Izikiel

by Thomas Fay

  ‘I think she wants to come with us,’ he said.

  ‘I still do not trust her,’ Xavier said.

  ‘I know, but we have returned from a journey across time unharmed. I am inclined to think that she wants to help us.’

  ‘I tend to agree with you,’ Te’Anne said.

  Xavier inclined his head but remained silent.

  ‘We need to get to the star port before daybreak,’ Izikiel said. ‘Will you be alright?’

  Izikiel looked at the little girl as he said it. Slowly, almost painfully, she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  ‘Good. Ok, Te’Anne, lead the way. Xavier, cover our rear.’

  ‘Yes, disciple,’ Xavier and Te’Anne nodded in unison.

  Izikiel found it slightly strange how he had suddenly been promoted to the position of leader of the small group. A few days ago he had no idea where he was or even who he was. Now, he was desperately trying to get to a place he had never been in order to escape a terrifying enemy from beyond their Universe. Letting out a slow breath, Izikiel set off after Te’Anne across the red sands.

  They walked in silence for several hours. Izikiel occasionally looked over to check on the little girl. Her face remained expressionless as she stared straight ahead. Her feet moved mechanically one after the other. Izikiel noticed that she was dragging her feet more and more as exhaustion set in. Despite being caught in a strange temporal field, her body clearly registered physical activity as any other would.

  ‘Look!’ Te’Anne called out as they reached the top of a sand dune. The New Babylon star port dome glowed like a crown nebula on the horizon. Casting its ambience across the sand in every direction, it was a welcome sight.

  ‘Come on. We’re almost there,’ Izikiel said.

  As they set off again, he felt something was wrong. He turned around just in time to watch the little girl falter. Her diminutive form wavered for a moment. Then she collapsed into the sand. As Izikiel moved towards her, something unusual happened. The hulking figure of Xavier knelt down beside the silent child. Picking her up, he cradled her exhausted body in his arms.

  ‘I will carry her,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you,’ Izikiel said as they set off again.

  They reached the edge of the New Babylon star port dome just as the first rays of the twin suns began to creep across the desert. Shimmering tendrils of intense heat stretched out towards them as they sheltered next to the dome. Izikiel saw what appeared to be a gigantic lake surrounding the star port in every direction.

  ‘What is that?’ he asked.

  ‘Solar fields,’ Te’Anne replied. ‘They are gigantic solar panels used to collect and store the energy of the twin suns. They power the dome by day and night.’

  ‘Incredible. I have heard of solar power but this...’ Izikiel’s voice trailed off as he took in the glowing fields of solar panels stretching out as far as his eyes could see. As the twin suns’ light grew brighter so did the solar panels.

  Izikiel turned his attention back to the domed star port. The dome appeared to be an impenetrable wall of metal punctuated by glowing conduits and circuits which flowed seamlessly into a transparent force field. Tilting his head upwards, Izikiel scanned the dome from left to right. There appeared to be no way in.

  ‘How do we get through?’ he asked.

  ‘Leave this to Xavier,’ Te’Anne replied. Her voice was tense and her face was tightly drawn as if she were bracing for something.

  Xavier bent down and gently lowered the little girl to her feet. After making sure that she could stand, he walked over to a part of the metallic dome which was particularly dense with circuitry. Placing his hand on the metallic surface, he closed his eyes. Moments later, a section of the dome wall retracted inwards with a soft hiss of air. Xavier turned towards them. The silver tattoos on his face and neck were pulsing with a steady ambience.

  ‘The way is open. Follow me,’ Xavier said.

  TWENTY NINE

  Izikiel felt cool air wash over him as he walked through the metal opening in the dome wall. The inside of the passage glowed with complex circuitry. Marvelling at the advanced technology, Izikiel was even more amazed when he stepped out into the dome proper.

  The air was crisp and fresh. The ground was covered with a hard, black substance with various markings on it which he recognised as a road. A number of thorny plants grew in fenced off areas in-between low lying grey metallic structures. None of the buildings appeared to be more than two storeys high, with flat, featureless roofs. They looked almost identical and surrounded them in all directions. The monotony of the buildings was interrupted only by the roads leading between them.

  In the distance, he could just make out an elevated platform which seemed to be the focal point of the dome. Not far above it, the dome’s force field shimmered like an ethereal veil. As Izikiel watched, the force field wavered for a moment and then a portion peeled back to reveal the open sky. Moments later, a squat metallic object lifted off the platform and moved into the opening. As it cleared the force field, a line of fire ignited behind it and the object disappeared into the clear sky. The force field sealed flawlessly behind it. Izikiel’s eyes opened wide in amazement.

  ‘That’s the star port. What you just saw was a ship taking off through the protective shield,’ Te’Anne explained.

  Izikiel barely heard her as he continued to stare at the force field where the ship had passed through. For the first time he knew with certainty that the Eternal Flame had brought him far into the future. A sense of wonder overwhelmed him as he watched another ship take off from the elevated platform.

  ‘We’ll need to find a pilot and buy passage off the planet,’ Te’Anne said.

  ‘How will we pay?’ Izikiel asked as he watched the second ship disappear into the sky.

  Te’Anne smiled as she held out her hand towards him. A large diamond sparkled in the light of the twin suns.

  Izikiel shook his head.

  ‘I cannot ask you to give up your livelihood for me.’

  Te’Anne took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes.

  ‘There is nothing left here for us now. We will come with you.’

  Izikiel looked at Xavier. The big man nodded his head.

  ‘Thank you,’ Izikiel said.

  ‘No thanks are needed,’ Te’Anne said. ‘Now come on, we need to move quickly. What Xavier just did was not exactly legal and we don’t want to risk a run in with the security forces.’

  Izikiel nodded his understanding. Te’Anne turned to Xavier and spoke to him in a hushed whisper. Unable to hear what they were saying, Izikiel turned his attention to the little girl. She appeared to have recovered from her collapse in the desert. Standing with her arms hanging by her side, she stared at the distant space platform. Her eyes moved slightly. Then she blinked. Before Izikiel could react, she took off. Running past them, she disappeared between two low lying grey buildings.

  ‘Wait!’ Izikiel called out franticly. But the little girl did not stop. Turning to Te’Anne and Xavier, he said, ‘We need to find her before something happens.’

  ‘Let Xavier go first. He knows these streets better than anyone.’

  Izikiel stepped aside as the towering figure of Xavier moved smoothly past him. Scanning the street, Xavier said, ‘She’s heading for the barracks.’

  ‘So much for avoiding a run in with the security forces,’ Te’Anne stated drily. Her lips trembled slightly as she said it.

  ‘If we hurry we can cut her off at the next intersection,’ Xavier said.

  ‘Lead the way,’ Izikiel said.

  They set off at a dead run. As they moved between two grey metallic buildings, Izikiel wondered about this latest turn of events. He still could not shake the feeling that he knew who the little girl was. A distant memory, buried so deep that he was unable to retrieve it. But he knew it was there. If only he could remember.

  THIRTY

  The buildings had grown steadily closer as they made their way down a narrow str
eet. Looking closely, Izikiel realised that each one was unique in some way. A small sign, a slightly different angle of the roofline or even the types of plants growing in front all acted to differentiate the buildings. At one stage he heard another ship taking off in the distance but the surrounding buildings were so close that he was unable to see the space platform. The very thought of it brought a smile to his face.

  ‘There!’ Xavier called out.

  The three of them emerged from the narrow street into an open square. Beads of sweat trickled down Izikiel’s face as he scanned the square from side to side. Locating the little girl, he moved towards her.

  She stood in front of a man wearing a ragged looking black shawl and dark, composite leggings. Various implements, most of which Izikiel guessed were weapons, were strapped to his legs and boots. As Izikiel approached them, the man looked up. His sharp, angular features were covered in dense stubble. Long strands of black hair partially obscured his face. His steel grey eyes bore into Izikiel.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Izikiel asked.

  The little girl nodded her head slightly as she continued to stare at the man with her now familiar vapid expression. Izikiel turned towards him.

  ‘Allow me to apologise for the little girl. She’s not herself at the moment.’

  The man continued to stare at Izikiel without saying anything. For a moment Izikiel began to wonder if he too was a silent one. The man’s eyes flicked from Te’Anne to Xavier and finally came to rest on Izikiel.

  ‘No apology is necessary, stranger. In future you should watch her more closely or she could get herself into serious trouble,’ the man finally said.

  Turning around, he cast the little girl one final look before walking away. Izikiel watched him disappear down one of the narrow streets leading out of the square.

  ‘Come on. We need to go,’ he said to the little girl.

  As they turned to leave, the sound of footsteps filled the street. Xavier and Te’Anne instantly dropped to a crouching position with their weapons in either hand. Izikiel spun around in time to see half a dozen men in composite body armour appear at the end of the street. Based on their identical grey uniforms, Izikiel surmised that they had to be some form of security force. Each carried a powerful looking weapon cradled in their arms. As their leader raised his fist into the air they all stopped. Izikiel could feel himself reaching out to the Eternal Flame. Then something unexpected happened.

  The leader lowered his weapon and raised his dark visor.

  ‘Xavier?’ he asked in surprise.

  ‘Jonas?’ Xavier responded in turn. He too slowly lowered his weapon.

  ‘What in blazes are you doing here? You disappeared over five years ago without a trace,’ the star port security officer named Jonas said.

  His skin was a touch lighter than Xavier’s but they clearly shared a common ancestry as evidenced by his wide, flat nose and thick lips. Physically, he was just as intimidating as the large scavenger.

  ‘It’s good to see you too,’ Xavier said.

  ‘Where have you been all these years?’ Jonas asked.

  ‘Living in the Kartucian Desert,’ Xavier replied. Turning towards his sister, he said, ‘You remember Te’Anne?’

  Jonas inclined his head slightly.

  ‘Hello, Te’Anne.’

  ‘Jonas. You look well,’ Te’Anne said. She, however, did not lower her weapons.

  ‘You too,’ Jonas replied with a grin. Turning his attention back towards Xavier, he said, ‘You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here. We’re in a state of mass evacuation so this better be good.’

  ‘We’re seeking passage off the planet,’ Xavier replied, deliberately avoiding looking at Izikiel. ‘We need to leave urgently.’

  ‘So does everyone else, unfortunately. Look, I should arrest you for what you did back there at the wall. You know as well as I do that use of star port security technology without authorisation is illegal.’

  ‘C’mon Jonas, you know me, you know us.’

  The security officer named Jonas let out a slow breath as he looked at his men. Turning back towards Xavier, a smile spread across his face as he said, ‘I do owe you for that desert training session. If you hadn’t disobeyed the commander and fended off those desert wolves then I wouldn’t be around anymore.’

  ‘Does that mean that you’re going to let us go?’ Te’Anne asked.

  ‘Yes’

  ‘Thank you, Jonas. It is good to see that you have not lost your sense of honour,’ Xavier said.

  ‘You’ll need to hurry. There are only a handful of civilian ships left and about two thousand people still to evacuate. Once that number of ships drops to one there will be a mass panic,’ Jonas said. He motioned for his men to lower their weapons.

  ‘Make your way to The Sargon in the south west corner of the dome near the space platform. It’s an interesting place but some of the civilian freighter pilots prefer it to the more upmarket joints.’

  ‘What about you?’ Te’Anne asked.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. There’s a ship reserved for security personnel. Now go.’

  Izikiel had remained perfectly still during the exchange between Xavier and Jonas. Some instinct of his had told him that Jonas could be trusted. Now, as they were about to walk away, Izikiel experienced a flash of darkness across his vision. Feeling instantly cold, his mind raced as he recalled the touch of the void spawn. His thoughts turned to the Eternal Flame. As he began to reach upwards, his concentration was interrupted by a voice as sharp as steel.

  ‘Do not move.’

  THIRTY ONE

  The speaker was a tall man with a waspish face and deep sunken eyes. He was dressed in a dark grey uniform of the same colour as the security forces armour. Izikiel noted several black and gold stripes emblazoned on his sleeve. Standing directly behind him were two dozen armoured star port security officers. Their visors down, each held a double barrelled weapon pointed directly at them. The man’s steel grey eyes glinted with a dangerous edge as he addressed the other group of security officers.

  ‘Captain Jonas, what is the meaning of this?’

  ‘Commander Kazel,’ Jonas said, snapping to attention. ‘We intercepted these people entering New Babylon. Satisfied with their identity, I was about to let them go.’

  ‘And do you think that wise at a time like this?’

  ‘Yes sir. I can vouch for these people personally.’

  The star port security commander moved closer towards them. Izikiel again felt the numbing darkness pass over him. Scanning the street, he half expected to see a dark shadow moving towards them. But there was no sign of any of the creatures of the Void. The street was bathed in light from the twin suns far above. The presence of the suns gaze Izikiel some measure of comfort. Having witnessed the creation of the second sun, he knew that its sole purpose was to safeguard humanity from the darkness of the Void. Yet he was unable to relax fully. There was something there in the street with them. Something that did not belong in the light of day.

  ‘Captain, do I need to remind you that we are in a state of mass evacuation and that all intruders must be dealt with swiftly?’

  ‘But sir, surely these people pose no threat to our security. They merely wish to escape the planet like everyone else.’

  The commander moved closer to Jonas. Leaning forward, he said in a perfectly level voice, ‘Do you dare question me, captain?’

  Jonas visibly shrank back from the commander, despite being almost twice as broad as him and considerably taller.

  ‘No sir. I apologise for any disrespect.’

  Izikiel watched the exchange with a slight detachment as he scanned the surrounding buildings and streets for any sign of movement. He could now clearly sense something close. Something powerful and very dangerous. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he braced himself. He cast a guarded glance at Xavier and Te’Anne. They nodded. This was about to get very interesting.

  ‘I will deal with you later, ca
ptain,’ the bleak faced commander said, dismissing Jonas. Moving towards them, his gaze passed over Xavier and landed on Te’Anne. Walking up to her, he held up a small electronic device.

  ‘What is your name?’ he asked.

  ‘Te’Anne,’ she replied.

  The commander input a series of instructions into the device he was holding. Its screen flickered momentarily. A series of green beams scanned Te’Anne’s face. Checking the screen, the commander raised his hand up.

  ‘Just as I suspected, this one is a wanted fugitive. Arrest her!’

  Two armed security officers moved forward. Xavier stepped in front of Te’Anne blocking their way.

  ‘Step aside, citizen or I will have you arrested as well,’ the commander said.

  ‘This woman is guilty of no crime and I am no citizen. I am Xavier, a captain in the security forces of New Babylon, Theta Division.’

  ‘Former captain. As I understand it, you deserted your post several years ago,’ the commander said. ‘Arrest this traitor as well.’

  The armed men surrounded Xavier and Te’Anne. Realising the situation was hopeless, they both dropped their weapons on the ground. The commander moved towards Izikiel.

  ‘And who have we here?’ the commander asked.

  His steel grey eyes bore into Izikiel. Seeing himself reflected in those grey orbs, Izikiel suddenly felt cold. Darkness washed over him, reminding him of the encounter back in the underground caverns with Da’Amo. He began to feel trapped, sensing darkness closing in all around him. Forcing the feelings of panic down, he faced commander Kazel.

  ‘I am a scavenger from the Kartucian Desert,’ Izikiel replied, after a moment’s thought. He kept his voice calm, despite knowing with certainty that whatever he had sensed before was about to reveal itself. He braced for the unexpected.

  ‘A scavenger you say?’

  ‘Yes sir.’

  ‘And what are you doing in New Babylon?’

  ‘I am here to seek passage off the planet.’

  ‘Why?’