CHAPTER 11 – RUSHING THE WAY
"Charging against the waves makes one forget the enormity of the problem at hand. In such instances, the pending result is irrelevant; one desires only release, whether through triumph or oblivion."
– Orim Anteev, "Beneath The World Storms"
They didn't believe him.
Airo felt no outrage. He didn't try to push his claim. He only turned and left, not even listening to their rationalizations. Honestly, he didn't know why he bothered revealing his 'real' identity in the first place. Perhaps he thought Magus Dei would've confirmed his story, since they had known each other in Airo's previous life. Yet the old Knight had remained silent, bearing only that enigmatic gaze of his.
It didn't matter now.
Airo was calm, detached. He felt a strange inner peace which hadn't been part of him for centuries. There was only one thing left now.
He would go and kill Ferrtau personally.
Of course, the possibility of the reverse happening was strong. Ferrtau had proven to be a nigh-invincible adversary. Airo didn't care. His course had been set the moment he had been awakened from cryostasis, and his destiny has been singular for the last seven hundred years. Besides, he still had two edges in this conflict: his time-shifting ability, even if that was unreliable at best, and the element of surprise. Few would expect a suicidal attack against a vastly superior opponent, especially at the heart of their domain.
And that's why Airo was considered a mad strategical genius in his past. More mad than genius these days, but this was pointless semantics to his numb psyche.
"Cloud," he asked the SAI on the way back to his room, "can you infiltrate the security systems of this complex?"
"I should be able to do so, Commander," Yeoman Cloud replied with enthusiasm. "However, it may take some time since I detect several advanced AI overseers."
"Begin infiltration immediately then," Airo said. "You have the night at your disposal. By morning, I want you to prepare me the fastest aircraft that can reach the Shard. Stealth capabilities are an optional secondary priority."
"Understood, Commander. Initiating system-wide infiltration."
Airo returned to his room, and managed to get a few hours of sleep. At dawn, he prepared to depart the stronghold covertly. Veralla wasn't in the room. Just as well. He interfaced the power armor. "Cloud, status update."
"Done, Commander. There's an interceptor-class stormjet waiting for you in the internal hangars at the top of the complex. Transmitting shortest unobtrusive route now."
Airo followed the indicated path through the Order's stronghold. He avoided several Radiant Knights on his way. Somebody wanted to contact him on the commlink. Airo killed the connection and disabled his positioning system. After tense twenty minutes of traversing souk-like transition halls and massive stairways made for human and dragon usage, he arrived at his destination.
The topmost hangars were wide, low-ceilinged tunnels designed to launch fighters and drones en masse. Elevator platforms led to repair bays below the hangars. The place had numerous landing pads and probably had held a score of squadrons during its prime. Now, most pads stood empty, and only a few of the hangars contained any vehicles, half of which were disassembled to varying degrees.
The navigation led Airo to a streamlined, dangerous-looking strikecraft. The power armor sensors identified it as a stormjet. It seemed completely intact, and its golden hull variformed away to reveal the cockpit as Airo approached. He settled into the pilot's seat, and studied the controls. They were completely unknown to him.
"Cloud, can you fly this?" he asked, musing how cramped the cockpit was.
"Certainly, Commander."
"Then start the engines and take off. Be expedient, as I expect resistance once we are airborne."
"Destination, Commander?"
"The Shard, wherever that is."
The stormjet lifted silently on electromagnetic repulsors, and launched from the hangar. Once outside, its main drive fired with a thunderous boom, shooting forward with bone-crushing acceleration. Immediately, the stormjet banked sideways in a wide circle around the area. The power armor's interface lit up with messages, commlink requests, and warnings. Airo was sure the Radiant Knights' base had gone on full alert at his sudden departure.
"Cloud," he asked through gritted teeth, "why are we not leaving?"
"I'm doing a pattern search for the fractal subregion's exit, Commander. Remaining ETA is two-point-eight seconds."
The stormjet abruptly righted itself and sped toward the wide, dark tunnel which led away from the hidden base. Yet no light was visible on the other side as the stormjet entered the tunnel, and approached the sheer darkness with terminal velocity.
"Cloud!" Airo shouted.
At the last instant, the tunnel entrance melted away in a curtain of blinding radiance. The stormjet rushed past, and launched itself into the crystal-clear morning sky of Terra Para. Airo let out his breath, and slumped in the seat.
"Did you have to wait until the last moment to open the way?" he asked mordantly.
"I had no control over the subregion's exit, Commander," Yeoman Cloud said nonchalantly.
Airo balked for several seconds. "Why the bloody stars did you rush at it then?" he demanded.
"You instructed me to be expedient, Commander. I assumed you had secured a means to control the subregion's exit. My mistake! It won't happen again."
Neither of us would have made any subsequent mistakes if we had smashed against that... barrier, Airo thought. He contemplated who actually had let him leave the Order's stronghold. None of the options which came to mind made much sense, and soon he abandoned that line of thinking. Instead, he focused his attention on the readouts on the stormjet's dashboard and the regular stream of data scrolling on his power armor's HUD. The stormjet quickly reached hypersonic speed and began to cruise at an altitude of forty kilometers, well away from orbit, yet high enough to diminish many of the paraworld's anomalous effects, or negate them altogether.
The flight was a static, boring affair as Yeoman Cloud unerringly guided the stormjet toward its destination. The twin suns, white-blue and crimson-red, blazed low over the distant horizon, creating an ephemeral, purple afterglow. The vast frozen expanses of the planet below gleamed like a mirror. Airo gazed at the raw cosmic beauty, blind to it. His thoughts were subdued, as he honed his vengeful rage into a blade of diamond determination, preparing mentally to face Ferrtau again. He wasn't surprised the stormjet flew straight to the elusive energy pillar that constantly overshadowed the landscape.
"Why are we going to the Shard?" Veralla suddenly asked, her head looming as she rose from the cockpit's rear end.
Airo would've startled if anger didn't overcome him first. "What," he said, slow and harsh, "are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come with you!" Veralla said, bobbing her snout.
"How did you find me in the first place?" Airo demanded.
"I interfaced the mesh, and asked your virtual advisor where you were going," the dragonet said.
"Cloud?" Airo growled, directing the query at his interface.
"She pleaded me to join you, and I helped her get aboard beforehand, Commander," the SAI admitted brightly.
"Why?"
"My original programming is focused on conflict resolution via constructive means and on restoring harmonic balance to individuals who've suffered through traumatic events. Of course, this is superseded by my current executive directive, which dictates I must fully comply with any order from you, Commander. However, since fulfilling the request of Veralla didn't interfere with this directive, my decision to help her was based on my default routines."
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Airo snorted, irritated. Another hidden complication. He retracted his helmet and turned partway to face Veralla. "Why did you come here?"
"I want to keep you company," the dragonet said, her purple eyes bright with determination.
"Why would you want that?" Airo asked slowly.
"Because I can feel how sad you are," Veralla explained. "I am here to make you not feel alone."
"Sadness; loneliness," Airo spat. "What do you know about these things? You have not lived even a year. You have no attachments. You have not known love. You do not know anything. You do not know what it means TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU LOVE!" Veralla flinched, her wings fluttering in the cramped cockpit. Airo stared hard at her, bright fury burning in his chest.
The dragonet lowered her head. "I have lost my mother," she said quietly, her eyes not meeting Airo's gaze. "Yes, I never knew her. I have only vague feelings about her from my time in the shell. But I am sad she is dead, because I am sure I would have loved her very much if she was alive."
Airo's anger evaporated. He looked sullenly at Veralla, who kept her head low. He couldn't find anything to say, his mind in disarray. He turned back in his seat, vexed, flustered. The silence stretched. Even Yeoman Cloud didn't offer an uplifting commentary, probably still imprisoned by its stand-by mode.
"Are you going to kill Ferrtau?" Veralla asked tentatively after several minutes.
Airo blew out a breath through his nose. "Yes."
"Why?"
There were many reasons, yet only one mattered. "I am not going to tell you."
Another minute passed. "Is he my father?"
"No. Dragons cannot breed with humans."
"Was he a soulkin to my mother?"
It was his turn to be silent. "Yes, he was," he said at last, recognizing the detestable term the Radiant Knights had used. He recalled his findings in Dragon Retreat about his archenemy's life – and then he remembered seeing them together for the first time... seven centuries ago. "They were very close," he added reluctantly.
"How did my mother die?" Veralla asked in hushed tone.
"I do not know," Airo said firmly. "She was aboard the starship I traveled with. I was... tasked... with escorting your mother to this planet. As the ship approached orbit, we were attacked by dragons made of light – probably Revenant under Ferrtau's control. The starship crashed, yet your mother was not among the remains. Somehow she had escaped, and probably died fighting the Revenant.
"She... gave her life to protect you," Airo continued in a low, rough voice. "And when I found her, she used her dying breath to vow me into giving you life. What a wretched irony," he said bitterly. She, giving her most precious to me, the mortal enemy.
"Anyway, I have done my part. I have no desire to deal with any dragon any more than absolutely necessary, and since those Radiant Knights refused my proposal for alliance, now I am going to face Ferrtau on my own – and damn the outcome."
He fell silent, and Veralla didn't say anything. However, he knew her muteness wasn't final. Soon, she spoke again.
"Why were you tasked with escorting my mother here?"
Airo could feel the dragonet's gaze upon his back. "I do not know," he said wearily. "And I do not care," he continued, voice hardening. "All I know is I was awakened from cryostasis to a world vastly changed, and sent to the very edge of it. Then circumstances thrust me into the heart of a conflict that is not my own. Yet Ferrtau is here, and his downfall is my only goal. Nothing else. Nothing."
This time, the dragonet truly stayed quiet.
The trip lasted several hours, even with the stormjet's hypersonic speed. Of course, Airo couldn't have hoped the whole time would pass in quiet reflection, as Veralla inevitably became talkative again. Thankfully, her inquiries shifted to trivial matters, to which he gave terse answers, often in single syllables.
Finally, the Shard appeared on the horizon.
It looked like a titanic mountain made of azure crystal. Its features were smooth and minimal, bordering on formless. Its crystalline surface seemed to gently swirl in place, as if without substance. Clustered in several concentric rings were numerous structures, all of them displaying the same ethereal quality as the mountain itself to different degrees. Those were the remains of the Radiant Knights' headquarters.
The Shard was encased in a golden, translucent barrier, gliding and drifting in tandem with the crystal surface underneath. At the top of the mountain was what could only be described as a naked singularity – a rift of pure nothingness, dark and utterly empty. Merely looking at it made Airo's eyes hurt, and he quickly glanced away. The rift trailed upward, expanding into the sky, where it formed a giant plasma vortex arcing with viridian lightning. The vortex spewed its excess energies high above the clouds in a titanic violet-white annihilation beam miles wide – which was somehow visible everywhere, even from beyond the horizon.
All of this Airo saw from a distance, magnified on the power armor's interface, since the stormjet slowed down immediately when different alarms rang out in the cockpit.
"Cloud, what is the hold up?"
"The target area is heavily surrounded by many anomalies and aberrations in the space-time continuum, Commander. Loss of reality elevation is 99.9996%," the SAI replied like a tour guide. "I've dedicated ninety percent of my operation cycles to calculating the intensity of the emitted energies but results are still running, already past all theoretical scales."
"Can you land at the Shard?" Airo asked.
"Error, Commander."
"Error?"
"My knowledge banks have no references about the phenomenon we're facing. I can make speculations based on raw data, but my initial estimation is any approach to the target area would result in guaranteed termination, or similar critical existence failure."
"Find a landing site and touch down," Airo commanded.
"Are you sure we must land?" Veralla asked.
"You be quiet," he said.
The stormjet approached the turbulent region. More alarms lit up on the interface, but Airo disabled them all. The audiosimulators began to wail as the view outside shimmered and distorted. A surge of overpowering nausea hit Airo. He gritted his teeth in defiance. Disorienting flashes blinded him. The world plummeted into a spiral. Then just as sudden, the episode passed. Airo regained his senses in time to see the stormjet landing amidst a great complex.
He exited the stormjet and stood on the landing platform. Strong winds buffeted him and deafening thunder rumbled continuously from atop the Shard, yet there were no other ill effects. Airo glanced at Veralla as she climbed out of the cockpit. The dragonet was anxious, her slit-pupiled eyes widened, her webbed ears folded tight against the stormy din, but otherwise she seemed unharmed by the reality-warping field that hit them during approach. Airo snorted and took stock of his surroundings.
He was on one of the lower 'ring districts' which encircled the Shard. Enormous, mega-sized roads and walkways flowed between massive buildings, each rivaling the Radiant Knights' hidden stronghold in size. Temples, cosmodromes, fabrication sites, and living quarters sprawled in each direction, on each ring level. Airo frowned when he realized how much he had underestimated the scale of the Shard.
"Cloud, do you detect any hostiles nearby?" he asked, scanning around. The immediate area seemed deserted, yet he unholstered the veronite blaster as a precaution.
"No, Commander, sensors are quiet," Yeoman Cloud said, uncharacteristically subdued. "However, I find it statistically a practical impossibility we're still functional, sane, and operating within a three-dimensional scope on an unilateral time-stream."
"Comment noted," Airo said flatly. "Now quit quipping, and focus on active monitoring."
"We should leave!" Veralla yelled over the thundering noise. "I do not like this place!"
"Then you should have not come," Airo said, his voice amplified by the armor's external speakers. He set off toward the nearest building. Veralla rawr–ed restlessly and followed him.
They wandered among the abandoned galactic headquarters of the Radiant Order. Airo cautiously stalked forward, ready to fire the blaster in an instant, while Veralla crept behind, so close she bumped him a couple of times. The facilities were devoid of any presence, yet otherwise intact. Some of the buildings were constructed from what would've been regarded as completely fantastical substances in Airo's time – variform crystal, hard light, focused gravitic fields – yet most of the infrastructure was made with 'normal' components, which included hyper-advanced composites, nano-engineered super materials, and exotic matter.
Airo spent an hour searching aimlessly around what was a veritable megapolis. The sky had begun to darken, and the rift atop the Shard seemed more ominous with each passing moment. Veralla pleaded him to leave every few minutes. There was no one around. No Revenant. No Ferrtau. No one. He could wander for ages.
"Cloud, do you sense anything? Anything at all?" he asked tensely.
"I detect no physical presences, Commander," the SAI replied. "However, some of the local network is still online. I've been accessing it for some time now, searching through its databases for useful information."
"Did you find any?"
Yeoman Cloud made an uncharacteristic delay. "Depends. Commander, can you please re-state your main mission objective?"
What the void... "I do not like your evasiveness, SAI," Airo said dangerously. "Be forthright or face memory wipe."
"Understood, Commander. I have found the living chronicle archives of the Radiant Order – they contain augmented records of every Radiant Knight since 323 RE."
"Including Ferrtau?" Airo asked.
"Yes, Tungust Ferrtau's record is included in the archives, beginning from 499 RE, and ending at 980 RE."
"Download Ferrtau's record," Airo said instantly. "Do not tell anyone about it." After Yeoman Cloud acknowledged and transferred the data, Airo inquired again about the presence of hostile forces. "Can you make a sweep of the region through the network?" he asked when he received a negative answer.
Suddenly, the air wavered and the great arcs of lightning around the Shard's vortex began to fall everywhere. Airo felt submerged in gelatinous acid, every nerve on fire. His HUD lit up with urgent warnings, and seconds later a strong electromagnetic shock all but disabled the power armor.
"We have to get out of here!" Veralla shrieked over the forming warpstorm.
Airo had no strength to reply in agreement. Instead, drawing his will, he beckoned the dragonet to stay close, and began to stumble back towards the stormjet. "Cloud, bring the fighter to us!" he gasped, struggling against the paralyzing pain.
The interface buzzed with strong static, the SAI's response barely intelligible. "... strong interference... establishing dynamic quantum... ETA forty seconds, Commande–"
Airo fell on his knees, overwhelmed by the rippling reality around him. Once more he felt the symptoms of acute radiation poisoning, and fought to stay conscious. Veralla keened and bumped him with her head, urging him to rise and continue walking. The warpstorm roared, gathering power to unleash its terrible potential in truth. Another roar called in the thundering din, weaker yet nearer. Airo gasped in relief, recognizing the stormjet in the distance.
The aircraft approached their position, main drive at full power, and landed heavily, skidding to a halt only a meter away from Airo and Veralla. They both clambered into the cockpit, barely inside when the stormjet rose in the tearing skies, and swiftly retreated from the Shard of Terra Para.