Edward

Edward

by

Marcus J. LaGrone

Edward

© 2012 by
Marcus J.
LaGrone             
All rights reserved.

       Cover artwork was done
by Minna Sundberg. 
http://www.minnasundberg.fi/
  
© 2012 held by Marcus J. LaGrone.  All rights reserved.

      
       The resemblance of any character in this
book to any real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      
       This book may not be reproduced in whole,
or in part, without the author’s explicit permission in writing except for
brief excerpts which may be used for the purposes of writing reviews for
publication.

       For more information on
this title or other titles by the author, please visit:  www.HighlandsOfAfon.com

A brief
introduction to the races can be found at the end of the book.

Edward stared back at the letter as his fur bristled and
his tufted ears twitched absentmindedly.  It was the fourth time that
evening he had read it.  It wasn't like it was going to change.  Just a single page, so little and yet so much.  There
in that one page was the last communication he had with his brother David
before he was killed.  David Silverglade, dead in
combat.  That still haunted him even five years after the
fact.  He had been barely thirteen when he got the first letter from his
older brother and then, less than a fortnight later, the second, and more
painful letter arrived: the one informing him of David's death.

Edward held his head high and took a deep breath as he fought
to get his bobcat-like fur back under control.  He was the youngest of
seven children, the youngest of four brothers; all had gone places and made
something of themselves.   His eldest
sibling, his sister Helen, was now Ambassador at Large for the Highlands of the
home world of Afon.  His two older living brothers, Llewellyn and Penn,
were both High Silvers.  All the boys in the family had previously served,
like David, alongside the Shukurae in their protracted fight against the
Shukurae’s former slave masters, the Gelkin. 

High Silvers...  David had been a High Silver. 
David had discovered that and then gotten killed, all within ten days. 
Edward was just a Silver.  “Just” a Silver!  Many Highlanders would have swapped their
furry tails to be a Silver.  He could change the
color of his fur coat like the best of them,
growl
and pass almost
entire conversations empathically, and despite his age, was already a legend
for his skill with Live Steel.  Live Steel, what a misnomer.  Steel,
wood, titanium, it didn't matter, he could summon almost any weapon or armor he
needed in a flash just by thinking about it.  Just a
Silver.   All his older brothers had been High Silvers; they
could do more than change the fur color, they could fade to all but invisible,
they could fold space-time and create a dimension door and send themselves home
in a flash, they almost seemed to eat and breathe Live Steel.  Was he a
High Silver just waiting to come out of his shell?  Was he, or was he just
fooling himself... No, all the others were High Silvers,
he
had
to be one as well.  He just needed to push himself
harder.  That's it.  Push harder until it all just broke loose.

The red light flashed over his bunk.  Time to get ready for insertion.  The Shukurae ship was
getting ready for its assault and he needed to get to his station.  He
carefully folded the letter, returning it to a box under his bed and then raced
out the door and down the long hallways.  The hallways on Shukurae ships
were huge, well, they had to be, the Shukurae themselves averaged easily three
meters tall.  Their leathery almost scaly hide was menacing, their soft
pupilless eyes were creepy, and their razor sharp boron carbide teeth and tusks
rounded out their monstrous form.  Yet Edward knew under all of that were
honest and pure hearts, brave and loyal, ready to go into battle at the drop of
a hat.

Edward’s own form, while square and solid by Highland Taik
standards, was readily dwarfed by the Shukurae and their ship.  His only
comfort was that at least he was average in height compared to the humans on
the ship.  Although his heavy fur coat, cat-like face and long tail were
in sharp contrast to the furless and tailless humans.  Humans! 
Edward tried not to laugh but they always made him giggle.  They were just
so naked looking!  He knew it was juvenile but they were so strange
compared to what he grew up with.  Human societies weren't too strange, they were much like Lowland Taik for that
matter.  An almost even male/female ratio and everything, just like the Lowlanders. 
Edward as a Highlander, on the other hand, had grown up with four mothers and
one father.  First Mother, head of the house, ran the family
business.  Second Mother raised the children and did their
schooling.  His Third and Fourth Mothers both supported the family
business.  An average family.  Well, average save for having four boys, much less three High
Silvers!  No.  Four.  Edward was
certain of it.   

Edward rounded the corner just as Jake, one of the humans
on his team, came tearing down the hall.

“Looks like a live one today!” called Jake.  
“You ready for it?”

“Been looking forward to it since I woke up!” beamed Edward
back.   He enjoyed the humans on his team.  Not that he didn't
passionately appreciate the opportunity to work alongside the Shukurae, but the
humans, naked as they may look, at least were fun to talk to.  And boy did
they have a sense of humor!  Where the Shukurae seemed to have a deficit
of humor, the humans made up for the loss in spades.  Shukurae were always
so utilitarian and reserved it was hard to be around them.  He had been
told that away from the front lines, they could be far more approachable and
sociable, but here on assault ships, not so much!  “Race you to the planet
surface?”

Jake shook his head as the two jogged along down the halls
past an increasingly large number of Shukurae, “I'm slated for the second
strike team today, so no-can-do.”

“Aw, that's no fun.  You know what is going on today,
or do we just get the briefing on the descent?”

“Option two!  All I know is I'm here to make people
keep their heads down.”

Edward nodded.  Jake was a sniper, and a good one at
that.  He excelled at long range shots with directed energy weapons as
well as kinetic weapons.  He was a good man to have around.  His eyes
were sharp even if his nose was lame.  That seemed to be common for
humans.   “Well, I guess we'll talk planet side!”  

The pair turned into a large staging room.  Edward ran
over to where his Shukurae partner was already armored up and was settling
herself into their insertion capsule.  Partner, more
like nanny at times.  Nanny and ride!   Kadu was her
name: she was fast on her feet and had exceptional situational awareness and
her job, outside of carrying Edward on her back, was to keep him safe until he
was needed.  Half the time that meant they got stuck in the rear, but when
things got hot, the pair of them would close with almost reckless
abandon.  Close quarter combat.  That is what Edward excelled
at.  With his exceptional skills with Live Steel, he could clear a room in
a heartbeat.  One didn't want to think how fast he could finish off
something small like a train car.  Edward was just itching to get in and
show them all what he could do.  What a High Silver could do.

“Buckle up, I'm ready to close up,” came the weird voice
from Kadu.  It was a deep baritone voice that always came as a
chord.  Not unlike two people talking at once, each at a different
pitch.  All Shukurae did that.  It was a little disturbing but it did
actually make it easier to understand them when things were exploding all
around them.

“I'm on it!”  Edward was eager to go.  Too eager
most would say, but his detractors would have to wait for another day. 
Today was live!  He settled himself into the straps on Kadu's back and
tucked his tail in and forward, well clear of the capsule door.

“We are slated for a hop insertion.  I've set the
retro rockets to sustain at a maximum of 5.5 of gravity.”

“I was able to handle 6.5 in the tests earlier this week,”
objected Edward.

“Negative.  Simulation has you at a 40% chance of
blacking out at 6.5.  Time to target difference in only twelve seconds, we
go in at 5.5,” rebuked Kadu.

Nanny.
  Edward knew it was pointless to argue with her but
at least he tried.  He settled himself in as the narrow door closed behind
him.  It was going to be a rough ride.  The assault ship would
separate from the mother ship and hurtle toward the planet.   
Standard procedure was to eject from the assault ship just on the edge of the
atmosphere.  The rockets would kick in and blast them on a ballistic arc
straight toward the planet's surface.  Once through the upper atmosphere
the retrorockets would kick in to slow their descent.  They’d then pull
5.5 times the force of gravity for twenty-two seconds.  It was rough, but
he knew he could do it.  He'd done it a hundred times before.

“D-tack.”

“Hear you five for five, Kadu.”

“We are pushing away in twelve... eleven... ten...”

Edward ignored Kadu and just focused on his
breathing.  Slow and steady.  Calm.  Must maintain calm.  He could almost hear the voice of
his eldest brother, Llewellyn, over his shoulder. 
Calm is the most
important thing.  Just go and let it happen.  The world is your tool, concentrate on the job not the method. 
Edward
didn't know how much of that was just garbage and how much was really
important, but listening to his brother had kept him alive in some pretty tight
spots.  Llewellyn, he was off and married with a kid and another on the
way.  Why did he leave all the excitement behind?  He was one of the
best if not
the
best.  Why go?  Well, for one thing, he had
nothing left to prove.  Edward had a long shadow to fill. 

Wait a second!  Why hadn't the ship separated
yet? 
Edward knew that for orbital
insertions there was a very narrow time window and they had to be going way out
of that window by now.  “Kadu, what's going on?  Why hasn't the drop
ship separated?”

“Unclear.  Nothing on comms.”

Man, was she calm.  She was always calm.  How
could she be so darn calm when their window was most likely shot?  At best
it would be forty minutes to get the window back.  Forty!  Edward
gnashed his teeth.  What bureaucratic glitch had hit the system? 
This almost never happened!  He could only hope there weren't people on
the surface in desperate need of reinforcements.  If he wasn't careful
Jake was going to beat him to the surface after all.

“517
^th
, we have a recall.  Please stand
down.  All units of the 517
^th
please stand down,” barked the
intercom.

“What happened?” demanded Edward, livid.

“No data,” replied Kadu, calm as ever.  “Stand by,
releasing the door.”

The door to the capsule opened and Edward vacated with a
snarl.  All around him others were exiting their capsules and starting to
down armor.  Kadu soon exited their joint pod and stood beside him trying to
show some level of support, “Sorry Edward.  I don't know what happened.”

“High Centurion on deck!” came the
bark of one of the Shukurae.  They all snapped to attention.  Well,
Edward, the other Taiks and the humans moseyed to attention.  They weren't
exactly in the chain of command, but respect was given where it was deserved.

An old-looking Shukurae, his hide leathery-white from age,
entered the room.  His shoulder armor was solid red signifying his rank as
not just a High Centurion but a Grand Centurion.  Toch was his name. 
Edward had met him before.  He was an old battle horse and had served
alongside his elder brother Llewellyn.  He scanned the crowd until he made
eye contact with Edward.

“Edward,” he called as he approached.  “We have been
asked to gather you and as many will volunteer for a special assault and rescue
mission.”

“I'm confused, sir.  What is so important that the
present mission was scrubbed?”

“Your sister, Ambassador Helen, and most of her family were
just killed.  Their youngest daughter, Dawn, is the only survivor and she
has been kidnapped.  They are looking to put together a rescue and
reprisal mission.  Are you interested?”

“Yes!  Yes, sir!”

Edward stared at the building in the distance through the
image-stabilized binoculars.  It was one and a half kilometers away, but
the image in the eyepiece was large and sharp.  It was a plain building,
nothing remarkable about it, as it stood there in the pre-dawn glow. 
Nothing, save for its contents.  They had been waiting, watching for over
three hours.   Under cover of darkness they had moved into position
and now they all sat, waiting, watching.  All of them. 
The Grand Centurion had asked for volunteers and volunteers he got!  The
entire 517
^th
was on the ground there with Edward.  No one had
batted an eye at the opportunity to help the Highlanders.  Helen and most
of her family had been killed in a bomb blast.  That much he knew. 
Members of the old Viceroy's troops were the suspects in the bombing and abduction. 
Viceroy of Ramidar… whatever…   Edward didn't know much about the
planet's local politics and he didn't care to learn.  All he knew was his
niece was down there along with the murderers of his sister.

“I expected you to protest the remoteness of the
operation,” began Kadu.  “I anticipated that you wanted to be the one
kicking down the door to rescue the little girl.  I'm impressed with your
patience.”

That was about as close to a compliment as Edward was going
to get from Kadu, but he took it as it was meant.  “Thank you.  I
would love to be in the heat of it, but my brother Llewellyn is the right man
for the job.  He's the best, and I know it.”

“How the heck is such a small team going to find the little
girl in that big building?” asked Jake.  “They cannot afford the time to
go room to room and search.  It's too big.”

“My brother said he can find our niece and I have no reason
to doubt him.  He's the best.”

“And you are just chopped liver?” joked Jake.  “Come
on, how good could he really be compared to you?”

“Flattery works better with the girls, eh?”

“No, seriously.  I've seen you in action.  You are pretty darn
amazing.”

Edward sniffed, “Llewellyn is... well... you just have to
wait and watch.  Everyone set on kinetics?”

Those nearby nodded in unison.

“So does this mean we are going to see a 'Forest
Wall'?  I've always been curious about viewing one in person,” inquired
Kadu.

“Odds are you will get your chance.  The
electromagnetic pulse will probably fry everything within five kilometers if
all the High Silvers go off in sync.  I have no clue how far the greenery
will go.”

“Greenery?” asked Jake, more than a little confused.

“High Silvers can create a localized distortion that rips
space out of phase.  The shock wave produces a sizable EMP.  An
ancillary effect is the second wave of energy that tends to rip up the local
terrain and replace it with a wide variation of arboreal flora consistent with
that of the Highland regions of the planet Afon,” explained Kadu.  “It is
supposed to be quite lovely.”

Edward laughed, “What she said.”  The laugh was
partially due to Kadu's sterile but technically correct description, and
partially due to the thought she would find anything 'lovely'.  There was
more to this Shukurae than he knew. 

“So they get weird and we get a forest that springs out of
the rocks and pavement?” asked Jake.

“That is the short of it,” concurred Edward.  “We have
motion!”

“Confirmed,” replied the suddenly professional Jake. “We
have activity at the building.”

Kadu grunted into her microphone and then tossed it aside,
“All units, we are in motion.  Scrap the electronics. Rely on kinetics. Out.”

Jake chambered a round in his high power rifle as he
started to survey the terrain more closely.

Edward glued himself to the binoculars.  The image
stabilization would go south in a hurry, but until then, he got to watch his
brother at work.  Brothers, plural, actually. 
Both Llewellyn and Penn were down there somewhere along with all the other
known High Silvers.  There were a couple hundred thousand Silvers in all
the known worlds and colonies.  There were eighteen known High Silvers,
and they were all down there, somewhere.  This wasn't going to be even a
remotely fair fight, and they didn't care.  Their ambassador and her
family had been killed by a coward's bomb, and people were going to pay.

Edward winced as he watched the front of the building
suddenly erupt in flames.  Fireballs quickly blew out all the windows and
doors.  Thermobaric grenades most likely.  
They produced massive heat and overpressure which was good for cleaning out
buildings.  Heck, they were good for leveling buildings.  Hopefully
the explosion was covering the extraction of his little niece.  He knew he
didn't need to hope; his brother was down there and Llewellyn left little to
chance.  Suddenly he could make out the form of his brother walking out of
the remains of the front of the building.  Flames and debris were still
raining down but Llewellyn walked out of the building unconcerned and unharmed. 
A few unfortunate guards who had witnessed the explosion and had come out of
the hiding spots now decided to confront his brother.  The rapid fire of a
pulse rifle didn't even upset Llewellyn's fur.  A split second later a
quick blue flash of Live Steel greeted them; they weren't going to be getting
back up.

“Whoa!  I take it that is your brother,” whistled
Jake.

“Llewellyn.   If you see the one on the far
right, just coming into view, that is my other brother, Penn.”

“It looks like they are just gathering to chat.  Hey,
there is another one that is dressed  like a
Highlander.”

Sure enough a small group of Highlanders formed in front of
the remains of the building.  All the while they came under fire from a
cornucopia of weaponry.  None even seemed to notice.

“Grav tanks.  Kedar Mk IIs or IIIs, not sure
which.  Two of 'em.  Shouldn't we
warn them?” asked Jake.

“I'm not sure the guys in the tanks could hear you, much
less believe you,” replied Edward sarcastically as he watched the tanks fire a
pair of rounds into the crowd.   Twenty kilograms of tungsten at
around mach six burst from the rail guns on the tanks.   The rounds
ricocheted harmlessly off of the individuals as their armor momentarily flashed
into existence.  Edward growled as he looked away.  Some day he would
be able to do that.  Not today, but some day.   Suddenly his
head hurt as a voice raced through it.  Instinct told him it was sound,
but it had bypassed his ears and gone straight to his brain.   It was
a uniform chorus, all the High Silvers in the distance called out at
once. 
Forest Wall
. 

The world around them exploded with life.  Greenery
erupted out of the very ground, tearing down buildings and replacing them with
trees.   Soft grass under foot suddenly made his toes feel at home, as
bushes and shrubs filled out the gaps between the trees.  Yep.  His
binoculars didn't work anymore.  All the electronics associated with image
stabilization were fried.  So were everyone’s pulse rifles or
electronically fused grenades.   It was chemical energy kinetic
weapons or hand weapons or good old claws and fists.  Now it was their
turn.  The forest was up and now they were now going to be fighting on
Edward's terms.  Live Steel and trees, what a perfect combination!

“Fantastic!” observed Kadu.  “But I do believe that is
our cue, yes?”

“Yes, ma'am!”  beamed Edward.  “Okay,
we move forward.  Rules of engagement were clear.  Cover the 768
^th
on their way out, everyone else is a target.  Double tap if you would
please.”  Edward was too excited by the thought of fighting in a forest to
feel grumpy about being ‘just’ a Silver.  He had a job, he had a mission,
and he was going to make his family and his country proud.  He leaped onto
Kadu's back and the pair tore off running through the woods.   They
were a well-teamed pair, nanny or otherwise.  Kadu ran through the woods
at full speed while the others in the team followed as best as they
could.  Edward peered around, much like a periscope from on top of Kadu's
back.  He drank in the forest.  No birds!  He laughed to
himself.   That was all that was missing.  Kadu's instinctive
navigation was fantastic.  She ran through the woods with a mental map of
where the streets should have been and moved them parallel to the estimated
egress of the 768
^th
.  

They were close, very close.   Edward lightly
touched Kadu on her head.  She reflexively knew what he meant, they were a
practiced team.  She slammed up next to a large tree using it for cover
while Edward let loose the harness and quickly scampered up the
tree.   His eyes scanned the forest with ease of long practice; he'd
been running free in the woods since he was old enough to walk.  While the
particulars of this forest were new to him, the flora and feel was perfectly in
his comfort zone.  Not so true for the two soldiers he spied up
ahead.  They looked more than a little confused, but not for long. 
Edward's fur rolled and churned in color until it closely matched the bark of
the trees.  He quickly and silently dropped to the forest floor next to
Kadu and the rest of the waiting team.  He made two short tongue clicks
and then sprang silently across the forest floor.  As he rounded the last
set of trees there was a brilliant blue flash as a Live Steel long sword faded
into existence in his hand.  The two unsuspecting and bewildered guards
quickly and silently fell to the floor.   Edward made a quick chirp,
much like a common finch, and Kadu caught up with him.

Kadu said nothing as she stopped near Edward.  Nothing
needed to be said, it was just part of the work.  In a flash Edward was up
and in place on her back again and the pair continued at breakneck speed across
the forest floor.   Edward was impressed with Kadu; he knew she
hadn't grown up in a forest, far from it, but she was both dexterous and quiet,
an exceptional mix.   He had no clue how they had become partners,
but she was a perfect fit for him.  As much as he hated to admit it, her
caution was a perfect foil for his eagerness.  Somewhere between the two
lay the
proper
path.   Give and take, that's what partners
were for.  
Footfalls.
  Odd rhythm.
 With another quick tap, she was back
to the base of a tree and he was half the way up it. 

Edward smiled.  It was Toch and several members of the
768
^th
.  He let out a short trill and dropped to the
floor.  A quick nod and Kadu barked out something in her native
tongue.  A quick challenge and reply and both parties quickly
converged.  There were about nine Shukurae from the 768
^th
,
including Toch.  How long had it been since Toch had done field
work?  Edward sniffed, probably five years.  Ever
since Llewellyn had left.   However long he had been out of
action, it didn't show in the least.  His poise and presence was
intimidating at ten meters and only got worse as they got closer.  Edward
had no reason to fear Toch, far from it, but if Toch was causing this reaction
in him, what was it doing to those on the grumpy end of his path.

Kadu and Toch had a short exchange while Edward went over
to check out his niece.   Dawn was her name.  He hadn't seen her
in four or five years and she had grown quite a bit.  She had to be
fourteen or so now, it was hard to tell.  First and foremost, she looked
scared!  Solid jet black fur and a torn and burn damaged dress, she held
onto the back of one of the Shukurae with a death grip.

“Dawn, it’s okay.  We almost
have you out of here.”

She stared back at him blankly.   He couldn't
tell if she didn't recognize him or if she was just in a state of shock.

“I'm your uncle Edward.  We probably last met at Uncle
Llewellyn's wedding.”

She looked at him and nodded feebly.  Well, that was
going to have to do it.

“Point or flank?” asked Toch.

“Either, sir.”

“Then take point.  Speed, not reprisal is our goal
with the little one.”

Edward was all about both, but he understood.  The
primary goal was to get girl safely out.  He leaped onto the back of Kadu,
“Then try and keep up, sir.”

Toch flashed what passed for a smile, “Good answer.”

With that Kadu and Edward tore off through the
woods.   The purpose was to make sure the path was clear and safe,
and that took little effort.   Only three other 'encounters'
interrupted their exit of the woods.  The staccato burst of gunfire in the
distance signaled others and their operations, but it was sword or claw for
Edward, and he was good with both.  As they burst from the edge of the
forest, far larger than Edward had expected, there was a waiting human drop
ship.  He had half expected a Shukurae drop ship, but he recognized the
utility almost immediately.  Human ships were far faster on their ascent. 
The scattered elements of the two units ran up the loading ramp and the ships
engines burst to life, lifting them off the ground even before the door was
fully closed.

They quickly moved Dawn to a reclined seat. It was sized for
an adult human, but it was close enough for her.  A human medic was
quickly by her side as the engines continued to whine louder and louder. 
Edward took the seat next to her.  “She's okay, right?”

The human nodded, “Mild signs of shock.  To be expected,
honestly, after all she's been through.  But her vitals are all good and
she appears uninjured.  We've limited the ride to two of normal gravity so
we don't stress her system.”

“If we wanted to go that slow, we could have taken a
Shukurae ship,” Edward teased.

“Ah yes, but we are also going like a bat out of hell
forward as well as up.”

Edward nodded.  They were clear of the hot zone. 
If someone did have some shoulder-fired anti-air missiles, they were almost
assuredly well out of range by now.  As if the EMP hadn't fried said
missile, but they had come so far so hard, they weren't going to take any
chances.  “All kidding aside, thank you.”