Another Side: Chapters 1-4

Chapter 1

The stars shone down onto the forest floor, illuminating flowers so bizarre, any human would have thought them to be animals. Some of them were animals, using plant like camouflage to conceal themselves, waiting for prey to pass. In fact, a few of these could sense prey wandering through the forest. They were perfect size too, not too large to pose a threat, but not too small to provide minimal nutrients. The figure these strange plantimals waited for was equally strange, as were his companions. He was garbed in an ice blue cloak that did a good job of hiding his figure. His body was the only thing human about him though. His head, while covered by a hood and an ornate mask, still could be plainly seen as not human. Colorful tail feathers poked through the back of the robe, and the mask hid most of his face, but a beak still protruded through the mouth of the mask. The other four figures wore identical masks, and each one also had a beak, but no hood hid their heads. They each resembled a bird of some sort, and had their own colored robes. A somewhat small eagle like being wore a burnt orange robe, a hawk like being wore a teal robe, a swan like figure wore a navy blue cloak, and the final one which bore the resemblance of an owl wore a green cloak. The four with no hoods followed behind their grey cloaked leader, who was the only one who appeared armed. He carried a large staff made out of a strange almost white wood with an ice blue crystal as a headpiece. Roots grew around the crystal; holding it in place and making it look almost natural. But the bottom of the staff had a short metal rod attached to the bottom, likely to protect the wood while he walked with it. As they neared where the plantimals lie in wait, the leader signaled for a stop. He gazed across the field, seemingly searching for any signs of life. But what his companions didn’t see were his eyes emitting a dark purple glow. This figure was using a simple spell to detect every life form within fifty yards. Satisfied that he had seen every hidden enemy, he motioned for his four companions to back up. They were obviously accustomed to his methods, because the others backed into each other trying to get far back. Satisfied, the cloaked bird man stepped amidst the tall growth of large flowers, knowing exactly which ones were alive. He could hear the small chattering of these beasts, and knew that they were communicating with each other as to when it would be best to attack. Just as the first of the creatures began to rise from the ground, the figure pounded his staff into the ground. There was a strong whoosh of the wind, and it was over. The entire geometrical plane the creatures had hidden in was now completely covered in ice, and the creatures themselves were frozen solid. With the swipe of his staff, all the ice evaporated and was reabsorbed into the staff. The creature’s bodies were still lying on the forest floor, but they were already slowly falling apart. Satisfied the job was done, the Bird man gave a sharp whistle towards where the others had backed off to. One by one, they emerged from the foliage, not at all surprised by the lack of creatures. The Swan, a girl, walked up to their leader.

“Umm… Master? Are you okay?”

“Of course Liberi. These creatures are far too low on my threat list to cause any real harm. They never had a chance.”

“No, I mean look. You’re glowing again.”

Their master looked down, and mentally cursed himself. He was surrounded in a dark purple aura, and the normally gold runes on his cloak were now taking on a red hue. Closing his eyes, the Master concentrated on removing the aura from himself. Once he felt that an adequate enough time had passed, he opened his eyes, looking down at himself to make sure that he was no longer glowing. Satisfied, he turned his back on Liberi and continued walking, but could sense that she still wanted to say something on the matter though. Despite only being their teacher for half a year, he knew most of them pretty well by now.

“You still have a question?” Liberi’s master asked.

“It’s more of an observation of past events that I will now remind you of. I thought you said you wouldn’t use dark energy anymore Master Ladnar?”

True, he had said that, but he had gotten too used to it. Without it, he would have had to risk tiring himself out facing those simple beasts. It was like some drug, and he couldn’t get off of it.

“It’s a magical ability, and I can’t very well stop using it indefinitely. It was my power that I chose at graduation, and I mean to keep it. In times of emergency, powering up might be the only option for survival. Now that we have that issue cleared up, I say we continue onward. I would say that the others are at the base by now. Keep your masks on and let’s go. There’s no telling if any TREVALYN spies, living or mechanical, are nearby.”

The group continued into the forest, but now the four younger group members were even more paranoid. The Hawk, whose name was Rosh, dropped back in line to talk to Liberi.

“What was that all about?”

“Didn’t you see the Master? He’d gone dark again.”

“Oh, I thought it was something we should be concerned about.”

“What do mean? Don’t you remember what Martin and I found out in the library? The more he uses it, the greater chance he has of staying permanently dark.”

“You’re still on that? The guy’s been using his power for fourteen years. I think he has it under control. Besides, it’s fun watching Master flash freeze things that annoy him. Not as cool as my power though.”

He demonstrated by pulling an arrow from his sleeve, and sending it flying into a tree using the wind.

“Silence!” Ladnar harshly whispered back toward them. “Stealth is the key here. If you can’t remain silent, then you can all head back to the academy and have them assign you another Master.”

Satisfied with the lack of noise now, the group continued onward. Ladnar hadn’t wanted them to get involved in the first place, but the council had urged it. He enjoyed teaching his students, but not the whole ideology of it. Teaching made him feel like he was at the end of his life, which wasn’t the case. He would venture off to explore until he died, which he hoped would happen at the hand of some ancient golem or a mutated creature than in an Avos retirement home. Although, if it came down to it, he would much rather stay in a human retirement home. They were far more comfortable and entertaining. He found it odd how in all his renditions of a different future, not one of them had him settling down to start a family. Ladnar was snapped out of his thoughts by the familiar sheer rock wall in the side of a fairly small mountain. Well, it would have been sheer if not for a large bolder sticking out the side. He had come here many times, but this was the first time he had brought his apprentices with him to this specific base. His apprentices had met many of the other members of the organization known as Conviction, and had even been asked to join up, but they had yet too actually visit the main base of operations. Conviction was a small rebel group of humans dedicated to stopping the reign of tyranny of their current “president”, Alek Desoto. As Avos, they of course signed right up for a chance to fight against a human, even if they were working for other humans. Ladnar walked up to the cliff, and pushed on a small bulge of stone on the rock. After a few second, the rock was pulled inward and moved to the side, revealing a well-lit metallic corridor. Ladnar turned to his group.

“When we enter, I would advise that you do not speak to anyone unless spoken to. Though I would prefer it if you left your masks on, feel free to take them off if you need to.”

Though Ladnar said they could if they wanted to, the apprentices knew that he really wanted them to keep them on. Ladnar turned to the metal corridor and walked into it, waiting for his apprentices to pass through the opening before closing the door behind him.

“Follow me, and don’t venture off. There will be four open seats next to me at the meeting table, and those are the ones you are to sit in. Any further questions?”

The owl, known as Gren, raised his hand.

“Do you know why the boss requested us specifically this time?”

“No, I don’t. Perhaps they decided that it was time you become an official member.”

Though that’s what Ladnar told his apprentices, he knew that wasn’t the case. The only reason that Conviction would be calling in all members is that they were finally making an aggressive move against Alek.

Ladnar and his students walked into the meeting room (which was easy to find as it was the only room out of two others in this base). Just as he suspected, everyone was already there. Maximus Porter, the only other wizard of the group, was sitting closest to the doorway of the meeting room. He was twirling his wand between his fingers, otherwise bored by the waiting. Sitting on his left was Katie Hemsworth, her bow slung over the back of her chair. She was dressed in her mock superhero outfit, again, and was just smiling while looking diagonally towards the ceiling, like the superheroes in those human books with all the pictures. On Maximus’s right was Brianna Ludwig, who was disassembling her Plutarch ballistic repeater on the meeting room table. She had her flight pack leaning next to her chair, and Ladnar had to resist the urge to smash it, just as he always did. Humans had no right to fly. If they did, they would have been born with wings. On Katie’s right was Brittany Goode, yet another human wizard. Ladnar, like most Avos, still had mixed feelings about the opening of the wizard academy to Humans, but the council had said that it would go a long way to smooth out relations between the two species. Next to Brittany was Blake White, who was inspecting some strange rifle that Ladnar had never seen him use before. It had all sorts of different switches and buttons on the side, and looked to be of Plutarch design. Blake had been unofficially elected leader of this little rebel group, and he was certainly good at his job. He wasn’t very open about it, but he resented Ladnar for his position in the organization. The Avos council had asked Ladnar to sign up, because if Conviction’s movements ever got more aggressive, it would pay to have an Avos on the inside to help. The council saw Alek as a threat to interspecies relations, and so it was Ladnar’s job to help speed along Alek’s downfall. Next to Blake were five other seats. These were obviously for him and his apprentices. As Ladnar walked in, only a few people even raised their heads to acknowledge his presence. The only one who gave them more than a simple look was Blake, and he was glaring at Ladnar’s apprentices. The Eagle, known as Martin, shied behind Rosh, who only glared right back.

“Now that everyone’s here,” Blake began. “Shall we begin?”

Katie stood up from her seat, knocking the chair back. She stood tall, her hands on her hips, almost like the classic superheroes.

“Is it time for justice?” She asked in an overly dramatic voice.

“Sit down Katie. You’ll have plenty of time for justice later.”

“There’s always time for justice, but I shall sit in this comfy chair for now.”

Katie plopped back into her chair, resuming her earlier pose.

“Now, let’s get back to the matter at hand. Our latest intelligence reports show that Alek is planning a raid on a Plutarch technology plant. Once he does this, it’ll only be a matter of time before the Avos and Plutarch’s declare all-out war on all of humanity. It won’t matter if not all humans support him or not, Alek is going to be public enemy number one on Caliber.”

“He’s done other raids before on other species. How’s this one any different?” Maximus asked, his wand now lying on the table instead of twirling in his hand.

“With all his other raids, all Alek had to do was show up with a lot of guns and tanks, and the people would hand over whatever it is he wanted. He would even leave small rewards for their cooperation. But with the Plutarch’s, I can’t guarantee no bloodshed. They’re very possessive of their technology, and will fight to the last Mole to keep it safe. They’ve already refused his offers of money for technology. I’ve had Brianna check their system, and judging by the supply manifest of the warehouses alone, Alek will be ready for anything any of the other species will throw at him if he gets his hands on their technology.”

“If this is the case, and my people plus the Plutarch’s will attack humanity regardless,” Ladnar began “why bother defending the factory. The attack wills still happen, and regardless of the outcome, the Plutarchs will still have seen it as an attack by humans.”

“Because, if a group of humans help defend the Plutarch’s, it’ll show that Alek just a power crazed loner with only a few human supporters. It will stop any genocide against humanity, and the Avos and Plutarch’s will focus only on Trevelyan. And with humans working with other species, it will certainly help relations. It’s a win-win if you ask me.”

All the others around the table nodded in agreement.

“There’s just one thing.” Maximus said.

“If we make an open movement against Trevelyan, won’t they see us as a threat?”

“Yes, but we knew we would need to fight against them eventually. Better to do it on our own terms.” Brianna answered.

“Glad to see that we’re all in agreement. Now, about this factory.”

Blake pushed a button on a simple black remote, and a hologram lit up in the center of the round table. It was of a large building, obviously Plutarch design.

“This is the factory Alek is targeting. It’s located just on the western coast of a small Avos city called Tremont. Half the factory is on land, while the other half is the ocean and is held up by several metal support columns. Although most of the plans are classified, I have a hunch that there is also an underwater section of the facility.”

Blake pressed another button, and the hologram zoomed in on one of the support columns.

“This column is hallow and is large enough to house an elevator, so it likely has one. Whether Alek knows about this or not is unknown, but I bet he’ll find out about it after taking the factory. Though the manifest shows lots of stuff stored in the warehouses, there’s probably a lot more stored in the factory itself. We plan to keep Alek from being able to secure a simple battery from this operation.”

As Ladnar and the others thought this over, Rosh raised his hand.

“Yeah, Mr. Boss guy? How do we plan to hold them off? They’ve got a bunch of highly trained men outfitted with Mac armor, while we’ve just got a few people.” Rosh asked.

Taken off guard by this, Blake just stood there for a few seconds. That didn’t inspire confidence in the others, who just stared at Blake. Then seeming to remember something, he regained composure.

“Well, Mr. …”

“Rosh. Rosh Skiad.”

“Well Mr. Skiad, Trevelyan can’t afford to bomb the factory, so they’ll have to go in on foot. The entire complex is indoors, including the warehouses, and very secure, so they can only get in through the main entrance. With luck, the Plutarch security there will be willing to help us, so we can easily take out Trevelyan forces since they’ll be coming through a single chokepoint.”

“Well Rosh, I think he covered all concerns you may have had, so why don’t you sit down.” Ladnar asked, impressed that his laziest student had actually taken the initiative to ask that.

“Well, if that’s all the questions anyone may have, this meeting is adjourned. We leave at 6:00 A.M., so get some rest and get your gear ready. Dismissed.”

Everyone pushed their chairs back, except Katie who had fallen asleep. Ladnar turned to his apprentices.

“If you don’t want to do this, I can escort you back to my manor before I leave.”

“Master, what do you think we want to do? Of course were going to stay and help. I’ve been itching to fight a real human, and now I finally get the chance.” Gren said, hopping up and down a little.

“Fine. Do you think you’ve had enough weapons training? We’ve mostly only practiced with magic.”

“We can handle ourselves. We’ve all done a little practice out of class. Show him guys.”

Gren held out his hands, and a pair of razor sharp battle claws materialized into his hands. Liberi held out her hands, and a double bladed sword made of blue steel and fashioned to look like the waves materialized into her hands. Rosh Thrust his arms out to the side, and several arrows shot out of his sleeves and hovered in an arc around him. Martin however, remained still.

“Have you still not found your weapon Martin?” Ladnar asked.

“No, but now I don’t think I need one. I did read about a special combat in the library. Let me demonstrate.”

Martin pounded his fists together, and an explosion of red smoke blocked everyone’s view of Martin for a second. When the smoke cleared, Martin was no longer the short Eagle Avos Ladnar had grown used to. He was now at least seven feet tall and his muscles had bulked up almost comically compared to how they had been before.

“Well… so long as you know how to use this magic, and know that there is no danger in using it, then I can allow its use.”

“Thank you master. With this and my control over stone, who needs a weapon.” Martin said.

“And I’ve got the wind on my side.” Rosh said, redirecting his hovering arrows.

“I’d like to see how Trevelyan’s technology holds up under my water.” Liberi put in.

“And if all else fails, I can use my plants to give them a rash they’ll never forget.” Gren finished, pulling a handful of plant seeds from his pocket.

Ladnar turned away, a smile on his beak. It wouldn’t be good for his strict teacher image if they saw him. Though they annoyed him at times, he never regretted his decision to accept apprentices. But then he thought back to why he had been qualified for them, and the smile vanished.

“Master, what are you doing?” Martin asked.

Ladnar looked at his arm, and saw the familiar purple glow. He forced down the glow a little, making it almost invisible.

“Sorry about that. Now, why don’t we check on the sleeping arrangements here? Liberi, you sleep with the other girls in the tech lab, and the rest of you sleep in the armory.”

“Where do you get to sleep Master?” Rosh asked.

“I’m sleeping here in the conference room. I don’t enjoy cramped conditions. Plus, the others don’t like it when I turn on the cold air in there.”

The apprentices left the room, with Rosh complaining about being stuck in a room with a bunch of guys. After they left, Ladnar curled up in the corner of the conference room, thinking back to his days at the academy.

Chapter 2

Two gunships flew over the treetops, staying as close to the tree line as possible. The ships occasionally let out a short burst of gas to propel them back into the air. Normally, they would be flying using their jet engines, but as this was a stealth mission, they were using their gliding technology. The jets would only cause too much noise. Inside each gunship were a total of 24 men, and each was outfitted with white armor that looked to be the worst possible choice for a stealth mission. Each soldier had a solid white rifle that was made out of the same plastic material that the armor was. They also had a helmet in their lap that was also white, but had a symbol that consisted of an apple with a bite taken out of it. One of these soldiers was Wallace Simmons, the leader of this operation. He’d been commanded by Alek to invade a secret facility in the forest that was home to conspirators against him. Alek had known about the base for a while now, but with his final raid in sight, he had to have them eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise they might prove to be trouble further down the road. This was Wallace’s first mission since his promotion, and knew a lot was resting on this. Wallace checked his helmet to see if all the systems were operational, and slid it onto his head. The glass visor would project any essential information as well as his current weapon charge. It was almost like a video game, except that there were no do-overs. Wallace stood, facing his troops.

“Here’s the mission. We go to this base, and take everyone prisoner. Only kill if you need to. Leave the base as intact as possible. Dr. Cygord wants as much of their data as possible. Remember, no killing unless necessary, and that goes double for you.” Wallace said, pointing to the man closest to the door. The small communicator in his ear aside, this man was dressed almost ancient compared to the other soldiers. He wore only Chinese plate armor, and had an ancient looking Warhammer for a weapon. He was a mercenary that Alek had sent along. When Wallace questioned his purpose, Alek only told him he had special orders. The odd man just shrugged at this accusation, and looked back down to the floor.

“Ebon Alpha to Ebon Actual, we are five minutes out from the base.” The pilot broadcast to Wallace.

“We are five minutes out to the base. Suit up and get ready.” Wallace relayed to the other soldiers.

The soldiers began adjusting settings on their weapons and suits. Some of the rifles folded to a more compact version, looking more like a shotgun than the original rifle. Others extended, taking on a more sniper like shape. Others kept their guns just the way they were. The ones who had morphed their rifles into snipers began entering in commands on their wrist computers. Their solid white suits began to change color, turning into a mottled green camouflage to blend in with the forest. The rest of the troops did the same, except they shifted to a metallic grey. These would move into the base and secure it, while the snipers would camp outside and stop any trying to flee from the base. The mercenary, who only snorted looking at all this preparation, stood up from his seat and walked over towards the ships Exit hatch. He had his orders, and they happily coincided with the commanders orders. As the ship drew near to the small mountain that jutted up from the forest, the large hatch folded outward. A red light had clicked on above the hatch, and all the soldiers stood up from their seats. Wallace finished his suits preparations, and now a glowing red insignia shown over his right shoulders metallic camouflage. As the ship slowly descended, still a hundred yards from the mountain, twelve metal limbs sprouted from the ships underside. They extended through the greenery of the trees, grasping onto their trunks. They adjusted their grips, trying to evenly distribute the ships weight amongst the dozen trees the limbs had grasped.

“We are docked. The mission is go when you’re ready sir.” The chief engineer onboard said.

Wallace confirmed this, and walked over to a panel on the wall. He flicked the switch inside, and the light above the door flicked into green.

The soldiers filed into two lines, and jumped out of the ship in pairs. As the first pair neared the ground, the suits onboard computer prepared to jettison the gas cushions. Just as the first soldiers were about to hit the forest floor, small compartments in the suit jettisoned their contents, a manmade gas known as Halonium. This gas was so much lighter than air, it could cushion the fall of a man from orbit. It was a standard instillation in all Mac armor suits, but the suits only contained enough for one jettison. They had to be refueled after each use, otherwise a soldier might injure or even kill himself. When the first pair hit the ground, they quickly rolled to the side to make room for the other soldiers dropping in. So, in groups of twos, the entire invasion force stealthily deployed right in front of Convictions home base, and not a single sensor was detecting it. Back onboard, Wallace was relaying additional instructions to the second drop ship, which had continued on around the mountain.

“Once your troops are deployed, engage forest camo and spread your forces out as far as your able. Set up motion sensors and auto turrets, but load the auto turrets with tranquilizer rounds. They might have a backdoor, so stay alert. Orders are the same, do not kill unless necessary. Simmons out.”

As Simmons turned to follow the rest of his troops out the hatch, he saw that the mercenary was still standing near the open hatch.

“Soldier, you need a jettison pack? There are a few spare above your seat. They’re real easy to use. All you have to do is… hey wait!”

The mercenary just took a step out the hatch, hammer slung over his back. He fell out into the open air, despite Wallace’s warnings. Like he needed one of those fanny packs to survive. The soldiers on the ground looked up in time to see the mercenary come crashing down into the forest. He left a sizeable crater in the ground, but otherwise seemed unharmed. The fall had been about fifty yards, but the man hadn’t even sprained his ankle. He rose from the crater, dusting himself off as he did. The soldiers were all wearing helmets, but the man knew they were all looking at him with their jaws halfway down to the ground. He had that effect on people. Wallace had seen the figure land from the ship, and was wondering if the ship was high enough for the air to be too thin for proper breathing. Whoever this guy was, he was definitely more than human. Maybe it was simple injections, or maybe he was another of the undocumented species on Caliber. Regardless, Wallace had a mission to complete, and with this mercenary, it would go a lot smoother. Wallace tossed himself out the hatch, already thinking of the celebratory Champaign for him back at the base.

It took them ten minutes to set up their equipment, but soon the Trevelyan soldiers were ready. They had assembled their two assault mechs, and their “door knocker” explosives were ready. The plan was to blow down the front door, and arrest the traitors. It was a simple plan, and if they could pull it off, this entire rebellion could end with minimal casualties. But what about the raid against the Plutarchs? Even if this rebellion was stopped, the raid would still happen, and the Plutarchs and maybe even the Avos would declare war against all of humanity. But Alek assured that the technology there would give them the edge needed to win any war. As for Alek’s overall goal, not even his top advisors knew what it was. Everyone assumed it was simple world domination, but that’s a bit hard to achieve when the said world is about half the size of Earth’s sun. But Wallace wouldn’t question Alek. The guy was half crazy, as evidenced by his choice of fashion. Who wore a cape in this time period? Wallace was snapped out of his thoughts by an approaching soldier. Wallace stood from the small camping stool he had set out, and the soldier saluted him.

“What do you have to report?” Wallace asked, his voice slightly distorted by his helmet.

“Sir, all equipment is operational. We can move out whenever you’re ready.”

“Tell the men we move out in ten minutes. Dismissed.”

“Yes sir.” The soldier saluted.

As the soldier ran off, Wallace noticed that strange man leaning against the tree, staring at him.

“You!” Wallace shouted, pointing at the man. “Front and center.”

The man rolled his eyes, and shoved himself off from the tree. He walked over, shoving a combat engineer out of his way as he went. No one said anything though. They feared him, and the man knew it.

“What?” The man asked. Now that he was standing in front of him, Wallace saw that maybe his seven foot guess was a bit of an understatement. He looked a lot taller up close.

“What’s your name soldier?”

“Morg.” He answered.

“Do you have a last name?” Wallace asked, slightly growing impatient.

“Sure do.” Was all he answered.

“What is it?” Wallace was reaching his limit with this guy, and so far all he’d said were four words.

“Windgate.” He answered.

“Thank you. That’s all I needed. Dismissed.”

As Morg turned to walk away, he said something over his shoulder.

“Attack starts in ten minutes. Get ready or get left behind.”

With those last words, Morg walked toward the gathering of soldiers.

Ladnar woke. He had sensed something, something close. He looked around the conference room, but everything was still like it was when he went to sleep. Katie was still asleep on the conference room table, muttering something about Justice. Then what was so troubling. Ladnar stood, holding out his hand as his staff materialized into it. He stood there, listening for anything that might have woken him. He could hear something, a faint beeping. It wasn’t loud enough to be an alarm, but it did cause Ladnar some concern. He walked down the one of the only other hallways the base had, following the beeping noise. He arrived at the Tech lab, and the beeping was coming from the other side. Knowing the girls were the ones sleeping in there, Ladnar knocked on the door.

“Is everything alright in there?” He asked through the door.

“Master, come in here. We might have a slight problem.” He heard Liberi say.

Ladnar pressed the open button on the door, and it slid upward. Inside the Lab, Brianna and Blake were investigating one of the consoles on the wall, which happened to be the source of the infernal beeping. Ladnar walked in, seeing that everyone in the room was already awake. Blake turned around from the console to see who had just entered.

“What’s the problem?” Ladnar asked. He wasn’t a computer genius, but he was sure a beeping was never good.

“One of our perimeter sensors was destroyed. The others nearby are still transmitting the all clear, but we’re getting nothing from this one right here.” Blake said, pointing to a location on the map the computer had up.

“Could it have just run out of batteries?”

“No, these things show their current battery level on this computer, and this one was only one quarter empty before we lost contact.”

“Would it be wise to send out a squad to check?” Ladnar asked.

“I was just thinking that. I say we send Brianna, that owl boy of yours Ladnar, and I’ll go myself. It was probably just one of those damned Plant things, but they travel in packs so we should use caution. Ladnar, go tell your Eagle guy I’m sending him out with me. Brianna, meet me by the front door. I have to get my gun. I left it in the conference room.”

Ladnar and Blake both went their separate ways, neither realizing what was outside their front door.

Ladnar knocked on the Armory door, hearing absolute silence on the other side. He knocked several more time until the door opened. It was Rosh, and he had removed his mask.

“Hey Master. What brings you to our little corner of cramped sleeping?” Rosh asked in his usual sarcastic tone.

“Wake up Martin and tell him that Blake needs him.”

“Whoa, if that guys angry with me for showing him up at his own party, tell him to take it out on me and not my pal.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. One of the underground perimeter sensors has gone offline, and Blake wants Martin outside with him to help replace it, likely it’s his expertise with the Earth that made him Blake’s choice.”

“Fine I’ll get him, but if rock boy is going, can’t I go too?” Rosh asked.

Ladnar considered it. He couldn’t think of a reason why they shouldn’t. If anything, them all going might help their relations with the others, or at the very least with Blake.

“Fine, but don’t get in anyone’s way. I am giving you my trust on this, which is something that is hard to get back once it’s lost. Get Gren and Martin, and I’ll go ask Liberi if she wants to go as well.”

As Ladnar turned to walk back to the tech lab, he heard Rosh excitedly shouting for Gren and Martin to wake up, and that they were going on their first mission.

Ladnar returned to the tech lab, and found Blake had returned. He was carrying his strange high tech looking rifle from earlier. Brianna was messing with a large metal box, and Liberi had dozed off in her sleeping bag again. Ladnar didn’t want to wake her up again, but he didn’t want her to be angry when she learned he didn’t wake her and invite her on this little excursion. He walked over to her, and gently nudged her with his talon. She moaned a little and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had taken off her mask a while ago, and it was now resting on the floor next to her sleeping bag.

“Oh… hey Master. What is it now? Is that… problem thing fixed yet?”

Liberi was obviously still groggy; even though she had been awake not that long ago.

“No not yet. Martin, Rosh, and Gren are all going to help out with the sensors replacement. You want to go with them?”

Now more alert, Liberi stood up from her sleeping bag.

“Of course I want to go. I’m not going to let the guys have all the fun. If there are more of those plant things, I want to try taking a few down myself. When are we leaving?”

“Soon as you’re able.” Blake said. He had walked over during the conversation, his rifle resting on his shoulder.

“Though I would normally object to such a large group, I guess I can make an exception for them. If you’re ready now, we can go.”

Liberi was still dressed in her blue robes, and her only weapon could be summoned at will, so she was ready.

“I’m ready now.” She said, looking herself over.

“Good. I’ll wait for the others to get here so I can explain the situation.”

No sooner had Blake said that did all three of the other apprentices come spilling into the room. Rosh and Gren had got stuck trying to get through the door, and Martin had ended up shoving them through. It seemed that all his apprentices had removed their masks, but Ladnar still didn’t feel comfortable removing his.

“Were here!” Rosh shouted, trying to push himself up off the floor. Gren had landed on top of Rosh, and was trying to push himself off of Rosh. Ladnar was reminded of the human sitcoms occasionally shown in Arcadia, the Avos home continent. He was already starting to miss it…

“Well then, here’s what we’re going to do.” Blake began. “One of our perimeter sensors has gone down, likely destroyed by some creature. These things have a design flaw that they’ll only transmit to here after a few minutes after the anomaly, so we have no way of knowing what triggered it before it was destroyed. All we’re going to do is go out there, replace the broken sensor, and kill whatever destroyed it in the first place. Any questions?”

Brianna and the other four apprentices remained silent.

“Good. Then let’s get out there.”

Chapter 3

The front rock (It wasn’t a front door) pulled back into the mountain and slid to the left, revealing the metal corridor again. Blake, Brianna, and the four apprentices stepped out into the night. The only sources of light were the countless stars. The moon wasn’t scheduled to make an appearance in the sky until tomorrow night, after the second sun made its pass. Caliber was so large; it had had two small suns revolving around it, resulting in 28 hour days. There was only one moon however, and sightings of it were few. Humanity was the latest race to arrive on this planet. Many races had come to Caliber seeking refuge after their own world had become too inhospitable to live on. The planet was so large, no one had ventured very far beyond the known areas. There were currently only three continents actually in Atlas’s of the planet. Delvis, the human continent, Nexus, the Avos continent, and a third unexplored continent named Mysterium. Just off the coast of Mysterium was an island called Vesper. Any attempt to find information on that island was in vain however. The military classified all information on it after a secret war was fought there. No one knew what lived there, but the humans had tried to take it, and lost. It was shortly after this loss that Alek had seized control of the government Delvis had set up. Aside from his tyrannical ways, Alek had yet to do anything severely evil yet.

“Until now…” Blake thought. Alek was planning something, and if he was willing to start a war to achieve his goals, then it was up to him to stop it.

“Blake, we’re nearing where the transmitter was, but I’m starting to get weird readings from the others.” Brianna said staring at the laptop she’d brought.

“What sort of readings?”

“They’re still broadcasting all clear, but their internal clocks are stuck at 11:43. The current time is 12:02.”

“We’ll check on the other two on this side of the base after we replace this one. How close is the damaged one?”

“About… 20 yards away.”

“Then lets double time it.” Blake urged. He turned back to the Avos students.

“Try not to fall behind kids.”

“Hey. Do you know who you’re talking to? All of us practically grew up in a forest.” Rosh boasted, levitating himself into the air. Martin and Liberi unfolded their wings, preparing to take flight. Rosh had wings, but he preferred to fly using his power over the wind. It took less effort. Gren preferred to stay on the ground. His legs muscles were more developed than his wings, and so he could run faster than he could fly. Blake smirked. He liked these kids more than their uptight master. Blake, Brianna and Gren broke into a run, while the other three took to the skies. Rosh was the first one to rise above the trees, and let out a loud screech when he did. He was now beak to face with a massive metal ship. The pilot had immediately spotted him, and dropped his thermos full of coffee as he grasped for the auto turret controls. Rosh immediately dropped into a dive as the first of the slugs tore through the sky. As he fell, he shouted for Martin and Liberi to turn around. They didn’t need to hear Rosh to know they better turn around. The tracer slugs fired from the ship were enough to send them back around. The pilot inside the drop ship radioed his Commander.

“Ebon Actual! Hostile spotted near drop point Alpha. Single Avos. Possibly more on ground. Orders?”

The pilot had already begun suiting up in Mac air armor. I didn’t offer the same protection as the basic armor, but it was better than no armor. The pilot pulled the emergency pistol from the holster under his seat.

“This is Ebon actual. Attempt to subdue with Tranquilizer rounds. I’m sending four men back to help you. Are you currently under fire?”

“No sir. Hostile flew back into trees. I fired a few warning shots to scare him away.”

The pilot ejected the Singularity core from his sidearm and loaded a magazine of tranquilizer rounds into the pistol. He then attached a stock and scope to the pistol, giving it a more sub machine gun look.

“Can you confirm numbers?” Wallace asked the pilot.

“I’ll check the underside camera’s.”

The pilot dashed to the ships command console, checking the underside camera’s.

Martin, Liberi, and Rosh dashed through the forest, hoping they were heading towards where Blake was. They knew something was up though when they ran straight into a pack of those plant creatures. Rosh directed arrows out of his sleeves, sending them flying into the creature’s heads. Liberi swept her sword across the field, sending a wave of sharpened water towards a few more. Martin raised stalagmites from the forest floor, impaling the last of the creatures on them.

“Where in Regno’s name is Blake!” Rosh shouted, referring to the ancient Avos deity.

“Calm down Rosh! He’s got to be nearby. We just need to head back towards that ship.” Liberi reasoned, but she was on the verge of panic herself.

“That thing almost tore me apart, and now you want to go back there! For all we know, it already got the others!”

“Fine, does anyone know which way back to the base?” Liberi asked, now in the grip of panic.

“Someone just needs to fly up and check which way the mountain is.” Martin said. He was surprisingly calmer than the other two.

“And if it makes the two of you feel better, I’ll be the one to do it.”

Back in the mountain base, the tech room was alive with alarms. The bases own sensors had picked up weapon discharges, and a quick exterior camera check revealed a Trevelyan drop ship parked about 100 yards away. With Brianna gone, there wasn’t anyone else in the base that knew how to work the computers. Katie had run down the hallway and was now attempting to open the door by punching it, shouting about how “No stone can withhold justice!” Ladnar immediately wanted to go out and search, but Maximus, one of the only people in the base that could currently be counted on for a logical solution, insisted they wait.

“If there’s a drop ship, chances are they have already deployed troops. We must organize a plan of attack first before we attempt a retaliatory strike.”

Brittany however insisted that she could go out and take them all by surprise.

“I know a few magic stuffs. I can take them out before they even know what hit them.”

“How would you even get by them?” Ladnar asked.

“Uh, I can shape shift. Duh.”

“Brittany, stop being stupid for a second.” Maximus said.

“Are you sassing me boy?” She retorted.

This was going nowhere, and his apprentices were under attack by some human military force. As a rule, most humans were lazy beings, but those that trained hard enough became deadly. Ladnar had made up his mind. He was going out there to rescue his apprentices.

The pilot landed on the forest floor shortly after using his Halonium gas packs. He swiveled his pistol around the area. There were still some tables and empty crates from when the other soldiers were here, but now it reminded him of those camps people would investigate in horror movies after a monster attacked. Though he had a motion tracker on his visor, it wasn’t picking up anything. He radioed his commander, this time speaking in a whisper.

“Sir, on the forest floor, but no signs of hostile activity.”

“For all we know, we could have accidentally crashed some Avos camping trip. Look as long as you think necessary, but I want you to return to the ship if you don’t find anything.”

“Yes sir.” The pilot answered. As soon as he hung up, his motion detector flashed on something for second. It wouldn’t detect movement if the movement was slow enough, but if you made a sudden move, it would pick it up. He readied his weapon, and was just about to re-radio commander Simmons, when a green laser bolt flew through the underbrush, impacting his shields. A normal Mac suit could take about four hits from a basic laser rifle, but the Mac Air suit could only take one hit before the shields vanished. Just as the pilot was about to fire his weopon, a second bolt hit him in the chest, cutting through the shield and most of his armor. He fell backwards onto the forest floor, but he kept his grip on his pistol. A third energy bolt flew from that same bush, but this time it stopped its trajectory just above the soldier. The green bolt hovered in the air over the fallen soldier.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you.” The soldier heard someone say. He turned his head towards the sound, and saw a man emerge from the bushes. He was carrying some strange rifle the soldier had never seen before. A woman with a machine gun slung over her shoulder emerged as well, followed by an owl Avos.

“That bolt will strike downwards if you make any sudden movements. I can trigger it myself if I want to, so don’t try and get out slowly.” Then man informed, obviously joyfull in his position.

“Who are you?” The pilot asked, though he knew this man was obviously a member of the group Trevelyan had been sent to capture.

“Please. I know you intelligence guys. I’m not gonna give you anything. You however are going to answer my questions, or I put that laser bolt through your chest.”

“I don’t know anything. I’m just the pilot here.”

“We’ll see. First, how did you people figure out are location?”

“Alek had known about this place for a while, but decided that it was time for you to disappear.”

“Very good. You might just walk out of this alive. Next, why did Alek decide it was time for us to die?”

“We weren’t here to kill you. We had strict orders to capture everyone alive if possible. He has something planned, but I don’t know what.”

“Well, I know what he’s planning. How many men are with you?”

“Forty eight. There were twenty four per ship.”

The man looked satisfied with the answers given to him.

“Tell me son, you got a family?”

“Yes.” The pilot answered. He hoped that this guy would let him go now.

“Have any kids?” The man asked, adjusting some setting on his rifle.

“Yes. Two, a boy and girl.”

“Well, it’s going to be a real shame for them when you don’t show up.”

Blake pulled the second trigger on his rifle, and the laser bolt that had been hovering over the pilot shot down, going right through the already weakened hole in the pilot’s armor.

“What are you doing?” Gren shouted, horrified by what he had seen. Blake pondered the question, wondering what it his he had done. He looked at his rifle, and saw he had just pulled the second trigger. There was also a dead man in Mac armor lying on the ground in front of him. Had he done that?

“I… I don’t know. Was he Trevelyan?”

“Yes, but you killed him after asking about his family!” Brianna shouted, equally horrified at what Blake had done.

“Well, as long as he was Trevelyan, I guess it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Blake thought about that last statement. Where was this coming from?

Chapter 4

Wallace had tried contacting his pilot again, but there was still no answer. The soldiers he had sent to help said they were almost out to the ship. Wallace and the rest of his men pushed forward. They should have been moving faster, but their Mac mechs were forcing them to slow down so they didn’t leave them behind. Suddenly, Morg stopped. He started sniffing the air like an animal, and one of the soldiers almost walked into him.

“What are you doing?” Wallace asked him.

“I smell them, those bird vermin. Their nearby. But…”

Morg didn’t finish his sentence, but instead a cruel smile splayed across his face.

“But what?” Wallace inquired.

“Heh. They’re nothing but a bunch of younglings. The oldest one has got to be about nineteen.”

“Then leave them alone. They’re no threat.”

Morg suddenly turned on Wallace, grabbing the top of his helmet and lifting him off the ground. The other nearby soldiers turned their weapons on him, but didn’t fire.

“And disobey a direct order? Remind me, what were your exact words?”

Wallace was having trouble breathing, but managed to choke out his earlier orders.

“Take everyone prisoner… only kill if necessary.” He gasped out.

“That’s right. And as far as I know, those birds count as someone. And let’s hope they don’t give me any trouble.”

Morg dropped Wallace, and the soldiers slightly lowered their weapons.

“You three.” Morg snapped, pointing at three other soldiers. “Follow me.”

“The mountain is just up ahead.” Martin informed the other apprentices. Still in shock, Martin had been repeatedly flying up to check their progress through the forest. The ship, while still in firing range, was no longer shooting. Martin flew back down again, leading his friends closer towards the mountain.

“How close are we?” Liberi asked. She and Rosh were still a little in shock, but they were getting their act together.

“Were only a little bit off. How are you holding up?”

“I can’t stop shaking, and it’s not even that cold out right now.”

“You’re still in shock. It will pass. What about you Rosh? You doing ok?”

“Yeah, still shivering, still scared, can’t speak right, getting hungry.” Rosh answered, stuttering after each fragment.

“Don’t worry. Once we get back to the base, you can eat all you want.” Martin reassured them.

“Good, could go for some sushi, heard it’s just like raw fish, but better.”

“Liberi, maybe a splash of water would fix you and him right up.” Martin suggested. He wasn’t a fan of this stuttering Rosh. He liked the cocky arrogant one better.

“Yeah, I’ll try.” Liberi answered. She conjured up two spheres of warm water in her hand. One she splashed into her own face, the other into Rosh’s. Martin waited a few seconds, and saw that Liberi had stopped shaking.

“Well? Did it work?” Martin asked hopefully. He did not enjoy being the leader here.

“Yeah, the shaking’s stopped. What about you Rosh?”

He shuddered a few times, but his shallow breathing was starting to sound normal again.

“Yeah… yeah I’m good now. Wow, that was intense. Felt like I just went down one of those human rollercoasters. Those things aren’t as fun as they look. I prefer diving on my own rather than having a machine do it for me.”

“Looks like he’s back. Now that everyone’s in good condition, let’s try and get there faster. That slow walk was killing me.” Martin said.

“Well, then the slow crawl you’ll be reduced to in a few minutes will be murder for you.” A deep and powerful voice echoed. Liberi and Rosh drew their weapons, while Martin readied his magic. They glanced all around, but only saw the same bland forest.

“Who’s…?” Rosh started.

“There?” The voice finished. “Really, that’s the first thing you’re going to ask. Why not “Show yourself villain” or something else more original?”

“Alright, how about get out here so we can kick your…”

“Alright.” The voice interrupted again. It did not sound amused. “You crossed the line.”

At first, there was nothing. Rosh and Liberi looked around uncertainly, but Martin stood there with his eyes closed. He was listening for anything that might give away his attackers location away. He heard what he was looking for. It was coming from above, and was a noise commonly associated with objects falling at a fast velocity.

“Get down!” Martin shouted, diving sideways. The others did the same thing, but were a little too slow. Something crashed into the forest, and a fiery explosion created a completely circular clearing in the forest. Liberi and Rosh were thrown by the explosion into some of the surviving trees. Liberi was knocked out cold, and but Rosh landed on the forest floor, the breath knocked out of him. Martin opened his eyes to see what had caused the explosion. What he saw defied his understanding. A man was crouched in the crater wreathed in flames, and he was massive. He wore some ancient looking plate armor, and he had a Warhammer clutched in his right hand that was also covered in flames. As far as he knew, humans weren’t fireproof. And he had never seen a single human this large before. His red hair looked like it was also made of flames, but the illusion vanished as he stood.

“I am Morg Windgate. Who will fight me?” He asked, hefting his Warhammer into both his hands. Martin stood, and the man smiled wickedly when he saw him.

“Well, I had hoped for better. You’re hardly a challenge. Where’s that bird that was mouthing off to me. He had guts, unlike you.”

Martin looked around, seeing only Liberi crumpled on the ground. Rosh was nowhere to be seen. Martin didn’t know that Liberi was still alive, and seeing her there filled him with rage. That verse that Morg had recited was the common Avos way of greeting an opponent, and Martin knew how to respond.

“I am Martin Lexar, let your bones be strong and your will stronger.”

“So you do know how to respond. I thought the Avos education had fallen along with all the other systems.” Morg said, mock glee in his tone.

“No more talk. Let’s go.”

Morg spun his hammer around in his hand, bringing it down onto the ground. A ring of fire surrounded the clearing, almost hitting Liberi. Rosh stood, and saw Martin facing down the giant. He tried using the air to lift himself up, but the fire was taking all the air to sustain itself. He had nothing to use. He tried using his own wings, but he had gone to long without using them, and now they were useless. Martin would have to do this alone. Martin pounded his fists together, the red smoke billowing out from his body. When the smoke cleared, Martin was about the same height as the man, and his muscles were equally impressive. Unfortunately, his bones gained more structural integrity, so he couldn’t fly while using this power. Morg just laughed like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Now were talking. I’m definitely not going easier on you now.” Morg said, cracking his neck.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Martin answered. The two titans then clashed.