Iana shuffled through her closet in an attempt to find the perfect robes for tonight. Long had it been since she had felt like this, giddy and excited to look glamorous for others. She stood naked in front of her modest—yet grand by any other’s opinion—wardrobe as the scent of flowers from the planet below as they had soaked with her in the bath she had enjoyed not so long ago. Even with her companion in the room with her, Iana showed no shame in being nude. She was comfortable in her skin and didn’t care who was around. Besides, after all this time at her side, if she couldn’t be herself with Bryx, then what kind of Empress could she be for the billions in the Empire. Tonight she would be the guest of honor in person, tonight she would be the Goddess on a mountain on Earth, in a place called Switzerland.
She remembered the days of arguments as the many separated cultures of the humans fought to be the home of the capital of Terra Sol; in the end it had been agreed upon for a so-called neutral site to be used and one untouched by the ravages of the Husk attacks. A picturesque city called Geneva was chosen to house the ruling body of the planet, and in a few hours Iana was to get the grand tour of the city from someone called a “mayor,” which would culminate at her arrival at the evening’s ceremonies. She felt giddy and excited and for once let herself revel in these feelings she so rarely gave in to.
Geneva, Switzerland – Place des Nations -
Four Months After Victory
“Our world has changed, and with it so have we,” Sara began her first public words as the Council of Earth. Her words—and her pause after she spoke them—hit home with all those attending the inauguration and those watching it around the planet. She stood tall on the podium perched on the stage at the Place des Nations in the heart of Geneva. In the audience were dignitaries, ordinary citizens, and some of the Lyarran representatives from the flagship above. The head table beside her had the Empress, her mammoth guard Bryx, Council Lyxia from the Dark Light and the nine members of the New Earth government. Everywhere she looked, there was someone with greater credentials for this position than her, but she stood tall with the fact that this is what her father wanted her to do.
“Only a short time ago, most of us thought we were alone in the universe. We let petty differences divide us and fought over land and religion because we knew no different. Now, I stand before you with my eyes open to see the truth: not only are we not alone but we are definitely not a power in the galaxy.”
Sara looked over to the Empress beside her who nodded in a gesture of support. She had heard the criticisms of her; she was a puppet of the aliens and she would bow to whatever whims they had. Sara had confronted the Empress with these concerns and was told that none of it would come true. Earth was free, a member of a galactic collective of worlds governed by the same ideals. So in response of these harsh words, Sara had chosen tonight to shoot back at her detractors.
“In the past few months I have learned much from the Empress and her people; the Lyarran Empire has opened their arms to us and offer many things that were beyond our reach. For that, and their help against scourge that ravaged our world I humbly thank them. But I have also heard the talk about my appointment to the Council and words like ‘puppet’ and ‘doormat’ have been thrown about casually in reference to me, so before we commence with tonight’s presentations I want to make something clear.”
“To those who said those words, to those who thought them as well, and to the Empress of the Lyarran Empire I will say that I am no one’s puppet or doormat! I will stand for Earth as a strong and loud voice, without bowing to those who may seek to disregard us. To be any less would dishonor the memory of my father who died at the start of this year’s events along with every other soul lost to the Husk. I stand before you proud to represent you, and in doing so I will promise that our voice will be heard!”
“As we speak, I have offers from Imperial interests pouring in for the mining rights to planets in our solar system. After consulting with our new government officials, I will be responding back to those interests with a no. We will learn how to harvest our own resources and will offer them to the highest bidder while protecting those resources from being stripped bare by someone who doesn’t care! I have come to learn that we have a wealth of riches surrounding us, and we will guard these riches. We have also gotten requests for tourism to open on Earth; planets like ours with the wonders we know so well are rare and quite popular. For this option, I have asked for time—not only to rebuild the devastation left behind, but for us as a people to heal as well. From all this we shall arise a stronger people, and most importantly a united people!”
“As we step forward into this new life, we must remember what it cost us to get here. Billions were lost, and we are lesser now without them. We must also thank Council Lyxia of the Dark Light as she bravely chose to come to our aide against the will of the Council and in doing so lost many of her own people.” Applause began to rise and Sara paused to let the adulation run its course. Once it died down, she continued.
“Lastly, we must give thanks to a man who gave his life to ensure all this. Aen was much more than a man—the result of a crooked experiment by our own people that created not a monster, but an angel that we so sorely needed at our side. Tonight we raise our glasses to salute those who have fallen and to those who risked it all to make sure we will see the dawn of tomorrow.”
Sara stopped and stepped back from the microphone, unsure of how her words would be taken. Before the pangs of regret could dig into her soul, the crowd returned her raised glass to honor the fallen. Then the applause began in earnest and rose to a thunderous volume quickly as people stood on their feet to cheer and show their appreciation of what was heard. As she looked about her, she even saw the head table—including the Empress—standing, with huge smiles on their faces. Iana winked and nodded to her; her new career had started with a bang!
The rest of the night went well; the introductions and official inauguration of the Earth government was seamless and applauded, as was the official turnover from the military running things to the people. Sara was overwhelmed by the support she was getting throughout the night; her speech had opened many eyes and changed many more minds about her. As was expected, Iana was receiving much attention from the Earth dignitaries as they attempted, although probably for naught, to schmooze their way into her good graces. Had these people known what Sara did, that the Empress was not involved much in the politics and business of the Empire, they would spend more time pestering the new officials and herself. But Iana seemed to be revelling in the attention, and Sara was happy to have none of it, as that was a part of the new job she was not going to enjoy.
As she looked around, the only ones that looked unhappy this evening was Council Lyxia and the Empress’s guard Bryx, who would probably only be happy if his charge was under constant lock and key and safe for eternity. Lyxia, however, was the enigma. Since Sara had first met this creature, she had looked forlorn and defeated. At first, Sara wrote it off to the damage done during the fight in orbit and the massive loss of life aboard the Dark Light, which was now under heavy reconstruction. Sara had witnessed the heartbreaking ceremonies for the deceased; a ship full of almost four thousand bodies encased in armour that was remotely flown into the sun that returned the souls to the nearest God and joined their light with its own. Sara felt honored to be a part of such an intimate act, but felt terrible because these souls were lost in defence of her planet.
But time had passed since this had transpired, and even the Empress seemed genuinely concerned. Throughout the night, the two were constantly whispering to each other with the Empress being the one motioning to Lyxia to pick herself up. As much as Sara tried to dismiss this as none of her business, her mind was drawing an unseen connection to this stranger’s frame of mind. No matter what, tonight wasn’t time to figure this out; it was a time of celebration and joy. A new chapter in the history of humanity had been started, and this one showed the promise o
f the greatest adventure of all.
—
There was quite the gathering around Iana as the discussion about the end of the war on Earth. Military delegates, the new heads of state, Council Sara Foster, and Lyxia all were involved in the discussion. Lyxia used a translator as her English skills were fragmented at best, but other than the delays for her the conversation flowed well. The humans were extremely proud of how well they had fared against such overwhelming odds and such a dominant foe. Iana stroked their egos by letting them know that they were one of the few worlds to remain standing after an encounter with the Husk. She told them stories of the Fleet answering distress calls for an attack only to arrive to a desolate and stripped world which smoldered in the quiet darkness. Once populated with billions of inhabitants, these worlds were found empty with the exception of the dead left behind to burn in the ashes.
But as these stories made a few egos grow, Iana was quick to point out this victory wasn’t achieved without help from others, and that it wasn’t without a great cost. Aen was a variable none of the other worlds had in the mix, his inclusion in the fight along with the bravery of those on the Dark Light was the real reason Terra Sol didn’t fall. At the mention of his name, both Sara and Lyxia became a bit withdrawn; the wound of his death still too fresh to not be felt.
“None of this now children, this night—and your very lives—wouldn’t have been possible if Aen hadn’t thrown himself in the fires of that blast to carry the Husk to the afterlife. So tread carefully when boasting about this victory and be mindful at what it cost to get here.” Iana said softly to her audience.
Slowly, the people began to disperse from the festivities; the night wore on into the early morning hours and the sun began to show signs of its arrival in the skies. A few people remained around the head table; it was obvious the Empress would be the last one to leave, as she was enjoying a rare night out. Sara was worn out and excused herself to go and rest, but not before Iana embraced her in a warm hug to congratulate her for a night well done. Once she left, only Lyxia, General Patterson, and of course Bryx remained behind the empty square along with the dozens of Ifierin guards.
“It is a shame we had to lose Aen in all this,” Patterson spoke, holding his tongue through the whole night on the subject. “With him in the fold, it would have sent a message to the rest of the galaxy that we were a force to be reckoned with.”
“And that is why I would not let you lead this world for any longer than needed. You are a soldier through and through, and soldiers can never stop thinking along those lines. Aen was never meant to be a weapon; destiny brings such beings into existence for much more than that. He is a creature unlike anything this universe has seen and our wants and wishes for them shall always remain just that.” Iana responded in her ever songful voice.
Those left nodded their heads in agreement, but it was Lyxia that had truly listened to the Empress’ words and perked up quickly. She waited impatiently for the others to take their leave before looking for clarification on what she had heard and jumped at the chance the second the rest were out of earshot.
“You said ‘is a creature’, what did you mean by that?” she asked as her heart nearly jumped out her chest with hope. “Is Aen still alive?”
“A creature like Aen is neither alive nor dead; he just exists. I am glad you chose to listen to my words because they were said for your benefit. Never before has something like him existed, and such an event as we witnessed—no matter how deadly it would seem—could extinguish a light as strong as his. He chose to do what he did to end the struggle that had begun with his birth; a struggle of those who wished to use his power for their own means. That struggle would have increase a hundredfold once those in the Empire were involved. So he confided in me his plan to die, and take the weapon away from those who meant to use it. Aen is still out there, and when he is ready to be found, we will find him.”
Tears flowed from Lyxia’s eyes and Iana embraced her sullen champion. Lyxia’s destiny was intertwined with Aen’s as much as her heart was making this whole ordeal taxing on her. These tears would help alleviate some of those pent-up emotions and help her become able to function at her role as a Council for the Empire. So Iana held her and said nothing as she cried, no further words on the subject could help her now. Aen was lost, but definitely not forgotten. He had earned his rest so she would leave him to it for now, but soon she would reach out to him and try to bring him back for her visions of the future told her that they would need him much sooner than she would like.
Epilogue
The frozen wind howled around him as he suddenly sifted through some strange memory of snow from a child’s life. Overly dressed in warm clothes and trudging through snow banks with a sled in tow, sticking his tongue out to catch the falling snowflakes and smiling all the while with true and innocent happiness. He asked himself, Was this my childhood? Was I ever a child?
Watching the dream play out, he witnessed the true joy of a child at play. He felt the cheerfulness envelop him as the child romped into drifts of snow and charged up a hill to replay his thrilling ride once more. Once at the top of the snow covered hill, the child jumped on the sled and with a squeal of joy raced down to the bottom! It was a feeling of happiness that filled him as he watched, but it was not a dream he could hold on to for any longer.
The dream faded and reality crept back in as he felt the cold gnaw at his skin, but no adverse pain because of it. The wind howled and added to the bite of the bitter cold, but to him it was only a sound. He felt the ice on his body and face, built up to the point where he could no longer open his eyes, but he didn’t care. He was at peace, and although he couldn’t remember how he got here he was certain that there was no rush to go anywhere. His mind flipped back and forth between memories from a life that he couldn’t place and the reality of the cold darkness.
Thoughts were fragmented, coming and going in a dizzying dance. Try as he might to figure out why he was here, he couldn’t—hell he didn’t even know his own name at the moment! He remembered a fight—no, it was a war—and he had fought against beings of metal and flesh. He remembered the searing heat of being hit with a weapon of some sort, but had no recollection of how he survived.
Then it occurred to him that he might be dead; that this was his punishment for his sins in life. It seemed unbearable to think that he would be stuck between reality and dreams for eternity, so much so that he dug deep and fought to open his frozen eyes as the peace he felt a few moments ago faded quickly. Pain shot through his eye sockets as he heard the cracking of the ice as it began to give way beneath the increased pressure. Then, it gave way and his eyes opened in the dark. But it wasn’t dark; or wasn’t as dark as he thought it might be. There seemed to be some sort of illumination in the wreckage that surrounded him, a bluish light that moved along with his head. Then it hit him, the light was coming from him! What was he? Who was he? What kind of creature could light up the darkness with his eyes? Questions swam through his head as he struggled to stay in the here and now.
Trying to concentrate, he began to piece together the puzzle that lay out before him. Using the light he was exuding, he studied his surroundings to try and put it all together. At first, it was difficult to make anything out in the darkness—it was all covered in ice and snow. Then as he looked closer, he began to make out shapes that looked familiar—the cyborg beings from his nightmares! Their corpses were scattered about the wide compartment he was in, many disfigured and torn apart. It was obvious that they died in whatever incident brought them here. Whatever it was, it had obviously been an explosive end to an epic battle.
He recognized that he was inside of a ship of some sort, the walls and general structure thoroughly destroyed as it lay open to the elements of this hostile and frozen planet. Some more flashes of broken memory hit him; memories of unheralded power within him that held off the scores of aliens that lay in this makeshift crypt around hi
m. He began to concentrate on this power and felt his heart begin to churn once more. Warmth began to surge inside his body, moving out from his core and slithering out to his extremities and began to chase away the cold that he had felt for some time now. Then he became aware of a new sound, one that broke the monotony of the ever-blowing wind.
At first it sounded like glass breaking, but soon he was able to turn his head as it freed from the ice to see the true source of the sound. As his body heated from within, the ice that entombed him began to melt and drip off him as it fell to the ground. However, being as cold as it was on this planet, the droplets refroze immediately after falling from him and struck the ice on the ground, shattering upon impact. It amazed him that he could produce such energy that this scene could be possible!
Waves of steam rose from his body as the outpouring of heat intensified. At first, the extreme cold resisted his efforts, but it could only fight the inevitable for so long. His body was now super-heated, and the layers of ice began to liquefy and large chunks began to break away with resonating cracks that echoed in the chamber. These ice chunks began to fall away, crashing loudly on the floor beside him as more and more of his body began to be exposed once more.
Soon he was free from the ice, and able to stand on his bare feet. As he rose, a device that had been attached to his back fell away and he felt it pull from inside his body as it did. He stood in the tattered remains of some type of armor; it felt familiar yet he couldn’t remember why. His head hurt and he wasn’t sure if it was from the trauma over this crash or the constant push to remember the events that led up to it. Ambling through the wreckage, he slowly worked his way to the exterior wall to exit as he made sure his footing was secure before taking each step. The groan of stressed metal added to the howl of the wind, along with the crack of breaking ice beneath his weight. Upon reaching a great tear in the wall, he braced himself against the remnants of the hull and pulled himself through the opening to pear out. To his shock, what he saw was the last thing he expected!
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