by Jacob Holo
“How about you do the Zekuut exile?” Tevyr said.
“The who?”
“The Zekuut.”
Jared shook his head.
“Aktenai, Grendeni, Zekuut,” Tevyr said, holding up three fingers. “You know. Forsaken, Fallen, Outcast.”
“I don’t know anything about them.”
“Okay.” Tevyr scratched his chin. “Then what about the reign of Sovereign Elexen? His story ends in patricide.”
“Are you purposefully trying to confuse me?”
“No. But honestly, it’s not that hard to look up.”
Jared grimaced at him.
Yonu closed her d-scroll. She grabbed her tray and stood up.
“Where are you off to?” Tevyr asked.
“My quarters. I need quiet so I can concentrate.”
“Oh. Sorry about that.”
“No, you’re fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah. See you.”
Yonu took a few steps out of the mess hall, but stopped, turned on the balls of her feet, and walked back to the table.
“Say, Tev?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you mind helping me practice my speech tonight? I just need someone to listen to it a few times.”
It was hard to suppress the look of horror forming on his face, but he managed to force it into a smile. “Well, uhh, sure. I’d love to!”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it,” she said. “Stop by my quarters after you’re done here, okay?”
Tevyr nodded, still wearing his fake smile. This was not how he planned to spend his evening.
But, wait a second here. It’s not all bad. I’m going to be alone with Yonu. In her quarters. Late into the night.
Quite a few possibilities came to mind, and he took a moment to dwell on them. Yonu had certainly developed an abundance of female qualities over the past year or so, and even the EN pilots were now calling her a “total knockout.”
“Stop leering,” Yonu said.
Tevyr caught himself a moment too late. “Sorry. Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Good.” Yonu gave him a light kiss on the cheek. “See you then.”
Tevyr watched her leave. It made him feel all warm and giddy on the inside.
“Your turn,” Jared said in a sinister tone.
Tevyr glanced at the chessboard. With barely a thought, he moved his queen up six squares.
“Check and mate.”
***
The next morning, Tevyr Elexen walked bleary-eyed into the JSDC’s main auditorium. The 100-occupancy room resembled a wide bowl cut in half with two large sections of desks lining its slopes. A single stairway bisected the seating, leading to unofficially segregated Aktenai and Earth Nation sections.
Tevyr spotted Jared sitting at the back of the Aktenai section. He hummed a cheerful tune while organizing his dynamic-scrolls, hologram-scrolls, and light-pens. He was one of the few pilots who didn’t care which side he sat on. Tevyr walked over and slumped wearily into the desk next to him.
Jared looked up and took a light-pen out of his mouth. “So, how did it go?”
“Sixteen times, Jared. I had to hear the whole thing sixteen times.”
“That bad, huh?”
“And that’s just counting the complete run-throughs. She started over at least a dozen times because she either paused too long or changed a word or… or I don’t even know why! It all sounded fine to me!”
“Wow. A shame I had to miss that.”
Tevyr gave him a sour look.
“But hey,” Jared nudged him with an elbow, “At least all your efforts were well rewarded.”
“Think again.”
“Really?”
Tevyr blew out a frustrated breath. “She said she was too tired.”
“Wow. That’s a shame.”
“Tell me about it. So, Jared, what’s your speech topic?”
“Jack Donolon and the formation of the Alliance.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Tevyr smacked his forehead and dragged the hand down his face.
“Is something wrong?” Jared asked.
“It’s the same topic Yonu picked! She’ll kill you!”
“Oh.” Jared slowly rolled up one of his d-scrolls. “Whoops.”
“Weren’t you listening yesterday?”
“Not really.”
Tevyr shook his head. “I’m beginning to think we shouldn’t ever let you out of your seraph.”
Jared shrugged. “It’s the best I could come up with on short notice.”
“Can you at least make your speech worse than hers?”
“That shouldn’t be hard. I basically just recount the Battle for Earth.”
“At least there’s that,” Tevyr said. “Yonu is covering the pilot massacre, too.”
Jared nodded. “Yeah, I start with your parents defecting to the Earth Nation, then move on to Jack Donolon’s duel with Sovereign Elexen. I close at the merger with his seraph.”
“Sounds good to me. Maybe throw in a few awkward pauses for good measure.”
“Tev?”
“Yeah?”
“Was Sovereign Elexen your grandfather?”
“Sort of,” Tevyr said. “There are some seriously messed up Choir politics involved.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to him.”
“It’s cool. We were about to wipe out Earth, remember?”
“Yeah. When you think about it, it’s actually amazing there’s an Alliance today.”
“Yep.” Teyyr tugged the creases out of his uniform. “My parents were pretty awesome back in the day. They made the right call to switch sides.”
“Hey, Tev!”
Tevyr turned to see Yonu hurrying over.
“Morning,” he said with a wave.
Yonu stopped next to his seat and unfurled a d-scroll.
“I reordered the part where the Grendeni traitor, Dominic Haeger, infiltrates Aktenzek and sets off the nuke in the pilot concourse. It flows a lot better now. Do you think we have time for another reading before class?”
“Ahhh…” Tevyr glanced around. Half of the pilots had already taken their seats and the other half were filing in. “Probably not.”
“Good morning, Yonu,” Jared said.
“Hey, Jared.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I picked the same topic as you.”
Yonu opened her mouth, then closed it. She put a hand on her hip and stared at Jared.
“Seriously?” Her eyes could have melted mnemonic alloy.
“I hope you’re okay with that,” Jared said.
“Jared?”
“Yeah?”
Yonu pointed a finger at him. “The next time our squadrons drill together, I am picking you as my sparring partner.”
She stormed off and took her seat at the front.
“I hate sparring,” Jared said. “I always end up with burns, even with the limiters on.”
“Then get hit less,” Tevyr said.
“Easy for you to say.” Jared massaged the back of his neck. “I was so certain five of us could take you out.”
“You’re too passive. You need to put pressure on your opponent and force them to make mistakes.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Jared said. “Honestly, I never understood why Aktenai pilots spend so much time training in close combat.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you Earthers suck at it. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before the Grendeni come out with their own seraphs, so we need to be ready.”
“Shh!” Jared hissed. “Someone’s coming.”
Conversations throughout the auditorium died. Seth stepped quickly down the stairway to the podium. Yonu sat on the edge of her chair clutching a d-scroll to her chest.
“Be seated,” Seth said curtly.
Every pilot took his or her seat.
Seth reached the auditorium’s base. He placed a hand on the podium, not bothering to stand behind
it, and turned to face them.
“I know all of you were looking forward to giving your history speeches today,” Seth said.
To their credit, none of the pilots said a word or even murmured something under their breath.
“And I was looking forward to listening to all of them,” Seth said in a neutral tone. “For however many hours that would have taken. But then a thought came to me. Why talk about history when you can actually witness it? I look across this auditorium, and I see the gulf that still remains between us. Perhaps today we can take a small but important step towards closing that gulf.”
Jared whispered through set teeth, “Does that mean I don’t have to give a speech?”
“Looks like it,” Tevyr whispered back.
“All pilots, to your seraphs!” Seth said crisply. “We leave immediately.”
Jared’s hand shot up.
“Yes, I said all pilots,” Seth said. “All groundings are suspended. And, depending on your actions today, they may remain so.”
Seth stepped away from the podium and climbed the steps. He exited the auditorium without another word.
When the door closed behind him, Yonu rose from her seat and flung her d-scroll to the ground.
“Curse it!” she shouted.
Chapter 4
Pilgrimage
Seth Elexen angled his wings and darted past the Alliance formation. He swept by twenty-four seraphs arranged in two squadrons. His fellow Aktenai were each clad in unique armor, their coloration and styling dictated by the whims of their pilots.
In contrast, the Earth Nation squadron used a uniform metallic gray with chaos shunts forming vents along the wings and limbs. White lettering on the wings and a sigil of a stone horsehead marked each seraph. The lettering read “KNIGHTS” in one of the more common Earther languages.
“Alpha squadron ready,” Tevyr said, leading the Aktenai.
“Epsilon squadron standing by, commander,” Jared said, in command of the EN seraphs.
Quennin opened a private hypercast channel with Seth, establishing a secure and untraceable connection.
“The kids are excited,” she said.
“Keep an eye on Tevyr,” Seth said. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything too reckless.”
“Always.”
“Grendeni warships coming into view over the horizon,” Jared said. “They’re rising out of the planet’s gravity well.”
“I count twenty frigates,” Tevyr said. “Four dreadnoughts, too. Ouch. Several non-combat craft with them as well. Permission to engage?”
“Hold present course,” Seth said. “We’re not looking for a fight.”
Below his feet, the Seeding world turned. Tall islands of red rock pockmarked the surface, rising out of its vast ocean. Black vegetation spread across the waters, some forming kilometer-wide floating colonies. The smog of primitive civilization grayed the clouds above several islands.
Seth wondered if the humans below knew of the spaceships lifting away from their planet. And if so, did they know that these titanic vessels represented the slimmest fraction of a vast robotic armada? Could they even comprehend the scale of hostilities between the Aktenai and the Grendeni?
“What were the Grendeni doing on the surface?” Quennin asked.
“Who knows?” Seth said. “Probably looking for another source of pilots.”
“Here? They’ve searched this planet before.”
“You never know. We didn’t expect to find so many candidates on Earth.”
“Earth is different. Always has been.”
“Too true.”
“Grendeni warships altering course,” Jared said. “Now heading towards us. Epsilon squadron, rifles at the ready!”
As one, the EN seraphs reached behind their backs and retrieved their rail-rifles. They shouldered the long-barreled weapons and energized their shunts. Parallel strips along the rail-rifles began to glow with each pilot’s unique chaos frequency.
“Permission to engage?” Tevyr asked.
“Negative,” Seth said.
“Our fold engines are nearly charged,” Quennin said. “We will continue to the next system as planned.”
“Would it help if I asked nicely?” Tevyr said.
“No,” Seth said.
“Kids,” Quennin chuckled privately.
“I know…” Seth sighed the words more than spoke them.
“Grendeni warships still on approach,” Jared said. “Now entering extreme cannon range. And it looks like—”
Fusion beams shot out of the enemy warships and cut through the seraph squadrons. One hit an EN seraph in a splash of plasma, throwing her back. She righted herself and glided back into formation.
“Yes, we are definitely being shot at,” Jared said.
“How about now?” Tevyr asked pointedly.
“Our Fallen brothers and sisters are bold today,” Quennin said. “Maybe they think they can pick off a few of the kids.”
“If so, they’re in for a shock,” Seth said. “Squadrons are free to engage.”
“Alpha squadron, let’s go!” Tevyr flew out in the lead. His shunts blazed with green light.
“Epsilon squadron, open fire,” Jared said.
The EN seraphs unleashed a barrage of accelerated bolts from their rifles. Most of the shots missed at this range, but two solid hits breached the lead frigate’s bow armor.
Aktenai seraphs swept forward. Seth followed them with Quennin at his side.
The Grendeni frigates backed off, firing their cannons in retreat. Four dreadnoughts advanced, combining their fire to unleash twelve sun-hot beams. Bulky fusion torpedoes and agile tactical seekers belched out of their massive hulls.
“Stay clear of those dreadnoughts,” Seth said.
“Understood,” Tevyr said. “Alpha squadron, deploy countermeasures and swing around the dreads. Jared, see if you can keep them busy.”
“Confirmed. Epsilon squadron, focus fire on my target.”
Twelve streams of kinetic bolts converged on the closest dreadnought. Its hull buckled under the onslaught. Dark bands of mnemonic alloy flexed and rippled, quickly repairing the damage.
Beams from the dreadnought and frigates crossed through the Aktenai squadron. Three hit, blasting seraphs momentarily out of formation.
A beam shot past Seth. He felt a tickle of heat rush over his wings.
“Fold engines nearly charged,” Quennin said.
“All seraphs, stand by to fold out,” Seth said.
“Requesting permission to continue the engagement,” Tevyr said. “They picked this fight, and I don’t believe in leaving empty-handed.”
“Very well,” Seth said. “Proceed.”
“Alpha squadron, cover me!”
Tevyr dove towards the nearest frigate, his wings leaving a trail of green energy. Alpha squadron launched a flurry of torpedoes from their weapon pods.
“He actually asked for permission this time,” Quennin said on a private channel.
“I’m as surprised as you are,” Seth said.
Tevyr didn’t bother with cannons or torpedoes. He snapped his arms wide. Twin emerald-hued daggers ignited from his wrists.
The Grendeni frigate descended towards the planet in a final effort to evade his attack. Beams slashed across space from every direction, all targeting his lightning-fast red seraph.
Tevyr wove and pirouetted through beams as if it were a game, ducked under the last cannon shot from the frigate, and flew underneath it. With both daggers, he slashed across the frigate’s belly.
A ripple of explosions ran down the Grendeni warship’s length, cracking it open.
Tevyr swung over the frigate and pumped a single beam into the center. The ship blew apart in a flash of plasma.
“Grendeni robot trash,” Tevyr spat.
“Fold engines charged,” Quennin said.
“All seraphs, fold now,” Seth said.
Twenty-six seraphs vanished from the system.
***
; The seraphs appeared over a dead world orbited by massive, dark artifacts. A chill fell across Seth’s spine. His wings shivered. Despite how many times he’d seen it, the planet still evoked a palpable sense of horror.
“What is this place?” Jared asked.
“Imayirot,” Seth said. “It means ‘World of Death’ in the Aktenai tongue.”
Sunlight never touched the black surface of this dead world. Cadaverous cities and the skeletal remains of massive domes dotted its war-blasted surface. It was a tomb, cold and inert, devoid of life.
Above airless skies orbited an incomplete shell of reflective mirrors and canopies. A massive black shade in the form of a planet-sized disc hovered between Imayirot and its sun. It was this gargantuan device that kept the ancient world of Imayirot cold and dark, preserved at the moment of its death.
The shade was heavily armed, mounting hundreds of thousands of weapon systems around its circumference. In addition to it, thousands more orbital weapon platforms surrounded Imayirot, some surpassing dreadnoughts with their size and firepower. All of these weapons were as dead as the world they guarded, though not from decay or battle damage.
“Hey, wait a second,” Jared said. “The Grendeni made some of those orbital platforms.”
“That is correct,” Seth said. “Both Grendeni and Aktenai weapons guard this world.”
“But… well, I mean we’re at war.”
“We are.”
An alert opened in Seth’s mind. He spun around and looked up.
Twenty-three Grendeni warships flashed into existence six thousand kilometers above the seraphs. Immediately, the ships powered down their weapons and drive blades.
“They’re not attacking?” Jared said.
“Of course not,” Tevyr said. “Don’t you know where we are?”
“Not really,” Jared said.
“We’ll still have to deal with them when we leave,” Seth said. “But for now, they will only observe us.”
“Why’s that?” Jared asked.
“This is Imayirot,” Tevyr said. “Violence is forbidden here.”
“Okay…” Jared said. “So why is it forbidden?”
“You will learn this today,” Seth said. “There is a tradition amongst the Aktenai. Every pilot of Aktenzek makes at least one pilgrimage to Imayirot, to witness for themselves the death of this place. Today, all of you make yours. Come now. Let us land.”