“Have you made your decision?” the Grey asked.
Tctie nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m glad,” Myden said.
“I haven’t told what I want to do yet,” Tctie said.
“I’ve seen your heart enough to know,” Myden said. “Your people need someone to show them the path to the future. For the short time you’ve lived amongst others, you’ve grown an incredible amount. Not just as a telepath, but as a person.”
“What should I do with this?” Tctie asked while holding up the staff.
Myden walked over and touched it with his hand. After a moment of concentration Tctie heard the sound of a lock being unsealed in his mind.
“You are free to do with it what you wish,” Myden said. “From this day forward you are no longer my student, but my equal.”
Tctie stared at the staff as the purple hieroglyphs shifted to the Ick-Tckt’s swirling script.
“The staff is now a part of you,” Myden said. “Let it serve as a bridge between our races in the future. And may it light your way wherever the darkness of space takes you.”
* * *
The Duchess Mlka stood up from her seat in the command center and screeched when she watched the footage of the Freedom.
“That fool allowed herself to be beaten so easily!” she shouted.
The three warriors closest to her occupied the stations in the room.
“We’re reinforcing the shields inside the base to prevent the same thing from happening to us,” her first warrior said.
“What I want to know is how he’s able to do that,” the second warrior said.
“They say he’s awakened,” the third warrior said.
The duchess’s antennae twitched.
“What is it my lady?” the first warrior asked.
“Nothing,” she answered. “How are our forces coming along?”
“We’ve gathered over a thousand ships for this battle,” the second warrior reported.
“And we now have the specs on the cannon attached to the orbital ring,” the third warrior said.
The duchess looked over the range of the cannon on the orbital tower.
“I see,” she said. “If we attack the poles at a low angle they can’t fire at us. That’s unless they want to risk damaging the atmosphere.”
“Why would they build a weapon with such an obvious defect?” her second warrior asked.
“It’s because the queen plans on building a second orbital ring from north to south,” the first warrior answered. “The Original five homeworlds are rumored to have such structures in place.”
“Then we’ll be the ones to complete it,” the duchess said. “Have all of our ships head for the north pole. It’s time we take our world back from our insane queen.”
* * *
The battle on the surface of Ick-Tckt Prime quieted down as the duchess’s allies moved northward. The queen and her Chka Knight watched their foes’ movements carefully on the monitors. The queen’s forces were moving to reinforce the weak spots in their defenses.
“I think she’s going strike before the Freedom gets here,” Khcha said.
“I do to,” the queen said. “We’ll have to hold out until they can flank her. From what we can see she has no reserves.”
“So she’s betting everything on this battle,” Khcha said. “Then I think we should do the same.”
“You don’t have to go,” the queen said.
“My life is yours and always has been,” Khcha said. He crossed his arms across his chest. “I will prepare my Auguar Star for battle.”
“I pray victory will be the result,” the queen said.
“As do I,” Khcha said before leaving.
* * *
Brian woke up in his quarters after someone buzzed at his door. He slowly sat up and yawned before throwing his clothes on.
“Come in,” he said.
The door opened and Seles stepped inside. She set a bottle of tea on his table with a breakfast salad next to it. The door closed and left the two alone.
“I figured you’d want something to eat before all this,” she said.
“You know me better than I know myself,” he said.
“Are you feeling alright?” she asked.
“Never better,” he answered. He noticed a strange look in her eyes. “What?”
“You’re left eye’s leaking,” Seles said.
He looked in the mirror and saw his left eye was glowing blue. He closed his eyes and concentrated to calm the light down.
“What’s happening to you?” Seles asked as she hugged him from behind. “You haven’t said a word about it since it happened.”
“Words can’t describe it,” he said.
“You’re taking the easy way out again,” she warned.
He smiled. “I saw something Seles, something that disturbs me to the core.”
“You saw the machine god, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?” he asked when he turned to face her.
“When you were in your cocoon I touched your mind for a brief moment,” she said. “I saw what you saw and felt what you felt.”
“That thing has been in my head since the sojourn,” Brian said. “Even though I can ignore it now, it’s still there. It taunts me in my sleep and when I’m alone.”
“I understand,” Seles said. “I didn’t before, but now I do.”
“Did it infect your mind as well?” he asked.
“No,” she answered. She looked away. “Why are we the ones who have to carry this burden?”
“Someone has to,” Brian said. “I won’t say fate or god because I believe in neither. What I will say is we carry the burden so the others don’t have to. We fight so others can live peaceful lives. That’s the burden we carry.”
“When do we get to have those peaceful days?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “But if I could have them tomorrow I would.”
“I love you,” Seles said.
“I love you too,” Brian said.
“I’m glad you didn’t turn into an energy ball,” she said before kissing him.
* * *
Kyli finished her breakfast in the mess hall and made her way to the launching bay. Inside the large chamber dozens of mobile suits were being prepared for the next battle by scores of engineers. She casually went to her Phase Rakna and started checking it over.
“You’re worried,” Tctie said telepathically.
Kyli jumped before seeing he was standing at the foot of his mobile suit next to hers.
“Don’t do that to me,” she said.
“I’m sorry if I offended you,” the drone said.
“You’re right about me being worried,” Kyli said. “I feel like I’m being left behind.”
“You’ll find your way soon enough,” Tctie said.
“Will you be leading the charge this time?” she asked.
“Yes,” Tctie said. He noticed she was still worried. “I’ll be leaving after this.”
“What?” she asked. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”
“We all have times in our lives when we have to move on,” Tctie said. “The captain gave me his approval last night.”
“We’re going to miss you,” Kyli said. “You’re a hell of a pilot.”
“Thanks,” Tctie said.
* * *
Jesela quietly finished doing maintenance on the Artemis and Siren. Mira stood next to her and offered her friend some breakfast. After quickly eating a nut bar and taking a slug of water Jesela was finished.
“Thanks,” Jesela said. “You’ve been rather quiet lately.”
“I’ve been thinking, that’s the problem,” Mira said.
“Now stop that,” Jesela said. “Thinking isn’t good for either of us.”
“I find it strange that you and Seles reacted the way you did to my secret,” Mira said.
“You are you,” Jesela said. “The body you originally inhabited may be gone, but what coun
ts is the mind.”
“You sound so sure of that,” Mira said.
“That’s because I am,” Jesela said. “It’s also because your father put everything into making you real.” Jesela ran her hand through Mira’s hair. “Matter is simply energy in potential. That’s what Gaelic knew. And as a Maigar he was well versed in holographic technology. But you go beyond a simple image. You have warmth, you have depth, you have a mind, and you have dreams. You sleep, you eat, you even have to wear clothes and bathe. You’re not the pale reflection of Mira Kein, but something greater. You won’t age and as long as your earring survives you’ll never die. Even when I’m old and grey you’ll still look the same. I’m kind of jealous.”
“I never thought I’d hear someone say that,” Mira said.
“Be sure it’s true,” Jesela said.
Mira hugged Jesela with tears in her eyes. “Thanks for always being there for me.”
“Promise me you’ll come see me when I’m as old as Veda,” Jesela said.
Mira laughed. “Of course I will.”
Chapter 43 - The Battle of Ick-Tckt Prime
Duchess Mlka’s fleet hovered over the north pole of Ick-Tckt Prime. Before the ships could descend they found a fleet waiting for them in low orbit. On the surface the attack on the capital was underway again. As the queen watched it unfolding she sensed desperation behind the attack. She looked to one of the many drone guards in the room.
“Prepare my defense fleet for battle,” she ordered.
“Yes my queen,” the drone said before leaving.
Emerging from bunkers around the palace was a fleet of a hundred heavy class ships and ten times that in Auguar Stars. The monitor turned on and revealed her second warrior as the captain of the flagship.
“Things must be bad if we have to do this,” the warrior said.
“Yes,” the queen said. “I want you to break the encirclement around the capital. We need to get help to our allies in space.”
“Understood,” the warrior said.
The queen’s guard fleet flew above the capital and circled the airspace for a few minutes. Once the warrior in charge found what he was looking for the ships flew in to attack. The queen continued watching as the battle in space commenced.
* * *
The Freedom and its allies appeared in orbit of Ick-Tckt Prime. Brian, Myden, Grigon, and Jesela were fast at work while the four droids silently went about their business. They noticed the enemy forces weren’t where they were expecting them to be. The scanners showed the battle taking place over the north pole.
“Interesting choice of attack,” Myden said.
“The queen probably has a weapon keeping them away from the equator,” Brian said.
Captain Zkcha appeared on the screen.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Brian said.
“I didn’t know you were a mind reader,” the warrior said.
“I’m not, but I can guess pretty well,” Brian said. “We’ll shift from attack formation A-11 to E-4.”
“Simple enough,” Zkcha said. “Do you want to lead the way?”
“Of course,” Brian said. “I trust you’ll watch our back.”
“I will,” Zkcha said before ending transmission.
“Sounds like we’re trying something different this time,” Jesela said.
“We have to assume the duchess knows about her ally’s loss,” Brian said. “No doubt she saw me doing what I do and has some countermeasures in place. I have a few ideas on how to overcome them but we need to position everything just right.”
“How aggressive are we going to be?” Myden asked.
“As much as we need to be,” Brian said before hitting the com. “Seles, Mira, I want you two to stick close to the ship for now.”
The pair appeared on the monitor.
“Yes Brian,” Seles said.
“We’ll do just that,” Mira said.
“Kyli, Tctie, have the mobile suits move into formation D-3 again,” Brian ordered.
“Yes captain,” Kyli said.
“Moving into formation now,” Tctie said.
The Freedom went to the head of the fleet of two hundred ships as they flew for the north pole. The mobile suits from inside all flew out and landed on the hull to add their shields. The Artemis readied its long range attacks with the Siren at its side.
* * *
Duchess Mlka saw the Freedom leading the fleet of ships approaching her flank.
“I knew they’d show up at the worst time,” she said.
“What should we do?” her first warrior asked.
“Let’s have six hundred ships and their mobile armors occupy the queen’s forces,” the duchess said. “The base and the other four hundred will engage the second enemy fleet.”
“Sending out the orders now,” the second warrior said.
“Should we call in our reserves?” the third warrior asked.
“It’s best if we deal with them as quickly as possible,” the duchess said. “Call them in. It’ll take them a while to get here anyway.”
“The Freedom is sending a hail out on an open channel,” the first warrior reported.
“Cut it off,” the duchess said. “None of our forces are to listen to that blathering Terran.”
“Yes my lady,” the first warrior said.
She watched the ships around the Freedom move into a different formation while approaching. They had their mobile armors positioned to absorb attacks coming from the front. The two special models remained on the Freedom’s hull. A moment later the Artemis started blasting into her forces with long range attacks.
“I hate those things,” the duchess said. “Have all our ships assume formation F-13. We need to hold them off until our allies and pincer them.”
* * *
The Artemis began the attack with its cannon before anyone else could get within firing range. Seles noted the position of the asteroid base as it moved towards their fleet.
“You don’t even have to aim to hit something,” Mira said.
“I prefer things this way,” Seles said. “It means less pressure on me.”
“I thought one was supposed to get used to the stress of battle,” Mira said.
“You never get used to it,” Seles said. “You just learn to deal with it better.”
Brian appeared on their monitors. “I have some bad news,” he said.
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Mira said.
“Just spit it out, we’re ready,” Seles said.
Their scanners showed a fleet of four hundred ships approaching the rear of their forces.
“I see what you mean,” Seles said. “What do you want do about it?”
“I want you two to take care of them,” Brian said. “Use whatever means necessary to do so.”
“What about what we talked about?” Seles asked.
“If the time comes while you’re busy I’ll have Kyli or Tctie help,” Brian said. “I trust you two on this.”
“Alright,” Seles said.
“Moving out,” Mira said.
The Artemis and Siren flew away and went straight for the new enemy force.
“So it’s the two of us versus four hundred ships,” Mira said.
“I don’t see any Auguar Stars amongst them,” Seles said.
“That makes our odds much better,” Mira said. “So how do you want to do this?”
“I’ll fire an arrow at one of their sides to take out a good portion of them,” Seles said. “After that, we’ll use your system to disable as many as you can.”
“I’m glad you’re saving an arrow,” Mira said.
“I don’t want to fly on empty unless I need to,” Seles said.
The two mobile suits lit up when their pilots began berserking. While the Artemis charged the cannon it left behind reflector plates. When it was ready Seles fired the beam and destroyed sixty ships in one shot. The two charged into the enemy fleet with Mira singing.
* * *
; The queen fidgeted around in her chamber with all the monitors showing different angles of the battle. Above the north pole two fleets of nearly the same size slugged it out. The Freedom and the two hundred ships with it engaged the Duchess’s asteroid base and four hundred ships. Distant from the rest the Artemis and Siren were busy with the Duchess’s reserve force. Her guard fleet on the surface was in the process of breaking the enemy encirclement. When she looked at a different area around the city she noticed a number of Auguar Stars busting through the enemy line. As they did so the encirclement fell apart and the retreat was on. Not long afterwards her guard fleet did the same on the northern side of the capital. One of the screens lit up and showed Khcha inside his mobile armor.
“We’ve successfully beaten them back my queen,” he said.
“I was wondering what you were doing,” she said.
“I wanted to wait until your guard fleet started its attack before doing my own,” her warrior explained. “That way they’re too taxed on one side to effectively defend the other.”
“I’d like you to continued leading the rout,” the queen said.
“Of course,” Khcha said. “How are our allies in space doing?”
“Everything’s static for the moment,” the queen said. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll continue as is then.”
Her second warrior appeared on a different monitor.
“What are your orders?” he asked.
“I want you to head north and join our fleet in orbit,” the queen answered.
“I will do so then,” the second warrior said before ending transmission.
“Everything’s in place now,” the queen said as she watched. “All we can do is hope it turns out in our favor.”
Chapter 44 - Trading Blows
The Freedom shook when the two sides reached firing range with one another. Brian turned the Hades system to shield mode to deflecting incoming attacks. As soon as he did so the enemy turned away and began attacking the other Ick-Tckt ships. Brian shifted tactics by flying the Freedom into the center of enemy formation.
Freedom Saga 3: The Dawn of Liberty Page 23
