Primordial Conquest

Chapter 23: Alex

A young cheerful white Mornan strode through the streets of Geronimo with a glint in his eyes as he surveyed the trading center around him.

Geronimo was a rather simple city on the planet of Sudrat. It was one of the many planets controlled by the Mornan Empire in the N-4-A-5 Star system.

It was simultaneously one of the most prosperous and one of the most penurious planets under Mornan rule.

The world was effectively split into two separate parts.

One side for the abundant Red and Blue Mornan natives of the planet, the other, for the White, Silver, and occasionally Orange Mornans who did business there.

Geronimo was located on the "bad side" of the planet.

For generations, it had been one of the worst places to live in Mornan territory.

All of that changed about six years ago when the newly appointed Sentinel Bastain from another star system began personally transforming Geronimo.

His interest in the City stemmed from the fact that it was where he had grown up, and where the people he considered family still resided.

The young White Mornan with dark hair and raven-black eyes eventually stepped into one of the shops with a sly grin plastered on his face.

"Tamar my dear friend, how've you been?"

"It's been a while since I last visited, hasn't it?"

The Blue Mornan girl sitting alone in the shop looked over to him as she sighed in exasperation. She rose up as she set aside the device she'd been fixing.

"Yes it has. A long and very peaceful while, Alex. What do you want now?" She grumbled.

"Oh come on, you don't have to be like that" Alexander exclaimed as he leaned on the counter.

His teasing grin widened. "I'm just here to catch up with my favorite person in all of Geronimo. And, you know, maybe, possibly, ask for a little help."

Tamar crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed. "Help? You mean you want something. Spit it out, Alex. I'm busy."

She replied as she gestured to the countless devices in need of fixing laying around her shop.

Alex chuckled, unfazed by her bluntness. "Alright, alright. I do need something."

"I'm trying to crack into this device I picked up a few days ago. Let's just say I got it from a rather fast Trat."

Tamar's eyes widened slightly. She hurriedly pushed passed him and glanced outside, making sure no one was listening.

Then she turned back to him.

"You're still doing this? Going after people working for the 'good side'? What is wrong with you?Why can't you just stay out of it?"

She lowered her voice slightly.

"You know how dangerous that is. You know what happened to others that tried this before. If they catch you, they'll make sure you disappear, or use it as an excuse to retaliate against us if they can't. You know how much they hate what your brother is doing. They're still fighting to have his assistance ruled as Renegade interference. Why won't you just let this go?"

"Because it's Geronimo" Alex replied, his tone serious.

"You know how much time it took this city to become what it is now. A place where no one has to starve themselves just to feed their children."

"I won't let it go back to how it used to be before my brother joined the Renegades."

I might not like Bastain, but I'll always support the good he's done for this city. No matter what it takes."

"Besides.. I'm not scared of those guys." he added in a somber tone. "You know it takes quite a lot to hurt me."

Tamer studied him for several moments, then sighed heavily. "Fine then, I'll help you. Please, just take care of yourself."

Alex smiled.

"Don't worry, I will."

Several hours passed as Tamar worked on the communication device he'd taken from a Blue Mornan spy he'd found. Unfortunately, the Mornan had managed to slip away before Alexander could question him. he'd only left this device behind in a hurry.

"I got it!" Tamar exclaimed excitedly as she rushed over to him.

"It's a communication channel mostly used to relay meet up spots in encrypted code. It took me a while to crack the code, but I finally did it."

She added as she handed him a piece of paper with the deciphered code.

Alex looked over it for several moments before his eyes lit up. "You're truly something else, Tamar. Seriously." He muttered in joy as he planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

Tamar's face flushed red as she quickly shoved him back.

"Get out of here, you idiot!" she snapped, as she stopped herself from smiling.

Alex laughed, carefully folding and pocketing the paper. "Take care, Tamar. I'll be back to bother you soon."

He left the shop immediately after, his bright grin fading as he walked away.

______________________

In a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of Geronimo, a Silver female Mornan with blonde hair and sapphire eyes stood before three Blue Mornan spies her organization had planted in the city.

She'd always found it annoying to have to meet up with them twice a month, but she knew it was for the best.

"So, do you have it with you? The names of companies that Bastian recently established trading deals with for Geronimo?" she questioned, her voice cold.

She was in quite the sour mood.

She had come here expecting to meet up with four of their spies. Each of them placed in a different developing section of Geronimo's primary leadership. But for some odd reason, one of them had decided to not show up. Her fist tightened as she decided that she would make sure to ask for that reason before she had his family shipped away.

Eventually, one of the Blue Mornans stepped forward, trembling visibly. "No, not yet, madam Charm, b-but we're working on getting it for you. As you know, there are other spies in the city from our competitors in the good side. They're all looking to destroy this city as well, while getting all they can from it. It's quite difficult to work with them, so they often make things hard for us.

Madam Charm considered his words for a moment.

"Hmm, then I suppose it can't be helped." "None of them want to see the authority of the good side undermined by a Renegade. White Mornan or not."

She glanced back at them.

"You've all done well so far. You shall be paid handsomely for your efforts. Keep it up, and you and your families may one day be allowed to enter the good side as permanent citizens" she mused.

The Blue Mornans smiled brightly as they exchanged hopeful glances with each other.

"Do your best to get me that information before our next meeting. Along with anything else being planned." She ordered simply as she turned away.

"You should all head back now"

She strode toward the door as her two silent White Mornan guards followed behind her closely.

BOOM!!!

The warehouse door suddenly flew inward, forcing all six Mornans to duck as it sailed over their heads.

"Evening, everyone" Alex announced, walking in with a broad smile as if he'd been invited. "I Hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

The Mornans immediately straightened as they reached for their weapons, training them on him.

"Don't move!" Yelled one of the guards.

Alex halted as he brought his hands up.

"Whoa, whoa, easy now." he responded with a smile, his voice light. "Let's not get messy. Put those down before you hurt yourselves."

Madam Charm frowned as she studied him. "Who are you, and what exactly do you think you're doing here?""

"Which organization do you work for? Don't you know it's forbidden to cause significant interference with each other's business?" She added.

Alex shook his head.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm a White Mornan born and raised here, no corporation involved."

His tone grew darker.

"And you're all trats poking your noses where they don't belong."

Recognition dawned in madam Charm's eyes a few moments later. "Ah, you're the brother of Bastain, the only other White Mornan to live in this dump. What was the name again? Oh right, Alex."

Alex's smile dropped. "That's Alexander to you, actually. Only those I'm close with call me Alex. But i guess it doesn't really matter though, since you won't be remembering it for long."

Madam Charm chuckled. "How unlucky for you. Honestly, it's a shame you had to go poke your nose where it didn't belong. Now we have no choice but to get rid of you. We'll have to make it look like an accident, of course. I wouldn't want to invite even more Renegade interference, especially on the orders of a Sentinel."

"Take care of him quickly, I have things to do." she ordered her guards as they moved towards him, their weapons ready.

"𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖," Alexander commanded, his eyes suddenly turning as black as an endless void. "𝔻𝕣𝕠𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕤."

The Mornans froze, their weapons clattering to the floor as they released them involuntarily. Their eyes began glowing as well, matching his own. A blank and empty expression rested on their faces.

Madam Charm watched in disbelief at the sight.

She glanced back at Alex as she felt her own thoughts becoming increasingly frantic.

'what, in the world...' she thought.

She reached for her arm with trembling fingers as she activated the device on her wrist. She was trying her best to send an emergency message to her superiors. Her willpower struggled desperately against the overwhelming sensation she felt clouding her mind.

"𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥" Alexander ordered.

Her hand slowly moved away fromtge device as her shocked gaze met his.

"You... you have a Heart shard ability!"

"That's impossible!... You're not a Renegade. It's illegal for civilians, to pos...sess Hear...t sh..ard ab..il—" Her voice suddenly cut off, as her eyes turned pitch black like the others.

Alexander smiled as he strode towards them . "ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟, 𝕝𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕥. 𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝔾𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕠. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥."

All of them nodded.

One by one, they recited names, locations, and assignments in flat, emotionless voices. Alexander committed each detail to memory, his eyes narrowing at how much these organisations were putting into interfering with this one city.

"𝕍𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕," he said when they finally finished. "ℕ𝕠𝕨, 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝔾𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕠 𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟, 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕀 𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕤𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕." He paused, considering. "𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕡 𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟, 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕤. 𝔸𝕞 𝕚 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕?"

"Perfectly" they responded in unison.

Alex watched in satisfaction as they filed out of the warehouse, moving as if they were sleepwalking. Only when they were gone did he allow himself a moment to lean against the wall.

Using his ability on multiple targets simultaneously, especially stronger ones like the Silver Mornan, always drained him more than he liked to admit.

After giving himself a few minutes to recover, he made his way back across the city toward the orphanage he called home.