Destiny's Serendipity

Episode Seventeen: The Emissaries of Justice

A Thriller - Romance - Transgender Serial

From the Limoxian Universe

By Jo Dora Webster

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George froze, his heart racing as the alien whispers continued to emanate from the concealed communicator. The words, though incomprehensible, carried an unmistakable urgency that resonated through his chest. Above, Richard's vessel made another pass, and for a brief moment, George could have sworn he saw an unusual pattern in its typical flight path.

The device grew warmer against his chest. It was pulsing now synchronized with strange fluctuations in the barrier's shimmer. Years of military training warred with his instinct to reach for the communicator, to understand what was happening. Instead, he maintained his rigid posture, acutely aware of the other cadets milling around the courtyard.

Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Richard's vessel making an unexpected turn - a deviation from its standard patrol route that couldn't be coincidental. The timing of these events - the mysterious message, Richard's unusual flight pattern, and Bart's inspection - sparked a realization. Something was happening, something that transcended their carefully maintained deceptions.

As the morning drill bell rang across the compound, George made a decision. He would need to find a way to reach Richard, to understand if he too had detected these anomalies. But first, he had to ensure the communicator's message was preserved. With measured steps, he headed toward the barracks, each movement carefully controlled despite the urgent whispers still emanating from beneath his uniform.

Throughout the day, George had carefully documented the strange message, transcribing what he could interpret of the alien sounds while maintaining his military duties. The communicator's warmth had faded by evening, but its implications weighed heavily on his mind. As darkness fell over the compound, he'd made several attempts to contact Richard, each one met with silence.

The Observer's vessel had disappeared from its usual patrol route hours ago, and now an unsettling quiet had settled over the Academy grounds. George couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, a premonition that would prove devastatingly accurate as night descended on Regalia.

The moonlight cast strange shadows through Bart's bedroom window as Terrance stood perfectly still, his cloaking device making him invisible to the room's occupant. His internal life force generator hummed softly beneath his uniform as he watched Bart work at his desk, sketching calculations that would never lead him back to Decretia.

The attack came swiftly. Two figures burst through the window, their movements precise and military-trained. Before Bart could cry out, they had him restrained, a cloth pressed against his face. His body went limp within seconds.

"The General's invitation has been delivered," the larger figure muttered, hoisting Bart's unconscious form over his shoulder.

Terrance remained motionless as they carried Bart out through the window, his training battling with his conscience. General Hawthorne's orders had been clear - observe only, report immediately. But something about this "invitation" felt wrong.

Making his decision, Terrance activated his cloaking device's full spectrum and followed the kidnappers through Regalia's darkened streets. They moved with purpose, taking back alleys and maintenance tunnels that spoke of careful planning. The route led them deeper into the industrial sector, where the constant drone of machinery would mask any sounds of resistance.

The thugs carry Bart into an abandoned processing facility, its massive gears long silent. Terrance slipped in behind them, his enhanced vision tracking their movement through the shadows. As they descended a spiral staircase, he caught fragments of their conversation about "transformation" and "justice."

Terrance's internal life force generator thrummed faster as he realized the implications. This wasn't just about military discipline or Bart's recent transgressions. Someone was offering Bart exactly what he desperately wanted - a way back to Decretia.

The kidnappers moved with practiced efficiency through the facility's lower levels, navigating a maze of abandoned machinery and rusted equipment. Terrance maintained his distance, his cloaking device masking both his presence and the increasing vibrations from his internal generator. The fragments of conversation he overheard painted a disturbing picture - these weren't military operatives acting on orders, but members of some hidden faction with their own agenda.

As they reached the basement level, Terrance noted the strange blue-green glow emanating from behind heavy metal doors, its otherworldly light reminiscent of the barrier's shimmer. He watched as they secured Bart to a chair in the center of the room, then melted into the shadows as the mysterious figure emerged from a hidden chamber.

The abandoned processing facility's basement held an eerie stillness as Bart regained consciousness. His vision cleared to reveal a tall figure standing before him, backlit by strange blue-green lights that cast dancing shadows on the metal walls.

"Welcome, Bartholomew Copernicus," the figure said, stepping into the light. "I am Justice."

Bart tried to move, finding his arms and legs bound to a chair. The room hummed with an unfamiliar energy that made his dual sensitivity tingle beneath his skin.

"The exiled scientist," Bart breathed, recognition dawning. "You created the barrier."

Justice moved closer, his face bearing the marks of age and wisdom, but also something darker. "And the life force generators that power Regalia. Though few remember that part of history."

The blue-green lights pulsed in rhythm with Justice's movements as he circled Bart's chair. "You're quite remarkable, young man. The first natural dual-sensitive being since the separation. I've been watching your progress with great interest."

"The kidnapping seems unnecessary then," Bart said, testing his restraints.

Justice laughed softly. "Necessary? Perhaps not. But I needed to be certain we wouldn't be interrupted. Your father has become quite... protective since discovering your collection."

Bart paused at the mention of his destroyed artifacts. Justice nodded knowingly. "Yes, I know about that too. Just as I know about the Decretian girl. About your unique ability to cross the barrier. About your desperate desire to return."

Justice leaned close, his eyes reflecting the strange lights. "What if I told you I could give you exactly what you wanted? A way to exist permanently in Decretia?"

Bart's heart raced as Justice's words awakened possibilities he'd barely dared to imagine. The strange energies in the room seemed to respond to his dual sensitivity, making his skin tingle with a familiar hunger for both worlds' forces.

He leaned forward in his chair despite the restraints, drawn by the promise in Justice's words and the tantalizing hint of forbidden knowledge. Here, finally, was someone who not only understood his unique nature but seemed to offer a way to embrace it fully.

Justice circled the room with measured steps, his aged hands gesturing as he explained the history that had been erased from Regalia's records.

"The barrier wasn't just a wall," he said, the blue-green lights casting shadows across his weathered face. "It was meant to be temporary, a shield while we developed the life force generators. But fear and politics transformed it into a prison."

Bart leaned forward in his chair, the restraints now loosened but still present. "You created both the barrier and the generators?"

"Yes," Justice's voice carried a weight of regret. "The generators were meant to help our people adapt gradually to the separation. Instead, they became a crutch, a way to enforce division."

He paused near a complex array of equipment. "But you, young Bartholomew, you're living proof that my original vision wasn't flawed."

"My ability to tolerate both energies," Bart said, understanding dawning in his eyes.

"More than tolerate. Your body craves them, doesn't it? That dual hunger that sets you apart from every other Regalian?" Justice turned, his eyes intense. "It's not a mutation or an aberration. It's a glimpse of what we were meant to become."

The room hummed with energy as Justice approached a sealed container. "I can give you what you want most - a body capable of surviving in Decretia. But the price..." He opened the container, revealing a golden coin on a delicate chain. "The price is everything that makes you who you are. Your memories, your identity, are all stored within this coin."

Bart stared at the gleaming metal, his mind racing with possibilities and consequences. The face of the Decretian girl flashed through his memory, a reminder of everything he stood to gain - and lose.

Bart reached for the coin, feeling its smooth surface beneath his fingers. The metal seemed to pulse with an inner warmth, as if already eager to contain its essence. "And once my memories are extracted?"

"Your body will be reshaped, modified to survive in Decretia's environment. But the transformation will only become permanent through a bond of love with a Decretian." Justice's weathered face showed a hint of sympathy. "Without that bond, you'll begin to fade, just as that girl did in Regalia's atmosphere."

"The girl I saved," Bart whispered, remembering her face, the only thing not destroyed in his father's purge of his collection.

Justice nodded.

Time seemed to slow as Bart weighed the magnitude of Justice's offer. His fingers traced the coin's smooth surface, feeling an inexplicable warmth emanating from the metal, as if it already yearned to contain his essence. The dual energies within him responded to the strange forces in the room, both pulling him toward this impossible choice.

His father's disappointment, his brother's rivalry, the destroyed artifacts - all would fade away, replaced by a chance at a new existence. Yet the price of transformation meant more than just losing memories - it meant sacrificing everything he had fought to understand about his unique nature.

Justice led Bart through a dimly lit chamber filled with strange equipment, the blue-green lights casting an otherworldly glow on ancient machinery. The aged scientist's movements were deliberate as he approached a sealed container embedded in the wall.

Justice and Bart entered a large cylindrical chamber. "This device will extract your memories and begin the physical transformation. But remember - once begun, there's no turning back. The person who emerges will have no memory of this life, only an inexplicable draw toward Decretia."

Bart stepped toward the chamber, his fingers still clutching the golden coin. His father's disappointment, his brothers' rivalry, the destroyed artifacts - all would be forgotten. In their place, there would be a chance at a new life, a new identity, and perhaps most importantly, a way to bridge the gap between worlds.

"I'm ready," he said, slipping the chain around his neck.

Time stretched like molten glass in the moments that followed, each second heavy with the weight of inevitability. The chamber's strange energies began to pulse in rhythm with Bart's dual nature, as if recognizing the magnitude of the choice before him.

Justice moved with practiced precision through the initialization sequence, each gesture bringing them closer to the point of no return. The blue-green light grew more intense, casting Bart's shadow in multiple directions as if reflecting the fragments of identity he was about to surrender.

Bart sat alone in the dimly lit chamber, the golden coin cool against his chest where it hung from its delicate chain. His mind raced with memories - the destroyed collection in the cave, his father's disappointment, the Decretian girl's face that haunted his dreams.

The blue-green lights cast shifting shadows as he contemplated Justice's offer. The transformation would strip away everything he was - his achievements at the academy, his friendship with George and Richard, even his understanding of the dual energies that made him unique. Yet it would give him what he desperately wanted: a body capable of surviving in Decretia.

He thought of his collection, now reduced to ash in a military disposal facility. Each artifact told a story of a world where difference wasn't feared but celebrated. The stilted shoes, the strange garments, the drilled gems - all had hinted at a society that embraced variety rather than conformity.

The girl's face floated in his memory, clearer than ever. She had trusted him, reached across the barrier despite the risks. Her presence in Regalia had nearly killed her, just as Bart's unmodified body would fail in Decretia without Justice's intervention.

His fingers traced the coin's smooth surface. The metal seemed to pulse with potential, ready to absorb his essence, his memories, everything that made him Bartholomew Copernicus. The son of the First Scientist would cease to exist, replaced by someone new, someone capable of bridging the gap between worlds.

"Sometimes," he whispered to the empty chamber, "the price of freedom is everything we are."

The chamber's strange energies responded to his words, the blue-green lights pulsing in rhythm with the dual forces that had always set him apart. Bart stood, his decision made with the same determination that had driven him to save the Decretian girl, to unlock the barrier's secrets, to defy his father's rigid worldview. The transformation device hummed with increasing intensity as Justice guided him deeper into the facility, each step taking him further from everything he had ever known and closer to the possibility of a new existence.

Before we proceed, you must understand the full scope of what awaits," Justice said, his weathered hands gesturing to the golden coin that now hung around Bart's neck. "The transformation will reshape your body to survive in Decretia, but the price is everything you are - your memories, your identity, your connection to Regalia."

Bart touched the coin, feeling its warmth against his skin. "And without my memories, how would I know what to do? Where to go?"

"Your core essence will remain - your determination, your curiosity, your ability to adapt. But most importantly, your unique sensitivity to both life forces will guide you."

Justice moved to the control panel, his fingers hovering over the interface. "The transformation will only become permanent through a love bond with a Decretian. Without that, you'd begin to fade, just as the girl did in Regalia's atmosphere."

The girl's face floated in Bart's mind - the one image his father couldn't destroy. She had trusted him enough to cross the barrier, had shown him a glimpse of what could be. Now he would cross that threshold permanently, leaving behind everything he knew.

"I understand," Bart said, stepping toward the chamber. The dual hunger within him responded to the strange energies, pulling him forward. "Will I remember anything at all?"

"Only what your heart cannot forget," Justice replied, initiating the sequence that would forever change Bart's existence.

The device doors slid open with a soft hiss, beckoning him toward his transformation. As Bart stepped inside, he felt the dual energies surge around him, ready to reshape his very essence into something unprecedented in either world.

The blue-green lights pulsed with growing intensity as Bart positioned himself in the center of the device. His unique sensitivity to both worlds' energies made him acutely aware of the forces gathering around him, their strange harmonies singing through his body.

The device interior hummed with increasing intensity as Bart stepped inside, the dual energies within him resonating with the strange forces that filled the space. His unique sensitivity to both Regalian and Decretian life forces made the air itself feel alive with possibility.

The golden coin grew warm against his chest, ready to receive the essence of who he was, while the transformation chamber's blue-green light bathed him in its otherworldly glow. As the sealed door closed behind him, Bart felt a profound sense of rightness despite the magnitude of what he was about to lose.

Justice stood before the transformation chamber, his weathered hands hovering over the controls. The blue-green lights cast eerie shadows across his face as he turned to Bart one final time.

Justice's fingers moved across the control panel, initiating the preliminary sequence. "Are you certain this is what you want?"

Bart stepped toward the chamber, remembering the girl's face from his destroyed collection, the way Decretia's energy had sung through his veins during the rescue. His father's disappointment, his brothers' rivalry, the rigid constraints of Regalian society - all would be forgotten, replaced by a new identity and a chance to bridge the gap between worlds.

"I understand the price," Bart said, removing the coin from around his neck and placing it in the chamber's receptacle. "And I'm ready to pay it."

As Justice moved to the control panel, the device's energies began to coalesce, creating patterns of light that mirrored the dual nature that had always set Bart apart.

The transformation device hummed with increasing intensity as Terrance watched Justice initiate the sequence. His internal life force generator vibrated in response to the strange energies filling the room, and in that moment, he made his decision.

"Now, George!" Terrance called out, deactivating his cloaking device and revealing his presence. The sudden appearance startled Justice, giving Terrance the seconds he needed to reach Bart. First, he pulled the gold coin from the receptacle and pocketed it for safe keeping.

"The emergency protocol is active," Terrance said, pulling Bart from the chamber just as the golden light began to pulse. His military training took over as he activated the flight module concealed beneath his uniform, a piece of technology reserved for elite guards.

The basement ceiling exploded inward, revealing the night sky above. Terrance's grip tightened around Bart as the flight module's thrusters engaged, propelling them upward through the newly created opening. The dual energies from the transformation device followed them like tendrils of light, trying to pull Bart back.

A massive shadow passed overhead, and Terrance allowed himself a brief smile. The airship appeared as a giant eagle to Decretians but was now revealed to the Regalians below, thanks to the cloaking technology he had provided.

They soared higher, Justice's shouts fading behind them. Bart's body had already begun to change, the transformation process initiated even during its interruption. Bertrice began to emerge in Bart's place, her memory having holes from the interrupted process transferring some to the golden coin in the chamber receptacle.

Terrance's flight module caught the moonlight as they approached the waiting airship. "Hold on," Terrance commanded, adjusting their trajectory toward the open cargo bay where George waited to help them aboard. "Your journey to Decretia isn't ending here - it's just beginning differently than Justice planned."