Chapter 18

"To be prepared for war is the most effective means of preserving peace. Mind and body," he said smugly.

"To be a sober prick is the most effective means of getting on my..." a belch bubbled out from deep in my stomach, taking power out of my words.

"I too am human, you've been to a party no doubt. Libations and such."

"If you mean drinking till my ex-girlfriend will fuck me, then yes. You can call that a..."

Easy Lex, slow down. Don't forget, Jasmine hit you in the stomach last night. You did good though, you didn't hit back.

"Do you know the fable of Xav, the place we're landing at?" he did his signature smirk, where his eyebrows rise. "Ancient's say that the Goddess of Earth traveled the galaxy searching for a mate. She came across the first human on Saturn's ring, before it was divided, and called the West Ring. They fell in love, and she terraformed Xav at her human lover's request. He wanted to be reminded of home. Conjuring lush glades, crystal waterfalls, moss covered rocks, oceans, in an instant. Trees with trunks as thick as buildings, and a never-setting sun," Darius orated.

"Her father, The God of the Galaxy, found out and was furious that she had laid with a mortal. He raised his mighty fist and broke the ring in half. Destroying all his daughter built, putting a missing hole in the ring's link. Both the Goddess of Earth and her human lover were killed. But what the God of Galaxy didn't know, is that his daughter had already given birth to three little girls. They survived the attack, rebuilt the ring, the jungle, all of Xav in honor of their brave parents. They say the mountains are shaped like..."

I threw up on my chest plate armor. Nasty, slow descent from my mouth, a diseased waterfall. My captain was too busy leering out the window to notice, calculating the distance.

"T-minus four minutes grunts! Then we land on Xav, Intel says the bunker is exactly eight miles northeast. Kill everything in sight!"

Darius turned his nose up at me. I didn't get mad, that was a human response, even for him. I felt the heat of his judging eyes.

"You should pray on it."

"Honestly, it's been so long, I forgot how."

The battleship landed on Xav with a heavy thud, luckily we were still strapped in. Out the window, six-foot-long midnight blue lasers whizzed by. Whatever stealth we were looking for wasn't achieved. So much for all that planning. Air-lock mechanisms powered up, unbuckling us, lowering pulse rifles from above.

The full metal door opened, bright sunlight infiltrated our space. Darius grabbed my helmet, put in the entry codes, and activated my radar module. A sweep of green 1's and 0's loaded in my visor. Wavelength graphs formed, pushing illuminated cyan icons floating over a teal floor. The map of Xav was nearly done loading. A salmon-colored Frog materialized in the middle, bug-eyed, prompting questions about a tutorial of the VR program. I mustered the strength to exit it, dragging my alloy boots into the Killzone.

Three steps later I was a foot deep in mud, outside the safety of the battleship. Mobility was lost. I saw Darius rush forward like he was in an empty field, trekking through. Vomit unearthed itself from inside me once more, and I doubled over. By the time I looked up, the entire battalion was yards ahead.

Maybe that Goddess of Earth favored me a little because I was able to make it to solid land without dying. Rustling bushes of a deep purple invited panic inside me. Something was moving within them. The enemy is here, I thought. I whipped out the pulse rifle.

A tall man, covered in garbs, roughspun cloth it looked like, emerged. He ran forward, not acknowledging me. The first shot clipped leaves from a tall Wimba tree. Belching leaned my body unfavorably when my index squeezed. The next bullet pierced straight through the back of an eight-year-old girl chasing after her daddy. I froze, and unbeknownst to me, Darius witnessed the whole thing through his VR helmet, nearly a mile away. Later on, he would tell me that he was keeping tabs, almost ninety percent sure that I was dead already. A man of faith without faith in me. When I was at the grand entrance of Wren, I exaggerated and glorified that story tenfold.

"Sounds like a big fucking lie if you ask me," Scarleth said slowly.

"We'll see what he's made of. They'll be more than enough violence to keep you busy, without the Blue Diamonds this time," Coup made his statement sound like a looming threat.

"Round here we don't call em Blue Diamonds though. We call them Lapis Lazuli," Obsidian said, educating me.

"Water!" Scarleth yelled, snapping his fingers.

"Almost forgot, that's what Puck said the boy needed. I'll get a Cretan to bring over a bowl. Put some sugar in it, for our guest here, the one with the big stories.

Just need to make a quick stop first."

We walked through a narrow path sculpted by flowing water on the sides. Bustling streams as blue as Maverock river. There were massive amounts of inmates inside focusing on particular tasks, a few leered at me. Pounced on by a thousand eyes is what it felt like. Above me, shirtless men were forging antique weapons. Medieval blacksmiths, crafting a skill not seen since the Olden years of Earth. Rows of shivs splayed on a rickety wooden table, apparently for sale, overseen by a bear of a man. Crudely made swords, deep brown in color, wrought-iron material. This may be where Tomorrow got his hitless dagger from.

The cave's architecture was keenly designed to keep everything in the open, adding more and more layers leading to the top. Ropes dangling light bulbs was draped all over, fluorescent light bouncing off the walls. Small shacks, irrigation systems, even creative flair in the smooth carving of the rock. Sculptures of a Chinese dragon's face scattered throughout. Wren had a deep history, time to evolve beyond a simple carve in a mountain.

Their progress was unmatched to anything I'd ever seen. Comforted by its advancements, one could almost live peaceful here, I thought. A good place to die in. Casual strolling ceased when we came upon a water wheel generator. It was wholly rusted bronze, I was surprised it still turned, no squeaks either. Moss covered the ground nearby and cushioned my feet. I'd been standing on the hard rock of the flatland for too long.

"One of them Cretans is in the wheel. Overdosing, surprised he stuck around this long. The boy done kissed death three times over. God keeps sending him back," Scarleth said, as he pointed to the water wheel generator. "Keep watching."

As the wheel turned, a man appeared, lying in one of the buckets. An arm draped over, bluish, pale skin, thin as a twig.

"Pull him out," Scarleth commanded.

Obsidian picked up a long hooked wooden pole off the moss covered ground. He aimed it up, trying to hook the back of the man's neck.

"Go for his feet! Don't miss him, have to wait till the whole damn wheel turns again," Coup added.

Two rotations later, Obsidian dragged the man near us. I'd never seen such a malnourished person. Sunken eyes, skeleton showing from underneath his skin. Ribs showcased with a pop belly, famished, the damage to his body added years to his face. I deduced him to be nearly fifty, with the physique of a mummy. Flopping around on the ground like a caught fish, convulsing, a dark purple foam leaking from his mouth. If this was the same stream connected to Maverock River, it should've sobered him up. How high could this old man be?

"Hornet don't have it like we do," Scarleth said, kneeling down to look the emaciated man in the face.

Coup and Obsidian circled him, studying the man's moves. They'd seen this a million times over. No regard for his well-being, more a technician trying to troubleshoot a problem. The bluish, pale-skinned man rolled over a couple times, froze, blinked, and stood up. Clapping his hands over his head in rhythm, happy to be alive.

"Enjoyed your bath?" Coup stated in a sinister tone.

"Momma always said I was a good swimmer," the man chirped, never slowing down his celebratory clapping.

"Got too much of that shit in your system. Need to detox for a week. Can't have Cretans out here dying during their shift. We all got a role to play. That generator needs to work. You know that though. I won't waste our time with the obvious. Now, the topic of you stealing, however, is something we should discuss," Scarleth said, an air of diplomacy ringing out.