—Message Sent—
Alex was two steps into the kitchen for a snack when his OMBI vibrated with the reply.
Message 1: Yes! Thank God you’re alright. I’ve been worried. Pick me up at my place tomorrow at 7? –Lyria
Delivered 1000 2121-07-16
From: Lyria Shepherd
Alex wore a huge smile on his face as he replied.
To: Lyria Shepherd
Subject: Re: Dinner
Message: See you tomorrow at 7! –Alex
—Message Sent—
~ ~ ~
Major Sanders had been in his quarters all morning, dreading the transmission that he’d scheduled. When the light activated on his terminal, Sanders almost didn’t answer it.
“Sanders here,” he said reluctantly.
“Major, I’ve been getting reports from Earth that there are riots in the streets and the EMC has been exposed,” The Shadow said to him in its distorted voice.
“I received the same reports. The Dragoon has really stirred things up. But the EMC is cracking down hard on the rioters. It could be an all-out massacre within a couple of weeks.”
“I understand, Major. What is your report on our progress?”
Sanders hesitated too long.
“What happened?” The voice on the other end of the transmission sounded anxious.
“Connor Pereira is in the infirmary.”
The silence lasted several seconds, the magnitude of the statement sinking in.
“Is he okay?” came the reply, concern evident even through the distortion.
“He has been unconscious since they found him, but he’s stable. He was found in a training room within minutes of the incident, having been stunned and beaten by somebody. No one was supposed to use that room for two days, but oddly, every officer and staff member got an anonymous message on their datapad at exactly the same time informing them to proceed immediately to the room where he was. Even two AFMRs showed up.”
“I see. Who was responsible?”
“No one has come forward. But, since there was no training scheduled, I suspect the Head Commander may have had something to do with it. The boy has enemies here, so it could have been several people.”
“Listen to me. Find out who is responsible and report back to me.”
The transmission ended abruptly, as it usually did. Sanders sat back at his console in deep thought. The incident had upset him too, but he couldn’t just accuse the Head Commander of setting up a merciless beating of a ten-year-old boy.
~ ~ ~
Marlena Mercer sat under the orange-colored tree with tears in her eyes, all thoughts of the riots on Earth gone from her mind. The thought of her sweet son being hurt by somebody made her furious and she felt helpless being more than eight thousand light years from where she could do anything about it.
Her eyes looked back to her ship sitting nearby and, not for the first time, she thought about attempting to get to Earth. She knew, however, that she would be dead long before she got close no matter how accurate her slipstream jump was. She had tried once before right after the incident of 2115 and had barely escaped. From her contacts on Earth she knew that there was a standing “shoot on sight” order for her and her ship.
Frustrated and angry, Marlena screamed as loud as she could. Her voice echoed through the Grimnir Mountains for miles around, but no one was around to hear it.
Chapter 11
The Wolf Inside
There was nothing but water as far as the eye could see. Austin had been on the transport for the better part of an hour, heading toward a base where he was to receive special training, or so he had been told. Ever since he had been named the next candidate to be trained as an operative, he’d been transferred from base to base every day. In each place he was given a physical or psychological exam before he was moved to the next.
As the transport began its descent, Austin looked from the cabin out the front window to see a small landing pad in the middle of the ocean. He wondered what sort of exam they might give him on such a small platform. When the craft touched down, he was ordered to disembark by the pilot, who proceeded to lift off after Austin had gotten out.
He watched the transport fly away and wondered if someone had decided to play some kind of prank on him, since he was apparently alone in the middle of the ocean. He waited for several minutes until finally the platform shifted slightly, opening up to reveal a large tube-shaped lift. The airman upon the lift waved him over.
“Are you Corporal Hughes?”
Austin nodded.
“My orders are to take you down below. Get on the lift!”
When he stood on the lift, it began to descend through the platform into the ocean below. Once they were below the platform, the metal walls became glass and Austin watched as they plunged beneath the surface of the ocean, down into the dark depths. They continued downward for nearly five minutes until Austin saw lights below him. The underwater facility was made up of two large domed buildings, and several smaller domes around them. They were connected with short walkways that appeared to be made of glass.
When the lift reached the bottom, the doors opened and Austin was greeted by a man he had seen, but never met.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Corporal Hughes,” the man said slowly, sizing Austin up.
“Likewise, General Harruhama.” Austin saluted the commander of the Earth Military Council.
“I understand that you have proven to be a loyal soldier to the UEDF, trying to stop your friend from betraying us.”
“Yes, sir. Captain Pereira informed me of a malfunction in his OMBI and had me instruct an AFMR to remove a faulty inhibitor. I regret it now, sir. The removal of the inhibitor drove him insane,” Austin said, giving the report to the best of his ability.
“It is a shame you could not stop him, he was a good soldier.”
“Yes, sir, and a good friend.”
The two began walking through the underwater halls of the facility, Harruhama leading Austin down a long corridor with the dark weight of the ocean on three sides.
“Do you know why you’re here?” Harruhama continued.
“Operative training, sir,” Austin replied confidently.
“Yes and no. Operatives are enhanced through a series of implants, making them faster, stronger, and more efficient combatants. You will receive these implants as well. But I have a different task in mind for you.”
“What is that, sir?” Austin asked, perplexed.
“I need a soldier that is capable of taking down a Battle Frigate or a Squad of Anubis Fighters. I need a soldier who can take down the Skoll, if necessary.”
“That ship is unlike anything I have ever seen, sir.”
“Then you will need a ship that is as unique,” Harruhama said as he opened the door into one of the bigger domes.
In front of Austin was a large suit of armor that looked vaguely like Skoll, except where Skoll looked like a dragon-faced, black suit of samurai armor, this was a wolf-faced, white suit that looked like a 16th Century knight.
“This is Hati. I want you to try to operate it.”
“Hati … Okay, I will,” Austin said reverently.
Austin walked around to the back of the kneeling Battle Armor Vessel and climbed inside. The cockpit was cramped and he could barely make himself fit into it. He forced his arms and legs in and reached out through his OMBI to the ship.
Nothing.
He tried again, concentrating on the intricacies of the vessel, reaching out to it. He could feel the power of the ship around him, and through his OMBI understood that this device would not work for him.
“Sir, I don’t think I can pilot this ship,” Austin said with no small amount of disappointment.
“Why is that, Corporal?”
“I can feel it, sir, through my OMBI. I am reaching out to it, it can hear me, but it’s not obeying me.”
“That is unfortunate,” Harruhama said.
“Sorry, sir; I can try aga
in if you like.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. We had suspected that it bonded to the previous pilot, but we wanted to be sure. We would have preferred for you to pilot Hati, but anticipating your failure, we have constructed another vessel.”
Harruhama led Austin from the room into an adjacent dome where another Battle Armor Vessel waited. This one was far larger than Hati or Skoll, with massive arms and legs supporting a barrel chest. The Battle Suit Vessel was all red and looked like a suit of armor made for an ogre.
“Corporal, this is Fenris. A Battle Suit Vessel designed by the best engineers in the EMC, using specifications from the other two, to use your OMBI to interface with its weapons and navigation.”
“Impressive,” Austin said stoically as he walked up to the giant red ship. He had to climb up the massive legs to get aboard. As he settled in and slid his arms and legs into place, the thirty-foot-tall machine powered on.
Austin reached through his OMBI to Fenris, ordered it to move about the room slowly. The ship complied and took several weighted steps. It was slow and heavy, but Austin could feel the power surging through his bracer.
“I will let you two get acquainted. Report to the infirmary when you’re ready to receive your enhancements; we have a lot of work to do, so don’t wait too long,” Harruhama said, smiling as he walked out the door.
~ ~ ~
He awoke to find himself lying near a small creek in the woods, the sound of rushing water drawing him from his nap. Connor didn’t remember falling asleep here, but as he got up, he felt a sense of solitude. He knew the place; it was a ranch he had spent a couple of summers at with William learning how to shoot and ride horses. However, looking around, he could not see any structures or animals.
He walked along the creek bed, stumbling around rocks and fallen logs, looking for a way to higher ground so he could figure out where he was on the ranch. He didn’t remember how he got out that far out, but it seemed unlikely to him that he had walked. His confusion grew as he looked around for vehicle tracks but found none. Resolving to figure it out later, he walked on, until he came to an old road.
He walked up the road for nearly twenty minutes. His legs were sorer that he thought they should be as he climbed the hill up to where the houses were supposed to be located. When he got to the top, Connor was deeply saddened to find the beautiful log cabins and barns in ruins on the ground. There were no vehicles or people, just the ruins. By the look of them, they had been destroyed a long time ago.
Connor turned around to look out at the countryside and the mountains beyond. They were as pristine as he remembered, treed hills rolling up steep inclines to the high mountains that surrounded the valley. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the summer sun felt warm on his skin. While looking around he spotted a strange figure on a nearby hill, known as “Lookout Point.”
Connor remembered it well, because on a trip there with William, they had gone to the top to take pictures. But Connor, in an angry fit about something he couldn’t remember, decided to take his shoes off and throw them as hard as he could. He chuckled at the memory of it now, of how childish his anger was back then.
The figure seemed like a tall man, and when Connor walked to the base of the hill, the man moved away from the edge where he had been standing. Connor began to climb, feeling his legs burning from the effort, each step causing labored breaths as he ascended the hill. When he got to the top, out of breath and hurting, Connor saw a familiar face of the ten-year-old version of William Mercer that Omega had used while training him.
“Omega?” Connor asked, uncertain.
“Good day, Initiator,” Omega replied impassively.
“What are you doing at the ranch?”
“I am here with you.” Omega replied as if it were obvious.
“Okay, but what happened to the houses?”
“They were destroyed.”
“What are we supposed to do now?”
Omega pointed to a tall mountain off in the distance, the largest one they could see from the top of lookout point.
“That’s great; we have to climb that?”
“The quest is about the journey, not the destination,” Omega replied cryptically.
Connor tried to activate his OMBI to produce a vehicle, but with no success.
“We cannot travel that way in here, I’m afraid.” A strange look of sympathy crossed Omega’s face.
“Let’s walk then,” Connor said, taking a few steps toward the mountain. As her turned to tell Omega to follow him, he noticed that the hologram was gone.
“Well that was a lot of help,” Connor quipped.
He descended back down to the creek the way he had come, and up the other side of the hill until he reached a long meadow and began to cross it, heading toward the mountain that Omega told him he had to climb. Along the way he noticed a picnic bench with a man sitting at it. As he approached, he recognized the face of his stepfather, William.
“William! I’m so glad you’re here!” Connor said with excitement.
“Me too; glad you didn’t forget about me,” William said, a sad look in his eyes.
“I never could. You’ve been my best friend since I can remember!”
That made William smile, slightly diminishing the ever-present wall of pain behind his eyes.
“Connor, I can’t walk this path with you. It’s going to be hard and scary, but I want you to know that I believe in you. I have always believed in you.”
William began to fade away like a wisp of smoke until Connor was alone again.
“I miss you, William,” Connor said, tears rimming his chocolate-colored eyes.
When he got to the end of the meadow, Connor came to a wooded hill that he began to walk up. The trees were thick, and Connor kept thinking that he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Tired of being stalked, he stopped and spoke loudly.
“Whoever is there, just come out!”
“Calm down, Tons! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention!” Alex said with a boyish smile on his face as he walked out from behind a tree.
“Alex! Oh man, I missed you. I came after you when I heard that Black Squadron had been beaten, but you were gone!” Connor said, running to hug his brother.
Alex put his arms around his little brother tightly as he spoke. “I know you did, kid, I appreciate it!”
“Where did you go?”
“I can’t tell you yet, but I want you to know something.”
“What?”
“Don’t believe everything you see,” Alex warned as he began to fade away.
“I won’t,” Connor said, taking a deep breath before continuing up the mountain.
When he got to the top of the wooded hill, he could see the mountain rising ahead of him and he knew he was going to have to push himself to make it there by nightfall. He began to run through a rocky valley on his way to the base of the mountain. That was where he saw her, waiting for him.
“Hi, baby,” Marlena greeted sweetly.
“Hi, Mom.” Connor ran to hug her.
They embraced tightly, Marlena’s hands tossing Connor’s hair.
“Mom, I miss you every day!” Connor said, tears in his eyes for the second time that day.
“I miss you too, baby. I am so proud of you!” Marlena stared lovingly at her son.
“Do you have a message for me too?”
“Only that I love you, and when the time comes I’ll be there for you.” She said it so sincerely that Connor almost believed she wasn’t dead.
As she began to dissipate Connor cried out.
“Mom, don’t leave me!”
Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he ran to hold on to her. She looked back at him through glistening tears, fading away.
When she was gone Connor fell to the ground, sobbing. He sat there until the sun was low in the sky, unable to make himself stand to walk the rest of the way to the mountain.
He would have stayed there all night, but he heard a wol
f howling in the distance. The sound echoed through the evening air, making Connor’s skin crawl. Frightened, he got up and began to run up the side of the mountain, the sound of the wolf’s cry getting closer.
His legs ached with increasing pain and his lungs felt like they would burst, but still he ran, trying to climb faster. He could hear the footfalls of the creature that was behind him. Soon, he could feel it’s breath as it got close.
“Why do you run, Initiator?” the wolf asked into Connor’s mind with a solid baritone voice.
“I’m afraid!” Connor cried out into the night air.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore, I am here.”
“Who are you?” Connor asked, confused by why the telepathic wolf was not eating him.
“Hati, Initiator.” The wolf dipped one leg in a regal canine bow.
“Well that makes a lot of sense! I guess I’m dreaming?” Connor stated, annoyed.
“Indeed. I have come to help you awaken,” Hati said to him.
“Why can’t I wake up?”
“You were injured badly. This is the first time in your life, but it will not be the last.”
“That’s comforting. What do you mean by that, anyway?” Connor asked, his voice oozing sarcasm.
“The time will come when they will try to kill us, Initiator.”
“I don’t want to die,” Connor said quietly, putting his head down.
“Death is an inevitability of life,” the wolf stated casually.
The two sat staring at each other for a minute until Connor turned and began walking back up the hill.
“Are you coming, Hati?” Connor asked, a smile appearing on his face.
Hati cocked his head to the side. “Affirmative; why do you smile?”
“Because it’s all just a dream,” Connor said cheerfully.
The wolf paused before continuing, “Indeed … it’s all just a dream.”
As the two ascended to the top of the mountain, Connor stood tall, reaching his arms out toward the moon that was rising into the sky. Hati howled and began to run toward the rising moon very quickly. Connor watched as the wolf grew in size and climbed a far-off mountain before leaping high into the sky. The wolf then swallowed the moon whole, leaving the world in darkness.
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