Chapter 1: Blast From The Past

The Other

An asteroid that freely floated in the space between the planets Exapatisi and Zerlom came into view from his ship. A dark grey rock, filled with craters and caves as the result of thousands of collisions, it moved slowly around in the asteroid belt.

“Take us down.” commanded The Other.

“Yessir.” responded the pilot casually.

The ship descended and now The Other could make out things on the surface of the asteroid: the bumps in the rock, made after millennia of erosion; the smaller craters, home to Archanoids, the space faring spiders; but most of all, the other ships. Like bees at a hive, they were swarming into one of the larger caves in the surface of the asteroid. Good, soon the meeting can begin. The ship descended into the cave and darkness engulfed them briefly, before they emerged into the vast area, with torches lighting the stone walls with their flickering illumination. In the centre of the area was a vast building. Church-like in structure, the building was adorned with gargoyles, which lined the tops of windows and the doorway.

The ship landed neatly around the back of the building with nought but a hiss as landing gear extended and touched the ground. The Other stood in the spacious ship, thanked the pilot, and pushed a button which opened the door on the ship. Stepping out, he heard mixed chatter from around the building. Various languages hit The Other's ears, but he understood them anyhow due to his translator, which was embedded into his brain. This allowed him to understand and speak all known languages, due to the information stored on the translator's micro-drive, a state of the art hard-drive no larger than a cell. Usually, the built-in translators where only given to diplomats, but The Other had managed to acquire one.

At the back of the building was a small door, less impressive than the ten-foot high, wooden doors at the front of the church. The Other entered as the door opened for him, seemingly without assistance. In the hallway that greeted him, various species of creatures gathered and sat on small chairs, all equipped with a translator unit that could be affixed to one's ear.

“Welcome.” The Other said, taking his place at an altar in front of the crowd. “I'm glad you got the message.” The e-message that The Other had sent simply said It's time. Meet tomorrow. “As the Church Of Cloud, we have stood for centuries waiting for this time to approach. Five centuries, in fact. And now, it is time.” The Other swept his long, black robe off, revealing black and red armour beneath. A serpent adorned each arm, with the gaping mouth at the shoulder and the tail, which ended at the wrist. A blade was slung across his back in a black leather sheath, its hilt encrusted with rubies. “I need you all here today, so that I can bring Blue Cloud, the great lord of our great church, back to our time.”

In the Book Of Cloud, it states that the son of Hades, Blue Cloud, named after an aura of power that surrounded him, fell through time while trying to find one of the four segments of the Blade Of Olympus, so that he may destroy it and his father could be free. The Church Of Cloud was formed to bring him back.

“How do we do that?” yelled a creature from the back of the room.

“We open a portal,” The Other announced, producing a ring. “Using this: A Cronus Ring. This allows the creation of a time portal, and we will bring him back. But,” The Other walked down the centre of the aisle, seats on either side of him at this point until he reached the large wooden door, “The dilemma is how to open the portal.” He locked the door, and dropped the key on the floor. He drew his sword, and an intake of breath was audible. “A blood sacrifice will do.” He was greeted by silence and held breath. “Any volunteers? No?” He waited a minute. “Good.”

The Other span, beheading the nearest person, throwing blood everywhere, along with the screams of everyone else. The head hit the floor and rolled, the creature's blue skinned lips parted slightly, with blood trickling through them. The Ring Of Cronus dropped to the floor as The Other opened his hand, falling into a pool of blood. “But this isn't enough blood to make the portal go back in time enough.”

He looked around, mainly at the chair legs that his audience sat upon. Metallic. Steel in fact. Magnetic. “All of you.” he addressed them, an open palm held out in front of him. “It's time to die.” He clenched his fist.

As he did so, the legs of the chairs twisted upwards, latching onto the occupants and slowly tightened, digging into the occupants' legs as the chairs themselves toppled. “Die for me.” The Other said, “Die for Blue Cloud.”

And as he walked back to the altar, blood spilled over the floor and the Ring began to shake...

*

Cinradahs

The planetary museum, known as the Musun, held statues and recreations of every known species to be extinct, along with exhibits, such as the “Legends” exhibit. Cinradahs strolled through the Legends exhibit freely, although it was crowded. They all knew who he was, however: the Shadow Minister that had run against Overlord Tahkshi in the Overlord Election. “Good day to you,” he said pleasantly to one family that were observing a bust of the Greek God Zeus. Cinradahs stopped in front of a display labelled “The Lost Legend” and smirked. Encased in alarmed glass was the Lost Legend Manuscript itself, consisting of one, browning page. The edges were creased and curled inwards, as if trying to conceal its shy content from a hateful world.

“Minister Cinradahs?” came a voice from behind him.

Cinradahs turned to see a young female human, with long blonde hair and a recorder-headpiece tangled inside it. Journalist.

“Yes, m'dear?”

“Never knew you were a fan of such legends.” she said.

“Ah,” Cinradahs smiled, “The Lost Legend is not just any legend though, is it? Found only fifty years ago on Narcsard, I think it's pretty unique.”

“I guess.” she conceded.

“Now, can I be left, Miss...?” he asked, proffering a hand.

“Call me Pandora.” she said, shaking his hand.

As she left, Cinradahs couldn't help but think that something was familiar about Pandora, but the memory alluded him. He turned back to the display and looked above the Lost Legend to see a curled seashell-like object, labelled “Cornopticus”. Cinradahs smiled, before walking away and muttering, “Target located.”

*

Pandora

As Pandora walked away from Cinradahs, she frowned slightly. As a telepath, she could delve into the minds of others, but she could not enter Cinradahs' mind. She discarded the recorder-headpiece, tossing it in the nearest bin, whereupon it would travel to down a chute to a furnace at the centre of the Musun and be used to partially power the immense museum. She placed a finger to her temples and communicated outwards to one person. Trexor. Cinradahs is up to something. He's got mind armour. Mind armour was the slang term for an augmentation that blocks the view of telepaths. There's less than a thousand telepaths in the galaxy, but he's so paranoid...

she thought. Now, go away Trexor, I have a date.

Really?

Came the thought-communicated response, Another one?

Yeah,

she smiled, He wants to tell me something important.

Good for you,

came the reply, I'll begone for now.

*

Hurricane

Hurricane sat at a table in the Musun's café, casually observing his surroundings due to his loneliness. A couple sat at the table opposite, each drinking a cup of what could only be described as a thick brown liquid, as viscous as custard. Hurricane didn't know what the liquid was, but he vowed never to drink it. The table he was sitting at was made of a single slab of faded-yellow ivory. The texture of it was smooth, he noticed, as he drummed his fingers on the surface. Ivory naturally rots away, but with the right treatment products, it can last for a lifetime.

A woman walked towards his table, her blonde hair waving as she walked. Hurricane's pupils dilated due to her attractiveness and it was at this moment that he was glad to be dating her. And upset to have to leave her.

“Pandora!” he exclaimed, standing up and holding his arms open.

“Hurricane.” she greeted, falling into his arms.

He closed his arms around her and held her close, afraid to let her go. “Pandora, I...” he started, before the words choked in his throat.

“It's fine.” she said, placing a finger to his lips. “I know it's hard for you.”

“What?” Hurricane asked, perplexed.

Pandora sighed heavily, before explaining herself. “I'm a telepath, Hurricane. I know you're going.”

Hurricane was taken aback, not knowing what to think. “Why didn't you tell me?” he asked, the first thing that came into his head.

Pandora sighed. “I never tell my partners until we've been together a long time. I didn't want you to feel...threatened.”

Hurricane thought it over, and remembered his overreaction when he found out that she was trained in multiple martial arts. “That's fair enough.” he agreed. “But haven't we been together long enough now?”

“And I'm telling you.” she said, “As for you leaving, where are you going?”

“Not reading my mind this time?” Hurricane asked, before saying, “We don't know. There is a small planet in the Sol System that Tors likes the look of. But I think we'll be like intergalactic vagrants for a while.”

Pandora chuckled. Hurricane smiled: he found her chuckle cute, the way her olive skin bunched together as she tried to hide her smile. “I'll come and find you.” Pandora said, “In a few weeks.”

Hurricane smiled. “That would be great. I would wait for you, but tonight is the first night in over a decade for the pulses to calm.” Hurricane lived on the planet Narcsard. Formerly a lush jungle planet with an almost infinite amount of natural resources, colonisation had taken its toll on the emerald marble, and now it was dying. Earthquakes threatened lives daily and acid fell from dark green clouds that blot out the sun. Huge electromagnetic pulses were emitted from the planet's core, grounding all ships. Luckily for Hurricane, on every civilised planet, there are teleportation booths that lead directly to the Musun.

“I understand,” she said, looking forlorn. “So, Earth first, eh?”

“That's what the locals call it.” Hurricane said, “They are a growing culture, with not much space travel, but Tors likes the sound of it.” Tors was Hurricane's best friend and companion, who was also friends with the scientist Insectiron, who predicted the calm in the EMPs.

They stood awkwardly for a few minutes, until Pandora said, “I'll see you soon then.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” Hurricane said with a sad smile. He didn't want to leave, but he had to. Or else he could die as Narcsard destroys itself.

She leant over and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodbye.” came a loving whisper as her lips departed from 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 war faring?”

Tahkshi sighed. “I think we're holding back Xaos' forces.”

“For now.” The Other said.

The Universe and all of the galaxies within are split into fifteen segments, and there are fifteen Overlords, each one ruling one segment. However, Xaos, a former Overlord of one of the largest segments, got power hungry and started a war to take the others. With a swift, unexpected strike and his own formidable army, he took thirteen more segments. Tahkshi's was the only one left, due to its considerable military advantage: most of the other segments had been at peace for too long, whereas Tahkshi's father was a pessimist, believing that where there is humanity, there will be war. Now Tahkshi's forces are the only things keeping Xaos from full, universal domination.

“We can hold.” Tahkshi said.

The Other laughed loudly. “No you can't.” he drawled. “Not with the universe against you.”

“Ah well.” Tahkshi said, quickly bending down and placing a hand to the ground. It's time to teach this guy a lesson.

Spikes of solid stone erupted through the church floor, puncturing the ceiling. The Other yelped as he dropped his Theta Sword before the spikes grew nearer. In his avoidance, he stumbled back and forth, surprised by the sudden outburst of power. Tahkshi stood when The Other looked as though he was imprisoned in stone.

“Such power...” The Other said, “Your father would be proud.”

“My father was always proud.” Tahkshi said.

“Not your adoptive father,” The Other said, “Your real father.”

Tahkshi leaned closer. “What do you know about my real father?” he asked.

The Other smiled. “I was his advisor.” he answered.

“Your...an Adjeti, too?” Tahkshi asked.

“Yeah.” The Other said. “You're not alone after all. But I soon will be.”

“What?” Tahkshi was taken unawares by the statement.

The Other reached out a hand, calling the Theta Sword to him. The metal blade of it came into his hand, and he grabbed it, before swinging it around, clutching the handle and swinging it in a full circle, shattering the stone spikes around him. Tahkshi switched to a defensive pose and blocked The Other's blow, before drawing his pistol once more. The Other closed his free hand, and the pistol flew out of Tahkshi's hand and into The Other's. Tahkshi backed away, as The Other emptied the pistol of it's magazine with a click, before throwing it away. Tahkshi held the blade ready again. The Other smiled. Tahkshi felt a tug on his blade.

“Shit.” Tahkshi said, before the blade was dragged from his hand and into the hand of The Other, now dual-wielding the blades.

“Indeed.” The Other said. “Look at your allies. Two unconscious, one can't move and two that are busy.”
Tahkshi could see Foton doing something behind The Other, but quickly looked back up at The Other as he continued. “My allies, however, are waiting for me to take you out.”

“Why?” Tahkshi asked.

The Other smiled. “Because they want this segment. Because I have set in motion events that may well cause the end of all. Because I used these people to open a portal to bring back a Demigod.”

“Gods aren't real.” Tahkshi spat.

“Sacrilege!” The Other roared. “We Adjeti were Gods once! Even the Gods of Olympus worshipped us! And now, my Demigod will aid me in bringing about the end.”

“How?”

“Easy.” The Other smirked. “Just go read The Lost Legend and you'll know. But you're not going to have the chance, are you?”

Tahkshi saw Foton's empty armour on the ground now. He smiled.

The Other's eyes narrowed. “Why are you smiling?” he asked, before Foton's fist caught him in the back of the head. The Other stumbled forward, before turning to Foton, who punched him in the gut. As The Other bent over, Tahkshi snatched his blade out of The Other's hand and yelled, “Run!”

Foton obliged, running for the ship, Tahkshi following. Beneath Foton's armour, he wore a simple white vest and blue shorts which let him move more than the armour did. The Other did not move, instead choosing to watch them run. Tahkshi paused to check on Devilclash, who was just about regaining consciousness. She got up, shifting her flames to pass through the ship on top of her. Foton ran ahead to carry Incarnate to the ship. “Viretta! VEX-TE!” Tahkshi yelled, “Get back to the ship!” He could barely see them, but they were closer to the Watchman than he was as they began to move.

A sound behind Tahkshi caused him to duck suddenly, as a ship flew over him, narrowly missing his head before it crashed into another ship, moving it forwards and exploding. Tahkshi's vision was doused in flames and smoke. He looked back to see The Other standing stock still, arm outstretched.

The Other started walking.

Tahkshi turned and ran, continuing towards the Watchman. He could see that the others had made it there already. A ship shot past him and hit another with another explosion and a shattering, as the hulls and windows smashed together.

“Tahkshi, c'mon!” came a voice from somewhere above him. He looked up to see the Watchman hovering above him, Viretta holding out her hand on the end of the ramp. Tahkshi leapt, grabbing it, before Incarnate, who had seemingly been revived by VEX-TE, lifted them both inside with his gravity powers. Tahkshi breathed a sigh of relief as the ramp closed. “Get us outta here!” he yelled, “He'll try and pull us down!”

“Light-speed engaged.” came VEX-TE's response from the nav-computer.

“Good.” Tahkshi breathed. “We got trashed out there.”

“Yeah,” Foton agreed, “But at least he destroyed all of the ships. Now he ain't got a way off that asteroid.”

Tahkshi considered this. “Good.” he said.

Tahkshi and Foton walked further through the ship until they reached Tahkshi's quarters. Tahkshi placed his thumb on the biometric scanner, and the door slid open to reveal a plain room, with nought but a bed and a steel set of drawers.

“Tahkshi,” Foton said, “What did he say about the war to you?”

“He said that he has brought a Demigod into reality,” Tahkshi said, “And something a bout a Lost Legend.”

“So, he works for Xaos?” Foton asked.

“I assume so.” Tahkshi said, “What do you think about the Demigod?”

“Tahkshi, you know I ain't a religious man.” Foton said sincerely. “But after seeing that slaughter, seeing that man's powers...I just don't know any-more. That was pretty brutal, especially if it doesn't accomplish anything.”

Tahkshi nodded. “How do you think he survived?”

Foton shrugged. “As an Adjeti? Probably same way you did.”

Tahkshi thought about it. “Probably.”

“Tahkshi!” called Devilclash from down the hallway. Tahkshi looked up to see her jog over. “We need to go to the Musun!”

“Why?” asked Tahkshi urgently.

“The Lost Legend The Other mentioned...it's on display at the Musun.” Devilclash explained.

“That it may be,” Tahkshi said, “But it is just a legend.”

“He mentioned the Four Swords of legend and a Demigod.” Devilclash continued, “Both are mentioned in this legend.”

Foton looked at Tahkshi. “I think it's worth checking out.”

Tahkshi nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Set course for the Musun!” yelled Foton down to VEX-TE.
VEX-TE obliged, and the ship shot through space towards the planetary museum.

*

Hurricane

As he emerged back onto the planet Narcsard, Hurricane silently cursed the teleportation booths: the sensation of being torn apart, thrown halfway across the galaxy before being put back together again was something he felt he would never get used to, but at least it was quick, with the whole process occurring in less than a second. He remembered his Grandfather telling him about the very first teleportation booths, and how the entire process took about thirty minutes. Hurricane shuddered, glad that technology had moved on since then.

He left the Musun's building on Narcsard, which contained the booths and screens which showed a few of the different exhibits in the Musun. Outside on Narcsard, he could see why he had to leave. Beggars lined the streets after natural disasters had demolished their homes. The sky, even during the brightest grey, was a dull brown, thanks to the smog thrown out by the various industries on Narcsard. Buildings appeared to be chipped away and surfaces seemed partially melted from the acid that fell from the sky. Vegetation did not exist on the planet any-more, so huge Oxygen generators had been erected to convert the clouds of smog into breathable air. However, people still died thanks to the terrible air. Hurricane knew that all too well: his parents had both lived near to an Oxygen generator that had been destroyed in an Earthquake. They breathed in the poison sky, and died in hospital days later.

Hurricane walked to the spaceport, just across the street from the Musun's building. The streets were not busy: everyone either stayed indoors, at work or off-planet, so Hurricane was able to cross easily. He entered the spaceport, quickly whipping out his ID card and showing it to the receptionist, who allowed him to enter the main hangar.

Moving through the hangar, Hurricane noticed that his group wasn't the only one getting off-planet. Ships in all shapes crowded the barely-used hangar bay, barely used as ships could barely get off-planet due to the EMPs. However, with the temporary lapse, it appeared people were taking their chance. Hurricane's ship was in bay 117, and he could see his ship as he moved closer. Cone shaped for maximum aerodynamics, it currently stood upright, so the nosecone was pointing to the sky. This meant that when he boarded, he would have to stay in the gyroscopic boarding area, until the ship twisted around, so the nosecone faced forwards.

Waiting outside the ship were three men. The first was dressed in a long coat that was but centimetres from dragging along the floor. Underneath the open coat, was a white formal shirt, black trousers and a gold chain around his neck. He had won the chain in a sword fighting tournament, losing out on the platinum chain to Tahkshi. This was Tors, and he was known throughout the Galaxy for his sword-fighting prowess. By his side was a sheath that held a solid gold Katana, his weapon of choice.

Beside Tors were Incision and Insectiron, the twins. Identical at birth, they were easily recognisable. Incision's military service had given him scars, yet had taken his left hand, which had since been replaced with a robotic one. Insectiron, however, was a bit of a wild card, and had his hair was a vivid blonde, as opposed to his twin's lack of hair.

“Hey guys!” Hurricane called, “We ready to go?”

“Hell yeah.” Tors said, “It's about bloody time we got off this dying rock.”

“Shall we board?” Incision asked: he didn't normally say much, but when he did, it tended to be formal questions or instructions.

“Hurricane?” Insectiron asked, “You told Pandora?”

“Yeah,” Hurricane answered, “She said she'll come find me in a few weeks.”

“Cool,” Tors said, “Now let's board.”

“Allright, allright, calm down. It's not the end of the world. Yet.” Hurricane said, jokingly trying to calm Tors. He placed his thumb on the biometric scanner, and the boarding ramp descended. “Let's go.”

Impressum

Texte: Chris Harris
Lektorat: Chris Harris
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 28.07.2012

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