The Battle of Tangine

by Will Crudge

  “Fuck protocol! You had orders. You failed. Now some murderous bitch and her fucking pet are free to ruin our plans and fuck up people’s lives!” Peterson seemed to catch himself. He realized his personal reasons for hating the War Masters were clouding his judgment. The internal aching of every fiber of his being didn’t help either. His brother was badly injured, and he could feel his brother’s pain. I will make them pay, brother!

  “I’m not Crimson… not a soldier… I’m a law enforcement, and traffic authority! I can’t hold someone up without cause!” Andrews retorted. The shell of a man seemed fearful of another strike as he winced in anticipation.

  “The Crimson Alliance has claimed this station as the spoils of impending war! You’ll comply with orders or be killed! And now the daughter of the man who crippled my brother has gotten lose to wreak havoc on a humanity that doesn’t need her kind!”

  Peterson’s rant ended with a fist. A fist that shattered Sergeant Andrew’s face. Andrew’s would never wake up again.

  “Orders, sir?” One of the commandos asked.

  “Tell the company commander to seal up the docks in this sector, and to properly secure the bodies of our fallen brothers and sisters. Have their bodies put in cryo-caskets for eventual transport back to their next of kin.” Peterson paused to fight off a surge of pain that flowed through his body. He took a deep breath and played it off as if he were just considering his next set of orders. He would not allow his men to see him in pain—especially since the pain was not his own.

  Nobody in the Crimson Alliance could know about what he and his brother really were. The products of selfish carnal lust… the lust of a false hero… a hero that abandoned their pregnant mother to a life of crippling poverty.

  He’s regaining consciousness. Excellent. Hold on, brother, I’m coming to take you home.

  The Vanquished Rises Again

  Location: UAHC Headquarters Facility, CIC

  Date Time: Post Interstellar 08/02/4201 0845HRS Local

  System: Sol System, Third Rock from the Sun

  Fleet Marshal Darius was looking out into the morning light. The views from the windows of the CIC were stunning. The flat grassy plains beyond the tarmac were a sight to behold. Despite human neglect, Earth had fully recovered from the abuses of her children. Now even the Post Interstellar Calendar was in honor of humanities ability to venture out into the stars, and free up the heavy burden that it imposed on its mother planet. FTL tech had ensured the relatively inexpensive possibility to relinquish a swelling populace and allow Earth to rest.

  Earth only had a fraction of the population it once had during the onset of the Industrial Revolution and was now a paradise. Aside from being the seat of power for the UAHC, it was also the most popular tourist destination in all human-occupied space. Darius smiled at the thought. The home-world of humanity is now just a mere place for its children to visit.

  Darius’ brief respite of reflection was well needed. He had hardly slept a wink since he’s assumed rightful command of all fleet forces. He was still working to reestablish contact with the rest of the fleet. Many battle groups had managed to put Tightrope Protocol into effect, and with the aid of the newly installed gen 3 QET, Samantha was able to liberate a handful of nearby forces AI’s from the Chimera.

  At least the Crimson incursion into the Alpha training site, also known as The Box, was staved off by the brave efforts of one rag-tag squadron. But at the loss of their flagship, Broadsword. They’d managed to convert the mighty battlecruiser into a dreadnaught configuration, and remotely pilot it directly into the advanced body of an entire Crimson Fleet. One of three fleets known to exist in the Crimson Alliance. Known at least.

  The newly anointed, Command Warrant Officer Samantha had managed to get the drone fleet, in the box, liberated by the Paladin Protocol via gen 3 QET. It was mere luck that the upgrade had been installed the week prior to the incursion. Sam had delegated the authority from Darius to give temporary emergency command authority to the drone fleet AI’s. Normally used to provide a realistic opponent in training maneuvers, the drone fleet had been uploaded with live ordinance under the direction of the Chimera. The live ammo was meant to eliminate the small squadron when the AI’s were taken out of play, but it turned out to be their salvation.

  The surviving smaller craft of the Crimson forces still outnumbered the squadron by a staggering figure. They had fallen back and regrouped for a counterattack but were then met with a full fleet of drone ships with heavy weapons. A few Crimson ships that had slip-space capability escaped unscathed, but most did not. With their motherships being destroyed by mighty dreadnaught Foehammer, they were forced to either fight to the death or surrender. None of them surrendered.

  Only a few hundred Crimson crewmembers were recovered still alive among the wreckage. Darius was still awaiting the INTEL reports from the interrogations that would inevitably occur, but he knew it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Those that were recovered would likely be near death and would not recover quickly. Crimson medical tech was behind the power curve, and even the average life-expectancy of people in Alliance-controlled space was about half of those in the inner stars. Even the advanced tech of the UAHC would have to play catch up.

  Darius’ awareness shifted. He felt the presence of Shadow coming down the corridor towards the CIC. He tilted his head as if to listen for him. Nothing. But he was there. He could feel the big cat’s intentions. Jep had told him it took a War Master years of training and deep meditation to learn how to do that but Darius had an advantage.

  Unlike the other members of Val’s lineage, Darius was the only who could accept a neural interface. He wasn’t exactly sure why they couldn’t… Even Val didn’t have one. He just knew he did, and that whenever he linked his mind with Val or another of his kind, Darius could quickly master what was being shared. His top tier neural interface enabled him to lock in any skill he could ever put his mind to master. He was able to bypass the century-long training of a War Master by simply allowing his neural interface to reroute his neural pathways to maximize whatever ever he could glean from his deep connections.

  Shadow’s presence grew, and just as Darius predicted, the massive panther entered the CIC. His muscular mass lumbered up to where Darius stood.

  “Before you say anything, let me guess.” Darius knew Shadow was forming words in his mind. “You have something important to tell me rather…” Darius closed his eyes and concentrated. Words and images flooded his mind and then settled in a steady stream of consciousness. “You want to show me something important, and I have to follow you somewhere close by. How am I doing?”

  Shadow was silent, but a look of shock formed on his feline face. After a moment, he decided to respond. “Was that a guess?”

  “Well, I don’t know. The words just kind of formed themselves based on what I just felt inside. Why?”

  “Because you should be able to read my intensions… not my thoughts,” Shadow said as his eyes grew as wide as planets. Even his speech module, which normally filtered out small inflections, was revealing astonishment.

  “Is that bad?”

  “No! It’s amazing. I’ve never been read so precisely before.”

  Now Darius seemed to be in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

  “Really? You just read my thoughts like an instruction manual, and you don’t believe me? Maybe you have some work to do after all.” Shadow let out a growly feline chuckle.

  “Well, let’s go see this… whatever it is, before I get wrapped up in another chain of never-ending tasks!” Darius replied with a smile. He reached down and gave Shadow a friendly little pet on his head.

  In the days prior, Darius wouldn’t have dreamed about petting a panther… especially one the size of a small battle tank. But now that he could feel the intensive bond it built between them, it was now standard practice.

  ***

  Shadow led Darius to the medical deck a few floors below. The Fleet Marshal could feel where they were goi
ng but was content to allow his companion to lead the way. Besides, he figured, he was in command of a shit storm, so letting someone else lead him for a few minutes was comforting.

  They stopped at the intensive care wing, and the automatic door read their tokens and promptly opened up automatically. Most of the patients were Crimson agents that had previously tried to subdue the UAHC seat of power. But now they were just recovering from serious injuries enough to be transported to a different facility for interrogation.

  Rows of beds and complex medical equipment passed them by as they walked through the central walkway. At the end of the main room there was a secured door with two heavily armed Soldiers in full armor guarding either side of it. Darius was glad the HQ was secured by his fellow Soldiers once again. The hired security had caused nothing but chaos.

  The Soldiers saluted Darius and nodded to Shadow. Darius acknowledged them in kind, then stepped through the threshold of the doorway. Val, Jep, and Growl were there waiting for them.

  Before anyone said a word, Darius scanned the table to see a massive man wrapped in compression polymers. There were devices attached to every extremity that indicated he was in traction to decompress his neck and spine. His face was wrapped up in polymers, but his closed eyes were visible. His right hand was elevated in a contraption that seemed to be holding the tiny bones together.

  “OK, I’m here,” Darius said. He glanced at both Jep and Val as if to glean a response.

  “This is Lieutenant Colonel Peterson of the Crimson Fleet Forces,” Val said.

  “Good! We have a senior officer to get INTEL from. When will he be able to talk?” Darius said with enthusiasm, but he noticed that his two companions didn’t share his delight. Then he could sense the enormity in the words that Val was about to formulate. If only he could read the ancient monk’s mind as well as he could Shadow’s.

  “This man has a unique genetic structure. One that I never thought I would ever see.” Val’s tone matched his very serious expression.

  “I see…” Darius waited for Val to explain.

  “He is one of us,” Jep interjected.

  “As in… a descendant of Val?” Darius knew at this point that the term descended didn’t quite apply to Val. His bloodline wasn’t transferred to through conventional lineage, but it was the best word he could muster.

  “More exactly, a descendant of Kaylen. This is Kaylen’s son,” Val clarified.

  Kaylen’s Son. The gravity of the words hit Darius like a ton of bricks. “I didn’t know he had any children! He was still relatively young… by War Master Standards at least… when he died.”

  Darius knew he’d also broken tradition. The stories of Kaylen in the general public stated that the mightiest of all War Masters had died in a self-less sacrifice. But the Guild never used terms to describe death… at least not in the traditional sense.

  “We didn’t know he had children either,” Jep said while shaking his head. “But his particular DNA is unique, and this man inherited most, if not all, of his father’s gifts.”

  “So, how did he end up in the Crimson Alliance? Why not seek out the Guild?” Darius asked.

  “It only makes sense. Kaylen was sworn to the Alliance.” Val nodded.

  “Whoa. The most famous War Master in history, the one who epitomized everything that was great about the Guild, was with the Crimson Alliance?!” Darius was flabbergasted at the notion. To him, the Alliance was nothing more than a fascist regime that threatened peace.

  “Yes, but you have to consider it was a different time,” Jep said. “Three centuries ago, the Crimson Alliance and the UAHC stood together against a common enemy. It was Kaylen that influenced the Crimson to fight a humane war and honor their allegiances. He fought, led troops, and ultimately sacrificed himself to ensure humanity would not be subsumed by treachery.”

  “Then what changed?” Darius asked.

  “Simple. The Alliance wouldn’t accept a replacement for him after his heroic actions. They believed his example would continue to resonate through their history and keep them focus on justice and peace. They were right, after all. But only for a few generations. Eventually Kaylen was more myth than anything else. He was glorified as a warrior who’s sacrifice everything for victory. Alas, Kaylen’s lessons of humility and peace were overshadowed by his lore,” Val explained.

  “Thus, we have a war-like Crimson Alliance that tried to conquer the human sphere a century later and is trying to do so again,” Jep added.

  “So, what’s the immediate concern? Not to be rude, or ungrateful, but I have a war to fight, and no organized fleets to fight with,” Darius said as a matter of fact.

  “The immediate concern is his brother… his twin brother,” Jep said.

  “Still not following, sorry.” Darius folded his arms.

  “The only time one of our kind had twins that survived to adulthood was when Kaylen and his brother Kayne were born. In every other instance, the more developed fetus would link into the other one in utero, and unwittingly sap the others life force. Even Kaylen shouldn’t have lived. He was barely alive when he was born, and his brother grew to be immensely powerful as a result.”

  “Immensely dangerous, you mean,” Val corrected.

  “I didn’t know Kaylen had a brother. Why aren’t there any stories of him?” Darius asked.

  “Because Kayne corrupted himself with his own power. He was consumed by it. His weak little brother was nearly killed by him again later in life, but then emerged to be the greatest of all War Masters as a result,” Val answered.

  “Forge Theory again?” Darius referred to Val’s theory that the universe applies pressure to forge wonders out of the seemingly inconsequential.

  “Exactly.”

  “So, why is this guy different? Is he the strong one, or the weak one?” Darius asked.

  “Well, I did this to him. He should have died but didn’t. Val and I believe that he and his brother may be closely balanced somehow… Neither any stronger than the other. Otherwise, we’d be looking at a corpse. Had he been out of sync with his brother, then he would either be fully healed, or dead… not in between like this. They likely have a close link that defies time and space. Kaylen and Kayne had such a link… it could even transcend a stasis field,” Val explained.

  “So, this is something new then? A variable that even you or Midas can’t anticipate?” Darius stated.

  “Yes. Which means this man’s brother will either come to kill him, or to save him… but certainly nothing in between.”

  “Will he be hard to kill? Jep apparently handled this fella with no issue.” Darius pointed to the ruined man.

  “He was caught off guard. Plus he’s never been properly trained how to tap into his potential. I doubt he, or his brother, will be caught off guard again,” Jep surmised.

  “What happened to his hand?” Darius asked.

  “I crushed it.”

  “With what? A bus?” Darius’ curiosity was killing him. “He was wearing powered armor, wasn’t he? His hand would’ve been reinforced by a powered gauntlet.”

  “My left hand. Physical armor has limits. But tapping into the strength of the cosmos doesn’t.” Jep’s words were full of reverence and humility.

  “Tapping into my strength helps too,” Growl added with a single raised brow.

  Darius and Shadow chuckled in unison, and then Growl took a bow. Darius was aware that War Masters could somehow tap into interdimensional space, and flow surges of energy through their own bodies. It was how Val caught a bullet, and if his memory served him, it was also how the mighty Kaylen could perform so many super-human feats. But it was the Zodiac’s they were paired with that provided a conduit to tap into these reserves. A primal mental anchor, through which a War Master could ground his spiritual energy and manifest amazing physical feats.

  “So, what of Kaylen’s mount? What ever happened to him?” Darius asked.

  “I see your perception of intentions is improving! Otherwise that would
have been perceived as an off the wall question.” Val smiled.

  Darius wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that. What had he been sensing to ask the question to begin with? “I’m not following?”

  “We need a panther, basically.” Growl muttered.

  “Huh?” Darius was now more perplexed. “We’ve got a perfectly good one right here.” Darius pointed at Shadow, but the big cat just shook his head.

  “No. Shadow has sworn to uphold his family’s oath to ours, my nephew,” Jep said. “His family has sworn loyalty to our bloodline, and therefore we need to temporarily pair this Peterson twin with one of Shadow’s blood relatives. His genetic line compliments our better than most. It will help to heal him more rapidly, and also if he shares a bond with his brother as we suspect, then a pairing would likely serve as a type of ‘early warning’ for us.” Jep explained.

  “OK. So, Kaylen had a panther too?” Darius asked.

  “Yes. Shadow’s grandfather to be exact. Shadow actually met Kaylen when he was a cub,” Val said. Darius looked over at the big cat and he nodded in agreement.

  “Wow, I had no idea you are related to someone famous.” Darius chuckled, and then realized that his words were poorly chosen. Kaylen had perished with his mount alongside him. But Shadow didn’t seem to be affected by the statement.

  “I’ve sent for Shadow’s grandmother, and his mate. They should be here soon. The temporary hyper gate between Unum and inner Sol should be up and running soon. It’s a small one, mind you. Only big enough for a small shuttle or perhaps a fighter. Anything bigger than that may take several weeks, or even months to initialize.” Val said.

  “Mate?” Darius shot a look at Shadow. “You’re married?”

  “Yes. Happily. Why do you think I have so much patience for your grouchiness?” Shadow jibed. Darius chuckled, and was glad to see him in a good mood.

  “What about you, Growl?” Darius asked. “Is there a lucky she-wolf at home?”