by Craig Gaydas
“Insane?”
“The energy readings had been solar in nature and equal to the power output of a sun. Our curiosity overwhelmed us. We decided to investigate, and when we landed,” he hesitated to clear his throat, “Let's just say we were a bit surprised by the discovery.”
“What was it?” I leaned forward, straining to absorb every word. I practically fell off the couch in anticipation.
“It was Vigil. We found him staring at the sky through one of the largest set of binoculars I had ever seen. Although we needed respirators and suits in order to navigate the planet's surface, he stood there just as he is now. He breathed in the toxic Martian atmosphere like it was nothing. When we found him we scanned him three times just to make sure he wasn't a mirage.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well, he introduced himself. 'I am Vigil the Surveyor,' he said. Except his voice was in our minds since words did not travel well through the air there. When he mentioned he was one of the Twelve Timeless I remembered a story my mother used to tell me when I was young. Some people called the Timeless gods, others called them the founders of the Universe. A small minority called them crackpots.”
Is he kidding? Although I had to admit that Vigil was a bit strange, he seemed far from a god. Does he expect me to believe that gods walked among us now? Vigil seemed strange and Vayne had an overabundance of treasures, but that didn't qualify either of them as gods. For a moment I wondered if Kedge had been toying with me until I saw his expression. He was as serious as I had ever seen him. His look melted away any doubt.
“So are they gods or crackpots?”
He folded his hands across his laps and turned to me. “The universe is an enigma, Nathan. We could travel across it for a million years and discover only a small percentage of its secrets. Our new allies are one of those secrets.”
The intercom interrupted us. “We are preparing to launch for Earth. Before we lift off, I would like to bring your attention to the window on your left,” Vayne's voice came across like he was in the middle of conducting a guided tour of a zoo. “If you are careful you will catch a glimpse of a very special animal.” Kedge and I exchanged confused glances and made our way to the window as Vayne droned on. “Outside, my friends, is the rare Red-Faced Baboon.”
Outside Vigil looked up at our ship and screamed with such fury that his face turned blood-red. Embeth, along with the assistance of one of his soldiers, restrained him and attempted to calm him down.
“As you can see, folks, the beast can become agitated quite easily,” Vayne continued. “His handlers are having a hell of a time restraining him.” Outside, Vigil tossed the soldier aside and Embeth tripped trying to maintain a hold on him. “Whoa!” Vayne snickered. “It looks like he is really ornery!” The intercom clicked off.
We were soon out of visual range of the scene below. I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head. “What the heck was that all about?”
“It appears there is very little love between them. It seems Vigil did not approve of our little side trip.” Kedge moved toward the door.
“Wait a minute, I have another question.”
He turned with a smile. “You have almost a week to ask.” My frown explained my lack of satisfaction with his answer. He groaned and shrugged. “Very well, go ahead and ask it.”
“Are they really our allies?”
Kedge licked his lips as he considered the question. His hesitation caused a pit in my stomach. If these people weren't truly our allies and the Consortium had forsaken us, who were our allies? Calypso? Sam? The Ascended?
After a moment passed, Kedge answered. “They are.”
I thought of Vayne and the way he brutally carved a path of destruction through Calypso's ship. Images of Natronix came to mind, his head practically torn from his shoulders. He had been no friend of mine, but I still couldn't deny the viciousness of it all. Kedge must have recognized my doubt because he moved from the door to stand face-to-face with me.
“They are our allies because they have to be.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“We are on the brink of a war,” he replied glumly. “One that threatens to tear at the very fabric of the universe. The Consortium had been protectors of the peace for centuries. They are broken. Your friends back on Xajax are all that's left of the old guard who wish to undo everything Meta has wrought.” He turned to leave.
“What about Calypso and the Ascended?” I grabbed his elbow, turning him toward me. He stared at me with a mixture of surprise and annoyance but I didn't care. “Where do they fit in?”
“Nathan, I may be part machine, but in the end I am really only a man.” His annoyed look faded and switched to resignation. “I don't have all the answers you seek. To be honest, I have no idea where they fit in. All I know is I have a score to settle with Calypso and I mean to settle it. If it means forging an alliance with these people then so be it.”
The door slid open and he walked past a startled Gard. “I hope I am not interrupting.”
Kedge grunted and continued down the hall. I motioned Gard in before the door slid shut. “Well, it's nice to see you,” I grumbled sarcastically. “Were you off frolicking among Vayne's treasures?”
Gard cocked his head. “I do not frolic.”
“Never mind.” I rubbed my temples. I felt another migraine coming on. “What are you doing here?”
“Talon suffered minor damage to the landing gear. I had just finished repairing it before Vayne took off. Once the work had been completed, Vayne had no more use for me. So I came here. After all, you are still the Cartographer and I am still your humble servant.” His eyes flashed in quick succession and I recognized it as laughter.
“I'm glad to see you didn't lose your sense of humor,” I groaned.
“Vayne mentioned that we are on our way to Earth.” The flashing stopped. His pale azure eyes were studying me instead.
I strolled to the window and watched Xajax fade into the distance. “Yep.” We passed the planet's closest moon which was nothing more than an ashen rock devoid of life according to earlier scans. I turned to Gard. “So what are we going to find once we get there?”
Gard joined me at the window. Being only four feet high he couldn't quite reach the window. Instead he rolled to a stop next to me and locked on me with his luminous blue orbs. His right hand—the normal one—rested on my forearm.
“Death.”
After Earth
I opened my eyes to see Vayne standing over me. He welcomed me back to consciousness with a smile. “We're here.”
I fell out of bed in my haste to get moving. “Where are the others?”
His smile faded. “Thanks for flying me back to my home planet, Vayne,” he replied sourly. “My job is such a thankless endeavor.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for bringing me home.” I threw on my shirt and washed my face with cold water. “Now, can you tell me where the others are?” I asked impatiently.
Vayne chuckled. “You're a funny guy. The others are outside waiting for you.” He shoved something into my hand.
I looked down and saw it was a gun, similar to one he had in his holster. “What's this?”
“A precaution.”
I followed him to the exit ramp. He remained silent until I grabbed him at the exit. He turned and gave my hand a look like he was about to bite it off.
“Is it bad?” I asked. In my zeal to come home I never imagined I would need a weapon as a precaution.
He moved past me and stood on the ramp, surveying the landscape. “I suppose it depends on what your definition of 'bad' is.”
I stepped onto the ramp and looked around. Kedge, Gard and Wraith waited for me at the bottom. When I saw where we were my heart skipped a beat.
“I know where we are!” I ran to the bottom of the ramp and looked around. Vayne landed his ship in the middle of Highway 180 overlooking Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Not only were we in New Mexico but we weren't far from w
here I first ran into Satou. I was truly home.
“Gard had records of your first encounter with the Consortium,” Vayne explained. “I figured it was only appropriate that we land here.”
The sun was beginning to rise but the highway was empty. Normally this wasn't unusual in such a remote area of New Mexico but when I saw the charred body of a Cessna embedded in what was once Big Tony's Country Store reality had begun to settle in. Corpses littered the parking lot. Crows pecked away at their burned husks and I felt my gorge rising.
“I can't believe it,” I moaned. I looked up and my heart skipped a beat. Although there were only a few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining, portions of the sky looked darker. Blacker.
Wraith followed my gaze and removed a scanner from his belt. He held it up to the sky and scowled. “I hate to be the buzzkill here but we must hurry. The atmosphere is beginning to deteriorate.”
“What does that mean?” I glanced at him nervously.
“It means that the ozone layer is depleting,” Kedge responded. “I have seen it before…on Mars.”
“Which means I will be getting out of here soon, so do whatever it is you came here to do,” Vayne said calmly.
My rage boiled. Meta's indifference to mankind doomed them. I clenched my fist and vowed to pay him back tenfold. Humans may have been an imperfect species but they were MY species.
“Something is coming,” Gard said.
My heart skipped a beat. Survivors! I looked to where Gard pointed and saw someone running toward us along the highway. They were about a half mile away. I stepped forward and waved my hands furiously.
“HEY!” I shouted. “OVER HERE!”
“Wait a minute, Nathan.” Kedge's hand fell on my shoulder. He gripped it so hard a felt fingers of pain radiate through my neck.
“Ouch,” I cried. “What the hell?”
“That's no human,” Wraith said. His weapon was in his hand. “Look at him. He is about a quarter of a mile away yet he is huge. He must be eight or nine feet tall.”
I squinted against the glare of the sun and agreed. If the person coming toward us was human, he was larger than any human I had ever seen. Fear took over and my hand fell on the butt of my weapon. I looked over at Vayne. His thumbs were buried in his belt and he made no move toward his weapons. The lens of his helmet moved clockwise before settling on a pair of oversized tubes. He remained silent and studied the figure, who continued moving at a high rate of speed with no sign of slowing.
“Vayne,” I said, trying to hide my nervousness. “Who is it?”
He remained silent, choosing to instead stare off in the distance. The stranger was less than three hundred yards from us and gaining. My fingers closed around the butt of my weapon and I looked at Vayne for a sign. He gave none. The figure closed to within two hundred yards. When he closed to a hundred I froze.
“What the hell is that?” Wraith gasped.
The figure was at least ten feet tall, but that was only because it wasn't a single person at all. It was actually two people, one riding the other. The figure on the bottom was large, at least six and a half feet tall and covered from head to foot in gray hair. He was pumping his arms (which were as big as tree trunks by the way) running as fast he could. Every muscle in his body flexed as he carried the smaller man along the highway. The smaller man was slightly under four feet tall and straddled the larger man's shoulders with his hands buried up to the wrists in its shaggy mane. The shorter of the two wore a metal hat that resembled a garbage can lid wrapped in fur lining with a white overcoat to match. It was like I was watching some kind of macabre piggy back ride in the circus.
“I can't believe it,” Vayne grumbled.
The unlikely duo slowed before coming to a complete stop in front of him. “Vigil is not happy with you,” the shorter man said, pointing at Vayne. His tanned cheeks were flushed and a thin veil of sweat glistened on his forehead. The larger of the two, however, looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. He wasn't even breathing heavily.
“When is he ever happy with me?” Vayne responded cheerfully. “If you ever notice that he is happy with me I am probably dead.”
The beast growled and the man on top slapped him on the head. “Calm down, Liath. Our friend was only joking.”
“I think I just stepped into the Twilight Zone,” I said, wide-eyed.
The shorter man looked at me and a wide smile crossed his face. He turned his index finger toward me. “I know you.”
I took a step back and my hand fell from my weapon. “That's nice. That makes one of us.”
His smile faded. “It seems Vayne only talks about himself and his treasures when he should be talking about more important things. Menjaro the Messenger, fastest among the Timeless, at your service.” He slapped Liath upside the head. “Bow, you fool!”
Liath let out a squawk and attempted to bow but the gesture was so awkward it looked more like he would vomit instead. Menjaro clutched his fur tightly to prevent himself from sliding off. I placed my hand over my mouth to stifle the laugh rising from my throat.
“You cannot do anything right,” Menjaro sighed and rubbed his face in frustration. “I apologize for my hairy friend here but I will forgive him this one time and blame it on exhaustion from our trip.”
“How long have you been here?” Vayne asked.
“Long enough to know I want to be gone as soon as possible,” he replied sourly. “I followed you here only because I owed Vigil a favor. Of course as soon as I knew you were coming back to Earth I raced to beat you here. I waited on the other side of a ruined warehouse about two miles back and hid my ship. I didn't want survivors or something more…undesirable…stumbling across it.”
“Are there survivors?” I asked hopefully.
Menjaro looked at Vayne. “He doesn't know, does he?” When he spied the confusion on Vayne's face he slapped his forehead. “Oh, that's right, you decided to skip the meeting. That reminds me, Ibune is also not happy with you by the way.”
Vayne waved his hand dismissively. “You and your damn meetings.”
“Wait a second,” I interrupted. “What am I supposed to know?”
Liath growled and licked his lips. Menjaro reached down and patted the side of his neck. “Settle down Liath, we will be leaving this place soon enough.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He flattened it against the back of Liath's head and scanned it with his index finger. He looked up apologetically. “Sorry, I had to recall the minutes of the meeting. According to Scribe the battle took its toll. Meta attacked everyone in his determination to destroy the time hole. He took out half the planet along with the Ascended forces unfortunate enough to remain behind.”
“It seems I was right about the High Prince,” Kedge grunted.
Kedge was indeed right. As much as I trusted the Consortium to do the right thing, this was the worst thing Meta could have done. He was no better than the Lumagom who destroyed Mars. I was about to ask him the status of survivors when Menjaro interrupted with a scowl.
“I know you as well.” His cherub-like demeanor vanished and his face darkened. Liath seemed to sense his master's emotional change and let out a menacing growl. They took one step closer to Kedge. “Oh yes, Kedge Mal'Dineen, I remember you as well.”
Kedge folded his arms across his chest, unperturbed. “It seems a lot of people know me. Rumor has it I've been around awhile.”
“Indeed,” Menjaro muttered. “Are you happy with your former friends' actions? Does Lumagom blood still flow through your veins?”
“I guess you two know each other?” Wraith asked.
Kedge narrowed his eyes and matched his scowl but remained silent.
“Those aren't his friends anymore.” I stood next to him in a show of support.
“We shall see.” Menjaro eyeballed him before turning his attention to me. “I apologize for bringing such grim news, but there is nothing more you can do here. If you notice the sky, the atmosphere is sta
rting to degrade and soon the air will become toxic. If there are survivors here, they won't live for long.” He turned Liath around and looked over his shoulder, focusing his attention on Vayne. “Vigil does not normally rage for long, but Vayne has a habit of rubbing him the wrong way. If I were you I would return to Xajax before his anger causes his head to explode like a volcano.”
“That would be a sight to see,” Vayne replied. “I would sell my ship to see that.”
“Always pushing boundaries.” Menjaro shook his head and turned to leave.
“Wait,” I cried. “What about my parents?”
He stopped. “If I am correct, they do not live far from here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small circular object. Its gold surface glittered in the sunlight. His mouth tightened while he studied its surface. “According to my calculations you should have enough time to find out for yourself.” He returned the object to his pocket and stared at the sky. “Atmospheric tearing….hmm. If I were you I wouldn't linger for long.” He turned and sped down the road, becoming nothing more than a mirage on the horizon.
“I will stay here and run some scans to check for survivors,” offered Vayne.
“According to my calculations your home is approximately two-point-four miles from here,” Gard said.
“Hold on a minute.” Wraith popped the clip from his weapon and checked the ammunition. “Full load.” He slammed the clip closed with a grunt. “Now I'm ready to go.”
My hand brushed against the butt of my weapon. I checked it earlier so I knew it contained a full clip.
“Let's go.” I turned down the road.
Solomon Corvus
The goblet flew through the air and crashed against the wall. Calypso stood, wide-eyed, with fists clenched closely by his sides. Corvus missed his head by inches. He also missed the window which was fortunate for everyone. The outline of Earth floated in the background as the shuttle orbited the planet.
