The Spectrum Force by Heather Ray (good inspirational books .TXT) 📖

she could study for her classes without missing his birthday. I told you about that nightmarish microbiology exam I have this upcoming Wednesday, right?"

"You only mentioned it about four times," Keith said with a grin.

"Microbiology, eh?" Tamara said, grimacing slightly, "I think Matt took that class. He said it was murder, and that he would never had taken it if he didn't have to."

"Well," Connie said with a shrug, "I'm a bacteriology major, so I don't really have choice on the matter."

"Wow," Tamara gasped, "that's an unusual major."

"I guess I'm just an unusual person," Connie responded with a humored smile.

"So," said Stephen, interrupting the conversation, "shall we leave the airport and get settled in the hotel?"

"You took the words out of my mouth," whispered Keith, as he and Tamara led the way to the baggage claim. As Keith's family searched for their luggage, Keith turned Tamara to face him, and lightly brushed his lips against hers in a delicate kiss.

"What was that for?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"For saving my life," he said with a smile, "I told you, he always criticizes me!"

"Is there a reason why he's so hard on you?" Tamara asked.

"Yeah. My brother, Stephen Maloy IV, is everything Dad wanted in a son. He's smart, resourceful, obedient... you name it. But Stevie didn't want to inherit Dad's company. He wanted to be a surgeon, meaning I'm next in line. I guess Dad's trying to make me into Stevie, so he can be confident enough of me to let me have the company without worrying. I just wish he'd just accept me for who I am. I may not be the most scholastically accomplished man on Earth, but I do get decent grades, even with being an Enforcer. I guess he'll never see me as anything but a jock."
Chapter Two

About a mile above Earth, circling in geo-synchronous orbit above LA, was an asteroid-shaped alien ship, easily as large as a city. However, it was cloaked, to prevent detection from human technology. Inside that ship was an entire army of alien beings: soldiers, scientists, magicians, intellectuals, and servants. In the exact center of the ship was a group of chambers specifically for the royal family of Denebia. Inside the throne room, Acheron marched pensively on the cold ground. His velvety cape followed behind him, and his forest green hair hung around his face. He looked up as he heard the circular door iris open, allowing someone to enter. Phaedra, the empress of the Denebians, stepped into the throne room, her own emerald hair woven intricately around her royal crown. She fixed her blood red eyes on her husband, her body wrapped by her own cape.

"You wished to see me?" she asked him, tilting her head inquiringly.

"I have prepared the Phoenix energies for their use," he announced, approaching her, "I shall cast the most powerful spell ever to exist!"

Phaedra saw the cold excitement in her husband's eyes. She frowned skeptically. "And what spell is that?"

Acheron smiled at his queen, and opened his hand. A tiny crystal, about the size of a marble, appeared. Phaedra stared at it, and noticed the swirling black mist inside the clear gem.

"This is the Nightfall," Acheron said proudly. Phaedra's eyes widened in amazement.

"The Nightfall?!" she declared, looking up at her husband's ash-colored face, "Impossible! It was destroyed by the White Denebians eons ago!"

"No, it wasn't," Acheron said, "The Nightfall cannot be destroyed. It can only be contained. The White Denebians managed to encase the Nightfall mist into one of their White Stones, trapping it and preventing the evil mists to drain the energy of the star Rigel. Once the Nightfall was encased, they threw the gem into Rigel, presumably preventing any Black Denebian to retrieve it, since we cannot survive the light of a star."

"So how did you get the gem?" Phaedra asked, "Very few races can enter the core of a star and survive!"

"True indeed. Do you remember hearing of the White Denebian Quislin?"

"He was the only member of the Council of Light to ever turn evil," Phaedra recalled.

"Exactly. Quislin was the cousin of Luminus, the leader of the Council, and the keeper of all four White Stones in existence, since the fifth and final stone was already used to encase the Nightfall. One day, Quislin decided that he would be the greatest wizard, and that he wanted the magical powers of the White Stones. He tried to steal all four gems, but he only managed to steal two when he was discovered. He fled the Council, who chased him across the cosmos. Quislin knew he was in danger, for even with the two White Stones, he couldn't defeat the rest of the Council. He came to me, begging me to send him somewhere far away. Apparently, in his haste to escape the Council, he didn't bring a Hyperspace Controller with him, so he couldn't use the Hyperspace Portals scattered throughout the universe. I agreed-- on the condition that he retrieve the Nightfall for me. He agreed, and did as I asked. And I kept my word. He needed to escape as far away from the Council as he could. So, I programmed the nearest Hyperspace Portal for a distant star system-- this one. He fled to Earth, but the Council soon found him anyway. It doesn't matter to me, though. He gave me the Nightfall. That is all I wanted of him."

"Why haven't you used the Nightfall before?" Phaedra asked in disbelief, "If memory serves, Quislin was captured and executed by the Council of Light nearly a thousand Earth years ago. You have had the Nightfall for a millenium?!"

"The Nightfall was encased in the White Stone for eons," Acheron explained, "In fact, the whole reason the White Denebians banded together against the Empire was to stop the Nightfall from destroying every star in the universe. They created the five White Stones using all the magic they could muster, and used one to capture the Nightfall. The crystal is White, and therefore it reflects all energy that touches it. The Nightfall feeds off light and life energy. It has been starved. The only way to revitalize it enough for it to break free from its crystalline tomb is to nourish it with as much life energy as can be mustered. The Phoenix is the only force in existence with enough raw energy to do that task. Come with me."

Phaedra nodded, and followed as Acheron marched through the hallways of the ship, carrying the crystal in both hands as if it were as fragile as an egg. As the royal couple passed, each Denebian they encountered bowed deeply, and stepped to the side, allowing them to pass freely. Soon, they were inside the storage chambers, in which Acheron kept the batteries containing Phoenix's stolen energy.

"Help me pool all the energy together," Acheron said. Phaedra nodded, and sealed the door to the chamber, containing the royal couple, the Nightfall gem, and the batteries within. Then, both Denebians opened each battery, allowing the contained energy to flow freely into the dark chamber. The chamber began to glow with the pale fiery light. Once all the batteries were emptied, Acheron stepped into the glowing mist that coated the ground, and placed the Nightfall gem within it. He then clasped his hands in front of him, and they began to spark with black energy.

"We must create a crack in the gem," he instructed Phaedra, "Then, at least some of the energy will be able to pass through, allowing the Nightfall to absorb it, and grow strong enough to break completely free. Only black energy can damage the White Stone-- all else is reflected back."

"Is there any way we can free Nightfall without destroying the White Stone?" Phaedra asked, her own hands beginning to glow from concentrated black energy, "I'm sure we can find many uses for a White Stone. After all, if it reflects all the energy that touches it, it can even protect a Denebian from the rays of the Sun!"

"The only way to free Nightfall is to destroy its prison," Acheron huffed with exertion, "Once Nightfall is free, it shall suck the life out of the Sun in a matter of days. Only another White Gem can stop it, and Quislin was kind enough to lose two of the four! That means only two remain in all existence-- one is being used by the Spectrum Force, and the other is used by another team of heroes. If the Spectrum Force rejoins the Spectrum Stones into a White Stone, then that means Earth will be unprotected. They have no way to save themselves."

"Once the Nightfall blocks the Sun, we shall begin our invasion," Phaedra declared, "We shall start by sending a creature to Langstrum Alps, to finally defeat the Spectrum Force, and force them to deplete their stored energy. Without the Sun to replenish the stones, they will lose."

"And once the Spectrum Force has been defeated, we can conquer the entire planet, and forge a foothold in this sector of the galaxy for the Denebian Empire!" Acheron added, pointing his two index fingers at the stone containing the Nightfall. A tight beam of black energy flew at the White Stone. Phaedra added her own beam to his, and the two struck the exact point. After over ten minutes of constant firing, the gem began to glow. Then, the two Denebian rulers witnessed the orange aura of Phoenix energy suddenly begin to be sucked into the crystal at the point they were firing. Both stopped their energy barrage simultaneously, and watched as all the Phoenix energy entered the crystal. Then, the crystal suddenly exploded, leaving a cloud of black mist hanging in the air.

"Is that the entire thing?" Phaedra asked, clearly unimpressed.

"Volume means nothing for the Nightfall," Acheron said, approaching the dense cloud of blackness, "It can fit inside a pinhead, or blanket an entire star. And that is exactly what it is going to do."

Acheron snapped his fingers, and the Nightfall mist vanished from the chamber. He then turned to Phaedra, who had a pleased smile on her face.

"The Spectrum Force has two options," she said, "They either combine their Spectrum Stones into a White Stone, and absorb the Nightfall, or they let Earth freeze over when the Sun vanishes."

"And if they do form the White Stone to capture Nightfall, nothing can stop the Denebian armada from launching a planetary attack!"