Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (47 page)

“Precisely,” Achilles said, “your shield protects you no matter what the circumstances. It is impervious and it will defend you. It will also fight for you, so do not be afraid to use it as a weapon.”

Breeze listened while giving chase to a ship that was flying away. “I’m going to give this little piggy a bump it’ll never forget,” he said as he drew closer to it.

“Beware, young man. Not every victory is so easily achieved.”

Breeze trailed it, and then expanded the shield just as the ship ejected hot flame from its exhaust. A wall of fire blinded him and he veered off course.

“Always expect resistance as not every adversary is so easily defeated. In the same manner you feigned weakness and set a trap for them, the tables can be turned on you as well. Be mindful of that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah. I get it.”

“Do I sense a case of wounded pride in the tone of your voice? Forgive me, master, if I am wrong for my processors do not appear to be functioning well today.”

Breeze ignored the robot as he looped around in a wide arc to find and give chase to the other ships, never realizing they were trailing him the whole time.

You are making this far too easy for him. A few quick victories and he now believes he is an invincible warrior. You should really hammer down on the whelp.

Achilles’ body shuddered as it cocked its head. “I shall ask you to cease and desist. You plainly have no interest in helping,” it responded to the voice.

High above, Breeze was scanning the skies. “Achilles, I can barely hear what you are saying. Did you just say the session is over? Because I lost track of them, so I guess I won.”

“I apologize, master, I seem to be having...issues with my intercom. Nevertheless, there is no such victory as a partial one. Victory can only be achieved by absolutely defeating your opponent along with their acknowledgment of it. No firm and clear victory, no peace can be established.”

“You’re not kidding, I saw how you fought at Hammer Jack’s. You’re a robot that plays for keeps.”

“Pay heed to the battle space. Victory, as well as defeat, can be found lurking around the next corner.”

“Don’t know about corners up here in the sky, Achilles. Plenty of clouds though.”

“Focus, young man.”

As if on cue, the sky was shattered by the sound of high pitched turbines coupled with multiple sonic booms. The ships were in single file as they charged him then peeled away in different directions when they drew closer to him.

“They have learned. They are wary of you, but possess no fear. They are relentless, and like all machines, they never stop until the intended goal of their programming has been achieved. They are fully aware of your capabilities and have adapted with their own countermeasures. Beware,” Achilles warned.

He drifted across the sky and watched the ships scramble into position as one hovered above him and another below. The remaining two hovered to his left and right.

“They’re boxing me in,” he called out.

“Indeed,” Achilles’ voice crackled over the earpiece.

“That’s stupid. Don’t they know if they rush me again I’ll just use the shield and bump them back?”

“Master, it is best to overestimate your opponents than to underestimate them. Expect the worse and plan accordingly.”

“Okay, then I’ll ram them.”

He charged the ship to his right when he heard the roar of engines and was rammed from below and sent hurtling toward the attack ship above him, which was vibrating and shimmering, while a translucent bubble began to form off its bow. He could feel the bubble dragging him towards it, when it burst in an explosion of sound and fury as the space between him and the ship became distorted and the resulting impact was like a wave crashing over and sending him into a spiral to the earth below.

Another blow from a ship to his left changed his course and sent him hurtling across the sky when he was instantly surrounded by an overwhelming roar of engines. The other ships had joined in and relentlessly attacked with expanding spheres that appeared off their bows and exploded, sending shock waves crashing over him.

“Achilles, make them stop!”

“Negative. Now more than ever, it is imperative that you achieve success. You must overcome these odds.”

“But how? What kind of weapons are they using?”

“Distortion fields. They are collapsing the space between you and them.”

Another explosion from an expanding bubble sent him cartwheeling across the sky as ships from above and below moved in for the kill.

Achilles explained to him his predicament. “They know they must keep their distance from you, so the strategy they are employing is to collapse the fabric of space and time and use it as a whip. They do this by forming a bubble of intense gravitational energy just off their bows which stretches space like a rubber band, but instead of riding ahead of the resulting wave that is created when unleashed, they hang back and allow the wave to strike you.”

Another bellowing roar and his shield buckled as a pair of waves hit him simultaneously. The impact rattled him as he searched wildly for a reference point to maintain his position while fighting off the vertigo that threatened to overwhelm him. “Can’t find…ground…sky is spinning…”

See? Not capable. You apply pressure to this one and he folds.

Achilles pounded its chest with a reverberating clang as it responded to the voice. “Your timing is highly inappropriate. This will be my final warning to you. You will recede to the shadows and allow me to train this child.”

“Achilles…what are you saying? Help me…,” Breeze’s voice came in weakly over the intercom.

“Steady yourself young warrior. Remember one of the first rules of navigation; find a reference point.”

“How? Spinning…so fast.”

“There is glowing orb above you. You cannot miss it.”

“What…are you…talking about?”

“The sun, Master Corinth. Burning with its virtually infinite flame.”

Breeze tumbled inside his shield as he fought off an impending blackout. He struggled to lock his eyes on the sun as he strained to counteract the spin he was thrown into. The more effort he exerted, the less he spun.

He broke free from his death spiral and wobbled as he tried to hover in place. Nausea roiled him as he watched the ships regroup into a diamond formation.

“Can you call off this session, Achilles? I think I’ve had enough.”

“You have accomplished much by doing, rather than discussing, the theoretical. Retreat is unnecessary when you have the upper hand.”

“What upper hand? I’m getting destroyed up here!”

“Analyze, young man. You possess the ability to expand your shield and batter the opposition. Have you not yet realized it can be utilized to draw in your adversaries?”

Breeze was silent as he studied the ships. He knew he didn’t have the strength to lash out at them with his shield. They would only fall back and stay out of range.

“Wait a minute. I think I’m beginning to understand what you’re rattling on about, Achilles. What if I expand the shield just enough, then…collapse it quickly?”

“Yes. Your shield also distorts space. If it were to suddenly collapse—”

”—it would suck them in and bring them closer to me,” Breeze concluded.

“Your understanding is complete. Now execute,” Achilles said.

Breeze glared at each ship. Their hulls gleamed from the rays of the brilliant sun while hot exhaust poured from their turbines and clashed with the cold air, creating wisps of white clouds that streamed behind them.

In unison, they began to rotate in a circular motion. Their tempo increased, and in a matter of seconds, they formed a roaring vortex

Breeze could feel himself getting dragged towards it as he stretched out his arms and let his head fall back. His body trembled as his shield expanded.

The ships responded by forming distortion spheres off their bows as they continued spinning.

Breeze expanded the shield to his utmost limit and noted how flimsy it appeared. He was weak and the shield reflected it. He focused what little strength he had left and channeled it into the shield. Its surface began to crackle with energy when he heard the growing hiss of static surround him.

He quickly tucked into a fetal position while rapidly collapsing the shield as the sudden vacuum it created overwhelmed the vortex and the ships were sent hurling towards him.

They immediately discharged their distortion spheres at him as their turbines whined in a desperate attempt to reverse course, but it only served to strengthen the shield, which absorbed their energy upon impact.

Then the world disappeared before his eyes.

Breeze watched as darkness rapidly descended upon him. He was in a complete blackout and the silence was overwhelming. Panic swept over him when he realized he couldn’t even see himself as he waved his hands in front of his face. He wanted to shout for help, but his throat made no sound.

That’s when he felt pinpricks of electricity strike his hand. He raised it and saw a ball of light spin in his palm. The light grew in intensity as it confronted the darkness and sent it into retreat. As the darkness receded, more globes of light appeared and swarmed like bees before him.

He heard whispering voices, but saw no one. He drifted towards the buzzing hive of lights, but could never get close to any of them.

The whispers gave way to voices, though the language was unfamiliar. He could sense the presence of others, but never did they feel malevolent.

The lights then coalesced into human forms. Their faces were featureless as they stood in a row and conversed amongst themselves while intermittently pointing at him and nodding their heads.

“Hello,” he said, then laughed. It felt good to be able to speak again.

“Having…a voice, the ability…to express oneself…is one of the simplest joys of life, is it not?” one of them said at it stepped forward.

“Yes,” Breeze replied.

“Your gifts are a part of you, they can never be taken away nor given to another.”

Breeze nodded.

“They are not a curse, nor a burden. It is a natural part of you as the eyes that let you see, or the heart that pumps life nourishing blood through your veins. Cherish them and use them wisely as you will need them. Not just to help yourself, but also those around you. Do you understand?”

Breeze nodded when the ball of light rose from his hand and floated above him.

“You must return, but remember this: you are as light as a feather. That is how you will land.”

Before Breeze could respond, he felt a hand on his back gently push him forward into a rift that appeared where he was instantly blinded by a powerful burst of light. He raised a hand to shield his eyes when a sudden gust of wind made him tumble like a leaf.

He pulled his hand away and was greeted by the rays of the sun. He looked down and saw a brilliant and endless landscape of white clouds spread out before him. He sank into them and exited moments later to a vista filled with vast stretches of land that curved towards the horizon.

While he drifted down he could see Achilles, as the sunlight that glinted off its metal skin could be seen for miles. When he drew closer he saw the attack ships had landed and were lined up in a row behind the robot. He landed gently and calmly walked towards it.

“Master, where have you been? I suspected the worst might have befallen you,” Achilles said as it approached him. The robot’s feet left deep impressions in the muddy ground.

“Footprints,” Breeze said and pointed behind Achilles.

“Yes, my young friend. Such things occur when the gravitational attraction of an object overwhelms the surface tension of a plane. Hence, my excessive weight will leave impressions on the ground.”

“I have none,” Breeze pointed behind him.

Achilles scanned the terrain behind him. “Curious,” it said and its eyes began to glow.

Breeze’s gaze drifted towards one of the ships he had sparred with earlier. He stepped up to it and touched its metal skin, realizing it was the same one he had seen in Achilles’ barn. He felt a spark of energy surge through his arm and he pulled his hand away, staring at it intently while waving it slowly from side to side.

“Master, are my optical sensors deceiving me, or are you becoming translucent?” Achilles said.

Breeze could barely see his hand or arm as he held out his other hand and waved it in front of him. “What’s happening to me? Why do I feel so out of it?”

Achilles’ eyes lit up. “When you collapsed your shield, you subsequently disappeared. I became perplexed as to how you performed this feat. I utilized my sensors, but could not detect your bio signature. It was as if you had just vanished from existence. Illuminate me, Master Corinth, where did you go?”

“All I could remember was hearing the sound of turbines at full throttle combined with static, then silence as everything went dark. Then I saw a light. Actually, a swarm of lights, and then...” His words drifted off as he gazed at the mountains in the distance.

Achilles tilted its head. “I implore you to please continue your story, Master.”

“I saw people made up of light. They spoke to me and told me my powers were a gift and not something to be taken for granted.”

“Intriguing,” Achilles said.

Breeze reached out and touched the hull of the ship again. He applied pressure with his fingers and his hand and arm sank effortlessly up to his elbow into the ship. He tried to pull it back out but couldn’t.

“Achilles, what’s happening?” Breeze’s face was contorted with fear as he struggled to free himself.

Achilles reached out to grab him, and then hesitated. “When your shield collapsed, you must have created a tear in space time,” it said.

“That’s great Achilles, but I don’t need a science lecture right now.”

Servos whirred as Achilles shook its head rapidly. “This is a most fascinating development, young aviator. Now, stand still. I believe I possess a solution to your dilemma.”

“Is it going to hurt?”

“Excellent question. Response? Cannot answer at this time due to insufficient data.”

Before Breeze could say anything, Achilles grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back. In an instant, a brilliant light surrounded them. He turned to look at the robot and for a brief moment, saw a human face peering out from behind its head as they tumbled to the ground.