However, these pistols were anything but medieval.
The Sarcophagus retreated into Pocket Space, and the black mist thinned quickly.
I aimed one pistol at the rubble ahead of me and triggered a blast of blue-white light that turned the permacrete debris into a cloud of yellow-brown powder. Aiming and firing the other pistol, a second blast cleared away more of the cave-in that lay before me, and once I could see through the mist of pulverized rubble, I sprinted through the opening.
“Severin, send me the map to his location.”
“Steiner is with him. I sent her to back him up but she didn’t arrive in time.”
The map flashed up on the inside of my visor.
Then I heard a dull rumble run down the length of the tunnel as I neared the exit. “Severin, what’s going on out there?”
For a long while there was only silence. Then I heard Severin breathe out an oath and a curse that was out of the ordinary for him.
“It’s a Warlord, Deneve. The Artifact Celica Desanto came for is a Warlord.”
I knew what a Warlord was and I knew what it could do.
I had seen one in action before, and I owed my life to that Warlord’s pilot.
But a Warlord could level the Academy, and the habitat. Given enough time, it could destroy Island Three.
I picked up my pace, running as fast as my skinsuit clad legs could carry me.
I stopped at the first access shaft leading up and out of the tunnel. I climbed the ladder three rungs at a time. I needed both hands so I sent the bladed lance back into Pocket Space. But when I emerged into the maintenance hut at the top of the shaft, I manifested the weapon once more.
Rumble after rumble made the air and ground tremble.
I recognized them for the explosions they were.
Fearing only ruins would greet me, I pushed open the hut’s door, and stepped anxiously into the park outside.
I saw a flash of crimson light in the distance, above the tree line.
The Academy lay in that direction.
I saw tracers pierce the air, lighting up the sky as they shot up from the ground.
Enforcers must have entered the Academy grounds with armored vehicles.
I heard sirens and saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles parked on the streets all around me. They weren’t there when I first entered the maintenance hut.
Another flash of light, this time high above the Academy.
A humanoid shape darted about above Galatea.
As I watched, it came to a slow hover, and slender beams of light emanated from the tips of the skirt of swords it wore. Those beams of light touched the Academy grounds, and new rumbles filled the air as smoke billowed up towards the artificial cloudy sky that shimmered like a mirage.
My visor enhanced what I could see, centering on the Warlord and enlarging the image.
My heart sank as I recognized it.
The Black Camellia.
I had seen it almost two years ago when I participated in the mission to recover some of the Fragments Crimson Crescent had stolen during the super freighter explosion.
Celica had bonded with it in an effort to recover the weapon from the Crimson Crescent facility, and she had used it to cover our escape.
It was a weapon that had no equal on the ground or in the air.
A weapon that could go toe-to-toe with an interstellar warship.
A weapon I owed my life to, as did Drake, Rylan, Sunaj, Tanis, Fatina, Brandei…and Celica.
That was the last time any of us worked together as a unit – the last time we fought on the same side.
The last time we ever served the Sanctum.
Three days after we successfully returned, we were all detained without warning for breaching our orders. And when the few of us were eventually released, we were stripped of our Artifacts and authority within the Sanctum’s Artemis and Paladin ranks.
Three months afterwards, Celica, Tanis, Fatina, and the other Valkyries were executed for treason against the Prides.
Only Celica survived. She was the best of us after all.
I regarded the Warlord a moment longer, then took off at a run for the entrance to the tunnel that would lead me straight to Caelum and Caprice.
As I ran, I prayed I would find both of them alive.
Reflections – 13.
Sometime ago now, I don’t remember when, I was asked of my plans for after graduation.
I don’t remember my answer, but I do remember wondering if I should make plans at all.
What could a Familiar bonded to a Fragment do for a livelihood?
What kind of career could I follow, or be allowed to follow, affiliated as I was to the Lanfear Pride?
I remembered the Familiars that stood by as bodyguards protecting the Aventis in the aftermath of the super freighter explosion. They were rigid, and militaristic, and just plain scary. At least, that’s how they looked through the eyes of a ten year old child.
With that in mind, I didn’t want to become like them, but perhaps at one time they had different aspirations for their lives, yet ultimately couldn’t fight for their futures and ended up serving the Aventis in their capacity as bodyguards.
So if I chose not to relinquish my Fragment or Artifact, and I refused to work as security for some affluent Pride Family, what other options did I have?
Public Security was one such option.
Public Security was an elite division of the larger, broader Enforcement Division.
The Enforcers were like the ancient National Guard, self-defense force, and local law enforcement all rolled into one behemoth. In other words, the Enforcer Division was the big enchilada in Pharos and throughout the Hurakan Nebula. They even had their own fleet of starships to zip about whenever and wherever duty called.
Public Security was a small part of the Enforcer Division, but where the Enforcers were considered the heavy muscle, the thirteen – actually fourteen – sections of Public Security were the razor sharp swords wielded against the enemies of the Prides. Sections One to Twelve were of equal rank, but Section Zero ruled over them all, and that included Section Three led by the Raynar Witch – Silia Alucard Raynar – and Simone’s elder sister.
Lastly, there was Section Thirteen which was often left out because its duties diverged from those of the other thirteen sections.
So where was Public Security when my sister and her people invaded Galatea Academy?
That was a very good question, and it was asked by many knowledgeable people who wanted to know how Crimson Crescent was allowed commit such a brazen act right under the authorities noses.
Chapter 19.
(Maya)
I woke up to a tender, moist feeling on my lips.
Opening my eyes, my vision blurred before clearing on the familiar face of an unfamiliar man.
“Ah, you’re awake. That’s good. I guess that worked just like in the fairytales.”
I noticed I was lying on his arms and I began to panic.
He lay me down on the floor quickly yet carefully as though I was fragile goods.
“Relax, your injury will fully heal in a couple of days or so.”
I opened my mouth but he planted a finger on my lips, silencing me. A moment later he showed me an empty transparent container that resembled a pressurized needle.
“This device contained blood with concentrated Symbiote cells belonging to the Sora Pride, the Pride that once held my leash.” He looked at me with a hint of sadness. “Your family’s Pride.”
My voice sounded hoarse. “It’s empty.”
“Yes, I was supposed to use it on myself or my comrades. I broke the rules and used it to heal you instead.”
I swallowed again. “Why?”
He was quiet for a long moment, then he smiled distractedly. “Honestly, I don’t know why. I just knew I had to do it.”
The young man that looked remarkably like Kaleb Deneve spoke with an apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry. I mistimed
my strike and I injured you.”
Ah, that’s right. The spear struck my abdomen and tore a path of destruction up my chest, cutting through the skinsuit as though it were tissue paper.
Yet, I was alive and he’d used the blood in that needle device to save me.
I shook my head at him. “Why—you and I were fighting to the death. I would have killed you if I’d had the chance—”
“I know you would have,” he agreed. “But I couldn’t do it. I just can’t tell you why.”
He started to rise to his feet. I reached up to grab onto him when I noticed the jacket lying over my chest.
He turned to me quickly. “Be careful. Your wound has barely closed. Like I said, it should be healed within a couple days. The Symbiote works better inside us Familiars than it does inside an Aventis, even the Purebloods. So I truly, truly hope it doesn’t leave a scar.”
Was he blushing? And why had he suddenly turned away so quickly?
I lifted the jacket up and saw the remains of my skinsuit. Needless to say, my breasts were considerably exposed.
He had used the jacket to preserve my modesty.
I looked up at him and it was my turn to blush. “Thanks,” I muttered.
He sighed and quickly stood up. “Our business here is done. Please, let’s just end things for now.”
I heard the voice of another man call out.
“Rylan, Mistress Celica says she’ll leave you behind if you don’t hurry.”
“We’re leaving, we’re leaving. You have everything you need?”
“Yep. Got it all here.”
I pushed myself up to a seated position, and noticed I was on the first step leading up from the circular floor space to the elevated level behind me. Hugging the jacket to my chest, I called out to the man that had been my opponent.
“Your name is Rylan?”
He half turned to look at me. “Yes, Lady Maya.”
“Have we met before?”
A smile spread slowly across his lips. “Our first meeting was not as memorable as this encounter.”
“Who are you?”
He paused before replying. “Someone grateful for the opportunity to cross blades with you.”
He bowed quickly, then turned and followed his shorter companion up the steps leading to the first level and the exit to the library. “Sunaj, wait up.”
“It’s okay. Lady Celica says she’s clearing a path for us. She’s keeping them busy with the Black Camellia.”
Rylan laughed. “Ah, the Black Camellia. That does bring back memories. Silia really dropped us into a world of hurt that time.”
“She probably never expected all of us to make it back alive.”
“Maybe she didn’t want us to….”
They casually left the library, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
I heard the building rumble and felt tremors run along the floor. Something big was happening outside.
Rising painfully to my feet, my chest and abdomen burned as I stood swaying on the first step. Then I carefully slipped into the midnight blue jacket. I didn’t know where he’d found it, but I hoped no one had died over it.
Carefully, I began walking toward the exit.
I had no idea if the Student Council President was watching over us, but I knew I couldn’t stay in here.
I needed to see the situation outside the Academy building.
I needed to know if my fellow Familiars were still alive.
I arrived at the exit and stopped before the closed doors.
The moist feeling on my lips…could it be? No, it can’t be!
My eyes widened as the ‘penny dropped’.
Oh my gods—he stole my first kiss!
#
(Severin)
A few of the exterior surveillance holocams were still functioning in the western corner of the school grounds. On the holovid display windows floating in one corner of the club room, I watched the scene above the Academy grounds begin the final act.
Three hundred feet above the ground, a woman adorned in a fantastical armor floated over the Academy. The drones that attempted to draw near her were shot down by bolts of crimson light. A similar fate befell the Enforcers on the ground. The men stormed the Academy and tore up the paved paths and grassy grounds with their personnel carriers. They fired up at the woman dressed in the strange, yet oddly aesthetically pleasing armor. Their cannon fire, both kinetic rounds and phased plasma bolts, was warded away by an effect-field that shimmered like clear rippling water.
Then she returned fire. The personnel carriers exploded, swelling up like metal balloons before bursting apart.
She was discriminate in her targeting, avoiding any damage to the school grounds and buildings. I didn’t know why she bothered, considering how much destruction her compatriots had inflicted on the Academy. Not only that, the armor shrapnel from the exploding carriers had peppered nearby buildings. The burning wrecks were still burning, and there was no sign the fire brigade was going to send in their firefighting drones while that woman was hovering over the school.
I would send her the repair bill if I thought it would make a difference.
One of the computer club members pointed at a holovid. With a photon glove he manipulated the window, enlarging it and bringing it up front and center.
It showed a number of people emerging onto the rooftop courtyard of the east wing of the high school building, where students would normally congregate and eat during lunch break.
Dalton muttered, “Is she going to pick them up and carry them all on her own?”
“I have no idea,” I muttered back. “I just hope they don’t tear up any more of our school.”
At this point, I was resigned to accept anything was possible. But I soon realized that my definition of ‘anything’ fell short of what Crimson Crescent was capable of performing.
The habitat ceiling was a mere two thousand feet, yet the tallest of Galatea Academy’s buildings was a mere seventy feet. Depending on the circumstances, nineteen hundred feet of clearance can spell the difference between a tight squeeze and a wide margin. In this case, it was a case of the former.
The four people on the rooftop stood close to the entrance to the courtyard, while the armored woman – Celica Desanto – quickly descended to the building. Then the air above Galatea Academy began to swirl like a vortex, chilling rapidly into a cloudy mist. As the storm grew it caused the building around us to first tremble then shake.
As impossible as it was, Galatea was caught in the equivalent of an earthquake.
I kept my gaze glued on the happenings in the holovid window.
The storm over the Academy intensified and I saw waves of trans-space energy ripple outwards like expanding bubbles.
A trans-space breach – something only a faster-than-light capable starship could achieve.
It was the same effect witnessed when the boundary between real space and trans-space tore open, admitting a starship to enter into either realm. However, it was said to be impossible to open a trans-space breach within a gravity well – the mass shadow of a celestial body. To open a breach within a planet’s atmosphere, or close to the surface of a moon required tunneling through trans-space into the mass shadow of that planet or moon.
Impossible it may be, but clearly not for Crimson Crescent.
As the building continued to shake around me, I watched in awe and disbelief as a sleek starship emerged from the breach, having ‘tunneled’ from outside the colony into Island Three, Habitat One. The vessel had an overall arrowhead shape, thought its midsection was round and bulbous with two stubby wings extending to either side, and the tail was rounded and flat like a beaver’s tail. Its body was jet black with an iron-grey underbody. It had the appearance of a fighter craft rather a full sized starship.
As it emerged completely into the space above the Academy, the trans-space breach behind it grew smaller. But the breach continued to pulse angrily as though it was being forced to remain open ag
ainst its will.
The starship descended over the high-school building, and I saw that it was clearly larger than the building by a long and wide margin. I guessed it to be around two hundred and fifty meters long, and maybe two thirds as wide. Thankfully it didn’t try to land on the building. Instead a boarding hatch opened on the ventral side of the arrow-head shaped forward hull.
The four people on the rooftop ran and staggered to the hovering starship.
The girl amongst them was clearly wounded.
With linked arms, they huddled together under the shadow of the ship.
Within moments they were picked up by an invisible hand – an effect-field – and carried into the open hatchway. As that hatch closed, a much larger belly hatch opened and the armored Celica Desanto flew upwards and into it.
The arrowhead shaped starship rose smoothly, untroubled by the storm surrounding it. As the ship gained altitude, the trans-space breach behind it widened, forced open within Island Three’s mass shadow by an incredible amount of power.
Once high above Galatea Academy, the starship pivoted smoothly and then sailed into the widened breach. Energy rippled outwards in concentric spheres, shaking the inside of the habitat anew, as the vessel disappeared into trans-space.
When it was gone, the tear in the fabric separating the different realms sealed shut, releasing a final deafening shockwave that knocked out the power inside the habitat.
Darkness and stillness descended.
Inside Galatea, power switched over to emergency generators almost seamlessly. The holovid windows barely flickered, and I stared at the darkness outside the school grounds. Slowly, little by little power was being restored, but the artificial sky had been shattered, the projectors torn apart by the trans-space energy that spilled out of the breach.
The picture perfect sky had been rent apart, so much like the illusion of security Galatea Academy had once harbored for its students.
#
(Celica)
Unlike the vast majority of Familiars classified as Specials and affiliated to the Prides, I possessed not one, but two Artifacts.
Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1) Page 35
