Freedom Saga 1: Heaven's Light (16 page)

The Mjolnir flew
alone at the edge of a star system. Its phase cloak was down and weapons ready.
Brian stood outside in his exoskeleton and watched as they passed by a comet.

“It’s more
beautiful than I imagined,” he said. He drew his blade and practiced a weapon
drill. “The only problem is your size. You’re simply not big enough.”

“If I was you’d
say I was fat,” the mobile suit said. Both took a moment to laugh before Brian
looked to his side.

“You’ve got to
be kidding me,” he said.

“What are you
seeing this time?” the Mjolnir asked.

Brian laughed.
“You don’t even want to know.” He shook his head and focused his eyes on the
icy bodies nearby. “The only reason I can tell this is reality anymore is
because my dreams aren’t so vivid.”

“I think we’ve
been isolated for too long,” the Mjolnir said.

“Almost three
months,” Brian said.

“We’re a little
over a hundred light years from Earth,” the mobile suit reported.

Brian went
through another weapon drill with his
rakna
blade. “Good, then prepare
to record the following message.”

“You can start
at any time.”

“For those
waiting for the last message it has finally come. My name is Brian Peterson.
According to my calculations this should arrive at Earth sometime in the year
2122. I know it seems like I’ve given little chance to your survival, but I’m betting
on it nonetheless.” He paused and put his hand near his eye. “Hope will be
found in humanity’s awakening. How this manifests for the rest of you I don’t
know, but I’ve nearly achieved that state myself. When I say awakening I don’t
mean simply growing as a people. I don’t mean unification either. What I mean
is to surpass what you are and become what you will be. The awakening I speak
of is the crossing the threshold of consciousness. There’s so much more I wish
I could say, but words alone can’t describe it. But I’ll try my best. For the last
two years I’ve seen things…and heard things. But most of all…learned things.
When I close my eyes I feel the heartbeat of the universe. Perhaps reality is nothing
more than a dream. In the state I’m in I can’t tell anymore. The voices in my
head might be the onset of Nanopsychosis, or something else. What I do know is
that in order to survive we must be willing to move forward. For those of us in
space it means to fight. We have to pass the test of existence. The Greys will
try to destroy us. If they succeed the Earth will be next. The enemy we face is
unlike any you can imagine. The Grey’s machine god feels no fear, no emotion,
and no regret. It’s a being of pure control filled with malice and dark
thoughts. At this moment it’s trying to turn me to its side.” Brian gazed at
the darkness all around him and the Mjolnir. “We’ll do our best and I ask you
do as well. Humanity can be so much more than it is. The older races fear us as
much as they put their hopes into us. I know why now, something the others
don’t know.” He pointed the tip of the
rakna
at Andromeda. “The Greys
have already overrun our sister galaxy. Because the races there were under
developed they were an easy target. Currently they own a galaxy and a half.
Even if we succeed in driving them from the Milky Way our future is not
ensured. That’s why humanity is so important. In a few centuries our people
will be renowned amongst the Confederation races. We’ll fly further and faster
than any they’ve ever seen before. This will be the last message you receive
from me. Whether I live to see the future with you is to be determined. But
before leaving you I have one prophecy to give. When the light is dimmest look
to the eye of Jupiter; from there a dragon will come bearing a Warrior of Kali.
She will show you the way. This is Brian Peterson signing off.”

“I got it,” the
Mjolnir said.

“Send it out on
all frequencies,” he ordered.

“Done,” the
mobile suit responded. A light flashed in the interior. “Brian, there’s an
encoded message coming through.”

“Is it from the
Siberia base?”

“Yes.”

“Put her
through,” Brian said.

He stepped
inside the mobile suit before it pressurized the interior and returned
breathable air to the room. He removed his helmet to reveal his glowing red
eye. On the monitor appeared the face of a young Kalaidian captain with flowing
dark green hair and matching green eyes.

“It’s good to
see you Commander Peterson,” she said.

“I thought you’d
be holding a bigger grudge being so far out here Captain Sheris,” Brian said.

She sighed. “I
didn’t care for it at first but sometimes boredom can be alright.” She smiled.
“It’s good to see you’re alright.”

“As alright as
one can be after so much time alone,” he said. “Hearing your voice and seeing
your face is the best thing to happen today.”

“Do you want us
to report the situation back to headquarters?”

“Go ahead,”
Brian responded. “I’m surprised the Mylor let you pass through their
territory.”

“They insist on
keeping a ship inside our base,” Sheris said. “It’s a small price to pay for
the tour. By the way, when will we start receiving signals from Terran Prime?”

“Keep moving
closer and you’ll get all the information you seek,” he said.

“I’m looking
forward to it,” she said. “Damn, we’d better end this.”

“We’re detecting
the fleet again,” the Mjolnir reported.

“Alright,” Brian
said. “Sheris, take care of Siberia. I’ll draw their attention.”

“As you wish
commander,” Sheris said. “I pray Kali watches over you.”

“The same for
you,” he said before ending transmission.

“It’s back to me
and you,” the mobile suit said.

“Let’s go my
friend,” Brian said.

* *
*

Siata and Baeron
stood on the bridge of the Zakar as the fleet pursued the Mjolnir.

“What do you
think he’s doing?” Baeron asked.

“It appears he’s
sending messages to Earth,” she said. “For what purpose I can’t figure out.”

“Maybe he wants
to change them?” the Minan suggested. “His message seemed to convey such a
sentiment.”

“What I’m
wondering is why my people haven’t stopped him yet,” Siata said. “We’ve been inside
Mylor territory for a hundred light years.”

“That’s a good
point,” Baeron said. “And we’ve been out of touch with headquarters for a while
now. Being half a galaxy away does that to a fleet.”

“So what you’re
saying is we’re all alone with no back up and no access to supplies?” Siata
asked.

“Exactly,”
Baeron said. “Other than the scouting fleets we’re on our own.” He grinned.
“The way a good hunt should be.”

“I’m glad you’re
enjoying this,” Siata said. “I’m growing quite bored of the chase.”

“Chase?” Baeron
asked. “This isn’t a chase my lady. Our prey senses us. Brian knows we’re about
to strike and is on high alert. The chase we don’t enjoy, it’s the desperate
fight for survival to come.”

“The Mjolnir has
gravity jumped away,” the navigation officer reported. “One of our scouting
ships has reported its position in a nearby system.” He put the display on the
monitor.

“Then this is
where our hunt will take place,” Baeron pushed a star system a few jumps away.
“Prepare our ships for battle. In four days we’ll capture the Terran and his
mobile suit.”

“Yes sir,” his
subordinates said as they went back to their duties.

Baeron turned to
Siata. “When the time is right I’m going out there in my Lance. We’re going to
need every able body to win this battle.”

“Are you sure?”
the Mylor asked. “If he awakens it’ll be the end of you.”

“I’m not going
sending my men out there to die,” Baeron said. “Not unless I’m willing to put
my own life on the line.”

“I see,” Siata
said. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“No offense
taken my lady,” Baeron said. “Whether he awakens or not is a moot point at this
venture. We must stop him before he reaches Terra Prime.”

The Mjolnir
gravity jumped into another solar system. In the distance was a rocky planet
several times the mass of Earth. When the mobile suit flew closer the
Confederation fleet surrounded it and launched their Lances.

“Mjolnir, begin
recording of all signals originating from Earth,” Brian ordered. “We should be
receiving information from the late 1930s or 1940s.”

“Recording,” the
mobile suit said.

“Make sure to order
the information by language and country of origin,” he ordered.

“Doing so,” the
Mjolnir said. “Are you going to send another message?”

“Sure.”

“I’m ready.”

“This is Brian
Peterson speaking once again. According to my calculations this message should
reach Earth sometime in the year 2100. Despite what those chasing me think, I’m
not going to gift you with any technological schematics or the like. To
influence the development of humanity would be to sully the reward. There’s a
certain sense of achievement humankind should feel when they gain the ability
to travel between stars. Heck, you may have a better system then the current
one the Confederation uses, so why not let you look for it?” Brian paused to
take a sip of water.

“Brian, their
forces are advancing,” the Mjolnir reported.

“Alright,” he said.
“As you can see I’m being chased. The reason is because I and those who agree
with me are a threat to their power. I guess it’s the same with any society.
Those with power, usually being those with the money or military, are the ones
who rule over everyone else. The races of the Confederation are united on the
individual world basis, but not united as far as the High Council is
concerned.” The blips on the radar were getting closer. “Well, I’d better deal
with the situation. This is Brian Peterson signing off. Farewell my fellow
Terrans.”

Brian locked his
helmet into place and threw the bottle aside. “Ready all combat systems.”

“Done,” the
mobile suit responded.

The
Confederation ships and Lances formed a sphere around the Mjolnir. They kept
their distance as they bombarded the lone mobile suit. The shots were absorbed
by the shields but still shook the entire body.

“This is rough,”
he said as he glanced at the enemy formation. “They’ve figured out something.”

“What might that
be?” the Mjolnir asked.

“Surround and
pound from a distance,” Brian said. “It’s such a simple yet effective battle
tactic. Let’s go to full power.”

The Mjolnir’s
exterior began emitting red particles as the phantom wings appeared once more.
The enemy shots started blinking through the Mjolnir like it was a ghost. Brian
gripped the controls as he flew for the nearest enemy. The Mjolnir blinked and
slashed through the heavy class vessel. When the ship exploded six Lances were
taken out at the same time. The Mjolnir flashed again and slashed through
another two ships. The explosions in their wake destroyed another fifteen
Lances. The sphere fell back and fired continuously at the glowing mobile suit.
Suddenly, the Mjolnir came to a stop as the light emission grew and the
particles began turning gold. The light coming from the mobile suit blinded
everyone nearby. Inside, Brian tossed his helmet off and stumbled forward. His
vision blurred as the energy flowed from inside his body out. His entire body
was engulfed in light as he fell to the floor.

* *
*

“Where am I?”
Brian asked.

He was
surrounded by a strange blue ocean of thoughts. He heard the voices of the
Confederation forces near the Mjolnir. As the currents moved he began seeing
flashes of history. One by one he saw the images of Kalaidia, Shandi, Malcov, and
Mina. He reached out to touch them when a glowing being of energy floated over
and stopped next to him.

“So you’ve
reached this point,” the glowing being said.

Brian stared for
a moment. “It’s been awhile.”

“Almost ten
years,” the Teacher said. “I gave you my final thoughts. Now is the time to
remember Brian. It’s time you know the plan and why I decided to implement it.”
The being moved its hand and the images changed to the countryside of ancient
Europe. Brian watched as legions of Romans fought Celts.

“What is this?”
he asked.

“This is who I
was,” the Teacher said. The images centered on a tall, dark haired Centurion.
“We were Rome. For millennia our people were the conquered. But one day that
changed. No longer would we be at the mercy of the world. We would shape its
destiny and in doing so we would be the masters of fate. We were civilization
and everything outside was chaos. We set out to change the world. As our
territory grew so did our pride. In those days I believed I could change the
world with a sword and my will. I was Rome. I was civilization. But pride
blinded me. I didn’t see the darkness behind such belief.” The image changed to
a battle in a dark forest. “We tried encroaching upon those we called
barbarians.” The imaged showed his soldiers dead with him lying alone in the forest
with an arrow in his shoulder. “It was at that moment I reached to the sky and
cursed my fate. My world was shattered and as I limped away I wondered if there
was another way.” The imaged showed him discarding his armor and shaving his
hair. “I died on the battlefield that day. No longer was I Rome. I was a man. I
changed my name and traveled the Earth in search of answers. After years of
searching I found myself still without an answer. I reached the sky once more
and asked whatever being could hear me if there was an answer. That was when
they came.” A small saucer shaped ship landed and opened to him. He stepped
onboard and was greeted by a number of Greys. Brian noticed one of them looked
like Myden. “They told me they felt my consciousness reach out to them. Because
they spoke in my mind I didn’t question them. They took me from the Earth so I
could find the answer I sought. I saw their homeworld and learned that despite
their godlike technology, they still warred. They still conquered. It brought
me to tears. So I set out on my own with a ship they gave me as a gift. I went
from world to world and found the same. Each race was divided and couldn’t find
peace. Even after thousands of years they still war with each other. Is war so
deep seeded inside us that there’s no way to avoid? I thought such a thing for
a long time.” The imaged changed to him speaking with Myden. “Myden was wiser
than any of his kind. In him I found a friend. But we knew as the red eyed
glare consumed me the end was near. So before death I enacted a plan.” The
glowing being turned to Brian. “I was the Teacher. I showed them the path. You
are the Warrior, the one to lead them down the path.”

“And the Goddess
will open the door at the end,” Brian said.

“That’s right,”
the Teacher said.

“What is the plan?”

“Ten stages were
set as benchmarks,” the Teacher said. “The first stage was spreading the word.
I did this when I traveled from world to world.”

“Did you return
to Earth?”

“No, I wasn’t
allowed to,” the Teacher said. “The second stage was to imprint the Maidens.
The third was ensuring their path genetically. The fourth was the development
of an energy system to awaken the younger races. That became the mobile suit
you’re flying. The fifth stage was the expansion and strengthening of the
Confederation. The sixth stage was to prepare for the coming of the Warrior.
The seventh is when you appeared. The eighth was the awakening of the Warrior and
the Maidens. The ninth is the creation of an organization to change the peoples
of Alden. And finally, the tenth stage is unification. Only by being of one
mind and heart can people ever find peace. This doesn’t mean the end of
individuality. That path leads to the creation of false gods like the Greys
have now.” The Teacher paused for a moment. As he did so a melancholic look
came to his eyes. “I longed for peace. So much so I gave everything I could to
ensure it became reality. And now, I pass the torch to you.”

“I’m not worthy
of such a task,” Brian said.

“But you are,”
the Teacher said. “Only those who’ve lived through despair can ever find true
happiness.”

“What should I
do?”

“Live,” the
Teacher said as he floated away. “Alden needs someone to lead them down the
path. As the only one to reach this point you’ve been appointed.”

“Will I see the
changed world?”

As the Teacher
floated away his voice echoed. “When the time comes you’ll join me in here.
Farewell until then.”

“Wait!” he
shouted as the light continued to grow brighter.

* *
*

“What’s
happening?” Baeron asked.

He and the
others watched as the Mjolnir pulsed with energy so bright they couldn’t gaze
upon it.

“He has
awakened,” Siata said. “The message has been sent.”

“What are you
talking about?” Baeron asked.

“The future is
here,” she said. “Close your eyes and hear his voice as it echoes across
space.”

* *
*

Brian opened his
eyes and saw nothing but light. He groped around as the Mjolnir spoke. As his
hand slipped over the injector he placed it to his throat.

“I…I will live,”
he said as he injected the serum.

He closed his
eyes as the light disappeared and the Mjolnir turned back to its normal color.
He breathed with relief as all of the images and voices faded away. The only
thing left in his mind was Seles.

“I will protect
her,” he said. “I will protect everyone.”

“Brian!” the
Mjolnir shouted. “Are you alright?”

He laughed. “Yes
my friend. I’m better than ever.”

“Whatever you
did recharged the drive faster than normal,” the mobile suit reported. “Do you
wish to jump away?”

“Sure,” Brian
said. As the Mjolnir flickered and leapt through space time he stared at the
stars. “I understand now. For all those wishing for a better world I give my
life for that future. But before then, I’m going to live as long as I can and
with those who care about me.”