Terra went pale at the words 'live combat'. “No! I mean it's all right. I'm not even mad anymore. You don't have to bring me to a war zone.”
Alya smiled as she gestured to the fadedoor. “Nonsense. It will be fun. I know you need the experience. You will even get to meet an old friend. I hope he fights as well as last time. I was so excited when the Sybil saw he was attempting to alter time again.”
Lycus cleared his throat.
Alya rolled her eyes. “Ignore Cerberus. He is rather insecure.”
Lycus pointed to his rank insignia. “I am a praetor! You are a centurion!”
Alya faced Lycus. “Yes. I still have eyes, Cerberus.”
Lycus recoiled, his posture slouching. He let out a long sigh.
Alya turned her side to Lycus. “Are we done?”
Lycus gripped his aeon edge, but hesitated to draw it.
Alya's grin disappeared. She faced Lycus. “It has been a while hasn't it? Since a pair of Legendary Blades fought in a Trial of Blades.”
Terra felt the air turn cold in the silent room. She watched both Legendary Blades face one another, unblinking.
“It has,” Lycus said after a long pause. He took his hand off the blade. “But I do not wish to be the one to break that peace.”
Alya tilted her head. “Do you really feel that strongly about this?”
Lycus sat slumped back into his chair, looking tired. He did not look like the predator Terra had seen mutilate Vand, nor the cold, calculating man she had seen at other times.
“I hate your squires, Alya. I hate what Tahir did to me,” he said in a soft voice, almost a whisper. He looked up at Alya. “How do you stand it?”
Alya shrugged. “Lycus, I let go of the dull past so I may shine more brightly in the present. Shine, don’t suffer while you live.”
With that, Alya glided out of the room while motioning for Terra to follow. Terra lingered to looked back, seeing Lycus stare at a stained photo that lay next to a dark mask.
“Leave,” Lycus said in a whisper.
Terra left not wishing to gain Lycus's ire and she caught up with Alya. “But I'm not ready for live combat! I can barely hold my ground in a sparring match!” she said, jogging to keep pace with Alya.
Alya dismissed the protest with a wave. “Don't worry. I watched you in shieldwatch practice yesterday and sparring the day before. You will do fine.”
Terra rubbed her forehead while wondering if all these people were insane.
∞
When the sphere around Terra faded she found herself sinking into a bog. She struggled to wade out of the waste high water and grab onto a nearby tree. After she pulled herself up she took in her surroundings. Terra seemed to be alone, surrounded by patches of swamp and large trees. Moments later she heard voices.
“This is a waste of time,” an older man said in an irritated tone. Terra thought he sounded familiar.
Terra hid behind a tree and listened. There were several sets of footsteps. She peeked from behind the trunk to see a line of men walking through a narrow path of dry land through the swamp. Terra recognized the gray uniforms and red armbands. Hanns marched behind several SS soldiers. He frowned as he looked back to several other primitive looking people the SS had tied together in a line. She assumed she could understand Hanns because the sonic ciphers translated his German for her.
Terra was about to follow when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around, but managed not to shout.
Alya stood next to her with a finger over pursed lips.
They followed the Nazis through the forested area which led them to an open glade nestled between hills. Terra and Alya moved to a nearby hill that overlooked an ancient village with wooden buildings and straw roofs. Around the village stood a palisade wall which the Nazi's had ringed with razor wire. SS soldiers stood watch over the sandbag fortified gateways that provided the only entrances into the village. Camouflage tents stood in contrast to the ancient buildings while a Nazi flag planted on the highest part of town waved in the wind. Antenna devices like the ones used in the library also dotted the area. She thought the posts looked smaller this time with a new more compact design.
Terra shifted her gaze over the village, looking at how the Nazis had set up their forces. Machine gun nests stood at each gateway with two more on small hills overlooking key points of the village. The largest building had a panzer tank parked in front. She saw a lot of soldiers, at least two dozen with most wearing black SS uniforms.
Hanns and the others marched into the center of the village with the prisoners in tow. He stood with the rest as another SS officer walked out of a large tent. Terra assumed him to be of higher rank when the others saluted him. Hanns glared instead.
The officer was a pudgy man half a head shorter than Hanns. His serious expression contrasted with Hanns's more charming demeanor. The officer walked to the group of prisoners and inspected them with a sour look. He turned to Hanns. “This is it?”
Hanns sighed.
The officer shook his head. “I said I needed good stock.”
He walked over to the line of primitive prisoners. The prisoners cringed when the officer drew close. He stood much taller than them and his clean uniform contrasted with their dirty tunics and trousers.
The officer grabbed one by the arm. He inspected the woman's dirty hands before glancing to her soiled hair. “These are not Aryans!” he yelled as he shoved the woman back with the others. “You brought me cavemen! You brought us to the wrong time Hanns! These are not Aryans or any of the five sub races.”
Hanns pinched the upper part of his nose while he closed his eyes. “No Emmerich. I told you this is what we would find.”
Emmerich gestured to the village. “Straw roofs! Filth everywhere! These people don't all have blue eyes. This isn't the Aryan utopia! We must be in the wrong time! Your calculations were incorrect.”
Hanns looked up and groaned. “For the last time, Emmerich. These are the correct temporal coordinates. In fact my new machine is more accurate than the last. This is ancient Germany. It's not my fault you believe in idiotic utopias based on garbage science. Besides, it doesn't matter. What could you possibly want with these people?”
Emmerich sighed. “We need breeding stock Hanns. We need pure samples. Aryan blood is thin in the modern times. If our nation has any hope of long term survival we must cleanse our genes of Semitic impurities. To do that, we need these people. Your stupid history book can wait. Now put them with the others.”
The SS soldiers led the prisoners into a fenced off area of the camp.
Hanns walked over to Emmerich. “This is unwise. I don't know how this will affect time.”
“Silence Hanns,” Emmerich said with a scowl. “You had your chance to produce results and failed. Now it's my turn. We will continue our search for the Aryans.”
Hanns sighed and followed Emmerich into a large central tent.
Alya swept her gaze over the camp before turning to Terra. “Wait until about a minute after I begin my attack and capture Hanns. I'll capture the other leader, that Emmerich fellow.”
“Capture?” Terra whispered.
“Yes,” Alya said as though it were simple. “Just beat him up until he's unconscious. I'll take care of the others. We need to bring Hanns in along with the other leader. This is his final violation. The rest of them are first time offenders. I'll beat them up and give them a warning.”
“You say that like it will be easy,” Terra said, trying to keep her voice low.
“Just be careful,” Alya said as though she wasn't even listening to Terra. “Hanns may not look like much, but he is still a soldier. Just remember to use your shieldwatch and wait until he's unguarded. Minerva, take a Restore state of this place.”
Minerva began speaking over the cipher lines. “Continuum Delta. Time is 3:25pm–”
Alya groaned and touched her shieldwatch face, skipping the message.
“Location is Germania, continental–”
Alya touched her shieldwatch face again.
“Lethal force is not authorized. Enemy forces consist–”
She skipped the message again.
“Warning–”
Alya growled and skipped the next several messages. Finally, a ring descended on the area just like the one at the library. The Nazi's gaze quickly focused on the new development.
Terra waited as Alya stood. She would just have to trust Alya. After all, Alya Silverwind was a seasoned legionnaire. No doubt she had clever and cunning plan to deal with the Nazis.
Alya ran and jumped thirty paces over the wall, landing dead center in the camp. “Attention all temporal intruders!” Alya said, the shieldwatch, amplifying her voice. “You are in violation of the Temporal Accords. I am giving you a single chance to return to your own time peacefully.”
The Nazis all turned their attention to Alya with dumbstruck stares.
Terra touched her forehead with her palm and sighed.
Chapter XVI
Troy
Think not to match yourself against gods, for men that walk the earth cannot hold their own with the immortals.
-From Homer's The Iliad, translation by Samuel Butler
The Nazis stared at Alya for a moment before scrambling for their weapons. Alya drew her aeon edge and loaded it before saluting the soldiers. The sword edge glowed blue. She lunged as tracer rounds zipped by.
Terra watched, using her shieldwatch to Speed her vision. Alya charged the tank first, pulling the trigger on her sword. The tank exploded, sending a ripple of heat and wind through the camp.
Nazis took cover behind sandbags after drawing their weapons. The command tent flapped open as Hanns and several SS officers rushed into the open to see the disturbance.
Emmerich followed. “What's going on?”
“She could at least humor us by using tactics,” Hanns said. He turned to another soldier, one who did not wear an SS uniform. “Just as we discussed.”
“Yes, sir. Good luck,” the soldier said and then nodded. He ran to a nearby sensor post.
The SS soldiers focused fire on Alya. Terra saw the bullets streaking towards Alya, but Alya Sped her movements, dodging each bullet with her usual impossible grace. Terra still found Alya's skill impressive even when compared with all she had seen at the Academy.
When Alya reached the foremost group of ten soldiers, she sent each to the ground with a few quick strikes. Another group pulled out knives and batons. They charged Alya together. She smiled.
Alya didn't bother to draw her sword again. Each soldier attacked, hitting nothing but air, like swatting rain in a hurricane. She met each attack with a counter attack that landed another soldier on the ground, bleeding.
Terra's gaze followed Hanns as he ran to one of the antenna like, time travel devices. He activated it and a bright green glowing sphere formed like the one at the library. Hanns's troops retreated through it, though the SS remained fighting Alya.
“Hurry! Retreat!” Hanns yelled, gesturing to his last few men.
Terra stood, knowing she couldn't let Hanns escape again. She Slowed gravity around her and jumped, clearing the razor wire before stumbling onto the ground.
Terra stood and moved into the center of the camp, Speeding her movements to avoid stray shots that flew close. Alya flipped one soldier and he rolled right in front of Terra. The soldier groaned before standing.
“Enemy reinforcements!” he yelled when he saw Terra's white uniform.
Terra's training, however incomplete, still served her well. She didn't hesitate when the SS soldier charged her. Moving fast into a defensive hand to hand stance, Terra Sped her reflexes to deflect his first blow. Hand to hand fighting with a shieldwatch felt different from her sparring practice. The soldier's movements seemed trapped in slow motion with each strike easily evaded.
The soldier collected himself and charged again. Terra blocked his wide punch before she struck her palm against his chin snapping the man's head back. The SS soldier fell to the ground and Terra waited for him to stand. He didn't.
Terra stared at the beaten soldier slack-jawed. “I got one!”
She then spotted Hanns. He helped the last soldier through the portal, but did not step through himself. Instead he ran inside a tent and scrambled out a moment later, holding the strange clock like device he had used in the library to escape. In his other hand he carried something small that he put in his mouth.
Terra charged. Hanns turned, pulling out a pistol with his left hand. He hesitated when seeing Terra as though he recognized her, but his eyes widened when he saw Terra's uniform.
Hanns took several shots. Terra dodged, using her Sped vision and reflexes to avoid the bullets. Each shot she evaded gained her a few more paces on Hanns. When she drew near, Hanns pulled the trigger and his gun clicked.
Hanns slung the empty pistol at her. She dodge it with ease. He then drew a knife, slashing at Terra. Each time Terra weaved around the blade. His movements seemed sluggish with the shieldwatch. When Hanns stumbled, she struck his wrist sending the blade out of his hand. Hanns swung his fist at Terra, but she blocked each blow with perfect precision.
Terra grinned as she marveled at the power of the shieldwatch. She was in complete control of the fight. Hanns couldn't touch her. She was invincible.
Her shieldwatch beeped. “Battery power critically low. Shutting down non essential functions,” came Minerva’s voice from Terra's shieldwatch.
Terra and Hanns stood still for a moment.
Hanns grinned.
“Crap,” Terra said, feeling her panic rise.
Hanns's strikes now came fast. She struggled to evade them. When Terra stumbled, Hanns lunged, slamming his fist into her stomach. Terra gasp, falling to the ground.
Hanns wiped the sweat off of his brow while turning his back to Terra.
Terra pushed herself up and charged. Hanns noticed too late. He tried to turn to face her, but Terra moved inside his reach before he could react. She put one foot behind Hanns's own and grabbed his arm. Using Hanns's own center of gravity, Terra flipped him over her shoulder and he landed on the ground with a hard thump.
Hanns groaned and struggled to stand. He collapsed. Terra sighed, looking to where Alya now stood.
Emmerich had Alya surrounded by four tall SS soldiers.
“Filthy mongrel!” Emmerich said with a grin. “These are my best men. They are of the purest Aryan stock. They are–”
Alya moved in a flash, striking each seemingly at the same time. The blur of her silver hair made it appear as though a silver wind swept around them. The soldiers all fell at once.
“Unconscious...” Emmerich said as he watched his soldiers fall with widening eyes. He tried to run, but Alya knocked him down before placing a foot on Emmerich's back, preventing his escape.
Alya dusted off her hands. “Well that was rather disappointing. The foes at the library put up a much better fight.”
∞
Alya Restored the area after their battle. All the villagers returned safely and no trace of the Nazis, Terra, or Alya remained, save for the missing day in the villager’s memories. With time Restored, Alya attached a shieldwatch like device to Hanns and Emmerich and they both disappeared when a glowing ring ran around them. Alya explained that she sent them back to Saturn City for processing.
When they returned to the city Alya disappeared, again leaving Terra with Hanns, a man named Emmerich, and two Legionnaires who came to collect them for processing. Terra stayed with Hanns and Emmerich who timeport security brought into separate offices. They brought Hanns to an interrogation room with a single table and two chairs. Terra guarded him with two other Legionnaires.
One Legionnaire examined Hanns's pocket watch like device. “This is really interesting tech, Hanns. Where did you steal it from?”
Hanns raised an eyebrow. “Steal? I built it.”
The man rolled his eyes. “Right. And I'm from the Thirteenth Cohort.”
The second le
gionnaire looked at the device. “Interesting. This device works like a salient. It allows instant time travel between to spacial points by bridging two times together. This allows time travel and teleportation. Caminus will want to look at this for sure. Tiro, can you watch him?”
Terra nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said unsure of proper protocol in this situation.
The two other Legionnaires then left the room.
“I remember you now,” Hanns said after the guards left. “You're that girl at the library that attacked me. What is your name?”
“Terra.”
“Funny that these people would conscript you after that, Terra.”
“I joined willingly.”
“Then you have bought into their lies then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you really think these people are better than any other empire? They are just like the rest of the corrupt imperialist democracies. They developed time travel technology first so they enforce their will upon others using technological superiority. It doesn’t make them right.”
“These people don't seem so bad. Besides, like you have any room to talk.”
A timeport staff member walked in, interrupting them. “Okay, Hanns, you are in the system. I will send a legionnaire from the Third Cohort to escort you to Tartarus shortly. Your trial will be in a few days,” he said while looking at a holoface before glancing to Terra. “Could you watch him for a few more minutes? The guard should be here soon.”
“Sure,” Terra said with confidence now that her shieldwatch had partially recharged. “Do I need to be careful of what I tell him?”
The man laughed. “He isn't going anywhere. You can tell him whatever you want. It won't alter time.”
Once the man left, Terra took a seat at the table in front of Hanns. “Do you still think you are hero, Hanns? Do you still think you are with the good guys?”
Aeon Legion: Labyrinth Page 21
