“Yes, sir,” Maria said, racing over with the few medics in our group.
“Now, onto better prospect. Take that crate from the Freedom Leader. That’s what all this fuss is about.” I said. Freedom Leader Billy―who was just Billy now―fought, but we just threw him to the ground and tore the crate off his back. It had a hand and face print lock, which we forcibly obtained. When the container opened, a string of emotions washed over my company: confusion, anger, fear, and disappointment. Inside the create laid a baby in a glass capsule, sound asleep even through all this carnage.
“You see that.” Billy said, “That is the third generation of Orisha, a grandchild of the high king.”
“Holy shit!” Darryl said.
“Oh my god,” Alicia said, holding the capsule in her arm like it was her baby.
“I thought the king’s children were all sterile,” Jen said.
“Another lie!” Billy screamed. “Now, you understand why Justin could no longer fight for them. They are breeding now. Somehow they have children. Probably fucking each other, incestuous fucks.” Billy said and received a swift kick to the face by Alicia. Blood spurred out his nose and mouth as he wheezed.
“Shut the fuck up!” She said. Rage was unbecoming of Alicia. Even though she idolized the high king and his family, that kick came from a deeper place. Jen and Darryl held her back, and for a moment, Alicia reminded me of myself. That darkness, that fury, that bloodlust…that pain. Someone hurt her, and it made my blood boil, but I wouldn’t pry.
“Explain this,” I said. Billy wiped the blood from his nose and tried to pick himself up.
“I don't know where the baby came from. There’s a long line of people who had the child over the five years since it was born. I only knew it was sold to the underkings by the fallen prince Kaiza. From there, it’s been sold, stolen, given by many people. I was using it as a bargaining chip to obtain resources for the Freedom Ranger. For three months now, I’ve secured many resources for the Freedom Ranger armies. Even if you stop me now, I’ve done my duty to my people.”
“His story doesn’t add up,” Jen said. “Five years, and this baby is still an infant.” Billy rolled his eyes.
“Orisha mature base on their environment. If they are in a safe environment, they mature three times slower than humans. In a hostile environment, two times faster. Because of that, all the buyers made sure to keep the baby safe. No one wanted it to grow aware enough to start calling out to its parents.” Freedom Leader explained. Everyone looked at Alicia for confirmation. If anyone knew anything about Orishas, it was her.
“He’s right,” Alicia said, looking back at the capsule and making faces.
“All this death for a baby,” Darryl said.
“More than what happened here. Death all across the stars. This baby has caused millions of deaths by now. Some want to use them for ransom, while others want to use them as weapons. Then some people want to experiment on them and find out the secrets of Orisha’s physiology.”
“It’s just a baby,” Alicia said. Billy snorted and bent to his feet to snatch a pistol from his shoe. I scrambled to grab him, but he had already fired on the baby. My heart raced. If he killed the grandchild of the king under my protection, that would be it for me. Such a failure could never be forgiven. All my exploits in this war were wasted. I turned slowly to the child, expecting a return of the past, dead children. Shivers traveled through my body as I set my eyes on the child. In the air, the bullet stood still. The child's eyes were opening and glowing gold. I’ve never seen psychic powers up close. The child repelled the shell back faster than it flew at him and then fell back asleep.
“Holy...” Jerry said. I shared his shock.
“Yeah, if a baby Orisha can stop a bullet, what the hell do you think an army of them in adulthood can do? This is the future war that I’m talking about. Sooner or later, one of the Orisha will find a way to reproduce more of themselves. Then our extinction or enslavement will commence.” Billy said. Suddenly, I noticed many of my soldiers who were still wearing their helmets, visors glowed up. A few looked at me.
“Commander, it’s Warmaster Noxxic. He’s sending an overlay message to us all.” I searched for my helmet and placed it on my head.
“This is Warmaster Noxxic. You guys need to escape. The rebel’s main army is on its way. Thousands of them, coming to finish you off.” Warmaster Noxxic’s message said. We raced to the rooftop's nearest edge to see how far the rebel army was, and they were right outside the gates of the district, marching over the ruined walls. I dropped to my knees. We fought so hard, and this was how it ended. I made one more call over open military channels.
“I need support! Any kind, air support, transport, orbital bombardment. Please, we have the king’s grandchild here!” I said. Only silence followed my desperate plea for help. Even dropping that huge bomb would not send help. Then someone answered back.
“I heed your call.” A voice said. I radio back.
“Who is this?”
“The high king.”
Entry 21
Phoenician Date: November 01, 1026AR
Military Time: 02:35
Phoenician Classified World: Alexandria Prime
My heart stopped. Everyone else shared my speechlessness. The king himself said he was on his way while the rebel army breached the district. I wondered how long it would be until I spotted a fiery ball falling from the sky. The rebel army noticed it too and started firing. Thoughts filled my head. What if the king dies here or loses or if he is captured?
Once the fiery ball hit the courtyard in front of us, the mansion’s walls gravitated to the crash site. The dust scattered, and there he was, the high king. He stood on top of a mountain of rubble built from tearing down the walls. In gold robes and black fur, the king looked more like he was attending a ball than a battle. I could only see him from behind, but I noticed his long white dreadlocks covering his back like a small cloak. His form differed from mine only slightly, and mostly in the height department. Finally, he turned to face us. A standard gold masquerade mask covered most of his face. Like a soothing calm, I felt his voice in my head.
“Be calm. I am here. Your battle is over now.” The king said in my mind. At the sound of that, my body collapsed, as did the rest of my company. They must have all felt his thoughts. I glanced over to Alicia, whose face flushed. Her favorite celebrity whispered sweet nothings in her head, and for some reason, that annoyed me. I shifted my focus back to the king, who was standing in front of an entire army. Then a gold glow generated around him and expanded.
“No!” Billy said. “He’s going to use that ability! Coward!” It expanded but stopped when it reached us. Gold flames hovered around the king. The wind ran from him and blew in every direction, and the ground trembled as if an earthquake had begun. My chest tightened, and for a moment, I wanted to run, but then a wave washed over me as if to calm me. Confusion stirred in my mind when I noticed no injuries or deaths on the rebels, instead only silence. Then finally, many of the insurgents peeled off in every direction, dropping their weapons.
“What he do?” I said. Billy's face was red with rage, and he squirmed until he couldn’t squirm anymore.
“He used that blasted ability to project his aura. He used pathokinesis to stroke the fear in weak-willed people. He basically exploits the fear hormones in a person until they flee in terror. He uses this ability instead of fighting, the coward.”
“Sounds pretty merciful to me,” Darryl said. “The king could easily just wipe them all out. Watch.” Then the king spoke.
“Brothers and sisters, I plead to you to please refrain from going further. Do not force my hand to fight you. I understand you don't agree with my way of things. You want a planet of your own to call home. You want humanity to be free from my clutches, but the truth is, no one is holding humanity in chains, nor do I wish to own any of you. These worlds are my worlds that I invested in and uplifted. You are owed nothing here. Leave and find a better way
of life. I plead with you, don't make me fight you all.” The high king said. Some actually left, but others stayed. Still, they did not fire. The king sighed heavily. “Fine, I guess there’s no greater glory than to die to the hand of a king.”
Out of the rubble, two large swords flew out and connected to form a glaive. Golden flames wrapped around his body. He crouched down, like a lioness about to pounce. I was about to witness the killing prowess of our great king. The king launched off his mountain of rubble toward the rebels with speed nearly impossible to follow. Finally, the traitors remembered their trigger fingers.
“How is he moving so fast?”
“Telekinetic augmentation,” Darryl said. “I’ve read about it, but now I see it with my own eyes! That’s the theory behind the king’s strength and speed. He uses telekinesis to keep his muscles and bones' from breaking, which allows him to exert more stress on his body. Strength is all about how much stress your body can endure before breaking. If you can use telekinesis to hold your muscles together, then your only limit is in your mind. I envy such power..”
Awe sunk into me as the king dashed from one unlucky rebel to the next. Carnage and blood-curdling screams filled the air as the king moved around in gold blurs. When visible, the king moved as gracefully as a skilled dancer. A tank fired a shell at him. While spinning, he used his powers to guide the shell right back at the tank, destroying it. We all enjoyed the death, all but two.
“You brilliant idiots!” Billy yelled in between an ugly sob. “Retreat! The king is worth an army, don't die for me or try to kill the king for the possible glory. This is just what he wants. He knows he can win this way. Don't throw your life away.”
But they weren’t. Not all of them. The king mostly wounded many of them. Some died because they refused to take a hint. The king let rebels drag their fallen away and retreat. More than a thousand insurgents charged toward the king, and none could offer him a challenge. Whether against a dozen or a hundred, the king proved superior in every way. If he wanted, he could probably wipe out all thousands of them with little effort, but he wanted them to die respectfully. He wanted each of them to feel as if they could contest him. Even when taking their life, the king showed respect and mercy. I glared at Justin, who gawked at the king’s compassion.
“This is the man you call a villain?” I asked Justin, but he didn’t even spare me a glance. Instead, his eyes remained fixated on the battle. Against thousands, the king fought with mercy, honor, and restraint. It didn’t take long before the rebel forces scattered. Fortunate for them, because Warmaster Noxxic had arrived with air forces and would show no mercy. Then there was the king, still standing, not even winded after fighting an army. He dusted himself off and levitated toward us through the air. Immediately, everyone rose to their feet. I wished Rolland was still alive at this moment. He would have loved to meet the high king. Gary would probably be giving him his pitch for why he should be Vindicator. My heart ached that they did not get to witness this moment. Yet the worm Justin could. Look like life is cruel, no matter what station you held.
My commanding officers also landed next to us, jumping out of a small transport with our general in tow. Warmaster Noxxic landed on the roof like a rock while our general burned all the fuel in his rocket boots to land softly.
The high king himself stood in front of my humble company and me. I kneeled and raised his grandchild. Sweat formed across my brow, and my heart raced. I wondered what his first words to me would be. The king’s nose scrunched up, and he coiled back.
“This baby stinks. Do any of you know how to change a diaper?” The high king said. My stomach sank. With all the chaos, I never took the time to think if the baby needed to be changed. I just handed the king a baby who pooped in his pants. How could I have given the king a baby with shit in his diaper? My body felt hot all over.
“I-I can,” Maria said.
“Please do. I have a weak stomach.” The high king said. I looked up to see him holding the baby capsule far from his body while scrunching his nose to the smell. All I could think was: how human. Down there, when he fought a thousand men, or when he descended from the sky like a shooting star, or when he made the wind flee from him and earth tremble, it’s easy to confuse him with a god. Now I look at him cringing from a baby in a smelly diaper, and the illusion withered. Maria hurried and grabbed the baby capsule. Then I heard a deep laugh. I glanced off to the side to see Warmaster Noxxic laughing and holding his gut. I could only imagine he was laughing at the king, and I feared for his safety. I didn’t know what kind of man the king was, but people in power did not enjoy being laughed at in my experience.
“A dirty diaper is your weakness, old high king?” Warmaster said. I could have fainted. The old fool even had the nerve to give voice to his amusement.
“Don't mock me. We all have our petty weakness, Mr. fearful of elevators.”
“Whoa, hey now. That’s a very common fear.” Warmaster Noxxic said. My confusion about the king only grew deeper. His eyes shifted back to me, and my heartbeat pounded in my ears.
“Will you all stand up already? I want to have a good look at the people who saved my grandchild.” The high king said. Slowly we rose to our feet. My eyes drifted to Justin and the Freedom Leader. The high king followed my eyes and stepped toward Justin. His facial expression changed as he looked into Justin’s eye.
“I see. Your hatred for me is deep and reasonable.” Then the king did something that broke my understanding of everything. He stood at attention and bowed his head below Justin’s chest. “I’m so sorry for all the pain my system caused you. I beg for your forgiveness.”
Why in the world would someone so powerful beg someone so weak and defeated for forgiveness? I don't understand. That’s not what I was taught at all. It doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone do this, stop! My mind did mental gymnastics, trying to understand the king’s action. It spat in the face of everything I was taught about people in power. I glanced at Jerry, and I could tell by the look on his face, this moment broke him as well. This would not be a story about overthrowing an evil tyrant as Justin wanted. No, the story would be about having faith in your leader. Justin snarled and then spat on the king’s face. Everyone gasped! Surely he just signed his death warrant with that move.
“You dirty bitch!” Warmaster snapped. He rushed Justin with his cleaver in the air, just to be held off by his marines. My general walked in front of my warmaster and kneeled.
“Please, my king, allow me the honor of putting him down in your name. He was, once, part of my division.”
“No. That’s fine.” The king said, wiping the spit off his face with his cloth. “I deserve this for all the pain I put him through.”
“You did nothing wrong!” Alicia said. “You created a system to help people, and it did. You can’t be held responsible for every world.”
“I do need to be responsible for all the worlds if I want to call them mine.” The king spat back. “I need to do better to improve my kingdom, that’s a fact. If I don't, I’ll continue creating more rebels who betray their friends just to fight me.” That softened Justin’s resolve.
“Take him away then. At least he will be sentenced to jail for the rest of his life.” My general said, rising to his feet.
“Make sure the judge gives him no more than seventy five years. By then, he’ll be a century old and much wiser. Shouldn’t waste the next four hundred years in prison. Unless you all have a problem with that?” The king asked us. I searched for a sense of disagreement, but nobody said anything. Before Justin could make it to the airship, someway, somehow Warmaster Noxxic managed to dropkick him from the side out of nowhere.
“Noxxic!” The king warned.
“Punk ass dirtbag. Drop the soap when you in there.” Noxxic said, then spat on him as the marines lifted Justin to his feet and carried him to the airship. Then the king made his way to the Freedom Leader. With his powers, he raised the Freedom Leader upright so he can look him in the eye. The Free
dom Leader turned his head like a stuck up princess at a bar who didn’t want to give anyone the time of day. The king grinned.
“Still hate me because I have powers?”
“You’re not human.”
“I am.” Freedom leader faced him then.
“You’re not!” The Freedom Leader said. “Someday, your children will be the end of this kingdom. Trillions will suffer when that happens.” The king grimaced.
“I’m not stepping down until I find a worthy successor. You should trust me.”
“You don't even deny my point, huh? You know most of your kids are apathetic to humankind, and Kaiza was your last and best hope.”
That confused me. I thought Kaiza was the one who was trying to take the throne. However, he has empathy for humanity. Something didn’t add up. that was a story for another time.
“He wasn’t the last. Send him off.” The king said, pushing him into another nearby marine who took him to the dropship.
The king turned his attention to my company, as did the general. I gritted my teeth. I could tell by the general’s face that he wanted blood. Not only did we disobey his orders, but we also accomplished the overall mission. We made him look bad.
“Now for your reward for rescuing my grandchild. All of you will receive a five rank promotion.” The king said, typing in his omniwatch. Within moments I saw my rank go from Commander to Alpha Commander. My yearly income jumped to a million a year, which was medium income for the kingdom's people. I could cry. Such a position should take years or one epic heroic death. “Your fallen comrades will get a seven rank promotion and all their promised incomes plus benefits sent to their benefactors.”
“Your majesty! You cannot. This.... thug managed to slip through the cracks with absurdly fake background papers that allowed him to apply for an officer position.” General Plows stated. My heartbeat dived. I felt like I was about to turn over. This man would always be against me because of my background.
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