Information is the greatest weapon of all in war for with it you can defeat an enemy by striking at their weakness.
From the observations of Ivar-Anoon, first General of the combined forces of the Mac-Mar Alliance.
Sunburst brought warmth and comfort to the lands of Gorn and those that hid from the wind now embraced the sky.
Andra quenched her thirst at a small spring she had found as she traveled up the narrow canyon away from the sea, she saw no animals only rock and the occasional rusted remains of some ancient machine, she stopped only once to fashion a weapon of sorts from a jagged piece of metal she salvaged from some great landmover, it was about a half an arm’s length long and as wide as three of her fingers, with some effort she sharpened the tip on a rock and wrapped the handle with a strip of Rimar hide from her vest, now she was armed with a crude knife, it wasn’t much but as her old drill Sargent use to say.
“A wet rag is better than nothing”.
So armed as she was Andra set out on her quest, to find her command and make her report.
The enemy is all around she thought, I have seen them and they have seen me.
The canyon walls were marked with strange images and writings they were cut deep into the rock face and were surely made by human hands, but the images were definitely not those of humans, they resembled hideous creatures of some sort, reptilian in parts with scaled faces and large bulbous and malformed limbs, and seeing them the Selcarie girl tighten her grip on her weapon. Over time Andra had acquired some skill in reading the language of the Nomads but the markings bore little resemblance to anything she had seen before, here and there she could make out some words such as Forbidden or Accursed but little else and what did it matter anyway, she had to survive and this was the only route she could take. She did see some rather large spiders clinging to the dark rock walls and seeing those hideous creatures did make her rethink her choice of travel for she hated the vile things and seeing them she quickly passed them by.
The narrow canyon opened up into a wide opening, there were steep blackened cliffs on all sides and from the look of the rocks that made up its rugged surface it could have only been made by Eulmar from some long dormant volcano, but what caught the eye of the Selcarie girl was the object that stood at its center for there before her was an incredible site. A colossal pillar of green crystal many times taller than the Finger of Solus, it rose up into the sky almost to the rim of the caldron like some gigantic shaft pointing the way to the stars, the morning light reflected off its smooth surface and danced over the blackened walls of the surrounding rock and sent a beam of intense light high into the cloudless sky.
Andra had no way of knowing that the Nomads called this The Light of Isarie for few had ever seen it and many strange legends had grownup surrounding it. Some said it was a beacon to guide traveling Gods, other said it was a warning to all that this world is guarded by a powerful deity and still others said it was a weapon aimed at the stars to be used in the final conflict that was to come. But any geologist of the Outer-Rim would have said it was a simple outcropping of crystal forced up from below by pressure and nothing more. Andra has seen huge monuments before when she fought the Drymac but those were built by humans and this was a thing of nature, Moonbud lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the intense glow of the crystalline tower and although she would have marveled at its color and beauty in the past that was forgotten now.
Andra took her makeshift knife and chipped a piece from its surface and put it to her lips hoping it might be the precious Grana and give her strength but although it looked much like that rare mineral it had no effect on her at all and she cast the fragment to the ground.
There is no purpose to this thing she thought, I must find my company.
But there were others who saw the green glow and they were under orders to seek out the enemy no matter where it tried to hide.
“This is Flyer nine seven three Alfa wing”, the experienced piolet said over his com-link, “We have spotted a beacon on heading eight six one in beta quadrant and are heading to investigate possible enemy activity”.
“Very well” came the reply over the com, “Kill if fired upon but capture for interrogation if possible, understood?”
“Affirmative” was the reply from Flyer Captain.
And turning his ship in the direction of the strange light the metal bird drew near its pry.
Andra hearing was quite good and her time with the Nomads had only added to that acute sense for the creatures of Gorn moved on padded feet and gave little warning.
“Flyer” she spoke to no one, and having fought the Mac-Mar before she knew just what that meant, she could run but their sensors would track her and with no cover to speak of she would be killed quickly. She had no blaster or shoulder held missile so fighting back was of little use, she thought about waiting till they landed then charging them and dying like a good soldier but the voice in her head kept her speaking to her.
“Report to your command” it said, “Report to Sargent Reynolds”.
So, when the air machine came close she held up her hands and waited till it touched down then as the armed crew rushed forward she dropped her weapon, held up her hands and spoke out in a loud clear voice. “I am Lieutenant Andra Oseira, Selcarie first infantry division Omega five!”
The rising suns bore down on Arn as his body lay on the sand, it was now covered by a horde of Shore-creepers and they set about tearing small bits of flesh from the Nomads body but the King was in a faraway place in his mind, a place where pain and sorrow held no sway.
The Golden Hall of Isarie was filled with song and dancing, the Po flowed like a river and the smell of roasting Rimar filled the air, all about were the great warriors that had made their way to the scared hall and there were none that should not have been there.
The golden hall the King thought, I have passed into the afterlife.
He moved forward to the cheers of feasting Nomads as they held up their foaming tankards and shouted out words of welcome and beat their weapons on the stone floor of the shimmering temple, Arn greeted them back and they bowed and parted making a path for him to walk for ahead of him was the throne of the Goddess and around her sat those who she had chosen to be at her side.
Arn’s heart leaped with joy when he saw his father sitting at the right hand of the Goddess and on the left was his sister Seeda, both were dressed in golden armor and in one hand they held their axes and in the other a tankard of well-aged Po, the King smiled at them and making his way through the rollicking mass he stood before the great throne.
“It is good to see you both” Arn said with a smile, “I am content to share the Afterlife with those I loved”.
Karn his father stood up and looked at his son, “You do not belong here my son” he said.
“Have I not proved myself brave in battle and a strong King?” Arn asked.
Then Seeda rose and spoke, “You are indeed brave and you have been a strong King”.
“Then way am I denied the Afterlife? He asked.
To this his sister shook her head, “Because you are not dead”.
Arn rose with a start and ripped the biting creatures from his body then rising up he looked about him but saw nothing but empty beach, the wind he remembered, the thing from the sky,
It all returned to him now the golden hall, my father and sister, a dream, but there was little time for memories and thoughts of the Afterlife, he was alive and he vowed to stay that way a least until the Goddess wished him to sit beside her.
Ivar-Anoon stood calmly at his command table looking over charts and troop movements and coldly calculating his next move, surrounding him was his personal guard, seasoned troopers who would kill in an instant anyone who threatened their General, the others were rank commanders and lesser personal that were eager to please the commandant. Ivar of course knew what he was going to do because he only had one thing in his mind, wining!
Winning is all that matters he thought as he looked of
the charts, and I will win no matter what the cost. “Have we encountered any significant resistance?” Ivar asked to a man on his left.
“Only one Flyer lost” a nervous Lieutenant by his side replied, “ We’re still trying to confirm if it was an enemy hit or mechanical malfunction”.
“What about their troop strength?” the General continued.
“Unknown” replied the Lieutenant.
“Unknown?” asked the General “Is there a problem with our sensors?”
“No problem sir it’s just that all we have picked up are weakened life signs and some wounded that can’t be used in combat”.
“What about their warriors where is the great strength of these outlanders that I’ve heard so much about?”
The officers about Ivar knew it was an open-ended question and they feared to speak, but silence would have been even worse for the cold eyes of the General demanded an answer.
“We are unaware of their exact position at this time” an officer across the table replied.
Ivar knew the Nomads had no clocking device or image disrupter so the answer was not satisfactory, “They must be found and soon, I must have their precise number and the level of their weaponry”.
The Lieutenant said nothing for he had no information and he didn’t want to look incompetent in the eyes of his leader and it was a lucky strategy for just then a runner came into the center and after snapped to attention.
“What is it?” growled the General for he was in no mood for interruptions.
The Runner handed a message to the General who looked it over then spoke to the lowly corporal, “Take her to interrogation, I will be their shortly” the he turned back to his officers, “You have twenty-four time marks to get me the information I need, if not there will be changes”.
Then he left the command center without saying another word.
The officers knew just what the General meant when he said “changes” it was a polite term for having them all killed and replaced with more efficient men.
Andra had been a prisoner before in fact it was the reason that she was brought to Gorn in the first place for was the perfect home for armies to rid themselves of unwanted captives when wars were over. The Mac-Mar had removed her clothing and replaced it with a simply uniform but without marking of any kind other than a large yellow circle on the back denoting her as a prisoner, they also attached a tracking collar around her neck so that she could be found if she escaped but that was a very remote possibility for there where now tens of thousands of Alliance warriors surrounding the fallen city of Del-Godar. But even in her dire situation Andra had no fear because she had undergone interrogations at the hands of her enemy before and withstood their tortures so now she sat quietly strapped to a heavy chair and waited for her questioning to begin.
As she waited she looked about her the air was thick with the smell of antiseptic and fear, there were the usual implements of torture, some she recognized like the skin-ticklers, a polite term for a machine that slowly burned the skin off your body, she also noticed a bone sucker, this device could drill slowly drill into your skeleton with fine tendrils and shoot electricity, others she did not and there was one particular machine in a corner of the room that she seemed to know although just where and when she could not remember it was the size of a man with a metal chair and a cover for the head, but the front was turned away from her so he could not get a better view, but she had little time for thinking for the door to the room opened and in marched Red Ivar along with four of his best and strongest soldiers.
Ivar walked up to the bound girl and smiled at her, “Who are you?” he asked for he was a man who wanted to get to the heart of the matter and not toy with his prisoner.
“I am Lieutenant Andra Oseira, Selcarie first infantry division Omega five!” Andra said in loud firm voice for that was what she was trained to say when captured and nothing more.
But rather than being upset with the defiance of the girl Ivar only smiled once more, “No you’re not” he said coldly, “You are one of us”, the girl said nothing but it was clear from the look in her eyes that the General had caught her attention, “How can this be? You may ask, well I shall tell you then we can move along to more important matters”.
He is trying to trick me Andra thought, but I will not be broken.
Ivar moved closer to the girl and paced back and forth like a Sagar cat as he talked, “Whenever we capture an enemy we have them scanned and scrutinized to make sure they are not carriers of biological weapons or explosives of any kind and when we put your genetic print into our analyzer we found out your true history”.
And before she could stop herself Andra spoke, “And what is that?”
Ivar moved within a few feet of his prisoner, “You are nothing; you are a weapon that has no further use”.
This made the girl laugh “If I were free I would show you what a weapon I can be!” and she pulled at her restraints.
“Yes” replied the General, “You have been well trained in hand to hand combat and I’m sure you could kill me with ease, that is way I have these men with me, but you will not break free and you will listen to me carefully, you are an infiltrator, a creation of war and not who you think you are”.
“Lies” the girl replied, “I am Lieutenant Andra Oseira, Selcarie first infantry division Omega five!”
“And you were raised on a farm along with your mother Niana and your brother Simon isn’t that correct?”
How could he know this Andra thought, that was never a part of my service records?
Ivar moved even closer to the girl, “All your memories are implants, put there to give you a background but in reality you were bred in a lab, given strength, endurance, and intelligence and most of all a will to survive, to survive and report back to your commanders, oh you had no idea at the time that you were working for the other side when you fought against your enemy but at given times you would follow your orders and betray those who thought you were one of them”.
Hearing the words from the General cut deep into Andra’s mind, my mother, my brother all lies?
Ivar continued to speak, “The Mac-Mar Alliance supplied many like you to armies throughout the Outer-Rim you are a great commodity in warfare and your cost is substantial but when your usefulness is done you are destroyed because your memories cannot be erased and therefor you cannot be trusted, that is why you were disposed of here, a place that up until now could not be conquered”.
But Andra was still not convinced, “I don’t believe you, I was trained to withstand interrogation whether they are inflicted on the body or the mind, I was trained by…..”
“Sargent Reynolds?” the General asked, “A man you trusted and who gave you good advice on how to fight and how to be loyal to your people?” Ivar signaled to one of his guard to bring the machine in the corner closer and when that was done the soldier turned it around so that its front could be clearly seen by the bound girl, and as it was done a name came into view.
S.A.R.G. Reprograming Orientation
The General put his hand on the device, “The men call this Sargent Reynolds, one like this was used to program you mind and give you your orders and then you were sent out to help destroy all that you thought you were fighting for”.
Andra said nothing as she looked at the machine but forgotten memories started to fill her mind, dark memories of a laboratory, voices ordering her to kill and report, images of faces she did not know and at last she excepted the truth, she was nothing more than weapon, a weapon without a home or a family, she was indeed alone.
Was it all a lie? She thought, am I just a weapon of war and nothing more?
Ivar could see the look in the girls’ eyes despite her effort to mask what she was thinking, “Now that we understand each other you will report to your commander, me.”
There are many places that people do not belong sometimes it is a great Golden Hall and sometimes they become lost in the dark passages of their own minds.
Nomads The Risen God Page 41