Paradise Awakened Trilogy

by Mackenzie Morris

  * * *

  "What am I going to do now?" Velex asks as he hands Doss a bottle of water and a cloth for his face.

  Doss unbuckles the straps and removes his cuirass. "I'll do this not in uniform."

  "You can't steal a military fighter, Doss."

  "Think about it. I'm already going to be tried for treason. Would you rather I die down here and let millions of people die? Or would you rather me go die in the sky on my mission where I have a chance of saving those lives?"

  "I should have you arrested right now." Velex says.

  "And what would that solve? Nothing. I'm the only pilot who has even a remote chance of accomplishing this mission."

  "Despite what you've done today, I don't want you to die."

  "Too late for that." Doss says. "I'm going."

  "And I suppose you have a plan?"

  "Of course I have a plan." Doss says. "Listen, I'll go meet with Gabriel while you get the other fighters in the air. We will continue with the mission we were going to do anyway. It will just be a few days early. If anything, this will work out better. I'll keep Gabriel distracted while you and the other pilots focus on taking down Clark's space carrier."

  "Are you sure you want to do this? We can find another way."

  "I've never been one to back down from defending the ones who can't defend themselves. This is my final duty as vice admiral. I will not have more destruction and loss of life because of me. I'll go meet Gabriel on Verloren. But before I agree to this, I need confirmation that Verloren has been evacuated."

  "This will be a difficult fight." Velex says. He sits behind his desk across from Doss and wipes the sweat from his face. "You know that. Remember, three strikes and you're out. Don't let Gabriel hit your wings three times or you will shut down permanently."

  "I don't plan on getting anywhere near him. That's why I need Verloren evacuated. Get everyone off that planet and the airspace around it."

  "What are you planning to do?"

  Doss inspects his dual laser pistols. "I'm going to unleash my final ability if I have to. If there is anyone left on the surface of that planet, they will die. This is my one warning. Either get the people off the planet or they will die a horrible fiery death."

  "I'll send word to our ground forces and the rebels. We'll have ships there to take them into space before tonight."

  "Good. This fight is between me and Gabriel, no one else. I don't want more innocents to be hurt for this feud that shouldn't have existed in the first place. I know far too well that Gabriel won't let this go. He's out for my blood and he won't rest until one of us is dead. That's his real goal in this. Clark wants to rule the entire galaxy. Gabriel is just using Clark's influence, money, and resources to accomplish his goals of revenge. If I can take down Gabriel, we will be able to hunt down Clark much easier. He won't have his guardians then. He already lost Michael. That leaves Gabriel and Raguel."

  "Where does Raguel sit in all of this?" Velex asks.

  Doss straps on his holsters back around his thighs then slips the laser pistols in them. "He's out for his own purposes. What those are? I have no idea. He's sided with Clark and Gabriel for some reason, but he doesn't participate in the raids and needless bloodshed. If we can get Raguel on our side, we should be able to take down Gabriel much more easily."

  "Do you want us to find him and have him talk to you?"

  "Do you think it's too late for diplomacy and negotiations?"

  Velex leans back in his chair and shakes his head as he looks up at the ceiling. "You tell me. You know Raguel better than I do. I'll leave that decision up to you. You still have Zerachiel who was closer to Raguel. Maybe he will have some influence on Raguel's decision to help us."

  "If Zerachiel will agree to come with me. Zerachiel is one of the least confrontational people in existence. Even if it's in the name of peace and preserving humanity, he will avoid conflict."

  "Isn't it worth trying? At this point, we need all the help we can get. While we now have the backing and support from Dressler and the rest of the IGR, we are still facing a very steep uphill battle for victory. If Clark has sided with the Nymphs, we could be on the verge of an international catastrophe."

  "Why would the Nymphs side with Clark and the Blood Force?" Doss asks.

  "I already told you. Nymphs are demons. They don't deserve to live. I will personally hunt down each one and burn them at the stake like the devils they are. They will be sent back to the darkest regions of hell. My hatred for them is beyond anything I have ever been sure of. They will be forced to watch their families and their children brutally slaughtered and tortured for who they are. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucifer himself kicked those abominations out of hell because he couldn't stand to be around them."

  "What did they do to gain that kind of a reputation?"

  "They're slavers, rapists, murderers, and terrorists." Velex says. "The entire race is like that. Then they abduct humans and turn them into Nymphs as well. They are forever marked by a tattoo somewhere hidden on their body. I swear on all that is holy that I will find every single Nymph, whether they used to be human or not, and give them a long slow death while I laugh and rejoice in their pain. Once a human becomes a Nymph, they are no longer human and can never be human again. It changes something inside of them. They become possessed, corrupted, and unredeemable."

  "I have never seen you hate something this much."

  "I have my reasons. I've seen the pure evil they are capable of firsthand and it haunts me every night. Look at what they did to Strafe. Blindly killing off the population of an entire planet? And for what reason? To be evil. That's why they did that. They love killing and seeing innocent people suffer. That's what they live for, but I will be the one to put an end to that for good. After this battle, we will be putting restrictions in place to find these Nymphs who have infiltrated out planets. Call me paranoid. I don't care. With Samuels as the Master Director, we will be rebuilding the Inquisition up here for the IGR. Their new purpose will be hunting down and finding all Nymphs and eradicating them. We will find them. Anyone bearing a Nymph mark will be interrogated, tortured, then executed publicly in the most bloody and painful way possible. We'll prolong it for weeks just to watch them suffer."

  "Is more killing and violence the way to solve this problem?" Doss asks.

  "If the Nymphs want to kill off humans in horrible, detestable ways, then we'll do the same to them. Sorry. You should go say goodbye to your wife."

  * * *

  The door to the apartment opens and Doss enters, still wiping away blood from his new future scars. Velex is very talented with that whip of his. How many others have felt the lash biting into them like that? Doss doesn't blame anyone else but himself for this.

  Katarina runs to him and takes his hand. "Doss! What's going on? I've been watching the news, but they're not reporting much. Everyone is in a panic and people don't know what to do. I'm scared. Why are you covered in blood? What happened to your face?"

  "Velex."

  "Oh my God. That's five scars. What happens now?"

  "Under normal circumstances, I would either be exiled or executed." Doss says.

  "Executed? Why did Velex do that?"

  "I deserved it. He was being an ass and I fought back. I should never fight back. That's something you just don't do."

  "Why is he letting you go?" Katarina asks.

  "I've been assigned to a level ten, remember? That's a death sentence in itself. I guess he doesn't feel like bothering with a public execution when I'll more than likely be dying soon anyway."

  "No. Don't say that."

  He takes her in his arms. "It's okay. I promise that everything is going to be okay. I don't have much time."

  "Is it true that you and Gabriel are going to face off on Verloren?"

  "It's true. It's been a long time coming." Doss says as he feels the flames of vengeance flickering to life inside of his mind. "In conjunction with this, we are also going ahead with the original mis
sion."

  "The level ten?"

  "Yes." Doss holds her at arm's length and looks into her eyes. "If I don't make it back from this mission, I want you to know that I love you very much. I want you to stay with Jarred and be the best android you can be for him. Okay? He will take care of you."

  "You'll make it back. I know you will. I have faith in you. Like you said, you are the single most capable pilot in the IGR. If anyone can successfully accomplish this mission, it will be you."

  "The statistics say that I won't survive."

  She touches his face gently and looks into his eyes. "But you're not just some piece of data or string of code. You're an archon. You are brave, wise, and talented. You were made to do this. I know you will come back. There isn't a doubt in my mind. Then we can celebrate and live our life together."

  Doss attaches a leather leash to Abel's collar and rubs his head. "You're coming with me, buddy."

  "Can he go in a space fighter?"

  "He's a robot, remember? He'll be fine."

  "But aren't you technically a type of robot too?" Katarina asks. "You might not be okay."

  "That doesn't matter right now, Kat. My life doesn't matter. The lives of those innocent people matter. That's what I'm fighting for now. It's not about honor, revenge, or pride. I'm not even in the military anymore. I've been disgracefully removed."

  "Removed?"

  "More like I left." Doss says.

  "You left during war time? Isn't that treason?"

  "That's why I have to leave immediately. I can't have Dressler catching word of this or they will arrest me. There's already a bounty on my head. Someone apparently overhear the argument I had with Velex and they reported me to the authorities. I'm a fugitive now. I need you to remain hidden and don't answer the door for anyone. I'm sorry about this. I didn't intend for it to go this far. Velex and I both lost our tempers and said things we didn't mean."

  The door to the bathroom opens and Jarred steps into the room. "Hey, Doss. You look pretty banged up. Got any news?"

  "All of Himmel wants my head on a silver platter and I'm about to go steal a military space fighter so I can fight Gabriel on Verloren."

  "Talk about a rough day."

  "You don't know the half of it." Doss says. "Jarred, I need you to watch out for my wife. Keep her safe. No matter what happens from here on, I have to know that I can trust you to protect her."

  Jarred takes Doss's hand and pats his back. "I've got your back. Katarina is my android and I vowed to protect her when I paid for her. You have nothing to worry about. Go be a hero."

  "There's nothing heroic about shaming my country. I'm only doing this because I have no other choice." Doss takes Katarina in his arms and kisses her. "I love you. Be strong."

  26

  Before opening the door to his stolen space fighter and stepping out into the red sand of Verloren, Doss holds onto his rosary and says a prayer. If he is going to survive this and give the others a chance to accomplish the preliminary steps of the mission, then he is going to need all the help he can get.

  Even faced with certain death whether he finishes this mission, comes out the victor in this upcoming fight against Gabriel, or if he surrenders and goes back to Himmel to face justice, Doss decides to fight with all he has left. He's come this far, too far to back out now. So many people depend on him to do the right thing. However, as he sits here looking out at the crater-ridden dusty surface of this battle-torn planet and the tan tents dotting the landscape where the poorest of the poor citizens scrape by on whatever they can find, Doss wonders if this truly will make a difference in the end. The red clay mounds of the wealthier houses are off in the distance, surrounded by the faintest glimmer of lights that can be seen through the blowing dust that is already clinging to the wings of the space fighter. That's going to be problematic on takeoff. That is, if Doss survives the fight.

  He has actually not been to this planet before so the horrid conditions are somewhat of a surprise. With the IGR having cut off all support and funding after the citizens joined with Strafe in the rebellion, Verloren's economy collapsed and everything declined until life on this forsaken place was reduced to primitive levels. Though, it does look like Velex kept his promise and evacuated everyone. They might be rebels, but they still don't deserve to die for this. Then again, Doss is now one of them in more ways then he ever thought would be possible. Now he's stuck asking himself where his allegiance lies. The horribly haunting and definitive answer he comes to is that he doesn't know.

  There isn't any sign of Gabriel around here yet so Doss slips out of the space fighter and removes his black fight suit. He checks to make sure he has everything. His two laser pistols, his sword, and a roll of microgrenade tape for emergencies. He has nothing else anymore. This is all he managed to gather up in a hurry from the apartment or that he usually carries on his person. It's much less than he used to keep with him during his time as an inquisitor down in Paradise. Oh well. It will have to do. It's too late to go back now. He feels almost naked without his armor or his IGR military uniform. At least he still had this old black body armor and white coat he wore in the wasteland lying around his apartment. There's still a bit of wasteland sand in the pockets. The last time he wore this, he was an outcast. Now here he is, millions of miles away, still an outcast.

  As he takes a step farther from the space fighter, something falls out of his coat and lands by the toe of his left boot in the sand. It's a white piece of paper that has been folded into an origami robot. He kneels down and picks it up then delicately unfolds it. Doss feels the tears burning in his eyes as soon as he recognizes the thin, shaky handwriting. He begins to lose any resolve he had built up as he reads it.

  To Doss, my best buddy in the whole world.

  It's getting harder to write as I feel myself falling apart. I'm scared and I wish you were here, but I know you'll come back for me. When you bonded with me, you told me that you would never let anything bad happen to me and that you'd always be there to protect me. Are you watching over me now? I have to tell you some things before I die. I know you did this to me, but that's okay. I'm sure you had your reasons. I know that you would never hurt me on purpose. Daddy said that I'll die in a few days, but I'll stay strong for you, Doss. I'll fight to live until I can see you again then you will make the pain go away. You'll save me like you promised. Then we can go flying again. I love you, Doss.

  Your best buddy,

  Dmitri

  Doss holds the crinkled paper to his lips as his hands shake and the tears drop down into the dust. Dmitri. So he forgave him? He must have slipped this into his pocket right before he died in Doss's arms. That happy, innocent boy didn't stand a chance against the nanobots from Doss's blood. If there was one thing Doss could go back in time and change, it would be that. He never would have infected Dmitri with those destructive nanobots. He would have been a better guardian archon like Dmitri needed. He wouldn't have let his little buddy down.

  As much as Doss is hurting right now, he knows he can't give up. Now, he will be fighting not just for those who are still living, but for the memory of his dearest friend who he let down. Doss gathers his composure and brushes off the red dust as he stands and draws his sword. This fight is for you, Dmitri. He won't let him down again. Doss folds up the paper and tucks it safely into his boot. Wherever in heaven Dmitri is, Doss knows he's looking down on him now. It's time to make that little boy proud.

  The black space transport lands on the other side of the flat, empty desert and Abel starts barking as the archon with large intricately carved gold wings steps out. Gabriel. Abel jumps out of the space fighter and comes to Doss's side just as Cain joins Gabriel. Even from across this distance, Doss feels the growing tension. No amount of distance could make that dissipate. Instead of feeling nervous and lost as he had minutes ago, he now has all the resolve in the world. He won't allow emotions to get in the way of what he has to do. This evil must fall today. He'll do whatever it takes to ensure that n
o more innocent humans or androids meet their deaths at Gabriel's hands. This ends now.

  Doss flies over and stops feet away from Gabriel. Abel runs up and growls and Doss pets his head. "I'm here."

  "Uriel, it's so good to see you. Not wearing your uniform? Oh, that's right. You're a traitor to your own cause. Nice cuts, by the way. It's in your blood, isn't it? Or is it a flaw in your programming? You can't remain loyal to anything, can you? You betrayed your archon brothers, you betrayed the humans who counted on you for protection, you betrayed our dear creator, you killed your little human friend. Oh what was his name? Dmitri? Then you go and betray Velex who has been nothing but friendly and supportive of you. Is there nothing that is sacred to you?"

  "What do you want? If you wanted to talk, we could have spoken over the radio. I see it in your eyes, Gabriel. You want something from me. So tell me and let's get this over with. I didn't come here for tea."

  "Funny you should mention that." Gabriel snaps his fingers and two Blood Force agents in red cloaks drag out Zerachiel who is in chains with blood staining his brown robes. His long white hair is spotted with blood and streaked with dirt. Even in this condition, the ever-focused and calm Zerachiel doesn't show any signs of fear or pain.

  "Let him go." Doss orders as his hand slips down to his laser pistol on his right leg. Abel and Cain growl at each other. "Zerachiel has no part in this fight."

  "Is that what you think? Why don't you ask your friend who overheard your fight with Velex and reported it to Dressler? Seems that we were both betrayed by him."

  No. "Zerachiel, is that true?"

  "I'm sorry." Zerachiel says quietly. "I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I surely did not believe that they would accuse you of treason."

  "How could you? What happens between Velex and me is private. It was a misunderstanding."

  Gabriel chuckles. "A misunderstanding resulting in you receiving your fifth disciplinary scar and deserting the military? That must have been some misunderstanding."