Reborn

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Book excerpt

Prologue

“I see a court-martial in our future.” Embeth frowned and shoved a grenade into the bandolier before reaching over and grabbing the last neutralizer. A cartridge for the weapon lay on a nearby table. He scowled at it before grabbing it, loading it into the gun and slipping it into an ankle holster.

“Let's worry about that later,” I muttered.

Kedge slipped his staff into the sling strapped to his back and fixed me with a hard look. I felt his monocled eye boring into me. He continued staring until finally I threw up my hands in exasperation.

“What?” I asked, mildly irritated.

He offered a weak smile before reaching into the folds of his robe. His closed fist emerged and he held it out. “Open your hand.”

I opened it reluctantly, realizing it remained difficult for me to trust him. He had been the former leader of our enemy, the Lumagom. No matter how many times he attempted to make amends for past misdeeds he was still responsible, in part, for the mess we found ourselves in. He hesitated before dropping a small, metallic object into my open hand. Despite the dirt and grime which had accumulated around the object I managed to observe small glimmers of gold. When I rubbed the grime away I saw it was a small, golden ankh.

“Is this what I think it is?” I asked, irritation giving way to surprise.

“Yes,” he replied. “I kept it safe for centuries in order to preserve the memory of Mars. This trinket is enchanted with good fortune. It has kept me safe up to this point. I pass it to you in the hope that its luck will transfer over to you.”

I was about to offer my thanks but Wraith interrupted us. He shoved several golf ball-sized objects into my hand. Instead of dimples, several tiny metallic diamonds were embedded in its surface.

“What are these?”

“Stun grenades, in order to keep the casualties to a minimum,” he explained.

“Thanks,” I replied, letting the cold metal tickle the palm of my hand as I turned them over and inspected them. “Good idea.”

“Of course it's a good idea. It was my idea,” he quipped.

Lianne clipped her sword to her belt and moved to my side. “We are ready.” She frowned at my apprehension. “Perhaps I should ask if you are.”

I shoved the grenades into my pocket and shrugged. “I guess so.” My reply did not satisfy her. Her scowl became annoying. “What do you expect me to say? Last month I was a teenager worrying about math grades, now I'm trying to save the world. It's a pretty difficult transition.”

Her frown faded and her features softened. “Sorry, Nathan. I seemed to have forgotten you are still young, and have a lot to learn.”

“I'm not much older than you, Lianne.” My reply, dryer than intended, caused a pained look to cross her face.

Before she could respond, Gard interrupted. “Sir, Earth's satellites have moved out of position. We are cleared to launch.”

“Thank you, Gard.” Satou turned to us and called out over his shoulder. “Get ready and strap yourselves in, folks. We are ready to take off!”

Wraith hopped in the co-pilot chair while the rest of us did as Satou instructed. We launched from Docking Bay 5 into the emptiness of space. I chuckled nervously when I glanced at our “crew”. Two Council members, an emotionless robot, a Defense Fleet Captain, an ornery weapons specialist and a human teenager whose greatest accomplishment up to this point was getting an A on his Advanced Physics exam. We were an odd group about to do something that only a short time ago I would have never in my wildest dreams thought possible.

We were about to invade Earth.

Trouble

“I gave you explicit instructions to remain on the Argus until we arrived!” Meta's face grew darker with each word. His enraged face filled the screen.

Embeth remained resolute and matched the High Prince's scowl with one of his own. “I refuse to leave my men behind. It was a judgment call, plain and simple.” Embeth tapped the control panel impatiently.

“Embeth, you should know better! Your men wouldn't have been left behind. Helios Protocol is a proactive defense measure,” Meta explained. “They would have been recovered.”

“What have you done?” Enraged, I stepped between Embeth and the screen.

Meta's face turned crimson when he saw me. “You,” he spat. “I am beginning to think we made a mistake integrating you into the Explorer's League. Humans are nothing but trouble.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I roared.

Meta leaned back and took a deep breath. Behind him, the remaining members of the council whispered to each other. They seemed oblivious to the exchange going on in front of them, as if they had something more important to work on. Their indifference only served to aggravate me more.

“Your barbaric history,” Meta replied. “Mankind, throughout history, has shown that their only desires are money, power and bloodshed. For eons we have waited patiently, yet they failed time and time again to evolve into a species more focused on knowledge and self-improvement. Despite all of the technological advancements afforded them, they regress morally, ethically and in most cases, mentally.”

“Now wait a minute—” Kedge interrupted.

Meta held up his hand to stop him. “There is nothing more to say on the matter. This debate is pointless.” He leaned back and whispered something in Hark-Kalech's ear.

“Are you sure that is a wise course?” he asked with uncertainty.

“Of course I am,” Meta roared. “Just do it!”

Hark-Kalech glanced uneasily at us before leaving. Varooq and Kale followed him out the door.

“There are many things you do not know regarding recent events.” Meta returned his attention to the screen. His initial anger seemed to have ebbed. “This is more than just simple treachery by Calypso.”

“What do you mean?” Embeth inquired.

“Charr is not being destroyed by natural phenomena, as he claims. I admit there had been some unusually high volcanic activity which threatened the planet's crust, but it had stopped a while ago. Members of the Science Cooperative had developed a way to repair any damage done and are currently based on the planet, conducting field tests.”

“What?” I scratched my head. “But Calypso told us—”

Meta dismissed me with a wave of his hand. “I know what he told you. It was just a lie to help cover his true intentions.”

Lianne brought her fist down violently on the control panel. “All of these riddles and no answers. What is his true motivation?”

“We are not sure. But we are going to find out.”

I suspected the High Prince wasn't telling us everything. What are you hiding? Why are you hiding it? I held my tongue since he was angry enough and we did not have the time to conduct a verbal war. We had more important battles to fight.

“I refuse to go back until we are done,” I insisted. As soon as the words fell from my lips, everyone turned to me. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat under the weight of their stares. “I refuse!” I continued defiantly. “Mankind doesn't need a second relocation. We have a responsibility to stop this.”

“We have a responsibility?” Meta scoffed. His demeaning tone cut me more than any weapon ever could. “It is not your decision to make.”

“No, it's not,” Embeth interrupted. “But as commander of the Defense Fleet it is mine. I made the decision to recover my soldiers and stop Calypso.”

Meta narrowed his eyes. “Your decision lingers dangerously close to treachery, Embeth. You could be stripped of your seat on the Council.” When Meta saw that he would not back down he waved his hand dismissively and turned toward the Council members. “We do this with or without you.”

Satou turned and whispered to Embeth. “We will be landing in the East River in five minutes. So far everything looks clear.”

Embeth turned toward the screen and shrugged. “Take my seat then. It seems this Council is broken.”

Meta folded his arms across his chest with a look of disappointment. “Open a channel to the Swallowtail, Sergeant.”

“Channel is open, sir.”

“Captain Daranan, this is the High Prince. Continue with Helios Protocol.”

“Yes sir.”

“I'm sorry, Embeth. You made your decision.” A weary look came over him. “I had to make mine.”

The screen went black. Wide-eyed, I turned to them. “What now?”

“We finish the job,” Embeth responded.

Surrounded by the approvals of the others, I felt a sense of relief. Ahead, the East River appeared in the distance and Satou worked on slowing our descent. As we approached the water he eased the shuttle gently upon the murky depths of the river. Instead of descending into the water like last time, he guided the craft toward a wall adjacent to the United Nations building. Stealth mode allowed us to appear as nothing more than a breeze on a cloudless day.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “Aren't you worried we will be seen once we exit?”

“There is no time for covert tactics,” Satou replied grimly. He pulled open his tunic and reached inside. He produced an object that looked like a cell phone and handed it to Gard. “This alarm is programmed to sound in twenty minutes. If we are not back by then, you are to take off and return to the Argus.”

“Acknowledged.”

We left the shuttle via a side exit. Once I stepped foot outside, the crisp New York air filled my lungs. During our first trip to Earth, I felt a subdued sense of excitement. This time, however, the task laid out before us seemed much more solemn. Excitement escaped me.

“Well, here we go again,” I muttered.

“What did you say?” Wraith slipped soundlessly behind me.

“Never mind.”

We quickly crossed the ramp and dropped to a nearby window. Gard closed the ramp behind us which masked the ship once again. Everyone huddled outside the window while Satou pulled out an object that looked like a pen.

“What are you going to do with that?” I asked.

He ignored the question and instead pressed a button located on the handle. A yellowish light sprang from the tip and fell on the window. With the light, he carved a large O into the glass. A huge chunk of glass fell inward with a crash. “Get us inside,” he responded.

We entered the building and found ourselves inside a large office. Judging from the film of dust on the mahogany desk and lack of decor it appeared to be empty. Satou traced a finger across the surface of the desk. Tiny flakes of dust fell from his fingertip like brown snow.

Kedge removed his staff from the sling and gripped it fiercely. Wraith and Satou unholstered their neutralizers. Lianne clutched her sword and searched the room. Embeth, neutralizer in hand, turned toward us. As he did, the grenades in his bandolier clanged together dangerously. I cringed, expecting an explosion.

“Okay, this is how we will do this,” he whispered. “Follow my lead. We will conduct a sweep and clear of each room. We have to clear each room quickly. If we encounter hostile forces try to keep casualties to a minimum. There could be a mixture of Lumagom, Scarlet Moon and Earth forces scattered throughout the building so hold your fire until absolutely necessary.”

Everyone nodded their acknowledgements.

“Kedge I need you to stay here and cover our escape,” he added.

Kedge looked disappointed but nodded. Before we left I took one last look back. Kedge maintained a sour look but remained as ordered. He stood in the middle of the room, leaning against his staff.

We swept through each room swiftly as Embeth had instructed. The United Nations was unusually empty due to the state of emergency declared by the President. The lack of people was good news for us but we remained cautious as we moved between rooms.

At the end of the hallway, voices came from behind a set of wooden double doors. We readied our weapons and approached the doors carefully.

“Wait,” Wraith whispered. “Stand back.” He motioned for us to back away from the doors. Once we moved behind him he phased through the door. We never even had the chance to voice our protest.

“I hate when he does that,” grumbled Embeth.

“Yeah, but you have to admit it comes in handy sometimes,” Lianne replied.

“Handy indeed,” Embeth spat. “He is going to get us killed.”

“How does he do that?” I asked.

Embeth scowled at the door. “Umbrals have the ability to control their subatomic particles for a brief period of time, allowing them to 'phase' out of view. They can only do it for short periods of time which concerns—”

“What the hell was that?” A voice from the other side of the door interrupted him.

My first thought was the people on the other side heard Embeth. I clutched my neutralizer so tightly it almost went off. Lianne placed a finger against her lips and motioned for us to back up.

“What was what?” Another voice replied.

“I felt something brush past me!”

“Afraid of ghosts, John?”

More words passed on the other side but as we moved back they became harder to understand. Before we backed away completely another voice cried out, “What did you say?”

Calypso. My body went rigid. Just the sound of his voice angered me. It required all my willpower to stop me from breaking down the door.

“Um, I asked him if he was afraid of ghosts.” The voice responded, followed by a nervous chuckle. “Why?”

The room descended into silence. After several moments passed, I could no longer hold my tongue. “Should we keep waiting like this?”

As if in response, the door exploded outward. Fragments of shattered wood showered me and scraped across my cheeks before I hit the floor. I crashed against the floor hard and watched as my neutralizer slide across the floor.