Divine: Merchants of the Silent Shore

Chapter VI

"Gah!" The man with strawberry blonde hair jerked, nearly dropping his Petri dish and two months of work. "Don't startle me like that, Julia." He set down the dish where it would be safe.

"Sorry." Julia giggled and gave Aetin a tight squeeze around his midriff. "You're just so busy all the time and so uptight. You need to relax a bit." She rubbed his stomach and laid her head on his back. "Come get dinner with me."

"Julia, I'm in the middle of some very important work." Aetin didn't pull Julia's arms off of his waist. He knew that she would just give him another hug. Instead he kept working, reaching for a pipette and several vials filled with a murky liquid.

"You're always in the middle of some important work." She pouted and let go of the man the she haphazardly called her boyfriend. He never denied it and the moments they did share together, however few, were far too intimate to be just between friends.

"Everything I do is important." Aetin couldn't help but give a smug smile. Damn the woman. She was the only person here that could pull him away from his work for any amount of time.

"Then you can do very important thing with me." Julia gave Aetin's arm a slight tug. "Like getting dinner with me. So very important."

Aetin sat still for a moment, weighing his options. His work wasn't exactly going anywhere if he left. But Julia... Julia was something extraordinary in his life and he knew just how lucky he was to have her with him.

"Alright," Aetin gave a fake sigh of defeat and began to put away his work. He carefully slid all of his Petri dishes onto a rack along with the vials which were then put into an incubator. He turned off his microscope and slid it to the back of his work desk. He then gave his lab a once over.

The lab was his life. Years and years of work were stored here where Aetin was compiling all of his discoveries in anticipation of his and the teams eventual return to civilized space. There was all kinds of lab equipment from a simple microscope to full on gene splicers. He had been very busy, but even the busiest of people needed to take time for their special someone.

"Hurry up." Julia was standing by the sliding double doors that led out and into the rest of the facility. "The galley isn't open forever."

Aetin flicked a switch on the far wall which slowly began to dim down the lights. He then went over to Julia and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"What's Madison even serving up tonight?" He asked and wrapped his arms around Julia's waist. "I hope it's not lasagna. No matter how many times she tries... Just never turns out right."

"Don't worry," Julia said and walked them out. "Franklin finally figured out what was wrong with his lobster synthesis formula. He's really excited about it."

Aetin rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "Tasted like how burnt hair smells last time."

Julia gave Aetin a playful push. "Hey now. He's been working on his synthetic foods for a long time now and I smelled it on the way here. It actually smells like lobster."

The two passed others in the hall way and said hello. They passed a few more labs. Everyone here was working on something different. Aetin was in charge on genetics. Julian was a botanist. Though not everyone was a scientist, Madison was just a cook. Not the best though. Franklin was a chemist who spent a long time trying the synthesize foods from back home.

Upon entering the cafeteria, which Aetin called a galley due to his prior navy history, the smell of butter and lobster hit his nose.

"My god!" He exclaimed and looked over at Julia with a smile. "It smells like it."

They walked across cafeteria where a dozen other scientists were talking happily and eating what actually looked like lobster and biscuits.

"There you two are!" A large man in a dirty apron lumbered over to the two. "Everyone else has gotten their fill. I was beginning to think that you wouldn't come and try Franklin's galaxy famous faux lobster. "

"I had to drag Mr. Workaholic here from his precious experiments." Julia prodded Aetin in the ribs and she got a poke in the ear in return.

"Well I'm glad you two made it. There's not much left." He went behind the serving tables and pulled out two plates that were already ready with hefty servings of pink meat and biscuits. "Had to hide these away or risk having them stolen before you could give it a try."

"Thanks Franklin." They took their plates and found seats at an empty table.

"Oh, Lordy." Aetin slapped his hand down on the table after giving the meat a taste. "It tastes exactly like lobster and I would know. I'm the only person here that's from Earth."

Julia didn't respond. She didn't have the heart to tell Aetin that she didn't like lobster. It was too sweet for her taste buds, so instead she just watched as her boyfriend devoured his plate.

"How's your work going?" Julia asked and nibbled on her biscuits.

"Slow," Aetin said with an mouthful of food. He took a drink of water and swallowed. "Immortality can't be discovered in a day."

Julia nodded. While she had been working on studying how this planet's atmosphere affected Earth plants, Aetin had been trying to find the secrets to immortality.

"Did you know that lobsters are immortal?" He asked.

"I heard something like that a long time ago," She said and then added, "Back at university."

"Well they are. Along with a few others." Aetin pardoned himself to burn and then continued. "As long as they don't get sick and get proper nutrition, they don't die of old age."

"You don't say?" Julia reached out and touched Aetin's hand. 

He stopped eating and gazed back at Julia. Despite slow work with many dead ends. No matter how long it took, Aetin felt that as long as Julia was with him, it didn't matter how long it took him.

--

Marty nearly fell over as the vision left his head. He leaned up against the cold metal wall until the nausea left him and his sight cleared up.

"What... what was that?" Marty held his head and stood up straight. He gazed around the room. It was mostly empty with light fixture above that gave off a warm yellow light which filled the room. The walls were barren with only rivets, but in the center of the room was a machine. 

It was cylindrical metal tube with flashing lights. It was about as large as a man and about just as wide. No wires came out of it and there was no interface of any kind visible. It gave off a mechanical humming.

Marty got closer to the machine, but stopped when he began to get a headache.

"It's an inhibitor." A voice spoke from behind.

Marty wheeled around on his heels and drew his pistol at the source.

"That won't work here." It was a white mouse, only standing as tall as Marty's shins. It wore a robe and was leaning on cane for support. 

Where had it come from. Only a second ago, Marty had been completely alone in the room and there were no other ways in but the stairs that were on the opposite side of the wall.

"Who are you." Marty didn't lower his weapon even though he didn't think the mouse was lying about his weapon not working. "What is that?" He pointed at the cylindrical machine in the center of the room.

"I'm a Tender." The mouse said in his squeaky voice. "And like I said before, that is an Inhibitor." He pointed at the machine with his cane. "You don't listen very well." He sighed. "No one does." The mouse's shoulders sagged.

"Where am I?" Marty asked.

"So many questions." The mouse walked over to a stool that hadn't been there a moment ago. Or had it? Marty wasn't sure anymore. The mouse sat down on the stool. "So many irrelevant questions. Try agin." 

Marty lowered his gun. He felt silly pointing it at a mouse. "Why are you here?"

"Close enough." The mouse spoke. He rested the cane between his legs. "But I'm sure you can answer that yourself."

Marty felt stupid. "You tend to the Inhibitor."

"On target." The mouse gave a grin. "After so many misses. There might be hope yet. Now try another."

Marty didn't really want to play this game, but he wanted answers. He had always suspected that there was more to this planet than he knew about and he was getting proof. He thought hard about his next question.

"Who is Aetin?"

"I can't tell you that sad story," The mouse said, his whiskers dropping. "But I can show you." He lifted his cane and pointed it at Marty's face.

Marty flinched as his eyes burned and he felt as if he was falling.

--

"Aetin," Cossus spoke clearly and deliberately. There could be no miscommunication between himself and the man that sat on the other side of his desk. "I need you to stop your research."

Aetin visibly tensed. His fingers dug into the leather arm rests of the seat. "Stop? I can't stop. I'm so close now." He nearly stood up, but then he remembered who he was talking to. Cossus could have stopped him if he wanted to, but was asking instead.

"Remember a few months back when I lent you the stones for your research?" Cossus asked while he held onto one of the stones he was talking about. It looked like a piece of raw iron with a small crystal imbedded into it. 

Aetin nodded. His research had been stagnating. He couldn't find out how to integrate the immortality gene into humans. He tried on a few specimens that were brought from outside, the results of Dr. Miklo. They went insane and had to be put down.

They were crossed between humans and animals, his attempts to incorporate the best of all of the animal kingdom into humans. He gave up, but not before he accidentally seeded the planet with civilization and now the primitives worshipped the science team like gods.

Some of the scientists now busied themselves with these creations, teaching and educating. It was mostly then sociologists and such. One had even used the builder drones and built them a city. Too large to be of real use, but still... they were like children to many of them now.

Aetin didn't bother with them. He was on the verge of a breakthrough after Cossus lent him one of the stones that seemingly had magical properties. He could alter the very fabric of reality with them and they helped a lot.

"Look." Cossus sighed. The man was old and even something as simple as holding a slightly heated conversation tired him out. "I wouldn't ask this if you if I didn't have my reasons. You know that."

Aetin knew that Cossus had nothing but good intent on his mind. "I know. I'll- I'll stop."

"Thank you and I'm sorry that I had to ask this of you."

Aetin was out of the office shortly after. He had returned the stone he had borrowed, but not before scrapping a few small fragments off for himself. The old man may believe that it was for the best to stop the search for immortality, but Aetin knew better and once he found the answer, everyone will prosper.

--

With no wall to lean on, Marty did fall down this time. He hit his tail bone hard and it hurt, but the head ache was worse.

"Why are you showing me this?" Marty asked the mouse.

"Because you asked." The mouse raised his staff again. "And you must learn."

"Wait! Wait!" Marty raised his hands up but then burning light surrounded him again.

--

"Aetin, honey." Julia rubbed her eyes and walked into her husband's lab. "Its late. Come back to bed."

Over at his work station, Aetin sat hunched over his microscope. "I can't. Not yet."

"Very important work." Julia finished his sentence. "You've been here all day and I miss your touch." She walked over to Aetin and gave him a hug from behind. 

"Just a little longer." Aetin reached into his pocket and pulled out a fragment of the magical stone he had stolen from Cossus nearly a decade ago.

A lot had happened in the past ten years. The creations were now using magic. Somehow they harnessed whatever power the stones had without needing the stones. Aetin had half a mind to take one and study it, but Cossus had forbid anyone from experimenting with them. He was getting uncomfortable with how much certain individuals liked to play god.

A schism was forming in the group. Some scientists believed that as their creators, they had the right to experiment. Aetin stayed out of those affairs. He had everything he needed in his lab and in the stone.

"You can work tomorrow," Julia kissed Aetin on the back of the neck.

"I SAID JUST A BIT LONGER!" Aetin swiveled on his chair. 

The fast movement caught Julia by surprise and she fell and hit her head on the nearby table.

"Julia!" Aetin was instantly off his chair and next to his wife who was holding her head. "I'm s-sorry." He went to hold her, but she slapped his hand away.

"No. You should get back to your work." She stood herself up. It wasn't a hard hit to her head. No blood. "It's obviously too important." 

She left soon after and Aetin could hear her crying before the door closed.

He should have gone after her and apologized. It would have fixed everything. Julia always forgave. She was that kind of person, always giving second chances. But he didn't. He got back on his chair and went back to work.

"Almost. Just a little longer and it will be all right." He told himself the same thing he had been telling himself for years.

--

"So he was stubborn and not a great husband." Marty rubbed his eyes. The after effects were so bad anymore. "What's this got to do with anything?"

"There's still more." The mouse held up the cane and Marty sighed.

--

Aetin was shaking. He was shaking so bad that his eyes couldn't even adjust. Everything was a blur. His skin hurt as well. It hurt on his hands. It hurt on his chest. It hurt everywhere.

At long last. Aetin had found the secret. Fourteen years of work had finally paid off and like any good scientist, the end result had to be tested. But, Cossus had forbid experimentation on the creations that were now prospering. They had government and were thriving. They had even created a religion, worshiping the scientists. 

But the ban on experimentation only left Aetin with one option. He tested his immortality serum on himself.

At first he felt fine, but fine quickly turned into hell on earth.

Aetin scratched at his skin to the point where he began to bleed. His vision was getting worse and he couldn't think straight.

What had gone wrong. He had been so careful about everything. Now he felt like he had poisoned himself.

The stones. Aetin reached for his coat pocket. The fabric was torn through by something sticking out of his chest. The stone had fallen to the ground.

Aetin fell to his knees and grasped out blindly until he found one of the fragments. This shouldn't have been the effect. It had to be the stones. Cossus had given him the stones and taken them back to trick him into stealing it.

Aetin's mind went red. It was Cossus' fault. The old man didn't want Aetin to discover immortality because the coot must have been researching it himself. He wanted the glory!

All reason vanished from Aetin's mind as he left his lab and tore his way towards Cossus' office where the man spent most of his days.

"Aetin." A figure got in the way. "What happened, baby?"

It sounded familiar, but Aetin was too enraged to recognize it. He swatted at it and the figure fell with a scream. He smelled blood, but only continued on, not caring about what he had just done.

Aetin's mind swirled as he was pulled into a pit of rage and time lost meaning. There were images of death and violence. Armies clashing. People and animals twisted and torn apart until it all came back together with Aetin standing below a ship that hovered out of reach. Cossus stood on the lowered ramp.

"You fucked up everything!" The old man yelled down. "You destroyed everything and for what? For immortality. Everything is ruined and for that, I'm taking what's left and leaving you behind. If you want this world so bad, then have it. Have it all. You've signed the deed with blood. The blood of thousands."

"You tricked me!" Aetin pointed up with something that could barely be called a hand. It was black with rotted flesh. Horn like appendages sprouted out in what could have been fingers. "You made me this!"

"I tried to warn you," Cossus replied. "Magic corrupts. It's something no one can control. I- I tried to-" He was crying and got silent. "It's all on you."

The ship closed up and took off along with nearly a dozen others, filled with the few humans that had survived the ordeal.

"Never come back!" Was all that Aetin could say. He yelled it over and over at the sky until even the contrails were faded. Then with the source of his rage gone, a thought came to his mind. It was an image of a woman.

Aetin followed the image in his mind. He may have wandered for days or for years, but he was immortal now, time held no meaning to him. 

He found himself in a rusted metal tunnel that nature was reclaiming. He was staring down at a skeleton that had deep grooves in its skull. It was female.

Again, Aetin was far too gone to realize that it was Julia who he had killed that first night the Fel took him. Instead just the name came to mind.

"Julia," He said. "Where is my Julia." He walked away from the skeleton. "Where has my Julia gone."

He wandered again for more time. He searched for Julia and when he couldn't find her, he came to a conclusion.

"Damn you Cossus. You took her from me. Stole her away on your ships."

Aetin knew where there were more ships. Ships that were intact and still had those damn devices that bore Cossus' name.

He got in a ship and took off, but something caused all the systems to crash and his ship fell back to the planet.

The crash almost killed him, but the Fel kept him alive. He survived the crash, but he vowed to find a way to find Julia again.

--

The headache was back and it felt like Marty's head was splitting open.

"I tend the inhibitor which keeps all on this planet. Aetin mustn't be allowed to escape," The mouse lowers his staff. "If you wish to leave and return to your home, then you must kill Aetin. Otherwise, he can't be allowed to leave this planet. Cossus was very clear when he assigned us Tenders to all of the Inhibitors."

"It... uhm... It seems like a tall order." Marty tried to wrap his head around all of this while nursing his headache. "I've seen what the Fel can do. I'm just one guy. Aetin is considered a god."

"You have your friends. Allies who would be more than happy to destroy the Fel."

"What's stopped Aetin from coming here and destroying the Inhibitor?" Marty asked. He had simply waltzed in. 

"There's a special field protecting this and all inhibitors. Only humans and Tenders may enter. Otherwise, it is impassable."

Marty walked over to the mouse who did not move from his stool and knelt down. "So I can just walk out?"

The mouse nodded. "You may go now."

"But where do I go to?" Marty asked. "I don't know anything about this place. I don't know how to kill a god."

"Go and find the Merchants of the Silent Shore." The mouse waved towards the stairs, bidding the human to leave. "They'll answer more questions that what I can. Go."

Marty got up and began to head out towards the stairs.

"One more thing," the mouse shouted. "Do not tall of this place or this meeting with anyone except those who already know. There have been repercussions already for this. Do not greaten them."

With that, Marty left with more knowledge than he could ever have hoped for. Humans were indeed responsible for everything that happened here. Absolutely everything.

Outside, it was dark, but Felix and the two soldiers were beginning to give up. They had been digging and digging, but the hole they had been shoveling at never got any deeper, only wider. It was as if the dirt wasn't really there.

"We- We should go for the caravan." The lizard soldier wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow. "Get a search party going."

"You go." Felix attacked the hill with the shovel that was becoming worn. The spade was flat now. "I'm not leaving."

"It's no use," The raccoon was panting. He sat bare chested on a nearby stump. The armor had been too heavy and hot to keep on. "We just can't dig deeper. Must be some kind of illusionary magic."

"I don't care if this was Aetin's doing himself." I'm not leaving.

"Why do you care so much?" The lizard asked. "Sure, he's the Messenger, but you care more than anyone else."

Felix stopped and looked at the two. "He's the only thing keeping me alive. Most of you guys would run me through at the first opportunity if it weren't for Marty. He cares about me. He's kind. I... He's my friend." He almost said that he loved him. He did. Marty was just so kind and caring that how could Felix not fall for him, but no one could know that.

"I see." The lizard scratched his scales. Sweat was collecting and drying under the scales, aggravating the skin underneath.

"After spending some time with you." The raccoon got up and stretched out a few kinks in his back. "I realize that you aren't a bad guy. You don't have anything to fear from us."

The lizard nodded as well. "You don't have to worry. We'll keep them the rest of the guys off your back. They won't like it, but they will."

"That means a lot to me." Felix smiled and looked up at the sky. The last remnants of the sun's light was gone. "I guess we should get a search party."

"No need." Marty spooked the cat enough that he left two meters into the air.

"Where'd you come from?" Felix landed back on his feet. His fur was sticking out and his tail was twice as poofy.

"I got lost in there. Some kind of made hideout. Mazes and shit."

"Took you long enough to get out," The raccoon said. He was patting down his own fur that was on end.

The lizard re-sheathed his sword, aware of how close he had been from decapitating the Messenger.

"Sorry about that," Marty apologized. "It's pretty late. We should be going now. I bet everyone is worried sick."

It was Marty that was worried sick. He had been tasked with killing a god in order to be able to get back home. He knew that he had friends who would help him. With how close Felix was walking to him, with his tail occasionally brushing against His leg, Marty had no doubt that he had friends who would help him. It was going to be dangerous though and it would put everyone's lives at risk.

One step at a time though. He still had to make it to the Guild States one Petrus was rescued and safe. Then he had to meet the Merchants of the Silent Shore. The Mouse had said that they would hold more answers. After that... Marty had no idea. So he was going to take it one step at a time.