Lynn didn’t know how much time had passed when a firm knock roused him from his half-sleeping, half-grieving state.
“Lynn?” Duke Kimba’s voice was muffled through the wall, but his concern was still obvious. “Are you alright?”
Still dazed, Lynn glanced around the room. Frost and snow covered every inch of the room like hardened candy-floss. He didn’t need to resonate with the ice to know that the hallway outside was likely impacted as well.
“I’m fine, Duke,” he forced out as he sat up on the bed. “Just experimenting with my ice bending.”
“The King is awake and would like to speak to you about our next steps. The Chief invites you both to his chambers.”
“Coming.”
Lynn flexed his muscles and focused on the feeling of the ice around him. It took him a moment longer to establish the connection than before, as if momentarily blocked by the instinctive knowledge that he shouldn’t be able to control elements at all, but the ice eventually still followed his command, melting away. Lynn grabbed the clothes left for him—the same black scout clothes as before—and downed a nutrient pack. The taste wasn’t great—an attempt at meat with beans perhaps—but he needed the energy. He avoided looking at the production date, it would only creep him out.
The Duke waited impatiently outside, concern evident in his eyes as he inspected Lynn’s body when the latter stepped out in the corridor.
“Lead the way,” Lynn prompted, ignoring both Kimba’s looks and the frosted environment in the corridor.
After a brief hesitation, Kimba nodded and started walking.
Lynn wanted to ask about Adan, but he was too afraid of the answer. She needed him working, needed him to focus on whatever Emberon was hiding. Only there could he hope to find a path forward for her.
It didn’t take long for Lynn and Duke Kimba to reach what had once been the bridge of the submerged spacecraft. Lynn glanced around the room with curiosity as his implanted memories helped him identify some of the technological structures present.
The room was round, with black screens lining the walls; command consoles. At the center of the room was a large, round desk. In flight, a star map would hover over the desk, allowing the commander to track the craft’s progress through the universe. Universal travel was a daunting notion, and Lynn found himself feeling a bit dizzy contemplating it.
“Princess Lynn,” a familiar voice cut through Lynn’s evermore distant thoughts. “Or should I perhaps call you Lord Lynn?”
King Fenix stepped forward, holding out a hand in greeting as he spoke. He had a playful smile on his lips, but Lynn could see the strain in his eyes. The King was worn.
“Your Majesty,” Lynn greeted, gripping the outstretched hand.
“We have been through this, call me Fenix. We were once betrothed after all,” the King said with a wink, but then sighed heavily. “My apologies for not coming clean with you sooner. I had intended to inform you of my plan after your awakening but . . .”
Lynn’s mouth twitched. Adan had already warned him that the King had known about his gender all along and couldn’t help feel a bit vexed when thinking of all the unnecessary steps he and his family had taken in order to avoid the marriage.
“Waiting so long was quite a risk,” Lynn grumbled. “What if I had decided to rebel as soon as I my powers awakened?”
“Would you? I know your family well, Lynn. There is not a rebellious bone in the entire Marques household. ” Fenix smiled, this time for real. “Since we would still need to be bound for life, I was curious to see how you would handle the situation.”
Lynn took a step back, surprised. “You still intended to marry me?”
“Of course,” the King shrugged. “It would have been a powerful alliance and an effective way to avoid war without having to deal with the fallout of public superstitions. Heirs could have been arranged in other ways.” He paused and looked at Lynn gravely. “Don’t underestimate the power of the two churches. Their mouths are used for more than just preaching. Their bites usually leave scars.”
Next to Lynn, Duke Kimba nodded. “Our scouts have been keeping an eye on public opinion in the city. There is a lot of animosity aimed at both Lynn and his family right now, much fueled by the churches and Emberon. The Priests of the Sun have even started distributing so called Frostbane talismans.” The duke snorted, shaking his head. “Utter gibberish, but turning public opinion will be hard.”
“It can be done.” A calm voice cut in, devoid of emotion.
For a split second Lynn thought it had been Sai speaking to him alone—the cadence was too similar—but both King Fenix and Duke Kimba flinched and turned towards the center of the room. From the opposite side, two of the Head Keepers entered, followed by an elderly man. The ladies respectfully moved out of the man’s way, standing ceremoniously on each side of the passage he emerged from.
The elderly man wore white robes, much like what Adan had worn after her awakening, when she rescued him from the ritual chamber during his interrupted ceremony. Both the man’s hair and beard were white, almost blending with his pale skin. He moved with measured precision, each step exactly as long as the one before. He was rigid, yet ethereal.
However, more importantly, his slightly shimmering figure was clearly a hologram.
Lynn glanced at Kimba and Fenix. The former showed deep shock, clearly recognizing the face but not understanding what he was seeing as mumbled “Chief?” in disbelief. The latter was surprised, but it was short-lived. Lynn guessed that the King had seen a hologram before, but had not expected to see the Sun Tribe Chief as one.
In Lynn’s mind, he heard a small snort.
“Sai?” Lynn asked, unsure if he had imagined it. The A.I. had refused to speak with him since their discussion about Adan’s fate.
“Sai now understands Adan’s frustration, this A.I. is unnecessarily theatrical.”
The previously quite interface before Lynn’s eyes flickered into life again, returning the navigational map and other status messages to his field of view that had been dormant. When he turned back to the Chief, Lynn had to struggle to resist the instinctive motion of his arm raising in an involuntary salute.
The hologram had changed appearance.
What now stood before him was a non-descript man, seemingly in his 50’s, clad in standard Federation uniform. Complicated laurels adorned his shoulders, not the stipes of a soldier, but the angular crest of a Strategic Compliance Officer, SCO-Ω. Lynn knew what it meant; the AI held a rank above the vessel’s captain. A rank with the legal power to ground an entire fleet if Federation regulation deemed it necessary.
Glancing at the others in the room, it was clear that the A.I.’s new appearance was only visible to Lynn.
“Sai is circumventing the hologram with the A.I.’s programed appearance,” Sai explained, sounding conflicted. “This is the main A.I. of the spacecraft buried under Fire Isle. Sai sees no tactical need for it to imitate walking around, just to make a dramatic entrance.”
In the room, Duke Kimba eventually snapped out of his confusion and quickly kneeled on the ground. “Kimba greats his Chief!”
Next to him, King Fenix bowed slightly. “Greetings, Sun Tribe Chief. I believe this is our first encounter.”
“You may rise,” the Chief spoke flately, his voice emotionless. He motioned to the round table in the center of the room. “Have a seat.”
Before anyone could ask what they should sit on, the ground around the table shifted, rising up and morphing into six tulip-shaped chairs.
The three men glanced at each other, varying degrees of surprise and apprehension in their eyes. The King was the first to shrug his shoulders and gracefully slip into one of the chairs.
Lynn was about to follow suit when a faint noise behind him caused him to pause, his fingers shaking. There was nothing special about the sound, just the soft rustle of fabrics, but even before looking, Lynn knew what he would see.
Adan.
Some time earlier, in the ship’s still sterile medical bay, the rhythmical beeping noise of the health monitoring equipment echoed out, unattended. A first grade medical pod stood in the center of the room, the green liquid glowing softly as it encompassed a floating figure inside. A thick cable linked the back of the figure’s neck, snaking its way up to larger tubes above.
The figure’s skin was a warm brown, without any visible signs of damage. Golden, hip-long hair floated around the figure’s pristine body, swaying softly. Even sleeping, there was a touch of ferocity in the otherwise soft face. Even the breathing mask couldn’t hide it, eluding to the danger lurking under the seemingly peaceful surface.
A string of bubbles had formed on the figures thick, blond eyelashes—looking like golden feathers adorned with crystal pearls—and a slight shift beneath the eyelids caused the bubbles scatter, swirling softly towards the surface.
[Initiating consciousness reboot]
[Cortical re-priming activated]
A fragment of a memory floated behind those closed eyes. Flowers. So many red flowers. A girl running ahead, persistently out of reach. A name echoed, called with laughter.
She felt it more than she heard it. She had a name. She was someone.
Adan.
[Proprioception and motor awareness activated]
A sense of pressure returned to Adan’s body. It was fainter than normal, but she could still feel gravity pulling on her, liquid pressing against her skin. She took an instinctive, deep, breath and felt clinically clean air filling her lungs.
[Amygdala calibration initiated]
A flash of fear and sadness filled her, coming so hard Adan almost chocked, but it was quickly dampened. Softened until manageable.
She wasn’t sure why, but something in her chest ached—not in pain, but in longing distance.
[Sensory Reintroduction]
The sensations came like a flowing spring. Starting dull and muted, but slowly growing in intensity. First came sound—the soft rhythm of a respiratory machine, the muffled sounds of movement in water. Then, a scent—rubber and disinfectant. Sticky heat spread over her skin. And when she finally opened her eyes, it was the familiar sight of a frigate medical bay that greeted her, tinted in green by the regenerative liquids around her.
Why was she here?
[Consciousness reboot successful. Unlocking event awareness]
At once, the memories from hours earlier rushed back. The blinding light. The unimaginable, burning pain. The look of utter terror in Lynn’s eyes. The salty flavor of his soft lips.
Adan’s mind sobered at once, and she struggled to move.
“Calm down, Adan,” the familiar voice of her A.I. sounded in Adan’s ears. “Lynn is fine. He was barely injured in the explosion.”
Adan stilled, frowning. Barely injured? Her BioArmor had not been complete, it should have been able to save his life but not without significant damage.
A video started playing in front of Adan’s eyes. “Sai has been reviewing the data from the explosion. Compared to test chamber records, you managed to reduce the efficiency of the MOAB explosion by roughly 62.5% through the use of your elemental resonance.”
Adan stared at the data in shock. She had learnt basic control over fire, sure, but a MOAB was an 11 ton explosive. Restraining it to such a degree should not be possible.
“You are right. It should not be possible,” the A.I. cut in. “Both of you should be dead.” It’s voice was calm, bordering on sounding utterly emotionless, but Adan could feel the impossible emotions behind it.
They were silent for a moment, Adan’s gaze lowered.
“I am sorry, Sai. I just—. . .”
“Sai knows.”
An other silence. Much was left unsaid, but they both understood the pain that the silence contained. Eventually, the A.I. spoke again, its tone noticeably softer, “Sai is glad you are safe.”
Adan chuckled. “Me too, Sai. Me too.”
She didn’t point out that they both knew it was only temporary.
“So, what happened afterwards?” she asked instead.
There was a shift in the otherwise rhythmic sounds in the room as the A.I. controlled the medical pod to start emptying out the regenerative liquids while it recounted everything that had happened after the explosion.
Adan’s smile stiffened slightly as she learned that Lynn had been given a mnemonic seed and granted temporary status as her commanding officer. On one hand, she wouldn’t need to keep so many secrets from him going forward, but all that knowledge would undoubtedly have an impact on Lynn.
A weaker mind would have collapsed under that massive influx of knowledge and even if he managed to assimilate it totally, he would never see the world in the same way again.
“You broke protocol,” she pointed out. “You could have killed him.”
“Sai bended protocol. Not the same,” her A.I. countered. “It was his choice.”
“His fully informed choice?” Adan pushed.
“. . . Informed enough.”
Adan raised an eyebrow. Her A.I. rarely spoke in relative terms. Before she could dig deeper, Adan felt her feet finally touch the bottom of the medical pod. As the liquid level went lover, Adan steadied herself against the glass wall of the pod, slowly adjusting to the feel of her muscles.
“It always feels so odd moving newly regenerated muscles,” she mumbled, hearing the soreness of her voice.
“Expected adaptation time is 2.4 hours.”
Adan just nodded as she lifted slightly wobbly hands to remove the breathing mask from her face just as the hatch to the healing pod opened with a soft click. She drew a deep breath, feeling the less filtered air filling her lungs. There was a slight sting at the back of her neck as the cerebral connection to the pod was released.
“What is the current mission status?” Adan asked as she started climbing out of the pod, her now long hair sticking to her wet body uncomfortably.
“Emberon’s current location is unknown but the BioArmor sentinels placed at the identified locations of interest for the Plasma Rifle have not been triggered at this time. King Fenix awoke from his healing pod 1.6 hours ago. He has just sent Duke Kimba to fetch Lynn for a meeting together with the Omega . . . the acting Chief of the Sun Tribe. Lynn is currently sleeping however. “
Adan paused slightly, her hand stilling as it reached for the towel next to the pod.
“How is he managing?”
“From a clinical perspective, his brain was surprisingly good at adapting to the mnemonic seed. Statistically, performing in the top 15%, only falling short to genetically boosted intellects.” The A.I. actually sounded a bit proud at that, but this was not what worried Adan most.
“And emotionally?”
The A.I. sighed. “Not as well. He is quite mad at Sai, or rather Sai’s protocol.” A slight pause and then, “Sai might have overreacted a bit.”
Adan smiled sadly, but said nothing. It wasn’t until Adan was fully dressed that the A.I. spoke again.
“The man clearly cares for you quite a lot.”
Adan’s smile grew warmer.
“Yes.”
“And you care about him quite a bit too.”
Adan touched her lips, the soft sensation of his lips almost lingering. The memory bringing a hint of crushed mint in the air.
“Yes.”
“. . . You can’t stay.”
It was Adan’s turn to sigh. “I know.”
Fully dressed, Adan managed to find an elastic band to fasten her hair in a high ponytail.
“Protocol states that heir should be cut after rapid regeneration in a Medical Pod.” The A.I. commentated, more by reflex than because it expected the notification to have an effect.
Sure enough, Adan just shrugged. “Feel free to report it as a misdemeanor when we get back.”
She moved to leave the medical bay, but paused, letting her gaze move throughout the room. “Sai?”
“Yes.”
“This equipment?”
“Standard Federation. Spacecraft technology estimated to be somewhere between Gen H and Gen K. The onboard Omega has blocked Sai from accessing any database containing dates or coordinates.”
Adan frowned. It didn’t add up. Her own squad’s spacecraft had been Gen J, but supposedly the Amazonians had left this dimension a long time ago.
She shook her head and stepped out into the corridor. Outside stood a Head Keeper who waited for her patiently, seemingly fully aware that Adan had been awake for a while.
“Let’s go.”
On the command bridge, Lynn stared at Adan in shock, the world around him frozen in time. He didn’t register crossing the room. One moment Adan was a silhouette in the hatchway; the next his arms were around her and the smell of smoked wood and almonds folded over him. Something locked tight in Lynn’s chest finally let go, his body relaxing.
“Steady,” she murmured, an arm firm at his waist. “I’m fine.”
They breathed together and for a heartbeat the world receded, leaving only them.
Eventually, a soft chuckle broke the silence.
“My fiancée,” King Fenix drawled, “appears to have been stolen. By the bodyguard no less.”
The man’s amused voice instantly roused Lynn’s sensibility and heat hit his face like a forge. Lynn quickly took a step back, slipping out of Adan’s arms, and glanced nervously around the room. Duke Kimba looked at him with disgruntled resignation, King Fenix with amusement. Neither the Head Keepers nor the Sun Tribe Chief showed any reaction at all.
Lynn wasn’t sure which version was worse.
From the corner of his eyes he could see Adan, and was somewhat relieved to see her looking equally awkward. However, that glance forced him to do a doubletake of her shoulders, because a set of distinguished laurels where projected there for only him to see.
Major General.
Few would have the right to command her.
Adan followed his gaze and seemed to realize what he was looking at, giving him a playful wink. She patted Lynn’s shoulder as she passed by him and sat down at the table, looking just as laid back as usual. Her previous awkwardness seemingly an illusion as she greeted Kimba and the King with a courteous smile.
“She is pretending,” Sai suddenly inserted. “Adan’s heartrate indicates elevated stress and nervousness.”
Lynn blinked for a moment and almost broke out in a laugh. “You are selling her out?”
“Just leveling the playfield,” the A.I. countered. “Adan can read your body language better than you read hers.”
This time, Lynn couldn’t resist a soft chuckle. He joined Adan at the table, feeling significantly more relaxed than before.
“So,” Fenix cleared his throat, looking at Adan with curiosity. “Duke Kimba tells me you are a true Ancient, like the legends of old.”
Adan smiled, a bit nonchalantly. “In a sense.”
The King shifted his attention to the illusionary figure also sitting at the table. “And the Sun Tribe Chief, you also stem from the Ancients, do you not?”
“This one has been assigned to stay here and guide the Sun Tribe after the departure of my mistress,” the A.I. projection answered with a monotone voice. “Additionally, this one is tasked to offer assistance to any Amazonian . . . any Ancients, as you put it, who find themselves here.”
“And much help you have been,” Adan mumbled, almost so low that Lynn didn’t catch it, but the A.I. ignored it.
“This one has compiled the reports from the both military and Sun Tribe scouts. Which area of intresst do you wish a report on first?”
The Chief was looking at Adan, but King Fenix answered first. “What is the situation at the border? Emberon mentioned that Valdmane would aid him in claiming the throne.”
The A.I. glanced his way but didn’t speak until Adan waved her hand, indicating to go ahead with the report.
“At the border, the war with the Valdmanic people has started. Marquess Dailia is currently holding her ground, but given variables such as food supply, number of troops and weaponry, this one estimates a 72% probability that the line will not hold for more than two weeks. More detailed data on enemy deployment and so on is available in this file.”
One of the Head Keepers standing behind the Chief stepped forward, handing out a stack of papers to those seated around the table.
Lynn felt a pang of pain in his gut, even without reading the reports. Under perfect circumstances, hoping to get sufficient reinforcements to the border within a week would be hard. For his mother to stand any chance of survival, the unrest in the city and the threat of Emberon needed to be solved as fast as possible.
There was a moment of silence as they read through the documents and Lynn’s heart felt heavier with each word he read. The Chief was more optimistic about his mother’s chances than he was, given what he was reading about the situation.
A warm and steady hand on Lynn’s shoulder broke his inner brooding. He looked up and met Adan’s eyes. The woman looked solemn, but determined. “We will make it in time,” she assured and despite everything, Lynn felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. Adan’s calmness always had a way of grounding him.
“Indeed,” Fenix chimed in, sounding grave. “But we will need to regain control over my army for that. Do we have any insights on the situation in and around Fire Isle?”
Duke Kimba answered first this time. “After we parted ways with Colonel Dallas at the shores of the Fire Isle Lake, she has been coordinating with Sun Tribe scouts in the city. There are many soldiers firmly loyal to Your Majesty, but without proof that you are alive, we would not be able to rile enough troops to both make a difference at the border and re-claim the capital.”
The king tapped the table rhythmically, deep in thought.
“If we could arrange a large public appearance for me, it could solve a lot but I’m sure Emberon will be guarding against it. It will be hard reaching the people we need without getting countered.”
The room fell silent for a moment before Adan spoke up. “Chief, is there an inventory list of functioning fleet equipment?”
“This one has such a list, yes.” As if the A.I. had anticipated the need, the chief simply signaled to the other Head Keeper by his side, who handed over another stack of papers, this time just to Adan.
The latter gave the Sun Tribe Chief an odd look, no doubt wondering why he didn’t just upload it through Sai directly, but she quickly turned her attention to the papers in her hands. Adan flipped through the documents with astonishing speed, surprise flashing by in her eyes a few times before she finally stopped close to the end of the stack.
A lopsided smile formed on Adan’s lips, mischief glowing in her golden eyes.
“King Fenix, what do you think about becoming a deity?”
“Excuse me?”
Adan opened her mouth to explain but was cut short by the A.I. Chief.
“Amazonian Adan, this one must interrupt. Emberon is now within the outer perimeter of the AP-5 storage complex located on castle grounds,” the hologram said. “His trajectory remains consistent with attempting to access the Plasma Rifles stored there.”
Lynn’s attention instantly moved to Adan. Her posture had changed almost imperceptibly. Her shoulders eased down, not in relaxation, but into a familiar readiness that made Lynn think of hardened soldiers on the border: calm, coiled, prepared for war.
Snowy Publications 