Genesis #18

*Decided to share what I've been writing recently, Title changed from 'Rune' to 'Genesis'*

_______

His humor evaporated as pain tore through every part of his body. He rolled away just in time to avoid the next swatting, but he couldn’t rise. Rune moaned, pushing himself up with his cyber arm. His mind was fuzzy, incapable of thinking. He heard the anarii approaching and strained to pull himself away from the massive teeth and claws.

The anarii lunged, roaring, its mouth open.

Rune tried to scramble to his feet, but the beasts slammed its paw down on him again. The sarsh lay winded and shocked, unable to move and defend himself.

His vision faded.

The teeth were about to close on him, but before they could, the anarii jerked up, roaring in pain as something struck it from behind. Only seconds later, it collapsed, dead. Unfortunately, its lifeless paw now trapped Rune against the frozen ground.

The sarsh struggled weakly against the paw, gasping for breath. The frigid air rasped into his flattened lungs as darkness crept farther in his vision.

Artemis, Colden, and twelve men hurried around the site, the rest of the anarii had fled at the arrival of their ship.

Colden jogged around the body of the anarii, calling Rune’s name. The sarsh heard him; he tried to respond, but his voice was only a rasp. His arms fell to his side, too weak to struggle any more. Colden arrived at the shoulder of the anarii and spotted Rune.

A crease appeared between his brows as he approached the sarsh. He mumbled apologies and curses as he strained to get the paw off Rune’s chest. “Artemis!” he shouted. “I found him!”

The rebel leader heard and ran around the anarii to where Colden knelt by Rune, talking quietly to him. The sniper stood as his leader approached.

“He’s semi-conscious. These beasts knocked him around, did you know about them?” Colden’s voice was angry and worried.

Artemis shook his head. “I did not. I regret putting Rune here, but we cannot stand here and talking all day, let’s get him back.”

The leader called the rest of the men over, who had just finished dousing the fire. They carefully tended to any obvious wounds, then all the men filed back into their ship and left.

_____

Rune could remember very few things after the anarii collapsed, but he vaguely recalled Colden and Artemis near him, other faces he didn’t recognize, and pain. His ribs, his head, all of his body stung and ached and twinged at every slight movement. He remembered being jostled and lifted, whispers enveloping him. Then, only darkness.

___

“... He’ll be fine, he has a few bruised or fractured ribs. There are two wounds on his left legs and a few on his arms. He will probably wake within the next day or two and heal in the next week.”

Artemis nodded his thanks to the nurse who had just finished speaking. “Inform me when he wakes. And keep an eye on him.”

The nurse nodded and Artemis glanced back at the sarsh. He was lying still, a bruise on his cheek, as well as several bandages wound around his arms and chest. The leader rebel sighed and left.

___

In Artemis’s quarters, the rebel leader was speaking to five of his friends.

“... This is a major setback, and it’s my fault. I regret what I did, but we can’t change that now.” Artemis paused, watching the five men before him, two of them being Colden and the older man, Lyall. They were nodding.

“We will just have to wait for Rune to wake and we will decide what to do from there.”

It was only the next morning when Rune woke. There was no one in the room. He stood, cursing at the pain in his body, but it wasn’t so bad he couldn’t move.

He exited, passing a few nurses. His clothing had been replaced by soft, tan pants and a long-sleeve shirt, his feet were bare as he padded down the halls toward the glass control room where Artemis usually was. While he was unconscious, he had an idea that could solve both human and sarsh conflict. If Artemis agreed.

The rebel leader didn’t hear Rune as he entered the room until he was directly behind him. Artemis jumped when he turned around and Rune was standing silently, tracing the scar on his jawline as he watched the activity in the room.

“Rune! What are you doing here?” He inquired.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Let’s go to my quarters, we can talk there.”

Rune nodded and followed the rebel out of the room.

_____

In Artemis’s quarters, Rune presented his idea. “Instead of attacking my kind and killing them all off,” with this, Rune gave Artemis a scrutinizing look. “We find us a new homeworld. That way we can rebuild our lives and you can live yours in peace. This way there is no more death and bloodshed. What do you say?”

Artemis sat back, frowning. Slowly, his eyes widened and his lips parted. “This could work,” he muttered to himself. “I believe you’re right, Rune!” He stood, muttering to himself. Rune watched him, slightly amused.

“I thought we should start trying to find or research planets that would be suitable.” The sarsh offered. Artemis nodded. “I will have to announce the change of plans, will you join me?” Rune stood and followed the rebel out of the room.

Only minutes later, it was as if the covert was alive with voices. Artemis told Rune everyone had reacted much differently when he told them they would attack the sarsh. Now that they were on the path of peace and life, people seemed more enthusiastic about it.

Despite the initial excitement, the other rebels had nothing to do as Artemis and Rune searched for suitable planets.

Later that day, Rune lay in the bunkroom. The doctors had checked back with him, his ribs were already mostly healed. The gunshot wound would soon be nothing but a scar. Fortunately, the sarsh healed faster than humans.

Rune thought of his siblings, wondering when he would ever see them again. As he thought of this, he realized again that he would have to gain control of his morphing under stress, maybe Artemis could help him. The sarsh sighed. His mind was wandering, exhausted by everything. Finally, he fell asleep.

____

Only the next day, they came across the perfect planet. One Rune had already been to.

Tamaska, the planet of anarii.

Rune knew it to be dangerous, but they could gain control of the beasts. It would become beautiful in spring and summer. The atmosphere was breathable. It was what they were looking for all along. Both Artemis and Rune agreed it was the best choice, despite the massive beasts dwelling there.

__

“How do we plan to introduce this idea to Admiral Gallas?” Rune asked as he studied the blueprints of the planet on the table before him. Artemis didn’t hesitate. “We’re going to get into Zenith’s system and shut it down from the outside. When they are vulnerable, we’ll present the idea to them and give them a choice. Fight, or rebuild their lives. For their sake, I hope they choose the latter.”

Rune nodded in agreement. “When do we plan on moving out?”

Artemis frowned. “Early tomorrow. I suggest you get rest while you can.”

The sarsh turned away, but Artemis called him again.

“Thank you for making me see the right thing.”

Rune’s worried expression didn’t fade. “I didn’t do it for you.”

In the bunkroom, Rune sat in silence, his head in his hands. There was no one else there yet. Unable to sleep, he stood and paced. There was a set of drawers next to him. Rune opened the first, hoping for clean clothes. He stank.

Unfortunately, there was no clothing. Only what looked like a triangle, black and purple. It seemed to glow in the darkness. Rune lifted it out, frowning as he sat back down and studied it.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen, seemed to radiate pulsing light as if it were alive. Rune didn’t hear footsteps outside the door, but when the door opened, Rune dropped the pyramid into his pocket and stood, facing Artemis. The rebel leader frowned at him. “What were you holding?”

Rune stumbled over his words. “It- it was... private.” He finally said. Artemis frowned, but dropped the subject.

“I meant to ask you a question.” The rebel said. “If your people don’t choose the peaceful path, who are you going to fight for?”

Rune’s posture slumped and he heaved a sigh. “I don’t know if I’m prepared to answer that question.” He murmured, sitting back down on the bed. Artemis watched him with a crease between his white brows. “I understand,” he said and left, closing the door behind him.

The rebels streamed into the bunkroom and began to settle themselves, but Rune paid no attention. Artemis’s question had roused fear and worry, ripped through Rune’s mind. He forgot about the pyramid in his pocket, paid no mind to the multiple men staring at him.

___

As the rebels fell asleep and the room quieted, Rune lay on his back and sighed. Once again, he found himself wished for a moment of true peace. Maybe, He thought, we will agree and rebuild our lives, maybe then I can find peace and joy. He drifted off to sleep imagining life back together, without tears and pain, without constantly running from everything.

___

The next day, any good feeling vanished.

As rebels rushed everywhere, arming themselves to the tooth, Artemis directed the men and women into the large, sleek sarsh spacecraft.

Their plan was simple, but hinged on the sarshs’ decision. The rebels were going to hack into Zenith’s system and shut it down, cutting off Admiral Gallas from the rest of the sarsh home vessels. They would present the homeworlds to him and await his decision.

From then, there were two paths. If Admiral Gallas chose the peaceful path, he would inform the rest of the sarsh vessels and, assuming they agreed, they would go to the chosen planet and leave humans in peace.

If Admiral Gallas refused, a massive battle between sarsh and humans would take place. For his people’s sake, Rune hoped they chose the peaceful path. There were a lot more humans than sarsh.

Deep in his heart, Rune knew what his people were going to choose and he dreaded it. He would do all he could to change their minds.

“Are you ready?” Artemis asked Rune, who stood in the glass control room, gazing into the darkness. Rune took a deep breath and nodded. But, he didn’t feel ready as he and Artemis, along with Colden, boarded the transport. Rune gazed out the window, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Entering system now.” Artemis’s voice called over the speaker. All the rebels shifted nervously. It was less than ten minutes before Artemis’s voice announced the hacking was successful and the sarsh harmless.

“Rune,” Artemis called. “Please join me in the bridge.”

Rune turned and left, all the rebels’ eyes following him.

He entered the bridge, Artemis smiled nervously at him, but Rune didn’t smile back. Artemis turned to the screen before him and nodded to the woman waiting there. Her fingers flew across the keyboard and a blinking dot appeared. The woman nodded. “It’s ready when you are.”

Artemis and Rune stepped forward, both facing the screen. A moment later, a nervous sarsh appeared on the screen. He was stuttering something to someone off-screen. Then, a recognizable face filled the screen. Admiral Gallas. He was scowling fiercely, but when he saw Rune, his face went completely red. “Lieutenant!” He roared. “Do you realize what you have done?! Do you-!”

Rune stopped his tirade with a scowl to rival the Admiral’s and a tense silence ensued. Then, Artemis began speaking.

“We do not plan on attacking, but we are prepared to if necessary. Please consider my words.”

Artemis paused, watching the Admiral’s face. None of the rage there faded, but he was listening. Artemis continued.

“Several thousand years ago, there was an argument and a mistake. An argument between species. We humans only thought of ourselves and our needs. Out selfishness led to our downfall,”

At this, Gallas nodded, a smug look on his face. The look vanished at Artemis’s next words.

“Your kind has oppressed us for thousands of years and we won’t put up with it any longer.”

Now Admiral Gallas was glowering at the screen, but Rune held up his hands.

“Gallas,” he began. “Our kind was just as wrong as the humans were. We retaliated violently and angrily. For thousands of years, we have been bitter, but it’s time we forgave them.”

Artemis nodded, speaking again.

“Rune and I have something we’d like to offer as our deepest apologies,” he paused for dramatic effect. “A new homeworld.”

Rune watched the surprise on Admiral Gallas’s face, along with defiance and anger. Despite the doubt bubbling inside him, Rune began speaking again.

“There are three planets with the most agreeable conditions. The first is Tucana. It is lightly wooded, half the planet is water. The atmosphere is warm and humid, with large amounts of edible vegetation and plenty of area to build homes. The second is Fornax. Ninety percent of the planet’s surface is stone, but there is still some vegetation. And the third, Tamaska. It is probably the best choice. It is thickly wooded and has varying seasons, similar to earth. There are multiple large bodies of water. I have already been there. The only problem is the anarii, massive creatures similar to wolves from earth. Please, Gallas, choose the peaceful path. We can rebuild our lives and make peace again. Making war again will break the bridge between our species.”

Before Gallas could say anything, Artemis spoke again. “Now you can choose to let go of your anger, lift your oppression and rebuild your homeland for your people or you can fight us. But we are ready to step up and we outnumber you. Decide what is best for your people, freedom or death.”

By now, there were many faces in the screen, all the sarsh listening to their words. Some of them were nodding, others frowning, anger written on their faces. Gallas’s face was blank. For a moment, no one said anything.

“You have until sundown to decide,” Artemis said. “We will return your ship’s power, but will be closely monitoring your feed. If you say anything remotely threatening, we will shut down all of your vessels all over the world.”

Gallas snorted. “That is impossible, or you would have done it much earlier.”

Artemis crossed his arms and didn’t reply, knowing the sarsh was right. “Freedom or death. Decide what is best.” Artemis said again and the screen went black.

After a moment of silence, Rune spoke up. “Do you think this is going to work, Artemis? Do you really think they’ll listen?”

The rebel glanced at Rune’s worried face. “It doesn’t seem as if you think they will.”

“That’s because I am them.”

Artemis pursed his lips. “I guess we’ll find out tonight. You can rest if you’d like.”

Rune didn’t respond, but stayed where he stood. The people buzzed about him in blurs of anxiety, everyone was restless and no one rested. The sarsh constantly glanced at the slowly moving numbers at the top of the large screen before him. It felt like a lifetime.

Artemis was monitoring Zenith, listening to their conversations. They made it obvious they knew Artemis was listening by keeping their voices low and speaking in places with the least chance of him hearing. Their attempts frustrated the rebel leader, but he could do nothing to stop it.

Rune paced, arms crossed and hands in fists. His mind was empty of thought, full of worry and tense fear. Before he knew, Artemis rose to his feet and cleared his throat to get the occupants’ attention. “It’s time,” he spoke quietly, but everyone heard and there was an audible silence. The cloud of fear over them was almost visible.

The sarsh found himself mixed up in a swirl of rebels, rushing to their stations and nearly deafening him with their voices. Artemis saw him and waved him over. “Stay with me, Rune. You’ll be my personal bodyguard.” he said the last part with a hint of humor, but Rune didn’t smile. “Let’s go,” Artemis said, his humor evaporated.

The next step in their plan was a simple one; they set a course for Zenith, latch on, and speak with Admiral Gallas. If he wanted peace, they would escort the sarsh to their new home, if he chose violence, a battle would ensue.

_____

Rune and Artemis made their way to the bridge of the ship, waiting anxiously as the pilot set a course for Zenith. They were close enough to monitor the home vessels’s activity, but not close enough to see anything but a speck in the oblivion of space. They arrived in less than twenty minutes, but there was no activity obvious on the ship.

“Artemis?” The co-pilot called. “Their feed is dead. Either there’s no one there, or no one is talking.”

Artemis frowned. “Continue with attachment to the terminal gate. I’ll take a team to see what’s happened. Rune, will you go find Colden and Wolfe? I’m going to need them.”

Rune nodded, turned, and left the bridge.

___

His soft boots were silent on the metal floor. He passed hushed men and women, even children in the hall. Rune already knew where to find Colden and Wolfe, he always found them in the mess hall, especially before a big mission. Colden had once said: ‘If you’re about to do something huge or dangerous, eat. You never know the next time when you’ll have a good meal.’

His suspicion was correct; the two friends seated themselves at a long table in the mess hall, the sounds of their chewing echoing through the room. They didn’t hear Rune as he slipped around the tables toward them, coming to a stop just behind them. He stared until his eyes burned into the back of their heads and Colden whipped around. He nearly fell off the bench as he saw Rune only a foot away from them.

“Rune!” He exclaimed. “what- don’t sneak up on us like that!”

Rune frowned. “I wasn’t sneaking, I was walking.”

“Quietly, which is sneaking.”

Wolfe interrupted their argument. “Are you here for a reason, or just joining us for a meal?” The food muffled his voice, but Rune understood.

“Artemis sent me to fetch you. He needs you in the bridge.”

Chapter 7

________

Artemis led Colden, Wolfe, and Rune to the jetway. Behind them, half a dozen armed rebels followed close by. They boarded Zenith, confronted by darkness and silence. There was no one in the halls but them. Rune’s ears twitched, searching for a sound other than their footsteps. There was none. He should have been able to hear voices, even just murmurs. He had a sinking feeling something had gone very wrong on the rebels’ behalf. Something told him his people had the advantage now.

As they moved forward, Rune heard hushed voices. There were youthful voices, along with feminine voices. “Artemis!” Rune called. “I hear voices, coming from this way.” When he called out, the voices went silent. They heard him.

The group followed Rune through the twists of Zenith’s corridors until they came on the forest of homes. Rune found his home and glanced up. “Lyris?” He called. Moments later, she appeared, holding Tycho in her arms. She saw Rune and completely froze in shock. Moments later, she ran down to him and flung her arms around his neck, smashing Tycho. Rune grinned at Artemis, whose eyebrows nearly rocketed off his head. He hugged Lyris back and smiled at Tycho.

“Rune!” Lyris exclaimed. “What are you doing here? What happened? Admiral Gallas wouldn’t tell me anything, were you actually ejected?”

Rune held up his hands to stop the flow of questions. “Lyris. Slow down. I can’t explain right now. Where is everyone?”

Lyris took a deep breath. “They left.”

“Where did they go?”

“Earth.”

_________

Rune quickly greeted the rest of his siblings, speaking with them calmly. As Amarillius hugged him goodbye, Rune could see the necklace he had given her hanging around her neck. He smiled to see it. “I’ll see you soon,” He promised his siblings as Artemis pulled him back toward their vessel.

___

“Bring us back to Earth, stealth mode,” Artemis commanded the pilot. “Tell everyone else at the covert to prepare for battle and contact our other coverts. We’ll be needing them.” The pilot and co-pilot nodded their understanding and went about his orders. Rune stood in the farthest corner of the bridge, his knuckles tracing the scar on his jaw. There was a crease between his light blue brows. Artemis approached him. “I need to ask you something, Rune.”

The sarsh’s deep purple eyes met with Artemis’s. “I know what you are going to say. I’ve stayed by you long enough to know you are on the right path. My people are not. I will fight with you.”

Artemis blinked in surprise and nodded once. “Good. I probably wouldn’t have let you go back to them, anyway.” He grimaced apologetically and Rune shrugged, a smile tugging on his lips.

“Let’s finish this quickly,” Rune said.

“Hopefully we can finish it the right way.”

________

The other coverts were speaking with Artemis as the pilot brought their vessel down outside the underwater covert where ranks of rebels were forming. The rebels from the other coverts had already arrived and Rune’s heart lifted at the sheer amount of them. He also felt dread. If this came down to a battle, the humans just might win and Rune would have to choose whether to win with them.

Artemis stepped from the vessel, Rune beside him and the rest of the rebels streaming out behind them. Artemis touched Rune’s arm. “Follow me, we need to speak with the rest of the covert leaders.” Rune nodded and followed the rebel through the crowd to a group of a dozen men and women who spoke in lowered tones.

A woman glanced up from the group and smiled. “Hello, Artemis,” She greeted. She saw Rune and her dark brows lifted. “Is this our key to freedom you told us about?”

Rune frowned down at Artemis. “You really called me your key to freedom?”

Artemis shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe not.” Then responding to the woman’s question, he nodded. Rune pretended to scratch the corner or his mouth, but he was covering a smile. The name Artemis gave him wasn’t actually amusing, but he was attempting to lighten the heavy pre-battle attitude. It worked. The twelve leaders smiled and introduced themselves, quickly getting down to business.

______

“We’ll need to know your people’s tactics and strategies, their strengths and weaknesses. Everything to help us defeat them.” Artemis winced at his own words. “Sorry, Rune. I think we’ll also find a tactic to triumph with least bloodshed possible.”

The sarsh nodded his thanks, but he knew a lot of his people were going to die how hard they tried to prevent it.

The rest of the rebels began setting up large tents to shelter the tense soldiers from the sun. Rune, Artemis, and the rest of the leaders talked as the day wore on. Rune was conscious of the rest of the sarsh, who waited and prepared several hundred miles away from the covert, in the shelter of multiple warehouses they had overtaken. They had also cleared the area around their shelter and wouldn’t allow anyone past it.

By now, the world was buzzing with the news of the upcoming battle. Sarsh left their posts around the world to help their people, while more and more humans streamed to help theirs. The area outside the covert was getting more crowded by the minute, causing the leaders to pause their conversation and direct the traffic. It was utter chaos.

The humans’ voices rose into the air and grated on Rune’s sensitive ears. He morphed into a dog and wove his way through the crowd, ignoring the several attempts of petting. Rune found his way to Artemis and sat on the floor, somewhat amused that the rebel was oblivious to the fact Rune was listening to his conversation. Suddenly, a horrible thought struck him. If he could morph into an animal and eavesdrop, then any of his other people could. He should have realized this earlier, having been trained in military tactics.

Rune morphed to his dominant form, causing Artemis to launch nearly a foot off the ground. “Rune!” He exclaimed. “What on earth are you doing?”

The sarsh was frantically rubbing the scars on his neck, a crease between his brows. “My people may be nearby as animals, listening to everything we are saying. I should have realized this earlier.”

Artemis clenched his jaw. “You’re right, but what can we do? There is no way to tell them apart from real animals.”

Rune licked his lips. “I’ll figure something out. I can attempt to find spies, but I don’t know how well I will perform alone.”

Artemis frowned. “There is nothing we can do, then.”

Rune thought for a moment. “There may be other sarsh who would like to help us, but there is no way for them to leave, nor for us to get them.”

As Rune spoke these words, there was a commotion on the far side of their camp. Artemis motioned for Rune to follow him and the sarsh did. It was as if the other sarsh had read Rune’s mind. There was a group of two dozen sarsh trekking up the road toward the gates that closed off the area where the covert lay. There was another crowd of rebels gathering to block their path, brandishing weapons of all types. Rune pushed past the rebels, his large stature forcing them to look up to see his face. “What is your business here?” He demanded, his voice icy. He couldn’t trust his own people anymore.

One of them stepped forward, a woman. “We want to help. We know Gallas is wrong and you are right in what you tried to do. We wanted peace, and we didn’t get it, but we can at least help the ones who are right. Will you let us help?”

Rune crossed his arms, the cold metal of his cybernetic arm leaking through his shirt. “How do I know you aren’t spies?”

“Why would we come here in broad daylight if we were spies?”

“It would be logical, wouldn’t it? Normal spies would go incognito, but you think we’ll trust you if you come like this.”

The woman pursed her lips. “You can search us and keep a guard with us if you’d like, but we just want to help.”

Rune glanced at Artemis, who nodded. “Very well.”

________

The group of sarsh, led by Serene, spoke with Rune and all of them agreed to secure a perimeter while in incognito and search for spies.

The twenty-four sarsh transformed into various bird types Artemis showed them and they flew above the treetops, pinpointing outposts to watch from. Rune’s talons gripped a tree branch, his hawk eyes peering at his surroundings.

Rune shifted and turned his head, which went all the way around his neck. It was not even an hour before he spotted a small cat slinking through the undergrowth on the edge of the gates, which were chain-link fences twenty feet high with barbed wire around it. There was a tiny crack on the chain-links and the cat was headed straight for it. Had Rune been in his dominant form, he would have smiled.

He dove for the animal, talons out. He caught it by fur on its back and knocked it to the ground. The cat hissed and scratched Rune, his feathers floating to the ground. He still didn’t let it go. He morphed back to himself, climbing to his feet, his hand still holding the cat down. “Morph, now,” He commanded, hoping it wasn’t a real cat.

The cat looked suitably angry, but transformed into a sarsh beneath Rune’s iron grip. It was an older man, his navy blue hair tousled from his fall. Anger puckered the man’s brow into a stormy line. “Traitor!” He spat, throwing a fist into Rune’s stomach. Rune winced, but the man shrieked when his fist hit the metal on replacing the flesh on Rune’s side. Rune couldn’t help smirking as he yanked the man to his feet, nearly tossing him in the air with the strength of his cyber arm. Rune touched the communicator on his ear. “I have one,” he informed Serene. “No one else has any so far,” Serene responded.

__________

Artemis saw Rune from a distance, entering the front gate with a captive. The rebel smiled. The two sarsh neared the rebel, Rune with a grip hard enough to make the other sarsh’s upper arm bruise. “You found one,” Artemis stated unnecessarily. Rune nodded and Artemis fixed a glare on the man. “Take him to the prison tent.”

Rune secured the sarsh in the prison tent with multiple guards and approached Artemis. “When do we plan on attacking? We can’t just keep sitting here.”

Artemis nodded. “I know. We’re springing a surprise attack tonight. Your new recruits will be a big help, as long as they will not betray us.”

“They won’t.”

“We’ll see.”

_______

Rune left to return to his hiding spot, another sarsh passed him with a captive. Rune transformed into the same hawk and soared above the treetops.

No one else caught any spies in the perimeter after all day and as night fell, all the rebels began preparing themselves for the night raid. Rune did nothing to prepare himself but morph his clothing into a uniform to match all the rebels. They all wore body suits which were specially made for events such as this. The cloth acted as active camouflage, adapting to the surrounds and matching it. Rune borrowed one of their helmets, which was not cloth, but acted the same way.

The oddly dressed soldiers streamed from the gates surrounding the covert. They had no lights, their helmets providing night vision, though Rune, Serene, and rest of the sarsh didn’t need it. Serene and the rest of the sarsh formed an arrow shape behind Rune, the rebels separated into groups of several hundred, marching in rectangles. Artemis and the rest of the leaders were in the front, Rune and the sarsh just behind them. The moon had vanished behind the thick clouds, concealing any sign of the oncoming army. The sarshs’ position was several miles from the underwater covert. Rune and his squadron of sarsh were pacing themselves in order to keep in step with the rebels; the humans were considerably slower than the sarsh.

_______

Rune marched steadily, his head full of worry and dreaded thoughts. His mind was full of images that disturbed him and upset his stomach; he attempted to push them aside, but they would reappear when he thought of the coming battle. His mouth was dry and his hands wet, everyone around him seemed to experience the same feelings. Rune was used to it, though. It was pre-battle nervousness. It vanished during the battle, replaced by a thumping, booming heartbeat.

The army of rebels and sarsh could be heard easily if one was silent, but even during the night, there were tons of people out. They skittered out of the army's way and a large crowd gathered to watch them march towards the sarsh’ hideout. It was only two hours of marching through the cool, misty night air before Rune caught sight of the looming, black buildings surrounding the area the sarsh heavily guarded every hour of the day; except one.

There was half an hour’s time where there was no one guarding the perimeter. It was the least active time of the entire day and the sarsh used it as an opportunity to rest. They were using so many guards; they had none to switch out with. The thirty minutes was time they had to rest and eat. In this small window of time, the rebels were going to strike.

______

Rune, Serene, and the rest of the sarsh helped the rebels evacuate the area. They didn’t want anyone caught in the crossfire of battle. After a rushed, tense half-hour, they succeeded. Their opportunity was arriving in twenty minutes and the rebels were scurrying about, stationing themselves in the pre-selected posts. Rune and the sarsh would enter the area before everyone else and capture the guards scheduled to stand ready to defend the area. After the guards were taken care of, Rune and the rest would morph to look like the guards and pretend to be the guards. Then, the rebels would attack, and the ‘guards’ would join in the fight.

_______

“Are you ready, Serene?” Rune inquired, tracing the scar on his jawline. The sarsh nodded and licked her lips nervously. She was a decade older than Rune, but she was inexperienced in fighting; the sarsh didn’t allow women to fight, but Rune always believed that should be different.

“I am ready,” she responded in an even, firm tone. Her lack of visible panic or worry impressed Rune, as well as her steady tone. He nodded fiercely. “Let’s go.”

______

There were twenty-five sarsh, including Rune, who were going to infiltrate Gallas’s fortress; they weren’t going in as themselves; all of them morphed into tiny insects. This way, they would go undetected. Without further hesitation, they took to the air and flew towards the gates Gallas had erected. Rune could see the guards below them, oblivious to the hidden danger approaching.

The disguised sarsh landed on a building above two sarshs’ post. One of them noticed the cluster of shifting bugs and motioned to it with his gun.

“Look, isn’t that odd how they’re all in one place? They could be spies. We should report them.”

His companion gave him a blank look. “You want to leave our post unauthorized to report bugs. You go ahead, I’ll watch them and make sure they don’t eat through the building.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm and he pivoted away from his embarrassing comrade. The sarsh who spoke first looked suitably shamed. He gave the bugs one more glance before returning to his original position. The incognito sarsh breathed a sigh of relief. They thought the sarsh had discovered them before they had even gone anywhere. The guard didn’t know how right he was.

Rune and his group waited for ten minutes before the guards glanced up at the sound of a voice in their earpieces. They jogged away toward some unseen building and the incognito sarsh followed in the air. Rune knew if the guards saw them now, they would both suspect something was odd, so they split up. Some of them crawled along the walls, some flew. They followed the guards until they came upon a large, dirty building where there was a crowd of other guards gathering inside it.

As the guards settled, Rune and the sarsh scattered to compromise the cameras watching them. They swarmed over the cameras, crawling into the circuits and soon, the cameras went black. Now they only had a few minutes before sarsh would arrive to see what happened. Gallas was well aware of Serene and the sarshs’ disappearance and he didn’t want it to happen again.

The same guard who saw them earlier noticed them swarming the cameras and gestured wildly to them. “Look!” He shouted. “It’s the same bugs! They’re following us!”

His loud tirade woke a lot of sleeping guards, whose attention was drawn to the insects. The room was filling with whispers. “It’s just bugs, for Sirius’s sake!” A guard shouted. “Let me sleep!” The other sarsh grumbled their agreement; a few of them were still suspicious. They watched as the insects moved away from the cameras, making their way to the floor.

“They’re coming toward us!” A guard shouted. Everyone ignored him. Rune was smiling inside. The moment he and his team were all on the ground, they were going to morph back to themselves and take their plan into action. A few of the guards got to their feet, the rest glared at them or grumbled at them to stop being stupid. Once Rune and his team were all on the ground, they morphed. Changing to themselves elicited many shouts of surprise and anger from the guards. Some of them shouted; “I told you!” Silence ensued in the room, the air thick with tension.

“Everyone on the ground, belly down, now!” Rune shouted, his voice echoing though the room. No one listened, and Rune motioned to Serene. “Now.” This was the signal for a pre-planned action if the guards didn’t listen. Without hesitation, Serene and the twenty-three sarsh with her morphed into vaynes. The guards cried out in surprise and terror as the snarling vaynes neared them, snapping at their clothing with their dagger-like teeth. Rune still stood among the creatures as himself. “On the ground, now!” he commanded; this time, they all listened.

It took only a few more minutes to tie up all the guards and morph to look like them. They all lay down, pretending to rest in the beds for the guards. The real guards were all in the restroom, the door locked.

_______

In only a few minutes, a dozen sarsh poured into the room, confusion and worry written all over their faces. They were all armed and glancing around for what could have caused the cameras to go black. All they saw was guards sleeping.

“Get on your feet!” one sarsh shouted, startling all the disguised rebel sarsh upright. They waited beside their beds, stock-still. It was the proper stance when called upon by a higher-ranked sarsh. “What is going on?” the same sarsh demanded, stepping up to Rune, who was disguised as the lead guard. Rune kept his eyes ahead. “I don’t understand, sir. Is there a problem?”

“Why have the cameras gone dark? Were you tampering with them?”

“No, sir.”

“Have any unauthorized personnel entered the building?”

“No, sir.”

The questioning sarsh turned to one of his companions and motioned for him to check the cameras. After a moment, the sarsh called out, “They’re fried! Something chewed all the circuits, it couldn’t have been one of them.” He motioned to the guards as he spoke. The sarsh who spoke first nodded and turned back to Rune. “Get to your posts. Report any unusual activity.”

“Yes, sir.”

_________

Artemis was listening closely to Rune’s conversation through the sarsh’s communication device. He smiled as Rune whispered that he and his team were in position. “Time to move out!” Artemis called. The rebels with him stirred nervously. The rebel leaders led the several dozen rebels with them towards the front gates, where one could see the backs of the disguised sarsh guards. Artemis spoke quickly to Rune, one of the front gate guards and moments later, the gates swung open and the rebels charged in.

Of course, the sarsh had other camera besides the ones in the guards’ quarters and by now; they had seen the rebels and there was several of them out, rushing about in panic at the sudden attack.

_________

Admiral Gallas knew something was wrong when the sarsh he’d sent reported back saying the guards denied tampering and something chewed all the wires. His suspicions were proven correct when the same sarsh ran in, out of breath, saying that rebels were streaming in through the front gates, and all the guards were not the real guards, but rebel sarsh. Gallas knew his men were unprepared, struck in their weakest point. He swore violently. To the sarsh beside him, he said; “Notify all other bases of our situation. We may need their help. And for Sirius’s sake, get a gun!”

_________

Within minutes of the rebels breaching the gates, a full-fledged fight broke out. Rune fought two sarsh soldiers, trying not to hurt them. He winced as their fists, boots, close-quarter dagger blades assailed him from all sides. He tried to ward off a blow with his cyber arm, only to discover his fingers transformed into blades and nearly killed the sarsh attacking him. Rune knocked the soldier over and confronted the other, who he knocked unconscious, and then quickly ran to assist a group of younger rebels, some of them women, who were struggling to keep a mass of sarsh soldiers at bay.

Though Rune had been trained for battle his entire life, the noise and motion around him confused him, leaving him standing in the middle of it. He had to force himself to focus on one thing at a time, while trying not to hurt his people. He saw rebels and sarsh alike prone on the ground and his jaw clenched tighter every time he saw them.

Rune bent beside a sarsh who was groaning and holding his head in pain. He was one of Gallas’s men, but Rune didn’t care. He removed a bandage from his belt and wound it around the soldier’s head. Rune picked up the injured man and took him to an abandoned alley, lowering him to the ground. The soldier opened his eyes, keening in pain. He saw Rune and tried to start to his feet. Rune stopped him, smiling sadly. “I won’t hurt you. Believe me, I don’t want to be doing this. Please stay here and keep quiet.” The soldier nodded his head slowly and Rune straightened, leaving the alley.

________

Admiral Gallas surveyed the battle from a roof, a safe distance from the roiling fight below. He saw a man fighting with extreme skill, an older man with silver hair. “That’s their leader,” Gallas murmured to the sarsh with him. “He spoke to me with the traitor. We have to get to him and bring the fight to a stop. Do we have any snipers available?” The other sarsh shook his head. “They’re busy or dead.”

Gallas swore violently. “I’ll go after him myself. Follow me and keep anyone away from me.”

_______

Rune sprinted by a short building when he heard voices. He stopped. It was Admiral Gallas. Rune’s heartbeat increased, pounding in his head and causing his breath to rise in his chest, catching in his throat. They were about to go after Artemis. Rune felt an idea forming in his mind and he ran after Artemis as he quickly as he could.

When he caught up to the rebel leader, they were both in an alley; Artemis binding a wound on his arm and catching his breath. “Artemis,” Rune began. “I need you to stay here.”

“Why is that?”

“Gallas is after you and I have a plan to stop him, but I need you to stay here.”

“No. I’m going to fight with my my men. I don’t care how much danger there is.”

Rune pursed his lips. “Artemis! You will die and the battle will come to a stop. You’re the leader of many of these men and you can’t direct them if you’re dead! Let me help!”

“No.”

The sarsh glared at the man before him. “Then I’ll make you stay.” Artemis’s brows shot up. “Are you threatening me?”

“Stay. Here.”

“NO!”

Artemis pushed past Rune, but the sarsh caught his arm in an iron grip. Rune shook his head. “I’m sorry, Artemis. You need to stay alive. You’ll wake up in ten minutes, okay?”

“What are you doing? Let me go!”

Rune delivered a blow the top of Artemis’s shoulder and the rebel slumped against him, unconscious. “I really am sorry, Artemis.” Rune whispered. Moments later, he left disguised as the rebel leader.

______

Gallas saw the rebel leader enter an alley. The admiral and his companion moved closer, carefully making sure no one was following them; when they glanced back, the rebel was leaving the alley, his face purposeful. “Move closer,” Gallas commanded his underling. “But engage in combat as to not draw his attention.” The sarsh nodded and plunged into the fray. The Admiral continued forward, taking shelter beside a building and aiming at the rebel, striding among the struggling soldiers. Now the rebel was within the Admiral’s range. He lifted his gun, aiming at the rebel’s heart. Before he could shoot, a second of the same appeared, roaring for him to put down the gun. Gallas stepped from behind the building.

_______

Rune strode through the crowd, headed for the Admiral. He couldn’t see the sarsh hiding behind the building. In the chaos, he didn’t see the barrel of the gun peeking around the corner, pointed straight at him. He heard someone shouting something indiscernible behind him. Artemis had woken, apparently; and he sounded mad and frightened. “Put down the gun, Gallas!” he was shouting. Now Rune could see the Admiral as he stepped from behind a building. Artemis pulled out his own gun, pointing it at the Admiral. “Call off your men and I won’t shoot!” Artemis called. Gallas tilted his head at the doubles of the rebel, wondering which one was the real one. He assumed the second one was a decoy, the one that appeared second wanted the first to back off so the first wouldn’t get hurt. The first one was the real one, Gallas decided. He frowned at the gun pointed at him, but he knew how to take out his plan.

Admiral Gallas clicked his handgun back into the holster, knowing he could whip it out in an instant. He signaled to one of his men, who sounded an alarm to stop. Soon, the battle came to a stand-still. Artemis still had his gun pointed at Gallas. “Get rid of all your weapons, now!” The rebels shouted. Gallas still thought Rune was the real Artemis. Rune was trying to get Artemis to be quiet and go back the way he’d come, but he wasn’t listening.

_______

The two sides of the battle disengaged, a tense and eerie silence filling the air. The doubles of Artemis were still arguing, they weren’t paying attention to Gallas as he slipped his gun from the holster again. He lifted it, aiming it at the first rebel leader. A rebel shouted a warning as Gallas pulled the trigger.

_____

Rune was attempting to convince Artemis to go back, knowing Gallas wasn’t giving up as fast as he did. He heard as someone shouted a warning and a gunshot echoed through the tense night air. Artemis saw it a moment too late, crying out in shock and devastation for Rune. Rune felt the hot pain in his lower chest. He blinked once and collapsed.

____

Artemis knew Gallas had hit Rune. The sarsh stumbled, blinked, and crumpled to the floor. Artemis started forward, but Gallas swung his gun toward the rebel and he stopped. “You psychopath!” Artemis screamed. “Why are you killing your own men and women? Do you really think spilling blood will make up for the blood already spilled?”

“I’m getting rid of anyone in my way, no matter who it is. I want peace and I will have it!”

“Peace?! This is not peace, this is death! You are killing your own men and women to get your way! That’s not right!”

Gallas opened his mouth to say more, but an odd sound interrupted him. It was like electricity, crackling and popping. It was coming from where Rune lay prone, no longer disguised. All voices went silent as they realized who it was and heard the odd sound, their eyes falling on the figure lying on the concrete. Without warning, a beam of light seemed to shoot out from Rune’s silhouette. It was so bright, glowing purple, with sparks of purple shooting off of it and bouncing off the ground.

In seconds, it was gone again, but when their vision cleared, so was Rune.

_____

Rune felt himself falling, he cried out when he struck the pavement. He heard voices, fading in and out like they were down a long hall. He felt a prick in his hip when he fell, but he ignored it. It felt like forever before the voices stopped as a crackling interrupted them. Rune felt a cold sensation rushing over his body and then darkness enveloped him, though his eyes were not shut.

He was falling again, then he could see a light. The light grew until it nearly blinded him and then, like a switch, everything went black.

________

“What have you done?” Artemis shouted, rushing for Gallas. The sarsh raised his gun again. “Don’t get any closer! What trick are you playing?”

Rune’s disappearance thoroughly confused both leaders, no one on either side of the battle was speaking.

Artemis stepped close to Gallas, his hands out. “Please put the gun away, we can’t afford to fight right now. We need to figure out what’s happened and tend to our injured.”

At the least, Admiral Gallas had the sense to stop the fighting to tend to their injured. The battle field became an outdoor hospital, both sides keeping to themselves. There were many fatalities on both sides, even more injured. One of Gallas’s men found the soldier Rune had cared for and when He saw the bandage, he knew it wasn’t one of theirs. Gallas quickly realized the rebels had helped his own soldier, and he felt an odd emotion swelling in his chest, but ignored it.

On the rebels’ side, Colden approached Artemis, having missed the whole thing when he was tending a wound he had sustained in battle. “Where did Rune go? He didn’t get hurt, did he?”

Artemis swung his tortured gaze to the young man’s worried eyes. “Gallas shot him and he vanished.”

“Gallas vanished?”

“No, Rune did!”

“Well, let’s go after him!”

“No, he actually, literally vanished.”

Colden stared at his leader, utterly confused and unsure of what to say. “wha-?” He mumbled, glancing about for some sign of the sarsh he had grown to think of as a brother. He glanced back down at Artemis, whose eyes were fixed on the ground where Rune must have been seconds ago. The rebel said nothing. Colden couldn’t imagine how the large sarsh vanished without a trace. If nothing moved him and he hadn’t moved on his own, what could have happened?

_______

Rune’s mind was empty of memory. He couldn’t place any of his scattered thoughts, only flashes of chaos and war. Now, there was silence surrounding him, wind whistling through invisible trees. All he knew was the throbbing, stabbing pain in his chest, just below his ribs. He pressed his arm against the wound, grinding his teeth together. He was lying on his back, tall grass lining his vision and the red sky beyond it. Red? There must be a storm coming. I’d better move. Confusion scattered Rune’s thoughts, he couldn’t remember where he was or who injured him. At the moment, it didn’t matter to him how he was injured, only that he found someone to help him.

The sarsh propped himself up on his elbow, the metal digging into the soft dirt. He groaned at the pain shooting through his chest, radiating over his body and pounding in his head. His uniform was silver underneath his arm, He could feel the heat of his own blood on his arm. Slowly, he got to his knees and then to his feet. The grass almost came up to his chest, but he could see he was on a hill and down the hill, a beach and dark water stretching on for miles. Maybe there were people there who could assist him.

Rune stumbled down the hill, the grassy stalks brushing his arms and legs. There was a visible path behind him. When he reached the bottom, his vision was doing dark. Pain rippled through every part of his body. His legs were trembling, his hand sweaty. Panic swept through his mind. He knew the wound was bad and if he didn’t get help soon, he wouldn’t be alive for much longer. “Hello?” Rune called, his voice weak and rough. He coughed, terrified to feel fiery liquid rolling down his chin. “I...” He called for help, but his legs gave out before he could finish.

There was no one in sight. The sarsh pulled himself up against the bole of a tree, gazing with wet eyes out at the water. He’d never seen so much of it at once, but he knew there was something odd. It was black, the water. Not dirty, but black. It lapped against the purple sand on the beach, still black against the ground. Everything was off. The colors, the wind, the surrounding noises, or the lack thereof.

_______

Unbeknownst to Rune, there was someone nearby, just not in sight. The unseen figure emerged from the black waters, followed by half a dozen other people. The figure had a long, rolling gait, almost inhuman. They saw the tall figure leaning against the short, wide tree by the shore. The leader spoke in an unintelligible language, motioning to the prone man on the ground. They all advanced, leery of him until they saw he was injured, and they stood in a half circle around him.

_____

Rune saw multiple figures emerge from the water, wearing dark, tight clothing and helmets with full, dark visors. They weren’t human, but the strange thing was, they weren’t sarsh either. Their legs were abnormally long and bent backwards, but the strangest thing was their multiple arms. Unlike humans and sarsh, they had a second set of arms just below the first. Rune tried to drag himself to his feet as they approached, but one of them stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest. The creature’s helmet, or what Rune assumed was a helmet, tilted down to examine his chest. “I don’t know if you can understand me,” Rune rasped. “But I’m injured. Can you get help?”

The creature tilted its head to the side. “I can see you are injured. Can you stand?” Rune blinked in surprise as a smooth, deep voice spoke, but the sarsh clenched his jaw, gripped the creature’s forearm, and pulled himself upright. He groaned at the pain tearing through him. His vision darkened. “Hmm...” The creature said, supporting Rune with all his four hands. “Is that blood on your uniform?”

Rune nodded faintly.

“Oh, dear,” The creature murmured, glancing back at one of the other creatures. He said something to him and they nodded. The creature turned back to Rune. “Close your eyes, we have to do something and I don’t want to frighten you.”

“I can’t stay awake for much long-” Before he even finished his sentence, Rune collapsed backwards, nearly causing the creature to drop him.

“Little help?” The creature wheezed. When he spotted Rune’s cybernetic limbs, he sucked in a breath. “Do you see that? What happened to him?” His companions huddled close, awed by the high-tech limbs. One of them broke the silence. “What happened doesn’t matter, we have to act quick. If that silver liquid is his blood, he’s lost a lot and we need to get him back to Kaiele quickly.”

The first creature nodded. “Get a few sumeyveleri, we’ll be needing them.”

The creatures carried the limp figure into the water and vanished, leaving only ripples behind.