The God Complex: The Book Of Alan, Destroyer Of Worlds

Chapter Forty-Three

The hazy purple twilight of twin setting suns cast its reflection clear across the boundless lake of Planet Battenberg, bathing Pembo in its tranquil glow and casting her an endless shadow. Gabe knew he'd find her there, it's where she always went when she was thinking.

The fine orange sand that radiated it's sweet smelling heat during the week long day, now shimmered a dusty pink against the glistening purple of the lake.

She'd never looked more beautiful.

Gabe had been following her around like a helpless puppy ever since the afterparty. Once Susan effectively declared war on Abaddon, Pembo knew they'd never be safe within the fleet again. So Gabe brought her to the safest place he could think of.

It was strange at first for Gabe, returning to the place he last spoke with Professor Dawkins. Gabe often thought of that moment: how fragile he looked, how much sadness and longing filled his voice as he stared out to the endless horizon wishing he could start again; wishing he could have chosen another path. Dawkins knew just how dangerous Abaddon was and what he was capable of, perhaps more so than Pembo.

She had been on the receiving end of this treatment once before and knew exactly what was coming. First it was trial by media and then, once they'd dragged every aspect of your life through the mud for so long that people could barely stand to hear your name, then came the assassins. No outrage from the public, no enquiry, no question of justice, just relief that they didn't have to hear your name anymore. She had seen too many people disappear that way, too many close friends and family.

Work converting the caves into Justice For Earth's new headquarters commenced as soon as they landed. Jaibles was in his element, devising new technology to optimise their operation and generally creating a nuisance of himself, while Gabe, on the other hand, threw himself into strategising: without Susan, how do you eliminate a threat like Abaddon without angering God and ruining their chances of Paradise? -The fact that this meant he had to spend every day with Pembo was purely coincidental - at least that's what he told himself.

Sure it was a lie but what could he do? They were now public enemy number one. The full weight of Abaddon's Military force were looking for any excuse to come crashing down on them, which made this Pembo's last chance to put things right. Justice For Earth wasn't a hobby or a job for her, it was the last bastion of her old life, the weapon she forged out of the dying embers of her parents' memory after Abaddon burned it to the ground. So asking her out for a coffee didn't exactly feel appropriate.

Yet she occupied all his waking thoughts. Even his nightmares had stopped. If Gabe was being honest, she terrified him because she represented the one thing he never thought he'd ever have again.

Hope.

Gabe was already committed to bringing down Abaddon and EDEN for what they did to him, but suddenly, he found building a sustainable future now mattered; ending this war before it began now mattered; everything mattered more when he was around her and maybe, just maybe, he had stumbled on a way to make that happen.

'Deep in thought again?' said Gabe walking across the edge of the sandy bank and shattering the still reflection of the dead water, sending a million diamond encrusted ripples out towards the horizon.

'How can we know if Jäger's trustworthy?'

'We can't,' he replied.

Jäger Yamagotchi, son and heir to the YAMA Pharmaceutical fortune, and the man who took Gabe's position as Pilot of the SS YAMA had made contact with Gabe through a mutual acquaintance about a week ago. Abaddon had pushed the Corporate shuttles too far, he had stolen 50% of their company just to leave Earth and now he'd alienated them from the fleet with this attack on Susan and the Champions. Jäger and his dad wanted out, but feared the repercussions of publicly turning their back on him, so they came to Gabe offering information that could permanently weaken Abaddon's hold on the fleet.