by David Beers
Caius pulled up a DataTrack and began looking into the former Titan. He knew all about the old woman and the old man, the twins who would soon be returning. He didn't know enough about this warrior, though.
He read until the night was late or the morning early.
He asked his network what they knew about the happenings in the other galaxy. He always kept his ears alert to whispers of major events, but now he dove deep, wanting to understand at a granular level.
When he was finished, Caius didn't know if it was luck, the gods, or talent that had kept Kane alive. A mixture of all three, perhaps. Caius understood that the gods did not listen to prayers but that sometimes they would intervene in the universe's affairs. Maybe this was one of those rare times. The man certainly had talent.
When he read about Kane's wife, he thought he finally understood. The Ascendant did too, which was why he'd brought the woman to the Imperial Residence.
A love-stricken man, who would sacrifice society for that love.
Alistair Kane had no honor. He was a foolish young man in Caius' eyes, talented or not. Someone who would destroy the greatest civilization ever known to get a woman back? He could hardly be considered a man; he was more like a child. This was a child's errand after all.
Love...
Love was a fairy tale. Did family matter? Of course, but the greater good of society mattered more than any one man's wishes.
Caius sighed. He knew he was too old to face this man down. The best of the Commonwealth had failed. Caius understood his responsibility. It was the same as it had always been: to protect the Commonwealth. He would need to speak to the other propraetors. They would have to be together on this.
The foolish man and his army would be stopped.
The Ascendant was an arrogant man but intelligent. He knew Caius’ honor would force him to do what was necessary. He would marshal the others, and the full force of the Commonwealth would come to bear on this child.
Chapter Two
Alistair had not rushed back to the planet Phoenix. After Ares left, Alistair went back into his reclusive state. He didn't go to Thoreaux or the AllMother again. Servia brought him the information he needed. Obs mostly stayed at his side, though he sometimes wandered around the fortress.
For the first time in his life, Alistair truly felt lost. He no longer understood who he was. He didn't understand what he'd been able to do, and sitting in his room alone, he couldn't replicate it. He couldn't move anything. He couldn't read minds. He couldn't tell when Servia was outside his door. He'd done something that should be impossible, and he couldn't do it again.
He didn't know himself anymore. The physical change had been one thing, but this was something else entirely.
After another week, he realized he couldn't figure this out by himself. He couldn't figure it out with another person, either. He didn't know how much he could trust the AllMother any longer. In order to understand who—or what—he was, he'd have to go back out into the world. He could sit in this room and sulk forever if he wanted. Manius had made that clear. He was a valuable asset to the underworld king, an asset that now controlled an entire army of gigantes and was himself a force of nature.
Alistair hadn't undergone this change to sit here and think, though.
The purpose was still the same. Perhaps enlarged, but the core? Luna. The overthrow of the Commonwealth. Whatever it took so that he and his wife could be together again.
So, the god-like creature told his council that they were returning to Phoenix. They scheduled a private shuttle, one that could handle his new army, and they set sail.
A few weeks passed, but finally, Alistair could see the burning planet again. It wasn't quite like a star, but close. The atmosphere contained the roiling heat, but one could see it burning from a long way away.
They were a day from landing when the AllMother came to Alistair's room. She knocked lightly on the door.
Obs perked his ears up but left his head on the floor.
"Come in," Alistair called. He was lying on his cot with a DataTrack, reading.
He glanced at the door as she entered, then turned his eyes back to the words projected above his eyes.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," the old woman said, "but we need to talk."
Alistair flicked his eyes in her direction. "What is it?"
"The Myrmidons. They've taken over Phoenix. They're waiting for me."
Alistair put the DataTrack down and sat up. Obs pushed himself up as well, both now looking at the AllMother. "What do you mean? The shuttle has been in contact with Phoenix daily. They've mentioned nothing." Even as he spoke the words, he understood how naive they were. If the Myrmidons were on Phoenix, the Terram were certainly under their control. They wouldn't be able to say anything.
The AllMother must have seen the realization on his face. She nodded. "I feel them now. My abilities are weakening, yes, but they're waiting for me. I'm certain of it."
Alistair leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Any idea how many there are?"
"No. I can't see that."
Alistair didn't think of asking her what to do. That part of his life had passed when he nearly blew up a stadium with his mind. He understood now that whatever happened with this group of people was down to him, and only him. If the AllMother had advice, she could speak up. He wasn't going to sacrifice her to the Myrmidons, obviously, but...
He looked up. "Why does he want you?"
The AllMother gave a knowing smile. "You cut to the core of the matter quickly, Prometheus. I've never told anyone what it is between us. Would you like to hear now? Do you think it’ll help you make your decision?"
"I think I have to. I need to know everything. There can’t be any more secrets between us."
The old woman sighed and looked at her shoes. "Perhaps you're right. Do you mind if I sit down?"
He motioned to the chair that sat under the desk. She moved to it, and Obs sat just in front of Alistair's legs. The drathe laid down and faced the AllMother as she pulled the chair out and sat down.
"There are a few stages to this, Pro," she told him. "I'm going to tell it all to you. It's the only way you'll understand and can make the right decision."
He flipped back onto the cot and laid down, then placed his hands on his chest and interlaced his fingers. "Tell me."
Chapter Three
Alex had just left her father down in the lab where he'd had her operated on. He'd had her modified. She stalked up from the medbay with red irises. She'd discarded a troop of Praetorian Guards with a thought, and she knew others would be looking for her. She didn't care. Alex didn't understand what had happened to her, or the extent of what she could do, but she did know that hurting her would be a difficult thing to accomplish.
She reached the first floor of the family's home and stood in the foyer. It stretched for many yards in each direction, and she saw more Praetorians on the other side. They stopped walking as they saw her standing in her gown, somehow different than the woman who had been led down to the medbay.
"If you come for me, you will die," she called across the foyer.
The lead Praetorian must have taken it as a challenge, though no one would ever know. He'd taken his second step toward her, and Alex reached out with her mind. His head turned three-hundred-and-sixty degrees before he took his third step.
The man hit the ground, the impact of his gear echoing loudly off the high ceilings.
The other Praetorians didn't move, only stared at this being who none of them understood. She’d become something written about in horror and science fiction novels for hundreds of years. In their eyes, she was no longer human but something other.
"When I am gone," she called again, "my father will need medical attention. He's in the medbay. Someone relay the message that if he comes for me, he’ll die as your leader just did."
Alex whisked to the left and made her way to her quarters, the ones she’d had before she'd been locked up for a month. She fo
und her clothing still there, and she changed from the medbay gown to pants and a shirt. She pulled boots on, not knowing where she was going but realizing her shoes would need to be ready for anything.
Once she'd finished dressing, she headed to the second medbay on the premises. She knew how her father thought. He would want brother and sister to be separated at all costs. Uniting them could lead to a diminishment of his power.
People were rushing around the premises, and she knew why. There were dead people lying about, and the servants would be panicking. When they saw her with red eyes, she saw the fear in them.
The second medbay was empty of personnel when she arrived. The doctors must have panicked when they heard about what had happened with Alex. They weren't going to risk seeing her brother act the same way. The layout was nearly identical, though, and lying inside two tubes were two different versions of her twin brother.
Alexander, named after the most famous Alexander of all time.
Neither of them was awake, so something had gone wrong. They had awakened, but it hadn't been time. Alex had thought her physical body would be changed, but she came to with something very different inside her mind. What would her brother be like?
She walked over to the glass tube the first figure lay in. She raised her hand to touch it, but paused as she saw what was inside.
There was no question about what had changed with her brother.
Alexander had always been a perfect physical specimen. Strong and muscular, his athletic skills had been superior throughout his life.
What Alex saw now was something else. Her brother had been big but not beast-like. The creature lying in the tube was larger than any human had a right to be. Muscle rippled along his bare legs, and the flesh of his shoulders looked like it might split the skin holding it in. Veins wove their way across his arms, torso, and legs.
Alexander was taller by a few feet, too. Even his facial structure had changed. The bones were thicker, his forehead and jawline jutting out farther. He still held the classic beauty he'd been born with, but now there was a rawness to it, a danger.
Alex's red eyes grew wet. They had destroyed her brother. They'd turned him into some kind of monstrosity.
And what did they do to you? her psyche asked. The only difference is your monster can't be seen with the eye.
She had to get him out of here. Regardless of his flaws and faults as a human, he didn't deserve this.
Alex looked at the farthest glass container. She didn't even know which one was her brother and which was the clone. Gods, she didn't even know which one she was. She did the only thing she could think of at the moment; she went to the same container she'd been in, the one closest to the door. At the bottom was a panel. Alex had studied medicine, as had Alexander. She understood the basics of what she now saw. A de Finita was expected to be knowledgeable on almost any subject, and Alex had taken that responsibility seriously. She understood what she was reading. Her brother's transformation was done, and he was under anesthesia right now to keep him unconscious.
Alex pressed buttons on the panel, and gas slowly started seeping into the tube from the bottom. Her brother's chest moved up and down, taking in the gas that would wake him.
Alex checked the door of the medbay. No one had arrived. She had no doubt they were coming. Something was being amassed, even if they weren't showing themselves yet.
She turned back to the glass tube. Her brother's eyes slowly opened, and he blinked a few times, his pupils not yet focused. Alex touched the panel a few more times, and the glass split down the middle before curving away underneath her brother, leaving him open to the world again.
His eyes found her. There was knowledge in them. He was remembering faster than she had. "Is it finished?"
"Yes," she said with tears in her eyes.
"Where is the other version of me?" Alexander asked.
Alex said nothing, only turned her head to the right. The glass tube was there, the person inside silent. Slowly, Alexander turned his body off the stretcher he lay on. His muscles were unlike anything she'd ever seen, each fiber and vein detailed beneath the flesh. He didn't seem to mind or even notice that he was naked in front of his sister.
He let his feet touch the floor and tested his legs. He didn't collapse as Alex had done but was able to hold himself up. His first step was awkward, but by the second, his body was adapting quickly. He crossed the space between him and the other version. Alex walked behind him, remaining a few feet away.
He looked down into the glass tube. Very carefully, he placed his massive hands on the glass. Alex had no delusions about what those hands could do. Breaking that tube would be as simple for him as it had been for her, perhaps even simpler.
"Which one is the original?" he asked without turning around. "Do you know?"
"No," Alex whispered.
"Should I kill him?"
Alex shook her head in confusion. The thought had never occurred to her. She'd felt sorrow for the other version of her, not malice.
"I don't know, Alexander. Why would you?"
Her brother continued looking through the glass. "Because he might kill me one day. Maybe today when he wakes."
"I'd leave him alone," she responded. "There are more pressing things to worry about."
Her brother was quiet for a few moments, then nodded. "Maybe you're right." He tapped the glass softly, then turned. His eyes didn't focus on his sister but behind her. "Why are you here?"
Alex realized she could sense the other people in the room. She'd missed them coming in because she'd been focused on her brother, but now? She knew how many were here before she turned to look.
Her father's second in charge had come. Spurius de Docilus, a man she’d known since she was a child. He’d seen much war but was also meticulous in his administrative duties. He was not someone to trifle with, and like her father in the other medbay, he showed no fear now.
"I'm here," Spurius said, "because neither of you is supposed to be awake, let alone out of your capsules." He walked closer to them but remained a few yards away. "What you did in the other medbay, Alexandria, was inexcusable. Your father is still unconscious."
Alexander cocked his head to the side as he looked at his sister. "What did you do?"
Spurious laughed. "She attacked the Praetorian Guard and then her father. Killed a man upstairs, too."
Alexander's eyes widened. "Why?"
"Because neither of you is supposed to be awake yet. The procedures aren't finished."
Alexander looked at Spurius. "Is my father injured?"
"He's certainly worse off than when he woke up this morning." Spurius stepped closer. "I need the two of you to do nothing else, not leave this medbay, and let us get you back into the capsules." His glance at Alex was full of disgust. "We'll have to get another one brought in for you. Do you both understand?"
Alexandria understood no such thing. She wasn't going into any more capsules. She wasn't letting them do another damned thing to her, regardless of what her father or this man wanted.
She stepped away from her brother. "No, I don't think I will, Spurius. I think you should go back to wherever it is you came from, at least if you want to continue moving like you do now."
Spurius sighed and looked at Alexander. "Is the answer the same for you?"
"What isn't finished with the procedure?" her brother asked.
Alex looked at him. "You can't be serious."
He didn't glance at her but kept his eyes on Spurius. "Answer me."
"Am I a doctor, Alexander? I only know what I've been told and the obvious results she has shown since being released. Murder and mayhem are running rampant within these walls right now, and the doctors say you aren't ready to be out." He shook his head as he stared at Alex again. "Something happened during her procedure, and it woke her up. Then, of course, she comes here and lets you out. None of this is how it should have gone."
Alexander rubbed a massive hand through his hair. His nakedness d
idn't appear to bother him, as if he were beyond such things. Alex knew her brother was never modest, but something was different about him now. "Spurius," he said, "I don't think I want to get back in the capsule. I rather like how I feel right now."
Spurius took a deep breath. He'd come alone, and he understood there wasn't anything he could do to these two new specimens. "Is this really how you both want it? You are de Finitas. Your father is ordering you back into the capsule. Not me. Not his Titans or Guard. Him. The man who conquered the solar system. Do you both want to go against his wishes?"
"Father isn't here," Alex said. "It's just the three of us, and I'm tired of talking with you."
When her brother spoke, it was like he hadn't heard either of the other two. "I'll go to my father and see what he wants."
Spurius' eyes narrowed. "He isn't conscious, Alexander."
Her brother began walking then, passing Spurius and heading to the stairs that led out of the medbay.
A moment later, Alex and Spurius were left with the second version of her brother.
He looked at Alex. "Do you see? Surely you can tell something isn't right with him. Do you see what you've done?"
Alex closed her eyes. It was an odd feeling, something she hadn't experienced. She and her brother had always been close in a way other people couldn't understand. They could tell what the other was feeling even when not in the same room. They knew when something important had happened to the other despite not being told. This was different.
She could see her brother. He was walking up the second flight of stairs, his thigh muscles bulging against his skin with each step. She blocked out the room she stood in and focused on her brother. She could see more than his feelings now. She was able to see his thoughts. It was as though she lived in his brain.