by A A Warren
Arlen leaned forward. “Officer, is that…”
“Star-paths, Ma’am! And three more of them just opened. They’ve intercepted the blasts. Something is re-directing the energy away from the inhabited worlds!”
“Where are they heading now?” Arlen demanded.
The officer shook her head. “No way to track the coordinates, Ma’am. But each of these blasts has enough power to destroy a planet. So wherever they’re going, I wouldn’t want to be there when they hit!”
Chapter Forty-Two
Fiery pangs of agony lashed through Talon’s arm and shoulder. He hung from the rocks by one arm, his feet dangling over the glowing abyss. Beneath him, the vast empty space of the vault appeared to stretch into infinity. He saw tiny dots… other stone platforms, drifting in the great crystal void.
Grunting with exertion, he managed to grab a hold of the jagged stone wall with his free hand. Slowly, he pulled himself up. His back flexed and rippled with unyielding muscle. Each breath was a rasping hiss of determination as he climbed back up the edge of the rock wall.
Finally, his raw, bloody fingertips clawed at the edge of the platform. He paused, gasping for breath. He heard a distant roar, and the patter of falling rocks. Glancing to his right, he saw a fissure tear through the statues supporting the platform. They were crumbling apart, as was the vault itself.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through his aching body. He tugged at the rocks, continuing his climb. Debris pelted his face and shoulders as he pulled himself up. One meter at a time. With a final gasp of triumph, he heaved himself back onto the stone platform.
Before he could savor his victory, he felt cold metal fingers close around his neck. Volonte yanked him up and gazed into his eyes.
“You… you fight like no man I have ever seen,” Volonte said. His speech seemed slow and his words were slurred, as if his voice synthesizer had been damaged. “And yet, look at you. Battered, bleeding. Defeated. You’re still just flesh and blood, like any other man.”
“Enough… enough to beat you,” Talon hissed.
The mech growled and threw Talon to the ground. The warrior stuck the stone with a loud crack. He gasped, as the impact knocked the breath from his lungs. Turning his head, he spotted the blurry shape of his axe laying a few meters to his left. He reached towards it with flailing fingers. Tiny sparks shot from his damaged control gauntlet. He could not summon the weapon to him… It may as well have been light years away.
Volonte drove a powerful kick into his torso. Talon grit his teeth and hissed in pain. He heard a familiar cracking sound... the blow had snapped a rib. He rolled over, heaving his body closer to his weapon.
Volonte chuckled and shook his head. “All these years, I have searched in vain… driven by a foolish dream. A desire to be like you. Soft, weak. I have wasted centuries. And for what?”
His metal fist clanged against his chest. “This is what I am. This is what I was always meant to be. Not a man. Not flesh. I am a living weapon. A being designed to kill. And to conquer.”
He stomped on Talon’s back. The gladiator grunted in pain. Volonte raised his arm. Mechanical components shifted and clicked into place, and the barrel of his pulse canon emerged.
“That treacherous snake Dulkar was right about one thing. I see now that flesh is a weakness. It deserves to be purged from the galaxy.”
He kicked Talon again. The powerful blow spun the warrior’s body over. Looking up, Talon saw a blurry image of the golemech standing over him. Volonte’s glowing eyes were like faint, dead stars, peering through the darkness that clouded his vision.
“There are other soul vaults, No’varran. They remain hidden away in the distant reaches of the galaxy. Even within your precious Dominion, they lie in wait. I shall find them, open them. And I shall raise an army like me. An army of Zedrakon steel. And we shall reclaim this galaxy, one world at a time.”
Volonte raised the energy cannon and aimed it at Talon’s head. “But first, the No’varran race ends. Today… you die!”
Talon narrowed his eyes. As Volonte spoke, he saw a crimson glow rushing towards them. A halo of light descended from the Cortex, like a burning angel, plunging from the heavens.
The light grew brighter, stronger, but Volonte did not appear to notice. The golemech stepped closer, looming over Talon’s battered body. His energy canon emitted a low hum as it powered up, preparing to fire.
“Speak your last words, warrior,” the mech snarled. “Is there anything you wish to say, before I erase you from the cosmos?”
Talon narrowed his eyes… his vision was still blurry from the beating he had taken, but he saw another figure approaching the mech. A woman stood behind Volonte’s shoulder. A hot breeze rushed over his skin… his hair flew away from his face, and the fiery glow of his crystal eye pulsed with light.
The figure stepped closer. It was Avra! Her hair whipped behind her like a wreath of flame. Her eyes were twin emerald suns, gleaming in the crimson haze.
Talon’s bruised and bloodied lips grinned. “Helicet xum phalek sanguis phedera,” he said.
Volonte tilted his head. His mechanical irises clicked as he focused his gaze on Talon. “What gibberish is that? I know not what — URRRKK!”
The golemech grunted in pain as a blade of pure dark energy pierced his chest from behind. The energy shield surrounding him crackled and faded away. The attack had overloaded the golemech's defensive field.
“May the blood of our enemies burn upon the stars!” a woman’s voice hissed.
Talon blinked. His vision cleared, and he saw that it was not Avra who stood behind his adversary... it was Suphara! Her graceful crystalline form reflected the light of the Soul Vault, as well as the bolts of energy sparking from the wound in the golemech’s chest. She wrapped an arm around Volonte's neck, driving her glowing weapon deeper through his body.
“My sisters and I owe you a blood debt, machine. And we Sorari always pay what we owe.”
“Insects,” Volonte snarled as he clenched his metal jaw. "I’ll wipe every last one of you pathetic life-forms from the galaxy!”
He drove his elbow backward. The blow slammed into Suphara’s chest, knocking the alien woman away. As her dark energy blade flickered out of existence, his shield hummed back to life.
Talking advantage of the distraction, Talon rolled across the stone platform. He felt his fingers curl around the hilt of his axe. Leaping to his feet, he shook his head, clearing the haze from his eyes.
A few meters away, Volonte opened fire with his pulse canon. The powerful energy bolt struck Suphara’s reeling body, and reflected through her crystalline facets. A starburst of light seemed to engulf the alien woman. She fell to her knees, as Volonte aimed the weapon at her head.
Talon charged towards them. “Volonte!” he shouted. “Your work is not done… The No’varran still live!”
Volonte spun around as Suphara slumped to the ground. Above them, another wave of mechanical bodies crawled down the canyon walls, like giant mechanical spiders. They leapt to the platform, and stalked towards the combatants.
Talon ignored the distant clanking of their mechanical limbs. He swung his axe, driving the blazing weapon into Volonte’s chest. The mech staggered back, but his shield still protected him from harm. The energy field surrounding his body grew fainter.
Before he could recover, Talon swung again, battering the glowing shield with another powerful strike. The glow began to flicker... The energy field struggled to maintain cohesion.
Suphara’s attack weakened him, Talon thought. If I can time my swing to hit during the power cycle…
He swung again, but this time Volonte was ready. The servos in his armed hummed as he blocked the shaft of the descending axe.
Knocking the weapon aside, Volonte swung his sword. Talon pulled back, but he was too late. He winced in pain as the razor-sharp blade opened a gash across his chest.
Talon raised his axe again. Volonte pivoted, stabbing forward with his weapon. The
blade pierced Talon’s shoulder and he roared in pain. Hot blood dripped down his chest and arms. He stumbled back, as a tremor shook the stone floor beneath their feet.
“You cannot win,” Volonte shouted. “You will die here, in this ancient tomb.”
“At least I’ll die a man,” Talon snarled. He dodged left, barely avoiding another swing of Volonte’s blade
He watched the energy shield ripple again, as generators in the golemech’s body struggled to keep the field up. Got to end this now, he thought. Before Volonte wears me down…Or this vault collapses around us!
The platform shook and rumbled, as Volonte raised his pulse canon. Before he could fire, a stream of falling rocks struck his shoulder. The jagged debris pummeled his shield, and the energy field hummed as it cycled power once again.
NOW!
The thought screamed through Talon's mind, drowning out all traces of pain and doubt. Bellowing a furious war cry, he lunged forward and raised his blazing axe. Dodging another chunk of debris, he spun his body around as he neared his target.
Time seemed to slow… he saw the golemech recover from the impact of the falling rocks. Volonte’s energy canon crawled through the air, raising towards him. A soft glow emitted from the barrel of the weapon as it prepared to fire. His shield flickered… it had not yet returned to full power…
Lunging closer, Talon spun again, building up momentum as he swung the axe in a wide arc. His lips curled into a grim smile as he felt the blow connect. Sparks erupted from Volonte’s body. The shield sputtered and faded, and the fiery plasma blade tore into his armor plating. The weapon buried itself in the golemech’s chest.
A low groan emerged from Volonte’s vocal synthesizer. The sound was something between a cry of pain and a gasp of surprise. The hulking metal brute fell to his knees.
“Im… Impossible,” he muttered. Another burst of sparks shot from his neck. His head dipped down at an angle.
Gasping for breath, Talon jerked the plasma axe free. A chunk of metal plating fell from the golemech’s body, exposing his inner mechanisms.
“That was for Avra,” Talon snarled. He glanced over at Suphara. The crystalline woman lay motionless on the platform. “And her Sorari sisters.”
He raised the axe over his head. “This… This is for my people. The No’varran.”
He swung the axe down. The fiery blade cleaved though the golemech’s neck. Volonte’s head tore loose and bounced to the floor. His spasming body collapsed. It lay sparking and twitching upon the ground, as his head rolled to a stop.
The skull’s eyes blinked, and a low moan emerged from its metal lips. “By the gods… How…. How is this… possible?”
“Flesh may be weak,” Talon replied, bending down to pick up the battered chrome skull. “But it heals. Loss, pain, defeat… they temper flesh, just as fire tempers steel. And we grow stronger in the process.”
“At least… At least it is finally over…” the voice faded out, and the eyes went dark. Talon stared at the inert lump of metal for a moment. Then he hurled it over the edge. It fell out of sight, dropping into the near infinite depths of the vault.
Chapter Forty-Three
The clanking of the other golemechs grew louder. Talon raced over to Suphara. He kneeled beside her and helped her sit up.
“Suphara... are you all right?”
She moaned softly, but did not answer. Glancing up, Talon saw hundreds of chrome bodies stalking closer… their eyes lit up the shadows beneath the rocks, like a swarm of fireflies descending upon them.
The chamber rumbled again. A dim light arose in the crystal depths… a fiery, hellish glow, as if a great heat had enveloped the vault. More rocks and debris fell from above, and another tremor shook the platform.
Suphara moaned again. Talon tore his eyes away from the approaching enemies and looked down at her. “We have to get out of here. Where is Avra?”
“Gone…” the woman whispered. She winced in pain as Talon helped her up. “Her body is gone. Yet she still lives.”
Talon looked up into the glowing reaches of the vault… in the distance, the crimson light grew stronger. It was now a bright orange, like the flames of a raging fire. The floating Cortex had faded from view entirely. Massive crystal spires collapsed and shattered above them.
“What do you mean? Is she…?” His voice trailed off, as Suphara’s eyes fluttered. She stumbled, and leaned on Talon’s shoulder for support. The faint light of her glowing stare met his brooding gaze.
“Her body is dead. The Cortex… it joined us together, somehow. She is with me now.”
The platform rumbled again. More metal bodies leapt from the rock walls and landed on the crumbling stone floor. They advanced on the pair from all sides, their eyes glowing with inhuman rage.
“You’ll have to explain later," Talon snapped. He stood before the woman and ignited his axe. He raised the weapon as more of the golemech’s crept towards them.
“I sent your master to the Haunted Stars,” Talon bellowed. “You can join him in whatever abyss awaits your kind!”
“HE WAS NOT OUR MASTER!”
The sound of their voices was a deafening roar, drowning out the thundering tremors that shook the chamber. The mechanical army raised their shimmering blades and advanced towards him.
Ignoring the pain radiating through his battered body, Talon swung his axe left and right… to his surprise, the weapon cleaved easily through the enemies. Sparking metal limbs piled up at his feet, as dozens of the golemechs fell before his blade.
But more continued to come. Hundreds of the inhuman opponents scurried down from the rocks and swarmed around them. Talon backed towards the edge of the platform, his plasma axe whirling in a fiery blur of motion.
“Suphara, stand back… we’ll need your dark energy to jump out of here when— Argh!” He grunted in pain as one of the mechs slashed at his side. An angry red gash opened up across his torso, joining the mosaic of wounds decorating his chest. His axe hummed and wailed as it tore through his attacker's gleaming skull.
Suphara rested a hand on his shoulder. “You have fought bravely, human. But this is a battle we cannot win. Look…”
She pointed to the dark, craggy walls. Talon’s eyes opened wide with surprise.
“Orion’s blazing bow!” he gasped. In the hellish light, he saw a sea of metal rushing down at them. Thousands of mechanical bodies descended upon the platform.
"They are weaker than Volonte,” Suphara said, supporting her weight on his shoulder. “But once their bodies attune to Dulkar’s life-force, they will be unstoppable.”
Talon ignored her, cutting through the next wave of enemies as they lunged forward. He took another step back, and Suphara followed. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the depths of the vault behind them… they had retreated to the edge of the platform. They could go no farther…
Gritting his teeth, he turned back to the horde. Spatters of blood ran down his chest, and black lubricant from his fallen foes stained his arms. His crimson eye pulsed with light, reflecting the glow of the plasma axe as he raised it over his head.
More rocks fell from above… the vault continued to collapse. The fiery glow in the distance was even brighter now, like the white-hot radiance of a newborn star.
“No’varran and Zedrakon shall both perish this day,” he growled. “The vault is collapsing. Gods willing, this shall be both our tombs. But they’ll have to earn their final rest!”
He swung the axe again, lopping off the arm of the nearest attacker. Dipping down, he picked up the golemech’s severed blade, wielding it in his free hand. His arms were a blur of motion as he slashed and stabbed with wild abandon, attacking with both weapons.
Suddenly, a new light appeared above them… a blazing glow, even brighter than the burning horizon. The golemechs paused their assault, looking up as the sound of thruster jets filled the air.
“I know that sound, human,” Suphara shouted. “Perhaps all is not lost!”
The Star
Claw hovered above them, its search lights sweeping across the army of metal creatures. But before it could land, a huge crack tore through the stone floor. Dozens of golemech’s fell into the crevice, as chunks of rock crumbled away from the platform’s edge.
Talon pulled Suphara to safety, as more rocks fell beneath their feet. As they leapt aside, a loud screech echoed from the darkness beneath them. Talon looked down… he saw a flash of claws and leathery wings rush by. Torn fragments of an armored tabeki fell away into the burning shadows.
“You’re right, Suphara. The battle is not over yet.” He dropped the oil stained blade, and tapped his transponder. “Utu, are you there? Can you hear me?”
For a brief second, there was only the crackling silence of an empty comm channel. Then a voice answered back. “This unit’s audio receptors are operating at peak effi—”
“Enough talk, mech! Lower the landing ramp and wait for my signal!”
“This unit will comply.” A loud hum sounded from the hovering ship, as the metal plank extended. Several golemechs activated their canons, firing pulse bolts at the sloped wing of the vessel. But the weapons-fire dissipated across the Star Claw’s shields.
Talon turned back to the glowing depths. Putting his fingers in his mouth, he whistled twice.
“What on earth are you doing?” Suphara asked, staring at him in confusion.
Talon repeated the whistle. A loud screech rose up from beneath the platform, answering his call.
“It’s time for us to go,” Talon shouted. “And I don’t leave my friends behind.”
Another loud screech reverberated off the rocks, and Decius flew up from beneath the platform. The razor-wing swooped in a spiraling circle, dodging the energy blasts of the metal horde as they focused their weapons on the creature.
Talon slashed one more time with his axe, dropping two more of his clanking adversaries. Then he powered down the weapon and slid it into his harness. Wrapping an arm around Suphara’s waist, he raised his free hand.
