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PREVIOUSLY, ON “LEGEND OF AKI: REBIRTH”…
Akasha awakens in a tank of clear liquid with no memories of her past or how she got there. She meets her brother, Shankar, who is searching for a genetics researcher named Dr. Naya Kestren.
After a fire breaks out at the lab, Akasha is rescued by Captain Arin Colton, who convinces her to join the ARKS and become a soldier. While enrolled at the ARKS Training Academy she meets and befriends Ivan and Kira. That friendship is put to the test when Akasha realizes she has romantic feelings for Ivan, then subsequently discovers he is dating Kira. Despite her broken heart, Akasha graduates from the Academy and receives her ARKS license. She and Kira are now full-fledged soldiers. Ivan, however, opts to follow his own path.
Lee, a member of the criminal syndicate KAI-OS, assassinates the Ur Executive Council (UEC) and replaces them with CAST doppelgangers, using them to rule the colony ship from behind the scenes. After blowing up a series of skyscrapers in downtown
Ur and pinning the blame on KAI-OS, Lee instructs his Council of doppelgangers to file a client order with the ARKS to eliminate three of the Four Kings of KAI-OS. He also gives the Darkers aboard
Orpheus the coordinates to Oracle’s nearly-finished space station,
Terra Nova.
Aki01, now the headmaster of the ARKS Training Academy, begins her own private investigation into the bombings in downtown
Ur. Her only evidence so far is a single fruit peel discarded by Lee near the site of the first bombing.
Tired of fruitless searching, Shankar adopts bolder methods of finding Naya Kestren. He causes a ruckus in the downtown district which is broadcast on live television throughout the colony ship. Little does he know he’s attracted the attention of Lee, who believes Shankar is the key to unlocking the mysterious Project Typhon…
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PLANET LILLIPA: LEGRANDE MESA, OVERLOOKING A FORMERLY-ABANDONED QUARRY
It hung just below the horizon like a silent specter. The shimmering line wavered, rippling over the dunes, daring anyone who saw it to believe it was real. But it wasn’t really there. It was merely a trick of the eyes, an illusion cast upon the desert sands by the light and heat beating down from above. An ocean of the mind’s eye. Somewhere between the desert and the edge of that silver sea lay the boundary between reality and fiction, possible and impossible, light and shadow.
The woman with the pilot’s cap and goggles was mesmerized. Closing one eye, she squinted into the scope of her sniper rifle, watching the mirage play across the distant sands.
“Hey,” a female voice whispered behind her.
The woman with the pilot’s cap wasn’t paying attention. Her headphones pumped a steady trance-like beat into her eardrums. Aiming her scope lower, she zoomed in and focused on the train depot far below.
Four guards, two robotic attack dogs. I can take ‘em, no problem.
“Hey,” the voice repeated, its owner tapping her rather forcefully on the shoulder. “Hey,
Sahara. Stop listening to that god-awful music and pay attention.”
“It helps me concentrate.”
“On everything except the person talking next to you, apparently.” Kira sighed in exasperation. “Anyway, c’mon, we’re moving out.”
The sniper ran her index finger along the weapon’s trigger. The hunt was calling to her, beckoning her onward. She licked her lips hungrily. “Hold up, Red. I got a better idea. Lemme take ‘em out right now. I have a shot, I can take it.”
“And what happens if there’s another one down there you can’t see?” The orange-haired Gunner shook her head. “He’ll activate the alarm and the whole place will go into lockdown, then we’ll never get inside.”
Sahara pouted but lowered her rifle. “Aw, you’re no fun.”
Weirdo, thought Kira. She and Akasha would have to keep an eye on Little Miss Gung-Ho. On a mission like this, where discretion was vital, the woman’s lack of patience was likely to get them all killed. Or worse, captured.
Unfortunately Sahara wasn’t the only problem on Kira’s mind. There was also Akasha to consider. Her Newearl friend had been acting a bit, well… strange lately. Quieter, more distant, and prone to random outbursts. Kira’s attempts to discover the source of the problem were always rebuffed or ignored.
She’ll tell me when she’s ready, Kira decided, then added,
I hope.
The issue with Akasha could wait. The mission was her priority now… and it was almost time to go. Kira shifted her gaze to the right. “You doing okay over there, Levia?”
The fourth member of their team, a quiet, pale-faced woman named Levia, was perhaps the strangest one of all. Wrapped nearly head to toe in white robes and wearing a cowl and mask that covered most of her face, she looked like she might wilt under the scorching desert sun. Still, if she was suffering, she hadn’t mentioned it. Her large, dark eyes glanced in Kira’s direction. “Um, yes, I… I’m fine, but thank you for the concern.”
“Good. Okay team, let’s do this.” Kira ran through the mission checklist in her head as they descended the backside of the mesa.
Step one: Sneak aboard a cargo train and infiltrate the quarry.
The five-hundred meter climb down was tedious and slow-going, but not nearly as difficult as the climb up had been.
Step two: Make contact with the undercover ARKS operative inside.
They hiked the narrow trail in silence—aside from Sahara’s occasional complaints about the weather. Kira tuned it out.
Step three: Download a copy of any and all data files you can find, to be used as evidence later.
After a few minutes they reached the desert floor, where the brittle, sun-baked stone of the mesa gave way to endless rolling dunes. They slogged onward.
Step four: Capture or eliminate one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS, Mala’din Ashra Solomondi, who is currently using the quarry as a stronghold.
After cresting a large dune their destination finally came back into view. At this distance it was little more than a hazy blur, a single needle in the vast haystack of the Lillipan desert.
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One after another they leapt, silently and gracefully, to the top of a large drainage pipe. Only the top half of the rust-colored pipe was visible above the ocean of sand. It ran parallel to the train tracks all the way to the massive perimeter wall of the quarry, taking it conveniently close to the depot—and the train the ARKS intended to board.
The soldiers sprinted quickly but lightly, their bodies kept low, desert camo ponchos billowing behind them as they moved.
“I thought us ARKS were s'posed to be about charting unknown planets and scraping Darkers off our boot heels, not raiding criminal hideouts,” Sahara remarked to no one in particular.
Kira hopped over a bolted flange connecting two sections of pipe. “Yeah, well, word is this client order comes directly from the UEC. Councilor Lane put in the request herself, or so I heard.”
“And what self-respecting crime boss picks an abandoned quarry in the middle of the desert as their hideout, anyway?”
“The kind that values privacy,” Akasha answered stoically. “Get ready, we’re almost there.”
Up ahead loomed the train depot. There wasn’t much to it, just a platform for loading and unloading cargo and a guard shack that didn’t appear occupied at the moment. Three uniformed guards stood in the center of the platform chatting idly. None of them noticed as the four ARKS quietly slipped behind the train car nearest to them. They did, however, notice when the guard on the left collapsed to the floor unconscious, a tranquilizer dart in his neck.
As Sahara ducked behind the corner of the train to reload her pistol, Kira took her place. Dropping to one knee and taking a half-second to line up her shot, she squeezed the trigger and watched as the dart land squarely on the man’s chest. He looked down at the dart, then back at Kira, then tumbled limply on top of his fallen comrade.
The last guard started to raise a shout when Akasha stealthily maneuvered behind him and, with a swift chop to the neck, dropped him instantly. All three guards were out cold.
Just then a fourth guard stepped out of the not-so-empty guard shack. He was accompanied by one of the large robotic attack dogs they’d seen through the binoculars earlier. Up close, the beast—a Vargr—looked even more imposing: nearly four meters long from metallic snout to pointed tail, covered in reinforced armor plates, with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth capable of biting through solid steel. Spotting the ARKS, it lowered its head and let out a rumbling, metallic growl.
Sahara spun around and fired at the man, ignoring the silver beast. Her dart struck the guard’s right shoulder. He tottered back and forth, his strength—and consciousness—quickly fading. The Vargr didn’t wait for its master’s command. It leapt.
The short-haired sniper fell backward, fully expecting to be mauled or crushed to death. A silvery blur flew at Sahara’s face, a gaping maw of jagged teeth that filled her vision. Suddenly a whitish blur struck the silver blur from the side. There was a tremendous
clang and the screech of tearing metal. A moment later the Vargr was bouncing across the platform like a skipped stone, eventually coming to rest in a mangled heap atop a nearby sand dune. The creature raised its head in a stilted motion, let out a feeble whimper, then collapsed and fell permanently silent.
Slack-jawed, Sahara turned her attention from the disabled canine to the loading platform. Standing where the Vargr had been, her knees bent, a single outstretched palm in a fighting pose, was Levia. Both hands were empty; the distinctive daggers she carried remained sheathed on her back.
“The hell?” Sahara pulled herself up off the floor, her gaze never leaving the mysterious woman. Levia offered no explanation for what had transpired, merely nodding in Sahara’s direction as she moved past to rejoin the others.
Nearby, Akasha and Kira had just finished tying up the unconscious guards. With any luck their mission would be over by the time the men woke up, but why take a chance?
Behind them, the cargo train lurched as it slowly came to life. The ARKS knew from their briefing that these trains were fully automated. They operated on strict schedules, ferrying cargo and mercenaries to and from the quarry at designated times.
“Quick, hurry up and get on!” Kira shouted as she performed a running leap onto the open-topped rear car. Akasha, Sahara, and Levia followed suit, jumping onto the slow-moving train from the adjacent platform. The car was little more than a flatbed stacked with crates—crates undoubtedly filled with black market goods and stolen weapons.
We made it, thought Kira. She was breathing a sigh of relief when the bullet whizzed past her head. “Down! Get down!” She matched actions to words by diving for cover behind a nearby crate. Cautiously she peered around the edge, searching for the source of the attack.
He wasn’t hard to find. Standing on the roof of the next train car was a fifth armed guard, his photon rifle pointed in the ARKS’ direction. Kira reached for the tranquilizer gun holstered on her hip. Taking aim, she fired twice in his direction but he ducked just in time to avoid it. “Everyone okay?” Kira asked her teammates, her attention still on the guard.
“Levia’s been hit!” Sahara responded sharply. She bent down next to the robed woman, trying to gauge the severity of the wound but unable to find any trace of blood. All she could locate was a single bullet hole in the front of the woman’s white robes.
“I-I’m alright.” Levia turned around so they could see the exit hole in the backside of her outfit. “It merely struck my clothing. I am unhurt.”
Akasha whistled. “Now that’s what I call lucky.”
Sahara narrowed her eyes. “Yeah… lucky.”
Meanwhile, atop the next car, the desperate guard fumbled for his handheld radio. Another salvo from Kira sent him scrambling for the floor—while losing his grip on the radio in the process. The man watched helplessly as his only means of calling for help tumbled over the edge of the train and out of reach.
The guard decided to try a new tactic. He knew he was greatly outnumbered against the four ARKS so he turned and crawled in the opposite direction, heading towards the front of the train. It only took Kira a moment to realize what he was planning. Without his radio, the only way to alert his comrades was the built-in radio in the engine car. They had to stop him from reaching it no matter what.
“Hey, he’s getting away! Sahara, you stay here with Levia. Kasha and I will handle this.” Kira didn’t wait for acknowledgements. She ran, jumped, and climbed her way to the roof of the next train car, conscious of Akasha’s presence behind her. Up ahead, the guard glanced back, spotted his pursuers, and redoubled his efforts. The chase was on.
By this point the train had picked up considerable speed. The wind blew in Kira and Akasha’s faces as they raced from car to car, stinging their eyes and reducing their vision. Kira fired three more darts at the man but none found their mark. Just then the guard changed tactics again, dropping down between two train cars and disappearing from view.
It was a trap, it had to be. Kira was the first to reach the edge of the train car. She leaned forward, pistol drawn, and looked down. There was no one there. Where could he possibly have gone?
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A loud grinding noise up ahead answered that question. Impossibly, the man had climbed around the side of the next car and opened its great metal sliding door. By the time Kira caught sight of him he was already climbing inside. Kira surged forward, not heeding Akasha’s calls to wait for her, and swung over the side of the train without hesitation. She landed inside the large, crate-filled boxcar and immediately realized her mistake.
Her eyes needed a few seconds to adjust from the bright desert sun to the darkness inside the train. The guard didn’t give her that time. He grabbed her from the side, wrapping an arm tightly around her neck. She struggled against him but he easily overpowered her, pinning her against one of the boxes. Her pistol clattered to the floor. “You’re beaten, girl,” the man sneered into her ear as he held her in place. “Give up now and I won’t make your death too unpleasant.”
Another voice, not Kira’s, answered him. “Sorry, but I can’t make
you the same offer.”
Surprised, the guard whirled around and came face-to-chest with Akasha. As he tilted his head back and took in her coldly unforgiving expression, the color drained from his face. The big Newearl tore the man away from Kira using sheer force and hurled him into the nearest crate. Dazed, he somehow managed to stay on his feet, though just barely. Akasha extended a palm in his direction. Without warning, an icy blast of Gibarta erupted in the space between them, freezing the man solid before he even had a chance to scream. He was dead in a matter of seconds.
Akasha turned to face her tiny friend. “You alright?”
Kira nodded wordlessly, rubbing her bruised neck.
“I told you to wait for me.”
“Sorry, Kasha… Guess I got caught up in the moment.” She gave the frozen guard one last, pained look. “You didn’t have to go that far, though.”
“He was trying to
kill you, Kira. The man was scum. He got what he deserved.”
“Yeah, maybe, but—”
“But
nothing!” Akasha slammed the side of her fist into the wall, sending a hollow
thrum through the train car. “You have to be more careful! I may not always be around to save you…”
“What’s
that supposed to mean?” Kira asked, feeling both hurt and annoyed.
“I… Nothing. I’m just saying, that’s all.”
Kira’s eyes softened. “Hey, listen, is something going on with you? You haven’t been yourself lately, not since we graduated from the Academy. That was over a month ago now.”
“I’m fine, I just… It’s nothing, okay? I—”
A familiar metallic growl echoed through the boxcar. Akasha and Kira simultaneously turned their heads in the direction of the sound… and found exactly what they were expecting: another Vargr. Perhaps the guard hadn’t chosen this car randomly after all…
Akasha shoved her friend out of harm’s way just as the Vargr leapt from its perch atop one of the crates. The robotic canine tackled the giant Newearl and the two went tumbling out the open door of the train. Fortunately for Akasha the Vargr hit the sand first, absorbing most of the impact. Still locked in battle, they rolled end over end, finally coming to a stop several meters away. The attack dog pressed down on Akasha with all of its might. Pinned underneath, she grabbed hold of its metal neck to keep it at bay.
Kira looked on in horror as the train sped away from them. “KASHA!!!”
“Don’t worry about me!” she shouted back, struggling to keep the Vargr from biting her face off. “I’ll catch up with you later!”
Kira wanted to help her friend but there was nothing she could do. The train was moving too fast; if she got off now she wouldn’t make it back in time, and the mission, unfortunately, came first. “Good luck,” she whispered.
The train sped into the tunnel beneath the perimeter wall, leaving Akasha to fight her battle alone.
* * * * * * * * *
High above the desert sands, atop the great wall surrounding the quarry, the man with no name lowered the scope of his sniper rifle. His hollow expression was concealed by the devilishly grinning demon mask he always wore. His long hair, dyed blood red and tied back in a ponytail, swayed gently in the breeze.
He was a hunter—not a Hunter in ARKS terminology, but a hunter of men. Tracking, capture, assassination, along with whatever else, however moral or immoral, was required. As long as the client paid their fee, he would get it done. And he was exceedingly good at it. Like the ARKS below, the man in the mask had a job to do. He switched on his radio. “They’re inside.”
A voice in his ear, the voice of his employer, responded right away. “Good. Continue observing them for now. When they fail—
if they fail—you are authorized to intervene. You’re my insurance, nothing more. One way or another, make sure the mission succeeds.”
“Understood.”
“Contact me again when it’s finished,” said Lee. There was an abrupt
click and the transmission fell silent.
The man in the demon mask hunkered down and turned his attention toward the interior of the quarry. The second phase of the operation was about to begin.
TO BE CONTINUED
Originally Posted by Zorafim
Actually, last year when I was still brainstorming ideas for the sequel I went on vacation for a week and came back with a notebook full of ideas and chunks of scripts. I don't have a laptop so it was all handwritten--I had to type it all up when I got back. That was the trip where I came up with a lot of the general ideas I had for the story and many of the characters, like Kira and Ivan.
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