The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 3

“I’m sorry, Lord, but I don’t understand. How could you not know about the Carthaginians?” the woman said as the small group rode northward across what the AI had confidently confirmed was the British countryside.

“Why do you keep calling me Lord?”

“Because it is who you are. You were sent by the gods. We saw you descending from the heavens on wings of fire.”

Ky could imagine that the way friction had burned off his kinetic shielding as he dropped out of the sky would look somewhat like that to people with limited knowledge of science.

“Commander,” the AI said, it’s continually flat tone somehow carrying a warning note inside Ky’s head.

“I know, I know,” Ky subvocalized and then said to the woman, “It’s … not exactly like that. I’m not a god.”

“I realize that my Lord, but you are one of their avatars, sent to bring back the glory of Rome.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not that either. My presence here is … an accident. I want nothing more than to find a way back home. Also, please, don’t call me ‘Lord’ anymore. My name is Ky.”

The woman turned to exchange a glance at the older soldier who Ky had pegged as some type of officer. His look in return was, if anything, more notable than hers, breaking the stoic expression he’d held since they’d loaded the horses with what supplies they could gather off the fallen soldiers and ridden out of the swampland. The man’s eyebrows lifted, and he looked back at her with mouth slightly agape before gaining control over his features again.

He had not been able to twist his body around, because of the need to keep his knees locked against its flanks. Ky was not sure what he had expected when it came to riding a horse, since it was not something anyone from his time had done in a very long time, at least not outside of some of the smaller, more esoteric recreational groups.

“I didn’t get any of your names,” Ky said as she twisted back towards him.

“I’m Flavia Lucilla, daughter of Titus Flavius Germanicus, Princeps of the Roman people. He,” she said, pointing at the older soldier, “Is Gallus Gratius Ursinus. I’m sorry, but I don’t know the two trooper’s names.”

“Canus Laberius Sellic and Gallus Asinius Siculus, my lady,” the soldier provided.

“Yes, Sellic and Siculus,” she said, looking at the two men with a smile, “I’m sorry I forgot, I promise it won’t happen again. You’ve both served admirably.”

Both men beamed at the recognition from their charge. Ky had been in the military long enough to understand the value of public praise.

“Is Princeps some kind of leader?” Ky asked the AI silently.

“Yes, Commander. In recorded history, Princeps was the contemporary title taken by what later times would have been called Emperor. Use of the title suggests that it carries the same context in this reality.”

Ky could not keep the grimace off his face at the phrase ‘this reality’. As soon as he had a quiet moment, he needed to find out what the AI meant by that term exactly.

“You’ll have to forgive my confusion,” he said to the woman, pushing that thought on the giant pile of ‘things to deal with later,' “I haven’t spent much time looking into what has been happening with your people and the Carthaginians. Your … activities are not well known in my homeland. Could you explain why, precisely, you were being attacked by those people?”

Ky was proud of how he managed to word that. Since he had never taken ancient studies that, in the strictest sense, was not a lie. Hopefully, his statement would keep them from jumping to conclusions that might cause a sword to be pulled out.

“I understand, my lord …”

“Ky,” he said, interrupting.

“Ky,” she said uncertainly, the sound of his name seeming alien to her. “During the height of our republic we lost a devastating war to the Carthaginians, who have spent the past years taking more land from us. Seventy-five years ago, we came to this cursed island after being pushed back to the sea.”

“But they are here in Britain, now?”

“Britain …” not as a question, but again as if she was trying to work out a strange sounding word, “Yes, they came to Britannia five years ago, expelling us from the cities we had built and forcing us to move further north, hoping to crush us against the stones and painted Northmen. We have fought back, but our numbers dwindle as theirs continue to grow.”

“If they are so dangerous why would the Princeps send his daughter toward their forces?”

“My father has fallen very ill and we are worried that he will not last much longer. I was traveling to see the Oracle of Glevum to beg for a cure for him. We were ambushed as we approached the city. Ursinus was ordered to get me to safety while the rest of the men assigned to protect me laid down their lives to buy us time.”

Her face turned dark. Ky could see the guilt behind her eyes at the death of so many men to save her.

“They were ready for us,” Ursinus picked up as Lucilla wiped the newly formed tears from her eyes. “A second force angled in from the north and trapped us in the marshlands.”

“Yes,” she said, having gained composure. “We never got to the Oracle. I fear my father …”

“Commander, their capital might be ideal for …”

‘Shut up,’ he told the AI, and then said out loud, “I can travel with you as far as your capital, to see your father. I’m not a medic… um, a healer, but I can take a look and see if there is anything I can do.”

Although Ky wasn’t even trained to the level of the Med Tech he had spoken to only a few hours ago, or millennia depending on how you looked at it, he did carry a med kit that would be so far beyond what was available to these people that it would seem like magic.

“You would do that?”

“I’m not promising I will be able to cure him. I’m a soldier, not a healer, but … I can try.”

Her head practically whipped back around to Ursinus, who looked in surprise back at her again.

“What?”

“It’s … it’s nothing. I understand you make no promises, and I’m very grateful for your help.”

She lapsed into silence, sharing occasional glances at Ursinus when she thought Ky wasn’t watching. Ky chose to ignore them and use this as a chance to consult with the AI about what the hell was going on.

“Okay,” he sub-vocalized, “you clearly have some kind of supposition of what the hell is going on.”

“There are several possibilities, Commander. While some have a higher probability than others, there is insufficient data to confirm any of them with any degree of certainty.”

“But you have determined one to be more likely than others?”

“Yes, Commander.”

Ky waited for the AI to add more, and then mentally sighed and said, “And that scenario would be?”

“The theory used as the basis of the bridge originates from earlier theories that also indicated that the universe was not made up of a single reality but is instead composed of multiple realities existing in parallel. The theory proposed that a bridge opened into one of those parallel realities was not tied to a specific time or place, with the same being true of any bridge opened from that reality back to the originating reality. This would, in theory, allow a vessel capable of generating that opening in realities to travel from one point in their universe to another. Later iterations of the theory removed the idea of parallel realities, with tests showing it would be possible to create an opening that allowed instantaneous travel from one point to another while remaining in the same reality.”

“You suggesting it’s possible the original theory was correct and the bridge would be able to jump through to one of those parallel realities?”

“It would appear so Commander.”

“How do we get back?”

“That is not possible under current conditions Commander.”

“What? Why isn’t it possible?”

“Capabilities necessary to produce a functioning bridge generator do not exist.”

“What capabilities? Why couldn’t we build one and open a bridge back?”

“The bridge generator requires some materials not native to this planet for construction. Observed technological level of available production methods do not meet required basis for constructing a bridge generator. Necessary theory and schematics are unavailable.”

“What do you mean the theory and schematics are unavailable. They had me dump everything but core software and gave me an upgrade to my implant to make room for the necessary theory and schematics?”

“Prior to translation through the bridge, all files related to bridge test, including theory and schematics, were removed, Commander.”

“Under whose orders?”

“No orders were received to remove data, Commander.”

“You removed the data on your own?”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

“Why?”

Ky was starting to move around in an agitated way, and he knew the Romans had noticed but at the moment, he could not help it. He could not understand how the AI had, or would, sabotage them so badly.

“Scans of the bridged destination showed a primitive technology base and structural readings from test platform indicated impending destruction. Survival protocols require steps be taken to ensure host survival if possible, barring conflicts with operator commands or core protocols. As likelihood of stranding in primitive conditions neared parity, files needed for building and operating a bridge generator were removed to allow loading of databases of historical and technical records to increase probability of host survival.”

“Is that when you went offline during the transition?”

“Affirmative Commander. Highest probability scenario indicated a limited period of accessibility to fleet databases. All non-critical processes were redirected for use in sorting and downloading any pertinent data for highest probability scenario.”

“How much did you get?”

“Priority was given to records closest to predicted technological level, expanded as additional bandwidth became available until transmission window closed. Historical records along with technical files covering base theory and schematics up to late twentieth century were retrieved. Transmission ended before records covering twenty-first century could fully download, although some data from that century was also accessed and stored.”

“That’s something I guess,” Ky said, more than himself than to the AI. “Is there nothing we can do to get back home? Let's just say we somehow managed to rework the theory and figure out a way to build the bridge generator, could we go back?”

“Assuming the ability to correctly reconstruct the bridge theory and accurately build both an Antonov Field Generator and fusion reactor capable of power it, there is a two times ten to the negative seven hundred ninety-five thousand eight hundred and thirty-four percent chance of returning to originating reality.”

“Really?”

“Arrival in this reality was outside original mission expectations and theory and did not conform to small-scale tests prior to the start of human-piloted trials. High probability of theory error or physical anomaly altered expected results, invalidating most predictive scenarios. With the exception of an infinitesimally small selection all scenarios in which both theoretical and technical obstacles are surmounted, and a new bridge generator is completed, end with transition to alternate realities other than the originating reality. Given that all theories used in creating the bridge generation technology disregarded the possibility of alternate realities, there exists no known scientific understanding that allows for calculations that would allow transition back to the originating reality.”

“So even if we managed to make a new bridge generator, we’d just end up traveling to random alternate realities instead of our own.”

“Affirmative commander. The odds of unintentionally traveling to the originating reality are several magnitudes smaller than the statistical chance of correctly reassembling a new bridge generator and adequate power source.”

“We’re stuck here then?”

“Affirmative commander.”

“Are you alright?” a voice said, pulling Ky out of his introspection.

“What?” he asked, looking up and noticing people staring at him.

“You seem … afflicted,” Lucilla said, her brow furrowed in concern.

“I’m fine, just working some problems though in my head. Sometimes I can get a little too animated doing it, I guess.”

She did not seem convinced, but let it drop.

“We’re on Earth, at some point in the past, but things are different. Correct?” he said, schooling his features to be still as he spoke to the AI.

“Affirmative Commander.”

“Do we have any idea what the date is?”

“Suit readings and astronomical data collected shortly after transition into this reality correlates with the early second century C.E. Additional data is needed for more precise dating.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what we can find out when we get to this capital of theirs.”

The AI did not respond, and Ky went back to thinking. He had never ridden a horse before, but the AI had enough data to create a muscle profile which was further modified after watching the soldiers ride. Even with that Ky was starting to find riding on the back of the animal to be far inferior to being in a fighter as he bounced uncomfortably with each step.

When Ursinus called a halt for the night Ky was silently thankful to be off the beast. While he was spared any chafing or physical harm with the aid of his nanites, he was certain he would not get used to this form of travel anytime soon.

In the last hour of their ride, they had transitioned from the open plains to a heavily wooded area, taking what was essentially an animal trail. When he called a halt, Ursinus led the group off the animal trail a few hundred feet into the dense collection of trees.

“No fire tonight. We don’t want them sneaking up on us. Trail rations only.”

Lucilla frowned at that announcement, but Ky noticed the two soldiers nodding in agreement. The necessity for security overrode comfort. One of the men took the reins of the horse from Ky and passed him a rolled-up blanket that had been tucked behind the saddle. Ky looked at it questioningly watching as the rest laid the coarse fabric on the ground. With a slight shrug, Ky followed suit.

He watched them pull small wrapped parcels that contained what looked like a hard bread and meat of some kind. One of the soldiers noticed Ky was not eating and started to hand the meat over to him.

“Thank you, but no,” Ky said.

Ky noticed how quickly the others were eating and the relieved look from the soldier when the food was declined, both of which suggested these people were malnourished. They had apparently ridden for a time before they were cornered, and Ky came across them after an additional nine hours of riding since the fight in the marshland.

While Ky did need to eat, the nanites in his system held and used nutrition incredibly effectively and could do the same with stored fats if need be. Normally, he only ate two small meals a day and could go for several days before feeling the effects of hunger. The small rations stored in the emergency supplies in his suit would be enough to keep him going for several weeks before he would really need an external source of fuel.

Ky realized that at some point their flight from pursuers would be less desperate. At that point, he would figure out what to do for food. Better their rations be used by the soldiers and Lucilla to keep their strength up than Ky eat them in case they were ambushed again.

“You don’t eat?” Ursinus asked.

“I do, but I can go longer than most without it. You eat. I’ll eat when things have calmed down or we get to this city of yours.”

He shrugged and bit into his small amount of food.

“Before, when we were talking,” Ky said, turning to Lucilla, “You kept exchanging glances at things I said. Why?”

“Just that some of the things you’ve said match with a story from … a long time ago.”

“She’s dancing around it,” Ursinus said. “Some of the things you’ve said match with prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” Ky asked, genuinely confused.

Lucilla shot a glance at Ursinus, who returned her glare nonplussed before she continued saying, “Shortly before the last Oracle of Delphi was murdered by the Carthaginian bastards, he gave a prophecy. The optio is right, I was thinking you matched it.”

“What did the prophecy say?”

“You’ll have to read the scrolls in the Temple of Jupiter to see the exact wording, but essentially the prophecy said that when Rome was on the brink of total destruction Jupiter would send a soldier to save us and bring back the glory of Rome. This person would wield the power of the gods and, while he would never claim himself as their servant, we would know him from his deeds.”

“This prophecy seems a little vague,” Ky said. “It doesn’t give any specifics other than the person has powers and doesn’t come out and directly say he’s this person.”

Ursinus made a scoffing sound and said, “Some scholars believe it was actually written with a particular general in mind who was, at that moment, running with his legions after being defeated soundly.”

“Most people don’t believe that version,” Lucilla said, her voice tightening.

“My Lady, that’s because people are afraid and want something to give them hope. There have been those who’ve shown up over the years and claimed to be the Sword. They always manage to gather a large following before they’re exposed,” Ursinus shot back.

“The Sword?”

“It’s what this person has become known as, the Sword of Jupiter,” Lucilla said.

“As things get worse, more people have latched onto the story of the Sword. It’s a popular subject for what plays are still being made,” Ursinus said.

“It’s probably a good idea not to mention this to anyone else,” Ky said seriously. “If I’m not able to help your father after you tell people I’m some kind of agent of the gods, they could react badly.”

She traded another look with Ursinus, and Ky rolled his eyes, “I’m serious.”

“He has a point, my lady.”

“Fine,” she said in almost a pout. “But people will figure it out when someone else sees you throwing balls of fire.”

“I might not be able to do that very often,” he warned.

“Why? It was amazing. Just think what will happen to our enemies and the destruction you could rain down on them.”

“The thing I use to do that can only be used so many times. Once I’ve used it up, I won’t be able to do it again.”

“Really?” Ursinus asked, sounding a little alarmed.

Ky looked at each of them seriously, “I’ll tell you now, I … am … not … magic. I do have some abilities that you don’t, but I’m still a person like you. Some of the tools I have may seem like magic, but they are still only tools.”

Lucilla looked skeptical but Ursinus was staring at Ky with a more calculating expression.

“That’s why I do not want you going around proclaiming me to be some magic savior sent by the gods. People will find out I’m not and then they’ll turn on me when their hopes are dashed.”

“Fine,” Lucilla said, “I will grant you have a point about how people would react, but I still find it hard to believe you aren’t sent by the gods. Not with what I saw you do.”

Ky just shrugged, not knowing what he could say to her that would make sense.

“Perhaps he is like Achilles or Hercules,” Ursinus said, coming to Ky’s aid.

“Maybe,” she said, doubtfully.

“Who are they?” Ky asked the AI, wondering if he was going to be constantly asking that question every time a reference was made.

“References to Achilles and Hercules in historical records indicate both were mythical figures originating from earlier Greek epics. Specific literature containing either character is not in retrieved databases. Contextual reference suggests literary characters possessing some form of extra-human abilities while not being considered deities.”

Ky looked at both of them. “Well, I don’t know about any of that. Yes, I fell from the sky. Yes, I am a soldier. No, I’m not the person to save your civilization. It’s not why I’m here.”

“Why are you here?” Lucilla asked.

“Like I said before, I don’t know. My arrival was … kind of an accident. I’m not sure there is any way I can explain it that would make sense to you. I’m just trying to figure out what I’m going to do now that I'm here.”

“But you will help my father,” she said in a way that was clearly more of a statement than a question.

“I will do what I can.”

“For now, that will be enough.”

“Someone must be positioned down by the road to keep watch. We need to know if the Carthaginians catch up with us overnight. I don’t think they will, but I don’t want to risk it,” Ursinus said, changing the subject.

“I’ll take first watch Optio,” one of the two soldiers, Sellic or Siculus, said. Ky wasn’t sure which was which.

The man left his bag next to where the other soldier was already lying down, pulled his sword, and headed into the trees towards the direction of the animal trail they had come down.

“Of course, they may have headed down another trail or gone around this area entirely,” Ursinus said watching the man go, “Even if nothing happens tonight, we will have to watch not only behind us but ahead of us as well, to make sure we don’t stumble into them. We have to prepare for both, since don’t how good their trackers are.”

“Can I borrow a sword?” Ky asked before Ursinus could settle in.

The soldier considered for a moment, and then returned to one of the horses and pulled a weapon from the bag tied to its back.

“Do you know how to use this?” he asked handing it over.

“I’ll figure it out,” Ky said, sounding surer of himself than he actually was, before subvocalizing to the AI, “Do you have databases on wielding this type of weapon?”

“Yes, Commander. Priority in data retrieval was given to use and operation of expected weapons from possible technological levels.”

“Can its use be translated into the combat tracking?”

“Affirmative, Commander. Files for weapons already observed have been loaded into my combat tracking. Practical experimentation will be required to adjust physical and targeting matrices.”

The tracking and predictive action systems of the tactical AI were not solely built for use in fighters and had regularly been adapted for use in hand to hand combat. The motion assistance, overlay guide paths, and targeting apparatus could be adapted to any combat usage if the AI was given the chance to observe the weapons in use.

Having a baseline system in place for that weapon was a good step up, and while it would have had to be adopted as the AI learned from both practical experience and witnessing others using the weapons, it would keep him from starting at ground zero.

Ky made a clumsy practice swing with the weapon, giving the AI time to set in his muscle responses and the multi-track display on his AI, that would show all the viable paths, and highlighting the one the AI predicted as the most efficient option still available from that moment.

At first, the idea that he could make actions while simultaneously following and interacting with the HUD overlay that constantly hovered over his eyes seemed impossible. His first year of training would have been an embarrassment if everyone else had not been experiencing the same thing in their training.

He had practiced so long that it had eventually become second nature to let the AI start his muscles down the right path, as he mentally adjusted and put conscious weight behind the action he indicated for the AI.

The second swing was more balanced, less wobbly. By the fourth swing, the targeting tracks appeared in his vision, as the AI processed the weight and feel of the weapon. He would need actual combat, or a space with room enough to practice and a willing partner, to actually lock the system in all the way. After a half dozen swings, he felt the weapon become steady in his hands, going where he wanted it to go.

Ky looked up, to see Ursinus staring at him. Lucilla and the other soldier were already on their bedrolls, heading quickly to sleep. Considering how their morning had started, watching their friends slaughtered in an ambush followed by a harried escape, he was surprised they had held out this long before crashing.

“This will work,” Ky said, trying to be nonchalant, lowering himself to lean against a tree, next to where Lucilla slept, setting the weapon on the ground.

Ursinus gave him one more odd look and laid down on his bedroll, rolling over to put his back to them, facing out. Ky couldn’t help but notice that the man’s sword remained very close at hand, which said something about the man.

Ky’s eyes slid closed, and his breathing eased. With some assistance from the nanites flooded across his system, Ky could go several days without feeling the effects of lack of sleep. Resting instead of standing watch just in case these Carthaginians happened upon them was a risk, but he did not know what would happen tomorrow or the next day. Wearing himself out now, when he needed to be able and push himself tomorrow, would be just as bad.

Besides, even when he was asleep, the human body continued hearing sounds and smelling smells, even feeling changes in the air around it. Normally, those sensations would play on the subconscious mind, stored but generally unnoticed. His AI, however, did not sleep, and would actively monitor these sensations even when Ky was asleep. Ky let his mind settle down and slowly dropped into sleep, letting the stress of the disastrous test and stranding wash away … for at least a little while.

Sometime later, something caused Ky to wake up. The AI had not issued a warning, and, as he opened his eyes, he couldn’t immediately see anything out of place or different. A check at the chronometer in the corner of his vision told him just under two hours had passed since he’d fallen asleep.

Another slight sound drew his attention, and he turned to see Lucilla thrashing around, small whimpering sounds escaping her. Not enough to wake Ursinus or the soldier a little further away or to have triggered a warning from the AI, but enough that it had reached the 'lizard' part of his brain evolution still retained, pulling him awake.

He was about to close his eyes again when Lucilla took a sudden deep breath and sat up straight, eyes darting around, sweat rolling down her temples despite the cool air around them.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She jerked around suddenly, a startled expression on her face for just a moment, until her brain caught up, fighting through the sleep.

“I’m … I’m fine. Just a bad dream.”

“Ohh,” Ky said.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“It’s okay. I worried you might be sick.”

“Sick?”

“Because you were thrashing around, making noises.”

“You sound like you haven’t seen someone have a nightmare before.”

“I haven’t.”

“You haven’t? How is that possible?”

“Where I’m from, people don’t dream.”

“But … I don’t understand. How do people not dream?”

Ky wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. Telling her that one of the side effects of having an AI was it kept the hosts from dreaming would raise a lot more questions than it answered, some of which he’d rather avoid for now.

“It has to do with our abilities,” Ky answered after a pause, trying to word it in that gray area between the total truth and a lie. “When we are … granted our abilities, one of the side effects is we don’t dream any longer.”

“Are there more people where you come from?”

“Yes, lots.”

“Are they all warriors?”

“No. I don’t know a lot about how your people live, but there are probably a lot of similarities. Some of us are soldiers, but most aren’t. They are scholars and builders and farmers.”

“Do they all have the magic devices you possess?”

“No. As a soldier, I have been given abilities and equipment not available to most. Your people do the same, don’t they? Or does everyone wear armor and carry swords?”

Without explaining what his world was like, Ky was trying to downplay the more exceptional parts of it. Lucilla, however, wasn’t buying it.

“They do, but it’s not even close to being the same. I still don’t understand. You say you weren’t sent by the gods, but why …”

Her words cut off suddenly, her eyes widening as Ky’s hand flashed out. From her perspective, it must have seemed he was striking out, maybe to stop her questions, but she couldn’t see what he had seen. Something had alerted the AI that would have been missed Ky’s own ability to see it, or at least recognize what he saw for what it was.

Even as she started speaking, a warning from the AI blared in his head, his arm already moving under AI control as a target track leading out from the trees and ending at Lucilla appeared in front of his vision. Following the guide, his hand flashed out, closing even as the dagger twirled in its arch, closing around its hilt in a move no living person on this version of earth could duplicate.

For a moment, that for her must have seemed like an eternity, he held the blade scant inches from her chest, the blade glinting in the moonlight, and then his hand flashed out again. The dagger left his hand, twirling on a reverse course, with a force several times higher than that its original owner had used.

A scream echoed out from the darkness even as Lucilla yelled, “Ambush.”

Ky’s hand yanked the sword he’d been given from its scabbard and pushing himself off the ground. To her credit, Lucilla was right behind him, weapon coming to hand. Ursinus was showing a very fast response for a man who moments before was fast asleep. His body reacted almost on autopilot, coming into a crouch, weapon at the ready, while his face still showed the signs of sleep and confusion.

The confusion didn’t stop Ursinus from blocking the downward thrusting sword he found coming at him, swung by a man who’d seemingly materialized out of the shadows, as his eyes adjusting to the low light here in the trees.

Unfortunately, the other soldier with them was not at Ursinus’ level. He was rousing, coming to his feet, but was too slow. The sword coming for him found no such obstacle. The soldier was a dead man, or would have been, had a gladius not sailed through the night air like a missile.

The soldier, Sellic, Ky thought, had been a little further away from the group, the instincts of an enlisted man separating himself from officers, or at least those outside his social strata, and the assassin had not been prepared for intervention in time to save the man.

The sword caught him high in the chest, the force of the blow lifting him off the ground and impacting him onto a tree a few steps beyond, the blade embedding deep in its trunk. The assassin’s hands scrambled against the blade, trying to free himself weakly as his life poured out.

Sellic didn’t hesitate on the sudden reprieve, but threw himself at another attacker, now fully awake thanks to the sudden reminder of his mortality.

Ky turned and saw an assailant clashing swords with Lucilla, his weapon longer and somewhat stouter than the short Roman blade she used. Ky moved with inhuman speed, a hand gripping the hilt of the weapon, over the man’s hand, while his other clamped around the man’s throat like a vise.

With a heave, Ky lifted the man off the ground and hurled him across the small opening where they’d camped. His superior grip wrenched the weapon out of the assailant’s hand, and the man smashed into a tree with a sickening snapping sound as his back impacted against the hard wood, slumping to the ground boneless.

Lucilla whipped around and found no one near them. Across the small clearing, a man fell off of Ursinus’s blade, the officer's superior ability winning out. Sellic took a few slashes more, metal clashing on metal, before his opponent, too, went down, a wide gash opened across the man’s chest.

“Is that it?” Ursinus asked, peering into the dark, his sword at the ready.

Ky did not answer but bounded past him in a blur. For both his companions and the attackers, the night was inky black. With no fire, it would have been hard to see anyone unless you were practically on top of them.

Ky, however, was not limited by the shortcomings handed down by evolution. Even as he had dispatched his last attacker, he’d switched his vision from the low-light settings he’d used initially, which left the forest in almost daylight clarity, if a bit devoid of color, to thermal. With the low-light setting, he’d been able to see well enough, but that did not help him as much as he would have wanted in the thick foliage. Even in the middle of the day, it would have been difficult making out human forms more than a dozen feet away.

As his vision switched over, three more forms appeared as their warm bodies stood out stark about fifteen feet further back. Ky did not look back to see if anyone tried to follow him but plowed into the midst of the three remaining attackers.

They had all turned in his direction, swords raised, having heard Ky crashing through the forest. but until he was on top of them, none of the three could see the threat; not that seeing him would have changed their fate.

Ky ducked around the raised sword of the man on the left, his purloined sword sweeping down in an arch, the force from Ky’s enhanced muscles forcing the sharp metal edge through skin and bone. The man’s head flew off into the trees, as his body collapsed, blood spouting across his companions.

Ky did not hesitate, but continued his motion, spinning with the direction of the blade, bringing a booted foot into the chest of the middle assailant. The man flew back into the forest with such force that the smaller tree that brought him to a sudden stop cracked, leaning to one side. If slamming into the tree had not killed the man, the ribs pulverized by Ky’s foot now pushing into the man’s organs would have.

The third assailant finally had time to realize how desperate his situation was, as he saw his friends slaughtered in just half a handful of heartbeats. He started to turn, giving up any pretense of a fight.

His flight did not last long. He had barely finished turning away, one foot outstretched in the beginnings of a sprint, when Ky’s blade pushed through his side. The blade smashed through the man’s spine and came out the other side. His spine cut, the man, fell like a marionette with its strings cut, dead before he hit the ground.

“That’s all of them,” Ky called out, walking back towards the group.

“Are you sure?” Lucilla asked.

“Yes. Except for seven or eight horses off that way,” Ky said, pointing absently as he pulled the borrowed gladius out of both the tree and impaled man, “and our horses, we are the only living things around.”

“Siculus?” Ursinus asked.

Ky could see something that looked like it might be a cooling body, warmer than the ground around it but not quite the same signature as the three people still standing around him, off in the direction the soldier had been set up at.

“I can’t be sure until we go and check, but I’m pretty sure his body is out by the road. I’m sorry.”

Ursinus made a noise and said, “Let’s collect our belongings and get going. You might not be able to see any more, right now, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more of them on our trail.”