Water Breathers

Word Count = 4,994

“Water Breathers”

A Short Story

Written By

PureSciFi aka
SpaceFaction

     A Wall of Water about twenty feet tall, one hundred feet wide and ten feet thick was headed for Covon Control. It was only a few miles away. And it was headed their fast. That could be seen by all watching it as it struck Covon Control a few seconds later. Destroying everything that got in its way. Pieces of structures and body parts were flying everywhere. Even being inside those structures wasn’t safe.

     Gasping could be heard from in front of the destruction going on. Jaws dropped, and small round black circles popped out of the Water Breather’s faces as they continued to watch the devastation on a large image monitor. A single gasp made Soranne look over to her left, parallel to the rest of them.

     “That is what is going to happen to you if you don’t help us.” Forlic turned and walked toward five Water Breathers seated behind a large table.

     Soranne looked at the two light green Water Breathers on both sides of her. Then at the two more light blue Water Breathers seated by the light green ones. “Why did you just threaten us? We already agreed to help you.”

     Polrick, the male Covon seated next to Soranne on her right, continued. “You’re the ones that decided not to accept our help. So, what did you do instead? You took what you wanted anyway.”

     “That’s not true,” Forlic said angrily. His face starting to turn red as he continued. “We didn’t know you existed when we started doing that. Once we did, we stopped. Then we came to you for help.”

     Tracci, a female seated on Soranne's far left, spoke first. “Yes, you did seek our help. But the request you asked for was too much.”

     Soranne took over after swiveling back toward Forlic. “We tried to help you with your need. But we couldn’t agree with what your need was. Your solution. You stormed out of here mad.”

     “We thought that was that,” Yenstan, the other male Covon, said. “Since we haven’t heard from you in almost six months, we thought it was over.”

     Forlic sighed. Then he took a deep breath. His red started returning to a pale tan. “It may have been six months for you, but it only been a couple for us.”

     “The month difference doesn’t matter,” said Soranne. “What does matter is that you requested our help again. But even that was a lie.”

     Nickta, the other Covon female, spoke next. “You didn’t want our help. The only reason why you’re here is to threaten us.”

     Forlic took another deep breath. “How deep is Covon? It must be at least a couple of hundred miles.”

     “It’s about a hundred more than that,” said Soranne. “But that isn’t what’s the matter with your request. What is the problem is that you are asking for too much of our water.”

     “We don’t understand why you can’t help save Optome,” said Forlic. “Surely you can spare twenty miles of it to save our planet.”

     “No, we can’t. We could maybe give you five miles,” said Soranne. “But even that is too much for us to survive.”

     A few seconds later Soranne continued. “The answer to your request is no.”

     “You’re not even going to discuss it first?” Forlic turned sharply. His human arms flying randomly as he stormed out of that meeting room. The red face had returned too. “I will give you thirty of your hours to change your minds. If you don’t, you are going to regret that decision.”

     Dorrissa came out of the darkness parallel to Soranne and the others. She walked to Soranne, who swiveled around to face her. Her twin pointed tail split down the middle. “Is that the reason,” Dorrisa pointed her long fin at the disaster still showing on the large monitor there, “you asked me to come to this Covon Control meeting?”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Soranne entered a small office and walked over toward a desk. She sat behind it as Dorrisa entered and the entrance slid shut behind her. “Do you think a weapon like that exists?” Soranne asked as Dorrisa sat in front of her desk.

     “Unfortunately, I think they do. The big question is, are they going to use it against us?”

     “That’s what you need to find out. Because I agree with you. They do have that weapon. I don’t think that they are just trying to scare us into helping them.”

     “I’m a little surprised that you asked for my help. I didn’t think that you liked me.”

     “I like you. What I don’t like is the way that you do what you do. But I do have to admit that you are the best Covon to take care of this threat. And I do believe there is a threat. I also believe that they will use that weapon against us.”

     “What I don’t understand is why they are just threatening us here at Covon Control. Don’t they know there are six hundred and twenty-four other Land Masses within Covon?”

     “Of course, they know that. They also know that all the other Land Masses have Speakers For them. The stupid humans think that if they destroy Covon Control, they will destroy Covon.”

     “Other Aliens can be so stupid sometimes. Destroying us would only cause the rest of Covon to join forces to stop them.”

     After about a minute of silence, Dorrisa continued. “So, what exactly do you need me to do about this Wall of Water. Isn’t that what the Optomes call it?”

     “Whatever you have to do to stop them. First, you need to learn if there is a weapon. Then you have to destroy it.”

     Soranne sighed. “But you can’t just destroy it. You also have to destroy anything or anyone connected to it.”

     Dorrisa’s smile could barely be seen on her shocked face. “You really do need me, don’t you?”

     “I hate to admit it. But I do need your kind of help. Whatever and whoever you need you got it.”

     A few seconds later Soranne continued. “You only have one day to do it. Do you have any ideas how you are going to destroy this threat?”

     “Ever since we saw that Moving Images display I have been thinking about it. I know exactly what needs to be done. And I only need one other to do it too. You will like him. He’s almost as bad as I am.”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Covon, a light silver and gold planet, floated in the center of a darkened room. Small red dots hover within it. One after another those dots disappointed. There were several hundred of them. And within a few minutes, there were none. Dorrisa walked around that image of Covon. Whenever a dot disappeared, she looked at the mini monitor in her hands. She also tapped that monitor. “That’s the last of our contacts. All of the contacts have contacted us. Did anyone find them?”

     Nathum swiveled around to face Dorrisa. The information monitor behind him still flashed words and images randomly every few seconds. “No one has seen them. And I don’t think they will. I think you are right. They are still near here.”

     Dorrisa turned to face what appeared to be a wall-sized glass structure with the same silver and gold water splashing behind it. “I’m sure they are still here. I just can’t find them. And time is running out. We only have twenty-seven more hours to find and destroy them.”

     After getting up, Nathum joined Dorrisa. “Maybe they are here. We just can’t see them.”

     “I don’t think that’s what they are doing. They haven’t done that before. Why would they be doing it now?”

     “Because of their weapon. If I had threatened someone with a Wall of Water, I wouldn’t want them to see me.”

     A few seconds later Nathum continued. “Maybe they are in Space around Covon or one of our three small rock worlds.”

     “No, they aren’t doing that either. I have been monitoring Space between Optome and us.”

     Just then a small white flickering light appeared from behind the glass water. “I think we just found them.”

     Dorrisa tapped the white light. A few seconds later it grew to cover all the glass to reveal a Watership hiding just under a small floating mountain. “There they are.”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     With her twin pointed halves of her tail together again to form one tail, Dorrisa swam through the water very quickly. Her tail flapping up and down or sideways depending on her direction. No wonder we had so much trouble finding them.

     You were sort of right about them being unseen Nathum. They are using their spaceship as a Watership. Blending in with the color of our water to hide.

     You’re right too. They are still near Covon Control.

     A few seconds later Nathum continued his thoughts. Should you be swimming directly at them? Aren’t they going to be expecting us to attack them?

     If they were smart they would be watching out for us. But I’m not worried about it. Because of my speed, they aren’t going to see me. Besides they are probably expecting a small army to attack them, not just two Covons.

     Dorrisa continued her swim toward the Watership. And she used the small floating rocks between her and them to cover her approach. One rock she went under. Another rock she went to her left. And another one she swam over. By the time she reached the enemy she had swam under, over, or to one of its side of several hundred rocks.

     The Optomes aren’t just using the floating mountain as cover. They are also using the small rocks in this area. Dorrisa thought as she swam under the silver and gold spaceship. One second she was under it, and the next she wasn’t.

     Nathum, I’m in. Now it’s your turn.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Where are you? I’m in. And I didn’t have any problems either.

     Dorrisa slowly scanned a very large but almost full storage room before she thought. I told you it wouldn’t be. I’m in a storage room on the lower level. Where are you?

     I’m in a side corridor. But I came up through the floor in the main corridor.

     A few seconds later Nathum continued thinking. I had to quickly get into this side corridor because I heard a couple of Optomes headed for the main corridor. Luckily, there aren’t any in this one.

     Do you need any help? Suddenly, Dorrisa stiffened straight. Weapon fire could be heard within her head. Dorrisa started running toward the entrance to that room. The entrance barely slid open enough for Dorrisa to run past it.

     Dorrisa turned and started running down one corridor. A few seconds later she turned around and headed down the same corridor in the opposite direction. Just before reaching the end of that corridor, Dorrisa slapped her fins against her watery light blue skin. Her fins came away with half a hollow ball in them.

     As she came to the end of it, Dorrisa skidded around it with her fins up. No one was there. So, she continued her running. Dorrisa ran down four more corridors and backtracked after going down three side corridors that led to nowhere before she reached Nathum. She kept her fins in front of her as she ran. But she didn’t encounter anyone until she almost ran into Nathum.

     Nathum fired two Water Balls out of his half fin balls. The balls struck two Optomes in their chest seconds before they fired two laser bolts. Both bolts struck the wall on either side of Nathum and Dorrisa after the balls struck them first. When the balls struck the Optomes, a static discharge engulfed their entire bodies. A few seconds later the discharge disappeared. So, did the two Optomes.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     An alarm began. Pulsating red lights started flashing all around Dorrisa. I think they know we are here.

     It’s all my fault. I only planned on killing the first three Optomes who saw me. But then the others seemed to come one after another. There was about twenty of them. And I thought I got them all without an alarm going off. But it looks like I didn’t get all of them. A few did fire back before I killed them. Maybe one of their Laser Bolt triggered the alarm.

     It could have been one of our Water Balls too. But it doesn’t matter what started it. All I care about is finding that weapon and destroying it.

     A few seconds later Dorrisa’s thoughts continued. I didn’t want them to know we were here until after we destroy that weapon. But I don’t really care if they know about us or not. We were going to destroy them too, anyway. It doesn’t matter if we do it before the weapon is destroyed, or after, or in-between as long as they are all destroyed.

     Dorrisa never stopped as she continued down the numerous corridors. Using the flashing red light to cover her advancement. Besides, I haven’t encountered any more of the Optomes. Maybe you killed all that there were to kill. Everyone except for Forlic, and I’m on why way to talk to him right now.

     If there is a weapon, he will know all about it. Dorrisa continued. I will get him to tell us everything about it. Even if I have to almost kill him in order to do it.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     I have no doubts about that, except for the ‘almost’ part of it. Dorrisa smiled. A few seconds later Nathum continued. What do you want me to do?

     Continue looking for that weapon. And if you encounter any more of the Optomes go ahead and kill them too.

     The alarm suddenly stopped. So, did the pulsating red light. I’m happy that’s over with. It was starting to get me mad. But now I don’t have the red light to cover my continuation.

     Did you just think something to me? Nathum thought.

     Dorrisa stretched out her fins in both directions with her fins raised as she continued using the wall as cover as she sidestepped down that corridor. Just thinking to myself again.

     A few seconds later Dorrisa continued. Where are you? Have you found that weapon yet.

     No weapon so far. I just finished checking out the lowest level. And all that was there was storage rooms, about fifteen of them. I’m heading up to the next level now.

     I’m a couple of levels above you. I think that I have one or two more before I reach Forlic.

     Several minutes of silence passed before Nathum broke it. I haven’t encountered any more of the Optomes. Have you? I don’t think there are any more of them. Forlic probably sent all that he had after we were spotted coming in.

     There must be other Optomes here. With a spaceship this size, there’s at least twenty-five to thirty times the ones we have encountered so far. I just don’t know why they haven’t attacked us yet.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Dorrisa suddenly stopped. She fell to the middle of her leg tails in front of a thin oblong square seam. Her fins raised as the seam slid open to reveal a three Optome enclosure. No one was in there. Dorrisa looked down at a sideways oblong square with about an inch of space between it and the walls. Opposite the entrance, there were three flat metal steps.

     After stepping onto the sideways square, Dorrisa tapped a button next to the entrance. The entrance slid shut, and the square started to rise. A second later Dorrisa hit the button again. And the square stopped. Dorrisa started climbing up the middle metal steps.

     When Dorrisa climbed to the next entrance, she hooked her fin around the metal steps side rail and pushed a button by the entrance. Her other fin was raised toward the entrance as it slid open. No one was there either. Dorrisa stepped through the entrance and started walking down that long corridor. She stopped about halfway down it.

     Dorrisa turned toward another seemed oblong square. Only that time she stepped to the side of it and walked into the wall. But she didn’t go through it. Instead, she became one with that wall. Dorrisa could now see into that room. I’m at the Control Room. And I know where some of the other Optomes are at. They are here. The rest are probably in sleeping rooms. Except for the patrols that you encountered.

     As she slowly scanned that room, Dorrisa saw three walls filled from floor to ceiling with small image monitors. Ten per height and an Optome sat in front of each height. On each one of those monitors, a simple Covon Watership faced those in the Control Room.

     After Dorrisa started her scan again, she stopped when she saw Forlic standing with two other Optomes behind the height Optomes. Using the wall as cover Dorissa slid until she was only a few feet from Forlic and the other two Optomes.

     “Aliens can be so stupid,” said Forlic. “Do they really think that a couple thousand of their single Covon Waterships can stop a Wall of Water?”

     Stupid Aliens! That’s exactly what I said to Soranne. Maybe they were listening to us. That would explain how they knew me and Nathum was coming there. And that we would be the only ones coming.

     A big smile appeared on the wall near Forlic under three black circles. The Optome didn’t appear to notice them. Nathum, those alarms weren’t meant for us. They came on when a group of Covon single fighters approached this spaceship. The Optomes might know we are here. But the alarms didn’t happen because of us.

     Suddenly, Forlic started laughing. “The Covons really think we are going to destroy them with a Wall of Water. We aren’t. And we’re not just going to destroy Covon Control either. Not only are we going to kill every Covon, but they won’t even know it’s us doing it.”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     The smile and black circles disappeared from the wall as Dorrisa stepped away from the wall back into the corridor. Dorrisa started running down that corridor to the entrance that opened as she reached it. Nathum, where are you? Wherever you are, stop and meet me back where you killed those twenty Optomes.

     What’s going on? I haven’t found the weapon yet.

     That doesn’t matter anymore. Forlic lied to us. They don’t have a Wall of Water weapon. He just used that as a diversion until he got his real threat against all of Covon ready.

     Dorrisa stepped into the sideways oblong square, pushed the button, and used the square to go down to the lowest level. When the entrance opened, Dorrisa ran out of it. She didn’t stop running until she caught up to Nathum a few minutes later. Once again, she almost ran right into him.

     Nathum, I want you to return to Covon Control and tell them about the real threat against us. You also need to contact all our contacts to tell them about it. As soon as I find out what it is I will contact you.

     What are you going to do while I’m doing this? Nathum asked.

     I’m going to stay here. Not only to find out what the real threat is but to make them regret threatening us with it. I was going to kill them quickly. But now I’m not.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Hovering above the storage containers, Dorrisa started firing Water Balls at those containers. Dorrisa did it randomly. And with each container hit it exploded into a billion pieces. Whatever was in it shattered too. Within a few seconds, that whole room was engulfed in flames and debris.

     Dorrisa floated back down to the floor near the destroyed entrance. She exited that room with her fins in both directions. Only that time she was firing Water Balls down the corridor. Also, randomly each ball exploded when it hit a wall, floor, or ceiling. A few seconds later that corridor was covered with holes.

     After Dorrisa reached the next entrance shortly down that corridor, she created a hole in it too. Once inside another storage room, Dorrisa did the same thing as she did with the last one. It only took a few seconds there too before that room is in flames too. Only that time Dorrisa did leave by the entrance she came in. No, she exited through a side entrance into another empty corridor.

     Once again, Dorrisa destroyed that corridor. One second the Water Balls were flying everywhere. And the next there were holes everywhere. After she destroyed that corridor, she entered another storage room and destroyed it too. She did all that within about a minute. And after that, she did the same thing to every corridor and storage room on that level.

     I’m surprised there are no alarms or Optomes for me to destroy. Maybe they don’t know I’m doing this or they don’t care. They will, once I start killing the Optomes on the next two level in their sleeping rooms.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Walking down a long corridor, her fins stretched out beside her, Dorrisa fired Water Balls just before each entrance along that corridor. The balls destroyed the walls and the sleeping rooms beyond. Dorrisa looked into each room just after the destruction to see who was in there or wasn’t. About half were empty. The other half had one to three dead Optomes in them.

     Dorrisa also spun around in the opposite direction in-between each entrance. Her fins facing that direction for a few seconds. She also used her two lower eyes to watch both directions at all times while she used her centered eye above to look into the sleeping rooms. After she reached the end of that half of the corridor a few minutes later, Dorrisa turned to face that corridor. She nodded her head ‘yes' at each hole she created. Then she turned her head toward the two corridors on either side of her and did the same thing. First, the one on her left. And then the corridor on her right.

     There were only about half of the Optomes in their sleeping rooms on these two levels. Between the number of rooms and those in the Control Room, there should have been a lot more of them. Where are they?

     A few seconds later Dorrisa looked at the floor in front of her. Then she looked down the right corridor at the wall at the far end of it. I find them because they aren’t here to kill. They are already doing whatever it is they are doing to Covon.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Nathum, can you still hear my thoughts? Did you contact Soranne and Covon Control yet? Dorrisa stepped out of the level entrance with her fins up. She started walking down that corridor.

     Of course, I can hear you. I can always hear you. We are Twos. Why do you ask? Have you found out what they are really doing here?

     Dorrisa wasn’t destroying that level too. At least not yet she wasn’t. Instead, she walked into the walls before every entrance. A few seconds later she backed back into the corridor and continued on. If you have heard my thoughts, then you know what I have been thinking.

     I thought that I could hear you. But I didn’t think I was listening to you. What’s going on there.

     That’s why I contacted you. At least half the Optomes on this Watership isn't here. That tells me they are already at Covon Control and the rest of Covon. Have you contacted our contacts yet?

     Yes, I have. And they are already looking out for the Optomes. So, are their contacts. Together, we have all of Covon watching.

     A few seconds later Nathum continued thinking. Almost all of them. Covon Control isn’t listening to me. Soranne believes us. But the rest of them don’t.

     Dorrisa sighed. I’m not surprised about that. There will need to be several billion death before they are convinced.

     Keep trying to convince them. Between you and Soranne maybe you can. But I doubt it. Dorrisa continued thinking after a few seconds. I still don’t know what the real threat is yet. But I’ll contact you when I do.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Dorrisa walked into a wall. But she didn’t go into it. She bounced off it. Dorrisa tried it again with the same results. It must be a protective seal. What don’t you what me to see?

     For several minutes Dorissa did nothing. She just stared at that wall. After a few minutes, Dorrisa went to the other side of that entrance and did the same thing. Then she went further down that corridor before she tried it again. Both times she got bounced back. Dorrisa tried it twice more from the side that she started from. But the results were the same. She was getting mad. Her light blue skin started pulsating.

     After taking a deep breath, the pulsating stopped. Dorrisa raised her fins and started firing Water Balls at that wall. Each one exploded. But the wall remained the same. So, Dorrisa fired fifteen more Water Balls. Thirteen of them didn’t cause any damage. But the fourteenth broke through the protective seal. And the fifteenth one destroyed the wall.

     Dorrisa stepped into that room. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes turned from black to red. Now I know why they didn’t want us to know about this room.

     Hovering above the floor, Dorrisa saw about twenty huge glass structures filled with Covon water. And at least twenty others partially filled with it. Dorrisa pointed her fins at the nearest structure. But she didn’t fire. Instead, she fired four Water Balls at the floor a few seconds from each other creating a pathway from the spaceship back to Covon water.

     After creating those two pathways, Dorrisa floated around that walkway between the structures and the outer walls. She created pathways all around the structures. Within a minute there were about fifty small pathways. That’s when Dorrisa pointed her fins at the structures and started destroying them.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     An explosion destroyed the center of the floor in the Control Room. A second later Dorrisa floated through the hole that explosion created. Now she hovered just above it. “I thought I would take the quick way to get to you. Oh, I could have just come through the floor. But I wanted you to know I was coming first.”

     Forlic turned toward her. So, did the other two Optomes beside him and the height monitors. All had shocked looks on their faces. And some started bringing up weapons to fire at her. A few even did fire Laser Bolts at her. She easily diverted them. “Now it’s my turn.”

     Dorrisa started firing Water Balls at the Optomes. First, she took out those that tried to kill her. Then she aimed them at the ones with weapons. And finally, she killed all the rest of the remaining Optome height monitors. Dorrisa saved the two Optomes next to Forlic until last. Within a few seconds, everyone in that room was dead. They all died the same way as the fifteen did. The only two that weren’t dead was Dorrisa and Forlic.

     “We can do this the easy way where you just tell me what you are really going to do to Coven or we can do it the fun way. Where I force you to tell me.”

     “I would prefer the fun way.” Dorrisa continued a few seconds later. “But the choice is yours. Either way, I will get you to tell me.”

     Dorrisa smiled. “I have given the water back to Covon that you have taken from us again. But it’s going to take some time for it all to be returned. And this spaceship will fill up long before then. I can live in water. But you can’t live without special equipment. And you don’t have any with you right now. Do you?”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Sitting with her one tail leaning against one of the height monitors, Dorrisa was looking at Soranne and Nathum on two of the monitors. “They really believed that they could kill us by treating our plant life with death chemicals. What a stupid plan. We don’t eat our plant life. They are for beauty only.”

     “They obviously didn’t study us very long before they came up with this master plan of theirs,” said Soranne. “Otherwise, they would have known we don’t need to eat or drink to survive.”

     “Their plan wasn’t all that stupid. If we did eat our plants, they would have succeeded. The threat was real. But we took care of it. Me, our contacts, and their contacts killed several hundred Optomes. We think we killed them all. But we’re not sure if we got all of them.”

     “Speaking of killing, have you killed Forlic yet?” Soranne asked.

     “Yes, I have. But I did more than that. I prevented Optome from sending anyone else here.”

     “How did you do that?” Nathum asked.

     “I sent a message back to Optome. They thought it was from Forlic. It said that Covon water was deadly to us. And that we have been exposed to it already. That’s why we are destroying ourselves to save Optome from being exposed to it too. The Covons only pretended that it wasn’t deadly so that they could destroy us.”

     A few seconds later Dorrisa continued. “I don’t think we will be having any more trouble from them.”

     Dorrisa got up and swam over to the hole she created in that now water-filled Control Room. She swam through it. Then the other holes she created on the other levels. A few seconds later she was out of that spaceship. After swimming for several more seconds, Dorrisa stopped. Dorrisa turned back toward the spaceship, and started firing Water Balls at it until it exploded a few seconds later.