Freedom Saga 3: The Dawn of Liberty (5 page)

Brian
laid unconscious in his exoskeleton with Mira and Seles standing over him. Mira
removed his helmet to give him an injection. After she was finished she locked
it back into place.

“I
know he warned us this would happen, but still…” Seles trailed off.

Mira
turned to the scans. “I can keep him stable for a while, but things will get
worse as time goes on.”

“How
long does he have?” Seles asked.

“A
week or two,” Mira said.

“What’s
happening to him?” Seles asked.

“I
can’t say right now,” Mira answered. “When we have the time I’m getting Celi in
here to help.”

Brian
took Seles hand.

“Brian,”
Seles said. “Can you hear us?”

“Yes,”
he answered faintly.

Mira
turned his exoskeleton’s sound system on.

“How
are you feeling?” Mira asked.

“I
can’t see anything right now,” he answered. “It feels like my body is on fire.
Is everyone alright?”

“Yes,”
Seles answered.

“I’m
glad,” he said before coughing. “Seles, Mira, I’d like to talk with you two and
the other three. I’ll speak with Myden and Grigon afterwards.”

“Alright,”
Seles said. “I’ll call them in a little while.”

“You
need to rest,” Mira said.

“I’m
not going anywhere, that’s for sure,” he said with a chuckle.

* * *

Tctie
walked up to the door to Myden’s room. The halls around him were strangely
empty of others as he stood there. He hit the buzzer.

“Myden,
I’d like to see you,” Tctie said.

“Come
in,” Myden responded.

Tctie
entered the half lit room and found Myden sitting in the center in a meditative
pose. The Grey stood up as he approached.

“You
know why I’m here,” Tctie said.

“Of
course,” Myden said. “It’s been sixteen hundred years since I met a fresh
telepath. It’s time we quiet your mind.” Myden walked up to Tctie and placed
his three fingered hands on the drone’s head. “Focus everything on me young
one.”

Tctie
focused as well as he could. In the background he still heard the thoughts of
others.

“I
see, your power is a little different from mine,” Myden said telepathically.
“It’s because of your insectoid nature.”

“What
do you mean?” Tctie asked.

“Telepathy
is a tricky power to control, and yours will take some training to use
properly,” Myden said. “Your hive mind is more developed than mine, but deep
scans are out of the question for you.”

“Why
am I different?” Tctie asked.

“Because
you’re a superior breed of drone,” Myden answered. “You’ve felt the awakening
and unlike the others your body is able to accept the change.”

“I
don’t look different,” Tctie said.

“In
time your body will shift to its new form,” Myden explained. “Hopefully you
won’t be the only one.”

“Are
you talking about the captain?” Tctie asked.

“You
felt him,” Myden said. “If he can survive he’ll change as well.”

“Why
is it different for him?” Tctie asked.

“He’s
a mammal, you’re an insect,” Myden answered. “Evolution works faster for one of
your kind than his.”

“What
should I do?” Tctie asked.

“I’ll
have your quarters moved near mine to quiet your mind,” Myden said.

“Thank
you for helping me,” Tctie said.

* * *

Seles
entered the bridge and found Grigon and Jesela working while the four droids
manned their stations. She quietly went to the console near the captain’s chair
and started watching the footage of the previous battle.

“How’s
he holding up?” Jesela asked.

“Brian’s…not
well,” Seles said.

“He’ll
live,” Grigon said. “I’m sure he’ll be pacing around the bridge in no time.”

“I’m
glad someone has faith,” Seles said.

“Anytime
young lady,” Grigon cawed.

“Do
we have launch clearance?” Seles asked.

“We
can go anytime commander,” Droid B reported.

“Let’s
return to space,” Seles said. “I have a feeling our friends are going to need
us.”

“Our
vacation has been rudely interrupted,” Jesela said.

“I
thought you liked working all the time,” Seles said.

“Normally
I am, but being forced to work makes me crazy,” Jesela explained.

“I
won’t comment on that,” Grigon said.

Seles
smiled. “Alright, let’s head out.”

The
Freedom fired up its engines before flying into space. After a few minutes they
found the Columbia base and headed inside. Right behind them the Raulno
followed. Once the two ships were in their docks the monitor flashed and showed
Valis in her quarters on the Avoni.

“How’s
Brian doing?” she asked.

“Not
so good Valis,” Seles answered. “He wants to meet with the five of us and
discuss something.”

“Celi
and I will head over in a little while then,” Valis said. “I want you to send
Grigon and Jesela to the command center. I’m sure the two of them have some
ideas on how to locate the new stealth crafts we fought.”

Seles
turned and saw both of them nod. “They’ll be there once they’ve finished their
work here.”

“Thanks
Seles,” Valis said before ending transmission.

Seles
took a deep breath before turning to the other two. “I hope you can come up
with something. If berserking is our only option we’re in trouble.”

“I
know I have a few ideas,” Grigon said.

“Same
here,” Jesela said. “Don’t worry Seles, between us, Dreka, and Daes we’ll find
a way.”

* * *

Myden
stepped away from Tctie and opened his eyes.

“You’ve
learned quite a bit in such a short time,” he said telepathically. “But it’ll
be a while before you can master it completely.”

“I
understand,” Tctie said. “For now I’ll stick to speaking like this to others.”

“It’s
less unnerving to those who can’t speak with their thoughts,” Myden said.
“Also, I want you to come and see my at this time every day.”

“I’ll
be here,” Tctie said before bowing his head. “I’ll see you later Myden.”

“To
you as well,” the Grey said as Tctie left.

The
antman made his way to sickbay. When he glanced in the window he saw Kyli
sleeping peacefully in a bed. He walked in and went to her. She opened her eyes
and smiled.

“I
didn’t expect you to come and see me,” she said.

He
clicked his mandibles excitedly. “I’m sorry to let harm come to you.”

“It’s
not your fault,” Kyli said. “Make sure to take care of everyone while I’m in
here.”

“I
will,” Tctie said. “And I’m sorry for being a bother at times.”

“That’s
also not your fault,” Kyli said. “It’s difficult fighting your instincts.”

“True,”
Tctie said. “Take care.”

“You
to,” she said.

Tctie
made his way to the medical lab and watched Mira working on Brian. He felt a
flood of mental activity come from Brian but felt nothing coming from Mira. The
antman shook his head and left.
Something is different with her. I can’t
hear her thoughts at all, but her voice sooths my mind.
He thought as he
returned to his quarters.

* * *

Brian
felt himself floating again. This time he was in the sea of blue. As the sound
of others came closer he tried speaking, but found he couldn’t. Suddenly, he
found himself watching Myden and the Teacher speaking on a craft of Grey make. The
Teacher’s eyes glowed fiercely red as he writhed in pain. Myden reached out and
touched the human’s head and tried calming his mind, but found he couldn’t. The
Teacher shoved him away and stood one last time.

“Myden,
you know what to do,” the Teacher said. “I have laid the seeds across the span
of Alden. When someone worthy of being the Warrior comes, take care of them.”

“I
will friend,” Myden said.

The
Teacher nodded and smiled one last time as the fire in his eyes covered his
whole body. With a flash of light there was nothing but a pile of dust left on
the floor. Myden knelt and silently made a prayer. As Brian watched the ghostly
image of the Teacher appeared next to him.

“Is
this how you died?” Brian asked.

“Yes,”
the Teacher answered. “I died in agony, but I was at peace.”

“Will
that be my fate?” Brian asked.

“Perhaps,”
the Teacher answered with a funny smile. “But you’ve lived longer than I did,
so maybe you can survive it.”

“From
what I can tell I’m in bad shape,” Brian said.

“But
your eye glows blue, not red,” the Teacher said. “Brian, not all of us will
survive changing into what we should be. You have the unique opportunity to
become something greater than a man. What that is I cannot say because I wasn’t
able to. It was the same with the older races. They found only some of them
could move forward, but with proper modification, all of them were eventually
able to. The Mylor have the power of gravity, the Naerendi the power of the
mind. Each race has the potential for a special power. For humans it is our
dimensional blade. You must survive this transformation and master that power.
The darkness looms greater now than ever and they need someone to lead them.
Now return to your body and live.”

Grigon,
Dreka, Jesela, and Daes joined Veda and Reban in the command center the next
morning. Veda and Reban had collected all the data from the previous battle for
them to review.

“I
don’t have to emphasize how important it is we find a way to detect these new
enemy crafts,” Veda said.

“They’re
a generation ahead of us,” Dreka said.

“Their
weapons are slightly behind ours,” Jesela said.

“But
their accuracy is nothing to laugh at,” Daes said.

“True,”
Jesela said.

“Have
any of you worked on something like this?” Veda asked.

“We’ve
been too busy with the special models,” Daes said.

“She’s
right,” Dreka said.

“I
think Jesela may have some ideas,” Grigon offered.

Jesela
looked up. “What?”

“Do
you have something in mind then?” Veda asked.

“I
can start the program for detection,” Jesela said. “But implementing the system
requires we have one of their mobile armors to work with.”

“What
about this?” Reban asked as she relayed the image of a nearly intact enemy
craft.

“That’s
exactly what we need,” Jesela said. “By the way, where did you find that?”

“Valis
brought it back using the Minerva,” Veda explained.

“Alright,”
Jesela said. “But first we need to pull that thing apart.”

* * *

Brian
felt helpless in the med lab. His body was still burning hot, but much less
than the day before. Mira unlocked the helmet to check him and saw he was
conscious. Celi stood next to her.

“You’re
not looking good,” Celi said.

“I
feel like hell,” he responded. “Is everyone here?”

“Valis
and Kivi are taking their sweet time,” Seles said.

Mira
gave him an injection. After a moment his vision started returning. Mira held
her hand over his eyes and flashed two fingers then four.

“Can
you see them?” she asked.

“Two,
four, two, four, that’s the sequence,” Brian answered.

She
smiled. “I’m glad you’re with us again.”

“Can
you sit up?” Celi asked.

He
grimaced as he did so. Mira and Celi adjusted the bed to accommodate his new
position.

“That’s
better,” he groaned. “I don’t like being stuck like that.”

Valis
and Kivi walked in and joined those in the med lab. Brian took a moment to look
at each of the women before smiling.

“Sorry
we’re late,” Kivi said.

“I
didn’t get much sleep last night,” Valis said.

“I
can tell,” Brian said.

“So
what did you call us in for?” Celi asked.

“I
know you don’t want me talking like a fatalist,” Brian said. “But if I do die I
need to say a few things before going. If I don’t I’ll feel like I left the
five of you in the dark.”

Seles
took his hand. “We’re listening.”

The
others nodded.

“Alright,”
Brian said. “During the sojourn I came to doubt the Teacher’s original plan. A
Warrior, Five Maidens, and Three Wisemen were all that he planned for. Of
course, we have backups with Dreka, Baed, Zae, and Kyli. But that isn’t what
made me doubt the plan. As we wandered through the Grey’s territory and saw the
totality of it, I understood our enemy better. The Teacher’s intent was to
unify the people of Alden, regardless of race or creed. Through Heaven’s Light
we’ve forged a path towards that goal. If it weren’t for the Greys our objective
would be achievable. The plan as it was is ineffective against the enemy
standing before us. With the machine god there’s no negotiation, no quarter,
and no future. As a countermeasure I had Grigon design the special models each
of you pilots today. By doing so I changed the plan.” He looked at Celi. “I was
supposed to perish along the way, but the Aegis was built in time to save me.
By doing so the plan was altered.”

“If
the plan has changed then what’s different?” Kivi asked.

“Aren’t
we fulfilling the roles we were supposed to?” Valis asked.

Brian
shook his head. “No, the plan calls for the Goddess to come after the Warrior.”
He looked at Seles. “I thought because of your skill as a pilot as well as your
ability to berserk you’d be the one. The problem is you have to live long
enough to achieve such power. So instead of putting all our eggs in one person
I asked Grigon to make five special models. That way each of you could possibly
become the Goddess should I die.”

Seles
smiled. “Thanks for not putting all the pressure on me.”

“You’re
still our best pilot,” Mira said.

“All
of us are pretty good though,” Kivi said.

“Let’s
not wander off topic,” Celi said.

“What
else changed?” Valis asked.

“The
Teacher couldn’t anticipate the one thing that gives us a chance in the
upcoming war,” Brian said. “And that would be the mobile suit itself.”

“What
makes them so special?” Valis asked.

“What
I am going to say is true with all gravity drive powered mobile weapons,” Brian
started. “But more so with the special models because of your inclination to
berserk. Berserking is the precursor to something else; I believe Myden calls
it awakening. What he means by that is evolving forward. You see it manifested
in the older races by their strange, almost magical powers. One day in the
future all of us will be able to do something like that, but for now, it’s
limited to a small number of us. The mobile suit serves as a mix of particle
exposure with our nanomachines. Add berserking a number of times and you create
a vessel capable of far more than simple destroying enemies.” He pointed to
himself. “Inside the Mjolnir I was being changed for a decade. This was
something the Teacher couldn’t anticipate. Now the five of you are changing.
Into what I can’t say, but Celi did for a brief moment to save my life.”

The
others looked at her.

“It’s
hard to explain,” Celi said. “It was like I reached out and energy flowed
through me like water. I haven’t been able to do it again since. Are you saying
I awakened?”

“Exactly,”
Brian said. “Each race has a different power. I suspect with Kalaidians it has
something to do with energy.” He flexed his free hand and pushed it through the
nearby wall like it wasn’t there before pulling it back. “With humans it has
something to do with dimensions and perception.”

“That
explains your weird power,” Seles said.

“It
does,” Brian said. “Each of you was chosen as a Maiden long before you were
born. I changed things by making it possible for there to be more than one
Goddess. If we’re to survive the coming storm we’ll need that power. If I die I
need all of you to be ready to lead the others.” He looked at Seles, “you are
the sword,” he looked at Celi, “you are the shield,” he looked at Mira, “you
are the heart,” he looked at Valis, “you are the mind,” he looked at Kivi, “and
you are the will. The five of you can achieve much more than I can alone.
Remember that and never doubt each other. The people of Alden need someone to
protect them. I appoint the five of you as this galaxy’s guardians.”

* * *

Tctie
returned to Myden’s quarters at the appointed time. The old Grey did the same
as before and touched Tctie’s head to help them contact each other
telepathically.

“You’re
getting better and silencing the ambient noise,”
Myden said
telepathically.

“You
said something yesterday about my hive mind power being better than yours,”
Tctie said.
“How
is that possible?”

“Our
difference in species is the likely factor,”
Myden answered.
“As an
insectoid a hive mind isn’t strange, as a matter of fact, it would be extremely
advantageous. The other difference I sense is depth of reading others. With
concentration and proximity I can draw out memories in others. I’m not sure you
can do the same.”

“What
advantage do you see with my power?”
Tctie asked.

“You
have the power to contact many minds at once,”
Myden
explained.
“The benefit is in battle you can relay messages instantly to
your allies. Part of the benefit of your power is the distance of use if much further
than one of my race is.”

“What
about the machine god?”
Tctie asked.
“Isn’t it possible my people would
be as susceptible to it as yours?”

“It’s
possible,”
Myden said.
“But the more likely scenario is it would have a more difficult
time controlling your kind. Remember, if it can’t implant itself deep into your
consciousness it can’t control you. When I try probing deeper into your
memories you can block me. That’s a good sign.”

“What
about the captain and his power?”
Tctie asked.

“Those
who are able to awaken can use a minor form of telepathy, but nothing like
ours,”
Myden said
. “With Brian it comes down to the ability to fight back. He can’t
contact our minds, but once we’re in his, he can fight back as much as he
wants. The others have the ability to resist when berserking, but can’t do what
he does. I suspect that’s how he freed himself from my people when he first
came to space.”

“I
have one more question,”
Tctie said.
“What is it that makes Mira
different?”

Myden
smiled.
“I had a feeling you’d notice that.
What makes her different doesn’t
matter
.
It’s the person she is that does.”

“I
understand,”
Tctie said.