Blade Of Reckoning by Chris Harris (popular ebook readers txt) 📕

his skin and she turned and walked away.

“Goodbye.” said Hurricane quietly, knowing that she could hear him still.

He drummed on the table for a little while longer, before standing up and walking back to the teleportation booths.

*

Tahkshi

The Watchman travelled through space, a spherical dot on the surface of infinity, dwarfed even by the most distance stars. Virtually undetectable, the Watchman was a state of the art stealth ship used by the Galactic Government's elite team of Enforcers. They worked directly for Overlord Tahkshi, but none of the public actually knew Tahkshi as the official head of the Enforcers, who fought with them on every mission and was arguably the most adept of the six.

Foton was Tahkshi's presidential bodyguard, and they had grown up together on the planet Buena. Tahkshi's father was Overlord before him, and Foton's father the Presidential bodyguard. However, when Tahkshi was eighteen, just two years ago, they had both been killed in a freak accident. Or at least, that's what the media had said: Tahkshi and Foton believed that there was more to it than that. On missions, Foton wore jet black armour with blades jutting out at the elbows. A helmet covered his head, with only a one-way glass visor: Foton saw out, but no-one saw in. He stood with Tahkshi as they looked out the observation deck.

Piloting the Watchman was the machine known as VEX-TE. Built for the Enforcers, it possessed a humanoid form, but its hands could turn into a vast array of deadly weapons, or helpful tools. Currently, it had plugged itself in to the navigation computer of the ship and was directing it to its destination. Next to VEX-TE stood Incarnate. Tahkshi knew not his real name, and neither did Incarnate. In an orphanage most of his life, Incarnate was given his name by the other children after he demonstrated his ability to alter and control gravity, being a meta-human, highly evolved humans. He had come to join the Enforcers after he single-handedly stopped a band of mercenaries looting his city.


Elsewhere on the ship were Viretta and Devilclash. Devilclash is what is known as a Pyrkagias, a species of Golem that are made entirely out of a normally intangible thing, and can create its own body from debris as an exoskeleton. She had been in the Enforcers since the group was first initiated over one hundred years ago, due to her lack of ageing, as she was made of fire. She could not die of ageing, she could not contract a disease and she could only die if an attacker was to destroy every single molecule of her. Viretta was a human like Foton, but her intelligence and beauty far surpassed any other human. Known to have the highest IQ in the Milky Way Galaxy, she came to work for the Enforcers as a scientist, before demonstrating her skill in the battlefield.

“So,” said Foton, “Where are we going?”

Incarnate looked up from his position at the navigation controls. “Nav controls say we're going to Exapatisi.”

“Not quite,” said Tahkshi, “The asteroid belt near Exapatisi.”

Foton was taken aback. “Why?”

“We received reports of a distress call from an asteroid.” Tahkshi said.

“Some poor bugger's probably crashed.” Foton said bluntly.

“Would I bring us all the way out here if that was all it was?” Tahkshi asked. “No.” he answered, “The distress call was a message from someone who was most likely being murdered.”

“Isn't that something for the Authorities to deal with?” Incarnate asked.

“It wasn't just one murder though, by the sounds of it.” Tahkshi held out a small speaker, “Here. Listen.”

The message came out of the speaker, crackles and screeching in the background. “Help!” came a pained yell suddenly. Screams of pain could be heard in the background noise, “He's killing us here! All of the Church Of Clou-” Then there was nought but static hissing.

“One man?” Foton said, gulping, “Killing an entire church-load of people?”

“That's what it sounds like, yeah.” Tahkshi said, “Although, another interesting point is: what religion makes a church in a cave on an asteroid?”

“One that doesn't want to be found.” Viretta said as she walked onto the observation deck. “We heard the message down there.” she gestured to Devilclash, who entered behind her, wearing a few plates of steel as her exoskeleton to avoid fiery footprints being branded into the ship's floor.

“Exactly.” Tahkshi said. “Which is why I feel we should investigate first. The Authorities jump to wrong conclusions most of the time.” There were various sounds of agreement from the participants of the conversation. The Authorities were the front line in law enforcement, infamous for one case where they arrested fifteen innocent men for three years instead of the real culprit.

“We are approaching Exapatisi Asteroid Field.” said VEX-TE in its unsettling monotone.

Tahkshi looked up and out of the viewport towards the asteroid that they were approaching. “There.” he said, pointing towards a large cave in the asteroid. “That'll be where they are.”

“Why?” asked Devilclash.

“Because they would've got there via ships, and it seemed like there was a lot of people there, so a large cave could hold a lot of ships.” Tahkshi explained.

The ship descended into the cavern that Tahkshi had indicated, and the ship's lights came on automatically: activated by an inverted solar sensor on the top of the Watchman, darkness will cause the lights to activate.

“There!” Viretta gasped, pointing at something in the cavern.

“A building.” Devilclash said, “Must be the church.”

“Yeah,” Tahkshi agreed.

The ship landed, specialized landing gear coming down and forming a square platform beneath the spherical ship. A ramp descended from the middle of the ship, and Tahkshi led the others down it.

“We can breath in here?” Devilclash asked.

“Yeah.” Incarnate said, “VEX-TE said there was an artificial atmosphere generated on this asteroid.”

“The ships are empty.” Foton said, gesturing at the small ships around the church. “Aside from one, where the pilot is dead.”

“How did he die?” Tahkshi asked.

“Dunno.” Foton said, “I got VEX-TE analysing the corpse with Viretta.”

Tahkshi nodded. “Good idea.” He turned and looked at the ominous wooden double-doors of the grand building. “Let's go inside.”

He led them to the double-doors, before giving one of them a gentle push. It shook slightly. Locked. Tahkshi kicked the door and he heard something crack. A smile appeared. Tahkshi stepped back, before getting a run-up and kicking it again. This time the left door flew off of its hinges and smashed onto the floor inside.

“Let's go then.” said Devilclash as she casually strolled through the hole left by the door.

As she got through, the steel sheets came away from her, revealing her fiery feminine form. She shrivelled back in shock, hissing in her native tongue, before the steel plates flew back out the doorway. Tahkshi and Foton threw themselves to the floor as the plates narrowly missed them, before the plates stopped in mid-air. Incarnate stood in front of them, hand open. His power rushed out from him, holding the doors in stasis.

“Drop 'em, Incarnate,” ordered Tahkshi.

Incarnate obliged, the steel plates dropping to the floor with a large clang. “What happened?” he asked.

“Must be some sort of meta-human.” Foton guessed.

“Be careful guys.” Tahkshi warned. “They're powerful.”

Tahkshi led them inside the building and was greeted by a horrific sight. Blood coated the floors and walls, and people slumped over the floor, still attached to their chairs. Deep slits were embedded in their legs.

In the centre of the room stood a figure. A human, shown by the white skin, two arms and two legs. black hair was cut an inch short and the whites of his eyes stood out from the red of his pupil. “Good day to you,” he said.

“And who are you?” Tahkshi asked.

“I could ask you the same,” the figure said, “Couldn't I, Tahkshi?”

“Why?” Tahkshi said, “You know my name.”

“But you don't, do you,” he said, “Adjeti?”

Tahkshi stepped back: no-one knew about Tahkshi's background but his adoptive family and the Enforcers. The Adjeti were a tribe that were thought to have died out over five-hundred years ago, but Tahkshi had been found on Buena, were the tribe once lived and were the Overlord’s Castle was situated. He had been wearing the Adjeti snake armour, possessed an incredible ability to control nature and even had the Adjeti birthmark, all recorded in five-hundred years of history. Adjeti were known to all possess some sort of power, and were described as the first meta-humans in existence. According to some artefacts that were recovered from Buena, they believed that the Olympian Gods worshipped them, leading many archaeologists to confusion, as the Olympian gods featured predominantly on Earth. However, most historical evidence of the Adjeti was destroyed in the forest fire that wiped them out. Tahkshi's family believed that some must've survived, but none were ever found.

“How do you know?” Tahkshi asked.

“Never mind how I know.” The figure said, “But if you must know my name, I am simply The Other.”

“Stupid name.” Devilclash spat.

The Other ignored her.

“If you know I'm an Adjeti,” Tahkshi said slowly, “Then you know that I can destroy you with but a thought.”

“And if you are an Adjeti,” The Other spat, “Then you will know that your power means nothing to me.”

“Bring it on.” Tahkshi said, drawing a blade.

“You have a blade?” The Other mocked, “How fitting.” He indicated the blade on his back. “But how powerful is your blade?”

“A blade can't have power.” Foton said, “Not without a generator.”

The Other grunted in laughter. “So...mortal.” He frowned. “This blade contains the power of life itself. The Theta Sword, it is, one of The Four Swords of legend.”

“The Four Swords of legend?” Devilclash asked, before frowning. “Never heard of them.”

“Ignorant bitch.” The Other spat, before raising a hand. As he did so, a ship near Devilclash rose up into the air.

“Devilclash!” Incarnate yelled as The Other swept his hand to the right, and the ship slammed into Devilclash. However, as she was made of fire, all it did was land on her, smothering her. Incarnate raised the ship up using his gravity powers, but The Other threw another ship at him. It crashed into Incarnate with a sickening crack, sending him flying across the cavern, before he landed slumped on the floor, blood running freely from his mouth.

“Bastard!” yelled Foton, rushing at The Other, before he was lifted into the air.

The Other cocked his head to the side and grinned. “Metal armour, eh? Lord Of Magnetism here, Foton.” Foton grunted as The Other continued. “Should I let you live or die?” The Other closed his fist slightly and Foton's armour contracted. Foton let out a scream in pain.

A shot rang out, causing The Other to drop Foton and deflect the bullet with his magnetism. The bullet deflected, smashing a hole in a church-goer's skull. Foton collapsed to the floor, panting.

Tahkshi aimed his pistol at The Other whilst holding his sword attentively in the other hand. “Stop this now.” Tahkshi ordered.

The Other chuckled. “Your presidency means nothing to me, Tahkshi.” he said. “You have no power whatsoever over me.”

“Your operating in my jurisdiction.” Tahkshi informed, “Of course I have power over you.”

The Other smiled. “Tell me: how is the