“That was kind of my fault.” Kiyan closed his eyes for a moment and the blast doors slid back into their recesses. “I wanted to see if you were really different and I needed some privacy for that.” A blue force field rippled over the opening when everyone’s eyes adjusted to the light. On the other side of the force field a couple squads were assembled with weapons trained on the entrance. They soon lowered their weapons when they saw there wasn't a threat, Luke lowered the force field and Kiyan was escorted to the council.
Kiyan felt like hours had passed as he went through the introductions and explanations. When the reborn council learned that Kiyan was a member of an alliance that was waging a war on the drakken twelve thousand years in the past, they had to talk among themselves for some time. Kiyan waited as they deliberated about what they wanted to do with him. Luke was silent while they waited.
“Kiyan, we have some more questions before we can come to a decision.” None of the reborn present looked aged in any way, probably because none of them were more than twenty years old. One looking like a leader among the council addressed Kiyan. “You say you are on a mission that if successful could erase us from the time streams. You want to ensure the arrival of a ship that start a civilization thousands of years ago. Any number of variables could preclude our survival. Can you give any assurance that we might survive?”
“To my understanding in the original timeline we never met you.” Kiyan understood their concerns but weighed the issues in question. Was it really his choice to erase a civilization for the greater good? Could he live with the memory of having destroyed the reborn and any hope of rehabilitating the drakken race even if he was the only one that knew about what the cost was? On the other hand, the war might be set back immeasurably if not lost by the absence of the Assurian fleet. “I can't give any guarantee that the reborn will exist in another timeline but I can tell you that we have a good chance of driving the drakken invaders from our universe and winning the war. I honestly have no idea what might happen.”
“From what you tell us, the rest of the universe is at war with the drakken. We and our fight with the few drakken that came with us is but a speck of dust in the cosmos.” The leader paused before continuing. “Can you tell us one thing truthfully? If we are sacrificed, can you win the war?”
Kiyan didn't answer at once as he reviewed all the advances the protectorate had made. They had smashed drakken fleets, staged revolutions and struck deep in the drakken's own universe. “Yes, we can win the war. It is not certain you will be lost in the change but I don't know what could be or could have been.”
“We will put it to a vote, you will know what we decide by the end of the day.” The leader spoke with an air of finality as they went about preparations. Kiyan found himself wandering aimlessly through the dwellings constructed under the shield dome. He felt Luke using his senses to examine pieces of tech that they passed. The original crashed drakken ship had been dismantled and used for all sorts of applications. The whole settlement appeared to be powered by solar crystals like what Kiyan had used to recharge his energy reserves.
“It looks like the shields absorbed the radiation from the sun and channels it to the crystal chambers recharging it through the day. At night it protects from imprint marauders.” Luke conveyed what he had learned from his scans.
“That explains why the suit didn't get discharged any.” Kiyan mused on the applications that could be made with material like the crystals.
“Who are you talking too?” Rinald fell into step with Kiyan. Kiyan felt stupid as he recalled that no one could hear Luke but him if he wanted.
“Luke is an AI in my head, I forget sometimes that no one hears him most the time. I mean I can see him and hear him but you can't.” Kiyan tried to explain something that was still new to him. Rinald laughed before changing the subject.
“I already voted and by my thinking you can use a few of us to help you complete your mission.” Rinald watched Kiyan's face as he finished.
“Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you still a new reborn?” Kiyan was encouraged by Rinald but a little confused.
“Yes and no, my last life I was a member of an elite sniper squad, we were on patrol when we got hit by a plasma missile.” Kiyan stopped and looked Rinald over with a critical eye. After an appraisal Kiyan made a quick jab at Rinald's throat. He blocked Kiyan's strike and countered with lightning speed to both their surprises. Kiyan stepped back after releasing Rinald's fist.
“You do have good reflexes and hand to hand combat training.” Kiyan circled Rinald as he finished his evaluation. It looked like Rinald could build up more muscle but overall looked pretty fit. Kiyan noticed that the reborn drakken didn't have the trademark claws or protruding sharp teeth. In appearance they and the drakken had little beyond scales in common. “I can't do anything until I find out the result of the vote.”
“I voted for you, I couldn't live with myself knowing I had doomed the rest of the universe to the imprints.” Rinald spoke with conviction and a little resignation in his tone.
“I am not sure I can live with having destroyed your civilization if you aren't in the new timeline.” Kiyan scuffed his toe in the grey sand that covered the planet.
“You will accept it and live with it, I don't want you to cheapen our sacrifice by regretting it for the rest of your life.” Kiyan wasn't sure what to think of Rinald's words. There was an awkward silence before Rinald continued. “What will you do if you don't win the vote? Can you fight us all?”
“I could fight you all but I don't know if I can.” Kiyan hoped it wouldn't come to that.
“You think you really could fight us?” There was a tone of incredulity in Rinald's voice. Kiyan held his hand up and let icy blue flames play around his fingers. The grey sand drifted into the air and began to swirl as what little moisture that was in the air condensed. Rinald had a look of awe on his face as he watched the elements appear to defy the laws that governed them.
“I don't want to fight you.” Kiyan realizing he had an audience, let the dust settled back to the ground and the fog evaporated as he walked on.
“Are you an ascended? We found glyphs on the planet that seem to say that ascended protectors walk the universe protecting what might be and what could have been.” Rinald's sense of curiosity won out over his sense of awe.
“My parents were but I haven't learned to control my powers fully yet.” Kiyan altered his course when he saw the council leader approaching.
“The vote is finished. Most of our people feel that we are living in an aberrant timeline.” The councilman seemed to be searching for the right words. “The consensus is that the reborn drakken were an accident in the first place. Perhaps an accident that can be replicated in a new timeline. If time can be repaired by our loss, so be it.”
Kiyan was overwhelmed by the fact that an entire civilization was willing to help him, a person they had only just met, even if it meant they would be erased from time. “Why do you want to help me? The cost could be so high.”
A thin smile played across the reborn drakken’s face. “We are losing our little war. Piece by piece, squad by squad. Our tech is salvaged while most of theirs is manufactured by engineers and scientists with the imprinted knowledge of how it works. We can only try to reverse engineer what we salvage. Our people spend months and years training while they are cloned and imprinted with the physical and mental parameters of a soldier. We can't hope to win. You offer hope, the chance to make a difference. We are doomed to all die and fade into the sands of this planet otherwise.” The smile faded and was replaced by a serious expression. “Again, how can we help?”
“I need to destroy the minefield surrounding this planet.” Kiyan began to understand the situation.
“Very well, the minefield was laid after our ship made planet fall.” The councilman headed back towards the tactical center as he talked. “It stands to reason that the mine controls are routed to one of the imprint ships that landed some distance away.
Several of our best troops have volunteered to help you.”
“I want to help too.” Rinald caused the councilman to pause and look him over. “I knew you in your previous life Rinald, you were one of our best fighters before your death. You might have some of the memories and skills of your predecessor but the transference process is imperfect. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, its up to Kiyan what he wants you to do.”
A message from Luke flashed on Kiyan's HUD before he spoke. “He can use the mech suit. Luke retrofitted it while I was sleeping. I don't need it any more now that I am awake.” The council man raised his eyebrow at the announcement but didn't comment.
“I will gather some troops at the tactical center, we will meet there for an attack tonight.” The councilman continued on his way and Rinald and Kiyan went to the museum. Kiyan climbed into the suit and interfaced with it. The torso slid closed and the seam glowed momentarily before disappearing. Kiyan crawled on hands and knees through the main doors as he tried to exit the building. Sparks showered the ground as he squeezed through the doors, standing up he looked back at the slightly deformed door and the morose Reborn that was glaring at him. Luke laughed in Kiyan's head before taking control of the suit for a moment. Kiyan felt his metal bending being used as door began to ripple and reform. A moment passed and when the door solidified there was no sign of the damage. Kiyan settled back to his knees and opened the suit back up.
“So Luke, you used a bunch of my nanites retrofitting the suit. Doesn't that affect my implants?” Kiyan began to wonder.
“I used some to of your nanites to fabricate a micro replicator. I can replicate more nanites than you could ever use.” Luke informed Kiyan about the upgrade like it was a perfectly normal thing.
Kiyan directed Rinald in how to properly get into the suit. The last thing Kiyan saw of him was the startled look on his face as the suit activated. Contacts clicked into place on his head as the suit snapped shut. The interface completed and Rinald flailed and fell over as he tried to adjust to a different body. Time slowed as Kiyan twisted away from a wildly flailing arm. When time resumed its normal speed Kiyan was standing several feet away from the sprawled mech suit. Ice flames flickered over his body as he noticed the fleeing onlookers, a moment of focus and the flames were gone. Luke had to upload a basic operating system to the suit before Rinald had any success trying to stand.
“Come on, we should practice away from the buildings.” Rinald sounded muffled as he spoke through the suit. Kiyan followed the clumsy movements of the mech as Rinald carefully threaded his way towards the edge of the dome. With the additional upgrade of the operating system, the suit was much easier to control. When they reached the edge they found a large arch near the edge of the ripping force field. Kiyan entered a code that Rinald gave him and the gateway began to activate. Energy began to arc to the dome causing it to distort and move. When the force field had reached the gateway a large opening was left in the center of the arch.
“I put a timed program on the console to let us back in.” Luke let Kiyan know as they left the dome. “Should open for us around sunset.” Rinald practiced for a couple hours before he became skilled enough to be comfortable. They were both a little surprised when Rinald accidentally activated a weapon system. There was a bright flash and a glassy patch of sand after the discovery.
“You didn't tell me this suit had a built in blaster”. Rinald sounded unsettled by the discovery. There was a few more bright flashes as he tried the weapons. Kiyan realized the sun was beginning to get low in the horizon as he surveyed the melted landscape. The arch activated and the gateway opened allowing them back into the dome. The green globe was disappearing on the horizon as they arrived at the tactical center. When they arrived they were greeted by several dozen reborn prepared for battle. The council leader waved to Kiyan and Rinald when he saw them.
“There are three possible vessels that might be controlling the minefield, each one is heavily guarded by drakken.” They followed the councilman inside the building and brought up a detailed map of the surrounding area. Two of the ships looked like they had crashed. The hulks were impaled in sand surrounded by debris. The third ship was setting on a sheltered rock shelf surrounded by rough magma deposits and sand. “We don't have the numbers necessary for an attack on all three so we think this one would be our best option.” The council man gestured toward the third ship. “The other two are functional enough to support life but this one is the only one that might be able to maintain an uplink with the minefield. We might only get one shot at this.”
“If you can lay down covering fire and keep them busy, Rinald and I can slip inside. Once in we should be able to overcome any defenses and reach the primary computer.” Kiyan slid his fingers apart around the drakken ship and watched as it expanded to fill the map. The display adjusted and showed them the internal structure of the ship. As Kiyan examined the schematic of the ship one of the other reborn that he assumed was a commander of some sort picked up the conversation.
“The ship is conserving energy so they aren't running active sensor sweeps. They will have sentries here, here and here on the lookout.” The commander pointed to a few locations on the rim of the valley. “A few of my boys can sneak in close and figure out the report code for the night. We can then take them out and broadcast an all clear while we fly the rest in. From that point we can set up here and begin a bombardment of the garrison here by the open hangar deck.” A point overlooking the valley was indicated as a safe point to attack from.
“If we get dropped off over here, Rinald and I can get in the hanger.” Kiyan indicated the opposite side of the valley rim from the attack point.
“That mech suit is too big to get beyond the hanger. The corridors are just too small.” One of the soldiers pointed out the obvious.
“He is going to have to guard the door when we get there. From there I will only have to watch one direction”. Kiyan understood the soldier had a valid point.
“You are sure you will be safe inside the ship alone?” One of the other reborn in the room looked skeptically at Kiyan.
“Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself.” Kiyan glanced up at a row of skeptical faces. “Anything else that we should be aware of?”
“No, not really. We don't have a huge amount of Intel about that ship. It’s the best defended one.” The commander stiffly saluted the councilman and turned to leave. Kiyan followed him out of the building into the dark. The shield rippling overhead and a few salvaged lights left long flickering shadows. He followed the commander to an open area where a strange craft was sitting. Painted black it blended into the night. A large pivoting thruster adorned each corner. The whole thing looked like it was built around a cargo container. There were more reborn troops milling around the drop ship as they approached. Rinald in the suit was nearly as tall as the ship. It took some maneuvering to load every one into the ship but everything was secure when they lifted off.
For most of the trip the only sound was the hum of the thrusters as they flew. They were keeping close to the ground in an attempt to avoid detection should there be any scanners online. Kiyan could sense several of the men in the transport had questions for him but not the courage to ask. After what seemed an eternity the ship settled to a stop between a couple dunes near the valley their target was concealed in. The commander got up as several men in grey camouflage unbuckled and joined him. Kiyan got up also in spite of a couple of glares.
“No offense but we have spent the last several years training in this environment.” The commander looked Kiyan over with a critical eye. “Your uniform would stick out like a sore thumb besides you don't have any night vision equipment. We would have a better chance if you leave it to us.”
Kiyan didn't even have time to respond before Luke had adjusted the holographic uniform to a dark grey matching the other soldiers in the group. “I've spent the last few hundred years on this planet, I promise I won't be in the way.”
“As you wish, you
might be better off with the next group on the other side. It’s nearer your insertion point.” With that the man stepped into the dark as he snapped a black face shield over his face. A few more men joined him before the door closed and they lifted off again. They slowly snaked through the dunes and valleys as they made their way around their target. This time no one confronted him when he stood up. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind getting a feel for his surroundings. He sensed the four men that followed him off the drop ship trying to settle butterflies in their stomach as they prepared for the assault. Kiyan followed the lead of one of the men who appeared in charge. Once on the outside Kiyan realized that there wasn't a single glimmer of light visible from the ship. It seemed to melt into the dark and was gone when he looked back. He could still sense the metals in its construction for a while as they trudged through the dark. One of the reborn tapped Kiyan on the shoulder to give him an earpiece communicator as they neared the outpost.
“Make sure you find the code they are using for reports before you neutralize the imprints.” Kiyan heard the voice of the commander on the earpiece giving final instructions before they began. They crawled through the grey dust for hours before they were near enough to hear what was happening in the outpost. They buried themselves in the dust for camouflage when they saw the spotlights periodically stabbing at the dark. The time passed slowly before they heard the imprint guards on duty make a report of all clear followed by a string of numbers and the time.
“Wait for another transmission to confirm the code.” The commander's voice crackled on the earpiece when the imprints had finished reporting. After another eternity passed before another report was made. This time another string of numbers followed the report with the time. “They've upgraded their security, they are using a different code system than they used last time. We don't have the equipment to break a more advanced code.” There was a hint of desperation in the commander's voice this time. “Wait for another transmission and see if you can make out a pattern.” Kiyan knew how much time was in between transmissions but it still felt like a long time before the next one. Another report of all clear and a new number sequence followed.