The rise of Lucin tcos-2

by James Somers

  Kale wasn't going to argue a losing battle. "We'll inspect the ship and try to make sure we're not in any danger by staying on board."

  The intercom switched off on Mirah's end. She was adamantly against endangering a patient.

  "I'm glad Ramah is doing fine, but explosions don't do much for one's health."

  Kale moved from his flight chair and retrieved a tool kit. He tossed it at Emil. "We'd better get to inspecting this heap then."

  It took an hour and a half to get main power restored and they found nothing endangering their stay inside the ship while they waited for the rebel forces to catch up to them. The engine's hyper-coil was supplying ample power, enough to even use the internal transgate if necessary. The group scavenged for food in the galley, and took turns sitting with Ramah in the Infirmary.

  Juli and Kale were trying to get the scanners operational on the bridge so they might get a fix on the rebel army and find out how long it would be until their arrival, but no luck yet.

  Merab, Jael and Mirah were in the galley finishing their meals, while Emil relieved the doctor and sat with Ramah. They were enjoying a very nice conversation and perhaps even a bit of flirting. All the crew had to do was to wait for the others and then decide on their next course of action.

  TWENTY

  LUCIN was standing on the bridge of one of his personal transports watching the main display. Information was continually updating and icons were shifting on the screen as the rebel forces converged on the Valley of Sayir. His Vorn battle cruisers were feeding his transport group the information from orbit-they were much too big and clumsy to be a part of the ground battle he planned to wage at Sayir. Lucin noticed that several groups of ships were coming from various directions-evidently they had a number of bases to operate from. His group of ships was flying a parallel course to that of the rebels fleeing from Sector City's underground base.

  Lucin's armada of troop carriers was maintaining a distance just far enough to keep them out of sensor range, while his orbiting cruisers allowed him to keep an eye on his prey. He had the element of surprise on his side. His plan was simple, wait for all of the rebels to converge on the valley, and then bring his transports toward Sayir from the plateau to the north. They would approach at minimal speed and altitude and then swarm into the valley, making troop drops close to the enemy.

  Lucin was counting on a minimal response to his human forces as they deployed for the ground battle. The rebels would be too preoccupied with the surprise he already had waiting for them at Sayir. By the time his human combatants joined the fray, the battle would be all but lost for the rebels and the Barudii helping them. Lucin would counter prophecy and reign supreme among humanity.

  0

  AFTER several hours of waiting inside the Equinox, Mirah heard a beeping alarm on the scanner. She was sitting alone on the bridge while the others gathered supplies to move to another ship when the rebel groups arrived in the valley. Mirah needed rest. She had not gotten any good sleep since before they had fled Kosiva and the exhaustion was catching up with her. Ramah was stable and doing fine, in fact, when Mirah had returned from her dinner to relieve Emil in the Infirmary, she had found the two young people so engrossed in one another's company that she had decided to just leave them alone. Someone had to remain on the bridge monitoring the scanner for activity, so with pillow in hand she had taken a post in one of the bridge flight chairs listening for any new developments.

  Mirah tapped the intercom. "Kale, the scanner is picking up what looks like a group of ships heading toward the valley."

  "I'm on my way," he replied.

  Within moments, Kale and Juli appeared on the bridge. He surveyed the panel and confirmed Mirah's report. "It looks like four or five different groups. Ours is coming from Sector City to the east and the others are approaching from the south and west. Hopefully we'll have a good number of soldiers once all of the groups get together."

  "From what you've been telling me," said Mirah, "it still might not be enough."

  "This battle won't be won by numbers anyway," said Kale. "Either Elithias will give us the victory or we won't have it at all. I've been studying some of the scrolls that Aija left on board and information back at the base library. This valley is mentioned in one of the prophecies."

  "What does it say?" asked Mirah.

  "It said a son of man will be an instrument of The Eternal One in that day when the Mithrial sons shall gather to oppose him in the Valley of Sayir…and he shall bring the judgment of Elithias upon them with no weapon in his hand."

  "What does it mean?" asked Juli.

  "I can only assume it is referring to Father."

  "How do you know?" asked Mirah.

  "Aija did tell Father that he's supposed to lead these rebels as an army against Lucin and his forces and here we are gathering at Sayir just like the prophecy says. This has to be where and when the battle is going to take place," explained Kale.

  "But our people are the only ones out here," said Juli optimistically.

  "I'm just going by what the prophecy states will happen-maybe Lucin arrives later."

  "How long until your father and the others arrive?" asked Mirah.

  "According to the sensors, the different groups will be coming into the valley in about fifteen minutes. We transmitted the coordinates to Father and he said he would be heading this way with Grod and Wynn."

  "I hope he will arrive with the others," said Mirah. "I miss him already."

  0

  ON the northern plateau above the Valley of Sayir, an army gathered, an army of dark mind and dark purpose. The human soldiers poured from their transport vehicles. Hundreds of the ships scattered across the land like a swarm of insects, unloading their young from their bellies. They moved as one, for one mind controlled them all.

  Lucin stood out in the open air. The sun shone upon him, but it did not bring light into his darkness. He held a thin pad in his hand. On its flat display, Lucin watched the live feed coming from his orbiting battle cruisers. Their eyes brought him the location of all of the rebel transport groups as they made their way to the Valley of Sayir, according to the prophecy of the empty hand.

  The ancient prophecy might have caused Lucin to fear, but he had abandoned the fear of Elithias long ago, before men walked the paradise of the old world. Now, his power from old was returning, even his fellow Mithri could feel it. The Agonotti were united with him again; his Mithrial brethren. His mind and power were well beyond the Barudii he had tried to capture. Lucin had supposed there was a necessity in having one of them so that he would have the mental stamina to control the great assimilated host he had secured on Castai-Rex. There was simply no need for it now. He was well able to control them all now.

  Lucin looked away from his data pad toward the masses assembling behind him. He was mesmerized by the number of them, all at his beckoning-they would willingly die for him. How poetic, he thought, these beings created in His image, serving me; dying for me. This is justice of the grandest sort of irony. His eye turned to Mithrium. You should have allowed me my glory, when it would have cost you much less. Now, they will pay for what was rightfully mine.

  A familiar wind crossed the area, bringing a dust that was living and yet, not. From the air, a being formed and began to walk toward Lucin. Vock gave a slight bow, conveying his allegiance and respect as he approached, his garments blowing in the breeze behind him.

  "We are ready, my lord," said Vock.

  Lucin beamed through the human eyes of his host body. "How many, Vock?"

  "All of them, my lord."

  A smile parted the human lips Lucin spoke through, revealing the teeth, like a predator that is ready to seize the prey for rending.

  "How can He stop us now, my brother?" asked Lucin

  "But…what of the prophecy?" asked Vock with a measure of concern in his tone.

  Lucin dismissed his words saying, "What of it?" He turned to gaze upon his accomplishment; the army of humans that were readying t
hemselves for conquest, his conquest. "Look, Vock. Look at what I have already been able to do, and where is He? He has not come to stop me-has not forbidden me my due from on high. Perhaps we have been fools all along, tricked into believing we were powerless against Him."

  Does he really believe what he is saying? Vock felt more apprehension creeping into his thoughts.

  "Do you intend to turn from following me now, Vock?" Lucin asked the question with his back still toward his Mithrial brother.

  Vock was surprised by the question; it shocked him back to the now. "Of course not, my lord. I have always been loyal to you and will continue to be. I was merely-"

  Lucin cut him off, saying, "Good, then go back to our brothers in the valley. When the transports are all on the ground, attack and spare no one."

  Vock acknowledged the command with a nod of submission. He could not dismiss the prophecies with so much ease. In all of his time walking among men in his cursed form as an Agonotti, he had never seen a prophecy fail. Fighting his reservations, he did according to Lucin's will and proceeded back toward the valley where the Agonotti waited to strike. The wind took his form again, leaving Lucin standing on the plateau, still poring over his data sheet.

  0

  TIET was enjoying a little quiet time as he, Wynn and Grod made the flight to the Valley of Sayir. The old Barudii fighters were cruising steady and smooth at three times the speed of sound. Tiet thought for sure these old birds could press on even faster if need be. They were well built. The deep hum of the engines was almost soothing after all of the action he had seen in recent days. He might have relaxed enough for a little sleep, but they would soon arrive at Sayir.

  The trio of fighters was flying on a heading slightly north of the valley. They would have to come through a stretch of mountains along the way and then across a plateau before coming down into the valley.

  Grod's voice broke the silence, coming through the cockpit intercom saying, "Wynn, Tiet, I've been scanning ahead on our flight path and I'm picking up something unusual."

  It was certainly like Grod to be working on something while the others were resting.

  Tiet shook himself out of his sleepiness. "What is it?"

  "I'm transferring the scan coordinates."

  Tiet looked at the display as the information appeared. The scans showed indeterminate life readings across the plateau to the north of Sayir.

  "It doesn't say whether or not it's human," said Tiet.

  Wynn chimed in on the conversation and said, "It wouldn't at this distance. I've seen large animal herds that appeared similar on scans, but I doubt it in this case."

  "I agree," said Grod. "The plateau would make a perfect launching ground for an attack on forces in the valley."

  "Then we'll assume the worst and hope for the best," said Tiet. "Let's push our speed a little harder-I'm increasing to three point five of sound."

  Wynn and Grod followed, "Copy, three point five of sound."

  Tiet had to hold the controls a bit tighter as the fighter began to vibrate. It strained to reach the higher speed setting, but soon reached three point five of sound.

  "The others should already be landing at Sayir by now," said Wynn. "Let's hope we're on time."

  0

  LUCIN sat in his private transport shuttle, locked away in his suite. The room comprised the normal area for a troop compartment that could hold over one hundred men. It was lavish; fit for a king. He knelt on the floor. His human body was completely free of any clothing. Now, was the time for real transformation-time for his inward self to come out. Lucin's body sweated profusely, but it wasn't the normal human mixture meant to cool the body. His pores were oozing a dark brownish black substance. Every area of his skin, from his neck down, was changing in color as the thick liquid crept across the surface of his body, like a shadow eating him alive. Every muscle appeared to be in tetanus. Lucin's eyes were squeezed tightly shut and his lips were pursed in a mask of pain.

  The inward symbyte form covered him everywhere from his neck down. He began to look more and more like a Baruk warrior, possessing the same morphing exoskeleton. As the inward part finished encasing his form, Lucin's human eyelids opened up to reveal the same blackness completely covering the whole surface of each eye. The windows to the soul of a man, in Lucin, revealed only a void of hate and evil intent.

  Lucin stood in his new exoskeleton armor and strapped on the Barudii blade located next to his uniform on the bed. It was time for war, and time to claim his glory.

  0

  KALE and Juli walked through patches of wild flowers growing everywhere on the valley floor. Merab and Jael were bringing up the rear of the group heading toward the area where a great many transport ships were already landing. Kale's best estimate was well over one hundred ships, each carrying a compliment of rebel fighters of varying number. So far he could not see his father anywhere among those disembarking. He was supposed to be coming with Wynn and Grod in old aerial fighters, but nothing so small was seen yet.

  Kale looked for the Maelstrom among the bigger ships that were already down or landing. He needed to find Captain Viche. All of the rebel forces needed to get organized quickly before an attack could be launched against them. The prophecy was very clear-Lucin would be attacking in the valley at some point. He needed Viche to get the other group commanders together by the time his father arrived.

  Juli was the first to spot the ship. "Isn't that it over there, the big one, where those people are disembarking?"

  "Good eye."

  They ran the one hundred yards to reach the Maelstrom. Several men were gathered around another very distinguished man. He appeared to be the leader among them. The man looked worn by battle. His hair was gray, but it gave him a wise appearance and only added to his strength.

  "Captain Viche?" asked Kale.

  "Yes young man," said Viche. He gave Kale a once-over look.

  Kale suddenly felt like his age was factoring into this man's first impression of him.

  "Are you, Kale Soone, the king's son?"

  "Yes, sir. We need to-"

  "Where is your father, boy?"

  Juli gave Kale a sideways glance at the boy on the end of the question. Kale noticed it also and he didn't have time for this man's disrespectful attitude.

  "Captain Viche, until my father arrives, I am in command here," his tone was polite but firm. "We need to meet with all of the commanders of these groups immediately. An attack is imminent on this valley and we've got to be ready or no one is going to survive this day. Do you understand?" Kale felt a little heavy-handed with the last question, but he just didn't have time for games. Every fiber of his being told him an attack would come very soon. Lucin's forces had been dogging their heels and it was unlikely he had just given up.

  "Come with me," said Viche with a little more concern in his voice. "We'll round up the other commanders and try to get this thing organized."

  The Captain led the way down the makeshift row between the landed ships pointing to various men as he walked along. They responded as though they understood his desire to meet with them, and they began to follow after them. Juli squeezed Kale's arm as they walked, a playful show at her approval of his bold handling of the older Captain Viche. He shot her a quick sarcastic grin. It was typical for the elder men to disqualify a young man such as himself on appearance only, but he was a king's son and officially a man of proper age according to the Barudii customs. He just wasn't going to stand for the disrespect under such dire circumstances.

  Armed men and women were gathering in large groups outside of the vessels they had traveled in. More ships could be seen coming from the southwest. They already had a number of larger vessels on the ground and at least a few thousand armed rebels in sight with more pouring out of the bellies of the ships.

  Kale was sizing up the various commanders as they made their way to join their group. They all looked seasoned by what they had faced in their fighting against the Agonotti. Some had visible scars on
their necks and faces and one had a noticeable prosthetic hand. He fought the notion that was creeping into his mind-I'm not worthy to take charge of these men.

  Here he was, only a child in their eyes. Most of the men were giving him stares comparable with the look Captain Viche had set upon him. They were obviously thinking, who are these kids with Viche?

  When they had reached the last man, Viche was trying to gather to their group, he turned to gain their attention. Viche began to talk about the king being in transit to the valley and was saying something more about Kale being the king's son, but it was all fading-something else had caught Kale's attention.

  Juli was getting used to showing Kale her affection for him more openly in recent days. She liked him for more than a friend and believed the feeling was mutual. They were young, but Kale was already considered a man by his clan. Juli had caught hold of his hand and it was growing sweaty and tense. The thought had occurred to her that he was either nervous for her to be touching him that way, or apprehensive about having to address all of these rebel commanders. His hand tensed more and she shot a sideways glance to his face. He was staring at the ground just beyond Captain Viche. Kale wasn't paying any attention to her or the meeting going on around him. His eyes were darting from the place behind Viche to various points on the valley floor around them. She saw sweat dripping down his temple in sixty degree weather and she became worried, what's wrong with him?

  Kale eyed the shallow grass around the valley, something was making the hair stand up on the back of his neck but he couldn't see it-Danger!

  Juli was holding his hand. She leaned in to Kale's ear whispering, "What's wrong?"

  Kale wasn't sure if someone else had heard her question, but something changed. Patches of the ground shifted in color for a fraction of a second and Kale instinctively grabbed his blade from his back. Suddenly, he was pulling the weapon from the sheath on his back and the men, still engaged in the meeting, reacted as though threatened by the young man.