by David Beers
What have you done? Alex replied. She could tell something was different, but not what. He was hiding it from her somehow.
I killed our mother, Alexander responded. It had to happen, Alexandria. She saw what must be done but didn't have the stomach to do it, so she had to die.
Alex had never considered her mother's mortality. She’d always been there, even at her worst. You're lying, she whispered in her mind.
You know I'm not, came the cold response.
Alex slid down, and her ass hit concrete. Lucia rushed to her, and Alex opened her eyes. The ship was still waiting in the distance. Alex couldn't manage to say anything to the woman squatting over her, desperate to know what was wrong.
Where are you going, Alexandria? her brother asked. We are not finished here. You and I have more to do.
He was coming for her. Alex felt that in her bones. He said he couldn't see her, but she knew he felt her well enough.
She's dead? Alex asked. Truly?
You know she is. Reach out for her. Feel her. Can you?
There was nothing, no sense of her mother. A gut-wrenching sorrow took over, causing tears to flow down her cheeks. Lucia was pulling on her, trying to get her to stand. Alex couldn't pay attention to any of it. Her mother had risked her life to come and save Alex, and she'd ended up giving it to her son, whom she'd also come to save.
What has become of you, Alexander? she asked through her sobbing.
She was on her feet, being dragged toward the ship.
I am heading toward my fate, my destiny. As are you. Come back to me, Alexandria. We must become one. Surely you see this. We are already connected in a way no humans have been before. We must finish this connection.
Alex blinked away tears and watched as the ship got closer. She knew what her brother meant even if he didn't spell it out. He would throw her in another vat, and there he’d figure out how to join the two of them.
He would take her mind from her and put it in him.
Then what?
Come to me, Alexandria. This is our fate, he whispered, and she knew he was after her. Still naked, he'd gotten into his own transport and was heading for the docks. He was coming to stop her.
"Alexandria, hurry. We don't have much time," Lucia begged as she pulled on Alex's arm. Lucia couldn't know what her brother intended, but she understood the docks wouldn't be empty forever. Her mother's power only stretched so far. Or it had.
She blinked through tears, looking from Lucia to the ship. If her brother arrived here, could she stop him? Alex had no idea. Physically, no one had ever existed like him. Even the myth of Samson couldn't live up to what her brother had become.
And Lucia? She would die, just like her mother. Anyone else who ventured onto the docks? Dead.
If Alex lost? She didn't know if what her brother wanted was possible, but if he achieved it? The solar system would be his, if not the entire universe.
That was what made up her mind. It was what sent her away from Earth and changed the entire history of the human species. It was what brought Alistair Kane to Pluto a thousand years later, separating him from his love and starting an Insurrection that would shake the very universe.
Chapter Four
The AllMother was seated. Her story has taken the better part of a few hours.
"His warped dream has never ceased," she said. "Even now, a thousand years later, he hunts me to take whatever they implanted in me."
Alistair remained lying on his cot and staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were narrow as he considered what he'd just heard. "It doesn't make any sense. There are too many logical issues here to overlook."
The AllMother's voice sounded tired, but she waved him on. "Ask your questions."
"The first is, how have you both lived so long?"
"I can't speak for Alexander, only myself. My modifications allowed me to prolong my life. My mental abilities aren't just limited to what I see here and now. I can send my mind into the future. I can avoid things that would hurt me. I can also repair my cells in a way that's impossible for normal humans, even with all the medical advances that have come about. Or I could. All of these things I'm telling you were possible at one time, although my abilities are fading quickly."
"And your brother?" Alistair asked.
"I can't say for certain. I imagine it has to do with his modification, but while I spent my time building a movement, he spent his time perfecting his modifications. Through trial and error, he created those Myrmidons in his image."
Alistair ran his hands through his hair as he considered the next question. "Why you? If he's perfected his modifications, and he understands how to create your type of modification, the mental kind, why is he waiting for you?"
"You're making assumptions that I don't think are true," she responded. "I'm not sure he knows how to replicate my modification without me. Before you, no one else in the universe, as far as I'm aware, had modifications like mine. It took me a longer time than I'll admit to figure out how to do it, and the Commonwealth never tried again, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure how he plans to do it, but it'll probably be some sort of mapping and then overlaying it on his modifications." She paused for a brief second. "There's more to it, however. Whether he's insane or not, I don't know. But to his mind, it's our genetic lineage that must rule. He would never settle for something other than his own sister's pairing with him. If he’d ever considered such a thing, perhaps he would have already won."
Alistair had heard her story, and there was much more that he hadn't yet heard. "What happened to Lucia?"
The AllMother smiled at that, and her eyes grew hazy. "She died a long time ago. My life-extension powers don't extend to others, unfortunately. She served me as loyally as she had my mother, though."
Finally, Alistair got to the question that mattered most. "I'm not like you, am I? In a way, I am, but I don't have the control that you did when you first awoke. What I did was out of necessity, to keep me alive. You can control it. You can venture into people's minds and see around corners. You can break people's legs as they step. I can't do those things. I'm a bomb waiting to go off."
"Maybe it is my genetics," the AllMother said. "But yes, there are differences between us. I know, though, that even at my greatest, I couldn't do what you did. I couldn't defeat an entire army with a single burst."
"Do you know what I will become?"
"All I know is that you're the one leading us back to Earth, Prometheus. What you become? That's up to you." The old woman stood, tired from speaking so much. "If my brother gets hold of me, that's what he's going to do. If he can do it, he may become unstoppable. Before that happens, you should kill me. Do you understand?"
Alistair sighed. "Go on, AllMother. No one is killing you. I need some time to think."
Thoreaux looked at the distant burning world on the screen . His body showed none of the scars or damage that had been inflicted upon it. Physically, he looked the same as he had on Pluto, the planet that was now ash.
Mentally?
He was still trying to figure out how to deal with that.
He understood what was waiting for them on the burning planet of Phoenix. For so long, he'd been molded to think strategically about how to avoid the next conflict. How to keep the AllMother alive.
He glanced away from the screen and down at his boot. Beneath the fabric was his foot, part flesh and part machine. Many of his bones had been too damaged to repair. It had been simpler for the underworld boss to build him new ones. He'd never again be in a position for someone to torture him like that. He'd die first.
Faitrin entered the room they now shared. He didn't turn around but stared at the burning planet.
"You okay, Thor?" she asked. It was her pet name for him.
He ignored the question and asked his own. "Has Pro said what he's going to do yet?"
She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. "Not yet. He called a meeting in an hour. That'
s what I came to tell you. How are you feeling?"
Thoreaux put his hands on her arms. "He's going to fight."
"You sure?"
Thoreaux chuckled. "Pro doesn't know anything else to do but fight. It's what he was born to do."
"What are you thinking about?" Faitrin pressed.
"You don't want to know."
"I don't think that's true," Faitrin responded with her head still resting against his back. "See, when I ask something, that means I do want to know. It's usually how these things go."
Thoreaux wasn't sure how open he should be with her. He wasn't sure how open he should be with anyone regarding his thoughts. He'd changed, and while he understood it, he wasn't sure what others would think. "I'm just wondering how we're going to get away from this planet and where we're going to go."
Faitrin was quiet for a moment. "I don't believe you, but I'm not going to push it. When you're ready to talk, I'm here, okay?"
He turned his back on the burning world and wrapped her in his arms. He didn't say anything, only held her there. They would need to meet with Prometheus soon.
Soon, they would need to fight for their lives once again.
Thoreaux was looking forward to it.
Thoreaux had only witnessed what Prometheus did on replay. He'd been floating above the melee, mostly unconscious. He hadn’t been mentally aware enough to understand what was happening, but he'd watched it on security camera footage once he healed. He'd never seen anything like it in his life. They were all lucky that Prometheus hadn't killed every one of them with his furious power.
His council had expanded by one, and Thoreaux was just now coming to grips with what these giants meant. Faitrin had explained it to him as best she could, but it had still been awkward to watch when Thoreaux first saw Caesar.
Pro was still working on convincing the gigante that he wasn't a servant, but the beast wasn't exactly taking to it.
They had gathered in a room on the lower deck: Faitrin, Relm, Thoreaux, Servia, the AllMother, Caesar, and Prometheus. Pro hadn't yet convinced Caesar of his new station, so convincing the rest of his knights was out of the question. It would take one of their own to spread that message.
They sat at a round table and all eyes were on Prometheus. Thoreaux was to his right, and Caesar to his left. The giant didn't like leaving his side if it could be helped, Thoreaux noticed.
Thoreaux watched Pro. He saw nothing physically different about the man, but he knew what he'd witnessed on those replays. He was sitting next to the most dangerous person in the entire universe.
"Our choices aren't real choices," Prometheus began. "We can give up the AllMother, or we can fight. I think everyone at this table understands we're not going to give her up."
He met their eyes individually. Thoreaux knew no one here would give up the AllMother, except perhaps Caesar, and then only if Pro commanded it.
"So that leaves us only one choice: to fight."
Thoreaux caught Faitrin's eye quickly and gave her a wink.
"With our current trajectory, we'll land in just under two standard days, though I’m not in a rush. The planet is completely occupied by the Myrmidons. If we ask our people on the planet to rise up, they will, but the cost would be too great. If we save the AllMother and lose half our people, how is it worth it?"
He looked down at the table. Thoreaux didn't like the expression on his face. Pro knew what he was going to say next wouldn't be taken well.
"I could unleash the gigantes on them, and I think the Myrmidons might find themselves in a real match then," he continued, "but again, I have other plans for them. I don't want to lose any of them in an unnecessary fight."
Servia raised her hand off the table. "Question, Pro. How is this unnecessary?"
"I don't think it's necessary that the gigantes fight," he said without looking up. "I'm going to fight. I'm going to challenge this Myrmidon to a duel. If he wins, he can have the AllMother. If he loses, they leave the planet." He raised a hand to halt the arguments that were forming on their lips. "I know many of you are going to say, ‘What if you lose, Pro?’ Well, if I lose, I'm not going to be too concerned about what happens after because I'll be dead."
Thoreaux had no questions to ask because the situation's reality had suddenly grown much worse if that was possible. The only thing Thoreaux had to say was simple. "You can't."
Pro didn't have a chance to answer before the others chimed in.
Relm had leaned back in his chair. "Agreed, broth. Can't do it."
"It's not worth it," Faitrin said.
Servia and the AllMother stared at him with different expressions on their faces. The AllMother didn’t appear to have heard what he'd said, while Servia shook her head with a tight grin on her lips.
"What do you mean by 'challenge this Myrmidon to a duel?’" Caesar asked.
He was the only one at the table who didn't understand the implications of the phrase. The tradition hadn't crossed to his solar system or the others he'd traveled to.
Still giving the tight grin, Servia explained, "I think it started about five hundred years ago. Or at least, restarted. Maybe it was earlier than that, though. It's an old idea that goes back thousands and thousands of years but was mostly forgotten about until one of the Imperial Ascendants brought it back. It means that any man can challenge any man to a duel, and not to accept would be to dishonor oneself. The duel is to the death, and usually there's something major at stake. It's a truly foolish system, one that only a man could invent."
The giant's face was pensive as he thought it through. "I don't understand," he eventually said.
Thoreaux stared at Pro as he spoke. "He's using it as a way to bypass more death. By challenging this Myrmidon to a one-on-one duel, he keeps everyone else out of it. No one will die but one of them, so long as the rules are followed. If it’s offered, the Myrmidon will most likely accept because to refuse would make him lose his men’s esteem. I don't know if the Myrmidons consider it as important as humans from our galaxy, but if they do, everything is now in his hands."
"What's the problem, then?" Caesar asked.
He'd never seen a Myrmidon. He didn't realize their size, strength, speed, and technological advances. He thought Prometheus was the greatest warrior in all the universe. However, while Pro was a force to be feared, there were still those more powerful.
Prometheus stopped the arguments with a smile.
"There's no need to argue about the duel," Pro said. "I gave the Myrmidon the proposition two hours ago. He accepted. We battle when I arrive."
Ajax had received the human's proposition. He wanted to duel, and the winner would take the spoils. Ajax found the endeavor primitive, harkening back to humanity's days of honor and masculine pride. Those days had passed long ago, but the Earthborn and everyone from that star system still abided by it. Ajax knew the tradition had been brought back during a time of strife by one of the Ascendants. He'd been considered a weak leader, so he allowed anyone to challenge him to a hand-to-hand duel.
The man wasn't a great leader, but he was a superb fighter. His critics died quickly, and the idea of dueling was reborn with a vengeance.
Ajax had never seen a duel. The Superior would never think of such things within their ranks or with outsiders. Dueling someone in hand-to-hand combat was a waste of time, and the humans who interacted with the Superior knew that.
Ajax felt no particular way about the duel. It wasn't his decision to make, but the AllSeer had instructed him about what to do.
The black shadow came to him and said, "Yes, accept it. I wish my sister would have done something like this years and years ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble."
That had been the entire conversation because none of the Superior felt any worry about facing off with a human. Even a modified human was of little consequence to those like Ajax.
The duel would come, the Prophesied One would die, and then the AllSeer would take his sister. Their fate had nearly arrived.
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Chapter Five
Alistair had permitted no one to come see him in the days it took to get to the planet Phoenix. There were no arguments to be had on the matter and nothing else that needed to be said. He had contemplated numerous other tactics to get what he wanted out of this, and every one of them would end in unmitigated disaster.
The conclusion he'd come to was that there was no other way. Even his council would have to see the truth in it. Prometheus would have to win this duel, and if he did, the path in front of them would be clear. Finally, for the first time since he had begun this endeavor, he had a chance to determine the way he would go. Before now, every choice had been made for him. He'd been forced into all his past decisions out of necessity.
This was the last one.
He was being forced to fight this Myrmidon, but if he won, the next choices would be his and his alone to make.
Alistair hadn't yet told his council what they would do but he had an idea, one that would bring him closer to even footing with the Commonwealth. Sometimes it was hard to keep that overall picture in his mind, the final stage of this: to destroy a monarchy.
To see Luna again.
Alistair hadn't forgotten his wife's message. The Ascendant's implied threat could bring Alistair to his knees if he let it—if he focused on it or worried about it. The threat was still there, and perhaps the Ascendant had already acted on it. Maybe his wife was dead, but to think about such things would make him lose focus in the present, and then he’d surely die.
The ship eventually made it to Phoenix. The duel would take place in three standard hours.
Alistair spoke to no one as he left the ship. The council's eyes fell on him as he walked past, but he said nothing. The gigantes all watched in reverence as he passed them.
It was comical how the shorter Terram stared at these massive new creatures. They hadn't seen such things before. Alistair hid a smile as he headed to his old room, hearing one of the Terram yelling at Servia for this intrusion. Soon they'd be relieved of the remarkable duty they'd taken on of providing a home for thousands of refugees.
