Axira Episode One (3 page)

Chapter 1

Five years later

The sun shone through the plate glass windows of my
apartment. I stood there, one hand resting on the glass as I stared
out at the city beyond. With her tall spires, sleek buildings, and
energy beams, she was beautiful.

I stepped back and walked towards the table. Clutching up a
portable holographic pad, I smiled as I entered the
kitchen.

It had been a little over four years since I had freed myself
from captivity. As I placed my holo pad on the kitchen bench,
heading over to the food synthesizer, I let out a satisfied
sigh.

Food had become one of my pleasures. Standing in grass, wet
with dew, my toes curling against the cold and damp sensation had
become another one. Standing and staring at a view another
again.

After 450 years of serving my master, I was free.

There were still days I couldn’t believe it. There were still
nights where I spent hours on end staring down at my scarred
wrists, tracing my fingers over the dents that had remained once my
bracelets had been removed.

“
Water, cold, a twist of lime,” I spoke into the com panel of
the food synthesizer as I placed a glass into the slot before me.
In a second it was filled with what I had ordered.

“
This is your 20 minute alarm,” the holographic panel on the
bench reminded me, “You must leave for your appointment in
approximately 4.5 minutes.”

I didn’t respond, instead I mulled over my drink as I turned
to stare out at the view again.

Four years. For four years I had wandered the galaxy. At
first the freedom had been intoxicating. To think and feel and move
on my own was a dream I’d barely entertained during my
incarceration. Now it was a reality.

It had not been easy though. To break free, I had faked my
own death. My brothers and sisters thought I was dead, if indeed
they still thought. Perhaps their souls had been crushed long
ago.

“
In order to prepare for your appointment, you must dress in
your uniform. This will take approximately two minutes. It is
suggested you begin now,” the audio unit of my holo pad reminded
me.

Uniform.

I glanced over to it. It was folded neatly on the table by
the windows.

I couldn’t believe I was doing this.

I’d made my decision. I was joining the Coalition Forces. The
same people I’d fought for hundreds of years. I could not even
conceive of how many of them I’d killed, how many ships I’d
destroyed, how much damage I’d done to them.

It was time to repay the debt. But more than that, the
Coalition were the only force I could think of who could take him
on. Master.

I could not do it alone. If I acted against him, he would
realize I was still alive, and he would track me down and enslave
me again.

It left me with one choice. Join the Coalition Forces, become
one of their recruits, and help them as best I could. I could not,
however, ever risk letting them know who I really was and what I
had been. If my secret was ever revealed, my master would come for
me.

“
You now have approximately 40 seconds to dress,” my holo pad
chirped.

I reached for the uniform.

I pulled it on as I stared out the windows.

This would not be easy. I was about to embark on a journey
that would take years, if not decades. If I really wanted to help
the Coalition, it could not be done in a day. I would have to guide
them in secret whenever the opportunity would arise.

I walked backwards, still staring at the view. I assessed
that beautiful cityscape until I identified the silver spire in the
distance.

The Earth Division of the Coalition Academy. In approximately
15 minutes the initiation ceremony for new recruits would begin. I
would be there.

Chapter 2

“
Alright people, move off to your respective teams. Your year
reps will come and show you your dorms.” An officer waved us
forward.

I was standing in a group of new recruits. It was a different
experience for me.

They were chatting excitedly, talking amongst themselves,
even giggling.

I’d met Coalition recruits in battle before, and they usually
had not babbled this much.

I stood straight, arms behind my back, head held forward as I
stared at the officer barking out his orders.

Nobody else maintained such discipline. Instead, as a large
human male walked past, he elbowed me in the face. “Sorry,” he
mumbled as he walked off, another recruit at his side.

Before I could react, I was jostled again, and then
again.

As a group we all seemed to surge forward and through the
massive doors before us. Despite the crowd pressing in on me, I
took the opportunity to stare up at the building as we entered. It
was so high it seemed to go on forever from my vantage. Just a
stretch of sleek silver metal and windows, ending with a pointed
white spire 50 floors above. It was one of the many buildings that
made up Coalition Headquarters. It was also a place I would be
spending the next five or so years. The Coalition recruitment
program was long and arduous; there was a lot to train for, after
all. Space was huge. And as I could testify, full of enemies. For
every race of explorers, you could find a race of warmongers ready
to exploit the weak for their own gain.

“
Which dorm are we heading to? Um, hello, does anyone know
where new recruits assigned to Omega Team are meant to go?” A young
woman in the crowd called.

People appeared to ignore her; everyone streaming off in
different directions, heading to their respective dorms to begin
their orientation.

“
Ah hello, are you in Team Omega?” She latched onto the sleeve
of a passing Tamarite.

“
Team Beta,” he snapped as he moved past.

“
Oh god, I’m going to have to call my brother, aren’t I?” She
mumbled to herself as she screwed up her cheeks in apparent
anguish.

I watched with interest.

Something the past 450 years had taught me was how to
observe. I could stand in a room and stare at a wall for hours on
end; I’d done it countless times before.

This time, however, it was a mistake. As the crowd thinned,
she made eye contact with me. In fact, it seemed as though she
latched onto me with her eyes.

She half ran up to me. “Do you know where Team Omega are
meant to meet?”

“
Second floor, just outside the engineering lecture hall.” I
turned to walk away.

“
Okay … do you know where the engineering hall is?”

“
It has engineering written on the door,” I
replied.

She began to blush, her neck dipping back. It appeared I had
emotionally affected her. “I’m sorry to be a pain, of course it
does. I’m just not good with directions.”

I opened my mouth, ready to tell her that a lack of spatial
awareness indicated she would be a poor recruit.

“
Elle, what are you doing? You’re meant to be heading to your
team,” a man said as he walked up to us.

We were now the only people left in the hall.

I watched him as he approached. It took me a moment, but I
recognized him. Jason Singh. Son of Admiral Singh. I had read his
publically available file when I’d done my research on the
Coalition Recruit Program. He was a decorated graduate, and he
headed up an elite unit which operated under the watchful eye of
Admiral Forest.

“
Brother, I’m so glad you found me. I have no idea where I’m
going.” Elle, as I now knew she was called, flopped a hand over
Jason’s arm and leaned into him.

That was a lie; I had told her seconds before where she was
meant to be going.

“
Damn it, Elle, I thought I already told you that this
morning. I’ve walked you through these halls countless times, how
have you forgotten already?”

“
I’m so nervous.” She flapped at her face and winced at
him.

“
Alright, I’ll take you there, but we’ve got to hurry. I just
found out your Team leader is Lieutenant Ma’tovan. And trust me, he
isn’t going to like you being late.” Jason suddenly turned to look
at me. His brow dented up. “What team are you? Are you lost
too?”

“
Omega,” I replied evenly, “No, I am not lost. Your sister
engaged me in conversation.” With that, I turned, nodded at them,
and proceeded to walk down the corridor.

“
Follow us, I know a quicker route.” Jason waved me forward as
he turned sharply on his foot, his regulation black boots squeaking
on the polished floor.

I hesitated for a moment. I had already memorized the
blueprints of the Coalition Academy compound. I doubted his way
would be any quicker.

I followed nonetheless.

“
Oh my god, I’m so sorry for making you late.” Elle turned to
me as she jogged behind her brother. Her face was already flushed
with exertion.

I had seen Coalition officers run far quicker and for far
longer without showing such signs of exhaustion.

“
What’s your name, recruit?” Jason dropped back, grabbing at
his sister’s arm to pull her quicker.

I could have easily sped up and headed to the engineering
lecture hall on my own. I knew the way, and Elle was holding me
back. I doubted it would be a good idea to do so in front of Jason
Singh, however.

I knew that I had to keep a low profile. During my training
and into the years to come, I had to keep my head down. Elle was
apparently the daughter of Admiral Singh, the very same Admiral who
headed up the recruit program.

“
Em,” I replied easily. Though we were jogging, my voice was
unaffected.

“
I haven’t heard that name before, you human?” He
asked.

“
No.” As I jogged my gaze darted around the corridor noting
every detail I could. It was part of my nature. I logged every fact
I could find. From the shape of the doors to the height of the
windows, I made an internal map of every room we passed and every
corridor we jogged through.

“
You kind of look human,” he noted as he ushered us up some
stairs.

I did. But in my case, looks were deceiving. “I am
Taskarian,” I lied. I had already assessed that my bio scans were
closest in resemblance to that race. There were differences, of
course, but I knew how to mask them. I had spent the past two years
tracking down a subcutaneous device that would make my bio
signatures mimic that of a Taskarian. The device was apparently
impossible to detect. Without it I would never have been able to
join the Coalition. With it I had the opportunity to finish my
training with the secret of who I was fully intact.

“
Wow, we don’t get many of your kind joining the Academy. Why
did you join?”

To bring down an ancient master who had enslaved the last of
my kind to wage a never-ending battle with anyone who disputed
him.

I, of course, did not share this with Jason. Instead I looked
ahead, noted that the engineering hall was right before us, and I
nodded towards it. “It appears our team has already
left.”

“
Oh great,” Jason sighed, his breathing still relatively
unaffected by his pace. His sister, however, had already fallen
behind. “Come on, Elle, we’ve got to find out where they’ve gone.
Knowing Ma’tovan, he’s probably taken everyone straight to the
training ground.”

“
Oh no … how far away is that? We’re going to be in trouble,
aren’t we?”

“
I’ll take you there—” Jason began, but was interrupted by the
soft chime of the device he wore on his wrist.

It was a personal computer. It acted as a communication
device, a scanner, it monitored bio readings, and could be used as
an intrastella beacon in cases of distress. I had not received my
own yet. When I did, I would be unsure how long it would take to
convince myself to put it on my wrist.

It would feel too much like my shackles had.

“
Singh, report to the armory, we’re running a test on the new
matter disrupter rifles,” a voice emanated from Jason’s wrist
device. “On the double.”

“
Yes, sir,” Jason replied.

I watched as his smile dented. He looked at his sister and
shrugged expressively. “You are going to have to get there on your
own. Now, the training ground is—”

“
Approximately 500 meters from the
2
^nd
Dormitory Block,” I
interjected, pointing in the correct direction, despite the fact we
were inside and there were no windows around us.

“
Yeah, yeah it is. Damn, I’m glad you know where you’re going.
Can you take her there?” Jason smiled hopefully.

I looked at him, blinking, then nodded.

This was not how I had expected my first day as a recruit
would go. Though I had understood I would not be doing anything to
fight my master straight away, shepherding admiral’s daughters had
not been on the agenda.