by Jacob Holo
Perhaps an outside force had accelerated this world’s advancement. He’d seen situations like that before where more advanced Seedings had experimented on lesser cultures. Regardless of the reasons, its inhabitants would likely be armed as well.
The chaos adept he sought was indoors, so Jack could gather no further information from orbit. He linked a station keeping order to the Scion of Aktenzek and descended towards the planet.
Jack expanded his barrier into an aerodynamic wedge and powered through the upper atmosphere. He left a burning friction comet in his wake, broke through a layer of cottony altocumulus clouds, and slowed.
The surface beneath him was a range of rolling hills. He skimmed across them, following a winding paved road. When the castle came in sight, he dropped down and landed with feathery lightness in front of the drawbridge.
The outer wall barely came up to his knees. Rays from the morning sun shone off its smoothed walls. A checkered quilt of gardens in full bloom stretched across the interior, with a path cut through the middle. White-and-silver banners flapped in the wind along the flagstone path leading to the keep.
“Your move,” Jack said. He crossed his arms.
Men in black uniforms and white berets ran to their artillery pieces. Jack laughed when they struggled to bring their weapons to bear. Weapon barrels gleamed from meticulous polishing, but their rotating axes were rusted solid. Apparently, this castle didn’t see much action. Only one adventurous crew managed to turn its artillery piece around.
The shell hit with so little force his barrier didn’t even become visible. It ricocheted off, landed a kilometer way, and blasted a house-sized crater in the foothills.
Jack shook his head and wagged a finger at them.
The crew hesitated before loading another shell.
“All right. So you haven’t seen a seraph before. What about your guest?”
A dozen women in plain black livery rushed across the garden grounds, shouting urgently. After a stunned pause, soldiers aimed the lone artillery piece away from the seraph. They backed away from the gun and retreated indoors.
“Well, that’s encouraging. I wonder…”
Jack trailed off when he saw her.
She emerged onto the balcony of the keep, wrapped in the fierce glow of chaos energy. If not for that, Jack would have guessed her age at around eighteen.
Her flawless skin resembled soft cream. Silver rings clasped her silken raven hair in three places down her back. She wore black garments similar to the servants, yet trimmed with white and silver at the collar and wrists. Her hair swayed in a gentle breeze.
The woman looked up and beheld the seraph with a knowing gaze and a slender smile. Oh, yes. She knew exactly what it was.
The woman stepped inside and reemerged on the ground floor. She strode across the gardens giving orders. Whenever she pointed or spoke, the liveried servants hustled into action. Four of them brought a table of rich dark wood and set it out within the centermost garden. Two others placed high-backed chairs on either side. A dozen more followed, setting trays of food and drink on the table until it overflowed.
With her eyes affixed on the seraph, the woman gestured across the table with an open palm.
“Why not?” Jack said. “I didn’t come all this way for nothing. Right, buddy?”
The seraph was silent.
“I know, but don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I’ve got you to back me up.”
Jack focused on the distinction between his true body and the seraph. The connection between man and machine lessened to the point where he no longer was the seraph. The cockpit walls spread into a spherical chamber and the outer hatch opened. Light played against his real eyelids. He took in a deep breath and opened them.
The first thing he noticed was the scent in the air. It was rich with the aroma of flowers and evoked a sense of nostalgia for Earth, even if the plants were of alien origin. Each garden patch used a different design. One had checkered patterns of blues and greens. Others spiraled outwards in swirls of crimson or traced angular shapes in purples and yellows.
Jack brought the seraph’s hand towards the cockpit and stepped onto the giant armored palm. He lowered the hand to the flagstone path and walked off.
White banners crossed with silver diagonal bands flapped in the breeze. Jack kept his gaze fixed on the woman, but the seraph’s scanners remained vigilant, their input flowing into a corner of his mind.
Jack stopped a few paces from her. She appraised him with strange eyes that possessed brilliantly silver irises. Despite her youthful face, her exotic eyes held no fear, only a powerful sense of confidence and comprehension. This was no ordinary human. But then again, neither was he.
He spoke in the Aktenai tongue. “Can you understand what I’m saying?”
The woman tilted her head to one side as if thinking, then nodded solemnly.
“It has been a long time since I used this language,” she said, her words thick with a peculiar accent that emphasized harsh consonants.
Jack recalled hearing that accent before. It was somewhere on Aktenzek, but where precisely or from whom escaped his memory.
“My name is Jack Donolon.”
The woman smiled and bowed her head at the neck. “You may address me as Vierj. It is what my family used to call me.”
Vierj clapped her hands. Two serving girls sprinted out from the keep and hurried to the table. In moments, his plate was served and his drink poured. The girls retreated, positively oozing fear, both of him and of Vierj.
“Please sit,” Vierj said. “Eat something. Consider yourself my honored guest.”
“Thank you.” Jack pulled out his chair.
Vierj sat down across from him and leaned forward onto her elbows.
The seraph’s scanners detected no trickery in the food. Much of the food smelled too spicy for his tastes. He selected a bowl of zesty vegetable soup, took a spoonful, and blew on it.
Vierj made no move to eat or drink, but merely observed him with a calm demeanor.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
Jack put the spoon in the bowl. “You don’t seem surprised that I’m here.”
“I knew someone else like me would eventually come searching. It was only a question of time.”
Jack grimaced. “Someone like you…”
“You and I are the same,” Vierj said. “I am sure that is why you have come. I can feel the change beginning in you, as it did once in me. You must have at least suspected this.”
Jack nodded slowly. He sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“Yeah, I guessed it.”
He had so hoped to find someone different from this woman, someone different from himself. But, the truth was too obvious now. All he had left was his original plan.
But how to set it in motion?
“What is the matter?” Vierj asked.
“I guess I expected someone different,” Jack said, stirring his soup absently.
“This is not an uncommon response for someone educated by the Aktenai.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Perceptive woman, Jack thought. It was strange, hearing such statements from her. She looked about half his age. But however young she appeared, Vierj’s words betrayed her wisdom and experience.
She leaned closer. “Tell me, what do you know of the Gate?”
So we are coming to this already. She isn’t wasting time.
“Not much, I fear,” Jack said. “The Aktenai say it’s a way of escaping this universe to a paradise they call the Homeland. They have the Gate and very few of them know where it’s hidden. I know the Grendeni also want it. The Gate is one of the reasons those two civilizations continue to wage war.”
Vierj nodded. “It sounds like not much has changed. I myself tried for a very long time to locate it. The Aktenai hid it well.”
“What do you want with the Gate?”
Emotions flashed in Vierj’s silver eyes. Jack briefly saw something horrible and disturbing in t
hem.
“To pass through it, of course,” she said. “There are old crimes that have long gone unpunished.”
“Revenge?”
“If you will.” She smiled as if amused. “You are the one who sought me out. Do you not intend to aid me?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jack said. “No one except the Aktenai Choir knows where it is, with the possible exception of the current sovereign. And it’s not like you or I can just walk up to them and ask.”
“I have waited in hiding long enough. Now that there are two of us, we need not fear the Choir’s bigotry.”
Jack kept his face neutral. He could see where this was leading, but he dared not appear overly eager.
“Yes, there are two of us,” he said. “But the Aktenai possess vast fleets, and the Choir is sheltered within the planet’s core.”
“Those obstacles could not stop us.”
“What about other seraph pilots?”
Vierj’s glanced up at the winged giant beyond the castle walls. “Yes, I suppose you are correct. How many are there now?”
“Hard to say. Their numbers were severely depleted when I left, but another generation of pilots should have reached maturity by now. Hundreds, probably.”
“I see. We should be cautious then. That is, if you are willing to aid me.”
“It’s not that simple. You must understand how difficult this choice is for me. We would be fighting against my friends. You are asking a lot.”
“Would these friends of yours be so loyal if they knew what you are?”
Jack masked his elation carefully. Things could not have gone more perfectly if he’d tried. Indeed, he had refrained from any overt manipulation, for Vierj was clearly intelligent. However, the opportunity now presented itself. Here was what he had long sought. Now all that remained was to carry his plan through to its blood-soaked end. He had to seize this moment.
But he hesitated.
Jack had been honest when mentioning the difficulty of this decision. This path would lead him against his former comrades, and undoubtedly many would fall. He and Vierj would cut a bloody path into the very heart of Aktenzek. They both wanted the Gate’s location, though for very different reasons.
And Jack feared two people most of all, two pilots of Aktenzek who had saved him from the depths of despair. They were his friends. More than friends, they were almost like family, the only family he had ever known. How could he face them as traitor and murderer? The separation of years and distance did nothing to dull his feelings for those two.
Jack found it difficult to return Vierj’s calculating gaze. How could he falter at this critical moment? Could he face them in battle? Could he kill them to achieve his goals?
The answer had to be yes, as dark and evil as that answer was. There could be no turning back now. He had no choice but to use this dangerous woman and move his plan forward.
Finally, Jack met Vierj’s stare with absolute certainty. “I’ll help you.”
A smile graced her face, and her eyes shone with unexpected tears. For the first time since meeting her, Jack saw her as genuinely happy. She turned away and wiped under her eyes.
“It has been so lonely,” she said.
Jack reached across the table. He placed his hand on hers and clasped it tightly in his.
“Yes, but you’re not alone anymore,” he said.
“When shall we leave?” Vierj asked.
“Right now if you like. My ship is in orbit.”
“Now, then. This barbaric planet has nothing I want.”
“Your seraph?”
“Gone. Stolen from me a long time ago.”
“I see. Then let’s go.”
Jack rose from his seat and extended his hand. Vierj took it and stood.
He knew it would take them two years to reach Aktenzek, and that their return would herald the Aktenai people’s darkest hour.
But I will not turn back. Not now. Not ever.
2 Years Later
Chapter 2
Forsaken
Seth Elexen spread his six wings and ascended past the asteroidal clutter of Earth’s orbiting industries. Shunts across his black angular armor burned with purple light. He cleared the converted asteroids of the Earth Defense Array and turned gently towards the twin fortress planets of Aktenzek and Zu’Rashik.
Few remained in the solar system that would not have recognized his seraph’s silhouette. Purple runes burned across his armor, proclaiming the Litany of the Mission. Thin gray scars traced across old battle wounds. The edges of his six black wings blazed with fire. He shot through the congested space lanes between Earth and the twin fortress worlds.
It wasn’t often that Seth got to cut loose and just fly wherever he wanted. It felt refreshing to push his seraph-body as fast as he could for the simple joy of doing it.
Aktenzek and Zu’Rashik closed quickly, enlarging from twin white pearls to worlds that filled his view ahead. Perhaps he would descend into Zu’Rashik’s interior and inspect the new fortress planet’s construction firsthand.
Twenty years ago, the last great battle between the near-invincible Aktenai armada and those ragtag Earth Nation defenders had come to its startling conclusion. Only the defection of three seraph pilots, Seth included, had prevented Earth’s total annihilation and had set the stage for the present day Earth-Aktenai Alliance.
For twenty years, the Earth Nation and the Aktenai had cooperated, merging Earth’s plentiful pilots and Aktenzek’s technological and industrial might into unstoppable legions of seraphs.
But the situation was not entirely harmonious.
“Hey, Seth? You there?” a pleasant female voice called in.
Seth grimaced. “Yeah, Quennin. Go ahead.”
“You okay? You sound kind of gloomy.”
“Sorry. Just dreading whatever you’re calling about. What can I do for you?”
“If you want, I can handle this one,” Quennin said. “I’m already heading out.”
“No, that’s fine,” Seth said. “I’m not even halfway to Zu’Rashik yet. I can get there first.”
“Okay. Well, you know that little joint-operations exercise that’s being held over near the Resolute?”
Seth checked his schedule. “The Earth Nation 17th Annual Joint Seraph Deployment Venture?”
“That’s the one.”
“I’m not due over there for a few hours.”
“Right, that’s not the problem. The Aktenai at the event are hosting a close-combat tactics exchange.”
“Why do I feel this horrible sense of foreboding all of a sudden?”
“Or were hosting it, as of a few minutes ago. I don’t think you can really call it an exchange anymore. It’s turned into more of a demonstration.”
Seth spun around, angled his wings, and accelerated straight for Earth.
“Now, this may be me overreacting,” Quennin said. “But I think one of us should get over there. Right now.”
“Let me guess, we’re experiencing some inter-Alliance friction.”
“I suppose that’s one way to put it.”
“Next you’re going to tell me Tevyr is involved.”
“Why, yes, Tevyr is in attendance.”
The edges of his wings burned hotter, and he rocketed towards Earth.
“I think there’s going to be an incident,” Quennin said.
“Not another one.”
***
Seth focused his optics on a small asteroid base that served as the Joint Seraph Deployment Center.
The JSDC building had been constructed on an old mined-out asteroid in Earth orbit. Not only did the asteroid have numerous excavated caverns for confined-space combat exercises, but the surface was covered with old industrial silos, refineries, and emptied factories. All this, plus an Aktenai-provided gravity grid, allowed for highly varied combat simulations.
Above the JSDC, a flame-red Aktenai seraph dueled with five metallic gray Earth Nation seraphs. Tevyr’s red seraph fought ferociously,
his barrier flashing bright green every time he struck a foe. Like Seth’s own armor, the runic Litany of the Mission burned brightly with Tevyr’s personal chaos frequency.
One aspect of seraph operations the Earth Nation had never truly appreciated was close-quarters combat. Seraph barriers were nearly impenetrable at long range, even with intense fusion cannon bombardment. The best way to breach a seraph’s barrier was to engage it with another seraph, and most pilots could tighten and sharpen a part of their barrier, forming it into a coherent dagger of energy.
Fortunately, Tevyr had not activated his chaos daggers, and Seth sighed with palpable relief at this. If the brash Aktenai pilot had been so inclined, his opponents would now be floating around in a lot of small pieces.
That isn’t to say Seth found the predicament much more pleasing. Instead of using chaos daggers, Tevyr had disabled one EN seraph and now swung it as a bludgeon against the other four. Barriers or not, the EN seraphs showed heavy damage. Seth spotted the hapless bludgeon’s wing clusters drifting away from the melee.
“Well, at least he’s winning,” Seth muttered.
Seth redoubled his efforts to reach the melee before it escalated further.
The EN seraphs spotted Seth approaching and immediately scattered. Seth closed rapidly with Tevyr and his mangled seraph-bludgeon. Tevyr tossed the abused seraph aside, as if that made him any less guilty.
Seth concentrated, right fist compressing tightly. Purple snaps of barrier energy arced out of the digits. He pulled the fist back, flew in at incredible speed, and swung.
There was a brief, blinding flash of green and purple light as his fist connected. Tevyr’s barrier compressed. His shoulder imploded inward. Kinetic energy exchanged between the two seraphs, leaving Seth at a relative standstill and Tevyr speeding down into the JSDC asteroid.
Tevyr’s seraph hit so hard that the asteroid’s outer surface cracked open, sending him careening through the asteroid’s mined-out caverns.