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The Rogue Archon: Chapter 8
The first thing Jace noticed as he hid behind one of the terminals was the eerie silence. The constant wailing alarm had ceased the moment the lights shut off. The Sirsh'th had halted their barrage after they realized they could no longer see their prey. This left the entire room in near complete stillness. Jace heard the creatures at the entrance grumbling what he guessed were curses before the room was suddenly partially illuminated by bright spotlights.
Wasting no time, Jace poked his head out to take a shot at the probing lights. A cry went up as one of the Sirsh'th fell, and immediately his companions opened fire. Jace had not waited that long however. The moment his shot was away, he had dived back into cover and scrambled along to a new spot farther into the room.
He had no idea if he had been successful or not. Obviously, something had caused the lights to go out, but whether it had been Calae, or a simple failsafe to attempt to block the intrusion Jace did not know.
It seemed that Dallo had done his job well when it came to thinning their numbers. As Jace struggled to keep his breathing quiet, he counted the lights that were scanning the dark room. Only four.
Their lights gave him a bit of an advantage. He could see exactly where they were, while they would only know if they shined their light on him. Risking another shot, he heard it connect, but it must have not been a direct hit. Almost instantly the air around him was filled with white hot plasma as he scurried away to a new position.
Suddenly, the room was bathed in a pale light as one of the monitors where the Sirsh'th were beginning their probe turned on, blaring loud static into the silent room. Taking advantage of the distraction, Jace popped up and dropped two of his foes before they could react. This time however, his getaway was not quite so clean. A bolt of plasma slammed into his hand that held his pistol, superheating both the weapon and his jumpsuit. Jace screamed in pain as he felt the direct hit searing his flesh.
Falling backwards, he heard loud thumping footsteps as the remaining two Sirsh'th rushed forward to finish the job. His instinctive fear and the acute pain of his damaged hand drove Jace to action. He rolled underneath one of the terminals, leaving his now useless weapon behind, then began to crawl.
Another screen lit up on the opposite side of the room from Jace, causing one of the Sirsh'th to shoot at it in surprise. It was only then that Jace realized that this had to be Calae, inside the system. That gave him an idea. Carefully raising himself to a crouched position and cradling his injury close to his chest, Jace darted to the next row of computers. It seemed they did not notice him move that time, still distracted by the now destroyed monitor.
Jace pulled out the last of the heat grenades that had been in the care package and armed it. If they were going to get him, he wasn't going alone. He really hoped that Calae was actually in their system, or else this might be a suicide mission.
Taking several rapid breaths, Jace planted his feet carefully in a runner's stance. Sparing one last look at the creatures who had started scanning the room for him once more, Jace launched himself from his hiding spot and began sprinting for the exit. A cry went up from the Sirsh'th and the bolts started to fly. Jace felt one hit one of the plates on his side, nearly stumbling him, but he kept running. Another bolt hit his thigh and Jace felt the agonizing searing once more. Knowing his leg was not going to support much more after a hit like that, Jace threw himself forward toward the open door, just barely clearing it and dropping the grenade behind him.
The moment he was through, the door slammed shut behind him. Seconds later, Jace heard the powerful explosion and saw the sturdy door bow outwards as everything inside was obliterated.
Breathing hard, Jace took a moment to get his bearings. The hallway was dark save for dim emergency lights running the length of the corridor but providing no real illumination. Despite the pain from his injuries, Jace heaved a sigh of relief, letting himself sprawl across the floor not caring that he lay next to the corpses of slain Sirsh'th from Dallo's heroic last stand.
"Archon Embara." Calae's voice roused Ryn gradually. He still felt very weak from his intervention with Jace. Moaning softly, he looked around at the inside of Radiance that had been his prison for the past few days. All the lights were off, but that was nothing new. All non-essential functions had been shut down to save the power for the shields.
His head spun as he tried to focus his mind. In times like this, he allowed his training to take over. The tiny pieces of all the Archons before him that gave him wisdom beyond his years also strengthened him when he needed it.
"What is it, Calae?" He asked weakly. Ryn knew that her determination to wake him could mean only one of two things. Success, or failure.
"Ambassador Maron has uploaded my data into the Sirsh'th systems."
A smile spread across Ryn's face. He knew all along that Jace could do it. Calae continued before Ryn could say anything though.
"In the process, he needed to destroy most of the terminal hub from which he made the upload. This has slowed my progress in infiltrating their networks."
The smile faded. "I see. What does that mean, Calae?"
Calae did not respond right away. "Archon Embara, Radiance is no longer being shielded. It is likely a matter of a short time until the Sirsh'th realize this. It will take me some time to work through all of their networks and connect to their ship."
Ryn sighed and slumped back in his chair. "So... it was all for nothing then." His voice was dejected but not despairing. He had resigned himself to the will of the Light when Radiance had first been captured.
"I am sorry, Archon." Calae's voice did not often carry emotion, but Ryn knew that his long-time artificially intelligent friend was feeling a very real pain.
"You did your best, Calae. We all did." He sighed again before pushing himself wearily to his feet. "We shall see if they will accept my surrender. Please tell Jace to get to safety if he can. Should the Sirsh'th decide to..." Ryn swallowed a lump in his throat and removed the psionic relay he wore. "It will be a difficult time for him."
A surge of emotion coursed through Ryn as he thought of what Jace would go through if things went the way he expected them to. It brought back horrifying and painful flashbacks to the moment that Archon Felan had died. Yarra had been Ryn's first love. They had sworn themselves together in duty to the Light, but it had been more than that.
The bond that the two Archons shared had been as close as Ryn's bond with Jace. Their training together had culminated in romantic and physical intimacy that connected them far more deeply than most beings experienced. This was especially true because they both shared the ancient knowledge. Even before they had discovered their mutual attraction, their lives had been destined to be intertwined.
Not a day passed where Ryn did not mourn the loss of Yarra, his first soul mate, who had taught him how to love at such a young age. Yet not an hour passed where Ryn did not thank the Light for Jace, whose seemingly contradictory cynical optimism never failed to make Ryn smile; and whose fierce protectiveness always made Ryn, a powerful Archon of the strongest civilization in the galaxy, feel safe and secure like a warm blanket. Jace had taught him so many things that he could never have learned from his teachers within the Harmonious Light.
With one final sigh, Ryn pressed the button to open the airlock and waited to step out into the enemy ship.
Jace limped around a corner just as a large group of Sirsh'th rushed past. He was in no condition to fight. Staying hidden was his only option. The base was still dark but was swarming with Sirsh'th with spotlights. Jace hoped that the creatures would assume he had died in the terminal room explosion.
Fighting back the pain, Jace continued in what he hoped was the direction of the exit. He was no doctor, but he knew that his injuries this time would likely take more than a little medical gel to heal. Not to mention, he had used most of it on patching the cord.
It was obvious that Calae had made it into the system, but he had not heard from her at all in some time. Just as he was beginning to worry about her absence however, Calae's voice came through his helmet.
"Ambassador Marron, you need to get out of the facility as quickly as possible."
"Really?" Jace grunted in pain. "I thought I'd stick around for a while and see the sights."
"This is not the time for sarcasm, Ambassador." Calae reprimanded, catching Jace off guard.
"Lighten up, will you? I'm the one shot full of holes after all." Jace commented, limping his way down the hall. Calae rarely overtly displayed an attitude so her brisk response made Jace worry. "Is something wrong? You're in their system, aren't you?"
"I am." Came Calae's simple response.
"But...?" Jace prompted. "There's something you're not telling me."
After a long pause, Calae informed Jace of the situation and of Ryn's decision to surrender himself.
"No..." Jace shook his head in protest. "He can't do that. They'll kill him. We're so close. Tell him to stop!"
"It is too late, Ambassador." Calae told him regretfully. "The shield is down. There is nothing more to be done."
"Launch the ship anyway!" Jace was practically shouting, he could feel tears stinging his eyes as he continued down the corridor, and this time not from the pain of his wounds. "Radiance can break through their magnetic current. By the time they realize what happened, you'll be able to take over their systems."
"Ambassador, breaking the magnetic current forcibly would likely cause significant damage to Radiance. The shuttle would be at great risk of breaking apart."
Jace slammed his fist against the wall then cried out in agony as he foolishly agitated his injury. "There has to be some way!" Jace demanded. "Think, Calae! Anything!"
A loud pinging noise suddenly came from Jace's wrist link, startling him severely and almost making him fall backward. Looking down at the little monitor, he saw a strange green light blinking rapidly on and off. Frowning curiously, Jace tapped a finger on the blinking light.
As the ramp hissed open, Ryn mentally ran through what he would have to say. He had never issued a formal surrender before, so only knew the words from his studies. That was of course, if they didn't just kill him outright.
It took the Sirsh'th outside several seconds to realize what was happening as Radiance slowly opened. The shuttle they had been working unsuccessfully to crack round the clock was now simply opening for them. Chattering urgently in their hissing, clicking language, the group of more than a dozen of the creatures took up a formation around the small craft in their docking bay. Their weapons were drawn and readied awaiting a fight.
One of the Light's many reasons for training their Archons so young was their harmless appearance. Even highly hostile combatants were far less likely to fire on what appeared to be an innocent child. This effect was not lost on the Sirsh'th as Ryn descended he ramp slowly. Even to their alien eyes, it was still obvious that Ryn was much younger than they had expected.
The Sirsh'th kept their guns trained however, and one of them hissed something at Ryn that Ryn could not understand.
"I wish to surrender myself, and my ship." Ryn spoke in the Taigari language. "As an Archon of the Harmonious Light, I give myself up as a prisoner of war."
The Sirsh'th blinked their large eyes, looking at one another. None of them seemed to understand what Ryn had said. The one that had spoken first grunted louder and waved its gun menacingly.
Ryn held his hands in the air, trying to appear nonthreatening. After using so much of his influence to save Jace, Ryn wasn't sure he would be able to stop it if this alien decided to put him down.
"Is there someone that I can communicated with?" He kept his voice as steady as possible.
Muttering quietly among themselves, the Sirsh'th didn't move. Finally, the one in front growled angrily, lowering its weapon and marching to the back of the ranks. The creature hauled one of its comrades forward to the front before jabbering something to it.
The new Sirsh'th's eyes narrowed as it stared at Ryn, still pointing a gun at him.
"What. You. Say?" It croaked out with much effort. "Be. Slave. For. Sirsh'th?" It gestured with its weapon. "Give. Ship?"
Ryn sighed and his shoulders slumped. The idea of surrendering as a "slave" was not appealing in the least. The Taigari had told them about the harsh manual labor their captured kin were forced into. For a moment, Ryn wondered if it might just be better to make a grab for the creature's gun and let himself be ended right there. Then he thought of Jace and the amount of agony he would go through if he felt their connection severed like that.
He was about to nod and accept his fate when suddenly a loud ping came from his wrist link. The Sirsh'th growled in surprise and shouted to each other in their language, all of them training their weapons on Ryn, waiting for him to make a move. As Ryn saw the green light blinking on the monitor, his luminous blue eyes went wide with shock. A tingle rolled over him as stunned realization came to him.
"Calae." Ryn switched back to a language he knew that the Sirsh'th could not understand.
"Yes, Archon?"
Ryn squared his shoulders and lifted his head to meet the eyes of his hostile captors. "How much of the Sirsh'th language have you gleaned from their files?"
"Enough, Archon." Calae assured.
"Good." A hint of a smile touched Ryn's lips. "Translate for me. And power up Radiance's light cannons."
"Of course, Archon Embara."
"Hear me now, Sirsh'th!" Ryn added his signature slight reverberation to his voice and Calae spoke in the guttural hissing tones, amplified through Radiance. "I am Archon Ryn Reynia Embara; servant of the Harmonious Light. You have occupied an underdeveloped world and enslaved its people. You have murdered thousands and irreparably shaped the future of Terana with your avarice!"
Calae repeated the words he spoke and the Sirsh'th that had first spoken tried to cut him off, raising his weapon to shoot Ryn down where he stood.
Radiance's light cannons rolled out from its sleek hull and trained on the group of Sirsh'th, making them collectively take a step back.
"And..." Ryn raised his voice to project over the tumult and Calae did the same. "You have now abducted an Archon of the Light! With the Light as my witness, I judge the Sirsh'th to be guilty of war crimes that mandate immediate intervention! You will surrender the planet and this ship, or you will be destroyed."
Ryn's ominous warning echoed around the docking bay as Calae dutifully translated.
"You cannot fire your weapons in here. It will destroy you too!" Calae relayed the scornfully shouted message from the Sirsh'th soldier.
Suddenly, an alarm began to blare and a Sirsh'th voice came over the intercom, causing a fractional distraction. Ryn did not need Calae to translate. He knew what the alarm was about. Taking advantage of the Sirsh'th confusion, Ryn pressed a button on his wrist link as he dove backward onto Radiance's ramp. It immediately snapped closed as the gathered Sirsh'th began peppering Radiance's elegant hull with bolts of plasma.
"Launch us now! Break the magnet!" Ryn ordered, and Radiance surged to life at his command.
When Jace pressed the flashing green button on his wrist link, a voice came through, mixed with intermittent static.
"...Archon Embara... of the... Light... call... orbiting pattern..." The male voice was choppy and impossible to make out.
"Calae..." Jace was feeling cautious hope building within him. "Who is that? Can you clean this up?"
"Connecting you to the Sirsh'th communications relay." Calae confirmed. Several seconds later, a clear elderly voice sounded through Jace's wrist link.
"Hail, Archon Embara, the Light shines on you. This is Aveden Kossra, Light-Father of the Song of Rapture. The Light heeds your call. Falling into orbiting pattern at Terana."