Ghosts of Lyarra Page 13

  “We are in the clear.” Caretaker announced as only seconds had passed since Iana had asked her question. “And we remain undetected and inbound to Terra Sol.”

  It had gone all according to plan, yet Aen was still unconvinced they were in the clear. He had long ago decided that the feeling of safety would be there only when they had their feet firmly on the planet. They were now just a few days away from Earth, and until then he would keep his body ready just in case. They would be entering shipping lanes and detection still remained a possibility; then there was the matter of the Earth’s orbital defence ring to slip past, though he had an idea for that too.

  Sinking back into the pilot’s seat, Aen began reviewing traffic logs and shipping lanes to make sure they would remain unseen the rest of the way. If Iana or the AI spoke to him, he didn’t hear them, as he focused in on the task at hand. It was more to keep his mind busy to stop thinking about what had just happened and what may happen after he made his way ‘home’. Since he awoke, he had no concept of true emotion or attachment to sentimental memories; he had none. But when he was with Iana, he had touched something inside her and it was stirring something deep within his hardened soul. Just a few hours ago he had been cold and calculating, and now he was hesitant and worrisome.

  Aen wondered if this is what he used to be like, and if it was, it was someone that disgusted him. With his vaunted power, the last thing he wanted to be was slow to pull the trigger when the time came. He wondered in the quest to find his lost memories, if the being he was rushing to discover was better off lost considering the circumstances. It was time to not think so much and get to work; there was lots to prepare for before they arrived and he needed to focus.

  When he looked up from the readouts and reports, he was alone in the control room. His companion, Iana, had long retired to rest from the draining emotional point that had passed earlier. Caretaker was occupied with other tasks as he watched its holographic sphere hover over the far end of the room; its colors changing as it muttered to itself. Aen saw that almost ten hours had passed since they had snuck by the first level of security, and roughly another week or so until they reached Earth orbit.

  Pressing a button, a 3-D representation of the planet and its x-axis defence rings rose from the panel. Aen studied it slowly and carefully, making sure he saw the whole picture before finalizing his plan to descend to the surface. He watched the arrival times of the shuttles and transports; measuring their size and wake to see where he could hide their vessel. He watched the rotation of the axis rings; it’s never ending orbit around the planet. There were no holes and no delays of the rotation to sneak past, and if they could, they would be discovered as soon as they hit the atmosphere.

  And then there was the matter of where to land and hide when and if they reached the surface. In the aftermath of the attack by the Husk, there was plenty of empty places around the globe to hide in, but none that would suit the shelter and safety needs he wanted. He almost wished he could turn back the clock to when there was usable shelters everywhere. Then it hit him; maybe he could go back in time in a way. It would be the last place anyone would look and it was the perfect place to live until it was time to return Iana from the dead.

  —

  Sol System; Lyarran Vessel Dark Light,

  Neptune Orbit Range

  “What do you mean an anomaly?” Lyxia asked; slightly annoyed that even such a minor incident would slip by her crew.

  “Shortly after the cannon array reported a malfunction from a micro-meteor strike, we caught a reflection of sunlight off of an unknown source.” Onai calmly responded. “When we ran the scan a second time it was gone and despite any efforts to track trajectory, we can’t seem to find whatever caused it and wrote it off to ice or dust particulates in the area.”

  “Scan again, and review that data until you are sure.” Lyxia ordered. “There is a madman on the loose and we have to be on high alert; even out here.”

  She was sure they had done their due diligence when it first had happened, but since arriving here Lyxia had felt off; like something about all this was not right. Instead of going about her other tasks, she hovered over Onai and the sensor team as they reviewed the data again. Despite her involvement, the conclusion was the same; ice or dust reflecting the sunlight.

  Satisfied that they had found the true result, she began looking at the long range scan logs. The inner system was a mystery as the humans had flooded the area with ion waves that masked anything the sensors may pick up. It was plainly obvious to her that the humans were hiding something, but she assumed it was to disguise the true capabilities of the PA cannons and nothing more.

  “Contact the Terra Sol Council,” she spoke with a bit of relief. “Let her know that I would like to meet as soon as it is convenient.”

  Not waiting for an answer, Lyxia marched down to the one place she could get practical advice, and the one place no one would follow her. Through the winding halls of the Dark Light she moved quickly until she reached the main lift station. Entering, she punched in the floor for the Ifierin deck; the section of the ship which housed her unstoppable ground troops.

  The Ifierin were battle hardened soldiers that the Empire had leaned on heavily for its entire existence; the dark red armored shock troops that had no equal on the battlefield. But she traveled down here for one in particular; the leader of the entire garrison, Axyn. There was none wiser in the Fleet when it came to strategy and dealing with unknown situations, and for the majority of her life he had been a father figure to her. If anyone could help her manage such a time, it was him.

  When the lift stopped, she marched out and through the throngs of soldiers who didn’t even have time to acknowledge their superior officer. The sound of the formal Ifierin salute; their right arm crossing the chest to the left shoulder and the bowing of the head; echoed over and over behind her. She knew they only did it out of duty; none of them respected her as a warrior, but right now she didn’t care. Lyxia was so focused on finding her mentor she stormed right past a group of combat training Ifierin commanded by the very man she sought.

  “Going somewhere Council?” he inquired sarcastically as she was already fifteen feet past him.

  Lyxia muttered to herself; she could almost see the sly grin on his face. His tone was one carried only by him; none else would dare speak to a Council in the way Captain Axyn could. All his Ifierin knew of their connection, and all of them respected him so much that none would even speak until spoken to by her.

  “Your office,” she spoke abruptly without turning back to him. “Now!”

  Lyxia made sure her tone matched the seriousness of the situation so he knew this wasn’t just a social visit. There were no comments behind her as she resumed her path to his ‘office’ which was nothing more than a converted weapons cache; and even then the walls were lined with armor and rifles. Instead, she heard him finish instructions for the drill and heard his footsteps fall inline a few feet behind her.

  She entered first and sat on the chair that he usually relaxed in and turned to address her long-time friend. Axyn, in turn, settled in on one of the stools scattered about the meager room. Looking around, she noted that there were rows of battle damaged helmets lining the back wall; trophies of a battle well fought.

  “I have no damn idea what to do.” She was quick and to the point. “There are no provisions for this; no book to go by.”

  “It has only been a few days, Council.” Axyn replied coolly. “Patience and it will all come to you in time.”

  “Fuck patience,” she barked sharply. “And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of, it all coming to us!”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “They suspended the Grand Council; the Fleet declared martial law.”

  “I know, I read the update.”

  “But what you fail to grasp is that with the Council down, Terra Sol becomes a target of the worlds that envy all their riches.” She added with a snarl. “In time they all will come here to t
ake what they want and the Dark Light is the only thing standing in their way.”

  “Then the Ifierin will be ready.” He replied; still unfazed by what he was hearing.

  “You still don’t get it Captain!” Usually she would address him by name, not rank. Hopefully he would catch on to how dire this situation really could get. “There is no planet or moon to land you and your men on; no field of battle for you to dominate an enemy. This is us maybe firing the first shots of a civil war on an Imperial ally.”

  “And if one engages this vessel they will be foolish. Any vessel, other than a warship, is outgunned and overpowered by the Dark Light.”

  “And if they come in numbers?”

  Axyn didn’t respond, but the look in his eye told Lyxia that he finally got what she was trying to tell him. Anyone in the Empire would know where the Dark Light was and that she was alone against whatever forces they could bring. Yes the humans had their precious rings of cannons, but even they could not fire around planets! Most of the valuable metals and resources lay beyond the reaches of the Jupiter ring which meant the enemy could target the cannons individually while behind shelter then take whatever they wanted; and if they could do that than they might not stop with the outer planets. In what seemed to be a rerun of five years ago, Terra Sol was in danger of being conquered once more.

  “What do you need from me?” he asked after pondering her last words long and carefully.

  “Advice, direction, assistance, guidance, whatever you can give me I am open to at the moment. I need to meet the Terra Sol Council, and to do so I need to leave my ship at the worst possible moments. This meeting needs to be on her planet; to show that we are here to support and guard them in these dark days. And as I leave, I need someone unbreakable at the helm of the Dark Light.”

  “That is not allowed by Imperial Fleet regulations, Council.” Axyn spoke carefully. “Ifierin are forbidden to command a vessel.”

  “Except in times of martial law.” She quipped back at him. “In the case of martial law, any and all measures that a Council sees fit to operate and command her vessel may be done. And in the event that her duties take her away from her vessel, then she is to appoint the most capable being onboard to act in her stead.” She quoted from the regulation books she had been forced to memorize in the academy.

  “And you have an Ops Con full of…”

  “Inexperienced, naïve, and officers I have yet to trust fully.” She cut him off. “You asked what I need from you, and this is what I need. But in lieu of the times, it is a request more than an order.”

  Her eyes looked back at him as she waited for him to process such a bizarre favor. He was like a father to her, and was the one being left in her life that she knew she could trust now. Although she had been in the academy with more than a few of the officers onboard, none had been through anything this extreme and pressing before and she was unsure if any of them could hold up against the pressure; but Axyn had been tried and tested in the worst of battles. He would not crack when things got rough! As she waited for an answer from him, Lyxia began to see how the past few years had taken their toll on her friend.

  Axyn was one of the few Ifierin who shaved his head; the traditional long greenish-blue locks of the Paxyn warriors were missing from his stubble scalp. His face held scars of many long battles, with one prominent scar stretching from his left ear - which was missing its pointed tip - and slid underneath his eye and over his thin lips to the right side of his face. Even his ragged blue beard had lost its luster and was laced with more than a small share of grey hair. He was battle hardened, but he was also old from those same fights. He looked tired, though she knew he would be ready when called upon.

  “It will create a bit of pushback.” He said at long last; starting to pace the floor to better weigh the decision. “Some will not stand for such a thing.”

  “Then they can damn well get out and walk!” she snapped angrily. “If I worry what everyone else thinks of me then the ship wouldn’t ever move.”

  “I see.”

  “I don’t have all day, Captain. What will it be?”

  “An Ifierin doesn’t back down from a challenge.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes. He was in!

  “Good!” Lyxia said with a sly smile. “Because I was about to order you to do it anyway. Now get one of your nosey oafs to fetch my armor; if I am going to the human world, I sure as hell won’t do it without protection!”

  —

  Sol System; Between Mars and Earth

  Aen was so immersed in all the incoming data provided by the nearly omnipotent Caretaker that he failed to notice that a bright blue dot had appeared in the distance. His attention was focussed on the dramatic shift of the Imperial Fleet, and the decision to declare martial law. It was a move he had anticipated; one he had counted on for his plan to succeed and a part of it that would cause his adversary to make the mistake that would reveal their identity. Aen knew that Fleet Command would suspend the Council, push back the mourning period for the Empress and with it the appointment of her successor. Since the Fleet wouldn’t relinquish control of Lyarra until they found the unfindable and fictitious scoundrel, he knew that time would be the ultimate undoing of his foe.

  There was no doubt in his mind that the shadow figure was after the throne, and by now would have the majority of the Council manipulated to ascend them to power, but now that being had to wait and Aen was sure, being this close would cause them to be impatient and slip up. When they did, he would turn from being on the defensive to the offensive and take the fight to their doorstep, there perform the ultimate resurrection. It was all a risk, after all the Empire may not want Iana back on the throne.

  And then there was the matter of this project Olympus Caretaker had stumbled upon. Aen was curious and very intrigued; this did explain the flood of ion particles in the inner solar system. The humans were up to something big, and they didn’t want the Empire or anyone else to know. Caretaker had begun to decrypt logs of ore shipments being kept off the official books and sent to an unknown destination closer to the host star. It certainly was a mystery worth looking at, but not one to divert much energy to at the moment so he left it in the devices of the AI and went on with his work, blind to the fact he was being observed closely.

  Iana watched him from a distance as he diligently scanned the data pouring in with both admiration and a tinge of fear. There was no doubt in her mind that she was safe with him, but there were the feelings of strangeness whenever she was near him that she couldn’t shake. This was not the same Aen she had encountered years ago; not the same creature who’s passion and love had endeared him so to her. Gone was anything remotely emotional; in its place was the cold, calculating and powerful creature that sat a few feet away. It wasn’t an evolution of his being, but more the absence of what had made him great that bothered her. He was lost in his emptiness and was searching for that very thing that she worried he might never find; and then there was what Iana had felt when their souls had touched.

  Just thinking about it made her both shiver and aroused at the same time. Never before had she been with someone so powerful, so intoxicating, and so intense in bed; never before had her internal fire failed to devour the soul of her sexual partner. In all her years of life, Aen was the first to survive mating with the Queen of Heaven as part of what made her so unique, also made her deadly to her lovers. But while the sex was beyond comparison, it was what she had encountered when he touched her soul that bothered her to no end.

  Iana had felt his power - his heart churned out more energy than her vampiric nature could absorb - and then pierced the veil that shrouded his soul to find more questions than answers about her protector. Not only did he share her ability to hear the Gods in their own language, but he could talk to them as well! Not only that, but he had been touched by the great darkness that sat at the center of the known galaxy; the Dark God had visited him recently and left its shadowy fingerprints all over his soul. This worried her, because
most who conversed with the Dark God went insane; thus was the curse of the Brink. Along with that was the shadow of the once shining greatness that had resided within him. Aen was truly broken inside as the past that eluded him had left a shattered soul with no way of making it whole again. He had saved her, now she decided it was her turn to save him.

  Looking away from him, Iana could see the once tiny blue dot had grown dramatically in size. Terra Sol was close; soon they would be safe in hiding. She knew there would be time to question her savior about all that haunted him later, but now she wondered how he would pull one last trick to get them past the greatest defensive shield the Empire had ever seen.

  “We are here.” She mumbled to whoever may be listening.

  “Indeed.” It was the AI, not Aen that answered her. “I am slowing the ship and keeping to the shadow cast by the planet to avoid reflection of the host star. I would feel much more secure with inclusion on where to direct the ship, but I fear we are not in the know.”

  “How long until we arrive?” Aen spoke as if sensing the need for him to share his secret.

  “Two hours, eighteen minutes, and forty six seconds until we arrive at the closest point we can without being detected.”

  “And what point does the rotation of the planet bring Tibet into our arrival vector?”

  “I am not sure I understand; what does that have to do with getting this ship past the human defence grid and through the atmosphere without being seen or shot down?” Caretaker was at a rare loss of understanding.

  “For something called Artificial Intelligence, you seem to lack the very intelligence needed to piece together the parts I have lain out for you.” Aen replied, finally looking up from his studies to look over at Iana. “The answer is to the last place they would ever look for us, and to hide Iana in plain sight. We are going home, Caretaker. The Lyarran base inside Mount Kailash that you called home for so long. It has everything we need to stay hidden, including a hanger to house our ship.”