The Order of Talabor

Rachel led the way along the dirt pathway winding through the brush. Behind her, Matthew’s best men prowled at the ready, their dark forms blending into the environment. Mathew walked with Zyhara in a protective posture at the end of the column. It had been several hours of trekking, and the little girl had passed out. Mathew held her on his back, his gear strapped to his front. The sight would have been funny if they had not been cut off behind enemy lines.

Rachel had started to feel a bit of fatigue, going on nearly an entire day of no rest. She had taken some caffeine pills from her kit, her heart racing, and her pupils dilating. The adrenaline and fear were also influential factors in keeping her alert.

It was one hour before sunrise, and they had decided to assault the enemy position during the twilight of the rising sun, the second darkest time of the day. True, their element of surprise was gone, but with Sapphire somewhere back down the mountain and Zyhara being carried, they could move far stealthier. Soon, the enemy compound came into view.

Several vehicles were parked behind protective concrete walls, a guard post with a machine gun nest guarding the entrance to a natural cave carved into the mountain peak. Slowly the enemy position came into sight. Rachel scanned for Sentinels and counted four enemies on watch besides the machine gun crew.

Rachel called a halt and motioned for Mathew. He gently set down Zyhara, letting her sit groggily on a tree stump as he came up to Rachel.

“What have we got?” Mathew whispered the question.

“Four hostiles on the perimeter, most likely some sort of surveillance system, and a heavy machine gun.”

“Wanna do this loud or stay as quiet as possible?”

“I can take out the sentries if you guys can take the machine gun crew. I’d like that thing covering us as we sweep the caves for whatever is scrambling coms,” Rachel softly whispered.

“You got it.”

“Any sign of Sapphire?” Rachel asked.

Mathew shook his head.

“Aight,” Rachel sighed.

“Ramirez, Jacobson, stay with Zyhara. Rest of Alpha and Bravo pincer on the heavy gun team,” Mathew whispered into his headset.

“Stay safe, homie. You owe me drinks when we get back,” Rachel whispered.

“Same to you,” Mathew smirked.

They fist-bumped, then went their separate ways.

The troopers executed their maneuver flawlessly, stalking their way through the brush like predators. Mathew was at the front, his suppressor aimed at the gun team. Bravo emplaced on a concealed berm, their light machine guns aimed at the heavy gun team, covering the cave entrance.

Rachel ignited her energy silently, her form glistening in hardly visible black flame, her body barely perceivable to the naked eye. She was far more vulnerable and half as powerful in her stealth mode; she would need to move quickly.

Mathew nodded, and the loud snap of the suppressed guns rang out into the night sky, stirring the birds. As the bullet flew mid-air, Rachel sprang forward, covering the long distance to her first victim at breathtaking speed. With a dagger formed of black energy, she stabbed the man in the back. His breath left his lunges, and he grunted as Rachels's hand clamped down on his face.

Before the Sentinel even fell to the ground, she had already stabbed the next one. She, too flailed, her heavy combat kit clattering as Rachel sprinted to the third. The third one had heard the suppressed gunshots, scanning manically. She would have raised the alarm if she had been better trained instead of searching for combatants. She, too, fell; it was not a clean kill.

Rachel grimaced as blood from the enemies’ throats sprayed her, as they fell to the ground, gurgling and drowning. Rachel cursed to herself; she was getting sloppy. She then sprinted up the hill and stabbed the fourth. The fourth man made no sound, merely crumpling to the ground. Rachel looked down from the height and saw the troopers were scanning the bodies of the enemy. Mathew flashed her with the infrared strobe built into his night vision, indicating the coast was clear.

Suddenly a hand grabbed Rachels's leg. She jumped, looking down. The man was a white hair, his young face framed in terror and pain.

“Down with the Dark Axium,” He whispered.

The white hair pulled out a grenade, attempting to pull the pin. Rachel dissipated her energy, clamping the man’s hand to the grenade.

“The fuck you say?” Rachel asked, panic rising.

“You killed those professors on Zeta; Zion will avenge us,” The man wheezed.

“What is the Dark Axium?!” Rachel growled.

She grabbed the man’s un-deployed grenade, tossing it to the side. She then grabbed him by the collar.

“Hey, stay with me! Stay, god damnit!” Rachel spat as the man’s life left his body.

Rachel stood up, looking at the blood on her hands.

“What have we done?” She murmured.

Suddenly, a vicious firefight erupted below her. The troopers and Mathew were fighting for their lives as gunfire poured onto them from inside the cave.

“Stop! Ceasefire! Ceasefire!” Rachel screamed into her radio, sprinting in her human form down the mountain, her arms flailing.

The troopers either didn’t hear her or were ignoring her. As she ran, she saw several troopers either dead or dying in pools of blood.

“Get the hell down here, Rachel! We need you!” Mathew roared.

Bravo was dumping ammunition drums over their pinned down comrades’ heads, tearing several combatants in the cave to shreds. They weren’t professionals; it was more of a shooting gallery than a firefight.

“Cease fire! God damn it, cease fire! They’re our fucking people!” Rachel shouted as she ignited her energy form, her wings propelling her into the air.

“What?” Mathew radioed, baffled.

Rachel soared through the air, then dived to the cave entrance. She slammed to the ground, standing in between the two forces. She held up her dog tags, the holographic authentication code dancing in the air. Bullets snapped past her face, several bouncing off her form.

“Cease fire! We’re Zion too!” Rachel screamed.

Slowly the battle died down, both teams still aiming at one another. Rachel could see some of the enemies; they were children. Dressed the same as the people in the village. Others were definitely some sort of Zion military, with some red energy type white hairs.

“Identify yourself!” A man called from inside the cave.

“Staff Sergeant Rachel Williams, Scourge Status three, taskforce Sapphire!” Rachel roared.

There was a silent pause.

A man slowly stood up from his cover in the cave, cautiously walking out.

He had bright white hair, a long white beard, with a silk turban covering his head. His skin seemed middle eastern as he cautiously walked out to meet Rachel, rifle raised.

“Taskforce Sapphire? Where is she?” He called defiantly.

“Professor Abraham!” A girl’s voice called.

Rachel whipped around to see Zyhara sprinting towards the man.

She tried to stop her, but Zyhara dodged, running into the old man.

“Dear child,” The man gasped, getting on a knee, his hands outstretched.

The two embraced, Professor Abraham holding her head like a grandfather.

“We thought they had taken you, child; who are these people?” Professor Abraham asked in shock.

“We’re the reinforcements Zion sent for you,” Mathew spat, walking up beside Rachel.

The horror of the situation set in as both teams viewed the other.

“They sent special forces? No wonder you cut through us so easily,” Professor Abraham said in awe.

“We have wounded too,” Mathew growled.

Abraham nodded.

“Quickly, take them inside. We have several shamans here that can see to them.”

“Yeah, forgive me for not trusting the people who were just trying to kill us a second ago,” Mathew grunted.

Rachel put a hand on his shoulder.

“I think we did more damage than they did. Let them help.” Rachel said gently.

Mathew angrily looked at her, bit his lip, then nodded.

The troopers began carrying their wounded inside the cave, the defenders helping.

Once they were inside, Mathew looked at the professor.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Answers. Now,” Mathew barked.

“I could ask the same of you, young man,” Professor Abraham said, scowling. “Where is Sapphire?”

“Somewhere down there,” Rachel pointed to the valley.

Abraham shook his head.

“Then they have her. It was prudent of them to let us fight; they’ve been whittling us down for days now.”

“One of your boys called us the Dark Axium. Who are they?” Rachel asked.

“The monsters who laid waste to the village. I managed to escape with survivors and get a weapons shipment redirected here before communications were cut off,” Abraham said.

“Okay, good call, but who are they?” Rachel spoke.

Abraham shook his head.

“Some sort of clandestine terror organization with deep ties to Zion. We managed to capture some sort of cyborg, a Vector I believe they're called. One of my engineers was able to crack their hard drive; the words Dark Axium came up several times. Not much else.”

“What were you doing here in the first place?” Mathew asked.

“Surveying for recruitment. This planet seems to have an extraordinary predisposition to potential particle manipulators and light-bearers. As for this little one, she stowed away on my ship!” Abraham laughed, pinching Zyhara’s cheek.

“Shit,” Rachel sighed.

“Why did you leave Sapphire behind?” Abraham asked.

“The bitch was having a temper tantrum; we figured she’d be safe down there,” Rachel sighed.

“This is her first time in the field, is it not? Of course, she will have adjustment issues to how things truly work. War is not books and protocol,” Abraham said solemnly.

“Trust me, we know.” Rachel sighed.

“Do you know what’s jamming the communications?” Mathew asked.

Abraham shook his head.

“It’s not just communications,” he said. “We can’t access the portal ladder or scry, let alone send out even radio frequencies. I recall a certain department experimenting with this kind of technology in the black labs, but I fail to see how terrorists got their hands on it.”

“Somebody in Zion wanted this to happen,” Mathew growled.

“Zion is the last place we need rats in control of,” Rachel sighed.

Zyhara squirmed.

“Darktar,” She sighed.

“God bless you,” Rachel chortled.

“No,” Zyhara said. “It’s called Darktar. It’s a special new kind of light-bearer.”

“And you know about this because?” Mathew arched an eyebrow.

“I was with my father during the testing,” Zyhara said.

“Okay, kid, who the hell is your dad?” Rachel laughed.

“You do not recognize the Princess of Zion?” Abraham asked, surprised.

Rachel’s mouth dropped as she looked at the squirming girl.

“You little shit!” Rachel stammered.

Mathew laughed.

“Ho man, Jesus Christ, we broke protocol right in front of royalty,” Mathew sighed.

Zyhara shook her head.

“Sapphire doesn’t belong in the field. That’s okay; we all have our roles. I think you guys were justified in letting her stay back. She could have easily shut up and followed; the blame is equal,” Zyhara said fervently.

Behind them, loud explosions thundered in the distant valley below. The four turned and gazed down. Fire and smoke were rising, with long bolts of lightning going back and forth.

“I think she might disagree right about now,” Mathew sighed.

“We fucked up,” Rachel grunted.

“Yeah, we did,” Mathew said.

“I’m going down there,” Rachel nodded.

Rachel stomped forward, regret and shame filling her. She had never left anyone behind, no matter how insufferable they were. How could she have been so stupid, allowing her pride and anger to overrule her judgment?

Rachel ignited her energy, her wings gracefully extending from her back.

“If you go down there, you will not return. They want you separated from the rest of us,” Abraham warned.

“We fucked her over once already; I’m not leaving her down there for them to do who knows what to her!” Rachel yelled.

“She knew the risks of going in. She is capable; the best we can do for her now is kill this Darktar and get help.” Abraham called.

“So what? We just wait here? Even if we can kill this Darktar, reinforcements will take too long to get here before we all die,” Rachel fumed. “If I’m going to die, I wanna die at least trying to save that spoiled brat.”

“There may be a better way,” Zyhara offered.

“Whatcha got, kid?” Mathew asked.

“My personal distress beacon, it’s back in the village in the buried cache,” Zyhara nodded.

“And you didn’t grab it because?” Mathew sighed.

“I didn’t trust you guys yet. Kinda hard to run away carrying a heavy suitcase,” Zyhara said. “If I activate that beacon, that’s the fastest traveling frequency Zion has available. Let’s just say help will get here pretty quickly.”

“Whole lot of firepower too, especially for her,” Mathew offered.

Rachel crossed her arms.

“Fight back down to the village with everyone, save Sapphire, watch the reinforcements pound the Axium?” She proposed.

“I cannot risk the Princess’s life in good faith,” Abraham nodded grimly.

“Don’t worry about me. I don’t intend to rule from behind a desk like my father. I can particle manipulate and keep up. I won’t get in the way,” Zyhara nodded.

“How much firepower you got in that cave?” Rachel upturned her chin.

Professor Abraham smiled.

“More than enough for a small army,” He nodded.

“How quickly can you get it on the trucks?” Mathew asked.

“Quickly enough. I’ll send a runner to the chiefs; they want their revenge,” Professor Abraham spoke.

Rachel sighed.

“Okay. We doing this?” She asked.

The other three nodded.

“Let’s go show these fuckers how Zion rolls,” Mathew grinned.

They separated, a young boy running out of the cave with a message from the professor. Rachel saw him mount some sort of horse-like creature, galloping away on its six legs.

“How soon can we reach the village?” Rachel asked as warriors started flowing out of the cave.

“Accounting for our infantry’s speed, half a day by road.” Professor Abraham said.

“You think that’s enough time for the chiefs to bring their men?” Rachel asked.

The professor chuckled.

“Let’s just say the horse lords have been itching for this fight.”

“They got horses here?” Rachel laughed.

“Horse lords is a personal moniker of mine. The animals are called Artue, but very similar, albeit quite alien,” Abraham sighed.

“How did humans get here anyway?” Mathew asked.

“That is far beyond my pay grade, dear boy,” Abraham chuckled.

Outside the cave, the Zion military and local warriors began stacking mountains of weapons and ammunition into the trucks. Rachel watched with glee as several smaller trucks were mounted with machine guns and recoilless cannons. All in all, four-gun trucks, one logistic cargo truck, nine troopers, a few dozen Zion military, and fifty locals armed with guns. Not to mention a Scourge, an Assault, a professor, and whatever Zyhara was capable of. She liked those odds.

On one side of the cave, the dead bodies were piled, blankets covering their bodies. Rachel could barely look at them, shame filling her. The pain subsided as fury rose in her. She would make the Dark Axium pay dearly for this treachery.

Once preparations were made, Rachel climbed into the lead truck. Her rifle sitting in between her legs, Zyhara in the middle passenger seat, Mathew at the wheel.

“You ready for this?” Mathew asked.

“Hit it,” Rachel grinned.

The truck lurched forward, following the gravel road that wound its way down the mountain.

Zyhara snapped her fingers, tiny purple sparks exuding from her fingertips. The radio crackled to life, pop music playing from the speakers. She giggled and sang along to the tune. Rachel admired her. For sure, she was a stubborn, determined little thing. So much happiness and optimism for such a little girl who had been through so much.

Mathew smirked and turned the volume down on the radio.

“C’mon!” Zyhara whined.

“Rachel needs sleep, kiddo. I don’t she’s had a wink since I got planetside,” Mathew chuckled.

“I’m fine,” Rachel grumbled.

“You’re literally falling asleep right now. C’mon, we got a long ride ahead; I’ll take the first shift; you rest,” Mathew said.

“Fine. But anything bad happens on the way there, I’m blaming you,” Rachel muttered, her eyes shuttering closed. The dreamless darkness seemed to last for a moment. Weight on her shoulder jolted her awake, and she looked down. Zyhara had rested her head on Rachel’s shoulder, fallen asleep now that she was comfortable. Rachel and Mathew shared a look.

Rachel rested her head against the metal truck frame, her eyes drifting shut again. Zyhara reminded her of her little sister. She remembered how they used to go to football games, watch tv together, and talk about boys. The good old days long gone.

There were no dreams, only nightmares. Even on a good night, Rachel hardly slept. The faces and carnage of a dozen battles replaying in her mind. She could remember every person and creature she had killed. Most deserved it, but the white hair’s face from the mountain battle came to her. She didn’t know his name; he was so young. And he had died fighting for the exact cause as her.

A sudden stop jolted Rachel awake. Outside it was mid-day. The convoy had stopped.

“Why’d we stop?” Rachel asked groggily.

“You might wanna see this,” Mathew said in awe.

“What’s going on?” Zyhara asked sleepily.

Rachel leaned forward in her seat, looking out Mathew’s window. What she saw amazed her. In the valley far below, hundreds of men in armor, armed with banners, lances, bows, and arrows, rode in formation towards the village.

“Holy shit,” Rachel said, amazed.

“That’s a lot of dudes,” Mathew said mindfully.

“Yeah, but they’re going too fast. They’re going to reach the village before we do,” Rachel realized.

Mathew grabbed the hand radio from the console.

“Professor Abraham?” He asked.

“I see them.”

“Yeah, can you get them to slow down?”

“The Dark Axium has been slaughtering their kin for months here, my boy; no power nor authority can slow those men down now,” Abraham said gravely.

“They get there before us, and it’ll be a blood bath,” Rachel seethed.

She hit the metal console with her fist. She contemplated.

“Fuck it,” Rachel grumbled, opening her door.

“What are you doing?” Mathew called.

“Charging in with the ‘dumbass knights of death wish’, I guess,” Rachel called. “Gun it, keep her safe!”

Rachel pointed at Mathew as she dismounted from the truck. Mathew nodded, giving a thumbs up, the convoy speeding past her. The village was still quite a ways beyond, but she was confident the Dark Axium wouldn’t politely wait until the army was close before starting the killing.

Rachel extended her wings and soared into the sky. The mountain road shrunk below her as she climbed, gaining speed. Right before the clouds, Rachel leveled off. Her energy stabilized her, her lunges squeezing in the thin air. She could now see that the armored knights were the mere vanguard, an ocean of warriors on foot were behind them a few miles back. It would be impressive if they weren’t going up against interdimensional terrorists armed with modern weaponry. Thoughts of the fighters of Afghanistan flooded back to her, how they had charged soviet tanks on horseback.

She was impressed that the natives could mobilize such a force so quickly; the people of this planet were indeed exceptional. She sighed. She always wanted to be a knight when she was a little girl; why did the boys always get to wear the armor?

After gauging the army, she noticed a man in the front. He was escorted by many heavily armored warriors on either side, a bannerman flying a great flag riding directly behind. It must have been their king or some kind of high chieftain. Rachel swooped downward towards the army’s leader.

As Rachel descended, the fact that she appeared as a flaming nightmare had escaped her. Far above the army, the six-legged artue became skittish, several riders crying out and pointing. The king looked up, his bannerman did as well. Their faces were framed with terror, but the bearded King merely held his spear above his head defiantly.

The army split in a blur of motion, the riders expertly wheeling, forming a swarming circle as the Angel of Death hovered above them. Spears, arrows, and bolts were all aimed at her. Rachel cautiously kept her distance, black flame and electricity shooting from her body as she hovered, slowly descending to the ground. She landed and patiently waited as the riders swarmed around her. They were shouting in a language she did not understand.

Rachel attempted to use her translator, but the words were garbled and mismatched. Whatever language they spoke had at one point had been a mix of German and eastern European languages, but they had been here for so long that the language had become its own entity.

The king bravely rode his artue ten feet from the burning angel. Up close, his armor was majestic. It was intricate vand well forged, yet well-worn and dented. The king had a golden crown forged into his helmet; his visor was uplifted to show his pale, bearded face. The man was middle-aged, impressive given how he seemed to fight at the head of his men.

Rachel raised an open palm in greeting, hoping it was not an insult on this planet. The king returned the gesture.

“We saw the sky ship land; you fight with the wise man?” The king called in English.

Rachel stifled a smirk. The professor had been busy teaching before the Dark Axium had come here.

“I do,” Rachel nodded confidently.

The king nodded, calling out in his own language to his men. They cautiously lowered their weapons.

“What is your name, shieldmaiden?” The king called.

Shieldmaiden? Hell yeah, Rachel liked the sound of that.

“My name is Rachel. I am a shieldmaiden of the Kingdom of Zion.”

“We have heard of this kingdom, Rachel the shieldmaiden of mighty Zion. The wise men of the white hair have tutored many shamans and kinsfolk for us. Have you come to put an end the terror of the black cloaks?” The King asked.

“We have. I come with my own warriors; they march on the village as we speak,” Rachel said.

She pointed to the convoy, the dust cloud rising behind it.

“When word reached us of the white hairs marching on the black cloaks, we did not know it was an army. We are grateful for your help, shieldmaiden. Perhaps you may stifle your flame so that we may know the face of the one who has come to aid us in our plight?” The King asked.

Rachel hesitated; the last thing she needed was a crossbow bolt through the jugular. Worst case scenario, she would sense the attack and shoot up to the sky like a rocket. Slowly, Rachel dissipated her energy, her pupils still glowing grey so that she could re-extend her wings at a moment's notice. The rest of her seemed normal.

The King’s eyes widened. He unstrapped his helmet and got off his Artue. The army murmured, every man eyeing her with wonder. The king knelt, drawing his sword, and plunging it into the ground before him.

“Forgive me, my lady, for addressing you as a shieldmaiden. I am Alexander, King of Talabor, grand marshal of the holy order of the Knights of Talabor. I was unaware that I spoke to a goddess; forgive my ignorance,” The King said abashedly.

Rachel nearly melted into the ground from embarrassment. Her face glowed as she fought to keep her composure.

“I’m afraid I’m no goddess. Where I come from, I’m just a bannermen, much like your bodyguard over there,” Rachel said lightheartedly.

The King looked in wonder.

“A woman of such beauty, merely a foot soldier? Nay! You must command great respect; numbers fling themselves against the walls of your foes with but a whisper; none surpass your beauty and strength save but the Goddess of War herself. You must surely be her!” The King said.

“It was foretold!” A man shouted from the army.

Please don’t let there be some prophecy. Rachel thought to herself,

“Indeed! The great prophecy has spoken of a great age of blood and steel, whence the goddess of war shall return to deliver us from the clutches and tyranny of evil at the head of a great and mighty host!” The king said solemnly.

Rachel cocked her head. She was from New Jersey. It was wrong to lean into this, right?

“I may not be the goddess of war, but I am definitely here to help you defeat the black cloaks. Their name is the Dark Axium. They are our sworn enemies; they took my friend and killed some of my men,” Rachel said.

Not a lie, not a whole truth. These guys were still in the literal dark ages; what harm would come from watering down the truth?

The king rose, thrusting his sword into the sky.

“A thousand deaths upon the Dark Axium!” The king bellowed.

Great start.

“We shall free Talabor and follow the Goddess of War into victory for our people!” The king vowed.

Not so great.

“Everything okay down there?” Mathew radioed.

“Yeah. Yup. Uh-hum. Everything is great; how are you?” Rachel stammered into her earbud.

“I am well, my lady,” The king grinned.

“No, sorry, not you; I spoke to my friend,” Rachel blustered.

“I do not understand; we are the only ones here,” The king asked, confused.

“No, no, I was speaking to my men,” Rachel said.

The King’s face lit up.

“She but whispers, and her army obeys leagues away,” He said in awe.

“They think you’re a god, don’t they?” Mathew laughed.

“Yup,” Rachel sighed.

“Some big prophecy?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Uh-huh. Cool. Well, keep them there; we’re not too far away,” Mathew chortled.

Rachel sighed.

“Alexander, your majesty, sir. I’m guessing all the big men in armor are all Knights of Talabor, right?” Rachel asked.

“Her beauty is but matched by her wit,” The King said longingly.

“Right. Do you mind translating for me, Alex?” Rachel asked.

“Who is Alex?” The king asked.

“Alexander,” Rachel corrected.

“Yes?”

Rachel huffed.

“Can you please translate for me?” Rachel asked.

“Of course, my lady!” Alexander grinned.

“Knights of Talabor!” Rachel called. Alexander translated to those who did not speak her language.

“We have come to your world to defeat the Dark Axium!” Rachel called.

The king translated.

“While we admire your steeds, armor, and impressive weapons,” Rachel nodded.

More translation.

“It would be more fitting to allow myself and the warriors of Zion to go in first,” Rachel said.

The king paused.

“Why is that my lady?” he asked.

“Let’s just say that we’re better suited for fighting them. You guys can charge in after we make sure the village isn’t crawling with ‘surprises’,” Rachel said.

“We do not fear their fire nor their lightning, my lady. Witchcraft shall not undermine the bravery and stalwartness of the Knights of Talabor!” The king declared.

“Yeah, but seven six two will,” Rachel said under her breath.

“My lady?” The king asked.

Rachel cleared her throat, making a decision.

“As the goddess of war,” Rachel declared, “It is only fitting that myself and my men go in first. You all shall be right behind us; we are grateful the brave warriors of Talabor have answered the call. Do not think of this as us preserving you, but rather more than my men wish to draw first blood! Yes! We traveled many sky leagues to come here; it is only right we get to kill first!”

The King grinned and translated. The army began chanting, beating their shields.

“We shall follow and obey, my lady,” Alexander said.

“Thank god,” Rachel sighed.

Behind the army, the low rumble of the engines loomed as the Zion military approached.

“Come, your majesty, it’s time you meet my uh, comrades in arms,” Rachel nodded.

“I am honored to meet the sky warriors sent to save my people!” Alexander declared.

Rachel sighed as the convoy came into view in the distance.

“I need a fucking drink,” Rachel grumbled.

She reached into her pocket and grabbed her pipe. She stuffed it with the last of her tobacco and lit it, watching the trucks rumble across the grassy valley towards them.