The Destinia Apocalypse (The Starguards - Of Humans, Heroes, and Demigods Book 4)

by Raymond Burke

  “Venture?” he called through his comms, which had automatically tuned into the prevalent frequency around him. “Warren, it’s me, J.J.!”

  “J.J.? Hey! My God, Fusioneer, where you been?” He drew up to Force, a wild grin on his unmasked face, and shook his hand with an added shoulder bump, sending them into a gentle clockwise spin.

  “We came up to investigate a time portal! We've had issues with those before!” he grinned under his forcefield. They steadied themselves from the spin.

  “Tell me about it. I've had enough time travel to last me a lifetime!” he laughed.

  “How are you here, dude?”

  “Long story, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Hey, me too. Plus they call me Venturion, now.”

  “Cool. Call me Force, I guess; new powers and everything. So when and where am I?”

  “Ah, man, we are in the twenty-third century, the blessed year twenty-two twenty-one, four years after a war with the Axalan Empire. But now we're all friends, now.” His smile was more a lopsided grimace. “We're around a planet called Home, a joint world of peace.” He gave Force a brief overview of how the rest of the E-Corps team, Thane, and some of the Devouts had ended up in this new time and the Axalan war.

  “Jesus, that's mental!” Force stared off into deep space, wondering how to tell his friends the kind of time he had endured. Fighting Gods was off the small chat menu for now. “How’re Lynn and Starshina?” he changed the subject, as they flew toward one of the ships.

  Venturion rolled his eyes. “That’s another long story. Come on, let’s go see Lynn. I don’t know who’ll be more surprised to see who. And she’s has the cutest little baby girl!”

  Force looked over in shock. “Lynn had a baby?”

  “Don’t ask, man. That’s just another weird story!” He looked sideways at Force with a knowing smile. “I knew you had a thing for Lynn.”

  J.J. rolled his eyes. “That was long ago. Another lifetime.”

  They reached the ship and Venturion cycled the air lock with a control on his forearm. “Might as well ride in style,” Venturion said as they entered.

  “We do have some catching up to do!” Force said.

  They entered through a sliding hatch into a spacious octagonal airlock chamber. There was a brief anti-contamination mist bath.

  Venturion leaned toward him with a conspiratorial grin. “Oh, and she's foreseen a rogue planetoid is on a collision course with Home in around thirty years or so!”

  “Foreseen? Seriously? You've got to stop dropping all this on me!”

  The inner door opened and they stepped out into the ship proper. A long battle-gray corridor stretching either side of them awaited, Force's eyes taking in this new ship; well-lit, portless, quite silent, with wall comms and data panels at various points.

  Not a patch on the Lady Elizabeth, he thought sadly of his flying fortress, wondering what had become of her.

  Venturion directed Force to his right as they walked. “So, much to discuss, but now you're here you can turn that planetoid into a huge marshmallow, right?”

  “Uh, about that. . .” Force started, but before he could finish they were met by a military officer.

  The tall handsome officer greeted Force with a salute. “It's an honour to meet you Colonel Lundy. I've heard a lot about you.”

  Venturion guffawed as Force glanced at him sideways waving a hand casually, “Enough of the Colonel, please. Just call me J.J.” He smiled at the younger man with copper-coloured skin and almond-shaped dark eyes.

  “Hey, Paolo, say hello to mine and Lynn’s long lost buddy, Jay Jupiter Lundy.” The two men shook hands, Venturion smiling away as the spacecraft turned toward the planet below.

  “Welcome to Home, J.J.”

  Sceptre, Urana, Decion, and Azure burst out of their twisting temporal portal. It vanished behind them in an inward rush of energy.

  “Universe!” Urana exclaimed. She grinned from ear to ear. The sight was an emotional view for them all.

  Magna Aura beamed away majestically in salutation to her returning heroes. Far in the distance, they could make out the ruddy orb of Placia. Below them spun Halcyon, its bright northern floating ice cap shimmering in the sunlight.

  “We’re back!” sighed Azure, feeling a shiver of excitement run through her.

  “Looks like Zane could penetrate whatever forcefield my idiot brother put up,” Urana said scathingly.

  “Or maybe he was expecting us?” Sceptre tried reasoning, but it rang hollow with them all. “And no Altair to greet us.” He exchanged glances with Urana.

  “Or my brother,” Decion stated coldly. He silently cursed the Astrals.

  None of them wanted to open old wounds. In silence they floated for some time, admiring their world as if seeing it for the first time. They hardly noticed the uncharacteristic black clouds which darkened the far side ocean. There was a storm on the way.

  “Let's go!” Sceptre said.

  From their lofty perch they descended toward their destination, Sky Command, and a long-awaited reunion with their kin.

  The Starguards were home.

  Epilogue

  The Storm of Stars watched.

  They had decided in secret they would not sleep. They would transform. They would walk among all their Peoples throughout all the universes as one of them. They would be of them, live like them, die like them, and begin again. It was not the Antiqchronals who needed watching, but the Destina; they who were destined to rule or destroy the universe. Their war was far from over.

  There were others out there. Ones from before. Dark forces. And they were coming.

  And one day the Storm of Stars would gather again to decide the fate of the universe.

  Post-epilogue

  Home: Thirty-One Years Later

  It was over. They couldn't win.

  “What do we do now, mother?” Brightness Marie asked, voice emotionless but direct.

  Kellis looked at her daughter, still so young and innocent, yet unperturbed in the midst of war. There, she had admitted it to herself. They were at war.

  The thing, the potential world killer of a space rock had hurtled through the cosmos towards Home. It had defied long-range analysis throwing up some kind of natural scattering field. Or so they had thought. Home's Planetary Defense Council had been in agreement with the Constitutionate leadership in deciding to greet the alien visitor three years before it was due to collide with Home in 2255. But even with their best deflectors and weapons, the planetoid could not be destroyed or diverted. It was back to the drawing board. The next rendezvous with the rock would come with one year to go. And from then onwards, it would have a constant escort until some reasonable proposal to avoid the collision could be implemented.

  And naturally, Lynn Kellis, the Constitutionate's roving Xeno-Specialist at large, retired, was suborned by the Emperor-General himself, Xaul Relentus, to re-form the Multiforce and covertly investigate the planetoid on the edge of the solar system.

  And that's when things went wrong.

  “It did what?” Kellis spun in her chair spilling out of it to see the readings for herself.

  “I'm telling you, Lynn, the thing has just sped up. Velocity increase!”

  “I know what that means,” Kellis snapped back at Force in the same sarcastic tone.

  “How much so?”

  “At this velocity, about eight months,” Venturion confirmed from his place at navigation.

  “Give us a mo,” Kellis spoke to Force.

  “Sure, I'll be here. Force out.”

  The Esprit de Corps, refitted and modified over the past decades rocketed through space ahead of the huge rock. It was at times like these that despite the Esprit being one of the fastest ships in the Constitutionate fleet, it was still not fast enough for what Kellis wanted. She missed Aristedes and his temporal abilities. Hell, she missed Zane and Starshina, too. But Time and Winterborne had disappeared into the unknown, and Zane, according to J.J
. and his encounter with Zane in Earth's far future, was now some type of energy-being.

  Whatever a Loremaiden was, Kellis thought to herself. She could have used them all now, especially Aaron. But the Multiforce were a different team now.

  They were still a secret from most of the general population of the Constitutionate, with Earth still preserving a ban on superbeings, though some still persisted for better or for worse. Home was more tolerant, but Kellis wanted her privacy. Her orders came only from the Emperor-General himself, these days practically living in the new fortress-like U.N. Headquarters on Earth. Kellis just wanted to out-live the Emperor-General then she would be free, she hoped. Now here she was, out saving her adopted home, again.

  After settling on Home thirty-one years ago following the birth of Brightness Marie, Kellis had tried acclimatising to life on a new world amongst other humans, Axalans, and Bions. She had been so use to space and her own micro-society on Zero Star that she missed the constant adventure. But while she missed her labs and the people of Zero Star, managing to keep in contact with the still-classified installation, she was a mother now. She had responsibilities.

  Working in Home's Defense Force in various roles, planet-bound, daughter in tow had raised a few eyebrows at first. But her work ethic gained Kellis a reputation as a hard-nosed miracle worker, able to successfully build consensus between the three aliens races.

  Kellis wasn't above using her burgeoning psi-abilities to get the job done. She had reconciled herself to 'inheriting' Aaron's psychokinetic powers. She had been training herself; training Bright to hide her powers; training for the day she might be called upon to use them. And on rare occasions she would accompany Venturion and Force on missions of state. The Constitutionate still had malcontents and required extraordinary contingencies for extraordinary situations.

  In her Multiforce guise Kellis now called herself Zenergy.

  Kellis had tried to blend into Home life. However, her reputation had elevated her to celebrity status among the Home elite, military, and political circles. And with it the unwanted attention from the media. Her real personal history, life, and her E-Corps past in the twenty-first century had already been classified by Xaul personally. Her role in the Axalan War at Zero Star and with the Multiforce had been redacted. She had plausible deniability on her side and a new life.

  However, the dogged author, Hermes Daracales—'that hack'—as Venturion called him, was determined to write the definitive biography on Kellis. The Constitutionate's foremost historian and biographer had Kellis in his sights, but she had resisted any official or unofficial books about her. Daracales had faded away lured by an irresistible mythical story. But he was never shy to send her his salutations and offers. Kellis hoped never to see him again.

  “Hey, any ideas?” Force commed impatiently in from his station, flying alongside the planetoid.

  There was a strange crackling over the line.

  “What was that?” Kellis inquired. The crystalators should have been clear of any interference.

  “What. . .” Static played again. “. . . say?”

  Kellis shook her head. “Never mind. I'm still thinking here. Just keep comms clear,” she ordered.

  “'Kay,” came the reply.

  “What happening?” Paolo turned to her, his dark features worried.

  Venturion stayed silent concentrating on keeping the Esprit within range of Force, out alone against a killer rock. Bright sat in the back listening, learning, but otherwise calm. Kellis wondered how the years had passed by so quickly seeing herself on a planet-saving mission with the new Multiforce consisting of three middle-aged men and her kid.

  And they didn't even have costumes, she laughed to herself. The Emperor-General had insisted they wear standard blue and gray Constitutionate uniforms lest their mission became compromised. Plausible deniability.

  Kellis leaned over to Paolo. “Our crystalators shouldn't be affected by any other signals. They work anytime, anywhere, unless damaged, but. . .”

  Her face changed in that way Paolo knew from decades of working with Kellis, though she had hardly aged a day over the thirty-odd years he had known her. His hair was now gray and no matter how much he worked out his spare tire was growing. Even though Kellis had told Paolo about Zane's heritage, he wondered if she would ever return to see him. What would she think of her former lieutenant, now a retired Colonel; the one-time Duke of Dare Unit Command? But he was content, wanting to spend more time with his wife, Beth, four children, and new grandchild. Kellis had told him to move on and not to wait for Zane. Besides, Zane could return to his past and live happily ever after with him. Paolo wasn't sure how he'd feel about having his family and life re-written. He hoped he wouldn't find out. Zane was a dream from the past. This Multiforce mission was a favour to Kellis, his last mission. Then he was retired for good.

  “Having a brainwave?” he asked Kellis.

  She smiled absentmindedly and spoke more to herself than to the others. “We already know T'Non'Za,” she named the rock by its Axalan name meaning World-ender, chosen by the Constitutionate, “is an alien rock of unknown material; dense as hell and resists all our best plasma torpedoes. It even prevents Force from using his gravity powers against it. It could also have other properties such as exotic energy affecting comms.”

  Paolo studied her. “You mean jamming? Deliberately?” He looked at her aghast. “Do you think it's alive?” The thought horrified him.

  Kellis shrugged, shaking her head, putting thoughts to words. “Don't know. This rock seems more engineered then alive. And I don't sense anything like that from it. I can barely sense Force out there!” She was grateful for that part of her powers. “Origin unknown, unknown material, it changes speed, destination Home. I don't think it's a coincidence it's coming here. But who could have instigated this?”

  Paolo didn't need to say it, but it was on Kellis' mind as well.

  “No, Mode is dead. I saw him die along with Aaron. No one else has the power to transform molecular structure. He had Force's old powers, remember?”

  Paolo nodded almost automatically. There were still aspects of the whole E-Corps, Multiforce, Superions saga he never understood.

  “Okay, so what, there's another enemy out there, alien or otherwise?”

  “Yeah,” Kellis exhaled nosily. “Looks that way.” She was still studying the readings. Something was bothering her about T'Non'Za .

  What did humanity do to deserve this? she thought. Or the Axalans or Bions?

  As far as everyone was concerned T'Non'Za was an accident of the cosmos with Home in the way.

  Kellis' mind was racing at the thought that higher powers were at play. Force's description in his debriefing thirty-two years ago of the Storm of Stars and their capricious natures against the Zater Jen, Surge, the Chryrians, and of course the reviled Lore made her think of her suspects, motive, and opportunity. But why would any of them do this? Revenge for the future war? But that wouldn't make sense. Unless. . .

  Was this the last action of Netherlord? she asked herself. His previous attack on Home had failed. Had he orchestrated a failsafe? Did he set this motion?

  “Holy shit!” Kellis jumped in her seat, tying her crystalator into the science station.

  Everyone in the Esprit turned to Kellis, startled, energised, braced for action.

  “What's up boss?” Venturion pitched in from his controls. He monitored Force's vitals and location, making sure he didn't get too close to the rock.

  “Time,” Kellis remarked, thinking it all through aloud. “This rock came from nowhere, right? Wrong, it came from somewhere we just couldn't conceive of its origin—the future!”

  “The future? I don't get it,” confessed Paolo. “Surely this could still have been tracked no matter from where it came?”

  “Not if it's from the future,” Kellis said, revealing the screen she was working on. “See?” Her brow instantly furrowed in puzzlement. “Oh.” Her voice wavered between disappointment and int
rigue when the results appeared.

  “What's that?” Bright crowded over Kellis' shoulder. She was tall and lanky like her father with light brown skin and the brown eyes of her mother.

  Kellis frowned, confused. “Um, well, I was looking for a temporal signature. Something to match the Astrals or Netherlord’s. It's minuscule, but this,” she gestured at the screen, “this is a temporal signature, but nothing like I've seen before.” She caressed her neck brushing her hair back.

  “Different as in alien temporal signature?” Venturion asked, concerned.

  “Yes,” Kellis answered with reluctant acceptance. “An alien temporal signature. Great! she thought with gloom. Another damn enemy to fight. “Kellis to Force, status?”

  The crackle seemed to be mounting up. Venturion tight beamed the signal for more clarity.

  “. . .Totally gravitating the ass off this thing, but it's still coming. Ain't slowing down. And that ain't right. Even I know that!”

  Kellis could hear the strain in his voice as he manipulated gravity to slow T'Non'Za down. But the black behemoth spun inevitably toward Home.

  “Acknowledged, Force, come on back in. We've discovered something. We need a Plan B.”

  After a twenty second delay. “Sure, I can do with the break!” he laughed halfheartedly.

  “And Plan B?” Venturion asked, once Force was off comms.

  “Haha,” Kellis let loose, “that would be telling.”

  “You don't have a plan?” he smirked.

  “I always have a plan; it just hasn't revealed itself to me, yet.”

  There was a collective groan in the cabin.

  More than annoyed, Kellis hit back. “Hey, I don't see any of you coming up with brilliant ideas. Don't worry, I've got this!” A blast of static over comms interrupted her. “How you getting on, Force? Stop mucking about, chop, chop!”