his weapon. He took three clean shots at the target set up fifty feet across the training field from them, then turned back to face Kyle. “Don’t let Cap hear you say that. You want to end up on pit duty again?”
Kyle made a disgusted face. The idea off spending his non-training days cleaning malign guts out of the MR research labs was not appealing to him.
“And just what the hell are you too ladybirds chirping about?” Adder asked, appearing suddenly behind them.
Kyle almost jumped out of his skin. “Nothing sir,” he responded just a little too quickly. “Just focusing on the target.” Kyle aimed his weapon and fired off two shots in the direction of the target in front of him.
“Actually sir, Kyle here was just telling me how much he enjoys being on pit duty,” Lieutenant 210 answered contradictorily.
Adder smirked. Oh he was well aware of the fact that both men were blowing steaming hot smoke up his ass. Still, it was the first time he had smiled in he wasn’t sure how long. Since he’d brought his team out on the field for training at four in the fucking morning, nobody had been in a good mood. So he had to give the men points for keeping him entertained. “Is that right, Valenti?” Adder looked down at the young man standing in front of him. He still couldn’t get over how much this Valenti kid looked like Jimmy.
Kyle took a second to glare at his partner, but quickly turned his attention back to his captain. “Actually sir, I–”
Lieutenant 210 cut him off yet again. “Yes sir, Kyle loves pit duty. He says it gives him time to reflect on the truly important things in life. Ain’t that right, Kyle?”
Before Kyle could protest, the captain started to speak again. “Well then Valenti, have at it,” Cap said, giving Kyle a painful pat on the shoulders. “And never let it be said that I denied any of my man one of their greatest passion.” Adder winked at both of them before moving down the line to yell at another man.
Kyle waited until Adder was a good distance away from them before he punched his partner hard on the shoulder. “What the hell was that?” he asked.
His partner shrugged, then rubbed his sore shoulder. “I guess I owe you fifty chips.”
“More like you owe me one round of freaking pit duty,” Kyle bit out angrily between his teeth.
Lieutenant 210 just smiled at him, unmoved by his friend’s obvious anger. “Actually, Cap already put me on pit duty this week. I just needed someone there to keep me company.”
Kyle continued to glare at his partner, but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips as he did so. “You sneaky son of a bi–”
“Alright, cease fire, boys. Let’s see how you did.” Cap called out to the men.
All at once the men stopped firing their weapons. At the press of a button from a remote controlled device in Adder’s hand, the targets were conveyed in to each man. “Line them up boys,” Adder ordered. He then began making his way down the line, meticulously checking every man’s target. “I’m checking for headshot, and gut shots. No maims, no wounds. I want to see some clean kills, boys.” Adder stopped when he reached Kyle’s target. “Hmm, nice work Valenti. Since your target no longer has a head. I’m gonna assume you got the job done.”
Kyle smiled proudly.
Adder continued down the line, checking targets as he went. “Nice work. Good job. Clean those shots up, Stephenson. Straight in straight out.” He stopped short when he reached the last target. “What the hell is this?” he asked scowling down at it. “Whose target it this?”
Kyle’s partner stepped forward. “It’s mine.”
Adder looked at the young man, then back to the target. “There is not one fatal shoot on this target, son. You care to explain that to me?”
Lieutenant 210 shrugged. “Dead men tell no tales, sir.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means sir, if I come across a malign located fifty feet away from me, and I blow his fucking head off, as Lieutenant Valenti so hastily did, I won’t have a very good chance at finding out what the hell he was doing there.”
A few of the men chuckled underneath their breath. Kyle wasn’t one of them.
Adder continued to examine the target. He folded his arms across his chest and sighed. “You’re a smartass aren’t you kid?”
“With all due respect sir, it’s much better than being a dumbass.”
Adder smiled, and this time it was genuinely pleased. “Rank and name D-boy?” he asked.
The Lieutenant straightened his shoulders looking unwaveringly into Adder’s eyes. “Lieutenant 210, Officer Evans,” He answered. “Max Evans.”
Adder looked down at the officer, feeling just a little bit better than he initially had this morning. Even though he was still overworked, underpaid, and undersexed.
“Well Lieutenant Evans,” Adder smiled. “I think I like you.”
TBC
! I forgot to do the recap of Part One I promised to do at the beginning of Part two. Why didn’t anyone say anything? Well, if anyone needs me to do one, just let me know. 
Enjoy the next part.