Page 74 of Broken Triad

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KRAZAK

Destiny.

She’ll be rid of us, forever. When I met Lola, my purpose was confused, my mind split between what I knew I must do and the allure of the woman who made the light shine once more. As I walk towards the hangar bay where a Reaver filled with explosives is waiting for us, my course is certain.

This is what we were made for. Why we were born. To deal a crushing blow to the Aurelian Empire. All those millennia of forefathers who suffered and fought, who bled and crawled to the cryo-bays to create the next versions of themselves, all of it will end. It was all leading up to this moment.

Two triads of guards move aside as we walk into the hangar bay, knuckling their brands and bowing their heads in respect. The mechanics standing around idly can’t even look at us. They just want us to leave, so that they can get back to their work. The stink of death is on us. Dead men walking, ghosts in the flesh.

In the middle of the hangar bay is the jet-black Reaver. It is flawless and predatory. From the outside, you can’t tell that the cargo hold is filled to the brim with explosives so powerful they could turn the entire Royal City into a crater.

I do not hesitate as I lead my triad through the side door. It is cold and white inside. Soon it will be molten and fiery, for a single moment before everything will go black.

My nostrils flare as I imagine the trace of her scent.

Her, who tormented me with the hope of something greater. I drove myself mad with my lust for her. I nearly killed my triad for the thought of a future that could not be. Even if we could be certain that our progeny would not be cursed to agony, she could not be ours. We would only infect her with our corruption.

The Priests warned me that there would be obstacles in the way of destiny. I had no idea how hard the road would be.

I take in a huge breath, savoring the air. Our deaths will have meaning. Ra’al’s triad explained the mission in quick, sharp sentences. Queen Jasmine cannot accept that she lost a planet to our forces.

She plans to destroy it, with every innocent life on it.

We will be guided through the Rift by the War-God himself, into the middle of the flagships that are on their way to turn Elsinor into dust. All those billions of lives. I saw glimpses of them as we fought in the streets. Terrified eyes at windows, screaming children, flashes of movement as humans ran like animals before a wildfire. Humans who cannot protect themselves from what is coming.

Khra and Bolden say nothing, their auras set and focused. They will not falter. One man alone could have taken this mission, but where one of us goes, all of us go. We enter the cockpit and they take their seats to my left and right as it has always been.

I will not die alone.

Khra scans through the array of sensors. Everything has been checked by the mechanics, but he will not trust them blindly. He looks through minute details, from the air supply to the medical bay that will not be needed, before giving me the tiniest nod. He can’t sit still, bobbing forward and back, his venomous veins urging him to move.

I power up the Reaver, and take off, blasting through the open air entrance of the hangar bay and ascending towards the atmosphere. Reavers dart towards me, taking positions at my flanks, an honor guard for damned men, as if they are shrouds leading us into the afterlife to our final rest.

The mad queen is bringing her flagships to the fray. Huge behemoths that can turn the surface of a planet to glass, erasing all life. She and her imperial triad will make an example of Elsinor. The message will be clear.

Any planet under Obsidian’s control will be destroyed.

If the population rebel against us, they will be wiped out. Queen Jasmine has no mercy. Only we can stop her. Only we can save the billions of lives. It’s a good trade. Three tired warriors, whose lives can only cause pain, for an entire planet.

When we marched into Ra’al’s address, I thought he might take our heads, there and then. He gave me this. A reason to die.

The comm-link blinks as I pilot us above the atmosphere, looking down at the green-blue sphere of humanity, the planet that would have been overrun by Scorp if we did not arrive in time. Humanity, like babies in cradles, in the vast blackness and peril of space. But for every million of them, there is one like Lola, one who never gives up, one who resists against—

I force her out of my mind as the comm-link blinks. She is my past.

We stand to attention, turning inward into the cockpit as Obsidian’s image appears in holographic form. He is life-size, over eight feet tall, his marble flesh marred by the blackness of his veins. He is like us, a corrupted, twisted creature, yet full of strength. His eyes are black holes. I stare into them, and it’s like I’m falling into an abyss, galaxies swirling in those dark orbs of his.

The true sight. He alone can guide us through the void. He alone can see through the mysteries of the Rift. He is flanked by two Shadows, copied versions of himself, beings made of pure black. I saw those Shadows transform into massive wolves with fangs that can shear through armor. When you look too closely at them, the edges of them seem wrong, shifting and swirling like smoke. And yet, they have his same eyes, black and intense, and they are staring at us with hostility, their lips curled back to show their teeth.

“Krazak. Khra. Bolden. You have answered my call. You are the three who are chosen for this mission.” His voice is deep and booming, utterly certain.

“Yes, my lord.”

“There are three flagships on the way to turn Elsinor to dust. The Queen Jasmine is risking her precious warships. Destroying even one will finish the job. She will recall her prized ships and rethink her plans.”

“Understood.”

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