Chapter 1
Five years later
The sun shone through the plate glass windows of my apartment. I stood there, one hand resting on the glass as I stared out at the city beyond. With her tall spires, sleek buildings, and energy beams, she was beautiful.
I stepped back and walked toward the table. Clutching up a portable holographic pad, I smiled as I entered the kitchen.
It had been a little over four years since I had freed myself from captivity. As I placed my holo pad on the kitchen bench, heading over to the food synthesizer, I let out a satisfied sigh.
Food had become one of my pleasures. Standing in grass, wet with dew, my toes curling against the cold and damp sensation had become another one. Standing and staring at a view another again.
After 450 years of serving my master, I was free.
There were still days I couldn’t believe it. There were still nights where I spent hours on end staring down at my scarred wrists, tracing my fingers over the dents that had remained once my bracelets had been removed.
“Water, cold, a twist of lime,” I spoke into the com panel of the food synthesizer as I placed a glass into the slot before me. In a second it was filled with what I had ordered.
“This is your 20-minute alarm,” the holographic panel on the bench reminded me, “You must leave for your appointment in approximately 4.5 minutes.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I mulled over my drink as I turned to stare out at the view again.
Four years. For four years I had wandered the galaxy. At first, the freedom had been intoxicating. To think and feel and move on my own was a dream I’d barely entertained during my incarceration. Now it was a reality.
It had not been easy, though. To break free, I had faked my own death. My brothers and sisters thought I was dead, if indeed they still thought. Perhaps their souls had been crushed long ago.
“In order to prepare for your appointment, you must dress in your uniform. This will take approximately two minutes. It is suggested you begin now,” the audio unit of my holo pad reminded me.
Uniform.
I glanced over to it. It was folded neatly on the table by the windows.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
I’d made my decision. I was joining the Coalition Forces. The same people I’d fought for hundreds of years. I could not even conceive of how many of them I’d killed, how many ships I’d destroyed, how much damage I’d done to them.
It was time to repay the debt. But more than that, the Coalition were the only force I could think of who could take him on. Master.
I could not do it alone. If I acted against him, he would realize I was still alive, and he would track me down and enslave me again.
It left me with one choice. Join the Coalition Forces, become one of their recruits, and help them as best I could. I could not, however, ever risk letting them know who I really was and what I had been. If my secret was ever revealed, my master would come for me.
“You now have approximately 40 seconds to dress,” my holo pad chirped.
I reached for the uniform.
I pulled it on as I stared out the windows.
This would not be easy. I was about to embark on a journey that would take years, if not decades. If I really wanted to help the Coalition, it could not be done in a day. I would have to guide them in secret whenever the opportunity would arise.
I walked backward, still staring at the view. I assessed that beautiful cityscape until I identified the silver spire in the distance.
The Earth Division of the Coalition Academy. In approximately 15 minutes the initiation ceremony for new recruits would begin. I would be there.
Axira Episode One Page 2
