Genesis - the Battle Within (Pillars of Creation Book 1)

by David Tucker

  Aware of his diminishing window for escape, he quickly adapted to the obstacle and relied on his affinity for low light and his recollection from the earlier briefings, which served him well enough to keep his momentum moving with a remnant of his prior haste. A few minutes later, Genesis finally arrived at an outer passage where he remembered seeing viewport windows.

  The intermittent flashes lit him up as the shadows that were cast across the passage danced and forced him to traverse the remaining steps more slowly. Regardless of his hindered speed, he saw he’d somehow made it intact, and before the vessel imploded. He relaxed slightly as he saw through the viewport directly ahead of him the mainly white and slightly green glow of the planet they were orbiting.

  Thank Sacred for that, he thought relieved. It was a large rectangular flexi-glass window, easily large enough for him to fit through, common to all spacecraft used by the SED and Skink militia.

  As he calculated his jump Me’lina jarringly chimed in yet again, “Genesis, suit status is at full space sustainability, ready when you are, but I really think this is—”

  Genesis heard the tiny scrape behind him as he shut out Me’lina, listening intently as his second personality grabbed hold of all his senses … In the name of the Sacred! That’s impossible, no one’s good enough to sneak up on an Immortal, no one’s that quiet.

  In stark contrast to his thoughts Genesis was aware of the strange presence far too late as it rushed up behind him. He felt the impact collide with his lower back with devastating brute force and malevolent violence, and he flew forward with enough force to smash painfully into the window a few metres away. Unfortunately, he only cracked the enhanced flexi glass; if he’d broken through escape would’ve been assured.

  Landing back on his feet, catlike, Genesis wheeled around, eyes narrowing almost to slits as he regained the wind that had well and truly been kicked out of him. He gasped – standing before him was a majestic and terrifying sight.

  The Tel’nagara stood perfectly still. At about two metres tall, the creature looked down upon him, its eyes blazing with white suns at their core. The guttural sound he’d heard before emanated from the creature. Me’lina translated it, and pulled up the data from Earth’s past encounters with the heretics.

  “Your time is at an end Wielder, they are coming and they know you are here, they know where you are and like those before, you will be their reclamation. You will submit now, your resistance is over, you will bend to my cause human.” As the last words pierced the air, the Tel’nagara flared its twin, pure psychic blades ceremoniously to life, illuminating the passage with silver light and bathing both combatants in its eerie glow.

  Bewildered and fascinated by the exalted sight, Genesis didn’t flinch as he took in every detail in a cursory glance – a talent from his years of training. As he raced through the details he took a snapshot and examined it in his split mind while staying on task.

  The creature had powerfully muscular horse-like legs, folding back on themselves before straightening towards the ground, and which it had obviously used to devastating effect – his back was aching and he was still short of breath.

  The alien’s torso and upper body resembled a human’s, but with elongated appendages and a long thin abdomen that rose into a muscular chest. Its shoulders were pointier than a human’s, but were also strong and muscular, with long biceps and forearms extended and moulded perfectly into tight bands of muscle, right down to its large three-fingered powerful hands. The creature had longer, thicker fingers than a human, but with similar-looking functions.

  Genesis noted a third protrusion from its heel, giving the foot a total of three large toe appendages, for what looked like superior stability. Two at the front and one at the back, and each was easily as wide as a regular man’s foot. Genesis figured it would be nearly impossible to knock the creature down. The Tel’nagara’s head and face was shaped like a human’s, but with a thinner longer forehead and glowing white eyes.

  But the main feature Genesis was drawn to, and what separated the creature from a human most of all, was its mouth. Attached to the jaw were four insect-like, but curved, mandibles, with rows of sharp teeth giving the creature a predatory look. Its grey skin had a texture similar to that of a reptile – gleaming, hard, smooth and tough looking. The smoothness, Genesis noted, was aided by its complete lack of hair, apart from a black mass on the very back of its head that looked more like tubular leather cords than hair. It was pulled together by some kind of ornamental and mechanical ring-like object that held the cords into a long tail that draped halfway down the creature’s back.

  Genesis became aware that the creature intrigued him so much that he’d still not drawn his own weapon. But something was off to him – the creature almost looked too perfect, too real – Genesis couldn’t put a finger on it, but he knew something wasn’t right here.

  Disturbing him further, was the difference between this creature and the pictures he’d seen on file of other Tel’nagara. Unlike the silky scarlet-clothed ones he’d seen before, this one was wearing highly technical, mottle green armour that was quite spectacular, with intricate inscriptions of alien dialect covering each piece. As a combatant, Genesis assessed each piece for weaknesses all within the brief seconds before each of them moved—

  The Tel’nagara, standing as still as he was, regarded him just as thoroughly.

  Strangely, the armour only lightly covered certain parts of the creature’s body, leaving the rest seemingly exposed and inadequately prepared for the task usually assigned to amour. Genesis noted the casings had separate pieces as well – its legs completely enclosed with three parts protecting the cannon, hock and thigh. Its loin area had a separate piece that attached to the leg, which arched up over the creature’s pointed hips and was fastened at the front with a small glowing green orb. From this point up, its abdomen was completely exposed, while its chest was covered in a breastplate front to back, with a second, larger, orb that blazed in alteration with the creature’s flashing eyes.

  Genesis was puzzled by how such armour could be anything more than a hindrance. Even the largest chest piece covered only the small upper section of its body and seemed an unqualified design, with its shoulders jutting out, exposed, along with its arms, long neck and head. All points Genesis would surely be able to take advantage of.

  Finishing his analysis, Genesis decided it looked ceremonial, rather than functional, especially the bands of armour which decoratively arched high over its shoulders and curved into the orb crystals on its chest and belt … his eyes followed the bands upwards, and he noted even more strangely, that these raised pieces ended ornately towards the creature’s head, forming yet another ineffective looking helm that covered only two thirds of the alien’s face and cranium—

  The creature moved its weapon, which hummed through the air, as it changed its stance and stepped a little closer.

  Genesis stepped back, moving his thoughts to battle perspective as he considered its blade intently. He saw that its weapons ran straight from its flesh, out of two apertures on its skin. He knew from his studies that these apertures ran the Tel’nagara’s psychic energies; channelling their own core Rieft and power magnificently. The blade even now seemed to flare more brightly as he gazed upon it.

  Genesis watched fascinated and a little jealous, as seemingly endless Rieft energy washed out of the apertures like an everlasting flow of water. It spilled over the hands of the Tel’nagara, engulfing them and transforming them into clutching grasps. The creature pulled the Rieft together through a small convoluted tube, which somehow captured the shimmering potency and shaped it into twin-pronged, menacing weapons.

  Genesis blinked away his mesmerised gaze, snapping his mind into gear and trying hard to be objective in light of what he was seeing … he noted another hint of movement as the blades seemed to react in anticipation of his observations.

  Come on Genesis focus, rely on your talents, you can do this, don’t get distracted, he urged hi
mself. He knew he needed to focus with complete clarity if he was to fight against this Tel’nagara and escape the exploding ship.

  He needed his fullest ability, and he needed to act fast or else their confrontation would be ended for them. Rather than wait for the creature to assault, which would give it an immediate advantage, Genesis decided to strike first.

  Chapter 11 Hunter or Hunted

  Genesis slightly hunched his entire body before leaping forward. He was like a coiled snake percussing its prey. His arm shot out ahead of him, instantly building Katana upon herself and closing the perceived radius of safety from the creature to an alarmingly close striking distance.

  Parrying in this bizarre fashion startled the Tel’nagara, and its last-second decision to leap backwards was left almost too late, the pre-emptive blow stunning the alien effectively. But as his initial strike fell a good two metres short, and with his other hand left trailing free, Genesis built his sidearm secretively behind his back with his nanos.

  The Tel’nagara was also surprisingly fast, and had moved clear long before Genesis landed a blow. The creature recovered quickly from the materialisation of Katana, and drew to full height, ready to advance. Almost smiling, Genesis saw his initial plan unfold perfectly – the Tel’nagara had fallen for his feigned miscalculation – the Immortal dropping instantly as the alien moved forward for the kill.

  The creature saw him fall to one knee as though Genesis had put too much velocity on his thrust, and it looked as though the Immortal had fallen accidentally. Genesis again feigned the mistake expertly, making himself look overly vulnerable, and as he predicted, the Tel’nagara began recoiling for its own perceived window of opportunity. Genesis waited patiently as the larger opponent moved over him.

  Before the alien could crush him, Genesis employed the second phase of his attack. He whipped his trailing arm back up, levelling his five-kilogram ion-pistol at the creature’s head and depressing the trigger almost simultaneously, over and over again. The loud blasts filled the hallway with brilliant blue and purple light as the rounds tore towards the alien creature’s face—

  Genesis couldn’t believe it was going to be so easy, and he smiled victoriously as his enemy’s face erupted and its head became obscured from view. He was almost about to relax and holster his sidearm when his throat tightened, realising what had just happened – he actually was foolish enough to think he’d had the upper hand. Now he was the one to be surprised.

  Instead of the intended result – blasting the creature’s head apart – the normally devastating ion-rounds exploded two centimetres in front of the Tel’nagara’s eyes, upon which a shielding of some kind rippled the shots spherically around its face and into the orbs studded on its armour, making them glow an angry shade of green. He gaped in amazement as the creature’s face instantly reappeared behind the green energy field. Genesis cursed his stupidity for underestimating a Tel’nagara, the alien race that had trained his religion right from its origins.

  Damn it, he cursed, I didn’t anticipate bleeding damned shields, no one ever mentioned those did they …

  Genesis scrambled to get clear, but as he backpedalled desperately the creature’s brow rose slightly, almost mockingly, as it cocked its head, and then in a flash it was its turn. The Tel’nagara’s form seemed to blink as it came at such a crushingly fast speed that his eyes struggled to keep up. The very air seemed to distort from its near impossible movement as it charged down the corridor straight towards him. Genesis barely had time to realise that he was retreating way too slowly to escape.

  Bringing its powerful right arm down, the creature aimed directly for the centre of his armoured face as its weapon screeched towards him. The alien struck the ground only once with its powerful legs before reaching him, and Genesis barely dove to the side in time, rolling back to his feet as the silver glow of the blade hissed millimetres from his cheek and ear. The Tel’nagara continued forward with its overspent momentum, rushing through like a gust of wind and still trying to slice its blade towards him as Genesis strained to evade the strike.

  He was still dissolving his pistol and just had enough time to restructure his Katana, using his talent to his fullest and building her into the twin form of his two scimitar blades, as he hit up against the wall. The creature stabbed its weapon into the ground, using it as an anchor to slow it down, simultaneously melting a deep trough through the corridor as it screeched to a complete stop and turned around.

  Genesis quickly changed his footing as he swapped from his heavily entrenched eishin-ryu stance to his more traditional kenjutsu stance, better suited to the smaller weapons and the miraculous speed to which the large creature seemed so uncannily capable of.

  Pointing his long scimitars down, as he customarily did in this faster stance, Genesis watched as the alien spun around in a blur of motion and tore towards him. The Tel’nagara took up a stance that Genesis recognised as mimicking Earth’s own practices.

  Surprising him however, and with a hiss of energy, the creature stopped short, lowering one of its blades and placing the metal inscribed tube inside a hidden fold at its side, leaving only its right blade remaining. It crouched back, regarding him carefully.

  The passage was still filled with Katana’s red glow and the Tel’nagara’s remaining blade’s silver glow. Genesis, informed by his second personality, knew that his laser sealing would only last a few more strikes when facing a Tel’nagara, so he aptly manipulated his own psychic energy and saturated Katana with his full power; Zeal had taught him this skill, which had, like everything else, taken him many years to master, but in such an occasion as this, he was glad he’d persevered and listened.

  He looked past the change in his coursing weapon, which could easily be seen as it burned brightly across Katana’s twin form, giving her a new menacingly low light as Genesis tried to wrap into the darkness for some sort of advantage. Just as he was concerning himself with this, the Tel’nagara spoke, breaking the weapon’s hums and hisses and giving Genesis a start with its abruptness and absurdity.

  “Human, in my one attack I can tell that I am more than your match, I am the judicator of my race and I am unparalleled in combat, even amongst my own – I warn you now, yield or I will force you to yield.”

  Genesis locked onto its burning eyes and replied defiantly, looking to anger the creature and possibly throw it off guard as he prepared for his next attack, “You may be unparalleled in your race, but so am I with my blade – alien judicator of heretic traitors.”

  Genesis immediately leapt forward, sending as much energy into his momentum as possible. His first blade struck out at the creature’s unprotected abdomen.

  This time, where the ion rounds had ended insignificantly, his blade now continued forward to the flicker and collapse of the Tel’nagara’s shield, which was obviously designed for only stopping fired rounds and not physical or Rieft-enhanced attacks. Disappointingly, Genesis saw that the creature’s own blocking blade just as quickly moved into place, sidling the danger at the last perceivable instant of evasion.

  In the same move, the creature’s blade glanced his strike harmlessly aside with its own, almost effortlessly, as the sounds of their contact rang out above the sound of the ship’s now screaming core. Their weapons both told of the true force behind their strength of blows, and Genesis, although mighty himself, could tell immediately the creature was far stronger than he was. Genesis recovered, barely, and tried a series of different attacks to throw the odds in his favour.

  At the finale of his attempts, seeing the same result as before, with his left blade taking predominance all the while and drawing as much attention as it possibly could, Genesis brought forward his second blade in a desperate, concluding and well-veiled hit.

  He utilised his stealth talent and sent the blade flashing forwards, keeping it well hidden and saturated in shadow right to the last second.

  Sailing hell bent towards the creature’s face, the scimitar somehow broke through the impenetrable
defence, and finally one of his attacks managed to make contact. But Genesis was dismayed as he watched it barely brush the alien, having only enough force to leave a shallow cut above the creature’s eye as the Tel’nagara whipped its head back, in matching speed. The energy and effort of getting to this point should have warranted him, he felt, much more of a victory.

  The momentum of Genesis gaining this ground though, brought the combatants crashing painfully together, with Immortal and alien abruptly losing their footing and wind. Sprawling over the top of the Tel’nagara, Genesis rolled forward, somehow managing to get back into a low crouch and slipping into the shadows. The creature, on the other hand, was taken off guard from being struck so heavily, obviously not expecting a smaller frame to knock it so ferociously.

  It reeled backwards, trying desperately to regain balance after being slammed into so hard; it took the entire length of the passage for its momentum to be countered as it hit up against the far wall, denting it deeply. Genesis remained focused only on his enemy with nothing able to break his concentration.

  Pausing … waiting, he stood his ground watching expertly for his target’s reaction from his darkened position, and inclination of its next move. Genesis watched a glow of blue fluorescent blood trickle from the wound above the Tel’nagara’s eye.

  Unfazed, the Tel’nagara also crouched menacingly, staring directly into the smaller human’s eyes with its blazing, and now angry, stare. But then a cool resolve washed over the creature’s face as it righted itself—

  Chapter 12 Last Out Turn off the Lights

  Genesis felt a ping in his Rieft fluctuations as the creature drew in its senses from all around like a vacuum pulling in air toward space. As though weighing all its intuitive options and measuring Genesis to the fullest extent, the creature broke the frozen moment, pacing towards him with long confident strides and again speaking, this time within his own mind.