Heaven Saga 2: Sands of Aquarius

by Marcus Johnson

  “Ick-Tckt tactics are sadly predictable,” Valis said while shaking her head. “The Duchess is obviously thinking with her emotions and not with her mind.” She went to Zae. “Tell the fleet to prepare for a defensive battle.”

  “Yes captain,” Zae said.

  * * *

  “Dammit,” Brian uttered as the situation unfolded. “If I don’t blow this thing Valis and the fleet will get attacked from both sides.” He pointed the rakna of the Mjolnir forward to find where the pulse blasts were coming from. Timing his attack as best he could, Brian moved the Mjolnir forward and charged, using the ice walls around him to find where the blasts were coming from. Got it! He thought to himself. Diving to the side and rolling the mobile suit he came up with an arcing slash of the blade, destroying the first pulse cannon. He repeated the process until each of the weapons pinning him down was destroyed. He turned the Mjolnir and backed up as much as he could before flying straight at the core’s defensive barrier. The Mjolnir’s systems nearly overloaded before the shield finally gave out, letting the mobile suit lunge forward blade first into the spinning metal core. Twisting the blade, the Mjolnir finally cut through the device, causing the top to fall in a shuddering blast into the floor. I’d better get the hell out of here. He thought while backing up the mobile suit and flew as fast as he could to the surface. Below, the core began shaking uncontrollably and exploded. On the surface the shielding system went down as all of the power structures within the base gave way to the shattering ground below. The sound of scraping metal filled the air as the complex caved in from the explosions below, causing the whole base to fall into a crater of ice and rock. Watching the carnage from the air, Brian marveled at what had just transpired. He turned the Mjolnir to ship form and flew back to the Avoni.

  * * *

  The Avoni shook while being bombarded by a pair of Ick-Tckt vessels. They returned fire and destroyed one of the ships while Seles, in her Zero, blasted a hole through the other. Both enemy ships exploded a moment later.

  “Our sensors are detecting a large energy build up behind the fleet,” Zae reported.

  “That means the base has fallen,” Kivi said. She sighed with relief. As she sat back in her chair the enemy fleet began pulling away.

  “I don’t think so,” Valis said. “Zae, tell the fleet to pursue. With any luck we’ll crush them before they can escape.”

  “Of course,” Zae answered before sending out the command. As she did so the Mjolnir flew past the Avoni in ship form before changing back to mobile suit form. It took a position next to Seles’s Zero.

  “Sorry that took so long,” Brian said over the com. “The Ick-Tckt fortified their base with some pulse cannons and shields we didn’t anticipate.”

  “Everything’s alright,” Valis said. “You’re to stay with the Avoni. Let Seles and the Novas take care of the enemies.”

  “Understood,” Brian said. He hovered close to the Avoni while Seles and the Novas flew into enemy ranks, blasting with impunity. As the Ick-Tckt fleet pulled away the Shandi forces awaiting them opened fire, devastating their fleet. The Kalaidians came in from behind to pincer the Ick-Tckt fleet.

  Chapter 43 - Digging In

  Veda stared out her opulent bedroom’s window and gazed at the blue morning sky of Dega Jul. A buzz came from her door as her estate’s commander entered the room. She turned about, noticing the rushed look on her commander’s face.

  “Lady Veda, our forward scouts have detected a fleet of Ick-Tckt and Malcovin vessels headed for orbit above us. In addition, they’re deploying their Drones, Claws, and Talons on the surface.”

  “That they would openly attack us amazes me,” Veda said, thinking about what to do next. “Our main space force is at Dega Five right now and they won’t be able to gravity jump for another twelve standard hours.” She looked up at her commander. “Deploy the estate’s shielding system.”

  “Are you sure my Lady?” her commander asked. “It hasn’t been tested.”

  “If we don’t use it our home will be flattened before our forces can get back to us.” Veda turned and looked at the sky. She turned back to her commander. “Also, put me in contact with Commander El Kar.”

  “Yes my Lady,” her commander said. She saluted as she left.

  Veda strolled back into her room and took a bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass as well as a second glass. She sat down at her table in the center of the room and placed one glass on the other side of the table while sipping from the other.

  “What would you do brother?” Veda asked while looking at the blank seat. “These are the times when I miss you the most Gaelic. You were a master tactician and inspired some of the greatest victories over the Malcovin during the first war with their race.” She smiled before drinking more wine. “It seems like those times were the best. Now everything feels empty. My dear Valis has put all her hopes and dreams into that Terran. I can’t tell if she’s just young, a fool, or maybe both? Or maybe, she’s right? I wish I knew what to do next. With the advent of the republic you so wished for back home, our ways as a people are changing.” She glanced out the window while leaning back in her seat. “Have the years twisted my heart? Like they did to her?” She found a picture with Gaelic’s image replaced by an outline. Next to it stood a very young Delne Raekar with Veda behind them. “Hopefully in death you found each other, unlike in life.” Putting the picture down, she grabbed another, this one much more recent, with Valis and Brian standing together. Veda stood on Brian’s opposite side. “Are you really the one my brother predicted would appear?”

  “Yes, he is,” a voice spoke to Veda telepathically. She spun about, confused. Then her eyes set on the one sitting in the formerly empty chair, donned in a long grey cloak.

  “It’s been a long time General Myden,” Veda said. “You’re free to drink if you wish.”

  Myden grasped the wine glass and sniffed it. “Smells wonderful, but you know alcohol and telepaths don’t go together,” he said telepathically while placing the glass back onto the table.

  “It’s been over a century since I last saw you. How’s Celestia?” she asked.

  “She’s doing well,” he said out loud in a raspy voice. “I can sense you have doubts about Brian. I’ve come here to tell you they’re not needed Lady Veda.”

  * * *

  Brian came to the bridge with Seles. Valis and the others on the bridge received a message from Dega Jul.

  “It appears that the Duchess has decided to attack my family’s estate,” Valis said.

  “You predicted that would happen,” Zae said.

  “Our fleet will be unable to gravity jump for at least twelve hours captain,” Daes said as she looked up from her station.

  “The Mjolnir came make the jump,” Brian suggested.

  Valis waved his idea off. “No, you need to rest. Both you and Seles are exhausted.”

  “Of course,” he answered.

  “Is the Phase Rakna capable of making a jump?” Seles asked.

  “Yes,” Daes answered. “But it burns off sixty hours of flight time each time you do it.”

  “I have some ideas on how we’ll proceed once the main fleet can gravity jump,” Valis said. “I planned to send Brian and Seles ahead via their mobile suits. Your machines are capable of creating immense damage to the enemy fleet. The rest of us will follow you shortly after. But please, get some rest.”

  “Yes captain,” Brian and Seles answered.

  * * *

  “You say I should trust him, why?” Veda asked.

  “He has begun to awaken,” Myden said. “It’s only a matter of time before the Confederation makes a decision on his fate, but they can’t stop what he’s begun.”

  “What do you mean by awakened?”

  “All living things change over time, a process many species call evolution,” Myden explained. “Brian, while still human, has begun the process of changing. He’s touched the database and the Teacher’s left to him all of the knowledge he’d acc
umulated. Brian’s very young, but in due time he’ll realize the truth of what’s happening.”

  “And what if he awakens?” she asked. “Will he become even more superior when compared to us?”

  “No, you’re thinking too physically. What I’m saying is that he’s realizing the physical world is only half of the story. I came here today to warn you that soon he’ll deliver the message the Teacher passed onto him.”

  “What message is that?”

  “I can’t say for sure,” Myden said. “The path he’s embarking on is the path many great men and women have tried throughout history. The path he seeks is not war, like many would assume because of his heritage. No, Brian questions, he questions too much for his own good. What he seeks is peace. This path will lead to his destruction. He’ll leave the rest of us to either reject the vision put forth or to pick up the pieces and move forward.”

  “What are you getting at?” Veda asked. She looked completely lost.

  “Let me ask you a question.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “What options are there if one wished to unify the Confederation?” he asked.

  “An outside threat would be the most effective,” she answered.

  “Like my people, they would do the job?”

  “Yes, the Greys are a major threat to all Confederation member races,” Veda answered.

  “Saying that, if properly strengthened, my people would crush the Confederation long before their unity did any good,” Myden countered.

  “What other option would you suggest?” Veda asked.

  “Unification can be sought through war, trade, etc. But the most effective seems the least worth trying,” Myden said.

  “I don’t understand,” Veda answered

  “The word you just used Veda, understand. Understanding one another is the key to unification. Once the younger races understand their similarities outweigh their differences things will begin to change. As an outsider Brian understands this need more than any of you.”

  “Why would that be?” she asked.

  “From the world he comes from Terrans are far from unified. Each member race of the Confederation is more or less unified, but it generally stops along those lines. But you’ve witnessed a change, that being between the Kalaidian people and the Shandi. He succeeded in unifying the will of two races that have warred for a century, two races with hatred running quite deep between them.” Myden paused, seeing the look on Veda’s face change. “How was it he was able to do so?”

  “By gaining Shiken Ka’s trust, he built the bridge you speak of,” Veda answered.

  “Brian’s able to bridge the gaps because he’s an outsider. He sees past the form and sees what lies beneath. Some would call it the mind, the soul, etc. Whatever it is, he’s able to see through the shell we call body and find what’s contained within. What Brian found in Shiken Ka is that while the Shandi are very different physically, the differences of the mind are much less.”

  “But each race is very different in their beliefs. The Shandi are atheists, whereas the people of Kalaidian are deeply religious. Are those differences not greater than you suppose?” Veda countered.

  “A body is a shell, but the mind is a mind. Telepaths like me cannot see what others look like by their thoughts alone. But inside every sentient being lies something in common Lady Veda.”

  “And what would that be?” Veda asked.

  “Peace, prosperity, and safety. Only the truly mad crave war and conflict.” As Myden spoke the barrier shield outside activated. A second afterwards the orbital bombardment began as rays of light fell from the sky like rain. Veda stood up to put on her battle uniform and checked her raiga whip.

  “Remember what I’ve told you Lady Veda. Brian is the Warrior who’ll lead your people into the future. Even if he falls the Five Maidens have begun to awaken themselves. The future lies in the ones you’ve watched grow my lady. Trust in them,” Myden said as he faded into the shadows.

  Chapter 44 - One More Tranquil Moment

  “This is really nice,” Seles said while relaxing in the hot waters of the Avoni’s communal bath. Around her were a number of crew members. Sitting next to her was Celi and Mira.

  “You look really tense,” Celi said as she looked at Seles. “Is the mobile suit taking a toll?”

  “Not really,” Seles answered. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relaxation.

  “It has to do with how many battles we’ve been in the last two days,” Mira said.

  “You got it,” Seles said. She opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling. “While the pilot suit is perfect for use in a mobile suit I was thinking of asking Daes if she could design me an exoskeleton like Brian’s and Kivi’s.”

  “I think all of us would like to have one of those,” Mira said. “The power it gives to them is amazing.”

  “But without him inside its powers would remain dormant,” Celi said. “I couldn’t have guessed that the technology from a hundred and fifty years ago would stand up to today’s weaponry with minimal modification.”

  “I thought you preferred living things to machinery,” Seles said. “It seems like the technical stuff would be more to the liking of Daes.”

  “Oh, it is Seles,” Celi said. “While I prefer biological systems to mechanical, the problem is the two are forming a singularity.”

  “You mean like the nanomachines in our bodies?” Mira asked. “It does beg the question of the difference these days.”

  “Yes. That paired with our ability to replace limbs or organs with mechanical replacements,” Celi added. “Using a cybernetic system a being could literally become one with a machine like an exoskeleton or mobile suit.”

  “That sounds crazy,” Seles said. “But I wouldn’t put it past someone to try.”

  “The greatest proponent of such thinking is the famed Malcovin scientist Grigon the Thunder,” Celi explained. “His theories on mechanics melding with biology are still valid today, even a hundred years after he proposed them. Daes told me there’s a black box system built into the Mjolnir even she wasn’t sure did. Maybe it has something to do with those theories.”

  “You mean something that even Daes couldn’t figure out was built into the mobile suit?” Seles asked.

  “It is a bit like our friend Brian, don’t you think?” Mira asked. “We can see on the surface what his functions are but his mind is hidden. It’s like a black box in the mobile suit; we’re not sure exactly what’s going on in there since we can only see the surface.”

  Seles closed her eyes. “When he was fourteen years old he fell in love with a girl. It never came to be for him. His heart turned dark in the years afterwards, until he met us.”

  “Did he tell you this?” Mira asked.

  Seles looked up. “He didn’t have to. When I touched his mind some his memories transferred to me.”

  “Do you remember much of his life on Earth?” Mira asked. “He never talks about it himself.”

  “Bits and pieces, that’s all,” Seles said. “The thing that disturbs me the most are the images of war on his world. His people glorify killing each other in a very graphic and unsettling manner.”

  “How so?” Celi asked.

  “They use video technology for entertainment purposes, much like our people do now,” Seles answered. “But the entertainment I see much of is full of violence, gore, and a lot of death.”

  “We should be glad we don’t have to see it then,” Mira said. “And at least he doesn’t subscribe to such things.”

  “I know Mira, but it’s still disturbing,” Seles said.

  “You could say the same thing about our religion,” Celi said. “We glorified a system for over a thousand years that enslaved a vast majority of the population.”

  “I’m glad he helped us,” Seles said.

  “I think we all are Seles,” Mira said.

  * * *

  After drying himself off after a relaxing bath Brian headed into his bedroom wearing only brown
pants. As he walked towards the bed he turned, rolled and picked up his rakna blade, pointing it at the shadows.

  “Who could have slipped in unnoticed?”

  “Your senses have grown keener,” Myden said telepathically as he stepped out of the shadows.

  “Is that you Myden?” Brian asked. He put his sword away. “What are you doing here?”

  “That’s the question you should be asking,” Myden answered. “It looks like you’re doing well.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you for a while longer.” Brian glanced about his room. “I’d offer you something to eat or drink, but I don’t really have anything on hand.”

  “It’s alright,” Myden said in his raspy voice. “I came for a brief visit.”

  “Is something wrong?” Brian asked while putting his shirt back on.

  “No, I’ve come to see how far along you are.”

  “What do you mean Myden?”

  “When you were on Shandi Prime you touched a conduit to the database of reality, at least, that’s what my people refer to it as. The Teacher imbued you with knowledge. I’ve come here to see how much you’ve unlocked.”

  Brian grinned. “Go ahead.”

  Myden closed his black eyes and focused his mental energy into Brian’s mind. When he opened his eyes they flashed blue and then turned back to their usual black. “You’ve learned to control it.”

  “You’re talking about the berserk, right?” Brian asked.

  “Oh yes, it does do that. But there is much more to the berserk state you haven’t figured out,” Myden explained.

  “What kind of things?”

  Myden paced back and forth for a moment to gather his thoughts. “The berserk state is not some random occurrence, no; it’s not like that at all. The older races refer to this phase in a beings evolution as awakening. Notice how all the older races have a special, almost magical power. This stems from the fact their species have awakened, thus beginning evolution to the next phase. But there’s something unusual about the awakening of one sentient creature. That being, when one person begins to awaken the ones around him or her begin down the same path. Lady Seles, Lady Mira, and the others have felt this power surge through them. Even one that you call an enemy has been affected by your awakening.”