Carnage Aer-ki Jyr (pdf ebook reader .TXT) đ
- Author: Aer-ki Jyr
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He turned and looked back at the splinter of sunlight fighting with the blowing sand for possession of the horizon and having to keep the hood on his right side held firm by his hand to block the wind from his face. It peppered his fingers but didnât cut them as he starred at the sunlight as it began to dip behind a distant dune.
For some reason the storm and the oncoming darkness were a comfort. As if they were blocking out the rest of the galaxy and reducing him down to just himself and this spot, even with Cal-com nearby. He knew he could see through it if he turned on his Pefbar, but right now that thought wasnât very tempting. He liked being blind to the universe, and it being blind to him, even if that wasnât entirely true. Certain orbital sensors could find them through the storm, but not all. Thought for the moment he let himself forget all that and just go back to being a simple Human that didnât have that much tactical knowledge.
Paul sighed, though he couldnât hear it. The wind was too loud and the sand hitting his robe sounded like sleet, but he stood there and watched until the last of the sunlight disappeared, with the transition happening more rapidly than he anticipated. One moment it was there, then boomâŠit was gone and totally black. Not even a little glow in the sky left to mark its proximity over the horizon.
Paul felt very small looking out into that pitch black and seeing nothing, but feeling the wind hammering him on his robe. He turned around and saw the small orange light marking their tent and walked towards it on memory, stumbling once on a new dune that hadnât been there a few minutes ago. He caught his balance quick enough, but the surprise was shocking and refreshing, and like any good Archon he adapted to it, taking smaller steps and giving himself plenty of leverage as he did so, finding some steps sinking in more than others as he made his way around to the side that held the entrance, though he couldnât see it until he was only 3 feet away.
Paul opened the zipper on the leeward side of the tent and stooped down to walk in, then spun around and zipped it back up behind him as a second brighter lantern hung in the same spot on the tent roof, inverse to the exterior one.
âNight is upon us,â the Human said, pulling off his robe and seeing trails of sand pouring off it onto the floor. âNuts.â
âHere,â Cal-com said, handing him a brush and collection pan. âI had the same problem.â
âAt least the vendorâs package anticipated this,â Paul said thankfully as he knelt down and cleaned up most of the sand, then unzipped the door enough to toss it outside before resealing up the interior and dampening the sound of the ever increasing wind.
âYou sound better.â
âI feel better. Logically I donât know why, and for some reason I donât care to find out. Being âsmallâ is easier in the storm I think.â
âIsolation without responsibility. We have no one to protect. No one to monitor. No one that we can monitor if we wanted. Our responsibility is only in this tent and to each other. The storm and the night create a void into which we shelter from rather than fight. When was the last time you sheltered from anything?â
âIâve been in ships and internal cities so long I donât know the answer to that. I havenât spent much time outdoors in general, except in my armor. And never a sandstorm.â
âNever?â
âHave you?â
âSuch things were required of all Voku, as hardening for battle. We were sent to many harsh environments where we could make mistakes without it getting us killed. That way when we faced similar conditions in battle there would be less of a learning curve.â
âMost of Star Forceâs training occurs in indoor parks where we determine the weather. I canât recall ever being in a sandstorm training session though. Sand dunes, yes. But a storm on themâŠI donât think so.â
âThen this is new for you?â
âIt is, but Iâve always had this feeling in stormsâŠthough until this moment I had forgotten. I feel more alive in them.â
âAs you also feel more connected to life in danger in general?â
âThat may be true, but this is different. Thereâs no one trying to kill us. This is player versus environment. I guess Iâd come to think of the Hadarak as the environment, and forgotten what the real environment was.â
âYour Excalibur is a poor location to spend so much time for a person of your responsibilities.â
Paul glared at him. âI feel obliged to defend my ship, but Iâm failing to find a means.â
âNaval is a part-time Archon activity. Not a full-time one.â
âAnd yet the Hadarak donât give us time off on the Grand Border.â
âThatâs why you recruited the Vâkitânoâsat. So they can guard the Border constantly, freeing up the High Guard and others to do other vital tasks.â
âThat wasnât the only reason. And in truth not the primary one.â
âYou wanted to save them from themselves?â
âItâs a lot more complicated than that, but in doing so we destroyed the purpose that had driven us into becoming Archons.â
âYou ended your quest by completing it.â
âYeah, we did. And part of me is missing itâŠâ Paul said, about to put a caveat there, but instead he let it hang.
âIf you could travel
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