Heirs of Planet Life

XXII - Merko's Seed

As Star Hunter ship drove to planet Life under the supervision of Z8, Merko tried to rest. His mind wouldn't relax though, desolated as he was because of his friend and the several moments they had spent together.

One special moment, a real adventure that had taken place five years before, came back and forth into his mind. A giant meteor was in course of collision with his planet. All alternatives to stop it had been put out of question by the Royal Board. There was one chance to take the asteroid out of its course: using a powerful beam of laser rays that would explode it and take it out of the globe's direction while it still was some thousand miles away from the fatal shock.

Star Hunter, the ship which had the laser weapon, however, was out of order, and groups of engineers worked nonstop to repair it. The problem was that there was no time to wait for the spacecraft's repair, and the weapon couldn't be removed or taken to another ship in time. With everyone condemned to die with the imminent destruction of the planet, the captain, touched by the urge to do something, got in the vehicle, and took off to launch it against the comet. The spaceship, he thought, would hit one of the meteoroid's sides and then take it out of its course. Z8 had calculated with accuracy the seconds and place of impact, which would give him a chance of success of almost a hundred percent. The commander didn't say goodbye to anyone, for he knew many people would try to stop him from accomplishing such a suicide mission.

He got in the spaceship and took off in extraordinary speed in the direction of the comet that was still at a safe distance and able to be stopped.

Silion, who had been watching his companion over the last days before the departure, thought he was lonely and thoughtful. He knew his comrade very well and was sure something serious was about to happen. Before he went away, they had a conversation.

"Merko, why haven't you talked to anyone lately? What's going on, my friend?"

"I've been worried about the Meteor X26. I don't believe we'll be able to stop it and we'll all die. I must find a solution."

"Our engineers will find a way to repair the ship Star Hunter in time. The weapons are ready, the reactors are the last thing that needs to be repaired".

"My dear pal, when they manage to fix the reactor, it will be too late. There won't be enough time for it since X26 is coming to such a close point that we won't be able to stop it. And both of us know it for sure. There's no need to have false hopes and there's no time for the spacecraft to be repaired. Many lives are at stake!"

The other lowered his head in sadness and left the commander alone. He knew his partner was in an extreme situation, but he also knew that he would find a way out. Hours later, he looked for his mate again to discover that he had already gone. Silion had a bad feeling, and feared his mate went straight to death.

At an unbelievable speed, the captain had set the ship to search for the orbit of the asteroid and hit it. Tears dropped from his eyes when he thought about everything he would leave behind. At the same moment, he hoped the collision was strong enough to save his planet's inhabitants.

Worried about Merko, his ally talked to the engineers that fixed the vessel. He begged them to do their best and speed up all steps of the maintenance process.

Even at a great distance, the commander saw the monstrous asteroid that seemed greedy for its target. In silence, he said goodbye to his own existence and was about to launch the ship against the comet when he heard a loud voice that came from the holographic image that showed in front of him.

"My friend, make way for me because I'll explode that meteor with every power I have."

The captain didn't have time for anything other than seeing the ultra-powered red ray pass by his spaceship and blow X26 with surgical accuracy. The asteroid flew by at a very close distance to the captain, who felt a turbulence that made his spacecraft shake. Then, the meteoroid moved away from planet Life's course, and all its inhabitants were saved by Silion, along with Merko, who had been on the verge of giving his own being for his peers.

"You are a crazy man! You'd give your life for the sake of humanity. I'd miss you very much, pal."

"Thank you again. You're always by my side when I need it the most. Yes, I was willing to give my life on behalf of humans, but I have to admit I'm very glad to be alive. Let's go home to celebrate it."

After remembering the adventure, he had along with his friend Silion in a far past on planet Earth, Merko got himself together. He was inside Star Hunter spacecraft going after Science ship, which was hiding in the deepness of the ocean. With the coordinates he had received from Mirov, he followed his path, searching for information that could lead him to the boy, whose capture was his mission. Once more, Lorena's image came back to his mind although their meeting had taken place 23 years before. The beauty of her smile on a face adorned by golden curls made her unforgettable to him.

He remembered the time he had with her in Los Angeles and, while he looked for Nicholas, he had a sudden shiver when he recognized his mother as the same woman he had been with long ago and that had granted him the best moments of his life. The two women were the same one, he figured out.

"That's why I felt so touched, with a sense of familiarity when I saw her. That is it! She is the woman with whom I spent that memorable night... Oh, no... Is that possible? The boy is 23, the same number of years that have passed since I was with his mother. I wonder if he's my son... No, it can't be. That would be too much of a coincidence..."

* * *

Once again, Lorena was getting ready to sleep without knowing about her son's whereabouts. She put Sophia to bed, covered her with a blanket and stood there, looking at her for a few minutes, until the little girl fell asleep. Then, the woman left the room, closed the door and went to her bedroom. She missed Nick so much that she wept. With tears falling from her eyes, she also remembered everything that had happened with her husband which had also disappeared without any trace. She couldn't understand what had happened to John after that unforgettable night they had spent together. On the following day, as she memorized now, he had gone to work with that mysterious face of his. She had no idea of what they did at the military base from which he never returned. The army had no consistent information about his whereabouts and everything they had said to her was that he was missing. Lorena started receiving financial help from the government, but that was nothing compared to the dear companion she had lost. If he was dead, she thought she should have had the right to give him a proper funeral and say goodbye to the man she had loved so much, the father of her first child.

Sad and lonely, Nicholas was the sole origin of her happiness. She did all she could to raise him and now she was paying for his college tuition. Some years later, Sophia was born from her marriage to her second husband. Her little girl was a gift and she also worked hard to raise her the best way she could.

She was very proud of her children; they were both excellent students, didn't get involved with bad guys and they both had the same purpose: to be someone in life. Her son wanted to become an important physicist, and her daughter, despite being too young, had dreamed of being an environmental engineer. Although the mother missed her spouse very much, she had overcome her fears with success. She had raised her children and they both grew up with health and well.

The woman laid down on her bed, stared at the ceiling waiting to fall asleep, and thought about the detective who had gone to her house and who stared at her. Unable to look away from that man's eyes, she knew he had touched her somehow, as if he was someone familiar to her. On that night of so many sad memories, she couldn't sleep and started to think about Sophia's dad too.

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