by Kyle Pratt
Leo stood beside him. “An engineer friend of mine once described this ship as a world on the inside of a tin can,” He pointed to vast fields and forests that appeared to hang down from the surface several kilometers above, “but I think that minimizes the beauty of it.”
Far above, banks of huge lights were just coming on, simulating dawn. Justin shook his head slowly. He had heard stories of vessels constructed on such a scale for the Nephilim, but they were part temple, part warship. This mammoth vessel appeared to be a complete ecosystem and at least one city, all hanging in an arch before him. Justin turned toward Leo his mouth agape. “Terra Nova? Is this the microworld Terra Nova?”
“Not what I would call micro, but yes it is—or rather was.”
“But at the end of Titanomachy War, the Titans destroyed it during the Battle for Earth.”
“Is that what your history books tell you?” He turned and strolled toward the building exit.
With eyes on the vista beyond the glass, Justin followed. Several dozen people lingered in the lobby. With his gaze only occasionally darting from the window, he hardly noticed the people glancing in his direction.
As they stepped out of the building, Leo continued. “We rechristened the ship and gave it the name Exodus because….”
“You took the ship—why?” Justin hurried to catch up.
“We needed it.” Leo shook his head. “Why would we would destroy such an impressive unarmed vessel?”
Because you’re Titans, and you were designed to kill or destroy everything in your path. But, the old man didn’t seem like a killer so Justin held his tongue and simply shrugged.
Leo led him down along a broad sidewalk with the dog close behind.
At the sound of splashing, Justin looked over the rail and discovered a stream following the walkway on their right. Water dashed over and around rocks on the way toward the plaza just ahead. He looked back up the gentle slope behind them, but couldn’t decide which of the several large buildings on, or near the top they had exited.
The older man followed his gaze. “That is the hospital complex.” He pointed. “You were in the smaller clinic just to the left.” Turning, he gestured. “Just ahead, in the plaza, there is an excellent little restaurant that overlooks what we call Sunrise Park.”
The dawn grew brighter as they walked. Justin glanced up at the massive banks of lights high above. “Why do you call it Sunrise Park?”
“Because many of us start the day there.”
Leo walked to a table as they entered the square, but Justin went to the rail that overlooked the commons. With the dog seated beside him, he took in the vista. The stream flowed along one side into a reservoir about one hundred meters away.
In front of him, and just below, a large grassy field filled with people. Formations of men and women in sweaty, athletic gear jogged into the park then lined up. Those in the military formations were probably Titans, but others mingled at the edges? Civilians? Families?
Justin watched the growing crowd. Three groups formed to his left. Justin moved in that direction, but bumped into the dog. “Ah, excuse me. I, ah want to….”
Thor moved out of his way.
“Thanks.” He followed the railing to a better position.
Two men, each holding a flag, trotted to positions near the center front of the formation. No breeze stirred, but the flags fluttered as the men trotted into position. One flag was inscribed with a number, 33, while the other bore a fish symbol like the one etched in Naomi’s medallion and on the uniform of the officer in his painting back in what had been his home.
A man in a neat green uniform and gray hair at his temples took a position in front of the middle unit. The uniform was like that of his interrogators and Justin assumed he must be an officer.
Slowly the man scanned along the men and women before him. “Platoon sergeants, report!”
One of the sergeants saluted. “Sir, first platoon is present and accounted for.” In turn, the other two sergeants reported.
After the reports, the officer gave the plan of the day and then slowly scanned the men. “Okay Marines, when you’re dismissed form up along the service road for physical training. Platoon sergeants dismiss your men.”
As the platoons moved out a young man ran up to one of the sergeants standing almost immediately below Justin.
“Sarge, what about the rumors of strangers on….”
“Haven’t I told you jarheads not to listen to rumors?”
“But Sarge, the prophecy.”
“No news is true unless, or until, I tell you it’s true.” He looked back over the group. “Come on, get a move on.”
Back in the CFS, Justin had visited a few military installations as part of his business and seen similar morning gatherings. If they are Titans, they seem very normal—in a military kind of way.
“The food is getting cold.”
Justin turned at the sound of Leo’s voice. The older man sat at a table with two breakfast plates not three meters away. “Go ahead. I’ll be right there.” He returned his gaze to the park below as a man about his age walked into the plaza carrying a child and holding the hand of a woman. With the woman at the soldier’s side Justin could not see his uniform, but something about it drew his attention. The couple strolled into the empty space left when the previous unit jogged off. Just below him they stopped. The man kissed the child then handed the infant to the woman. Still holding her hand, the man spoke to her, but the words were lost in the noise of the plaza. Then he kissed her and jogged off toward one of the other formations. It was as the man jogged off that Justin saw his uniform. The soldier was a shadow warrior, the elite shock troops of the Titan.
Cold fear gripped him.
Thor whined and rubbed his head against Justin’s leg.
Taking a deep breath he found the mother and child in the crowd below. Anywhere else and he might have assumed, from there casual affection, that they were a family. Shadow Warriors have feelings? Titans have families and children? Perhaps the Titans have changed over the centuries. He sighed and a smile spread slowly across his face. Images of Naomi and Mara flashed through his mind. Perhaps, just perhaps, we have found a refuge. He turned to speak to Leo. “Oh, the food.”
Leo looked up from his mostly empty plate and, with mouth full, motioned for Justin to join him at the table.
Justin stepped from the rail and immediately caught the eye of a passerby staring in his direction. The man turned away but, as Justin sat, he noticed another person watching him. Once again, he quickly turned away. Then as a woman walked by, she turned and, just for a moment, their eyes locked.
Leo pushed his plate away. “What did you want to ask me?”
Justin’s eyes darted about the plaza. Even the dog stared at him. Why is everyone looking at me?
Chapter 16
Leo smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “Everyone is looking at you because you broadcast your every thought to them.”
Justin stared at the older man. Nothing emanated from him. He looked at the people in the plaza, some of whom still stared in his direction, but he could only sense them with his eyes. I sure would like to learn how to hide my thoughts. He fixed his eyes on Leo. I’ve wondered how to ask this and now appears to be a good time and this seems a good way—are you a Titan?”
Leo seemed about to laugh. “Yes. Most of us are.”
“Most?”
“There are some Norms with us.”
Justin tapped his fork on the table as he recalled the pregnant woman he had sensed on the hospital ward. “Why would Norms willingly go with Titans?”
“Even during wars, people fall in love.”
He studied the face of the older man. Leo had an easy smile and although Justin tried to remain skeptical, it was difficult. The smell of the food diverted his attention. Hunger got the best of him. He reached for the fork and took the first bite of his breakfast. “The war was a long time ago….” The elder seemed about to speak, but he was impa
tient to ask his questions. “Why did your people turn on normal humans and attack Earth?”
“They are your people also.”
Justin reluctantly nodded. The evidence that he was a Titan appeared insurmountable. His eyes drifted to the plate of food. It looked like scrambled eggs, pancakes, butter and syrup, but it tasted better. He remembered the factory back on liberty that produced all sorts of dry, cracker-like food. It kept him alive for years until he could afford real food—occasionally.
The elder continued. “Before I share our history, tell me what the Norms say of those events.”
“The Titan soldiers turned against normal humans.”
“Why?”
“The Alien War was over, but the Titans didn’t return for decommissioning. They didn’t obey the orders of Earth.”
Leo slowly shook his head. “So, what did the Titans supposedly do?”
Chewing on another bite he said, “They waged war against their creators.”
“Creators? They teach you that normal humans created us?”
“Of course you…we… were created. The Project Titan creators gave us our strength, our mental powers?”
“We’re naturally fit and most of us work to stay that way, but we’re not superhuman. As for the mental abilities, no one knows for sure, but when the original Titans departed Earth, they left as normal humans.”
Justin shook his head.
“Project Titan selected intelligent, genetically healthy and athletic humans, the best and brightest, to fight the alien threat. Our ancestors left, in a fleet of sub-light ships, for the endangered colonies.”
Justin nodded. Except for the part about sending normal humans, Leo was repeating Norm history. “But the mental powers?”
Leo shrugged. “Some think they are the result of random mutation, others say it is a miracle, a gift from God or the prophet. What we do know is that our ancestors, the early Titans, left Earth more than a century before these abilities began to appear.”
Justin frowned skeptically.
“However it happened, those capabilities slowly spread through the population so that we now all have them, to varying degrees.”
“So, after the Alien War, the Titans just decided to wage a war of genocide against their human brothers?” Justin asked sarcastically.
“Genocide? That’s what you’ve been taught?” Leo rubbed his head. “Tell me the rest. What do they teach you about the Battle of Earth?”
“After defeating the main Norm fleet, they continued and attacked the remaining forces over Earth. The Titans bombarded the planet, hitting every continent.”
“Does history tell you who led the attack on Earth?”
“Fleet Admiral Leonidas.”
The old man nodded and seemed to age in an instant. “Yes, the historians got that right. It was my responsibility.”
“Your responsibility? That was four hundred years ago. How could it be…”
“As they say, time is relative.”
Justin’s eyes narrowed.
“Have you studied time dilation?” He tilted his head. “What happens to a ship traveling at a significant fraction of light speed?”
“Time slows down for those on the vessel.”
“After capturing Terra Nova and making a couple of short FTL jumps we have been accelerating at sub-light speed for nearly twenty years as we measure time. Apparently about four hundred years have passed from your perspective. Relative to you, time for us has slowed to a crawl.”
“Are you saying….?”
“Four hundred years ago as you measure time, I led the Titan forces in their attack on Earth and the capture of Terra Nova. I am Fleet Admiral Leonidas.”
Justin’s words came slowly and almost at a whisper. “Millions died in the battle and nearly a billion in the civil war and the famine that followed.”
The old man’s eyes dimmed and he nodded slowly. “I knew that many…many died and I feared that even more would die in the chaos that would surely come, but we had to go.”
He didn’t understand what Leonidas meant about having to go, but Justin wanted to go, to run somewhere—anywhere. Since he had discovered what he was, he’d hoped that, over the centuries, the Titans had changed. No nation, no group, were the same after so much time, but for these people it had not been so long. They had lived—had fought, the Battle of Earth. They were the creatures who had turned against their human brothers and slaughtered them in a series of attacks leading up to the decisive battle. It was only there, high over Earth, that the Titan fleet had been defeated with, as many claimed, the help of the Nephilim. All that devastation and death had led to civil war and famine. Historical images ran through his mind of burning cities, dead bodies, and the walking skeletons of the survivors.
Anguish swept from Leonidas. With eyes closed he held out his hand as if to stop Justin’s thoughts.
Those nearby turned their heads toward them. Some stood and moved closer.
Others moved away.
Justin stood and ran.
* * *
Justin heard a dog trot toward the table in a quiet corner of a park where he had sought refuge. As the animal approached he glanced to his right to ensure it was Thor.“So, you found me,” he said with little emotion.
The dog seemed to smile as it sat beside him with its tongue flopped out to the side.
Moments later Fleet Admiral Leonidas, the worst war criminal in human history, walked up, carrying a tray. “I brought you another breakfast.”
“Thanks,” he said flatly and motioned for him to set it down.
“You realize that it’s impossible to hide from us until you learn to conceal your thoughts.”
Justin had figured that out an hour earlier. He had sat at a table and attempted to sort through all he had been told while waiting for someone to approach and…. He wasn’t sure what might happen.
“Would you like me to show you how to do that?”
Huh?
Teach you how to hide your thoughts.
Sure. He motioned for the old man to sit down. As he did their eyes locked. How could I be a Titan? The thought had just occurred to him.
Leonidas shot him a questioning glance.
He hadn’t meant to ask the question, but in this place his every thought was part of the conversation. “If all of you have been on this ship for four hundred years, how am I a Titan?”
“It’s not just this ship, we have a fleet, but we needed Exodus to carry the bulk of our marines.”
He nodded, but was still confused.
Leonidas took a deep breath. “Once, years ago, I had a wife and four sons.” He paused and his eyes became very distant. “Only one survived the wars. Simon was young and ambitious, eager to prove himself.”
Justin pecked at his food as the old man again paused.
“After capturing Terra Nova and jumping away from Earth we sent a vanguard mission to Lepanto. Simon volunteered to go.”
“They never came back?”
The old man shook his head. “I thought it was safer than staying with the main fleet, so I was glad to see him go, but engine problems onboard Exodus caused us to miss the rendezvous. We couldn’t contact them after that.” The life seemed to drain from the older man’s face. “I feared all were dead.”
Justin put down his fork. “But they didn’t die. There were several cities on Lepanto.” Memories of the wrecked ships and a planet engulfed in a nuclear winter lept to his mind. A battle.
Leonidas nodded. “Apparently many years later, as you measure time, the Titans on Lepanto were discovered by the Empire but,” he paused, “we found very few bodies in the rubble and only one ship with Titan markings.”
“They escaped?”
Again, the old man smiled. “We believe so—hope so. They had warning.”
He leaned forward. “Warning? How?” And how would you know?
“The Prophecies of Justin warned us.” Leonidas pulled a small book from his jacket pocket. “Our children memori
ze it in school.” He set the book on the table. “Justin brought us the message of a loving God.”
“Titans believe this?”
His face still serious, the older man gave a hint of a smile and nodded. “Your parents probably named you after him.”
Justin shook his head.
“His message spread slowly at first. I didn’t believe until the normal humans turned against us.” He tapped the book. “Justin foretold it.”
It was then he remembered his original question. How am I related to all of them? How can I be a Titan if all of you have been traveling for hundreds of years? For several moments he tried to put the pieces of information together. “So I am…?”
“A survivor from Lepanto.”
Chapter 17
Justin picked up his fork and played with his food. He didn’t believe in prophets or messages from God, but the missing pieces of his life seemed to be falling into place. He was a Titan and his family had lived on Lepanto until someone, probably Earth Empire, attacked the planet. Childhood memories of alarm bells and the rumble of distant explosions raced through his mind. He had closed the hatch on his mother during the attack. He had killed her. Probably, his father had also died that day. His mouth felt dry. An old thirst had returned. He stabbed at the food. What next?
“You and your friends are Titans and the only known descendants of our vanguard. It is my hope…our hope, that you will choose to remain here, but we will not force you.”
Justin’s eyes locked on Leonidas. “So, if I…we, my friends, choose, we are free to go?”
“I don’t believe you have a means to leave at the moment, but when you do, yes you are free.”
