“What do we do about those cadets?” she asked. “They seem to be getting ready to board the Orion, and I’m guessing a closed door won’t be enough to stop them.”
“Of course not. We’re going to give them a warm welcome,” he grinned. “Those guys won’t know what hit them.”
***
“Shhh,” Kai said. “They’re coming.”
Chris nodded and kept still.
He could hear the voices of the enemy cadets come from above, their steps slow and heavy.
One of them whistled, “Look at this beauty of a ship,” a voice said.
Kai put his hand on the wall. Now, he thought. Two loud thuds sounded in quick succession.
“Okay, we’re clear,” he scrambled up the ladder and opened the hatch. When they emerged they were greeted by the sight of two enemy cadets lying flat on the floor, completely unconscious.
“What did you do?” Chris asked.
He picked up two pointed cylinders next to the men, “The Orion has a few rockets lined up on the inner walls in case intruders manage to gain access. Pretty easy to direct those at these idiots.”
“We still have to save the others,” she said, her darting eyes showing that she was working on multiple problems at the same time.
“You know we can’t take on the enemy, don’t you?” Kai asked. “We don’t know anything about them. We don’t know who they are, what skills they have, what weapons they possess. Nothing.”
She calmed down a bit, “What do we do now?” she asked.
He stared at the cadets they had knocked out. They wore black suits and a kind of visor around their eyes. Their weapons lay on the floor next to them. Kai noticed that they were advanced energy-powered blasters, which wasn't that big a surprise.
He had no idea how strong these enemy men were in combat. The only way to find out would be to head to the enemy camp itself and that idea was just-
“-brilliant!” He jumped up, much to the surprise of a bewildered Chris. “I have a plan,” he said. “We can wear these enemy cadets’ uniforms and sneak into their camp.”
“And?” Chris waited for him to finish.
“That’s it. There’s no ‘and’,” he said, his face all pumped up and confident.
“So you want us to head into enemy camp,” Chris recapped.
Kai nodded at her.
“But you have no idea what to do after that.”
He nodded.
“And you think this plan will work.”
He nodded.
“Well,” She shrugged. “Normally I’d pound you to the ground for such a stupid plan, but I don't have any better ideas so I guess we’ll go with this one.”
They both changed into the black suits and armed themselves with the guns. The visors seemed to have broken, so they didn’t wear those.
They opened the Orion’s hatch door and lowered the exit stairwell. Kai quickly scanned the surroundings to make sure there was no one around. He was relieved to see there wasn’t another soul in sight but it made him feel lonely as well. He had never thought he would see Aliea this quiet and dull. It was like someone has sucked the Academy of all its life.
He pushed the thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. A simple slip up could cost them their lives.
“Keep your gun ready,” he told Chris.
Kai ran down the stairwell and looked around, wondering in which direction they should head.
Chris walked up to him, “The enemy camp is probably next to the warship,” she said.
“Shhh,” he said impatiently. He closed his eyes and concentrated, honing his senses. The noise around him quieted, and he heard faint marching sounds coming from the left. That meant the camp was in the opposite direction.
“To the right,” he ran as fast as he could with Chris running right next him. The marching noises were rhythmic. There were a lot of people heading towards them, probably an army, and Kai didn't have to guess whose army they were.
The enemy.
***
Kai’s mind was trippy and jumpy. He constantly turned back to check on the distance between him and the army.
“Um... aren't we supposed to join the army?” Chris asked. “I don’t think joining and running away are the same thing.”
Kai was still checking the road behind them, “We can’t walk into that army just like that,” he said.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Our best bet is to hope these uniforms help us get into their camp.” He looked at the largest tower in the area, the Demon Riser. Its black surface radiated a timeless defiance. It was a building that represented immense power.
“Shouldn’t we head to the Demon Riser instead?” Chris asked, “It’s highly probable that the enemy is using it for their temporary headquarters.”
“No one can attack the Demon Riser,” Kai explained, “Its defenses are too good. The enemy would never be able to get in. But if they did actually get in, then there’s no way we can breach it.”
She sighed, “Why is everything so complicated?”
Kai heard loud whirring noises coming from a few buildings away. He looked around him, trying to pick out where the sounds were coming from.
“There,” he pointed to a dome shaped structure peeping out from behind a few buildings. There were a lot of ships constantly landing and taking off a mile away from them. “That’s the enemy’s home base,” he said. “If we infiltrate it, we’re a step closer to taking Aliea back.”
They walked together, side by side, towards the camp. Kai didn’t know what the dome-shaped building had originally been meant for, but right now it seemed to have been converted into fully functional battle camp. There were plenty of hovercraft entering and exiting the building. Huge battleships lay around the camp, armed and ready to wreak havoc. It looked like the whole camp was preparing for Aliea’s annihilation.
Chris poised her laser blaster, ready to respond to danger.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, “Are you crazy?”
She looked at him, confused.
“We’re going in as cadets, not enemies,” he said. “Don't raise your weapon.”
She nodded and put back her laser blaster. Kai heard the faint sounds of marching become louder and louder. He could see the army approaching them, their steps becoming faster and faster.
“C'mon,” he caught Chris’ hand and ran to the camp. There was a single cadet outside the entrance, a large laser rifle in his hand. His well-built figure towered over the two of them.
“Just stay calm okay?” Kai whispered.
Chris nodded and walked confidently, her act showing at most dominance over everything around her. Whether it was her act or just dumb luck Kai didn't know, but they walked inside conveniently without a flicker of suspicion from the guard.
The dome was just as Kai had predicted it to be, a hardcore battle station. Weapons and devices hung on the walls, and cadets stood in groups chatting noisily. In one corner several men in white coats carefully inspected a huge metal sphere.
“Wonder what that is,” Chris pointed to the device.
“HOLY HELL!” Kai exclaimed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards him. “Sorry,” he said meekly and clasped his mouth. “That’s a nuclear bomb,” he mumbled.
“What’s a nuke doing here?” she asked.
“I don’t know but it can’t be good,”
“You there!” a voice came from behind them.
“Act normal,” Kai whispered and turned around just as a short, broad-shouldered man walked up to him.
“What are you doing here, cadet?” he asked.
Kai tensed. He felt for the trigger on his gun, while his mind grasped around for an answer.
“You should be at the mothership, working with the maintenance team,” the man barked.
Chris sighed with relief.
The man turned to her, “What’re you sighing for?”
“Nothing, sir,” she straightened instantly.
“Then get back to your post!” and with that the man left.
Kai could feel all eyes looking at them. Chris fidgeted around. He knew she didn’t like being the center of attention. He walked her away from the crowd, to a corner of the room.
“Thanks,” she said.
He smiled, “That was a close one, but why do I have to go for maintenance duty?”
Chris pointed at his suit. He turned around and saw that the back said ‘Maintenance’ in bold letters.
“Oh, wow,” Kai said, feeling like an absolute moron.
Why would those enemy cadets from earlier be from the maintenance crew? he wondered. Then he realized those two must have been trying to salvage any tech from the ship and take it back to home base.
“Dude, c’mon,” a few guys called him. Kai stared at them quizzically. Then he saw that they had ‘Maintenance’ written on their suits’ backs as well.
“Oh great,” he mumbled, “My maintenance buddies.” He turned to Chris, “I guess I have to go with them,” he said.
She grabbed his hand, “When will you be back?” she asked, her fingers trembling in his palm.
Kai remembered that Chris’ was mainly a healer. She had learned to fight but she wasn’t exactly a specialist. She had never been on a solo mission, so it was natural that she was scared. Right now, though, he needed her to stay strong. Getting onto the mothership was an amazing chance for Kai to seize the enemy from within, but he felt that telling her that wouldn't really calm her down.
He held her by her shoulders, “Listen to me. It’ll be all right,” he said “You’ve trained for this your whole life, you’ll do amazing okay?”
She nodded.
He took out a small device the size of a pill, and gave it to her. “It’s a communicator,” he said. “This way we’ll always be in touch.”
She managed a smile as well. Her eyes though showed the fear inside her. Her clammy fingers clutched onto the communicator. “I’ll be okay,” she said.
“Let’s beat the hell out of these guys,” he said and walked off, waving goodbye.
He hated that he had to be separated from her, he hated that he had to leave her alone when she needed someone beside her. All he wanted to do was protect her and keep her safe. He preferred to see her emotionless and cold, compared to the way she was right now, all worried and sad.
“Hello?” a maintenance guy waved his hand in front of Kai’s face.
“Oh, sorry, I spaced out I guess.” He noticed that everyone spoke just like he did so there was no necessity to change his speech patterns.
“Still thinking about your girl?”
Kai glanced back at Chris, “Yeah,” he sighed.
“That’s funny, I never remembered seeing a couple on the ship before,” he said.
“Me neither,” his friends joined in.
Kai shrugged. He turned his head toward the sky, wondering what he would have to do to get everything back to normal again.
***
1-4
Taylor opened her eyes and looked around in a daze. She recalled being stunned by a drone, but her memory ended there. Elizabeth lay next to her fast asleep, and a few other cadets were spread around the room.
She noticed this was some sort of building. There were dim, flickering lights throughout the room, which suggested this was one of the unused buildings on campus.
How did I get here? She wondered. She nudged Elizabeth awake, “Elizabeth?”
“Good morning,” she mumbled and stretched herself out, “I just had the weirdest dream.”
“I hate to break it to you, sweetie, but Aliea has been compromised.”
Elizabeth sat up straight, “That wasn’t a dream,” she murmured.
“Taylor! Elizabeth!” A voice called out to them.
Juliana ran towards them and gave them a hug, “I’m so happy to see you,” she said, her face riddled with worry and a hundred other emotions.
Taylor skipped the emotional formalities and got straight to business, “How many cadets have we got here?” she asked.
“Around thirty people,” Juliana said. “But I think there might be other hostage sites somewhere else.”
“Wait…What?” Elizabeth asked. “We’re hostages?”
“What did you think?” Juliana asked.
“Well, I assumed this was a shelter for the sick and injured,” Taylor replied.
“Q,” Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. “What happened to Q?”
Taylor’s face changed, “I don’t remember anything after we got surrounded by the drones. What about you?” she asked.
“Same here.”
“He’s a strong young man,” Juliana smiled. “He’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
That didn’t make Taylor feel any better. Everyone knew about Q’s strong side but she was probably the only one who had seen his weak one. She couldn't even think of leaving him alone at a time like this. But she knew she had no other choice for the time being.
“What happened to the warship?” Elizabeth asked.
“Luckily, the ship took out an uninhabited part of the academy so there were no causalities,” Juliana said. “But I think every ship we have has either been wrecked by the warship landing or by the fire that started afterwards.”
“At least the cadets are all safe,” Taylor sighed.
“No info on the others?” Elizabeth asked.
“I don’t know anything about Carlos’ whereabouts,” Juliana confessed. “Kai and Chris as well.”
“Let’s hope they’re all okay,” Taylor said.
Juliana bit her lip, “Did any of you see Levi?” she asked. “It’s only his second day here so I don’t think he’s going to know how to react to all this.”
Taylor saw the worried expression Juliana wore. She had to admit she was a bit worried too. Aliea Academy needed some getting used to and that became exponentially harder when there was a huge warship threatening to blast them into oblivion.
“He’ll be fine, don't worry,” Taylor said. “Q told me Levi seemed like a well-seasoned fighter. He’ll find a way to survive.”
“I hope so,” Juliana said.
The ground started vibrating, its amplitude increasing until it was a full scale earthquake. Taylor stumbled as she made her way to the window with Elizabeth and Juliana right behind her. They looked out just in time to see a man with a white aura fly out of the Demon Riser. The part of the force field the nanobots fixed deactivated for a second, and the man slipped through it.
“Just who was that?” Taylor gasped.
“Beats me,” Elizabeth replied. “I don't think he’s from Aliea though.”
Juliana put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder, “You okay?” she asked.
Taylor realized that her face was all scrunched up from thinking too hard. She sighed, “I’m fine.”
“What’s going on here?” an armored-man walked up to them.
“Nothing,” Elizabeth murmured and walked away.
“Answer the question!” he caught her arm.
A pair of snow white wings emerged from her back, and she glared at him with her intense fiery eyes. The guard screamed in horror and scampered away as fast as he could.
“What was that?” one of the cadets asked Elizabeth, her face showing she was in completely awe.
“I’m a Seraphian,” Elizabeth replied, and everyone sounded a collective ‘Oh’ like that explained everything. Well, it did actually. The Seraphians were a race known for their characteristic angelic wings.
“Don’t be fooled,” Taylor said, “Seraphians may look like angels, but they sure don’t act like one,” she laughed and everyone, including Elizabeth, joined in.
Taylor could feel everyone slowly ease out of the tense situation and calm themselves down.
In the middle of all the laughter Elizabeth snatched Taylor aside, “We’ve got to think up of a plan,” she said.
Such a sudden shift in moods, Taylor thought. But she knew it was necessary for her to do so. T
hey needed to be the beacon of hope for all those cadets who were afraid.
“We’ve got to get out of this building first,” Elizabeth said.
“We can easily take these enemy cadets out,” Taylor said. ”But then they might threaten to harm the hostages,”
“If we do storm out, I don’t think we’ll be a match for the whole opposition. That ship was loaded with massive weaponry. Warship versus us? I don’t see much of a chance.”
“What if we found reinforcements?”
“Where could we get reinforcements?”
Taylor closed her eyes. The black bracelet on her wrist glowed with a bright light. It stretched out into a ribbon of light and wrapped around her body, covering her completely. When it stopped glowing, Taylor was in full battle armor, the armor of the Dark Knights.
It was a deep black like the bracelet, with an even darker aura emanating from it. It had sharp cuts all over its surface, leaving sharp points jutting out of the suit and threatening to impale anyone who assaulted her. Her suit had a helmet and her electric eyes stared through the dark, transparent visor
Taylor could see Elizabeth step away from her the moment she equipped her suit. It wasn’t a big surprise. The aura that the armor radiated usually instilled fear in those around it.
“What did you do that for again?” Elizabeth asked, still a little cautious of the armor.
“I need that if I’m going to go get help from the only other people I know.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. It wasn't a surprise who she was going to go get help from.
One of the most powerful organizations in the Universe.
The Dark Knights.
***
Taylor walked up to the entrance, her armor radiating a dark aura that made her look like a messenger from Hell, her deathly look adding to her ‘I will kill you’ appeal.
She looked around to scan the area, but there wasn't a single enemy cadet in sight. All of them had disappeared. She wondered if Elizabeth’s wings had scared them off, but that was highly unlikely. They seemed to have left on purpose and that didn't make her feel any better about the situation they were in.
The Quest Saga Collection: Books 1 - 5 Page 40