Sword of the Gods: The Chosen One (58 page)

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* ~ * ~

Galactic Standard Date:  152,323.07 AE

Ascended Realms

Emperor Shay’tan

Shay’tan

“You look pleased with
yourself today,” Shay’tan said.

Hashem drummed his
fingers on the three-dimensional chessboard that was also a model of the
galaxy, smirking at the sight of his white knight sitting amongst the black
pawns in Zulu sector.

“Oh … it’s nothing,”
Hashem said evasively.

Shay’tan pondered his
next move.  Aha!  Hashem was so focused on the outer reaches of the galaxy that
he'd left his center exposed.  He chuckled at his own genius.

“Check,” Shay’tan
said.

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Galactic Standard Date:  152,323.07 AE

Alpha Sector:  Command Carrier ‘
Eternal Light
’

Supreme Commander-General Jophiel

Jophiel

“Sir, there is an alpha-priority-one
message from Haven-4,” Lieutenant Klik'rr said.

Jophiel glanced up
from the endless stream of reports that buried her desk, news of the latest
Sata'an incursion into Romeo sector taking a back burner as the hair stood up
on the back of her neck.  There was only one thing that mattered on that
planet.  Whatever she'd been doing was immediately forgotten. 

“What's wrong?”

“Sir … it's your son,”
Klik'rr's antennae twitched in concern as he handed his commanding officer the
message.  “He is very sick.”  The nervous twitch of his mandibles communicated
what the cold, mechanical vocal range booster couldn't convey.  “They request
you come right away.”

“What's wrong with
him?”  She instinctively reached for the small wallet of photographs of
all
her
offspring that she kept hidden in the breast-pocket of her uniform shirt. 
Klik'rr’s words sounded far away.

“It’s the wasting
sickness, Sir,” Klik'rr's prayer-like grasping front legs wrung his pinchers,
his body language conveying the emotion that the voice enhancement box couldn't
adequately express.  “He's not expected to make it, Sir.  Is there anything I
can do for you?”

“Recall Colonel Israfa
from Zulu Sector right away,” she stood, not really hearing the words.  “Just
him, not his command carrier.  Tell him to take a needle and meet me at Haven-4
… stat.”

The room began to fade
from view.  Her heart pounded in her ears.  She swooned, grabbing her desk to
help her stand.  Klik'rr grabbed her arm and guided her towards the door where
two more airmen stood, waiting to guide her down to her shuttle..  As usual,
Klik'rr had anticipated her every need.

“I took the liberty of
informing the ATO you would be flying out of here right away, Sir.  Your
transport shuttle leaves in twenty minutes.”

“Yes, of course,” she
mumbled. 

The hallways she
walked through, the people she passed, was all a blur as guilt tore at her
mind.  She'd abandoned him.  In her heart, she'd known he needed to stay close
to her and she'd cast him aside to pursue her career.  She didn't notice
Lieutenant Klik'rr guide her into the waiting shuttle.  The crew watched her go
in silence, word already racing through the ship that the General’s infant son
was not expected to survive the night.  Although they prayed to different minor
deities from their homeworlds, a unified prayer went out to spare the life of
one, tiny baby.

“Get Raphael on the
Light
Emerging
on the horn,” Lieutenant Klik'rr ordered the moment her shuttle
lifted off.  “I need to convey the sad news that his son is dying.”

~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~

July – 3,390 BC

Earth:  Village of Assur

Colonel Mikhail Mannuki’ili

Mikhail

“Mikhail,” Pareesa
said.  “Oh Mikhail!”  Pareesa reached out with the end of her bow and jabbed
him in the wing.  As the troop's youngest and most fearless member, she often
ribbed her reticent mentor in a way the others did not dare.

“I'm sorry,” he
apologized.  “I was … thinking.” 

He looked longingly at
the lovely visage which distracted him.  Ninsianna testing her bow, her arm
lining up in perfect symmetry with her luscious breasts. 

“Yeah,” his impish
young student joked.  “I know
exactly
what you were thinking of!” 
Pareesa pointed to where Ninsianna prepared to crawl into the reeds.  “You
drifted off mid-sentence.”

The other students
giggled at his absent-mindedness.  All knew the source of his distraction and
good-naturedly teased him whenever his mind began to wander.  Ever since Immanu
had given them permission to marry, he'd been having a hard time keeping his
baser impulses under control.  Ninsianna was worth the wait, so wait he did
even though it was driving him to distraction.  Mikhail forced his thoughts
back down onto the planet.

“Today we shall hunt
ducks.”  He motioned for his archers to follow him to a lazy, marshy portion of
the river that made a natural pond.  With rains scarce this time of year, most
inland pools of water had started to dry up.  Waterfowl migrated to the more
reliable Hiddekel River as soon as their young were capable of flying. 

Twelve more archers
had joined their troop from allied villages, studied the basics of mastering
the new weapon for two weeks, and then gone home. 
Their
villages had
been the victims of raids and Nineveh suffered a
second
attack.  The
allied archers had been determined to master the new technology and go home to
teach every able-bodied male … and female … unlike Assur, where archery
training was voluntary and being undermined by Jamin.

“Mikhail,” Yadidatum
asked.  “Doesn't it bother you to shoot birds?”

“Why would it?”

“I mean … you … well …
you're part bird,” Yadidatum said.

Mikhail pondered her
question.  It had never occurred to him that he might share DNA with the avian
population.  This planet had species he'd never seen before, if his faulty
memory could be relied upon, such as the gigantic mated pair of golden eagles
which circled the Hiddekel River with their powerful, Angelic-like wings. 

“I'm not sure what I'm
descended from,” he said.  “But I don't think I'm part duck.  We hunted similar
waterfowl back in … back … where I'm from.  Water fowl are common throughout
the galaxy, I suspect.”

“Quack, quack,”
Pareesa flapped her arms like a duck. 

“And I definitely
don't quack,” he gave Pareesa a mock serious stare. 

The others giggled,
causing his mouth to twitch up in the smile he failed to suppress.  Like the
fairies she was named after, Pareesa inspired the others towards mischief, her
youthful energy turning what might have been dreadfully boring training into
camaraderie.  She was also extremely talented.

 “Shhhh,” Behnam
signaled as they got close to the cove.  “We'll crawl the last few feet.”

“Ready your bows,”
Mikhail whispered.

This was Behnam’s
first hunt using the bow, but the old man had been setting snares for decades.
Mikhail followed his lead.  Once the first shot was fired, the waterfowl would
take to the air, giving them seconds before the birds were out of range. 

“Remember,” Alalah
said.  “We have a point to prove.  We have to show our families that our
newfound skills provide value.”

“Then maybe my mother-in-law
will stop grumbling about babysitting while I come to lessons,” Orkedeh said. 
“My husband doesn't understand why I want to spend hours shooting sticks at
targets.”

“You only come because
it's an excuse to get away from your eight kids,” Alalah said.  “Mommy sanity
time.”

“They don't understand
because Assur has not suffered a raid yet,” Kiana said.  “They'll feel
differently once we are attacked.  As soon as my kids get big enough, I'll to
teach them
all
to shoot.  My two oldest girls are almost strong enough
to draw a bow.” 

“Maybe Mikhail could
teach us to make smaller bows?” Pareesa said.  “One a child of seven could
draw?  My little brother wants to shoot squirrels and help my parents get more
meat.”

“We can do that,”
Mikhail said.  "It would please me if you teach
others
to defend
themselves." 

He didn't add that he
was disappointed at the low turnout and the Chief’s lack of enforcement.  The
Emperor indoctrinated his species into military training academies as babies…

Memory.  He grabbed at
the elusive fragment, but it escaped. 
Damantia!
  Something about the
Emperor starting training young.

“If you bring home
fresh duck,” Alalah whispered, “your families will stop complaining and tell
you to practice more.  There's nothing like fresh roast duck to convince
someone of the value of an investment in time.”

The archers strung
their bows.  After Ninsianna had complained about the string burning her aiming
arm, he'd fashioned wrist and finger-gauntlets out of scraped goat hide.  He
suspected it was not a new invention, simply one he'd forgotten he remembered. 
The other archers had copied the idea, making gauntlets of their own. 

“Not yet...”  He
waited for Yadidatum to get her arrow hooked into the string.  

The ducks quacked
nervously at the humans creeping through the underbrush, but were not worried
enough to take flight.  Few predators could follow them into the water fast
enough to catch them.  That was about to change.

“Now!”  He took his
first shot at a plump male that was beating up on a smaller female.  He
immediately reached into his quiver for the next arrow. 

Ten more arrows
whistled through the air as his students let fly their first shot.  They
reloaded as panicked waterfowl took to the air.  Reaching for a third arrow, he
glanced over to see Ninsianna wearing the same intense look of determination
she'd worn the day she'd thrown her spear into the competition bullseye.