Page 1 of Destinies of Diamond
Prologue
A union between spirit and metal, chimeras were always a bit of a mystery, even for the people who piloted them. They were bound to serve the gods and protect Terra, but they were also individuals with their own desires and personalities. They had power structures within their own ranks and specific wishes humans had to accommodate.
Of utmost note was the relationship between the Grand Chimera Unit and the Lower Chimera Unit. In the Apsid Wars, Grand Chimeras such as the Typhon, the Medusa, the Minotaur, or the Cerberus did the most damage. But the Harpy Squad and the Centaur Herds provided them with valuable support, rescuing countless lives and doing a lot of damage control.
For many years, the two units worked together side by side in harmony. But that all changed after the ill-fated Terran expedition into the Apsid Quasar.
Encouraged by the withdrawal of the apsids, The Grand Judiciary sent powerful teams into enemy territory, hoping to squash the alien invaders before they could regroup. They might have been prepared to fight the crystallized apsid units, but they didn’t have a chance against the crushing power of the universe itself.
Over half of the Terran fighting force was destroyed, either by the accretion disk of the quasar, or the event horizon around the black hole.
The Grand Chimera Unit survived, with minimal damage. Several chimeras—such as the Medusa—went dormant and didn’t awaken even after their metal shell was rebuilt. It was the Lower Chimera Unit that took the most damage.
In an attempt to rescue the non-chimera members of the expedition, the Centaur Herds, along with several members of the Harpy Squad, formed a tachyon-absorbing barrier. It allowed the star fleet shuttles—the most vulnerable members of the expedition—to escape the powerful currents of the quasar. They paid a dire price for their decision.
The Centaur Herds were completely destroyed and all attempts to salvage the souls of the chimeras failed. Engineers hypothesized that this was caused by the Centaurs’ disappointment with a perceived betrayal from the Grand Chimeras.
The Grand Judiciary found no fault in the actions of the Grand Chimera tamers, but to this day, the enmity between the two units persists. It is not unusual for members of secondary star fleets to take the side of Lower Chimera Unit.
Dilemmas
Selene
“So, I heard you’re taking classes on Terra now. Have you finally decided you don’t belong here?”
I looked up from my tray and shot Scott Argyle an unimpressed look. “Flight Lieutenant Argyle, do you really have nothing better to do than to constantly endanger your future at the academy?”
“I haven’t said anything untrue.” Argyle wriggled his way to my side, skipping several people who were ahead of him in line. “Besides, I couldn’t help but be curious. It’s very unusual to see you alone without your lovers.”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Deep inside, I was cursing myself for my behavior. I’d thought I’d been doing a good job hiding the rift between me and the others, but apparently, I’d been wrong. I should have been at least a little friendlier with them while I was in the mess hall.
Two days had passed since our return from Terra and from the Apsid Quasar. We’d been dancing around one another a bit, as I was still not sure how to handle our relationship.
The memories of what had happened in Gaia’s Haven haunted me, but it was more than that. There was also my relationship with Jared. I couldn’t help but feel that, in a way, I’d betrayed my lovers by sleeping with Jared.
They didn’t seem to blame me for it. If anything, they’d embarked on a quest to win back my love and trust. But everything had just come at an awful time, and despite my best efforts, I was still struggling.
It was too late to change my approach now. It was time to do some damage control. “It never fails to astound me how you people think a woman isn’t capable of selecting her own food,” I said with a sarcastic smile. “No wonder you think I can’t pilot the Sphinx if you’re still lost in such delusions.”
Argyle narrowed his eyes at me and a mild flare of tachyon particles enveloped him. Excellent. The best way to distract a man was always to challenge his pride. I hated generalizing, but to this day, none of the men I’d met had proven me wrong.
Argyle knew better than to start a fight in the middle of the mess hall, but even so, I wasn’t surprised when my lovers noticed something was wrong and manifested by my side. They’d gotten their meals earlier, when they’d arrived, and had grabbed something for me too. But frustratingly, even after I’d eaten my regular meal, I’d still felt hungry.
My lovers had offered to get me a new tray, but I’d declined, and now, here we were.
Brendan and August shoved their way through everyone else still waiting in line. “Is there anything wrong?” Brendan asked as he reached me. “Did you want something, Flight Lieutenant Argyle?”
“Nothing at all, Your Highness,” Argyle replied. “I was merely making conversation.”
“Why don’t you make conversation with tamers from your own unit?” August snapped. “They might actually be interested in what you have to say.”
Argyle glowered at him, but before he could reply, the meal monitoring drone beeped. I shuffled forward, stuck my tray under the drone and pressed the button that indicated the products I wanted.
We were out of the bean paste and there was no way I could manage to get meat again. I picked the only acceptable option, the vegetable compound soup. It was better than it sounded and since no one else ever had it, the portions were always huge.
“I don’t see how you can eat that shit,” Argyle muttered.
