“It’s us,” Mira said.
“Come in,” Brian said.
The door opened and showed Mira and Celi with some medical equipment. They set it up and scanned Brian thoroughly.
“Are you sure about this?” Celi asked.
“Yes,” Brian said. “I’m ready.”
Mira injected him. As his eye began burning he locked the helmet into place and gritted his teeth as pain filled his entire form.
Chapter 13 - Investigation
Baeron stood in his office and looked over the cityscape as the sun rose. Behind him on his desk were numerous scraps of metal and genetic material sealed in plastic containers. Siata floated into the room and lifted the evidence with her telekinetic powers. After thoroughly scanning them she placed them back on the desk and joined Baeron.
“I see,” she said. “Now I know why you called me in.”
“Our technology can track it back to the Ick-Tckt homeworld,” Baeron said. “But there were no identification markers. Whoever ordered this attack knew what they were doing and made it so even if we obtained evidence it won’t trace back to anyone specific.” He grabbed a container holding some genetic material. “But this is the most telling.”
“It’s the remains of a warrior,” Siata said.
“A warrior and not a drone,” Baeron said. “Drones are easy to throw away, but warriors are much more valuable. The only way they could get this many together for a battle is if a number of females agreed to it.”
“Do you suspect Queen Kchlt?” Siata asked.
“Perhaps,” Baeron said. “But we both know how tenuous her power is. If the other nobles want to attack Heaven’s Light she has little to stop them with.”
The monitor on the wall flashed and showed a Minan female with brown fur.
“Sir, the leader of Heaven’s Light has something she’d like to speak with you about,” the female officer said.
“Put her through,” Baeron ordered.
“Yes sir,” the female officer said.
Veda appeared on the monitor from the empty docking bay. Behind her was the Ick-Tckt craft Valis had captured earlier.
“I’m glad the two of you are together for this,” Veda said before pointing at the craft. “In our first battle we recovered this mobile armor. We’d like to give it to you as evidence.”
“I’ll wager your people have already worked it over,” Baeron said.
“They have,” Veda said. “But we kept everything, including all the video and scans we took as we did so. Our coordinates have already been given to your communications officer.”
“I’ll head up in a few hours,” Baeron said.
“The dock is ready to receive you anytime,” Veda said.
“Thank you Veda,” Siata said.
“No, thank you,” Veda said before ending transmission.
“She’s offering us such a gift,” Siata said.
“I’m glad,” Baeron said. “I don’t approve of everything Heaven’s Light does, but they follow the letter of the law. The Ick-Tckt who instigated these attacks they did so recklessly. The only ones who should die in battles are those fighting in them.”
“We may be working with them soon,” Siata said. “Be prepared to explain that to you troops.”
“They understand,” Baeron said. “That’s because they feel the same about Brian and Heaven’s Light. They may not approve of them but they respect them. I have no respect for cowards who attack in the night with poisoned daggers.”
“At least we’ll have one of those poisoned daggers,” Siata said
“Hopefully it’ll let me hunt them down,” Baeron said.
* * *
Jesela and Dreka were working in the command center of the Columbia base on implementing the new detection system. The birdman noticed something was off because Jesela was not only quieter than usual, but not dancing or anything as she worked. As she stared at the data on the console he walked up behind her and cawed, causing her to jump into the air. Reban looked up from her work while quietly laughing to herself.
“What did you do that for?” she asked.
“You’re dragging your posterior, that’s why,” Dreka said. “Something’s going on, right?”
“You’re fretting again, that’s all,” Jesela said.
“Don’t give me that relk,” he said. “I know something’s wrong because of the way you’re acting. So spill it.”
Reban looked up from what she was working on.
“Should I leave?” she asked.
“Don’t bother,” Dreka said. “Jesela can say it in public, right?”
“Alright then,” Jesela said. “I never could keep my mouth shut.”
* * *
Baeron and Siata exited their ship and stepped onto the dock of the Columbia base. Baeron marveled at the construction.
“No wonder we lost,” he said.
“Their technology is quite advanced for a group of younger races,” Siata said.
Veda and Grigon wandered from the Ick-Tckt craft over to their guests. Both Siata and Baeron noted the size of the new vessel.
“Can I ask how you got that?” Baeron asked.
“It seems all of their crafts are programmed to self-destruct should they be damaged to a certain point,” Veda answered. “Valis was lucky to recover this one.”
“Have you disarmed the explosive?” Siata asked.
“Of course,” Grigon said. “Everything else is intact. You can fly it if you want to.”
Daes stepped out of the inside of the craft in a sealed suit. She was covered in bug guts even worse than the time before. She walked over and noticed Veda, Grigon, and Baeron didn’t like the smell.
“We’ve saved all of these for you take as well,” Daes said while pointed at her suit. “I’m done now, it’s all yours.”
She headed for the decontamination chamber to change her outfit. Baeron signaled for his men to load the vessel. Four Lances emerged and moved the thing inside the ship.
“Have you found anything about who attacked you?” Siata asked.
Veda shook her head. “They left nothing for us to trace it back to anyone in particular.”
Grigon cawed. “Their crafts have no identification at all.”
“That’s the conclusion we came to,” Siata said.
“Was there anything in the craft’s computer?” Baeron asked.
“Nothing we could find,” Veda said.
“That means they received their orders in person from someone,” Baeron said.
“Are you going to be here for a while?” Siata asked.
“No,” Veda answered. “The Viken rebels have requested our aid and we’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“The situation amongst the Viken is complex,” Siata said. “I hope you’re not getting into something too big for you.”
“We can handle it,” Grigon said.
“When you return please contact us immediately,” Baeron said. “We may have more to discuss by then.”
“We will,” Veda said.
Siata and Baeron went back to their ship. A moment later the vessel left the base. Daes emerged feeling clean and wearing her normal uniform.
“I’m heading back to the Avoni,” she said before heading for the door.
“Are you sure about this?” Grigon asked.
“We have everything we need,” Veda said. “Anyways, it’s about time the Confederation sees us as allies and not enemies.”
“We can always hope so,” Grigon said.
* * *
Seles was working on the next set of battle plans when Myden stepped onto the bridge. The four droids silently went about their business as he joined her.
“It’s been a while since I saw you,” Seles said.
“I’ve been helping Tctie,” Myden explained.
“That explains his power in the last battle,” she said. “Should I factor that into the battle plans?”
“Yes,” Myden said. “He’s growing better each day and will do as required. I came he
re to check on you.”
Seles feigned a smile. “I’m working to get my mind off things.”
“You’re worried about him,” Myden said.
“Of course I am,” she said. “But worrying won’t help anyone, especially him.”
“What will you do if he dies?” Myden asked.
“I’ll…keep fighting,” Seles said. “It’s all I can do.” She looked at him. “What about you?”
“I’ll do the same,” Myden said. “I’ve lived all these years to see peace come true. And now that it’s close, I fear death more than ever.” He saw something in her eyes. “I know you’re wondering why I don’t fly out there and fight like the rest of you, but there’s a reason.”
“It could take you, couldn’t it?” Seles asked.
“I fear its voice every moment I’m awake,” Myden said. “I can hold off its siren call but I fear what would happen if I turned in a mobile weapon.” He paused to think. “But to answer your first question, I’ll stay here on the Freedom and man the cannon of Hades. The system requires an awakened being to activate after all.”
“That’s what I figured,” Seles said. “Why was such a weapon created?”
“To pierce the hull of my people’s planet killers,” Myden said. “But I’m more interested to see what you’re working on.”
“Very well,” Seles said.
* * *
Dreka stood outside Brian’s quarters and listened to the human moaning in pain. Without hitting the buzzer he stepped inside and saw Brian on the floor in his exoskeleton. He noticed Brian’s eye was glowing through the eye piece of the helmet.
“I knew something was going on,” Dreka said. “You’re pathetic, you know that Brian?”
“Shut the hell up!” Brian growled. “Can’t you just leave me be?”
“No,” Dreka cawed. “And if Shiken were here he’d say the same thing.”
“Just leave me alone,” Brian said.
“Not until you stand up,” Dreka said.
“I can’t,” Brian growled.
“Then crawl,” Dreka said. “At least show me you’re not a useless and pathetic man wrapped in his own coffin.”
Mira stood at the door silently and watched. Dreka looked at her and nodded. She smiled and backed off.
“I have a solution,” Dreka said. “I’ll get a box full of beetles and leave it opened next to you.”
Brian growled loudly as he stumbled to his knees. A moment later he was standing up.
“I won’t let that happen,” Brian said. “I’ll kill you if you try.”
“That’s the spirit,” Dreka said. He took Brian by the neck. “Never forget what you said to me. It’s time you break free from the chains that bind you.”
He punched Brian in the face. A second later Brian punched him back. After the two sat back up they started laughing.
“Thanks Dreka,” Brian said.
“I’ll take your thanks for now,” Dreka said. “But if I hear any moaning like that again I’ll punch, kick, or do whatever it takes to knock the sense back into you.”
“I got it,” Brian said with a laugh.
Chapter 14 - Answering the Call
Veda, Reban, Valis, Kivi, El Kar, Esra, Seles, Grigon, Myden, and Dreka all gathered in the command center. The repairs of the base and all vessels onboard were complete. The asteroid moved away from Dega Jul before gravity jumping into a nearby solar system. Veda put the information pertaining to the Viken situation on half the screens and the data on the Ick-Tckt on the other. From the images sent to them by the Viken rebels, it was evident the civil war was causing far more damage than the Confederation media was reporting. Across all of their colony systems and in the home system the Viken government forces destroyed civilian and rebel alike. This left their territories riddled with destroyed or abandoned colonies and millions of refugees with nowhere to go.
“Things look bad for their people,” El Kar said.
“We should’ve acted sooner,” Esra said.
“We would’ve if we’d known this was happening,” Veda said. “Our intelligence reports sent these images a few days ago.”
“The other problem is the government doing this to its people tried baiting us into helping them a few months ago,” Valis added.
“Who contacted us this time?” Seles asked.
“General Yardek and Representative Ulad,” Veda said.
“Are they the rebel leaders?” Kivi asked.
“They have secured five fleets of the Viken military as their allies,” Veda said. “We’ll meet with them on the edge of their territory.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Esra asked.
“Then we’ll crush them all at once,” Grigon cawed.
“I’ve sent a number of plans to all of our ships just in case,” Valis said. “The Viken don’t have mobile weapons of their own, so we should be able to handle things. I suspect we’re needed more for aid then military power.”
“What about the Ick-Tckt?” El Kar asked.
“That’s why we came up with this,” Dreka said.
The monitors displaying the Ick-Tckt craft showed the new detection system.
“Now that we have this installed on every vessel on our base we should be able to fight them better,” Veda said.
* * *
Brian struggled with every fiber of his being to stand before taking the rakna blade from the wall. He stared at the blade with his eye shining red. He walked next to his bed and positioned himself for meditation. As he looked at the blade he saw something reflecting in it. When he turned his head he saw the ghostly image of Delne once more.
“Why is it I always seem to see you?” he asked before laughing. “Is it because you rolled around in my head or something?”
“It’s because I was the first one you saved,” Delne answered.
As Brian looked around the room disappeared. The images of all those he had killed swirled around him as he held the sword.
“Is it time for someone to pass judgment upon me?” he asked. He felt tears in his eyes as he gazed upon the dead. “I’m sorry.”
Delne embraced him. “It’s alright.”
“I’ve killed so many,” Brian said. “And more will die because of my foolishness.”
“It’s because you’re mortal,” Delne said. “Making mistakes is part of living.”
“Some mistakes are unforgivable,” he said.
“You know that’s not true,” she said. “The majority of my life was spent lying and coveting power. In doing so I killed so many, but I also killed myself. Even so, he forgave me, and you did as well.”
“I did that because you were trapped,” he said.
“You are as well,” Delne said. “You’ve been trapped in someone else’s plan for the future. For the dead all you can do is mourn them. For the living you must defend them. It’s time to move forward Brian.”
The images swirling around him changed to the liberated worlds, from Kalaidia to Malcov. He watched as Lumiar and the Braiden danced in their new colonies.
“These are the people you saved,” Delne said. “You must protect them. Now take that rakna and forge your own path.”
Brian stood as the images swirling changed to the memories inside him. With a mighty swing of the blade a path opened up before him and the darkness parted. As he looked up he saw an endless stairway made of starlight before him.
“What is this?” he asked.
“This is the path only you can take,” Delne said before fading away.
* * *
Mira and Celi stepped inside Brian’s quarters and found him sitting in a meditative pose. But what caught their eye the most was the glowing light coming from the inside of his exoskeleton. Both turned to the medical equipment and watched the readings carefully.
“There are times when science doesn’t have a good explanation,” Mira said.
“I have to agree,” Celi added. “But we’re able to measure things.”
“We’ll have to fig
ure it out later,” Mira said.
Seles, Valis, and Kivi walked in and saw the same thing.
“What will you have to figure out later?” Valis asked.
Seles went to him and tried looking inside the eye plates of the helmet. She covered her eyes and backed away.
“This,” Celi said.
The monitor showed Brian’s DNA sequences were realigning themselves.
“I know I’m not an expert in biology but isn’t this impossible?” Kivi asked.
“According to all biological research it is,” Mira said.
“He’s changing himself,” Valis said.
“I didn’t think biology worked like that,” Seles said.
“The accepted theory from our world says as much,” Celi said.
The monitor showed his brain activity.
“He appears to be in the middle of R.E.M. sleep mixed with some of the traits of N.D.E.,” Celi said. “What we’re seeing with his body is a sleep deeper than any we’ve ever seen before. But his mind is alight with activity.”
Myden stepped out of the shadows and went to Brian.
“He’s coming along nicely,” the Grey said.
“You know what’s happening, don’t you?” Valis asked.
“I went through the same experience when I was younger,” Myden said. “It’s quite strange. His mind is closed off and I can’t hear a thing. But one can tell something’s going on in there.” He looked at the others. “In order for an awakened being to survive it must be reborn. The Brian you knew will no longer exist. What he transforms into I can’t say so but be prepared for the worst.”
“Now I’m worried,” Seles said.
“Can you explain this?” Celi asked while pointing at the monitor.
“Not in direct terms,” Myden admitted. “I will say this though. Evolution in some form is the accepted science. But each race sees it differently through their cultural lens. For Kalaidians it’s the mechanism by which Kali shaped you over millions of years. For my people it explains how inert matter gained consciousness.” He looked at Brian. “I can’t say what he believes, but Brian is neither of our races. So what he sees during this transformation will be his and his alone.”
Freedom Saga 3: The Dawn of Liberty Page 8