@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
“Tell me about these items.” Angela commands, gently.
Angela stands before a small table of objects, dressed in a classic toga, next to Anya in more functional grey overalls, with her hair tied back in a ponytail.
“They haven’t got names as yet. The smaller one is a submachine gun and the larger is an assault rifle. Instead of propellant, there are rings of iron nitride at regular intervals which act in the same way as electromagnetic coils in a rail gun to make a low energy alternative. They fire fin stabilised teardrop shaped projectiles at high velocity. The SMG carries a load of fifty rounds and the rifle carries two hundred......”
Before Anya can continue, Angela gently stops her “Easy. No need for the full pitch. If you tell me you have created a couple of new weapons, I know that they will be effective.”
Anya hesitates for a moment, “Is there a problem, High Priestess?”
“No Anya. All of your work is excellent, whatever you turn your hand to.” Angela sighs nods towards the door at the rear of the room, “With what I saw on day one, you should have a room full of jewellery, clothing, weapons and other items that could all be considered works of art in their own right, that any student would be proud to display, as the pinnacle of their training. However, I know that room only has a few scant items..”
“OK?” Anya says, almost as much a question as an acknowledgement.
“The problem is, that you are consistently excellent and there is no challenge in what you do. Whatever you make, is the best version of that object that can be made. Take that watch you showed me last week, perfectly crafted mechanism, polished diamond lens, intricate decoration almost down to the molecular level. Perfect. However, you have not really pushed the boundaries much beyond that first day. My question to you is, why haven’t you produced more?” Angela asks, in a gentle tone, with a warm smile.
Anya chews her bottom lip and hesitates, before remaining quiet.
“There is something, isn’t there.” Angela says, with a smile and a sparkle in her eyes.
“Kind of.” Anya says nervously, before adding, “However, it looks dumb.”
“Don’t worry about it. I won’t judge.” Angela says reassuringly.
Anya steps away from the table and opens one of the workbenches draws, withdrawing a small object. She turns to face Angela and hold it in front of her.
Angela regards the object confused, before sceptically saying, “That looks like a beautiful knife hilt.”
Anya presses a button on the hilt and nothing appears to happen, until she turns to face a candle set on the workbench. She flicks the handle once and the top comes off of the candle, Prompting a raised eyebrow from Angela.
The candle then dismantles itself as Anya rapidly flicks the handle a few more times.
Puzzled, Angela places a finger to her lips and then runs her fingers through her hair, “What have you just shown me?”
Anya quickly searches the drawers of the bench and produces a magnifying glass which she hands to Angela before holding the hilt to the light. Angela leans in and examines the hilt, with a frown, “What is that coming from the end?” she asks, confused.
“It is a single strand of spider silk, with the flexibility of willow and the hardness of diamond.” Anya explains, then releases the button on the hilt calling it back in place, “It also has the properties of a memory metal. When I press the button on the hilt, a current is applied and the strand extends.”
Angela sighs, with a gentle smile “So it is a complex property transfer on an unusual material.” She nods to herself and smiles, “That is better, what else do you have?”
Anya takes a seat at the table, using the spider silk knife to slice chunks of its corner and reattaching them. She looks everywhere in the room apart from, at Angela.
The High Priestess senses something is wrong and takes the other seat at the table, “You aren’t in trouble. I just want to know how your studies are progressing.”
Anya closes her eyes and sets the knife down on the table, unknowingly, resting on the button, “My tutor, sets me projects and when they are done, he takes them and I never see them, or get any feedback on them after. He never teaches me anything new. He just gets me to make stuff. The only bits that I have, are because I constructed them without his knowledge.”
“What kind of projects?” Angela asks, feeling her hackles rise.
“It varies. I have made dozens of watches, in gold, silver and Orichalcum and about twenty swords of various types inlaid with precious metals. That doesn’t even begin to cover the jewellery I have made.” Anya explains, fighting her feelings of loyalty to her tutor.
Angela rises from her seat angrily and brushes her leg on the spider silk blade. She drops to the floor with blood spurting from her leg, where the blade slashed her leg. “Shit, call for a medic.”
Anya crouches and places her hands on Angela’s leg and closes her eyes. Angela sits up on the floor looking at her leg, she is just about to scream when she feels a warmth around the wound. She watches closely, when it begins to close itself.
With tears in her eyes Anya apologises, “I am so sorry. I keep meaning to add a two step safety feature to stop the blade coming out on its own, if it’s resting on the button”
“I don’t care about that. Where did you learn that?” Angela asks, stunned.
“Flesh is just a form of matter and is just as easy to repair.” Anya says, sheepishly, “I’ve lost count of the number of times I have nearly lost a finger or hand to that blade.”
“Even if he would show you, your tutor doesn’t know this technique. How did you learn it?” Angela says, rubbing her palm over her freshly repaired leg.
“I just kind of figured it out one night. I repaired a leather belt and figured that living and dead skin are basically the same and then looked at the differences. When I worked out how cells work and the body as a system functions, it was only a small leap to work out how to repair injuries.” She explains nervously.
Angela looks at her thoughtfully, then pulls her phone and sends a text. Anya sits nervously in the silence of the room, while Angela glares at the door.
The uncomfortable silence is broken by a soft knock at the door, followed by the High Priestess sharply saying, “Come in.”
A nervous looking man enters, “You asked to see me, High Priestess.”
“Thank you for coming so promptly Rhys. Anya was just telling me about some of the projects she has been working on and I must say they sound like wonderful and challenging pieces. I was just wondering, if I could take a look at some of them.” She says lightly.
“Of course. I will need a few days to get them out of storage.” Rhys says, with a warm smile.
“A few days? Really? Are they so good that you have locked them in Fort Knox, or something.” Angela quips, hiding her suspicions.
“Let’s be honest, we both know the quality of her work. I have stored it for safe keeping to protect it from thieves.” Rhys says, trying to cover his nerves.
Angela nods and laughs gently, snorting “True.”, whilst inside she thinks, “Heart rate up, blinking more and keeps glancing at the door.” Then speaks softly but firmly, “Trouble is, I have heard a rumour of high end goods being smuggled out of here and need to see her work, to put the matter to bed.”
“Well, I would have to retrieve them and.” He says floundering before Angel cuts him off with a gentle but definitive, tone, “Now.”
“Well, I can’t just produce them from thin air.” He says indignant.
“Where are they?” Angela asks, with a hint of ice in her voice. When he hesitates, she commands, “Hold out your right arm.”
Confused, he holds out his arm. In one move, Angela snatches up the knife, swings and then sets it down. For a moment, nothing happens, until the corner of the table drops to the floor. “It cuts flesh and bones, just as effectively.”
Anya sits back against a chair leg almost frightened to move. Rhys takes a moment to stare at the sliced block of wood and tries to understand what kind of weapon would do that, he begins to lower his arm until Angela shouts, “Don’t you dare move that arm.” Angela takes a breath to compose herself and then calmly asks, “Where are her projects?”
When he hesitates again, she swings the knife precisely, slicing the hairs from the back of his arm.
Rhys felt the breeze from the blades passing, then stares in disbelief at the fine hair falling from his arm.
Angela let’s the gravity of Rhys’ situation sink in, before softly speaking, “Where is her work? Next strike is between your legs and will be cauterised and not reattached.”
“I exchanged them for favours and earth currency.” He confesses, fearfully.
“You were in a position of trust, with one of the best and brightest students we have and you betrayed that trust.” Angela says coldly. “You disgust me. You are a disgrace and I can no longer sanction you being a part of the order. I hereby strip you of all titles and privileges within the Order and will be informing the security services.”
Rhys’ eyes flash with anger and he lunges at Angela, shoving her hard. Angela stumbles back landing awkwardly, dropping the knife and their eyes fall on the discarded weapon.
Rhys and Anya both leap for it, he is closer, however, her momentum is too great to stop and they land in a tangle of limbs.
Rhys raises the hilt high with his thumb on the button, his hand bloodied. Anya clutches her side, trying to stop the pain from the flap of muscle hanging off of herself from the slice of flesh effortlessly sliced into her side.
Rhys swings down, but Anya throws up her arm and strikes the inside of his wrist to stop the blow. Anya sees how far bent over he is and launches a kick at his head, however, Rhys lashes out.
Anya screams and flops back onto the floor, her thigh bleeding from a cut to the bone. “Please, not like this.” She thinks seeing her fathers face, as the pain lances through her leg.
Rhys scoffs at her and turns on Angela. “I had always planned to kill Anya and disappear with everything she’s made. Sorry, I will have to kill you too, in order to cover my tracks.”
He stands over the High Priestess and swings, she raises her hands to defend herself and howls as three fingers from her left hand hit the floor.
Angela stares up at him defiantly. Looking up at him with the light behind him, his face is in shadow, as he raises his arm and swings again.
She closes her eyes and braces for the next cut, but instead hears a thud. She opens her eyes cautiously, to see Anya swaying gently and Rhys pinned to a wall by a net which appears to be made from woven spider silk with the adhesion of superglue
Anya crumbles to one knee, then pitches forward, collapsing from loss of blood. A frantic Angela rushes to her side pressing her hand to the wound on her leg and slowly closing it.
Anya’s eyes flutter open and she finds herself staring at a pure white ceiling. Wincing at the soreness in her leg and side she tries with a herculean effort, to sit up, however, her weakness defeats her.
Gentle hands lift her and place pillows behind her. Sisters from the Phlogiston Order, surround her bed, checking her vital signs and adjusting the bed for maximum comfort, then as if on command, they file out of the door.
Anya closes her eyes, and feels some residual damage in her leg and soreness in her side. She focuses and breathes slowly, as she re-orders and repairs the nerves and cells of her body for optimal performance.
When she opens her eyes, she sees Angela sitting by her bed. Anya struggles against a general feeling of weakness, to sit up straight and adjust her gown. However, she finds herself stopping and relaxing when Angela places a hand on her shoulder, with three scarred fingers. “Be still Anya, you need to rest, you lost a lot of blood. You are still quite weak.”
Anya licks her lips and croaks when she tries to speak, Angela brings a glass of ice cold water to her lips and Anya guzzles hungrily. “Are you alright, Your Grace?”
“Thanks to you, Anya.” Angela says, warmly, “Rhys is officially excommunicated and currently starting a long sentence of hard labour and I am on the mend.” She says holding up her hand with the damaged fingers.
Anya takes her hand and closes her eyes, exhaling slowly. Angela feels a burning in her fingers, but does not flinch, instead gasping when her hand is released and her fingers are whole, her bones realigned and repaired as if they were never broken.
“It appears, I am in your debt once more.” Angela says, with a smile.
“For everything you and the order have done for me and my dad, it is the least I can do.” Anya says, with a bright smile.
“Speaking of your father, he sends his best. His leg is almost regrown and he has started physiotherapy.” Angela says, warmly.
Anya wipes a tear from her eye, “Thank you.”
Angela hesitates and then puts an arm around Anya, “Less of that, a new beginning beckons.”
“What do you mean?” Anya asks, drying her eyes.
“With your services to the Order, you may consider your training at an end and you may return home, until such time as you wish to return.” Angela says, warmly.
“I see.” Anya says, quietly, “I have scratched the surface of what I can do and feel that there is so much more, that I am capable of.” Anya looks out of the window at the night sky, “I feel like I am so close to a breakthrough but just need some guidance. A big part of me wants to continue, at least until the end of my original time here.”
“I see.” Angela says thoughtfully. “Are you up to a few exercises? If you are going to stay, I need to know what you are capable of at this stage of your development.”
Anya shrugs and nods, “I am OK to give them a go.”
“Tell you what, why don’t you call your dad and have something to eat and I will return in the morning.” Angela says warmly.
“I would really love to speak to him and let him know I am OK.” Anya says, excitedly.
“Then it’s settled, I will be back in the morning.” Angela days, with a smile.
“Go for Black.” Moses says, in a professional tone answering his phone.
“Daddy.” Anya says, his tone leaving her feeling like the little girl she used to be, calling her father when he was away for work.
“Oh Darlin’ how are you feeling? I am so sorry I am not there right now. I’ve been stuck in acupuncture.” Moses says warmly, the sounds of his daughter’s voice, conjuring tears in his eyes.
“I am OK Daddy. A little sore, but alright.” Anya says, warmly.
“I am coming to you, hang on. Get these damn needles outta me.” He says hanging up the phone.
Anya stares at the phone, considering calling him back. She takes a sip of water and picks up the phone, but before she can dial, the door to her room crashes open and her father swings in on crutches.
Almost as clearly as the recovery of his leg, is the sure sign that he has been crying. He crosses the room with a grace at odds to the crutches and sits on his daughter’s bed, pulling her close. “Oh darlin’ I thought, I was going to lose you again.”
“I was scared, I would never see you again.” Anya confesses.
The door opens again and an orderly brings in a trolley with two covered plates and sets them on the side with two bottles of water and glasses. “Please ring the green bell if you or your guest require any further refreshments, ma’am.”
“Thank you. I erm, sorry. I don’t have anything for a tip.” Anya says, sheepishly.
The orderly smiles, flashing perfect white teeth, “You exposed a traitor to the Order’s principles and in so doing, saved the life of High Priestess Angela. The honour of serving you, is reward enough, ma’am.”
“Huh, I guess so yeah.” Anya says, trying to let everything sink in.
The orderly bows, before backing towards the door, with the parting words, “You are honoured within the order. I would consider it a personal blessing to serve you again.”
After he departs, Moses wears a look of confusion, “What the hell was that about?”
“Those who take the role of tutor, hold the secrets of the Order, pledge to act always in the best interests of their students and to never give the treasures of the Order for personal gain. Rhys betrayed both of those pledges and attacked Angela and I.” Anya explains, with a bemused look.
“Motherfucker. I will kill him.” Moses says, with ice in his veins.
“He is already in jail.” Anya says, remembering the look in his eyes, when he tried to escape the net. “I had a gun in my hand but decided to use a net.“ For a moment she cannot look her father in the eye, before she says, “I really wanted to shoot him.”
Moses sees the same look in her eyes, as when Anya confessed to killing her biological mother in Spain. He pulls her close and holds her, with the love only a father can, while she weeps.
With the passing of tears, Anya feels a clarity in her mind and sighs, “It was him or us. I got him with the net, but could so easily have missed. I just couldn’t bring myself to take his life.”
“You did what you had to do, regardless of what could have happened. The fact is, you caught him and saved yourself and Angela. I am proud of you.” Moses says, gently, “I am always proud of you.”
“I am proud of you too, daddy.” Anya says, snuggling into the crook of his arm, “ “Probably better for him this way. If he had died, the Order would have excommunicated him and would have bound his soul into a gem, to ensure he served his punishment before being allowed to pass to the Great Beyond.”
“Oh boy, they sound like they take this seriously.” Moses says, with a shake of his head.
“The Order is thousands of years old, with long established traditions, but they constantly reinvent themselves to reflect the world around them. That said, you don’t betray it, or those within it. In return, members get the full support of the Order in all they do.” Anya explains, “It’s members hold some of the secrets of the universe and those secrets need to be protected.”
Moses smiles gently and nods, “Sounds terrifying.”
“Apart from Rhys, it has been such a positive journey.” Her eyes go wide for a moment. With a flourish she fills her hand and presses the object into her fathers palm, “While I have the chance, I made this for you.”
He looks at her somewhat puzzled and opens his hand, seeing a small leather pouch. He loosens the toggles and gently tips it’s contents into his hand.
He gasps, staring at the exquisite pocket watch, with its finely crafted mechanism, perfectly shaped face and fine detail. The Orichalcum is polished to the point where it almost glows. Turning it to the light, when the angle is right, an image of Moses and Anya with her mother can be seen etched into the diamond lens.
He looks at her with disbelief, “You made this? It’s gorgeous.”
“You always said you wanted a pocket watch and I have had some practice. This is the finest I have ever made.” Anya confesses.
“You were always so talented. I wish your mother could see you now.” Moses says, embracing his daughter.
After the embrace, Anya checks the plates, looking for a way to change the subject, “Looks like we have a tomahawk steak, eggs, mushrooms and triple cooked fries.”
“I have to admit, this place has the best hospital food I have ever had.” Moses confesses, lifting the cover on his plate, “How did you know to order this for us?”
“I didn’t, Angela must have. She said to call and must have known you would come.” Anya says thoughtfully, “I need to talk to you about something.”
“You can talk to me about anything.” Moses says warmly, taking his daughter’s hand.
“I have found something that I am really good at and I want to see how good I can get.” She glances at the moon, out of her window before looking back to her father, “I think I would like to join the Order, if they will have me.”
Moses smiles gently at his daughter “I didn’t follow my dreams in life and, I am sure your mother didn’t either. All we ever wanted was for you to be happy. If this is what makes you happy, then you need to at least try.”
“Thank you daddy.” She says beaming a smile.
Moses leans forward hugging his daughter, softly he whispers, “I will never stop being proud of you and I will always support you.”
“I am proud of you too daddy. You and mum always made me want to be the best version of me, I could be.” Anya says, wide eyed and tearful. “I miss mom.”
Moses holds her close, choking back tears “I do to darlin’. She would have been so proud of you.”
Many hours later, Moses returns to his room, after one of the first real conversations with the young woman that his daughter is becoming. As he drifts of to sleep, his smile is matched by that of his daughter.
Anya wakes slowly and stretches. She checks the clock and nods to herself, “Five AM. Time for a little workout, before I do anything else.” She thinks, “I think I must have been out for the best part of a day, before I woke up. I need to get the blood pumping again.”
She slides out of bed and changes into a sports bra and lycra shorts and trainers, “Healthy mind. Healthy body.” She thinks, dropping to the floor and starting press ups.
After a hundred, she lays on her back and commences stomach crunches. At the two hundred mark, she flips to her feet and begins squats, to test the healing on her leg.
Five minutes of not counting squats later, she takes a deep breath, “Well my leg seems OK overall, maybe a little stiff, but definitely on the mend.”
She takes a bottle of water from the hospital rooms mini fridge and gulps it down, “Better than private care.” She says, thinking aloud.
“Warm up done. Time for the main event.” Anya thinks, assuming a relaxed stance and slowing her breathing. Slowly she begins to move between Tai Chi positions, stretching and flowing from stance to stance, like the waves of the sea. Slowly increasing the speed of her movement, transitioning into Muay Thai and Krav Maga.
She smiles to herself, knowing at some point today, at least one of her sisters will be doing the same thing.
Anya stands in the still of the room, eyes closed, feeling every inch of her body and everything else in the room. “Who would have thought, I would have changed the way I see the world so much in such a short period of time.”
After a shower, she lays back on her bed in pyjamas, allowing herself to relax. She reaches out with her mind, feeling the desire to craft something to greet the new day, as there is a knock at the door.
“Come in.” Sitting up on top of the covers, she says brightly.
The door to the room opens and Angela walks in, flanked by two priest and a priestess of the Order. “Good morning Initiate. How are you feeling this morning?”
Anya rises to her feet and bows, “I am well, High Priestess.”
Angela smiles and winks, “Relax, this is nothing too formal. Just a demonstration or two to confirm your learning, before we discuss your onward journey within the Order. “
Anya nods and takes a seat on the bed, “What would you like me to do, High Priestess?”
“If you could start with a minor reshaping, we will take it from there.” Angela says lightly.
Exhausted Anya takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, feeling the day’s last rays of sun on her face. She opens her eyes and gazes at the orange, reds, purples and blues on the sky.
“You are doing well, Initiate. One more test to go.” Angela says warmly. For this whole time the other priest and priestess have remained mostly quiet, only whispering into the High Priestesses ear, sporadically.
“Name it, Your Grace.” Anya says, feeling tired, but at ease.
“Using anything in the room that you haven’t shaped before, I would like you to make a cloak for me. It only need be something simple but must be a reflection of you. Don’t worry this is the last one, just have fun with it.” Angela says with a hint of joviality. “This is about your ability to show your personality, more than your craft.”
Anya chews her lips for a moment looking around the room and realising that she has shaped most things in here one way or another.
“I have no idea what to use.” She thinks, fearfully, then she closes her eyes to examine the room and realises that there is one thing she hasn’t shaped. In fact it is something she doesn’t even know if it can be shaped.
Angela and the other priestesses look on confused, when Anya begins waving her hands in the air. They watch her movements become slower and more focused and their confusion turns to disbelief, the longer they watch.
Anya finds herself slowing down her movements, taking extra care with the delicate material. “There is no way this will work.”
Gradually the cloak takes shape in the room, first as a formless mass hanging in the air, then coalescing into a softly glowing cloak, both ephemeral and corporeal. Solid yet, unattainable. It’s colour subtly shifting from reds, to oranges and purples. Until Anya lifts her gaze and then places the garment into the High Priestesses unbelieving arms.
Understanding the etiquette of the Order, Anya steps back and bows, “I present to you a cloak woven from the last beams of this days sunset, infused with the strength of silk, the softness of mink fur and the weight of cotton.”
Angela and the other priests and priestess exchange a glance, before she turns to Anya, “In the morning, you will be brought to our central temple for consecration and ordination into the order.” Tentatively, Angela puts on the cloak and smiles, “It’s warm.”
“It should always be warm, as the rays of sunlight have been harvested at a fixed point in time and should stay as they were at the moment of selection.” Anya says, still unable to believe that she managed it.
“Interesting.” Angela says, thoughtfully, “I suggest you have a nice meal this evening and relax. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
A knock at the door rouses Anya from slumber and she sits up in her bed confused, “It’s half five. What the heck?”
“Come in.” She says, caught off guard.
Four priestesses in pure white togas enter and position themselves around her bed. The one on her right speaks gently, “Good morning Initiate. My name is Anatha. We are here to prepare you for your presentation to the Order.”
Anya shifts on the bed with a slight feeling of discomfort. “I can dress myself.”
Agatha relaxes her shoulders, “No one has told you what to expect or why we are here, have they?”
Anya shakes her head , feeling self conscious, when Anatha continues, “OK, we will perform a cleansing ritual. It is a simple ten minute rite, which will purify your body of impurities. Then we will stand as an honour guard, as you put on a toga like ours and escort you to the Priory.”
Anya feels herself relax a little, “That doesn’t sound too bad. What do you need me to do?”
“If you could lay on top of the bed covers and just relax, we will take care of the rest.” Anatha says gently.
Anya closes her eyes and lets the sound of the priestesses low chanting wash over her. Within a few moments, she begins to feel clearer, somehow more alert and full of energy.
Once the chanting ceases, Anatha speaks softly, “Take a few moments to enjoy the sensation. When you are ready, we have hung a toga on the door for you and put some shoes by the door. We will be outside when you are ready.”
Anya waits for them to leave before dashing into the bathroom to brush her teeth and French braid her hair, before emerging and wrapping the toga around herself. She spots the shoes and her eyes go wide with disbelief.
She picks up the shoes and sits on her hospital bed, slipping them on, on at a time, “These slippers have been shaped from diamond and infused with the softness of fur, they are exquisite.”
Anya looks up at the Priory with the same child-like wonder she experienced the first time she came here. “It is the size of a football stadium.” She gasps, staring at the ceremonial heart of the Phlogiston Order. The marble of the walls, polished to a shine, trimmed with Orichalcum and gold. Columns line the outside of the building, interspersed with statues of heroes past and present, in immaculate marble.
The massive oak doors swing open and the almost palpable smell of history wafts out. Anya remembers the texts she has read and bows her head, clasping her hands loosely before her. The four priestesses form a square formation with her at the centre
They proceed slowly, passing assembled members of the Order, with representation from the lowest to the highest tiers of the organisation attending.
The procession comes to a halt, before the alter and Anatha whispers softly, “Turn to face the congregation and kneel.”
Anya nods subtly and turns to face the assembled witnesses, solemnly she knees and her eyes scan the massive space. She smiles seeing her father in the front row beaming a smile at her.
“Proud of you.” He mouths, before a sense of quiet, descends across the temple.
Angela steps out from behind the giant stone altar in a pure white toga and the sunset cloak across her shoulders. She steps forward until she stands behind Anya with an ornate Orichalcum circlet, with a sapphire set at its centre.
She takes a slow breath and addresses the congregation, “Honoured guests. Learned members of the Phlogiston Order. We open our temple to you, to share our blessings, as we welcome Anya Black to our order.”
Anya muses to herself, “I kind of like the sounds of Sister Black. Has a sense of wisdom about it.”
Angela continues, with a smile, “Anya was born a child of Atlantis, raised on Earth, by Moses and Melissa. Him a decorated hero and federal agent and hero of his people, she a gifted educator. At fourteen, she was taken by those who meant her harm and her mother was take from her.”
The crowd ripples with expressions of sadness, while Moses fights to control his grief. Anya closes her eyes choking back tears at the thought of her mother.
“She and her sisters escaped from death many times and she indeed nearly died, before standing with her sisters to liberate the Spanish city of Santander from an army of men intent on doing them harm and in so doing, did slay the exile, Lupita Carrillo.”
Anya feels her blood go cold, remembering the face of her biological mother, after she shot her.
“Through adversity, Anya prevailed. Training her body and mind to perfection. She came to the Order, after many good works in Haven and has found a path with us. From the day she joined, she has displayed skill and aptitude, creating effortless works of art, before her creation of an elemental artefact.” Angela announces, projecting her voice.
A low keening resounds in the massive space, as members of the order, sing a single note of E-major, slowly rising in pitch.
“Anya Black, we welcome you.” Angela says, placing the circlet on the Initiates brow, as the sung note reaches a crescendo, “Arise Anya Black,” She commands, waiting for Anya to stand.
With Anya stood at her side, Angela announces, “I present to you Priestess Arcana, Anya Black.”
As thunderous applause erupts from the congregation, Anya bows nervously, thinking, “Priestess? How did that happen? I have a lot of questions about all this, not least about Lupita Carrillo and me being a child of Atlantis. I have a feeling that Kim, Tara and Ali will want to know too.”
Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
What an impressive Chapter again @wolfman - this time I will refrain from single out a sequence. It would destroy the balance to do so. My Compliments.
Thank you for your kind words @Caesar73.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
Small rocks tumble into the chasm below her, where her shoulder brushed the sheet rock face. Kim smiles to herself, fingertips barely gripping the tiniest of hand holds and the toes of her boots in small cracks in the rock.
She feels the rock before her, every surface, every crack and every crumbling rock right up to the summit where Oscar awaits.
Kim heaves flinging herself left, planting one foot on a tiny outcrop and gripping a handhold by her left cheek and another above her right shoulder. “Three points of contact, babe.” She thinks, smiling to herself.
Right foot lifts, tucking into a crack a few inches below her right hip. She flexes her leg lifting her body up the cliff. Her left foot slots into the space her hand was and her right hand travels up the cliff, to find a hold above her head.
To anyone watching, there is no hesitation. Her limbs are in constant motion, as she ascends seemingly unstoppable.
At ten thousand feet, she pulls out a thick bandana and ties it across her face, covering her nose and mouth, followed by an insulated hat to cover her golden hair. She takes a moment to look around and take in the beauty of the valley, that is now below her.
Jagged peaks jut from the land, their lower slops covered in thick rain forest, giving way to grass plains above the treeline. Birds fly over the trees far below her. Only wisps of cloud and the rest of this cliff can be seen above her.
She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, “Come on Kim. You ain’t done yet. It gets tougher from her, better change my approach.”
Kim closes her eyes and feels the ridges of her finger prints thicken and become rougher and her limbs lengthen. She breathes in and her body becomes thinner allowing her to press herself flatter to the rock.
With a flourish, her boots and socks disappear and her body grows a layer of fat to deal with the cold. She doesn’t need to look to see the thick tough claws sprout from her fingers and toes.
As if someone fired a starting pistol, she explodes into motion, scrambling up the rock. There are no longer three points of contact. Left hand grabs rock, heaves pulling her up. Claws of right foot dig in, muscles heave. And on and on.
Oscar sits calmly at the summit of the mountain, in front if a small fire, lost in communion with the land. His mind is everywhere.
He feels the fire before him and the wind battering the cliff face. The trees of the forest are like the hairs on his chest, the forest floor, his beating heart. He sees through the eyes of all living things.
He smiles, thinking, “All is balanced, all is well. We have done good work here.”
Kim vaults over the edge of the cliff and lands on her feet at the summit, near to the fire. She beams a smile and suppresses her adaptations, returning to her normal look.
Oscar keeps his eyes closed, but smiles, “Not your fastest work. Did you stop for a cup of tea on the way? He asks playfully.
Kim snorts a chuckle and dons her boots and socks with a flourish, before warming herself busy the fire, “Not today. The valley looked so beautiful, I had to stop and take a proper look.”
Oscar smiles, “Why did I ask you to climb the cliff?”
Kim lays back resting on her elbows, “To build a connection with the land. Experience the feel of the cliff and the power of the wind. See the valley with all my senses.”
He doesn’t respond, he simply smiles. He opens his eyes and looks at her, thinking, “Boundless energy. Still as wide eyed and eager as day one. I am so proud of her.”
Kim smells the wild boar roasting in the flames of the fire and grins, “That smells amazing.”
“It won’t be ready for at least a couple of hours. Would you like to do a quick patrol of the realm to make sure all is well?” he says testing her.
“Whatever you say.” Kim says, flipping to her feet. Oscar gives her a nod and she runs at the cliff edge, leaping off.
She feels no fear, feeling her environment around her she merges with it, disappearing from sight, high above the valley floor.
She re-emerges a split second later in the rain forest, landing with a roll and coming up running. She leaps over tree roots and ducks under branches, before leaping and kicking off of a tree
From tree to tree, she kicks and leaps bouncing through the forest before she leaps high, curling into a ball and merging with her environment.
She emerges in a ball and plunges into the river. Gills sprout from her neck and her fingers and toes become webbed. She removes her boots and socks with a flourish and powers through the water.
Kim’s legs kick hard and she tucks her arms by her sides, streaking upwards. She breaks the surface leaping out of the water like a salmon and merging once again.
Landing on both feet she surveys the savannah between the mountains and the sea, she runs toward the sea.
With a heave, she launches herself off of a rocky outcrop with a whoop, she shifts in mid air and emerges over the sea. By the time she hits the water, her fingers and toes have stretched with thick webbing between them and gills open on her neck.
Keeping her feet together, she kicks hard and fast jetting through the water, using her hands to steer and provide more thrust. She dives deep and feels a large shark like creature at her back, as she powers to the surface.
She leaps from the water with the shark on her heels and merges at the moment it’s jaws snap shut. By the time the shark realises It’s meal has gone, she is already sprinting on the beach.
And on she continues. Merging with her environment and emerging at a different point that she entered, effectively running and teleporting from point to point, as she goes.
Oscar nods monitoring her progress, “She feels her environment, intuitively. She fades, like it is second nature and merges like she has been doing it all her life. When she fades into the world, she is as good as invisible.”
He studies the dance of the flames, looking for wisdom and sighs, “For all she has done in such a short time and all she has achieved, she is still holding back.”
He takes a stick and stirs the embers before adding a few more logs to the fire. Once it is roaring again, he nods to himself, “Her heritage gives her many advantages, she has a natural talent for the workings of magic, but it is her personality and tenacity which drives her to excel.”
Oscar takes a deep pull of rum and extends his senses, focusing on his student, but he has trained her too well in hiding her thoughts. “Something is keeping her from opening herself fully to the worlds. She cannot progress without overcoming that.”
She lands with a back-flip, in camp slightly out of breath, then makes a bee line for the fire and her waiting mentor. “Oscar, I have done a full circuit and all seems well.”
The older man nods and rubs his bald scalp, “All is as it should be. Come. Warm yourself by the fire.” He says and offers a cup of hot coffee.
Kim takes the cup and sips tentatively, savouring the strong hot brew, “This is good stuff. I swear, if civilisation crumbles the new currency will be coffee beans, if they are this good.”
Oscar snorts as he takes a mouthful of the hot brew, “You might be onto something there.” Oscar places a hand on his knee and looks sadly at Kim, “I need to have a serious conversation with you.”
Kim sips her coffee and senses, that this is not the time for levity, “Is something wrong?”
“You have come so far in such a short period of time.” Oscar begins, “You have learned your lessons so well and been the best student that a mentor could ever hope for. However.” He stops, trying to find the right words.
Kim speaks softly, “However, I have hit a plateau.”
Oscar nods grimly, “In order to complete your training, the next step is to swim in the sea of life, that washes over all things. To navigate it’s currents and find your way to it’s shores.”
Kim takes a gulp of coffee, hoping it will give her wisdom, almost saddened when none is revealed, “I am scared. I can feel the Life Sea. But it is so vast. What if I lose my way? What if I lose my connection to my sisters? What if I open myself to the Sea of Life and permanently lose my connection to them.” She looks up at him tearfully, “What if I lose myself?”
“When you swim in the sea of life, you immerse yourself in it, but you remain whole. The currents will carry you to where you need to be, but only if you float. If you see in your mind where you want to go, you will go there.” Oscar explains, gently, “Just as when you merge, you retain yourself, it is the same when you dive into the Life Sea. The difference is, when you merge, you emerge within your environment. When you swim you can travel between realms.”
“But it is all so big. I am still just a kid. I am not ready for the responsibility.” Kim says, almost pleading.
“You were ready for it, the day I met you. You have done many things in your life, not because you were ready, but because you needed to.” Oscar says, laying a hand on her shoulder, “Ecomancy aside, you have the ability to look at what is before you and know in your heart the path to take. That is more important.”
Kim chews her lip and stares into the distance, wondering what is more important to her, being safe in what she knows, or taking a chance to become more with the fear of permanently losing her connection to her sisters.
“You saw the river, stocked with salmon and bass, but sharing with pacu, which were devouring all of the vegetation and starting to pick at other fish species. You saw that the pacu were the problem and relocated every one to a slower river with lower oxygen to control their appetites instead of culling them. Now they all flourish.” Oscar explains, warmly.
“When the feathered serpents began encroaching on the breeding grounds of the deer and goats. You worked out that they were running from something, so we corralled them and then headed into the heart of their traditional territory to find several rivers clogged with vegetation and becoming stagnant, forcing predator and prey alike to seek water elsewhere. Once we had used a small shoal of pacu to clear the rivers, they became established as a new prey item for the serpents, which we re-introduced.” He explains, sketching the creatures in the snow with a stick.
Kim opens her mouth to protest, but he stops her with a gentle wave, “Then you spent four days straight, protecting the octopi on the north shore when they gestated to make sure they bred and settled safely before birthing.” He lightly grips her shoulder, “You have an instinct for nurturing your environment and doing what must be done that is rare.”
Kim hears what he says and knows he is right, “If I do this. What will it be like?”
“Just like a dip in the ocean. I will be with you and you will feel other Custodians. You will probably sense the currents flowing to the realms as well. If you feel a pull in one or more directions, pick one and feel your way towards it.” Oscar days, warmly.
Kim nods thoughtfully, “I need to do this, don’t I?”
Oscar shakes his head gently, “No. If it is not in your heart to do this, you don’t have to.”
“That’s just it. I feel the Life Sea calling to me, but I am scared of how it will change me.” Kim says, feeling the pull on her soul.
“It never washes a Custodian away, it may take them to a place they need to be, but never diminishes anyone who is open to it.” Oscar says, gently.
Kim smiles and breathes in the mountain air, producing a plate with a flourish and loading up with meat and veg, then passing it to Oscar “One for you.”, then she produces another plate and begins loading it up.
“We will put out the fire and clean up before we go.” Oscar says, with a grin.
“What do you mean?” Kim asks, defensively.
“Your stomach often decides, before your head does.” Oscar says loading up a flatbread with meat and salad leaves.
Kim stands loose and ready, Oscar places a hand on her shoulder and speaks softly, “Ready when you are. When you are in the Sea, you will feel a pull. If you are not comfortable, pull against it, but if you are at peace go with it.”
She smiles and then without warning hugs him, “Whatever happens, thank you for everything Oscar. You have been the best mentor and friend, I could ever have hoped for.”
Oscar fights the urge to cry, “Thank you for teaching me that there is still wonder in the world and reminding me that magic isn’t just something you control, it is something you feel.”
Kim closes her eyes and let’s everything go.
There is no up or down, only here and elsewhere. The sea feels warm against her skin and she feels its energy permeate her soul and leave it cleansed.
Kim glides through the Sea like a manta ray, soaring through the depths. The hopes and dreams of a thousand realms echo in her heart and she feels the joy well up inside her.
Something inside her feels a gentle nudge and she opens herself to the path. She feels the shore calling her and feels the waves of life crashing against them.
“This is where I am meant to be.” Kim realises, “I am being called there.”
She doesn’t try to fight it and lets herself be pulled to the shore.
Kim emerges from the Life Sea and sinks to her knees on a beach. The air is cool, but not to the point of being cold. A stiff breeze off of the ocean, tingles against her skin.
She opens her mind to this place to understand where she is. She feels the lush forests before her and the rich and diverse ocean at her back. She pushes her senses further sensing the diverse vibrant life of this paradise.
Kim’s senses forge into the interior of the continent, sensing the mountains and valleys. She feels Oscar at her side, trying to tell her something.
She pauses feeling something. Something Alien. Something wrong. She opens her eyes and sees Oscar tugging at her clothing.
“We have to go. NOW!” He shouts, raising his voice for the first time since they met.
Kim sees the fear in his eyes and knows something is very wrong, “Oscar, what is it?”
“We have to get out of here, right now.” Oscar says again.
“What is going on?” Kim asks, sensing his fear.
Oscar sees the fear in his students face a d takes a breath, “We need to go and get help. The Annunakin that fought Atlantis are here. The portal is new, but strong. Their numbers are building. We need to stop them before they can establish a beach head.”
Kim feels the Annunakin sweeping out from the portal and slaughtering the native fauna, “You go. Tell everyone that needs to know. Bring help. The Life Sea called me here for a reason. I think, I will stay for a bit, try to stem the flow. Save all of this realm that I can.”
“No Kim, that would be suicide. Already they spread like a cancer across the land.” Oscar observes.
“The Life Sea drew me here, I at least need to find out why.” Kim says, thoughtfully.
Oscar moves to protest, but sees her resolve. A part of him knows, whatever he does or says, she will stay. “Be smart. Keep moving. Choose your battles wisely.”
“Always.” Kim says, doubting almost everything, but feeling a little self belief.
Oscar nods, “I will return as quickly as I can with support. There is a dilation on this realm of six to one, until it can be stabilised and brought into line with the flow of time on Atlantis. I should be able to get support here within a day or so, but you will have to lay low.” He pauses for a moment, pulling a package from a dimensional pocket and tossing it to her, “Steer clear of the portal. The Annunakin will be frenzied in their protection of it. I know I have shown you how to close a portal, but, this portal is too big, we will need help to close it.”
Kim slips the package under her arm and nods, “I will strike and fade. Confound the enemy, buy time until you return.”
“If you can secure a safe base of operations for actions in the realm that is more valuable at this stage. Gather intel and stay safe.” Oscar says, unable voice his worries. He looks Kim up and down and nods gravely, “If you weren’t capable of doing this, I wouldn’t be leaving.”
Kim nods, “Thank you Oscar, it means a lot having you believe in me. Now time is ticking, you had better get moving.”
He hugs her and without another word, vanishes from the realm.
Kim stands in the clearing alone and listens to the wind, savouring the scent of the jungle.
Kim unwraps the package Oscar left and smiles. She unsheathes the cutlass and examines its razor sharp Orichalcum blade. Hefting the blade she takes a couple of text swings and purrs with satisfaction, “Nice heft to it, the weight of the basket guard offsets the blade, placing the balance point just forward of the hilt. Sharp, easy to control, and fast. I can work with this.”
Sitting with crossed legs, she holds out her hands with the weapon across her palms. “Oscar, you trained me so well in Ecomancy, however, you still have no idea what I can do with a weapon like this and an enemy to fight.”
“OK. There are a hundred Annunakin per hour coming though the portal and currently a few thousand running around.” She thinks, opening herself to the realm, “I can’t close the portal. What can I do?”
She fades almost completely into her environment and shifts to float above the portal, “Sometimes it is better to get eyes on.”
The Annunakin are much as the video she saw of Nikita battling them showed, but they seem different, they are insectile and six legged, but more like wolves than bulls “Smaller and faster, however less armoured.”
Turning her attention to the portal she hovers over it, looking straight down onto it. “Perfect circle, just hanging there, barely touching the ground. From the top looking down it is almost invisible. However, I get a sense of its weighty presence in the environment.”
She tries to wrap her mind around the portal and push it back into the mountain, but her grip slips off each time she attempts it.
“I cannot move the portal and feel its power from here. Oscar is right I can’t close it.” She thinks grimly, going over the steps to close a portal in her mind as Oscar showed her.
She snorts a chuckle recalling that rainy afternoon, where he described the technique. “So much chanting and visualising. There is no way you could do that with these things pouring out. Its much easier to open a portal than close one.” She reflects.
Kim turns her attention to the cliff, briefly but turns away disheartened, “Absolutely solid granite. No exploitable cracks to bring it down onto the portal to block it.”
She wipes her eyes dry and sniffs, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Oscar has only just gone. You don’t have to have a plan every time, girl. Scout the area, set up base of operations and some kind of infrastructure to support incoming units.” She thinks, to herself. “I need to map this place out so, if I need to provide coordinates so that they can open a portal here, they won’t.” The train of thought is gone and she begins calculating, as a seed of an idea, is beginning to blossom.
Kim takes the cutlass in her right hand and slashes her left palm. Deep within the fade she moves her hand in a perfect circle, slightly larger than the Annunakin portal and close enough to scorch her hand. Gritting her teeth through the pain she visualises the inside of the cliff with a horizontal circle pointing straight down.
The veins bulge on her forehead as she fights to connect the two circles together and she screams, staggering back and dropping out of the fade, the moment that the circles are joined.
Her left hand burns, but her right stays strong, wrapped around the hilt of the cutlass. She turns slowly, seeing the assembled Annunakin slowly begin to circle her, as she stand with her back to the portals.
She throws the blade high in the air, fills her hand with a PCS filled needle and slams it into her leg. She drops the needle and catches the weapon, donning her Sheath and helmet with a flourish.
In this moment, there is no time for thought, only action. Every swing of the elegant sword, drives the razor edge through the neck of another Annunakin. There is nothing supernatural at work, just a combination of a frenzied assault meeting a well honed defence, in a symphony of slaughter.
She grins feeling the portals flash behind her. She senses the creature emerge from one portal straight into another and then into a solid rock and bounce back through the portals into its home dimension.
Two leap at her at once and are slowed by her arrester enough for her to slip from between them and dispatch them with a backward swing. Another leaps at her and lands straight onto her sword. The arrester slows its decent, but also hampers her ability to shake the beast loose as its pack mates close in. “Shit. The arrester actually slows my swing, if the enemy is in motion towards me. Even worse, if it is impaled the arrester reads the enemy as part of me and holds us together. If I get out of this, I need a word with Corven.”
She deactivates her arrester and flings the beast aside. At that moment, another piles into her back and clamps its jaws on her helmet. She flails madly, trying to dislodge the beast, hearing the helmet start to crack.
Kim focuses and commands the ground beneath her to wash over her like a wave, sweeping the beast off of her back. The optics of the helmet blink and alarms sound, so she stashes it in a dimensional pocket, until she can repair it.
She instinctively rolls back and keeps her back to the wall and centres herself as the Wolfkin come like a swarm.
Kim stands panting after half an hour, when the last Annunakin in the area dies by her blade. She flexes her left hand, gingerly, “Feels a bit better, that is a good sign.”
She pulls a bottle of water with a flourish and gulps it greedily, “I have a lot of work to do. There are a lot of these beasts at large and they could do so much harm to this place. I am not prepared to let that happen. At least having faced them and learned their attack patterns, I have a few ways to effectively fight them.”
Kim cleans the blade of her cutlass, and straps its scabbard to her thigh before sliding it into place. As she stands, her hand rests on the pommel of the weapon and she feels a sense of peace, “This feels right somehow.”
Embracing the calm, she reaches out with her mind, feeling where all of the remaining Annunakin are. “Almost five thousand Annunakin are running rampant and I have no idea how long the cavalry will take.” She thinks sadly, “It will take days, to kill them all. However, I think I have a strategy to reduce the risk to me.”
Small rocks tumble into the chasm below her, where her shoulder brushed the sheet rock face. Kim smiles to herself, fingertips barely gripping the tiniest of hand holds and the toes of her boots in small cracks in the rock.
She feels the rock before her, every surface, every crack and every crumbling rock right up to the summit where Oscar awaits.
Kim heaves flinging herself left, planting one foot on a tiny outcrop and gripping a handhold by her left cheek and another above her right shoulder. “Three points of contact, babe.” She thinks, smiling to herself.
Right foot lifts, tucking into a crack a few inches below her right hip. She flexes her leg lifting her body up the cliff. Her left foot slots into the space her hand was and her right hand travels up the cliff, to find a hold above her head.
To anyone watching, there is no hesitation. Her limbs are in constant motion, as she ascends seemingly unstoppable.
At ten thousand feet, she pulls out a thick bandana and ties it across her face, covering her nose and mouth, followed by an insulated hat to cover her golden hair. She takes a moment to look around and take in the beauty of the valley, that is now below her.
Jagged peaks jut from the land, their lower slops covered in thick rain forest, giving way to grass plains above the treeline. Birds fly over the trees far below her. Only wisps of cloud and the rest of this cliff can be seen above her.
She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, “Come on Kim. You ain’t done yet. It gets tougher from her, better change my approach.”
Kim closes her eyes and feels the ridges of her finger prints thicken and become rougher and her limbs lengthen. She breathes in and her body becomes thinner allowing her to press herself flatter to the rock.
With a flourish, her boots and socks disappear and her body grows a layer of fat to deal with the cold. She doesn’t need to look to see the thick tough claws sprout from her fingers and toes.
As if someone fired a starting pistol, she explodes into motion, scrambling up the rock. There are no longer three points of contact. Left hand grabs rock, heaves pulling her up. Claws of right foot dig in, muscles heave. And on and on.
Oscar sits calmly at the summit of the mountain, in front if a small fire, lost in communion with the land. His mind is everywhere.
He feels the fire before him and the wind battering the cliff face. The trees of the forest are like the hairs on his chest, the forest floor, his beating heart. He sees through the eyes of all living things.
He smiles, thinking, “All is balanced, all is well. We have done good work here.”
Kim vaults over the edge of the cliff and lands on her feet at the summit, near to the fire. She beams a smile and suppresses her adaptations, returning to her normal look.
Oscar keeps his eyes closed, but smiles, “Not your fastest work. Did you stop for a cup of tea on the way? He asks playfully.
Kim snorts a chuckle and dons her boots and socks with a flourish, before warming herself busy the fire, “Not today. The valley looked so beautiful, I had to stop and take a proper look.”
Oscar smiles, “Why did I ask you to climb the cliff?”
Kim lays back resting on her elbows, “To build a connection with the land. Experience the feel of the cliff and the power of the wind. See the valley with all my senses.”
He doesn’t respond, he simply smiles. He opens his eyes and looks at her, thinking, “Boundless energy. Still as wide eyed and eager as day one. I am so proud of her.”
Kim smells the wild boar roasting in the flames of the fire and grins, “That smells amazing.”
“It won’t be ready for at least a couple of hours. Would you like to do a quick patrol of the realm to make sure all is well?” he says testing her.
“Whatever you say.” Kim says, flipping to her feet. Oscar gives her a nod and she runs at the cliff edge, leaping off.
She feels no fear, feeling her environment around her she merges with it, disappearing from sight, high above the valley floor.
She re-emerges a split second later in the rain forest, landing with a roll and coming up running. She leaps over tree roots and ducks under branches, before leaping and kicking off of a tree
From tree to tree, she kicks and leaps bouncing through the forest before she leaps high, curling into a ball and merging with her environment.
She emerges in a ball and plunges into the river. Gills sprout from her neck and her fingers and toes become webbed. She removes her boots and socks with a flourish and powers through the water.
Kim’s legs kick hard and she tucks her arms by her sides, streaking upwards. She breaks the surface leaping out of the water like a salmon and merging once again.
Landing on both feet she surveys the savannah between the mountains and the sea, she runs toward the sea.
With a heave, she launches herself off of a rocky outcrop with a whoop, she shifts in mid air and emerges over the sea. By the time she hits the water, her fingers and toes have stretched with thick webbing between them and gills open on her neck.
Keeping her feet together, she kicks hard and fast jetting through the water, using her hands to steer and provide more thrust. She dives deep and feels a large shark like creature at her back, as she powers to the surface.
She leaps from the water with the shark on her heels and merges at the moment it’s jaws snap shut. By the time the shark realises It’s meal has gone, she is already sprinting on the beach.
And on she continues. Merging with her environment and emerging at a different point that she entered, effectively running and teleporting from point to point, as she goes.
Oscar nods monitoring her progress, “She feels her environment, intuitively. She fades, like it is second nature and merges like she has been doing it all her life. When she fades into the world, she is as good as invisible.”
He studies the dance of the flames, looking for wisdom and sighs, “For all she has done in such a short time and all she has achieved, she is still holding back.”
He takes a stick and stirs the embers before adding a few more logs to the fire. Once it is roaring again, he nods to himself, “Her heritage gives her many advantages, she has a natural talent for the workings of magic, but it is her personality and tenacity which drives her to excel.”
Oscar takes a deep pull of rum and extends his senses, focusing on his student, but he has trained her too well in hiding her thoughts. “Something is keeping her from opening herself fully to the worlds. She cannot progress without overcoming that.”
She lands with a back-flip, in camp slightly out of breath, then makes a bee line for the fire and her waiting mentor. “Oscar, I have done a full circuit and all seems well.”
The older man nods and rubs his bald scalp, “All is as it should be. Come. Warm yourself by the fire.” He says and offers a cup of hot coffee.
Kim takes the cup and sips tentatively, savouring the strong hot brew, “This is good stuff. I swear, if civilisation crumbles the new currency will be coffee beans, if they are this good.”
Oscar snorts as he takes a mouthful of the hot brew, “You might be onto something there.” Oscar places a hand on his knee and looks sadly at Kim, “I need to have a serious conversation with you.”
Kim sips her coffee and senses, that this is not the time for levity, “Is something wrong?”
“You have come so far in such a short period of time.” Oscar begins, “You have learned your lessons so well and been the best student that a mentor could ever hope for. However.” He stops, trying to find the right words.
Kim speaks softly, “However, I have hit a plateau.”
Oscar nods grimly, “In order to complete your training, the next step is to swim in the sea of life, that washes over all things. To navigate it’s currents and find your way to it’s shores.”
Kim takes a gulp of coffee, hoping it will give her wisdom, almost saddened when none is revealed, “I am scared. I can feel the Life Sea. But it is so vast. What if I lose my way? What if I lose my connection to my sisters? What if I open myself to the Sea of Life and permanently lose my connection to them.” She looks up at him tearfully, “What if I lose myself?”
“When you swim in the sea of life, you immerse yourself in it, but you remain whole. The currents will carry you to where you need to be, but only if you float. If you see in your mind where you want to go, you will go there.” Oscar explains, gently, “Just as when you merge, you retain yourself, it is the same when you dive into the Life Sea. The difference is, when you merge, you emerge within your environment. When you swim you can travel between realms.”
“But it is all so big. I am still just a kid. I am not ready for the responsibility.” Kim says, almost pleading.
“You were ready for it, the day I met you. You have done many things in your life, not because you were ready, but because you needed to.” Oscar says, laying a hand on her shoulder, “Ecomancy aside, you have the ability to look at what is before you and know in your heart the path to take. That is more important.”
Kim chews her lip and stares into the distance, wondering what is more important to her, being safe in what she knows, or taking a chance to become more with the fear of permanently losing her connection to her sisters.
“You saw the river, stocked with salmon and bass, but sharing with pacu, which were devouring all of the vegetation and starting to pick at other fish species. You saw that the pacu were the problem and relocated every one to a slower river with lower oxygen to control their appetites instead of culling them. Now they all flourish.” Oscar explains, warmly.
“When the feathered serpents began encroaching on the breeding grounds of the deer and goats. You worked out that they were running from something, so we corralled them and then headed into the heart of their traditional territory to find several rivers clogged with vegetation and becoming stagnant, forcing predator and prey alike to seek water elsewhere. Once we had used a small shoal of pacu to clear the rivers, they became established as a new prey item for the serpents, which we re-introduced.” He explains, sketching the creatures in the snow with a stick.
Kim opens her mouth to protest, but he stops her with a gentle wave, “Then you spent four days straight, protecting the octopi on the north shore when they gestated to make sure they bred and settled safely before birthing.” He lightly grips her shoulder, “You have an instinct for nurturing your environment and doing what must be done that is rare.”
Kim hears what he says and knows he is right, “If I do this. What will it be like?”
“Just like a dip in the ocean. I will be with you and you will feel other Custodians. You will probably sense the currents flowing to the realms as well. If you feel a pull in one or more directions, pick one and feel your way towards it.” Oscar days, warmly.
Kim nods thoughtfully, “I need to do this, don’t I?”
Oscar shakes his head gently, “No. If it is not in your heart to do this, you don’t have to.”
“That’s just it. I feel the Life Sea calling to me, but I am scared of how it will change me.” Kim says, feeling the pull on her soul.
“It never washes a Custodian away, it may take them to a place they need to be, but never diminishes anyone who is open to it.” Oscar says, gently.
Kim smiles and breathes in the mountain air, producing a plate with a flourish and loading up with meat and veg, then passing it to Oscar “One for you.”, then she produces another plate and begins loading it up.
“We will put out the fire and clean up before we go.” Oscar says, with a grin.
“What do you mean?” Kim asks, defensively.
“Your stomach often decides, before your head does.” Oscar says loading up a flatbread with meat and salad leaves.
Kim stands loose and ready, Oscar places a hand on her shoulder and speaks softly, “Ready when you are. When you are in the Sea, you will feel a pull. If you are not comfortable, pull against it, but if you are at peace go with it.”
She smiles and then without warning hugs him, “Whatever happens, thank you for everything Oscar. You have been the best mentor and friend, I could ever have hoped for.”
Oscar fights the urge to cry, “Thank you for teaching me that there is still wonder in the world and reminding me that magic isn’t just something you control, it is something you feel.”
Kim closes her eyes and let’s everything go.
There is no up or down, only here and elsewhere. The sea feels warm against her skin and she feels its energy permeate her soul and leave it cleansed.
Kim glides through the Sea like a manta ray, soaring through the depths. The hopes and dreams of a thousand realms echo in her heart and she feels the joy well up inside her.
Something inside her feels a gentle nudge and she opens herself to the path. She feels the shore calling her and feels the waves of life crashing against them.
“This is where I am meant to be.” Kim realises, “I am being called there.”
She doesn’t try to fight it and lets herself be pulled to the shore.
Kim emerges from the Life Sea and sinks to her knees on a beach. The air is cool, but not to the point of being cold. A stiff breeze off of the ocean, tingles against her skin.
She opens her mind to this place to understand where she is. She feels the lush forests before her and the rich and diverse ocean at her back. She pushes her senses further sensing the diverse vibrant life of this paradise.
Kim’s senses forge into the interior of the continent, sensing the mountains and valleys. She feels Oscar at her side, trying to tell her something.
She pauses feeling something. Something Alien. Something wrong. She opens her eyes and sees Oscar tugging at her clothing.
“We have to go. NOW!” He shouts, raising his voice for the first time since they met.
Kim sees the fear in his eyes and knows something is very wrong, “Oscar, what is it?”
“We have to get out of here, right now.” Oscar says again.
“What is going on?” Kim asks, sensing his fear.
Oscar sees the fear in his students face a d takes a breath, “We need to go and get help. The Annunakin that fought Atlantis are here. The portal is new, but strong. Their numbers are building. We need to stop them before they can establish a beach head.”
Kim feels the Annunakin sweeping out from the portal and slaughtering the native fauna, “You go. Tell everyone that needs to know. Bring help. The Life Sea called me here for a reason. I think, I will stay for a bit, try to stem the flow. Save all of this realm that I can.”
“No Kim, that would be suicide. Already they spread like a cancer across the land.” Oscar observes.
“The Life Sea drew me here, I at least need to find out why.” Kim says, thoughtfully.
Oscar moves to protest, but sees her resolve. A part of him knows, whatever he does or says, she will stay. “Be smart. Keep moving. Choose your battles wisely.”
“Always.” Kim says, doubting almost everything, but feeling a little self belief.
Oscar nods, “I will return as quickly as I can with support. There is a dilation on this realm of six to one, until it can be stabilised and brought into line with the flow of time on Atlantis. I should be able to get support here within a day or so, but you will have to lay low.” He pauses for a moment, pulling a package from a dimensional pocket and tossing it to her, “Steer clear of the portal. The Annunakin will be frenzied in their protection of it. I know I have shown you how to close a portal, but, this portal is too big, we will need help to close it.”
Kim slips the package under her arm and nods, “I will strike and fade. Confound the enemy, buy time until you return.”
“If you can secure a safe base of operations for actions in the realm that is more valuable at this stage. Gather intel and stay safe.” Oscar says, unable voice his worries. He looks Kim up and down and nods gravely, “If you weren’t capable of doing this, I wouldn’t be leaving.”
Kim nods, “Thank you Oscar, it means a lot having you believe in me. Now time is ticking, you had better get moving.”
He hugs her and without another word, vanishes from the realm.
Kim stands in the clearing alone and listens to the wind, savouring the scent of the jungle.
Kim unwraps the package Oscar left and smiles. She unsheathes the cutlass and examines its razor sharp Orichalcum blade. Hefting the blade she takes a couple of text swings and purrs with satisfaction, “Nice heft to it, the weight of the basket guard offsets the blade, placing the balance point just forward of the hilt. Sharp, easy to control, and fast. I can work with this.”
Sitting with crossed legs, she holds out her hands with the weapon across her palms. “Oscar, you trained me so well in Ecomancy, however, you still have no idea what I can do with a weapon like this and an enemy to fight.”
“OK. There are a hundred Annunakin per hour coming though the portal and currently a few thousand running around.” She thinks, opening herself to the realm, “I can’t close the portal. What can I do?”
She fades almost completely into her environment and shifts to float above the portal, “Sometimes it is better to get eyes on.”
The Annunakin are much as the video she saw of Nikita battling them showed, but they seem different, they are insectile and six legged, but more like wolves than bulls “Smaller and faster, however less armoured.”
Turning her attention to the portal she hovers over it, looking straight down onto it. “Perfect circle, just hanging there, barely touching the ground. From the top looking down it is almost invisible. However, I get a sense of its weighty presence in the environment.”
She tries to wrap her mind around the portal and push it back into the mountain, but her grip slips off each time she attempts it.
“I cannot move the portal and feel its power from here. Oscar is right I can’t close it.” She thinks grimly, going over the steps to close a portal in her mind as Oscar showed her.
She snorts a chuckle recalling that rainy afternoon, where he described the technique. “So much chanting and visualising. There is no way you could do that with these things pouring out. Its much easier to open a portal than close one.” She reflects.
Kim turns her attention to the cliff, briefly but turns away disheartened, “Absolutely solid granite. No exploitable cracks to bring it down onto the portal to block it.”
She wipes her eyes dry and sniffs, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Oscar has only just gone. You don’t have to have a plan every time, girl. Scout the area, set up base of operations and some kind of infrastructure to support incoming units.” She thinks, to herself. “I need to map this place out so, if I need to provide coordinates so that they can open a portal here, they won’t.” The train of thought is gone and she begins calculating, as a seed of an idea, is beginning to blossom.
Kim takes the cutlass in her right hand and slashes her left palm. Deep within the fade she moves her hand in a perfect circle, slightly larger than the Annunakin portal and close enough to scorch her hand. Gritting her teeth through the pain she visualises the inside of the cliff with a horizontal circle pointing straight down.
The veins bulge on her forehead as she fights to connect the two circles together and she screams, staggering back and dropping out of the fade, the moment that the circles are joined.
Her left hand burns, but her right stays strong, wrapped around the hilt of the cutlass. She turns slowly, seeing the assembled Annunakin slowly begin to circle her, as she stand with her back to the portals.
She throws the blade high in the air, fills her hand with a PCS filled needle and slams it into her leg. She drops the needle and catches the weapon, donning her Sheath and helmet with a flourish.
In this moment, there is no time for thought, only action. Every swing of the elegant sword, drives the razor edge through the neck of another Annunakin. There is nothing supernatural at work, just a combination of a frenzied assault meeting a well honed defence, in a symphony of slaughter.
She grins feeling the portals flash behind her. She senses the creature emerge from one portal straight into another and then into a solid rock and bounce back through the portals into its home dimension.
Two leap at her at once and are slowed by her arrester enough for her to slip from between them and dispatch them with a backward swing. Another leaps at her and lands straight onto her sword. The arrester slows its decent, but also hampers her ability to shake the beast loose as its pack mates close in. “Shit. The arrester actually slows my swing, if the enemy is in motion towards me. Even worse, if it is impaled the arrester reads the enemy as part of me and holds us together. If I get out of this, I need a word with Corven.”
She deactivates her arrester and flings the beast aside. At that moment, another piles into her back and clamps its jaws on her helmet. She flails madly, trying to dislodge the beast, hearing the helmet start to crack.
Kim focuses and commands the ground beneath her to wash over her like a wave, sweeping the beast off of her back. The optics of the helmet blink and alarms sound, so she stashes it in a dimensional pocket, until she can repair it.
She instinctively rolls back and keeps her back to the wall and centres herself as the Wolfkin come like a swarm.
Kim stands panting after half an hour, when the last Annunakin in the area dies by her blade. She flexes her left hand, gingerly, “Feels a bit better, that is a good sign.”
She pulls a bottle of water with a flourish and gulps it greedily, “I have a lot of work to do. There are a lot of these beasts at large and they could do so much harm to this place. I am not prepared to let that happen. At least having faced them and learned their attack patterns, I have a few ways to effectively fight them.”
Kim cleans the blade of her cutlass, and straps its scabbard to her thigh before sliding it into place. As she stands, her hand rests on the pommel of the weapon and she feels a sense of peace, “This feels right somehow.”
Embracing the calm, she reaches out with her mind, feeling where all of the remaining Annunakin are. “Almost five thousand Annunakin are running rampant and I have no idea how long the cavalry will take.” She thinks sadly, “It will take days, to kill them all. However, I think I have a strategy to reduce the risk to me.”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
It was a splendid idea to create this Arc where the Youngsters stand centrestage. The first paragraphs were breathtaking: I could see Kim scaling the cliff before my inner eye @wolfman !
@Caesar73 is correct, @wolfman. Splendid and breathtaking are certainly words that apply here. I am bursting with eagerness to see what you will do next. Mega-kudos.
A List of my stories:An Unlikely Savior Completed
Spy Task Force Completed
Tale of an Archer Completed
The Bandit Scout on Newhome updated 05/30/23
Thank you for your kind words @Caesar73 . It was a risk putting them front and centre. I am really pleased this resonates and hits right.
Thank you to for your kind words
@GreyLord I hope you like the chapters to come as much as this one.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
4 PM Temporis Realm, Stadium of Light and Love
The sun beats down on this warm spring day. The scent of salt air and olive groves drift across the sea, mingled with the scent of fire roasted meats and vegetables. The stadium is humming with the sound of the assembled music fans attending, each one of them in awe of the massive soundstage and screens at the north end of the field.
Several stages have already started their performances, in the area around the stadium, but the largest and most ambitious show, has yet to begin, but far from being restless, the forty thousand strong crowd from across the realms is buoyed with excitement.
Glamfest is an annual music festival hosted over several days. Every year The Glamour Ministry puts on a performance, showcasing the best and brightest that the institution has to offer.
The only thing is that most of it isn’t there. There are sound stages, but they are empty. There are no performers or screens, only the stadium, crowds and food stalls are real.
However, the moment the sound booms into life and Elvis Presley strides onto the stage, no one doubts it, nor cares.
After a powerful opening with “A little less conversation” and “Suspicious Minds”, the crowds start losing their minds when the first strains of “Love me tender” ring out. In less than an hour, no one present doubts that Elvis is still the King of Rock and Roll, even in death.
The lights go down and the crowd gasps, when they come back on to show The Beatles with Elvis, as the band begins to play “Yesterday”. The balance of vocals between John Lennon and Elvis is sublime, moving the stadium to tears, before he waves a fond farewell to the crowd, with a heartfelt “Thank you, very much.”
The Beatles switch it up with “She loves you” and “When I saw you standing there, before closing with “Imagine” accompanied by images of people across the realms and earth, coming together.
When the light come up again, the band is in darkness and the crowd waits with baited breath, until the first chords of “Wild Horses” ring out, 1970's Mick Jagger struts onto the stage.
Two Hueys, fly low over the crowd firing machine guns from the door in time to “Paint it black”, with rockets from the canard wings adding to the spectacle. By the end of the song Mick is fired up and blasts into “Start me up.” Before closing with “Sympathy for the devil.”
As the last notes fade, the guitar and beat of “Purple Rain” kick In, with Prince walking on stage with Mick Jagger, headset microphones in place. The crowd roars are a gentle rain starts to fall. And yes, it was purple.
The crowd traverses the range of emotion from hope to despair as the track unfolds. By its end everyone present feels a sense of catharsis.
The palpable sense of pathos only grows when he launches into “When doves cry”, with hundreds of pure white birds, wheel and circle overhead in time with the lyrics.
Needing a lift in the mood, everyone’s heart leaps as the tempo suddenly shifts and the light in the stadium somehow fades and the laser show erupts from the stage, bringing everyone to a sense of elation when “1999” begins.
The show continues, with stars from Michael Jackson to Oasis, Queen, Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Eminem, Dr Dre. The whole spectrum of music is represented from the 1950’s to modern day. A monster concert, fourteen hours long keeping the crowd on their feet and cheering for the entire time.
The concert closes with a rendition of “Don’t look back in anger”, featuring performances from all artists that have been on stage so far. The first vocals beginning in time with the rising of the sun.
Oberon knocks the door to the control booth waiting to be invited before entering. “Come in.” An exhausted voice says, softly.
He opens the door wearing a sharp tailored suit and a big grin, “Good morning Ali.” He sets down an ice cold flagon of fresh orange juice and a large paper bag, on the table before her.
She wearily reaches into the bag and plucks a roast lamb, mint and pomegranate pitta from it, “Legend.” She utters before devouring the contents of the bag and the orange juice.
Oberon slaps his leg, “After that concert, you are the legend.”
“I tried to do the best I could.” Ali says, looking up, seeking approval.
“It shows. The whole thing was a success.” He sighs, “You know, including myself and Phobos, maybe a dozen esoteric practitioners could have staged a performance like that. You do know that you are a very special talent, don’t you?”
“So you keep saying.” Ali says, gazing it of the cubicles window, watching the last of the crowds disperse.
“This isn’t you though, is it?” Oberon says sadly.
Ali looks up startled, thinking, “How does he know?”
He waves his hands languidly, “We deceive others, yet we always show the truth to ourselves. I know that your heart is that of a warrior and you wonder at the use of illusions in war. I also know that you were a master of the Unseen college, before you came to me, but we can let that go.”
“What do you mean? The blind spot thing? We learnt that from Fey’s book.” Ali says defensively.
“And where did she learn it?” Oberon asks, with an amused smile, “No matter, I am right though, aren’t I.”
“Yeah, I think it is so cool, all the things I can do, but wonder what I will be able to use it for.” Ali confesses.
Oberon takes a deep breath and throws his arms wide, “You have learned conscious thought reading, cold reading, telepathic perception control, light control and sound wave manipulation to the point that you can create realistic illusions that the perceiving person cannot distinguish from the real thing and untold other tricks to add realism and gravitas to your work. Do you really think there are no options for that in war?”
“I just can’t see it on the front line.” Ali says with a shrug.
“I know you have kept up with your physical training alongside your studies, to maintain your physical edge. I will count to three and I want you to hit me, as hard as you can.” Oberon says, without humour.
Ali looks at him confused, “What?”
“One.” Oberon says, standing relaxed and ready.
Ali stands up and dusts crumbs off of her t-shirt and shorts, before clenching her fists.
“Two” He says, betraying no emotion.
She adjusts her stance, thinking, “He is a sweet old guy, I can’t bring myself to hurt him. I will never forgive myself.”
“Three.” He says smiling.
Ali strikes hard. Leaving her knuckles sore from the impact with the glass screen.
She reaches out frantically, trying to find a seam or opening in the glass box surrounding her. Then tries to send the glass to a pocket dimension without success.
Oberon takes a seat and waits for Ali to calm down. Eventually she stops trying to escape and manages to get into a seated position on the floor and the walls melt away.
“A great deal of war, is deception. Make your enemies think you are strong, or weak, or elsewhere. Feed them a lie that becomes the truth, that they base their strategy upon.” He explains, “Where others gather intelligence, we are the masters of lies. Bullets and blades are not our weapons, we exist in a world of half truth and rumour, where we define what is real.” He pauses, raising an eyebrow, “In World War Two, when Winston Churchill said about the truth being protected by a bodyguard of lies, he was inadvertently talking about us.”
“What are you saying?” Ali says, wanting to be sure she understands the point Oberon is making.
“Freshen up and get changed, you can sleep on the way.” He says, gently.
“Where are we going?” Ali asks, confused.
“To find out what we can do in the real world.” Oberon says, with an irrepressible glint in his eye.
Ali breathes heavily in the sauna like humidity of a spring night, in Haven. For the first time since she met him, Oberon has removed his jacket and loosened his tie.
Oberon dabs the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and takes a sip from a water bottle. “Yeah, should have warned you about the heat.”
“Where exactly are we?” Ali asks, changing to lycra shorts and a baggy t-shirt with a flourish.
“This is Haven. Much has changed since the last time you were here. With the vacuum left by the absence of a large scale law enforcement presence, criminal gangs have risen to power here since the earthquake. The capitals Security Guard are short on numbers and dedicated, but overwhelmed. Refugees are snatched by people smuggling gangs on a daily basis and the streets are swimming in drugs.” Oberon explains, “The masses suffer and the gangs thrive.”
Ali imagines the chaos on the streets and remembers the sense of hope that the people displayed on the day she and her family left and feels a tear in her eye, “That is so unfair. There are good people here, who have suffered and lost so much.”
Oberon nods “Humans crave structure, when our structures fail, we bow to the powerful that rise. This is a sad fact of humanity. The rule of law, is weakened.” He pauses for effect and looks her in the eye, “Today, we start turning the tide.”
“How can we do that? It is just us and we have no weapons to speak of.” Ali asks, wide eyed.
Oberon thoughtfully stares off into the distance, before softly saying, “The only weapon you need, is between your ears.”
Kiribati nervously shifts his sidearm from hand to hand, watching the street. This is the part he hates. The waiting is the worst part. Once the lorry arrives, the team onboard will take over security and take the girls to the cells, letting him relax.
His senses tingle, feeling the rumble of the old diesel lorry, bringing a smile to his lips as a large dark truck rolls around the corner and comes to a halt in the reception area and turns to face the street before reversing towards the door.
He casually reaches back and bangs on the steel warehouse door twice, letting his colleagues know to get the latest shipment ready for transport.
Slowly the warehouse door lifts with a heavy metallic clanking as the man inside the door yanks on the chain. Kiribati hops up onto the loading dock and guides the lorry back, until it creaks to a halt and the engine shuts off.
He breathes a sigh and pulls open the back doors. It takes a moment for his mind to understand what he sees, then all he can do is scream.
The modified Haven Security Guard cruiser glides over the city, high above the noise. Its sleek black lines, give it the look of a barracuda.
Despite the late hour, the pilot and co-pilot wear mirror shades. This is the most effective way to integrate into the heads up display of the craft without looking inhuman.
The radio crackles into life, “Reeves, come in over.”
The young and nervous looking pilot keys his mike, “Reeves to control, over.”
“We have report of heavy gunfire in your area, coordinates sent to your nav for RV with an Atlantean Ops team.” The controller says, with a hint of sadness.
Reeves nods gravely, “Yeah, I confirm location received.” He looks at the location and scoffs, thinking to himself, “Welcome to Ghost Town. Where you come looking for answers and all you find are ghosts and shadows. Even the Atlanteans, have no luck here. Chances are we are walking into an ambush.”
Less than five minutes later, he lands the cruiser at the coordinates given and sees the Atlanteans assembled in a nearby rooftop.
He opens his door to see one of the Specialists waiting for him and extends his hand, not knowing what the protocol is, “Reeves, HSG.”
The specialist shakes his hand back and announces, “Amos, Kings Guard. Where do you want us?”
“These guys have been a godsend, HSG command hasn’t got the numbers for high risk actions but each time we call, these guys stand at our sides and never flinch.” Reeves thinks, before asking “What is the situation?”
“You guys got a tip off, twenty minutes ago about a heavy fire fight, we arrived two minutes ago and confirm no movement from within, but infrared shows a lot of warm bodies inside.” Amos says, opening his visor for a moment.
Reeves takes a moment to review the scans and freely admits to himself, he has no idea what to do. “I have a plan.” He turns to his co-Pilot, “Rex, hold position at a thousand feet as our eye in the sky and call it in. We are going to investigate.” Before Rex can object, Reeves follows up, “That’s an order.”
Rex pleadingly looks at his, however, Reeves stays strong, “You have a wife and two kids, with another on the way. This doesn’t need both of us.” He speaks with a subtle sense of resignation in his voice.
He snatches up a shotgun from the back seat and begins to walk with Amos towards the site, his dark blue, canvas uniform and Kevlar vest at odds with the ultra high tech Sheath of his companion.
“We can handle this, if you want to direct us from the rear. Part of our mission here is to keep you guys out of the firing line, so you can manage civil actions.” Amos says, warmly.
“Thanks man, I appreciate that. But this is my home, I grew up three streets away and these are my people. They need to see that when they cross the line, one of their own is coming for them.” Reeves says, taking in the target location, “Rex feels the same, but he has a wife and kids.”
As they walk towards the building, Atlantean specialists drop from rooftops into formation behind them. They form a line behind Reeves at the gate to the compound at the rear of the building. Using the fingers of his left hand, he gives a three count then keeping low, sweeps around the corner. The line hugs the wall, zigging and zagging avoiding incoming fire that never materialises.
When they get to the door unscathed, Reeves shrugs and whispers “Maybe no one is home.” He signal a man with an entry tool and beckons him forward.
Amos holds up two fingers and points them towards the door, indicating two hostiles on the other side of the door. Reeves nods and gives a three count for the breach.
The door almost flies off of its hinges when the heavy steel ram connects. Before the dust settles, Reeves is in and sweeps low, noticing the bullet holes in the floor walls and ceiling and shell casings on the floor.
The air is heavy with the scent of discharged weapons, but there is no sign of blood or bodies to be seen, as he advances cautiously. He crouches and holds up a fist to halt the men behind him, hearing a noise.
Like a blur he rolls over to a desk pointing his weapon at the source of the noise. A man in ripped jeans and a shredded tank top, rocks backwards and forwards, his wrists and ankles bound with heavy zip ties.
Reeves signals for back up and leans in to hear what the man is mumbling. “Hey, what happened here?” he says laying a hand on his shoulder.
The man jerks as if he had been electrocuted, “The Devil came. I saw him.” The man says staring in wide eyed terror at Reeves, before his bottom lip starts to tremble and a pool of liquid forms under him, when he utters the words, “He saw me.”
One of the King’s guard escorts him out and Reeves catches Amos’ arm and confides, “I know that man, low level leg breaker and psychopath for hire. Nothing scares him. What the hell happened here?”
It is a question he asks more and more as they sweep the building, seeing yet more terrified and bound men and women, haunted by the Devil. Until the top floor, which is filled with small cages each housing a scared refugee in chains.
“Reeves to command, over.” He says, trying to calm his nerves.
“We read you Reeves. Sitrep. Over?” Command calls back.
“Target location secured, we have a people smuggling operation. Eighty three victims suffering malnutrition and general abuse, plus fifteen perpetrators showing signs of psychological trauma and some unusual lacerations. Send medivac and forensics to the scene.” Reeves reports.
“Understood. Define unusual lacerations. Over.” Command requests.
“In some cases, deep parallel cuts into the body which affect skin but not clothing.” Reeves confirms.
“Clarification confirmed. Support inbound. Please remain onsite for handover.” Command confirms.
That was the first call of the night, but far from the last. On the first night, a dozen people smuggling and drug smuggling operations were targets, with hundreds of freed refugees and dozens of arrests. Suspects so terrified of the Devil that they would confess their crimes without resistance, rather than see him again and many will need counselling and support for the rest of their lives.
The Devil visits over the next seven nights, decimating the drug and sex trafficking industries that are preying on the refugee population of Haven’s capital.
Word spreads quickly. No one knows if it is the actual Devil, a pretender, or some kind of advanced technology, but everyone acknowledges the risk and keeps their distance. In their cells, the hundreds of criminals he has visited, scream in inconsolable terror, whilst those freed give thanks for their deliverance.
Ali leans forward once again in the Studio, to devour a roasted, spiced lamb pitta with extra garlic and chilli sauce and stops herself for a moment, “OK I will admit that illusory magic can be useful in the real world.” She admits before taking a massive bite.
“I had a feeling you would see it that way.” Oberon says, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, “You’ve done well this week.” He admits taking a large bite of doner meat from his plate of kebab meat and chips adding “I guess we can add psychosomatic, spontaneous, injurious, manifestation to your list of accolades.”, between mouthfuls.
With a mouthful of food, Ali looks up confused, “Huh?”
Oberon chuckles, “Illusions so real, that they cause the viewers body to manifest appropriate injuries.” He takes a sip of wine, “I have been monitoring communications and the targets are all saying they saw something different. Did you send a different image to everyone so they all saw something tailored to them?”
Ali swallows her mouthful of food and takes a sip of water before coming up for air, “Nah, too much grief to do that. I focused on the essence of what they would see and sent that. ‘The Devil is here and he stares into your souls, before he confronts you about your sins. If you resist he will carve his name into your chest. Either way, you will pass out.” That way, their minds did the heavy lifting and filled in the blanks and it left me free to focus on other areas of deception.”
“Remarkable. That is not an approach I am familiar with. Brilliantly done.” Oberon says with more than a hint of pride.
“I kind of figured that when you send an email, you don’t write an email app each time, you use existing software and use it to send the email. In the same way, a targets brain has everything it needs to fool itself. So I transmit the essentials of what I want the target to see and the brains of everyone who receives it, does the rest. Wouldn’t have been able to do the concert without it.” Ali confirms finishing her lamb pitta and reaching into the bag for a second.
“Fascinating, we will discuss that and how it works. You have been a bright student from day one. As the head of the Glamour Ministry, I never take students. It is only because, Phobos persuaded me to look into you, that I decided to train you personally.” Oberon confesses, “I must say it has been a delight and a path full of surprises, that has taught me a few tricks along the way.”
Ali stops chewing and swallows, “Does this mean, we are not training anymore.” She fixes him with a gaze both tearful and hurt.
“Not at all. This is the day your training really begins. You have incredible intuition, where the sensing of emotions is concerned. The next step is the manipulation and amplification of emotion.” He says with a glint in his eye, “And I am sure we can do a little field work along the way.”
Ali reclines on a beach lounger in a white bikini. A folded silk scarf rests by her side, as she lazily sips an iced peach tea. She looks across the pool and senses the surface thoughts of those present, until she detects what she needs.
The young boy, no more than ten years old stares at the pool, imagining the water engulfing him and swallowing him whole. He wears trunks emblazoned with fictional earth heroes in bright colours, but do nothing to ease his dread.
His father has been trying to entice him into the water with the promise of ice cream later, but he dare not move.
Suddenly, he thinks to himself, “The water has not swallowed dad. It might not swallow me. It looks like it is not very deep so I should be able to stand up.”
He stands, setting down his soda, with all the steel in his gaze that a ten year old can muster and steps forward, nervously at first, but gaining confidence with each step.
The boys father gasps, as his son stands at the waters edge. He dare nor speak, for fear of scaring his son back to his seat.
The boy closes his eyes and thinks to himself “I can do this.” He steps forward and plunges into the water, going under for a moment then coming up laughing, into the arms of his proud father.
Ali sips her iced tea and smiles to herself, “To be able to wield emotions as a weapon, it pays to understand how they manifest and how they may be dispelled. Fear is a good place to start.”
She looks around the pool once more, looking for a other mark.
As the sun sets, she rises from her seat and walks away knowing that many saw her here, but none will remember her face.
Using the powers of the Unseen, augmented with Glamour, she is a myth, a suggestion, no longer just a person but something both less and more.
She walks unchallenged through the city, just beyond the perception of those she passes. She samples the thoughts of those she passes and smiles to herself, opening herself up to their feelings as well as their thoughts, until she feels the blind terror of a young woman in the back seat of a car being driven away at speed.
Without an arrester or a Sheath, she is without protection and she is armed with only her mind. Without hesitation, she sprints after the car using her momentum she bounces between the trees lining the road until she is able to spring onto a rooftop.
She spies the vehicle about half a mile away and accelerating crisply, “Could be worse, could be a shuttle. At least it is staying on the ground.”
Ali breaks into a dead run, leaping between rooftops and over airconditioning units. She smiles to herself, “Glad I have kept up the cardio part of my fitness regime.”
The congestion in the streets means that the car is limited to a top speed of thirty. Ali's PCS enhanced physique allows her to hit bursts of fifty miles per hour across the rooftop.
The German built saloon, pulls into a compound and Ali crouches on the rooftop overlooking the west side of the area. She closes her eyes and pushes away the thoughts of those in the area and focuses on the emotions.
Quietly she manages to pull out a plastic bag and vomit into it, then put it into a dimensional pocket. “There are bad things happening here. This is another level to what I saw in Haven.”
Ali sits quietly, making sure that any who lay eyes on her only see a shadow. She reaches out with her mind and feels the horror that the three women in the main building have been experiencing.
She feels a wrench in her own heart at the pain of the women and pulls her phone.
“Good evening Alison.” Oberon says, warily, “Is everything alright?”
“I was practicing what you taught me about reaching out and feeling emotions and I felt terror.” She blurts out, “I have felt real terror. Those poor women.”
“Send me your location, I will come to you.” Oberon says, pulling on his jacket and taking a silenced pistol from the bedside table. “Stay where you are. Still your mind, I am on my way.”
Ali focuses on her breathing and by the time she feels Oberon’s hand on her shoulder, her mind is quiet.
“Are you alright?” Oberon says, softly reaching out with his mind and feeling what she felt.
Ali nods slowly, “I am alright, but the poor women in there aren’t. The horrors that they have felt.”
“What do you want to do about it?” Oberon asks, clamping down on his own feelings.
“I want to kill them all.” Ali says, letting the words flow from the pain she feels.
“Do you really?” Oberon asks, in an even tone.
“The men here have memories of keeping countless prisoners and putting them through hell before ending their lives and dumping their bodies.” Ali says, grimly, “No amount of punishment will match what they have done.”
“This is the conundrum we face. How to balance the fate of the transgressors with their crimes.” Oberon says, calmly. “For a moment, I need you to be logical. If you give them the punishment they deserve, what happens?”
At first Ali is puzzled by the question and then she begins to answer slowly, “They get the punishment, they deserve.”
“According to whom?” Oberon challenges.
Ali considers the question for a moment, “According to me, I guess.”
“And what happens to you.” Oberon asks, gently.
“I guess, I would need to become as sadistic as them in order to administer punishment.” Ali says, with a dawning realisation. “If I do that, I become like them.”
Oberon nods, smiling gently, “Correct.”
“I need to rise above.” Ali says, looking to Oberon for approval.
“If I do it that way, my focus is the transgressors and not the victims. In these cases, victims should always be at the heart of what we do.” Ali says, with a new understanding.
Oberon chokes back a tear, with a nod, “Always. First focus is those who cannot help themselves. Second is those who prey upon them.”
He cannot help but gaze at his student with pride, “With that in mind, what is the best course of action here?” Oberon asks, softly.
Ali slumps her shoulders in defeat, “I don’t know.”
Oberon squeezes her shoulder, “Forget about what you know how to do. Skip to the end, what would you like the final outcome to be?”
Ali shakes her head, “I don’t know, people responsible behind bars and the victims living a life far away from this hell they have been forced to live in.”
“You know how to get people behind bars, so what is the problem to be solved?” Oberon asks, gently.
“How to get the victims out of here and to a place where they can live a better life.” Ali says, refocusing.
“There is a clinic on a secluded coastal island in Haven, that specialises in trauma recovery for victims of heinous crimes.” Oberon says, calmly, “We run it for situations like this. Once the victims are well enough, they will be given fresh identities and a new life.”
“We can do that?” Ali asks, feeling a sense of hope.
“Yes we can. After this is done. I think you and I shall review the Ministry’s portfolio of the services we can provide.” Oberon says, with a wink.
“That would be awesome. Would you be able to get a vehicle so we can transport the prisoners safely? I will begin planning for the sweep.” Ali says, reaching out to the minds of those present in the compound and the surrounding buildings to confirm who is involved.
“Already on its way.” Oberon assures her.
Without warning, the men and women involved in this operation drop to the floor, each imagining that they are encased from head to toe in spider thread with their arms pinned painfully to their sides. Each aggressor feels rooted to the spot and can only watch as a blanket of spiders engulfs them.
No one sees the figure in black stalk through the compound. All they see is their own pain and torment, feeling the teeth of a thousand spiders sink into their flesh.
The figure opens the door to a cell in the basement, the light of the corridor illuminates a woman chained to the wall and hints at another two in the room. The figure, works quickly and quietly removing the shackles of the women and throwing one of the weaker ones over each shoulder and leading the third to freedom.
With another two trips, all of the former prisoners within the compound are in the back of an unmarked blue van heading towards a new life.
The figure returns to the rooftop and crouches, removing her mask, like it mattered. “That felt good.” Ali says, with a gentle smile.
“What of those who remain in the compound?” Oberon asks, monitoring those wrapped in their own imaginations.
“Was thinking of making them watch their souls be pulled out of their bodies by the Devil and branded with the mark of the beast.” Ali says, unwrapping a chocolate bar.
“That’s a new one, I like it.” Oberon says, with a wry smile.
“Will use the opportunity to practice enhancing and reducing fear.” Ali says, focusing.
“Good shout.” Oberon says, thoughtfully, “You have a captive audience, try a few things and look for the patterns. You will soon get a feel for the beats to hit.”
Ali looks away, not wanting him to see her emotions play out at this stage. The trouble is, when you are operating at the level he is, he knew there was something on her mind before she did. “What’s up?” he asks, in a light tone.
“It’s nothing really.” Ali says, feeling her cheek burn a little.
“We save the lies for outsiders remember.” He says, with a warm smile.
“What am I doing here?” Ali says, turning to face him, “I am just a kid and you are head of a Ministry. What it your plan here?”
His smile fades and his demeanour becomes more serious, “The absolute truth is, that within the Ministry, we have field operatives that rival that of any Earth agency and we have powerful esoteric practitioners and never the twain shall meet. In the past this would have been enough. However, the landscape is changing. With the Unwinnable war over, Atlantis is expanding its vision and taking a more active role in the worlds stage. We need new solutions for a new age.”
He offers her the hip flask and she takes a swig, balking at the fiery taste, while he continues, “You can put on a concert to tens of thousands. You can walk Unseen through the realms and act with decisive precision to deal with any issue that is in your path.”
Oberon leans back against an air conditioning unit and sighs, “To answer your questions, in terms of what you are doing here and what is my plan. You came to me with some field training and experience, a gift for magic and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. It was and still is my hope, that you will consider joining the Ministry on a permanent basis and stand with us as we face the future.”
Ali takes another swig from the flask, “Seriously. I am just a kid. What do you expect me to do?”
“No. You are not just a kid.” Oberon says, calmly, “You stopped being a kid, when you took up arms in Santander. You are a young woman, with a gift.” He smiles at her, “I have spoken with some of the directors of the Ministry about your approach to mass illusory transmission and it has been very well received.”
“Really? But my approach isn’t that different from how things are done anyway.” Ali insists.
“Oh but it is. The focus has always been creating the perfect illusions by controlling every single detail, however, they can look too perfect. With your approach, it flips things around, using the perception of the viewer to see what we tell them.” Oberon explains, “This actually makes them more credible as everyone sees something that is basically the same, however, everyone also sees something slightly different.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Ali says, unable to find a way to object, “I guess it means when, I show someone the Devil it is personal for them too.”
Oberon gives a chefs kiss, “Exactly. Your work is more effective, as it is personal.” He grins and gives her a wink, “Do you want to know the moment, I was sure about you?” Ali chews her lip and nods, allowing him to continue, “In the restaurant, day one. When you grabbed the steak knife and warned me that things were off. Your instinct was to get me out, I stead of just running. In that moment, I knew you weren’t just a thug in waiting and you had a personal code.”
“Does a personal code matter?” Ali asks, not really having thought about it before.
“Absolutely. It means that you have an internal imperative to do the right thing. Given what we could do, if we acted without conscience, that matters.” He explains, then let’s the point sink in.
“I guess we could walk into Fort Knox and empty the place, or unleash chaos at a whim.” Ali says, before looking up at her mentor with a sense of dread, “Fake signals and trick a soldier into launching a a nuclear weapon.”
“Precisely.” Oberon says with a sage nod, “We have the power to shape a persons perception of the world. We can inflict mental trauma that can never be mended. We carry a burden of power, while others may have the power to end a life, we can alter its course. We can sew dread in our enemies and give inspiration to our allies.”
“When you put it that way, it is not something to be taken lightly.” Ali says, nodding to herself, before choosing her words carefully, “It has felt good, acting to defend those who cannot defend themselves and bringing some measure of justice to the minds of the guilty. If you want me for this honour, I am all in.”
“From the Ministry’s point of view, you are on the path.” Oberon says solemnly, “Will you join us?”
4 PM Temporis Realm, Stadium of Light and Love
The sun beats down on this warm spring day. The scent of salt air and olive groves drift across the sea, mingled with the scent of fire roasted meats and vegetables. The stadium is humming with the sound of the assembled music fans attending, each one of them in awe of the massive soundstage and screens at the north end of the field.
Several stages have already started their performances, in the area around the stadium, but the largest and most ambitious show, has yet to begin, but far from being restless, the forty thousand strong crowd from across the realms is buoyed with excitement.
Glamfest is an annual music festival hosted over several days. Every year The Glamour Ministry puts on a performance, showcasing the best and brightest that the institution has to offer.
The only thing is that most of it isn’t there. There are sound stages, but they are empty. There are no performers or screens, only the stadium, crowds and food stalls are real.
However, the moment the sound booms into life and Elvis Presley strides onto the stage, no one doubts it, nor cares.
After a powerful opening with “A little less conversation” and “Suspicious Minds”, the crowds start losing their minds when the first strains of “Love me tender” ring out. In less than an hour, no one present doubts that Elvis is still the King of Rock and Roll, even in death.
The lights go down and the crowd gasps, when they come back on to show The Beatles with Elvis, as the band begins to play “Yesterday”. The balance of vocals between John Lennon and Elvis is sublime, moving the stadium to tears, before he waves a fond farewell to the crowd, with a heartfelt “Thank you, very much.”
The Beatles switch it up with “She loves you” and “When I saw you standing there, before closing with “Imagine” accompanied by images of people across the realms and earth, coming together.
When the light come up again, the band is in darkness and the crowd waits with baited breath, until the first chords of “Wild Horses” ring out, 1970's Mick Jagger struts onto the stage.
Two Hueys, fly low over the crowd firing machine guns from the door in time to “Paint it black”, with rockets from the canard wings adding to the spectacle. By the end of the song Mick is fired up and blasts into “Start me up.” Before closing with “Sympathy for the devil.”
As the last notes fade, the guitar and beat of “Purple Rain” kick In, with Prince walking on stage with Mick Jagger, headset microphones in place. The crowd roars are a gentle rain starts to fall. And yes, it was purple.
The crowd traverses the range of emotion from hope to despair as the track unfolds. By its end everyone present feels a sense of catharsis.
The palpable sense of pathos only grows when he launches into “When doves cry”, with hundreds of pure white birds, wheel and circle overhead in time with the lyrics.
Needing a lift in the mood, everyone’s heart leaps as the tempo suddenly shifts and the light in the stadium somehow fades and the laser show erupts from the stage, bringing everyone to a sense of elation when “1999” begins.
The show continues, with stars from Michael Jackson to Oasis, Queen, Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Eminem, Dr Dre. The whole spectrum of music is represented from the 1950’s to modern day. A monster concert, fourteen hours long keeping the crowd on their feet and cheering for the entire time.
The concert closes with a rendition of “Don’t look back in anger”, featuring performances from all artists that have been on stage so far. The first vocals beginning in time with the rising of the sun.
Oberon knocks the door to the control booth waiting to be invited before entering. “Come in.” An exhausted voice says, softly.
He opens the door wearing a sharp tailored suit and a big grin, “Good morning Ali.” He sets down an ice cold flagon of fresh orange juice and a large paper bag, on the table before her.
She wearily reaches into the bag and plucks a roast lamb, mint and pomegranate pitta from it, “Legend.” She utters before devouring the contents of the bag and the orange juice.
Oberon slaps his leg, “After that concert, you are the legend.”
“I tried to do the best I could.” Ali says, looking up, seeking approval.
“It shows. The whole thing was a success.” He sighs, “You know, including myself and Phobos, maybe a dozen esoteric practitioners could have staged a performance like that. You do know that you are a very special talent, don’t you?”
“So you keep saying.” Ali says, gazing it of the cubicles window, watching the last of the crowds disperse.
“This isn’t you though, is it?” Oberon says sadly.
Ali looks up startled, thinking, “How does he know?”
He waves his hands languidly, “We deceive others, yet we always show the truth to ourselves. I know that your heart is that of a warrior and you wonder at the use of illusions in war. I also know that you were a master of the Unseen college, before you came to me, but we can let that go.”
“What do you mean? The blind spot thing? We learnt that from Fey’s book.” Ali says defensively.
“And where did she learn it?” Oberon asks, with an amused smile, “No matter, I am right though, aren’t I.”
“Yeah, I think it is so cool, all the things I can do, but wonder what I will be able to use it for.” Ali confesses.
Oberon takes a deep breath and throws his arms wide, “You have learned conscious thought reading, cold reading, telepathic perception control, light control and sound wave manipulation to the point that you can create realistic illusions that the perceiving person cannot distinguish from the real thing and untold other tricks to add realism and gravitas to your work. Do you really think there are no options for that in war?”
“I just can’t see it on the front line.” Ali says with a shrug.
“I know you have kept up with your physical training alongside your studies, to maintain your physical edge. I will count to three and I want you to hit me, as hard as you can.” Oberon says, without humour.
Ali looks at him confused, “What?”
“One.” Oberon says, standing relaxed and ready.
Ali stands up and dusts crumbs off of her t-shirt and shorts, before clenching her fists.
“Two” He says, betraying no emotion.
She adjusts her stance, thinking, “He is a sweet old guy, I can’t bring myself to hurt him. I will never forgive myself.”
“Three.” He says smiling.
Ali strikes hard. Leaving her knuckles sore from the impact with the glass screen.
She reaches out frantically, trying to find a seam or opening in the glass box surrounding her. Then tries to send the glass to a pocket dimension without success.
Oberon takes a seat and waits for Ali to calm down. Eventually she stops trying to escape and manages to get into a seated position on the floor and the walls melt away.
“A great deal of war, is deception. Make your enemies think you are strong, or weak, or elsewhere. Feed them a lie that becomes the truth, that they base their strategy upon.” He explains, “Where others gather intelligence, we are the masters of lies. Bullets and blades are not our weapons, we exist in a world of half truth and rumour, where we define what is real.” He pauses, raising an eyebrow, “In World War Two, when Winston Churchill said about the truth being protected by a bodyguard of lies, he was inadvertently talking about us.”
“What are you saying?” Ali says, wanting to be sure she understands the point Oberon is making.
“Freshen up and get changed, you can sleep on the way.” He says, gently.
“Where are we going?” Ali asks, confused.
“To find out what we can do in the real world.” Oberon says, with an irrepressible glint in his eye.
Ali breathes heavily in the sauna like humidity of a spring night, in Haven. For the first time since she met him, Oberon has removed his jacket and loosened his tie.
Oberon dabs the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and takes a sip from a water bottle. “Yeah, should have warned you about the heat.”
“Where exactly are we?” Ali asks, changing to lycra shorts and a baggy t-shirt with a flourish.
“This is Haven. Much has changed since the last time you were here. With the vacuum left by the absence of a large scale law enforcement presence, criminal gangs have risen to power here since the earthquake. The capitals Security Guard are short on numbers and dedicated, but overwhelmed. Refugees are snatched by people smuggling gangs on a daily basis and the streets are swimming in drugs.” Oberon explains, “The masses suffer and the gangs thrive.”
Ali imagines the chaos on the streets and remembers the sense of hope that the people displayed on the day she and her family left and feels a tear in her eye, “That is so unfair. There are good people here, who have suffered and lost so much.”
Oberon nods “Humans crave structure, when our structures fail, we bow to the powerful that rise. This is a sad fact of humanity. The rule of law, is weakened.” He pauses for effect and looks her in the eye, “Today, we start turning the tide.”
“How can we do that? It is just us and we have no weapons to speak of.” Ali asks, wide eyed.
Oberon thoughtfully stares off into the distance, before softly saying, “The only weapon you need, is between your ears.”
Kiribati nervously shifts his sidearm from hand to hand, watching the street. This is the part he hates. The waiting is the worst part. Once the lorry arrives, the team onboard will take over security and take the girls to the cells, letting him relax.
His senses tingle, feeling the rumble of the old diesel lorry, bringing a smile to his lips as a large dark truck rolls around the corner and comes to a halt in the reception area and turns to face the street before reversing towards the door.
He casually reaches back and bangs on the steel warehouse door twice, letting his colleagues know to get the latest shipment ready for transport.
Slowly the warehouse door lifts with a heavy metallic clanking as the man inside the door yanks on the chain. Kiribati hops up onto the loading dock and guides the lorry back, until it creaks to a halt and the engine shuts off.
He breathes a sigh and pulls open the back doors. It takes a moment for his mind to understand what he sees, then all he can do is scream.
The modified Haven Security Guard cruiser glides over the city, high above the noise. Its sleek black lines, give it the look of a barracuda.
Despite the late hour, the pilot and co-pilot wear mirror shades. This is the most effective way to integrate into the heads up display of the craft without looking inhuman.
The radio crackles into life, “Reeves, come in over.”
The young and nervous looking pilot keys his mike, “Reeves to control, over.”
“We have report of heavy gunfire in your area, coordinates sent to your nav for RV with an Atlantean Ops team.” The controller says, with a hint of sadness.
Reeves nods gravely, “Yeah, I confirm location received.” He looks at the location and scoffs, thinking to himself, “Welcome to Ghost Town. Where you come looking for answers and all you find are ghosts and shadows. Even the Atlanteans, have no luck here. Chances are we are walking into an ambush.”
Less than five minutes later, he lands the cruiser at the coordinates given and sees the Atlanteans assembled in a nearby rooftop.
He opens his door to see one of the Specialists waiting for him and extends his hand, not knowing what the protocol is, “Reeves, HSG.”
The specialist shakes his hand back and announces, “Amos, Kings Guard. Where do you want us?”
“These guys have been a godsend, HSG command hasn’t got the numbers for high risk actions but each time we call, these guys stand at our sides and never flinch.” Reeves thinks, before asking “What is the situation?”
“You guys got a tip off, twenty minutes ago about a heavy fire fight, we arrived two minutes ago and confirm no movement from within, but infrared shows a lot of warm bodies inside.” Amos says, opening his visor for a moment.
Reeves takes a moment to review the scans and freely admits to himself, he has no idea what to do. “I have a plan.” He turns to his co-Pilot, “Rex, hold position at a thousand feet as our eye in the sky and call it in. We are going to investigate.” Before Rex can object, Reeves follows up, “That’s an order.”
Rex pleadingly looks at his, however, Reeves stays strong, “You have a wife and two kids, with another on the way. This doesn’t need both of us.” He speaks with a subtle sense of resignation in his voice.
He snatches up a shotgun from the back seat and begins to walk with Amos towards the site, his dark blue, canvas uniform and Kevlar vest at odds with the ultra high tech Sheath of his companion.
“We can handle this, if you want to direct us from the rear. Part of our mission here is to keep you guys out of the firing line, so you can manage civil actions.” Amos says, warmly.
“Thanks man, I appreciate that. But this is my home, I grew up three streets away and these are my people. They need to see that when they cross the line, one of their own is coming for them.” Reeves says, taking in the target location, “Rex feels the same, but he has a wife and kids.”
As they walk towards the building, Atlantean specialists drop from rooftops into formation behind them. They form a line behind Reeves at the gate to the compound at the rear of the building. Using the fingers of his left hand, he gives a three count then keeping low, sweeps around the corner. The line hugs the wall, zigging and zagging avoiding incoming fire that never materialises.
When they get to the door unscathed, Reeves shrugs and whispers “Maybe no one is home.” He signal a man with an entry tool and beckons him forward.
Amos holds up two fingers and points them towards the door, indicating two hostiles on the other side of the door. Reeves nods and gives a three count for the breach.
The door almost flies off of its hinges when the heavy steel ram connects. Before the dust settles, Reeves is in and sweeps low, noticing the bullet holes in the floor walls and ceiling and shell casings on the floor.
The air is heavy with the scent of discharged weapons, but there is no sign of blood or bodies to be seen, as he advances cautiously. He crouches and holds up a fist to halt the men behind him, hearing a noise.
Like a blur he rolls over to a desk pointing his weapon at the source of the noise. A man in ripped jeans and a shredded tank top, rocks backwards and forwards, his wrists and ankles bound with heavy zip ties.
Reeves signals for back up and leans in to hear what the man is mumbling. “Hey, what happened here?” he says laying a hand on his shoulder.
The man jerks as if he had been electrocuted, “The Devil came. I saw him.” The man says staring in wide eyed terror at Reeves, before his bottom lip starts to tremble and a pool of liquid forms under him, when he utters the words, “He saw me.”
One of the King’s guard escorts him out and Reeves catches Amos’ arm and confides, “I know that man, low level leg breaker and psychopath for hire. Nothing scares him. What the hell happened here?”
It is a question he asks more and more as they sweep the building, seeing yet more terrified and bound men and women, haunted by the Devil. Until the top floor, which is filled with small cages each housing a scared refugee in chains.
“Reeves to command, over.” He says, trying to calm his nerves.
“We read you Reeves. Sitrep. Over?” Command calls back.
“Target location secured, we have a people smuggling operation. Eighty three victims suffering malnutrition and general abuse, plus fifteen perpetrators showing signs of psychological trauma and some unusual lacerations. Send medivac and forensics to the scene.” Reeves reports.
“Understood. Define unusual lacerations. Over.” Command requests.
“In some cases, deep parallel cuts into the body which affect skin but not clothing.” Reeves confirms.
“Clarification confirmed. Support inbound. Please remain onsite for handover.” Command confirms.
That was the first call of the night, but far from the last. On the first night, a dozen people smuggling and drug smuggling operations were targets, with hundreds of freed refugees and dozens of arrests. Suspects so terrified of the Devil that they would confess their crimes without resistance, rather than see him again and many will need counselling and support for the rest of their lives.
The Devil visits over the next seven nights, decimating the drug and sex trafficking industries that are preying on the refugee population of Haven’s capital.
Word spreads quickly. No one knows if it is the actual Devil, a pretender, or some kind of advanced technology, but everyone acknowledges the risk and keeps their distance. In their cells, the hundreds of criminals he has visited, scream in inconsolable terror, whilst those freed give thanks for their deliverance.
Ali leans forward once again in the Studio, to devour a roasted, spiced lamb pitta with extra garlic and chilli sauce and stops herself for a moment, “OK I will admit that illusory magic can be useful in the real world.” She admits before taking a massive bite.
“I had a feeling you would see it that way.” Oberon says, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, “You’ve done well this week.” He admits taking a large bite of doner meat from his plate of kebab meat and chips adding “I guess we can add psychosomatic, spontaneous, injurious, manifestation to your list of accolades.”, between mouthfuls.
With a mouthful of food, Ali looks up confused, “Huh?”
Oberon chuckles, “Illusions so real, that they cause the viewers body to manifest appropriate injuries.” He takes a sip of wine, “I have been monitoring communications and the targets are all saying they saw something different. Did you send a different image to everyone so they all saw something tailored to them?”
Ali swallows her mouthful of food and takes a sip of water before coming up for air, “Nah, too much grief to do that. I focused on the essence of what they would see and sent that. ‘The Devil is here and he stares into your souls, before he confronts you about your sins. If you resist he will carve his name into your chest. Either way, you will pass out.” That way, their minds did the heavy lifting and filled in the blanks and it left me free to focus on other areas of deception.”
“Remarkable. That is not an approach I am familiar with. Brilliantly done.” Oberon says with more than a hint of pride.
“I kind of figured that when you send an email, you don’t write an email app each time, you use existing software and use it to send the email. In the same way, a targets brain has everything it needs to fool itself. So I transmit the essentials of what I want the target to see and the brains of everyone who receives it, does the rest. Wouldn’t have been able to do the concert without it.” Ali confirms finishing her lamb pitta and reaching into the bag for a second.
“Fascinating, we will discuss that and how it works. You have been a bright student from day one. As the head of the Glamour Ministry, I never take students. It is only because, Phobos persuaded me to look into you, that I decided to train you personally.” Oberon confesses, “I must say it has been a delight and a path full of surprises, that has taught me a few tricks along the way.”
Ali stops chewing and swallows, “Does this mean, we are not training anymore.” She fixes him with a gaze both tearful and hurt.
“Not at all. This is the day your training really begins. You have incredible intuition, where the sensing of emotions is concerned. The next step is the manipulation and amplification of emotion.” He says with a glint in his eye, “And I am sure we can do a little field work along the way.”
Ali reclines on a beach lounger in a white bikini. A folded silk scarf rests by her side, as she lazily sips an iced peach tea. She looks across the pool and senses the surface thoughts of those present, until she detects what she needs.
The young boy, no more than ten years old stares at the pool, imagining the water engulfing him and swallowing him whole. He wears trunks emblazoned with fictional earth heroes in bright colours, but do nothing to ease his dread.
His father has been trying to entice him into the water with the promise of ice cream later, but he dare not move.
Suddenly, he thinks to himself, “The water has not swallowed dad. It might not swallow me. It looks like it is not very deep so I should be able to stand up.”
He stands, setting down his soda, with all the steel in his gaze that a ten year old can muster and steps forward, nervously at first, but gaining confidence with each step.
The boys father gasps, as his son stands at the waters edge. He dare nor speak, for fear of scaring his son back to his seat.
The boy closes his eyes and thinks to himself “I can do this.” He steps forward and plunges into the water, going under for a moment then coming up laughing, into the arms of his proud father.
Ali sips her iced tea and smiles to herself, “To be able to wield emotions as a weapon, it pays to understand how they manifest and how they may be dispelled. Fear is a good place to start.”
She looks around the pool once more, looking for a other mark.
As the sun sets, she rises from her seat and walks away knowing that many saw her here, but none will remember her face.
Using the powers of the Unseen, augmented with Glamour, she is a myth, a suggestion, no longer just a person but something both less and more.
She walks unchallenged through the city, just beyond the perception of those she passes. She samples the thoughts of those she passes and smiles to herself, opening herself up to their feelings as well as their thoughts, until she feels the blind terror of a young woman in the back seat of a car being driven away at speed.
Without an arrester or a Sheath, she is without protection and she is armed with only her mind. Without hesitation, she sprints after the car using her momentum she bounces between the trees lining the road until she is able to spring onto a rooftop.
She spies the vehicle about half a mile away and accelerating crisply, “Could be worse, could be a shuttle. At least it is staying on the ground.”
Ali breaks into a dead run, leaping between rooftops and over airconditioning units. She smiles to herself, “Glad I have kept up the cardio part of my fitness regime.”
The congestion in the streets means that the car is limited to a top speed of thirty. Ali's PCS enhanced physique allows her to hit bursts of fifty miles per hour across the rooftop.
The German built saloon, pulls into a compound and Ali crouches on the rooftop overlooking the west side of the area. She closes her eyes and pushes away the thoughts of those in the area and focuses on the emotions.
Quietly she manages to pull out a plastic bag and vomit into it, then put it into a dimensional pocket. “There are bad things happening here. This is another level to what I saw in Haven.”
Ali sits quietly, making sure that any who lay eyes on her only see a shadow. She reaches out with her mind and feels the horror that the three women in the main building have been experiencing.
She feels a wrench in her own heart at the pain of the women and pulls her phone.
“Good evening Alison.” Oberon says, warily, “Is everything alright?”
“I was practicing what you taught me about reaching out and feeling emotions and I felt terror.” She blurts out, “I have felt real terror. Those poor women.”
“Send me your location, I will come to you.” Oberon says, pulling on his jacket and taking a silenced pistol from the bedside table. “Stay where you are. Still your mind, I am on my way.”
Ali focuses on her breathing and by the time she feels Oberon’s hand on her shoulder, her mind is quiet.
“Are you alright?” Oberon says, softly reaching out with his mind and feeling what she felt.
Ali nods slowly, “I am alright, but the poor women in there aren’t. The horrors that they have felt.”
“What do you want to do about it?” Oberon asks, clamping down on his own feelings.
“I want to kill them all.” Ali says, letting the words flow from the pain she feels.
“Do you really?” Oberon asks, in an even tone.
“The men here have memories of keeping countless prisoners and putting them through hell before ending their lives and dumping their bodies.” Ali says, grimly, “No amount of punishment will match what they have done.”
“This is the conundrum we face. How to balance the fate of the transgressors with their crimes.” Oberon says, calmly. “For a moment, I need you to be logical. If you give them the punishment they deserve, what happens?”
At first Ali is puzzled by the question and then she begins to answer slowly, “They get the punishment, they deserve.”
“According to whom?” Oberon challenges.
Ali considers the question for a moment, “According to me, I guess.”
“And what happens to you.” Oberon asks, gently.
“I guess, I would need to become as sadistic as them in order to administer punishment.” Ali says, with a dawning realisation. “If I do that, I become like them.”
Oberon nods, smiling gently, “Correct.”
“I need to rise above.” Ali says, looking to Oberon for approval.
“If I do it that way, my focus is the transgressors and not the victims. In these cases, victims should always be at the heart of what we do.” Ali says, with a new understanding.
Oberon chokes back a tear, with a nod, “Always. First focus is those who cannot help themselves. Second is those who prey upon them.”
He cannot help but gaze at his student with pride, “With that in mind, what is the best course of action here?” Oberon asks, softly.
Ali slumps her shoulders in defeat, “I don’t know.”
Oberon squeezes her shoulder, “Forget about what you know how to do. Skip to the end, what would you like the final outcome to be?”
Ali shakes her head, “I don’t know, people responsible behind bars and the victims living a life far away from this hell they have been forced to live in.”
“You know how to get people behind bars, so what is the problem to be solved?” Oberon asks, gently.
“How to get the victims out of here and to a place where they can live a better life.” Ali says, refocusing.
“There is a clinic on a secluded coastal island in Haven, that specialises in trauma recovery for victims of heinous crimes.” Oberon says, calmly, “We run it for situations like this. Once the victims are well enough, they will be given fresh identities and a new life.”
“We can do that?” Ali asks, feeling a sense of hope.
“Yes we can. After this is done. I think you and I shall review the Ministry’s portfolio of the services we can provide.” Oberon says, with a wink.
“That would be awesome. Would you be able to get a vehicle so we can transport the prisoners safely? I will begin planning for the sweep.” Ali says, reaching out to the minds of those present in the compound and the surrounding buildings to confirm who is involved.
“Already on its way.” Oberon assures her.
Without warning, the men and women involved in this operation drop to the floor, each imagining that they are encased from head to toe in spider thread with their arms pinned painfully to their sides. Each aggressor feels rooted to the spot and can only watch as a blanket of spiders engulfs them.
No one sees the figure in black stalk through the compound. All they see is their own pain and torment, feeling the teeth of a thousand spiders sink into their flesh.
The figure opens the door to a cell in the basement, the light of the corridor illuminates a woman chained to the wall and hints at another two in the room. The figure, works quickly and quietly removing the shackles of the women and throwing one of the weaker ones over each shoulder and leading the third to freedom.
With another two trips, all of the former prisoners within the compound are in the back of an unmarked blue van heading towards a new life.
The figure returns to the rooftop and crouches, removing her mask, like it mattered. “That felt good.” Ali says, with a gentle smile.
“What of those who remain in the compound?” Oberon asks, monitoring those wrapped in their own imaginations.
“Was thinking of making them watch their souls be pulled out of their bodies by the Devil and branded with the mark of the beast.” Ali says, unwrapping a chocolate bar.
“That’s a new one, I like it.” Oberon says, with a wry smile.
“Will use the opportunity to practice enhancing and reducing fear.” Ali says, focusing.
“Good shout.” Oberon says, thoughtfully, “You have a captive audience, try a few things and look for the patterns. You will soon get a feel for the beats to hit.”
Ali looks away, not wanting him to see her emotions play out at this stage. The trouble is, when you are operating at the level he is, he knew there was something on her mind before she did. “What’s up?” he asks, in a light tone.
“It’s nothing really.” Ali says, feeling her cheek burn a little.
“We save the lies for outsiders remember.” He says, with a warm smile.
“What am I doing here?” Ali says, turning to face him, “I am just a kid and you are head of a Ministry. What it your plan here?”
His smile fades and his demeanour becomes more serious, “The absolute truth is, that within the Ministry, we have field operatives that rival that of any Earth agency and we have powerful esoteric practitioners and never the twain shall meet. In the past this would have been enough. However, the landscape is changing. With the Unwinnable war over, Atlantis is expanding its vision and taking a more active role in the worlds stage. We need new solutions for a new age.”
He offers her the hip flask and she takes a swig, balking at the fiery taste, while he continues, “You can put on a concert to tens of thousands. You can walk Unseen through the realms and act with decisive precision to deal with any issue that is in your path.”
Oberon leans back against an air conditioning unit and sighs, “To answer your questions, in terms of what you are doing here and what is my plan. You came to me with some field training and experience, a gift for magic and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. It was and still is my hope, that you will consider joining the Ministry on a permanent basis and stand with us as we face the future.”
Ali takes another swig from the flask, “Seriously. I am just a kid. What do you expect me to do?”
“No. You are not just a kid.” Oberon says, calmly, “You stopped being a kid, when you took up arms in Santander. You are a young woman, with a gift.” He smiles at her, “I have spoken with some of the directors of the Ministry about your approach to mass illusory transmission and it has been very well received.”
“Really? But my approach isn’t that different from how things are done anyway.” Ali insists.
“Oh but it is. The focus has always been creating the perfect illusions by controlling every single detail, however, they can look too perfect. With your approach, it flips things around, using the perception of the viewer to see what we tell them.” Oberon explains, “This actually makes them more credible as everyone sees something that is basically the same, however, everyone also sees something slightly different.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Ali says, unable to find a way to object, “I guess it means when, I show someone the Devil it is personal for them too.”
Oberon gives a chefs kiss, “Exactly. Your work is more effective, as it is personal.” He grins and gives her a wink, “Do you want to know the moment, I was sure about you?” Ali chews her lip and nods, allowing him to continue, “In the restaurant, day one. When you grabbed the steak knife and warned me that things were off. Your instinct was to get me out, I stead of just running. In that moment, I knew you weren’t just a thug in waiting and you had a personal code.”
“Does a personal code matter?” Ali asks, not really having thought about it before.
“Absolutely. It means that you have an internal imperative to do the right thing. Given what we could do, if we acted without conscience, that matters.” He explains, then let’s the point sink in.
“I guess we could walk into Fort Knox and empty the place, or unleash chaos at a whim.” Ali says, before looking up at her mentor with a sense of dread, “Fake signals and trick a soldier into launching a a nuclear weapon.”
“Precisely.” Oberon says with a sage nod, “We have the power to shape a persons perception of the world. We can inflict mental trauma that can never be mended. We carry a burden of power, while others may have the power to end a life, we can alter its course. We can sew dread in our enemies and give inspiration to our allies.”
“When you put it that way, it is not something to be taken lightly.” Ali says, nodding to herself, before choosing her words carefully, “It has felt good, acting to defend those who cannot defend themselves and bringing some measure of justice to the minds of the guilty. If you want me for this honour, I am all in.”
“From the Ministry’s point of view, you are on the path.” Oberon says solemnly, “Will you join us?”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
A Chapter of Contrasts: The Introduction does not give the slightest hint to the Drama which is to unfold later one. At the beginning of the Chapter I had no reason to expect the change of tempo and atmosphere. Excellent.
What a fantastic read, and as Grand Master @Caesar73 states I had no inclination that there’d be such a switch in drama and tempo. Your work never disappoints, for its always so detailed, and enjoyable
@Caesar73 and @Bandit666, you know i like to throw in a curve ball every so often. I wanted to go all out with this chapter and have fun with it, whilst also showcasing the character and how much they have changed.
I will try to keep the surprises coming, to keep both the characters and the readers on their toes.
I will try to keep the surprises coming, to keep both the characters and the readers on their toes.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
I am sure of it! Keep it coming!@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
The beasts charge unfettered through the night, seeking the life energy all around. They strike hard and fast and decimate all they see. Powerful jaws, gnash and grind, shattering bone and tearing flesh in equal measure.
Native fauna senses their approach and runs in terror from their jaws. Charging blindly through forests and in some cases leaping mindlessly off cliffs and rocks to their doom.
The Annunakin charge, feeding with abandon, heedless of the danger in their midst.
Kim shifts precisely, her swing connecting perfectly, before she shifts away, in the blink of an eye. The beast barely feels the blade slip between the vertebrae of its neck and slice through its throat. All it knows is that is it looking up at its body as its head falls to the ground.
Miles from any Annunakin, Kim swings again and shifts, completing the strike, as flawlessly as the first, before shifting to a safe space and swinging again.
None of the Annunakin realise what is happening on this Night of Blood. They only know their own lives, not the countless lives of their horde, cut short by an Unseen blade.
Kim is a relentless force, each swing claiming a life, moving like the shadow of death through the realm. For her there is no right or wrong. No passage of time. No Grand total. Only a perfected repetition of this strike. Over and over again.
Where some in her family are engines of destruction, this night, she is an abattoir. Leaving nothing but death in her wake.
The sun rises over a lone Annunakin, slowly approaching a single deer cut off from its herd, saliva dripping from its fangs. It leaps seeing only its prey. Kim’s blade misses by a hair. Instead of pulling back and refocusing, she lunges for a second strike, this time wounding it.
The wolf-like creature, rounds on her baring its fangs and gnashing at the air. On a primal level, it knows it cannot escape and almost subtly backs away. Kim advances, cutlass raised.
The beast smells it’s kin’s blood on her and flies into a frenzy, leaping forward, fangs and claws flailing. Kim stumbles back, unprepared for the onslaught.
She loses her footing and lands hard on her back, winded. The six legged beast has its hind legs either side of her hips and its middle paws between her collar bones and chest with the front claws raking at her face and neck.
The beast is relentless as his temporarily stricken foe is down. Kim scrambles to fend off its claws and fangs, feeling the full weight of the creature bearing down on her. “Impeded fighting or not, should have kept the arrester on.”
She tries to twist herself away and recover her sword and howls, feeling its claw rakes her left eye clean from its socket. Her world becomes filled with pain, descending over every inch of her being.
Feeling her strength wain from the extra dimensional taint, Kim twists and shoves trying to get breathing space from the relentless assault. However, wherever she moves the beast is on her.
With a desperate lunge she manages to grab her sword and swing hard, catching the beast in the throat.
It collapses on top of her, with its fangs gouging her neck, raking three lines from her cheek to her collar bone. The Sheath protected her body but her face is a bloodied mess, with her left eye a bottomless pit of agony.
Kim hangs her head and flicks blood from her sword, before wiping it clean. With a sense of reverence she bows, saying a silent prayer, after the life leaves the last of her foes.
She pays little heed to the galloping of the deer as it charges away from the scene.
Kim slumps to her knees, feeling the mind shattering pain from her left eye. Distantly she sees the deep red of her blade, tainted by the blood of the extra dimensional invaders. She closes her eyes unsure whether sleep or death will come for her, but equally accepting both in her heart.
Kim doesn’t know if it is the searing pain from her eye or the dull ache from her muscles that wakes her, but she knows that both are a problem.
She sits up slowly, brushing dust and leaves off of her sheath. “I need to get cleaned up and rest. Food would be good at this point too.” She thinks, tenderly sitting cross legged on the ground.
“Come on, dopey. Shake it off. Priorities, warmth, water, food, shelter. You get those you can start taking care of the rest.” She closes her eyes and breathes slowly, extending her senses.
“OK. There are a few nice beaches and meadows that fit the bill. Although.” She focuses on one area and nods to herself.
She shifts to the new location and opens her eye. Gingerly, she rises to her feet and surveys her surroundings. “Not close to food but I can hunt from here. As a bonus, no predators.” She walks to the lake and dips her hand in, “Nice and hot from a natural hot spring. The site is in a kind of half valley, part way up a mountain. Water is mineral rich, but not toxic. This place could work.”
Kim removes her Sheath with a flourish, and replaces her clothes with a swimming costume, then walks slowly forward entering the water.
She allows herself to float on her back and lets the heat of the water, soothe her muscles. Her one good eye stares up at the sky and she loses herself in the clouds, while she floats, until the pain from her left eye and face begins to nag again.
With a deep breath of air, she rolls over and screams underwater as the hot water swills her ruined eye. She bites down on the pain and lifts her head from the water and keeps rinsing the socket.
On her hands and knees she drags herself from the water and sits, exhausted on the shore.
With shaking fingers and trembling voice, she performs the purification ritual that Oscar showed her to remove the extradimensional taint from her eye, knowing the damage is already done. “Sitrep. You are a fucking idiot. All you had to do was fade and strike and it would have been done, but no, you had to stand your ground like a fucking dickhead. Why did you have to go toe to toe?”
She produces a first aid kit, and cleans her eye properly and packs the wound. With shaking hands she plucks the PCS and administers small shots to sites around the eye and her neck.
“That’s all I can do for my injuries for now. I need to get food and then sort some form of shelter.” Kim says, trying to convince herself.
She reviews her dimensional pockets and thinks, “I have enough raw materials to cover a couple of meals and set up camp. I can at least keep busy, until help arrives.”, She pulls up a memo app and begins to make a list of everything she needs to do.
Main courtyard, Ministry of Ecomantic Affairs, One week later Atlantean time.
An older gentleman in well worn khaki pants and shirt stands before the assembled crowd, “We are assembled as an incursion of Annunakin has occurred on a pristine world and we have one of our number trapped there.”
He shifts uneasily resting his hands on the plinth, “The realm is not aligned with Haven time. Time passes at six times the normal rate, meaning it has been effectively six weeks since we last saw what was happening there.”
He surveys the assembled esoterics and frowns, “Some have asked, why it has taken so long to mobilise. At the point of last contact, almost five thousand Annunakin were present with an additional hundred per hour. Given the risks and time dilation, I made the decision to go in as hard as we can from the Life Sea. It has taken time to assemble as a full Ministry from our respective realms. We need to contain this incursion, find our missing member and protect the realm.”
“Ready your weapons, we leave in five minutes.” He says, saluting the college members.
As he steps back from the podium, Oscar approaches him, “Chancellor Grey you are quite right, I question why it has taken so long. We have hung Kim out to dry.”
The Chancellor, fixes him with a warm gaze, “I appreciate your concern, but not your tone, Oscar. As upset as you must be, I am still the Chancellor of this Ministry and you will respect that.”
Oscar bristles but swallows his anger, “Of course, Chancellor. I apologise for my tone. However, I still feel an expeditionary force could have been sent sooner.”
“I understand that. However, if we had gone in sooner, we would not have had enough people to balance the embedded threat.” The Chancellor says, softening as he examines Oscars body language, “Is there something else?”
“When this is over, I would like to submit myself for review over the mistake I made.” Oscar says, solemnly.
Grey frowns gravely, “In all my years, I have never know you to make a mistake, with any student.”
“Actually, I made two. First, I should have sent her back for help or at least brought her back with me.” Oscar bows his head, “Also, when I left Kim, I meant to give her a Nikita SMG. Instead, I gave her the wrong package and left her an old cutlass, that I was going to have melted down for scrap.” He looks up, tearfully, “Time and again she proved her resourcefulness, however, I am fearful for her safety, in light of my error. If anything has happened to her, I will submit myself for review.”
“We will discuss this upon our return. In the mean time we must establish her fate.” Grey says, pulling a large calibre revolver.
He takes the lectern once more, “OK everyone, priorities. Trailblazers to secure portal. Other members form perimeter and prepare to immediately repel borders. We will likely be under assault from the word go. Remember, we may have a friendly onsite. Check your fire and confirm your targets.”
Six figures fade into view, with heavy weapons drawn. They form a perimeter around the portal, half facing it, half facing out, ready for almost anything.
Twenty metres out, another group fade into view, weapons aimed at the portal. A metre beyond them another group face out.
The final ring of steel stand shoulder to shoulder, fifty metres out.
No one moves. Barely anyone breathes, until one by one they all come to the same realisation.
“Where are the Annunakin?” Chancellor Grey, asks with amused curiosity.
Everyone tenses when the portal flashes but nothing comes out.
Oscar laughs to himself, “Shit, Kim. What have you done?”
Almost as if on command, Kim emerges from the fade, between the two rings closest to the portal.
As soon as she materialises, all guns are aimed at her.
“WHOA, Whoa, Whoa. I am one of you.” She says raising her hands. She stands nervously, dressed in a Sheath, colour shifted to a mottled green and brown camouflage pattern and a black eye patch, with her cutlass secured at her side.
“Prospect Smith, lay down your arms, please.” Chancellor Grey says, stepping forward.
Kim nods and carefully lays down her sword. A Custodian approaches and moves to take the sword, until Kim says, “That sword has served me well, please take care of it.” At which, the Custodian reverentially picks up the weapon and bows to her.
“I get it. I shouldn’t be alive. You need to make sure I am who I say I am and not a threat.” Kim says, bowing her head.
“Thank you for you understanding.” Grey says tossing her a metal band, “This will prevent you from using your esoteric abilities. Can you please secure it around your neck?”
Kim catches it one handed and nods, “I’m fast, but with the number of guns on me, I am dead if I try to run. Besides, I am with friends now.” She thinks, before clicking it closed around her neck. She looks at the Chancellor and speaks calmly, “I have sent the footage from my Sheaths real time recording, as well as my journal and all relevant notes to all present for consideration. You have my word, I will co-operate.”
“Thank you Kim, we appreciate that.” The Chancellor says, tossing a pair of handcuffs, “Could you please secure your wrists behind you? Chief Koph, will take you for threat assessment before we can proceed.”
Kim nods and clicks the handcuffs around her left wrist and then passes her hands behind her back and locking her right wrist. She notes a visible easing of the tension when the second cuff clicks closed.
A tall, brawny and deeply tanned man with a perpetual snarl steps forward and gently grips her upper arm. A split second later, they emerge, atop a cliff, where only she and he stands.
With a flourish he produce two folding chairs and directs Kim to sit in one, while he sits at another. She surveys the lines of his face unable to say how old he appears, with the deep set lines in his face but sparkling eyes, he could be anywhere between fifty and seventy.
Kim sits awkwardly and brings her arms over the chair back, so they are not pressed into her back. She looks at the man and feels a brief flash of recognition, but cannot place him, “Do I know you? Have we met before.”
“Strange question for someone with a photographic memory to ask.” Koph says gruffly, before relenting, “Some people say, I look like a film star from the eighties, who played a tough guy and a boxer. Anyway, I need to ask you some questions and I need the truth.”
Koph sits back and watches her, wordlessly. Kim tries not to flinch as his eyes feel like they are scouring her soul. “So this is how it will be.” she asks herself, feeling the man’s fear of her.
“In your own words, can you please tell me what happened here?” He commands, gruffly, but betraying no emotion.
Kim takes a deep breath and begins, trying to keep her voice calm, “When Oscar left, I realised how screwed I was. I knew I couldn’t close the portal and soon found out I couldn’t move it. That was then my priority, as long as it was open, more Annunakin would come through.”
Koph listens implacably, as she continues, “I realised that I could open a portal and so I went deep in the fade and opened a portal directly opposite the Annunakin one, which opened within the rock of the cliff face.”
Koph nods, “Interesting. So effectively, you divert the Annunakin to an early grave.”
Kim blushes, feeling a pain in her soul, now realising that each flash, was an Annunakin she killed, “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I thought it would just push them back through to return them home.”
Koph gives her a wink, “I don’t suppose you did. You are not built that way. Truth is, you eliminated a threat with quick thinking. What happened next?”
Kim feels rattled at this change of tactic and stutters, “I-i was dumped from the fade and surrounded. So I shifted between the Annunakin and ended them.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it. Even if you had managed to teleport then strike at least a few of them would have got you.” Koph snorts sceptically.
“That’s not how I did it.” Kim says defensively, ”I visualised where they would be, began the stroke and teleported at the last second, then once the strike had hit, I shifted to a non hostile place, swung again and then shifted to connect with the next strike. That way, I swung in safety, was in the face of the enemy for less than a tenth of a second and was gone like the wind, giving no time for them to react.” She casts her gaze down, “It worked really well until, I got complacent.” She confesses, remembering the moment she lost her eye.
Koph fills his hand with a sword and begins a swing then vanishes and reappears before a rock completing his strike instantly, “OK that has potential and I might be tempted to believe you.”
“Please, sir. I swear it is the truth.” Kim begs.
“I know it is.” Koph says, calmly, his body language loosening. “Whilst everyone is going through your footage, it was my second who took your sword from you.” He produces her cutlass with a flourish, “He and I have read this weapon and know exactly what you have been doing.”
“But why all this, if you already know?” Kim asks, starting to fear the steel bands around her neck and wrists.
“I know what you did and I know something of you from my discussions with Oscar over the last week. But I wanted to understand your character and know who I am dealing with. I had a feeling from what he was saying that you would be alive, but not that you had repelled an incursion single handedly.” He explains casually, “I have more questions, but they can wait. I will however ask one more for now, if that is alright with you.”
Kim shrugs, feeling a little confused, “Sure.”
“Without the use of magic, how quickly can you get out of those handcuffs?”
Kim chews her lip, thinking, “I have picks and also PCS in my system, to recover from a dislocated thumb if need be, so.” She closes her eye and confesses, “Maybe twenty seconds.”
Amused, Koph smiles and nods towards her, “Show me.”
Kim slips the pick from its concealment in her sleeve and slows her breathing, feeling the pick slip into place she pops the lock on the right cuff. She brings her hands in front of her and makes short work of the left cuff, then tosses them to Koph.
“I make that eight seconds. Impressive.” Koph says, getting up and approaching her, “Give me a moment.” He says, unlocking the collar and carefully removing it.
“Thanks.” Kim says, rubbing her neck, “Classic strategy when under pressure. Say a task will take much longer and when it is completed faster, look like a miracle worker.”
Koph places the collar and cuffs into a dimensional pocket, chuckling. “Sounds about right.” He looks at her thoughtfully, then extends his hand, “Chief Trailblazer Koph. Pleasure to meet you.”
Kim takes his hand and shakes it warmly, before rising to her feet, “Prospect Kim Smith, pleased to meet you too.”
“Would you mind if I asked another question?” Koph asks, awkwardly.
Kim shrugs, then she mimics holding a cigar and in a New York accent, says “There’s just one more thing.” She chuckles and resumes her normal accent, “Go for it, Colombo.”
Koph snorts a laugh, “I loved that show.” All thoughts of what he was about to ask gone, as he looks at her again as if seeing her for the first time. “When do you want to go and get your eye sorted?
Kim looks at him thoughtfully, “I don’t want it fixed.” Seeing the alarm in his face she continues, “I had a plan and got stupid and careless.” She lifts her eyepatch, showing the dry empty socket and the deep scarring around it, “This is a reminder to me and everyone around me, that no matter how skilled, well equipped or prepared you are, carelessness and recklessness have consequences.”
Koph shakes his head at first but then nods, “I can respect that.”
“Everyone looks at me like I have all the answers. Truth is, I don’t and never have. I’ve been lucky and luck is a fickle mistress.” Kim says, covering her eye.
“I am with you on that. I try to focus on what will keep me alive for the next five minutes.” Koph says, with a shrug.
“Sometimes that can be harder than it seems.” Kim says, thoughtfully.
Koph passes her a bottle of water and asks more about her combat strategy and tactics, making more than a few mental notes along the way.
As the sun sets, Koph nods, handing her back the Cutlass and takes her gently by the forearm before he shifts them back to the group.
All eyes are on them as they return, standing atop a large rock in the midst of the assembled members and Kim secures her sword at her side once more. “The portals are gone, that was quick.” She thinks absent mindedly. Her gaze meets Oscar’s in the crowd and she smiles.
Oscar mouths the words, “Are you alright?”
Kim nods and smiles her head spinning.
Chancellor Grey steps forward, “Chief Trailblazer Koph, have you concluded your interview and review of the Prospects actions?”
Koph nods, his face still fixed in a snarl. He looks around the crowd making a few of those assembled shudder with fear, “I have Chancellor and I am ready to deliver my findings and conclusions.”
The Chancellor purses his lips and addresses the crowd, “I call for quiet from everyone here present.” When the crowd falls silent, he nods towards Koph, “Thank you for your deliberations and time. In your own time, please tell us your findings.”
Koph raises his arms and addresses the crowd, “Prospect Kim Smith, survived and prevailed against overwhelming odds. She has upheld the principles of the Custodian Order in the face of adversity. This new realm is safe, because of her actions. She has been weighed and measured. She has been judged and found resplendent.”
Chancellor Grey nods thoughtfully and fades into his environment.
Everyone stays still, no one speaks. Kim opens her mouth to question this, however Koph whispers, “He has heard my statement and conducted his own review and is now communing with the realm to make a decision. Stay still and relax, it might take a little while.”
Some three hours later, Chancellor Grey emerges from the fade with a relaxed demeanour. Seeing his emergence goes a long way to diffusing the tension of the crowd. He senses this and cracks a smile, before bowing to the four winds, “To the honoured members, here present, I salute you and applaud your patience. I have considered the testimony and evidence and communed with this realm. Now I pray for your attention.”
He pauses for dramatic effect as he quickly views the summaries, his aides have drafted based on the journal, reports and video feed.
The gentle hubbub from the crowd dies down as the assembled members of the Ministry of Ecomantic Affairs, await the Chancellor’s verdict.
The Chancellor cracks his neck and begins, “For her uncommon bravery, tenacity and decisive action, in line with the principles of the ministry, no longer shall she be know as Prospect Smith. From this day, we recognise her as a full Custodian of this Ministry. Furthermore, from this day forward the record will show that, Custodian Kim Smith, shall be known by the title of Liberator for her actions sealing the Annunakin portal and hunting down their number and saving this realm from their blight.”
Kim’s eyes go wide, as the crowd cheers in her honour. She finds herself unable to speak. Koph gives her a gentle nudge, whispering, “Take a bow, Kim. You have earned it.”
Kim emerges in the heart of her campsite, and rubs her right hand and arm. “If I have to shake another hand, my arm might fall off.” She thinks as Oscar and Koph emerge beside her at the water’s edge. She produces a couple of plastic wrapped packages and drops them in the water.
The area is similar to when she first found it, albeit now boasting a three room, metal cabin structure and a thirty metre square deck.
“So this is home.” Oscar says with a grin as he surveys the site and then he chuckles, “You have been busy.”
Koph looks around thoughtfully, “Natural hot spring, with hot clean water on demand, even if the air is cold. Nice open, flat area halfway up a mountain. Easy to defend. I like the cabin.”
Kim extends her hand towards the cabin, “It’s a little rough, but it’s home. Come on in, I will get us a cuppa.”
The bemused Custodians follow her lead and step inside the cabin. Kim pulls out a few large logs, that have been filed smooth top and bottom for her guests to sit on.
“It is nice and warm in here. How long did it take to build?” Oscar asks, with admiration in his voice.
Kim blushes, “It took about a day for the decking and another day for the shell of the cabin and setting up the interior. Wasn’t sure how long I would be here so I started work on a bigger building to keep myself busy.”
“You did this in a couple of days? I’m impressed.” Koph says, with a hint of surprise.
Kim holds up her hands, “I had a lot of power tools and scrounged materials, to be fair.”
Oscar chuckles, “To think of the grief, I gave you when you got them.”
Koph looks around confused, “There is no power here and no fire, how is it so warm in here?”
“There are hot springs all over this area, I ran a hose from one to here and coiled it between the base deck and the floor, for under floor heating. I think the Romans did it first. Anyway, also gives me hot water when I need it.” Kim explains filling three cups with steaming water and adding one of her last precious tea bags to each.
She points to one of the internal openings in the wall, “That’s my bedroom, I have a hammock and a bedframe, with a sleeping pad and inflatable mattress.” She points to the other room, “That is the bathroom. I have a toilet which empties into a bucket, which I empty into a volcanic fissure on one of the outer islands of the realm, every morning.”
“When I go to a realm, I live in a tent. I sleep on a bedroll and spend half my time looking for firewood.” Koph says chuckling and shaking his head, “I am questioning my life choices.”
“Kim has always had a way of doing things and looking at problems.” Oscar says, beaming with pride.
“I followed your teachings, boss. Shelter, water, food, and warmth. Always get the best of each that you can, with what you have.” Kim says, blushing a little and turning her gaze away.
Oscar steps forward and gives her a hug, “I gave you to tools, however, you made them yours.” He releases her from the hug and looks her in the eye, “I think you need to show us every trick and technique you have used. I suspect some of the techniques we have discussed theoretically in the past, have moved beyond that in this realm.”
Kim nods and gives a gentle smile, asking, “Full disclosure?” to which Oscar simply nods. Kim nods, “Where do we begin?”
Koph smiles somewhat amused, “I have gone through this area with a fine tooth comb. There is no generator. How did you power the tools, that you used?”
Kim shrugs, “I plug an adapter from my Sheath into a tool and add it as a peripheral. Then I can redirect power from my arrester.”
Koph feels more confused than before he asked, however, Kim sees this. She pulls out a small black package from a dimensional pocket and opens it, showing a number of plugs. “Do you have one of these for your Sheath?”
Koph dons his Sheath and pats himself down, before finding the pack and detaching it and handing it to Kim. Kim pulls out a small electric chainsaw and inserts on of Koph's plug into the software jack. “It should come up with new peripheral detected. Can you select OK, please?”
Koph shrugs and selects OK with the neural interface and gives the thumbs up. Kim hands him the handle of the chainsaw and he pressed the button and it jumps into life.
Koph turns the blade off and hands it back after unplugging from it, “This works on anything electrical, I plug it into?”
Kim simply nods, then produces the rest of her tool kit with a flourish. Koph nods, surveying the array of tools and devices from drills and an arc welder to a nail gun and water pumps. “What else have you got?”
Oscar and Koph look on bemused, as Kim opens out the hammock tent and begins attaching its ratchet straps to trees at each of the three corners and start to tension them.
Kim moves smoothly around the tent, adjusting until it is taut and suspended about two feet off of the ground, the final touch is the addition of two flexible spars that reach from the back to the point at the front, around one metre apart at the furthest point.
She stands back looking at the two metre wide, three metre long triangular tent. It has around a metres clearance at its highest point and looks like an arrowhead.
From her dimensional pockets she pulls a one gallon drum with a hand pump and spray gun attached. She turns to the others, holding up the spray, “When Corven’s engineers put up an emergency structure the put up a frame with a skin of spider silk and the coat it with this polymer spray.”
Kim turns to the tent and begins coating them in the spray, “It reacts with the air and hardens within a couple of hours. So we will come back in a bit. When it is hardened, it’s as strong as steel but a lot lighter.”
Koph nods, “So that’s how you made the cabin.” He says thoughtfully, “I can see a lot of uses for that.” He quietly sends a message to the fixer of the Trailblazers to acquire a stock of the spray.
Kim nods brightly, “When we come back, we will fit a couple of hinges and a clasp and will be almost good to go. The best part is, that it is pretty much the biggest size that will fit in a dimensional pocket. Once it is made, it goes where I go. Shall we look at another couple of bits and come back?”
Kim piles up wood, in the heart of a stone circle and lights it with an electric arc lighter. She fans the flames and helps them catch. “What kind of host would I be, if I didn’t provide lunch?”
She plucks six mess tins from her pockets and sets them on the stones, before heading to the water.
“That is a fine idea.” Koph says, curious as to what they will have.
She plucks the packages from the water that she deposited earlier and returns to the fire taking a seat on a log. “The water there is hotter than the rest of the lake, however, it is constant and works like a natural sous vide cooker.” She says, opening the first pack and then dropping a dark steak into three of the tins, with a sizzle. Then pours the cooking juices into another tin where it begins boiling almost instantly. “Cooks things really well, but doesn’t colour the meat. So just want to give it a sear.”
Koph inhales the intoxicating scent of the meat and shakes his head, “I have been doing things so wrong.” He chuckles.
Kim adds some blue berries to the cooking juices and gives the tin a stir, before opening the other pack and dropping the three sweet potatoes within into the next tin, with a sizzle of their own.
She flips the steaks and nods seeing they have seared nicely, then cracks three eggs into the last tin.
Watching Kim, turn the steaks onto plates and add sweet potatoes and gravy passing one to each of her dinner guests then awkwardly says, “I am so sorry, I only have one knife and fork.”
Koph laughs hard and produces cutlery for himself and Oscar. “I was beginning to get worried that you had prepared for everything. To be fair, I was expecting flowers and a candle with a bottle of wine.”
Kim hangs her head in mock shame, “No wine, but I have cold water.” She says plucking three flasks of glacial melt water to share.
Koph is still chuckling as he puts a slice of slow cooked, venison sirloin into his mouth. He stops chuckling as the meat melts under the pressure of his tongue and the juices fill his mouth. He closes his eyes savouring the flavour. “This is the best steak I have ever had.” He says unable to comprehend what he is eating.
Oscar smiles, then grins, “Kim was always an excellent field chef. Although this is exceptional.”
“I brought down a deer on about day three and butchered it. I hung it for twenty eight days taking some as I needed and then froze it, defrosting in the sous vide as needed.” Kim explains, blushing.
“You have almost been living better here than some residents of Haven.” Koph says, thoughtfully.
“I have made hard choices and it is like Oscar taught me. The environment is always talking to you, open yourself and listen to it, then act accordingly.” Kim says, looking to Oscar for approval.
Oscar pats her on the back and squeezes her shoulder, “You were an excellent student, but sometimes, you were a better teacher.”
Kim blushes again, “You showed me the value of what we do and the beauty of the world. in a way I had never imagined. I can never thank you enough.”
After the meals are eaten and the discussions over what they have seen have died down they return to the hammock tent she sprayed.
Kim uses an angle grinder to cut an opening in the rear of the structure before cutting off the ratchet straps and placing structure on four large snow blocks. She climbs through the opening and then with a drill she punches four holes into the metal and then place a flat base with pegs sticking out of the sides towards one end, prepared from sanded logs over them. A moment later, she is under the structure and using an electric screwdriver to secure the seat to the base.
Once satisfied, she emerges and pulls out a hand held belt sander and smoothes the edges of the door and opening. Koph and Oscar pulls out some sandpaper and set to work finishing as Kim proceeds. Within twenty minutes she has finished and attaches a couple of hinges on the door frame. As a test she steps onto the structure and bounces a couple of times to test it.
She grins leaping off and then she pulls an electric circular saw, slicing a pair of openings either side of the “nose” of the tent.
Kim takes the bases of two clear plastic food containers and pokes them through the holes she cut and screws them into place. “Should give a bit of light and keep the wind out.”
Koph and Oscar help her smooth the edges around the door. She screws the door onto the hinges and fits a clasp. Taking a moment she pulls door, until it clicks into place.
Now secured inside the structure she lays on the bench and attaches her Sheath to two rings on the seat. With a slow breath she recalibrates her arrester to account for the extra weight, then signals over comms, “Bear in mind, it would look different with a couple of weapons hard points.”
Koph looks at Oscar confused, but the mentor nods back to the structure making him turn, just as the craft shoots fifty feet into the air and the take off at speed.
Kim nods to herself, “This handles well. To be fair, I am hitting higher speeds than when I fly normally. Maybe it is the shape or the extra mass giving me an acceleration boost but it is awesome.”
Ten minutes later, she lands before Koph and Oscar and raises the tops half of the shell. “There you have it.” She steps out and then stores it in a dimensional pocket with a whoop of delight before bring it back.
Koph stands slack jawed, whilst Oscar chuckles, “It works just as you said it would. A small fighter craft, which would double as a shelter if need be.”
Kim grins at him, “Do you want a go on it?” she asks, “I think the Chief needs a minute to wrap his head around it.”
Chancellor Grey smiles to himself surveying the scene around the site of the closed portal. “Custodians, relaxing, joking and forging bonds to last a lifetime. This is the kind of event we need regularly.” He thinks to himself.
He sits back on against a tree and smiles to himself as Koph, Oscar and Kim shift back to the site a few metres from him, “Good afternoon Chief, have you had a productive day?”
Koph purses his lips and then grins, “Game changing. Kim has shared a few very interesting things. As of right now, I am going to pull all Trailblazers from active duty and go through the techniques I have seen and once they are all set up, they will roll the lesson out to the rest of the ministry.”
The Chancellor fixes him with a serious gaze, “That important?” he asks, gravely.
Koph nods seriously, “There are a lot of lessons to be learned. I have asked Kim, to codify protocols relating to the actions she has taken.”
Kim cracks her back as she watches the conversation unfold.
“I would like permission for the Trailblazers to stay here and train on the new techniques, restock and look at some new strategies.” Koph says, thoughtfully.
Kim smiles watching a group of Custodians swimming in the thermal lake. It dawns on her that the conversation has stopped and she turns to see, Koph, Oscar and the Chancellor looking at her. “Did I miss something?”
Koph smiles gently, but still managing to snarl somehow, “I need permission for the Trailblazers to stay here for a couple of weeks while we work on getting them trained.”
Kim gives a confused shrug, “Right?”
Oscar steps in and pats Kim on the back, “You discovered the realm and you repelled an Annunakin incursion single handed. This is your realm, what you say goes.”
Koph chuckles, “Do we have your permission to stay and train?”
Kim chews her lip and nods, sceptically saying, “Yes.”
Koph gives a thumbs up, “I will spread the word and get gear ordered. I would deem it an honour if you would personally demonstrate your techniques.”
Kim covers her mouth with her hand for a moment, before looking to Oscar for support. Oscar squeezes her shoulder, “I got your back, just as you have had mine partner.”
Kim hugs him whispering, “Thanks boss.”
He ends the hug and playfully punches her arm, “I was never your boss, I was your mentor and now the student surpasses the teacher. I have shown you our ways and you have embraced them. Now it is time for us to integrate new technologies and ideas, with the old ways.”
Kim stands humbled before her friend and mentor, simply taking a step back and with her arms at her sides, bows to him, before thoughtfully saying, “If we spend a week on technique and another week tweaking the shelters and tactics for their use. We can host the Ministry the month after to train everyone and get everyone kitted out with shelters, upgraded arresters and peripherals. After everyone is up to speed, we can reset the time dilation here.”
Koph thinks about the proposal quietly nodding, “I concur. This would bring everyone to the same level within a month. We’ll get our heads together and get the gear brought in.”
Chancellor Grey grins with a fire in his eyes, “You can have everything you need. I will stay here for the next two weeks. This old dog, will learn some new tricks.”
Kim beams a smile, “Thank you Chancellor, it would be a great honour to have you join us.”
“Liberator, there is one thing, I need from you.” The Chancellor says, clearing his throat. Kim turns to him and nods wide eyed, prompting him to continue, “As the Liberator and duly appointed keeper of this realm, you need to choose a name for it.”
The world seems to stop and she feels a sense of tranquillity wash over her as she feels every creature of the realm. The land is her skin, the wind is her breath, the rivers and sea her blood. With a warm smile, she softly says, “Peace.”
The beasts charge unfettered through the night, seeking the life energy all around. They strike hard and fast and decimate all they see. Powerful jaws, gnash and grind, shattering bone and tearing flesh in equal measure.
Native fauna senses their approach and runs in terror from their jaws. Charging blindly through forests and in some cases leaping mindlessly off cliffs and rocks to their doom.
The Annunakin charge, feeding with abandon, heedless of the danger in their midst.
Kim shifts precisely, her swing connecting perfectly, before she shifts away, in the blink of an eye. The beast barely feels the blade slip between the vertebrae of its neck and slice through its throat. All it knows is that is it looking up at its body as its head falls to the ground.
Miles from any Annunakin, Kim swings again and shifts, completing the strike, as flawlessly as the first, before shifting to a safe space and swinging again.
None of the Annunakin realise what is happening on this Night of Blood. They only know their own lives, not the countless lives of their horde, cut short by an Unseen blade.
Kim is a relentless force, each swing claiming a life, moving like the shadow of death through the realm. For her there is no right or wrong. No passage of time. No Grand total. Only a perfected repetition of this strike. Over and over again.
Where some in her family are engines of destruction, this night, she is an abattoir. Leaving nothing but death in her wake.
The sun rises over a lone Annunakin, slowly approaching a single deer cut off from its herd, saliva dripping from its fangs. It leaps seeing only its prey. Kim’s blade misses by a hair. Instead of pulling back and refocusing, she lunges for a second strike, this time wounding it.
The wolf-like creature, rounds on her baring its fangs and gnashing at the air. On a primal level, it knows it cannot escape and almost subtly backs away. Kim advances, cutlass raised.
The beast smells it’s kin’s blood on her and flies into a frenzy, leaping forward, fangs and claws flailing. Kim stumbles back, unprepared for the onslaught.
She loses her footing and lands hard on her back, winded. The six legged beast has its hind legs either side of her hips and its middle paws between her collar bones and chest with the front claws raking at her face and neck.
The beast is relentless as his temporarily stricken foe is down. Kim scrambles to fend off its claws and fangs, feeling the full weight of the creature bearing down on her. “Impeded fighting or not, should have kept the arrester on.”
She tries to twist herself away and recover her sword and howls, feeling its claw rakes her left eye clean from its socket. Her world becomes filled with pain, descending over every inch of her being.
Feeling her strength wain from the extra dimensional taint, Kim twists and shoves trying to get breathing space from the relentless assault. However, wherever she moves the beast is on her.
With a desperate lunge she manages to grab her sword and swing hard, catching the beast in the throat.
It collapses on top of her, with its fangs gouging her neck, raking three lines from her cheek to her collar bone. The Sheath protected her body but her face is a bloodied mess, with her left eye a bottomless pit of agony.
Kim hangs her head and flicks blood from her sword, before wiping it clean. With a sense of reverence she bows, saying a silent prayer, after the life leaves the last of her foes.
She pays little heed to the galloping of the deer as it charges away from the scene.
Kim slumps to her knees, feeling the mind shattering pain from her left eye. Distantly she sees the deep red of her blade, tainted by the blood of the extra dimensional invaders. She closes her eyes unsure whether sleep or death will come for her, but equally accepting both in her heart.
Kim doesn’t know if it is the searing pain from her eye or the dull ache from her muscles that wakes her, but she knows that both are a problem.
She sits up slowly, brushing dust and leaves off of her sheath. “I need to get cleaned up and rest. Food would be good at this point too.” She thinks, tenderly sitting cross legged on the ground.
“Come on, dopey. Shake it off. Priorities, warmth, water, food, shelter. You get those you can start taking care of the rest.” She closes her eyes and breathes slowly, extending her senses.
“OK. There are a few nice beaches and meadows that fit the bill. Although.” She focuses on one area and nods to herself.
She shifts to the new location and opens her eye. Gingerly, she rises to her feet and surveys her surroundings. “Not close to food but I can hunt from here. As a bonus, no predators.” She walks to the lake and dips her hand in, “Nice and hot from a natural hot spring. The site is in a kind of half valley, part way up a mountain. Water is mineral rich, but not toxic. This place could work.”
Kim removes her Sheath with a flourish, and replaces her clothes with a swimming costume, then walks slowly forward entering the water.
She allows herself to float on her back and lets the heat of the water, soothe her muscles. Her one good eye stares up at the sky and she loses herself in the clouds, while she floats, until the pain from her left eye and face begins to nag again.
With a deep breath of air, she rolls over and screams underwater as the hot water swills her ruined eye. She bites down on the pain and lifts her head from the water and keeps rinsing the socket.
On her hands and knees she drags herself from the water and sits, exhausted on the shore.
With shaking fingers and trembling voice, she performs the purification ritual that Oscar showed her to remove the extradimensional taint from her eye, knowing the damage is already done. “Sitrep. You are a fucking idiot. All you had to do was fade and strike and it would have been done, but no, you had to stand your ground like a fucking dickhead. Why did you have to go toe to toe?”
She produces a first aid kit, and cleans her eye properly and packs the wound. With shaking hands she plucks the PCS and administers small shots to sites around the eye and her neck.
“That’s all I can do for my injuries for now. I need to get food and then sort some form of shelter.” Kim says, trying to convince herself.
She reviews her dimensional pockets and thinks, “I have enough raw materials to cover a couple of meals and set up camp. I can at least keep busy, until help arrives.”, She pulls up a memo app and begins to make a list of everything she needs to do.
Main courtyard, Ministry of Ecomantic Affairs, One week later Atlantean time.
An older gentleman in well worn khaki pants and shirt stands before the assembled crowd, “We are assembled as an incursion of Annunakin has occurred on a pristine world and we have one of our number trapped there.”
He shifts uneasily resting his hands on the plinth, “The realm is not aligned with Haven time. Time passes at six times the normal rate, meaning it has been effectively six weeks since we last saw what was happening there.”
He surveys the assembled esoterics and frowns, “Some have asked, why it has taken so long to mobilise. At the point of last contact, almost five thousand Annunakin were present with an additional hundred per hour. Given the risks and time dilation, I made the decision to go in as hard as we can from the Life Sea. It has taken time to assemble as a full Ministry from our respective realms. We need to contain this incursion, find our missing member and protect the realm.”
“Ready your weapons, we leave in five minutes.” He says, saluting the college members.
As he steps back from the podium, Oscar approaches him, “Chancellor Grey you are quite right, I question why it has taken so long. We have hung Kim out to dry.”
The Chancellor, fixes him with a warm gaze, “I appreciate your concern, but not your tone, Oscar. As upset as you must be, I am still the Chancellor of this Ministry and you will respect that.”
Oscar bristles but swallows his anger, “Of course, Chancellor. I apologise for my tone. However, I still feel an expeditionary force could have been sent sooner.”
“I understand that. However, if we had gone in sooner, we would not have had enough people to balance the embedded threat.” The Chancellor says, softening as he examines Oscars body language, “Is there something else?”
“When this is over, I would like to submit myself for review over the mistake I made.” Oscar says, solemnly.
Grey frowns gravely, “In all my years, I have never know you to make a mistake, with any student.”
“Actually, I made two. First, I should have sent her back for help or at least brought her back with me.” Oscar bows his head, “Also, when I left Kim, I meant to give her a Nikita SMG. Instead, I gave her the wrong package and left her an old cutlass, that I was going to have melted down for scrap.” He looks up, tearfully, “Time and again she proved her resourcefulness, however, I am fearful for her safety, in light of my error. If anything has happened to her, I will submit myself for review.”
“We will discuss this upon our return. In the mean time we must establish her fate.” Grey says, pulling a large calibre revolver.
He takes the lectern once more, “OK everyone, priorities. Trailblazers to secure portal. Other members form perimeter and prepare to immediately repel borders. We will likely be under assault from the word go. Remember, we may have a friendly onsite. Check your fire and confirm your targets.”
Six figures fade into view, with heavy weapons drawn. They form a perimeter around the portal, half facing it, half facing out, ready for almost anything.
Twenty metres out, another group fade into view, weapons aimed at the portal. A metre beyond them another group face out.
The final ring of steel stand shoulder to shoulder, fifty metres out.
No one moves. Barely anyone breathes, until one by one they all come to the same realisation.
“Where are the Annunakin?” Chancellor Grey, asks with amused curiosity.
Everyone tenses when the portal flashes but nothing comes out.
Oscar laughs to himself, “Shit, Kim. What have you done?”
Almost as if on command, Kim emerges from the fade, between the two rings closest to the portal.
As soon as she materialises, all guns are aimed at her.
“WHOA, Whoa, Whoa. I am one of you.” She says raising her hands. She stands nervously, dressed in a Sheath, colour shifted to a mottled green and brown camouflage pattern and a black eye patch, with her cutlass secured at her side.
“Prospect Smith, lay down your arms, please.” Chancellor Grey says, stepping forward.
Kim nods and carefully lays down her sword. A Custodian approaches and moves to take the sword, until Kim says, “That sword has served me well, please take care of it.” At which, the Custodian reverentially picks up the weapon and bows to her.
“I get it. I shouldn’t be alive. You need to make sure I am who I say I am and not a threat.” Kim says, bowing her head.
“Thank you for you understanding.” Grey says tossing her a metal band, “This will prevent you from using your esoteric abilities. Can you please secure it around your neck?”
Kim catches it one handed and nods, “I’m fast, but with the number of guns on me, I am dead if I try to run. Besides, I am with friends now.” She thinks, before clicking it closed around her neck. She looks at the Chancellor and speaks calmly, “I have sent the footage from my Sheaths real time recording, as well as my journal and all relevant notes to all present for consideration. You have my word, I will co-operate.”
“Thank you Kim, we appreciate that.” The Chancellor says, tossing a pair of handcuffs, “Could you please secure your wrists behind you? Chief Koph, will take you for threat assessment before we can proceed.”
Kim nods and clicks the handcuffs around her left wrist and then passes her hands behind her back and locking her right wrist. She notes a visible easing of the tension when the second cuff clicks closed.
A tall, brawny and deeply tanned man with a perpetual snarl steps forward and gently grips her upper arm. A split second later, they emerge, atop a cliff, where only she and he stands.
With a flourish he produce two folding chairs and directs Kim to sit in one, while he sits at another. She surveys the lines of his face unable to say how old he appears, with the deep set lines in his face but sparkling eyes, he could be anywhere between fifty and seventy.
Kim sits awkwardly and brings her arms over the chair back, so they are not pressed into her back. She looks at the man and feels a brief flash of recognition, but cannot place him, “Do I know you? Have we met before.”
“Strange question for someone with a photographic memory to ask.” Koph says gruffly, before relenting, “Some people say, I look like a film star from the eighties, who played a tough guy and a boxer. Anyway, I need to ask you some questions and I need the truth.”
Koph sits back and watches her, wordlessly. Kim tries not to flinch as his eyes feel like they are scouring her soul. “So this is how it will be.” she asks herself, feeling the man’s fear of her.
“In your own words, can you please tell me what happened here?” He commands, gruffly, but betraying no emotion.
Kim takes a deep breath and begins, trying to keep her voice calm, “When Oscar left, I realised how screwed I was. I knew I couldn’t close the portal and soon found out I couldn’t move it. That was then my priority, as long as it was open, more Annunakin would come through.”
Koph listens implacably, as she continues, “I realised that I could open a portal and so I went deep in the fade and opened a portal directly opposite the Annunakin one, which opened within the rock of the cliff face.”
Koph nods, “Interesting. So effectively, you divert the Annunakin to an early grave.”
Kim blushes, feeling a pain in her soul, now realising that each flash, was an Annunakin she killed, “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I thought it would just push them back through to return them home.”
Koph gives her a wink, “I don’t suppose you did. You are not built that way. Truth is, you eliminated a threat with quick thinking. What happened next?”
Kim feels rattled at this change of tactic and stutters, “I-i was dumped from the fade and surrounded. So I shifted between the Annunakin and ended them.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it. Even if you had managed to teleport then strike at least a few of them would have got you.” Koph snorts sceptically.
“That’s not how I did it.” Kim says defensively, ”I visualised where they would be, began the stroke and teleported at the last second, then once the strike had hit, I shifted to a non hostile place, swung again and then shifted to connect with the next strike. That way, I swung in safety, was in the face of the enemy for less than a tenth of a second and was gone like the wind, giving no time for them to react.” She casts her gaze down, “It worked really well until, I got complacent.” She confesses, remembering the moment she lost her eye.
Koph fills his hand with a sword and begins a swing then vanishes and reappears before a rock completing his strike instantly, “OK that has potential and I might be tempted to believe you.”
“Please, sir. I swear it is the truth.” Kim begs.
“I know it is.” Koph says, calmly, his body language loosening. “Whilst everyone is going through your footage, it was my second who took your sword from you.” He produces her cutlass with a flourish, “He and I have read this weapon and know exactly what you have been doing.”
“But why all this, if you already know?” Kim asks, starting to fear the steel bands around her neck and wrists.
“I know what you did and I know something of you from my discussions with Oscar over the last week. But I wanted to understand your character and know who I am dealing with. I had a feeling from what he was saying that you would be alive, but not that you had repelled an incursion single handedly.” He explains casually, “I have more questions, but they can wait. I will however ask one more for now, if that is alright with you.”
Kim shrugs, feeling a little confused, “Sure.”
“Without the use of magic, how quickly can you get out of those handcuffs?”
Kim chews her lip, thinking, “I have picks and also PCS in my system, to recover from a dislocated thumb if need be, so.” She closes her eye and confesses, “Maybe twenty seconds.”
Amused, Koph smiles and nods towards her, “Show me.”
Kim slips the pick from its concealment in her sleeve and slows her breathing, feeling the pick slip into place she pops the lock on the right cuff. She brings her hands in front of her and makes short work of the left cuff, then tosses them to Koph.
“I make that eight seconds. Impressive.” Koph says, getting up and approaching her, “Give me a moment.” He says, unlocking the collar and carefully removing it.
“Thanks.” Kim says, rubbing her neck, “Classic strategy when under pressure. Say a task will take much longer and when it is completed faster, look like a miracle worker.”
Koph places the collar and cuffs into a dimensional pocket, chuckling. “Sounds about right.” He looks at her thoughtfully, then extends his hand, “Chief Trailblazer Koph. Pleasure to meet you.”
Kim takes his hand and shakes it warmly, before rising to her feet, “Prospect Kim Smith, pleased to meet you too.”
“Would you mind if I asked another question?” Koph asks, awkwardly.
Kim shrugs, then she mimics holding a cigar and in a New York accent, says “There’s just one more thing.” She chuckles and resumes her normal accent, “Go for it, Colombo.”
Koph snorts a laugh, “I loved that show.” All thoughts of what he was about to ask gone, as he looks at her again as if seeing her for the first time. “When do you want to go and get your eye sorted?
Kim looks at him thoughtfully, “I don’t want it fixed.” Seeing the alarm in his face she continues, “I had a plan and got stupid and careless.” She lifts her eyepatch, showing the dry empty socket and the deep scarring around it, “This is a reminder to me and everyone around me, that no matter how skilled, well equipped or prepared you are, carelessness and recklessness have consequences.”
Koph shakes his head at first but then nods, “I can respect that.”
“Everyone looks at me like I have all the answers. Truth is, I don’t and never have. I’ve been lucky and luck is a fickle mistress.” Kim says, covering her eye.
“I am with you on that. I try to focus on what will keep me alive for the next five minutes.” Koph says, with a shrug.
“Sometimes that can be harder than it seems.” Kim says, thoughtfully.
Koph passes her a bottle of water and asks more about her combat strategy and tactics, making more than a few mental notes along the way.
As the sun sets, Koph nods, handing her back the Cutlass and takes her gently by the forearm before he shifts them back to the group.
All eyes are on them as they return, standing atop a large rock in the midst of the assembled members and Kim secures her sword at her side once more. “The portals are gone, that was quick.” She thinks absent mindedly. Her gaze meets Oscar’s in the crowd and she smiles.
Oscar mouths the words, “Are you alright?”
Kim nods and smiles her head spinning.
Chancellor Grey steps forward, “Chief Trailblazer Koph, have you concluded your interview and review of the Prospects actions?”
Koph nods, his face still fixed in a snarl. He looks around the crowd making a few of those assembled shudder with fear, “I have Chancellor and I am ready to deliver my findings and conclusions.”
The Chancellor purses his lips and addresses the crowd, “I call for quiet from everyone here present.” When the crowd falls silent, he nods towards Koph, “Thank you for your deliberations and time. In your own time, please tell us your findings.”
Koph raises his arms and addresses the crowd, “Prospect Kim Smith, survived and prevailed against overwhelming odds. She has upheld the principles of the Custodian Order in the face of adversity. This new realm is safe, because of her actions. She has been weighed and measured. She has been judged and found resplendent.”
Chancellor Grey nods thoughtfully and fades into his environment.
Everyone stays still, no one speaks. Kim opens her mouth to question this, however Koph whispers, “He has heard my statement and conducted his own review and is now communing with the realm to make a decision. Stay still and relax, it might take a little while.”
Some three hours later, Chancellor Grey emerges from the fade with a relaxed demeanour. Seeing his emergence goes a long way to diffusing the tension of the crowd. He senses this and cracks a smile, before bowing to the four winds, “To the honoured members, here present, I salute you and applaud your patience. I have considered the testimony and evidence and communed with this realm. Now I pray for your attention.”
He pauses for dramatic effect as he quickly views the summaries, his aides have drafted based on the journal, reports and video feed.
The gentle hubbub from the crowd dies down as the assembled members of the Ministry of Ecomantic Affairs, await the Chancellor’s verdict.
The Chancellor cracks his neck and begins, “For her uncommon bravery, tenacity and decisive action, in line with the principles of the ministry, no longer shall she be know as Prospect Smith. From this day, we recognise her as a full Custodian of this Ministry. Furthermore, from this day forward the record will show that, Custodian Kim Smith, shall be known by the title of Liberator for her actions sealing the Annunakin portal and hunting down their number and saving this realm from their blight.”
Kim’s eyes go wide, as the crowd cheers in her honour. She finds herself unable to speak. Koph gives her a gentle nudge, whispering, “Take a bow, Kim. You have earned it.”
Kim emerges in the heart of her campsite, and rubs her right hand and arm. “If I have to shake another hand, my arm might fall off.” She thinks as Oscar and Koph emerge beside her at the water’s edge. She produces a couple of plastic wrapped packages and drops them in the water.
The area is similar to when she first found it, albeit now boasting a three room, metal cabin structure and a thirty metre square deck.
“So this is home.” Oscar says with a grin as he surveys the site and then he chuckles, “You have been busy.”
Koph looks around thoughtfully, “Natural hot spring, with hot clean water on demand, even if the air is cold. Nice open, flat area halfway up a mountain. Easy to defend. I like the cabin.”
Kim extends her hand towards the cabin, “It’s a little rough, but it’s home. Come on in, I will get us a cuppa.”
The bemused Custodians follow her lead and step inside the cabin. Kim pulls out a few large logs, that have been filed smooth top and bottom for her guests to sit on.
“It is nice and warm in here. How long did it take to build?” Oscar asks, with admiration in his voice.
Kim blushes, “It took about a day for the decking and another day for the shell of the cabin and setting up the interior. Wasn’t sure how long I would be here so I started work on a bigger building to keep myself busy.”
“You did this in a couple of days? I’m impressed.” Koph says, with a hint of surprise.
Kim holds up her hands, “I had a lot of power tools and scrounged materials, to be fair.”
Oscar chuckles, “To think of the grief, I gave you when you got them.”
Koph looks around confused, “There is no power here and no fire, how is it so warm in here?”
“There are hot springs all over this area, I ran a hose from one to here and coiled it between the base deck and the floor, for under floor heating. I think the Romans did it first. Anyway, also gives me hot water when I need it.” Kim explains filling three cups with steaming water and adding one of her last precious tea bags to each.
She points to one of the internal openings in the wall, “That’s my bedroom, I have a hammock and a bedframe, with a sleeping pad and inflatable mattress.” She points to the other room, “That is the bathroom. I have a toilet which empties into a bucket, which I empty into a volcanic fissure on one of the outer islands of the realm, every morning.”
“When I go to a realm, I live in a tent. I sleep on a bedroll and spend half my time looking for firewood.” Koph says chuckling and shaking his head, “I am questioning my life choices.”
“Kim has always had a way of doing things and looking at problems.” Oscar says, beaming with pride.
“I followed your teachings, boss. Shelter, water, food, and warmth. Always get the best of each that you can, with what you have.” Kim says, blushing a little and turning her gaze away.
Oscar steps forward and gives her a hug, “I gave you to tools, however, you made them yours.” He releases her from the hug and looks her in the eye, “I think you need to show us every trick and technique you have used. I suspect some of the techniques we have discussed theoretically in the past, have moved beyond that in this realm.”
Kim nods and gives a gentle smile, asking, “Full disclosure?” to which Oscar simply nods. Kim nods, “Where do we begin?”
Koph smiles somewhat amused, “I have gone through this area with a fine tooth comb. There is no generator. How did you power the tools, that you used?”
Kim shrugs, “I plug an adapter from my Sheath into a tool and add it as a peripheral. Then I can redirect power from my arrester.”
Koph feels more confused than before he asked, however, Kim sees this. She pulls out a small black package from a dimensional pocket and opens it, showing a number of plugs. “Do you have one of these for your Sheath?”
Koph dons his Sheath and pats himself down, before finding the pack and detaching it and handing it to Kim. Kim pulls out a small electric chainsaw and inserts on of Koph's plug into the software jack. “It should come up with new peripheral detected. Can you select OK, please?”
Koph shrugs and selects OK with the neural interface and gives the thumbs up. Kim hands him the handle of the chainsaw and he pressed the button and it jumps into life.
Koph turns the blade off and hands it back after unplugging from it, “This works on anything electrical, I plug it into?”
Kim simply nods, then produces the rest of her tool kit with a flourish. Koph nods, surveying the array of tools and devices from drills and an arc welder to a nail gun and water pumps. “What else have you got?”
Oscar and Koph look on bemused, as Kim opens out the hammock tent and begins attaching its ratchet straps to trees at each of the three corners and start to tension them.
Kim moves smoothly around the tent, adjusting until it is taut and suspended about two feet off of the ground, the final touch is the addition of two flexible spars that reach from the back to the point at the front, around one metre apart at the furthest point.
She stands back looking at the two metre wide, three metre long triangular tent. It has around a metres clearance at its highest point and looks like an arrowhead.
From her dimensional pockets she pulls a one gallon drum with a hand pump and spray gun attached. She turns to the others, holding up the spray, “When Corven’s engineers put up an emergency structure the put up a frame with a skin of spider silk and the coat it with this polymer spray.”
Kim turns to the tent and begins coating them in the spray, “It reacts with the air and hardens within a couple of hours. So we will come back in a bit. When it is hardened, it’s as strong as steel but a lot lighter.”
Koph nods, “So that’s how you made the cabin.” He says thoughtfully, “I can see a lot of uses for that.” He quietly sends a message to the fixer of the Trailblazers to acquire a stock of the spray.
Kim nods brightly, “When we come back, we will fit a couple of hinges and a clasp and will be almost good to go. The best part is, that it is pretty much the biggest size that will fit in a dimensional pocket. Once it is made, it goes where I go. Shall we look at another couple of bits and come back?”
Kim piles up wood, in the heart of a stone circle and lights it with an electric arc lighter. She fans the flames and helps them catch. “What kind of host would I be, if I didn’t provide lunch?”
She plucks six mess tins from her pockets and sets them on the stones, before heading to the water.
“That is a fine idea.” Koph says, curious as to what they will have.
She plucks the packages from the water that she deposited earlier and returns to the fire taking a seat on a log. “The water there is hotter than the rest of the lake, however, it is constant and works like a natural sous vide cooker.” She says, opening the first pack and then dropping a dark steak into three of the tins, with a sizzle. Then pours the cooking juices into another tin where it begins boiling almost instantly. “Cooks things really well, but doesn’t colour the meat. So just want to give it a sear.”
Koph inhales the intoxicating scent of the meat and shakes his head, “I have been doing things so wrong.” He chuckles.
Kim adds some blue berries to the cooking juices and gives the tin a stir, before opening the other pack and dropping the three sweet potatoes within into the next tin, with a sizzle of their own.
She flips the steaks and nods seeing they have seared nicely, then cracks three eggs into the last tin.
Watching Kim, turn the steaks onto plates and add sweet potatoes and gravy passing one to each of her dinner guests then awkwardly says, “I am so sorry, I only have one knife and fork.”
Koph laughs hard and produces cutlery for himself and Oscar. “I was beginning to get worried that you had prepared for everything. To be fair, I was expecting flowers and a candle with a bottle of wine.”
Kim hangs her head in mock shame, “No wine, but I have cold water.” She says plucking three flasks of glacial melt water to share.
Koph is still chuckling as he puts a slice of slow cooked, venison sirloin into his mouth. He stops chuckling as the meat melts under the pressure of his tongue and the juices fill his mouth. He closes his eyes savouring the flavour. “This is the best steak I have ever had.” He says unable to comprehend what he is eating.
Oscar smiles, then grins, “Kim was always an excellent field chef. Although this is exceptional.”
“I brought down a deer on about day three and butchered it. I hung it for twenty eight days taking some as I needed and then froze it, defrosting in the sous vide as needed.” Kim explains, blushing.
“You have almost been living better here than some residents of Haven.” Koph says, thoughtfully.
“I have made hard choices and it is like Oscar taught me. The environment is always talking to you, open yourself and listen to it, then act accordingly.” Kim says, looking to Oscar for approval.
Oscar pats her on the back and squeezes her shoulder, “You were an excellent student, but sometimes, you were a better teacher.”
Kim blushes again, “You showed me the value of what we do and the beauty of the world. in a way I had never imagined. I can never thank you enough.”
After the meals are eaten and the discussions over what they have seen have died down they return to the hammock tent she sprayed.
Kim uses an angle grinder to cut an opening in the rear of the structure before cutting off the ratchet straps and placing structure on four large snow blocks. She climbs through the opening and then with a drill she punches four holes into the metal and then place a flat base with pegs sticking out of the sides towards one end, prepared from sanded logs over them. A moment later, she is under the structure and using an electric screwdriver to secure the seat to the base.
Once satisfied, she emerges and pulls out a hand held belt sander and smoothes the edges of the door and opening. Koph and Oscar pulls out some sandpaper and set to work finishing as Kim proceeds. Within twenty minutes she has finished and attaches a couple of hinges on the door frame. As a test she steps onto the structure and bounces a couple of times to test it.
She grins leaping off and then she pulls an electric circular saw, slicing a pair of openings either side of the “nose” of the tent.
Kim takes the bases of two clear plastic food containers and pokes them through the holes she cut and screws them into place. “Should give a bit of light and keep the wind out.”
Koph and Oscar help her smooth the edges around the door. She screws the door onto the hinges and fits a clasp. Taking a moment she pulls door, until it clicks into place.
Now secured inside the structure she lays on the bench and attaches her Sheath to two rings on the seat. With a slow breath she recalibrates her arrester to account for the extra weight, then signals over comms, “Bear in mind, it would look different with a couple of weapons hard points.”
Koph looks at Oscar confused, but the mentor nods back to the structure making him turn, just as the craft shoots fifty feet into the air and the take off at speed.
Kim nods to herself, “This handles well. To be fair, I am hitting higher speeds than when I fly normally. Maybe it is the shape or the extra mass giving me an acceleration boost but it is awesome.”
Ten minutes later, she lands before Koph and Oscar and raises the tops half of the shell. “There you have it.” She steps out and then stores it in a dimensional pocket with a whoop of delight before bring it back.
Koph stands slack jawed, whilst Oscar chuckles, “It works just as you said it would. A small fighter craft, which would double as a shelter if need be.”
Kim grins at him, “Do you want a go on it?” she asks, “I think the Chief needs a minute to wrap his head around it.”
Chancellor Grey smiles to himself surveying the scene around the site of the closed portal. “Custodians, relaxing, joking and forging bonds to last a lifetime. This is the kind of event we need regularly.” He thinks to himself.
He sits back on against a tree and smiles to himself as Koph, Oscar and Kim shift back to the site a few metres from him, “Good afternoon Chief, have you had a productive day?”
Koph purses his lips and then grins, “Game changing. Kim has shared a few very interesting things. As of right now, I am going to pull all Trailblazers from active duty and go through the techniques I have seen and once they are all set up, they will roll the lesson out to the rest of the ministry.”
The Chancellor fixes him with a serious gaze, “That important?” he asks, gravely.
Koph nods seriously, “There are a lot of lessons to be learned. I have asked Kim, to codify protocols relating to the actions she has taken.”
Kim cracks her back as she watches the conversation unfold.
“I would like permission for the Trailblazers to stay here and train on the new techniques, restock and look at some new strategies.” Koph says, thoughtfully.
Kim smiles watching a group of Custodians swimming in the thermal lake. It dawns on her that the conversation has stopped and she turns to see, Koph, Oscar and the Chancellor looking at her. “Did I miss something?”
Koph smiles gently, but still managing to snarl somehow, “I need permission for the Trailblazers to stay here for a couple of weeks while we work on getting them trained.”
Kim gives a confused shrug, “Right?”
Oscar steps in and pats Kim on the back, “You discovered the realm and you repelled an Annunakin incursion single handed. This is your realm, what you say goes.”
Koph chuckles, “Do we have your permission to stay and train?”
Kim chews her lip and nods, sceptically saying, “Yes.”
Koph gives a thumbs up, “I will spread the word and get gear ordered. I would deem it an honour if you would personally demonstrate your techniques.”
Kim covers her mouth with her hand for a moment, before looking to Oscar for support. Oscar squeezes her shoulder, “I got your back, just as you have had mine partner.”
Kim hugs him whispering, “Thanks boss.”
He ends the hug and playfully punches her arm, “I was never your boss, I was your mentor and now the student surpasses the teacher. I have shown you our ways and you have embraced them. Now it is time for us to integrate new technologies and ideas, with the old ways.”
Kim stands humbled before her friend and mentor, simply taking a step back and with her arms at her sides, bows to him, before thoughtfully saying, “If we spend a week on technique and another week tweaking the shelters and tactics for their use. We can host the Ministry the month after to train everyone and get everyone kitted out with shelters, upgraded arresters and peripherals. After everyone is up to speed, we can reset the time dilation here.”
Koph thinks about the proposal quietly nodding, “I concur. This would bring everyone to the same level within a month. We’ll get our heads together and get the gear brought in.”
Chancellor Grey grins with a fire in his eyes, “You can have everything you need. I will stay here for the next two weeks. This old dog, will learn some new tricks.”
Kim beams a smile, “Thank you Chancellor, it would be a great honour to have you join us.”
“Liberator, there is one thing, I need from you.” The Chancellor says, clearing his throat. Kim turns to him and nods wide eyed, prompting him to continue, “As the Liberator and duly appointed keeper of this realm, you need to choose a name for it.”
The world seems to stop and she feels a sense of tranquillity wash over her as she feels every creature of the realm. The land is her skin, the wind is her breath, the rivers and sea her blood. With a warm smile, she softly says, “Peace.”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
This Chapter has its focus on Kim - and we learn - again - what she is capable off. Most illuminating the Name she choses for the new Territory: Peace. One Word. That says it all.
This was a fun chapter to write, as it showed Kim on top, at a disadvantage and showing how she has changed.
The name of the realm is important to her as well, with everything ahe has faced in her life, the main thing she wants is Peace and maybe this is a place that she can start to find it.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
Peace Realm, Three quarters of the way through Kim’s induction. (9 weeks Atlantean time, 15 months with total dilations)
Kim shifts again to stand atop a cliff top. Surveying the scene in the secluded valley below. After the tranquillity of the Respite camp and the simplicity of the kelp farms, this is an arresting sight.
The floor of the valley is filled with Raptors in various states of construction with Custodian and civil support personnel swarming over them.
Where once the craft were rough and ready with minimal equipment, the latest Raptors are sleek and coated in radar absorbing paint. The interiors have a Sheath based control set up with a reclining, racing style seat for the pilot and bullet resistant windshield. Located behind the seat is a comfortable bed. Some limited space is available for cooking facilities and sanitation all powered by a dedicated arrester. That with the ultra secure design of the hull and compliment of four coil guns with look down shoot down covering 180 degrees, and a heavy gyrojet/torpedo launcher either side of the nose, means that they are ready for anything, air, land or sea.
Kim smiles again, “This should be the last compliment. Once these are delivered, everyone in the Ministry will have one. Safety for those who keep the realms safe.”
A quick check of her comms confirms that there are no outstanding messages, then she sees the clock and closes her eyes, “Shit.”
Kim enters the Life Sea and emerges in a far away place, in a cave lit but burning torches. All eyes turn to her, and all she can do is apologise, “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
Oscar winks at her and Koph waves dismissively, “We were just reviewing last meeting, before we talk about ongoing operations and other business.”
A shaven headed woman, with the body of a prize-fighter, dressed in a woodland camouflaged Sheath and combat webbing, stands to address the room, “Greetings from Titan. We have seen significant reductions in Terat related deaths since the first combat deployment of our first Shift-Fighting trained Custodians. When they strike, we can now engage safely and cull their numbers be without risk to Atlantean colonists.”
Section Chief Zoe takes a sip of water and continues in a measured tone. “We have reinforced all shelters and fortified most towns using the sealant. With the Raptors we can cover more ground than ever before and keep those we watch over safer than ever.”
She turns to Kim and bows deeply, “Thank you for all you have given to us. We owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”
With that, the other Chiefs and seniors within the meeting, all turn and bow to Kim, the last of whom is Chancellor Grey. Kim feels her cheeks burn and is struck dumb by the outpouring of goodwill.
Gradually everyone returns to their seats. Aside from the Chancellor, “Thank you Zoe. That was a very positive update.” Then all eyes turn to Kim as Chancellor Grey, looks at her and asks, “Do you have an update for us Liberator?”
Kim nervously clears her throat still a little overwhelmed, “Yes Chancellor. The Respite centre on Peace is nearly up and running. We are about three days away from completing the last of the Raptor builds. This will give every Custodian an emergency shelter and flexible air support option. Last week I completed coaching on Shift Fighting for all chiefs and seniors.”
She pauses for breath and sips from a bottle of glacial water she brought, “Also we are on track to provide up to twenty tons of sustainable compost a week by the end of this month. Provider Green is with us in Peace and working on seed cultivation and animal husbandry to build stocks for depleted realms.” She takes a moment to catch her breath and calm her nerves.
“We are aware that your initial time with us is coming to an end and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you.” The Chancellor says, raising his hands and clapping. The gesture is infectious and soon all present are clapping.
Kim blushes again and cannot bring herself to speak, conscious that when she blushes, the scars on her face go darker.
When the applause dies down, the Chancellor addresses the group once more, “You have, in your time as a member, changed a great deal of how we work. From initial set up on arrival in a New realm or environment, to cooking and hand to hand combat and countless other tasks. You have helped shape us into the most agile and responsive force, Custodian history has ever seen.”
Kim finds that her blushes have no end, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You actions have spoken volumes already, Liberator Kim Smith, Warden of Peace. When you go, you go with our blessings and eternal gratitude.” Chancellor Grey says, with the applause of those assembled.
Kim finds no end to the burning in her cheeks and fights not to cry, thinking, “This is too much. I am not worthy of this level of praise.” Then she makes eye contact with Oscar, who gives her a wink and a subtle bow.
In that moment, she knows that she has a place here that is earned and not bestowed. Earned with the difference she has made and can continue to make for a long time to come.
“Any other business?” the Chancellor asks, feeling bouyed up, at the end of a very productive and positive meeting.
Koph stands and takes a slow breath, “Legacy incursions in the outer realms. Rattan is devastated after only 6 months. The residents are holed up in their last stronghold. Bhurak’s oxygen and methane lakes and plains are swarming with Annunakin and their numbers grow each day. Bron’s waterways and canals teem with aquatic Annunakin and the land and sky is theirs too. A small population of Atlanteans eek out a meagre existence deep underground. They are just the most recent, we Custodians keep them supplied, but the realms have embargoes preventing portals linked to the Atlantean realms from being opened while Annunakin run free. The people of these realms are our brothers and sisters. Atlantis cannot help them, it is up to us.”
The room becomes oppressively quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Even Kim, finds her heart heavy with weight of the trapped Atlanteans pressing down on her.
Chancellor Grey stands with the burden of choice, like a yoke around his neck. “Chief Koph is right. We are the only chance they have. Ideas.”
No one wishes to be the first to speak, yet the same thought plagues them, “This is a suicide mission.”
Zoe stands, with a determined look in her eye, “Bhurak.” She pauses, scanning the faces in the room, “It is only a few hundred square miles of mostly open ground with no airborne threats. Would be a good chance to test the Raptors.”
“The place is methane rich, one spark and it becomes an inferno.” Another chief, objects, “Besides, the rate of passage through the portal is too high to allow for another to be opened to block it.”
“We go in with maces, no sparks, test the Raptors some other time. We hit the realm with enough Custodians trained in Shift Fighting, we can bring numbers under control.” Koph suggests, “We would need a thousand or more to hit it hard, but it should be possible. Test the Raptors on Rattan, instead.”
“But what of the rate that Annunakin enter the world?” A third Chief reminds everyone.
The room falls quiet again, everyone brooding on their own thoughts.
“The soil is too soft, other wise we could command the land to rise up and bury the portal.” Grey says, thinking aloud.
Kim closes her eyes and speaks quietly but firmly, “We need to slow the rate of passage. We can’t do it on the Bhurak side.” She swallows and then continues, “I will go through the portal and try to stem the flow. Buy time to close the portal.”
Stunned silence falls over the room, then is shattered by a bellow from the back from a bald pugnacious looking Chief, “NO!” He continues in a lower tone, “You cannot do this, it is madness.”
With a sense of calm, Kim opens her eyes and smiles gently at her detractor. “It’s OK. I have a plan. But I will need some gear and set up time.”
“Ah shit.” Oscar says, with a chuckle, “If Kim says it can be done. I believe her, I’m In.”
Koph rubs the back of his head, “Hell with it. Myself and a team of Trail Blazers will go through as well.
Chancellor Grey calls for quiet over the general hubbub, “We must be cautious. If we commit too heavily and are routed, it will devastate our Ministry. We limit our numbers, focus as much on defence as assault. Prime focus is the portal. Once it is closed, it is just clean up. Koph, pick ten of your best men to go with Kim, you stay behind and if anything happens to me, I name you as my replacement.
Cutting through the gasps of the assembled Custodians, Grey continues, “Zoe, you lead the offensive on Bhurak itself, you know our roster. Pick top fifty. Skirmish tactics. Protect the portal, once a new portal is open. Teams of five, sweep and clear. Oscar you are with me. I will open the new portal and I need you to support me, should I get dumped from the fade. Kim.” He pauses, “You can have any resources you need. When you and the Trailblazers are through the portal, take no chances. As soon as the new portal is open, Life Sea to Bhurak and sweep and clear with the other teams.”
The room is stunned by the thought that this might actually happen as Grey continues, “All other Chiefs on standby, if things go south, we will evacuate, but if that is not possible, you will extract us.”
“Any questions?.” He asks, getting no response, “Select your teams, do your prep and we strike at dawn local time.”
Pax Felix encampment, Steppes realm, Eastern mountains, undisclosed Valley.(9 weeks Atlantean time, 14 months dilated)
Two men and a specially bred attack dog the size of a full grown ox, slowly walk alongside a ten feet tall razor wire fence. Each man carries a large Khan assault rifle and wears the heavy leathers of the Rovers and the shemagh of the separatists. Step follows step as they trudge onwards. To their left, the mountains jut from the landscape like the fangs of a chaotic beast over the barren rock strewn sandy plain. To their right, beyond the razor wire, a city of tents stretches out under camouflaged netting.
The air is thick with the smell of campfires and roasting meat. Gunfire crackles, from the firing range on the far side of the tents.
The dog sniffs the air, for a moment picking up a scent on the wind before it is gone. The men trudge on, walking the camps perimeter, like the other ten pairs of guards and dogs.
“Why are we doing this?” Abe asks, gruffly.
“To expand the empire and bring all realms under the light of the Pax Felix.” Heart says, bored.
“Pah, So we are not just lining the pockets of the regime then.” Abe says, dryly.
“We’ve been through this, if we are to be taken seriously, we need to have a narrative.” Heart says, with a shrug, “We gather the willing to our banner and we take control of the Steppes from the Khan’s and use this realm as a springboard to carve out our own power in the realms.”
“I dunno man. Things have got a lot better all over since the Atlanteans have been supporting the realms. Every kid goes to school and no child goes to bed hungry.” Abe says, nonchalantly, “Just saying. Back in the day, I was on board with the Pax, but times change.”
“We are the Righteous, the exalted, this is our right.” Heart says, with a growl.
“Oh yeah, so the General keeps saying. But now kids can go to school, the sick get help and life is becoming normal for most. The same cannot be said for the Pax. Besides what are we going to do against bullet proof, flying soldiers with personal guided missiles.” Abe says, bitterly.
“You may have a point.” Heart admits, “Well until such day as we face the might of the Atlantean military, just think of the pussy. Women love a man in uniform.”
On they go following the dog, oblivious to the figure that trails them Unseen and slips unnoticed through the gate of the camp.
The figure, races through the camp like the South wind. Their passing masked by distractions to all around. With steely focus they proceed, ignoring the urge to intervene on behalf of prisoners being interrogated, or those being abused for crimes that don’t exist.
The heart of the terrorist training camp is the dominated by an ancient ziggurat, once used for a more glorious purpose. For all the use it is, the door might as well not be there to prevent access to the uninvited.
A guard stoops to tie his boot laces as his colleague yawns. Neither senses the interlopers silent entry to the Commandants office, mere feet away.
The interloper uses a thumb drive to annihilate the protection on the computer within and begins downloading and sending files.
“Are you getting this?” They message, curtly.
“Coming in hot. This confirms our worst fears. They are planning a coup and it will be a bloodbath on both sides.” Oberon says calmly as he checks the feed coming in, “We have names, addresses, bank accounts and dead drops. This gives us their whole network.”
“Are the locals on side?” Ali says, nervously.
“The Eagle regiment of the Khan’s militia is on station, roughly ten miles away.” Oberon confirms and advises, “I have shared this data and they are launching sorties within the next ten minutes.”
“Am I clear to proceed?” Ali asks, cracking her neck.
“Proceed at your discretion.” Oberon says, with more than a little pride, “I bet you will miss this when your initiation is over.”
Ali smiles, “I don’t think I will ever be able to repay you for all you have shown me.”
“The door will always be open to you.” Oberon says, trying to control his emotions.
“I don’t think it will be long before I knock on it again.” Ali says, struggling with her own emotions.
“Behave yourself, you still have a festival to perform and you are onstage in a few hours. Maybe we pick this up after.” Oberon says, drying his eyes.
“Sounds like a plan.” Ali says, smiling to herself.
“You are the best student, I have ever had. I am proud of everything you have achieved.” He says, prideful.
“Download complete. Going radio silent and proceeding as planned. Will exfil once the Eagles have landed.” Ali says, getting onto her headspace, “See you on the other side.”
The line goes dead and Oberon sends a message through layers of proxies to the Steppes Military clearing them to proceed.
All is well in camp, training of new recruits is at an all time high. Weapon stocks are checked and rechecked in preparation, for the upcoming operations and everyone is ready.
Less than half a second later, all is not well.
The four thousand troops who call the base home collapse to the floor, their legs pressed together and their arms clasped behind their back. Each individual tries to scream through clenched jaws and tightly pressed lips.
In their minds they are bound hand and food, with their mouths heavily duct taped. They struggle and pull at their bonds, but their movements are no match for the mind that drives them and all they can do is lay struggling.
Their minds empty of all positive thought and emotion under a crushing onslaught of fear and the vision of the Devil bearing down on them. Everyone of them sees something different. To some he is red, others purple, other obsidian. However to all, he is the embodiment of evil and malice.
Ali strides unseen through the camp towards the exit, Unseen by all. She shakes her head as she walks, through the helpless wailing inhabitants of this place, “There is a certain irony of using terror as a weapon, but being one the side of the righteous.”
She maintains her focus, exiting the camp and watching the incoming helicopters, laden down with soldiers and heavy weapons.
Ali doesn’t break her stride, until she drops behind a small bluff which gives a little cover both from the air and from the camp. She crouches in its shadow and waits until the soldiers decamp from the choppers, entering the camp. She feels the soldiers advance quickly and then professionally take the residents of the camp into custody.
“Last big op before I go back to my family. After open air concerts to a hundred thousand people, one camp of four thousand taken down without blood shed is a simple matter. All the while, Oberon is in Avalon having a rooftop meeting with an image of me.” Ali reflects, with a smile as she takes flight, heading for the nearest extra-realm portal, going through her set list for the evening. “I’ve had a good run. Tonight’s set will truly end things on a high.”
She stops in mid air and sighs to herself, as Oberon’s word echo in her mind “In the Ministry of Glamour, we deceive everyone else, but never ourselves.”
Thinking aloud she says, “Who am I kidding? I can’t walk away from this.”
Skies above the Atlantean Ocean, (9 weeks Atlantean time, 12 months dilated time)
The late night air is crisp and cool. A lone figure flies high above the sea a thousand miles from the shores of Atlantis. She floats on her back in the sky and stares at the heavens.
Fingers plucks at the sky, harvesting the essence of its beauty, drawing it, gathering it and weaving it once infused with the strength and luxuriant feel of silk.
Anya smiles to herself, “Nice to get out of the cloisters every now and then.”
She floats and weaves through the air, until, long after the first rays of the dawn tease the horizon.
“I have excellent stocks of cloth made from the beauty of the midnight sky, the light of the full moon, the first rays of the dawn and the promise of a new day.” Anya thinks, heading back to Atlantis.
Anya feels a surge of adrenaline, swooping low over the volcano. Jets of magma blast skyward, splitting the smoke and ash choked air.
Anya snatches the essence of the erupting volcano and gives it the cool feeling of a spring breeze and the feel of cotton. The pyroclastic flow, is another matter.
Two day later, Anya’s personal chambers, The Cloister.
A soft knock, can be heard above the bird song outside. Anya pads barefoot across the room in a plain white toga, her circlet of office upon her brow.
She opens the door and bows, “High Priestess. May the blessings of the day be upon you.”
Angela raises an eyebrow, “As a keeper of the Phlogiston Order's rituals and an elemental and biological alchemist, I think we are beyond title’s. Please call me Angela.”
Anya bows again, “Thank you Angela.” She blushes slightly, “What brings you to my door, this morning?”
“Official business, I am sorry to say.” Angela says, brushing down her fine cotton toga.
Anya nods and gestures towards the seats om the balcony. Angela leads the way and takes a seat bathing in the sun’s light, whilst Anya retrieves a bottle of sparkling water and two glasses.
Anya pours a glass each and passes one to Angela, “What do you need from me?”
“Next week King Halpron and Nikita, will be hosting a gala. Dignitaries, leaders and the leading lights of society from Atlantis and The realms will be there.” Angela explains, “I would like you to attend with myself and a selection of sisters and priestesses to represent the order.”
Anya sits back in her seat stunned, “Really? I am just the new kid.”
“You still believe that don’t you?” Angela says, with a dawning realisation, “I think an apology is in order for not making your position clear, even after all you have done.”
Anya takes a sip of ice cold water and looks up nervously at the head of the Order and her mentor, “Since my ordination, I have been focused on the harvesting of raw materials, researching new processes and the study of the rites of the Order. I have not been able to interact much with the rest of the order.”
“That is my failing. I am so sorry.” Angela says, thoughtfully, “You are a part of a specialist branch of the Order, entrusted with ancient secrets and rites. On a personal note, I would like you to stay with the Order. Since day one, I have been guiding you towards the upper tiers of the order for a reason. Everything you have done and achieved so far, shows me and anyone who cares to look, that you have a future with us, if you want it.”
Anya sits quietly for a moment, “Why didn’t you speak to me about a future in the Order?”
Angela sighs, “I thought that if I showed you what you could achieve and the life you could have, you would gravitate towards it.” She struggles to make eye contact with Anya, “I am sorry.”
“Truth is, everything I have learned has made me want this more. For the last month, I have been trying to work out a way to ask.” Anya confesses, “I have spent a lot of the time, visiting dad talking about it. I am at peace with it and would like to continue with the Order And dedicate myself to the further study of Alchemy in all its forms.”
Angela smiles and nods, placing a gentle hand on Anya’s arm, “That is wonderful news.” Angela says, with a tear in her eye.
“There is one thing, I have to ask.” Anya says, feeling nervous, but knowing this is the moment she has been waiting for.
“Ask anything you wish.” Angela says, with an open handed gesture.
Anya composes herself and takes a deep breath, “At my ordination, you called me a child of Atlantis. What did you mean by that?”
Angela feels a pit in her stomach. “I am ashamed that no one has spoken to you or your sisters about this before. I am ashamed that I have not done so either.” Angela begins, “Whilst you may be aware that your biological mother Lupita Carrillo was of Atlantean descent, you may not know that your biological father was too.”
Anya’s heart lurches and the world seems to spins slowly around her, “He was an Atlantean? How?”
“He was born and raised here. He had a good childhood and was happy. When it came to his time for service, he joined the guilds. During his time there, he showed an almost supernatural ability to solve problems, specifically to locate and obtain goods.” Angela explains, “This is such a mess. This should have been done on day one.”
Anya listens feeling slightly numb wondering how she will break the news to her sisters.
“Atlantis is largely self sufficient, however there will always be things we need from elsewhere. Elsewhere meaning Earth.” Angela sighs, “A new identity was set up for him and funding was obtained and his company was set up, as a front to covertly supply goods from Earth to Atlantis.”
“If that is true, why didn’t you protect him?” Anya asks, feeling her hackles rise a little.
“I don’t know all of the details, but from what I gather, the thinking at the time was close protection would increase the risk of discovery. It was also felt that Sasha and her family were ample protection.” Angela confesses, “And no, we didn’t know about you and your sisters. We knew of Kim, but only found out about the rest of you after Santander.”
Anya sits quietly, her mind racing at a million miles an hour, slowly sipping her water. Slowly and deliberately, she sets the glass down and calmly speaks, “Can you tell me everything you know? His background?” she runs her fingers through her hair and looks up at the ceiling, trying not to cry, “Do we have family here?”
Angela quietly sends a message cancelling her appointments for the rest of the day and orders refreshments.
Ministry of Kinetics, Temporis (9 weeks Atlantean time, 15 months dilated time)
For the last eight hours in the symposium, the two thousand assembled esoterics, have been treated to demonstrations of underwater welding with pyrokinesis, telekinetic flight displays from practitioners wielding over a hundred objects each, the use of water to craft moving interactive statues and many more things besides.
The audience is restless as the lights go down and the final speaker of the day takes the stage.
Tara walks up to the podium, dressed in a crisp white shirt, dark purple waist coat and trousers and black heels.
She sets down her notes and the cat calls start begin as if on cue.
“She is a kid, what does she know?”
“Biokinetics is nothing special, just a few simple tricks, for fools.”
“How can you stand there and pretend you are something special? You dumb snot?”
“Fucking pleb. Who are you to address us?”
“We are the cream of the Ministry, what makes you think you have a right to address us?”
And on and on.
“Well I knew it would be rough, but this needs to happen. Trouble is, how to cut through so I can speak.” She wonders and then smiles to herself as she sees her path.
She leans into the microphone and sings, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” Everyone in the room claps twice and the voice begin to die down, as she sings again, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” The voices of the crowd are stunned into silence as everyone claps twice more. Tara takes a deep breath and goes for a big finish, “If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it, clap your hands.” Everyone claps twice more, then a ripple of applause breaks out in the room.
She beams a film star smile, just as she has been practicing in front of the mirror. “Keep it light.” She thinks.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to say a big thank you and now that you have put your hands together for me, I ask you to put your hands together for the wonderful speakers and presentations we have all seen today.” In her mind, Tara divides the crowd into zones and begins shifting her gaze between each zone, making eye contact with a different person each time.
A ripple of warm applause rings out and Tara also claps smiling towards the area that the previous presenters are seated. With one hand on the podium, she gestures with her other towards them , “They and everyone here are proof of the skill, intelligence, innovation and courage that are the foundations of this Ministry and the guiding lights to its future.”
“Everyone in their own way, uses Kinetics in the same way, whichever forms they know.” She pauses for a beat, to let the words settle and continues, “With the precise application of force in some medium.”
“Every discipline may have a different medium or scale, but in essence we all walk one path.” Tara says open handedly and let’s the point lie, sipping water.
“Let’s be honest, all Biokinetics is, is a collection of ideas from other schools.” A lone voice calls out.
Tara smiles to herself, thinking “Right on cue, thanks Mika.”
“To an extent, that is true. Many techniques are from other disciplines, hydrokinetics to alter and manipulate blood flow, telekinesis to manipulate nerves, tendons and muscles, electrokinesis to block impulses to the brain.” She explains, deciding to take a gamble, “Outward projection of telekinetic force and sensing of their reflection to scan surroundings and the bodies of those around you.”
Tara takes a sip of water and turns her page, noting the concerned and curious looks spreading in the audience.
“The key difference is the focus on the internal mechanics of the human body.” She says calmly, focusing on the next part of the presentation. “Once a practitioner learns these manipulations, they will proceed to learn how to manipulate and control life force itself.”
A lone member of the audience, gets up and walks up to the stage, “How about a demonstration?” he asks, full of self assured confidence.
On the surface all is calm, but inside, she in in turmoil seeing the large man stood before the crowd, “Shit that is Perseus, the Ministries Shockwave champion.”
Ahead reads the room and takes a chance, stepping out from behind the podium and undoing the cuffs of her shirt and rolling her sleeves up, “It would be an honour.”
He changes into Muay Thai shorts and removes his shirt with a flourish. Tara slows her breathing and sets her stance. Both fighter stand motionless before the audience.
Mika takes the stage and commentates, as the action unfolds, describing the action for the crowd.
Persons surges forward, Tara pinches the back of his left knee just as he puts weight on it and he spills forward. He recovers with a roll, raking at her cheek, she tightens the tendons in his arm, forcing it to bend back and miss her.
Tara steps back and flicks the Achilles tendon of his right leg and he stumbles back, taking a moment to recover. He unleashes a blast of telekinesis aimed at her chest and she encases her hand in force and redirects the force around her and into the floor.
She rapidly increases and decreases the pressure in his inner ear, bringing his to his knees with vertigo. He keeps low and scrambles forward on all fours. Tara steps back and pinches his optic nerves blinding him for a moment.
Somehow he rises to his feet and unleashes a haymaker aimed at her head and she vibrates the molecules of her body allowing the strike to pass through her. Then she slows the flow of blood in his veins.
Perseus begins to struggle for breath and bends over with a hand on his knee and the other hand raised to the crowd for a moment.
Tara let’s his blood flow normally and steps back while he recovers. Almost without warning he charges, and falls when Tara pinches his spinal cord paralysing him.
Slowly sensation returns to his body and he rolls onto his side and drags himself to his feet. Perseus cracks his neck and fills his hand with a xiphos. Within two steps, Tara has drained enough of his life force that he no longer has the strength to wield it.
He stands swaying and holds his arms around his sides, before bowing to her.
He turns to the audience, “I know when I am outclassed.”
Stunned silence grips the room as, Tara rolls her sleeves down and re-buttons the cuffs before resuming her position behind the podium. She sees a growing number of thoughtful expressions on the assembled esoterics and academics.
She beams a smile at the crowd, thinking, “Lost the flow of my speech, but have the crowd. Let’s change it up.”
“Any questions?” Tara asks, warmly.
A few hands go up and she picks one, the smartly dresses man stands, and coughs to clear his throat, “How did you make everyone clap at the start? That is a mass manipulation of two thousand plus people.”
Tara beams a smile, “Technically, it was over four thousand hands.” She says, working out the easiest explanation. “And at the same time, one cloud.”
She pulls the ice and water from the jug on her podium and makes it float in mid air. “Many in the room can do this, lifting a body of water with items in suspension is a fundamental within hydrokinetics.” She pauses, just for a beat before continuing, “You don’t lift the ice and water separately, you lift one mass and manipulate that mass.”
She moves her hands apart and the water forms a snake moving left and the ice forms miniature tornado on her right. “When you separate the elements, it is still perceived as one mass.”
Tara mixes the ice and water back together in mid air and refills the jug, “I perceived you as a group of people and not individuals. By doing that, I am not manipulating four thousand hands, I am manipulating one crowd to clap.”
Her breath catches in her throat and she sees more nods and thoughtful looks from the audience.
Another few hands go up and Tara picks another. A lady in her thirties, dressed in a dark blue trouser suit, asks, “How did you avoid Perseus’ haymaker?”
She turns her face down to the podium and looks up at the crowd, “I didn’t. He punched where I was, but my body was intangible.”
Tara picks up the jug of water, holding it aloft. “With pyrokinesis, you put energy into molecules and they heat up.” The water begins to boil and she continues, “Cryokinetics pulls energy from molecules to cool them down.” The water rapidly cools and freezes in the jug.
“One of our practices is to vibrate the molecules within our bodies to such a degree that the object becomes intangible.” The frozen water drops through the bottom of the jug and Tara catches it with her mind then tosses it into the air, melting it and refilling the jug.
“What is the frequency?” The woman asks, fascinated.
Tara beams a smile, “If I say that now, then no one will read my book.”
The audience ripples with laughter and Tara allows herself to relax, thinking she might be OK and taking another question.
The one hour scheduled presentation, lasted for four. The questions came at a machine guns pace, but each was neutralised, with deft verbal aikido and charm.
Tara returns to her room and kicks off her shoes and scrunches her toes, welcoming the relief. A knock at the door, tells her that she is no closer to relaxing. With a telekinetic pulse showing that Mika is the other side of the door.
Tara smiles and opens the door to her former mentor turned student, “Hey, how is it going? Thank you for your support in there.”
Mika gives her a hug and a grin, “No drama. You were on fire out there.”
“It was the maddest thing I have ever tried to do.” Tara confesses.
“I think the phrase is, You bossed it.” Mika says, “The college has received a deluge of supportive emails and a dozen applications to join the next course.”
“Wow really. That is huge.” Tara says genuinely shocked.
“No it isn’t, but the fact that one of the applicants is Perseus, is huge.” Mika admits with raised eyebrows.
“Whoa. How do you feel about him being one of your first Biokinetics students?” Tara asks, with a grin, knowing how Mika has spoken about him when they have watched him fight.
“I look forward to putting him through his paces.” Mika says, before covering her mouth in shock, “Sorry, I forgot.”
Tara looks confused until Mika pulls out two books from her dimensional pockets, “Hot off the press. First printing of your Biokinetics handbook and Quintekinesis; A guide for the advanced Biokinetic.”
Tara takes them and feels humbled. She sets them on the table and hugs Mika warmly, “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Yeah, you could. You just needed a push.” Mika steps back and smiles, “You are both the best student I have ever have and my greatest mentor.” She holds up her hand, and Kim grips it tightly.
“I will always have your back.” Tara says, and then guys a faraway look in her eyes., “What do I do now?”
“Rest on your laurels if you like. Or you could teach alongside me, or innovate and expand the teachings of your discipline. The world is yours.“ Mika days, with a grin. “But as far as tonight goes, we are going to get you dressed to the nines and hit a club.”
“I am not old enough to drink, besides, I am too tired.” Tara protests.
“Who said anything about drinking? We are going dancing. I know we train in Shockwave every day, but you and I need to blow the cobwebs away. Get the blood pumping.” Mika says with a twinkle in her eyes.
Tara pretends to pout, “But I am so tired.”
“Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.” Mika says leading her by the arm into the walk in wardrobe.
Tara and Mika stumble back into Tara’s room a little after three in the morning, exhausted from dancing and laughter but happy.
“Thank you for the best night.” Tara says, pulling a bottle of water from her mini fridge and tossing one to Mika.
Mika catches it with her mind and opens it, she snatches it from the air and gulps several mouthfuls down. “I only seems right to celebrate the end of my time as a student and yours as a mentor. It has been my honour to be at your side, while you have rewritten the book on what we do.”
“This isn’t over.” Tara says, feeling a moment of peace in her heart “My journey, is only just beginning.”
In the quiet of the room, standing alone in her quarters. She breathes deeply and her gaze is caught by her books on the table.
She picks them up and smiles to herself and slowly walks to her book case, thinking to herself, “There were some long nights that went into these.” She holds them up before her and appreciates the fine leather bindings as she slots them on to a shelf.
Seeing the books she has written on the same shelf as the academic tomes written by her mother and father, strikes a chord in her. She stands looking at the books, trying not to cry, “I wish you were here to see this.” She thinks, picturing the last time she saw her mother and father.
Tara hugs herself and smiles through the tears, “Thank you for everything you taught me.”
Peace Realm, Three quarters of the way through Kim’s induction. (9 weeks Atlantean time, 15 months with total dilations)
Kim shifts again to stand atop a cliff top. Surveying the scene in the secluded valley below. After the tranquillity of the Respite camp and the simplicity of the kelp farms, this is an arresting sight.
The floor of the valley is filled with Raptors in various states of construction with Custodian and civil support personnel swarming over them.
Where once the craft were rough and ready with minimal equipment, the latest Raptors are sleek and coated in radar absorbing paint. The interiors have a Sheath based control set up with a reclining, racing style seat for the pilot and bullet resistant windshield. Located behind the seat is a comfortable bed. Some limited space is available for cooking facilities and sanitation all powered by a dedicated arrester. That with the ultra secure design of the hull and compliment of four coil guns with look down shoot down covering 180 degrees, and a heavy gyrojet/torpedo launcher either side of the nose, means that they are ready for anything, air, land or sea.
Kim smiles again, “This should be the last compliment. Once these are delivered, everyone in the Ministry will have one. Safety for those who keep the realms safe.”
A quick check of her comms confirms that there are no outstanding messages, then she sees the clock and closes her eyes, “Shit.”
Kim enters the Life Sea and emerges in a far away place, in a cave lit but burning torches. All eyes turn to her, and all she can do is apologise, “I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
Oscar winks at her and Koph waves dismissively, “We were just reviewing last meeting, before we talk about ongoing operations and other business.”
A shaven headed woman, with the body of a prize-fighter, dressed in a woodland camouflaged Sheath and combat webbing, stands to address the room, “Greetings from Titan. We have seen significant reductions in Terat related deaths since the first combat deployment of our first Shift-Fighting trained Custodians. When they strike, we can now engage safely and cull their numbers be without risk to Atlantean colonists.”
Section Chief Zoe takes a sip of water and continues in a measured tone. “We have reinforced all shelters and fortified most towns using the sealant. With the Raptors we can cover more ground than ever before and keep those we watch over safer than ever.”
She turns to Kim and bows deeply, “Thank you for all you have given to us. We owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”
With that, the other Chiefs and seniors within the meeting, all turn and bow to Kim, the last of whom is Chancellor Grey. Kim feels her cheeks burn and is struck dumb by the outpouring of goodwill.
Gradually everyone returns to their seats. Aside from the Chancellor, “Thank you Zoe. That was a very positive update.” Then all eyes turn to Kim as Chancellor Grey, looks at her and asks, “Do you have an update for us Liberator?”
Kim nervously clears her throat still a little overwhelmed, “Yes Chancellor. The Respite centre on Peace is nearly up and running. We are about three days away from completing the last of the Raptor builds. This will give every Custodian an emergency shelter and flexible air support option. Last week I completed coaching on Shift Fighting for all chiefs and seniors.”
She pauses for breath and sips from a bottle of glacial water she brought, “Also we are on track to provide up to twenty tons of sustainable compost a week by the end of this month. Provider Green is with us in Peace and working on seed cultivation and animal husbandry to build stocks for depleted realms.” She takes a moment to catch her breath and calm her nerves.
“We are aware that your initial time with us is coming to an end and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you.” The Chancellor says, raising his hands and clapping. The gesture is infectious and soon all present are clapping.
Kim blushes again and cannot bring herself to speak, conscious that when she blushes, the scars on her face go darker.
When the applause dies down, the Chancellor addresses the group once more, “You have, in your time as a member, changed a great deal of how we work. From initial set up on arrival in a New realm or environment, to cooking and hand to hand combat and countless other tasks. You have helped shape us into the most agile and responsive force, Custodian history has ever seen.”
Kim finds that her blushes have no end, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You actions have spoken volumes already, Liberator Kim Smith, Warden of Peace. When you go, you go with our blessings and eternal gratitude.” Chancellor Grey says, with the applause of those assembled.
Kim finds no end to the burning in her cheeks and fights not to cry, thinking, “This is too much. I am not worthy of this level of praise.” Then she makes eye contact with Oscar, who gives her a wink and a subtle bow.
In that moment, she knows that she has a place here that is earned and not bestowed. Earned with the difference she has made and can continue to make for a long time to come.
“Any other business?” the Chancellor asks, feeling bouyed up, at the end of a very productive and positive meeting.
Koph stands and takes a slow breath, “Legacy incursions in the outer realms. Rattan is devastated after only 6 months. The residents are holed up in their last stronghold. Bhurak’s oxygen and methane lakes and plains are swarming with Annunakin and their numbers grow each day. Bron’s waterways and canals teem with aquatic Annunakin and the land and sky is theirs too. A small population of Atlanteans eek out a meagre existence deep underground. They are just the most recent, we Custodians keep them supplied, but the realms have embargoes preventing portals linked to the Atlantean realms from being opened while Annunakin run free. The people of these realms are our brothers and sisters. Atlantis cannot help them, it is up to us.”
The room becomes oppressively quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Even Kim, finds her heart heavy with weight of the trapped Atlanteans pressing down on her.
Chancellor Grey stands with the burden of choice, like a yoke around his neck. “Chief Koph is right. We are the only chance they have. Ideas.”
No one wishes to be the first to speak, yet the same thought plagues them, “This is a suicide mission.”
Zoe stands, with a determined look in her eye, “Bhurak.” She pauses, scanning the faces in the room, “It is only a few hundred square miles of mostly open ground with no airborne threats. Would be a good chance to test the Raptors.”
“The place is methane rich, one spark and it becomes an inferno.” Another chief, objects, “Besides, the rate of passage through the portal is too high to allow for another to be opened to block it.”
“We go in with maces, no sparks, test the Raptors some other time. We hit the realm with enough Custodians trained in Shift Fighting, we can bring numbers under control.” Koph suggests, “We would need a thousand or more to hit it hard, but it should be possible. Test the Raptors on Rattan, instead.”
“But what of the rate that Annunakin enter the world?” A third Chief reminds everyone.
The room falls quiet again, everyone brooding on their own thoughts.
“The soil is too soft, other wise we could command the land to rise up and bury the portal.” Grey says, thinking aloud.
Kim closes her eyes and speaks quietly but firmly, “We need to slow the rate of passage. We can’t do it on the Bhurak side.” She swallows and then continues, “I will go through the portal and try to stem the flow. Buy time to close the portal.”
Stunned silence falls over the room, then is shattered by a bellow from the back from a bald pugnacious looking Chief, “NO!” He continues in a lower tone, “You cannot do this, it is madness.”
With a sense of calm, Kim opens her eyes and smiles gently at her detractor. “It’s OK. I have a plan. But I will need some gear and set up time.”
“Ah shit.” Oscar says, with a chuckle, “If Kim says it can be done. I believe her, I’m In.”
Koph rubs the back of his head, “Hell with it. Myself and a team of Trail Blazers will go through as well.
Chancellor Grey calls for quiet over the general hubbub, “We must be cautious. If we commit too heavily and are routed, it will devastate our Ministry. We limit our numbers, focus as much on defence as assault. Prime focus is the portal. Once it is closed, it is just clean up. Koph, pick ten of your best men to go with Kim, you stay behind and if anything happens to me, I name you as my replacement.
Cutting through the gasps of the assembled Custodians, Grey continues, “Zoe, you lead the offensive on Bhurak itself, you know our roster. Pick top fifty. Skirmish tactics. Protect the portal, once a new portal is open. Teams of five, sweep and clear. Oscar you are with me. I will open the new portal and I need you to support me, should I get dumped from the fade. Kim.” He pauses, “You can have any resources you need. When you and the Trailblazers are through the portal, take no chances. As soon as the new portal is open, Life Sea to Bhurak and sweep and clear with the other teams.”
The room is stunned by the thought that this might actually happen as Grey continues, “All other Chiefs on standby, if things go south, we will evacuate, but if that is not possible, you will extract us.”
“Any questions?.” He asks, getting no response, “Select your teams, do your prep and we strike at dawn local time.”
Pax Felix encampment, Steppes realm, Eastern mountains, undisclosed Valley.(9 weeks Atlantean time, 14 months dilated)
Two men and a specially bred attack dog the size of a full grown ox, slowly walk alongside a ten feet tall razor wire fence. Each man carries a large Khan assault rifle and wears the heavy leathers of the Rovers and the shemagh of the separatists. Step follows step as they trudge onwards. To their left, the mountains jut from the landscape like the fangs of a chaotic beast over the barren rock strewn sandy plain. To their right, beyond the razor wire, a city of tents stretches out under camouflaged netting.
The air is thick with the smell of campfires and roasting meat. Gunfire crackles, from the firing range on the far side of the tents.
The dog sniffs the air, for a moment picking up a scent on the wind before it is gone. The men trudge on, walking the camps perimeter, like the other ten pairs of guards and dogs.
“Why are we doing this?” Abe asks, gruffly.
“To expand the empire and bring all realms under the light of the Pax Felix.” Heart says, bored.
“Pah, So we are not just lining the pockets of the regime then.” Abe says, dryly.
“We’ve been through this, if we are to be taken seriously, we need to have a narrative.” Heart says, with a shrug, “We gather the willing to our banner and we take control of the Steppes from the Khan’s and use this realm as a springboard to carve out our own power in the realms.”
“I dunno man. Things have got a lot better all over since the Atlanteans have been supporting the realms. Every kid goes to school and no child goes to bed hungry.” Abe says, nonchalantly, “Just saying. Back in the day, I was on board with the Pax, but times change.”
“We are the Righteous, the exalted, this is our right.” Heart says, with a growl.
“Oh yeah, so the General keeps saying. But now kids can go to school, the sick get help and life is becoming normal for most. The same cannot be said for the Pax. Besides what are we going to do against bullet proof, flying soldiers with personal guided missiles.” Abe says, bitterly.
“You may have a point.” Heart admits, “Well until such day as we face the might of the Atlantean military, just think of the pussy. Women love a man in uniform.”
On they go following the dog, oblivious to the figure that trails them Unseen and slips unnoticed through the gate of the camp.
The figure, races through the camp like the South wind. Their passing masked by distractions to all around. With steely focus they proceed, ignoring the urge to intervene on behalf of prisoners being interrogated, or those being abused for crimes that don’t exist.
The heart of the terrorist training camp is the dominated by an ancient ziggurat, once used for a more glorious purpose. For all the use it is, the door might as well not be there to prevent access to the uninvited.
A guard stoops to tie his boot laces as his colleague yawns. Neither senses the interlopers silent entry to the Commandants office, mere feet away.
The interloper uses a thumb drive to annihilate the protection on the computer within and begins downloading and sending files.
“Are you getting this?” They message, curtly.
“Coming in hot. This confirms our worst fears. They are planning a coup and it will be a bloodbath on both sides.” Oberon says calmly as he checks the feed coming in, “We have names, addresses, bank accounts and dead drops. This gives us their whole network.”
“Are the locals on side?” Ali says, nervously.
“The Eagle regiment of the Khan’s militia is on station, roughly ten miles away.” Oberon confirms and advises, “I have shared this data and they are launching sorties within the next ten minutes.”
“Am I clear to proceed?” Ali asks, cracking her neck.
“Proceed at your discretion.” Oberon says, with more than a little pride, “I bet you will miss this when your initiation is over.”
Ali smiles, “I don’t think I will ever be able to repay you for all you have shown me.”
“The door will always be open to you.” Oberon says, trying to control his emotions.
“I don’t think it will be long before I knock on it again.” Ali says, struggling with her own emotions.
“Behave yourself, you still have a festival to perform and you are onstage in a few hours. Maybe we pick this up after.” Oberon says, drying his eyes.
“Sounds like a plan.” Ali says, smiling to herself.
“You are the best student, I have ever had. I am proud of everything you have achieved.” He says, prideful.
“Download complete. Going radio silent and proceeding as planned. Will exfil once the Eagles have landed.” Ali says, getting onto her headspace, “See you on the other side.”
The line goes dead and Oberon sends a message through layers of proxies to the Steppes Military clearing them to proceed.
All is well in camp, training of new recruits is at an all time high. Weapon stocks are checked and rechecked in preparation, for the upcoming operations and everyone is ready.
Less than half a second later, all is not well.
The four thousand troops who call the base home collapse to the floor, their legs pressed together and their arms clasped behind their back. Each individual tries to scream through clenched jaws and tightly pressed lips.
In their minds they are bound hand and food, with their mouths heavily duct taped. They struggle and pull at their bonds, but their movements are no match for the mind that drives them and all they can do is lay struggling.
Their minds empty of all positive thought and emotion under a crushing onslaught of fear and the vision of the Devil bearing down on them. Everyone of them sees something different. To some he is red, others purple, other obsidian. However to all, he is the embodiment of evil and malice.
Ali strides unseen through the camp towards the exit, Unseen by all. She shakes her head as she walks, through the helpless wailing inhabitants of this place, “There is a certain irony of using terror as a weapon, but being one the side of the righteous.”
She maintains her focus, exiting the camp and watching the incoming helicopters, laden down with soldiers and heavy weapons.
Ali doesn’t break her stride, until she drops behind a small bluff which gives a little cover both from the air and from the camp. She crouches in its shadow and waits until the soldiers decamp from the choppers, entering the camp. She feels the soldiers advance quickly and then professionally take the residents of the camp into custody.
“Last big op before I go back to my family. After open air concerts to a hundred thousand people, one camp of four thousand taken down without blood shed is a simple matter. All the while, Oberon is in Avalon having a rooftop meeting with an image of me.” Ali reflects, with a smile as she takes flight, heading for the nearest extra-realm portal, going through her set list for the evening. “I’ve had a good run. Tonight’s set will truly end things on a high.”
She stops in mid air and sighs to herself, as Oberon’s word echo in her mind “In the Ministry of Glamour, we deceive everyone else, but never ourselves.”
Thinking aloud she says, “Who am I kidding? I can’t walk away from this.”
Skies above the Atlantean Ocean, (9 weeks Atlantean time, 12 months dilated time)
The late night air is crisp and cool. A lone figure flies high above the sea a thousand miles from the shores of Atlantis. She floats on her back in the sky and stares at the heavens.
Fingers plucks at the sky, harvesting the essence of its beauty, drawing it, gathering it and weaving it once infused with the strength and luxuriant feel of silk.
Anya smiles to herself, “Nice to get out of the cloisters every now and then.”
She floats and weaves through the air, until, long after the first rays of the dawn tease the horizon.
“I have excellent stocks of cloth made from the beauty of the midnight sky, the light of the full moon, the first rays of the dawn and the promise of a new day.” Anya thinks, heading back to Atlantis.
Anya feels a surge of adrenaline, swooping low over the volcano. Jets of magma blast skyward, splitting the smoke and ash choked air.
Anya snatches the essence of the erupting volcano and gives it the cool feeling of a spring breeze and the feel of cotton. The pyroclastic flow, is another matter.
Two day later, Anya’s personal chambers, The Cloister.
A soft knock, can be heard above the bird song outside. Anya pads barefoot across the room in a plain white toga, her circlet of office upon her brow.
She opens the door and bows, “High Priestess. May the blessings of the day be upon you.”
Angela raises an eyebrow, “As a keeper of the Phlogiston Order's rituals and an elemental and biological alchemist, I think we are beyond title’s. Please call me Angela.”
Anya bows again, “Thank you Angela.” She blushes slightly, “What brings you to my door, this morning?”
“Official business, I am sorry to say.” Angela says, brushing down her fine cotton toga.
Anya nods and gestures towards the seats om the balcony. Angela leads the way and takes a seat bathing in the sun’s light, whilst Anya retrieves a bottle of sparkling water and two glasses.
Anya pours a glass each and passes one to Angela, “What do you need from me?”
“Next week King Halpron and Nikita, will be hosting a gala. Dignitaries, leaders and the leading lights of society from Atlantis and The realms will be there.” Angela explains, “I would like you to attend with myself and a selection of sisters and priestesses to represent the order.”
Anya sits back in her seat stunned, “Really? I am just the new kid.”
“You still believe that don’t you?” Angela says, with a dawning realisation, “I think an apology is in order for not making your position clear, even after all you have done.”
Anya takes a sip of ice cold water and looks up nervously at the head of the Order and her mentor, “Since my ordination, I have been focused on the harvesting of raw materials, researching new processes and the study of the rites of the Order. I have not been able to interact much with the rest of the order.”
“That is my failing. I am so sorry.” Angela says, thoughtfully, “You are a part of a specialist branch of the Order, entrusted with ancient secrets and rites. On a personal note, I would like you to stay with the Order. Since day one, I have been guiding you towards the upper tiers of the order for a reason. Everything you have done and achieved so far, shows me and anyone who cares to look, that you have a future with us, if you want it.”
Anya sits quietly for a moment, “Why didn’t you speak to me about a future in the Order?”
Angela sighs, “I thought that if I showed you what you could achieve and the life you could have, you would gravitate towards it.” She struggles to make eye contact with Anya, “I am sorry.”
“Truth is, everything I have learned has made me want this more. For the last month, I have been trying to work out a way to ask.” Anya confesses, “I have spent a lot of the time, visiting dad talking about it. I am at peace with it and would like to continue with the Order And dedicate myself to the further study of Alchemy in all its forms.”
Angela smiles and nods, placing a gentle hand on Anya’s arm, “That is wonderful news.” Angela says, with a tear in her eye.
“There is one thing, I have to ask.” Anya says, feeling nervous, but knowing this is the moment she has been waiting for.
“Ask anything you wish.” Angela says, with an open handed gesture.
Anya composes herself and takes a deep breath, “At my ordination, you called me a child of Atlantis. What did you mean by that?”
Angela feels a pit in her stomach. “I am ashamed that no one has spoken to you or your sisters about this before. I am ashamed that I have not done so either.” Angela begins, “Whilst you may be aware that your biological mother Lupita Carrillo was of Atlantean descent, you may not know that your biological father was too.”
Anya’s heart lurches and the world seems to spins slowly around her, “He was an Atlantean? How?”
“He was born and raised here. He had a good childhood and was happy. When it came to his time for service, he joined the guilds. During his time there, he showed an almost supernatural ability to solve problems, specifically to locate and obtain goods.” Angela explains, “This is such a mess. This should have been done on day one.”
Anya listens feeling slightly numb wondering how she will break the news to her sisters.
“Atlantis is largely self sufficient, however there will always be things we need from elsewhere. Elsewhere meaning Earth.” Angela sighs, “A new identity was set up for him and funding was obtained and his company was set up, as a front to covertly supply goods from Earth to Atlantis.”
“If that is true, why didn’t you protect him?” Anya asks, feeling her hackles rise a little.
“I don’t know all of the details, but from what I gather, the thinking at the time was close protection would increase the risk of discovery. It was also felt that Sasha and her family were ample protection.” Angela confesses, “And no, we didn’t know about you and your sisters. We knew of Kim, but only found out about the rest of you after Santander.”
Anya sits quietly, her mind racing at a million miles an hour, slowly sipping her water. Slowly and deliberately, she sets the glass down and calmly speaks, “Can you tell me everything you know? His background?” she runs her fingers through her hair and looks up at the ceiling, trying not to cry, “Do we have family here?”
Angela quietly sends a message cancelling her appointments for the rest of the day and orders refreshments.
Ministry of Kinetics, Temporis (9 weeks Atlantean time, 15 months dilated time)
For the last eight hours in the symposium, the two thousand assembled esoterics, have been treated to demonstrations of underwater welding with pyrokinesis, telekinetic flight displays from practitioners wielding over a hundred objects each, the use of water to craft moving interactive statues and many more things besides.
The audience is restless as the lights go down and the final speaker of the day takes the stage.
Tara walks up to the podium, dressed in a crisp white shirt, dark purple waist coat and trousers and black heels.
She sets down her notes and the cat calls start begin as if on cue.
“She is a kid, what does she know?”
“Biokinetics is nothing special, just a few simple tricks, for fools.”
“How can you stand there and pretend you are something special? You dumb snot?”
“Fucking pleb. Who are you to address us?”
“We are the cream of the Ministry, what makes you think you have a right to address us?”
And on and on.
“Well I knew it would be rough, but this needs to happen. Trouble is, how to cut through so I can speak.” She wonders and then smiles to herself as she sees her path.
She leans into the microphone and sings, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” Everyone in the room claps twice and the voice begin to die down, as she sings again, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” The voices of the crowd are stunned into silence as everyone claps twice more. Tara takes a deep breath and goes for a big finish, “If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it, clap your hands.” Everyone claps twice more, then a ripple of applause breaks out in the room.
She beams a film star smile, just as she has been practicing in front of the mirror. “Keep it light.” She thinks.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to say a big thank you and now that you have put your hands together for me, I ask you to put your hands together for the wonderful speakers and presentations we have all seen today.” In her mind, Tara divides the crowd into zones and begins shifting her gaze between each zone, making eye contact with a different person each time.
A ripple of warm applause rings out and Tara also claps smiling towards the area that the previous presenters are seated. With one hand on the podium, she gestures with her other towards them , “They and everyone here are proof of the skill, intelligence, innovation and courage that are the foundations of this Ministry and the guiding lights to its future.”
“Everyone in their own way, uses Kinetics in the same way, whichever forms they know.” She pauses for a beat, to let the words settle and continues, “With the precise application of force in some medium.”
“Every discipline may have a different medium or scale, but in essence we all walk one path.” Tara says open handedly and let’s the point lie, sipping water.
“Let’s be honest, all Biokinetics is, is a collection of ideas from other schools.” A lone voice calls out.
Tara smiles to herself, thinking “Right on cue, thanks Mika.”
“To an extent, that is true. Many techniques are from other disciplines, hydrokinetics to alter and manipulate blood flow, telekinesis to manipulate nerves, tendons and muscles, electrokinesis to block impulses to the brain.” She explains, deciding to take a gamble, “Outward projection of telekinetic force and sensing of their reflection to scan surroundings and the bodies of those around you.”
Tara takes a sip of water and turns her page, noting the concerned and curious looks spreading in the audience.
“The key difference is the focus on the internal mechanics of the human body.” She says calmly, focusing on the next part of the presentation. “Once a practitioner learns these manipulations, they will proceed to learn how to manipulate and control life force itself.”
A lone member of the audience, gets up and walks up to the stage, “How about a demonstration?” he asks, full of self assured confidence.
On the surface all is calm, but inside, she in in turmoil seeing the large man stood before the crowd, “Shit that is Perseus, the Ministries Shockwave champion.”
Ahead reads the room and takes a chance, stepping out from behind the podium and undoing the cuffs of her shirt and rolling her sleeves up, “It would be an honour.”
He changes into Muay Thai shorts and removes his shirt with a flourish. Tara slows her breathing and sets her stance. Both fighter stand motionless before the audience.
Mika takes the stage and commentates, as the action unfolds, describing the action for the crowd.
Persons surges forward, Tara pinches the back of his left knee just as he puts weight on it and he spills forward. He recovers with a roll, raking at her cheek, she tightens the tendons in his arm, forcing it to bend back and miss her.
Tara steps back and flicks the Achilles tendon of his right leg and he stumbles back, taking a moment to recover. He unleashes a blast of telekinesis aimed at her chest and she encases her hand in force and redirects the force around her and into the floor.
She rapidly increases and decreases the pressure in his inner ear, bringing his to his knees with vertigo. He keeps low and scrambles forward on all fours. Tara steps back and pinches his optic nerves blinding him for a moment.
Somehow he rises to his feet and unleashes a haymaker aimed at her head and she vibrates the molecules of her body allowing the strike to pass through her. Then she slows the flow of blood in his veins.
Perseus begins to struggle for breath and bends over with a hand on his knee and the other hand raised to the crowd for a moment.
Tara let’s his blood flow normally and steps back while he recovers. Almost without warning he charges, and falls when Tara pinches his spinal cord paralysing him.
Slowly sensation returns to his body and he rolls onto his side and drags himself to his feet. Perseus cracks his neck and fills his hand with a xiphos. Within two steps, Tara has drained enough of his life force that he no longer has the strength to wield it.
He stands swaying and holds his arms around his sides, before bowing to her.
He turns to the audience, “I know when I am outclassed.”
Stunned silence grips the room as, Tara rolls her sleeves down and re-buttons the cuffs before resuming her position behind the podium. She sees a growing number of thoughtful expressions on the assembled esoterics and academics.
She beams a smile at the crowd, thinking, “Lost the flow of my speech, but have the crowd. Let’s change it up.”
“Any questions?” Tara asks, warmly.
A few hands go up and she picks one, the smartly dresses man stands, and coughs to clear his throat, “How did you make everyone clap at the start? That is a mass manipulation of two thousand plus people.”
Tara beams a smile, “Technically, it was over four thousand hands.” She says, working out the easiest explanation. “And at the same time, one cloud.”
She pulls the ice and water from the jug on her podium and makes it float in mid air. “Many in the room can do this, lifting a body of water with items in suspension is a fundamental within hydrokinetics.” She pauses, just for a beat before continuing, “You don’t lift the ice and water separately, you lift one mass and manipulate that mass.”
She moves her hands apart and the water forms a snake moving left and the ice forms miniature tornado on her right. “When you separate the elements, it is still perceived as one mass.”
Tara mixes the ice and water back together in mid air and refills the jug, “I perceived you as a group of people and not individuals. By doing that, I am not manipulating four thousand hands, I am manipulating one crowd to clap.”
Her breath catches in her throat and she sees more nods and thoughtful looks from the audience.
Another few hands go up and Tara picks another. A lady in her thirties, dressed in a dark blue trouser suit, asks, “How did you avoid Perseus’ haymaker?”
She turns her face down to the podium and looks up at the crowd, “I didn’t. He punched where I was, but my body was intangible.”
Tara picks up the jug of water, holding it aloft. “With pyrokinesis, you put energy into molecules and they heat up.” The water begins to boil and she continues, “Cryokinetics pulls energy from molecules to cool them down.” The water rapidly cools and freezes in the jug.
“One of our practices is to vibrate the molecules within our bodies to such a degree that the object becomes intangible.” The frozen water drops through the bottom of the jug and Tara catches it with her mind then tosses it into the air, melting it and refilling the jug.
“What is the frequency?” The woman asks, fascinated.
Tara beams a smile, “If I say that now, then no one will read my book.”
The audience ripples with laughter and Tara allows herself to relax, thinking she might be OK and taking another question.
The one hour scheduled presentation, lasted for four. The questions came at a machine guns pace, but each was neutralised, with deft verbal aikido and charm.
Tara returns to her room and kicks off her shoes and scrunches her toes, welcoming the relief. A knock at the door, tells her that she is no closer to relaxing. With a telekinetic pulse showing that Mika is the other side of the door.
Tara smiles and opens the door to her former mentor turned student, “Hey, how is it going? Thank you for your support in there.”
Mika gives her a hug and a grin, “No drama. You were on fire out there.”
“It was the maddest thing I have ever tried to do.” Tara confesses.
“I think the phrase is, You bossed it.” Mika says, “The college has received a deluge of supportive emails and a dozen applications to join the next course.”
“Wow really. That is huge.” Tara says genuinely shocked.
“No it isn’t, but the fact that one of the applicants is Perseus, is huge.” Mika admits with raised eyebrows.
“Whoa. How do you feel about him being one of your first Biokinetics students?” Tara asks, with a grin, knowing how Mika has spoken about him when they have watched him fight.
“I look forward to putting him through his paces.” Mika says, before covering her mouth in shock, “Sorry, I forgot.”
Tara looks confused until Mika pulls out two books from her dimensional pockets, “Hot off the press. First printing of your Biokinetics handbook and Quintekinesis; A guide for the advanced Biokinetic.”
Tara takes them and feels humbled. She sets them on the table and hugs Mika warmly, “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Yeah, you could. You just needed a push.” Mika steps back and smiles, “You are both the best student I have ever have and my greatest mentor.” She holds up her hand, and Kim grips it tightly.
“I will always have your back.” Tara says, and then guys a faraway look in her eyes., “What do I do now?”
“Rest on your laurels if you like. Or you could teach alongside me, or innovate and expand the teachings of your discipline. The world is yours.“ Mika days, with a grin. “But as far as tonight goes, we are going to get you dressed to the nines and hit a club.”
“I am not old enough to drink, besides, I am too tired.” Tara protests.
“Who said anything about drinking? We are going dancing. I know we train in Shockwave every day, but you and I need to blow the cobwebs away. Get the blood pumping.” Mika says with a twinkle in her eyes.
Tara pretends to pout, “But I am so tired.”
“Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.” Mika says leading her by the arm into the walk in wardrobe.
Tara and Mika stumble back into Tara’s room a little after three in the morning, exhausted from dancing and laughter but happy.
“Thank you for the best night.” Tara says, pulling a bottle of water from her mini fridge and tossing one to Mika.
Mika catches it with her mind and opens it, she snatches it from the air and gulps several mouthfuls down. “I only seems right to celebrate the end of my time as a student and yours as a mentor. It has been my honour to be at your side, while you have rewritten the book on what we do.”
“This isn’t over.” Tara says, feeling a moment of peace in her heart “My journey, is only just beginning.”
In the quiet of the room, standing alone in her quarters. She breathes deeply and her gaze is caught by her books on the table.
She picks them up and smiles to herself and slowly walks to her book case, thinking to herself, “There were some long nights that went into these.” She holds them up before her and appreciates the fine leather bindings as she slots them on to a shelf.
Seeing the books she has written on the same shelf as the academic tomes written by her mother and father, strikes a chord in her. She stands looking at the books, trying not to cry, “I wish you were here to see this.” She thinks, picturing the last time she saw her mother and father.
Tara hugs herself and smiles through the tears, “Thank you for everything you taught me.”
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Incredibly dense chapter. Lots of locations, characters acting. And the young ones showing their mettle again. I repeat myself: You do a great job in developing the young ones. Chapeau!
I wanted yo show that even though Tara, Ali and Anya are clones of Kim, on similar paths, they express themselves differently and all have their own agency and strengths.
Sasha, Niki and Dani are all developed well but, they are still only in their late twenties in their own rights, but they already have a rich history. I was curious to explore the same kind of world building with teenagers moving into young adulthood and i am pleased with the results
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
@wolfman said,
And, indeed, you should be pleased with your splendid results.I was curious to explore the same kind of world building with teenagers moving into young adulthood and i am pleased with the results.
A List of my stories:An Unlikely Savior Completed
Spy Task Force Completed
Tale of an Archer Completed
The Bandit Scout on Newhome updated 05/30/23
@GreyLord , thank you my friend, I appreciate your kind words
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
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slackywacky
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 2625
- Joined: 5 years ago
- Location: Canada
This story keeps giving more and more. You are a writer with great skills. I am not up to date with the last chapters yet, but I am getting closer.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
- All in the family - Updated 24/04
- Bondage model by choice - Updated 10/04
- Hitchhiker - Updated 29/03
I am heartened that you still follow and are persevering. Thank you for your support, I sincerely hope you continue to enjoy.slackywacky wrote: ↑5 days ago This story keeps giving more and more. You are a writer with great skills. I am not up to date with the last chapters yet, but I am getting closer.
Last edited by wolfman 4 days ago, edited 1 time in total.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky
Peace realm, six hours after meeting.
Battle hardened Custodians sit in a circle, focused on Koph and Chancellor Grey with a fire roaring in their midst.
Kim and Oscar shift into the centre of the circle and bow to the Chancellor. Oscar takes a seat in the circle, leaving Kim standing alone.
Chancellor Grey smiles at her and gives a wink, “Ready when you are, you have the floor.”
“Here goes.” Kim clears her throat and nervously begins, “Bhurak is a harsh, rocky place with high atmospheric pressure and surface level methane deposits with a portal in the middle of a dust plane.” Kim takes a breath. “But we already know that. Oscar and I have scouted the other side of the portal and confirmed conditions there.”
“It is another harsh place. Aside from the Annunakin it is a mostly dry and lifeless place. Speaking of which, the Annunakin there are the smaller faster wolf-type that presented on Peace.” Kim refocuses and continues, sending photos from her Sheath to the other Custodians present, “As you can see, the portal is in the open and the Annunakin are congested around it.”
“The plan is simple. We establish a perimeter around the portal, merge with the realm and make the sands of the plain rise up to build a large hill with the portal at the centre.” She takes a sip of water, “Then we place arrester pylons set to absolute motion drain. This will stop anything, without a personal arrester, approaching and fix the hill in place.”
She pauses to let the plan sink in, before continuing. “Once the Hill is in place, we proceed to phase two, securing the Bhurak portal. For this to work there are a few moving parts. First a team to merge and shift a large quantity of subsurface liquid methane under the portal. Then bring it close to the surface. We need enough, to turn at least a hundred metres around the portal to a soup like quicksand at least ten feet deep.”
Few words echo through the crowd but, many thoughtful nods are exchanged, as she continues, “At this stage, the linchpin comes into play. Chancellor Grey and the portal team move in and from deep in the fade, open a fresh portal to the heart of the bedrock half a mile down.”
“During the opening of the portal, skirmishers engage any that can circumvent the quick sand. Once the portal is up and running, the pylons can be pulled from the hill and we regroup on Peace. The watch word is safety from here on in. We use Peace as a staging point and then start by targeting small groups and then break up the larger groups, with the Raptors, and pick them off by hand. Once they are dealt with, we wait for the bodies to fade, we close the portals, pull the pylons from portal side and everyone can move on.”
Kim takes a sip of water and waits for the laughter that never comes. Everyone gathers their own thoughts and sits quietly for a moment, before Koph speaks, “Why don’t we create a hill Bhurak side? That would seem to be a simpler solution and reduce the risk of having a team portal side.”
Kim nods as he speaks, “That is all correct, however, it would make it a lot harder to open a new portal or close the old one as it would block access from Bhurak side.” She explains nervously.
Koph holds a deep breath, considering her point and exhales sharply, with a nod, “Good point.”
Kim breathes in slowly, trying to control her nerves, “Any other thoughts?”
“Why not hit the big groups up front?” a Custodian dressed in desert camouflage asks.
“There are a few reasons. One is to thin the herd from the edges, hit far and wide and cull from the peripheries. Another is that, as many have not had the chance to use Shift Fighting in a real conflict it is a chance to sharpen and test what has been learned against safer lone targets first. Also shifting into the midst of large numbers of targets will be riskier. And there is a chance that once we start the groups with come together as defence from attack.” Kim explains, trying to sound confident.
“Why don’t we just merge and influence the Annunakin to drown themselves in lakes of methane?” Another voice asks, trying to be clever.
“Do you want to get up close an personal with an Annunakin’s mind?” Zoe asks, with a smile.
One of the lads pipes up, “You haven’t met his wife. Getting up close and personal with an Annunakin is like a holiday for him.”
The first man roars with laughter, “I’ll tell her you said that.”
“Settle down.” Koph says in a low voice, barely above a whisper to bring the room to silence and order.
Kim composes herself and then surveys the crowd, “This is the plan anyway. The idea is to maximise safety and effectiveness. It may be possible to do things faster, but this plan should bring everyone home.”
After a few minutes, Chancellor Grey, stands and addresses those present, “This is a dangerous undertaking, in spite of the plan proposed. If anyone here present wishes to bow out, now is the time to do so. Know that if you do, there will be no ill will directed against you.” He turns to Kim and speaks, “For the duration of this operation, you shall be referred to as Liberator Chief Kim. Let all here bear witness.”
No one stands. A few pull out hand axes and begin sharpening them. Others systematically begin checking their various fighting knives, but everyone nods in agreement.
Kim shifts for a moment and when she returns she places a box of weapons in the centre of the circle. Each weapon, is crafted from an old eight pound sledgehammer. The heads were heated and beaten, until one side is a wedge shaped blade, roughly three inches thick at its widest point, tapering down to a razor edge and the other is a thick spike. The heads are then fitted to new two-foot long, non-slip handles, to make them action ready.
Zoe is the first to check the box and hefts a wedge axe with a look of satisfaction then takes a belt loop and hangs it from her side. Soon others come to the box and select their own weapons, appreciating the heft and swing of the axes.
A massively built tattooed man, with a bushy beard strides to the box to claim one. Kim stops him with a hand on his arm and with a flourish presents him with a version crafted from a twenty pound hammer, that dwarves those already taken. “This was the first, I made. But it is too unwieldy for most. Maybe a big guy like you could get some use out of it.”
“Thank you, Liberator.” Arvin says gently, before taking a few test swings of the massive weapon. When he looks up at her again, his face is split by a massive grin. “I think this will do nicely.”
A few moments later members of the Respite facilities support team bring in a selection of buffalo steaks and stir fried vegetables. Kim settles back against a rock, watching the assembled Custodians eat and relax. “I wonder how many of us will come back after this. I hope this works.” She thinks with words from Dani’s book echoing in her mind, “The greatest burden of command is that, sometimes the people you kill will be your own.”
Zero hour, Portal Side, Bhurak portal.
Insectile, six legged wolves pant and slobber charging toward the portal, heedless of the rippling of the soil under their paws and unaware of the essence of the eleven Custodians, merged with the plain upon which they run.
Once the initial compression of the dust under the portal is complete, Kim commands, “Raise it.”
An almost wave-like movement in the ground crashes without warning over the portal and the merged Custodians strain to keep the dust in formation and prevent too much dust falling through the portal.
Koph gives the nod and twenty Custodians vanish from the skies above Bhurak and shift through the Life Sea into the skies above the newly formed mound of dust. Before the confused Annunakin can react, the mound is peppered with pylons.
Annunakin leap instinctively at the mound and stay motionless in mid air.
Kim gives the signal, “Clear and set. All except, monitoring team back to Bhurak.”
Deep within the fade, heedless of the massive atmospheric pressure and extreme cold, Chancellor Grey gets the signal and gives his team the go ahead. He cuts his palm and begins tracing his part of the relay portal, visualising its destination.
At the same time, Zoe and her team begin saturating the soil with liquid methane, making turning it into a freezing, sticky soup and the ground trembles with a minor localised earthquake
Across Bhurak every Annunakin’s hackles rise and instinct drives them to return to the portal and their run like the Devil is chasing them.
A few monitors remain behind, leaving the rest of the Custodians to return to their staging post on Peace and ready weapons.
The first Annunakin charge headlong straight into the quicksand, yelping and howling as they are sucked down never to be seen again. Others follow and meet the same fate until one takes a run up and leaps, succeeding in getting closer to the portal but still failing.
Then the frenzy starts, creatures leaping from rocks and overhangs desperate to reach the portal, with none of them finding success.
In the staging area, Kim speaks calmly, despite her pulse racing, “Hold position, The quick sand is doing work right now. Let it do some of the heavy lifting, before we go in.” She sweeps her arm across four Custodians, “Keep monitoring the portal team, pull them at the first sign of trouble.”
Chancellor Grey grits his teeth against the strain. The veins on his neck, bulge and his face is red. “By grace, how did she do this alone?”
The other portal makers feel similar strain and one by one they drop from the fade with exhaustion. They are visible for less than a split second before they feel themselves lain down in the staging area on Peace.
By sheer will alone, the Chancellor keeps working breathing a sigh of relief when his portion of the portal is complete. Feeling that some sections are incomplete, he presses on feeling other Custodians join him and take up the mantle.
He feels a comforting warmth between his shoulders when Kim presses a hand there and senses her smile and overwhelming feeling that he is not alone.
With her hand on his shoulder and her will alongside his, he feels the completion of the new portal and watches it coalesce. Kim carries him back to the staging area and lays him with the other members of the portal team, where Respite's support workers begin to administer fluids and support.
Kim steps back from the Chancellor and takes a breath looking to Oscar for support. He is laid on a camp bed with an IV in his arm, however he is awake and gives a thumbs up.
Reaching across the Life Sea with her mind, Kim nods to herself, before addressing the room, “They are getting wary of the quicksand. Ready weapons, we go live in two minutes.”
Across the space, everyone begins readying their chosen weapons, taking practice swings and stretching. Kim stands on a rock and addresses the assembled Custodians, “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time. Aim your strikes carefully. If you feel tired, step back. Tiredness is the fuel of fuck ups. Stay focused. If you need a break, take ten then rotate out one of the monitors.”
No one speaks, but everyone listens, “No one cares how many of them die. But I care that we finish the day with the same number of people that we start with.” She takes a swig of water, “Take your time. Build your rhythm. Start at a pace you are happy with and build as you are comfortable. No one is judging you on speed. Work to your own pace.”
Unnoticed by her, both Koph and Zoe whisper to the recovering Chancellor, to which he nods thoughtfully.
A soft ping sounds and Kim takes a deep slow breath and announces, “Zero hour. On a count of three, commence assault.” She pauses, drawing her cutlass and a wedge axe and rolls her shoulders. “Three. Two. One. Commence.”
Kim raises the axe, left handed over her right shoulder and brings up the cutlass alongside it. She swings the axe first and a split second later the sword is in motion.
She shifts, letting the axe brutally chop into the back of an Annunakin’s neck, then shifts allowing the cutlass to claim another head before she shifts back. Reversing the strike, she swings the other way taking a head with the sword and another with the axe, in two shifts.
Kim surveys the other Custodians for a moment as they blink in and out. With blood dripping from their weapons.
She sinks into their rhythm and nods to herself, feeling Annunakin lives being snuffed with each blink. Then resumes her double strike pattern
Everyone starts slow, with only three or four strikes per minute, slowly working up to an average of twenty or more a minute.
Arvin settles into a figure eight pattern with the massive wedge axe and comfortably manages fifty a minute.
Kim’s PCS enhanced physique and training allows her to strike harder and faster, with an average of just over eighty a minute.
Through the night, some Custodians bow out, allowing those on monitor duty to take a turn. No one who is called shrinks from the duty and all are bloodied.
On top of the Annunakin claimed by quicksand, it takes less than three hours to virtually annihilate the Annunakin. Leaving only one remaining. Kim calls a halt to the proceedings and presents the Chancellor with a wedge axe.
“Would you like the honour of killing the last Annunakin on Bhurak?” Kim asks.
The Chancellor smiles gently and declines. Pushing aside the axe. “That honour, should be yours Liberator Chief.”
Kim nods solemnly and swings her sword, shifting mid swing. She shifts back a moment later and nods, “It is done, sir.”
05:00 hours Bhurak local time (Seven hours after Zero Hour)
Colonist Dee hears a loud banging from an airlock door that hasn’t been opened for almost a year. His grubby grey coveralls creak a little as he nervously approaches and peers through the window, seeing three figures in camouflaged bodysuits and matching helmets.
He keys his radio, “Dee to Prince, we have visitors in the airlock.”
A gruff voice calls back, “What do you mean? Visitors in the Airlock?”
“Three people waiting in the airlock, looks like two fellas and a woman.” Dee says, with a shrug.
“Well let ‘em in then. Bring ‘em up here.” Prince says, excitedly.
“Is it safe?” Dee asks nervously.
“Do they have teeth or claws?” Prince asks, impatiently.
“Errrr, no.” Dee says, double checking.
“Then they aren’t Annunakin. Open the bloody door.” Prince says, exasperated.
Dee hurriedly pulls out his card and opens the airlock, then takes a step back as the inner door cycles.
The figures remove their helmets, one is an older man with salt and pepper hair and a twinkle in his eye, the other man is bullish looking and snarling brute. The woman however is a shock. Young, no more than eighteen, perfect complexion and blonde hair, defined cheekbones and a warm smile at odds with the heavy facial scarring and eyepatch over her left eye and the look of pure steel in her right. He raises an eyebrow at the Cutlass hanging from her belt and the handle of an axe visible over her left shoulder.
“Good morning. The Custodian Ministry, brings greetings and salutations from Atlantis.” The young woman says, warmly.
Prince sits back in his seat, pulling a bottle of homebrewed hooch and four cups. He pours a generous measure for himself and the visitors and passes then each a cup.
Kim begins to object, but Koph nudges her and mouths, “Just drink it.”
Prince raises his cup and after they toast knocks back the hooch. Chancellor Grey and Koph take a mouthful when more Kim just takes a sip, stifling a cough as it burns her throat.
Prince knocks his drink back in one go, then refills his cup, “So.... Its over?”
“Yes.” Grey says, with a nod and a sip of booze, “The Annunakin are dead and once their bodies have dissolved we will close the portals and reopen a portal to Atlantis. “
Prince's mind races and looking a little lost he looks up at Grey, “Would you be able to stand with me, when I tell my people?”
He misses the subtle nudge that the Chancellor gives Kim. She leans forward and smiles, “We have got you this far. We are with you until you are fully back in the fold.”
Kim wakes with a start, unsure why. She looks around her bedroom and sees nothing out of place, when there is another knock at the door.
Feeling a little achy, she rouses herself from bed and changes into her Sheath with a flourish.
She opens the door to her cabin to see Arvin and Oscar waiting for her, “Morning. Is it still morning?” she asks, not sure of the time until her Sheath controls confirm it is roughly eight in the morning.
“Yes it is.” Oscar says warmth lifting a plate and a pot of coffee, “We brought breakfast.”
“Breakfast is always welcome, Come on In.” Kim says, beckoning them inside.
Polishing off the last of the egg, bacon and mushrooms, Kim dabs her mouth and drains the last of her coffee, “I appreciate the food and coffee. Feel a bit more human now.” She says appreciatively, but then notices a tension in the air, “Why don’t you tell me why you are really here?”
Arvin shifts his large frame in the too small seat and rubs his chin, thoughtfully, “Me and the guys have been talking. We did a hell of a thing yesterday.” He stops for a moment, trying to find the words, “You did a hell of a thing yesterday. Truth is we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Kim eyes the men sceptically, but keeps her own counsel, while Arvin continues, “You had the plan, the gear and the skill to pull it off. You had the awareness to change tack on the fly and you brought us all home safe.”
Oscar pats him on the shoulder, seeing him get emotional, “The guys from the operation have scouted Rattan and the other side of the portal there. The Chancellor doesn’t know it yet, but they are gearing up to liberate the realm.”
Kim takes a slow breath and runs her fingers through her hair, before producing a hair tie and pulling her hair into a ponytail. “You want me to tell him?”
“We want you to lead us again.” Arvin says solemnly, “You have a tactical insight and a gift for bringing people back alive. If you lead, we follow.”
Kim closes her eyes, unable to look at either of the men, “This is too much. I am not ready for this.”
“How many times during training have you said that to me?” Oscar asks gently, “I would say about as many times as you have proved that you are ready.”
“This isn’t about any of us. It is about the people who call Rattan home under the shadow of Annunakin predators.” Arvin says, softly.
Kim struggles with her emotions, but in her heart already knows her answer, “Ah fuck it. Give me a few minutes and gather everyone around the main camp fire. I need to see the place for myself.”
“I will brief the Chancellor.” Oscar says, with a grin.
She rises from her seat and with a flourish her sword is at her side and axe on her back. Without a further word she vanishes.
Rattan portal site.
Kim observes from within the fade, counting the rate on incursion and observing the Annunakin as they disperse. “Interesting. Groups of three, eight times a minute. Ready made mini packs who move as one.”
She shifts observing some of the groups in action, “They stay in triads. When they move. That is a security issue.”
Another moment, another group, unknowingly being observed, “They move and attack by threes. They will probably defend that way too.”
Kim shifts back to the portal and steps through, staying deep enough in the fade that she passes unseen. “Interesting, soil is a little less eroded compared to the other Annunakin home world. We have water as well.”
She slows her breathing and casts her mind far and wide getting a feeling for the whole of this place and feels the Annunakin mother nestled in the mountains, protected from the elements. Even from here, she senses the massive intellect and malevolence of the massive creature.
She drops of out the fade and collapses to her knees, vomiting. Her mind recoils from the alien touch, however she knows one thing for certain. “They are the opposite of us. We seek to nurture our environments, they seek to consume it. They really as a threat to all life.”
Luckily her resting place is away from any Annunakin and she is unmolested as she recovers. Then she senses something that draws her attention once again and it ignites her mind with possibilities.
Everyone looks up, when she appears. There is an air of expectancy in the crowd and everyone waits for word from her.
The Chancellor stands and speaks firmly, “Liberator. I have been told that there may be a viable plan for the liberation of Rattan. Is this true?”
“I needed to see the realm for myself, first. The plan is mostly the same, using a hill to encase the portal on the Kin side, instead of quicksand. We need more on the portal team to open a fresh portal. Minimum eight people, with ten in reserve to allow for tap outs. Then all available Custodians work on quick sand around portal on Rattan side.” She pauses, to gauge the mood of the room, “Once relay portal is open, we let the quicksand do its work, while everyone recovers and then we hit the Kin hard, three custodians taking all members of a Kin triad simultaneously. At this stage, thay is the primary option.”
The crowd nods and begins to stretch and flex in preparation for action. She makes a decision based upon what she has seen, “However, I have seen something which may provide an opportunity. I have the seed of a plan, but I need a couple of days to set things in motion.” Kim says, with an inscrutable look in her eye.
Atlantis, Guild headquarters, Guild Masters Chambers 02:00 hours
Corven wakes with a start, for no apparent reason. He casts his gaze around the darkened room and notices light leaking from under the door to his study.
With a yawn he scratches the light stubble on his chin and slowly gets out of bed, “S’alright, love. I left the study light on.” He whispers to his wife before he shuffles to the study, bare-chested in a pair of pyjama trousers.
He quietly opens the door and steps in. Leaning past the guest chair, he pulls the door closed behind him and reaches for the light.
“Could we have a chat first?” a young female voice says, taking several years off of his life, from her position of concealment within the high backed guest chair.
He sits in his chair and presses his hand to his chest feeling his heart racing. “You can’t do that to an old man in the middle of the night, it just isn’t on.”
Kim nods deferential to him, “I apologise Guild Master. However, I need your help and time is short.”
Corven reaches into a desk drawer and pours two fingers of apple brandy into two glasses, sliding one to Kim, “I need to steady my nerves and I hate to drink alone.”
Where Kim sips the powerful booze, Corven slugs his back in one and pours another, “So, I am guessing it is important. How about you tell me what you are after?”
“If an arrester pylon was set to absorb all thermal energy in a say fifty metre radius, was dropped in a lake. How long would it take to freeze a ball of ice with twice the diameter of the length of the pylon?” Kim asks, thoughtfully. “Could the thermal energy captured, be stored and periodically released as a powerful pulse?”
“You came here at this time of night to ask me that?” Corven asks, incredulously.
Kim reaches across the desk and pours him another three fingers of brandy then explains why she needs to know and the items she needs.
Two days later, Peace Realm
Kim stands in the circle, surrounded by the Chiefs and Chancellor of the Ministry and takes a deep breath and surveys the looks on the faces of those around her, in light of the plan she has outlined.
Chancellor Grey stands and exhales slowly, “We need to discuss this matter. Tend to your daily duties and we will send for you, when the time comes.” He says with a sense of finality.
Kim solemnly nods and shifts to the closest kelp field to harvest the latest crop. She sighs to herself and decides, “Well if they don’t go for it, the plan for Rattan is still solid. At least I gave it a red hot go.”
She works methodically, Almost in a moving meditation, trimming kelp and storing it in a pocket. Moving from rope to rope, trimming and shaping the fronds, ensuring that they aren’t tangled and can freely sway in the current.
Kim is halfway through the fourth field when Oscar comes for her. He gives her a wink and a nudge and shifts them both back to her cabin. “Get yourself ready. They have made a decision.”
Ten minutes later she is back in the circle with her head bowed, as the Chancellor behind, “As a Ministry, we have never been presented with such an outlandish proposition as we have heard today. That said,” Chancellor Grey stops and sighs, “I am not going to beat around the bush. We have debated and decided to go ahead as proposed.”
Kim stands somewhat stunned “Really?”
“Yes. We have briefed the Custodians on station and everything is set.” Koph confirms, “We are as of this moment, on standby pending your go signal.”
Kim looks around the room seeing the quiet determination in everyone’s eyes and nods, she speaks softly and firmly, “Saddle up, we go to war.”
Rorque world, The Valley of the Mother.
Foreboding dark rocks, jut from the land around the mile long and half mile wide Mother of the Annunakin that calls this world home.
Her brood Is spread far and wide, through over a dozen portals and utterly infests this world.
The wind here blows cold, but her size generates enough heat to keep her and the valley temperate.
The air is split by a whoosh and the air darkens for a moment, as a swirling black cloud of Raptors circle above the head of the Mother, like a deadly halo. The formation is tight, each craft precisely in position. The coil guns of a hundred aircraft fire as one all targeted on the same small area of the Mothers skull, chewing a ten feet wide hole which burrows slowly down.
After less than twenty seconds concentrated fire, the Raptors fire their gyrojet cannons and blink away. The explosives detonate, drawing a howl from the colossal beast as its skull is compromised.
In groups of twenty the Raptors return, laying down suppressive fire around the hole for five seconds and blinking away as the next flight arrives.
From four miles our Kim commences her run building up speed in her Raptor, launching herself in a shallow arc towards the Mother.
“Why on earth did this plan need you doing this bit? You are a dumbass.” Kim imagines Tara saying if she were here, “You could have given this to any Custodian who would have taken your arm off for this chance.”
The Raptor threads the needle of the Raptor Halo and shifts herself away a split second before her craft smashes into the centre of the hole in the Mothers Skull.
The arresters slow the craft somewhat but it still hits at just under two hundred miles an hour, before the shaped charge in the nose explodes.
Kim shifts back into the space vacated in the creatures brain by the charge and penetrates as deep as she can before producing the modified pylon and setting it in place, pushing it into in a mass of brain tissue, submerged in the creatures blood.
She can almost feel the cold through her glove, marvelling at how quickly ice is forming around the pylon. She turns to exit and realises a flaw in her plan.
She looks in horror, seeing her hand with a thick layer of ice around it pinning it to the pylon.
Kim checks her Sheath’s clock and swears under her breath, “Damn it. Only thirty seconds till the first pulse.” She pulls out an electric drill and uses it to try to punch through the ice, but the arrestor pylon robs it of motion.
She tries to send it to a pocket, but with the mass of ice now built up it is too large. In her heart she knows the only way to free her hand, before the first massive kinetic pulse is released.
Kim takes and holds a deep breath and sends her Sheath to a dimensional pocket with a flourish. The amount of space it gives her around her hand is not much, but it is better than nothing.
She braces her boots on the pylon and heaves, dragging her hand painfully through the ice. Progress is agonising and slow. The fifty degree Celsius blood temperature doesn’t help and her feet slip from the pylon.
Clamping her mouth shut, trying not to scream, she sharply yanks her arm and her thumb dislocates. She wants to scream but she dare not open her mouth.
Her right hand pops free, with ragged gashes in her skin and she clutches it with tears in her eyes. Weakly she kicks for the surface of the blood and brain matter filled pool.
She breaks the surface and takes a ragged deep breath, as something heavy lands on her. By instinct she grabs the creature and snaps its neck and pushes for the surface again, this time when she reaches the surface she fills her left hand with a hunting knife and braces for the next assault.
“If I put the Sheath back on before cleaning up, the blood will interfere with the interface and the helmet will be full of blood.” She thinks, praying her arrestor is still working.
The countdown on the pylon reaches zero in hot, bloody darkness the twenty metre thick layer of ice on the pylon shatters and is catapulted in all directions.
Kim feels the pulse through the liquid and feels where the shards are slowed by her arrester. The piteous howl of the Mother tells her that it is doing its job and she can almost visualise the next layer of ice building up on the pylon.
Other smaller Annunakin drop into the hole and she lashes out with the knife when a terrible realisation dawns on her “I have to get out of here. I can’t shift while in the Mother brain, I have to get out of her body before I can get clear.”
Wild thrusts and slashes find their mark, but more keep coming, plunging like a waterfall of flesh. Another pulse, more shards of frozen brain matter blast around the massive creatures brain.
Kim hear the nearby rattling of weapon fire and triggers her arrester, sending her flying skywards, through the falling mass. With a flourish she drops a grenade in her wake which detonates with a crump.
Carnage is the only way she can describe the scene before her. Creatures like insectile rabbits charge towards the hole and instinctively she knows their purpose. She keys her comms and switches her knife for the Cutlass. “If enough get into the Mothers brain, they might be able to push out the pylon.”
Now she is clear of the creatures body, she shifts to the last waterhole in this realm and plunges in, removing all her clothes and scrubbing herself quickly, before donning her Sheath and helmet and returning to the hole.
Coil guns rip through the creatures around her and she moves like a blur, never in one spot for long, but leaving death in her wake with each passing. She feels the Mother dying beneath her feet and through the desperation of the Annunakin, she knows they feel it too.
Wherever she slashes, she strikes the flesh of a different creature. Shift Fighting keeps her safe but Kim feels her self slowing down. “I don’t feel right. My hand hurts but I feel like my arm is on fire and the pain is spreading. Something is very wrong.” She calls out over comms, unaware that the bio-electrical interference from the Mother is jamming her signal.
Kim’s swings become slower and her moves less fluid as, the groans and cries of the Mother rise in pitch. Kim struggles to keep her feet under her as the mother collapses and if it weren’t for the arrester, Kim would have been killed by the two hundred metre drop to the ground.
Despite everything, she maintains a valiant defence of the skull cavity, preventing anything from entering that might have a chance of removing the pylon. Eventually the pylon completes it work, turning the Mothers brain to a slushy bloody soup, where no neurons remain intact.
The Custodian Raptor pilots feel the cessation of mental activity and a cheer goes up cross the fleet, heralding the fall of the Mother and all the creatures who are linked to her, in this world and every other where its brood roam.
“I cannot believe it, Kim. We did it.” Oscar calls out over comms. When the radio gives nothing but static, the folds his Raptor into a dimensional pocket and shifts to where he thinks she is.
He frantically claws at the bodies of fallen Annunakin until his hand is weakly grabbed by another and his heart leaps with hope.
Peace realm, six hours after meeting.
Battle hardened Custodians sit in a circle, focused on Koph and Chancellor Grey with a fire roaring in their midst.
Kim and Oscar shift into the centre of the circle and bow to the Chancellor. Oscar takes a seat in the circle, leaving Kim standing alone.
Chancellor Grey smiles at her and gives a wink, “Ready when you are, you have the floor.”
“Here goes.” Kim clears her throat and nervously begins, “Bhurak is a harsh, rocky place with high atmospheric pressure and surface level methane deposits with a portal in the middle of a dust plane.” Kim takes a breath. “But we already know that. Oscar and I have scouted the other side of the portal and confirmed conditions there.”
“It is another harsh place. Aside from the Annunakin it is a mostly dry and lifeless place. Speaking of which, the Annunakin there are the smaller faster wolf-type that presented on Peace.” Kim refocuses and continues, sending photos from her Sheath to the other Custodians present, “As you can see, the portal is in the open and the Annunakin are congested around it.”
“The plan is simple. We establish a perimeter around the portal, merge with the realm and make the sands of the plain rise up to build a large hill with the portal at the centre.” She takes a sip of water, “Then we place arrester pylons set to absolute motion drain. This will stop anything, without a personal arrester, approaching and fix the hill in place.”
She pauses to let the plan sink in, before continuing. “Once the Hill is in place, we proceed to phase two, securing the Bhurak portal. For this to work there are a few moving parts. First a team to merge and shift a large quantity of subsurface liquid methane under the portal. Then bring it close to the surface. We need enough, to turn at least a hundred metres around the portal to a soup like quicksand at least ten feet deep.”
Few words echo through the crowd but, many thoughtful nods are exchanged, as she continues, “At this stage, the linchpin comes into play. Chancellor Grey and the portal team move in and from deep in the fade, open a fresh portal to the heart of the bedrock half a mile down.”
“During the opening of the portal, skirmishers engage any that can circumvent the quick sand. Once the portal is up and running, the pylons can be pulled from the hill and we regroup on Peace. The watch word is safety from here on in. We use Peace as a staging point and then start by targeting small groups and then break up the larger groups, with the Raptors, and pick them off by hand. Once they are dealt with, we wait for the bodies to fade, we close the portals, pull the pylons from portal side and everyone can move on.”
Kim takes a sip of water and waits for the laughter that never comes. Everyone gathers their own thoughts and sits quietly for a moment, before Koph speaks, “Why don’t we create a hill Bhurak side? That would seem to be a simpler solution and reduce the risk of having a team portal side.”
Kim nods as he speaks, “That is all correct, however, it would make it a lot harder to open a new portal or close the old one as it would block access from Bhurak side.” She explains nervously.
Koph holds a deep breath, considering her point and exhales sharply, with a nod, “Good point.”
Kim breathes in slowly, trying to control her nerves, “Any other thoughts?”
“Why not hit the big groups up front?” a Custodian dressed in desert camouflage asks.
“There are a few reasons. One is to thin the herd from the edges, hit far and wide and cull from the peripheries. Another is that, as many have not had the chance to use Shift Fighting in a real conflict it is a chance to sharpen and test what has been learned against safer lone targets first. Also shifting into the midst of large numbers of targets will be riskier. And there is a chance that once we start the groups with come together as defence from attack.” Kim explains, trying to sound confident.
“Why don’t we just merge and influence the Annunakin to drown themselves in lakes of methane?” Another voice asks, trying to be clever.
“Do you want to get up close an personal with an Annunakin’s mind?” Zoe asks, with a smile.
One of the lads pipes up, “You haven’t met his wife. Getting up close and personal with an Annunakin is like a holiday for him.”
The first man roars with laughter, “I’ll tell her you said that.”
“Settle down.” Koph says in a low voice, barely above a whisper to bring the room to silence and order.
Kim composes herself and then surveys the crowd, “This is the plan anyway. The idea is to maximise safety and effectiveness. It may be possible to do things faster, but this plan should bring everyone home.”
After a few minutes, Chancellor Grey, stands and addresses those present, “This is a dangerous undertaking, in spite of the plan proposed. If anyone here present wishes to bow out, now is the time to do so. Know that if you do, there will be no ill will directed against you.” He turns to Kim and speaks, “For the duration of this operation, you shall be referred to as Liberator Chief Kim. Let all here bear witness.”
No one stands. A few pull out hand axes and begin sharpening them. Others systematically begin checking their various fighting knives, but everyone nods in agreement.
Kim shifts for a moment and when she returns she places a box of weapons in the centre of the circle. Each weapon, is crafted from an old eight pound sledgehammer. The heads were heated and beaten, until one side is a wedge shaped blade, roughly three inches thick at its widest point, tapering down to a razor edge and the other is a thick spike. The heads are then fitted to new two-foot long, non-slip handles, to make them action ready.
Zoe is the first to check the box and hefts a wedge axe with a look of satisfaction then takes a belt loop and hangs it from her side. Soon others come to the box and select their own weapons, appreciating the heft and swing of the axes.
A massively built tattooed man, with a bushy beard strides to the box to claim one. Kim stops him with a hand on his arm and with a flourish presents him with a version crafted from a twenty pound hammer, that dwarves those already taken. “This was the first, I made. But it is too unwieldy for most. Maybe a big guy like you could get some use out of it.”
“Thank you, Liberator.” Arvin says gently, before taking a few test swings of the massive weapon. When he looks up at her again, his face is split by a massive grin. “I think this will do nicely.”
A few moments later members of the Respite facilities support team bring in a selection of buffalo steaks and stir fried vegetables. Kim settles back against a rock, watching the assembled Custodians eat and relax. “I wonder how many of us will come back after this. I hope this works.” She thinks with words from Dani’s book echoing in her mind, “The greatest burden of command is that, sometimes the people you kill will be your own.”
Zero hour, Portal Side, Bhurak portal.
Insectile, six legged wolves pant and slobber charging toward the portal, heedless of the rippling of the soil under their paws and unaware of the essence of the eleven Custodians, merged with the plain upon which they run.
Once the initial compression of the dust under the portal is complete, Kim commands, “Raise it.”
An almost wave-like movement in the ground crashes without warning over the portal and the merged Custodians strain to keep the dust in formation and prevent too much dust falling through the portal.
Koph gives the nod and twenty Custodians vanish from the skies above Bhurak and shift through the Life Sea into the skies above the newly formed mound of dust. Before the confused Annunakin can react, the mound is peppered with pylons.
Annunakin leap instinctively at the mound and stay motionless in mid air.
Kim gives the signal, “Clear and set. All except, monitoring team back to Bhurak.”
Deep within the fade, heedless of the massive atmospheric pressure and extreme cold, Chancellor Grey gets the signal and gives his team the go ahead. He cuts his palm and begins tracing his part of the relay portal, visualising its destination.
At the same time, Zoe and her team begin saturating the soil with liquid methane, making turning it into a freezing, sticky soup and the ground trembles with a minor localised earthquake
Across Bhurak every Annunakin’s hackles rise and instinct drives them to return to the portal and their run like the Devil is chasing them.
A few monitors remain behind, leaving the rest of the Custodians to return to their staging post on Peace and ready weapons.
The first Annunakin charge headlong straight into the quicksand, yelping and howling as they are sucked down never to be seen again. Others follow and meet the same fate until one takes a run up and leaps, succeeding in getting closer to the portal but still failing.
Then the frenzy starts, creatures leaping from rocks and overhangs desperate to reach the portal, with none of them finding success.
In the staging area, Kim speaks calmly, despite her pulse racing, “Hold position, The quick sand is doing work right now. Let it do some of the heavy lifting, before we go in.” She sweeps her arm across four Custodians, “Keep monitoring the portal team, pull them at the first sign of trouble.”
Chancellor Grey grits his teeth against the strain. The veins on his neck, bulge and his face is red. “By grace, how did she do this alone?”
The other portal makers feel similar strain and one by one they drop from the fade with exhaustion. They are visible for less than a split second before they feel themselves lain down in the staging area on Peace.
By sheer will alone, the Chancellor keeps working breathing a sigh of relief when his portion of the portal is complete. Feeling that some sections are incomplete, he presses on feeling other Custodians join him and take up the mantle.
He feels a comforting warmth between his shoulders when Kim presses a hand there and senses her smile and overwhelming feeling that he is not alone.
With her hand on his shoulder and her will alongside his, he feels the completion of the new portal and watches it coalesce. Kim carries him back to the staging area and lays him with the other members of the portal team, where Respite's support workers begin to administer fluids and support.
Kim steps back from the Chancellor and takes a breath looking to Oscar for support. He is laid on a camp bed with an IV in his arm, however he is awake and gives a thumbs up.
Reaching across the Life Sea with her mind, Kim nods to herself, before addressing the room, “They are getting wary of the quicksand. Ready weapons, we go live in two minutes.”
Across the space, everyone begins readying their chosen weapons, taking practice swings and stretching. Kim stands on a rock and addresses the assembled Custodians, “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time. Aim your strikes carefully. If you feel tired, step back. Tiredness is the fuel of fuck ups. Stay focused. If you need a break, take ten then rotate out one of the monitors.”
No one speaks, but everyone listens, “No one cares how many of them die. But I care that we finish the day with the same number of people that we start with.” She takes a swig of water, “Take your time. Build your rhythm. Start at a pace you are happy with and build as you are comfortable. No one is judging you on speed. Work to your own pace.”
Unnoticed by her, both Koph and Zoe whisper to the recovering Chancellor, to which he nods thoughtfully.
A soft ping sounds and Kim takes a deep slow breath and announces, “Zero hour. On a count of three, commence assault.” She pauses, drawing her cutlass and a wedge axe and rolls her shoulders. “Three. Two. One. Commence.”
Kim raises the axe, left handed over her right shoulder and brings up the cutlass alongside it. She swings the axe first and a split second later the sword is in motion.
She shifts, letting the axe brutally chop into the back of an Annunakin’s neck, then shifts allowing the cutlass to claim another head before she shifts back. Reversing the strike, she swings the other way taking a head with the sword and another with the axe, in two shifts.
Kim surveys the other Custodians for a moment as they blink in and out. With blood dripping from their weapons.
She sinks into their rhythm and nods to herself, feeling Annunakin lives being snuffed with each blink. Then resumes her double strike pattern
Everyone starts slow, with only three or four strikes per minute, slowly working up to an average of twenty or more a minute.
Arvin settles into a figure eight pattern with the massive wedge axe and comfortably manages fifty a minute.
Kim’s PCS enhanced physique and training allows her to strike harder and faster, with an average of just over eighty a minute.
Through the night, some Custodians bow out, allowing those on monitor duty to take a turn. No one who is called shrinks from the duty and all are bloodied.
On top of the Annunakin claimed by quicksand, it takes less than three hours to virtually annihilate the Annunakin. Leaving only one remaining. Kim calls a halt to the proceedings and presents the Chancellor with a wedge axe.
“Would you like the honour of killing the last Annunakin on Bhurak?” Kim asks.
The Chancellor smiles gently and declines. Pushing aside the axe. “That honour, should be yours Liberator Chief.”
Kim nods solemnly and swings her sword, shifting mid swing. She shifts back a moment later and nods, “It is done, sir.”
05:00 hours Bhurak local time (Seven hours after Zero Hour)
Colonist Dee hears a loud banging from an airlock door that hasn’t been opened for almost a year. His grubby grey coveralls creak a little as he nervously approaches and peers through the window, seeing three figures in camouflaged bodysuits and matching helmets.
He keys his radio, “Dee to Prince, we have visitors in the airlock.”
A gruff voice calls back, “What do you mean? Visitors in the Airlock?”
“Three people waiting in the airlock, looks like two fellas and a woman.” Dee says, with a shrug.
“Well let ‘em in then. Bring ‘em up here.” Prince says, excitedly.
“Is it safe?” Dee asks nervously.
“Do they have teeth or claws?” Prince asks, impatiently.
“Errrr, no.” Dee says, double checking.
“Then they aren’t Annunakin. Open the bloody door.” Prince says, exasperated.
Dee hurriedly pulls out his card and opens the airlock, then takes a step back as the inner door cycles.
The figures remove their helmets, one is an older man with salt and pepper hair and a twinkle in his eye, the other man is bullish looking and snarling brute. The woman however is a shock. Young, no more than eighteen, perfect complexion and blonde hair, defined cheekbones and a warm smile at odds with the heavy facial scarring and eyepatch over her left eye and the look of pure steel in her right. He raises an eyebrow at the Cutlass hanging from her belt and the handle of an axe visible over her left shoulder.
“Good morning. The Custodian Ministry, brings greetings and salutations from Atlantis.” The young woman says, warmly.
Prince sits back in his seat, pulling a bottle of homebrewed hooch and four cups. He pours a generous measure for himself and the visitors and passes then each a cup.
Kim begins to object, but Koph nudges her and mouths, “Just drink it.”
Prince raises his cup and after they toast knocks back the hooch. Chancellor Grey and Koph take a mouthful when more Kim just takes a sip, stifling a cough as it burns her throat.
Prince knocks his drink back in one go, then refills his cup, “So.... Its over?”
“Yes.” Grey says, with a nod and a sip of booze, “The Annunakin are dead and once their bodies have dissolved we will close the portals and reopen a portal to Atlantis. “
Prince's mind races and looking a little lost he looks up at Grey, “Would you be able to stand with me, when I tell my people?”
He misses the subtle nudge that the Chancellor gives Kim. She leans forward and smiles, “We have got you this far. We are with you until you are fully back in the fold.”
Kim wakes with a start, unsure why. She looks around her bedroom and sees nothing out of place, when there is another knock at the door.
Feeling a little achy, she rouses herself from bed and changes into her Sheath with a flourish.
She opens the door to her cabin to see Arvin and Oscar waiting for her, “Morning. Is it still morning?” she asks, not sure of the time until her Sheath controls confirm it is roughly eight in the morning.
“Yes it is.” Oscar says warmth lifting a plate and a pot of coffee, “We brought breakfast.”
“Breakfast is always welcome, Come on In.” Kim says, beckoning them inside.
Polishing off the last of the egg, bacon and mushrooms, Kim dabs her mouth and drains the last of her coffee, “I appreciate the food and coffee. Feel a bit more human now.” She says appreciatively, but then notices a tension in the air, “Why don’t you tell me why you are really here?”
Arvin shifts his large frame in the too small seat and rubs his chin, thoughtfully, “Me and the guys have been talking. We did a hell of a thing yesterday.” He stops for a moment, trying to find the words, “You did a hell of a thing yesterday. Truth is we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Kim eyes the men sceptically, but keeps her own counsel, while Arvin continues, “You had the plan, the gear and the skill to pull it off. You had the awareness to change tack on the fly and you brought us all home safe.”
Oscar pats him on the shoulder, seeing him get emotional, “The guys from the operation have scouted Rattan and the other side of the portal there. The Chancellor doesn’t know it yet, but they are gearing up to liberate the realm.”
Kim takes a slow breath and runs her fingers through her hair, before producing a hair tie and pulling her hair into a ponytail. “You want me to tell him?”
“We want you to lead us again.” Arvin says solemnly, “You have a tactical insight and a gift for bringing people back alive. If you lead, we follow.”
Kim closes her eyes, unable to look at either of the men, “This is too much. I am not ready for this.”
“How many times during training have you said that to me?” Oscar asks gently, “I would say about as many times as you have proved that you are ready.”
“This isn’t about any of us. It is about the people who call Rattan home under the shadow of Annunakin predators.” Arvin says, softly.
Kim struggles with her emotions, but in her heart already knows her answer, “Ah fuck it. Give me a few minutes and gather everyone around the main camp fire. I need to see the place for myself.”
“I will brief the Chancellor.” Oscar says, with a grin.
She rises from her seat and with a flourish her sword is at her side and axe on her back. Without a further word she vanishes.
Rattan portal site.
Kim observes from within the fade, counting the rate on incursion and observing the Annunakin as they disperse. “Interesting. Groups of three, eight times a minute. Ready made mini packs who move as one.”
She shifts observing some of the groups in action, “They stay in triads. When they move. That is a security issue.”
Another moment, another group, unknowingly being observed, “They move and attack by threes. They will probably defend that way too.”
Kim shifts back to the portal and steps through, staying deep enough in the fade that she passes unseen. “Interesting, soil is a little less eroded compared to the other Annunakin home world. We have water as well.”
She slows her breathing and casts her mind far and wide getting a feeling for the whole of this place and feels the Annunakin mother nestled in the mountains, protected from the elements. Even from here, she senses the massive intellect and malevolence of the massive creature.
She drops of out the fade and collapses to her knees, vomiting. Her mind recoils from the alien touch, however she knows one thing for certain. “They are the opposite of us. We seek to nurture our environments, they seek to consume it. They really as a threat to all life.”
Luckily her resting place is away from any Annunakin and she is unmolested as she recovers. Then she senses something that draws her attention once again and it ignites her mind with possibilities.
Everyone looks up, when she appears. There is an air of expectancy in the crowd and everyone waits for word from her.
The Chancellor stands and speaks firmly, “Liberator. I have been told that there may be a viable plan for the liberation of Rattan. Is this true?”
“I needed to see the realm for myself, first. The plan is mostly the same, using a hill to encase the portal on the Kin side, instead of quicksand. We need more on the portal team to open a fresh portal. Minimum eight people, with ten in reserve to allow for tap outs. Then all available Custodians work on quick sand around portal on Rattan side.” She pauses, to gauge the mood of the room, “Once relay portal is open, we let the quicksand do its work, while everyone recovers and then we hit the Kin hard, three custodians taking all members of a Kin triad simultaneously. At this stage, thay is the primary option.”
The crowd nods and begins to stretch and flex in preparation for action. She makes a decision based upon what she has seen, “However, I have seen something which may provide an opportunity. I have the seed of a plan, but I need a couple of days to set things in motion.” Kim says, with an inscrutable look in her eye.
Atlantis, Guild headquarters, Guild Masters Chambers 02:00 hours
Corven wakes with a start, for no apparent reason. He casts his gaze around the darkened room and notices light leaking from under the door to his study.
With a yawn he scratches the light stubble on his chin and slowly gets out of bed, “S’alright, love. I left the study light on.” He whispers to his wife before he shuffles to the study, bare-chested in a pair of pyjama trousers.
He quietly opens the door and steps in. Leaning past the guest chair, he pulls the door closed behind him and reaches for the light.
“Could we have a chat first?” a young female voice says, taking several years off of his life, from her position of concealment within the high backed guest chair.
He sits in his chair and presses his hand to his chest feeling his heart racing. “You can’t do that to an old man in the middle of the night, it just isn’t on.”
Kim nods deferential to him, “I apologise Guild Master. However, I need your help and time is short.”
Corven reaches into a desk drawer and pours two fingers of apple brandy into two glasses, sliding one to Kim, “I need to steady my nerves and I hate to drink alone.”
Where Kim sips the powerful booze, Corven slugs his back in one and pours another, “So, I am guessing it is important. How about you tell me what you are after?”
“If an arrester pylon was set to absorb all thermal energy in a say fifty metre radius, was dropped in a lake. How long would it take to freeze a ball of ice with twice the diameter of the length of the pylon?” Kim asks, thoughtfully. “Could the thermal energy captured, be stored and periodically released as a powerful pulse?”
“You came here at this time of night to ask me that?” Corven asks, incredulously.
Kim reaches across the desk and pours him another three fingers of brandy then explains why she needs to know and the items she needs.
Two days later, Peace Realm
Kim stands in the circle, surrounded by the Chiefs and Chancellor of the Ministry and takes a deep breath and surveys the looks on the faces of those around her, in light of the plan she has outlined.
Chancellor Grey stands and exhales slowly, “We need to discuss this matter. Tend to your daily duties and we will send for you, when the time comes.” He says with a sense of finality.
Kim solemnly nods and shifts to the closest kelp field to harvest the latest crop. She sighs to herself and decides, “Well if they don’t go for it, the plan for Rattan is still solid. At least I gave it a red hot go.”
She works methodically, Almost in a moving meditation, trimming kelp and storing it in a pocket. Moving from rope to rope, trimming and shaping the fronds, ensuring that they aren’t tangled and can freely sway in the current.
Kim is halfway through the fourth field when Oscar comes for her. He gives her a wink and a nudge and shifts them both back to her cabin. “Get yourself ready. They have made a decision.”
Ten minutes later she is back in the circle with her head bowed, as the Chancellor behind, “As a Ministry, we have never been presented with such an outlandish proposition as we have heard today. That said,” Chancellor Grey stops and sighs, “I am not going to beat around the bush. We have debated and decided to go ahead as proposed.”
Kim stands somewhat stunned “Really?”
“Yes. We have briefed the Custodians on station and everything is set.” Koph confirms, “We are as of this moment, on standby pending your go signal.”
Kim looks around the room seeing the quiet determination in everyone’s eyes and nods, she speaks softly and firmly, “Saddle up, we go to war.”
Rorque world, The Valley of the Mother.
Foreboding dark rocks, jut from the land around the mile long and half mile wide Mother of the Annunakin that calls this world home.
Her brood Is spread far and wide, through over a dozen portals and utterly infests this world.
The wind here blows cold, but her size generates enough heat to keep her and the valley temperate.
The air is split by a whoosh and the air darkens for a moment, as a swirling black cloud of Raptors circle above the head of the Mother, like a deadly halo. The formation is tight, each craft precisely in position. The coil guns of a hundred aircraft fire as one all targeted on the same small area of the Mothers skull, chewing a ten feet wide hole which burrows slowly down.
After less than twenty seconds concentrated fire, the Raptors fire their gyrojet cannons and blink away. The explosives detonate, drawing a howl from the colossal beast as its skull is compromised.
In groups of twenty the Raptors return, laying down suppressive fire around the hole for five seconds and blinking away as the next flight arrives.
From four miles our Kim commences her run building up speed in her Raptor, launching herself in a shallow arc towards the Mother.
“Why on earth did this plan need you doing this bit? You are a dumbass.” Kim imagines Tara saying if she were here, “You could have given this to any Custodian who would have taken your arm off for this chance.”
The Raptor threads the needle of the Raptor Halo and shifts herself away a split second before her craft smashes into the centre of the hole in the Mothers Skull.
The arresters slow the craft somewhat but it still hits at just under two hundred miles an hour, before the shaped charge in the nose explodes.
Kim shifts back into the space vacated in the creatures brain by the charge and penetrates as deep as she can before producing the modified pylon and setting it in place, pushing it into in a mass of brain tissue, submerged in the creatures blood.
She can almost feel the cold through her glove, marvelling at how quickly ice is forming around the pylon. She turns to exit and realises a flaw in her plan.
She looks in horror, seeing her hand with a thick layer of ice around it pinning it to the pylon.
Kim checks her Sheath’s clock and swears under her breath, “Damn it. Only thirty seconds till the first pulse.” She pulls out an electric drill and uses it to try to punch through the ice, but the arrestor pylon robs it of motion.
She tries to send it to a pocket, but with the mass of ice now built up it is too large. In her heart she knows the only way to free her hand, before the first massive kinetic pulse is released.
Kim takes and holds a deep breath and sends her Sheath to a dimensional pocket with a flourish. The amount of space it gives her around her hand is not much, but it is better than nothing.
She braces her boots on the pylon and heaves, dragging her hand painfully through the ice. Progress is agonising and slow. The fifty degree Celsius blood temperature doesn’t help and her feet slip from the pylon.
Clamping her mouth shut, trying not to scream, she sharply yanks her arm and her thumb dislocates. She wants to scream but she dare not open her mouth.
Her right hand pops free, with ragged gashes in her skin and she clutches it with tears in her eyes. Weakly she kicks for the surface of the blood and brain matter filled pool.
She breaks the surface and takes a ragged deep breath, as something heavy lands on her. By instinct she grabs the creature and snaps its neck and pushes for the surface again, this time when she reaches the surface she fills her left hand with a hunting knife and braces for the next assault.
“If I put the Sheath back on before cleaning up, the blood will interfere with the interface and the helmet will be full of blood.” She thinks, praying her arrestor is still working.
The countdown on the pylon reaches zero in hot, bloody darkness the twenty metre thick layer of ice on the pylon shatters and is catapulted in all directions.
Kim feels the pulse through the liquid and feels where the shards are slowed by her arrester. The piteous howl of the Mother tells her that it is doing its job and she can almost visualise the next layer of ice building up on the pylon.
Other smaller Annunakin drop into the hole and she lashes out with the knife when a terrible realisation dawns on her “I have to get out of here. I can’t shift while in the Mother brain, I have to get out of her body before I can get clear.”
Wild thrusts and slashes find their mark, but more keep coming, plunging like a waterfall of flesh. Another pulse, more shards of frozen brain matter blast around the massive creatures brain.
Kim hear the nearby rattling of weapon fire and triggers her arrester, sending her flying skywards, through the falling mass. With a flourish she drops a grenade in her wake which detonates with a crump.
Carnage is the only way she can describe the scene before her. Creatures like insectile rabbits charge towards the hole and instinctively she knows their purpose. She keys her comms and switches her knife for the Cutlass. “If enough get into the Mothers brain, they might be able to push out the pylon.”
Now she is clear of the creatures body, she shifts to the last waterhole in this realm and plunges in, removing all her clothes and scrubbing herself quickly, before donning her Sheath and helmet and returning to the hole.
Coil guns rip through the creatures around her and she moves like a blur, never in one spot for long, but leaving death in her wake with each passing. She feels the Mother dying beneath her feet and through the desperation of the Annunakin, she knows they feel it too.
Wherever she slashes, she strikes the flesh of a different creature. Shift Fighting keeps her safe but Kim feels her self slowing down. “I don’t feel right. My hand hurts but I feel like my arm is on fire and the pain is spreading. Something is very wrong.” She calls out over comms, unaware that the bio-electrical interference from the Mother is jamming her signal.
Kim’s swings become slower and her moves less fluid as, the groans and cries of the Mother rise in pitch. Kim struggles to keep her feet under her as the mother collapses and if it weren’t for the arrester, Kim would have been killed by the two hundred metre drop to the ground.
Despite everything, she maintains a valiant defence of the skull cavity, preventing anything from entering that might have a chance of removing the pylon. Eventually the pylon completes it work, turning the Mothers brain to a slushy bloody soup, where no neurons remain intact.
The Custodian Raptor pilots feel the cessation of mental activity and a cheer goes up cross the fleet, heralding the fall of the Mother and all the creatures who are linked to her, in this world and every other where its brood roam.
“I cannot believe it, Kim. We did it.” Oscar calls out over comms. When the radio gives nothing but static, the folds his Raptor into a dimensional pocket and shifts to where he thinks she is.
He frantically claws at the bodies of fallen Annunakin until his hand is weakly grabbed by another and his heart leaps with hope.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Wow! Kim has grown so much - and this exciting chapters shows it clearly. One of my favourite - of many - lines is the last one. Let us guess who grabs Oscars hand? This Chapter is very characteristic for your style in my perception. Your writing has a natural flow. And you created a fascinating World. To see how Kim grows is exciting.
Now this is what I call a novel sized chapter full of interesting action, detail and of style. I’ve been happier then when you kindly added myself to the update information. Awesome as always,