Issue 6: Gulliver Hatches a Plan
That temporal event went just the way Momma said it would. Now the rest is up to me and Trouble. Jailbreak the other Golden Hosts. Micheal is already with us. Eliza has Gabriel. Those two other sets of Owls have some of our friends. Can’t let that stand.—Gulliver
What happens when the Highest already knows the past, present, and future? He relies on us to be his voice. To carry out his will. To be the hands that build the future.–Arcane Order: Mysteries on High
Always count on those Duck Brothers to handle any situation with bombs. Not just any explosive devices. Ones that would turn Owl-invested space lanes into a divine tsunami within the expanse.—Sleeping in Starlight: On the Subject of Cherubs.
Thanan Territory (Eternal Empire Universe)
Outer Reaches
April 28th, 2136
Gulliver leaned into the mass of White Owls.
Energy lashed out around him. Shaped into orange crosses. The owls keened. One attempted to breach the barrier of the divine. It smoked as its pale flesh charred. Black pitiless eyes expanded. Its burnt beak parted as three darts hissed forth. Trouble dashed forward. Omega Defender shielding intercepted the attack. Sparks within the depths of space flickered as they spun in place.
Trouble quacked, <<Kal’nara!>>
Unity’s top hell hounds broke left. Heading straight for Judgement.
A few Bardaxian frigates peeled off. Joined the Duck Brothers in their pursuit.
*****
I twirled the scythe. The Owls around us retreated. My third eye prickled. A squat hunchback of a Typherian screamed, <<DIE!>> The face was marred with dark shaman sigils. Green flames erupted around us. I watched as golden energy shot out. It flitted against the evil energy. Murphy challenged the Typherian, <<Karma comes knocking for us all.>>
Twin bladed knives glinted in the illumination of my weapon. Murphy held me back with a personal message.
//Keep the Hounds off me. I’ll handle X’mil.//
I muttered a few choice Thronebearer sigils. Watched as they coated Murphy’s Judgement ensemble. X’mil taunted, <<I shall wrap that prized bi….>> Flecks of blood exploded from his nose as Murphy dashed in. Quick as death itself. Thomas’ golden gauntleted fist sent X’mil reeling. This was a personal battle.
I circled. My curved blade kept the rest of the monsters at bay.
*****
Thomas Murphy gripped his khopesh in his right hand. His left was armed with the Scion knife of the Golden City. Warmth flowed from his left hand to his heart. The gates of the City’s power filled his arms. His mind. His soul sang out within the dark of space.
X’mil snarled, <<Your baseborn Edenite powers are useless here!>>
Thomas circled. Studying the swat disfigured Typherian as he parried wild attacks. Ripples of energy were defused as they hit his shields. Off faint purple sigils. A black mirror manifested.
X’mil vanished. Murphy tensed.
He whirled as X’mil shot out from behind. The demonic glee in the mutant’s face faltered. He jabbed. Thomas brought his knife about. X’mil screamed. Shielded his eyes and vanished once more. Two feathered shapes floated above Murphy.
Two sets of black eyes peered out into the mass of demonic flesh.
Gulliver preened, <<Unload the presents you borkers!>>
Silver waves of flame crested all across the battlefield.
*****
The Viper’s ships halted as the silver light reached the edges of their shielding. X’mil continued to phase through his dark mirror patterns. He hooked into the frequency that the Apex had left behind. He didn’t care to know their names. For that would place him on their radar. No one wanted to be dissected by the Apex of Unity. A splash of cold hit his face. The ground around him was coated with ice. Each step guided him to an erected tripod. Crimson whorls on its surface told him he was on the Shield World.
He grinned, “What does it matter? J’ino or J’anu? I'll take whatever I can get!”
He paled as a voice, light, and feminine snorted, “Wondered when you’d show up.”
Medusa eyed the metallic spider clinging to his back. “Just got a message dump. I don't fancy being Owl food so….”
X’mil grunted. The Spider beeped, <<Patrol incoming.>> He knelt and muttered an incantation. The tripod shifted. He pocketed the cube. “Lead on.” He watched the former priestess of Thoth. Not under the madman’s sway. Interesting. He climbed aboard the white shuttle. The registry proclaimed, “Registered to Alliance Hauler Little Italy.” X’mil hid a grin.
The Alliance was foolish. His dark shaman's sight revealed the true skin of Medusa. Not whatever she pretended to wear. A ghostly film encircled his body. Medusa jabbed a needle into his arm. He counted backward from ten. Winced as his muscles spasmed. His deformity was hidden. Medusa handed him a mirror, “It's standard.” X’mil brushed the thin face staring back at him. His eyes were a clear gray. Red hair. A neatly trimmed beard.
He smiled, “Excellent. Any idea where J’ino is?”
Medusa turned back to the console.
“She’s aboard the Jupiter. It left the Shield World.”
X’mil hid his disappointment. His heart thudded rapidly in his chest. The golden bite of Thomas Murphy was fresh in his thoughts. He hissed. “That man will die.” A traitorous voice within grated on his nerves, “But not by your hand.” He lifted his knives from their sheaths. He brought out a thin sharp stone. The sound of metal filled the compartment. Medusa kept one hand on her own blaster. The light of madness shone in those eyes. Whatever X’mil had been in life was now gone. What remained was a husk for Unity.
A necromancer.
She had a death grip on the console with her other palm. Tossing him out of the cabin wouldn’t kill him. The parts would crawl back. They always crawled back. She had seen the sigils on his forehead before the disguise took root. The black X. The three circles that were branded within it. Nothing remained. It had X’mil’s memories but inside was a dead husk. She wondered who had his soul stone. She checked hers via her bracelet.
It hummed a faint gray-green. She sealed the doorway.
Still human.
Mostly.
The black scrawl circled the outer edges. Her fingers shook.
There was no escape. She bit back a snarl. They would find a way to endure.
They only had to cheat Fate.
Snake Charmer’s coppery face filled her HUD, <<Drop him off at these coordinates.>>
The artificial atmosphere shifted to early evening. The extra specks were not stars. The combined fleets were landing in repair shops dotted across the planet. Other specks circled high above. In a patrol pattern. Medusa leaned back, “How much you wanna bet…..”
This place was for the Eternal Empire rebels.
*****
Thomas meditated. The cool air of the officer’s quarters tickled his back. His golden Judgment Helm glittered in the low light. A faint white glow hummed, “Speak the words.”
Thomas replied, “As I walk along the Ouro, the stars enkindle, the City Endures.”
The cameras flickered. Time slowed.
Murphy was within the In-Between.
His muscles relaxed. The realm within the helmet was as familiar to him as J’ino’s beautiful face. He watched as the Three Titans circled the dark planet. It was the only way his mind could comprehend it. Hi’ulk murmured, “The gates are closed.” Thomas expected this. He nodded, “Until all are Enthroned.” The other two Titans remained in a deep slumber. Their energy flowed to contain what evil dwelled there. Unity would join all its works within that inky rock. A hell of its own making. “Fitting”, Thomas thought. He reached out to pluck at the threads above Hi’ulk. The thrum within the Dreaming changed. It keened. A rich sonorous ringing.
The Weave took up the call.
Across all worlds, all universes, the legion of Speakers entered a trance.
In one sharp breath: They knew.
The Golden City had returned.
*****
J’ino blinked. Color returned to the world. She shook Lorain. The doctor peered about. “Where did….” The ship’s lights were in emergency mode. J’ino called out, “Jupiter!?”
No response.
Lorain strode to the doorway. It didn’t budge. She hooked her fingers into the emergency hatch near the weapon sensor station. “Let’s get going.”
J’ino noted, “Eliza always manages to get into the thick of it.”
Lorain sighed. “You’d think she’d involve us more by now.”
Doc held up a hand, “I know.”
J’ino replied, “She has more of her father in her than most suspect.”
*****
I paused. The walls around us were rocky. Anna held up one finger. A pearl of light bloomed. Gwen stood. The chess piece had padded our fall into this crevice. A distant clang reached us. A woman said, “But why? Does the Highest desire this or has Lucifer been at you for another special commission?” I took the lead. Wiggled through the narrowed archway. Moments later Gwen and Anna stood next to me. The forge was massive. It took up a whole hanger’s worth of room. The white marble was stained with soot as a hulking Gemini man hammered away. His upper set of arms fed additional sigils and metals to the swords shaped by his lower arms.
Hephaestus.
He raised his head. “This sword shall encompass the World.”
Gwen staggered forward. “That’s….”
Anna said, “The Sword of the First.”
Thronebearer words whispered against my skull.
Not for you. My fingers itched. No. The palm with the three golden rings hummed.
The Forge was a symbol of the bond. Between the Highest and the Inheritors. Gwen’s pupils dilated. I found I couldn’t move. Gwen took a few tentative steps toward the metalsmith. She muttered, “It's not a sword.”
Hephaestus lifted the metal and then dipped it within the frigid waters of Elysium.
Gwen’s fingers shook as she ran them over the necklace.
I saw the Thronebearer word for “Oath” rise to the forefront. It was stark white. Three golden pearls adorned the midpoints. Cords of power rose from the memory. One wrapped around Gwen’s head. Her arms were bound next.
This wasn’t our test. It was hers.
Athena within the memory shook her head, “A dark cloud approaches. We must be ready!”
*****
Gulliver waddled down the beachhead. Heading towards the dark dots against the landscape. Trouble at his side. Ta’rammon was cagey. But the child within J’anu was innocent. Cherubs could sense that no matter how much magic or tech was thrown in their way. Trouble shook his feathered head. <<They never learn.>>
Gulliver winked, << It's our lot in life. They always think we are just hanging onto the wingspan of our big honking cousins!>>
Trouble asked, <<Why do you call Momma “Hot Sauce” anyway?>>
The white duck slowed. Deep in thought. <<You’d laugh.>>
Trouble lifted one black wing, <<Try me!>>
*****
J’anu flicked her knives into a lazy circular pattern. Ta’rammon had ransacked everything. Including a refresher unit. It had been far too easy. That left the Typherian to her baser thoughts. What would happen to this child? Could her line birth anything codified as good? Eliza Murphy didn’t count. The Highest’s fingerprints were all over her. J’anu snarled and flicked a wrist. Her knife embedded itself into the rock wall with a sharp thunk. She rose from the padded bedding. Waddled over to the dispensing unit.
Five Hamburgers later she curled back up into the nest she had made.
She luxuriated in the warmth that curled along her back.
*****
Trouble sat on the ledge. J’anu turned in her sleep. Her face was tense.
Gulliver lifted his head from under his wing. <<How shall we pass the time?!>> Trouble bit back a gentle quack. <<Puns!>> The white duck’s webbed feet danced. The sound blended in with the dripping of the water along the cave walls. Trouble concentrated. A pipe appeared. He clamped down on it with his beak. << I spy with my beady black eyes?>>
Gulliver said cheerily, <<No no no! How many Murphys does it take to screw in a lightbulb?>>
Trouble replied, <<Three! One to shield it! One to spear it and the final one lays it to rest!>>
*****
The Highest maneuvered the black duck to the next square. The white one followed. On the other side? Three Sets of Owls advanced. The man in white leaned back.
He rubbed his chin, “Everything is in place. I leave it to you now.”
Unity had power.
That much was certain. He smiled, “In all children hope blooms eternal.”
Issue 5: Here
Issue 7: Here
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