Bane of the Dead (Seraphim Revival Book 1) (3 page)

“Revenge?”

“If you will.” She smiled as if amused. “You are the one who sought me out. Do you not intend to aid me?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jack said. “No one except the Aktenai Choir knows where it is, with the possible exception of the current sovereign. And it’s not like you or I can just walk up to them and ask.”

“I have waited in hiding long enough. Now that there are two of us, we need not fear the Choir’s bigotry.”

Jack kept his face neutral. He could see where this was leading, but he dared not appear overly eager.

“Yes, there are two of us,” he said. “But the Aktenai possess vast fleets, and the Choir is sheltered within the planet’s core.”

“Those obstacles could not stop us.”

“What about other seraph pilots?”

Vierj’s glanced up at the winged giant beyond the castle walls. “Yes, I suppose you are correct. How many are there now?”

“Hard to say. Their numbers were severely depleted when I left, but another generation of pilots should have reached maturity by now. Hundreds, probably.”

“I see. We should be cautious then. That is, if you are willing to aid me.”

“It’s not that simple. You must understand how difficult this choice is for me. We would be fighting against my friends. You are asking a lot.”

“Would these friends of yours be so loyal if they knew what you are?”

Jack masked his elation carefully. Things could not have gone more perfectly if he’d tried. Indeed, he had refrained from any overt manipulation, for Vierj was clearly intelligent. However, the opportunity now presented itself. Here was what he had long sought. Now all that remained was to carry his plan through to its blood-soaked end. He
had
to seize this moment.

But he hesitated.

Jack had been honest when mentioning the difficulty of this decision. This path would lead him against his former comrades, and undoubtedly many would fall. He and Vierj would cut a bloody path into the very heart of Aktenzek. They both wanted the Gate’s location, though for very different reasons.

And Jack feared two people most of all, two pilots of Aktenzek who had saved him from the depths of despair. They were his friends. More than friends, they were almost like family, the only family he had ever known. How could he face them as traitor and murderer? The separation of years and distance did nothing to dull his feelings for those two.

Jack found it difficult to return Vierj’s calculating gaze. How could he falter at this critical moment? Could he face them in battle? Could he kill them to achieve his goals?

The answer had to be yes, as dark and evil as that answer was. There could be no turning back now. He had no choice but to use this dangerous woman and move his plan forward.

Finally, Jack met Vierj’s stare with absolute certainty. “I’ll help you.”

A smile graced her face, and her eyes shone with unexpected tears. For the first time since meeting her, Jack saw her as genuinely happy. She turned away and wiped under her eyes.

“It has been so lonely,” she said.

Jack reached across the table. He placed his hand on hers and clasped it tightly in his.

“Yes, but you’re not alone anymore,” he said.

“When shall we leave?” Vierj asked.

“Right now if you like. My ship is in orbit.”

“Now, then. This barbaric planet has nothing I want.”

“Your seraph?”

“Gone. Stolen from me a long time ago.”

“I see. Then let’s go.”

Jack rose from his seat and extended his hand. Vierj took it and stood.

He knew it would take them two years to reach Aktenzek, and that their return would herald the Aktenai people’s darkest hour.

But I will not turn back. Not now. Not ever.

2 Years Later

Chapter 2

Forsaken

Seth Elexen spread his six wings and ascended past the asteroidal clutter of Earth’s orbiting industries. Shunts across his black angular armor burned with purple light. He cleared the converted asteroids of the Earth Defense Array and turned gently towards the twin fortress planets of Aktenzek and Zu’Rashik.

Few remained in the solar system that would not have recognized his seraph’s silhouette. Purple runes burned across his armor, proclaiming the Litany of the Mission. Thin gray scars traced across old battle wounds. The edges of his six black wings blazed with fire. He shot through the congested space lanes between Earth and the twin fortress worlds.

It wasn’t often that Seth got to cut loose and just fly wherever he wanted. It felt refreshing to push his seraph-body as fast as he could for the simple joy of doing it.

Aktenzek and Zu’Rashik closed quickly, enlarging from twin white pearls to worlds that filled his view ahead. Perhaps he would descend into Zu’Rashik’s interior and inspect the new fortress planet’s construction firsthand.

Twenty years ago, the last great battle between the near-invincible Aktenai armada and those ragtag Earth Nation defenders had come to its startling conclusion. Only the defection of three seraph pilots, Seth included, had prevented Earth’s total annihilation and had set the stage for the present day Earth-Aktenai Alliance.

For twenty years, the Earth Nation and the Aktenai had cooperated, merging Earth’s plentiful pilots and Aktenzek’s technological and industrial might into unstoppable legions of seraphs.

But the situation was not entirely harmonious.

“Hey, Seth? You there?” a pleasant female voice called in.

Seth grimaced. “Yeah, Quennin. Go ahead.”

“You okay? You sound kind of gloomy.”

“Sorry. Just dreading whatever you’re calling about. What can I do for you?”

“If you want, I can handle this one,” Quennin said. “I’m already heading out.”

“No, that’s fine,” Seth said. “I’m not even halfway to Zu’Rashik yet. I can get there first.”

“Okay. Well, you know that little joint-operations exercise that’s being held over near the
Resolute
?”

Seth checked his schedule. “The Earth Nation 17
th
Annual Joint Seraph Deployment Venture?”

“That’s the one.”

“I’m not due over there for a few hours.”

“Right, that’s not the problem. The Aktenai at the event are hosting a close-combat tactics exchange.”

“Why do I feel this horrible sense of foreboding all of a sudden?”

“Or were hosting it, as of a few minutes ago. I don’t think you can really call it an exchange anymore. It’s turned into more of a demonstration.”

Seth spun around, angled his wings, and accelerated straight for Earth.

“Now, this may be me overreacting,” Quennin said. “But I think one of us should get over there. Right now.”

“Let me guess, we’re experiencing some inter-Alliance friction.”

“I suppose that’s one way to put it.”

“Next you’re going to tell me Tevyr is involved.”

“Why, yes, Tevyr is in attendance.”

The edges of his wings burned hotter, and he rocketed towards Earth.

“I think there’s going to be an incident,” Quennin said.

“Not another one.”

***

Seth focused his optics on a small asteroid base that served as the Joint Seraph Deployment Center.

The JSDC building had been constructed on an old mined-out asteroid in Earth orbit. Not only did the asteroid have numerous excavated caverns for confined-space combat exercises, but the surface was covered with old industrial silos, refineries, and emptied factories. All this, plus an Aktenai-provided gravity grid, allowed for highly varied combat simulations.

Above the JSDC, a flame-red Aktenai seraph dueled with five metallic gray Earth Nation seraphs. Tevyr’s red seraph fought ferociously, his barrier flashing bright green every time he struck a foe. Like Seth’s own armor, the runic Litany of the Mission burned brightly with Tevyr’s personal chaos frequency.

One aspect of seraph operations the Earth Nation had never truly appreciated was close-quarters combat. Seraph barriers were nearly impenetrable at long range, even with intense fusion cannon bombardment. The best way to breach a seraph’s barrier was to engage it with another seraph, and most pilots could tighten and sharpen a part of their barrier, forming it into a coherent dagger of energy.

Fortunately, Tevyr had not activated his chaos daggers, and Seth sighed with palpable relief at this. If the brash Aktenai pilot had been so inclined, his opponents would now be floating around in a lot of small pieces.

That isn’t to say Seth found the predicament much more pleasing. Instead of using chaos daggers, Tevyr had disabled one EN seraph and now swung it as a bludgeon against the other four. Barriers or not, the EN seraphs showed heavy damage. Seth spotted the hapless bludgeon’s wing clusters drifting away from the melee.

“Well, at least he’s winning,” Seth muttered.

Seth redoubled his efforts to reach the melee before it escalated further.

The EN seraphs spotted Seth approaching and immediately scattered. Seth closed rapidly with Tevyr and his mangled seraph-bludgeon. Tevyr tossed the abused seraph aside, as if that made him any less guilty.

Seth concentrated, right fist compressing tightly. Purple snaps of barrier energy arced out of the digits. He pulled the fist back, flew in at incredible speed, and swung.

There was a brief, blinding flash of green and purple light as his fist connected. Tevyr’s barrier compressed. His shoulder imploded inward. Kinetic energy exchanged between the two seraphs, leaving Seth at a relative standstill and Tevyr speeding down into the JSDC asteroid.

Tevyr’s seraph hit so hard that the asteroid’s outer surface cracked open, sending him careening through the asteroid’s mined-out caverns.

Seth fanned his wings out and turned slowly in space, facing the EN seraphs. With a mental command, all seraphs present entered a common channel.

“Would anyone care to explain the situation to me?” Seth asked.

The channel was silent for long seconds.

“Anyone? Anyone at all? I’m sure one of you is about to share a fascinating tale with me.”

The least damaged EN seraph flew forward slightly. He grabbed the still-spinning seraph-club and steadied it. The pilot’s name registered as Jared Daykin.

“Umm, we made a wager, sir.” Jared glanced over the mangled remains of his team. “And we appear to have lost.”

“I see. A wager, was it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And not an attack on another Alliance pilot?”

“No, sir. Nothing of the sort. Simply testing some of the tactics we learned today.”

“By letting one of your own be swung around like a club?”

“Well… the tactics were a bit on the unconventional side, sir. I will grant you that. We may have gotten a little out of hand.”

“A
little
out of hand, you say?” Seth asked.

“But this was purely due to our unfamiliarity with the tactics in question,” Jared added quickly. “Please accept my apologies on behalf of the Earth Nation. It was entirely my fault. We should not have engaged in such, uhh, advanced tactics without additional practice beforehand.”

“I see. Well, that is quite an interesting piece of fiction you just spouted.”

Jared’s wings twitched. “It’s all true, sir.”

Seth frowned. “I will take your apology under consideration. All five of you are grounded until further notice. Land immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” Jared slung the seraph-bludgeon under an arm and led the others to the JSDC asteroid’s hangar.

Seth linked to the red seraph on a private channel. “And as for
you
!”

Tevyr finished freeing his seraph from the crater. He shook his wings out, looked up, and shrugged.

“What did I do?”

Seth let out a slow seething exhale. “Indeed. Besides using one of the Earth Nation’s seraphs as a close combat weapon, indeed, what have you done?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Land at the JSDC. We will discuss this further in person.”

“Understood,” Tevyr said glumly.

***

Seth pushed out of the pilot alcove and stepped onto his seraph’s open cockpit hatch. The JSDC facility might have been an Earth Nation facility, but the seraph bays were of Aktenai manufacture, staffed by Aktenai technicians. Aktenzek still flatly refused to share the core seraph technologies with the Earth Nation, but this compromise had worked so far.

A gangplank extended from a ledge level with the seraph’s waist, and Seth walked across it. Spindly armatures like insects legs descended from the ceiling and clawed at his seraph, removing conformal weapon pods and opening patches in the mnemonic skin for servicing.

Seth’s interface-suit’s textured, storm-gray skin fit tightly around his body. He took off his helmet and ran gloved fingers through a short crop of damp black hair. He glanced over his surroundings with dark eyes.

The armband on his i-suit was a vivid purple that matched his chaos frequency and bore the Aktenai seal. To his Earther allies, it resembled an inverted cursive
i
holding a white sphere. To him, it was life and purpose given form.

One of the several seraph technicians in the bay approached. He stood a head taller than Seth. More people did.

“Pilot Elexen, does your seraph require any special attention?” the technician asked.

Seth handed over his helmet. “Not at this time. The standard checks will do.”

“Of course, Pilot.” The technician bowed his head.

“Has Pilot S’Kev arrived yet?”

“I believe so.” The technician motioned to Seth’s right. “She should be in the next bay over.”

“Thank you.” Seth headed over to meet Quennin.

Seth passed through the open airlock separating the two seraph bays. Within the second bay, another red seraph was being raised up. But unlike Tevyr’s, this one sported chaos shunts stylized as large kite-shaped crystals, one embedded in each forearm, leg, and wing. A single larger crystal pushed out from the center of the chest.

Its familiar sight brought a smile to his face.

The bay machinery finished hauling the seraph into position. A gangplank extended from the ledge, and a tall figure walked out, clad in a gray i-suit like his own.

Quennin S’Kev removed her helmet and handed it to the waiting technician. Thanks to Aktenai medical science, age had failed to blemish her beauty, and the tight i-suit complemented the fit curves of her tall, elegant body. She pulled her long red hair out of her i-suit’s neck ring, allowing it to sway with each step. A silver clasp, decorated with a single emerald, gripped the hair near the nape of her neck.