Destiny Reckoning

by Trevor Gregg

  Tapping through several of the symbols caused the door to slide open. Kyren noted the symbols, memorizing the passcode Dralok had entered. He led Kyren into the room, silent and stoic. The Azorians had facial expressions quite similar to humans, and rillians for that matter. And Dralok’s was the sourest face he had ever seen.

  “Behold, the next phase of your training, visitor,” Dralok pointed at something resembling a body harness suspended between two pillars. “Step over here and I will help you don the control rig.”

  “Control rig? What’s this for?” he questioned, even though he had already identified the symbols on the control panel, and knew what it was for.

  He didn’t need to let Dralok on to how much he had learned about them in his time here. The Yal were blind to the world of the Dras. It would end up biting them in the ass, he knew. It always did. Slavery only lasted as long as the slaves had no power.

  Kyren knew that the lowly Dras, outnumbering the arrogant Yal, would overrun their masters in a revolt. He just couldn’t grasp why none of them were revolting.

  Dralok assisted Kyren in donning the control gear. When finished, he placed the final piece upon Kyren’s head, a boxy crown inlaid with circuitry and adorned with unknown components. As soon as he placed the crown on Kyren’s head, a small holopanel appeared over one eye.

  The miniature display panel provided status information. It was status information on a bot, just as he had suspected. He was overjoyed at the confirmation of his suspicion. He had always loved bot-fighting, even as a kid.

  As he thought about his childhood, his head began to feel fuzzy. Recoiling from the thoughts, or rather, a lack of thoughts, he focused on the task at hand. Time to learn the bot control system fully, he thought.

  “You understand this, yes? Intuitively?” Dralok questioned.

  He knew he couldn’t avoid demonstrating his skills to Dralok, so he settled in and began to examine the tremendous holopanel in the air before him. It seemed as he manipulated the controls on the main panel, the small panel before his eye provided differing information. He discovered it was programmable, like nearly all of the features and functions.

  “Yeah, I guess I understand it. Your control systems are incredibly similar to the configuration I prefer. You set this up after watching my performance rescuing Leicara?”

  “You have surmised correctly, Kyren,” Dralok confirmed.

  The main screen was dominated by a large video window, showing a bird’s eye view. Below, standing on the ground, was a single bot, blue metal like the rest of the Azorian tech. It was sleek but sturdy looking, and bore what Kyren assumed were two sha’va, extended and burning brightly.

  The view zoomed out as the display window shrank, replaced by a view through what must be the bot’s eyes. Wasting no time, Kyren began programming the bot, building a base of routines. He had only just begun when he detected movement.

  Sensors triggered and he activated the bot, dropping it into a combat stance. He quickly scanned his surroundings, taking in a small stone courtyard, illuminated by either fading afternoon light or rising morning light. Which, he could not tell.

  He identified multiple entrances to the courtyard. The sensors screamed at him, indicating… what? Proximity? Yeah, that was it. He spun three-hundred-sixty degrees, taking in his opponents as they stepped into the courtyard. They were bots of similar design, although they were slightly smaller in stature. But all bore sha’va. This was going to be fun, he thought, as the bots charged.

  41

  Tricked

  Dralok’s bot-fighting training continued. Much to his chagrin, Kyren would be fetched by Heston at all hours. He would enter the strange too-large-building and proceed to the control rig. Dralok would fire up a training routine, each time the scenario slightly different.

  Sometimes he would control only one bot. Other times, he would have a number of them to control. This was the most difficult, as it required great tactical expertise. However, Kyren soon mastered the controls for groups of bots and then finally began to score victories against the opposing routines.

  Kyren had just finished a particularly nasty trial, somewhere around their fortieth day in Azoria. He had possessed a squad of seventeen bots facing off against a significantly larger force, potentially as large a ninety. While the enemy bots were slightly smaller, granting his bots a slight advantage in reach, the enemies were faster and more maneuverable. It had been no small feat to keep enough bots alive to take out almost all of the enemies before finally being destroyed.

  “Well done, you’ve successfully eliminated most of the defenders. You’ve done enough damage to the enemy’s forces to give them pause,” Dralok said angrily.

  “Okay Dralok, that’s done. What’s next?” Kyren questioned, ignoring Dralok’s anger.

  “Eager. Good,” Dralok said, nodding.

  He bent to some controls on a secondary holopanel and keyed in a sequence, “Next, you will encounter a new enemy.”

  The screen changed and he was now in charge of another squad of bots. They were already battling an enemy force, executing a pre-programmed routine. However, the opposing force was comprised of a combination of bots and Azorians. They wore matching green uniforms and carried staves glowing with purple energy at both ends. Barish staves.

  The Azorians were battling the bots but were slowly being driven back down a narrow street flanked by stone buildings much like those in the city of Terakesh.

  “Destroy all of our enemies, Kyren!” Dralok roared. “Unleash your fury upon the Halifax!”

  Something in Dralok’s tone gave Kyren pause. He examined the situation, darkness surrounding his squad of bots. The street was illuminated by evenly spaced glowing globes set atop tall poles. The Halifax were retreating. It wasn’t sporting to slay inferior opponents in bot-fighting.

  The goal was to have a match that comes down to skill, not superior hardware. The Azorians seemed to follow this ideal as well. So why was Dralok insisting he slay the fleeing Azorians?

  “No, they’re retreating, and they’re people. I won’t kill them,” he said, crossing his arms.

  The bots continued following their original programming, finally chasing down and slaying the last Halifax.

  “You must learn to show our enemies no mercy, Kyren,” Dralok said seriously.

  “Hey, what happened to the “honor bestowed by being chosen as bot-fighter?”” he retorted.

  “Victory will be the only honor. If we do not defeat our enemies, there will be nothing left to honor.”

  “So you want me to fight the Halifax for you?”

  “You already have,” Dralok said ominously.

  Then it dawned on Kyren. Maybe he hadn’t been training after all. Maybe he had been controlling actual forces on the ground. Dralok had tricked him into fighting his war for him, he realized.

  “Listen you deceitful son-of-a-bitch,” Kyren began hotly as he extracted himself from the control harness. “I’m not fighting your wars for you until you people come clean about what’s going on.”

  Dralok was silent, so he continued, “Fine, I’ll talk to Leicara about it. Maybe she’ll be honest.”

  “Do what you must, but you have an obligation. We have been accommodating. We have fulfilled your every request. If you do not cooperate, we will not cooperate,” Dralok said, the threat obvious.

  “Fine, but I’m not murdering your enemies. You want to chop down fleeing combatants? You do it,” he said, heading for the exit.

  “But there is more to do. Our forces have pushed into Terakesh and we stand a good chance of taking the city. If we can control Terakesh, we will have the advantage.”

  “No, you can wait. I need a break to take all of this in,” he replied honestly.

  “And to discuss with your companions, to find a way around my requirements, as well,” Dralok guessed dispassionately.

  Kyren left without another word, angry at the deception, angry at being used. He was making his way to the engineering la
b to reveal to Alis and Benjam Dralok’s deceit when a thought struck him. The bot-fighting control interface was almost identical to the control interface on the computers they had been provided.

  Could he manipulate the programming enough to find what he was after? Would he be able to circumvent the restrictions placed on them, now that he had a better understanding of the system architecture? Only one way to find out.

  He turned off the street leading toward the engineering lab, and made his way to the vid-itorium. Firing up the interface, he began his programming. “Attack” routines were programmed in, and he unleashed them. It took several minutes, but the indicators went green when the program’s work was done.

  Kyren had just gained access to a system, one outside of the restrictions that had been placed on them. Not that the system he had hacked into was anything useful. It was merely a set of sensors on a garbage compaction unit. But he had proven it was possible. Now to figure out how to get out of their limited network and into something important, he thought.

  42

  Heston

  Alis had settled into a routine, running the beach in the early morning hours and working with Benjam the rest of the day. Her run at sunrise was alway cathartic. The wide, soft beach and gentle tide, framed by the tall sandstone cliffs behind, created an idyllic scene.

  She would see Kyren occasionally, but often he was absent, training with that creep Dralok. Hopefully it was worth it. He better be making as much progress as she and Benjam were. They had nearly completed the majority of the components for the brain scanner that would capture Tharox’s essence.

  They were still flying blind, though, and had not located coordinates for any of their goals. It was getting increasingly frustrating to her. They had been here for thirty-something days. Benjam would have an exact count, but she knew it wasn’t good. Time was ticking by and she was getting anxious.

  As she ran in the wan morning light, feet pounding the wet sand, she considered their predicament. They needed to make some progress. Maybe she would have to confront Leicara herself. She would rather do it than let Kyren near that succubus again, she thought ruefully.

  Her route took her up a winding path in the sandstone cliffs and through a wooded valley back to Leicara’s walled compound. She ran through on of the many open gates and into the wide streets surround by plain single story buildings, composed of stone or concrete, she couldn’t determine which. Benjam believed it was an advanced form of concrete, created through an unknown chemical manipulation process.

  She trotted down an alley, cutting toward the compound’s central avenue. She turned the corner and dropped into a walk, but stopped abruptly. A dozen or so Azorians, Dras by the plainness of their clothing, stood in a semicircle around a Dras who was speaking. Alis recognized the voice. It was Heston.

  “Yes, my fellows, we will follow our new purpose,” Heston dictated.

  “We follow our new master,” the others intoned at once.

  Heston’s eyes fell on Alis and she recoiled. All semblance of the submissive Dras was gone, replaced by a burning hatred she could palpably feel.

  “Her,” Heston said, raising his finger and pointing at her. “Seize her!”

  The others fanned out in a wide arc, moving to flank her and prevent her escape. She started to bolt but they were too fast for her. She was encircled and they began to close in. Dammit why’d she have to run into trouble when she didn’t have her wrench on her.

  She barely had enough time to drop into a fighting stance before the first of them closed with her. She dodged the first one that attempted to grab her, but the second one clamped a hand around her wrist. She twisted and drove her elbow into the Dras’ face. Blue blood spattered her white garb as the Dras fell, releasing her wrist and clenching his shattered nose.

  Drawing her leg in she launched a vicious kick to the midsection of the next one to advance. She bellowed a keop and lunged at the next nearest Dras. She threw a punch to test his defenses, and he clumsily blocked. Maybe she had a chance after all, these were not warriors. Hell, they didn’t even seem to have any fighting skill whatsoever.

  Launching a kick, she drove her foot into the Azorian’s knee. A horrible crunching sound accompanied the strike, and the Dras collapsed in a heap. She whirled to face her next opponent, and came face to face with Heston. His lips drew back in a snarl and he brought a leather sap down on Alis’ head. She brought her hands up to block, but was too late. Then there was darkness.

  Alis awoke on her back, arms bound uncomfortably in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings as quickly as possible. She was lying on a concrete floor, in a small, austere room. Three Azorians sat around a table in the corner.

  Heston was among them, and spotted her eyes open. He stood and strode over to her, as she scrambled into a sitting position.

  “What are you doing, Heston? What do you want with me?” she said weakly, doing her best to appear cowed.

  “You will join us, or you will die, that is what I want with you,” Heston answered after a momentary pause.

  There was a knock at the room’s only door, and Heston left her and went to the door. He opened and exchanged words with another Dras, who then handed him a few large kitchen knives. Heston handed them to the other Dras, who looked menacingly in Alis’ direction.

  “So, alien interloper, what shall it be? Join us in welcoming the arrival? Or die?” Heston growled.

  She scrambled to her feet and dropped into a fighting stance as the Dras began to advance. They might be armed and she might be tied up, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  43

  Hand-to-Hand

  Kyren sat and waited, the sound of rushing water filling his ears. He had sent Benjam the message over an hour ago, and he still hadn’t arrived. He was eager to share the news with Benjam, and was also eager to hear Benjam’s take on it. Gaining access to Leicara’s network had proved difficult, but not nearly as difficult as getting out of it and into the greater Azorian system.

  He had worked at it well into the night and on into the early hours of the morning, persisting until he found the first hidden gem. It was not long after that several more pieces of information came to light. Worn out, he had decided to take what he had to Benjam and Alis. But only Benjam had responded. Alis must be on one of her runs.

  Suddenly, there was a splashing and a stifled squeak as Benjam squiggled into the cave.

  “Ooh, brisk,” Benjam said, wiping water from his eyes and shaking his tentacles dry.

  He waited a moment in anticipation but when no one followed Benjam through, he asked, “Alis?”

  “No, haven’t seen her yet,” Benjam explained. “I’ve been in the lab all morning but she never stopped by. I thought maybe you had seen her.”

  “Let’s go look for her after this, okay?” Kyren said, feeling concern rising.

  “So what do you have? Why wouldn’t you speak in the lab?”

  “Well, I didn’t want to speak in the open, and I figured this was as secure as it gets. I was able to hack their network. I got access to all kinds of things,” he said proudly.

  “Nicely done, Kyren,” Benjam complimented.

  “First, the Nevthifar fleet is falling to the Halifax,” Kyren began. “They are losing worlds at an alarming pace.”

  Benjam nodded, “Not surprising. Leicara never admitted it but I suspected she was at a great disadvantage.”

  “That’s not as important as what else I discovered. The Azorians have a means of travel we’ve not be made aware of. They use technology they refer to as a fade-gate. It seems the gates are like miniature warp portals.”

  “That makes sense now. That is why there had been no reference to gravitonic capacitance research in the data Leicara provided. Even though that was the next logical step, based upon all of the other science they had mastered,” Benjam squiggled his tentacles emphatically.

  “Yeah, so you know the building where I was “training” with Dra
lok, bot fighting? Well, those corridors definitely did extend beyond the building, just in another location. These fade-gates are built right into the threshold. I had no idea I was traveling to another location as I entered the control room,” Kyren explained.

  “So how do we access these fade-gates, and where do they go?” Benjam questioned.

  “It seems they link two points in space, I didn’t see any mention of being able to choose where they go, I think they are fixed ends. I did find a map, though, of the fade-gate network within the compound,” Kyren continued.

  “Perhaps I could gain access to this data? Your relaying of the information is fine, but I have so many questions that I know you cannot answer,” Benjam admitted.

  “Of course, you should do your own analysis. If you access the terminal in the vid-itorium, just run the “platypus” routine before you search. That’ll give you full access. You get started, and I’ll see if I can track down Alis.”

  Benjam nodded and squiggled back through the waterfall as Kyren followed, donning his shoes that were stashed in the bushes nearby. They struck out in opposite directions, Kyren intending to find Leicara, to ask her to have her staff locate Alis. She was likely just exploring, but it couldn’t hurt to be cautious.

  He made his way to the northern pavilion, where Leicara spent time with her serkins. She was often here, and if not, usually a Dras servant would be. He would just ask one of them, if she were not there. It was unnecessary, though, as she was indeed in her garden with her serkins.

  Leicara stood from the bench she was seated upon and glided to the cage, opening the door and allowing the serkins to fly back inside as he approached.

  “Kyren, I am so happy you’ve sought me out,” Leicara said, stepping close to him. “What is it you need?”