Broken Worlds: The Awakening (A Sci-Fi Mystery) by Jasper T. Scott

Author:Jasper T. Scott [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2018-01-16T22:00:00+00:00

Part Three - The Coalition

Chapter 30

“You are the Dark Revenant,” Ra said slowly.

Tanik nodded. “Yes.”

“I thought he was killed.”

“I’m sure the Cygnians would like you to think that, but no, I’m not dead. Well, not yet,” Tanik replied, smirking.

“Hang on,” Blake said. “You led the Coalition fleet?” Tanik nodded, and Blake looked pointedly at Ra. “You said they were convicted criminals.”

Ra rocked his head and rolled his shoulders. “They are. I did not know that their crimes were political in nature.”

Tanik raised his arms and rolled up his sleeves, one at a time, first revealing a glowing Seal of Life on the underside of his right wrist, followed by the scythe-shaped Seal of Death on his left. The other four humanoids standing behind him did the same, revealing they had both marks as well.

“I don’t get it,” Blake said.

Tanik nodded. “We each received the Seal of Life first. We acquired the Seal of Death later on, when we were convicted for our crimes against the Union.”

Blake shook his head. “No, I mean, you were safe. You could have lived out your lives in peace. Why throw all that away? Why join the Coalition?”

“Do you have children?” Tanik asked.

Blake winced. “I used to, yeah.”

“Then imagine how you would have felt if they were taken from you by force and subjected to an alien rite of passage that ultimately killed them.” Tanik’s eyes glittered with fury. “What would you do next? Wouldn’t you fight the ones responsible? Wouldn’t you do everything in your power to make them pay?”

Blake said nothing to that, and no one else spoke for a long moment.

Eventually Ra broke the silence: “What do we do next?”

Tanik’s blazing eyes turned to Ra, then to Gatticus. “We wake the others you spoke of, tell them everything that’s happened, and convince them to join us.”

“And what if they don’t want to join?” Blake asked, smiling lopsidedly. “Are you going to make them?”

“No. They will be allowed to leave with you and Gatticus as soon as we come within range of a suitable USO world.”

“We’ll convince them,” Darius said in a hoarse whisper.

“I like your optimism. Perhaps you should be one of our recruiters. Your story could be inspiring for others.”

“I’m not going to sit on the sidelines,” Darius said.

“I didn’t say you would,” Tanik replied. “No one who joins the Coalition ever does. You’ll pick a crew position and train for it along with everyone else.”

Darius shook his head. “Give me a gun. Or a ship. I used to fly planes on Earth. Put me in a fighter.”

Tanik nodded. “Assuming you pass the aptitude tests, you can have a whole squadron of fighters.”

“Good.”

“And me?” Lisa asked. “What should I do?”

“Your aptitude tests will tell us what to train you for.”

“I thought we could just download stuff to our brains now?” Blake asked. “What’s the point of aptitude tests and training?”

“Knowledge is easy to impart. Natural ability is not, nor is muscle memory. There is no substitute for real experience,” Tanik said, and ran a hand along the longest of the scars on his face.

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