Supreme Leader of Anstractor: A Sci-Fantasy Space Adventure (The New Phase Book 3) Read Free Page A

the streets like an all-consuming snake, hungry for the lives of any living creature it could find.
    “I waited, and waited, and waited, Commander. I saw no other choice for the Phasers to make,” Yuth said as he appeared next to them on the building and looked down at his handiwork.
    “As long as we make it worth it, Yuth,” Rafian said. “For the innocents that lost their life in that crash.” He walked to the edge of the building to look down on the smoke, as well. “That maneuver. I have always wondered if it was possible. I imagined dropping an entire starship on Geral. Tearing a hole into their planet, and letting the fires just burn the entire thing black. I wonder, would it lead to people celebrating the Phasers as saviors of the galaxy, or would it give us a reputation as being as ruthless as the Geralos?”
    Yuth spoke. “Commander, I know that it was too much, but consid—”
    “I don’t want your apology, Yuth. What you did was brilliant and necessary. What I want us to do, as leaders of this organization, is to consider what will happen once the dust starts to clear.”
    “What do you mean, Raf?” Marian asked, coming up next to them to observe the destruction.
    “I mean that the age of the Geralos will come to an end. We have made ourselves into the necessary weapon to cause their destruction, but in the aftermath, where do we stand for Anstactor? A weapon is sheathed, but kept around during times of peace to be at the ready when needed. When it’s peace time, we put them away in tight, secure places. We don’t want children getting to them and we don’t want them used to settle petty squabbles. A weapon is only useful for combat. Do you hear what I am saying?”
    “Speak clearly, brother,” Yuth said. “I am a Louine, after all. The basic language can be confusing when used metaphorically in the way you do now. I want to be sure that you are not upset with me and that we are going to do something about Zallus.”
    “Marian’s first language is not ours, either, so I fully understand, my friend,” Rafian said. “Tayden, Frank, and Camille need to hear this too, but I speak now out of concern for what we did today. The more people see us, the more they know about us, and the more they will try to analyze us. The more we jump in clear view, send ships into an atmosphere to wipe out the enemy, and display our superior fighting technique, the more people will begin to wonder, ‘should we be worried about them?’”
    “I want to show you something, Yuth,” Rafian said, turning to look at his blue friend. He opened his palms to show that he held no crystals. And as Yuth made to look him over, he jumped from the edge, avoiding the Louine’s quick attempt to catch him. As Rafian plummeted to his death he vanished and appeared on the rooftop next to Yuth.
    “You are able to jump without the crystals?” Yuth asked with a confused look on his face.
    “I figured this out when I was away with Marian on her home planet. Come close to me and look at my eyes,” Rafian said.
    Yuth walked over and examined Raf’s pupils, which looked just as strange and mysterious as Marian’s. Rafian had become something beyond human, and it caused Yuth to take out a mirror and look at his own eyes to see if he, too, was changing.
    “What is happening to us, Raf?” he asked suddenly.
    “The price of our immense power, Yuth. As we play around with the crystals, jumping, cloning, teleporting, they are slowly changing our physiology. I don’t know if the change is dangerous, or what it means for us in the long run, but the crystals have started to become a part of us, which is why I am able to jump short distances without their use.
    “Yuth, Rhee, we need to slow down. I don’t want the Geralos war ending with our own people hating and distrusting us just because we possess this power. We are meant to be a secret, used only when necessary – just like an extremely deadly weapon. Everyone here that survived