The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (13 page)

“You idiot! Get back in here!” Kite shouted. “You’re going to freeze to death!” Kite reached over the side with one hand and grabbed Berik’s flailing hand. He helped Berik get back inside. After the ordeal, they lay inside the pod, soaking wet.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” said Kite.

Gulping air, Berik sputtered, “People tell me that all the time.”

A voice suddenly said, “Halt!”

Berik said, “What was that? Who said that?” Kite shrugged.

Kite got up and glanced around. He immediately noticed that a small mechanical orb was hovering around their pod. The orb had an eye in its center.

“What the—” Kite went over to take hold of the orb, but it quickly dodged to the right.

“Hands off, punk!” the orb shouted.

“Sorry,” Kite said.

The orb said quickly, “For attacking an endangered species I will have to bring you in for questioning. Though I may press additional charges for attempting to assault me.”

“Assault? Are you kidding?” Berik snapped, “He barely touched you!”

“Stun them,” said the orb. “They might be dangerous.”

Several more mechanical orbs popped out of the ocean, staying at a distance of several yards. Then, in a single strike, the orbs unleashed bolts of electricity against them. Kite and Berik screamed in agony as the volts ran across their drenched bodies. A few seconds of pain and they were out.

CHAPTER 9

Golem Project

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. A flock of researchers, clothed in white lab coats, shuffled together in a hurry. The suspense was holding them in silence. Some of them chewed their lips, others bit their nails, and still others gulped loudly.

They had been caught unaware. A few days ago they had received orders to begin a new project. In such a short time they couldn’t come up with anything new but resorted to the revival of an old project: the Golem Project.

It was now time to show off the completion of their invention, a vital creation demanded by the Federation. Would it please the admiral? They all hoped so. Future funding was on the line.

The scientists found the admiral waiting impatiently at the entrance to the laboratory. He was Admiral Williams, the oldest admiral in the navy. Standing over six feet tall, he was a man of large stature. Age had not diminished his intimidating presence.

Laughing nervously, the head researcher said to him, “Admiral Williams, you look simply dashing—or might I say ravishing—today! Your head is…perfectly symmetrical…just what I would expect of someone as—”

Admiral Williams crossed his arms. “Mr. Lame, I’m here to see results. I’m not here to listen to your rambling. Don’t waste my time.”

“Actually, sir, it’s Lahme,” Lahme corrected him. The admiral looked him in the eye. The researcher then added with a grin, “But feel free to call me whatever you wish.”

“Show me the project,” the admiral said. “I heard the project is complete.”

“It is complete indeed, aside from a few minor issues,” Lahme muttered indistinctly. He gestured for the admiral to follow. “Come, come. Right this way.”

As they walked, the admiral said, “Perhaps you’d like to give me a brief overview of your work. I want to have a general idea of the weapon you chose to construct.”

Lahme said, “I’d be delighted to. We weren’t exactly sure what you wanted. But, based on the data, I think you’ll be pleased with the end result. We call it the Golem Project. It was a project that was abandoned twenty-five years ago due to protests from the public. Since we are now in a state of war, it was much easier to get approval for the revival of the project.”

The admiral readjusted his hat. “What exactly is this project? Never heard of it.”

Lahme smiled excitedly at the admiral’s rising interest. “Have you ever heard of the planet Nephosa?”

The admiral shook his head.

Lahme eagerly explained, “Nephosa was discovered about thirty years ago. The planet goes unnoticed because the resources are generally negligible and the environment barely sustains life. However, there was something there we found most interesting—and potentially useful…”

When they reached the storage facility, Lahme opened the door and let the admiral go first. The spacious facility was very cold. The room was being refrigerated. The main lights were off, leaving only the floor as a faint visible area. To the admiral, it seemed like an empty warehouse. Admiral Williams took a few steps forward, glancing curiously in the dark room.

Lahme rushed to the controls. The other scientists tagged behind.

“Behold!” Lahme shouted. “The Golem Project!”

He hit the switch and, all at once, the spotlights turned on, directing all attention to the central platform. Admiral Williams slowly lifted his gaze higher and higher. A massive figure was before him. It was enormous. Nearly three stories high, this giant was nothing like he had ever seen. It was completely covered in armor. The admiral gawked at its fearsome appearance.

This was the Golem Project? Admiral Williams glowered. They had been constructing a giant robot? It was an interesting idea, but not feasible. Robotics was never practical for weapons of destruction. Powerful cannons and bombs were more useful when mounted on a capital ship or specialized star-fighters. Giant robots were more of a novelty than anything else.

Then the admiral noticed something weird. He thought he had seen the thing move slightly. The admiral squinted at it for a moment, thinking his eyes had gone bad. His eyes widened when he realized he was wrong: this was not a giant robot.

The admiral looked at Lahme. “What is that thing? What is that
monster
?”

Lahme snickered. “So, how do you like it? Nephosa, the planet everyone thought was useless, had something special. The one who discovered these beasts called them the Nephroki. These are simple-minded creatures that live in burrows beneath the ground…but they are huge and powerful! They are monsters we have only dreamed of!”

“Is it safe?” The admiral sounded concerned. “That thing is still breathing!”

“Yes, we have subdued its consciousness with a certain chemical that induces a permanent dream state. By sending electrical signals into their tiny brains, we can pilot these monsters and use them for the next battle.”

Lahme motioned for the admiral to follow him. He led the admiral to the back of the Nephroki. He pointed toward a small compartment that was between the Nephroki’s shoulder blades.

“See there? That’s the pilot’s seat. Everything inside resembles a cockpit you would find in a SE-A32 Striker, making it familiar for pilots. From there we have numerous shielded wires that are plugged directly into the Golem’s nervous system. The Golem uses a camera on its visor to relay the external images directly to the pilot through a wireless connection.”

The admiral nodded. “I must say that I am intrigued. You’re calling it the Golem, right? How is the performance? Have you tested its capabilities?”

Lahme replied, “It performs well beyond our expectations, especially after performance-enhancing drugs. It is tough enough when fully armored to withstand direct laser blasts. It is able to twist some of the strongest metals with its bare hands. We have found it is very capable of holding weights up to ten tons, allowing it to carry the new AG Beta Cannons. Close combat weapons are almost fully developed.” Lahme paused. “Further testing is needed to understand the depth of its capabilities, but I assure you it is already an amazing weapon.”

“Does the Golem need to maintain its body?”

“It is a living, breathing creature,” said Lahme. “We have a secure facility where we store them, take care of them and feed them. It’s not expensive to maintain. It does eat a lot, but the food it needs is harvested directly from Nephosa. The biggest hurdle is production. Its estimated life span is about three hundred years. The able-bodied adults are usually at the age of a hundred to two hundred years. As much as we’d like to accelerate growth, it may not produce desired results. However, there are still plenty of adults on the planet available for capture. We may be able to form an army of these Golems given enough time and resources.”

“How long before we can see them in action?”

Lahme smiled. “Three prototypes are all ready to go.”

“Good.” Admiral Williams looked pleased. He headed for the exit, but stopped and said, “You have my approval on this project. I’m expecting great things, Mr. Lame. The Federation is in a time of turmoil. The battle against the Guardians is not going smoothly. This weapon of yours might just be what we need. The President and Admiral Grasone will be stopping by later today. Give them my regards.”

Lahme said anxiously, “T-the President? He’s coming here?”

“Yes,” said Admiral Williams, “the situation is escalating. It is no longer a small conflict.” Expressionless, he looked up at the Golem. “This is war, Mr. Lame.” He sighed. “This is war…”

CHAPTER 10

Reunion

The door to the cottage swung open, sweeping the room with soft rays of light, withered red leaves and cool drafts. Azura, still half-asleep and covered in sheets, stirred on the bed. Boisterous chatter could be heard through the doorway, disrupting the tranquility. Brushing her hair back, Azura sighed as she was roused from her slumber.

Kale hurriedly shut the door behind him. With one hand on the doorknob, he peered over his shoulder. Azura sat up sluggishly.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” he said.

Her eyes lazily focused on him. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask someone about that later.”

“No,” Azura said. “Forget it.” She flung the sheets off and placed her feet on the ground. She found her ragged shoes waiting for her by the bedside. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Just one day.”

“Good,” said Azura. “Hasn’t been too long.” She stretched. “So where are we?”

“A village of immortals, or so they say. A boy named Merdon, the leader of this place, said he knows you.”

“That’s right!” Azura smacked herself on the forehead as memories resurfaced. “Merdon! I saw Merdon! I guess everyone made it here safely.” She looked up at Kale. “But what happened? I don’t remember much.” She pressed her fingers against her temples. “My head hurts. All I remember was some darkness. And there was pain—lots of pain.”

Kale was amused by her questions.

“You were caught by a turtle stampede caused by an illusion.”

“A turtle stampede? That sounds…familiar. What’s this about an illusion though?”

Kale said, “Do you remember the field of giant eggs? Merdon was afraid that when they hatched, the turtles would run toward the village. He conjured an illusion to scare them away.”

“He was afraid of baby turtles?”

“He wasn’t afraid of the turtles themselves,” Kale explained. “The baby turtles tend to be hunted by really large predators when they hatch. He was afraid of the trouble they’d bring.”

There was a knock on the door. It opened. Merdon was there along with a white wolf and a black wolf. Azura immediately recognized them. The white wolf, Rathos, was sitting upright with his head held up high and graceful. His snow-white fur glistened in the light and he wagged his tail happily at the sight of Azura. The scruffy black wolf, Thedes, was yawning.

Merdon beamed at Azura. “Was the room suitable?”

“Yes, thank you.” Azura bowed her head in appreciation.

“You must be hungry,” said Merdon. “Please join us. We’re about to have lunch.”

Azura tied on her shoes, jumped off the bed and followed them out. Once outside, Azura was finally able to see the new settlement that the immortals had made.

It was quite different from what she had come to expect. Small log cabins dotted this narrow valley; gray puffs of smoke rose steadily from their chimneys. A gentle stream formed the edge of the settlement and its water flowed into a canal that encircled a lively little farm full of big chickens. A makeshift windmill and a stone watchtower both stood at the center.

All the immortals were busy cooking, cleaning, building, farming, hunting, gathering and planning. This is what astonished Azura the most. Her last image of the immortals was a depressing one. But things were different now. The immortals were cheerfully working together to create a new life for themselves in Lacuna.

However, the town felt small. There were only about forty cabins.

Azura asked, “Is this it? Is this all the immortals?”

Merdon replied solemnly, “This is it. Our current population has reached about two hundred. Most of us were scattered during the great implosion. We haven’t found everyone yet—but we are still searching. Search parties go out every morning and, every now and then, we find someone or maybe even a group. Actually, we only started with a group of ten. It may not look like much, but we’ve come a long way.”

The large bell on the watchtower rang once. The sound was loud enough to be heard by everyone in town, even those inside their homes.