Ghosts of Lyarra (23 page)

“So if she was here, what or who was she sent to kill?” Sara chimed
in.

“Maybe she failed and they sent another to kill her?” Wilson
offered.

Lyxia shook her head to deny that claim, but stayed silent for a moment longer; choosing to study the face closer than ever. Leaning in, she held her face mere inches away from the corpse’s to study every curve and line; trying to put the puzzle of the shattered features back
together.

“Maybe if we search around, we can find her ship?” Wilson asked; waving one of his men over to begin relaying the
order.

“Then you would waste more time, and the killer would be that much further from us.” Lyxia snarled. “Her ship is long gone; in fact, all of us witnessed its destruction years ago in
orbit.”

“You mean…” Sara
stammered.

“So you recognize her?” asked
Wilson.

“Indeed.” Lyxia stood upright and tall; her eyes showed a glint of sadness. “She is Palla; reported deceased over four hundred years ago by her commanding officer, Ameia. She was the chief security officer of the
Amarra.”

Everyone was stunned and an odd silence gripped the group with only the breeze buffeting the tent audible. It took a few moments, but it was Lieutenant Wilson that broke the eerie
quiet.

“Fuck.” He said calmly. “I guess the dead can come back to life. Wait till the old man hears this
shit!”

Nine
Himalayan Mountains;
Mount Kailash, Tibet

Iana woke up suddenly and rolled over to find the bucket was still where she left it from before; half filled with vomit from other purges of her system. The smell was putrid, but it helped her fill it more as she continued to let her body remedy the pain and torture she inflicted on it on her nightly excursions. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, and her throat burned all the way out to her teeth. When she was finished, she let the bucket drop back to the metal floor and she rolled onto her back once
more.

But his time. There was no more sleep to hide from her suffering. Her body ached and her clothes smelled rank; for the first time, Iana became aware that she looked and smelled less than lady-like. Her hair was a nest of tangles mixed with pieces of vomit, and her skin was oily and sticky. Her hands roamed her torn dress and discovered stains of a questionable nature; she had been less than proper with her actions and feelings of regret immediately added to her
misery.

She struggled to stand; her legs wobbly as the only intake she had given herself was mainly for enjoyment, not nourishment. And any nutrients she had in her system now floated in the foul smelling bucket by her feet. Iana was disgusted at herself; the mighty Empress had fallen down to nothing more than a
wreck.

“Caretaker.” She croaked. Her dry throat let loose a hoarse voice that sounded nothing like her usual songstress
self.

“
Welcome back to the living
!” the sphere of orange light appeared right in front of her; causing her to fall back to sitting on the bed. His voice rang like cannons in her head and even the holographic light was much too bright for
her.

“What is it the humans say?” she muttered. “Oh yes; this
sucks!”

“
You still have high levels of alcohol in your system as you are fighting off a version of alcohol poisoning
.” It retorted. “
As Mori physiology is quite a mystery, I have been unable to concoct any type of remedy to assist you in your recovery. I have taken rather extensive notes on how the massive amounts of alcohol you consumed has not only affected you, but also how your body choses to process such a foreign
chemical
.”

“I am glad my suffering has kept you entertained.” She grumbled, getting back to her
feet.

Iana tore the remaining shoulder strap of the dress and let it fall in a heap around her ankles as she stepped free and staggered to the shower down the hall completely
naked.

“Burn that for me.” She whispered; her feet barely making a sound as she clumsily made her way to the showers. She knew there was no one in the ship with her, and if there was she wouldn’t have cared if they saw her nude. Iana was comfortable with her body and cared little if she was clothed or not most days in the palace. In a way, it was her way of expressing a bit of freedom in her repressed world; a far cry from the embarrassing way she had been expressing it as of late. Besides, the only other being here was Aen, and she could tell he was in the temple above and not in the ship stowed away in the hangar with
her.

She punched in the memory pre-sets and the water began to flow hot and sterile; Iana began to feel the remnants of sweat and filth wash away. Within seconds, she began to feel better as her body regained its purity as she muttered a whisper of a promise to herself to never do that again. Her thoughts turned back to her companion, and to the harsh words she remembered hitting him with in her drunken state. Iana owed him a deep heartfelt apology; after all he had done for her Aen deserved much
better.

Immediately, she reached out with her mind for his and found him not in the temple, but above it. In the time she had been unconscious, Aen had tunneled up to the surface from the front doors and up the stairs of the crater to the rim above where he was basking in the pure afternoon sun. But as she was about to say she was sorry, he felt her and spoke
first.

“
Don’t start
.” His voice was calm in her head. “
When you are ready, dress warm and join me on the surface. I have learned much and there is a lot to
discuss
.”

And then she was shut out; Aen closed his mind to her in a trick she never knew he possessed. She felt the disappointment in his words; the sting of her actions was still fresh in his mind. Iana finished her shower slowly in an attempt to delay her meeting with Aen as long as possible. When she emerged from the stall, she was met by a drone with warm towels and fresh clothes; what humans called jeans and a hooded sweater. After acquiring a jacket, she set off to meet Aen above on the mountain
top.

Each step was easier than the previous as the exercise of climbing the long winding staircase proved to be a good remedy for the hangover. Her body burned away the excess toxins she had flooded it with; Iana’s mind cleared with each push upwards. Before she knew it, she stood at the grand doors of the temple entrance and trusting what she had seen in Aen’s mind pulled them open. Iana had closed her eyes as she opened them in fear of being caught in an avalanche of snow and ice that had built up on the other side of them. Instead, she opened them to see a tunnel of sheer ice with a near fifteen foot diameter that led out and to the stairs; the slight reflection from the sunlight at the end of the tunnel lit the ice slightly adding an eerie but beautiful tone to it. It was inviting - not scary - and she didn’t hesitate long to enter and
explore.

The cold air was refreshing as it kissed her face; the final step to her feeling like herself again as she reached the rock wall and ascended the carved steps upwards. Every step, the light above her grew, until at long last she emerged from the passage and felt the sunlight ravage her senses. She could see the snow covered village that she remembered from years ago; now it was long abandoned and barren. Clear skies revealed neighboring mountainous peaks that she looked on with awe as they sparkled brightly with their icy coverings. Iana marvelled at the perfection of solitude about her; it was if she had stood amongst the Gods in paradise and shown the true nature of
beauty.

“A mountain doesn’t hide from the approaching storm.” Aen’s voice broke the wonderful silence. She hadn’t even noticed him as she looked about her before. “It does not run and it does not cower; it does all it knows how to and simply endures for the mountain will far outlive the short fury of the
storm.”

“Very poetic.” She added. “And very fitting considering what we look
upon.”

“I was referring to our situation.” He smiled. “But the scenery does add a nice dramatic touch. I meant that soon we will have to reveal ourselves and face that which opposes us. And once we have made our move, I fear that the storm will rage longer and more powerfully than we could ever imagine. The more I uncover about your enemy, the worse it
looks.”

“So you found
her?”

Aen looked up to the afternoon sun and closed his eyes; she could tell he was enjoying the brief moment of peace. His dark hair flowed freely down past his shoulders; the sharp angles of his face reflected the light in different shades of bronze. While she was dressed in warm and cozy clothes, Aen only wore the rubbery armored under layer of the Ifierin, and its black contours outlined the hard lines of his body in the
sun.

“I did.” He spoke after a pause. “And after some persuasion she told me what I needed to
know.”

“You killed her too?” Iana was sorry she asked; knowing the answer before it
came.

“A message had to be sent; Jyn was an unknown to his masters, but according to her files she was in constant contact with them. So I made an example of her, and left our enemies with even more questions as I sift through my answers.” He
replied.

“You know, don’t you?” she looked at him in amazement. “You know who it
is?”

“I know a few names, and I have a few faces; though the one I truly search for is going to remain hidden until the very
end.”

He wasn’t going to tell her; he was skirting about the question until he knew for sure. As much as she wanted the truth, Iana’s mind slipped back to the awful words she had last spoken to Aen before they left Egypt. Regret had built up inside her and was ready to burst out, so she decided to show her feelings to him as raw as they could
be.

“I am sorry.” She blurted out; the coy smile disappeared quickly from his lips. “I am so sorry about what I said; I didn’t mean any of
it.”

“The Queen of Heaven asks for penance from the lowly Harbinger?” his eyes were sad and
serious.

“No!” she answered. “Iana; a humble servant of your good graces, asks your forgiveness for all I have put you through. I owe you everything and up until now, have been too proud to admit
it.”

“You had my forgiveness as soon as the words were said, though all of what you said is true. It is time I sought that which eludes me; it is time I repair the damage done that keeps me from being
whole.”

She took two quick steps and leapt at him to embrace him. Iana squeezed him tightly as tears poured from her eyes in a river of released emotions; his arms were much slower to meet the embrace. The two sat in the winter sun in each other’s arms for some time before she withdrew and cupped his face with her
palms.

“I would go with you on this journey if you would have me?” She stated with a nervous
smirk.

“Then it would be I who looks for comfort in your arms when I regain all I have lost; I would be honored to have you accompany me.” He seemed so distant; she had to remind herself that he was more broken then she could
imagine.

“When do we leave?” Iana
asked.

“When the alterations to my armor are complete.” He answered. “Where we are going, my face will be recognizable if anyone remains. We are going back to where Caretaker says it all started; I am going back to where I was
born.”

—
Inner System Solar Power Relay Station;
Project Olympus

“What the hell do you mean she was here since the dark ages?” Patterson screamed into the comm line at Wilson. “I thought ‘Zero was the only survivor of that stupid
ship?”

“
Well, that’s what our Lyarran friend is telling us
.” Wilson barked back. “
And it gets worse from there. Turns out that your contractor Tanaka Jyn was a Lyarran; and was one of the survivors from the Amarra
too
!”

“This is a fucking nightmare!” the General began to really freak out. “You are telling me that a high level contact was actually a fucking alien? I am losing my goddamn mind here! He had access to Olympus that could ruin us; are we
compromised?”

“
No
.” Wilson replied. “
From early reports it seems they both…..defected; for the lack of a better word. Reports listed them as killed in action in respects to their decision and they went on to blend in with society. Tanaka played the chameleon card perfectly, while this one was more the outcast; though she did keep tabs on her old friend without his
knowledge
.”

Patterson was pacing back and forth on his office floor; his mind racing to make sense of this new information. If there were no leaks in the program, they could continue without drawing unwanted attention from the Empire. But if anything Tanaka Jyn was working on leaked out, it was only a matter of time before the path led back to
Olympus.

“You need to wrap this shit up son!” he said calmer, but with intention. “You need to find out why these two outcasts were killed and who is behind it before your new partner there traces anything back here. I need another year or two to button this up; after that I don’t give a rat’s ass who knows we have armed ourselves anymore. So get this thing done and send the bitch home, got
it?”

“Yes sir!” Wilson snapped. “Avery
out.”

Patterson didn’t reply, he simply switched the comm off and swore under his breath. He was so close from finishing Olympus; so close from ensuring the future of humanity amongst the stars to have it all unravel now. It had been a week since the body was found in Alexandria and the media was having a field day with it. The fact that an alien had been so brutally killed and then left to be found had spread like wildfire; the only thing preventing the Imperial Fleet from kicking down Earth’s door and flooding the planet with Ifierin was the fact that the Council of the Dark Light was attached to the investigation. But he knew the longer it dragged out, the more likely that Earth - and all its dark secrets - would come under the scrutiny of the
Empire.

—
Rocky Mountains, Utah
– Former Military Installation Code Named White Rock

It was deathly quiet inside the abandoned facility; nothing had moved in here since Council Sara Foster had ordered it stripped and shut down for good. Paint peeled from the concrete walls; ceiling tiles had fallen under the weight of water from leaky roofs and lay on the floor in pieces or hung down, still clinging to the wire frames which once supported them. Very little remained of the once busy secret base, but the feeling of familiarity rang clear to Aen as he stood amongst the mess. It was cold; not that the temperature bothered him, but he knew it would affect Iana who had insisted on joining him. Looking over at her, he could see her breath but she didn’t say a
word.