The Reclamation and the Lioness

by Robert D. Armstrong

  © 2018 Robert D. Armstrong

  The Reclamation and the Lioness is a work of fiction. None of the characters nor events represent the likeness of actual events or persons.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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  Dedication

  To the encouragers in my life, thank you.

  Table of contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 1

  IT HAD ONLY BEEN DAYS since the Legion civil war. The Elders, and dozens of knights had been slain at the hands of the Architect. She had corrupted Vlad, pitting him against his fellow knights. Luther wasted no time in recruiting their replacements. I was one of them, trading in my flight stick for a plasma sword.

  “Again!” Leo shouted as a mounted training dummy zipped down the track at me in pitch darkness.

  I panned around, listening for audio cues of the exact direction it was coming from. “There,” I mumbled. I spun around behind me and faced the blackness. I ignited my plasma blade and held it out in front of me the way I’d been trained. The sound got louder and louder.

  “Patience,” Leo warned.

  My sword illuminated the dummy hurling toward me. It swiveled around erratically on a small cart and had several wooden planks and rebar stakes protruding from it.

  “Don’t move, Victoria. Let it come to you!” he yelled over the squeaky wheels as it barreled at me. I was standing about a meter away from the track it was approaching on.

  It wobbled around like a spinning top. I sighed loudly and concentrated on its movements.

  I exhaled as a large rebar stake whipped toward my head. I crouched down, avoiding it by centimeters. As I squatted low, I followed through with a low horizontal swipe, cutting it in half. Debris clacked against the ground as the cart sailed past me. There was little feedback from the contact; it felt like swinging into thin air or allowing a hot knife’s weight to fall through butter.

  “Stop! Lights!” Leo shouted. The lights came on as he motioned to an operator pulling the dummy’s levers inside a booth.

  “That’s all for now,” he said. I had been at it all day and every muscle in my body ached from the previous nine days of training. So far, knight drills involved intense bodyweight training, swordsmanship, and leadership courses.

  It wasn’t easy and reminded me of naval officer training on steroids. On the third day, Leo tossed me in the kitchen to oversee “the line,” which was basically a mob of hungry Legion civilians. It sounded like a duty beneath a knight, but I soon realized the point. It was terrifying, and it challenged what I thought I knew about leadership.

  I was given brief instructions on how the kitchen was run, and without warning, I was handed full responsibility to feed thousands under the watchful eyes of Leo and the head Chef.

  Despite the yelling, threats, and insults from the crowd, I survived, but it was clear there was real danger. It didn’t take me long to figure out Leo’s presence was twofold: to evaluate my performance as a leader and to protect me if things got out of hand. That was the difference between this world and mine. These people didn’t care if I was training to be a knight, and incompetence on my part came with consequences. The point was, knights were often thrown into unknown, perilous situations and asked to lead effectively.

  “Disengage your weapon,” Leo ordered as I stood there staring at the bright light coming from the sword. It was mesmerizing as I gazed at the fiery locks of white energy looping around one another. I retracted the plasma blade and placed it inside a loop holster on my belt.

  Leo marched in my direction and pitched a small towel at my face. “Breaking you from that swinging motion won’t be easy. I can see that now,” he said.

  “It’s just muscle memory,” I said.

  “The problem is that sport you used to play. What was it called?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “Softball,” I replied.

  “Well, that softball swing is designed to put your weight into it for maximum force. There’s no need for that with a plasma sword. The extra power you generate with your hips is unnecessary because the blade is hot enough to deal damage without it. You’ll tire yourself prematurely, just like you did today,” he explained.

  “I’ll work on it,” I said. He nodded slowly and panned around.

  “I had the same problem, without being a softball player. Vlad started off better than me at these drills. It pissed me off. When you’re mad, it’s natural to put everything into a swing without finesse. Took me months to correct my bad form.”

  I sighed. “I don’t have months,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow.

  Leo chuckled, but his smile quickly flattened out. “No, we don’t. I know we just started, but we need to speed up this training. This dummy was only at level three. It goes all the way up to twenty to simulate the Mave,” he replied.

  “Long way to go,” I said.

  “You’re not the only one,” Leo said, glancing down at his severed arm.

  “Did Luther move you here because of the injury?” I asked.

  He paused for a moment, looking away. “I requested to be put here. I’m no good to the knights as a combatant. Not yet. The problem is, I lost my good arm. When you and the other trainees go back to the barracks for the night, it’ll be my time to train here,” he said, panning around.

  I nodded slowly. “I respect the fact that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to adjust.”

  Leo raised his eyebrows. “I don’t have much choice. We have to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

  “That reminds me, has Luther said anything to you about the next step for the Legion?” I asked.

  “The two androids that showed up here after Vlad’s death said they could help us, but they had something to show us first. We need to see it in person,” he replied.

  “Care to guess what it’s about? They only spoke to Luther, but I wondered if you knew anything?” I asked.

  Leo shrugged. “No idea, but I’ve never seen androids like that before. They were more militant than I’m used to.”

  “Well, if you think about it, their very existence is based off a glitch, right? I mean, almost all the androids turned against humanity except this very small faction that rebelled. Then, you couple that with the fact that they’ve been out here in the wasteland for so long, maybe they’ve had to adapt. Maybe it’s molded them into something we’re not accustomed to.”

  Leo bit his lip. “I’m guessing we’re about to find out,” he said, looking behind me.

  I turned around. Corporal Dinu and two soldiers marched to within a few paces of us and stopped. “Victoria—I mean, Knight Recruit, it’s good to see you,” he said.

  I grinned. “You too. I’m surprised you turned down the offer to start knight training,” I said. I had he
ard Dinu was one of Luther’s top choices, even before the knight order had suffered so many losses.

  He arched an eyebrow. “I think I’d serve the Legion better with my long rifle. It’s my niche. Besides, I don’t like my enemies getting too close.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough.”

  Dinu turned toward Leo. “The Engineer requests your presence at loading dock alpha. Both of you,” Dinu said. I got the feeling it was not a request. Loading dock alpha was where Vlad was killed after the riot to overthrow him.

  “When?” Leo asked.

  “Now. All Legion knights and soldiers. We’ll escort you,” Dinu responded.

  “Okay then.” I raised my eyebrows.

  Leo glanced at me and sighed. “Sounds important. Let’s be on our way,” he said.

  AS WE APPROACHED THE dock, I could tell there was still a massive cleanup effort underway. There were dozens of body bags piled onto a rail cart on the tracks beyond the concrete dock. I was surprised they weren’t finished yet. I could already smell the early signs of rotting flesh.

  As everyone gathered around, it was clear this was a devastating blow to morale. There were lots of long faces. I imagined many of the combatants here had lost friends and family.

  I observed several older men huddled around Luther. They wore knight clothing and had swords around their belts, but I hadn’t seen them at any of the previous knight meetings.

  Leo leaned in. “Retired knights. I remember those old-timers from when I was a kid. Knights are forced to retire at age fifty-five unless they’re in a leadership position. Strange seeing them back in uniform,” Leo said.

  “Desperate times,” I said.

  “Indeed, but in this case it’s not a terrible idea, actually. Those particular knights are still quite capable,” he said.

  Luther stepped away from the reinstated knights and walked into the middle of the assembling crowd. “Knights and soldiers of the Legion. All of you are aware of our situation. We require assistance and there is no way around the fact that we need to take risks. The androids of the Reclamation are the main reason you’re here. Before we get to that, I wish to inform you about another decision I’ve made,” Luther said, panning around.

  It seemed he made it a point to meet eyes with everyone except me. Luther nodded at an older gentleman behind him. “Knight Renheart.”

  “Yes, my lord.” The seasoned knight stepped forward with his hands behind his back as the small crowd formed a circle around Luther and the older knight. Renheart was powerfully built and of average height. He was balding and had a trim but thick white beard. There was a long, deep scar across his face and forehead.

  His eyebrows lowered as he scanned around, narrowing his dark eyes with a sense of confidence. “Some of you younger lads don’t remember me. For those that don’t, I retired nine years ago. I served with the Engineer for nearly a decade,” he said with a thick Scottish accent.

  Luther crossed his arms. “I’ve hand-selected twelve retired knights, led by Renheart. We temporarily reinstated their ranks as knights to assist with the reformation of the order and the Legion’s defense. These knights still retain a measure of their physical fitness, and I aim to use their experience as we bring the Legion back into the fold.”

  Renheart chuckled. “Forcing veteran knights into retirement was a silly rule to begin with. I had a good twenty years left in me and could run circles around men half my age,” he bragged, sticking out his chest.

  “Renheart the humble!” one of the older knights joked. I noticed a few knights and soldiers hesitantly crack smiles. This situation didn’t allow room for much humor, but it was good to see some form of comic relief.

  Luther crossed his arms. “You can’t see it from here, but there are four android sentries stationed throughout the Legion. These are heavy military variants from the old world,” he said.

  I recalled these Kelton androids. They were unlike their humanlike homestead cousins, even Xena. These hardly appeared human. They stood 2.5 meters tall, and had weapon systems integrated into their armored bodies. Some referred to them as walking tanks.

  When the androids turned against us, hacking these military variants was key. They were nearly unstoppable on the battlefield with conventional weapons.

  “What’s the catch? These rebel androids are willing to help, but what do they want in return?” Renheart asked.

  “This is why I called this meeting. The androids have an offer for us, but we must see it in person. We are allowed to send two representatives to their colony. If we accept their offer, we can keep the android sentries here, and I’ve also bargained for an aircraft: an LU-class ship that will give us the ability to resume strike missions against the Mave, eventually. Also, this ship has a capacity of thirty-five, so that means if we’re ever forced to relocate, it’ll be a gamechanger as we can run transport flights back and forth,” Luther said.

  After speaking, he finally looked at me. The broken section of his mask revealed a single green eye that gazed deeply into mine. I could tell he was happy to see me, but I felt he was trying to focus on the overwhelming task at hand. Renheart noticed him looking at me. There was an awkward pause before a soldier stepped forward.

  “Sire, who will we send as representatives? I would like to volunteer if you haven’t made a selection yet,” the soldier asked, panning around the group. Renheart bounced up and down on his toes as he held his stare at me.

  “I’ll go,” Leo said, stepping forward. He glanced at me before doing so.

  “What?” I mumbled loud enough for him to hear me.

  “Knight Leo, we agreed you would assist Neona in the training of our newest knight recruits,” Luther said.

  “The rebel androids’ colony is a fairly short trip from here. I won’t be gone long. Besides, without my good arm, I won’t be very effective here in the event of a Mave attack anyway,” he said. Voices stirred as Luther considered the idea.

  Then Neona stepped forward. “In that case, I can go too.” My eyes widened as she came into view. I hadn’t seen her in training. I wondered why she’d been absent from my instruction after promising she would assist me.

  Luther shook his head. “As I just said, you and Leo were tasked with training our newest knights. We’ve recruited fifteen candidates and it’s imperative they continue without interruption. I won’t have the both of you absent. Not to mention, you have no handicaps, Neona, and I need every sword here in case the Mave penetrate our defenses,” Luther rumbled.

  I spoke up. “Then I’ll go.” Luther’s head whipped in my direction.

  “You’ve started knight training, isn’t this correct?” Luther asked. I noticed a few sets of eyes widen as he spoke. Apparently, this was news to them.

  “I have, and I will continue when I return, but as Knight Leo said, we won’t be gone long. Also, I’m a pilot, and if we accept the androids’ offer, I can fly the freighter back on the spot. There won’t be any delay,” I said.

  Knight Renheart leaned in and said something to Luther. He nodded while listening. Luther glanced at me and shook his head while the veteran knight spoke to him.

  “Absolutely not,” Luther muttered.

  It seemed everyone was staring at Luther. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling. “I want everyone to return here tomorrow, same time. By then, I will have selected two representatives to meet with the rebel androids. For now, carry on.”

  Luther was ushered away by Renheart and two older knights. The knights seemed quite passionate as they spoke to Luther. Renheart walked in front of Luther, using his hands to talk.

  As I stared at them, I felt Leo tap me on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Until we hear otherwise, your training continues,” he said. We exited the dock and headed down a circular ice corridor.

  “Do you think he’ll send us?” I asked Leo. He was walking next to me as we made our way toward the knight barracks.

  He shrugged. “I hope so. What you said makes sense. If we’re in the pos
ition to accept the androids’ offer, we should be able to claim that freighter on the spot if you’re there. You would have to go eventually to fly it back, so why does it matter if you go now? You’re the only pilot I know of,” Leo said.

  I shrugged. “There might be others, but I can assure you I’m the pilot he wants for this mission.”

  Leo turned toward me. “To me, it’s clear the Engineer doesn’t want you to go.” He held his stare at me.

  I hadn’t told Leo that Luther had accepted me into his life again. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Leo; it was just that I felt bad, considering he was reeling from such a deep emotional wound since discovering his father was the Warden.

  I shrugged. Now was as good of a time as any. I looked at him. “Things have changed between Luther and I.”

  He narrowed his hazel eyes at me. “I thought so. The Engineer would have normally sent you without hesitation.”

  I nodded slowly. He put his only hand on my shoulder. “Listen. I’m happy for both of you. Really, I am. But that doesn’t make the Engineer’s decision any less wrong. You’re the obvious choice to go. The Engineer can’t leave with us. We need him here—to lead and to defend in case of an attack.”

  I sighed.

  “You need to make him understand, Victoria. Does that make sense?” he asked, staring into my eyes intensely.

  I nodded. “I know. The only problem is, I haven’t seen him since I started knight training,” I said.

  “With everything going on, that doesn’t surprise me. We’re rebuilding. But you’ll see him soon enough, that I can guarantee,” he replied.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because he loves you. He’ll want to make sure you don’t insist going on this mission again. He wants you to keep your mouth shut at our meeting tomorrow,” Leo replied.

  As we made our way through the corridor, I observed dozens of people watching the knights and soldiers disperse. They were whispering to one another and wore concerned faces. A few of them took notice of us as we walked by.

  “What is it? Can you tell us why the meeting was called?” a young man asked Leo.