Izikiel

by Thomas Fay

  ‘You might want to stop whatever it is that you’re doing,’ she said.

  ‘Why?’ he asked.

  ‘Because you’re starting to glow.’

  Izikiel looked down at his hands. True enough, they were bathed in a soft, white light. Turning his hand over, he marvelled at the light shining seemingly from within. Looking around, he realised that people were starting to point at him. Focusing on his surroundings, he saw the light slowly disappear.

  ‘How did you do that? I didn’t sense you reaching out to the Flame,’ Jenevieve asked.

  ‘I don’t know, it just sort of happened,’ Izikiel replied.

  Jenevieve looked him up and down.

  ‘C’mon, let’s go before people start proclaiming you the next messiah. I just hope that the others have made more progress than us.’

  They boarded the futuristic monorail back to the Calligrates Palace. Sitting down next to the window, Izikiel watched the sun reflecting off the metallic structures in the centre of the city. He smiled. He had found another way of accessing the Eternal Flame’s power, one which was undetectable even by its followers.

  EIGHTY EIGHT

  They gathered in the underground command centre of the Tellusian Government. Each one of them had spent a week studying, training and learning all that they could from the Tellusians. Looking at each of them in turn, Izikiel felt a sense of pride, as well as, responsibility. The second disciple, Sofija, had set things in motion over a thousand years ago. She had left behind three Guardians who had taught him to control the power of the Eternal Flame. They in turn had pointed him along the path to uncovering what he needed. Everything had led them to this moment.

  Now, it was up to him.

  ‘Alright, it’s been a long week and we’ve all worked very hard. Now it’s time to bring it all together. Vorn?’

  The merchant ship captain cleared his throat. Moving forward, he activated the central holographic display unit. A series of three dimensional representations of various spaceships appeared in the air above them.

  ‘Cassandra and I spent the last few days inspecting and testing the Tellusian fleet. In short, even I’m impressed. There are over fifty functional spaceships fuelled, armed and ready to be launched at a moment’s notice. While none of them can compare to the Valiant Crusader, they are more than capable of transporting troops, supplies and defending themselves.’

  ‘So we have ourselves an armada?’ Izikiel asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Vorn replied.

  ‘Well congratulations, Admiral Vorn.’

  Vorn grinned.

  ‘Thanks. The other good news is that the Valiant Crusader has been fully repaired and is space worthy again. The bad news is that we lost the nuclear flare bombs and the most powerful thing we have are conventional nukes.’

  ‘Alright. Jonas, Xavier how did you go with the troops?’

  ‘Just as impressive, I have to admit,’ Jonas replied. ‘There are over five thousand well trained highly disciplined special operatives standing by for orders. Their reflective armour is a variation of the sunsuits we employed back on Vesta. It effectively allows them to use field generators to setup a grid of sunlight which is then used to illuminate the individual suits, making them highly resistant to the dark veil used by the void spawn.’

  ‘On top of that they have some pretty impressive gauss weaponry with projectiles powerful enough to take down a void spawn. When combined with the orbital sunlight generators, they should be more than a match for a frontal assault by the void spawn.’

  Izikiel nodded.

  ‘That is good news. So we’ve got a fleet, orbital defensive platforms and a viable ground force. Te’Anne, were you able to learn anything from the archives?’

  ‘I’ve found quite a bit of information on the battle a thousand years ago. The two Juggernauts we encountered in the past were the most powerful ships ever constructed. They managed to defeat a handful of dark citadels in orbit around Vesta, allowing the ground forces to land. This is where things get a touch murky but from what I’ve been able to gather, the moment the combined colony forces made landfall a dark veil surrounded them. Thousands perished instantly. They would have been completely wiped out had it not been for the appearance of a glowing being, later identified as Lady Serafine. She destroyed the forces of the Void almost completely. Only one citadel, still in high orbit, managed to escape. Sadly, the human forces didn’t fare much better. Both Juggernauts were completely destroyed, the majority of the fleet heavily damaged and most of the invasion force wiped out.’

  ‘The scant remains of the fleet and ground forces returned to their worlds. A century later, the Void Lords returned. They caused a gravitational disturbance which shattered the ringed planet of Orbis causing a meteor storm that destroyed the Great City. There is no record of any of the true believers surviving, not even the Elementals.’

  Silence descended over the command centre as Te’Anne finished describing the events leading up to the devastation of the true believers. Even the little girl, the silent child from Vesta, seemed to be emanating infinite sadness at the terrible tragedy.

  Izikiel motioned for Cassandra to speak.

  ‘Following the destruction of the Great City, the Void Lords swept through the colony worlds decimating the human worlds. Millions fought bravely to the end but without the power of the Eternal Flame, they were no match for the creatures of the Void. In a last desperate act to prevent the destruction of the human colony worlds and to honour our allegiance to Lady Serafine, the Elementals launched a frontal assault. Our tactic worked. In fact, it worked so well that we spent the next nine hundred years locked in a bitter struggle with the Void Lords. While their void spawn outnumber us a thousand to one, we had one key advantage. They could never bring the fight to us. For unlike humans who require habitable M class planets, the Elementals can live on the surface of stars, a place where the Void Lords cannot tread. This is how we have survived for the last millennium, sheltering in the fiery embrace of the Eternal Flame.’

  Turning her burning gaze to look directly at Izikiel, she added, ‘Our race has waited almost a thousand years for a true disciple to end the deadlock with the Void Lords.’

  ‘You have all suffered greatly at the hands of the Void Lords and endured much since joining with me,’ Izikiel said. ‘Sadly, I cannot say that I found what we came here to Tellus for. The ancient tome we sought is lost. The final word in the ancient language eludes me for now but I sense that it is just outside my grasp.’

  ‘What do we do next?’ Te’Anne asked.

  At this Izikiel smiled as he watched Jenevieve shake her head.

  ‘What? What is he planning to do?’ Jonas asked.

  ‘You’re not serious,’ Jenevieve said.

  Izikiel’s smile widened as he looked at each of them in turn.

  ‘We have the most powerful fleet, weapons and army ever assembled by the colony worlds. We are also fortunate to have not only a Guardian of the Eternal Flame but the allegiance of the Elementals, a race born of the Flame itself.’

  ‘And?’ Jonas prompted.

  ‘I am the last true disciple of the Eternal Flame. Together we will challenge the Void Lords and retake Vesta.’

  Jenevieve groaned.

  ‘I guess you were serious after all.’

  EIGHTY NINE

  They filtered out of the command centre one by one until only Izikiel and Te’Anne remained. Moving closer, she embraced him. Kissing him gently, she pulled back and looked into his eyes.

  ‘You know I would follow you to the Void and back but are you sure that this is the right thing to do?’ she asked, her hand gently caressing his cheek.

  ‘Yes. I have learned much since my awakening on Vesta. We have seen the past, we have learned what happened to the colony worlds and we have glimpsed a future where the creatures of the Void triumph. This is a future which we, which I, will not allow to come to pass. Humanity is on the brink of extinction. Our capacity for spaceflight has been crippled.
The colonies barely hang on by a thread and our one and only ally, the Elementals, are pinned down in a war of attrition they cannot win. We must take the fight to them. Vesta is the key. If the true believer’s world is lost to the Void then we will never stand a chance.’

  Te’Anne nodded her understanding. Looking into his eyes again, she frowned as realization dawned on her.

  ‘You don’t expect to survive this, do you?’ she asked. Tears began to form in her eyes.

  Izikiel took a deep breath before replying.

  ‘I have sworn to do whatever it takes to defeat the Void Lords. This is why I was brought here. This is my destiny,’ he replied. Reaching out, he wiped the tears from her eyes.

  ‘Do we stand a chance?’ she asked.

  ‘I honestly don’t know. The technology we have at our disposal is beyond anything that was ever dreamt of in my time; the ships are powerful, the weapons even more so. But from what I have seen and experienced this is a war which cannot be won with ships and soldiers. Our salvation hinges on something so fleeting, so difficult to find in these dark times that I am amazed we have made it this far.’

  ‘What do you speak of?’

  ‘Faith. Unbending, unquestioning faith in the Eternal Flame. Just as the creatures of the Void are driven by an unflinching belief in the Void so must we counter that with the light of the Eternal Flame. This is what Lady Serafine showed the colony worlds a thousand years ago. She showed humanity a different way, a way to restore balance in the Universe. Now, it is up to me to restore that balance.’

  Te’Anne embraced him again. Releasing him, she walked towards the door.

  ‘I have faith in you.’

  Then she was gone and Izikiel was left alone. Activating the holographic display unit, he selected voice command.

  ‘Central archives’ he instructed.

  ‘Establishing connection, please wait,’ a synthetic voice said. ‘Link established, enter search parameter.’

  ‘Eternal Flame’

  ‘Processing…over a million entries located, please specify additional parameters.’

  ‘Planet Vesta, human colony worlds.’

  ‘Processing…one thousand and twenty five valid entries.’

  ‘Display in chronological order.’

  A series of entries illuminated in green flashed before Izikiel’s eyes. He scanned each one, looking for any hint of familiarity, something that would tell him he had found what he was looking for.

  ‘End of list do you wish to search again?’ the synthetic voice asked.

  ‘Display again, reverse chronological order.’

  Placing his hands on the cold metallic surface of the central console, Izikiel watched as the entries scrolled in reverse. There were familiar names, events and places but nothing stood out as being the one critical piece of information that he needed.

  ‘Redisplay?’

  ‘Again’

  The entries began to blur together as Izikiel continued to stare at them, over and over. The console stopped prompting him to confirm to redisplay after a while. Even the machine seemed to sense his desperation.

  As the list redisplayed, Izikiel experienced a sudden moment of clarity. He saw a shining being standing in a sea of white sand. There was something incredibly familiar about the sand and the jagged rocks. He had stood on that exact same spot.

  ‘Wait! Go back,’ he said.

  The screen froze. Then, it slowly scrolled backwards.

  ‘There. Stop.’

  The holographic display showed a single entry.

  > Vesta, the landing ‘Display full details,’ Izikiel instructed. The single line of lime green text became a passage.

  > The colony transports descended through the path created by the Juggernauts. Locating a suitable staging area, they landed and deployed their cargo of foot soldiers. The moment the troops advanced towards the Void Lord citadels, a dark veil descended around them. Losses were catastrophic as energy weapons failed and the void spawn decimated the colony forces. Even the high orbit bombardment by the Juggernauts failed to penetrate the dark veil. Seeing no other option, General Marcus Calligrates sounded the retreat. None responded. No communications were able to penetrate the dark veil. In a last act of desperation to save his forces, General Calligrates brought the Juggernaut command ships into Vesta’s atmosphere. The ships were heavily damaged by the accelerated atmospheric entry. Their flaming hulls struck the centre of the dark veil and exploded, momentarily revealing a landscape drenched with the blood of the colony troops. A few pockets of resistance remained where troops fought against the void spawn. The General’s sacrifice did little as the dark veil closed over the remaining forces.

  > It was then that the event described as the light of creation transpired. It was a light so bright and so powerful that it cleaved the dark veil asunder and destroyed the creatures of the Void. Only one citadel managed to escape the planet. This light came from a shining being, later revealed to be Lady Serafine. The few remaining survivors retreated back to the colony worlds.

  > Entry ends.

  Through his connection to the Eternal Flame, Izikiel experienced the great battle for the planet Vesta. The devastation caused by the void spawn, the slaughter of the human colony soldiers. The final desperate act of General Calligrates when he steered the two Juggernauts into the planet. But one thing stood out in his mind; the shining figure glowing with the intensity of a newborn star.

  ‘The light of creation,’ he whispered.

  NINETY

  The Tellusians were fully mobilized. Fifty spaceships stood in the midday sun, their hulls reflecting the light in shades of grey, blue and white. Five thousand heavily armed special operatives slowly filed into the waiting ships while the orbital sun platforms were loaded into the cargo holds. A sizeable crowd of bystanders had gathered to watch the armada depart. None knew what was going on but all could sense an air of desperation and finality hanging over the Tellusian forces. Their every movement and expression betrayed hints of their belief that they would not be coming back.

  The fifty—first ship stood slightly apart from the others.

  ‘If we travel through the Aurora system then we avoid the risk of detection as we can jump in within striking distance of Vesta. The last thing we want to do is give them a chance to call for reinforcements,’ Vorn said.

  ‘I agree. Getting through the asteroid field with this armada will be tricky but it’s still our best chance to avoid detection,’ Cassandra said. Turning towards Izikiel and Jenevieve, she added. ‘The Void Lords will be able to sense if we use the power of the Eternal Flame. That means that we can’t help them until we reach Vesta.’

  ‘I understand,’ Izikiel said. ‘Jonas, Xavier are the troops clear on the landfall?’

  ‘Yes,’ Xavier said. ‘The moment we touchdown they spread out and activate the field generators. The orbital sun platforms will shield us during the initial insertion and then the field generators will provide additional cover from the dark veil.’

  ‘It’s critical that we get those generators up as quickly as we can. If they get that dark veil over us, then it’s all over. Vorn, your ships will need to provide a steady orbital bombardment.’

  ‘Understood,’ Vorn said.

  ‘Do we know what the situation is on Vesta?’ Te’Anne asked.

  ‘I’ve been liaising with the Prime Minister’s covert ops division. They sent their last remaining stealth ship into the system. It never returned. We have to assume that the ship was destroyed, which means they’ve got an orbital, as well as, a ground presence. I just wish we had some way of knowing for certain.’

  Listening to Vorn’s voice, Izikiel felt himself reaching out towards the Eternal Flame. Within moments his ethereal form was soaring through the cloud filled sky of Tellus. Reaching open space, he spun around and accelerated at the speed of light towards the asteroid field, passing into the Aurora system. Floating above the frozen remains of the true believer fortress, he felt a terrible sadness as he real
ised that much of the northern continent was scarred by earthquakes. There was little hope that even an Elemental had survived the cataclysmic collapse of the Ecclescia.

  Accelerating further, he passed into the Vesta system. The familiar sight of the twin suns greater him as he sheltered in the remains of the shattered ringed world of Orbis. After a moment’s hesitation, he glided closer.

  Even from such a distance, he could clearly make out the three gigantic black citadels embedded in what had been the New Babylon star port. A dark swarm moved around their base which Izikiel realised were void spawn. As the planet slowly rotated on its axis, another citadel was revealed. This one was planted firmly in the northern polar cap, astride the remains of the Great City.

  The very spot where Lady Serafine had united the colony worlds and the Elemental race. Where Da’Amo had taught him to use the power of the Eternal Flame. Izikiel felt the heat rise up within him as he prepared to launch himself forward.

  (‘No, Izikiel, this is not the way,’) the hollow voice spoke directly into his mind.

  Startled, Izikiel looked around. His gaze came to rest on the flaming tendrils emanating from the twin suns of Vesta.

  (‘They must be made to pay for what they have done. Da’Amo. The Great City. New Babylon. I am ready,’) he said.

  (‘No, Izikiel, not yet. There is one final test which you must pass before you will be able to defeat the Void Lords.’) Jenevieve’s words came unbidden into his mind. Darkness. The final test. He shuddered at the connotations.

  (‘I will lead the colony forces and Elementals here. We will retake Vesta. This I swear.’) There was no response. None was needed. He knew what he had to do.

  ‘There are three citadels where the New Babylon star port once stood. A fourth citadel rests on the northern polar cap. I saw no evidence of an orbital presence,’ Izikiel said as the warmth of the Tellusian sun washed over him, banishing the image of a defiled Vesta.

  ‘How did you...oh, never mind. That’s good news, it means we should be able to get close enough to deploy,’ Vorn said.