The Innkeeper



Lex was lost in his thoughts, reaffirming his resolution as Fenrir ran through the wild. Maybe the decision he was making wasn't the morally correct one, but it was the best one for himself and his dependents.

His mindset was undergoing a subtle change as he contemplated the philosophy behind maturing, and if it counted as maturing if he didn't like the decisions he had to make. Or perhaps, that is what maturity was to begin with.

Alas, his dramatic internal monologue was interrupted by his intuition. He looked up but saw nothing due to the absolute darkness that had enveloped the sky, yet his eyes seemed to be fixed on a moving target.

While his eyes were dependent on light, his other senses were not. His spirit sense had a vague range of about 100 feet (30 meters), where sometimes it could go a little beyond and sometimes is just below. His intuition, however, had no clear limit for how close or far an object had to be before it could detect it.

That is why, in the darkness, even though the approaching aliens' ships were so far that Lex could not hear them yet, his intuition informed him that he had been locked on to by them.

Lex did not ask Fenrir to slow down, however. They continued to run through the wilderness as Lex prepared to face them.

What he really wanted to try was Evisceration, but he wasn't sure it would work. He had no idea what that wisp in their bodies was. If it was a small part of their souls, then the technique would be absolutely fatal. If, however, it was something like a projection of a soul, or maybe even something else that Lex was unaware of at the moment, then the technique might not work.

To prepare for such an eventuality, he began picking out a long distance array to use. He did not believe that these robots would be as resilient as the ones in the pagoda, for right from the get go they had given him much more trouble.

The next few minutes were spent in silence until, even in the darkness, his eyes could pick out the shapes of the incoming ship. His eyes were already sharper than normal, let alone the strange advancements his left eye underwent, so seeing in the dark was not such a big issue.

There were four ships heading his way, and they did not bother being subtle about their approach. From the moment Lex saw them, it only took a couple more minutes till even Fenrir picked up on their arrival. A minute later, the sound of jets rushing through the air could be heard from the distance.

Fenrir growled, but Lex rubbed him behind the ears. The little pup wanted to attack, but as much as Lex trusted him, there was a difference between going up against a robot and going against a ship. It was like fighting against an armed soldier and a fighter jet - they were not in the same league!

In the time that it took Lex to calm his pup down, the four ships had arrived. They did not bother surrounding him, or trying to communicate. They attacked the moment they were in range!

As he put up the strongest version of Imperial Shield that he could manage, he wondered if the invaders were always so aggressive or if it was just him they were specifically targeting. After all, if their objective was to gather slaves, killing everyone they came across would be counter-productive.

Just as Lex suspected, these ships were specifically targeting him. As soon as their scanners captured his image, it flagged him as a war criminal for interfering in an execution and resisting punishment.

They attacked immediately, their laser weapons shooting off short orange blasts that immediately slammed into the Imperial Shield. A large, fiery explosion shook the earth. Orange flames licked everything around them black, turning what could not survive its heat to ash.

Yet behind his shield, Lex was untouched even by a warm wind. It was a good idea to upgrade his techniques.

He looked up in the sky, but did not retaliate yet. The ships were too far for even his array, let alone evisceration. So, he patiently waited for them to come closer.

But that is not what the ships detected. As soon as they scanned the explosion site, they picked up an image of a lone man sitting comfortably on his war mount, looking up at them mockingly.

The massive fangs displayed on the mask had changed into a sneer, as if the ships were unworthy opponents. His eyes looked placid, as if there was no pressure that the incoming ships put on him.

A mistake that Lex made, due to the kind of exposure he had, was that the ships were piloted by the robots who were invading. That was wrong. In fact, the ships themselves were sentient as well. They were just as much invaders as the robots on the ground, and they took great offense to Lex's dismissive attitude!

The ships, now closer since they never stopped moving during this entire ordeal, opened a hull at their base, and brought out a laser cannon. The identical cannons on all four ships began to glow, ‌charging up for their attack.

"Oh?" Lex felt a tingle, as if warning him his shield wouldn't be enough for the upcoming attack.

All four lasers shot, but not at Lex. The four lasers converged midair, and began combining their might, turning into a massive orb of orange light.

"Look Fenrir, the little aliens are trying really hard," said Lex mockingly, this time on purpose.

Though Lex had not spoken aloud, the sensors on the ships detected every word he said! Not only that, since the ships were constantly connected to the mother-ship, his words were broadcast back to their main command!

Unable to contain their anger, the ships launched their attack prematurely!

The massive orange orb, despite its size, hurled at Lex at the speed of light, crashing through the Imperial Shield. Then… then nothing.

The orange ball seemed to freeze in space, right in front of Lex. The ships scanned again, and received an image of Lex casually holding the massive ball off destructive energy in a single extended hand. It looked like a toy.