Freedom Saga 3: The Dawn of Liberty (22 page)

Tctie
and Myden were in the Grey’s quarters. Each held a telepathic staff in their
hands. Tctie followed Myden’s lead as they went through every one of the basic
abilities of the weapon. After a half an hour they stopped.

“Your
progress is beyond any expectations I had,” Myden said.

“I’m
glad to have a teacher like you to guide me,” Tctie said.

“Have
you made your decision?” the Grey asked.

Tctie
nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m
glad,” Myden said.

“I
haven’t told what I want to do yet,” Tctie said.

“I’ve
seen your heart enough to know,” Myden said. “Your people need someone to show
them the path to the future. For the short time you’ve lived amongst others,
you’ve grown an incredible amount. Not just as a telepath, but as a person.”

“What
should I do with this?” Tctie asked while holding up the staff.

Myden
walked over and touched it with his hand. After a moment of concentration Tctie
heard the sound of a lock being unsealed in his mind.

“You
are free to do with it what you wish,” Myden said. “From this day forward you
are no longer my student, but my equal.”

Tctie
stared at the staff as the purple hieroglyphs shifted to the Ick-Tckt’s
swirling script.

“The
staff is now a part of you,” Myden said. “Let it serve as a bridge between our
races in the future. And may it light your way wherever the darkness of space
takes you.”

* * *

The
Duchess Mlka stood up from her seat in the command center and screeched when
she watched the footage of the Freedom.

“That
fool allowed herself to be beaten so easily!” she shouted.

The
three warriors closest to her occupied the stations in the room.

“We’re
reinforcing the shields inside the base to prevent the same thing from
happening to us,” her first warrior said.

“What
I want to know is how he’s able to do that,” the second warrior said.

“They
say he’s awakened,” the third warrior said.

The
duchess’s antennae twitched.

“What
is it my lady?” the first warrior asked.

“Nothing,”
she answered. “How are our forces coming along?”

“We’ve
gathered over a thousand ships for this battle,” the second warrior reported.

“And
we now have the specs on the cannon attached to the orbital ring,” the third
warrior said.

The
duchess looked over the range of the cannon on the orbital tower.

“I
see,” she said. “If we attack the poles at a low angle they can’t fire at us.
That’s unless they want to risk damaging the atmosphere.”

“Why
would they build a weapon with such an obvious defect?” her second warrior
asked.

“It’s
because the queen plans on building a second orbital ring from north to south,”
the first warrior answered. “The Original five homeworlds are rumored to have
such structures in place.”

“Then
we’ll be the ones to complete it,” the duchess said. “Have all of our ships
head for the north pole. It’s time we take our world back from our insane
queen.”

* * *

The
battle on the surface of Ick-Tckt Prime quieted down as the duchess’s allies
moved northward. The queen and her Chka Knight watched their foes’ movements
carefully on the monitors. The queen’s forces were moving to reinforce the weak
spots in their defenses.

“I
think she’s going strike before the Freedom gets here,” Khcha said.

“I
do to,” the queen said. “We’ll have to hold out until they can flank her. From
what we can see she has no reserves.”

“So
she’s betting everything on this battle,” Khcha said. “Then I think we should
do the same.”

“You
don’t have to go,” the queen said.

“My
life is yours and always has been,” Khcha said. He crossed his arms across his
chest. “I will prepare my Auguar Star for battle.”

“I
pray victory will be the result,” the queen said.

“As
do I,” Khcha said before leaving.

* * *

Brian
woke up in his quarters after someone buzzed at his door. He slowly sat up and
yawned before throwing his clothes on.

“Come
in,” he said.

The
door opened and Seles stepped inside. She set a bottle of tea on his table with
a breakfast salad next to it. The door closed and left the two alone.

“I
figured you’d want something to eat before all this,” she said.

“You
know me better than I know myself,” he said.

“Are
you feeling alright?” she asked.

“Never
better,” he answered. He noticed a strange look in her eyes. “What?”

“You’re
left eye’s leaking,” Seles said.

He
looked in the mirror and saw his left eye was glowing blue. He closed his eyes
and concentrated to calm the light down.

“What’s
happening to you?” Seles asked as she hugged him from behind. “You haven’t said
a word about it since it happened.”

“Words
can’t describe it,” he said.

“You’re
taking the easy way out again,” she warned.

He
smiled. “I saw something Seles, something that disturbs me to the core.”

“You
saw the machine god, didn’t you?”

“How
did you know?” he asked when he turned to face her.

“When
you were in your cocoon I touched your mind for a brief moment,” she said. “I
saw what you saw and felt what you felt.”

“That
thing has been in my head since the sojourn,” Brian said. “Even though I can
ignore it now, it’s still there. It taunts me in my sleep and when I’m alone.”

“I
understand,” Seles said. “I didn’t before, but now I do.”

“Did
it infect your mind as well?” he asked.

“No,”
she answered. She looked away. “Why are we the ones who have to carry this
burden?”

“Someone
has to,” Brian said. “I won’t say fate or god because I believe in neither.
What I will say is we carry the burden so the others don’t have to. We fight so
others can live peaceful lives. That’s the burden we carry.”

“When
do we get to have those peaceful days?” she asked.

“I
don’t know,” he answered. “But if I could have them tomorrow I would.”

“I
love you,” Seles said.

“I
love you too,” Brian said.

“I’m
glad you didn’t turn into an energy ball,” she said before kissing him.

* * *

Kyli
finished her breakfast in the mess hall and made her way to the launching bay.
Inside the large chamber dozens of mobile suits were being prepared for the
next battle by scores of engineers. She casually went to her Phase Rakna and
started checking it over.

“You’re
worried,”
Tctie said telepathically.

Kyli
jumped before seeing he was standing at the foot of his mobile suit next to
hers.

“Don’t
do that to me,” she said.

“I’m
sorry if I offended you,” the drone said.

“You’re
right about me being worried,” Kyli said. “I feel like I’m being left behind.”

“You’ll
find your way soon enough,” Tctie said.

“Will
you be leading the charge this time?” she asked.

“Yes,”
Tctie said. He noticed she was still worried. “I’ll be leaving after this.”

“What?”
she asked. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”

“We
all have times in our lives when we have to move on,” Tctie said. “The captain
gave me his approval last night.”

“We’re
going to miss you,” Kyli said. “You’re a hell of a pilot.”

“Thanks,”
Tctie said.

* * *

Jesela
quietly finished doing maintenance on the Artemis and Siren. Mira stood next to
her and offered her friend some breakfast. After quickly eating a nut bar and
taking a slug of water Jesela was finished.

“Thanks,”
Jesela said. “You’ve been rather quiet lately.”

“I’ve
been thinking, that’s the problem,” Mira said.

“Now
stop that,” Jesela said. “Thinking isn’t good for either of us.”

“I
find it strange that you and Seles reacted the way you did to my secret,” Mira
said.

“You
are you,” Jesela said. “The body you originally inhabited may be gone, but what
counts is the mind.”

“You
sound so sure of that,” Mira said.

“That’s
because I am,” Jesela said. “It’s also because your father put everything into making
you real.” Jesela ran her hand through Mira’s hair. “Matter is simply energy in
potential. That’s what Gaelic knew. And as a
Maigar
he was well versed
in holographic technology. But you go beyond a simple image. You have warmth,
you have depth, you have a mind, and you have dreams. You sleep, you eat, you
even have to wear clothes and bathe. You’re not the pale reflection of Mira
Kein, but something greater. You won’t age and as long as your earring survives
you’ll never die. Even when I’m old and grey you’ll still look the same. I’m
kind of jealous.”

“I
never thought I’d hear someone say that,” Mira said.

“Be
sure it’s true,” Jesela said.

Mira
hugged Jesela with tears in her eyes. “Thanks for always being there for me.”

“Promise
me you’ll come see me when I’m as old as Veda,” Jesela said.

Mira
laughed. “Of course I will.”

Duchess
Mlka’s fleet hovered over the north pole of Ick-Tckt Prime. Before the ships
could descend they found a fleet waiting for them in low orbit. On the surface
the attack on the capital was underway again. As the queen watched it unfolding
she sensed desperation behind the attack. She looked to one of the many drone
guards in the room.

“Prepare
my defense fleet for battle,” she ordered.

“Yes
my queen,” the drone said before leaving.

Emerging
from bunkers around the palace was a fleet of a hundred heavy class ships and
ten times that in Auguar Stars. The monitor turned on and revealed her second
warrior as the captain of the flagship.

“Things
must be bad if we have to do this,” the warrior said.

“Yes,”
the queen said. “I want you to break the encirclement around the capital. We
need to get help to our allies in space.”

“Understood,”
the warrior said.

The
queen’s guard fleet flew above the capital and circled the airspace for a few
minutes. Once the warrior in charge found what he was looking for the ships
flew in to attack. The queen continued watching as the battle in space
commenced.

* * *

The
Freedom and its allies appeared in orbit of Ick-Tckt Prime. Brian, Myden,
Grigon, and Jesela were fast at work while the four droids silently went about
their business. They noticed the enemy forces weren’t where they were expecting
them to be. The scanners showed the battle taking place over the north pole.

“Interesting
choice of attack,” Myden said.

“The
queen probably has a weapon keeping them away from the equator,” Brian said.

Captain
Zkcha appeared on the screen.

“I
know what you’re thinking,” Brian said.

“I
didn’t know you were a mind reader,” the warrior said.

“I’m
not, but I can guess pretty well,” Brian said. “We’ll shift from attack
formation A-11 to E-4.”

“Simple
enough,” Zkcha said. “Do you want to lead the way?”

“Of
course,” Brian said. “I trust you’ll watch our back.”

“I
will,” Zkcha said before ending transmission.

“Sounds
like we’re trying something different this time,” Jesela said.

“We
have to assume the duchess knows about her ally’s loss,” Brian said. “No doubt
she saw me doing what I do and has some countermeasures in place. I have a few
ideas on how to overcome them but we need to position everything just right.”

“How
aggressive are we going to be?” Myden asked.

“As
much as we need to be,” Brian said before hitting the com. “Seles, Mira, I want
you two to stick close to the ship for now.”

The
pair appeared on the monitor.

“Yes
Brian,” Seles said.

“We’ll
do just that,” Mira said.

“Kyli,
Tctie, have the mobile suits move into formation D-3 again,” Brian ordered.

“Yes
captain,” Kyli said.

“Moving
into formation now,” Tctie said.

The
Freedom went to the head of the fleet of two hundred ships as they flew for the
north pole. The mobile suits from inside all flew out and landed on the hull to
add their shields. The Artemis readied its long range attacks with the Siren at
its side.

* * *

Duchess
Mlka saw the Freedom leading the fleet of ships approaching her flank.

“I
knew they’d show up at the worst time,” she said.

“What
should we do?” her first warrior asked.

“Let’s
have six hundred ships and their mobile armors occupy the queen’s forces,” the
duchess said. “The base and the other four hundred will engage the second enemy
fleet.”

“Sending
out the orders now,” the second warrior said.

“Should
we call in our reserves?” the third warrior asked.

“It’s
best if we deal with them as quickly as possible,” the duchess said. “Call them
in. It’ll take them a while to get here anyway.”

“The
Freedom is sending a hail out on an open channel,” the first warrior reported.

“Cut
it off,” the duchess said. “None of our forces are to listen to that blathering
Terran.”

“Yes
my lady,” the first warrior said.

She
watched the ships around the Freedom move into a different formation while
approaching. They had their mobile armors positioned to absorb attacks coming
from the front. The two special models remained on the Freedom’s hull. A moment
later the Artemis started blasting into her forces with long range attacks.

“I
hate those things,” the duchess said. “Have all our ships assume formation
F-13. We need to hold them off until our allies and pincer them.”

* * *

The
Artemis began the attack with its cannon before anyone else could get within
firing range. Seles noted the position of the asteroid base as it moved towards
their fleet.

“You
don’t even have to aim to hit something,” Mira said.

“I
prefer things this way,” Seles said. “It means less pressure on me.”

“I
thought one was supposed to get used to the stress of battle,” Mira said.

“You
never get used to it,” Seles said. “You just learn to deal with it better.”

Brian
appeared on their monitors. “I have some bad news,” he said.

“I
don’t like the sound of this,” Mira said.

“Just
spit it out, we’re ready,” Seles said.

Their
scanners showed a fleet of four hundred ships approaching the rear of their forces.

“I
see what you mean,” Seles said. “What do you want do about it?”

“I
want you two to take care of them,” Brian said. “Use whatever means necessary
to do so.”

“What
about what we talked about?” Seles asked.

“If
the time comes while you’re busy I’ll have Kyli or Tctie help,” Brian said. “I
trust you two on this.”

“Alright,”
Seles said.

“Moving
out,” Mira said.

The
Artemis and Siren flew away and went straight for the new enemy force.

“So
it’s the two of us versus four hundred ships,” Mira said.

“I
don’t see any Auguar Stars amongst them,” Seles said.

“That
makes our odds much better,” Mira said. “So how do you want to do this?”

“I’ll
fire an arrow at one of their sides to take out a good portion of them,” Seles
said. “After that, we’ll use your system to disable as many as you can.”

“I’m
glad you’re saving an arrow,” Mira said.

“I
don’t want to fly on empty unless I need to,” Seles said.

The
two mobile suits lit up when their pilots began berserking. While the Artemis
charged the cannon it left behind reflector plates. When it was ready Seles
fired the beam and destroyed sixty ships in one shot. The two charged into the
enemy fleet with Mira singing.

* * *

The
queen fidgeted around in her chamber with all the monitors showing different
angles of the battle. Above the north pole two fleets of nearly the same size
slugged it out. The Freedom and the two hundred ships with it engaged the
Duchess’s asteroid base and four hundred ships. Distant from the rest the
Artemis and Siren were busy with the Duchess’s reserve force. Her guard fleet
on the surface was in the process of breaking the enemy encirclement. When she
looked at a different area around the city she noticed a number of Auguar Stars
busting through the enemy line. As they did so the encirclement fell apart and
the retreat was on. Not long afterwards her guard fleet did the same on the
northern side of the capital. One of the screens lit up and showed Khcha inside
his mobile armor.

“We’ve
successfully beaten them back my queen,” he said.

“I
was wondering what you were doing,” she said.

“I
wanted to wait until your guard fleet started its attack before doing my own,”
her warrior explained. “That way they’re too taxed on one side to effectively
defend the other.”

“I’d
like you to continued leading the rout,” the queen said.

“Of
course,” Khcha said. “How are our allies in space doing?”

“Everything’s
static for the moment,” the queen said. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks,”
he said. “I’ll continue as is then.”

Her
second warrior appeared on a different monitor.

“What
are your orders?” he asked.

“I
want you to head north and join our fleet in orbit,” the queen answered.

“I
will do so then,” the second warrior said before ending transmission.

“Everything’s
in place now,” the queen said as she watched. “All we can do is hope it turns
out in our favor.”