by Chad Queen
This ship is not equipped to launch ordnance of any kind, it is…
“…a garbage can, I heard,” said Jace, frowning.
“Eos, can we ram the laboratory with the ship?” asked Ashlyn. The group stared at her.
The vessel possesses insufficient velocity to escape their passive protection systems, Eos replied.
“Eos, you wouldn’t have brought us this far if there wasn’t a way for us to use this bomb,” said Elon.
Cade spoke. “You’re right, she wouldn’t. There is one way.”
He walked over to the bomb. “I can use a phantom to propel it to their station.”
“But…” Ashlyn protested. “Your arms…”
“I’ll be fine,” Cade cut in. “Just tell me how to activate it and point me in the right direction. I’ll detach myself once it is on course.”
The screens in the loading bay came to life, showing the picture of a large, almost spherical structure floating in space. The Wraith ship is almost within sensor range, Eos interjected. The Ascension Drive is located on the bottom hemisphere of the ship. I would recommend piloting the bomb toward that side of the station to achieve the maximum effect, since it is very likely more Wraiths will be congregated there, trying to reactivate the drive.
“Understood,” acknowledged Cade.
“There has to be another way,” pleaded Ashlyn.
“We’re out of time, Princess.” Cade lifted his arm to put it on her shoulder, forgetting for a moment it had turned to diamond. She brushed it aside and moved in to hug him.
“Damn you, Cade Elegy,” she said, tears rolling down her face.
He laughed. “I get that a lot.” He hugged her back. He hadn’t done that to anyone since…since he had left for the war. It felt good.
“He does,” Jace offered. “It’s a wonder he has any friends at all.”
Cade broke the embrace, and Jace put his hand on Cade’s shoulder. “Good luck, old friend. See you soon.”
“Luck is for archaeologists. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Elon, turned to him. “You are truly worthy of the title of Protector,” she said. “May the phantoms you watch over watch over you as well.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
With that, Eos had everyone but Cade evacuate the bay. Eos instructed Cade on the operation of a suit and helmet, which would allow him to survive the exposure to space for a time. With the available cords he found in the bay, he secured himself to the bomb. He didn’t have enough energy to double encode, so he had to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
He chuckled.
This seems an inappropriate time to be laughing, said Eos.
“It’s been a long day.” He took a deep breath. “Goodbye, Eos.”
Goodbye, Protector.
The bay doors opened, and tethered to the missile, he became weightless. It was an odd sensation. He felt like he should be falling, but instead he just floated there, suspended by an unseen force.
Eos had oriented the ship so Cade could see the station. Up and down had little meaning, suspended like this. He reached, activating the chipcoins he had collected from his friends. He encoded to the point Eos had indicated earlier, where the Ascension Drive was located. With little effort, he was moving.
He had lied to them. He would not make it back. He would be lucky if he could make it to the station.
Eos had known. She knew all along. Expendability, she had once said. One of the criteria for selection. Someone who had nothing to lose.
He pulled harder toward the point. The impact would trigger the caster firing pin and set off the explosives in the warhead, Jace had told him. He wished he knew the names of those who had imprinted themselves upon the caster shells. He spoke a word of thanks to the unknown warriors as they traveled through space. It would have to do.
Eos’s voice sounded from inside the helmet. Right on target. One minute to touchdown.
They were moving fast now with no air to slow the gathering momentum. He unbuckled the strap that held him in place, broke the encoding to counter his own momentum, and let the bomb carry itself the rest of the way. It was the last thing he would ever see, and he would have a front-row seat.
He noticed something break away from the other hemisphere of the Wraith ship. More fighter drones, he thought. They rocketed past him and toward the Exilia, unaware of the bomb now hurtling toward the lower hemisphere of the Wraith ship.
Cade watched as the bomb touched down, and an explosion tore through the large ship. It triggered a chain reaction of explosions that bubbled throughout the structure, until the entire ship shook and erupted, casting pieces of itself throughout the vastness of space.
It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
He felt his phantoms, the unwilling Acolytes, leave him, their purpose fulfilled.
And for the first time since before the Wraith War, he was completely alone.
“I’m coming home, Serafina.”
A warning of flashing yellow popped up on the display in his helmet. Low oxygen. Not much longer now.
He floated there in silence for what felt like an eternity. Moments of his life, the ones that really mattered, pushed their way to the surface of his mind. The day he made his Promise. The day he met Serafina. The birth of Etan. The birth of Jessa. The days they took their first steps. The sound of their laughter as he chased them around the house.
Music started to play…or had it been there all along? He listened and heard not one Song, but many, thousands upon thousands, though it was not a cacophony of ill-fitting arrangements. They were woven together, an ornate tapestry of instruments. Listening carefully, in the vacuum of space, he recognized it as the “Lament of the Traveler.” Not just one part, but the full orchestra, as it was meant to be played.
The alert was red now, but his eyes couldn’t focus enough to read it. No matter. He closed them, straining to hear the last strands of music that played within him. The music was so familiar, it made his heart ache. “Serafina?” He felt a presence, but he couldn’t be sure if he was delirious or not.
“Song…that lingers…” was all he managed with his last breath.
In the darkness, as he drifted off, he heard a faint voice pierce the veil of the Firmere.
“Pact accepted.”
54
Unfinished Song
Cade rolled over in bed. Lifting heavy eyelids, he noticed Serafina looking at him. He smiled. “Are you watching me sleep?”
“Maybe,” she said, grinning.
“Creepy,” he said, rubbing his eyes. He looked at her. “I missed you so much.”
She brushed her hand across his cheek. “Ditto.”
He laughed. “I love it when you get all romantic.”
“Says the man who punches things for a living.”
He ran his hand through her light brown hair. “How are the kids? I should go check on them.”
“You’re always worrying over everyone else. Who worries after you?”
“I believe that’s your job.”
She giggled. “Someone has to do it.”
He yawned. “I’m so tired.”
“It’s time to go back to sleep, my love.”
“Do I have to?”
She nodded. “Your Song isn’t finished yet,” she said and kissed him on the cheek.
His eyes became heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.
Cade blinked and squinted, trying to adjust to the light above him. Figures hovered over him, voices muffled. His eyes focused, and he saw he was back on the ship. Ashlyn was leaning over him, a look of grave concern etched upon her face.
“He’s coming to!” she said.
Jace came into focus above him. “Hells, Cade, you had us really worried there. We didn’t think you were coming back when you stopped moving. Then you just took off like a bullet toward the ship. When we grabbed you, you were unconscious.”
Cade sat up, rubbing his eyes. They still hurt.
“Wait. Cade…your arms…” Jace said, eyes wide and tone incredulous. Cade looked at his hands. They were no longer diamond. He opened and closed them. He shook his head, confused.
Cade recalled the memory from Gigan’s Hill. His commander had taken over Cade’s body after Cade fell unconscious. Did Serafina…? he wondered.
Ashlyn leaned over Cade, searching his eyes. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, okay?”
“Don’t worry—” he started when she leaned in closer and kissed him. To his surprise, he did not pull away. He felt free, almost weightless now. He let her lips linger on his own and surprised himself by pulling her closer.
Eos’s voice sounded over the ship’s speaker. Target confirmed destroyed. The Ascension Drive has been neutralized.
Ashlyn stood up, blushing. “Sorry. I…thank you. For earlier,” she said, and turned to the screen.
The main display showed the remains of the station, which was now nothing more than a field of floating debris.
Something flickered in the distance. “What’s that?” asked Cade as he got to his feet.
A projection of light from the debris of the station flickered and died. Soon, a point just beyond the projection began to ignite and shimmer. Other points shimmered, like lit paper burning away to ash. The effect gathered momentum and spread quickly, cascading through space.
Ashlyn gasped. “Stars!”
She was right. Cade saw countless points of light blink into view, the cosmos once again laid bare. No more starless nights would haunt him. He stood in awe, watching as the sea of infinite possibilities spread before him.
Father. Husband. Brother. Friend.
He smiled.
One more day.
Epilogue
“You want to go to Jenava? What’re you, one of those religious tourist types? Tryin’ to catch a glimpse of where it all started?” The old sailor chuckled and waved Cade on board without even waiting for a reply.
Cade went below deck and found an unoccupied bunk aboard the transport ship. The bed reeked of mildew but looked serviceable enough. It would have to do. Most vessels out of Ceywind didn’t make trips out to Jenava, so one couldn’t be too choosy. The country was mocked by other nations as a place untouched by time, not to mention any other type of advancement. The people were regarded as only a small step above savages.
Cade unshouldered his pack and pulled out a hand-sketched map Jace had helped make. It illustrated the major geographic features of Jenava, but what Cade cared about most was a place called Selar, the home of the oldest known civilization. All other civilizations could be traced back to it.
Jace had pointed out to Cade that it wasn’t always called Selar. Once upon a time it had been called Seraphar, which roughly translated to “The City of the Seraph.”
Cade folded the map, tucked it into his pocket, and lay upon the threadbare sheets of the thin mattress. He wished he still had Eos. She had deactivated after they defeated the Wraiths. But he knew she had kept information from him. She had always been careful not to reveal too much. The Wraiths knew something about them, about the true purpose of the Thread and the Ancients. He had to learn more. He couldn’t help but think one day the Wraiths, or something even worse, would come.
But next time he would be ready.
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About the Author
Chad Queen lives in Washington State with his wife and two children and has been a video game developer for over twenty years. He has worked on role-playing games like Dungeon Siege and real-time strategy games like Supreme Commander and Age of Empires Online. Phantom Pact: The Bearer’s Burden is his first book.
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
PHANTOM PACT: THE BEARER’S BURDEN
Copyright © 2018 by Chad Queen. All rights reserved.
Cover illustration by James Ma
Map illustration by Robert Altbauer
Cover typography and additional illustrations by Jake Clark
Published by Encoded Press
113 Cherry St #81025
Seattle, Washington 98104-2205
www.encodedpress.com
ISBN 978-0-9998474-1-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-9998474-2-8 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9998474-3-5 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9998474-0-4 (ebook)
First Edition: May 2018
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Map of Chalice
Prologue
1. The Taken
2. Resolve
3. Nocturne’s Call
4. Hero of the Realm
5. Followed
6. Coda
7. The Taction
8. Requiem
9. Old Soldiers
10. Encroaching Danger
11. Rynth
12. The Traveler’s Legacy
13. Burdens
14. The Bluewash
15. Foundation
16. Too Little to Lose
17. Ceywind
18. Staying Afloat
19. Forgotten, But Not Gone
20. Gray Lies
21. Protectors
22. Eos
23. The Bearer’s Choice
24. Trial by Phantom
25. Escape
26. Elon
27. The Crossfort Ball
28. Rendezvous
29. Pressing On
30. No Man
31. The Baker
32. A King’s Burden
33. Two Sides
34. Hells
35. The Ninth Door
36. Wraith
37. Transport
38. Enslaved
39. EonTal
40. The Nexus
41. Mission
42. Withdrawal
43. Sacrifice
44. Express Train
45. Holding Fast
46. Arrival
47. Incoming
48. Forever
49. Lift-off
50. Recharge
51. Intruder
52. Freedom
53. Hope
54. Unfinished Song
Epilogue
Newsletter
About the Author