Issue Tekno 1 - 56 - 10 10 - 15 OriginsBig 0 - 45 - 8

 

Leonard Nimoy's Primortals

1995 - 1997

 

#0 Cross Country: World in Flames

In one of MacMahon's more remote studios, Stewart prepares for a broadcast. He has something to tell humanity, and something to keep to himself. The Primortals have knowledge of when the human civilization will meet it's doom. He thinks that's a bit much to reveal given the destabilization of world order already caused by our galactic neighbors merely dropping by. In the interview he's asked if the aliens pose no threat in his opinion. He denies this, as Zeerus clearly does, but cautions against vilifying all aliens because of him.

To deal with the bomb threat, Primaster takes his crew and a number of soldiers in one of his protective bubbles to Parmistan. There he fights it out with Zeerus. Akemi, the interpreter, tries one last time to convince Zeerus there's still time to stop the madness. But she gets caught in the cross fire between troops fighting on Zeerus side and the U.S. soldiers and dies in his arms. Zeerus, who really seems to have cared about her, explodes in violence. It is Primaster, though, who overshoots the mark when he rips out Zeerus wings like he would a fly's.

On TV Stewart tells Earth that we've been visited before, and that the Majae have been watching us for the last 65 million years. For this long we and they have shared a connection. He and Jess make it out of the studio in the nick of time before the FBI shows up.

In Parmistan, they can't diffuse the atom bomb. Primaster puts everyone in bubbles and warps away Parmistan's capital, Daghdi, and the detonation along with it into hyperspace. When he returns, he keels over unconscious.

 

#1 Camera Eye's View

Primaster's actions prevented the region from suffering nuclear fallout, but accusations arise as people find it hard to believe that Zeerus would target his own base and that the U.S. military captured and then released the country's spiritual and now political leader that not long ago they accused of terrorism. Russia denies it's their fault in the first place for selling surplus atom bombs on the black market.

After the battle is over, everybody retreats to an aircraft carrier. A doctor rushes up to Primaster to press a bandage to one of the oozing tentacles still protruding from his breast. Narab yanks her away forcefully and tells her in no uncertain terms that no one touches a Majae there. It turns out the doctor really is a scientist assigned to a detail responsible for secretly collecting samples or even the tiniest shred of material dislodged from their armour or technology.

Zeerus, who seems well enough after having part of his anatomy amputated, now is stripped of his armor. (In a later issue we learn that his wings were prosthetics in the first place made necessary because of an accident in the past.) He pleads with his captors to spare him because Earth's heavier atmosphere and gravity impairs his lungs and leaves him weak. Naturally, he is denied.

Stewart and Jess are still on the run and their credit cards are almost maxed out. Jess thinks it's time they earn some money. She suggests that Stewart do another talk show. They could get paid and get their story out at the same time. Stewart reminds her that the night the SciFi Channel showed the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers 30.000 people died and the mob burned down the house of the actor who played the psychiatrist.

Most TV stations now either don't show SciFi or issue a warning that the material doesn't depict the reality of human/alien relations. MacMahon has issued a policy to his staff that stories about the Primortals have to have a positive spin, leading to threats by employees to quit if they're not allowed to report "objectively". Which in MacMahon's eyes amounts to doing "anti-alien scare stories" like his competitors to up the ratings.

In Central Park a tent keeps the space ship from the public eye. Inside, FBI agent Davidson instructs technicians to download the contents of the ship's databanks. The problem they're facing is that there is not enough storage capacity available on Earth to accomplish their task. Davidson flippantly orders them to download what they can and print the rest. Meanwhile, Primaster's flagship receives communications from the Majae homesphere. They're on their way to pick the fleet up and relocate it to Earth.

 

# 2 There Shall Come...A Fleet

On Earth the islamic world is collectively offended, Russia promises to save humanity from alien invasion, and America prepares to see their controversial guests off.

Before they go, the President takes the Primortals to a hospice, telling them that Earth would consider their dept of death and destruction repaid if they give them the cure for cancer et al. Primaster is not amused and refuses to share Majae technology. But in the end he sees no harm in healing those present that had their hopes raised in a presidential ploy for re-election using Primaster's guilty conscience. News travels fast and once outside even one of Davidson's men in black asks for his mother to be cured. Primaster literally phones it in. Within seconds people have their cell phones out yelling for his attention to have loved ones restored to health. Because the situation threatens to get out of hand, leading to people getting crushed and trampled in the stampede, Primaster heals everybody and then makes haste to vacate the grounds. In Central Park the Primortals find their ship gone, which is doubly bad news since they're under orders to get their collective asses off Earth on the double. Primaster regrets the damage his people have done on Earth now and in the distant past. He tells Stewart that he'd like to come back to make amends but now has to follow the command of his superiors and decides they have to leave the ship behind.

The arrival of the fleet causes a massive flash of light from the repositioning gate that is misread as a nuclear blast, leading to the launch of missiles from all over the world in the direction of the U.S. from where the first nuclear warheads were fired. The U.S. military realizes their mistake and self-destructs the warheads. They phone the world to tell them about it, but Russia hangs up on them. With human logic at work, the U.S. now launches their own entire arsenal. The sole voice of reason, arguing against this step because they started it in the first place and pleading that at least someone has to be left alive on the planet, is wrestled down by security. Everybody gets lucky, though, as the fleet takes care of depositing all missiles into hyperspace. Since they're still around to worry about it, the military now asks why, if Primaster won on Archernar 3, there is a fleet of refugees parked on Earth's doorstep.

On the aircraft carrier the scientist who got a blood sample from Primaster's tentacle finds green strands growing from an odd cut on her hand.

 

#3 Scorched Earth Part I

Two months have passed since the Primortals' arrival. Any SciFi show depicting aliens as the bad guys have been banished to avoid fueling more panic. Opportunists start feeding on the chaos, hate groups gather around a new favorite enemy, all who had direct contact with the Primortals are quarantined, and the President promises to cure all ills by using blood from the patients from the hospice.

The Primortals are under strict orders to avoid any and all contact with Earth. Which causes a conflict of interest, as Kafka informs his superiors that the humans download data from the ship they abandoned on the planet in order to comply with their orders. Narab expresses dissatisfaction with recent developments and he's distrustful of the Majae Prime who, in his taste, keep too much to themselves and from everybody else.

On Earth, the technicians in charge of bleeding the computers on Primaster's ship are truly proud of themselves. They managed to download or print it all. Granted, they had to buy some computer disk factories, rented eight warehouses, and wiped government systems for space, but they got the job done. Davidson is not amused. Especially since all the information is in code.

Scientist inform the President of an unusual finding. Primaster's DNA suggest he's two beings in one and reports of alarming side effects from the transfusions start to come in.

 

# 4 Scorched Earth Part II

Religion is spreading like a disease and spreading the disease, a human purity group plans to blow up San Diego, the CDC identifies the cause of the mutations, Jess grows scales, and the scientist from the aircraft carrier dreams strange things about being stared into a trance by a squid on an unearthly beach which turns into mist that she inhales.

On the ship Primaster goes trough a cleansing ritual lasting several days before being allowed to see the Parat-Baj, his clan father. The squid-like thing occupying his breast cavity drops out of his chest into a body of water inside the ship and swims up to the clan father who ascended to a higher plane. He confesses his sins in using excessive force on Archernar 3, leaving the planet uninhabitable in the course of it. Furthermore, he endangered a 65 million year old peace between the clans by going to Earth after they last transferred life from it. Since he feels responsible for the mess, he asks to be installed as ambassador to Earth, giving up his own chance for ascension.

Down there Stewart and Jess see no other choice but to use their laptop to sent a plea to heaven, knowing only too well Davidson bugged it and at the same time counting on it to get them an their new friend to safety.

 
 

 

 

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