by Unknown
Kale pulled the throttle all the way back to the lowest thruster setting, but the glide rate remained steady.
“We’re not slowing down fast enough!�
Tiet reached over his son, pushing him into the canopy with the effort and grabbed the lever for the rear grapple. He pulled the lever and the grapple shot away from beside the thruster vent and found a purchase in the rock wall.
The tow cable threaded out fast and the cable tensioner quickly slowed its release rate to slow the vehicle. The end of the rail came fast and they slammed into it, but not as hard as they could have. Tiet pushed the damaged canopy open allowing everyone to get out.
The rail car had been smashed up pretty good, but they were still alive. Kale helped his mother. They made their way onto the platform where the Equinox was exhausting from its engine vents across the hangar bay. Other cars came through but not many. Evidently the pods had stopped the others before launch.
Kale ran on ahead to the ship. He needed something. The boarding ramp stood down for them and Tiet, Mirah and Merab made their way up into the ship. Kale ran back down past them as they entered.
“Where are you going?� Tiet shouted after him.
“They’re coming! Get the ship going, I’ll be back!�
☼
Juli came running after Kale in the hallway. “Where is he going? Emil said we were leaving.�
“He’ll be back in time,� Mirah said. “Let’s get you strapped into a harness—things are about to get rough.� She calmed Juli, who looked like her viral illness had still not abated. Heat radiated from her skin. She had left her in bed while they went to the meeting, but she probably wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now.
She strapped the girl into a flight chair and checked her temperature again.
“I’ll be right back. You need something to bring your fever down again.�
The whining sound of approaching pods flooded the busy hangar as people boarded several large transport ships. They were large enough together to accommodate nearly the entire population of the province. Not even a third of that number had made it to the hangar. The people scrambled for the transport loading ramps as the pods came through the numerous rail car tunnels. The pod fighters immediately rained down a firestorm on the transport ships and those trying to board them.
☼
Kale ran toward the hangar’s rock wall where the pods came through. He had a Barudii blade in hand. A pod veered in his direction. Laser blasts strafed the pavement on either side of him as he seized the attacker with his mind, pulling the pod down. Kale leaped up to it as it descended. He used the pod as a springboard, leaping away higher as it continued downward and slammed into the hangar floor.
Kale flipped over in a tight ball higher and higher and then unfolded to land on another pod. He used the centrifugal force of his somersault to slam his ignited blade straight down through the top of the pod cockpit. He hit the pilot square on and leaped away again as the pod dropped out from under him.
An alarm sounded all over the huge bay. The main hangar door started to retract. Open sky peered inside from beyond—freedom for the Gunirans if they could get the transports away in time. The pods blasted away at the large ships as they groaned to bring their hulking masses up from the tarmac. Other than scorch marks, the small pods did very little damage to these behemoths—flies biting at giants. But for those caught outside the fleeing vessels the pods brought the sting of death.
The Equinox waited to move out. Kale landed back on the pavement and released a few spicors at some incoming pods and then he sprinted for the boarding ramp. All but one spicor slammed into their targets and brought the pods down in flashes of debris and fire.
Kale sensed his father’s urgency—they had to escape before the warships figured out where they had run to. He ran up the ramp and triggered the mechanism to raise it. When Kale got to the bridge, Grod had already activated the thrusters to raise them off of the platform. As the ship swung around, three Guniran transports made their way up and out of the underground hangar bay ahead of them.
Huge bolts of blaster fire pummeled the shields of the first transport. It had to be a big warship out there beyond the open bay door—nothing else could bring down that kind of firepower. Grod used the advantage of their smaller size to move the Equinox ahead of the third transport in line to get out. The Equinox glided under the belly of the second ship as more laser fire slammed into the first ship.
As the Equinox slipped between the ground and the second transport two Vorn battle cruisers hovered overhead. The warships blasted both of the transports that had emerged from the hangar bay. One of the Vorn ships launched a barrage of missiles that spiraled individually on track for the first Guniran transport which lost shield power. The missiles scattered along its forward bridge section and along the top and sides of the vessel, pitting it badly with multiple explosions and penetrating the hull.
The first Guniran transport began to drop out of the sky much faster than it had ascended. With a short fall it plowed into the ground creating a thunderous roar felt throughout the hull of the Equinox. Grod kept the ship low to the ground while the other transport climbed for more altitude under continuous fire from the Vorn warships.
Wynn sat at the weapons control console, using their limited fire power as best as he could, but it just wasn’t enough to fight a heavy cruiser. Evasion was their only recourse. The warships concentrated their efforts on the big transports. Grod veered hard to port to keep away from a near strafe line that scorched the ground behind them. A crashing sounded from back in the crew cabin area.
“What was that?� Tiet asked.
“I’ll check on it, Father.�
“I’ll go with him,� Jael said as he unfastened his flight harness.
The pair made their way to the rear hall behind the bridge compartment, bracing themselves against the walls at regular intervals to counter Grod’s evasive maneuvering.
Kale sensed a stowaway in his own compartment. The auto-door slid away to reveal a surprising guest.
“Aija, sir. What are you doing here?� Kale asked.
“Planning to leave, the same as you,� he said trying to steady himself against the gravitational forces in play throughout the ship.
“We expected that you had evacuated aboard one of the Guniran transports,� Jael said.
“And well I would have, but the Lord bid me to enter your ship before takeoff.�
“I don’t understand.�
“Young master Kale, there is much work to be done, but we must get to the right place to do it. Are we ready to make a transgate jump?�
“No, we’re trying to evade the warships.�
The prophet pushed past him, heading for the bridge—his cane tapping the metal flooring in time with his stride.
“Aija?!� Tiet exclaimed. “How did you—�
“My King, we must jump to Draconis immediately.�
“But—�
“Please, there isn’t time to explain.�
Tiet locked eyes with the prophet. “Grod, we’ve got to jump to Draconis.�
“I’d be happy to be anywhere besides here, but I can’t program the sequence right now,� he said as he fought the ship’s controls.
Wynn’s flight chair tracked sideways to the transgate controls at the science station. He began setting coordinates for the jump by reinitiating the same coordinates they had used for the recall gate to rescue Kale and the others before.
“We’re running out of room fast,� Grod said as the Equinox approached a huge mountain range. The ship skimmed just above the tree line trying to remain elusive with the warshi
ps after them. Grod spun the ship around and headed back toward the cruisers pursuing them. A total of six now had them in pursuit.
“If you’re going to do it, you had better make it fast,� Grod said.
Wynn finalized the command sequence and tapped the initiate button. The ship began to stream through a self made tunnel of light as they came upon the Vorn cruisers fast. Just before they would have collided with the warships, the trailing photons enveloped the Equinox completely. They disappeared.
The_Chronicl-_Rise_of_Lucin
EIGHT
A pungent stench filled their nostrils as they exited the Equinox—the aroma of decay, the scent of death. Kale was glad that Juli was sleeping again—she wouldn’t have been able to handle the sight of all this—her former civilization in ruins like this.
Sector City appeared much different than when they had left it three months ago. It looked like intense fighting had taken place all over the city. Nothing moved that wasn’t carried on the wind and the only people visible were the multitudes strewn in the streets and even the carrion feeders had long since given up on them.
The tall buildings had toppled in some cases and one might have counted the unbroken window panes on the fingers of one hand. Kale tried to remember where their shuttle had crashed months before, but it was so difficult to discern what had been before all of this devastation.
The boys walked off of the ramp with Wynn and Grod following. The streets had been so littered with debris that finding a level place to land had been almost impossible.
The Prophet had chosen to remain in the ship and still had not commented further on why they were required to return to Draconis. Kale’s parents remained on board as well with Juli. The Horva soldiers, Jael and Merab, remained to protect the king.
Tiet wouldn’t have liked that. They had barely persuaded him to remain on board at all. Fortunately his injuries still bothered him more than his pride. The limited medical facilities, both within the Guniran province and onboard the ship, had slowed his healing quite a bit.
“Should we split up?� Emil asked.
“No. If we do run into those Agonotti, we’ll all need as much help as we can get,� Wynn said.
The group surveyed for survivors and any supplies they might be able to use. Medical supplies were especially in need, but the ship was well outfitted with food and water.
“Just mouth-breath, boys,� Wynn said. The smell was nauseating. The ramp closed behind them in order to relieve those still onboard from the stench.
The landing party moved cautiously between bodies and debris. They walked toward a group of buildings several blocks away that appeared structurally sound, at least from a distance. They tried to avoid looking at the people. The faces contorted into nightmarish expressions—the epitaph of a doomed city.
☼
Mirah made sure her husband remained sedated and resting comfortably. She had spiked his pain meds a little, but it was for his good. He never would have let Kale go out without him into the city—especially not after almost losing him. Their parental roles had reversed since Kale’s return. Mirah had much more confidence in her son’s ability and Tiet acted as the protective parent. Juli also slept and Mirah thought of getting some rest as well. But she had to remain alert in case something happened.
She sank into a chair next to Tiet’s bed and sighed loudly. The pillow under her husband’s head certainly looked comfortable. The bumps and bruises, sustained from the impact of their rail car in the hangar bay ached all over her body. She closed her eyes for a moment, just to rest them. Unconsciousness took advantage of the opportunity and soon she was fast asleep.
☼
Aija sat at a table in the crew galley eating one of the quick preparation meals kept frozen in the cold locker. Jael watched him curiously from across the room. He had a question burning in his mind that only the prophet might be able to answer, but how to approach him, he wasn’t sure. Directly was the only way he had ever done anything and prophet or no, he needed some answers.
He got up from his seat and carried his meal over to Aija’s table and sat down in front of the prophet.
“You wish to ask me something, Jael?� Aija asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do.�
“Well then, don’t hold back. I’ll do my best to answer.�
He took a half second to consider a polite way to address it, but couldn’t think of any. “Why did Elithias destroy the Horva?�
Aija stopped chewing the food in his mouth and looked up at the soldier with a slightly puzzled look on his face. “He didn’t destroy your people. You’re still here aren’t you?�
It was too matter-of-fact for him to hear. “What I mean is,� he struggled with the words a moment. “Our families, all but the four of us were killed. Why did Elithias let that happen? We were created as slaves to the Vorn military—all we wanted was our freedom.�
“Elithias has created beings with free will, but it was not His will for them to rebel, and yet he did not stop them. Both Mithri and man alike rebelled against the Creator. If the Eternal One had prevented it by overpowering our free will, then, would we not say our right to choose was impinged upon—our freedom removed completely? And if Elithias allows us to make those choices and we rebel, then we wonder why he didn’t prevent it.�
“I know, but still—�
“Jael, the Fallen One started this war among men, against the will of Elithias, but still the He has directed the events in such a way that his purposes will ultimately be accomplished. He is turning what was meant for evil into our good.�
“But how? How is that going to be good?�
“The Logostus prophesies of a clan that is removed for its great rebellion and that would be the Baruk. But when the prophecies tell us of the kingdom to come, they include among the clans, the Artemae to take the place of the Baruk.�
Now, Jael was really confused. “Who are the Artemae?�
“The word means: taken out of us for bondage. It is the Horva alone who are the fulfillment of this prophecy,� Aija said. “The Eternal One has left you a remnant to begin again. Your people will ultimately be accepted and free forever in the kingdom of Elithias.�
Hope rose in Jael’s eyes now. In the midst of all the talk of judgment, mercy still prevailed in Elithias’ plan for them.
“In fact, my friend,� Aija continued, “it is only the remnant of any of the clans that will survive this war.�
He was right. While concentrating on his own people’s destruction, Jael had not really considered that the other clans faced similar circumstances. Only three Barudii remained now and even Aija’s Guniran clan would be a smaller remnant after the attack they had just witnessed back on Kosiva.
The Horva soldier drummed his fingers across the table as he sat back in his seat. His eyes were moist, but a smile abided on his face. Jael picked up his food tray and placed it in the waste container. He turned to look again at the prophet.
“Thank you, Aija,� he whispered, and then he grabbed his rifle from the other table and went to the bridge.
☼
Lucin surveyed the smoldering ruins of the Guniran province before him. Death meant nothing to him. He felt no regret and no sympathy. He waited for news on the structure he was searching for. The boy had apparently escaped with his family. He had sensed it when the young Barudii had departed the planet. The portion of his symbyte form previously implanted in Kale had been destroyed, but not his ability to sense the boy.
The Vorn warships hovered over the province. Their antigravity generators kept them aloft and their sonic emissions thundered continuously over the landscape. Some of the structurally
unsound buildings had collapsed due to the constant resonance of the mighty engines in such close proximity.
“Sir!� One of Lucin’s soldiers came running up to him. “I think we have found it.�
Lucin followed the man. The soldier led him beyond the greater portion of destroyed buildings nearby. Lucin’s bodyguards followed along with them as they walked briskly through the street toward a tented complex not far in the distance. He recognized it immediately. It was the same design as the one from the days of old—a tabernacle.
Lucin’s pace quickened at the sight of it. People marched into captivity all around them and shots still rang out at random as his symbyte controlled soldiers went about the business of tearing the Guniran province apart.
Lucin stopped abruptly at the entrance to the tabernacle. A veil hung between two poles comprising the entryway. Did he dare? He had once dwelt in Mithrium itself, the dwelling place of the Eternal One, though not with these mortal members. He had walked in the garden of Elithias, oh so many ages ago. Had Elithias’ presence been here, the province never would have been taken. He dared.
Removing his blade he slashed through the poles and the veil between, and walked through. His people had a number of priests secured as prisoners inside. When he walked inside the tented complex the priests were forced to their knees before him.
“These are the books we found inside,� said one of his men.
A pile of old parchments and copies of various sorts were strewn on the ground before a wash basin and a table with other artifacts overturned. He picked up one of the documents. Opening it, his eyes fell upon the old language. “…And the one that deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire that shall never be quenched, and so shall he be tormented day and night forever and ever, amen.�
Fury welled up within Lucin from the very foundation of his being. He shredded the parchment and then glared at the others before him. “I want all of these burned!�
