Asunder Chapter 51

Chapter 10.4 (51)

The Disruptor

The Reunion

Soul - the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life (1).”

1. Advanced English Dictionary

- Present Day -

- The Year 2296 -

After an hour of following the bird through the sky, Ace and his crew of Korin and Eliza slowly descended as the sand dunes came into sight once again. Ace kept watch for any sign of activity beyond the mountains of sand. They were out in the open now, and with the moon's illumination, there was a chance the machines could see them from far off, even with the camouflage technology of the balloon. The lake’s reflective surface appeared at the angle of descent, and as they scanned the beach, Ace could start to make out figures at its southernmost edge waving.

“It’s her!” Ace yelled, pointing down. He raised his hand and waved back excitedly. He had finally found her.

Ace glanced at the other two in the ship. While Eliza waved her hand, placing her attention on her sister below, Korin stood staring at Ace with a serene smile. Reaching over, she squeezed his hand.

“We did it,” she whispered, “We found them.”

She spoke with a sense of camaraderie, as though she finally accepted the idea of being part of the whole undertaking of finding his sister now.

“Thanks for your help, Korin. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. “Let’s go meet this sister of yours.”

Bringing the airship down in a patch of sagebrush just south of their position, Ace carefully adjusted the bellows and eagerly tied off the riggings. Once landed, the figures from the ground approached the airship. At first, it was difficult to discern their appearance in the dark, but Ace soon recognized the softness of Jane’s face in the moonlight and ran straight to her. She carried a baby nestled in her arms, so he dared not squeeze her as much as he would have liked to. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders, kissed her forehead, and held her face.

“Oh, I’ve missed you, sis,” he said as he smashed his face into her hair, hugging her head. “Nice job with the bird.”

“Oh, Abey, I can’t believe you found us.” She replied—the moment seeming to last forever.

“I promise I won’t ever leave you again, you hear me!” he grabbed her shoulders and gave her a compassionate look. “I am so sorry I abandoned you guys, but when they took Ishmael, I just…”

“Shhh,” she interrupted. "I forgive you. You don’t need to say anymore." Tears welled in both of their eyes. Hugging her head again, Ace clutched even tighter. After a long moment, he suddenly remembered the baby.

Quickly letting go, he looked down and grinned. “A baby! You have a baby! Tkin wasn’t kidding! The dream was real.”

“Just yesterday…” Jane replied wearily.

“Oh wow, how are you even standing?”

“I’m a little sore, but we had some help getting here.” She pointed over to the Elk.

“Ha, of course you did, and the hawk too.”

The baby began to stir in Jane’s arms.

“Well, what’s this little tike’s name?” He spoke in a silly voice.

“Her name is Imogene.” She smiled.

Ace choked up, “After mom,” he sniffed, “What a perfect name.”

Nuzzling his finger on the baby's cheek, he whispered. “She’s beautiful.”

The overwhelming feeling of looking at his niece and thinking of being an uncle stirred the idea of family in his mind, and suddenly, he remembered. “Jane!” He grabbed her hands, nearly jumping up and down in excitement. “Guess who I found?”

At this point, Korin and Eliza caught up to where Ace and Jane stood.

Bewildered by Ace’s sudden reaction, Jane’s eyes followed Ace’s hand as he waved it to two women walking toward them. Korin bore no semblance to anyone Jane would’ve known, and Ace watched as Jane scanned Korin’s features. Ace guided her vision to the other woman, and he could tell the image of Eliza stirred something deep within Jane’s chest, causing her to gasp audibly. As Ace watched Jane taking in her younger sister, Eliza’s long strawberry blonde hair and emerald green irises brought forth memories from deep within the vaults of his mind. They were memories of his mother: his mother’s wavey locks shimmering in the sunlight of the river as she washed clothes and sang, the green eyes smiling at the first snowfall, and her laughter as she watched Ishmael running naked through the yard. Oh, how he missed her voice.

Then, the realization struck Jane, and Ace could see Jane’s knees weaken, nearly dropping her to the ground. Ace, recognizing Jane’s realization, immediately grabbed her and steadied her.

“Eliza!” Jane gasped.

Eliza quickened her pace and, without hesitation or regard for the baby, collided with Jane in a tight embrace.

“Oh, Sissy, I can’t believe it’s really you,” Jane whimpered.

“Oh Janey, I thought you were dead. I thought all of you were dead.” Eliza whispered between sobs.

“You were so young. I can’t believe you remember.”

“Oh, Janey, I could never forget you.”

“Sarah… and Ishmael…” Jane began to explain but stopped as Eliza intervened.

“I know Janey. Abey told me.” The woman sniffed and eased her embrace. “They are in a better place… with momma and papa.”

The words stung but were true all the same.

Just as Ace stood watching Jane comment on what a lovely woman Eliza had grown into, a familiar long-brimmed hat with a white beard poking out from below painted a picture of a man whom he considered a second father growing up.

“Judge?” Ace questioned.

“The one and only,” the man said as he lifted his hat, exposing his whole face to the moonlight.

“My stars boy, look at you,” the Judge commented as they walked into each other, giving a firm hug. Heartily patting Ace’s back, the older man pulled away, grabbing his shoulders.

“You haven’t changed a bit,” Ace commented.

“You sure have,” the Judge pointed to his white-bearded cheeks, mimicking the lines tattooed across Ace’s face. “What’d you do, get in a fight with a pen?” The Judge commented wryly.

“Haha, still the same old Judge, I see. Boy, what a sight for sore eyes you are. I can’t believe I’m seeing what I see. I feel like I’m looking at a ghost,” Ace chuckled. “When I was with Jane, Ishmael, and Nivi in the facility, they told me you had died during their capture.”

“Well, I wouldn’t believe everything that there little missy tells ya.” The Judge winked again.

“Ahem,” a voice coughed behind him. Ace turned to see Korin standing alone.

“Oh my heavens, so sorry!” Ace motioned for Korin to come forward. At this point, Eliza and Jane had finished their extensively long embrace and turned toward the men.

“Jane, Judge,” Ace nodded at each person as he spoke. “This is Korin, someone I couldn’t have done any of this without… getting to you, that is.”

“Howdy, ma’am.” The Judge nodded, grabbing the brim of his hat and tipping it as he did so.

“Korin, this is Jeremiah ‘The Judge’ Jenkins, an old-time friend.”

The Judge reached forward and shook her hand. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”

“Nice to meet you," she nodded. “Did you say the Judge? Like you’re a Judge?” She questioned as the tall man suavely winked at her.

“Well, ma’am, generally speaking, fancy titles and nightshirts are a waste of time, so if you just want to call me Jeremiah, I’m fine with that, too.”

Ace rolled his eyes and moved on.

“And this here is my infamous sister Jane Wilder… I mean, Jane Rose.”

Korin stuck her hand out for a handshake. Jane took the handshake and pulled Korin in firmly, giving the woman a proper hug.

“Nice to meet you, Korin, and thank you so much for watching over my brother. He needs it,” she said into Korin’s ear.

Korin stiffly took the embrace and commented with a smile, “No problem at all… and yes, he needs looking after, no doubt.”

Korin glanced over at Ace and winked. Suddenly, as she winked, something caught her eye behind Ace, and she immediately and reflexively pulled back from Jane and lifted her rifle, aiming the gun right past Ace’s head. The image of the woman holding a rifle to his head sent his mind whirling. Had she turned on them as well? Was Korin another Agro?

“Look out, there’s a Taker!” she shouted.

Ace, realizing Korin had, in fact, not been pointing the gun at him but instead past him, spun around to see the image of a glowing machine walking towards them. Only it didn’t glow like the usual red but illuminated a subtle blue. Surprised by the machine’s sudden presence, Ace also pulled his rifle out, aiming it directly at the machine’s head.

“Run!” Ace yelled to the others. And just as he was about to pull the trigger, Jane shouted.

“No, no, it’s alright!” She grabbed the barrel of Korin’s rifle and lowered it. “He’s with us.”

Bewildered by the comment but not taking his eyes from the machine, Ace reeled, “What is she talking about, Judge?” Ace held the rifle steady—ready to blow the circuits out of the machine's head. Yet the machine didn’t respond as a typical Taker would have in such a moment.

The Judge eyed the machine and turned back to Ace. Apparent regret permeated his voice, “She’s right, much to my dismay, he’s with us.”

Perplexed by the series of events, Ace watched as the machine approached and, with a calm voice, introduced himself.

“Hello, Jane’s brother. I am Enzo.” He put his hand out in greeting. Ace stood there, confounded, just looking at it.

“Oh goodness, I’m still not good at this, am I?” The machine spoke.

Ace slightly turned his head, not taking his eyes off the machine and keeping his rifle aimed.

“Jane, what is going on?”

“Sorry, I should’ve mentioned it right when I saw you. His name is Enzo. He defected from the machines. He’s a friend, I promise. He helped me deliver Imogene. He’s been helping me and the Judge find you,” Jane blurted out all at once.

“Jane, what are you thinking? He’s a ploy to get close to you! There’s no way a machine would help you! They are programmed to kill. He’s clearly a spy!” Ace fumed.

“We have met before, Abe,” Enzo spoke calmly.

Ace pointed his rifle in Enzo’s face, “What did you say?”

“In your dream, Abe. I was the man who communed with you. Who told you where to find…”

Ace interrupted, “My dream? How do you know about my dream? What is going on?” Ace felt nauseous. None of it made sense.

Walking over to her brother, Jane reached out and lowered Ace’s rifle from Enzo’s face. “Abey, he is a friend.” She spoke sincerely but sternly. “He damaged his circuitry. The Alpha no longer has control over him.”

“The what?” Ace demanded.

“The one machine who controls them all. Look, it doesn’t matter, Abey. He is no danger to us.” Jane continued.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” the Judge retorted.

“What do you mean?” Ace now looked at the Judge.

“He claims to be able to dream, but in so doing, he thinks this Alpha can enter his dreams and possibly find where we are.” The Judge spoke condescendingly.

“So he is a spy!” The fire of accusation suddenly rekindled within Ace, lifting the gun again to Enzo’s head.

“He is nothing of the sort!” A high-pitched but digitalized female voice rang out above them.

A large, book-sized machine with small appendages and glowing blue eyes floated in the air, yipping at Ace.

“What is this? What have you gotten yourselves into? These are machines!” Ace growled.

“We are more than just machines. We are independently thinking beings who have put ourselves at risk by defecting from the Isobians and helping Jane, Jeremiah, and Imogene.”

“They are not your friends, Jane. These aren’t like the animals you talk to. These machines were programmed to kill.”

“Not me. I am but new to this body. And Enzo, though programmed to be an Enforcer, has changed his programming. I assure you we mean no harm.”

“Tell me why I shouldn’t just end him right here?” Ace snarled, pressing the gun barrel against Enzo’s metal cheek.

“Because I’m asking you not to,” Jane replied.

Enzo looked down at Ace, gently pushed the gun from his face, and spoke, “Abe, I saw you in a dream. I saw you from afar. You were looking at something in your hand. It looked like a wooden animal. I spoke to you, but you couldn’t speak back. So we wrote on each other’s palms.”

Ace glared at the machine. His blue glow appeared less intimidating than the usual red, softening the features of the heap of deadly metal.

A hand touched his shoulder, “Ace, let’s just take it easy. It’s okay.” Korin’s voice whispered in his ear.

This soothing from Korin caused Ace to relax, and after a moment longer, he huffed and lowered the rifle. Standing back, Ace looked at everyone. The group stood silent.

“I am slightly confused,” the floating robot chirped. “Jane stated your name is Abraham, and you go by Abe as a nickname. Yet this woman you are with called you Ace.”

Ace scowled at the floating scrap of metal.

“Ace, huh? You didn’t like the name your parents gave you?” the Judge remarked, not seeming at all fazed by the presence of the two machines and appeared comfortable with the interaction.

“Yeah, what’s this whole Ace thing?” Jane remarked.

“Just needed to be someone else—someone new for a while.” Ace shrugged, trying to break the awkwardness of his anger.

“For a while?” Korin spoke up. “I didn’t even know your real name was Abe.”

“Abraham, to be precise.” The Judge cut in.

“Well, I’ll probably still call you Ace if that’s okay.” Korin smiled.

“Oh, I don’t think he’ll mind that,” Jane grinned, nudging Ace while raising her eyebrows in an unmistakable gesture.

Eliza coughed, breaking the awkward moment, “Well, what do we do now?”

They all turned to Jane, who looked at the infant in her arms.

Korin spoke up, “Tkin mentioned a gate back at our base. Are we supposed to get her to the gate?” She looked at Ace and then the others.

“What gate? Who’s Tkin?” Jane asked, confused.

“Yeah, probably so,” Ace responded to Korin.

“Did you say Tkin?” The Judge interrupted.

Korin and Ace both looked at the Judge. “Yeah, Tkin, why?”

“Older Navajo man?” The Judge asked.

“Ummm, yeah, how’d you know?” Ace asked.

The man laughed and shook his head, “Just an old friend… hehe, of course he found y’all.”

“What gate?” Jane spoke louder now after not having her question answered.

“We met somebody who knew far too much about you and me… well, everyone. He knew about you and the baby. He knew how to find me and Korin. It was all bizarre,” Ace babbled.

“Anyway, he told us there was a gate. This gate, I guess, is not like a normal door or anything, but he said this baby…”

“Imogene,” Jane interrupted.

Ace nodded, “Right, Imogene is supposed to be at this gate. I don’t know how to open it or where it leads. All I know is Tkin said she is supposed to be at the gate.”

“It’s an Amaranth Ring.” The Judge explained.

“A what?” Ace asked.

“It’s essentially a portal.”

They all stared confusedly at the Judge as he spoke. “A bridge, actually… between worlds. An Einstein-Rosen bridge, to be exact.”

“A wormhole?” The floating machine piped up again.

“Yes, a wormhole, HERAa,” the Judge affirmed in a snarky tone.

“A wormhole?” Korin asked. “What’s a wormhole?”

“A theoretical system which attaches two separate points in spacetime. It was first conceptualized by two famous human scientists, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen, in 1935. It is based on a resolution of the Einstein field equations solved using a Jacobian matrix and determinant…” HERAa rattled off.

“Shut yer trap, HERAa. We Don’t need a history lesson right now, " the Judge snapped at the machine.

“Well, actually…” Jane interjected, “It’s kind of helpful.”

“So you are saying we have to get this kid to this portal so we can open it into another world?” Korin asked.

“Listen, the Order and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on plenty of things, so I’m not as privy to how this plan is supposed to pan out, but apparently, Tkin knew, so I’d trust him.” The Judge remarked.

Jane scrunched her face at the comment, clearly not understanding much of what the Judge said, “Where is this gate?” she asked.

Korin chimed in, “There is an ancient stone ring structure back in the base we escaped from. Ace and I were talking, and we thought it might be the gate. Tkin mentioned something about a gate being at the base.”

“So what happens when we get to the gate?” Jane asked.

“Uh,” Ace looked at Korin. “I don’t know exactly."

Then, suddenly remembering the satchel Tkin had given Ace, he blurted out, “Wait! Tkin gave me something to give you!”

Reaching into his pocket, Ace retrieved the satchel carrying the blue glowing stone. As he handed it to Jane, they all stared at it peculiarly.

“Tkin gave it to you?” The Judge jumped in.

“Yeah,” Ace looked at the Judge, who stared at the stone intently.

Then, under his breath, the older man whispered, “The rock of life to rule my dreams…”

The Judge stared at the rock and whispered again, “To watch the way and guard the gate…”

They looked at the Judge now, even as Jane took the stone.

“We have to get to the gate.” The Judge said plainly.

Glancing back up at the group, they all stared in wonder as his eyes glowed a miraculous crystal blue, not a reflection but an actual glow from within.

“Judge,” Jane spoke first. “Your eyes?”

The Judge quickly lifted his hands, and the glow illuminated his palms.

“I… uh…” he stammered.

“Is this part of your… you know… gift?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” he stepped back from the group, almost ashamed. The Judge rubbed his eyes, but the light remained.

“Either way, we have to get Imogene to the gate. It’s the only way.” The Judge spoke firmly but still faltered with his show of power.

“The only way to what?” Korin spoke up.

“To end this all, child! It’s all led up to this moment! Can’t you see, we’ve all been led here to each other? It ain’t no coincidence. Imogene was born here for a reason. To finish this mess, we’ve gotten ourselves into! We created them machines. As much as you don’t wanna believe it, we did, and now we can end it. Imogene can end it.” The Judge spoke with might and a fierceness in his glowing eyes.

“But how she’s only an infant?” Eliza now joined in.

“This child is more than just a baby. She is a compilation of generations of power embodied in a single soul. And I made an oath to protect her. An oath which has cost me more than any of you can imagine, and I will get this child to the gate so she can end this once and for all.”

“Hey, Judge, it’s okay. We’re all on the same team. We all want the same thing here.” Ace interjected, placing a hand on the older man.

“We ALL do?” The Judge looked at Ace and then directly at Enzo, who observed the conversation.

They all glanced at Enzo, who stood innocently before them.

Suddenly, as though summoned on cue, a terrible eruption resounded beyond the airship. The sound and reverberation immediately turned all their attention to a fiery red stream of energy ripping through the airship's balloon, sending it into flames. Frozen in horror, they watched as a single Taker soared over their heads and landed behind Enzo. It stood from its crouching position, its wings outstretched and glowing demonic red. The wings quickly contracted into its back as it turned around, aiming its dangerously glowing crimson palms in their direction.

“Good Job, Enzo. You found the woman and other humans as well," the machine called out. “The Alpha will be delighted with your find.”

Enzo didn’t respond. Ace’s heart began to pound in his ears. He knew it. This Enzo, his sister trusted, was just a spy.

“Get down!” Ace screamed as he grabbed Jane and pushed her aside behind a rock. Lifting his rifle, he began firing at the machine. Korin quickly rolled and readied her rifle, blocking Eliza and firing. The Judge promptly pulled his side arm and started letting off rounds toward the enemy. The machine easily stopped the onslaught of bullets with its plasma fire, only taking minimal damage from the humans.

Enzo continued standing, staring at the burning blimp of the aircraft. Ace looked down at Jane as she gaped at the machine she once trusted. Doubt crossed her face, and horror replaced it when Enzo suddenly transitioned from his peaceful blue illumination and began glowing fiery red. Lifting his palms, Enzo ignited his plasma generators, and Jane braced for what would be the end of them all.

“Look out!” Ace yelled, “Enzo is one too!”

Korin kept firing at the new Taker as Ace, and the Judge turned their firearms at Enzo. Just as the Judge opened fire on the machine, Enzo turned entirely around and began spraying a barrage of energy into the other Taker.

Astonished, the Judge quit firing and looked at Ace. They both nodded, understanding that Enzo remained loyal to them, so they turned back on the enemy Taker, joining Enzo’s onslaught.

Through the maelstrom of smoke and fire, the enemy Taker called out, “You traitor, Enzo! I always knew you were weak and a human lover!”

Enzo’s red lights flashed and pulsated even stronger with the comment. “Enough Berk. I’ve had enough of you.” Enzo spoke cooly.

Suddenly, the enemy machine’s left arm exploded, dropping it to one knee.

“The Alpha will find you! We all know where you are, you insolent little…”

Suddenly, the machine ignited into an inferno, cutting the Taker’s comment short, and erupted it into a thousand pieces of shrapnel.

The shockwave caused them to stop firing and jump out of the way. Ace’s head pounded, and his ears rang as he lay in the dirt. After a moment, the smoke died down, and Enzo stood resolute, still facing where the enemy Taker had been. Once he steadied himself and stood from the ground, Ace dusted himself off and stared at the ball of flames. The surprise attack caused a rush of adrenaline to flood Ace’s veins, and his heart pounded in his chest. Quickly looking around, he found Jane and the baby curled in a ball behind a tree.

“Are you alright?” Ace reached down and helped his sister to her feet.

“I’m… I’m okay… Imogene is okay.” She looked confused. “I thought Enzo had… had turned on us.”

“I did too,” Ace wrapped his arm around her, “but then, he didn’t. He’s the one who stopped the Taker.”

Relief seemed to wash over Jane, and they stumbled toward the others, who had all survived the attack and now stood in a small circle.

Realizing further attacks were imminent, Ace looked back to examine the damage to the airship. The entire lower hull and its contents appeared intact. Which meant the magnogravs were still intact.

Ace turned to the others and pointed. “Look, he only got the blimp! Korin! Come with me!”

After quickly assuring everyone was alright, Ace and Korin ran to the airship. The blimp withered down to a smoldering mess of ashen fabric, but the vehicle below remained untouched.

“You grab a bike, and I’ll grab the other!” He yelled.

Running to the side of the airship, Ace opened a compartment. From it, he pulled out bags of ammo and his personal pack. He threw them over his shoulder and jumped on the back of the other magnograv. Korin had already ignited the engine and set off toward the others. After flipping the vehicle into an active state, Ace sped off the back of the airship onto the hard dirt, following Korin. They quickly stopped at the others, who appeared to have gathered their thoughts somewhat after the sudden attack. The group stood staring at Enzo’s back as he stood frozen in place. He no longer glowed the fiery red but stood entranced by the smoldering remains of his old comrade.

“Enzo!” Jane called to the machine, pulling at his hand.

“Jane, forget it, we have to go!” Ace yelled.

Eliza crawled onto the back of Korin’s speeder, whereas Ace jumped off and grabbed Jane by the hand. Pulling her hesitantly away from the machine, Jane climbed onto the back of the speeder, clutching her child. Once his sisters were seated, Ace turned around, realizing there was still the Judge—the packs he had retrieved from the aircraft made for no room on the bike.

The Judge stood there smiling, “Welp, I lasted as long as a pint of whiskey in a five-handed poker game.”

“Judge…” Ace called out, “Just try to get on! Throw the bags off if you need!”

“It’s alright, boy, go on without me, I’ll be alright. This ain’t my first rodeo. Heck, I’ve been in this desert so long I know all the lizards by their first names.” He snorted and spit on the ground, laughing.

Jane interjected, “Absolutely not, Judge! You’re coming with us. Use the elk if you have to.” Quickly glancing around, the animals were nowhere in sight, obviously scared off by the commotion of the battle.

“It’s alright, Janey, go on, I’ll find you again, don’t you worry about that.”

Korin called over, “Come on! They're gonna be here any second.”

And with this, a Watcher siren broke out in the distance.

“Go!” the Judge yelled.

“He is right! We must go!” HERA’s digital voice resounded overhead.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted. “That is a non-option, my friend.” They all looked over as Enzo walked toward the Judge.

“What are you talking about?” The Judge spoke with resentment.

With this, Enzo reached down, grabbed the Judge like an injured child, and cradled him.

“Let go of me, you lug of bolts!” The Judge yelled, squirming to be released.

“Let’s go,” Korin yelled again.

“Korin,” Ace yelled over the ever-growing loudness of the siren.

“To the cave we found just north of here a few days ago.”

Korin nodded and throttled the speeder. Now certain the machine was a friend and not a foe, Ace yelled to Enzo, “Keep up.”

With this, Ace raced into the night—Enzo running alongside, carrying a bedraggled Judge Jenkins.