Settling darkness, p.11
Settling Darkness, page 11
part #2 of The Valkyrie Chronicles Series
“You did more just now than I’d seen in a good while.” I gazed deep into his eyes.
Scarface returned my look with a stern glare. “We got lucky. Ain’t always that way. Number and tech like Radomet won’t stop them much either.”
Treg said, “We’re fighting them one at a time; it’s all we can do.”
“They’re a disease. They’ll keep going til we’re wiped out. Only way of ending them is extermination. They’ll never stop coming. They don’t want anything but to wipe you out, don’t you get that?” Scarface shook his head and looked around at his group. Some nodded in reply, the rest stood in place. A few shot me curious looks before they focused again on their leader. I hadn’t won ‘em over. Not yet, anyway.
“We won’t stop ‘em if we run. Besides, we got a deal with Lebabolis.”
Scarface leaned in closer to me. My eyes watered under his rotten breath. “You mean you’re their slaves. You served Lebabolis and you’re still serving them as their army.”
“Maybe, but it’s how we stopped ‘em from attacking us.”
“It’s the easy way.”
“You got a better idea?” My eyes darted to the soldier with the flag. He held the pole up straight, the flag danced lazily in the slight breeze. “Why are you waving the Valkyrie flag?”
“What do you care?” Scarface held his rifle firmly. Beads of sweat tickled and itched my forehead as they snaked downward toward my neck.
“Because of this.”
I twisted my hand back and grabbed the dagger and slowly unsheathed it. At the sound of the blade’s ring of being set free, the tall soldier activated his rifle again. “One more move and I’m gonna fry the inside of your skull.”
I gripped the knife and managed a small grin. One of the other ragged soldiers to my right gasped. “Where’d she get that?” Another one said. The murmurs spread until the tall soldier glanced down and saw the knife. His eyes widened, and he pulled his rifle back.
“Baudricort of the Action gave it to me for protection.”
Scarface shouldered his rifle. They watched the knife like a sacred relic. He held a hand up and quieted his troops then turned back to me. “That knife belonged to the Valkyrie. Our leader. My name’s Duncan. I’m commander of this—”
“The Guard?”
Duncan shrugged. “What’s left of it. Banished by Lebabolis because we refused to follow anyone but the Valkyrie, the true Valkyrie. We been in the Outlands for over twenty years now, living off the land and taking what we needed to survive. Lebabolis wouldn’t have us, but they knew better than to toy with us.”
“You were their army, correct?”
“We served with the Valkyrie, and the Valkyrie served Lebabolis. We were the protectors of Lebabolis, and we gave the Omegans plenty to think about. There was no stopping us. We faced them down with the Valkyrie and turned their forces back.”
“Well, you and Cataclysm,” I said.
“We beat them down enough. You think you’re tough, sneaking in and around here, gettin’ into a scrap now and then, getting some shots off? You aren’t hard. You gotta eat, breathe, and sleep soldierin’. Omegans don’t take any rest. They stab you, you shoot them. They shoot you, you blast them and send them straight into hell. Period. Cataclysm finished what we started, but you best listen, foolin’ with that is meddling with powers that shouldn’t be tested.”
“Yeah, well, how did you lose Cataclysm?”
Duncan thrust a finger toward me as if it was a blade. “We didn’t lose it! The Valkyrie knew it meant trouble. That kind of power shouldn’t be in anyone’s hands. Besides, we had things in hand and we sent them Omegans to hell right good.”
“As you saw, not forever,” I said. “They’re back for Valentium and payback.”
“So I see, but it ain’t our concern. I won’t fight for a country that abandoned us; neither will they.”
I looked at their group and realized how much we were alike, two groups of people who were cast out by the same country. “What about the Action then? We aren’t Lebabolis. We’re like you, sick of lives we’re forced into. We broke free from Lebabolis and we’ve been struggling. The Action wants freedom too, from a system that treats people like parts. We’re trying to get to the Western Range and stop the Omegans.”
Duncan’s eyes softened, and I saw even a trace of humanity under them. He looked on me with warmth. “What’s your name, fiery girl?”
“Ana Crucinal.”
“You got spirit, Ana Crucinal. But this fight is yours, not ours. We done our bit for country, and paid a price we didn’t deserve. Now we just want to survive in peace.”
“You weren’t peaceful a few seconds ago. Hell, you almost did me in.” I scoffed.
“We show force and take what we need, but no more. We’re not marauders, rapists or ravagers. We scavenge to survive. We hunt and use our will to survive to determine our course. Nothing more.”
“I told you.” Dawn shrugged.
Duncan’s friendly gaze went furious in an instant as he looked toward Dawn. “You shut your mouth, gray band. You’re a pawn and you know it. I got a good mind to shove this here stick down your throat, see how it tastes to ya.”
I waved my hands. “If you think you’ll survive with the Omegans around, you’re kidding yourself. You said the words, they’re brutal and they won’t stop. They want Valentium, and revenge, but I’ve seen them up close. How can you walk from a fight like this? If the Omegans win, they’ll bleed this land dry, and anyone they come across is dead meat. “
“And Lebabolis won’t do the same?” Duncan asked.
I swallowed hard on that truth. “We’ll figure that out when the time comes. I know we can take control if you help us. You were the elite once. You stood up to Omegans even though they were tougher, and you held them off. You became what was needed when it mattered. I’m just asking you to do it again.
“For what?” Duncan asked.
I thrust the knife into the air. “A chance to say you didn’t lie down when it was most important. One last chance to make the Guard name mean something again. Omegans won’t be satisfied when Lebabolis and the Action are no more; they’ll keep going until the world is under their rule. Think your peaceful existence of just taking what you need will keep you out of their way? They’ll come for you. Not now, not this month, but there will come a time. They’ll be on you and it’ll be too late. I’ve been on the run most of my life. I wanted for a long time more than anything to just leave this behind. But they took my brother and other sick people. They made me fight. I hate ‘em for it, but I hate the Omegans even more. And there’ll be a time to pay back Lebabolis too, I guarantee you.”
I felt their eyes on me and thought I’d made a breakthrough with ‘em, but Duncan set things straight again. “Lebabolis can crumble into the sea for all we care.”
“They aren’t going anywhere soon, especially once they get Cataclysm,” I said.
“What do you mean, get Cataclysm?” Duncan’s brow creased.
“That’s what I said.”
Duncan asked, “They found it?”
“Baudricort showed me, showed us.”
“Impossible. It was hidden long ago, before you were born, and we’ve had no idea where.”
“It’s not only possible, but we know where it is, and we’re gonna deliver it to ‘em.” I grimaced at the idea but reminded myself it wasn’t the final plan.
I heard a ripple of chuckles through the nearby Guard soldiers. Duncan shook his head. “Are you mad?”
“No, I’m trading for something else.”
“What, exactly?” Duncan’s held his hands in the air.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? What the hell are you thinking then; you just want to start trouble? You might be better off with us instead of followin’ some fool leader gonna toss you away soon as you give them what they need. You’re high on hope, fiery girl.”
“I’m against a wall; hope’s all I got.”
Duncan paced back and forth. He scratched his head and looked at me for a few moments in silence. “The Omegans aren’t to be taken light. They’re pretty fierce, and we seen that weapon of theirs. It’s ruined more than a few of what we got left of our people, so I know exactly what you’re saying, believe me.”
Aggravation settled in on me, and I fought with myself to keep in this talk. If I flew off and left here, I’d have lost the one ally I needed most. I braced myself and focused my mind on what Baudricort would’ve said to them. “We get Cataclysm; even if we have to give it to ‘em, we’re in control.”
“No, you’re giving up control. You don’t understand, that kind of power don’t belong in one person’s hands, no matter who they are.”
“If we don’t get this, and someone else like her does, there’s no telling what’ll happen. Someone’s gotta try,” I said.
“And you’re crazy enough to. So you got a plan, and you’re crazy enough to think it’ll work?”
“It might, if we get some help.”
“From who, us?”
I scanned the group again. “Yeah. Look, I’ve seen and read a lot about you. The Guard were the toughest fighters Lebabolis has ever known. When I was a kid I heard the stories, how it took three Radomet to stop a Guard member any day of the week. Yeah, times have changed, you’re older and slower, but think about what you did. And what did you do to get there? It wasn’t just your training, or your physical strength, even your belief in the Valkyrie. It was your hearts. They’re pure and full of devotion. You don’t just fight to kill. You fight to survive, to protect. Because you care, you’ve got loved ones. And you’d die before you let anyone get over on you. Fighting for something is more powerful than fighting against it. You became the fiercest warriors through training and service and belief in the Valkyrie. You can do it again, if you want to. And I think you do. I don’t think this life you’ve got, scavenging around for scraps, taking pot shots at crafts that aren’t even aware or can fight back to any degree is what you want. You want more. And that’s what we want. We’re finishing what was started by the Valkyrie. And we could really use the help. How about it?”
Duncan gazed at me for a long time. His troops had eyes fixed on me too. Their scowls melted into more thoughtful expressions. “Sorry, fiery girl. The Valkyrie is dead.”
I thought about the voice and what it told me, but would they have even believed it? Maybe it was just a ghost from years back and I was lucky enough to be the haunted one. If I told people, they would’ve just dismissed me as this crazy girl with big plans and, as a bonus, who, oh yeah, heard voices. Who the hell would follow someone like that?
I shrugged that off though and kept on. “It’s up to you. I can’t make you. But you faced down an enemy that could’ve easily laid waste to you with no fear. We need your force.”
Duncan sighed, and his head dipped a little. “We’re scattered halfway across the Outlands. Even the Guard isn’t one group anymore. We do what we need to survive.”
“You won’t survive much longer like this. Somebody’s gonna fire Cataclysm. If not me, then her, and you remember what Cataclysm does, right?” I said.
“Yeah.” Duncan sighed.
“Charista’s turning it on the Omegans first chance she gets, and you and I know she won’t stop there. She wants the whole world to fall under this umbrella of Lebabolis.”
Duncan folded his arms. “Worlds fall all the time, fiery girl. We fought our fight. It’s someone else’s turn now.” He laughed. “We’re headed home; our round of foraging is done for now. I don’t expect you’ll see us again.”
My eyes pled with them, but it was useless. Duncan gave a shrill whistle and his troops joined up together. As one, they swiveled back in the direction of the woods and marched off. A loud chorus of “One or None” followed them, and a wave of sadness hit me. Was it that hard, convincing them? Had I just failed again? Who would’ve thought I was any kinda leader if they’d seen me here right now? Was the Action really that much different than the Guard? Was I looking at our future, my future… a member of a bunch of scavengers who prowled the world like a starving pack of dogs just in for whatever the next scrap of meat to be stolen? How could they have used the same cry, the same call that was ingrained in the Action? Would I be a ragged, worn out leader of a troop of renegades just scraping by for whatever we could get to sustain ourselves?
“Satisfied?” Dawn asked.
“Better we ask than never know,” I replied. “I thought they could’ve been up to the task.”
“Wrong again. Let’s go.”
I nodded, my eyes still on the soldiers. I hated that they wouldn’t or couldn’t stay, and I wondered about what I’d seen behind Duncan’s eyes. They said a lot more than his words, but that was just a mystery, maybe forever unsolved. His gaze was clouded with something else, like smokiness inside an otherwise clear crystal.
Chapter 10 (Nelson)
“N
elson, while we still have time, there’s one more thing I need to show you.” Kado ushered me over to his terminal and pulled up the MODOSNet screen. He studied me with the sincere gaze of a therapist. “First, tell me again what Baudricort told you about Ana.”
I thought back to those last moments with him on the floor in his busted out quarters. The smoke that wafted around from the blast itched my nose and the ringing in my ears from being so close to the explosion made it tough to make anything out. He was a mixture of emotions: fear of dying without knowing if what he had done made any difference. He was all worry and uncertainty. But I leaned in close enough for his last few words about Ana. “He just said to watch out for her.”
Kado eyed me, expressionless. “Ana’s a mystery to a lot of people. I know Treg trained her. But her skill, her strength, that’s ingrained in Warrior Products from birth, and before. That’s the whole idea of the Product system: traits survive, even if free choice doesn’t. Me, I never bought she was a Worker Product. She was too strong. It takes more than training to get as capable as she is.”
I nodded. “Treg once told me she took on a Radomet by herself.”
“That’s what I mean. Once the Action started, Baudricort corrupted records to keep as many people safe so they never knew the system had been compromised for people like Ana.”
He then went back to his terminal. “I’m not sure why this was hidden, but our friend Ana’s got a lot more going on than any of us could’ve guessed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Baudricort never said anything to me about what I’m about to show you.”
He leaned back from the screen, and I had a look. There was the MODOSNet file on Ana on the screen. Her parent entries were blank. “This happened for a lot of the Action members; Baudricort saw to it when he was wreaking havoc in the system during Exodus.”
“So what, Kado? I don’t understand; she’s got these skills, but is she really any different from the rest who escaped? Baudricort just gave her a head start, like the others.”
“Ahh, maybe. And sure, that’s a safe guess. See, Lebabolis would do whatever they could to hunt down people, even if it meant tracking down their parents. But I didn’t show you this so you could see what was removed.” He tapped a few more controls. “I want you to see what was never in that record.”
With that, he activated a video, and I found myself staring once again into the eyes of Baudricort.
“Ana, my daughter. I’m a coward. I held things from you. I thought I was protecting you, but I was really protecting myself. But now, I want to be clear. If what I think has happened, you need to be ready because you’ve got work to do.
“I wish I had time to tell you everything you’ve wanted to know about your life and where you came from. But there was never enough time. I’m marked, and I don’t know how much time I have left. Your mother—”his voice wavered and he suppressed a sob—”is probably dead by now, so I must pass this onto you. I couldn’t risk telling you sooner, and give Charista the chance to do a Link pull on you. But you must know her name is—”
The video crackled and the image popped blank for several seconds.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Kado adjusted and tweaked controls, but it was useless.
“I don’t know what happened. Was he making this right before he died? Maybe it was a Valentium spike.”
“Can’t say for sure. Wait—here it comes again.”
The video resumed but nothing further about Ana’s mother.
“I’ve made so many mistakes. But maybe, if you’re still alive and seeing this, there’s still a chance we’ll stop the bigger catastrophe. My only hope is Charista hasn’t found out who you are yet. I’m even taking a risk saying this to you now, but it’s time you know. I’m sorry it’s too late for me to tell you in person. Cataclysm is the deadliest weapon and I was ordered... forced to create it by Charista. I used data she’d gotten from the Omegans, it… was always supposed to be secret, but I don’t see the point of keeping that hidden anymore.
“Charista’s the one you need to watch out for. She’ll say whatever she needs; don’t believe her. She’ll tell you she’s the Valkyrie. Watch yourself; she’s also gotten into the Action with her spies somewhere, I’m sure of it. It feels like there’s someone in this group who’s not one of us. I just hope I figure out who before it’s too late.
“I’ve left information with Kado on the Cataclysm device and a security system I’ve enacted with the Valkyrie. Cataclysm will not fire without the Failsafe enacted. I don’t want to say exactly how it works here in case this is being monitored. You must get to Cataclysm and use the Failsafe system before anyone else can, or the destruction that happened before will happen again on a much bigger scale. And if Charista is in control of it, there’ll be no end. She’ll destroy whoever’s against her: the Action, the Omegans, anyone else who doesn’t fit her plan. It’s vital you follow the details in the fail-safe method I’ve outlined.”
The tears rolled free down his face and his voice got strained into a plaintive whine. “I wish I could’ve given you the life you wanted or deserved. You needed love from your birth parents, but you had none. You needed a family, but it was taken from you. You needed security, but you only had hiding and deception. I wish it could’ve been different, that I could adjust things, make things better, I do. But even with the Verges, some things still can’t be done over.”
