by Eva Brandt
Eva Brandt
Destinies of Diamond
Chimera Academy 3
Copyright © 2020 by Eva Brandt
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Destinies of Diamond
Index
Prologue
Dilemmas
Private Affairs
Dangerous Anomalies
Threats
The Warning
Medusa
Barren Destruction
Poisonous Secrets
Shadows from the Past
Inevitability
Fighting for Freedom
Extreme Circumstances
Escape
Looking Toward the Future
The First Chimera Project
Destiny of Death
To Destroy and Create
Epilogue
Coming Soon
Books by Eva Brandt
About the Author
Destinies of Diamond
Centuries ago, a terrible battle wiped away countless souls, both human and chimeras. The time of the reckoning has finally arrived, and I will pay the price for their suffering.
As an Unblessed Terran, I never gave much thought to the idea of being a mother. It was never an option for me. And then, I was kidnapped by a sexy alien, and now here I am, stuck in a mess I don’t know how to solve. Motherhood is not just an option—it’s my future, and not something I’m prepared for.
All of a sudden, I feel like body and my mind are turning against me. I’ve always wanted to help people with my powers, but the child growing inside me has other ideas. I can no longer control the gifts the gods have granted me.
My only hope lies with my lovers—the same men I’ve turned away from. I can’t fully forgive Jared for forcing me into this situation and I’m still not over the death and destruction Brendan, Knox, August, and Pollux left behind among my people. But they’re the only ones who can help me, the only one who can truly answer the questions that bubble deep inside my heart.
Who am I really? Why was I blessed by Gaia and Tartarus? Why was I chosen by Helios?
The answer might just be my worst nightmare. And as my hopes, dreams, and duties come crashing down like a castle of cards, as tragedy spirals around me once again, the only thing I have left is my final vow.
I will become steel. I will become tungsten. I will become diamond, flesh, and fire, and, no matter what, I will fulfill my destiny.
Destinies of Diamond is a 90k words sci fi novel and the final book in the reverse harem trilogy Chimera Academy. Inside, you will find plenty of steamy action between the heroes and the heroine, a cyborg teacher who’s suddenly become very interested in his female student, spiced up with an enemy-to-lovers m/m romance. But be advised. This isn’t a story for the faint of heart. There are dark themes ahead, so tread lightly.
Index
Governmental organizations
In this setting, the world has a centralized government called The Grand Judiciary. It primarily acts as a supervisor of military operations, but has superior authority over all other bodies. The second organization, in charge of administrative operations, is led by the High Priestesses of Gaia. While the overall organization is connected, each branch is individual to a respective nation/region. They are independent from one another, but not from The Grand Judiciary.
Chimeras
Chimeras are massive robots that are fueled by the energy of Tartarus and carry the spirits of ancient mythological creatures. They are the main fighting force against alien invasions and are divided into several separate categories.
Grand Chimera Unit
Typhon (Tracker code: GCTPH)
Cerberus (Tracker code: GCCRB)
Charybdis (Tracker code: GCCHR)
Scylla (Tracker code: GCSCY)
Sphinx (Tracker code: GCSPH)
Dormant:
Medusa (Tracker code: GCMED)
Hydra (Tracker code: GCHYD)
Pegasus (Tracker code: GCPEG)
Minotaur (Tracker code: GCMIN)
Lower Chimera Unit
Harpy Squad (LCHRP)
Ocypete (Tracker code: LCOCY)
Aello (Tracker code: LCAEL)
Podarge (Tracker code: LCPOD)
Celaeno (Tracker code: LCCEL)
Zephyrus (Tracker code: LCZPH)
Boreas (Tracker code: LCBOR)
Nicothoe (Tracker code: LCNIC)
Chimeras are referred to as both individual beings and metallic vessels. The subtle difference is in the use of the definite article ‘the’. This is the official style, and when used before a chimera name (e.g. the Typhon, the Scylla), it mostly refers to the chimera in question as a whole. The absence of the definite article denotes a closer relationship between the chimera and the person speaking and a general mentality of seeing the chimera as a person in its own right.
Other Military Units
The Terran space force also contains several other types of vessels. They are divided in several categories.
The Oceanus Attack Corps
Hyperion Star Fleet
The Theia Star Fleet
The Crius Guard Corps
The Tethys Transport Corps
Heliads
Also known as Sun-Dwellers or Heliovore Apsids, they are the species of aliens that attempted to conquer Earth. Their leader goes by the name of the Great Mother. Their main military force consists in crystallized units, gigantic energy organism powered by the photon emissions of at least three individual Heliads.
The Apsid Quasar – the unofficial Terran name for the Quasar 4D642, the area where the Heliads live
Nexus – the home world of the Heliads
Eos – the capital city of the Heliads
Helix – the core of Eos, consisting in a singularity capable of manipulating time and space
Other terms of note
Tachyons – particles faster that light that form the basis of Tartarus fire
Photon – elementary particle consisting in a bundle of electromagnetic energy, depicted here as the basis of Helios’s powers
Quasar – a luminous, active galactic nucleus in which a superma
ssive black hole is surrounded by a gaseous accretion disk
Accretion disk – cirsumstellar disk formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body
Singularity - a one-dimensional point located in the center of a black hole, which contains a huge mass in an infinitely small space
Prologue
A union between spirit and metal, chimeras were always a bit of a mystery, even for the people who piloted them. They were bound to serve the gods and protect Terra, but they were also individuals with their own desires and personalities. They had power structures within their own ranks and specific wishes humans had to accommodate.
Of utmost note was the relationship between the Grand Chimera Unit and the Lower Chimera Unit. In the Apsid Wars, Grand Chimeras such as the Typhon, the Medusa, the Minotaur, or the Cerberus did the most damage. But the Harpy Squad and the Centaur Herds provided them with valuable support, rescuing countless lives and doing a lot of damage control.
For many years, the two units worked together side by side in harmony. But that all changed after the ill-fated Terran expedition into the Apsid Quasar.
Encouraged by the withdrawal of the apsids, The Grand Judiciary sent powerful teams into enemy territory, hoping to squash the alien invaders before they could regroup. They might have been prepared to fight the crystallized apsid units, but they didn’t have a chance against the crushing power of the universe itself.
Over half of the Terran fighting force was destroyed, either by the accretion disk of the quasar, or the event horizon around the black hole.
The Grand Chimera Unit survived, with minimal damage. Several chimeras—such as the Medusa—went dormant and didn’t awaken even after their metal shell was rebuilt. It was the Lower Chimera Unit that took the most damage.
In an attempt to rescue the non-chimera members of the expedition, the Centaur Herds, along with several members of the Harpy Squad, formed a tachyon-absorbing barrier. It allowed the star fleet shuttles—the most vulnerable members of the expedition—to escape the powerful currents of the quasar. They paid a dire price for their decision.
The Centaur Herds were completely destroyed and all attempts to salvage the souls of the chimeras failed. Engineers hypothesized that this was caused by the Centaurs’ disappointment with a perceived betrayal from the Grand Chimeras.
The Grand Judiciary found no fault in the actions of the Grand Chimera tamers, but to this day, the enmity between the two units persists. It is not unusual for members of secondary star fleets to take the side of Lower Chimera Unit.
Dilemmas
Selene
“So, I heard you’re taking classes on Terra now. Have you finally decided you don’t belong here?”
I looked up from my tray and shot Scott Argyle an unimpressed look. “Flight Lieutenant Argyle, do you really have nothing better to do than to constantly endanger your future at the academy?”
“I haven’t said anything untrue.” Argyle wriggled his way to my side, skipping several people who were ahead of him in line. “Besides, I couldn’t help but be curious. It’s very unusual to see you alone without your lovers.”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Deep inside, I was cursing myself for my behavior. I’d thought I’d been doing a good job hiding the rift between me and the others, but apparently, I’d been wrong. I should have been at least a little friendlier with them while I was in the mess hall.
Two days had passed since our return from Terra and from the Apsid Quasar. We’d been dancing around one another a bit, as I was still not sure how to handle our relationship.
The memories of what had happened in Gaia’s Haven haunted me, but it was more than that. There was also my relationship with Jared. I couldn’t help but feel that, in a way, I’d betrayed my lovers by sleeping with Jared.
They didn’t seem to blame me for it. If anything, they’d embarked on a quest to win back my love and trust. But everything had just come at an awful time, and despite my best efforts, I was still struggling.
It was too late to change my approach now. It was time to do some damage control. “It never fails to astound me how you people think a woman isn’t capable of selecting her own food,” I said with a sarcastic smile. “No wonder you think I can’t pilot the Sphinx if you’re still lost in such delusions.”
Argyle narrowed his eyes at me and a mild flare of tachyon particles enveloped him. Excellent. The best way to distract a man was always to challenge his pride. I hated generalizing, but to this day, none of the men I’d met had proven me wrong.
Argyle knew better than to start a fight in the middle of the mess hall, but even so, I wasn’t surprised when my lovers noticed something was wrong and manifested by my side. They’d gotten their meals earlier, when they’d arrived, and had grabbed something for me too. But frustratingly, even after I’d eaten my regular meal, I’d still felt hungry.
My lovers had offered to get me a new tray, but I’d declined, and now, here we were.
Brendan and August shoved their way through everyone else still waiting in line. “Is there anything wrong?” Brendan asked as he reached me. “Did you want something, Flight Lieutenant Argyle?”
“Nothing at all, Your Highness,” Argyle replied. “I was merely making conversation.”
“Why don’t you make conversation with tamers from your own unit?” August snapped. “They might actually be interested in what you have to say.”
Argyle glowered at him, but before he could reply, the meal monitoring drone beeped. I shuffled forward, stuck my tray under the drone and pressed the button that indicated the products I wanted.
We were out of the bean paste and there was no way I could manage to get meat again. I picked the only acceptable option, the vegetable compound soup. It was better than it sounded and since no one else ever had it, the portions were always huge.
“I don’t see how you can eat that shit,” Argyle muttered.
I ignored him. I didn’t need to discuss my diet with anyone, thank you very much.
Together, Brendan, August and I made our way back to our table. Knox and Pollux were still there, although Knox was visibly unhappy about it.
There were massive gouges in his side of the table. My heart clenched as I took in the sight of the twisted metal. We might have come back from the Apsid Quasar, but we hadn’t returned in one piece.
I consoled myself with the thought that if things had been excessively bad, Brendan wouldn’t have come after me at all and had stayed with Knox instead. In our little group, he was the only one who could immobilize Knox—if he tried hard enough, at least.
For the moment, the situation was under control, so I slid back into the seat in front of Knox. I shot him a quick smile and he relaxed. Sort of.
He still glared in Argyle’s general direction, muttering, “One of these days, that guy will push me too far and I’ll feed him to Cerberus.”
“Let’s not go there, okay?” I said softly. “Our chimeras have had enough variety in their diet lately.”
Knox twitched, a half-flinch that told me he’d just remembered I was still mad at them. Silence fell between us. I hated it, hated this awkwardness I didn’t know how to deal with. Conversation had flowed so smoothly between us before. I’d felt like I fit in. But now, that sensation of rightness was gone, because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help but think that they hadn’t trusted me enough to include me. And a part of me couldn’t help but feel that the distrust between us wasn’t wholly unwarranted.
I’d been naive when I’d thought our feelings for one another could magically wipe away all our differences. Where did that leave us?
“We’ve already been over this, Selene,” Sphinx whispered at the back of my mind. “You said you’re going to give them a second chance.”
“And I am,” I offered, mechanically starting to eat my soup.
“Maybe, but are you doing the same for yourself?”
It was a good questi
on, but I didn’t get the chance to answer her. The communications array that lined the walls of the mess hall lit up, announcing an imminent message from our esteemed leaders.
Commander Trevor’s voice echoed over the room, stern, sharp, and almost ominously loud. “Attention, all members of the faculty, students and staff. Due to several schedule anomalies in this year’s curriculum, we will be reorganizing the exam session. Over the next months, we will be holding an additional series of tests, to ensure the fact that our students are prepared at all times for anything that is thrown their way.”
I almost choked on my soup. “Exams? Are they serious? Why now of all times? It’s not even end of term yet.”
It was probably very unattractive, but my lovers didn’t seem to mind. “Well, no,” Brendan replied, “but we are getting close. And to be honest, Selene, I’ve been expecting this.”
From his spot in front of me, Knox nodded. “You haven’t truly had a tough time at the academy in terms of schoolwork. That was always going to change.”
I was tempted to throw something at him, but miraculously, I held back. He wasn’t wrong. I’d had trouble at Chimera Academy since my arrival, but it hadn’t been the actual classes that had given me problems.
Compared to my recent kidnapping, pregnancy and treasonous plans, such concerns seemed trivial.
“You will be receiving a detailed schedule on your personal systems, which you can access through your back-links,” Commander Trevor continued. “It’s highly advisable that you look it over as soon as possible.”
