Stargazers: "Troy Station"

Troy Station: 

Asimov sits alone in the darkness of Troy Station.  A window running the length of his room is all that separates him from the endless vacuum of space.  Stars, near and far, glitter like diamonds, drifting gracefully as the station spirals.  He drinks in the darkness, taking delicate sips of red wine.  A glossy black desk behind him captures the dim light of the stars, their light appearing in its in distorted reflections.  He turns and presses a button underneath the desk, and a screen rises from another part of it.

The holographic screen casts a blue light.  It illuminates his form as he examines the images projected on its surface.  Pictures and profiles of Arthur, of Chastity, of the Naphtali and the Dinah and the coverage of the Battle of Canaan are displayed.  They are meticulously detailed, showing restricted military reports, casualty lists on both sides, and all known information on both the Lady and the Guides are large.  His door buzzes, and he sets his cabernet down and the desk molds, shifting and forming around the base to hold it in place.

Pressing another button beside the first, he opens the door on the far wall.  The wall folds open, sliding sideways and casting a faint light from the exterior hall into the room.  Lancelot enters obscured by hard shadows.  The door closes, and he appears in finer detail in the shadows.  He moves slowly, as if uncomfortable with his body.  Most of him has been reconstructed, steel grafted to flesh, wires latched to nerves.  A carapace has been constructed to protect exposed wires, but he is not wearing it right now.

He stops with military precision at the other side of Asimov’s desk.  Folding his arms behind his back, he stands straight.  His left eye glows a faint red in the darkness of the room.  “Sir, I have been given leave by the medical staff and am ready for duty.”

“Physically,” says Asimov, glancing Lancelot over.  He sees scar tissue and steel.  He fixes his own faintly glowing eyes on Lancelot’s.  “But how are you emotionally?”

Lancelot frowns visibly in the darkness, and Asimov grins.

“Either way, we have time to rest.”  He leans back and sideways, resting his face on his balled fist in a languid display of comfort.  “She didn’t mean to, but she helped us all along, the Lady.”

Lancelot’s brow knits.  “Sir?”

“She set everything into motion, Lancelot.”  Asimov stares at the chess board on his desk, and pauses to move one physical ivory piece.  He takes none of the black holographic pieces that his opponent plays, but he is beginning to see the game, and he is moving himself into position to check the king.  Afterwards, he turns in his chair to stare out at the stars.  He recognizes them all, and they have been his companions across multiple lifetimes.  “Soon, very soon, everything will change.”

 

Part 1

End

Stargazers Codex #12: "The One Battle War"

::: The One Battle War ::: 

            Tensions between the Republic and Federation exploded into a full-scale military operation in what many came to call, “The One Battle War.”  After finding Guide ruins buried beneath a privately owned but military funded research facility on Canaan—a planet well within Republic space—Federation forces engaged Republic forces in the planet’s atmosphere.  The battle lasted only a few hours, but this short-lived engagement was enough to ignite fears that continued conflict was likely moving forward.

            Republic representatives came forward afterward saying that the Guide ruins were privately held and funded by unknown backers.  They blamed the private companies for their work and for their secrets and denied all responsibility for the battle, arguing that they were merely protecting Republic soil.  The companies, in turn, began pointing fingers at each other.

            The Federation refused Republic outcry and ignorance, arguing that the companies found on Canaan are frequent government collaborators or are owned and support by government representatives.  Meanwhile, the Alliance have expressed that regardless of fault, the mistake was a beach of the Three-Party Accord and suggested that something be done by the Republic parliament to rectify the error.  There is also a call for the immediate de-armament of the area and an opening of the planet to outside research.

            Losses on both sides of the battle were minimal but important.  Many are called for a release of names which could have led either to condemnation or mourning, but names never followed.  They argued that anonymity is important to maintain in situations like this, while people on both sides demanded information.

            Rumors that the battle began on Athens were found to be false, as were rumors of the existence of a living Guide found in the Canaan ruins.  No news reports were able to corroborate such stories either way.

Stargazers: "Victory at Canaan"

Gabriel’s Flight and the Victory at Canaan

            Chastity isn’t sure how long she follows the Lady in the darkness.  She isn’t sure where they have gone inside of the ship or where they are going.  They’ve climbed staircases and descended others.  They’ve turned a few times, though Chastity cannot remember how many times.  Everything about the journey has been made in darkness, and they have been traveling so long that Chastity has little idea of her bearings.

            They stop at a large door, visible to Chastity only through the dim glow of the Lady’s eyes.  Its presence is more inferred than directly seen, though, and she bumps into the Lady’s back before coming to a stop.  They stand together, staring ahead at the door and, in the darkness, the Lady says, “Here,” before stepping back and touching the wall.

            Light fills the interior.  It appears in small diodes, forming a semi-circle around the door’s frame.  Lines of light run along the wall in opulent stripes.  The interior glows with prismatic brilliance, pushing back the darkness and blinding Chastity in its appearance.

            The Lady seems to glow, too, centered in rolling storm of light.  The glow of the Lady’s eyes brightens and changes color.  Body still and unmoving, the light passes over the Lady and then, as quickly as the light appear, it disappeared.  The ship goes inert, leaving the two of them in darkness.

            The Lady turns to Chastity, eyes glowing brighter in the darkness.  From this limited light to see by, Chastity can see the Lady frowning.  “I’m sorry,” the Lady says in a soft whisper.  “I am so sorry for this, for everything.”

            “What do you mean? What are you sorry about?”

            The Lady looks to the floor, to their feet, and the glow dims again.  “I remembered,” the Lady says, “I remembered everything.  All of it. Who I am.  What I am.  What I should do.”  The glow returned as their eyes met again.  “None of this was supposed to happen, what happened to you, what happened to us.  It is my failure, and it is my weakness.  For that, I am sorry.”

            “Lady, I don’t understand.  What do you mean?”

            “No.  Not Lady,” the Lady says, head shaking.  Chastity has her hand taken and watches the light fade from the Lady’s eyes.  They make eye contact, but Chastity watches the Lady fade.  “I’m sorry, Chastity, but it will get worse before it gets better.”

            The Lady weakens and then falls.  Chastity is pulled to the floor and lands heavily atop the sleeping form of the Guide.  The light is nearly gone now, being nothing more than a soft glimmer behind the iris.  “Lady? Lady! What is going on?”

            Reaching up, the Lady touches Chastity’s temple, where her implant is.  “My purpose,” says the Lady.  “My burden.  Metempsychosis.”

            “What?”

            “Carry me for a while, will you,” the Lady asks, and then her eyes go blank.  Chastity stares into them and finds hollow beads staring back.  The Lady is heavy, and Chastity struggles out of its grasp.  Its bones, synthetic and weighted, are bound to the floor.  Cupping the Lady’s head, Chastity weeps over her.

            “Lady?  Lady.  Lady!”

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            High above the ruins, a battle rages in Canaan’s orbit.  Republic forces work hard to break the Federation line, but without Mercury serving as the spear point the Federation has regrouped and formed a defensive ring around the planet.  The two sides meet head-on, creating a spreading swath of chaos just outside of the planet’s atmosphere.

            Inside of the atmosphere, Tyr and Mercury are still at odds.  Where Mercury has the advantage in speed, its frame is still thin and in development, and its weapons are few.  Tyr can keep Mercury at a distant with small arms fire from the turrets mounted on its shoulder.  Should Mercury break through and land a hit, Tyr’s superior shielding deflects or absorbs each blow.

            Guinevere, meanwhile, cannot feel her legs.  Her vision is a blurry haze, and that is only when she can see at all.  Periodic blackouts have hobbled her, left her unable to evade certain attacks.  Her armor is holding together, the hull suffering only minimal damage.  One of her hardened light blades has been rendered useless after its generator was hit.

            She switched her comm off to keep LeGuin quiet.  His commands were interfering with her focus, and if she is to beat Tyr, then she will need to be focused.  Rather than assault him directly, she takes to dancing around him, hoping to catch him from behind, to slip in and slip out before he has time to recover.  By her estimations, his shields should die on him soon.

            A continued, sustained assault, however, is becoming difficult.  As the battle wears on, her vision begins to do strange, new things.  She isn’t sure what is real and what isn’t anymore.  The world feels weightless, and reality has become a lurid dream.  She swoops low over a mountain, rises and spirals, ending in a drop down and trying to strike him from above.

            Tyr stays rooted, hovering in place between steep mountain points, firing on Mercury while stationary.  Bullets zip past Mercury, trailing it as Guinevere flies a tight spiral and closes distance.  When in range, she swings, trying to drag her blade along Tyr’s armor, but she has slowed her armor and Tyr reaches out, catching her and holding Mercury in place.

            Guinevere jerks, her body aching as the seatbelts dig into her skin.  The cockpit rattles as the momentum tears Mercury’s arm from its socket, leaving it sparking and jagged.  Guinevere tumbles in the cockpit as Mercury spirals off, wheeling and flipping as it plummets. Cursing, Guinevere seizes the controls tight and takes off.  The G-forces hit her hard, knotting her stomach and then sending it into her throat.  Her head feels tight as she manages to right her armor just before making contact with the rockface.  Snow dances around her as the armor’s jets stirs and melts it.

            Floating, Guinevere draws a deep breath.  Her head throbs and her digits tingle.  Mercury is down one arm and missing its only other weapon on the other side.  Without any offensive capabilities and trapped in an armor that is slowly killing her, she isn’t given time to contemplate her situation as a hail of bullets pepper the mountainside.  The snow, now dislodged, roars as it comes sliding down, catching Mercury and dragging it down.

            Guinevere is just able to pull out of the snow as more bullets rain down on her.  She feels a few make contact and rattle her armor.  Reacting on instinct, she pulls away and flies deeper into the mountains with Tyr trailing after.  She needs to get back to Daedalus, and they both know it.  Flipping the comm on, she shouts for support but gets static in return.  While darting between mountain passages, she checks her radar.  Tyr is giving chase, as she assumed he would, but his turret allows him to fire from a distance.  Sprays of dust and snow remind her of the danger of her situation.

            She slows and takes the turns with blood rushing to her head.  Gritting her teeth, she turns her attention toward escaping her pursuing enemy.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Arthur works his way through the facility, moving low and breathing shallowly.  He follows the walls, hugging them close to keep himself safe.  Chastity’s lab is on the far west side of the facility, and Arthur stops a room away with his weapon ready.  He checks the corners before ducking into the open laboratory door.  Inside, the room is dark, and he pauses to let his eyes adjust before moving deeper.

            He finds another room at the back of the lab, a hole in the wall which leads into deeper darkness.  Entering, he finds a small drop.  He lands lightly and lets the reverberation of his landing move through the steel beneath him before continuing forward.  Outside, he can hear the heavy foot falls of armors stomping on the surface.  The battle is far off, but there are still soldiers nearby.  His own arrival was testament to his skill, but his escape might depend on his luck.  He turns on the light on his rifle and uses it to see by.

            Arthur follows a long trail of open doors deeper into the facility.  As he explores, he begins to recognize the general shape of the rooms he is inside.  The contours are strange and foreign to him, but the general shape is unmistakable.  He is inside of a ship, and he is moving gradually towards its center the farther he goes.  His movements remain measured and careful, and at the end of his journey, he finds Chastity hunched over the Lady’s pale, lifeless body.  He approaches with his weapon ready but the safety on.

            “Chastity,” he whispers, kneeling beside her. He keeps his weapon trained on the wall, holding it steady with one hand while using his other hand to tap her shoulder.  She looks at him, tears in her eyes.  “Chastity, what happened?”

            “She just—she faded.”  Chastity hugs the Lady close, one hand on the Lady’s shoulder and seeming to struggle to support the Guide’s lifeless body.  “She said that she was sorry, and then she just turned off.”

            Arthur pauses.  Death is never easy, even for a soldier, and Chastity had dedicated months of her life to studying the Lady.  He rests his hand on her shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze.  “I’m sorry.”

            Chastity sobs quietly beside him.

            Arthur checks behind him.  The halls are empty but dark, and the shadows seem to move more the longer her stares.  “Listen,” he says, his hand still on her, “I know it’s hard, but the enemy is coming.  They will find us, and they will hurt us.  We need to move.  Now.”

            Chastity continues to cry, but she wipes her eyes and her nose.  Gathering her breath, she swallows her tears and pulls herself out from under the Lady.  Before standing, she stops to close the Lady’s eyes, a gesture that feels empty to Arthur but seems to bring Chastity comfort.  Arthur stands with Chastity and fixes both of his hands on his rifle.  “You ready,” he asks, his eyes trained on the door.

            Chastity nods and puts her hand on his shoulder.  “Let’s go.”  As they leave, she looks back and whispers a soft farewell to the Lady’s lifeless body.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            They reach the surface within an hour. Arthur leads with Chastity following, her hand at first on his shoulder before wrapping tightly around the belt about his waist.  They exit the lab and stop to let their eyes adjust to the dusty light.  The wind stirs the sand around them.  The asphalt dances in the sun.  Arthur, with his weapon up, leans back to Chastity and whispers, “Where did you two leave the ancient armor you left in?”

            Chastity points.  “It’s off toward the east.”

            “Can you lead me there?”

            Speaking distantly with her shoulders slouched and her voice empty, “Why?”

            “We need a way to get off planet, and we need it fast.  Not only are we outnumbered on the ground, but I’m not so sure that Daedalus can hold out long enough for reinforcements to come.  Hell, I’m not even sure that it’s survived this long.”

            Chastity takes a deep breath.  “I can lead you there,” she says, and she sighs.  “But it’s useless.  Only a Guide can pilot it.”

            “Fine.  We’ll figure that out when we get there, but that at least gives us somewhere to go.”  Arthur rises into a crouch and starts moving with Chastity in front of him now.  She hesitates, her hands against the hot exterior panels of the research facility.  Arthur rests his hand against her back.  “Don’t worry.  I’ve got you.”

            “I’m not worried,” she whispers back, looking at him over her shoulder.  She feels tears in her eyes, but she wipes them away quickly.  Her voice is as empty as the Lady’s eyes had been.  “The Lady told me herself.  It won’t work without a Guide.”

            “And I told you: we’ll figure that problem out when we get there.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a bad option when it’s the only option we’ve got.  We won’t get ahold of an enemy armor, not with the damage I would have to do to secure one to begin with, and that is even assuming I can secure one.  Even then, even if we could fly it with severe hull damage or worse, an armor won’t fit two people.  Worse still, we have no way of contacting our allies, and they have no way of getting to us if we did.  So, the ancient armor is all we’ve got.”

            Chastity gives another sigh, her body seeming to sink into itself.  She winces as a burning pain buzzes through her head.  “This is crazy,” she says after a lengthy pause.  “Are things always like this on a battlefield?  How do you even have time to think at a time like this?”

            “It’s only like this if you’re lucky enough to be alive, and right now we’re lucky,” he says, knotting his hand in the loose fabric of her shirt and keeping his weapon trained ahead, passed her shoulder.    “Be ready to drop at my command.  Got it?”

            Chastity nods.

            “And save your tears for later while you can.”  He gives her a smile.  “Only the living get to mourn the dead. So, you’ve got to stay alive if you want to do it properly.”

            Chastity sniffs and wipes her nose.  “I’ll do my best.”

            “Good.  That’s all I can ask.”  Arthur pushes her gently forward and is glad to feel her move.  “Then, let’s go.”

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Mercury darts between rock formations, sailing close to the canyon walls, the heat of its engines leaving darkened stone in its wake.  Clouds of dust trail it, stirred by the force of the thrusts as the armor rockets by.  Dipping in and out of the clouds in short jumps is Tyr.  It cannot move as quickly, but it follows closely, its reaction timing perfect.

            Guinevere feels numb in her seat.  Her vision is spotted and blurred, and the color has drained entirely from her world like the blood from her digits.  Periodically, she has to glance at her fingers to make sure that they are still attached.  She clips the canyon wall during one such check, dislodging a fragment of armor and sending her skidding off in another direction.

            When she looks up, she finds another canyon wall closing distance as she is forced toward it.  She makes a quick turn, dipping deeper into the canyon, spiraling briefly, the momentum of her turn throwing and turning her stomach.  She cuts hard, forced into her seat belt, feeling her skin swell and bruise from the pressure.

            Her face tingles as blood vessels pop under the surface.  Her vision goes red in one eye and then black in both.  She winces, cursing, and angles her armor up.   She slows to regain control, and Tyr descends at that moment, capturing her with its claw and dragging her down onto a mountainous pillar.  Blinking her way back into sight, Guinevere pushed Mercury harder and drags Tyr along with her.

            The two of them take off in an explosion of stone and dirt. Dust explodes around them in a cloud which they part and spiral out of together, leaving a thin brown contrail.  Her left thrust groans and bends.  The wing breaks under the weight, and Tyr falls away as Mercury’s left side explodes in a quick fan of fire and smoke.  The cockpit rattles forcefully around Guinevere.

            Cursing again and holding the controls tighter, Guinevere steadies her armor and slows it.  Mercury sags, struggling to maintain altitude without a wing and with a broken rocket.  She falls into a series of slow circles and, in her fatigue, drifts lazily as she struggles to find a rhythm that will carry her to the ground.  She will crash, but if he does it right, she will survive.

            The ground swells into view.  Her descent is sharp but precise.  She will not be injured, but she will live through the injury.  That is, she could have if she landed.  Tyr intercepts her, though, fixing its claw about Mercury’s midsection and sending microwaves through it.  The cockpit begins to swelter and pop around her as her exposed skin boils.

            She reaches out with her armor, grabbing hold of Tyr’s arm and holding it in place before it can retreat.  The cockpit lets out a siren as the screens shatter.  The plastic of her consoles melts as her body blackens and burns.  Looking back on her life, Guinevere sees herself as a soldier, hard, disciplined, and lonely.  She sees missions and sacrifices, and she sees all the work she did, both good and bad.  She thinks briefly of Lancelot and the life he lost, and she thinks of Arthur, too, and of his survival.  For years, she was angry with them both.  Now, as she dies, she just wonders who was happier.

            She whispers a final apology, the tears in her eyes boiling as she sheds them. Then, she releases the controls and dies.  The Mercury armor explodes shortly after, taking a portion of Tyr with it.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Peeking between broken walls, Arthur sees Mercury and Tyr collide.  He follows the battle in his periphery, stealing glances where he can, watching a cloud of dust form around them, watching Mercury rise.  He watches the explosion and knows in his heart what happened.  Coming to a stop, limbs shaking, he leans against a nearby wall and holds his breathe to keep from screaming.  Chastity notices and stops beside him, touching him gently on the shoulder.  “Arthur, are you okay?”

            He breathes, slowly and deeply, with his rifle aimed at the ground.  With tears in his eyes, he stares ahead, avoiding the sight of Mercury disappearing into the distant mountains, the frame descending like a shooting star.  Tyr survives but only just barely, taking off back into the atmosphere and disappearing from view.

            Another deep breath and Arthur settles his shaking hands.  He looks at Chastity, but he sees Guinevere, and Lanacelot, and Percival, and Gawain, each of them missing or dead.  He always considered himself the worst of the Centurion, lucky to have been chosen to stand among them.  Now, he is the last of them to still be standing.

            A final breath, this one deep and accompanied by the wiping of his eyes.  Standing, he knots his fist in Chastity’s shirt again and guides her gently forward.  With his weapon ready, he whispers, “Go on.”

            They move together, approaching a large, sleek armor in the distance.  It is bigger than the average gigas, standing at least half-again as tall as a normal, conventional armor.  The interior is exposed though left unattended.  Based on Chastity’s warning, the enemy likely found the armor but couldn’t figure out how to move it and so left it.  Lowering his weapon, he lifts Chastity’s tiny body inside of the armor, and she climbs into the backseat where Arthur imagines the navigator would go.  Then, he climbs in after her, positioning himself where the pilot should be.

            “We’re here,” she says, “But I’ve already told you, it won’t work…”  She stops speaking as the canopy slides shut and the screens around her come to life.

            Arthur looks back at her over his shoulder.  “Won’t work, huh?”  He feels flimsy and tired, but he settles his hands on what he imagines to be the controls and flexes his fingers around them.  Gigas armors were designed after these ancient armors that are sometimes found in Guide ruins, and so the controls aren’t completely different or foreign to him.  He guides the armor in the same way that he would a normal gigas armor, and he finds it similarly responsive to his puppetry.

            The armor shifts its weight, standing and towering.  It moves lightly, though, despite its size.  In fact, it moves more smoothly than any armor he has ever piloted.  The armor seems to know his desires and moves to meet them with little suggestion.  Tapping a few buttons, he is able to find Tyr’s signature and recognizes that it is damaged and yet to make it back to safety.

            “Chastity,” he whispers, his voice low and heavy.  “I have a favor I have to ask of you.”

            Chastity leans forward, holding the back of his seat as she stares down at him. “What is it?”

            “I,” his voice shakes, “We could escape right now,” he says.  “But there is something I have to do.  You may not understand it, but I’ve lost someone.  I’ve lost a lot of people, actually, and I—I should walk away from this, but I can’t.  I don’t know that I want to.”  He takes another deep breath after realizing how tight his jaw is, and he frowns at the readings on the ships rounded, bulb-like consoles.  “I know you don’t like violence—and you shouldn’t—but I am a soldier, and I have to do this.”  He looks back at her.  “Please, let me do this.”

            Chastity stares.  “This won’t save any lives,” she says.  “Not really.”

            “No, it won’t,” he says.

            Chastity stares at him, seeing how tired and old he is.  He was a soldier, once, taught only how to fight and how to kill.  He used those skills to protect people, but now he has nothing to protect.  She leans back in her chair, her hands gripping the arm rests tightly.  “If you know, then don’t ask permission.”

            Arthur’s jaw tightens again.  Looking forward, he rests his hands on the controls a second time.  “I’m sorry,” he says, and he pulls the ancient armor up into the air.  In short time, they are gliding smoothly through the sky, the armor around them hardly seeming to hum despite the speed.

            The ancient armor seems to sail through the empty air as if it is the wind itself.  It reacts immediately to Arthur’s every subtle movement.  Its controls are intuitive and deeply human to the touch.  In all of his years, his training included, Arthur has never piloted anything like it, and he is disappointed to realize how his anger and grief are preventing him from enjoying it.

            They intercept Tyr in the sky.  Attacking from behind, Arthur doesn’t waste weapons or ammo.  Tyr notices his approach and turns to fire on him, bullets erupting from its shoulder-mounted turrets, but the bullets bounce off harmlessly as they come in contact with a sphere of hardened light that forms around the ancient armor when attack.

            Jaw tightening again, teeth clenched so tight that they hurt, Arthur flies faster.  He closes distance on Tyr and grabs hold of its single remaining rocket.  Stopping abruptly, Arthur removes the rocket from Tyr’s back and sends the enemy armor plummeting to the ground with the ancient armor following it down.  Catching Tyr in the air, Arthur uses one hand to pry Tyr open and then a foot to shatter Tyr entirely.

            In his monitor, Arthur watches Robin drifting through the sky.  He stops the ancient armor and hovers, a cocoon of hardened light there to protect him as he watches Robin’s death.  Robin lands anti-climactically, his body reduced to a sack of meat and blood.  He appears to Arthur almost like a squashed grape as he hits the sand.

            Chastity stares at her feet and at her hands.  She releases a deep breathe that she hadn’t even realized that she was holding.  “Can we go now?”

            Arthur draws a deep breath, too, and nods.  “Yes,” he says, turning the ancient armor toward the atmosphere and flying away.  High above them, as the clouds fall away and the freckled darkness of space comes into view, Arthur watches an allied ship form in space-time.  Agamemnon arrives and quickly opens fire.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Arthur flies to Agamemnon and docks there.  Without their leader, the Federation ships make a hasty retreat while Daedalus and its crew lick their wounds.  The ground forces are either captured or allowed to return, if they have the tools to return.  Meanwhile, Arthur and Chastity are kept locked up until they can be questioned.  Afterward, they are each given proper medical treatment and returned to civilian life with the understanding that they know nothing about any short-lived war that may have transpired.

            Agamemnon transfers them to Nestor, which takes them to the planet Olympus.  There, private ships are chartered at Republic expense to take them wherever they want to go, so long as they understand that they should not contact each other again.

            The ride to Olympus is quiet and somber.  They avoid eye contact and do not speak.  Even if they had tried, they wouldn’t know what to say.  Chastity spends the ride thinking of the Lady, of the Guide ruins, and of her life’s work dissolving in her head.  Everything she was or had achieved was taken from her within a matter of days.

            Arthur, meanwhile, does his best to think of nothing at all.  He meditates where he can and sleeps the rest of the time.  When at rest, old memories haunt him.  He remembers boot camp, and he remembers war.  The doctors had checked his knee and asked why he hadn’t gotten a prosthetic.  He told them that he preferred the plate, that it didn’t undue the damage he sustained for his government and for his people.

            He wasn’t sure that he believed his own words, anymore, though.

            Nestor docks at an orbiting space station around Olympus where they are expected to part ways.  The soldiers walk them off the ship and stand there watching as Arthur and Chastity stop to examine the crowd.  The station is busy, and once they enter this flowing river of people, they are both certain that the other will disappear entirely.

            Chastity is bandaged and bruised, but the bulk of her damage is psychological.  She is given the information for a therapist and little else.  Holding a bag of clothes given to her to wear—all of them are too big for her—she looks at Arthur and finds him standing with his hands in his pockets.  “Where will you go now,” he asks without looking at her.

            Chastity shrugs and stares out at the people, too.  “Away from here,” she says.  “As far away from the Republic as I can get.”

            “That’s probably for the best,” he says.  “The only problem is that the Republic won’t allow it.”  He meets her gaze.  “They won’t just let you go, Chastity, not after everything that happened.”

            “Which is exactly why I have to leave,” she says.  “I’ll go live on the fringes of space and, when they’re done watching me, then maybe I can come back.  Until then, I think I’ll try the Alliance. I hear they have more freedom, anyway.”

            Arthur nods his head. 

            “What about you?”

            He shrugs.  “Defense work again,” he says, and he laughs at her surprise.  “It’s the only skill I have, and it makes me feel better about myself.  I’d much rather protect people than kill them,” he says.  “This is all I’ll ever be good for, though.”

            Chastity wrings her hands.  “I don’t agree with that, but I understand.”  She shrugs.  “Probably for the best.  Be careful, though, and do try to find something less dangerous to retire into.”

            They shake hands, and he pulls her into a hug.  “Be careful.”

            Chastity, initially surprised, hugs him back.  “You, too.”

            “Thanks.”  He steps away from her but holds her by the shoulders still.  “And good luck to you.”

            “You, too,” she says, slipping from his grasp, and she disappears into the crowd.  Arthur watches her head weaving between bodies until he cannot see her anymore.  He imagines a long life ahead of her, first with the government watching, and then he imagines her free.  He lets out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding and, for a moment, he feels guilty for having saved her only to put her through all of the chaos.

            Then he reminds himself that he did save her and tells himself that is enough.

            Turning, he walks in the opposite direction, away from where Chastity went.  It is crowded, and people don’t part for him so much as they just flow around him.  It is rare for a man to be given so many second chances, but today is the day where he will finally use this one right and build himself a life worth living well.

Stargazers Codex #011: "Canaan"

::: Canaan :::

Private Military Report:

            Canaan is a planet privately owned and mined by the Olympic Republic.  An uninhabited and isolated planet existing close to the Theta Star, its breathable atmosphere but high heat make it ideal for military testing and mining operations.  Originally, military bases were built on the far poles, and underground, in cooler areas of the planet to offset the heat.  The finding of Guide ruins on the service, however, found research moving closer to the planet’s equator.

            Many of the facilities which have been built are not made to last.  That, and the natural dry heat of the area, leave many of the facilities found in the planet’s major, central desert to be hot despite the power cooling systems used.  The finding of a Guide Ship, named Electra by the crew who attempted to excavate, has drawn military and political interest to the planet.

            Most of the work done on the Guide ruins in the area is done by proxy.  Private paramilitary and scientific companies are given permission to explore the planet under the agreement that all data found there would be turned over to the Republic governing and military bodies for ‘review.’  In reality, they are secretly funded by the government through ‘donations’ and all research done is done under government approval.

            Perhaps the greatest discovery of our spacefaring lives was found within the crashed remains of Electra—a complete Guide.  While the body was inert, it did give us a better understanding of what the Guides were.  Humanoid in design and not at all anatomically different from the average woman, the Guide appeared to be a human female, though she was entirely synthetic based upon scans.  Care has been taken to avoid any form of invasive research on its body.

            There have been efforts taken to find other ruins after the discovery of Electra, though none have produced anything.  As interest in exploration wanes, the Olympic scientific community has turned its efforts toward waking the Guide or otherwise understanding its programming and purpose.  That is why Dr. Chastity Clarke, the creator of the galaxy’s first fully functioning and learning smart A.I. program, was brought in to apply her expertise.  It is she who decided to name the Guide Lady, after the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian Legend.

Stargazers: "Dinah"

Dinah

            The ship’s interior is dark, save for the faint green glow of the Lady’s eyes lighting the way.  The rooms bleed and blend in the darkness, and soon Chastity cannot remember the way they came or predict the way they are going.  She traces her hand along the walls, unable to see the form but feeling the smooth contours and endless steel.  The walls are long and curved, the steel faintly warm to the touch, reminding her more of flesh than metal.  The design is natural, almost organic in her mind.

            Hand on the walls, Chastity stares into the darkness, following the Lady’s eyes, and she speaks aloud, “I worked here, and I didn’t even know that this was here.”

            “There are many secrets here,” the Lady says, approaching another wall which slides apart seamlessly for her.  Chastity follows the Lady into the room.

            “Secrets? What secrets are you talking about?”

            “There are things here.  Shades and Eidolons.  Entire life forms have lived here, from birth to death, from creation to decay.  I can feel them here, following me, flowing into me.  They become me, and I become them.”  The Lady pauses and touches the wall.  It is different from Chastity’s touch.  Tracing her long, slender fingers along the delicate grooves of the wall, the Lady touches the ship like a mother might touch a child.  “Dinah.”

            Chastity squints into the darkness.  “Dinah?”

            “That is the ship.”  There is a warmth in the Lady’s voice, a smile in the darkness.  The Lady speaks of the ship like it is home.  “She is Dinah.”

            “I think we found you here, found you in Dinah,” Chastity says.  “Were you part of her crew?  Did you live here?”

            “No.  I never truly lived anyway, but I did sleep here.”  The words are cold and empty again, devoid of human emotion.  The Lady looks back at Chastity with empty, glowing eyes.  “There are memories I have, they are not my memories, but I am carrying them anyway.”  Then, turning, the Lady moves forward, hand at rest on the wall.  “They have no value to me.”

            Chastity follows, her hand also against the wall.  She staggers after the Lady and braces against the wall, using it for balance and envying the Lady’s seemingly perfect grace.  “That sounds a little sad,” she says.

            “It is not sad,” says the Lady.  “It is function.”  At a touch, another wall opens, and the Lady passes through it with Chastity following close.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Arthur reaches the facility under the cover a stirring of dust and enters the facility through the bridge, breaking a window with the butt of his rifle and climbing through.  There, he rests in the dusty interior.  His breaths come hard and deep; his lungs burn.  Ten years ago, he wouldn’t have been winded so easily, but then again, ten years ago seemed like a lifetime to him.

            His knee ached in anticipation and in memory.

            After catching his breath, he moves, crouched against the interior walls and with his rifle up.  He keeps his finger off the trigger, pinned flat against the side of the rifle, but with the safety off.  Every death that follows him today will be intentional, he is certain of that.

            Ahead, he hears voices echoing in the darkness, mingling with footsteps.  “They say that a lone soldier took out an entire squad,” says one voice, deep, rumbling.  “And they say that he’s on his way.”

            “A lone soldier? Bullshit,” says the other voice, higher and harsher, a smoker’s voice.

            “No.  Really.  They say he survived an armor crash and came out guns blazing.”

            “Bull. Shit.”

            “Hey, I’m just telling you what the reports are saying,” says the deep voice, carrying down the hall.

            “I know you are.  I’m getting the same goddamn reports, and I’m saying that they’re all bullshit.”

            “Fine.  But if they are, why are they saying it?”

            “Because everyone is afraid to die on the battlefield, but if they have to, they’d rather it be the boogeyman than circumstance or dumb fucking luck.”  The two soldiers pass him by, staring straight ahead.  The one farther from him is talking.

            “But, if we die, it ain’t going to be some lone super soldier making a marathon massacre through the entire fucking army.  It’s going to be overwhelming odds and bigger guns.”

            “Well, isn’t that just inspiring.”

            “Just saying.”

            Arthur watches them make their way down the hall, considers following them, killing them.  He thinks of their ammo, perhaps of their body armor, and he decides against it.  They will die someday anyway, perhaps even in the battle with their sort of attentiveness.  They don’t need him to do it.

            Turning the corner, he goes the other way, making his way toward Chastity’s lab and the Lady’s pod.  He knows if they are anywhere here, that is the best place to look.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Together, Mercury and Daedalus’ united front form a line.  Siegfried still has armor, still holds the superior numbers, but they are struggling to keep their advantage against superior tactics.  It is also to their advantage that the goal isn’t to defeat the enemy but to endure them.

            Guinevere uses Mercury to cut long, deep wounds into the enemy’s lines. Each time the Federation forces find formation, she quickly scatters them, using her superior speed to make precise, scalpel-like strikes at their core to open them up.

            The strain of it, however, is showing.  Some blows miss wide.  She flies by enemy armors without even making contact.  The psychological effect is mixed.  Some enemy soldiers make note of their lighter losses while others take it as a taunt.

            Guinevere, herself, is gripping tightly to her controls and sweating.  Her head feels heavy while her limbs feel numb.  The longer she pushes herself, the harder she pushes herself, the more difficult the charges become.  An alert goes off as one of her allies is caught in fire and has to make a retreat back to Daedalus.

            “All units, close rank.  Form a protective barrier around Deadalus.  That includes you, Guinevere,” LeGuin says through the com.

            Guinevere groans. “No, I am at my best out here.  Let me work.”

            “You’re showing strain, and God knows the armor is, too.  It’s still a prototype, Lieutenant.  Return.  We can hold here until Arthur secures the targets or support arrives.”

            “We don’t need to.”

            Her radar pings.  Behind them, in the distance, gravity shifts.  Another ship rises from dive space.

            “What did I tell you,” LeGuin says, a smile in his voice.  Then, he chokes.  “No.”

            Sigurd, an enemy carrier, appears behind Daedalus and approaches quickly, not even slowing to reorient.  As soon as it leaves the gravity well its ports open and a flood of armors join the fray.  Enemy fire follows shortly after, and Daedalus turns sharply to meet it.

            “Guinevere!”

            “I’m on it, commander.”  Guinevere fingers the controls, driving Mercury’s output to forty percent.  Her body sinks into the seat as inertia pulls her back.  She feels the blood in her limbs draining, pool into her head as she struggles to keep hold.

            “No, pull it back.  You’ll kill yourself.”

            Mercury meets the enemy armors and parts them like a sea.  A thin line of explosions appear in the new line before the enemy has time to consider it.  They begin scrambling to find this new threat and neutralize it.

            Before they can rally more gravity shifts appear on the radar, two this time.  Guinevere’s heart begins to sink when she gets the IFF signal—friends.  Icarus and Heracles join the battle, locking on and firing into the enemy rear.

            Guinevere simply smiles.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

           

            Tyr launches and meets the enemies head-on.  Announcement of the new, red armor pass through the comms and when Guinevere hears, she knows what to do.  Turning her back on Daedalus and ignores LeGuin’s orders to return, she rockets back into the main battle and seeks out the single clawed armor in the vastness of space.

            She finds him by following the death of her allies and meets him in the center of the fray, clutching an allied armor in his claw.  Heat and energy radiate from its palm and pulse into the frame.  It warps the armor, bending it, bulging it, and eventually parting it like an overcooked potato.

            Tyr release the armor to drift and catches another.  Mercury moves quickly, lashing out with its blade but being deflected by Tyr’s shield.  Tyr wheels around in the air, still holding the Archer armor by the shoulder.  The generators on Tyr’s shoulder whir and energy crackles along its fingers.

            Guinevere screams, pushes her assault.  She becomes a flurry of motion, spinning and swiping wherever she can and missing wildly with most blows.  Finally, rather than aiming for Tyr, she aims for the armor and cuts it off at the shoulder where its shell began to warp.

            The armor drifts away and she pushes passed.  She lunges and Tyr is gone.  Guinevere blinks, her vision drifting in an out.  She feels heavy, her head throbbing and warm.  The frame shakes as gunfire bounces across her back, and she jumps up over it and brings herself back down for an assault.

            Her ears ring as her comms kick on.  “Lt. Guinevere.  I ordered you back to the ship.  You can’t keep doing this.”

            “I cannot follow those orders, sir.”  That is what Guinevere means to say, but she is not so sure those words leave her mouth.  Her lips pulse.  Every vain in her face feels bloated, painful.  Her eyes close, her head lulls, and then she jerks back up.

            “You’ll die, Osceola!”

            “Not. Before. Him!”

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Arthur passes through the facility and the airfield.  The long tube connecting lab to everything else has been blown apart.  Shards of glass lie scattered across the asphalt with former allies and friends rotting among them.  It is enough to sadden him but not enough to slow him.

            Arthur keeps his rifle up and his head down.  He keeps his back straight and his hands ready, looking always down the sights of the rifle but keeping his finger from the trigger.  Before trying to cross the open area to the other side, he peeks around one of the busted panes.

            The airfield greets him.  It is damaged by conflict but enduring.  Standing at its center is a damaged Hunter armor, the one he had shot down earlier, he imagines.  The thrusts were damaged from gunfire while the armor was hurt in the fall, but it still seems to be moving.

            Arthur kneels down behind the glass and curses quietly to himself.  He does not want to fight an armor, not on foot and not alone.  During Centurion training they ran simulations of all sorts, but never a one-on-one battle with an Gigas Armor.  The closest was a group battle, and back then he had Lancelot and Guinevere.

            Now, he is alone on the battlefield, without proper equipment, and without the training required.  He slouches but has no out.  Even can he escape, he can’t leave Chastity and they Lady behind to be captured again.  The war, he fears, is going to come either way, but the collateral may not.

            He checks his gun again, for something to do with his hands.  Then, he reminds himself that a Centurion is meant to be equivalent to one hundred soldiers on the battlefield and hopes that at least one of them can do this.

            He peeks again and finds the armor turned away from him.  Taking a deep breath, he sprints out into the open.  He is halfway there when the armor finds him.  It wheels around, clumsily, its legs jerky, the frame bent.  Then, it opens fire.

            Arthur rolls to a halt and trains his weapon on the armor.  At first, he aims for the chest, hoping to get lucky and puncture a weakened armor point.  Then, he lifts the rifle and pulls.  A short string of bullets jump from the barrel in a jarring flash and the armor’s optics shatter.

            The armor continues firing but misses wide.  Its focus is on where Arthur was but it cannot find where he is.  He runs a wide circle around the armor, approaching its back with a grenade ready, the ring already pulled.  Once within twenty feet, he waits.

            The armor fires for a few more seconds and then purrs to a stop.  Then, the back hatch unlatches.  Arthur readies his rifle, lifting it into view and holds his arm back for the throw.  Once the hatch opens, he chucks the grenade inside and secures his gun with both hands.  He fires until the pilot ducks back into the suit and then ducks down himself.

            The armor’s interior explodes.  The force of the blast ruptures the outsides, tearing thin slits into the body of the armor and tossing its left arm to the side.  Smoke, black and acrid, pours from the interior while the armor sways and then falls, spilling body parts across the pavement.

            Arthur sighs and sits.  His lungs burn.  His limbs are scuffed from his jumps, beaded with shards of glass, but he is, on the whole, alive.  He checks his rifle and clip.  It is nearly spent, with only a handful more bullets left.  Not enough for another fight.

            He rises, takes another deep breath, swallowing it despite the taste and smell of it.  Then, he lifts his rifle and resumes his approach.

Stargazers Codex #010: "The Hardened Light Phenomenon"

::: The Hardened Light Phenomenon :::

Speaking in a layman’s terms, the hardened light phenomena is best described as the inverse or opposite of the assumed dark matter which makes up the universe.  Where dark matter is an inobservable material which is implied to exist within the galaxy to explain its functioning, hardened light is a visible energy projection which appears in the form of a physical light.  Dark matter is invisible to the eye and unable to interact with atomic particles, where hardened light is visible and audible, making a subtle hum, and can deflect or redirect incoming particles for a number of uses.

Hardened light generators were originally found in Guide ruins.  Retrofitted for military use as shields and sometimes even weapons (such as the hardened light bayonets mounted on the arms of Gigas Armors, now popularly called Hardened Light Blades), it has recently seen been application in domestic and civilian use.  Most popularly, hardened light bridges and canopies are used in richer parts of cities as a show of affluence more than anything else, while rich citizenry sometimes enjoy doorways or windows that might be activated by rain fall or moisture.

The earliest application in civilian life of hardened light were by deep space traders and shuttling services.  It is important to remember as we discuss this the inherent dangers of space travel.  Situations such as the well-known destruction of ships like Icarus are not as uncommon as they should be and hardened light shields can do a lot to prevent such tragedies from happening again.

Military production has seen the generators made smaller and lighter, though the Guide design is still far too complex for us to mimic perfectly.  Solar batteries are popular, though often times quite large.  There is one famous house found on Uruk which was built entirely of hardened light, though it is uninhabitable for the noise and the lack of rooms inside of it.  Another famous tourist attraction is the Great Light Bridge of Rhea, which spans the width of the Remian Channel that splits the city.

Stargazers: "The Return to Canaan"

The Return to Canaan 

            Hours before the arrival of Daedalus, or even Siegfred, the ancient armor Gabriel surfaces from dive just outside of Canaan’s atmosphere.  It gleams from the light of the distant star as it cuts a sharp curve through space and into the planet’s orbit.  Friction warms the outside while the inside remains unchanged.

            Chastity watches the skyline appear through the monitors, holding the controls tight as the armor rocks and rumbles around her.  It isn’t her first time entering a planet’s atmosphere, but it is the first time she had done so in an armor, and the experience makes her nauseous.  Behind her, the Lady sits at rest, eyes closed, still. 

            It takes the dusty surface of the planet to inform Chastity as to their location.  She sees the darkened facility far below them, swelling into view.  The asphalt is marred by wrecked armors and broken bodies decayed and exposed.  “Canaan,” she whispers, her empty words echoing in the silence.  She glances back at the Lady.  “Why are we here?”

            “The answer is here.”  The Lady’s voice comes from all around Chastity, who is beginning to believe that the Guide and the machine are now one.

            Gabriel makes a sharp descent towards the surface.  Inertia pins Chastity to her seat and leaves her light-headed.  Her limbs tingle and prickle as her blood gathers in her head.  Then, the armor stops with sudden buoyancy, bouncing in the air before landing amidst a cloud of dust.  The top hatch hisses as its slides open, and Chastity unbuckles herself.

            The Lady climbs out first, surveying the area.  Chastity climbs out afterward, peeking between the Guide’s ankles.  “Is it safe to be here?”  Memories of the battle replay in her mind.  For her, it was little more than a darkened room stinking of blood.  Flashes of Lancelot fill her mind.  His cold eyes make her stomach twist.

            The Lady leaps from the armor’s shoulder before looking back up at Chastity from the bullet-eaten asphalt.  “Come with me.  There is no one else here.”

            “What about the armor?”

            “Only we can pilot it,” the Lady says.  “Without me, it will not operate.”

            Chastity glances back at the inert controls, lifeless and dim, before climbing out.  She moves slowly and carefully, the armor having no ladders to help her down.  Her landing is a graceless fall into the dust that has gathered around them.  The Lady helps her up and waits as Chastity dusts the sand from her rear.  Ahead lies the fresh ruins of the Canaan research facility.  Up until now, Chastity hasn’t seen the full scale of the battle with her own eyes.  What she finds makes her wonder how they ever survived so long during the attack.

            “Come.”  The Lady marches resolutely head, and Chastity stumbles after her.

            “This is the last place I expected to be.”

            “I understand,” says the Lady in a tone that indicates genuine understanding buried beneath absolute certainty.  “But this is the only place for me.  This was my birth, my home, and it will tell me what I am.  I am sure of it.”

            Chastity draws a deep breath as they approach the facility.  At the doorway, she releases it.  “Then let’s do this.”

            Together, they enter the facility.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Robin watches from Siegfried’s helm as the ship surfaces outside of Canaan.  Space ripples around them as he orders the ship closer, into Canaan’s orbit.  The helmsman synchs orbit with the research facility, and Robin stares down at the dusty planet through the monitor, knowing that this is where it began and determined to see that it ends here, too.

            “Sir, we’re in synchronous orbit,” says his helmsman, glancing back at him.

            Robin nods.  “Good.  Lunch shuttles.  I want infantry on the ground searching the interior for the girls.  Have two platoons of armors secure the exterior and one more to watch the unknown armor.  I will lead another platoon in forming a defensive barrier around the atmosphere.  The Republic forces will be following us shortly, I am sure.”

            “Yes, sir,” says the helmsman, and the comms officer relays the information throughout the ship.  Robin, meanwhile, goes to the armor bay to change and prepare for combat.  He pulls on a red, military grade flight suit and fastens his helmet before going to his prototype Gigas Armor, Tyr.  Stopping to stare at it before battle, as he always does, he draws a deep breath and closer the visor on his helmet before climbing in.

            The bay opens shortly after and launches shuttles first.  They make slow progress into atmosphere with an escort of Hunter armors surrounding them.  As these ships touch ground the bay reloads and launches its second wave.  These armors follow the first wave down, securing the landing pad and the area around the facility.  Robin waits patiently inside of the Tyr, head down, eyes closed, breathing steadily.

            Finally, he launches.  His armor jerks at the catapult flings him from the ship, and then he is weightless in space.  Other armors join him and take off as he simply drifts in space, enjoying the calm before the battle.  Then, initiating his thrusters, he directs himself toward the planet and hovers just outside of its upper atmosphere, making sure not to drop inside but staying close enough for entry in a pinch.

            Space warps in the distance, and Daedalus surfaces. Robin recognizes it, vaguely, from the battle above Athens.  Judging from its size, he knows that it won’t carry many armors, but he expects that it still has the silver prototype which had so quickly devastated his forces the last time.  Robin flips his comms.  “Look sharp, people, we have enemy incoming.  Light cruiser, won’t have many armors, but it will have refueled and restocked.  Be careful.”

            “Sir, yes, sir,” is chorused back.  Beside his armor, Seigfried makes a slow turn to meet the attack while Daedalus, smaller and swifter, has already launched armors and moved to meet them.  “Air, spread out and cover Siegfried’s flank until we can return fire.  Ground forces, dig in and prepare for enemy attack.  Hunter one, hunter two, with me.  We’ll meet the forces head-on!”

            “Sir!”

            Before Tyr can move, cannon fire comes sailing in, slamming Siegfried hard in the side and bulging its magnetic shields under the force.  Robin is forced into his seat as Tyr rockets forward, claw ready and two allied armors trailing after.  Here, the battle for Canaan truly begins.

 

-Stargazers, Part 1-

 

            Mercury leads with six armors trailing.  They follow her in an evenly spaced v with their weapons ready. Deadalus follows after with its cannons trained on the slowly turning hull of Siegfried, ready to open fire once in range.

            LeGuin’s voice cuts through the rumble of the armors on their approach.  “Follow Guinevere’s lead.  Defer to her judgement but avoid grouping up.  They get you together, they can use a ship to take you down.  Watch each other’s backs.  Retreat to Deadalus for support. We’re outgunned, but if we’re clever, then we can keep them outwitted.”

            A chorus of confirmations follow his speech.  Guinevere watches her instruments as she closes in.  Once within firing range of enemy armors, she pushes her thrusters to thirty-percent and feels her body tighten into the seat.  Mercury jumps farther ahead of the following armors, who drift apart as their leader runs.

            At close range, Guinevere activates Mercury’s hardened-light blades and wades into the fray.  Armors part around her as she cuts a path through enemy squadrons.  Daedalus sales between the wreckage, watching Mercury’s approach to the port side of Siegfried, where Guinevere leaves a shallow gash across its outer shell, taking a few turrets in her assault.

            Arthur breaks off and enters atmosphere.  His armor rattles around him as friction builds.  Soon, he breaks the outer layer of the atmosphere and falls into the cloud line.  Diving below, he turns toward the research facility and dives headlong into enemy forces.  A few federation armors meet him in the sky, intercepting his path toward the landing pad.  He uses the Archer’s right arm turret to quickly dispatch of them without changing his trajectory.  They blaze and smolder as their husks drop rapidly through the air, descending beside him.

            Enemy armors open fire on him from the ground.  Arthur flies a lazy spiral around them, slowing to return fire and check his bearing.  The federation have bunkered around the facility, forming tight rows of armors aiming for the sky.  Combat will be too time consuming, and he can see the unknown gigas from Athens at rest on the asphalt, open but already captured, and assumes the Lady and Chastity to be inside of the facility.

            Going full speed, he rockets toward the facility without returning fire, relying on his evasive maneuvers and his hardened-light shields to see him to the front door, and zips past the canopy before turning to prepare for landing.  His sensors wail, and he slows as a short-range missile gives a short chase and catches him in the shoulder.  An explosion rocks the armor, separating the armor at the left arm and sending the torso crashing to the ground.  It skids to a halt, digging up asphalt around it.

            Arthur groans, hanging from his seat.  His last sight is of his cracked screens blurring before he passes out.

 

-Stargazers, part 1-

 

            The assault of Siegfried leaves its stern scarred.  Fragments of steel and fiber glass float through space, catching the light and glittering like stars.  Some pieces continue to glow orange with residual heat as they drift gently in the void. Magnetic bullets are hurled through space as Deadalus continues its assault, stopping only long enough to reorient for attack.  It glides slowly toward Seigfried’s starboard to remain out of the enemy’s line of fire.  So far, it has avoided any damage.  All incoming enemy armors have met with anti-armor fire or been intercepted on approach.

            The core of the Republic offense is the prototype armor Mercury.  Guinevere pushes her armor to thirty-eight percent of its max speed and can feel the strain on her body from it.  She breathes through the discomfort, keeping her eyes steady and focused on the monitor in front of her.  It is her vision, and she is the armor’s brain.  If she dies, it dies.

            Enemy armors rupture around her.  She parts them with wide, deep dives through space, each leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.  A haze of smoke lingers around pitted armors, scattered among pearls of oil and blood.  Burnt bodies drift in the vacuum.

            “Guinevere,” LeGuin’s voice calls over the comm, “How are you holding up?”  He watches from Daedalus, happy to see the damage they’ve done.  Siegfried takes a sharp turn, spinning into position.  Soon, it will line up and open fire, but LeGuin intends to have them limping before that can happen.

            “Fine, sir.  Mercury is running optimally.”

            “Do you need to return and rest?”

            “I’m. Fine.”

            LeGuin checks her vitals and rubs his goatee.  “If you’re sure,” he says after a long, careful pause.

            “I’ll hold,” she says.  “At least until Arthur returns.  At least that long, I’ll hold.  I have to.”

            LeGuin sighs.  “And we’ll support you.  Everyone, tighten the noose.  The enemy is already down by half.  Let’s clean up and enter atmo.”

 

-Stargazers, part 1-

 

            “Art…ter…Arter…Arthur…Arthur!  I repeat, Arthur, come in!”

            Arthur opens his eyes, breathing deeply, gasping as his head rings.  His limbs feel limp and prickly, and he finds himself hanging from his seat with broken monitors buzzing and sparking around him.  The comm hangs inches from the ground, spinning slowly.  His fingers are numb.  Most of him is numb.  What isn’t hurts.

            He grabs clumsily at the comm.  “I’m here.  I’m here!”

            “Arthur!”  It is LeGuin’s voice, Arthur realizes.  “We saw that you were shot down.  Glad to hear your voice.  Report.”

            Arthur lifts his arms and flexes his fingers, slowly returning sensation to them.  Pinpricks replace the numbness.  Looking down his body, he finds no obvious injuries, but he groans all the same with each movement.  “I’m okay.”

            “Will you require pick-up or support?  I might be able to spare an armor or two with Guinevere up here.”

            “No.  They’ve got the surface locked down.”  Arthur checks the radar, smacks it with his open palm.  The screen flickers, flashing long enough to reveal approaching enemy armors.  They have him surrounded and are tightening the noose.  Arthur checks his system diagnostics next, and his stomach goes cold.  “I’ll continue on foot alone.”

            “What? Are you crazy? Permission denied, Arthur.  I’m sending reinforcements.”

            “I’ll be fine,” Arthur shouts back.  “You’re Osceola’s captain, right? So, you’ve seen her records.”

            “I have.”

            “Even the confidential ones,” Arthur asks, and a pause follows.  “I’ll just imagine that you know them.” Arthur feels around his seat and finds a button.  Pressing it, he parts the harness and falls forward, landing heavily against the front of his armor.  “I’m a Centurion, too.”

            LeGuin goes quiet for a time as Arthur checks himself a second time.  His body aches, and he has bruises, but he can find nothing broken beyond use.  “Understood,” LeGuin says.  “Contact me again when you can.”

            “Copy.”  Arthur drops the comm and reaches for the pistol harnessed to his seat.  He pulls it out and checks the clip.  Then, he reaches into the back and grabs a handful of clips, which he fastens to his suit.  Then, slapping the radar one last time, he sighs.  “It’s been a while since I’ve been up against odds like this.”  Standing, he grabs hold of the hatch.  “Feels like coming home.”

-Stargazers, part 1-

 

            The Lady leads Chastity through the abandoned hallways of the facility.  The walls shudder as combat rages outside.  Dust stirs, falling from the ceiling and forming moats in the fragmented light.  The rooms smell sharply of rot and decay.  Shadows cling where stray light cannot touch them.

            Chastity stays close, so close that she nearly steps on the Lady’s heels, and she holds her nose and squints in the darkness as she follows.  Each new room finds her searching the floor for familiar faces.  She hopes she doesn’t see them, but she cannot keep from looking.  The Lady walks straight toward the laboratory, towards familiar ground.

            They stop in the lab, at the pod where the Lady was found.  The lady kneels down and touches the floor.  “They covered it.”

            Chastity’s brow knits as she peers over the Lady’s shoulder at the dented floor panel.  “They covered what?”

            “Dinah,” the Lady says.  The steel tears as the Lady forces her fingers through it. With a jerk she opens the floor, the panel comes up in pieces, fragments of it bouncing off the walls as it is discarded.  The Lady skins the floor in this way and leaves it in curled chunks to the side.  Beneath they find darkness.

            Chastity swallows nervously.  “Dinah?”

            “Here, I will learn what I am for.”  The Lady dropped from view, disappearing into darkness.  Below, Chastity hears a hallow ringing as the Guide lands and the sound of foot falls following, reminiscent of the Guide ship below Athens.  Chastity, using the floor for support, drops down and trails after the Lady.  She can see the vague form of another ship as her eyes adjust to the deeper darkness.

            “And what does that mean? What exactly do you expect to find?”

            “I do not know,” the Lady said, eyes glowing in the darkness.  “But I know it is here.  It is in my brain.  I can feel it.

            “Feel it?”

            The Lady stops and looks at Chastity with those glowing eyes.  They are all that Chastity can see by in the darkness.  “It is a memory, but it is fragmented.  I need to complete it.  Here, I will find the answer to all of your questions, and mine, too.”

            Chastity stares for a moment.  Canaan had become only a place of death for her, but now she can find something good for it.  She feels the place where her implant is and nods.  Then, drawing a deep breath of stale air, fresh without the scent of death, she says, “Then, lead the way.”

 

-Stargazers, part 1-

 

            Arthur tests his armor one last time before pulling the emergency hatch.  When he finds it unresponsive, he climbs onto the back of the seat and pops the hatch open.  It sighs and then groans as he pushes it up and off.  Sliding lethargically, it falls from the armor, landing dull against the sand.

            Federation soldiers stop at a distance and train their weapons on the armor as Arthur climbs from it.  He descends its back carefully and lands behind its prone, metal body.  There, he presses his back to the armor and closes his eyes.  He draws a deep breathe, inhaling the dry Canaan air.  It sucks the moisture from his throat and his tongue, but it also focuses his mind.  Another breath, and he moves past his own pain.  A third, and he is focused only on the task at hand.

            A fourth breath, and he rises, and he fires.  Bullets ricochet off of the armor around him, punching dents into the plating but unable to part the steel.  One of the Federation soldiers falls with a two holes in him, one in the chest and the other the head.  Another clutches his knee cap as he falls to the ground, blood gushing from his wound.  His screams unnerve his allies enough to draw their attention from the enemy.

            Three soldiers remain, and they unload their assault rifles on the armor.  Its helm tears, its visor fractures.  Optics shatter and sprinkle glass in tear-drop shards.  Arthur listens on the other side of the armor, breathing through his pain, through his anxiety, and through his gut-twisting fear.  The armor hums under the rain of bullets.

            One soldier runs dries and fumbles changing his clip, dropping it to the ground and scrambling to pick it up as another runs out of ammo.  The third stops firing to survey the results of their attack and catches a bullet in his right eye.  His right shoulder pops immediately afterward.  Behind him, the first soldier is already flailing, collapsed to the ground as the second soldier drops his ammo and wets himself.

            Arthur finishes them quickly.  He leaves an extra bullet in each head and gathers their clips.  Searching their bodies, he also takes field rations that are on them, any extra clips he can find a place for on his uniform, and one assault rifle.  He holsters his pistol and checks the rifle, removing the spent clip and reloading with a fresh one.  Then, he looks down the sights.

            The facility awaits him, armors marching around it and drop ships landing with fresh troops.  Arthur ducks among the bodies and moves forward in a crawl.  He isn’t afraid of dying, but he is worried about everyone else who will die on the way.