Alliance of Serpents (27 page)

Doman chuckled softly at that. "Damien's
perception of Kindel is a bit unique. He truly believes that Kindel
can one day be shown the error of his ways. Trouble is, Kindel has
been rampaging across the universe for hundreds of years now. It's
unlikely he'll see the light any time soon."

Arus' human eye bulged. "
Hundreds
of
years?"

Now Doman laughed openly, nearly dropping his
knife on his own foot in the process. "Didn't Damien tell you? The
average Zo'rhan lives to be nearly a thousand years old! Damien
himself is closing in on eight-hundred, and Kindel is thought to be
around six hundred and eighty."

"Wow," Arus murmured in disbelief. "I had no
idea. The surprises never stop coming around here, do they?"

"When you've traveled across the galaxy as
many times as I have,
nothing
surprises you. I haven't
been—"

"Someone comes," Samas said suddenly. She
spoke as though she was announcing the arrival of honored guests,
yet she and Orchi visibly tightened their holds on their
weapons.

The knife in Doman's hand stopped in a
white-knuckled grip instantly, his face becoming serious as stone.
The rest of the soldiers stiffened as well, some hefting their
pistols and rifles nervously. Arus instinctively reached for his
sword, though he knew he would likely be shuffled to the back of
the room in the event of a struggle. "How does she know that?" he
asked.

"They can sense nearby life forms," Doman
responded, his attention focused on the girls. "How many,
Samas?"

"Difficult to say," she told him.

"More than twenty," Orchi added. "Perhaps
double."

A thought ran through Arus' head, one he
almost dismissed immediately, but his desperate desire to be of
some use forced him to give the idea some thought. Every shred of
humanity within told him that using the implant in any way other
than what was absolutely necessary would be akin to submitting to
Truce's will once again. Other soldiers survived by their own wits
and skill, and he didn't want to rely on anything other than his
own devices. Yet he considered his sword, an object he had not been
born with, a tool he had trained to use to serve the good of the
people, to be one of those devices. That blade, the same weapon
that he'd used to murder Master Eaisan, had been used to defeat
Aratus Truce years ago. It was a tool that could be used for either
good or evil. In the hands of a murderer, a knife was a weapon. In
the hands of a surgeon, it was a lifesaving tool.

Why, then, should the implant be any
different?

"I will not use it for evil," he said aloud,
drawing confused looks from Doman and the others. Closing his eye,
he concentrated on the device. He didn't understand how it worked,
but it took only a simple thought to activate the implant's
scanning systems. The maroon tint that suddenly flooded his vision
brought back terrible feelings and memories of his experience under
Truce's command.
I am free now,
he reminded himself.
I am
free. He isn't controlling me anymore.
Again, unaware of
exactly how he did it, he initiated a scan of the vault and its
surrounding corridors. A three-dimensional diagram of the area
appeared in his vision, complete with numerous white blips
indicating nearby life forms. Without having to count, he heard
himself reporting that there were thirty-five men outside the door.
I
am
in control, right?
A quick scan of several of
those life forms brought up a diagnostic display of size, weight,
body mass, strengths, weaknesses, and weaponry for each. Finally,
he shut the implant's sensors down, ridding his vision of the
crimson film with a sigh of relief.

When he looked up, nearly everyone was
staring at him.

"What?" he shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"How can you possibly know all that?" Doman
asked in astonishment.

He suddenly realized that he'd not only told
them how many soldiers were outside the room, but every other
detail about the individual scans he'd conducted. Everything from
sword length and rifle intensity to the physical strengths and
weaknesses of at least five different soldiers, if not more. Not
knowing what to say, he held up his hands and shrugged again. "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to alarm anyone. I just wanted to know what we
were up against. I wanted to help us defend—"

Doman was shaking his head alongside a few
others. "Don't apologize," he said. "I just had no idea you had
such abilities."

"I don't like to use them," he admitted. "I'm
not proud of what this thing can do."

"Such talents should not be left to collect
dust. You spoke of wanting to help; these skills bring something to
the battlefield that no soldier can duplicate."

"They come!" Samas shouted.

The sounds of weapons being cocked mingled
with scraping of swords against their scabbards as the thick bars
across the hatch slid away with a mechanical hum. Doman pushed his
way toward the front of the room while the rest of the soldiers
converged to form a protective barrier ahead of Arus. A tall Thanai
female named Sollete looked back at him. "Go," she ordered, "hide
behind one of the crates in the back!"

Arus frowned. "Don't expect me to stay there
if things get rough," he called as he scurried between the rows of
containers. "I'm not about to watch everyone die protecting me just
to get captured anyway."

The troops that appeared when the hatch
finally swept open were quickly swallowed by a sea of brown. Aeden
soldiers rushed forward as soon as there was room enough to fit
through. The clashing of steel against steel was occasionally
swallowed by intermittent laser fire and magical blasts, each of
which made Arus cringe. He peeked around the corner of the crate to
watch, unconsciously easing his sword from its sheath with his left
hand.
At what point do I intervene?
The laser fire
intensified as the Aeden men pushed the attacking soldiers back
into the hall, allowing more room for each side to maneuver. It
wasn't long at all before Arus found himself alone in the vault
watching a volley of laser blasts through the open hatch.
How
did they get the keys? Kitreena said she'd make sure . . .
The
thought was replaced by an entirely new fear. It was unlikely that
she'd be listening for his thoughts at the moment, but he tried
anyway.
Kitreena! Can you hear me? Did they hurt you? Please
answer if you're there!

No response came as he crept forward, careful
to remain hidden behind a crate or storage container as he moved.
Once he neared the hatch, he could see a tan colored key protruding
from a control panel just outside.
Kitreena? Are you there?
Both brown and grey uniformed bodies littered the floor on the
other side of the opening. The sight tore at his heart regardless
of their allegiance. Beyond them, a pair of enormous balls of fire
sailed past, followed by two blinding streaks of lightning from the
opposite direction. That brought the gunfire to a halt for a brief
moment, but when it resumed it was louder than ever. Reactivating
his scanners, Arus performed a quick sweep of the area. Many had
indeed died, though the readout showed a large number of life forms
moving down the hall in either direction, suggesting that the
battle had split in two. And more were arriving on both sides. He
shut down the scanners and sat back against the wall beside the
hatch.
Now what? I'm certainly not safe here, but where should I
go?

A woman's scream from the hall drew his
attention. In the center of the intersection, a human female in an
Aeden uniform collapsed to her knees as her rifle clattered to the
floor beside her. Dangling brown locks of hair swayed over wide
eyes, and her face was a sickly shade of white. Thick streams of
smoke rose from the burning laser wound in her stomach where fresh
blood oozed through her burnt uniform and smoldering flesh. A
Vezulian soldier raced over and yanked her to her feet with an arm
around her neck, using her body as a shield against enemy fire
while he aimed his own pistol over her shoulder. The Aeden blasts
died down while the Vezulian soldiers' intensified further,
emboldened by the Alliance's unwillingness to fire at their own
comrade. Arus could only assume that their reluctance to shoot
around her stemmed from the fear that the Vezulian trooper would
move her into the path of their lasers. In the end, it mattered
little.

There was no thought. No hesitation. No fear.
Arus leapt to his feet and drew his sword, activating all available
functions of the implant as he rose. The pinpoint accuracy and
precision he once had came flooding back to him as the scanning and
sensor systems came online, and he lunged into the hall without
looking back. A blinding beam of crimson burst forth from his
cybernetic eye, searing through the Vezulian captor's skull in less
than a second. His body fell to the ground with the Aeden woman, a
gaping tunnel burned straight through his head. Troops from both
sides gasped as Arus stepped into the hall to meet the Vezulian
laser fire. Machine and body working as one, there was no need to
even look at his sensor readout to know where each blast was aimed.
Every shot met his whirling blade with a ringing clash of sparks as
he swung it in dramatic flourishes around his body. He was in
control of his functions and yet not. Aware of his actions though
just as surprised as his assailants. To him, deflecting those laser
blasts was as simple as walking; once you knew how to do it, you
barely gave the process any thought. Still, he was not invincible,
and very well aware of that fact. He filled his lungs to capacity
and shouted as loudly as he could. "Unless you want to end up like
your friend behind me, I suggest you cease fire!"

To his surprise, much of the Vezulian fire
came to an abrupt end. Those that didn't stop right away quickly
followed the lead of their fellow soldiers. Many wore their fear
openly on their faces, though some seemed to be more furious than
anything else. Quivering hands on their weapons betrayed their
fright, and rightfully so. The implant's sensors noted the approach
of the Aeden soldiers behind him, and he raised his mechanical arm
with a sideways glance to order a halt. Most stopped, though one
rushed forward to check the status of the fallen female. He was too
late, Arus knew. Her signal had long since vanished from his radar.
"Listen to me very carefully," he shouted with a commanding voice
that would've made Master Eaisan proud. "Anyone who surrenders
their arms and cooperates with the Aeden Alliance from this moment
forward will not be harmed. I urge you to take this opportunity to
spare your own lives and renounce your loyalty to the Vezulian
Armada."

Doman's voice was suddenly at his ear. "What
are you doing?" he nearly hissed.

Arus didn't look back. "I'm giving them the
chance they never gave us. Everyone should have the chance to
change regardless of what they've done."

"But these people believe that their ways are
right and just! You cannot think that they'll simply abandon their
beliefs to—"

"I cannot assume that they won't without
giving them the chance."

One of the Vezulian men, careful not to lift
his weapon as he took a step forward, frowned at them. "The Aeden
Alliance prides itself in its cowardice and its refusal to make the
sacrifices necessary to ensure the safety and security of the
universe. We will never align ourselves with such a faction!"

Arus grit his teeth in a struggled effort to
keep his outward appearance from showing the fire that raged
inside. He took a step to the side and turned halfway toward the
fallen woman, now cradled in the arms of another Aeden soldier.
"Was
her
safety and security ensured?" he asked, pointing
his sword at her. His upper lip twitched in anger. "How about him?"
he continued, directing the blade toward the Vezulian corpse beside
her. He continued pointing out each and every man and woman that
had died during the fighting, his voice growing louder with each
one. "What about her? And him? How about that one? Did your values
of peace ensure their safety? Did it? Come on, someone answer me!
You initiated this battle, not us. So tell us, what makes you think
your violent and heartless ways are going to bring about peace?" He
swept his sword toward the surviving Aeden soldiers. "Tell us all!
We're anxious to hear it!"

"The sacrifices made here today are necessary
so that the greater good might one day prevail!" one of the
Vezulian soldiers shouted.

"How?" Arus demanded. "How do the deaths of
these people serve some sort of greater purpose? How did their
lives impede the safety of the universe?"

"You are too young to understand," someone
else muttered. "The Admiral will set you on the right path."

With Arus' anger came a boldness that
surprised even himself. "Oh he will, will he?" he asked, motioning
toward the nearest soldier. "Do you have a communicator?"

The trooper, a Thanai male, reluctantly
produced a small silver device. "Wh-Why do you—"

Arus ignored the question and yanked it away
with his free hand. With Doman and the other Aeden soldiers looking
on in horror, he lifted it too his mouth and pressed the button on
the side. "This is Arus Sheeth speaking. I wish to speak with The
Admiral in charge of the Vezulian operation onboard the
Refuge.
"

Doman gaped openly at him now. "You're mad,
boy. You're absolutely mad."

The comm remained silent, which only served
to heat Arus' blood further. "I have twenty-four of your soldiers
down here who want to know why you've left them to die at my
hands!" He had never heard such anger in his own voice before, but
his sudden forcefulness
had
managed to keep anyone else from
dying thus far. "Now if I don't hear from the admiral, I'm going to
start—"