Rise of Aen (36 page)

Lyxia was speechless; she had long thought that they were trying to help the humans, not just be the first to secure an asset. She found herself struggling to grasp the big picture at the moment and had a feeling of being used sneaking up her
spine.

“So that is why you are on your way?” she asked after a quiet
moment.

“Aen cannot be lost to the Husk or any of the forces outside the Empire, but also Terra Sol must be saved as the future potential of this lonely world is just as valuable. Both are equal tasks that must be taken care of; Terra Sol must not
fall.”

“And you know then that our intervention on this could be what starts a war?” Lyxia asked, knowing she might be overstepping her
bounds.

“It would be this conflict or another in the future that sets it off, but war is coming whether we want it to or not. Aen is the reason I have chosen this vantage point, he is the key to this and future
victories.”

“I am sorry to question you on this, Goddess, but how is one man that important—so important that we risk you being on the frontlines of any battle and so far away from
home?”

Iana smiled, her hunches on Lyxia were right and the young Council was a bright one. Her mind was always rolling with scenarios and counter-scenarios; never resting on simply accepting orders as they were. It had been a long time since someone had questioned her openly, never mind twice in a conversation; Lyxia’s open candor was warming and
refreshing!

“As you are soon to find out, Aen is hardly normal and worth risking my life and many others for. Think of him as a youngling, a mere glint of the creature he will become is visible now. I know you are not one to dwell on the scriptures of the prophets, but the Harbinger is the awakening of the one true eternal being. Aen is the future of the
Empire!”

“And what does his awakening mean for you?” The question was frank and very to the
point.

“For now, very little, so fret not, child. As for the future, there are many roads that have not yet been chosen, but that will start to unfold very soon. Either he will be used by others to usurp my throne or he will be handed it by me in my end of days. There are other futures that show him as nothing to do with the Empire at all, but those odds lessen each day as we approach.” Iana stopped and looked deep into Lyxia’s worried eyes. “For now, it is not worthy of dwelling on. Terra Sol is burning and needs you to focus on their rescue; after that, whatever will be, will
be.”

“So why tell me all this? Why am I worthy of such
knowledge?”

“Because you love him already, because even now your heart calls out for him and you are helpless for it and because Aen will need you more than you can imagine. Although he has strength beyond measure, his heart is as fragile as
glass.”

“You want me to...love him?” Lyxia was embarrassed for the first time in her adult life. “My station doesn’t afford me a luxury such as
that.”

“You already love him—I want you to embrace those feelings you have been fighting the last few weeks and let someone into that locked vault you call a heart. I promise you that he is more than worth it. This fight, this war will take much from all of us, and those with love will stand tall at the end. It is the one thing that separates us from the cold darkness of the Husk and it was what will be needed to
win.”

“I….don’t know if I understand
Goddess.”

“I didn’t call on you to make you understand, just to open your eyes to the big picture and your role in it.” Iana said with a soothing smile on her lips. Lyxia found herself almost hypnotized at times by the breathtaking beauty of the Empress, an almost regular occurrence for most in her presence. “Now I need you to rush on to the hidden paradise of Terra Sol. Push your ship as hard as you need to. Paradise burns and Aen won’t be able to save it without you. May Lyarra’s light hold you tight in the
darkness.”

With that, the Empress disappeared; the transmission ended and Lyxia was left almost in tears. War—war was coming to tear the quiet serenity of peace to shreds and to shake the Empire to its very core. But more shocking to her was the revelation that she was given blessing to love this creature she had never met, but was struggling to keep her feelings hidden. The Goddess was right, love did conquer all, but it would take much more than love to beat the Husk. Independently they were a handful—collectively they would pose the greatest threat the Imperial Fleet could ever face and Lyxia silently wondered if this was a war they could hope to
win.

Seattle, Washington -
Ten Hours since Arrival

Hunkered down in the makeshift bunkers on the outskirts of Seattle, thousands of soldiers watched nervously as the deep black ships slowly flew down from the heavens to loose their payload of terror on the Earth. Almost devoid of any markings or structure, the drop ships were simple rectangular tubes, narrower at the front end and expansive at the rear. Inside waited the ultimate of unknowns, for no one knew what the enemy looked like or had for weapons or vehicles. But if any of it was anywhere near as terrifying as the insect-like drones that leveled cities around the world in minute, the soldiers here knew they probably wouldn’t live another
day.

The blockade was well-defended; over fifty M1A2 tanks manned the front lines as other mobile mortar tanks took up the rear to drop rounds from above. In between sat the infantry themselves, and they were all at the edge of nervousness and fear with only their training and command officers keeping them from flying off the handle. It was a fine line, one that would get pushed once they all finally could see what they were up against and as the enormous black ships began to settle in the distance, it wouldn’t be long until they
did.

The ground shook beneath their feet as the ships touched down even though they landed more than thirty miles in the distance. All was quiet for a moment before the unmistakable sounds of infantry footfalls caught the wind. Everyone scrambled to be ready and mortar tanks fired on the location of the ships and where they would be unloading their payload of horrors. The sound of the tanks unleashing their arsenal was deafening, as was the impacts miles away as the explosive rounds detonated to an unknown result on the targets. Being so far away and the smoke billowing forth from the explosions made it impossible to tell, but all the while the constant march of the alien infantry never
ended.

Then came bright flashes in the distance and between the buildings of the city—those who had not been evacuated or stayed to fight for themselves were being slaughtered as screams joined the cacophony of noise. Slowly, the Husk scoured the depths of the empty city as they searched for prey and made their way towards the waiting blockade. After an agonizing half-hour, the first of the alien advance troops appeared from the city line and the soldiers got a look at an alien
creature.

It was pale-skinned; more of a hide than skin, hide that was greyish and stretched tight over a bony skeleton. Arms were laced with what looked to be armor, but was really integrated machinery and electronics connected to a metallic half chest plate. Its stomach was bare and taut, almost starving, and the lower half of its body looked to more machine than biological, with long lean legs that helped in its awkward but efficient stride. It looked like a malnourished troll crossed with a skeletal robot and caused both keen interest and deep fear to fill the hearts of the
soldiers.

As it cleared the buildings and strode out in the open, it craned its neck and looked to be scanning the horizon, stopping when it laid eyes on the makeshift bunker and front lines of the humans. Its eyes, all six of them, were black as coal and were positioned much like a spider’s, giving it superior vision and awareness. A demonic smile began to form on its face as leathery skin retracted to show razor-sharp teeth. A nervous soldier fired a burst from his assault rifle, more from fear and nerves, as no order to fire had been given—the being took the rounds square in the shoulder. Showing no ill effects of the hit, it crouched down aggressively as a tubular device emerged from its right arm. Raising the arm in the direction of the shots that struck it, it fired a lightning quick plasma round and struck the fearful soldier—the plasma burned the majority of him to ashes and left little but his legs below his knees. The entire front line erupted in chaos at this as some went into fetal positions in unimaginable fear and others went crazy and jumped up, letting loose round after round at the lone creature. Bullets chittered off its metal components and drove it back behind an abandoned car. As it stood to return fire, a marine sniper struck it hard in the chest with a 50cal, tearing apart much of its torso and causing it to call out in an unnatural scream. As the caterwauling and spine tingling whine died down, one of the M1A2 tanks fired on the sentry; the explosive shot sent pieces of the alien in all directions. The front lines erupted in cheers, a small bit of vengeance for their lost
comrade.

Jubilance was short-lived, however, as two more sentries came out of the clearing in response to their brother’s call. Then there was three more, then eight more, then ten more—all with plasma cannons armed and rose to fire at the troops. All the while, the marching footsteps intensified, no longer being just background noise. The alien cavalry was here, and soon the soldiers got a look at a different type of
creature.

Size and armament were the two main differences for these Husk versus the sentries. These were near eight and a half feet tall; though they were slouched over, due to the weight of the armor. Massive and muscular were these aliens—a stark cry from the scrawny waifs before them. Their skin was eerily white, which reflected off the dark metal of their “enhancements” as they moved through the evening light. Supported by thick, three-toed mechanical feet with a claw-like appendage off the heel, they lumbered towards the barricade. Their legs were hinged backwards at the knee, but were heavily armored nonetheless, attached to the torso by hoses and metallic joints. The torso itself held little or no “meat” as the biological aspect of these troops was replaced long ago. On the right side was a flesh arm to the forearm, but that part was replaced by a three-barrelled cannon, each of which glowed brightly with a pre-fire charge. The left side was the eyebrow raiser—two arms protruded there. One flesh arm that again was cut at the elbow and replaced with a three-fingered claw that held a spear-like weapon, the other was all robotic—attached slightly above the flesh arm—and had two “elbows,” ending in a seven-foot-tall and nearly four-foot-wide solid shield, at present held behind the aliens as they marched. The head; or what could be seen of it; was like the smaller beings and tightened skin over bone. But only the jawline was exposed, the rest was covered by a bug-eyed helmet with dozens of wires connected to it and leading to the chest and back. These were the killing machines of the Husk, and every human on the line began to fear their lives were
over.

Before the alien horde could form ranks, the order to fire at will was given as mortars, tanks, grenade launchers, and rifles tore the early twilight apart—but the enemy kept marching forward as their predecessors fell dead, only to be trampled by the ones behind. The first wave was ripped apart; the soldiers opened fire before they had time to defend themselves. Behind the first wave, the second line had time to swing their shields around, the sound of bullets ricocheting off them rose. Even tank rounds exploded upon impact with the shields, but did little damage, other than denting
them.

Reaching around their personal barriers, the Husk aimed their cannons and returned fire with plasma bolts lighting up the night and turning it to day. White-hot plasma struck the barriers; destroying them and whoever stood behind them instantly as it burned everything to ash. Those in the bunker below had begun to cower in fear as they suffered burns from the heat of the enemy’s
weapons.

Aen dove into the bunker, his body armor smoking from a few hits which scarred the armor but did not penetrate it. After taking a moment to gather himself, he leaned up to lay down some cover fire as another group of soldiers joined them in the bunker. Ducking down once again, he felt all eyes focused square on him as well as a few
weapons.

“Same team.” Aen said quickly as he lifted off his helmet, causing yet a few more weapons to be pointed at
him.

“What and who the fuck are you, son?” a soldier—his markings said he was a major—hollered at him as a few men stood and shot at the now entrenched Husk behind a group of overturned cars. The muzzles barked loudly, and Aen waited until they ducked back down to
reply.

“I am the closest thing you’ve got to reinforcements right now, Major, so point those guns at the real enemy!” Aen hollered back. “Call me the end result of a mad science project, but this is why the government made me! They knew this was coming! So let’s stop the bullshit and save our
asses!”

Aen stood up suddenly, whirled around to the enemy and leveled his weapons as he unleashed a flurry of white-hot plasma bolts. It took a few seconds and more than a few uneasy glances before the men and women in the bunker joined
him.

“Weapons check,” the major hollered as he kept his soldiers. He knew they had killed only fifty or so of these things and had lost nearly three times that many in doing so; another wave of them was surely around the
corner!

Answers of “Clear” and “Good” rattled along the barrier’s edge as ammo clips were thrown back and forth. Rifles clicked as they were reloaded and readied; the soldiers of the 101st Airborne began to stand and return fire once more to the gathering horde of Husk
attackers.

Aen marvelled at how well-tuned this officer was to his men and how he rewarded their trust in him. He wished silently that he could be a true part of this team; a true team in every sense. During the firefight, Aen had noticed how they moved as one. When one man had to duck to reload, another stood up to keep the bullets flying and the enemy hurting. They never let
up!