Blackwing: Rise of a New Empire (The Blackwing Trilogy Book 1)

by L. S. Mercer

  “Good to see you again.” He said.

  “We missed you.” Whispered Alloy, squeezing Damon’s leg harder.

  Damon’s face fell from a smile and into a frown as he thought about how hard it must have been on them to be away from him. He couldn’t really imagine what it must have been like to spend so much time with the king of Kharan, but it would have been anything but pleasant for sure. Damon gave each Eyre one more pat on the head before moving back over to the sandbed and laying down once again.

  “Soon we’ll be home, boys.” He whispered. “All we do now is wait.”

  “Wait.” Repeated the Eyres together, their voices filled with awe at the possibilities of Damon’s intended meaning.

  The Eyres scurried over to the side of the sand bed and began to construct their own tiny beds out of the excess dirt surrounding it.

  The door to the dungeon slammed shut again, likely being the Kharan who’d brought the Eyres to the cell. Damon wondered if he’d been listening, making him slightly uncomfortable for fear of being discovered by Drago before the attack. The guy was quite resourceful after all.

  With the blinding darkness and absolute silence, it didn’t take long before all three of them had begun to doze off, Damon being the last of them awake. He smiled to himself, thinking about the look on Drago’s face when the Alliance come into the Royal quarter while the majority of his army sits two planets away from him. Revenge was going to be sweet.

  Chapter 15

  The sound of Draxis’ processor coming online caused Helen to stir from her seat by his bedside. As soon as his eyescreen turned on, his head turned to see her face half lit by a fire that was burning nearby. Draxis wanted to smile at her but knew it was impossible, so he just stared at her in hopes that she’d initiate the conversation. She remained silent, watching him with a light smile flitting across her face.

  “Hello.” He whispered, his voice box repeating like an ancient droid that had been turned on for the first time in a thousand years.

  “Your body is severely damaged.” She whispered, running her palm over his shattered chestplate. “But the cybermechs are working on something for you.”

  Draxis turned away and looked around at the rest of the room. It was much different than he’d expected since the planet was basically destroyed in the last war. The room was very clean, likely to be an active medical bay. They had all the tools needed to conduct surgeries and any other needed medical procedures.

  “Where are we?” He asked.

  “The Ostillion refuge.” She replied, sounding a tad bit sadder than Draxis would have preferred. “The last of the Ostillion people.”

  Draxis quickly moved his head back to her and tried to raise his body, but it wouldn’t budge. The energy must have fried everything.

  “How many survivors are there?” He asked in a panic.

  She lowered her eyes away from him.

  “Maybe two hundred at the most.” She whispered, her voice cracking from the various emotions running through her as she spoke.

  Draxis fell silent but his distress was quite noticeable. The fire went completely out and everything in the room began to shake violently as his breathing rasped through the air like a shrill scratch on a chalkboard.

  The door to the medical bay flew open and a few of the mechanics came rushing in to find the source of the mini earthquake. They stared at the dimly lit body of Draxis in both awe and horror as the room slowly destroyed itself.

  “Draxis.” Said Helen in a demanding voice. “Take it easy.”

  The room immediately went silent and still while the mechanics slowly inched closer to the angry cyborg.

  “Talon?” Asked Helen, staring at one of the mechanics.

  “Incredible.” He whispered, ignoring her.

  Helen snapped her fingers towards his face to get his attention. It worked, he shook his head and met her eyes with his.

  “Oh, yes. My apologies.” He replied. “The wiring and programming are done, we’re just waiting on the others to complete the reconstruction process.”

  Helen nodded and smiled down at Draxis once again.

  “You’re going to have a body again.” She whispered, placing two fingers under Draxis’ metal chin.

  “Yes.” Chimed in Talon. “I’ve probed your memories, your body should be quite similar to what it once was.”

  Draxis looked over at Talon, causing the mechanic to take a very nervous step back.

  “So you did.” Said Draxis, his pleased tone barely traceable through the damaged voice projector. “Did you like what you saw?”

  Talon’s eyes darted to Helen briefly before moving smoothly back to the damaged cyborg.

  “I was quite impressed actually.” He replied. “And at times slightly concerned. But that’s for another time!”

  Draxis had an inkling that the poor little mechanic may have seen Sylaris, but he too agreed with himself that they’d need to have that conversation in a more private location. Although he hadn’t been told to keep any secrets, he figured that the master would be quite disappointed with him for allowing anyone to know of his existence.

  They all shared in an awkward silence for a minute until Helen couldn’t take it any longer and forced idle chatter on the mechanics while they waited for word on the new body. Draxis had no interest in chatting with the strange people, even though they were to be his people, it’s just that nothing felt right to him at the time. It was worse than before, now he was just a motionless shell, stuck on a medical bed. He was reminded of the time when Sebastian had made him the first body, how disconnected he felt lying atop that bed as well.

  His mind shifted to Elias, the robot who’d left his master to join with a more suitable one. He wondered where the poor little machine was at the moment. If the people of the refuge had gone to get them, or simply left them all helpless on the ship to wait for their leaders to return with news of their fates.

  Talon tapped on Draxis’ helmet, snapping him out of his mind.

  “Huh?” Asked Draxis.

  “Your new body is complete sir.” He said. “It’s time to shut you down.”

  Draxis let out a hum, he didn’t mean to, but at the same time, he really didn’t know how to respond to the statement.

  Talon reached behind Draxis’ ear and flipped a switch. His body shut down immediately, and he was once again in a pitch-black state.

  * * *

  As Draxis opened his eyes, the world came back to life for him. Just like in his vision with Sylaris, he could see the different colors of the room that his previous form hadn’t allowed for. The fire was a bright orange, still lighting up the side of Helen’s beautiful, soft, white face. He stared into her eyes until she gestured for him to look at her hands. She was holding out a mirror for him to take. Nervously, he reached out his hand to take the mirror, unsure if he really wanted to see himself.

  As the mirror moved closer to seeing his face, he realized how nice and slender the mechanics were of his entire body. He took the time to admire every detail. The black and blue body panels with a bare chest fitted to look just like his old one. His smooth, pale hands were made perfectly, even going as far as having an old scar on his thumb where he’d nearly cut it off working on an old ship almost a decade ago. He was completely amazed.

  Finally, he had the courage to look at his face. Unlike the normal Tracer that the Ostillion’s had created before, he had a completely structured face instead of the half-and-half that he was used to seeing. Draxis ran his fingers across his sharp cheekbones, realizing that he could actually feel things again, his skin was so soft.

  “This is amazing.” He whispered, his voice still had a robotic sound to it, but they’d managed to capture his tone almost perfectly.

  Talon smiled at Draxis.

  “Welcome back to the world Adrian.” He said.

  Before he could reply, a strange, black mist appeared behind him. The mist quickly took the shape of a man and made Draxis realize almost immediately who
it was. Sylaris.

  “You look good my child.” He hissed. “But do not forget who you are.”

  Draxis returned his gaze to Talon, who’d been completely frozen in place ever since the mist had appeared.

  “Draxis.” Said Sylaris with a sinister grin upon his face.

  Draxis chuckled to himself and raised a finger from his hands resting point of the chair he was sitting in. Suddenly, Sylaris plunged into the floor in agony, his legs sounding as if they’d snapped completely in half as he did so. Draxis maintained eye contact with his master as he rose from his seat and began to move towards him.

  “A new body.” He whispered.

  Sylaris began to slowly rise from the ground, floating from Draxis’ pure will.

  “Do not mistake my willingness to learn for servitude.” Growled Draxis.

  He waved his hand, making Sylaris turn to face him and spreading his body back into a standing pose.

  “I am thankful for what you have given me.” Said Draxis.

  Now over his show of strength, he released Sylaris from his grasp, allowing him to fall back onto his knees.

  “But I did not swear fealty to you.” He said.

  Unexpected by the new Tracer, Sylaris broke into a hysterical laughter and began to clap his hands for his student.

  “That is what I need.” He said. “That is your destiny.”

  Draxis turned to face Sylaris once again.

  “What?” He asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Replied Sylaris. “Go to the sword mountain. Inside you will find a chest with my name on it. It contains the last key to your power.”

  With that, Sylaris was gone in a puff of black mist just as quickly as he’d arrived.

  “Draxis.” Corrected Helen before Draxis had to the chance to say anything.

  Talon became somewhat flushed by the correction and he sat into a chair next to Helen, across from Draxis.

  “Yes, of course, my apologies.” He stammered, rubbing his palm nervously against the arm of the chair.

  Draxis stood up from his seat and smiled down at the two.

  “Thank you, Doctor.” He said, turning his head to the door. “I’d like to see my people.”

  Talon jumped up excitedly. He seemed more pleased by the entire situation than even Draxis could ever be.

  “Of course my Lord!” Shouted Talon.

  Draxis raised an eyebrow at the mechanic, causing Talon to blush with embarrassment.

  Talon gesture towards the door as Helen stood up to accompany them and the three walked out, leaving the other rather silent mechanics to stand in the room.

  “They look human don’t they?” Asked Talon, seeming to read Draxis’ mind.

  “Aren’t they?” Asked Draxis.

  Talon shook his head.

  “Prototype Androids.” He replied. “I tried to make them as human as possible without using a human brain. They speak and move, but not out of free will.”

  “A work in progress.” Admired Draxis as they left the room.

  * * *

  The door to the exit opened up, revealing a small town surrounded by a glass dome. Draxis stared up through the large structure, admiring how beautiful the skies of Ostillion were, brightened by the two small suns that orbited the giant planet.

  “Just as I remembered.” He whispered to himself.

  The people of the town were all focused on their jobs throughout the site. Some worked on cutting firewood while many others harvested different types of plants to feed the small community. If he hadn’t known that this was the last of his people, he would have found it fascinating. Instead, he was quite disturbed by the image.

  “Is this what you had in mind for an empire?” Asked Talon.

  Draxis turned to him, surprised.

  “No offense intended.” Talon quickly spouted. “I just mean, it’s not much.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Said Draxis.

  Draxis gave Helen a disappointed look and stepped away from Talon to move closer to the town.

  “Smooth.” Scolded Helen, smacking Talon on the shoulder.

  Talon shrugged his shoulders at her and smiled only to be ignored as she followed after her leader.

  As the trio walked, people slowly began to notice who was coming down the hill from the medical bay. One by one, they all turned to stare at the newly elected ruler of Ostillion. Even the people from the Eradicator had taken up jobs, making Draxis wonder how long he’d truly been out of commission.

  A crowd had gathered at the bottom of the hill. Elias stood at the front awaiting his master as eagerly as a robot could. Draxis’ eyes lit up as he saw the little machine bouncing for joy. As he came to a stop, Draxis put his hands up to address the people.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been home!” He shouted so that they could all hear him. “Oh, how I’ve missed the suns, the moons, and the fresh air of our home. Of course, we don’t really have the fresh air anymore aside from this lovely refuge.”

  Many Ostillions nodded at him.

  “I’ve come to lead our people back to glory.” He said as he stepped closer to them.

  “A Tracer leading humans?” Asked one of the guys at the front.

  Draxis’ eyes closed, the words ate at his soul as he absorbed them. He shot his hand in the direction of the man and used his powers to pull him down onto his knees.

  “Yet.” Muttered Draxis, stepping over to look the man in the eyes. “You bend the knee for one as we speak?”

  The man groaned as he tried to resist the crushing energy.

  “I bled for this planet.” Growled Draxis.

  He knelt down in front of the man and used a finger to move his chin to make eye contact.

  “I, am, human.” He whispered.

  The man nodded in desperation, silently begging Draxis to release him. Feeling somewhat generous, Draxis did as the man wished, allowing him full control over his body once again.

  “I did not come here to force people to serve me. But I was elected by these former prisoners to lead the people of Ostillion, and that’s what I intend to do.”

  Draxis smiled at his people, who remained dead silent.

  “Welcome to the New Ostillion Empire, my friends.” He said.

  Chapter 16

  Sam stopped abruptly as a Kharan guard bounded passed the door. He’d been trying to get into the archives for what seemed like hours, but every time he saw a window, another brute would appear out of nowhere. It almost felt like they secretly knew that he was there.

  “Can’t we go already?” Begged Gerrig.

  Sam had noticed how jumpy he’d become the moment they stepped out of the docks. It just occurred to him that he’d never known the story about why Gerrig’s horns had been shaved, which was considered the ultimate shaming for a Kharan.

  “No, we almost had it!” Insisted Sam.

  “If they catch us, Sam.” He whispered.

  “They won’t!” Said Sam, ducking further behind the wall as the Kharan came back by.

  “Now or never.” Murmured Gerrig.

  The two immediately sprang for the archives door, not even checking to see if anyone was watching them. As they got inside, Sam went straight to the closest terminal to search through the dungeon’s cell files in order to find where they were keeping his brother. He motioned for Gerrig to guard the door as he located the correct section, all he had to find was his brother’s name before the guards came back.

  “Sam!” Hissed Gerrig, breaking his friend’s concentration.

  “What?” Cried Sam.

  “Someone’s coming!” He replied.

  Sam jumped over the terminal railing and hid in the small storage compartment underneath it. While Gerrig hid behind the shelves somewhere.

  The door creaked open, causing Sam’s breathing to get caught in his throat. He could feel the ground quaking as an enormous Kharan pounded across the floor as if he knew that someone was sneaking about. Sam remained quiet, knowing that if he’d made a sound, there
’d be no chance in all of the galaxy that he’d save his brother. The Kharan began to sniff as if he could smell Sam’s fear. He could hear his giant palms grip the railing of the terminal.

  “Who are you?” Asked the Kharan. “I can sense you.”

  “Sense me?” Asked Sam to himself.

  The Kharan leaped over the rail; Before he could even see anyone, Sam leg swiped him and ripped a blade out of one of his hidden sheaths. As he jumped on top of the stunned Kharan, the element of surprise had already become a disadvantage. The Kharan used his bulk to his own benefit, launching Sam into the metal bars of the terminal rail. The metal screeched down at him as it bent to the form of Sam’s body.

  Sam desperately looked around as the Kharan got back to his feet. He couldn’t see Gerrig anywhere. The Kharan charged in horns first, ready to impale the small, nimble human. Sam waited until the perfect time before springing upwards and using his arms to do a backflip over the railing and back onto the terminal. The Kharan smashed into the railing, ripping it completely out of it’s cemented location.

  “Gerrig!” Shouted Sam.

  He didn’t want to have to kill the Kharan; If they were caught a murder would definitely result in execution, but Gerrig wasn’t answering.

  “Just give up.” Growled the Kharan.

  Sam shook his head and flipped the dagger around in his hand.

  “I don’t lose.” He said in a low, confident tone.

  His comment made the Kharan chuckle; He lunged towards Sam again, using the same technique as before.

  Sam dodged, again and again, each time tiring the Kharan out more and more. It was odd to him that he was actually starting to enjoy watching the Kharan struggle to catch him. But he finally got sick of dancing; He leg swiped the Kharan again and rolled over his chest, using the dagger to slice his throat open. He groaned and spat as the blood poured from his neck.

  Sam breathed a sigh of relief and fell onto his buttocks.

  “I’m sorry.” Whispered Gerrig.