“It’s in the hangars with my sons for repairs. That robot took quite a beating—”
Breeze flew up and away.
Achilles sat on a bench in the hangar bay holding its head close to its chest and watched as Excort’s sons rummaged through bins searching for spare parts. The mechanical spinal cord, stretching several feet from the base of the neck to the head, was the only link that provided control of its body.
The RF who were repairing aerocraft throughout the hangar complex would occasionally glance at Achilles, but were quick to avert their gaze whenever a supervisor stepped by.
A lone RF with a streak of orange across its breast plate stared at Achilles until its supervisor tapped it on the shoulder and pointed for it to leave. It did, but only after casting a quick glance back at Achilles before returning to its duties.
Achilles noted how the hangars and surrounding buildings had fallen into disrepair. Oslo struggles to prevent the campus from falling into further deterioration, it thought as it remembered Perihelion from its glory days with glittering spires, well-kept grounds and hangars filled to the brim with shiny aerocraft.
Lost in thought, it was startled by a voice that emanated from deep below the earth.
You will not stop me, the voice said with a snarl.
Achilles blinked rapidly and shuddered, when it heard a different voice speaking. It looked up and was greeted by the sight of Xenthan with an older brother standing beside him. Xenthan spoke about parts he and his brother had salvaged from scrap, and how they would perform a temporary fix until new parts could be machined.
Xenthan lifted Achilles’ head and waited while his brother fed the spine back into the body, then lowered the head onto the shoulders and fastened it. The temporary fix didn’t allow for the head to rotate, Xenthan explained to Achilles, and will have to twist its torso and head in unison to see who it was speaking to.
Achilles sensed the hangar had grown quiet. All of the RF had stopped working to observe what was transpiring, but quickly returned to work when Achilles swiveled its torso and head together to look behind it.
Xenthan shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve never seen them behave this way before.”
Achilles abruptly stood up and thanked them, then marched past row upon row of dilapidated aerocraft until it stepped out of the hangar and into the fading sunlight just as Breeze was landing.
The robot’s eyes lit up with a mischievous twinkle as it pointed out the potholes in the tarmac. “Are these the result of your practice landings from when you originally arrived at Perihelion? You are quite adept at leaving an impression.”
Breeze laughed. “Glad to see you’re back to your old self.”
“Old? Unfortunately, yes. Improved? Unable to ascertain at this time.” Achilles swiveled its head and torso in unison. “Merely a temporary condition, as Xenthan eloquently informed me.”
Breeze stared solemnly at the robot as Achilles placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have performed admirably. You reached deep within yourself and formed a shield that thwarted the wave that would have destroyed Perihelion. I was told you were in stasis for quite some time as you kept the shield raised.”
“How long was I out there for? It feels to me like minutes.”
Achilles’ eyes lit up. “Several hours had passed, according to Xenthan. He would relay to me updates during the search for you and Nina while he and his brother scrounged for parts to repair me. I would have joined, but my engagement with an Elephim resulted in my head being removed from my shoulders. Quite inconvenient!” it chuckled, then paused for a moment before speaking again. “Apparently they found you in a valley not far from the bay embracing Nina with your shield raised. Sally had to project into it to get your attention. Odd how those ladies are always able to slip past your defenses.”
Breeze’s face reddened while Achilles’ eyes shined brilliantly. “You have accomplished much since your humble beginnings.”
Breeze shrugged and looked away. He was about to say something when he quickly lifted a hand to his ear and nodded. “Excort just sent a message over the wireless, says Mila is making dinner for everyone at the dining hall. Let’s head on over.” He held out a hand. “Care for a lift?”
Achilles laughed and brushed it away. “I have had an abundance of airborne adventures for now. Let us endeavor to keep our feet on the ground,” it said, and then looked up at the sky. “Just for a little awhile at least.”
The robot pointed toward the shore. “The beach is past those dunes; let us follow it back to the hall.”
“Aren’t you worried about getting rusty?” Breeze teased it.
Achilles’ eyes dimmed. “After what we have experienced, it is the least of my concerns.”
Several days later, Breeze sat with Oslo in his office late one evening. The Elephim that ambushed the island after their departure for Appalachia left a trail of destruction as every building on campus was wrecked and ransacked. Oslo’s office was hit the hardest. The old man spent the last several days with Raza putting everything back together. The books on the shelves that lined the walls of the office had been ripped and burned, as was the furniture. The sailorman lamp was also a victim, but it had been patched together and returned to its prominence on the desk.
The lamp reminded him how he once sat across from Oslo in this very office as a total misfit when he first arrived to the island. He found it strange how Perihelion now seemed to fit him like an old glove.
He also understood why Oslo persevered for so long. The old man was living in a world dominated by the memories of Earth’s glorious, yet distant past, but burdened with the truth that humanity was traveling along a road to oblivion by their unwillingness to discover it. People had blinders over their eyes, Breeze realized, blinders that were purposefully put there by a malicious and hidden force. Yet many were unwilling, or unable, to remove them.
Breeze abruptly sat up in his chair. “Oslo, there is something you need to know; when that Elephim grabbed me and spun me around, something strange happened. It felt like time was slowing down and space was stretching before me. I then heard voices and saw the faces of children come out of the darkness within orbs of light looking for my help. I felt a sense of peace as I told them not to be afraid and to never give in to the darkness. I don’t know what made me to say those things, but I knew that I was right. What happened to me out there?”
Oslo slumped deep into his chair. “You found them, by God. They are like you, the children of the paranormal, trying to survive in a frightening world. They have no guidance and no understanding of why they feel so terrified. Then they found you. There really is hope.” He shook his head. “And I almost gave up and surrendered. I almost stopped searching for them. Then you came along, Breeze, and changed everything.”
“I don’t understand,” Breeze said.
“In time, you will. We will build a new world and a new life. It won’t be easy. There will be those who will doubt us, and there will be many obstacles to overcome. But we can never turn our backs now. Not ever. We should aspire to die knowing we did everything we could to right the wrongs. We shall never put our heads in the sand and ignore the peril that surrounds us.”
“What about my father?”
Oslo sighed. “We will find everyone, Breeze, and your father as well. All that has been lost will be recovered, or at least remembered. This I swear to you.”
“What about the two Elephim I fought with, where are they now?”
Oslo looked out the window. The moon was rising over the bay. “Achilles has them in his custody.”
Achilles established its quarters in the hangars, explaining to Oslo that it would be appropriate to be amongst the RF. They needed guidance, this much he could tell from the amount of aerocraft that needed to be repaired. They were originally programmed for combat, not as mechanics, it reminded Oslo
.
Achilles also noted that it could provide assistance and share knowledge accumulated in Appalachia repairing and restoring aerocraft it had collected over the years. Oslo gladly accepted.
Achilles had also taken custody of the two Elephim that had tracked their escape from the platform. With help from the RF, it constructed a fortified prison to house them in a sub-basement level deep below the Science and Engineering building. It was the only building on campus that was suitable and contained the machinery needed to keep them subdued and prevent their escape.
Achilles would oftentimes watch as they thrashed about within their cells incessantly, then drop to their knees and howl with screams made of static. And they never seemed to sleep, except to stand in a comer of their cell and stare at a wall throughout the night.
Achilles knew they were trying to contact their brethren for help, but the quartz embedded within the bedrock collected and sent their transmissions to the antenna array located at the top of the building. There it was intercepted by electronics Achilles fabricated to prevent their broadcasts from being transmitted into the depths of space. Though the fog over the island was operational and shielded it from prying eyes, as well as blocking any unauthorized transmissions from getting in or out, it wouldn’t take the risk of the island being detected from above again.
One evening, as it left the detention level after a routine inspection of the prison, it entered the elevator that led back to the surface when it noticed an icon on the control panel that pulsated with a red glow. Its finger hovered close to it for a moment, and then pressed it. The elevator descended. After several minutes, it came to a stop and the doors hissed open.
Achilles stepped out into a chamber with rows of humming machinery spread across the floor. Ahead was a concave wall with armored plating. It was a sight that it had not seen for many years, though the memories of this chamber were still fresh within its cerebral core. Memories of a time when a plan was set into motion to save a world whose glorious of days had long since passed it by.
Metallic footsteps echoed within the chamber as it marched past row upon row of machinery. It knew every one of these machines, for they were assembled and installed by Oslo and itself. Machinery designed to help sustain a life, a life that lay behind the concave wall. That life had a name. Bram.
Achilles began to ponder how Bram was able to return from the depths of space and function like he did on the platform without his body, when Raven spoke from within. We should not have come here.
No sooner were the words spoken that an image of a woman materialized next to Achilles. It was Kera with her flowing white dress billowing behind her.
“I knew this dreaded day would come,” she said, “though I did not expect it would arrive in the form of half of a man embedded within a machine. Fascinating how you managed to stay hidden. I now see why he assumed you were dead.”
Achilles tilted its head as Raven spoke. She knows.
“You must leave. Now is not the time,” she said.
Without hesitation, Achilles turned and left.
Dawn was approaching as Breeze strode along the beach in the early morning. The rising sun caressed the clouds as the moon abdicated its throne in the sky to it.
He looked up at the fading starlight and knew that is where his future lay. His first trip into space was a harrowing one, but it invigorated him in ways he never imagined
He watched as the waves gently lapped against the sandy shore. Each successive wave taking him further into his mind as he thought of his life and where he stood in the world. He knew he was an orphan, but he would lead his newly adopted family here on Perihelion to a better tomorrow.
He heard footsteps splashing through the water. He looked over and saw Nina approaching.
No words were exchanged as he pulled her close and held her in his arms.
The sun bathed them in its fiery light as it freed itself from the grip of the horizon and rose into the sky.
MICHAEL JOHN OLSON IS a former commercial diver living in South Florida with his wife, Martha, and two children, Edward and Angela.
He is currently working on the next book of the Breeze Corinth series.
He can be reached on the web at mjolsonwrites.com, by email at [email protected], or on Facebook at Michael John Olson.
Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter Page 68
