killed her son. The realization was cruel and bitter.
But the wretched thief tried to kill him. There was no bigger sin than that.
Lucius found himself stunned before this helpless woman, before the hope of those tiny eyes that they would see her son again. He could not find proper words and not shatter that hope.
“I will,” he said. “I will spare him.” He stood up and started to leave. “Bring them outside,” he told Helvius without turning. “Let us leave this woman in peace.” It was the least he could do.
Helvius pushed both Bions outside and lined them up on the wall next to their friends. Every weapon was aimed at them, and in return the three Bions that were already outside had aimed their weapons at the soldiers. In seven to five the Bions were outnumbered.
“What are you doing here?” Lucius asked the only man in their group that wore no helmet.
Lucius looked at the black synthetic muscles that moved the man’s jaw when he spoke. “We want no trouble,” the man answered, hands up showing he was unarmed.
“I am the one who makes that decision,” Emperor Lucius said. “Now answer my question.”
The man gestured to his friends to lower their weapons. They seemed reluctant to obey him, but they eventually did. “We were passing by when you attacked us.”
“What is your name, citizen?” the emperor asked.
“Rayberius.”
“Are you a gang member, Rayberius?”
“We are looking for a doctor–”
“I did not ask what you were looking for. I asked, are you a gang member?” Lucius repeated, feeling his patience starting to run out.
“No.” Rayberius shook his head. “We are not gang members.”
“Then what are you?”
Rayberius took a quick glance at the Bions next to him. “Our friend has been injured. We need a doctor.”
Lucius’s eyebrow moved up as he said, “Since when do Bions need a human doctor?”
Rayberius straightened, his metal jaw tightened. “You insult me, soldier, to claim we are savages. Can you not see my face? Do I not look human enough for you?”
Lucius nodded. “Human. That you do. But I cannot say the same for your friends.”
Rayberius clenched his fists, lowered his head and glared at Lucius. “They are not Bions, soldier. I should warn you we do not take such a slight easily.”
These savages were too arrogant for their good. Lucius activated his thermal vision and let his eyes sweep across the group. The red aura around the four suits was clearly visible, their internal heat being dumped into Palatine’s air. It was only the human among them who had no aura. Lucius would’ve killed them if he wasn’t intrigued to know why would a group of Bions, led by a human, look for a doctor in the slums.
Lucius turned to the savage next to Rayberius. “You there. Your name.”
That one turned his glassy face-shield to Rayberius and then he turned back to Lucius. “Ailios,” he said.
“Ailios,” Lucius repeated. He took a step closer. “And which human was foolish enough to give you that name?”
The savage made a guttural sound and corrected himself. “Ailius … Marius?”
“Ailius Marius?” These savages consider me a fool. “Tell me, Ailius, why do you need a doctor?”
There was a pause. Few drops of rain washed down his helmet. Then he answered talking very slowly. “We have. A friend. Needs help.”
“And what friend would that be? Alasdair the Mighty? The famous Bion general?” Lucius fought that savage once, left him without an eye and with two broken arms.
“I don’t. Know Alasdair,” Ailius replied.
Lucius shook his head, he had it enough. He extended his hand and grabbed the savage by his facial glass shield. He pulled his hand closer. Everyone stirred. The three Bions raised their weapons again, all three aimed at Lucius, even the beam cannon that the slim savage carried over his shoulder. Lucius’s men in return trained their weapons at the armed savages. Slaughter was but a word away.
“Stay your weapons,” Rayberius pleaded. He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. “We want no trouble.” The Bion with the beam cannon changed his aim between Lucius and the soldier next to him.
Lucius brought his face closer to his hand and stared at the eyes hidden behind the glass. He spoke slowly and clearly. “It takes less than a second to break your helmet and order my men to kill your friends. Do you understand?”
Ailius nodded inside his helmet, though his eyes clearly showed he had no idea what Lucius told him.
“If you want to avoid getting yourself killed, you will tell me exactly what I want to know. First question – and try not to deceive me – what are you doing here?”
Ailius nodded again, his eyes never leaving the emperor’s.
Rayberius spoke instead, “I already told you–”
Lucius raised his other hand toward Rayberius who understood the gesture and stopped talking.
“I am waiting,” said Lucius to Ailius. “Speak.”
“I…” Ailius started, obviously searching for words, but then Lucius heard one of his soldiers say, “Captain.”
Another soldier said, “Are they ours?”
With his peripheral vision, Lucius caught the soldier pointing toward the skies. But Lucius didn’t look up, didn’t let go of the Bion’s glass shield either. He wanted answers first, everything else could wait.
Suddenly a slight pressure squeezed his head, pressing over his vision and over his skull like a giant invisible hand had grabbed a hold of him. Lucius narrowed his eyes. The pressure quickly turned into a sharp pain that made him let go of the savage. His own hands moved over his head, as if trying to hold back knives that were starting to rip his brain apart. And then a voice slithered within the pain – I told you to leave us be – it said – We want no trouble.
The knives suddenly retreated as if pulled by the invisible hand, the squeeze turned into lingering sensation. His vision cleared, ears sharpened. But a growing whiz pulled his eyes up.
“Incoming!” someone shouted. A massive explosion erupted from the shack. For a moment, Lucius’s new body became weightless, slowly going up. Another explosion close by, and weightlessness became uncontrollable hurl. Pieces of concrete and mud were hurled alongside him. He smacked something hard, a wall maybe. The hit blackened his vision, the explosion deafened his ears. He had no cranial computer to compensate for the buzz, nor the blackened vision. All he knew was that his body lay sprawled on the ground, slowly trying to recover. He struggled to get back to his feet, though that seemed an impossible task.
Lucius, where are you? – the captain’s voice boomed in his head. It sounded as if it was magnified tenfold.
Lucius cursed. I don’t… I don’t know – he sent back. His hand went to the side, touched a hard flat surface. He held there to steady his feet. The other hand went to his temple; it instinctively rubbed over synthetic skin. His vision started to clear then, auditory buzz slowly receded. Lucius found himself staring at a massive black crater, surrounded by jagged remains of walls. He was certain it’s where the shack used to be. He looked up through final drops of rain, of falling debris and rising smoke, his hand keeping all of it at bay. Ships, he realized. Hundreds of ships maneuvered under the night sky. The savages dared attack my planet? The anger of it pumped his body into action.
Lucius pushed through remains of walls of another shack and came out in the street. Subsequent explosions rumbled around him and hurled debris in all directions. He was looking up to avoid any bombs coming his way, but then he didn’t saw where he was stepping and almost stumbled on something soft. It was the sprawled body of that savage Ailius. Lucius considered the option of finishing him there, just one heavy stomp to his head would be enough.
A shockwave of another explosion made him fall back.
“Lucius! There you are!” shouted the captain. Lucius turned. Both Arrius and Helvius ran toward him. Another soldier limped behind.
The emperor
swayed as he got back to his feet. “Savages!” he shouted, his gaze moved up. “Come down and fight me, cowards!”
“We have to move, Lucius,” said the captain and grabbed Lucius under his armpit.
“Wretched cowards! I will destroy you!” His eyes still scanned the ships above. “Let go of me, captain!”
Arrius did as he was commanded. “Your Highness,” he said, “we need to reach your palace and activate the planetary defenses.”
Lucius brought his gaze down on him. The planetary defenses. “They aren’t shooting,” he acknowledged the grim truth of it. He looked back up. “Why aren’t they shooting?”
“The reason is beyond us at this point. We must reactivate our defenses or there won’t be much left to defend.”
Arrius was right. There would be plenty of time to dwell on the reasons, but not enough time to save what remained of his Empire.
Something moved to the side. One of his soldiers was coming out of rubble, flicking dust from his body. A shadow of a speeding ship approached from above. It released a sphere that exploded into blue light before Lucius could give a warning shout. The soldier’s body stood firm as the light passed through him, and then he just collapsed.
“Incoming ships!” another soldier shouted, his finger pointing at the direction where two ships were coming from.
The emperor, the captain, and his four remaining soldiers started running toward the wall through the ruined street. Their speed was steady at forty kilometers per hour, their batteries strained almost to their maximum. Lucius thought about increasing
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