“All of the stars,” Terra said. She knew little about stellar formations in the night sky, but she knew there were not this many stars in the sky. At least not in her time.
“They say there are as many stars as pages in Saturn City's history,” Delphia said in an airy, aloof tone. She pointed. “Taurus, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Orion, Gemini.”
“Why are there so many stars? I have never seen the night sky so full.”
Delphia's slight smile returned. “Light travels at a set speed. Here in the Edge, the light from every star has had time to reach us here. You are looking at every star to exist in the universe.”
“It's beautiful.”
Delphia glanced at Terra and smiled. “Thank you.”
Terra turned to her. “For what?”
“For sharing this with me. Most don't care about my strange hobby.”
Terra grinned. “That's okay. One day I'll force you to go to a quarry with me. Then you can be bored with my hobby.”
Delphia turned back to the stars. “I guess you'll be busy soon. I hear just getting into the Legion training is hard.”
Terra frowned. She didn't want to think about her task ahead. She had little information on the subject. How would she gain admittance? Alya had told Terra to be her usual stubborn self.
Delphia looked back into the room at the poster of Kairos. “At least you are not Silverwind's squire. If it's true that Silverwind has a new squire then I pity whoever it is.”
“Why is that? Isn't Alya's squire supposed to be the best?”
“Because,” Delphia said, facing Terra. “All Alya's Squires. They all did great things. All of them became Legendary Blades. They all had amazing accomplishments, but after they accomplished them. Well...”
“Well what?”
Delphia became still as she met Terra's eyes. “Well. They died.”
Chapter VII
Odysseus
Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country's cause.
-From Homer's The Iliad, translation by Alexander Pope
Hanns's right arm still hurt while it healed in a cast. Thankfully the broken arm did not impair his work as much as he had feared given he was left handed. It did make work slow. Keeping the microscope view centered proved time consuming. The slightest shift would ruin the view and take time to reset back on the part.
“One more,” he said as he attached the power source to the device with a small pair of tweezers.
The door opened. “Sir,” came a voice from behind Hanns.
“I am busy,” Hanns said in an irritated tone. He had told his men he was not to be disturbed.
The soldier saluted. “Sorry Sir. The Brigadeführer wishes to see you immediately.”
Hanns groaned, wondering who had arrived. “Tell him I will see him in a moment.”
The soldier cleared his throat and shifted. “Sir. You realize he outranks you?”
Hanns grinned as he gazed back into the microscope. “Yes. I also realize that I am the only one who can make the calculations for the time machine. He can wait.”
The soldier saluted and left.
Hanns finished placing the last piece into the device under the microscope. It was a glass sphere with a metal ring around it the size of a pea. Hanns picked up the device with tweezers and dropped it into his right hand that stuck out of his cast. Holding onto the sphere, he stepped outside into his fortification and frowned at what he saw.
A convoy had pulled into the base and hundreds of SS troops had arrived. Too many, Hanns thought. “What is this?”
“Progress,” came a voice nearby.
Hanns turned to see a pudgy man in a sharply tailored SS officer's uniform. He stood half a head shorter than Hanns and had a disapproving scowl that made others around him uncomfortable.
The SS soldiers around him didn't seem to mind and all grinned as though they enjoyed the fact they were displacing Hanns's Zeitmacht troops. The regular Zeitmacht troops regarded the SS invaders with wary expressions as the interlopers unloaded the trucks.
The edge of Hanns's lip curled, but he still gave a traditional Wehrmacht salute to the man. “Brigadeführer Emmerich Klein.”
Emmerich smirked. “You may address me as Emmerich. I know how you hate formalities, Hanns, and I wish to move this transition along quickly. Are you busy right now?”
Hanns narrowed his gaze. “I am on my way to the labs to deliverer the key to–”
“Good,” Emmerich interrupted, gesturing for Hanns to follow.
Hanns scowled when they reached his office. A pile of boxes stood outside that contained his furnishings and items. Two SS soldiers carried out the remaining boxes and dropped them on the floor. They kicked Hanns's box of notes and laughed before leaving.
Hanns walked into what had been his office, now newly furnished, as Emmerich sat down in a fine leather chair. Emmerich smiled as he settled into the chair. “Not much of an office, Hanns, but I guess it will suffice for now. I can't believe you worked in this... cell.”
Hanns pulled up a rickety metal chair and sat. “Well some of us, Emmerich, are far too busy to worry about comfort.”
“Really, Hanns? I would hardly guess you busy based on your results.”
“We had setbacks.”
“Yes I read a few of the reports,” Emmerich said, his tone dismissive. “Some kind of sword wielding goddess with golden hair.”
“Silver.”
“Whatever. Regardless, you and your men failed to beat a single woman with a sword. You call that a setback. I call it pathetic, but that's not why I'm here to take command though.”
Hanns expression hardened. “I was told I would have complete control of this project. You have no jurisdiction here.”
Emmerich smiled and pulled out a letter before handing it to Hanns. “You have new Orders.”
Hanns took the letter with his unbroken arm and unfolded it. He read the letter, grimacing.
“Signed by Himmler himself,” Emmerich said with a smirk. “Your Zeitmacht is under the Waffen SS now.”
Hanns folded the letter. “Very well. What are your orders?”
“I want your machine activated immediately. I want to conduct some trials before our major expedition.”
Hanns frowned. He didn't need Emmerich drawing Silverwind here. “I don't think that is wise. We do not want to cross paths with Silverwind again. Especially not here.”
“You mean the gold haired woman?”
“Silver haired, and yes. She claimed she was from a city in the future that policed time travel. There was something about a treaty called the Temporal Accords and she told us we had to register our time travel device.”
“Did you register then?”
Hanns scoffed. “No. Why should we bow to imperialists regardless of what time they come from? Those Temporal Accords are probably little better than the Treaty of Versailles. If only I have could have gotten my hands on that book.”
Emmerich shook his head. “A book, Hanns? What good is that?”
“A history book could change everything. Specifically a history book from the future. It would tell us everything we need to know to win this war. The first time, I went alone and sneaked into a local library. Silverwind, however, found me before I could get back. She gave me a warning. After that we went in force.”
Emmerich stared at Hanns. “A history book? A history book! You wasted a time machine on trying to get a history book? You could have at least have tried to steal weapons from the future.”
Hanns rolled his eyes. “We can't use stolen future technology. We have no way to maintain it or even the infrastructure to build more. By the time we finished figuring out how it works, the war would be over.”
Emmerich shook his head. “Even still, taking a book seems like an awful waste of the time machine's potential. It's a good thing I'm here to take charge. You may be a brilliant scientist, Hanns, but you lack practicality.”
“Then what would you u
se it for then?”
Emmerich stroked his chin. “Well I wouldn't waste it on finding a book that tells us what we already know. We will win this war. Everyone knows this. I have something more important in mind. Something that will allow our nation to prosper for centuries to come.”
“And what would that be?”
“Why the discovery of our origins, Hanns. I plan to visit the ancient Aryans themselves.”
Hanns regarded Emmerich with a flat look. “What? You can't be serious?”
Emmerich beamed. “Yes. We will see the glorious civilization of the Aryans at their height. The scientific secrets we will gain from them will likely be invaluable for our future. We can even take breeding stock back with us to help strengthen the bloodlines.”
Hanns had to stop himself from crumpling up the letter in his hand. “You can't tell me you believe in that eugenics pseudo science?”
Emmerich raised an eyebrow. “Hanns, I would think you of all people would appreciate our eugenics program.”
“I have read numerous books on the subject. It has no real scientific basis. Eugenics is garbage science.”
Emmerich's face went red as he stood. “Are you claiming that the entire scientific basis of the Nazi party is wrong?”
Hanns rubbed his forehead with his good hand. “Emmerich, you and the SS do not solely define the Nazi party. There are those of us who choose not to build a political platform on hate and garbage science. Some of us want to build the party on more solid foundations.”
Emmerich curled his fists. “Wake up, Hanns! This is the party and you stand alone in your fringe beliefs. Now I know you are loyal to our cause so I will forgive this one transgression. Get your time machine up and running. I want you to send us to ancient Germany.”
“It will take a few months to accomplish this,” Hanns said with a straight face. It was a lie, but he needed more time before they faced Silverwind again.
“And why is that?”
Hanns looked away. “Calibrations and fine tuning. I am still working on the latest model. It's larger and more accurate than the others. We can send a few platoons through with the new model and it charges faster, but it needs a lot more work before it's ready.”
Emmerich narrowed his gaze on Hanns. “You are most fortunate that you are the only one who understands how that infernal thing works. You have two months, Hanns. Dismissed!”
Hanns stood and left the room. Finally he could get to the labs. As he walked across the fortress grounds, his second in command, Alban, joined him.
“Sir,” Alban said as he walked beside Hanns. He glanced to the SS soldiers in the distance. “Will this be a problem?”
Hanns grinned and checked to make sure no SS were in earshot. “No. Emmerich is a fool. I met him a long time ago at the university. He failed his classes. He got his position because he knows who to flatter. Our plans will go forward, albeit with a few minor modifications.”
Alban nodded.
Hanns opened the doors to the lab, but stopped and turned to Alban. “Alban, keep an eye on the SS. When we face Silverwind again, make sure they are on the front lines. No need for our troops to suffer.”
Alban snorted. “They would barely slow her. They are brutes, not real soldiers.”
Hanns nodded. “If my gamble pays off, we will be rid of them soon enough.”
As the door shut, sounds of metal bangs and the bright flashes of welders at work greeted Hanns. The building's interior held a large open space. Metal catwalks hung on the interior edge while a massive machine dominated the center of the room. It stood hoisted by metal scaffolding and girders. He walked past the huge time machine as the metal groaned like a beast.
It was spacious enough to send through an entire platoon of panzer tanks. Large concentric rings lined the outer shell of the machine. The rings alternated between turning clockwise and counter clockwise, forming a long tube at least three hundred paces in length. Gear teeth lined the interior of the rings, like a maw of a monster. A neon green glow emanated from the hollowed center of the machine with a ramp that led up to it.
Hanns entered a side door into a smaller lab where his assistant, Lenz, worked. Lenz wore a lab coat while he operated a machine that put glowing green bullets into their casings. There a large collection of glowing tipped bullets in a variety of calibers lay in neat rows.
“Lenz,” Hanns said as entered the room. “How is our project progressing?”
Lenz stood. “Has Emmerich taken command? Has he terminated the project yet?”
Hanns crumpled the letter in his hand and tossed it in the trash as he entered. “Yes he is technically in command, but the Zeitmacht soldiers are still loyal to me. Emmerich will not be a threat to our operations for now. More importantly, have you made progress here?”
Lenz gestured to the large stockpile of green glowing tipped bullets. “Do we need so many?”
Hanns smiled. “As many as we can make. We will need them for my gamble. Just be sure to hide them after you are done. I don't need Emmerich asking too many questions.”
Lenz gestured to Hanns. “Did you finish your part?”
Hanns smile widened as he opened right hand, revealing the tiny sphere.
Lenz's eyes went wide. “What is it?”
Hanns picked up the tiny sphere with his left hand, holding it as it radiated a green light. “This, Lenz, is our key to victory. For the war and our future.”
Lenz frowned as he stared at the small glowing sphere. “But I heard what the other soldiers said. Didn't that silver haired woman wipe out your platoon by herself? This is folly. I worry this plan will doom you Hanns.”
Hanns smiled as he looked to Lenz. “Ah, but everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. No one can hurry me down to Hades before my time, but if a man's hour is come, be he brave or be he coward, there is no escape for him when he has once been born.”
Lenz stared at Hanns with a raised brow.
Hanns frowned. “I see you must have slept through mythological studies, Lenz.”
Lenz shook his head. “Are you sure about this, Hanns?”
Hanns grinned and held the small sphere high between his thumb and index finger. The sphere's glow cast a green light on his face. “No man or woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny. For now, my part is to play Odysseus.”
Chapter VIII
Aevum Academy
There are three kinds of recruits that commonly appear at the Aevum Academy. The first are the truly talented. A few of these arrive each year and they rarely make it past the training. Talent often becomes a crutch for the talented and they cannot cope with true adversity since, in some situations, talent cannot substitute for hard work.
-Excerpt from Chapter Three of the Aeon Legion's Squire Recruitment Manual by Praetor Lycus Cerberus
The Academy wasn't what Terra had expected. As she walked through the hallways she noticed how clean and polished everything appeared. In fact, the entire area looked new as though recently constructed. It didn't meet with her original notion of an aged Academy complete with the musty smell of old books.
She also noted the heavy security. Legionnaires stood guard in every corridor with aeon edged swords at their belts. They watched the other potential recruits with wary gazes.
The potential recruits wore varied clothing, though Terra paid little attention to them. She kept her focus on gaining admittance to the training program and had awakened early this morning to do so.
She asked several staff there where to enroll in the Legion training program. Most tried to direct her to academic enrollment. When she corrected them, insisting it was the training program, they gave her confused stares before shrugging and pointing her in the right direction.
Terra found the registration office where a sizable crowd had gathered near the office fadedoors. She guessed it was the right place since most of them did not have silver hair nor wear white like the natives. Those in the crowd chatted while they waited near the fadedoors. Othe
rs sat on nearby benches next to a shallow indoor channel. A large fountain she had seen near the entrance fed the channels which branched out in sharp angles throughout the Academy.
Finally the doors faded and the hum of conversation hushed. Terra shifted, trying to see ahead. A silver haired man stepped out of the fadedoors and cupped his hands over his mouth to project his voice. “First time applicants please form a line to the left of me! Returning applicants to the right!”
Terra assumed she should go to the left. She felt awkward when she noticed she stood alone while the line on the right stretched well past a bend in the hallway.
The silver haired man turned to Terra. “Well it looks like you're first today. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Terra said before entering the room while trying to appear confident.
The room was dim save for a single spot in the center of the floor. A curved balcony overlooked the room. Seated in a semi circle on the balcony was a group of individuals each dressed in the same uniform as Alya though without the armor. Only one had a full head of silver hair. He sat at the back of the group, shadows obscuring most of him. The rest sat at the front with numerous holofaces gathered around them. No one looked at her as she entered.
A lean man with a long beard and scarred face gestured to the light in the center of the room. “Please step into the center light.” He had four locks of silver in his hair.
Terra did so while standing as straight as she could manage. The light made it hard to see and felt rather uncomfortable.
A young woman with dark hair dyed with three locks of silver and tan skin looked up at Terra. When she looked at Terra she smiled, shaking her head. “Oh sorry dear. You seemed to be lost. Academic registration is down the hall to the left.”
The bearded man looked up as well. “You are definitely in the wrong place.”
“Do you need someone to show you the way?” the woman said with a smile.
“Oh no,” Terra said, still holding firm. “I'm here to join the Legion.”
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