Beyond Apocalypse

by Bruce S Larson

  With no Field Master and a General otherwise occupied, Zaria’s forces overwhelmed the small demon army. Zaria saw their inevitable fall.

  “Caliburn! Archers! Into the canyon! Gulos protect the advance!” Zaria cried out while pressing her attack on the staggering General.

  Zaria dodged the plasma hurled by Xuxuhr, but the heat singed her body. Ironic, she thought, as she was ultimately made of light. She understood too well that she could be stunned and feel pain in this form. It was the price for interaction on the physical plane. She would better design her next body, but she needed this one to finish this fight. More plasma rained down as Zaria maneuvered closer.

  A group of surviving demons rushed to defend their leader. They were cut down by archers. Xuxuhr coiled his chain around his right arm and swung it as a flaming saw to slash Zaria. A sudden sound made him freeze. His breast plate made a screech of twisting metal as Zaria’s sword penetrated his massive chest. Xuxuhr’s strange eyes and body all dimmed.

  Zaria quickly wiped the General’s acrid blood from her eyes. Her face lit with shock at what she saw. The Ravager stumbled back, and began to fall. Zaria’s blade made several more stabs deep into his body as he collapsed to the black surface.

  Inside that access canyon, the battle went on. Xuxuhr had planned ahead for this mission and selected several burly demons to become engineers. They didn’t use their amplified brains but their demons savagery to fight the onslaught of gulos and archers that leapt upon them. Although the ones that faced Caliburn were intelligent enough to run. The battle above was lost. Here it went poorly for demons. The image of the more powerful explosives flashed into the demon engineer Cyr’s smoldering brain. He ran from the fray to collect the charges and blow these attackers across the canyon walls. He struck a black-clad wall that should not be there, and looked up. He opened his jaws. A massive hand grabbed Cyr’s head and silenced him.

  Above, Zaria’s fight was not finished. She slashed away the last charge of fanatic demons. Gin worked to save wounded archers and gulos. Xuxuhr rose on the arm wrapped in chain. Zaria sprinted to him. She slashed and stabbed him wondering if she should place charges on his butchered body and run. Xuxuhr finally fell back, and did not rise again. The few surviving demons stopped and stared at their dead General with utter bewilderment.

  “S-stop!” Zaria breathed an end to the combat, but the archers had already cut down the distracted demons.

  Gin continued to administer to Zaria’s fallen. He glanced over to her to be sure all the blood dripping from her body was not her own.

  “Gin, we need to procure the force capacitors.” Zaria walked to the canyon edge. “Soon—”

  Caliburn sailed over the canyon edge and into space with great velocity. But there was no explosion. At her angle, all Zaria could see was the field of hexagonal capacitors. She quickly glanced over the edge. Directly below, General Anguhr slapped his immense axe into his open hand. His demons turned from Eden’s fallen warriors and trained their weapons on Zaria above. Victory was denied.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The sound of marching demons assaulted them from everywhere. It echoed in the ethereal atmosphere near the edge of the access canyon.

  “Gin!” Zaria screamed. “How far are they?”

  “I cannot see them or sense there location, Zaria. I only hear the marching. They must have some form of shielding more effective than our own, or it’s a ruse. Why don’t they charge?”

  “Count their numbers in the canyon!” Zaria ordered. “We must prevent them from swarming over us before the marching columns arrive and attack!” Zaria drove a bloody fist into her pouch and grabbed more of the powerful charges.

  “Zaria, wait!” Gin yelled as he peered into the canyon. “The demons have not fired upon us. I see archers still alive in the demon’s grasp. Perhaps—”

  “Gin, now! Before they rise over the edge!”

  The march of demons thundered closer.

  “Zaria! There are more demons with Anguhr than were in Xuxuhr’s force.” The calculations that formed Gin’s voice produced the pitch of true stress. “We can’t prevail!”

  “We have no choice!” Strain cracked Zaria’s voice. She thrust up her blood-coated arm. Ten charges armed within her fist. Bright light shone from between her clenched fingers. “Tell me where Anguhr stands!”

  “Zaria! Look at the bodies of your archers!” Gin turned and rushed to Zaria. Desperation contorted his human-like face. “Listen to me. The giants are lost. Our numbers are struck low. We have no reserves here. How do you plan to fight an even greater contingent of demons and their General?”

  “We cannot yield, Gin! If we fail—!”

  “Zaria, you have defeated Xuxuhr. You have slain a General of Hell, itself. All your warriors fought and died as you commanded. But now we must find another way. To fight on would surely bring death to us, and then death to Eden! Zaria, think passed your physical mind, its emotions and blood lust. It is a gift Anguhr is here. Zaria, think! Think of who he is, and remember what you are!”

  The sound of marching demons beat against Zaria like Xuxuhr’s fists. Yet, they had not opened fire. No shells arced out from the canyon. Could Anguhr want something from them that Xuxuhr could did not? Zaria looked across the field of crushed and impaled demons. Some still writhed. Others lay torn apart. Silver fragments of gulos were strewn among the slain demons. Dead archers lay pocked and broken across the invisible disks of fallen shields. The dead masses of Bron and Xuxuhr lay at the far end of the carnage. Alien bloods flowed together across the once pristine desolation. Heat from the caged star below caused the collecting pools to steam. The rising mists carried their caustic stench.

  To Zaria, time seemed her enemy. Yet now she had no choice but to use it to survive. They would need other means to achieve final victory. The light between her fingers dimmed. Zaria lowered her arm, but kept a firm grasp on the charges. Gin was right. Zaria drew a labored breath, and gave her orders in both hope and despair: “Gulos, stay at the ready. Archers, do not fire. Hold your arrows. For now.”

  Proxis looked out at the red glare of the massive star held captive by a machine. He wondered what the smaller Iron Work within Old Jove imprisoned. He recalled the liquid and mist of Old Jove and how it gave way to the starry black of open space when they left the alleged gas giant. Above the red star and its greater machine there were greater dangers. It was not navigation hazards he considered.

  Lord Anguhr had ordered Proxis not to allow any ships to move within striking distance of his target on the Iron Work. In Hell's own system, other ships meant other Generals’ warships. Proxis considered the ramifications of Lord Anguhr’s order. He wondered if that order gave him permission to open fire on another Hell ship. Could he? Proxis took a breath. Lord Anguhr’s orders suggested conflict among Hell’s forces. Would the other General’s engage in open rebellion? Perhaps his own Lord and General gave him the first such rebellious orders in a defiant spiral towards anarchy. The thoughts almost made Proxis laugh. He always valued his free will. Now, he wondered what to do with it. His deliberation was short. He considered that Lord Anguhr always served his horde as well as made glory for the Dark Urge. Proxis was certain there was no greater General. He would, of course, obey his Lord’s orders. No ship would come within striking distance of General Anguhr’s position on the Iron Work. No ships at all.

  “I saw Anguhr in my glimpse.” Zaria breathed heavily. “So you are right, old friend. I have another strategy to play. He is said to love war. If it is a presence in his mind, then I know who war truly is to him.”

  “Do you mean: what war means to him?” Gin asked.

  “No.”

  Gin was silent. He was surprised in all the long time they knew each other that Zaria still had secrets to reveal.

  A flying column of demons soared over the cliff’s edge like a tattered sheet peeled from the Iron Work. Anguhr’s demons swirled around Zaria’s surviving forces and divided into armed tiers that sealed the
ir targets within a whirling dome. The drone of marching disappeared behind a louder curtain of demon wings cutting across the ethereal atmosphere. The demons still did not attack. That fact did little to ease the tension straining Zaria, nor did the thud of Anguhr’s boots against the former battlefield. The General was visible through the wing beats of the circling demons. He cast a glance over his axe blade towards the canyon. His fiery eyes then fixed upon the prisoners for what felt too long. He walked over to the body of Xuxuhr. Zaria tightened her grip on the charges. Anguhr stood over Xuxuhr’s ravaged corpse with his back to his demons and prisoners. Zaria watched the double-blades of the axe dart past Anguhr’s shoulders like an inverted pendulum. The blade stopped. The orders to fire met Zaria’s lips. Her warriors never heard them. The thunder of Anguhr’s laughter drowned out her words.

  “Zaria? Is he rejoicing?” Gin asked. His confusion overpowered dread.

  “Perhaps it is more the shock of disbelief, or a release of competitive spite.” Zaria replied. “But the Generals are weird creatures. Among them, Anguhr is weirdest of all.”

  High pitched barks spat from the demons. Arcs of bared teeth sailed past Zaria’s forces.

  “Are they taunting us, or do they not like us talking about their General?”

  “Their eyes are focused on me. It was my utterance of Anguhr.” Another chorus of barks and gnashes confirmed Zaria’s theory.

  “But how can they understand us?” Gin asked.

  “Their speech must share rudiments with Asherah’s coding.” Zaria answered. “Their language derives from an operating code, just as ours does. Both systems were identical when first written.”

  “Yes. And what is also becoming clear, is that Anguhr and Xuxuhr were not here on the same mission.”

  “And what of the—” Zaria glanced at cyclone of demons. “What of our enemy’s plans, here? Had she deduced my own? But I suggest we remain silent until we know how much they understand of us, our words, and all plans.”

  Gin allowed himself one last sentence. “Perhaps the enemy has a master plan. But is she the master of her Generals?”

  Anguhr looked again at his prisoners. They uttered his name in a tongue somehow familiar. The slightest wave of his axe commanded his demons to be silent. But now the prisoners had realized that advantage as well. They had proven themselves masters of combat, and now revealed personal cunning. Anguhr admired their skill, and the great audacity of their leadership to send them on a raid to this forbidding place. He knew it was a danger to keep these warriors alive. They must consider escape a possibility and a need to fulfill their mission. Certainly it was not the fear of death that allowed his demons to entrap them.

  Anguhr felt lament for not having followed the orders of the Dark Urge exactly, for fighting these aliens on their homeworld would be a great trial of combat. Perhaps it was truly a gift of War ignored. However, it could still be achieved in the near future. Right now, Anguhr was gathering information on Eden’s abilities. He had forestalled a disaster. Whatever the target was on the Iron Work, he had kept it from enemy hands. The death of Xuxuhr was the aliens’ only victory. This theater was still in Hell’s control, or at least his own. Thus, he could argue, he was following the will if not the direct orders of the Dark Urge. Interpretation of orders was also an important combat skill. Anguhr hoped Eden’s master had given these warriors more knowledge than his own leadership chose to bestow on him. He wanted the knowledge of what they and Xuxuhr sought. Whatever boon lay here, it was now in his grasp.

  Uruk had finished his interrogations of the prisoners in the canyon below, and now soared towards Anguhr. He grasped and archer bound in black cables. Proof of their lethal precision impaled many bodies of Xuxuhr’s slain demons surrounding Anguhr.

  “Lord, they not speak well.” Uruk reported as he alit beside Anguhr and presented the archer to his General. “They have limited information. Their brains look smooth and new. No synthetic data stores. Their responses to stimulus appear instinctual.” Uruk squeezed the cable and the archer writhed. “I believe they are like the silver beasts, and are only living weapons. Mere ciphers for war. Yet they fight well enough.”

  Anguhr considered Uruk’s theory. He regretted the swift, ballistic end of his fight with the giant in the canyon, for a brief moment. No doubt it was as ignorant as its fellow soldiers. Anguhr watched as the archer’s writhing eased. Its eyes locked on the emerald clad warrior within the cage of demons. Next to her stood a less luminous male variation. He understood their sexually dimorphic forms. Yet he had no answers why they looked like him. Generals were said to be unique. Now he stared at two beings very similar in shape to himself, and they were not creatures from Hell. Or so he would think if he believed all the lore infused into his brain. Again, experience challenged orthodoxy. Those were more mysteries for later. Now, Anguhr could see who led these warriors. The glance of the archer and physical language of the male marked his female twin as the master. She would know why they came here and killed so fiercely. Anguhr wondered if it was for the same prize that brought the clod Xuxuhr here. Another potential intelligence source landed next to him. Intelligence of mission if not fully of mind. Such was a typical demon’s state.

  The demon Cyr folded his wings, crossed his arms to his shoulders, and bowed to Anguhr. His eyes were wider than the guards escorting him. He was confused and afraid. Cyr looked at Anguhr with awe. Anguhr was a General and Lord to his own demons. Cyr’s Lord was now dead. The demon knew his fate and path to the Dark Urge was now in the hands of one of his dead master’s rivals. This was unknown to demon experience, and far more complicated than rending enemies or exploding bombs under weird artifacts.

  “Tell me what you know, demon.” Anguhr said in harsh tones. “And perhaps you will please me more than using you as food.”

  Anguhr did not ask if this demon from Xuxuhr’s horde had a name. To do so would be to recognize him as an individual. That was an honor given for valued service. Cyr’s service to Xuxuhr held no honor for Anguhr.

  Cyr held back his fury at his sudden demotion. However, he understood Anguhr could just as well pull the information out through his ears. The demon desired to live a while longer, and perhaps see his own underlings again.

  “General Anguhr, I was to remove one of the canyon nodes for fear and respect to my Lord.” Cyr answered and bowed again.

  “Why?” Anguhr demanded.

  “I—I don’t understand, General Anguhr. I did as commanded. All praise to the Dark Urge.”

  “Where is Xuxuhr’s ship?” Anguhr leaned down so the demon could clearly see his burning eyes through his helmet gaps.

  Cyr hesitated, and then thought hard. He thought of his ears. And then a good idea rolled forth. “General, its course is programmed into my Lord’s transport.”

  Uruk nodded confirmation. “A squad has found it hidden in the haze yon of the canyon, Lord Destroyer. The rendezvous coordinate is open space between this hemisphere of the Iron Work and Hell itself.”

  Uruk cast his gaze over the field of carnage. “Lord, why would General Xuxuhr command his ship to be elsewhere than the battle?”

  “Xuxuhr did not expect to fight here, I imagine.” Anguhr answered. “Perhaps he expected no fight at all in this system. Why would he?” Anguhr shouted his last sentence. “Indeed why would he?”

  “Lord?” Uruk asked.

  Anguhr was lost in thought. He considered that Xuxuhr would not expect enemy forces if he also thought this system and several stars around it had been long conquered. Yet Anguhr was sent to find and destroy a legendary enemy near Old Jove. Thus, Xuxuhr was not told of Anguhr’s mission, just as Anguhr was ignorant of Xuxuhr’s presence. Anguhr became certain that other Generals were not forming schemes. It must be the Great Widow, or the Dark Urge herself. One of them, perhaps both, used Hell’s servants as blind warriors.

  Anguhr barked in disgust. Cyr and Uruk jumped back.

  Anguhr pondered, further. He knew he had little time to do so. Even if Xu
xuhr faced no threat, he still had planned to protect his retrieved objective from the Iron Work with the full force of his ship and horde. Anguhr wondered what his mother of shadow and obstruction wanted here. He was still unsure of his future in Hell without its wars. But did War need Hell? Xuxuhr’s death and his own cunning provided the means to the secure a doubled strategic advantage: the prize on the Iron Work and a second ship to command. Xuxuhr’s ship had no General. There was no one better than he, the Destroyer, to seize its power. Another ship and horde would make him unbeatable. Only the combined might of the other Generals could challenge him, if ever allowed the chance.

  “Why was the transport programmed to rendezvous with your ship?” Uruk barked his rapid questions into Cyr’s ear as he took over the interrogation from his master engrossed in thought. “Your General didn’t need his ship here, yet needed it for short transit to Hell? Is its present course a misdirection?”

  “General—?” Cyr noticed Anguhr now looked passed him. Cyr turned to his side and flinched at Uruk’s glare. “I have no knowledge, Master Uruk! Master Akhad said we were to retrieve a node. I labored to please my General and the Dark Urge. All praise—”

  “Yes!” Uruk cut in. “Of what use is this node?”

  “I cannot see its uses, Master.” Cyr answered. “Perhaps your great Lord can do so.”