Warriors at the Gates- Trojan Wars

by Rick Royster

  While training or on a mission, he was able to focus, didn't give it a second thought.

  But when he was alone, he heard the demons. Their cold dead whisper came to life and they reminded him every night of how he held Sateria in his arms hours before their fateful mission, how he’d told her he'd always be there for her. The demons reminded him of the unborn child he had betrayed.

  They lay out his future for him and prophesied that he'd be forced to betray others.

  "This is war," Tao-Tzu reminded him. "The strongest among us are tasked with making the toughest decisions. It is not an honor or burden bestowed upon the meek."

  His thoughts drifted to Tressa and how he understood the decision she had made. In his mind, she was given no choice; how could she betray her only child?

  The demons were quick to point out that only a coward would do that.

  But right now, he had no time to think about that. His job was to find her and retrieve the quantum-cube. If the Cube got into Federation hands, many men and women - brave soldiers who put their lives on the line - would be killed and the Coalition’s rebellion would be crushed immediately.

  So, it was he who was left with the task of hunting her down, yet in a twist of fate, the woman he left to die on that doomed vessel was also hunting the same thing. She'd gone from haunting his dreams to hunting him in the flesh.

  Cayden was chosen because he alone could do what no other special forces team or even Desani could, and he was chosen because he was the best there was. If Tressa could be found and captured by anyone, it was him.

  Cayden closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He again tried to find his calm. He looked his demons in their eyes and told them that nothing they could say would stop him from accomplishing his task.

  Rebuked finally, they sank back down into the dark shadows of the depths of his soul, hiding from him, shrinking and hissing, not wanting his new-found courage to snatch them up by the roots.

  But in one last defiant whisper, the demons left him with a final gasp of thought.

  They praised him and told him he was indeed the Desani's best. There was no doubt about that, but the Desani's best was still a coward.

  Sateria thought for the last three years that her life must have purpose. And that purpose was revenge. Cayden threatened that dark harmony, and she'd known that from the moment she'd seen him again. He had melted a heart she thought was made of granite and steel. She thought in her arrogance she was beyond love.

  She was wrong.

  There was an ache she felt through the core of her bones whenever she thought of Cayden, which now was every waking moment. She thought of turning away from her vow, forgiving him, letting peace, love and understanding settle between them.

  But she knew deep down that peace and love were not for her. Her life had been marked from a young age, trained to be a heartless assassin and bounty hunter; she at one time was the GU’s best weapon. She had her one-time respite, a lull in the storm. Sent in as a spy to uncover Coalition secrets, have Cayden fall in love with her and eventually kill him, the course of her destiny was set.

  Instead, she lost herself in him, fell in love… and when he found out who she really was during a daring mission, he betrayed her and left her to die. She planned to betray the Global Union for him, but for her to get out, she banked on the fact he loved her and would choose her over their mission. There was no hope of peace. She would finish what she started, and Cayden would die.

  A large explosion erupted from the parking garage off in the distance, a ton of smoke scattering toward the heavens. Sateria's eyes were instantly drawn to the fire.

  Sateria walked with Nero and Tiberius in tow, and she stopped for a moment. "Nero, get Brutus on hologram." Nero tapped his wrist-com, saw nothing, heard nothing. He shook his head no.

  "Dammit," Sateria said.

  Catching Tressa in a city this size was going to be almost impossible with too many buildings and alleyways, too many civilians and sewers, and she had too many weapons and skills to make getting trapped likely.

  Sateria would need bait or at least to know where Tressa was going or what she was after.

  Tao-Tzu’s mind was on the dark Desani.

  Their power was growing across the planet; that was without question. Since the Great War in heaven, they had longed to dominate the earth, their centuries of planning and scheming against man coming to fruition.

  The irony was that it was man who was aiding them in their quest to destroy him.

  It seemed fitting that man would be the leading instrument of his own destruction.

  The scholars and clergymen who studied the prophecies and ancient texts were laughed at every time they tried to tell someone their planet was under the dark influence of inter-dimensional beings.

  They were deemed to be clinically insane or worst yet, conspiracy-theorist.

  Tao-Tzu recognized that the idea of dark angels coming from another realm to enslave mankind and bend them to their will was a far too simplistic version of the truth.

  The real truth was far more frightening.

  For humans, thoughts became things. The angels, filled with knowledge, power, and perfection that man would never understand, still did not possess this ability. It was a gift that God only bestowed upon man, and for which the dark angels hated him.

  For all their talk about justice, being betrayed, and having the Creator turn his back on them, the angels became hot with jealousy. How dare the Most High confer a power on a creature so underserving, so weak in spirit, so fragile in body? The breaking point was when the archangel Michael, whom Tao-Tzu wondered many times might actually be reborn in the form of Cayden, told the Lightbringer to kneel before man.

  "Should a son of fire be forced to bow before a son of clay?" Annirus often rhetorically asked.

  He refused, gathered the angels loyal to him and set out to remove the Most High from the throne.

  Reckoning ensued; heaven warred with itself. Lucifer the Lightbringer and his warriors lost and were subsequently cast to the earth to roam and suffer in shame.

  Now, in the last days of man, they were gearing up for revenge, and it was Tao-Tzu's duty to stop them. The day was soon approaching that he would find himself locked into mortal combat with Annirus, blade to staff. Soon, the war which had started eons ago would be at its climax. And Tao-Tzu was confident he and his would emerge victorious.

  The old totalitarian empire which took centuries of scheming to construct would soon crumble to dust. Then he would be united with his brothers back in the heavens.

  Tao-Tzu checked his halo-wrist monitor; nothing yet from Cayden or the General. This war was having a profound influence on his one-time pupil, a very negative one at that.

  He realized Cayden was facing a challenging and emotional task, one he hoped he was ready for, a world in which the masses effused constant adulation on the Potentate would soon be coming to an end.

  Justice and peace would at long last reign again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The idea of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.

  ― Ulysses S. Grant

  The Coalition transport sat perched on the hotel's rooftop, its night-lights off. Cayden, Winter and Rhys made a low dash for the vehicle. On the street below, dozens of sirens and lights went off as Global Union personnel closed in, the door to the transport sliding open.

  Cayden hopped aboard, followed by Rhys and Winter; they scurried quickly to the cockpit.

  The Coalition pilot gave him a thumbs-up. Through the canopy, flames and smoke from the explosion licked the air off in the distance.

  "There." Cayden pointed in the direction of the explosion.

  The pilot named Chase looked back at him, Rhys and Winter wearing the same concerned expressions on their faces.

  "If we don't leave now, we are certain to encounter GU fighters, and I don't think we can outrun them," Chase said
.

  "Go," Cayden said. "Our mission isn't to outrun them, it's to get that Cube at all costs, whatever that cost might be."

  "Yes. Yes, sir," Chase said, the beads of sweat trickling down his face belying the confidence he inflected in his voice.

  The transport turned and glided toward the black smoke, the sky dark, the rain coming thumping down. Cayden looked at the smoke and saw several GU security personnel arriving on the scene.

  A few blocks north was another sky-port, a dozen or so GU police surrounding a transport vehicle on the roof.

  The pilot looked at his monitor, punched in codes, and a holographic display came up. Six heavily armed Global Union fighter jets were flying on the screen.

  "Sir," the pilot said, turning to Cayden.

  "I see them." Cayden moved a step closer to screen.

  "S-474 Cobras, they have us, we've been made. We can still find Tressa and the Cube. I have them tracked," Winter said, she and Rhys exchanging glances, her head snapping around to Cayden.

  "Alright," Cayden said, biting his lip. "Let's get out of here."

  The transport did a one-eighty, picked up speed and rocketed off into the night sky.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

  Revelations 13:4

  The Iterations bowed before the visage of Saigo who was in the conference room with them, in the form of a life-sized hologram.

  Sateria entered the room and stood in front of him, her hands resting by her sides.

  Saigo's dark eyes turned toward Sateria, and whatever thoughts she had of complaining sank under the weight of that gaze. He stood just over six feet and the crimson cape he wore looked like a pavilion tent.

  "You've failed," Saigo said.

  Nero and Tiberius stood, grabbed their guns, took aim and pointed them at Sateria. Failure was a trigger word for execution for a legionnaire, a word Sateria knew all too well.

  She glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, remaining calm, choosing her tone and next words wisely.

  "You didn't tell me a Desani would be involved," Sateria said.

  Saigo looked at her with no movement; she just wondered what could be going through so powerful and wise a being’s mind; what he was thinking right now? Obviously, he knew now that the Cube was more important than he'd previously realized. She knew that would mean more troops, perhaps more bounty hunters. But one thing the Global Union had learned over the years was that too many soldiers in the cities gave the advantage to the Coalition.

  They'd just use the least-skilled fighters as diversions; they ruthlessly took advantage of every single mistake.

  "Cayden. Cayden Battle," Sateria finally said. She knew that name carried a lot of weight with Saigo, as there was no one on the planet the General despised more.

  A crescent flame flickered across Saigo’s eyes, the bitter history with his arch-enemy flashing before him.

  He hated Cayden just as much as she did. There was a strong bond in that kind of hate, cultivated and brewed by years of love. The betrayal each felt was as powerful as the memory of an inflected physical wound.

  Saigo put up a hand, signaling for the soldiers to lower their weapons. "Where is he?"

  "Your Cobras intercepted him. I don't think he'll escape them," Sateria said. "The girl, I'll find her. I just need more time and your blessing, General."

  "Bring me that Cube, and no more excuses," Saigo said, his holograph shutting off with his last word.

  Sateria turned and looked at Nero and thought she might have seen a smile. Maybe he was happy he didn't have to kill her or maybe he was happy to be continuing his mission. The cyborgs did learn, and their programming was based off human brains, so it was possible he was developing a fondness toward her.

  Or pretending to, so when he assassinated her, she wouldn't be expecting it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Which death is preferable to every other? The unexpected.

  ― Julius Caesar

  The monitors in the cockpit of the Coalition search and recovery shuttle, Raven, showed bandit-free skies.

  Cayden sat unmoving, palms moist and eyes searching for the telltale sign that they'd been intercepted by GU fighter jets. Winter relaxed in pensive silence as their shuttle streaked through, churning clear clouds of Federation airspace.

  "The scanner is functioning normally," Winter said.

  Cayden shuffled in his seat and glanced at her; she popped a stick of gum in her mouth, exhaled and blew it until the bubble formed and popped, causing him to grimace.

  "So," Winter said, her eyes maintaining focus on the flight instruments in front of her. "Tell me about her. Exactly how long did you two...date?"

  Cayden admired Winter's ability to stay on task despite a near-death experience, trying to locate the Cube and being pursued by the Global Union. She wouldn't let an opportunity pass to interrogate him about Sateria.

  Back on Air Station Alpha, she'd be able to drill him until she got her fill of answers and extracted every detail of his relationship with Sateria, but out here, on a mission where he was her superior, he would be able to avoid the question in the name of professionalism.

  "Do you have anything on your screen, Lieutenant?"

  An echo of thunder rumbled through the silent skies and just as quick, a driving rain began. Then the monitor’s red light flashed.

  Cayden stood over the pilot's shoulder in the cockpit; he observed the monitor and saw the fighters closing in from behind.

  The pilot turned to him. "They will engage us; less than two minutes, sir."

  "Head for Zone 5, near the Ural mountains. We'll lose them there."

  The jet screamed as it accelerated past Mach 6, quad turbine engines catapulting it through the air. The six Cobras settled into a winged formation and closed the gap.

  "Everyone strap in. Move over, kid." Cayden tapped Chase on the shoulder.

  He moved to the empty seat next to him. Rhys and Winter glanced at each other then back at Cayden, their hands gripping their armrest a bit tighter.

  "We have incoming, Commander. Maybe a dozen Federation Cobras."

  "Please tell me you're joking," Rhys groaned while casting an accusing glance at Cayden. "My last mission, they said. It'll be simple, they said."

  "If you want out, the time is now," Cayden said to Rhys.

  Rhys shook his head. "You're not joking."

  "We're not losing that Cube," Cayden said with an uncharacteristically dire - and almost desperate and fearful - tone.

  Winter paced two steps ahead, and looked over at Chase. "Chase, can we outrun them and lose them?"

  "Outrun them? No."

  Both Winter and Rhys turned to Cayden.

  "You have a plan, Houdini?" Rhys said.

  Cayden looked them both in the eyes. "We use the mountains for cover. Their scanners will never find us, and their fighters will not follow."

  "That's because we'll be dead," Rhys remarked. "Last time I checked, I couldn't run through a waterfall without getting wet."

  "Lucky for us, I can," Cayden said. Feeling their apprehension, he said, "I can do this, I wouldn't put us at unnecessary risk."

  "Will this be some type of quasi-wizard karate flying?" Rhys asked, cutting him a sharp look.

  Cayden smiled, nodding.

  Rhys just shook his head.

  "Here they come," Rhys said, his voice now cool and calm. "Orders, Commander. I still think we should abort."

  "You're not the only one," Rhys mumbled to himself. Cayden clenched his jaw and ignored their jeers.

  "We're headed down into the mountains. Go full throttle, we'll lose them there," Cayden said.

  Everyone just looked at the monitor. Every sound became magnified without the crew’s chirping voices.

  "So, this is a suicide mission," Rhys said.

  "Just do it," Cayden
barked, then turned to touch both Winter and Rhys on the shoulder. "We’re going to be fine. Just try to relax."

  "I've seen these signs of false bravado before, from many soldiers on their way to eternity," Rhys said.

  "Hurry guys, these fighters are fast," Chase exclaimed.

  "Relax; we'll be fine," Cayden said.

  Rhys turned to Winter. "So, we have no rear turrets and can't shoot at anything behind us? Is that correct?"

  Winter nodded affirmatively.

  "We have parachutes?" Rhys asked.

  Winter lowered her head and frowned, nodding.

  "Take me to them and the jump doors."

  "I know how important that Cube is to you, Commander – but we should be getting out of here," the pilot commented. "We should immediately plot a course back to Air Station Alpha."

  "No," Cayden said firmly, which visibly panicked his crew.

  "We have to get that Cube," Cayden said.

  The pilot looked at Cayden quizzically. "You heard half dozen, correct? How are you supposed to take on six fighters in this bucket?" Cayden fought the twitch in his eye. He wasn't accustomed to being spoken to in such a manner. Apparently, under enough pressure, a mere bush pilot had not only forgotten his rank but also who Cayden was and what he could do.

  Winter stole a glance at the console's scans and saw the Cobra's wings had turned from gray to red on the readout. "Their weapons are going hot."

  "Did you hear that?" the pilot asked. "Let me translate, hot means they are now ready to attack."

  Cayden’s first thought was to silence the pilot with a severe tongue-lashing, but he didn't want to come across as hostile or threatening. Instead, he maintained his relaxed demeanor and firmly stated, "we're not leaving without that Cube, pilot."

  "Sir, if I may speak freely?" Chase exclaimed.

  "You clearly are going to anyway," Cayden said.

  "This is madness."

  "This is an inconvenience, yes. But we'll get through this."

  Chase glanced at the console, raised a hand to his face, and squeezed his jaw and chin.