The Cloak

The rifle pierced through the air, pushed by the soldier's strong arms. He had the Agaklythos Imperial symbol embroidered on his uniform. He was moving in synchro with his comrades when the general ordered them to stop and leave.

"I'm proud of you. I'm sure that Darkstar won't be able to stand your strength in battle."

That name made the men shiver.

"Now, leave. Tomorrow, you'll sacrifice yourself for the Empire and the Galaxy."

While they were leaving the training ground, one of the emperor's messengers shew himself behind the man.

Timur turned to him.

"Sir, General Amin, the Emperor requires you to go back to Slaaf1619."

"Are you serious? He needed to use this antiquated way to tell me that…ludicrous" said Timur in dismay

"There've been some…"

"What can be left on that damned planet after we faced Darkstar there?"

"Apparently someone has survived the mayhem."

"Elaborate on that"

"The Morrigan has caught a signal, coming from the planet…"

"My ship, my men…did that and I wasn't told before."

"I'm just a messenger, sir" said the kid with a trembling voice.

"The emperor likes to undermine everyone…I see. What are the orders,messenger?"

"You will have to get back to Slaaf1619 and…"

"Understand the signal's nature, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir"

"What am I supposed to do afterwards if I would find any form of life?"

The messenger tried to remember what was next. Then he took the message out, by looking at a pad, which almost felt out of his hands because he did everything too quickly.

"Mmmm…and stand there until further notice."

Timur shook his head.

"What about Darkstar? He is still wreaking havoc across the Galaxy."

"For now, you're relieved of your duty to focus on Slaaf1619."

The General brought a hand to his face, in despair.

"You can leave."

"Thanks, sir" said the messenger while treading away.

Timur shook his head again and rolled his eyes.

Gluskap and his army were preparing everything which was necessary for the battle. Ropes, pyramids, grappling hooks, armors and suits were being handed to each fighter, Hummingbird or Shax. The army was divided in squads, each led by a high-ranking member.

They were in the biggest room of the Graveyard, where there were piles of dead clones high as columns.

"Will it work?" asked him one of his lieutenants.

The Elders beside him were waiting for the answer too.

"I want to be sincere with you. I never wanted to get to this point. War was the last stand. I've always wanted to change it by sending a message, therefore the Hummingbirds were born."

"You're asking me if this plan is going to work and, well, I don't know. I just know this is our best shot at saving the people of this planet and to give you, Shaxes, the chance to live in a city which rejected you."

"We will have two enemies. Their weapons and time, the disadvantage to our biggest advantage"

"They won't see us coming but they will be prepared."

"Most of us will die but, in the end, we will change the history of our planet."

As he finished, he noticed that all the people there overheard him and felt a mixed sensation. Fear and prowess.

Fanon was at the Academy, seated on a chair. In front of him there were the defensive plans instructed by Tithon.

In his hand there was a cup of coffee. He was hanging it by the side.

His eyes were fixed in an undefined point in the room.

The door in front of him was closed and locked. He didn't like to be disturbed before an important event. An event which could've happened at any moment.

He drunk his coffee and stood up. After putting the cup on the table, he went by the window and looked at the martial field where most of the Dragonflies were parked and his Whiskers were training the citizens to fight.

Watching elders and kids with weapons in their hands, cooled the blood in his veins. He wanted revenge but he never wanted to involve civilians in a war which they didn't experience firsthand or understand.

They were nothing more than slaughter meat.

Then he heard the ticking sound of a clock. Each movement of the needle felt heavy.

He yawned and stretched his arms. Since the reinstatement of Tithon he didn't manage to sleep well.

He looked himself in a small mirror situated on one of the walls. He couldn't believe the fact that he was just a clone. He couldn't believe that he didn't have a mother or a father. A mere experiment. Nonetheless he was convinced that it didn't matter, because his life valued more than Lady Gehenna's thought.

The transceiver on his desk started vibrating and appeared on it the name of Malsumis.

He looked at it then stopped caring.

The object kept throbbing on the glass table.

At least it was more pleasant than the ticking clock.

Lud was thrown on the sand.

The faces of all the clones and abominations on the Morrigan were still haunting him.

He stood up and controlled that the camera was still there.

He looked up and saw the Dragonfly flying back to the ship.

The sandstorm was still battering the desert.

He started treading toward Rocabarra.

Moving in that mess was hard, especially because he had the wind blowing against him.

After a while he started to see some building far from him. He increased the pace.

Then a figure appeared in front of him. He saw only the contour of it. It was standing there, with a light coming from its side.

He went closer to it.

Then the blinding light dazzled him a bit.

"Who's there?" cried him

No one answered.

The shape strolled toward him, slowly.

A face started showing.

He recognized it.

One of the citizens of Rocabarra. Not just one normal citizen but the most prominent one. He had a gun in his hands.

"What? What are you doing here? It's not safe here" told him.

"Sir…"

"What is going on?"

"The General told me everything."

"The General? How do you know him?"

"He told me about your goal. He told me that we can only survive with them."

Lud looked at the weapon. Then looked at him. He noticed that the man was breathing briskly.

The wind was whistling in their ears.

The dunes were waving.

The corpses were shattered. Their veils blood stained and sullied.

She was trying to find their face, to rebuild them in her mind. It wasn't easy. Her disgust was beyond imagination. Seeing her daughters like that. She had one of her hands on Lilith's smithereens.

Gehenna's eyes were glassy, contoured by a thin red ring.

The morgue was white as snow and created in her a sense of dread. She couldn't imagine that something would've been built in her city. A city where death wasn't meant to exist.

On one of the walls there was the picture of Tithon, in front of a crowd. He was wearing his military suit and looked satisfied. He was grinning.

She felt like he was grinning at her.

She looked back at Lilith and Endymion.

"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that" was whispering her.

"I've tried…I've tried to keep him from that path but…This city deserves better…It was better" was saying her while sobbing.

Then she left the body and went to a mirror which was close to door. She looked at herself.

A ghost. Years of effort and sacrifices to become a ghost in his own creation. She missed what she was before the war and that disastrous day. She missed the days when she was appreciated for her beauty and intelligence. She missed the days when Khosrow used to love and adore her. She missed the days when Drekavac was a paradise. She missed the days when her research wasn't her mission. She missed the taste of sweet season fruits, pure water…she missed everything, and she had nothing.

Then she went to a chair and stood there, her eyes lost in the void.

She was thinking about Tithon's threats. He was willing to kill her too. She knew that he would've done it in a way or another. She knew that it was all up to him because she had become useless, in her opinion. Before or after the war. She didn't know.

She didn't know if she was still afraid of dying because Cressida died years ago, and death had been a remote concept for too long. She only knew loss.

She was only defined by that.

Loss.

Suddenly the door opened, and a Whisker went in.

"Time's up," told him.

"I still need some time with my daughters, please" prayed Gehenna.

"Supreme Leader's orders" told him while taking her arm.

She shook it off and stood up.

"Don't touch me again" with an angry tone.

He tried to look like he didn't care but his trembling limbs betrayed him.

Malsumis was in front of the metallic wall. Stationed there with the Whiskers which Tithon decided to let him have.

He wanted to be outside, facing the enemy directly. He wanted to stand against his brother, to ask him why he did what he did.

The Supreme Leader was treating him sufficiently, without recognizing him anything. He thought that he had a role in Tithon's resurgence. That he wasn't just a mere pawn.

He felt lonely even though he was surrounded by loud Whiskers, who were tying to enjoy their time.

"Sir, what is that?" asked one, pointing to the cavity and its symbol.

"I don't know. Do you have any idea?"

He was curious to hear the answer, probably because the right answer could've been guessed by someone other than him.

"Maybe…there was a button here."

Malsumis felt underwhelmed.

He rolled his eyes back, disappointed. After all they were just brutes meant for watching and fighting, nothing more.

"What about a badge holder?" tried another.

"Are you mad? Have you ever seen a badge so small?"

"No but this is a weird place. Lady Gehenna had strange ideas after all."

"Don't say that. You must respect her. Even though she ruled badly, she still managed to create this city and make it thrive for centuries" said Malsumis

"Sir, we thought that you hated her" told the one beside him.

"I...do. I just think that this lab had its purpose. All the food and the people in this city used to come from here."

"Nonetheless you were the one who suggested to bomb it and restart the war with the Hummingbirds."

"I know but…what if we were wrong?"

"Now we're here, you can't think about it sir."

"Why did the Supreme Leader choose you to stay here with us if your allegiances are unclear?"

"My allegiances are clear. I know where I stand. You don't know what she said when we took her down. She was afraid. She said that this war will bring something more dreadful" said Malsumis annoyed.

"Bollocks. She is just an old lady which doesn't care about her people. That's all" remarked one of them.

"It could be a key. I think that is a key."

"This war will change everything. We are going to eradicate the rebellion."

"Yeah, we will have peace."

"Peace. That's true"

"That's all we wanted. To be free of her and build our future."

"Let's kill these motherfuckers."

"Kill them all."

Malsumis wasn't speaking or moving.

He was proud of them. A bit freightened, tough.

Then they slowly hushed.

"What do you say, sir?"

"Yeah, what are we going to do with them?"

He looked around, at every single face. He wanted to remember those faces.

"Kill them all"

The Whiskers roared.

"Kill."

"Kill."

"Kill."

"Kill."

He was panting. His eyes were closed, and his head was turned up.

Suddenly he relaxed, all at once, breathing out. Then he reached a glass full of water and drunk all of it.

"You have done a remarkable job this time" told him to the girl who was on her knees, between his legs.

She looked like a combination of Endymion and Lilith.

"I'm glad that my services satisfy you, Supreme Leader" said her with a subdued tone.

Tithon stood up and went to the bathroom to pee. To him it felt like a liberation.

She was waiting on the tab, naked. Her rounded breasts were lying on the sheets while she was supporting herself with her elbows. Her ass was toward Tithon.

"You can go now. Tomorrow, we'll see each other at the same hour. The butlers will let you in." told him to her.

As he said, she stood up and started dressing up. Then her eyes were caught by Tithon's battle suit. She went beside it, half naked and started admiring it.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes…why is the mask fractured?" asked her.

"Just look at me."

She turned towards him and lingered over her metallic mask and hip.

"Does it hurt?" said her while touching them.

It wasn't the first time she and Tithon shared the night, but he never let her inquire about his scars.

"A bit but after a while you just accept it."

"Was it worth it?"

"Indeed"

She stood there, touching the metallic limbs of him.

"Do we really need a war?"

He smiled.

"Unfortunately, yes. There're people who threaten the city. I must protect it and make sure to make it thrive."

"Are you sure?"

He puffed.

"Are you a slut or a spy?" asked him, altered.

"I…I didn't mean to…"

He took her things and threw them out of the room.

"Get the fuck out. Tomorrow we'll meet as scheduled."

"Sir, please…I didn't want to…"

"Fucking slut" told him to her while shutting the door with anger.

Now the room was empty.

He shook his head.

Then went to his bead and took Alastor's head clip. He observed the sharpness of it. Then brought it to his wrist.

"No" said to himself.

He couldn't stop thinking about the incoming battle. Every day felt slower and tougher to get through.

The death of Endymion and Lilith was still in his mind. He was still seeing himself on the parapet, looking down. The image was still there.

Like a nail in his brain, stuck there and adamant.

He noticed that one of his legs was running. Now the clip was to his throat. His hand was shaking.

"No" said again threw it away.

Then he looked out of the enormous window. The city was quiet. Too quiet.

A door opened and Timur treaded into the room.

Then the door closed behind him.

The light turned on and revealed a display. There was just him there. No guards or soldiers.

In front of the display was set a system which was used to create holographic messages and calls.

A red light behind him turned green.

The light dimmed. Blade of lights started defining a figure in front of him.

Refined clothes, a metallic crown, and a bearded old face.

"Good evening, general" started the old monarch.

Timur bowed.

"Sir, we have found a few survivors which resides in two different locations. One in the capital and the other far from it, not far from where we landed our aircrafts."

"That's unexpected"

"A woman, a scientist, leads the group in the capital and a man…"

"I don't care about the whole story. We should subdue them and add Slaaf to my Empire" said the emperor swiftly.

Timur rolled his eyes a little and breathed.

"I can't"

"When we found them, the city wasn't simply alive, there were more people than we've imagined. Clones were…"

"Tell me more"

"The scientist is breeding clones with the DNA of the eight people who survived the attack."

"Just clones then, surely a threat. You should attack them."

"The scientist didn't just create copies. She has created things who are meant to last forever with no food or water, with a slowed aging."

"What is she doing with that? Is she building an army?"

"She is just rebuilding the city and reestablishing its population."

"We're going to need her tech, general" stated the emperor.

"We can help them with that while getting what we need from her and further the research on our own."

"Exactly. This will be your mission, general."

"What should we do about them if the scientist would perish?" asked Tithon

The emperor thought about it.

"Just do what we were meant to do with them when Darkstar decided to bring the war to their planet."

"Your Highness, I think that we should just conquer them, without losing time. Darkstar is still free and…"

"I'm aware of it, general. Someone else will take care of that psychopath."

"But, your Highness, we need more men against him than a worthless planet. The Morrigan is a battleship, not a control station."

"I don't care, general. This is an order"

"You can't let Darkstar annihilate half of the galaxy for a planet which has an interesting resource which won't change this war."

"General, this is an order" as the emperor told him that, he disappeared, and the light turned on.

Timur's heart was running. His hands were itching.

Kurban was still in the room, scanning through Lud's stuff. He was looking for the thing which the founder drew on the piece of paper he found there.

Founding a key in a secret bunker wasn't as easy as he thought.

After he had turned the room upside down, he stopped and sat down. He was starting to feel like it was a hoax.

Then he felt it, the breeze. He felt it before. Air was coming in from somewhere.

He focused. There wasn't just a sighing but also a muted whistle.

He started following it with his ears.

At first, he was able to get it only through his hearing but then his skin and nose were perturbed by it too.

It came from the board.

Only now he noticed that it was slightly tilted.

He moved away what was in front of it and stood there, observing the plain surface.

He got closer, looking for an inlet, helpin himself with his hands.

Top, Left, Bottom…Right. It was there.

He pulled. It seemed locked.

He pulled again. With more strength.

Again.

Then the door gave in, and he was able to open it.

On the gateway right side there was a pyramidal rod. It was what was blocking the door.

Couldn't be.

It was hanging out a bit and it was only showing its plain side, the supposed handle. He tried to force it out of its dimple.

Then he tried to be gentler, rotating it counterclockwise.

It worked as it started to come out.

Then it stopped.

With the same sensibility he moved it down at first than up. The second option allowed him to turn it ninety degrees, bringing it parallel to the door's direction.

He felt less resistance and decided to move it outside.

As it exited the gap, the key revealed itself. Exactly as it was represented in the drawing.

Now he just needed to know what it was supposed to open.

In front of him there was a long tunnel, lit by feeble lights.

He didn't know where it brought but he didn't care.

He took Lud's journal and walked into the tunnel.

Timur was focused on the clone in the water tank. He was looking at it with a mixture of abhorrence and pride. A few feet behind him there was someone seated on a chair, strapped, and gagged.

Even though it was one of his, he couldn't feel any kind of attachment to it. It only had his features. On a screen beside the tank, vital stats were showing. Close to them there was his name and his future role.

One of his soldiers showed behind him. Timur felt his presence.

He was looking at the powerless man hold by the general with an awkward and fearful face. Like he knew the individual.

"Speak" ordered him.

"Sir, general, one of the citizens of Rocabarra has send a message."

"So?"

"He has executed what you asked."

"Wonderful"

"There's more"

"What?"

"He intends to take charge of Rocabarra and its people."

"As long as he and his kind are going to comply with our directives, he is free to do it."

"Should we notify the emperor?"

Timur thought about it.

"No. Is there anything else?"

"The cloak is presenting some issues related to its stability."

"Fix it"

"But…sir, the longer we keep it on, higher is the possibility to lose our advantage."

Timur grinned.

The soldier was looking at him. Waiting for feedback.

"How long does the lagging last?"

"A few milliseconds but it's rising."

Timur looked unphased by it while the soldier was quivering.

"There is no necessity to override everything. Change the program and the stuff related to the lagging"

"Yes, sir. Do you know when we're going to turn it off? The engineers need to know it."

Timur didn't flinch.

"Sir…?"

"You can leave."

"But sir…we need to…" was saying the soldier while starting to walk out of the room.

"Patience, soldier. Now, leave" told him while looking at the soldier leaving the premise.

Once he was alone, he puffed.

Time wasn't his enemy.

He was sure about that.

Then he turned toward the prisoner.

"You know, you are identical to a friend of mine. It's sad that I had to kill him."

He removed the gag from his mouth and threw it away.

"Please, let me go. Lady Gehenna didn't meant to show mistrust, she just…" begged him.

"Don't worry about that. I will"

"But first I need you a little thing from you"

As he said that, a group of scientists entered into the room and brought him out, while he was asking for Timur's mercy.