Apollo eased into the massive chair the bots constructed, and watched the orange and blue colors fade as the sun slipped below the horizon. “You did nice work, Apex,” Apollo said. “This will be a good home.”
“Thanks,” Apex replied, squinting at Apollo, as if expecting a barb to follow.
The servitor robots set up small tables with food, which was almost as much ceremonial as necessity, given the varied biology of the assembled gods. Apollo hid his amusement and picked a few small items to consume. He noticed Maelstrom eyeing the food, but could not read whatever emotions passed through his synthetic body.
After they had eaten, Apollo stood and paced in front of the fire. “All right, we’ve delayed addressing this issue long enough. Our people have been delivered. Do we pass now from actuality into legend? Do we leave them to their own devices and set out on our own?”
Apex and Maelstrom stared into the dancing flames. Their faces betrayed the warring emotions the question churned up inside them.
Maelstrom spoke first. “I still don’t know what I am anymore. So much of my essence was stripped away in the first Otrid assault on The City. I feel the echo of what I used to be still inside me. I spend too much time chasing after it.”
He stood and walked closer to the fire, his eyes never leaving the flames. “I’ve seen things in Divine Space over the centuries, things I can’t explain, and never spoke to any of you about. Wondrous things,” Maelstrom said. “But I’ve lost the part of myself that could grasp it all, understand it and explain it. I want more than anything to regain those insights, to recapture this knowledge for all of our benefit.”
He shook his head, a movement that looked strange coming from the unadorned synthetic body. “But that could take centuries, and seems indulgent at the moment. So, first I’ll shepherd the surviving Granth to some safe haven. I can quarantine a section of Faraway’s godship that will approximate their natural environment while I search for a methane-and nitrogen-rich world they can colonize. We owe them that much. They fought well beside us, and they wouldn’t even be here if not for the corruption of one of our own.”
“Sowing new fields of godhood?” Apollo asked, in a joking tone.
“No!” Maelstrom replied with surprising vehemence. “They will never see me once I find them a home. I’ll return occasionally to check on them from afar, silent and apart from their lives. I will not hover over them as a god.”
Maelstrom looked from Apollo to Apex. “There was a time when we were defeated and faced extinction. A greater species helped us in our hour of need. It is only right that we should do the same for these lost creatures.”
Apex raised his cup in salute. “Well said, Maelstrom. As for me, I’m going to be here a while longer. I’ve got to teach the new arrivals about their world and finish seeding the planet with the appropriate life forms. I need to observe how having Skyra in orbit affects things—the tides, weather, geo-thermal events and so forth. We’ve never been able to observe what happens when a planet captures a new moon, so this is a unique opportunity.
“I have a longer-term project in mind as well. I’m going to find and cultivate another world for humanity. We were just becoming a multi-planet species when the Otrid came and stole our future from us. I’m going to restore that future. We’re going to spread out and never be so vulnerable again.”
Apex refilled his cup with cider and took a deep draught. “But I’ll tell you this,” he said, pointing to Apollo, “I’m through playing the god game. No more acolytes, no more temples. I’m not putting myself above anyone ever again. I’m happy to be the old hermit with the special skills who comes out of his cave periodically to solve problems.”
“How very noble,” Apollo said, not making much effort to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “But if you’re determined to be one of the people, then you should stop living in solitude like you’ve been doing since time immemorial. You should do something useful. Take a wife, have some kids, if your ancient manhood is still up to the task.”
Apollo couldn’t help but laugh at the thunderstruck look that flashed across Apex’s face. Apex quickly set his jaw and harrumphed, but there was a glint of amusement behind his flinty expression.
“Maybe I will,” he said. “But since you’re overflowing with advice for the rest of us, what’s your plan?”
Apollo stood and walked over to Apex, shrinking his body down to more human dimensions as he did so. “Oh, it will please you to know that I’ve been humbled. I was absent chasing my own pursuits when the Otrid returned, and I don’t plan to be caught off-guard again,” he said.
“I owe our people my attention. We’re free from immediate danger, but we’re still vulnerable. And, in all honesty, I’m not sure how Grey Wolf will react to our little disagreement. I had to put her down pretty hard when she tried to rip Talia from The City’s network.
“So, Apex, I’m going to haunt your new world for the foreseeable future, and yes, I’m going to maintain my magnificence. False modesty ill suits me.”
That earned a grudging laugh from Apex, and even Maelstrom made a sound that might liberally be interpreted as laughter. The moment passed quickly when Maelstrom stood and placed a hand on both their shoulders.
“Brothers,” Maelstrom said. “That leads us to another piece of important business. Talia. She did well, given the circumstances, but the final battle with the Otrid, Grey Wolf’s assault, and the transit through Divine Space nearly finished her. We need to give her life back to her.”
“I have considerable resources on my godship working on that very problem,” Apollo said. “What Tower did had never been done before, certainly never applied to a pure human. He’d devised new technologies that were never added to our shared database. And then Talia made a few tweaks of her own to adapt. Extracting her from The City’s core functions is much more difficult than I thought it would be. At least, extracting her so she remains whole, while at the same time keeping The City functioning. There are a surprising number of people who’ve declared they’d rather stay inside the dome than leave behind everything they’ve known.”
“Let me access your godship’s data stream on that problem,” Apex said. “My own ship was built specifically to spread and revive life, and I’ve been working the problem for a thousand years. Maybe I can help.”
They sat in silence for a time as they opened the pathways between themselves and their ships, sharing information and swapping ideas for releasing Talia from her bondage.
They continued for two hours, stopping only once, to watch as Skyra slid above the horizon.
“Moonrise,” Apex whispered. “Something so new on this world, yet it speaks to every ancient instinct in the human soul.”
They luxuriated in the view for a few moments, then returned to their work.
Chapter 32
The New World
Talia walked on unsteady legs. On an intellectual level, she knew all the reasons she was so wobbly—she had expected it—but knowing that something will probably happen is not the same thing as actually experiencing it.
Her leg muscles twitched in protest, fighting against the twin enemies of lengthy disuse, and the press of gravity on their new, larger world. Knowing that her muscle-building implants and blood riders were working hard on restoring her strength was small consolation at the moment. She felt helpless against the press of weight that seemed to come at her from every angle.
The daylight fell across her skin, revealing pale, mottled flesh. It looked sickly even to her, and the rays felt uncomfortably hot. She felt not only the warmth, but moisture, a level of humidity she’d never before experienced. The air seemed thicker because of it, and she realized one more thing humanity had forgotten while trapped in a climate-controlled environment for so many generations.
She impulsively attempted to modulate her skin temperature by thought before remembering that those abilities were now gone, lost once she was finally pulled from The City’s technological embrace.
She looked up and squinted. She momentarily lost her balance at the immensity of the sky above.
So big!
Yet despite these temporary infirmities and the assault on her senses, Talia smiled.
I’m free! I’m…me.
Another wave of weakness overcame her, but she felt a strong arm around her waist. She rolled her head clumsily to the side to see Mik smiling back at her as he held her up.
Mik, whose worried face was the first thing she’d seen upon awakening.
She rested her head on his shoulder, and this, too, this simple human contact, felt almost as overwhelming as the press of gravity.
She was looking forward to getting used to it.
After she’d lost control of so many of her abilities—Grey Wolf’s abrupt decoupling of the systems that tied her to The City was particularly savage—everything had gone dark. She’d been vaguely conscious of herself, but only like a small animal lost in a vast dark room. She tried to launch an Aspect from which to view her surroundings, but failed.
She drifted for a while, wondering if her life had ended and she was transitioning to whatever came after.
But then she’d felt the slightest of sensations, a tug on her extremities so faint it might as well have come from the other side of Skyra. Talia focused on it, and eventually the sensation grew into a warmth. She realized it was coming from her hand, and when she found she could move her fingers, she felt them being squeezed in return.
She’d latched on to the sensation, then narrowed her focus to one thing—her own eyes. Slowly, so slowly, her lids parted and she could make out a face.
Mik’s.
“Welcome back, my love,” he’d said, softly, and the relief etched on his face was so intense that it made her heart ache.
The following moments were a bit of a blur—he’d dropped to one knee, and taken both her hands in his. “We’ve done our part for the gods and The City,” he said, and even in her drowsy state she could see the desperation in his eyes, willing her to survive, refusing to let her go. “Build a life with me on this new world. Marry me, Talia.”
“Of course, Mik,” she’d whispered, and fervently wanted it, although at that moment she still couldn’t really be sure she’d live long enough to see it through.
That she had lived was an ongoing, and pleasant, surprise. The uncoupling from The City had been agonizingly slow and unpleasant, but eventually her mind settled back into her own body, hers alone again.
She took a deep breath, steadied herself against Mik, and they continued their walk through the small settlement that had sprung up as the first pioneers established a base camp.
Children ran laughing between the tents, and everywhere there was a buzz of activity. Talia longed to be a part of it. She decided right then that she would push herself physically to adapt as soon as possible, no matter what her aching body had to say about it.
Talia and Mik came to the end of the main path through the makeshift village, when she spied a lone woman outside a tent set off by itself. She looked on as her four children chased each other through the high grass. The woman looked lost, sad, and hopeful all at the same time.
“Mik, take me to her,” Talia said, but then detached herself from his arm and, despite her screaming muscles, haltingly walked on her own to the woman.
“Jenna Anderrs?”
The young mother raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Lady…Talia?”
Talia nodded. Without waiting, she reached out and placed a hand on Jenna’s shoulder.
“Vance was the man I turned to on the night of the first attack, and he responded like the hero we needed. I was so sorry to hear of his loss. We wouldn’t have made it this far without him.”
The children stopped chasing each other and came closer, watching and listening.
“Thank you,” Jenna said, her eyes glistening with tears. “We’ve found the spot where we’ll bury him. He’s to be the first buried on the new world…” her voice broke, but then a look of wonder crossed her face. “Apex came to me personally and said he would be there. He actually thanked me for my prayers. Me!” She shook her head slowly, then turned back to Talia. “Will you come to the ceremony?”
“Of course. I’d be honored to attend. And afterward, I’d like to come by and share my memories of him with you. They were just small glimpses of the man he was, but I want you to have everything to keep his memory alive. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
Jenna nodded, and her gaze drifted off into the distance. One of her young daughters came up and hugged her leg. Jenna looked down and smiled, stroking the girl’s hair.
Talia and Mik said their goodbyes and continued on the path leading away from the village. The emotional surge from speaking with Jenna made Talia’s legs even shakier, but she forced herself to walk onward. She knew strength had to be earned, but found she was suddenly impatient with her feebleness. There was so much to do. A fierce hunger suddenly arose in her to continue Tower’s bloodline. Such thoughts had lain buried beneath her endless duties for so long that she was surprised at the intensity of the emotions generated by the idea of having her own child.
She gritted her teeth and kept going.
Eventually they came to a natural stone terrace and sat upon it, looking out over a low depression in the west. In the distance was the landing field for this settlement. She looked up and saw another shuttle descending, its engine glowing orange against the blue sky.
Mik put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You did it, Talia. You protected The City when the gods could not, and set us all on a course to a new beginning.”
“We both did, Mik. We did what we had to. But I’m ready to leave all that behind, let others worry about the big picture. I just want to be me again. And be us finally.”
She looked on, and it seemed the horizon went on forever, an endless vista.
A tiny shiver of fear ran through her.
What would she do in this place?
The immensity of the task awaiting all of them seemed impossible, but oddly enough, thinking about it didn’t feel like a burden—it felt like a weight being lifted from her shoulders.
What would she do?
Everything.
THE END
Want more Sci-Fi action? For updates on Steve’s new releases, book signing events, and special sales, sign up for Steve’s e-mail newsletter at:
http://eepurl.com/YU5IH
And if you enjoyed Gods and the Stars, please consider giving it a review on Amazon. Thanks!
Copyright
Gods and the Stars is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Steve Statham
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Published in the United States by Statham Communications LLC
Visit: stevestatham.com
Cover by Yocla Designs
About the Author
Steve Statham is the author of the SF thriller series The Connor Rix Chronicles (four books and counting). He is also the author of the SF space opera series, Gods and the Starways. In a past life he was editor of Musclecar Enthusiast magazine, where he reported on the horsepower hobby. He has also had 12 non-fiction books on automotive subjects published.
For more on Steve, visit his author website at www.stevestatham.com
Also by Steve Statham
Science-Fiction Space Opera
Gods and the Starways Series
Book 1
Gods and The City
Book 2
Gods and the Stars
Science-Fiction Thrillers
The Connor Rix Series
Book 1
Rules of Force
Book 2
Levers of Power
Book 3
Book 4
Chase the Tiger
Compilation e-book
Connor Rix Series—Three SF Thriller Novels
Collects Rules of Force, Levers of Power, and Monsters and Angels in one volume
Fantasy
Strange Trails
Fight for the Night
Short Stories
Alien Texas
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The First Lesson
The Minds Against Us
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Copyright
About the Author
Gods and the Stars (Gods and the Starways Book 2) Page 23
