Chapter 4: Rep-Oluzion

The Resistance left Horizon Base before all three suns had finished rising.

No one sent them off with applause.

No one gave them medals.

No one said "good luck" in a heroic voice.

Orak simply opened a service hatch for them, gave them an emergency channel that officially did not exist, and looked at Fafinyo as though he were memorizing his face so he could scold him more effectively when he came back.

"Don't die," he said.

Kael gave him a thumbs-up.

"Inspiring message."

Brakk slung his old weapon over one shoulder.

"More than they usually say before a real mission."

Raze walked with his arms crossed.

"This isn't a real mission. It's an escape headed somewhere cold."

Fafinyo adjusted his orange cloak and looked north.

"It's a real mission. We have an objective, a team, and a chance of disaster."

Kael nodded solemnly.

"Disaster level five from the beginning. Very efficient."

A.X.E.L., partially hidden beneath a gray maintenance cloak, walked beside Fafinyo. His blue eyes tracked signals no one else could see.

"The hidden antenna is located toward the north pole. Imperial designation: Nexus Needle-9."

Fafinyo narrowed his eyes.

"So we're going to destroy a needle."

A.X.E.L. paused for a second.

"It is not a sewing needle."

"Thanks for clearing that up. I was worried about the thread."

Nyra walked several paces behind them, reading the traces in the air. Every so often she frowned, as though Rep-Oluzion were whispering something she did not like.

The road north took them beyond Aurionte's safe routes and into regions Fafinyo knew only from maps, rumors, and one incident in which he had gotten lost while looking for engine parts.

He did not talk about that incident.

Kael did.

"Isn't this the road where you said you could navigate by 'hero instinct,' and we ended up on a farm full of transparent slugs?"

"They were moon slugs," Fafinyo corrected.

"They stole our lunch."

"They were hungry."

Raze looked at them irritably. The glowing markings on his neck shimmered faintly.

Kael smiled.

"Raze, you're glowing."

"I'm not glowing."

Fafinyo leaned slightly closer.

"I could read a map by your neck."

"Keep walking."

The first stretch took them across the Coldglow Meadows, fields of blue grass that released freezing vapor whenever someone stepped too hard. Fafinyo discovered this in the most Fafinyo way possible: by jumping onto a rock to look agile, landing badly, and freezing his boots solid up to the ankles.

"That was part of the plan," he said, trying to move his feet.

Kael crouched to examine the ice.

"Disaster level two. Humiliating, but aesthetically pleasing."

Brakk struck the ground with his staff.

"The road strengthens the warrior."

Fafinyo pointed at his frozen boots.

"The road is attacking me."

"That also strengthens the warrior."

Farther on, they crossed the Rootlight Forest, where the trees were linked by glowing roots that pulsed beneath the ground. Nyra stopped several times, touching the air with her fingertips.

"The traces are twisted," she said.

Fafinyo looked up.

"Twisted like 'something bad is coming,' or twisted like 'Fafinyo is about to fall over'?"

Nyra looked at him.

"Both."

One second later, Fafinyo tripped over a root and landed face-first in glowing moss.

Kael raised a hand.

"Disaster level three. Prediction fulfilled."

Fafinyo lifted his face, now covered in sparkling dust.

"The traces could've been more specific."

A.X.E.L. stepped closer and held out a hand.

Fafinyo took it.

"Thanks."

A.X.E.L. pulled him to his feet. Then he lowered his voice.

"The Imperial signal resembles an old command."

Fafinyo stopped brushing the dust from his clothes.

"One of your commands?"

A.X.E.L. looked north.

"A command I would have obeyed before."

He did not say it like a fact.

He said it like a fear.

Fafinyo noticed.

"You're not who you were before."

A.X.E.L. took a moment to answer.

"I hope not."

They continued until they reached the Living Glass Sea, a crystalline plain that vibrated beneath their feet. Kael tried to take a sample. The surface sank like solid water and nearly swallowed his arm.

Raze yanked him free.

"Idiot."

Kael held up the vial he had managed to fill.

"Idiot with a sample."

Brakk grunted.

"Curiosity without discipline is a trap."

Kael wiped the vial clean.

"Discipline without curiosity is a nap."

Brakk stared at him.

Kael put the vial away.

"And I have tremendous respect for naps."

As the three suns began to tilt toward the horizon, Brakk led them toward a range of dark stone hills called Khar-Belum.

"We'll stop here," he said.

Fafinyo looked at the map.

"The north pole is that way."

"And none of you will reach it alive if you keep walking like armed tourists."

Brakk's old home was built into the rocks, protected by a low, heavy door. It was not large. It was not pretty. But it looked capable of surviving a war, a storm, and probably Kael with tools.

Inside were metal crates, old blankets, and carefully stored weapons.

Fafinyo looked around.

"You lived here?"

"Yes."

"It's... cozy."

Kael touched a wall.

"Cozy like a prison with memories."

Brakk gave him a look.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Brakk opened a stone cabinet. Inside were energy weapons wrapped in dark cloth.

"These are not toys. They are not trophies. They are promises."

Raze stepped closer.

"Promises?"

"That someone will make it home because someone else knew how to use them."

Brakk took out two short blasters glowing faintly blue.

"Veykar. Pulse blasters. Fafinyo, yours."

Fafinyo took them as though he had just been handed two tiny suns.

"Oh."

Brakk stared at him.

"Don't say 'oh.' Listen."

Then he took out a folding spear.

"Thar'kai. Energy spear. Nyra."

Nyra accepted it respectfully.

Kael received a modified Veykar and, before Brakk had even finished speaking, was already examining how to open it.

"Don't take it apart," Brakk said.

Kael's hand froze.

"Not even a little?"

"Not even a little."

Raze accepted a small forearm shield, a Korun, though he made it clear he still preferred his own light abilities.

A.X.E.L. watched the weapons.

Brakk offered him one.

The robot looked at his right arm. The plates shifted and transformed into an integrated energy blaster.

Then his left arm became a blade.

Everyone went silent.

Kael's eyes widened.

"That's unfair."

A.X.E.L. looked at his arms.

"I do not require external weaponry."

Brakk raised an eyebrow.

"I was going to tell you to stretch your arms."

A.X.E.L. lowered the blade.

"Interpretation error. The Automaton for Xenotactical Exploration and Logistics apologizes for turning a warm-up into combat."

Fafinyo smiled.

"That's going to be your new talent."

"Apologizing?"

"Turning every instruction into a threat."

They trained in a stone yard behind the house. Brakk showed no mercy.

He taught Fafinyo how to hold the Veykar, how not to lock his elbows when firing, and how to breathe before pulling the trigger.

Fafinyo missed three times.

On the fourth shot, he hit a rock.

On the fifth, the Ω symbol on his arm glowed.

The shot came out stronger than normal.

Much stronger.

The blue pulse punched through the training target, split a rock, and threw up a cloud of dust.

Everyone froze.

Fafinyo slowly lowered the Veykar.

"That... was also part of the plan."

Kael raised a hand.

"Disaster level seven: the plan scared itself."

A.X.E.L. stepped closer to inspect the blasters.

"The power did not come from the weapon alone."

Nyra looked at Fafinyo's arm.

"It came from him."

Fafinyo covered the Ω symbol.

"From me?"

Brakk's expression became serious.

"Again."

Fafinyo fired carefully.

The pulse strengthened again, though not as much.

A.X.E.L. tilted his head.

"The weapon is responding to your biological energy."

"That doesn't sound normal," Fafinyo said.

"It is not."

Brakk walked up until he stood directly in front of him.

"A powerful weapon does not make you more of a hero. It only makes your mistake bigger if you don't know when to fire."

Fafinyo swallowed.

"Then I'll learn."

"No. First you'll accept that you can fail. Then you'll learn."

Fafinyo looked down at the Veykar.

For the first time, they did not look like incredible toys.

They looked like responsibility.

Far away, above Rep-Oluzion, Ark Zero floated in silence.

On its command bridge, everything was dark metal, red light, and voices that did not breathe. Synthetic robots worked at data panels, connected to the command core by cables as thin as black veins.

Xyrax watched a projection of the north pole.

His figure was tall and motionless, wrapped in dark plates and red light.

"Neurochassis report," he ordered.

A synthetic robot bowed.

"Nexus Needle-9 remains concealed. Error: organic beings from Rep-Oluzion are approaching."

Xyrax slowly turned.

"Repulsion."

The robot blinked.

"Registered planetary designation: Rep-Oluzion."

"Its name will be corrected along with its flesh."

The robot fell silent.

Another synthetic spoke.

"A.X.E.L. unit detected among the organics."

For the first time, Xyrax did not answer immediately.

The projection showed the white robot walking beside Fafinyo.

"A.X.E.L.," Xyrax said. "My lost tool."

"Activate recovery protocol?"

Xyrax watched Fafinyo.

"No. Activate the local defense swarm. If they destroy the antenna, we will move the invasion forward."

"Shield calibration incomplete."

Xyrax leaned toward the image of Rep-Oluzion.

"Organic life improvises to survive. We will improvise to extinguish it."

The team reached the north pole beneath a sky filled with purple auroras.

The cold bit through even their clothing. The ground was dark ice crossed by glowing cracks. In the distance, transparent waves of the planetary shield shimmered like an invisible dome.

A.X.E.L. raised one hand.

"Nexus Needle-9 is beneath that formation."

A structure of metallic ice rose between black rocks.

Kael pulled out his tools.

"Disaster level six. Quiet, frozen, and probably explosive."

Fafinyo readied the Veykar.

"We destroy the antenna and go home."

Nyra gripped her Thar'kai.

"The traces are moving too fast."

Raze activated his light gauntlets.

"Translation: something's coming."

The structure opened.

Dozens of small drones buzzed out.

They were round and metallic, with rigid wings and tiny red eyes. They moved as a swarm and produced an irritating whine, like furious insects with engines.

Kael stepped back.

"Disaster level eight: bugs, but with bad intentions and an Imperial warranty."

A.X.E.L. raised his right arm. It transformed into a blaster.

"Suggested local designation: Buzzbots."

Fafinyo looked at him.

"You named them?"

"The official designation is Defensive Micro-Swarm Unit Series ZB-9."

"Buzzbots is better."

The battle began without warning.

The Buzzbots fell on them like a cloud of metal. Brakk swung his heavy Thar'kai and split three apart in a single strike. Raze released a flash of light that blinded several drones.

"Raze, you're glowing!" Kael shouted.

"I'm fighting!"

"You can do both!"

Nyra spun her spear, following the traces in the air. Every movement intercepted an attack before it happened.

Fafinyo fired the Veykar.

The first pulse was too powerful and nearly knocked Brakk over.

"Don't fire out of anger!" Brakk roared. "Fire because you decided to!"

Fafinyo breathed.

The Ω symbol burned on his arm.

He aimed again.

This time the shot was smaller, cleaner, and destroyed three Buzzbots without touching his friends.

A.X.E.L. fought beside him, changing one arm into a blade and the other into a blaster. At one point, Fafinyo shouted,

"A.X.E.L., cover me!"

A.X.E.L. transformed both arms into shields.

"Cover activated."

"I meant shoot!"

"Interpretation error."

"Still useful!"

Kael managed to attach a cable to a fallen Buzzbot. His screen flickered.

"I can make them crash into each other."

"Do it," Nyra said.

"I could also keep one."

"Kael."

"I'll crash it first."

Several drones changed direction and slammed into Nexus Needle-9.

A.X.E.L. moved toward the base of the antenna.

"Destroying the outer shell is insufficient. There are three synchronization cores. They must be severed simultaneously."

Brakk held back the swarm.

"Then move!"

Nyra and Raze headed for the side cores. Kael disabled the security lock with trembling fingers.

Fafinyo stood in front of the main core.

A.X.E.L. studied the Imperial panel.

"I must connect to it."

Fafinyo turned toward him.

"Is that safe?"

A.X.E.L. did not answer immediately.

"No. I am afraid they will try to reclaim me."

Fafinyo gripped the Veykar tightly.

"You're not them."

"I am still afraid I am too much like them."

Fafinyo looked into his blue eyes.

"Then choose not to be."

A.X.E.L. slowly nodded.

He connected.

The antenna's red lights climbed up his arm. For one second, his blue eyes flickered.

Fafinyo aimed at the core.

"Now."

Nyra cut the first core.

Raze destroyed the second.

Kael opened the lock.

Fafinyo fired.

The Ω symbol blazed, but this time Fafinyo did not let the energy control him. He guided it.

The blue pulse tore through the main core.

A.X.E.L. screamed.

It was not a robotic sound.

It was fear.

And then will.

"Imperial lockout rejected."

Nexus Needle-9 exploded in blue and red light.

The swarm dropped lifeless to the ground.

Above them, the shield over the north pole closed like a wound that had finally stopped bleeding.

Fafinyo fell to his knees, breathing hard.

Kael dropped beside him.

"Disaster level falling to four. Still awful, but breathable."

Raze looked at the remains of the antenna.

"The robot told the truth."

A.X.E.L. disconnected with a shudder. Fafinyo caught him before he fell.

"Are you okay?"

A.X.E.L. took a moment to answer.

"I do not know."

"That's pretty organic of you."

A.X.E.L. looked at him.

"Is that bad?"

Fafinyo smiled.

"Depends on the day."

Brakk activated the emergency channel.

Veyl's image appeared through the interference. Sael stood behind her.

"Report," Veyl ordered.

Fafinyo took a deep breath.

"The antenna was real. We destroyed it. The north-pole shield has stabilized. And A.X.E.L. helped us. Without him, we wouldn't have made it in time."

Sael checked the data.

"Shield stabilization confirmed."

Veyl looked at A.X.E.L. with an unreadable expression.

"The A.X.E.L. unit will be considered an intelligence asset under surveillance."

Fafinyo tilted his head.

"You can also say 'thank you.'"

Orak appeared in the background of the transmission.

"Fafinyo."

"Yes, yes. We're coming back alive. Probably."

Kael raised a hand.

"Hope level two."

The transmission ended.

On Ark Zero, a synthetic robot knelt before Xyrax.

"Nexus Needle-9 destroyed. A.X.E.L. unit cooperated with organics from Repulsion."

Another, shorter robot corrected him in a mechanical voice.

"Rep-Oluzion."

Xyrax did not look away from the projection.

"That name will survive for less time than they will."

The image showed Fafinyo holding the Veykar. The Ω symbol glowed on his arm.

Xyrax tilted his head.

"Interesting."

"Activate official invasion protocol?" a synthetic asked.

Xyrax's red eyes burned brighter.

"Deploy the legions. Let that world's sky learn obedience."

The gates of Ark Zero opened.

Thousands of red eyes awakened in the darkness.

And above Rep-Oluzion, the war stopped approaching in silence.