Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 10

Author note: Sorry for the chapter delay. I've gone back and forth many times as to whether this is the direction I want to take Lucius's character development and finally decided to go with it.

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Weeks passed, training continued. Aeneus continued to kill me daily, but he added instruction here and there. Looking past the bubbles, Destiny’s training sim allowed for me to face the same attack a thousand times in a row and experiment as I did. Dodging what the Krato threw at me became easier. It wasn’t long before I was never hit by his first attack. Rarely did the second or third attacks reach me.

I took to the air myself to hopefully give me an advantage, but I was like a pigeon in a dogfight with a falcon. Once in the air, I had to rely on wind walking to change directions, dodge, and push myself out of the way. Sometimes I even pulled it off. Remaining on the ground close to a surface I could push against was usually the wiser option. If I had a wall to make use of, it added versatility to my movements because pushing off something of substance allowed for much more speed than wind walking.

My time with Mel was even more fruitful. At least it seemed to be on the surface since I wasn’t dying all the time. I developed my own divebombing technique to the extent of not crashing every time. However, I didn’t have the physically enhanced body of Aeneus Raptis so turning my hand into a blade or eagle claws wasn’t possible. It did allow me to get close rapidly for a point-blank psionic bolt that could be quite destructive to anyone at my rank or lower. To higher ranks it had limited effects.

As for my dragonslayer technique, I found myself in a predicament similar to the one I’d been in when first facing the Manticore King. I was traveling even faster now so it was almost impossible to make use of the technique. Additionally, if I sped up the flow to force it to work, the technique was far less effective. It was like trying to hammer a chisel the size of a needle. The needle was too small to be effective. Wielding a psword made up for it but even that was limited. I didn’t give up.

Mel and I both had Manticore King statues that didn’t fight back that we used as practice dummies. He was better at it than I was. Not at the flying, or controlled falling, but his empowered psionic bolt was enough now to kill the Manticore outright. Swooping down to hit it at closer range just increased the effectiveness of his attack.

I hadn’t really wielded a spear consistently since Freedom. I found its weight was just what I needed to make up for what the psword and my dragonslayer technique lacked. The penetrating force tore through Rank D shielding. So instead of diving upon my target and slowing to make use of dragonslayer through my fist or feet, I just went as fast as I could manage, aimed, and let go.

Where my skill training was exciting, my more typical training became so ingrained in what I did that it seemed to be part of me. My body continued to develop under weight training. Compared to my early days in Freedom when my body was new to the process my progress had slowed considerably. I could’ve train more often, but the kind of results I got when my body was first adapting wasn’t something I’d be able to replicate now. The body adapts. There are also genetic limitations that take time to break through even if you work out several times a day with the best serums and nutrition.

At times, I thought back to the skills I’d developed in Freedom and thought of them as wasted effort. The further psionics advanced, the further from shield walls and the simplicity of melee combat we seemed to get. Some of the skills were foundational, but many no longer applied. But there was one thing that all of the training and drilling taught me. Obviously, it taught me the benefits of training and to drilling. Those were the true basics I returned to. If you spent all your time trying to discover new uses for psionics, you’d never master anything.

The Gathering of Guilds was only a week away and I had my blind date the day after. This was the life I’d lived for the last year and seven months. I was a talented young psionic user with an impossible goal. I spent most of my time in my Cube. My life was lived in simulation. It was made real because of how it would affect the real world, and how it had changed me. Prodos was already having an effect. New mines and manufacturing facilities were being developed on planet Hectate. We did that. We made it possible. We were not alone. Yet, everything we did besides a few commercials and interviews took place in an imitation of the real world. A fantasy.

When Destiny came to me, the illusion that I thought I had a firm grasp of shattered. There were still versions of her active at home with my parents outside of the Prime Sim. She interacted with my mom and worked with my dad daily. Men had shown up at my family home. They were armed with micro-rail handguns. The type of handgun that fired metallic discs the size of small coins at extreme speeds. Because of the way the discs stacked, micro-rails, also called hand-rails, could hold fifty rounds or more.

“Your parents were taken,” Destiny urged. Her voice teetered from unraveled to dangerously under control. “It just happened seconds ago. From their home.”

“You’re tracking them?” I asked.

“They destroyed my master unit, but I have mirco-drones hidden on both their persons. They—they split them up. The police have been called and the military informed.”

It didn’t matter that my men were mid-mission, clearing select targets on planet Hectate. I was to watch over them. If there were any problems, my job was to intervene and make sure they were handled. Before demanding that Destiny forcibly log me out of my Cube, I sent a single message to Mel. “You’re in charge.”

I didn’t contact Victoria. Destiny had done that already.

As soon as I was logged out, my naked butt leaped for the entrance. Destiny’s military grade master drone was waiting with my clothing. Her micro-drones dressed me faster than I could myself.

“We aren’t cleared to leave the base with military grade drone tech,” she warned.

“Do you have enough microdrones hidden on my parents to create a defensive barrier?” I asked.

“It will be limited to a few seconds at best.”

“Better than nothing. What can you send with me? I need your eyes.”

The hologram of Destiny disappeared from atop her master drone as the heavily armored barrel of her body opened and Wink, my pitch black, falcon-shaped, scout drone flew out while swallowing a bunch of micro-drones. The final thing Wink swallowed was the commercial grade purple orb drone that Destiny had once used.

“We’re still breaking the rules, but sending only a scout will greatly decrease the number of infractions we’re breaking, and she can keep up with you while my master drone can’t,” Destiny said.

“Keep up with me? Is running really the fastest way to get there?”

“Unless we could get access to a jet that’s somehow already fueled and ready for takeoff. The automated shuttle system is efficient, but your ability to cut across terrain will save you a lot of time even if your top speed doesn’t compare. I’ll have a private jet waiting for us at the closest airport. It should take you half an hour to reach it. I’ve submitted for emergency leave and Victoria already knows. The front gate might give us trouble.”

I understood what she was saying.

After a short pause, Destiny cried, “Halt.”

I was already dressed in my ballistic suit with my thumb resting on the crossguard of my sheathed psword. “What is it?”

Victoria’s voice answered my confusion. “There’s a MUM-SU waiting for you.”

Destiny didn’t wait for me to ask as she explained what the acronym meant. “Manned-unmanned stealth unit often undertaking precision stealth missions, personnel rescue, and escape missions.”

In other words, it was an escape pod ready at a moment’s notice in case Peter needed to get Victoria to safety.

“Thank you,” I said unable to soften my tone despite who I was talking to.

“Come back to me in one piece,” Victoria implored.

“I will.”

As soon as I left the Cube’s space, I didn’t even bother running, pushing myself forward at breakneck speed. Destiny highlighted the way through my headset.

***

Liam was in the same room when Victoria received the message from Lucius’s AI. The young Major’s parents had been kidnapped. Alarm bells went off in his head. How exactly had such a thing happened? The family of every significant Vanguard competitor had a security detail watching them. Which could only mean one thing. An organized attack.

Normally, he would’ve stayed out of it, but Peter had dragged him into this nonsense. He marched toward the self-proclaimed Ekseliksi insurgents. When the micro-drone barrier activated, Peter allowed it to close behind him, including Liam in the meeting.

The moment the sound-proofing barrier was closed, the young woman’s mask of control faltered. Moister flooded her eyes. Her jaw trembled. Turning to the quite black man always at her side, she beseeched as much as commanded him, “Authorization of Rank D psionics is given if you deem it necessary. Go with him, Oliver. Keep him safe.”

The normally stoic man bowed his head then gave her a reassuring grin. “I doubt it will be necessary, but I’ll do it, with joy.”

A second later, the man was gone.

Liam didn’t have to wonder about what she just revealed, but the implications weren’t easy to accept. This bodyguard that had been at her side since the beginning of Freedom had always had Rank D psionics. Knowing who she was, he probably wasn’t just any Rank D, either. He was likely a celebrated Krato, or Ekseliksi Elite. It was even possible that he was more. And he was preparing to leave Homeland Air Force Base and go out into the United States with nothing holding him back. If he so desired, with the power he possessed, this man could leave a city in ruins. Thousands could die before anyone could stop him. And here Liam was just letting him go.

But then the daughter of Earth’s greatest enemy turned to him and said, “Be ready. Lucius has never taken a life before outside of the Cube.”

He couldn’t help but give this young woman a curious look. He glanced at the average looking man who was now embracing her. Peter was anything but average. There had never been a person Liam trusted less than this Lieutenant Colonel Hinson. And yet, because of the woman the man held, Liam felt no fear. He knew this hidden Krato—that Oliver—would do exactly as she requested. No more and no less.

Why? They were monsters, and she was a beating heart. Instead of devouring her, tearing into what should’ve been their most attractive prize, their hearts beat with hers.

“Liam?” she pleaded.

“I’ll be ready,” he replied. Then because she so often reminded him of his daughters, he added, “With joy.”

The smile that pulled at the corner of her eyes was as slight as could be, but it was a smile, nonetheless. It was an Ekseliksi phrase of endearment he’d heard Aeneus Raptis, Lex, and now Oliver use toward Victoria.

When Peter gave him an appreciative squint, he knew it had been received as he meant it.

Destiny announced, “The surveillance drone assigned to Lucius’s parents was found in a reinforced faraday cage blocking the distress signal. Local and federal law enforcement have sent out teams of surveillance drones and are tracking the situation. Should I share what I know?”

“Yes,” Peter answered. “You must give the authorities no excuse to think you’re keeping information from them. If it’s really necessary for Lucius to involve himself, then we must make sure the legal case against him is as baseless as possible.”

“Do you know who might be responsible?” she asked.

The man shook his head. “We have no intel of this pointing to a major political opponent. That means it could be rogue operatives, an ideological party, or terrorists. Your guess right now is as good as mine.”

***

It took us a little less than an hour to go from Texas to Florida in the MUM-SU. The teardrop-shaped aircraft was only large enough for five or six people and required us to sit in a reclined position. Oliver and I didn’t say much, but I thanked him for being there. I thought back to the time Liam had tried to hold Victoria hostage. Not only had Oliver and I teamed up to clear a room full of men holding her, but it hadn’t gone well for Liam.

We landed at a private airport. The moment we did, we didn’t wait for permission. Destiny directed us with arrows through our headsets. From there, we ran. It would’ve been more accurate to say I hovered across the ground at a rapid speed while Oliver had no trouble keeping up with me as he bound at my side with large, explosive strides that covered dozens of feet at a time.

Once we reached the highway, we took to the shoulder and had no issues with the vehicles on the road of which there were many. On the highways, all driving was automated. It allowed for traffic to travel at a much faster speed, but most importantly, no one veered off the road when they saw us.

The path wasn’t smooth the whole way, so I adopted Oliver’s bounding approach when we needed to transition from one overpass to another. It was hard to say how many laws we were breaking. The different shuttles and personal vehicles faded into the background from the cheapest to the luxury models.

Without the augmented reality overlay through the Meta active, the city was a realm of concrete and steel. Much had changed to improve building materials over the last few centuries, but at their core, they were the same. Self-repairing and bendable concretes were still concrete. Advancements in steel, three-dimensional graphene, and even transparent wood allowed for much more creative architectural designs. Skyscrapers hadn’t disappeared but grown larger and more outlandish every decade.

It wasn’t one of the nature-mimicking buildings Destiny led them to. It was one covered in solar glass. A material just as transparent as glass that seconded as solar panels. The only flat side of the building faced the south. It would receive the most sun throughout the year. The rest of the building was cylindrical.

Orlando had grown to become one of the five largest cities in the country. This wasn’t downtown. The average building in this part of town was approximately ten stories tall. Not having to travel as shuttles did allow them to greatly outpace street traffic. They mostly stayed off sidewalks. It was late afternoon. There was a lot of foot traffic.

As we neared, I saw what had to be a hundred drones positioned in front of the building Destiny had highlighted at different floors. The street was blocked off and there were several police cruisers. Officers wore dark ballistic suits with the word Police plastered across the front and back. They had E-shield armlets and anklets ready in case they needed to activate their E-fields fast.

“Shields,” Oliver called out over our headsets. He didn’t have to explain why. We were coming in fast and were about to arrive in the presence of dozens of armed and well-trained individuals.

I’d been skirting over the ground with push, but, at his word, I launched myself into the air in an arching leap. As I did, I spotted my landing, corrected my trajectory with wind walk, and covered myself in rank E psionic shielding. I hadn’t brought my SizzleTech E-Field with me, but I made use of my refinement belt.

Lethality Pshield Refinement Belt Model B4

Armor Type: Psionic

Grade: Rank E

Energy Source: User

Bonus: 14% defense boost to Psionic Shielding ability

Strong Against

Damage Type: Kinetic, Plasma, Laser, Hyper-velocity, Psionic, Chemical, Energy, Sonic

Weak Against

Damage Type: Specialty Ammunition, Chemical (Some gases)

I didn’t need the belt to cover myself in psionic shielding, but it made the ability 14% more effective.

As I landed with Oliver close behind, I kept my shield active while relying on physical strength to catch myself.

The moment we landed, the three closest officers who’d been managing the flow of traffic drew their firearms.

I wasn’t that familiar with handgun tech, but I was certain these were police issued energy weapons that could switch between stun and lethal rounds.

Almost as quickly as they drew their weapons, the three officers lowered them as if afraid they’d offended us. One officer cursed, and said, “You scared the crap out of me.”

Another said, “Sorry, Mr. Lu—er sir. This is an active crime scene. No one is allowed beyond this point.”

Before I could say anything, the first officer commanded, “Get the Captain.” The man turned to me. “The US Marshalls have sent their Special Operations Group that’s assessing the situation.”

I didn’t respond, but instead ordered, “Destiny, I need eyes on the situation.”

There was no audible response, but Wink, my scout drone that was in stealth mode, opened its rear bay and a swarm of microdrones flew out just a few meters over our heads. Wink was only about the length of my forearm and remained mostly invisible to the eye. Only the rear compartment gave it away.

“Sir,” one officer began. “This could interfere—”

“Major Lucius Edwards,” a voice rose above the rest. A black man as tall as Captain Ma and almost as grizzly as Harrison strolled toward us. He was at the head of what had to be their lead group. He had the gold star of a US Marshall on his chest. He was thickly built enough to be a combat master.

The man offered his hand as soon as he neared, saying, “Deputy Marshall Caleb Thomas.”

I dropped my psionic shield over my arm and shook it.

“I’m in charge of the taskforce sent to retrieve your mother. Let me reassure you that my team is the best of the best in these types of situations.”

I nodded that I understood but added, “My AI Destiny currently has micro-drones capable of shielding her from bodily harm for a few seconds on her person. Have you received the intelligence we sent you?”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he checked through his own headset. “We have received the data, but the team is still processing it. We do have the building’s layout and visuals on several perps. Building surveillance has been highjacked. Our drones are still looking for a safe entry point. Several have met resistance. Any inside information will help.”

“What’s your contact?” I asked.

We traded details and I directed, “Destiny, give the Deputy Marshall a direct feed to all visuals once we have them.”

“Just a moment,” she said from her purple orb drone which Wink had dropped off. It was now floating at my shoulder. “There. I was able to triangulate mom’s exact position.”

The moment she said it, my headset lit up with the location of her in a green silhouette and several figures in red. They were on the sixth floor.

“This…” the Deputy Marshall began before adding, “Perfect. This will make securing her safely that much easier if we have to breech the room. The group that took her is currently meta-casting from the building. It seems like they’re an anti-Ekseliksi extremist group”

“We’re training to fight the Ekseliksi. Why would they take my parents?” I asked with an upward gaze as I studied the side of the building.

The man shook his head.

Destiny chimed in. “It seems they took offense when you said you shared their philosophy. This terrorist group seems to want to make an example of you to take advantage of your fame.”

“Are they dangerous? Is there any indicator they’ll actually hurt them?”

Her tone turned severe. “The most likely outcome is that they’ll make an example out of mom. If you pay for her release, they’ll let her live while also taking it as a sign of weakness. They’ll try to fill the meta with the message that you can be bought. As for dad, he’s valuable to them, so they’ll keep him alive. At least until they’ve made use of him.”

I still didn’t lower my gaze. “Tell me plainly, Destiny. Will they kill them if it comes to it?”

“Yes.”

“Be ready to interrupt the signal of any of their headsets or drones. We can let any signals get out,” I warned.

“We already have that covered,” the Deputy Marshall said. “Once we breach the room, a EMP Hummer will be activated. Just give us some time.”

EMP Hummer

Mobile Electromagnetic Pulse unit that sets off pulses several times a second to create a constant electromagnetic field that disrupts electronics and interferes with any signals broadcast.

“Thank you, Deputy Marshall Thomas, but if I’m going to help my father, times up.”

The internal turbulence that would’ve left me an emotional mess before Freedom stirred the deep waters inside me. The water’s surface remained unmoving. Tranquil. What no one could see was that deep-sea current driving the massive turbine that was my fury.

I saw Destiny’s recommended path through my headset. I wouldn’t be taking the stairs.

Before anyone could respond, I sprinted past them. Push took over, greatly increasing my acceleration. I raced for a head-on collision with the building. All psionics ceased for an instant. It was just enough for my foot to touch down on the sidewalk’s surface. Psionic strength turned my leg into a spring. It wasn’t alone. As soon as I was about to leave the ground a massive psionic push launched me upward.

Skating up the side of the building like an eagle over glassy waters, I propelled myself up several stories until my momentum started to slow. I could’ve easily made it to the sixth story, but my goal wasn’t to knock on the window to ask them to let me in.

At the top of the third floor, an explosion of psionic energy sent me rocketing across the street in an upward diagonal. The street was not wide between buildings. There was one lane going either way. The sidewalk on either side was just as wide.

I spun as I flew, landing in a deep squat near the top of the fifth floor. Using wind walk to hold me in place just long enough to eye my sixth floor target. I propelled myself upward and outward. Destiny confirmed my trajectory was good. Wind might interfere a little, but I was more than capable of correcting my course as I flew for the massive window that was visibly shielded from the inside. Of course, if I couldn’t see them, then they couldn’t see me.

As I neared, I straightened myself as if standing on nothing. I lifted my foot to meet the thick glass. My speed was sufficient. A psionic spike formed on the ball of my foot. The thick glass awaited my arrival.

I kicked out of the most basic of front kicks. To call it basic was the greatest deception of all. Shielding energy covering my foot hammered dragonslayer home. I flew through the glass like a bull through wet paper.

The window tint was an inbuilt one, so I didn’t roll into a net of shades or blinds. A psionic push cushioned my fall, tossing me up so as to land on my feet.

Wink was right there with me. Microdrones swarmed the room. Destiny corrected the room’s dim lighting through my headset and highlighted the enemy as if using Creature Indicator in Freedom and they were a bunch of goblins.

They didn’t expect my arrival. There were eight of them all together. They’d taken positions on both sides of the room to keep several angles on what they considered the one and only viable entrance. Six were guarding the door. One was broadcasting while the last one was watching my mother.

Before they could even react, psionic bolts flew from my outstretched palms. I saw the flicker of E-fields, but I wielded rank E psionics.

I darted to one side of the room. One of the men was holding his throat as he writhed on the ground even though it wasn’t his throat my bolt had struck. His face had melted.

Using psionic shielding like a glove, my hand overwhelmed the next guy’s E-field as I grabbed him by the throat. It wasn’t just to strangle him. One of the men on the other side of the room was running toward the side room where my mother was being held.

I’d seen countless videos of Ekseliksi attacks. How psionically powered monsters had slaughtered thousands. Yet here I was, tightening my grip. I wasn’t trying to crush his windpipe as much as make sure I had a firm grip on the human body I’d decided to use as a ball.

A surge of psionic strength empowered me as I pitched the man across the room with such force and accuracy that I was certain physics would take care of anything their E-fields tried to defend against.

Gunfire came from the remaining two on the opposite side of the room.

I was covered in psionic shielding, taking that moment to unsheathe my psword.

The one remaining man close by had draw his weapon as was firing as well.

Ignoring the kinetic rounds completely, I surged and cleaved the man from shoulder to hip in a diagonal slash. He split in two as he landed against the ground.

I flew across the room in an arch, not caring if I was making myself an easy target. They weren’t fast enough even as they tried to flee. They weren’t men. They were puppets made of brittle straw.

My rage was refined to a scalpel’s edge. One slash each. They were left in pieces.

I didn’t slow.

“She’s secure,” Destiny stated. She didn’t try to dissuade me.

Instead of using the door, she directed me to a hallow wall panel which I burst through. I knew their positions before making my move. As I shot through the wall, my psword was already moving.

The man broadcasting was armed and facing the door as if he planned to stop me.

Akonizo covered my blade. The man’s E-field wasn’t active. He wasn’t trained for this. A horizontal slash caught him on the side of his cheek. The top half of his head went flying.

The last man thought he had a gun to my mother’s head, but I saw the glimmer of energy between her and the handgun.

My mother was frightened, but I could tell the moment she recognized me her fear wasn’t only for herself. She didn’t like any of the fighting I had to do. The violence. The pain. It was only because it was a simulation that she had never given me a hard time, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know.

Sheathing my sword, I’d sanitize this last part as much as I could. I should’ve done the same for the last guy. It was already too late.

Destiny’s microdrones did something. The man dropped his gun without firing a round. He was shaking out his hand the next instant.

I was there.

He backed away with his hands up. He asked for mercy.

It was that simple gesture that broke the tranquil surface of my inner sea. A boiling geyser of wrath erupted. I hit him square in the chest with Fotia empowering me.

His ribs snapped, chest collapsed—Lungs and heart ruptured. Blood pooled from every orifice as he skidded down the wall.

I held my mom, turning her away from the room and the carnage. She was a small petite woman that would’ve been easy for me to lift into a princess carry before Freedom ever happened. Now, I carried her out of the room as if she were the child.

She didn’t see what I’d done in the next room. Destiny shielded her from it. But I saw what was left of the man I’d thrown across the room and the guy who had been my target. Their limbs were so pulverized that none of them sat right. They weren’t just broken. Both men had burst apart.

Once in the hall, I returned mom to her feet as the Special Operations Group surged through the hall toward us and the room the terrorists had bunkered down in.

Their training was apparent. As soon as they reached us, they didn’t stop but surged past me into the room.

I ran my fingers through my mother’s hair as I held my forehead against hers, making her look at me. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head.

I sent healing energy into her body just to be sure. I continued as I did. “I’m going to have to leave to get dad.”

She was in shock. She had no experience or training for this. Regardless, her eyes narrowed, and she said, “Do what you have to, son.”

What must have been the Special Operations Group’s squad leader exited the room to address me. He’d heard what I said. “With none left alive, we don’t have any leads as to your father’s whereabouts.”

My eyes flickered toward my mom.

The man’s jaw flexed, and I saw him give a micro-nod of understanding.

Then the real hero of the moment announced, “I was able to track a contact in the broadcaster’s headset. It took me a second to decipher it, but I found the men that have your father. They’re in a shuttle heading towards Tampa. A boat is waiting.”

“Wink, go!” I commanded.

The stealth drone gathered the remaining microdrones then shot out the shattered window.

“Do you have enough drones to protect dad if he’s in a car wreck?” I wondered as I tried to follow after my scout but was stopped by the squad leader.

“If I create several layers of shields and space them out to create air pockets, it’s possible, but there’s too many variables to say for sure,” Destiny replied.

“Then hold back until I get there.”

“Sir,” the Special Operations Group leader began. “You need to let us handle it.”

“My AI Destiny will send the same information to Deputy Marshall Thomas. I’m not waiting.”

Glancing at my mom, I gave her one last smile before turning back to the guy. “Take care of her.”

The man nodded even if he didn’t like it. One of his men brough my mother a bottle of water and a blanket, preparing to lead her away. The look he gave her reassured me she was in good hands. Destiny’s purple orbs would stay here. My headset’s processing power linked to Wink was sufficient for what I did next.

Entering the room I’d left a gore-stricken mess, I only glanced at the wake of what I’d done. The realism of Freedom and Vanguard were no less than what met me in that room. But there was one undeniable difference. This was real.

I sprinted through the room and rocketed across the street. Destiny lit up my headset and I launched myself from the opposite building in the direction of my father.

An instant later, Oliver was right there with me. We didn’t speak, but we didn’t have to. A look passed between us.

To my utter astonishment, ten minutes later as we competed with shuttle traffic on our way west toward Tampa, I received notification that Wink was taking emergency action. The shuttle’s maintenance protocols had been hacked and forced the vehicle to stop. Another Special Operations Group was on the scene. My father was rescued.

We kept going. It was only a matter of minutes. When we arrived, I found my father sitting in the back of a medevac air-shuttle with Wink floating over his shoulder. Destiny’s hologram was being projected atop Wink’s back.

We arrived shielded but the Special Operations Group seemed to know we were coming. A man approached and led me over to my father.

It was the most severe look he’d ever given me. He asked, “Your mom?”

“We have her,” I confirmed.

“I told you,” Destiny’s hologram insisted.

The relief that came over him. He was up a moment later and embracing me with a strength I didn’t know he possessed.

I didn’t hesitate this time to return his embrace.

His eyes were bloodshot as he pulled back. He didn’t ask for my help. “This will never happen again,” he asserted with unwavering resolve.

I was willingly taken into custody soon after. There were no handcuffs or physical restraints. Oliver remained with me. I had Wink return to base. We were taken to the airport and sent directly back to the base in Texas. Once there, I was placed in my private quarters and put on lockdown for the time being. No Cube allowed.

I briefly spoke to Victoria who asked how I was doing. I was mostly relieved. It was only when Liam arrived and started asking me questions that I remembered what I had done to those terrorists.

If I was new to violence and warfare, it would’ve likely been easier to ignore their humanity and paint them as evil, otherworldly beings in my mind. Freedom and Vanguard were too real for that to be the case. They were people regardless of how indoctrinated or corrupt. And I’d butchered them.

Liam promised to meet with me again tomorrow.

As soon as he was gone, Destiny appeared in my headset in a life-size representation of her older self. She bent down and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Lucius, but I’m not worried like Liam is.”

Not knowing what I thought, I gave her a grateful grin to appease her.

The deadpanned expression she gave me kept me from retreating to my thoughts.

“What?” I asked.

“Guilt is often the core symptom of PTSD. What do you have to feel guilty of?”

Walking over, I slumped down on the bed. “They were so weak,” I began. “It feels like I bullied a bunch of children.”

“Except they weren’t children and were holding your mother hostage with every intention of murdering her if you didn’t respond in the way they wanted you to.”

I sighed. “You’re not wrong. It’s just—they didn’t have a chance. And the way I killed them…”

She was patient with her next response. “Did they suffer, Lucius?”

Opening my mouth to reply, I began but gave it a second thought. “There’s the man who I hit with a bolt to the face.”

“There were two actually. Neither one of them lived for more than a minute. Even the man you struck in the chest lived for approximately seventeen seconds after the blow. How many times have you or your men been shown such kindness by your simulated enemies in Freedom and Vanguard? What’s really bothering you is that you didn’t make their deaths look pretty.” She snorted as if it were the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

“I mean…” Was that really the case? Killing them certainly wasn’t bothering me. I was convinced it was necessary to guarantee my mother’s safety as much as possible.

“They didn’t deserve honorable or noble deaths, Lucius. Besides the general loss of human life which has intrinsic value, the only thing you’re guilty of is loving your mother and father. Take your time and think it through,” she said, patting my head as she used to years ago when I was younger, and she playfully patronized me.

“Fine, Big Sis,” I said, shaking my head. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

It had been a while since I utilized Achilles’ meditation method for an extended period of time. I was thorough as I thought it through. Destiny was right, but there was something else.

I remembered back to my first interview with Mia. The topic had come up then. Her bodyguard was scared of me because he knew there was nothing he’d be able to do to stop me if I wanted to harm her. There was now a large gulf between psionic users and normal people. It felt unnatural. Unfair. Yet, from the beginning, there had always been a gap between the strong and the weak. It was just more pronounced than it had ever been before.

Peter visited me that night to reassure me that despite the many laws I’d broken, they’d wield public opinion like a cudgel against the government’s incompetence when protecting my family if they really tried to push it. Destiny was of the same opinion.

I sensed she was there as soon as they’d entered the room. When Peter left and she didn’t, I returned to the bed and turned to face her.

The stealth suit shimmered, and Victoria appeared at the foot of my bed. She held her finger to her lips. Destiny’s microdrones shrouded the room.

“How are you, Lucius?” Victoria asked.

“My parents made it. Couldn’t be better,” I said, smacking my knees and coming to my feet.

She pointed at the bed insistently and said, “Lay down.”

Kicking off my boots, I did as she said.

As she walked around to the side of the bed, she started to remove her stealth suit. I could smell her favorite cherry blossom bodywash as if she’d just bathed. We rarely met like this outside simulation. It was much harder to pull off. We were also much more limited because pregnancy was a real danger.

When she climbed into bed with me, I was thankful just to be able to hold her. It was nice to be able to get lost in her warmth. But then she climbed on top of me, and I held her firm. “What are you doing, Victoria?”

She pressed her cheek against mine and spoke to wear I could feel her breath against my ear. “What only a wife can do for her husband.”

I knew she believed our relationship was as real as any marriage, but I wasn’t going to endanger her for a moment’s pleasure.

When I tried to lift her off of me, she dug her heels in beneath my legs and wouldn’t let go. She hovered a foot from my face, glaring at me. “My love exists to reinforce your every accomplishment and encourage your every failure. Today was not a failure.” Then she smiled down on me. There was no teasing. Not even flirting. She held me as the object of her sincerest pride.

My resistance was nothing against such sincerity. She wanted to support me as best as she could.

Pleasure wasn’t the only goal of our intimacy. She didn’t let me sleep as if exhaustion was an equal cure to the day’s events. It was nearly dawn when she healed herself and passed out at my side.

As exhausted as I was in those early morning hours, I also had great clarity of mind. I’d been the one to pursue her and hadn’t taken no for an answer, but now that we were finally together, her commitment seemed to dwarf my own. Not because I second guessed anything. It was simply all or nothing for her, and I wasn’t sure I had that much to give.

It meant I’d chosen correctly. Even if our future was uncertain, Victoria was worth fighting for.

My blind date was rescheduled, and I was given leave to participate in sim during the day. I’d also attend the Gathering of Guilds. That meant I had to return to my personal quarters at night. I didn’t expect Victoria to return, but she did every night until the Gathering of Guilds. In the weeks and months following, I didn’t have a single nightmare. I still struggled with the human lives I had taken, but Destiny was right. I had nothing to feel guilty about.

My parents I spoke to daily. Mom was worried about dad. Destiny confirmed he pushed all other projects aside and was focusing solely on how to best keep them safe so that what happened could never happen again. He even started to ask my opinion, which he’d rarely done in the past.

I returned to training with a vengeance. Not because I feared someone would attack my family again. They were given far more protection than they’d received before. No, it was because I feared losing the Ekseliksi Princess who was patiently teaching me psionics, running herself ragged as she tried to develop the Prodos Battalions to a point of being able to make a difference in the coming war, and despite everything else, she exhausted herself the rest of the way to encourage me in our limited time together.

It may have not been what she intended, but I knew exactly what to do with fear. Aeneus Raptis felt it. So did Mel as we tried to one up each other as we experimented against the Manticore King training dummies.

Then the day arrived. The Gathering of the Guilds was here.