Grey War Saga 1: Twilight of Innocence (9 page)

“Memento mori…”

Brian growled.
“I know.”

“What do you
know?” Jesela asked.

He turned to
Jesela as his eye started glowing again. “It’s mocking me again.”

“I can feel its
presence as well,” Myden said.

“Captain, the
planet killer is charging up,” Droid A reported.

“Grigon, Jesela,
give the engines everything we have left,” Brian said. “I don’t care if we blow
them out, we must stop that thing.”

“We’re trying,”
Jesela said.

She noticed he
was staring at the Shandi homeworld.

“You’ve never
seen fear from him, have you?”
Myden asked her telepathically.

“What’s wrong
with him?”
she asked.

“Close your eyes
in a moment if you don’t want to see it,”
Myden said.

* *
*

The Maidens and
the Mjolnir flew as quickly as they could to the planet killer. On all their
scanners the massive ship was charging up quicker than normal. When they got
close enough their weapons easily blasted through the weakened shields. Before Seles
could fire the arrow blasts she had remaining the Mjolnir flew next to her
craft. The left shoulder of the Mjolnir shifted as it loaded and fired a larger
than normal nuclear missile. The blast shattered the outer hull of the planet
killer. The Mjolnir then fired four more missiles in succession. Each blast was
ten times more powerful than explosions from the nuclear weapons previously
used. The core of the planet killer was wide open to them now.

“It’s all yours
Seles,” Meldi said.

“Thanks for
clearing the way,” Seles said.

The other
Maidens gathered around to protect the front two from incoming enemies. Seles
took aim and fired four arrows in a row. The interior of the planet killer lost
power when its core started taking damage. Seles carefully aimed the last shot
before firing. While the core collapsed explosions filled the sphere. Before
going silent the power spiked and a beam shot out. The massive beam of
destruction plowed through the most of the Shandi fleet before slamming into
the northern hemisphere of Shandi Prime. As the atmosphere superheated everyone
on the ground and in the air was vaporized by the intense heat while the oceans
boiled away. All electromagnetic activity from the surface ceased after
billions of the snake people died. The planet killer went silent afterwards.
With her eyes still glowing Seles felt each and every one of the snake people
as they died. One at a time the other Maidens and Meldi felt the same thing as
the screams filled their minds. Seles clutched her ears and felt tears flowing
down her cheeks.
I can hear them. I can hear it all…

* *
*

The surviving
Grey ships disappeared after the battle was over. Of the original fleet
defending the Shandi homeworld less than a thousand remained. Brian’s eye
stopped glowing before he touched the com. Shiken Ka, Miv Daek, and El Kar
appeared on the monitor with shock in their eyes.

“I know that no
words can sooth what just happened,” Brian said. “I’m sorry my friends, I’m
sorry.”

“It wasn’t your
fault,” Shiken said after collecting himself. “For now, let’s focus on helping
the survivors. As long as the Shandi live we can rebuild.”

“He’s right,” Miv
said. “Heaven’s Light did all it could.”

“Remember your
duty as a captain,” El Kar said. “Instead of dwelling on what we could’ve done
let’s focus on what we can do.”

“You three are
strong,” Brian said.

After they
disappeared from the screen he turned to the others. For the first time in his
life Brian saw tears on Jesela’s face. Both Myden and Grigon were grimly quiet.

“Those don’t
suit you Jesela, not at all,” Brian said.

She wiped the
tears off and smiled. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s three,”
Brian said. “How many more have to die before this ends?”

Grigon cawed in
frustration. “If only we had developed a shield capable of blocking their
attacks.”

“We’d need
access to a thousand gravity drives to pull it off,” Jesela said.

“Start working
on it,” Brian said. “If we can’t destroy them fast enough we have to come up
with another option. As it stands all we can is fire our weapons and hope they
miss.”

* *
*

After an hour of
patrolling outside the Artemis and Siren returned to the launching bay. Both
Seles and Mira had cried and wiped away the evidence, but their eyes were still
hollow. They used the elevator cords to reach the ground and stood there
lifelessly. Jesela mechanically walked in with her tablet in hand before seeing
the two.

“You two look
like wrecks,” Jesela said.

“We are,” Mira
said.

Seles clenched
her fists in silence before relaxing and looking at the other two.

“How about we
pity ourselves later,” Jesela said. “We have a job to do, let’s worry about the
heavy stuff tomorrow.”

“You’re one to talk,”
Seles said.

“I know,” Jesela
said.

“Alright,” Seles
said. “I’d rather run maintenance then go to my quarters anyway.”

“I feel the same
way,” Mira said.

* *
*

Brian was in his
quarters as he watched the footage of the previous battle. After it was finished
he growled and cursed under his breath. He held off on destroying anything in his
main room and stared at the mirror. His imaged moved off line and grinned with
malice.

“I told you I’d
kill them,” the image said.

“You love
gloating over this, don’t you?” Brian asked.

“Of course,
because victory is my goal,” the image answered. “By the way, all of the seeds
except for your precious Earth are gone.”

“How do I know
you’re telling the truth?” Brian asked.

“The official
word will come in due time,” the image said. “I enjoyed watching all twelve of
those worlds as they died.”

“You’re insane,”
Brian said.

“No, I’m a
divine being chosen to lead the rest of you,” the image said. “Submit to my
will and your lives will be spared.”

“To live as a
slave is worse than death,” Brian said.

“That’s your
opinion human, but one amongst many,” the image said. “There are many who are
willing to submit right now.”

“They’re not as
weak as you presume,” Brian said.

“We both know
the Viken and Reiki had weak militaries, but the Shandi were different,” the
image said. “Two more and the Confederation will crumble.”

The image
laughed evilly before reverting back to Brian’s normal reflection. He clenched
his fist angrily while the sound of laughter faded from his mind. Seeing something
out of the corner of his eye he drew his
rakna
blade and slashed. Myden
quickly blocked the strike with his telepathic staff. Brian backed away and
sheathed his sword.

“Sorry about
that,” he said.

“No, I should’ve
announced my presence sooner,” Myden said. “It’s good to know I can still fight
hand to hand.”

“I suppose you
listened to that exchange a moment ago,” Brian said. “Was he telling the
truth?”

Myden looked
down. “Yes. The twelve seeds were races like yours, on the threshold of joining
the Confederation.”

“How many have
they killed within their empire?” Brian asked.

“The Mardok, the
Braiden, and fourteen others,” Myden said. “The Confederation would double its
members in the next few centuries if all of them had lived.”

“How can you
look so calm about the current situation?” Brian asked. “I’m about ready to
break everything I can with anger.”

“I’m the same
way Brian,” Myden said. “For centuries I lived in the shadows, killing much of
my empathy in the process. But since I met you and the others, those feelings
have returned. Right now I appear calm, but underneath I feel the same as you.”

“Staying in here
won’t do me any good,” Brian said. “Would mind sparring?”

Myden smiled.
“That’s just the thing we need to vent our hearts.”

* *
*

Shiken Ka
attended to his work in the command center of the Siberia base while Commander
Serin did the same. The surviving ships and colonies in the Shandi home system
were preparing to flee to the Degan system by his order. Veda appeared on the
screen from the Columbia base.

“This is not the
outcome I thought would happen,” Shiken admitted.

“None of us
did,” Veda said. “Were your mate and children on the planet?”

“No, I sent them
to my fief on Kalmar two years ago,” Shiken answered.

“Valis sent me
the next plan,” Veda said. “She wants us to regroup in the Degan system.”

“I agree with
the move,” Shiken said. “We need every available ship before moving against
them. Tell me, where does she think they’ll attack next?”

“Valis told me
there’s a ninety five percent chance they’ll strike the Kailion system,” Veda
said. “Given the path they’ve cleared it looks the same to me.”

“Cut off the
head and the body will die,” Shiken said.

“That’s what it
looks like,” Veda said. “But that system is guarded by the main force of the
Confederation, along with the Third Mylor fleet.”

“We’ll hope they
can hold out,” Shiken said. “That’s all we can do for now.”

The bases of
Heaven’s Light remained in orbit of the Shandi homeworld. Dozens of colonies
and ships flocked to them to escape. Valis was alone in the strategy room of
the Avoni. After looking over the possible movements of the Greys she shook her
head and stepped away. She waved it off in frustration and went over to the
window. As she stared at the stars something in the shadows caught her eye.

“If you came to
say I’m not myself then leave,” she said.

“I didn’t,”
Myden responded. “I came to lend a hand.”

She turned to
him. “Are you saying you could have helped before?”

“No,” Myden
said. “Not until it was clear who it was we were dealing with.”

“I thought we
were fighting the machine god,” Valis pointed out.

“Not exactly,”
Myden said. “The machine god gives the orders, but my people are still led by
the generals of old. The one in particular we’re dealing with is General
Sunadin Malkas, the leader of the Red Star Knights.”

“How do you know
that?” she asked with a pessimistic tone.

“I trained
Sunadin so I should know,” he answered. “I was the general of the Black Star
Knights before the machine was activated.” He turned on the holographic display
and pointed at how the Grey forces were distributed. “Long ago, I told Sunadin
a good tactician will always carry a second weapon. The planet killers are moving
in pairs, and the way the fleets are shaped match his style.”

“Do you know
what his short term goals are?” Valis asked.

“You can see it
as well as I can,” Myden said. “But I’ll indulge you.” He called up the star
map and displayed the Greys’ movements. “The Reiki and Viken were the staging
ground for the main war. Sunadin knows the Shandi and Kalaidians are the first
line of threat. He’s destroyed one and now he’ll focus on Dega Jul. Doing so will
cut off the Kalaidian territories. Then he’ll strike with everything he has.”
He noticed a bit of hope in her eyes. “If they succeed in that endeavor the
next target will be Malcov and then the Ick-Tckt. Once they’re gone there will
be nothing to stop them from annihilating every race in the Confederation.”

“You’re a lot
better at this then you let on,” she said.

“That’s why I’m
here to help,” he said. “I know things seem hopeless but we’re still in this.”

“I’ll take any
help you can give,” Valis said.

“Then let’s get
to it,” Myden said. “We have a war to win after all.”

* *
*

Seles sat in
front of her computer for hours, unable to work on the music in front of her.
While she paced around her room in frustration a buzz came from the door.

“It’s me,” Mira
said.

“Come in,” Seles
answered.

Mira glanced at
the monitor. “Looks like you’re stuck.”

“I’m not feeling
it right now,” Seles said.

“I’m the same
way,” Mira said. “But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”

Seles nodded.
“You felt it too.”

“The screams of
so many dying is unforgettable,” Mira said.

“The others felt
is as well,” Seles said. “But no one’s talking to anyone about it.”

“I’m sure they
are,” Mira said.

“I hope you’re
right,” Seles said.

“Now stop this,
and tell me what’s really eating at you,” Mira said.

“When Brian was
taken by Delne, Myden allowed me into his thoughts,” Seles said. “With it came
many of his memories. I remember everything from that day and prior which
resides in Brian. When I see his life before this I feel so empty. He was born
with very little and lived as a poor person. He struggled each day to move
forward, broken by the pain in his heart. When I see his dreams through his
eyes mine feel so hollow. I was born with everything. All Baed and I had to do
was escape. Compared to the burden he’s had to live through my problems feel so
meaningless.” Seles stopped for a moment. “I feel like I don’t know who I am or
what I’m doing here. Am I just following the path he makes?”

Mira smiled.
“That’s the real you Seles.” She hugged her friend. “You should know something;
none of us really know who we are. I’m a copy of the original Mira Kein. My
existence is an illusion and for a long time I hated myself for being alive. Eventually,
I realized my father wouldn’t have created me to replace Mira. He wanted a
daughter who would live a greater life than her. He never got to see her in her
glory and that’s why he created me. I don’t live for the original Mira, but for
myself. She had a great life, even if it was tragically short. But the memories
I’ve gained since the day I was born are different. Those memories are what
make me who I am. Just because you have his memories doesn’t make you him or
his lesser. Brian would never think like that. You’re you and confused like the
rest of us.”

“Are you
confused?” Seles asked.

“All the time,”
Mira said before stepping back. “Now let’s get out of here and take a bath.
Relax the body and the mind will follow.”

“Thanks Mira,”
Seles said.

“Don’t mention
it,” Mira said. “I know you’d do the same for me.”

* *
*

Jesela was
quietly working on the Artemis and Siren when Brian came in. He moved next to
her and looked over her shoulder.

“What brings you
here?” she asked.

“I wanted to see
if you were alright,” he answered.

She spun and did
a little dance, but the smile on her face was false.

“I guess not,”
Brian said.

She sighed with
frustration. “Normally things don’t get to me.”

“What’s
different?” he asked.

“No matter how
great the things I make are, they’re nothing compared to the Greys’ weapons,”
Jesela said. “I haven’t felt this inferior since the sojourn.”

“A single person
can only do so much,” Brian said. “Though many believe my coming to space
changed everything, anyone could’ve taken my place. It’s the same with everyone
really. If you weren’t here another engineer would be and probably feel the
same.”

“That’s not
exactly comforting,” Jesela said.

“It wasn’t meant
to be,” Brian admitted. “What I can do is tell the truth.”

“If that’s the
case then what should I do?” she asked.

“Keep on living
and you’ll find out,” Brian said. “Even though you’re not a pilot you’re the
fiercest warrior I’ve ever seen. If everyone was like you the Greys wouldn’t
stand a chance.”

“You’re feeding
my ego quite well, but not my spirit,” Jesela said.

Brian laughed.
“I’m a pilot Jesela. That’s who I am now. No matter my future, I’ll always fall
back on that. But you, you’re different. Your life is what the Shandi consider
ideal. You see a problem, think about it, and then act upon it.” He smiled at
her. “You’re a woman with her head in the clouds, always dreaming of a better
way. As long as you never lose that you’ll find a solution.”

He went to the
exit.

“You’re a
dreamer too, aren’t you?” Jesela asked.

“I was until the
dreams turned dark,” he said. “Now all that’s left is a murderer hardened by
the enemies who haunt his soul.”

“Both of us know
that’s a lie,” Jesela said.

He laughed.
“Perhaps you’re right. See you later Jesela.”

“Take care,” she
said as he left.

* *
*

“Something seems
off,” Valis said while she and Myden worked on the battle plan.

“You’re not used
to meeting your equal, are you?” he asked. “You can trust me on this.”

“Given your
experience I’ll have to,” Valis said. “Why didn’t you step in and help sooner?
Even without knowing what you felt you needed to you could’ve helped.”

“My place is in
the shadows,” Myden said. “I’ve survived for so long with that in mind I never
felt it was my place to step in.”

“You should
have,” she said. “But I won’t dwell on that now that you’re helping me.”

“For victory one
must know their enemy,” Myden said.

“How many campaigns
did you fight in?” Valis asked out of curiosity.

“Thirty four,”
Myden said. “Most of which were civil conflicts but eleven were with what you
call the Original Five races.”

“We assume
because they aren’t fighting each other now they’ve always been at peace,”
Valis pointed out.

“The universe is
not so ideal,” Myden said. “The Confederation was formed to end conflicts
between species. The Original Five saw the younger races would be joining them
soon and sealed the pact to prevent a galaxy wide war.”

“So the seeds of
this war began thousands of years ago?” she asked.

“Of course they
did,” he said. “And the seeds of the next war are being planted right now.”

“Now I’m
worried,” she said.

“Don’t be,”
Myden said. “The conflict at hand is what matters. We’ll deal with the next
problem when it comes.”

“I wonder how
many of us will be alive when that happens,” Valis said.

“Given the
advances in age prevention all of you could be there,” Myden said. “But I’ll
say living for thousands of years wears on your sanity.”

“I’ll take your
word for it,” Valis said. “But getting back to what we were doing, are you sure
we shouldn’t head for the Kailion system?”

“If the Third
Mylor fleet can’t handle a planet killer or two the Confederation deserves to
lose,” Myden said. “Still, I hope they win.”

“Hope is a hard
thing to come by these days,” Valis said.