“Fuck you!” the man spat. “Just kill me and get it over with!”
His HUD noted the massive implants, cybernetic parts and robotic limbs that the soldier now had. When Aen last saw him, he was flying across the hanger to lie in a heap where he would die; a gross miscalculation of the man’s will to live was the only reason the two stood face to face years later. It was a mistake that Aen would not make twice, as now his anger was tempered; cooled by years of isolation and forgetfulness and forged by his mind and body finally becoming one after all this time.
“You once again take a job that leads you to me.” Aen finally spoke. “Either you are extremely stupid or too naïve to say no to the old man’s orders, Lieutenant Wilson.”
The man looked confused, then began to think hard on the words spoken as the light finally went on in his head. His eyes lit up in near horror as he realized what he had walked into.
“You’re dead!”
“So were you.” Aen replied. “But here we are anyways; you all broken like Humpty Dumpty and me stronger than ever. Like a reunion; let’s go dig up Taylor and call up Patterson and get some beers or something.”
“Why?” Wilson questioned. “Why are you doing all this? Why did you turn on the one ally this planet had?”
“All is not what it seems, but that is far above your pay grade soldier.” Aen was almost enjoying this as he dropped the man and let him fall to the floor.
“And the two Lyarrans here on Earth?” Wilson questioned as he gasped for air. “That was you too?”
“A necessary evil; one not without purpose I assure you. All for the greater good” Aen resisted the want to remove his helmet and stare at his enemy in the bare flesh and settled for the subtle verbal shots he was giving.
“There is no purpose in torture and murder.” Wilson muttered.
“There’s the hypocrisy!” pointed out Aen. “Wasn’t it your direct involvement that led to me being tortured and murdered? All for the greater good; wasn’t that what they told you?”
“Don’t fuck with me.” The Lieutenant propped himself up on the wall beside him. “Kill me and get it over with. Been dying to see my wife again anyways, might as well be you that finishes the job anyway.”
“It’s not going to be that easy, but I will grant your wish eventually.” Aen said as he bent over his fallen foe and produced a spherical device from his back and placed it on the floor between Wilson’s legs. A surge of energy from his heart flowed into the device and it began to glow from an electric blue fire within.
“This is the same device I used on the Lyarra’s Fire.” He spoke clearly. “Once I leave, your comms will be active on the short range only. The Councils and their protection detail are closing in as we speak and as soon as you are in range I want you to deliver a message.” Aen thrust a paper with scribbled words on it into his hands.
“Once you have read it, you can pick your time of demise by saying ‘I’m sorry’ and you will be free to join your wife in the afterlife and end your misery.” He poked the chest plate of his body armor. “Can’t imagine the pain that is causing you.”
“And what if I say it now?” Wilson growled. “Will I take you with me? Or what if I wait for them to land and take your daughter along for the ride to hell?”
Aen shook his head at his prey. “All thought of ahead of time, though I didn’t plan on it being you to find me here; was kind of hoping for the old man himself. It is programmed with a proximity sensor; if the incoming shuttle breaks the furthest threshold it will detonate. And don’t think of mentioning my name; not only will the comms disengage but the device will detonate then too.”
Aen looked back as his companion emerged from the room she was hiding in and slowly walked out to him. He met her halfway and wrapped his arm around her, then returned his gaze back to the fallen soldier.
“I would hope you would go out like a man; taking innocents along with you isn’t in your blood.” Aen scolded. “It’s why you have nightmares every night and why this place gives you the creeps as bad as it does me. In a minute we both will be free of this memory of hell; either way, your life ends here so it might as well end when you want it to.”
“So I have to apologize to you before I die?” Wilson was choked up.
“No.” Aen said as he stepped back with his companion into the remnants of the smoke. “You will apologize to her.”
A light flashed, blinding Avery and when his vision returned the two armored figures had vanished. He watched as the device rose off the ground and began to spin wildly just a few feet from his face. He contemplated his many options, but knew there was no way to escape before the bomb exploded. His eyes scanned the page once more as a tear streamed down his cheek. An image of his wife smiling back at him with outstretched arms calmed his nerves and gave him peace; and as the comm crackled back to life he accepted what had to be done and his responsibility to face up to his sins.
“I’m coming home baby.” He sobbed. “See you soon.”
—
“Come in Wilson.” Sara spoke into the comm. “We have your ship on radar and will be on your position in ten minutes. What is your status?”
There was no response; nothing but the hiss of static and interference. There was no reason for such issues out here; there was no industrial sites to cause havoc with the communication and there was no way the new comms technology could fail like this. Something else was going on here and by the look on Lyxia’s face, Sara knew it was more than her gut feeling telling her it was all wrong.
“Can anyone hear me?” she asked in concern.
But the only answer was more static; the dead air of an open line with no one on it. Sara gave a quick look to Lyxia who wore a similar face of concern. Something was very wrong and both of them knew it. She tapped the pilot’s shoulder to urge him to get there faster and Lyxia ordered something in her language to her Ifierin to prepare them for landing. Best be ready before hand; Sara agreed with the strategy and silently wished she had some of her men here with her too.
“Stop.”
The voice was so sudden that everyone in the shuttle halted their preparations and looked around at each other to confirm it was actually a real voice they heard. They didn’t have to wait long to get the answer.
“Stop the shuttle.” It was Lieutenant Wilson, but his voice was ragged and worn. “Now!”
Sara gave the order and the shuttle stopped all forward motion, it just hovered in place about forty miles away from the facility. Her mind began to race with possibilities of what might be happening or what was found down there. From chemical agents to nuclear contamination; her imagination tried its best to overrule her common sense.
“I need a report Lieutenant.” She calmed herself and took a deep breath. “Why are we stopping? What’s going on down there?”
“I found him.” The voice was laced with fear.
“If you mean the killer from the desert then let us land and my Ifierin will take over.” Lyxia pushed past Sara to the comm and interrupted.
“It is him.” Wilson whispered. “The one that everyone wants.”
“Get this ship down there now!” Lyxia shouted; putting the words into context faster than her human friend. Just beyond the next ridge was the exact creature she was after; the one that killed Iana, was here on Terra Sol.
“Don’t.” It almost seemed like the stoic soldier was almost crying. “He’s gone, but he left a bomb behind. If you rush in here, I think you will die with us.”
“Maybe we can help disarm the device.” Sara grabbed the line back. “Give you enough time to get out safely.”
“It’s too late, he made sure of that.” There was a weird sound; a crackling that almost sounded like interference, but yet reminded Sara of the sound of rustling paper. “I don’t have much time, so you have to listen; our friend left a message for you both.”
The two shared a glance that spoke volumes; Sara shrugged and Lyxia nodded her head in agreement. There was more than what th
ey could comprehend going on here; the being they chased was leading them around by a trail of breadcrumbs and this was the next one found.
“I control everything.” Wilson began. “I own the airways, the defence networks, video feeds, and comm lines. You have no way to notify the Imperial cruiser at the edge of the system, nor your crews upon Olympus high. You are trapped here with me, but yet you still aren’t ready for the truth.”
“It is larger than any one world and the Empire in its entirety; the future is at stake and none of us will be safe when it all begins. It took time for me to see it, and some intervention from those that see everything. Now I see into the murkiness that shrouds them as the faces of those who wish to remain nameless begin to come clear, I am reminded of what has been lost in discovering this. Separate emotion from fact; if you stop looking with your heart you will see what you need to. Hard choices have been made; the first of many I am sure.”
“I apologize about the message, but old wrongs must be made right and it was a way of doing two things at once. When you are ready to see the light, we will meet face to face; only then will you see the darkness through the glare of the light. Until then, look upon all with suspicion as the enemy is closer than you think; the darkness has penetrated deep within your ranks and will not show itself until it must.”
The line was silent; leaving Lyxia and Sara to only guess if the Lieutenant was still alive or not. They looked at one another as they shared a look of deep concern. Sara checked the ship’s logs quickly to see if the conversation had been recorded; a sigh of relief escaped her lips as the computer showed all data had been saved. Lyxia however, was more concerned with finishing the conversation with Wilson.
“Did you get a look at him?” she asked in a feverish pitch. “Can you describe him?”
“If I did, it would make less sense to you than it did to me.” He replied. “He says you will meet face to face and I don’t see anything that could stop him in doing so. Don’t be in such a rush to meet the devil Council; he will come to you if you are patient enough.”
“Are you hurt?” Sara asked; she could hear the pain in his voice. “Hold on and we will get help down to you.”
“I can see her.” He almost whispered. “She’s just standing there, smiling at me. Been a long time since I’ve seen her beautiful smile; she’s come to take me home.”
“Don’t talk like that Wilson. All bombs can be disarmed; you don’t have to die down there.” Sara tried to calm him down.
“It’s alright.” He muttered. “I never should have survived that night in the desert; shoulda died then and there for what I did. A man can’t escape his past, and my part in what happened to your father has to be punished. I can’t change what I did, but I can face it as I try to save my soul.”
This wasn’t what Sara wanted to hear; she had long suspected that Avery Wilson was one of the ‘survivors’ from her father’s revenge but could never prove it. Patterson had become too much of a hero to bring to justice, Emily Phillips had disappeared after leaving the mountain in Tibet, and Wilson had been in a coma for years afterwards. All the others had paid for her pain, and now Sara fought her anger to justify another life being taken in the name of Aaron Foster.
“No one else dies for that.” She tried to reason with him. “You can’t change the past. As much as I hate you for what you had done, without Aen the human race would not have survived.”
“It don’t make that right, my dear.” He argued back. “So understand as I say this, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.” He went quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. “My entire life was honorable and true until that day, and afterwards I knew what I had done would cost me my life; if not my very soul. For my part in your pain, I am truly sorry.”
A loud audible click ended the transmission and the horizon lit up in a blue sunrise. The light was so bright, Sara could see the bones of her hand as she shielded her eyes with it. Within seconds, the ship’s systems adjusted for the new visual input and deeply tinted the view screen glass. As it did, she could look on in awe of what had happened.
Where once had been a building and a mountain in the distance, there was now a ball of blue and white flame that stretched miles into the sky. Surrounding mountains shed their snow as avalanches occurred on ten or more peaks in unison. Those closest even collapsed in massive rock falls as the mountain itself couldn’t withstand the explosion.
“Brace for impact!” the pilot hollered as Lyxia pulled her down into her seat and buckled her up. She watched helplessly as a wall of rock and snow rushed towards them; then it all went black.
—
Ruins of Bristol County, Massachusetts
The rain beat down on him steadily, but he didn’t even feel it anymore. For the last twenty minutes, he had stood in the New England rain amongst the ghostly remains of a once proud and beautiful graveyard and simply endured the deathly stare of his counterpart. She had stood silently, but her eyes were anything but quiet. They cut holes right into him as he stood solemnly over the marker that told of his human demise. Looking down on it, Aen was puzzled that he felt little in the way of remorse of a life lost.
“You could have killed them.” Iana could no longer contain her rage. “Your daughter and the one you long for were near the blast radius.”
“And has Caretaker not assured us that they survived?” he asked with a sigh. “And other than a few minor injuries are they not unharmed?”
“How can you be so callous about this?”
Aen wasn’t sure how to answer as he stared down at the inscribed rock. He felt oddly detached from all that was Aaron Foster now, even though he had regained all his missing memories there was little they contained that changed what he had become in their absence. In a way, it felt like a failure to regain what he once was and at the same time vindicated that he wasn’t the helpless child that could barely save himself.
“You mistake my calmness as a sign that I don’t care about them.” He answered after a brief moment. “There is nothing more I want to do then run out there and pull them from the snow to safety, but it would shed light on a plan that needs to be in the shadows for a bit longer.”
“And in the meantime, you mean to put those that would help us in harm’s way?”
This drew a reaction from Aen, as he spun towards her and grasped her by her shoulders. His eyes blazed as they peered deep within hers; Iana shuddered as her companion finally showed some agitation.
“I mean to save us all, Highness.” His voice was tired and lonesome. “All this is being done so you can continue on your path of light; to ensure the Empire is in the right hands when the storm hits its shores. You see the path we are on for the twisted turns of the maze as we walk amongst it, but I can see the picture as a whole and it becomes clearer every day. At the beginning of all this, I asked you to trust me and I need to know if you still do.”
Aen released her and stepped back to show her he meant no harm. Iana’s face; even in its altered disguise; showed the mess of emotions that roiled beneath the surface and the confusion they caused. She was lost, and her fear showed a hint of mistrust; if only for a moment.
“If the tables were turned Aen; and you were in my place and I in yours; would you trust in me even after all that has happened?” she asked.
“If memory serves me right,” he answered. “I believe I already have and did.”
It was her turn to look down at the headstone and contemplate. Iana remained quiet for a few minutes, but Aen did not think anything of it. He used the time to scan the area and make sure they remained undisturbed. The area was desolate as it was largely untouched by the ravages of the Husk attack; unlike the city that surrounded it. Other than a few smaller buildings that had fallen on the outer fringes of the boneyard, it remained much as it had been; as it once was.
“I often wonder what may have happened if I left you amongst the ice and snow of the wreckage you were cast out on. If I hadn’t sent out for your retrieval, how
things may have turned out?” she whispered.
“Then I would be looking down at a similar memorial with your name upon it.” Aen relied quickly. “And sifting through the wreckage and dead of an entire Empire. Make no mistake, my involvement in this has not stopped your enemy’s plans and desires, but only delayed them some. They are coming Iana, and with them they bring all the darkness you have only seen in your nightmares.”
Iana looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Aen knew she was struggling to find the strength to carry on, but the fact that the enemy stayed out of sight wore on her deeply. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted before he could continue, by an update from Caretaker.
“There has been a Council session called as you predicted.” The AI droned. “It appears that our enemy is growing impatient with the lack of results from the Fleet in finding you.”
Aen smiled, this was the mistake he was waiting for. Even though it had come far earlier than he expected, his enemy would finally step forward and his suspicions would be confirmed. But things had changed on his end as he had discovered that the one he had been taunting was possibly a puppet herself and her master would be that much harder to bait into the light.
“Ready the next message” he ordered after a brief pause. “And start prepping the ship for departure; it won’t be long until we head back into the fray.”
—
Lyarran Vessel Dark Light; Neptune Orbital Range
Axyn was concerned with the continued silence from Lyxia; it wasn’t like her not to check in and she had missed more than a dozen scheduled times. In the back of his mind he knew the humans had some kind of blackout blanket cast over the star system; though how they achieved this he couldn’t fathom. For a species that had not travelled past their own moon five years ago, he shuddered at how quickly they were progressing. Terra Sol had become a fortress, and Axyn saw the humans becoming a threat in the near future with their quick advancements.
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