Scarred: A SciFi Romance

Chapter 1

Arkon

The gibbous moon casts long shadows across the motel parking lot. I move as a living shadow, a piece of night made flesh. My movements are fluid as water and swift as lightning. Like any true Ninja, I am a master of myself and my environment.

I approach the Potomac River at a dead run. My feet barely cause a whisper of sound as I—

“What in the hell is that racket? A herd of elephants?”

I spin to face the speaker, an older human male in an ill-fitting bathrobe. “Would you keep it down? I’m trying to sleep, you…”

His voice trails off when he sees my hulking seven-and-a-half-foot tall form—wait a minute, how does he see me? I’ve blended into the shadows as if I were spawned from them.

“What in the fuck?” he blurts. “Are they filming a movie around here or something?”

He saw and heard me? This human must be more than he seems. I pitch into a somersault and roll behind a shrubbery. Then I cartwheel over next to a parked car and slither on my belly, a silent, but deadly—

“Why are you flipping around like that? And what are you doing down there on the ground next to my car? Is this some kind of prank?”
I rise up, thwarted in my attempts at stealth. Who is this cretin? I inhale deeply, but he doesn’t smell like a Grolgath in disguise. Some other form of alien being, masquerading as a human?

“I demand to know who you are,” I snarl, pointing my finger at him.

“Me? I’m Ed Gruberman, who are you, a sideshow freak?” he laughs and puts his hands on his—let us say ample—waist. “Is that—are you actually carrying a sword? Who carries a sword these days? You must be filming a movie.”
I glare down at the man. “Listen to me, Ed Gruberman, and listen well. I was never here. Do you understand?”

I put my finger to my lips.

“Of course you were here, I’m looking right at you. I’m not that drunk.”

He turns around and yells into the hotel room. “Hey, Alice, come look at this giant freak with a sword!”

“I’m watching NCIS!” Bellows a shrill, horrid sounding woman.

“Screw NCIS, this is more interesting! He’s out here flipping around, doing cartwheels and shit. It’s the funniest damn thing I’ve seen since The Carol Burnett show got canceled.”

“Did you just say screw NCIS?” she shouts back. “How dare you? You know this is my favorite show.”

“It’s your favorite show because you drool over Mark Harmon,” Ed Grumberman shouts back.

I don’t wait around to hear the rest. I dig a smoke bomb out of my pocket and toss it onto the ground and backflip away. My departure will go unnoticed, as if I’d vanished into thin air—

“Now he threw a smoke grenade on the ground and he’s doing the flippy thing again,” Ed Gruberman shouts. “Turn that shit off and come look!”

I hit the steep concrete embankment and slide down toward my waiting shuttle. I’m not sure what alien race Ed Gruberman belongs to, but he must have keener eyesight than a three-eyed Shorcu. How else could he have detected my presence? 

I open the rear hatch and vault into the Vakutan class-8 shuttle. I have no time to ponder Ed Gruberman’s superhuman abilities. I must make it back to Veritas headquarters, as I’ve uncovered a most nefarious Grolgath plot.

The entire Veritas organization should be scrambling. I sent a priority alert after I rescued the Kiphian known as Benedict Cumberbatch from the Grolgath. He stole a compad from our stalwart enemies, and wisely turned it over to me. Now I know that the Grolgath are planning to unleash doom upon humanity, and even Arkon, the Ultimate Ninja, needs help from his fellow Vakutan to stop their nefarious scheme.

I hit the holo disguise on the shuttle, making myself appear as a Terran helicopter. I fly back to Veritas headquarters lost in thought. Could it be that Ed Gruberman was not, in fact, a disguised alien but simply a normal man? 

That would mean my stealth techniques aren’t as refined as I’d thought they were. Maybe if I’d ever been on an actual mission, I could have tested them before. Why Director Pyke keeps me on the sidelines, I don’t know. I am the silent-but-deadly Vakutan avenger. I am the thing that goes bump in the night! 

Surely it’s not that my position as physical education coach for Veritas is so important he can’t risk me? No, surely not. It must be because you don’t use your most powerful weapon until you absolutely have to. Yes, that must be it.

Ed Gruberman must either be an alien, or he just got very lucky. Perhaps I didn’t account for the gravel terrain? I should train even harder, just in case.

The Veritas base has many secret entrances. I use the one hidden behind the Lincoln Memorial. I settle the shuttle onto the concealed helipad and descend downward on a lift large enough to accommodate the shuttle.

I leave the shuttle parked in our docking bay and rush to Pyke’s office. He’s away on his honeymoon, but I need to raise him on comms. Pyke must be informed of the heinous Grolgath plot post haste. 

And once he finds out, surely he will dispatch me to deal with the threat. My time has come at last! Soon the Grolgath will know the true spelling of fear! It’s spelled A-R-K-O-N t-e U-l… never mind how it’s spelled. The point is, they will know true fear.

I rush into Pyke’s office and sit down at the monitor. Outside, I hear the bustle of Veritas agents, mostly Vakutan, and a few human allies we’ve picked up over the years, preparing to scramble. 

Our forces are spread thin all over the globe, but this latest Grolgath threat takes top priority.

It takes me several minutes to raise Pyke on comms. When he does appear, his golden eyes seem rheumy from either lack of sleep, excessive partying, or both. 

“This better be good, Arkon,” Pyke grumbles. “I am on my honeymoon with my jalshagar.”

“Bah, mere fated mates pale before the impact of what I have to import!” I shake my head. “I mean, they pale before the import of what I have to impart! The Grolgath—”

“Are trying to disrupt human history so they won’t achieve space flight in the future and become allies of the Trident Alliance some three hundred years hence,” Pyke says with a sigh. “Yes, I know. I was there when we were hurtled back in time, remember?”

“But sir, the Grolgath—”

“Are up to no good. What else is new? Can’t you leave me in peace while I try to enjoy my time with my mate?”

“But sir—”

“I left you in charge for a reason, Arkon.”

“Because I’m the strongest, most capable fighter?” I ask hopefully.

“No, because you spend so much time watching ninja movies and playing with your throwing stars that you’re the least likely to bother me while I’m on vacation.”

I flinch. “Sir, that hurts. Deeply.”

“Suck it up. You’re the world’s greatest ninja, right?” his sneer is as mocking as it is sincere. “Now, practice being silent and leave me alone.”

“The Grolgath have found a Phoenix in the Earth’s crust, sir.”

Pyke’s eyes widen. I do believe he sobers up immediately.

“Are you certain?”

“Well, no, but they are, according to the data files I uploaded to the Veritas network.”

Pyke sighs and extracts a Compad. He taps the screen and grimaces.

“Damn. It looks like they might be up to something here.”

“Of course they are.”

“I wonder why, in the name of the Ancestors, the fin backs would even try to awaken something so dangerous. They must realize it’s a threat to them as well.”

Now it’s my turn to sneer. “Sir, the Flame Lickers believe they act on divine providence. Clearly they believe their Goddess Ataxia will protect them from the Phoenix’s wrath.”

Pyke sighs. “In any event, I hate to admit it, but you’re right. This takes top priority.”

“So, you’re going to dispatch me?” I ask.

Pyke scrolls through the many screens on his compad. His troubled scowl turns into a merry grin. Is he… is he laughing at me? Me, Arkon the Ultimate Ninja?

“Well, as it turns out, Arkon, I do have a mission of the utmost importance to which I must dispatch you right away.”

I stand up straight. “You can count on me, sir. I’m ready for anything. You want one of the Grolgath Radiance agents assassinated? He’s as good as dead. You want me to break into the most secure labyrinth on planet Earth? I’ll do it with one hand tied behind my back! Or maybe… yes, that must be it. You wish me to take over your mantle of leadership on a permanent basis, yes?”

Pyke chuckles, the burbles, then his ridged shoulders shake with guffaws.

“You… the leader of Veritas?” he’s overcome with laughter. Pyke calms down, then looks at me for a long moment. “Oh, wait, you’re serious?”

He laughs even harder. I put my hand on my hip and glare at him.

“No, Arkon, I have good tidings for you. Your genetically compatible mate has been found.”

My heart sinks. “Sir… no! It can’t be. It simply can’t be!”

“It can be, and it is,” Pyke insists. “You’re going to be paired up with a human female to protect our genetic lineage. Veritas must continue, and we can’t do that if we don’t find a way to shore up our numbers.”

“Sir, you can’t seriously expect me to, to mate with a weak, squishy human female?” I’m aghast. “They don’t even have any scales! They have that soft stuff on top of their head that’s always blowing around, you know… feathers?”

“It’s called hair, Arkon. And, yes, you will mate with her. That’s an order. I’ve sent her coordinates to you. Good luck, Arkon. If she’s as spirited as my mate, you’re going to need it.”

The communication ends. My compad dings with an incoming message. Glumly, I look at the coordinates.

Arkon, the Ultimate Ninja… is going to be housebroken.