AcQuest: A Space Opera Military Technothriller (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 3)

by Anbajagane, Dhayaa

  He closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind. He numbed his senses, concentrating on nothing but his thoughts. He felt a strong jerk on his body and he tumbled forward.

  When he opened his eyes he saw that the room had morphed into an empty void. Black and white shapes of the weirdest geometry surrounded him. They didn't seem like anything harmful though, and just floated about still and lifeless. He cranked his neck around like an owl, trying to figure where the heck he was. He wasn't exactly fond of geometry and this seemed like his nightmare was gaining life.

  “Who dares tread upon my territory?” boomed a voice, each word pushing Kai back with amazing force.

  The unfamiliar objects in front of him spread out, leaving a tunnel of space clear and void of anything. He could see the faint image of a sphere of white light on the other side.

  Kai’s mind clicked. Everything suddenly made sense. He knew where he was now. Inside the ‘Brain’. Inside its consciousness.

  “I will ask one last time,” the Brain said, “Who art thou?”

  Kai floated silently, wondering what to do. He couldn’t just go up and say ‘Hi! I’m going to hack into your system. Could you help me?’ Maybe if he lay very still the Brain would think he was one of those shapes and leave him alone.

  “Metal user, heed my call,” Its words blared through the quiet space. “Show yourself to me else thou will needlessly fall.”

  Two things went through Kai’s mind. First, he was astounded. How did this being know about his Elementa of Metal? It had never seen him use it. And second, this guy had amazing poetry skills.

  “What does thou want?”

  Kai remained quiet, desperately trying to summon the courage to face what was possibly the strongest mechanical entity built.

  “Very well,” the Brain said.

  Kai seemed confused. What was it trying to do?

  “I shalt give thou control of the ship if thou art able to beat me in a duel.”

  Kai’s mouth literally dropped open, his hands manually closing it a second later to make sure the smaller cones and cylinders didn’t float into it.

  “The powers of mind reading do not evade me. I can see what it is thee desires.”

  “I should have figured,” Kai grinned. The Brain was the enemy, sure, but it was also a darn good piece of machinery, a God-like one at that. He couldn’t help feeling impressed.

  “We shall begin,” it said. “Thou will face the foes I set up against thee and emerge victorious. Are the terms agreeable?”

  “It’s a deal,” Kai said, smiling. All he had to do now was take down everything that stood up against him. It sounded pretty easy when he put it like that.

  A small rumble escaped through the field of shapes and dissolved the black and white figures of geometry into absolutely nothing. The darkness around him disappeared and the scenery changed.

  Bright greenery flashed all around him, some sort of tropical forest, no doubt. Large trees created a canopy that blocked the sunlight from entering the forest. Flowers of every kind and color bloomed across patches of the ground, like a beautifully painted picture.

  “We shall begin,” the Brain’s voice echoed from the sky. “Thou will have to win four battles before thee can face me.”

  “Level One,” a female voice ran through the air.

  Kai wondered if the Brain was talking in the female voice or if he had some sort of assistant to help him out. He was quite intrigued at the thought, but his mind was alert to the dangerous situation. It diverted himself to the scene unfolding right in front of him.

  Glowing particles rose from the ground and came together in front of Kai, forming a humanoid shape. When the light died down, he could finally see who he was going up against.

  Was it an A-level beast? Maybe one of those griffins, or maybe even a wyvern.

  He shuddered when he realized who he was up against. Kai wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. The Brain had faced him against one of the worst opponents he could imagine.

  Carlos.

  ***

  Kai couldn’t believe who the Brain had brought up to be his first opponent,

  Carlos stood right in front of him, in a long blue robe embroidered with stars and planets, his regular outfit at Aliea. Kai realized what was going on, and he wasn’t too surprised that the duel had turned out this way. This Brain was pulling memories from his mind and then using them against him. This machine was really crafty.

  Carlos lowered his legs and crouched, his hands close to his body. Before Kai could move, Carlos pivoted his left leg into the ground and swung around, letting his right foot thunder into Kai’s chest and throwing him through the air.

  Kai landed hard and lay still, trying to get some air into his lungs. He pushed himself off the ground and took a fighting stance. He felt his energy within him and summoned it all around his body. He was going to need a tremendous amount of power and concentration if he wanted to end this as the winner.

  He turned his hands to the ground and focused, his fingers and wrists vibrating with the intense energy that flowed through them. The fine sand rose all around him and shot into his outstretched palm all at once. A multicolor light flashed in his hands, and when it stopped glowing, he was wielding a full-fledged sword, its sleek blue blade ready to raze anything that came at him.

  “Impressive,” the Brain’s voice came from the sky. “You used your life energy to turn your hand into a magnet and bring out all the metals you could use. Truly a spectacular technique.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Kai waved the Brain off. He didn’t need a supernatural distraction during a crucial battle. He summoned his strength and charged forward, his sword pointed at Carlos’ throat. Carlos, though, was agile, and dodged it easily. Kai kept striking, slashing, and hacking as fast as he could, but Carlos seamlessly evaded all the attacks.

  “Stay still!” Kai yelled out, his frustration getting to him.

  He tried studying Carlos’ movements. He hacked away, this time focusing more on where his opponent was going rather than where he could hit him. Once he switched over to that state of mind noticing the dodging patterns was easy.

  Carlos’ dodge always started with him swaying to one side, and then shifting to the other almost immediately. His feet were the biggest giveaway. One of his legs always bent to the side he was really trying to dodge to.

  Kai had found a pattern. And now he could exploit it.

  He waited patiently for another chance. He wanted Carlos to attack him this time. It would give him the perfect opportunity to dodge and head in for a counterstrike.

  He lingered around Carlos’ attack range, and Carlos charged at him, just as intended. Kai got ready to strike, planting his feet on the ground to get as much force as he could into the jab.

  But Carlos seemed to have other ideas. He didn’t sway away this time and instead slid to the ground, unleashing a furious uppercut-like kick onto Kai’s chest.

  Kai was given wings as he flew high into the air, and then gravity stole his wings and threw him to the ground. He really didn’t enjoy being in a tug of war game between Carlos’ kicks and gravity.

  He took a final chance. He held tight onto his sword and charged at Carlos, getting him to dodge. He faked a jab into Carlos’ rib cage. He saw Carlos’ left leg bend to his right.

  He quickly stabbed towards the right. This time Carlos was taken by surprise and didn't slide under the sword.

  Kai held Carlos at point blank range, his sword blade hovering above his chest. “Surrender,” he demanded.

  “Well done,” the Brain said. “A splendid battle.”

  Carlos glow. His entire body disintegrated into particles and sunk into the ground.

  “Level two,” said the female voice.

  “You can’t even give me a break?” Kai complained

  The sky darkened. The trees fell down with a huge thud and sunk into the ground. The falling trees made Kai feel a strong urge to yell, ‘timber’. The entire sky rumbled in the wake of terror.
Rain beat down on him and the wind howled in his ears. Bright lightning lit up the sky and the thunder shook the ground. Kai waited for his next opponent.

  A flash of lightning hit the ground a few feet away, creating an explosion that knocked him off his feet, and out of the smoke came his next opponent.

  Taylor.

  “C’mon,” Kai yelled at the skies. “What’s with using my friends all the time?!” The sounds of the storm were the only reply.

  He scanned his opponent. Taylor was in her regular Dark Knight armor, deathly aura and all. He had to squint hard to even see her in all this darkness. The fact that her suit was black didn't help him a bit.

  Taylor moved swiftly, turning into a shadow figure that could be seen only in the lightning.

  Kai was very frightened. Humans, as a species, had a natural affinity to be scared by darkness and Kai had a natural affinity to be scared by Taylor. Put those two together and you had one hell of a nightmare.

  The wind around him stopped and everything turned silent.

  And then it all started.

  A blast of lightning hit the ground inches away from him, giving him a precious second of bright light to look at the world.

  He didn't like what he saw. Not one bit.

  Taylor was right next to him, arms poised, sword drawn. He held his sword up, desperately trying to defend himself. She hacked away at him, her blows as shadowy and silent as her movement. The dim sparks from the sword-on-sword clash were the only things that Kai could see. A faint shadow was all that he could use to predict Taylor’s blows. That and the quiet whisper of her blade flowing through the ghastly wind.

  His mind was racing. Taylor was dealing a strike every second, her tremendous strength pushing him back with each blow. He couldn’t let her keep lashing out. She would wear him down in quick time. ‘Run and hide’ wasn't an option here either, and when the most cowardly solution is ruled out, you pretty much know you’re in a horrible situation.

  Kai’s heart beat faster and faster, the intense physical and mental pressure taking a toll on his body. He needed to find a solution and fast. Taylor’s blows were getting harder to predict. His initial thought was to throw Taylor off balance to gain some time. He would have to be really skilled to do that, and it would mean certain death if he missed. Was it worth the risk?

  Only one way to find out, he thought.

  The Dark Knight began her second range of strikes, fiercer and faster than the first. Kai kept dodging, waiting for the opportune opening. Taylor loved long flowing movements with her strikes. She jabbed at him, pivoting her leg into ground and swaying around to deliver a blow to his right before back flipping straight at him, her sword at his chest. Kai dived out of the way and the sword hit the ground, sinking into it like it was slicing a piece of cheese.

  A flash of lightning shone, and she disappeared from his view along with her sword. Kai knew she was making an attacking run. He closed his eyes, focusing his entire attention on the sounds around him. He drowned away the pit-pat of the rain and the rumble of thunder. All he could hear was a calm silence. A small gust of wind blew into his right. He stepped back, and felt Taylor charge right past him. Another flash of lightning shone. He saw her dig her sword into the ground, using it to turn herself around with amazing speed.

  “I got you,” he said.

  He ran forward, twisting his body to the right. He uncorked his torso and threw the sword right at Taylor in one fluid motion. He heard her slash at the sword, knocking it to the ground. Kai used the distraction, and a timely flash of lightning, to catch her by the wrist and pull her down. She lost her balance, and went tumbling over. He picked his blade off the ground and pointed it at Taylor, who was desperately trying to get out of the muddy slosh.

  Kai looked at the sky, “Next,” he yelled out.

  A flash of lightning hit Taylor and she instantly disappeared.

  “How about we play two on one this time?” the Brain said.

  The earth cracked open in a fissure and two glowing humanoids climbed out. The storm hadn't gone away and neither had the darkness, but Kai could still make out who he was going to face. He knew these two were people very well, one much more than the other.

  Who were they? Well, one was dear to him. And the other?

  It was him.

  ***

  Chris’ face froze in a scream as she watched the massive chunk of metal plummet down from the battle camp’s roof and towards her still body. Someone tackled her just as the block came crashing into the floor.

  “That was a close one,” a figure gave her a hand up.

  It took Chris a few seconds to realize that Lisara was the one who had just helped her.

  “You two! Are you coming or what?!” A bulky man yelled, probably one of the General’s subordinates. “The transport ship won’t wait any longer.”

  Chris looked around. Everyone other than her and Lisara had disappeared. She rushed out of the camp with Lisara right next to her.

  A huge black ship lay in the snow right in front of the camp. Lines of neon purple highlighted the ship beautifully. A panel on the side of the ship slip open and a ladder extended to the surface.

  Chris and Lisara climbed the ladder in haste, mainly because the general was yelling at them for being late, and also because the wind was threatening to blow them away on an ‘Around Zygrade in 90 days’ special.

  The inside of the ship was a complete opposite of its dark exterior. Bright lights flashed everywhere. The white walls and furnishings reflected back the light so fiercely that it looked like they were shining as well. The cadets were the only ones who were non-luminous in this pure white ship.

  Chris and Lisara sat themselves down in a row of seats at the end. The ship rose a few seconds later and headed towards the mothership. Chris wondered what Kai was up to right now. She couldn't wait to meet him on the mothership.

  Her mind focused on the extra time at hand. The trip to the mothership wasn't going to be a short one, so she might as well get some information from Lisara while she was at it.

  She turned to Lisara, “So when did you join the organization?” she asked.

  “It was a long time ago,” she sighed.

  “So did you know what you were signing up for?” Chris asked. It was a weird question, but she had to ask because she couldn't comprehend why a person would sign up for this kind of an organization.

  “I didn’t,” Lisara confessed. “It’s not like anything would have changed if I’d known.”

  “How come?” Chris asked.

  “They have my sister captive,” her face braving a smile.

  Everything suddenly made sense. Lisara never seemed like she fit in such a place. She was far too nice, far too ethical to do something like this. The only way someone could get her to do something like this would be to threaten her.

  Chris didn't know how to react to the situation.

  Should she tell her it was okay? she wondered. But she knew it definitely wasn't okay.

  A huge shockwave knocked the ship and threw them onto the floor. A holographic screen formed at the center of the ship and showed them the view of the outside.

  The storm had receded. The dark storm clouds had vanished from sight. The stars shone brightly in the night sky. Chris reminisced at the sight. It had been so long since she had seen those stars.

  “Thank god the storm has stopped,” she said. That was one thing less that she had to worry about.

  “No,” Lisara pointed to the screen again.

  Chris saw a dark fuzzy image on the horizon. She had initially thought it was a dark cloud that was still lingering about. Then she realized that it wasn't a cloud.

  It was a wave. A really big one. And it was heading straight at them.

  Chris jumped out of her seat and rushed to the front. All around her, cadets were chatting noisily. It didn't seem like anyone had realized what they were looking at. She doubted that the pilot had noticed the gigantic wave either. She headed to the General’
s seat at the front of the spacecraft.

  In contrast to the dire situation they were in, the General was sleeping peacefully on his chair.

  “General!” she yelled out.

  “Huh? Cookies? No thank you,” he mumbled.

  She realized mere words weren't going to wake him up. She held the General by the collar and threw him to the ground. The cadets around her gasped in surprise. They couldn't imagine a cadet ever doing that to one of her higher ups.

  The General rolled on the ground and stood up straight, but his eyes were still closed! He was doing everything while he was asleep. Just how well trained was he to be able to defend himself even while he was asleep?

  She swiped a bottle of cold water from a cadet and uncapped it.

  “Good morning, General,” she said and threw the water on him.

  The General’s eyes shot open. Chris waved at him to make sure she had his attention and then pointed to the feed on screen.

  His eyes widened, “Those idiots! They weren’t supposed to activate the Poseidon so early!” He scrambled out of his seat in haste. “Pilot,” he yelled as he ran to the pit.

  He stopped halfway and ran back to Chris

  “We have to talk about your attitude, cadet,” he said and rushed off to meet the pilot.

  Chris smiled. She had expected to get pulverized or thrown off the ship, but a talk seemed like a pleasant surprise compared to those prospects. She walked back to her seat and sat down. The ship started picking up speed. She looked at the feed on the screen. The monstrous wave became smaller and smaller until it disappeared. They were moving away from it.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of danger. It took her a second to realize that she had just saved the enemy as well, but her conscience wouldn’t let her kill them anyway.

  “The General’s not going to let you get away with that you know,” Lisara chuckled.

  “We’ll see about that,” Chris smiled.

  They sat in silence for a while. Chris couldn't think of anything to talk about. Grilling Lisara for information right after she had opened up about her sister seemed like a heartless thing to do.