Major Antelius lay in a bed, which hovered above the floor of his hospital room. Outside his window he had a marvelous view of south Yeupis. Even though the outside of the building was surrounded by a military complex, palm trees were visible from the outside of the perimeter fence, and a warm, humid breeze blew through the area. But the major couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it. He had failed his mission. He was bound to receive punishment.
The sleek, white metal double doors to the room opened up. A smaller yet more matured man than the major entered the room, with two other soldiers escorting him. His stature didn’t make him the most intimidating man, but his rank within the Titanian military did.
The major weakly raised a hand, saluting his superior.
He cringed at Maedoc’s broken body before he could even say a word.
“You let a couple of Terrans do you in like that, Major? Tis a shame…” he sighed.
“M-My apologies, Colonel Kirchner. I truly regret the state of events that has occurred.” The wounded major expatiated, taken over by anxiety.
“You let nineteen of your subordinates fall like flies. You’re only 21… a child your age was given too much responsibility.” The Colonel said, shaking his head.
“Are you saying… the General was wrong to have given me the responsibility of capturing the asset?”
“We mustn’t question the orders of the general. Her word is absolute. Although, if I were in that position, I would’ve given that task to someone more experienced. I believe you are very talented, but you lack much given your age.”
The major grew more and more exasperated. The colonel was taunting him for his failure at completing his mission. He had to know his fate.
“Colonel, just tell me already! You’re here to deliver the news of my punishment, aren’t you?” he said, sitting up so fast that it seemed that the handcuff that kept him bound to his hospital bed would snap.
“No… I’m here to receive your version of the events to relay to the general. First Lieutenant Reynders’ communicator was still functioning when we recovered you and your men, however the footage we found on it was extremely hard to discern. Your verbal reporting on the events should supplement that. Whenever you’re ready, go ahead.”
The colonel set a communicator on a bedside table, switching it on.
“I ordered my subordinates to split up throughout the forest to search for the asset. First Lieutenant Frost and Sergeant Rieck were the first to contact the asset. However, they found that he was accompanied by a Terran donning Titanian armor. The Terran swiftly dispatched all of them with the help of the asset. I, First Lieutenant Reynders along with two of our remaining squad members were able to subdue the asset and his Terran accomplice, but the three of them were suddenly taken out by at least one sniper somewhere south of the settlement of Marius. The asset used the opportunity to inflict the injuries I currently suffer with. The Terran accomplice decided not to kill me and identified himself as Gareth the Angel Slayer before departing with the asset.”
The colonel took several moments to compare the testimony to the recording of the events recovered from Reynders’ communicator, a sign of his monumental Titanian intelligence. After deciding that the testimony was satisfactory, he thanked Maedoc for his time and effort, before leaving the room.
“Colonel, so… will I not be receiving punishment?” he asked worriedly.
The seasoned soldier put on a smile, indicating that he would not.
“The information you’ve given us is incredibly important, so much so that I will vouch for you when this case is taken to the Central Council. They will be obliged to accept my testimony, since my father was once a member of it. Any other questions, Major Antelius? I must leave for Titan as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Colonel. Is this Gareth figure of significance to the Titanian Crown?”
“My, I didn’t expect you to ask that at this time. Yes, he is. I cannot say much about him without the General’s permission, except that he has had history with us Titanians, and that until your encounter with him, he was thought to be dead. He once lived on our home-planet too, but I cannot discuss the capacity in which he stayed there for.”
He wished the major a speedy recovery before taking his leave.
“Who the hell are you, Gareth?” muttered Maedoc to no one’s ears.
-
“Took you long enough!” Anwen yelled at her adoptive father as the man pulled himself onto the shore on the other side of Lake Marius.
“You need to work on your patience.” Gareth said.
“It’s so good that you’re here,” Leon said, helping the man to his feet on the rocky beach, Stefan searching for a dry set of clothes from the bags of provisions that were brought on the boat. “I felt like I was caring for a bunch of children.”
“What’s the plan, now?” Stefan asked. “How do we find the Black Shield?”
“It’s quite simple, really.” Gareth said. He hauled out a chest full of his own belongings, before removing a grey overcoat, black boots and black gloves from it.
“Where did you get those from?” Stefan asked, his heart thumping rapidly as the sight created fear in him.
“Those corpses in the forest didn’t need these anymore, thought they may come in handy.” Gareth said. A bead of sweat formed on Stefan’s forehead, before wiping it away.
‘He’s gonna pretend to be an Angel. I know it.’ Stefan concluded.
“The plan’s simple.” Gareth began. He would pose as a Titanian soldier, creating a false Light Pillar above him using his years of Utrium practice. A strong enough Terran Utrium practitioner, according to Gareth himself, was capable of creating illusions that would seem realistic, at least to less experienced or unexperienced people in the world of Utrium. Assuming that the Black Shield placed its more immature members to look out for signs of Angels, most likely the case since any Terran rebels that operated long enough were all either killed or shipped to Titan. Once they shot at Gareth, their location would be revealed. It would be up to Stefan to find them while Leon and Anwen stayed in a safe place near the boat. The plan was absurd, but the children had to believe in it.
It took Stefan about an hour to reach a crevice about halfway up the middle-most, highest mountain of the small range. His Utrium ability to gather Reserve to his head allowed him to have a greater perception and he would easily find the sniper that saved him and Gareth on that night. Even from the great height he was at he could still make out the rough location Gareth was waiting for him. Gareth could not give him a heads up for when he would commence the false Light Pillar, so Stefan had to be at the right place at the right time. Luckily, his body harbored more than enough energy to make it to the scouting spot in time. The lake looked appeared like a pond below him, and the buildings that made up Marius in the far distance looked like toy models. They looked so small, so insignificant, but undeniable—that’s how the Angels had viewed humanity.
Ahead of him, the sky became a myriad of gold, amber and white. The melding of rich hues grew into a wide, thick pillar, and in an instant, it reached the ground that Gareth stood on.
The waiting became agonizing. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. But patience was the factor that reigned over this task. It eventually it came—the ear-piercing bang that Gareth and the crew had been waiting the entire time. Stefan felt it—he was aware of it totally.
‘200 meters to the southwest.’ Stefan said, as he rushed out of the crevice, leaping over vast stretches of uneven, white and grey unstable rock. Five more shots rang out in the minute that it took for Stefan to reach his target, each causing his heart to skip another beat.
“None of them better have hit him,” he thought aloud. “But then again, he’s Gareth.”
Just ahead, hardly guarded by several skull-sized chunks of rock, a shape clad in white cloth stood out like a thumb, impossible to tell from Gareth’s position but very obvious to Stefan that it was a person. From below them, a long rifle butt protruded, confirming that the person was the sniper.
‘That was way too easy…’ Stefan noted. ‘Almost like… they wanted to be found.’
Nevertheless, he reached them with an outstretched arm in an impatient burst, so desperately wishing to get close to the Black Shield. But no—something didn’t feel right. He sensed multiple auras suddenly appear as he got within arms’ reach of his target.
Feigning ignorance up until then, the sniper whipped their head toward him, causing their hood to fall down, revealing long, straight red hair, a black mask obscuring all the features of their face except for their light-brown eyes.
“Target acquired.” The sniper said monotonously, and at that same moment, four figures wearing grey armor and identical masks to camouflage themselves with the mountain each grabbed a limb of Stefan’s, hoisting him in the air as they followed the person with the sniper rifle up the mountain to a large, unnatural opening in the earth about a hundred meters higher.
‘It was a trap!’ Stefan thought, doing all that he could to keep his thoughts of panic and fear within him.
“Don’t be too rough on him. The Anbieter has declared him a guest of the Black Shield.” The sniper ordered to which their comrades immediately complied with.
“Wh-Where are you taking me? Did you know that we were going to find you?” Stefan said, no longer able to hold back his fright, but refused to fight with his captors. One wrong move meant someone was going to die—Stefan didn’t want to be a part of that, especially if he didn’t know for certain what their intentions for him were.
“I am not permitted to answer your questions. You may ask the Anbieter when you see him.” The sniper-wielding fighter said, as they entered a long, downward-sloping hall that cut into the mountain they were on.
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