Genesis - the Battle Within (Pillars of Creation Book 1) (10 page)

The captain’s voice took on a different tone, “Good, and I suppose … well done, you’ve all played your role in a much larger part than any of you could begin to understand. No matter what happens here today, the SED are finally too late,
we
, for once –
we the true saviours of humanity –
are a step ahead of them. It has begun, as was foretold; our way has been reopened by our blessed benefactor, and once more we will be whole again. Viva Operation Revolution.”

A chorus of voices repeated the last three words of the captain in a cheer—

Unexpectedly, from the bridge below Genesis, there was a bright flash of light that lit up even his concealed dark corner within the vent, soon followed by a strange electrical buzz. Genesis scrambled backwards as a guttural sound cut through all the voices. All else fell silent on the bridge, but his eyes widened in amazement and his breathing quickened as he comprehended what he heard …
It couldn’t be, in the name of the Sacred –
both his personalities said together –
it was a
—

A huge stream of data appeared on his internal HUD. An override kicked in on his suit sending a compressed priority-one message millions of kilometres back to the SINAI on Earth before he could even react.

Apparently his amazement was shared by the SINAI, to which the sound Genesis had heard was being relayed to. Within seconds a new mission order appeared on his HUD, confirming his fears. His eyes skimmed the order three times before the words sunk in.

:
High Command
: direct order from
SINAI
facility> PRIORITY ONE MESSAGE>>
Exterminate all within the bridge: Above all mission directives, exterminate the Tel’nagara traitor
:

Uncommon to his training, Genesis paused, the enormity of what was taking place only now taking hold. Genesis knew a Tel’nagara had not been seen or heard of in over sixty years, and the six that had come to Earth, all those years ago, not only changed the entire history and advancement in human evolution and technology, they were the original conceivers of the SINAI’s construct!

His mind raced. Genesis didn’t understand how this could be. They were all supposed to have been wiped out in the beginning of the Holy Wars when they aligned with the Skinks and Outer Rim planets. The Tel’nagara was deemed the SED’s greatest enemy and were
meant
to be all but extinct. The command even back then was that all who harbour or consult with them were punishable by death. Just the thought that one was below him was an absolutely incredible and surreal concept indeed.     

Genesis felt a chill run down his spine, something he hadn’t felt in many years, not since he was a pupil. He realised this mission was no simple routine operation, he now had a very real task ahead of him, and from what little was known of the Tel’nagara, he had a worthy struggle ahead. For they too were legendary and rumoured to be unmatched in their Rieft and combat skills. Like his own religion, these Tel’nagara trained using the same battle concepts, yet even more rigorously, which they introduced to human society in their period of Re-forging. Genesis dwelled on this thoughtfully, figuring what steps he should take next.

Genesis took a quiet breath and tried to clear his head from the initial shock of what was happening. Just before his second personality took over and, for the first time in many years, he felt he was about to meet a very worthy opponent, one that if not careful could send him back to a time like those very same years he’d just reflected upon, his wretched time of mortality …

Ɦ

Minutes earlier

General Nero Salvador, Captain of the Class 2 military frigate,
Star-Runner
, sat back in awe, momentarily lapsing into himself despite the fact that his ship was well under attack. The space in front of him seemed to be sucked away into a point of infinity, the solar colours that flared from the portal, which he’d spent the last few years trying to find and operate, were finally a reality and more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. The Temple fired its energy one final time as it became semi stable in structure.

It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, gasses and sprites of colour flared within the now distorted space in front of his ship. Lightning coursed throughout the edges of the perfectly spherical phenomenon known only to him from the stories of old; the time from when his beloved brethren had once made their journey across the stars and been betrayed by the treacherous SED. The portal beckoned to him, simultaneously warning of its terrible power. Like the oceans of Earth that he’d seen as a SED cadet, it seemed to call out with a sadness, or a secret.
Maybe,
he speculated,
this is because of the thousands who’d unsuccessfully tried to cross or harness its massive expanse
.

Salvador stoked his beard deep in thought. Many had died for his operation to be fruitful today,
and yet he knew many more to come would undoubtedly perish due to their accomplishment. He could finally sense the imminent reclamation of their own holy search … and still, he felt his thoughts curdling – much more would need to be sacrificed, even after today. He sorrowed for his fallen men, even on this day, a day that would go down in an entire galaxy’s history. The Archbishop had told him what their reverends had foreseen, and through the alien – Abad’don – they would achieve this, their even greater goal.
The SED will pay for their ignorance, they will pay dearly,
he thought with a dark smile.

For many years his forces had been suppressed; so many had died in its wars, with not even a glimpse or hope at victory. And yet today, they’d begun the fight, the real war, setting themselves on the true path for humanity.

They thought of themselves so highly,
he ruminated,
yet how little the Way of the Sacred really knew; it’s the Seekers of Truth that will lead them through the darkness. The universe is about knowledge, not weapons such as their petty cyborg pets, and soon they’ll learn this valuable lesson. Yes, he who holds knowledge, still needs wisdom for the perception to decipher this knowledge … the only true fate and path of men to ascend and the key that they so often overlooked.

The bridge’s comm suddenly came back to life, first emitting loud static before clearing as the young officer’s voice broke through from the planet’s thick atmosphere. Salvador listened avidly.

“General Salvador, the portal is at one hundred per cent sustainability and is holding strong, the artefact is being delivered and all ground units are standing by, ready for mobilisation.”

“Well done Lieutenant,” Salvador replied, “you have all done well here today, the truth will now be told, and our seeking is finally over. Now order a full retreat, get back to your transports and meet up with Abad’don. He will deliver you safely back to base,” Salvador paused for the briefest second, “and one more thing Lieutenant … and I want you to listen very carefully to my next order; for the path of the Seekers you must obey it …” There was radio silence for a few seconds.

“Um, sir … yes, sir?” The officer stammered uncertainly.

“Before you retreat I want all your orbital disrupter weapons trained on this location; you are to utterly destroy my ship, immediately.”

The young voice came back with even more uncertainty, “Sir? Are you sure sir?”

Salvador kept his voice even, “Do as I say Lieutenant …
immediately
.”

“Um, okay, affirmative sir. It’s been an honour ser—”

Salvador never got to hear the lieutenant’s final words as the Immortal came tearing down from the rear bulkhead, rendering the nano-steel plating to shreds as he burst from the ventilation. His pistols were already drawn and blazing.

Lieutenant Lyvon Mapia paced nervously, his shiny military-issued boots squelching as he walked through the less than stable terrain. It was a marsh and forest filled planet, which for the past few weeks he’d come to regrettably know, and the intermittent deathly quiet of this place unnerved him, along with every other lowly soldier he’d been sent down here with.

As Mapia swatted yet another insect away from his head, he noticed sweat trickling down his forehead; it wasn’t just from the oppressive heat of the jungle, it was a clear sign of his nervousness, making it increasingly difficult to keep face before his men. Wiping the sweat and repositioning his lapels for the umpteenth time that morning, his head jerked up as yet another strange call pierced the silence. The surrounding jungle started up again with a cacophony as small and large creatures crashed through the canopies accompanied by their unnerving shrieks. Mapia tried to ignore his men’s stifled laughs. He was not cut out for this, and he and they knew it.

Mapia listened to the deafeningly high screeches and foreboding low growling tenors, which threatened the sanity of any civilised man’s mind. This time, luckily, nothing charged at them ... and then in the same few seconds, silence again. A swarm of flying creatures suddenly caterwauled loudly, their dark shapes floating through the mist overhead, causing him to duck once more.
I hate this place
, he thought for the fifth time that morning.

Even when he’d gotten the orders, he’d thought the general had been out of his grehkin mind making him come here to fire upon his own ship and their main exit strategy – what was he thinking?

Mapia looked around twitchily. To make matters worse, apparently the Tel’nagara was supposed to be showing up. But relying on an alien species to assist them with transport off this planet, an alien species that had not been seen or heard of for over seventy years—

His thoughts were interrupted by the pounding of another round of a two hundred and thirty-centimetre orbital disrupter, again lighting up the mist that seemed to be settled thickly over the whole blasted planet. The mist became bathed in an eerie green glow as the rounds disappeared towards their collision course with General Salvador’s frigate. Mapia shook his head in dismay. What a waste of a ship, he thought. One of Mapia’s radar crew hailed him, confirming the hit.

“Lieutenant, the second volley has directly hit the ship’s engine core, it sustained heavy damage.”

“Good, very good, well done Private,” he replied with little emotion, “maintain your firing, when the next volley is ready, I want them utterly destroyed, we need to be sure that General Salvador’s final orders are fulfilled.”

The crewman gave a salute as he turned and issued the command to the cannon’s operator. Mapia felt a knot at the pit of his stomach, the one he felt when he wasn’t entirely sure he’d done the right thing –
was it really General Salvador who’d issued the order, what if it wasn’t?
I’d be court marshalled and probably hanged by the neck … no it had to be, it was on my secure channel and he’s the only other one who knew it. But why did he want me to fire upon his own ship? It’s lunacy!

Mapia paced, wiping his sweat and fiddling with his lapels again, his knee-length armoured trench coat billowing behind him as he turned. He abruptly stopped on his next turn as one of his privates ran clumsily into him. The man fell to attention a little too close for comfort, showing his eagerness to get out of this hellhole.
Or maybe,
Mapia thought
, I’m just projecting my own fears.

The young soldier forgot to state his rank before speaking, but Mapia was too absent minded to care, “Sir, the first Artefact is on its way up and our men are falling back from the facility to our designated positions.”

Mapia scowled as he answered aloofly, not even acknowledging the man, “Excellent, tell the remaining two squads topside to stay behind until all our men are clear, and make sure they bring the Artefact directly to me—”

Again Mapia was annoyingly cut short. He jumped and made a strange yelp, embarrassing himself as he heard a high-pitched scream from the Temple facility they had been occupying, followed by thumps of gauze rifle rounds. Several more rifles started up, sending their pounding echoes into the mist, along with more screams.

In a panic he sputtered into his comm, “What the hell is going on down there?” After getting no reply, he pointed at the nearest squads standing around him, “Fire Teams 1 and 2 fall out, I want full escort to a drop-zone stat, that’s it we’re pulling out NOW!”
This is the clincher
,
I’ve had enough
of this blanth shit
.
Time for this officer to get his boots dry and some damned good drink, dining and showering into him – no more dredging around swamp-infested planets fraught with danger.

Mapia motioned to another two teams as he retreated as fast as he could, “Fire Teams 3 and 4 get the hell in there and get me a sit-rep immediately … the rest of you, we’re off.”

His last words were drowned out by the firing of the orbital disrupter, again charged enough to punch another volley through the atmosphere. Before his squads could ask what he’d said and before he got the chance to retreat to his transport, a single marine came tearing out of the Temple in such a mad-panicked sprint that she was thrown painfully head first onto the ground as she ran into the low-hanging vines, sliding a full four metres before coming to rest at Mapia’s feet.

“What the—” the words caught in Mapia’s throat as he spotted the blood.

The marine’s muddied military-issued ion-armour, which had been of a particularly good grade and cost a shitload to get, looked damaged and badly battered. For some reason Mapia felt compelled to investigate instead of retreat as he spotted the unusual dents. He wondered what had done this to such quality armour.

Mapia rolled the marine over with, he noted, little of the marine’s assistance and much effort from his own boot. The marine’s face plate was clearly visible as she turned, and Mapia’s brow wrinkled as he saw the shattered visor … and the thought of what could shatter a TPA visor made him even more nervous and uneasy.

Mapia moved in closer and could see the marine’s entire suit was covered in splatters of blood and had visible signs of heavy combat fatigue and damage.

“Marine, report immediately, what the hell is going on down there?” The marine didn’t move, showing no indication of hearing the command.

Slightly annoyed, Mapia opened the dilapidated visor. The woman’s bloodshot eyes stared up at him, blinking as though she’d only just now realised where she was. Slowly coming round, the marine whispered incoherently as the five remaining squads squelched their way over, their weapons drawn on the private, clearly spooked by her unusual appearance. With his own sidearm now drawn Mapia leant forward, “Marine, I said what the hell is going on down there? Where are the other squads? And where the hell is the Artefacts’? REPORT damn it!” He poked the marine with his pistol. The marine’s eyes watered as they rolled towards Mapia, finally becoming lucid. Mapia moved back, confused, as the private burst into tears and blubbered out a response.

“They’re all dead, all of them slaughtered, they … they killed us all … like we were nothing.”

The marine’s hand moved to Mapia’s, who started to recoil until he saw she was holding a small object. Mapia had to peel back the blood-stained, armoured fingers to retrieve it.

Forgetting all else, the lieutenant smiled as he recognised the artefact …
finally we’ve got it, the Aze’tome Vessel is ours!

Somehow, unlike her squad mates, this marine had escaped with it, bringing what they’d come here to accomplish and simply handing it to him. The same artefact they’d spent the last few years searching for …
Well actually,
he thought, still annoyed,
we’d come for the Ple’stone, but this was just as good
. The
Aze’tome
was their bargaining chip for keeping the damned Tel’nagara on their side, and if things got ugly, bought some insurance
.
The Ple’stone was important to this plan, but the Aze’tome, this was what bound their new allies, and gave his command and religion a chance against the SED.
Mapia grew dark for a moment as he wiped the blood and mud off the artefact.
Damned alien freak
;
now look what’s happening, I’m losing men left right and centre …
damn you Salvador and damn your alien and your damned revolution.

Mapia brought the object up to his face, fascinated by its obscurity. Small at ten centimetres long, it was easily concealable, yet the object had an extremely unusual design for what he’d predicted would be a plain stone or fossil.

This object was far from a smelly old fossil. It had a cylindrical base with a protruding green crystal rod, moulding back into itself a few times, with metallic-looking supports of various lengths intricately woven through it with a craft that hinted at perfection.

As Mapia looked, the object seemed to shimmer oddly in the light, and sounded like it was filled with a liquid, gurgling every time he moved it …
It almost looks
like a tool or shape moulded for some unknown but specific purpose
. In an abstract sort of way, it looked kind of key-like. As he scrutinised it, his eyes locked on its base. Funny little inscriptions in an unfamiliar dialect, and a large symbol depicted what looked like a curved scratch mark, representing a crescent moon or—

The dying marine cut through his thoughts again; Mapia despaired at having to look away from the key. “The Cap just told me to run, and don’t stop till I get back,” she gurgled through the blood spilling from her mouth. She raised herself a little higher, “I wasn’t quick enough was I Lieutenant? I … I couldn’t outrun them, none of us can.” Mapia looked down, only now seeing the puncture marks in her abdomen. The mud had done well to previously mask the wounds.

As Mapia scraped away the crud, blood started pouring through the marine’s armour, gushing into the sludge of the planet’s terrain.

Damn it,
Mapia panicked,
I’ve got to get out of this place … now!

As he was about to turn and order a full retreat, he heard more shots ring out from deep within the Temple. The echoes soon disappeared, giving the mist back its quiet surroundings as the jungle’s orchestra also diminished. It was almost as though for the first time since being there the planet had finally noticed Mapia and his men were intruding, pausing now to look upon them.

Mapia began fiddling with his lapels as he looked back to see the injured marine’s eyes coming to rest. Despite his lack of empathy for this lowly marine, he felt compelled to say something, “Um, you did well Private, your sacrifice—” Before Mapia could finish his sentence, the woman’s eyes shot open and she screamed, belching blood. Mapia reeled backwards in shock, falling in the mud. He looked accusingly at the marine, as with his last effort she shakily raised her hand straight up, pointing at the sky. At the top of her lungs she screamed out her dying words.

“RUNNNNNNNN, FOR THE TRUTH’S SAKE … RUNNNNN!”

Her words reverberated through Mapia’s head but as quickly as the woman had re-animated she collapsed again, her face sinking twisted and gaunt into the mud as she twitched out her final spasms.

Mapia quickly forgot the marine, or anything else for that matter, as a dark red glow lit up the entire area and dragged Mapia’s attention skywards; the unearthly glow was soon lighting up the whole forward position he’d set up before the Temple. Mapia craned his neck, squinting through the mist, trying to see what was creating the mysterious light. It was getting brighter as every trooper focused on where the dead private had been pointing.

Mapia was the first to gape in horror as the dark shape began emerging from the swirling fog, blocking the entire sky. Mapia’s hands began to shake uncontrollably.

The colossal blood-red ship emerged majestically, parting the clouds only a few hundred metres above him. Almost immediately his squads of marines began crying out in fear, some firing wildly in vain at the craft, the men interpreting its menacing shape instantly as a threat. Mapia froze, looking up in complete and terrified awe. The craft was menacing, but it was also captivating – it almost looked natural, as though it had been grown rather than built, a bit like the artefact they had retrieved.

Mapia couldn’t hear what was being yelled at him by his men. He just watched this ship that seemed to have a flawlessly smooth glistening surface. For a second he forgot his fear and hate for the planet, and just watched with breath held in his throat.

He realised that the entire craft was smooth because it was covered in thick …
what was it?
He thought as he cocked his head
… skin!
And as he looked closer he saw protuberances grow over the flesh as though it was riddled in cancers. As clear as he could behold the ghastly sight above him, it was definitely covered in a strange
living
flesh.

Before Mapia could recover or issue any kind of command, thousands of blue circular objects flared above them; the objects looked like flat glowing disks and seemed to hang in the air only metres below the alien ship. The sight was truly surreal and, still without comprehension, he watched as thousands more lance-like streaks appeared from each disk and flew towards his position. The ship disappeared from sight as the lances rained down at every angle from their place of origin—