Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (2 page)

A soldier set up a tall
antenna like device on a tripod base. A green glowing light on the
top hummed in unison with a luminous, rhythmic pulse that grew faster
as the soldier backed away. It glowed bright green before a flash of
light filled the library.

From where the antenna had
stood a sphere of green light burst, its edges crackling with
electrical bolts. The sphere grew to fifteen paces in diameter before
a pair of German soldiers wearing pitch black goggles emerged from
the glowing portal. They dragged a wheeled anti-tank cannon behind
them. As they left the light, the soldiers discarded their goggles
before loading the cannon. They wheeled it to one side before turning
over book shelves to set up a makeshift fortification.

The
patrons gasped while Terra stared with awe, the afterimage still
flashing in her eyes.
What
is that?
she wondered.
Fireworks?
Projectors? CGI? S
he
couldn't deny the strange sight. These Nazis had emerged from
nowhere.

Another half dozen soldiers
swarmed from the glowing sphere. At the end of the group, one stood
out. Terra recognized him by the twin lightning bolt symbol on the
collar of his black uniform. A soldier of the SS; the famous elite
warriors of the Third Reich, chosen for their absolute loyalty to the
Fuhrer and unshakable belief in the superiority of the Aryan race.
The rocket propelled grenade launcher he carried on his shoulder did
little to lessen his intimidating presence.

The soldiers then made way and
stood at attention to the side of the portal. One more Nazi emerged
before the sphere dissipated with a loud screeching crack. The carpet
edges were singed where it had met the sphere and a faint smell of
smoke now hung the air.

The Nazis saluted the
newcomer. Terra felt surprised to see a normal military salute,
rather than the Nazi salute she often saw on documentaries.

This newcomer appeared to be
in his thirties with a rectangular, clean shaven face. He removed his
officer's peaked cap to reveal his neatly parted, dark brown hair. He
wore a dark blue-gray officer's long coat with a rank insignia Terra
didn't recognize. An even pattern of polished medals and insignias
hung on his well pressed uniform with an R runic insignia on the
collar. His belt holstered a pistol and in his left hand he carried a
large pocket watch with a green glowing face. He hung the watch at
his belt and surveyed the area. The sincere smile would have made him
charming, even handsome in spite of his precise military bearing, if
not for the red Nazi armband he wore.

A
soldier approached the officer and stood at attention.
“Einsatzbereit.”

The
officer nodded. “Gemeindepolizei?”
he asked.

“Nicht
hier,”
the soldier said.

The young boy cried before
Terra could calm him.

Unfortunately,
the Nazi officer became distracted by the child's sobs. “Beruhigen
Sie den Jungen. Wir möchten doch keine Bösewichte sein.”

The soldier nearest to the
child put his hand on a holstered pistol. Terra and the other patrons
gasped. She didn't even have time to react as the soldier thumbed his
weapon. Then to her surprise the soldier reached past his gun to pull
out a small package. He unwrapped it to reveal a bar of chocolate.

“Chocolate?” the soldier
asked with a heavy accent. He smiled as he offered it to the child.

The patrons continued to stare
at the soldiers, their expressions a mixture of shock and horror.

The soldier with the chocolate
leaned back, his brow furrowed. He looked to the officer, expectant.
The officer issued orders in a soft, confident tone before the
soldiers guarding the patrons dispersed. He said something to the SS
soldier. The SS soldier glared for a moment before leaving without a
word.

The officer then turned to the
patrons and approached with hands clasped behind his back. His smile
appeared genuine. “I apologize,” he said. His English had only a
faint German accent. “I do not intend to keep you here long, but we
must ask you to remain here to avoid further complications. Rest
assured, we have no intention of harming you and we will be out of
the way soon.”

The patrons exchanged nervous
glances while the child trembled. Terra wondered when the nice guy
act would disappear.

Another silent moment passed.
The officer's smile lessened. After a moment he cleared his throat.
“My apologies again. I should introduce myself. I am Hanns Joachim
Speer, commander of the German Zeitmacht and I am from your past. I
have come from the year nineteen forty by way of time travel.”

Hanns smiled again as if
waiting for questions. The patrons continued to stare.

Terra
raised an eyebrow.
Time travel?
she thought.
What
kind of trick is this?

Hanns
cleared his throat again. “Ungesprächige Leute,”
he said under his breath as he frowned. His gaze searched the crowd.
“If I may ask a favor, could someone tell me the current year and
location? Given the language, I believe this to be the United
States.”

The blank stares of the
patrons continued in silence, save for the footsteps of the
patrolling soldiers and the occasional soft click of weapons.

“Anyone?” Hanns asked as
his gaze searched the gathered patrons. “Anyone at all?”

Terra wondered if, perhaps,
Hanns felt accustomed to people being more friendly with him. His
charm was worthless when he dressed like a villain from an old war
movie.

Hanns frowned again after
another moment of silence. “Why do you stare at me like I’m a
monster?”

“How can you not know?”
Terra whispered, thinking out loud.

Hanns heard and his gaze
snapped straight to her. “Excuse me?” he said, forcing a smile.
Hanns looked relieved to find someone who would talk.

Terra tensed before forcing
herself still. “I guess you couldn't know,” she said, having to
force out the words.

A
soldier approached Hanns and stood at attention. “Wir
haben den Hinterhalt vorbereitet, die Silberhexe kann
kommen.”

Hanns nodded, dismissing the
soldier and looking at his watch again. He smiled and looked at
Terra. “Young lady, would you mind accompanying me?” Hanns asked,
gesturing to the library shelves.

Terra paled further, but Hanns
stood with hand outstretched, like a gentleman offering a dance to a
lady. She frowned before following Hanns.

They walked to a stack of
bookshelves while Terra observed the soldiers' activities. They had
set up a machine gun nest in one corner and the anti tank gun near
the bathrooms. The rest of the soldiers patrolled the outer edges of
the library. Terra wondered if they were preparing an ambush.

The soldiers ignored the
patrons. Their wary sight darted around room and they often looked up
as if scanning for an unseen aerial foe. She also noticed they kept
their distance from the SS soldier who leaned on a nearby wall with a
bored expression.

“Are you a student of
history?” Hanns asked in a conversational tone as he inspected the
first book shelf.

Terra's eyes snapped back to
Hanns. “History? I haven't even graduated high school yet.”

Hanns
shook his head. “Just like the young, ignorant of the past. Though
admittedly, my university focus was more on science and engineering.
I love ancient poems though.
The
Odyssey
and
The
Iliad
are my personal favorites.”

Terra, again, forced herself
calm. She had to focus, to figure out why Nazis were here in a
library and if they really were time travelers. Hanns didn't seem
like the Nazis portrayed in movies and video games. He didn't even
wear a monocle and, so far, hadn't let out a mad cackle. Terra
wondered if she should encourage him to talk more since he didn't
seem hostile yet. “Um. I actually prefer geology,” Terra said in
a shaky voice.

He
smiled. “Geology? Wonderful. The study of the intersection of earth
and time.” He turned to the shelf and ran an index finger across
the row of books, stopping on one called
Understanding
Spacetime
.
He thumbed through a few pages before putting the book back. They
made their way to the next section.

Terra looked up at the
shelves, wondering what Hanns was after, assuming he was a time
traveler. They stood in the science section one row down from
literature. The row after that was history. Her eyes went wide as she
stopped. “History,” she whispered.

Hanns grinned while he
continued to trace his finger across the books. “A single history
book could change everything. The Waffen SS wants to confirm their
glorious future,” Hanns said, rolling his eyes. “but I need it to
save lives.”

“Save lives?”

“If we know our enemies
movements and strategies, we can end this war with minimum loss of
life. After Poland and France fell so quickly, I doubt the rest will
last. Victory is assured, but why prolong the conflict? With a simple
book, we can soundly defeat our enemies and end this war with minimal
bloodshed.”

Terra stared at Hanns with
wide eyes.

Hanns looked over his shoulder
at Terra. “However, I am curious why you Americans appear fearful
of us? It's not like we will declare war against your country. The
United States is neutral. I suppose we will have gained a fearsome
reputation by the end of the war, but I assure you, we are not your
enemies.”

Terra grimaced. “You talk
like you are the good guys?”

Hanns
faced Terra and regarded her with a piercing stare. “We took a
failing nation and turned it into a superpower. We avenged our soiled
honor after that
venomous
treaty in Versailles. You can't tell me that treaty was fair, lumping
the sins of the Great War solely at our feet! We stood up for
ourselves against the entire world. How are we not the heroes?”

Terra raised her hands before
stepping back. “Sorry! Please calm down.”

Hanns's expression softened.
“I apologize. I didn't intend to frighten you. I went through
difficult times after the Great War. We all struggled during the
Depression.” He grimaced as though recalling a bad memory before he
shook his head and smiled. “Now exciting things are happening. The
new Nazi Party looks only to the future, unlike the old Republic.
They even supported my time travel project despite the strange
premise. Anyone else would have dismissed the idea. For the first
time in years, we have hope for the future.”

“I don't understand. If
you're after a history book, then why all the soldiers? Why not
disguise yourself as a normal person?”

Hanns
frowned, tapping a book with his finger. “You think we didn't try
that?” Hanns said under his breath. He took a book titled
Escalation of the
Vietnam War
.
Hanns thumbed through a few pages before putting it back. “Why
would the Americans attack a French colony?” he said, more to
himself than Terra. “In answer to your question, we ran into...
complications.”

“Complications?”
Terra asked before glancing at the books ahead of Hanns. They stood
only a few steps away from the World War II books. She felt her heart
began to pound as she pondered the implications of Nazis finding a
history book. Just before Hanns's finger brushed over a book titled
D-Day: A Narrow
Victory
,
a blue light illuminated the area.

Above the skylight a small
glowing blue ring formed over the library. It moved down at a steady
pace while growing bigger. Soon the glowing ring encircled the
building. Between the ring, a translucent grid of light beams passed
through the walls. The grid passed right through her before it
continued downward until disappearing into the floor.

Hanns glared at the passing
ring while his hand tightened around his pistol. “The gods are hard
to handle when they come blazing forth in their true power.” He
stood, silent for a moment. “She's here!” he said through gritted
teeth. He drew his pistol before pointing to a nearby marble pillar.
“Young lady! Hide behind that pillar and stay down.”

Before she hid behind the
pillar, she saw a sudden flurry of activity from the invaders. Their
rifles clicked, the machine gun's ammunition belt clinked when
loaded, the anti-tank gun gave a mechanical growl as the crew
adjusted its firing angle. Even the SS soldier took cover.

A stillness settled over the
library broken only by the sound of a rising wind outside the
building. Terra knelt on the ground behind the pillar, covering her
ears with her hands.

Nothing happened.

Terra lifted her hands to hear
light footsteps on the roof. The soldiers noticed too and raised the
aim of their weapons.

A
soundless,
still moment passed. Terra let down her guard just before the glass
skylight shattered, raining shards over the library. A figure
descended through the broken skylight. A woman dressed in white armor
landed gracefully on top the statue of Nike, her long silver hair
streaming behind her in the wind.