P.O.W.: Legacy Earth 8

Book 8: Legacy Earth

by Ross Buzzell

Genres: Hard Science Fiction; Space Exploration; Space Marines

Synopsis

Captured!

The Veles have retreated to their last stronghold. Lance finds himself in an underground facility where old friends and even older enemies must work together to survive the grueling experiments conducted by Irene, Amber and Doctor Cecil.

With no backup and no support Lance's skills are put to their greatest test in a fight for survival unlike any he's experienced. Between what seems like innocent childhood games and military exercises the former SOAT plays a delicate game of cat and mouse where success means survival and failure is not only his death, but those he's sworn to protect.

Join Lance as he navigates waters where diplomacy and violence will get him nowhere.

Grab Legacy Earth P.O.W. now! Uncover the secrets the Veles are hiding and find out who exactly has been at Irene's side this whole time.

 

Read more

Release date: December 3, 2022

Publisher: Archimedes Books

Print pages: 366

Sample

Chapter 1: Siege

Konner moved across the room to his nightstand, opening it. It summoned his hilt
weapon to his hand. As he looked back to his father, his face was pale and eyes wide.
“That is impossible. It would have been thousands of years for him,” the former High
King gasped.
Konner looked at Na’era and Ryan. He slid the Ring of the Kings onto his right middle
finger. A yellow light erupted from the metal band and burrowed itself into Konner’s forearm
before dancing up his body.
The energy turned from yellow to azure blue as his silken gown formed into his battle
armor. Walking to the doors, Konner’s cape fell behind him as the family crest glowed brightly
on his chest. Na’era backed away as the new High King’s bracer formed on his arm.
“Get to the other side of the room,” Konner ordered. “You too, Dad!”
“Konner, we need to flee!” his father shouted, terror filling his voice. “If he has survived
this long, there must have been a change in him enough that you cannot beat him!”
Konner approached the doors to reinforce the barricade. They burst open, kicking up a
cloud of dust. The new High King slid back several feet from the blast, keeping himself between
the threat and his wife and child.
His father stepped in directly behind him to protect his grandson. As the dust settled, a
monstrous creature comprised of shadow stepped into the room, followed by a handful of others.
With a roar that sounded like metal scraping against metal, the attacking force charged
Konner. His weapon ignited into a straight sword. The ring’s power flowed through him,
increasing his already heightened speed.

He wasn’t used to the new enhancements. Before he blinked, Konner dispatched the
attackers with the fluidity and strength of a raging river. His brain struggled to keep up with his
own movements as his body attacked on its own from decades of training. The last two dark
energy beasts retreated.
“Is everyone good?” Konner asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“We are clear,” Na’era said.
“We need to get out of here!” his father pleaded. “Open a portal and get us off world!”
“You can go, I am not leaving our people if I can help it!” Konner countered.
He tried to open a portal with his bracer. The fabric of reality sparked as it tried to rip
open before fizzling out.
“Still processing new data,” the bracer called out. “Estimated time before electron
displacer is back online, ten minutes.”
Konner looked back at the windows and pointed.
“The patio, go!” he barked.
Na’era rushed to the window with Ryan. Ro Lorian passed her and reached the windows
first. They shattered open, cutting the former king and Na’era as they protected a terrified yet
silent Ryan.
A second later, Disa’ani appeared on the patio. He was beat up with tattered armor but
still in one piece. Konner smiled to see his old friend.
“Disa’ani, report. What is going on?!” the former High King demanded.
Konner moved to barricade the fractured doors. Looking down the hallway, his heart
nearly stopped. A behemoth of a man walked down the corridor toward them. Blood dripped
from his weapon as he pulled pieces of Boronian armor out of the sword break on its spine.

Smoke danced up around the giant. Light caught thousands of tiny notches in the blade
and down its bone handle. Flames licked up his muscular features. Like other Boronians, it didn’t
burn him. Unlike other Boronians, he wasn’t absorbing the fire. His smooth scalp glistened in the
roaring light as he glared at Konner from behind dark, twisted eyes with more hate than the new
High King had ever seen.
A wet crunch behind him caused Konner to turn. His heart skipped a beat. Time slowed
down as he tried to process what he was seeing. His father, now on his knees, with a spear thrust
through his chest and out his back. Disa’ani held the other end. He twisted his weapon as blood
spurted from the former High King’s mouth.
Disa’ani pulled the spear out, letting the old king drop. Konner dashed across the room in
a blur. He caught his father before he hit the ground, but he was already dead.
A wave of rage washed over Konner as he held his father close. A single silent tear rolled
down his cheek for the man who raised him, who helped forge him into the person he’d become.
A soft flash of light flared in Konner’s peripheral vision.
The new High King turned to face the source. Disa’ani stood over Konner, spear thrust
forward, but stopped a few centimeters from Konner by an azure blue energy field. Konner’s
eyes flared violently to the azure blue of the royal family.
His vision tunneled, locking on his once good friend as he gently set his father down.
Disa’ani jabbed at Konner again. This time, he dodged the attack and knocked the spear away
with his bare hand.
“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!?” Konner roared in unbridled rage, dropping his
weapon.

Disa’ani jabbed at him again. Konner reacted swiftly and caught the spearhead, stopping
it millimeters from his face. With his right hand, he wrenched Disa’ani’s spear to the side while
drawing back his left.
Throwing his punch with all his might, his fist took on a red tint as he delivered a punch
that approached the speed of light. A deafening BOOM followed by a bone-chilling CRACK
exploded from the sheer force of the attack. A shockwave ripped through the room, splintering
every piece of wood within twenty feet.
A blinding flash of light shattered at the moment of impact. Konner felt his body absorb
an immense amount of heat as his old friend was sent violently crashing through the thick stone
walls of the palace, before tumbling violently down the mountainside, only to be buried under
the debris.
“KONNER!” Na’era screamed.
Her voice cut through his tunnel vision. Immediately, Konner turned to see the giant
bringing his sword down toward his wife and child. Adrenaline flooded the High King. Faster
than the eye could see, he dashed across the room. He slid on the stone floor, summoned his
weapon and produced a blade as he slid between his family and their attacker.
Konner held up his weapon. Their swords let out a deafening CLANG as they clashed
together. The impact sent pins and needles throughout Konner’s entire body. The stone floor
below him cracked.
In a blade lock, Konner’s sword sputtered glowing droplets of white-hot energy as the
metal of Xero’s weapon grinded against it. They locked eyes. The amount of rage and hate
Konner saw was rivaled by nothing he’d ever witnessed before.

The giant snarled at him like a feral animal blessed with intelligence. Konner summoned
all his strength, and with a powerful shove, sent Xero sliding a few meters back. This room gave
Konner a chance to reach back and make sure Na’era was still there. She grabbed his forearm.
“Get out of here! Find the Triad and tell them what is happening!” he barked. “Get
Drakesjäl; he’ll make sure you’re safe!”
Na’era let him go before wrapping her arms tighter around their son and tried to run but
slipped on a piece of shattered glass. She caught herself. The new High King tried to open a
portal for her to escape, but it fizzled again. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his
attention.
In a flash, Konner held his weapon up and blocked another of Xero’s blows. As he slid
backward, Konner jumped, spun and landed on the wall behind him.
Konner took a few steps up the marble face before he leapt off it. Flipping over Xero, he
swiped down at the invader as hard as he could. Xero ducked under his attack. As the new High
King’s feet hit the ground, the gleaming flash of Xero’s blade caught Konner by surprise.
It was swung almost faster than Konner could move. Instantly, Konner’s sword shifted
into a spear, blocking the attack. The new High King grasped the back end of the energy spear.
He changed his stance and spun Xero’s weapon away from himself.
Xero used the momentum to grab a piece of debris and throw it at Na’era with such speed
that Konner didn’t have time to react. His wife deflected the debris but was knocked over,
unharmed.
Konner jabbed at Xero, who dodged the attack. They engaged once again. Xero changed
his stance to effectively ward off Konner, using swift blocks and parries to deflect Konner’s jabs.
The new High King put everything he had into the fight with Xero.

He moved as quickly as he could, attacking more relentlessly than he’d ever done before,
calling on every ounce of training and experience he’d learned. He was unable to penetrate
Xero’s defense. Xero kept his weapon close to his body, using small movements to deflect
Konner’s blows.
Konner reevaluated his strategy. He intentionally attacked Xero so that his own defenses
were left open. Xero took the bait. He deflected Konner’s strike before attempting a jab at the
new High King’s open ribcage. Between heartbeats, Konner spun. The spear turned into a large
mace, giving him the edge he needed.
Before Xero’s sword impaled him, Konner bashed the mace against the sword’s spine,
stabbing the weapon into the ground. Stuck for a fraction of a second, Konner seized the opening
he’d given himself and slammed his mace into Xero’s face with all his might.
The impact whipped Xero’s head to one side as he staggered back, pulling his sword free
from the ground. Before the intruder had a chance to right himself, Konner’s weapon turned back
into its straight sword. He plunged the weapon hilt deep into the center of Xero’s chest, inches
from the brand that sported the same symbol as the idol that corrupted the Cryptea.
He could see his weapon protruding from Xero’s back. The intruder staggered back
again. He dropped his sword with a metal clang before falling to his knees. Konner breathed a
sigh of relief, seeing his opponent defeated. He looked over to his wife, who’d nearly made it to
the broken windows. He smiled at her, panting from the fight.
His adrenaline wore off, causing his muscles to ache. His lungs burned from breathing
the smoke and his joints were stiff from the repeated impacts with a planet breaker. A look of
horror overtook Na’era’s face. A sense of dread knotted Konner’s stomach.

A dark, twisted laughter echoed from before the new High King. Konner turned his head
to see the mountain still kneeling with the energy sword still in his chest. Xero reached up and
grabbed Konner’s weapon. Taunting Konner, he pulled the blade slowly from his chest.
“You think your puny weapons can kill me, boy?” he sneered.
A shiver rushed down Konner’s spine, sending icy chills throughout his body.
“Thanks to your father, no one can kill me!” he added.
Chapter 1: Safe Space

Warm salt water splashed on Lance’s face as he paddled out to sea. His surfboard was hot
against his chest from the brilliant sun beaming in a cloudless sky. Waves crashed against a
black sand beach behind him as a swell moved toward the captain.
Lance took a deep breath. He grabbed the front of his board and pushed down as he
closed his eyes. Punching into the wall of the forming wave, he cut into it. Kicking his feet, the
captain propelled himself against the ocean’s pull toward land.
Resurfacing behind the wave, the captain continued to swim out a few more yards before
he came to a stop and sat up on his board. Closing his eyes, he basked in the sun’s warm light as
seagulls cried overhead for food they weren’t looking for. The salty breeze filled his lungs; it
was so much better than the stale, recycled air of their spaceship.
Several hundred yards out, he caught a glimpse of a swell’s beginning. Turning his board
around, he glanced at the cherry red sports car parked on the sand. Lying down, he paddled with
the oncoming wave, slowly at first.
As the wave grew and closed in, he paddled faster, the nose of his board giving off a
small wake. Lance glanced over his shoulder as his feet were lifted slightly above the rest of his
body.

“Here we go!” he muttered to himself.
Popping to his feet, Lance crouched as the wave caught him, propelling him to the beach.
Invigoration flowed through him as he rode the crashing wall of water, staying just ahead of the
break.
He whipped the nose of his board from left to right several times, slowing himself down.
The barrel caught up. Dropping into it, wind rushed around him in all directions, whipping his
long hair as the wave collapsed in a torrent of white water behind him.
A smile overtook his features. Adrenaline and a sense of freedom surged through the
captain as he shifted his weight forward. Speeding up, he shot out of the wave’s barrel as it
collapsed. Riding the foaming white water all the way up to the beach, he hopped off his board.
Picking it up, Lance collapsed the surfing equipment before approaching the car. Popping
the trunk, he placed his dripping device inside and grabbed a towel. Walking halfway between
the vehicle and the ocean, he set the towel down before lying on it himself.
The stress of saving the galaxy, fighting pirates, Cytes and even corrupt militaristic
corporations completely evaporated from the soldier. Closing his eyes, Lance basked in the
sunlight to the peaceful crashing of waves at his feet.
“You look comfy.” Amber’s voice cut through the ambiance. “Would you mind some
company?”
Opening his eyes, Lance looked over to see the physician approaching him. Her intricate
S4 blue swimsuit hung on her athletic frame precariously enough that a stiff breeze might
remove it from her. Lance’s heart skipped a beat as he propped himself onto his elbows.
“I most certainly would not,” he replied.

She flashed her white teeth at him in a smile as she approached and sat on the towel next
to him. Amber moved some of the hair that was drying to his face. Her eyes pulled Lance in,
nearly hypnotizing the soldier.
“That last one was far too close,” she said as she ran her fingertips over his scarred body.
Chills cascaded over the soldier at the touch of her fingers. Not having felt that in years,
his mind nearly went blank.
“I’m glad you decided to come back to Earth with me,” she whispered, resting her head
on his chest. “I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to you.”
Lance lay back down. He used his hands as a pillow as Amber’s fingers twirled in his
chest hair. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what happened, how he’d gotten there. As
he looked down at the doctor, she gave his chest a kiss before twisting herself to hold eye contact
with him, laying her cheek against his chest.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her brow furrowed and her full lips pouted.
“I’m sorry, I just... I can’t remember how I got here,” he whispered, the warmth he’d
once felt peeling away to a cold confusion.
“You took some serious traumatic brain injuries when you re-entered the atmosphere and
fought Sabo,” she replied. “It caused memory problems that we’ve been working on. Over the
last year and a half, you’ve gotten a lot better, but we’re still working on it.”
A memory flashed in Lance’s mind of Cecil looking up at him in a Veles uniform,
introducing Amber as his right hand. Very slowly, the captain moved his right hand from behind
his head. Gently, he caressed Amber’s cheek, ready to go for her throat in the blink of an eye.
“I was captured by the Veles,” Lance murmured, a dull throbbing pounding at the front of
his skull. “You’re the right hand...”

“WAS the right hand,” Valdivia interrupted. “Amy and I were assigned to infiltrate the
Veles. Climb the ranks to its highest level and topple it from within. Once we got you, Cecil
wanted to kill you...”
“I couldn’t let him do it, so I put a scalpel through his throat,” Amy interrupted as she
closed the car’s trunk.
Lance looked up to see his basic training team member, alongside Chadavia. Both were
in swimsuits. The Jarog inspected a shell very closely.
“It’s fascinating. Our people are so different, yet there are remarkable similarities in our
oceanic life,” Chadavia said.
“He helped,” Amber added. “You’d done such a good job flushing them out externally
that they had to retreat to their last bastion to rebuild their strength.”
“And then we blew it to the goddess,” Chadavia added as he and Amy sat in the sand.
“What about my crew?” Lance asked, propping himself up again before looking at the
sultry woman on his chest. “What about Valdivia?”
A long, solumn silence filled the air. Chadavia set the shell down and started to fiddle
with the sand.

“Rescue didn’t get to them in time,” the SOAT whispered. “Sabo destroyed the life-
support systems to the dropships and escape pods. All but one was gone by the time help came.”

Lance sat up, pushing Amber off him as he did.
“And the one?” Lance asked.
“It was your brother’s escape pod,” Amy chimed in. “His fell to the planet surface and
that’s what notified us to take a look for the Gladius’ lifeboats. His was empty, though. I took
every person I could and swept the planet. He vanished.”

“And Val?” Lance asked, becoming insistent.
Amy sighed. She pulled her watch off and offered it to Amber. The doctor flipped
through the screen on her watch and selected a video, turning it on. A hologram of Lance
flickered to life.
His hair was only a few inches shorter than it was now. Weariness overwhelmed his face
as dark circles around his eyes contrasted starkly against his pale skin and green irises. The
hologram ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the camera with bloodshot eyes.
“If you’re watching this, it means you’re in relapse,” the hologram said. “It happens
every few months now; almost everything since after the accident just seems to go. Things have
gotten better. It used to be every day or two that our mind would reset, but with the information
gathered from her research in stabilizing Chadavia, Amber’s been able to help us mend our
mind.”
The hologram paused for several seconds. He reached off screen before returning with
Valdivia’s pink helmet. His features twisted in pain as he fought back tears. They rolled down
his cheeks as he shook his head.
“There’s nothing you could’ve done... it’s not your fault. There was just no way to save
them,” the recording added. “You’ve been with Amber for a year at the point of recording. They
just thought it might be easier coming from you.”
The hologram cut off. Lance bit the inside of his cheek. Amber handed Amy her watch
back. Lance lay back down, flicking his thumbs as he did.
“How often do I have to watch that?” Lance asked.
“This is only the second time since you made it,” Amber replied as she rested her hand on
his chest and looked down at him. “I’m so sorry that you have to relive this over and over again.

We are getting close to full integration, and when we do, there won’t be a need for that recording
anymore.”
“And we still haven’t given up on your brother,” Amy added. “We’ve been scouring the
entire system since we got you out of there. We’ll find him.”
Amber looked over at Amy and nodded toward a bend on the beach.
“There’s a lot of tidal pools over there that Chadavia might like, if you want to show
him,” she suggested.
“I love tidal pools,” Chadavia said as he stood up.
The Jarog practically pulled Amy off the ground before charging toward the bend in the
beach, his tail whipping this way and that in excitement.
“You had to mention tidal pools,” Amy muttered with a shake of her head.
Amber shrugged. As Amy and Chadavia vanished out of sight, the doctor turned her
attention back to Lance.
“I love you,” she whispered as she moved toward his head, gently running her fingers
across his cheek. “And I’ll never stop doing everything in my power to get your short-term
memory back, or your brother, or any memories you might have where he is.”
Leaning down, Amber delivered a gentle kiss to the captain’s lips. Electricity surged
through his body as he returned her kiss. Leaning up, he gently cupped her face with one hand as
he deepened the kiss.
Lance’s heart raced. He lay back on the towel as Amber straddled him. She ran her hands
over his body as he gripped her sides tightly. Breaking the kiss, the captain leaned back. Amber
was in the same position Valdivia would end up, each time they’d spar.
“You almost had me,” he whispered.

Confusion overwhelmed Amber’s flawless features as her head tilted to one side.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“‘You could’ve done’... ‘you’ve been with Amber,’” he quoted from the recording
before placing his hands on her smooth thighs. “But most importantly... I’m a Bright Eyes;
they’re blue, not green.”
Lance bucked his hips up, kicking his feet toward his head. Wrapping his feet around
Amber’s face, he pulled her to the sand with all his might. As she hit the ground, she shattered
into a million fragments of light.
Instantly, the world around him vanished. As he stood up, he looked around the empty
void that enveloped him.
“What is this?” he snarled, clenching his fists.
“How did he break it?!” Jacob’s voice echoed through the void.
“I don’t know. We had almost complete integration to his synapse,” another male voice
replied.
“Well, put him under again!” Cecil demanded.
“You can’t,” Amber cut in.
As she spoke, the void gradually faded into a lab. He was bound to a table with dozens of
wires and tubes attached to him.
“You’re my right hand; you don’t have the authority to order me!” Jacob Cecil snapped.
“You’re right, I don’t, but I’m the best medical professional you have in this facility,” she
countered. “His mind is unravelling. If you don’t give it time to recover between integrations,
it’ll come apart completely, and best-case scenario, it’ll kill him. Worst case, his brain will turn
to mush and he’ll be nothing more than a drooling pile of meat... Either way, no use to us.”

“Uh, guys,” the second voice cut in as he noticed Lance staring at Jacob and Amber. “Is
he supposed to be awake?”
“With what we gave him, it’s not possible,” Cecil replied before making eye contact with
Lance. His eyes widened in shock. “Put him under!”
Amber walked over to one of the tubes connected to his arm. She injected something into
it. As she did, Lance passed out.

Chapter 1: Safe Space

Warm salt water splashed on Lance’s face as he paddled out to sea. His surfboard was hot
against his chest from the brilliant sun beaming in a cloudless sky. Waves crashed against a
black sand beach behind him as a swell moved toward the captain.
Lance took a deep breath. He grabbed the front of his board and pushed down as he
closed his eyes. Punching into the wall of the forming wave, he cut into it. Kicking his feet, the
captain propelled himself against the ocean’s pull toward land.
Resurfacing behind the wave, the captain continued to swim out a few more yards before
he came to a stop and sat up on his board. Closing his eyes, he basked in the sun’s warm light as
seagulls cried overhead for food they weren’t looking for. The salty breeze filled his lungs; it
was so much better than the stale, recycled air of their spaceship.
Several hundred yards out, he caught a glimpse of a swell’s beginning. Turning his board
around, he glanced at the cherry red sports car parked on the sand. Lying down, he paddled with
the oncoming wave, slowly at first.
As the wave grew and closed in, he paddled faster, the nose of his board giving off a
small wake. Lance glanced over his shoulder as his feet were lifted slightly above the rest of his
body.

“Here we go!” he muttered to himself.
Popping to his feet, Lance crouched as the wave caught him, propelling him to the beach.
Invigoration flowed through him as he rode the crashing wall of water, staying just ahead of the
break.
He whipped the nose of his board from left to right several times, slowing himself down.
The barrel caught up. Dropping into it, wind rushed around him in all directions, whipping his
long hair as the wave collapsed in a torrent of white water behind him.
A smile overtook his features. Adrenaline and a sense of freedom surged through the
captain as he shifted his weight forward. Speeding up, he shot out of the wave’s barrel as it
collapsed. Riding the foaming white water all the way up to the beach, he hopped off his board.
Picking it up, Lance collapsed the surfing equipment before approaching the car. Popping
the trunk, he placed his dripping device inside and grabbed a towel. Walking halfway between
the vehicle and the ocean, he set the towel down before lying on it himself.
The stress of saving the galaxy, fighting pirates, Cytes and even corrupt militaristic
corporations completely evaporated from the soldier. Closing his eyes, Lance basked in the
sunlight to the peaceful crashing of waves at his feet.
“You look comfy.” Amber’s voice cut through the ambiance. “Would you mind some
company?”
Opening his eyes, Lance looked over to see the physician approaching him. Her intricate
S4 blue swimsuit hung on her athletic frame precariously enough that a stiff breeze might
remove it from her. Lance’s heart skipped a beat as he propped himself onto his elbows.
“I most certainly would not,” he replied.

She flashed her white teeth at him in a smile as she approached and sat on the towel next
to him. Amber moved some of the hair that was drying to his face. Her eyes pulled Lance in,
nearly hypnotizing the soldier.
“That last one was far too close,” she said as she ran her fingertips over his scarred body.
Chills cascaded over the soldier at the touch of her fingers. Not having felt that in years,
his mind nearly went blank.
“I’m glad you decided to come back to Earth with me,” she whispered, resting her head
on his chest. “I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to you.”
Lance lay back down. He used his hands as a pillow as Amber’s fingers twirled in his
chest hair. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what happened, how he’d gotten there. As
he looked down at the doctor, she gave his chest a kiss before twisting herself to hold eye contact
with him, laying her cheek against his chest.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her brow furrowed and her full lips pouted.
“I’m sorry, I just... I can’t remember how I got here,” he whispered, the warmth he’d
once felt peeling away to a cold confusion.
“You took some serious traumatic brain injuries when you re-entered the atmosphere and
fought Sabo,” she replied. “It caused memory problems that we’ve been working on. Over the
last year and a half, you’ve gotten a lot better, but we’re still working on it.”
A memory flashed in Lance’s mind of Cecil looking up at him in a Veles uniform,
introducing Amber as his right hand. Very slowly, the captain moved his right hand from behind
his head. Gently, he caressed Amber’s cheek, ready to go for her throat in the blink of an eye.
“I was captured by the Veles,” Lance murmured, a dull throbbing pounding at the front of
his skull. “You’re the right hand...”

“WAS the right hand,” Valdivia interrupted. “Amy and I were assigned to infiltrate the
Veles. Climb the ranks to its highest level and topple it from within. Once we got you, Cecil
wanted to kill you...”
“I couldn’t let him do it, so I put a scalpel through his throat,” Amy interrupted as she
closed the car’s trunk.
Lance looked up to see his basic training team member, alongside Chadavia. Both were
in swimsuits. The Jarog inspected a shell very closely.
“It’s fascinating. Our people are so different, yet there are remarkable similarities in our
oceanic life,” Chadavia said.
“He helped,” Amber added. “You’d done such a good job flushing them out externally
that they had to retreat to their last bastion to rebuild their strength.”
“And then we blew it to the goddess,” Chadavia added as he and Amy sat in the sand.
“What about my crew?” Lance asked, propping himself up again before looking at the
sultry woman on his chest. “What about Valdivia?”
A long, solumn silence filled the air. Chadavia set the shell down and started to fiddle
with the sand.

“Rescue didn’t get to them in time,” the SOAT whispered. “Sabo destroyed the life-
support systems to the dropships and escape pods. All but one was gone by the time help came.”

Lance sat up, pushing Amber off him as he did.
“And the one?” Lance asked.
“It was your brother’s escape pod,” Amy chimed in. “His fell to the planet surface and
that’s what notified us to take a look for the Gladius’ lifeboats. His was empty, though. I took
every person I could and swept the planet. He vanished.”

“And Val?” Lance asked, becoming insistent.
Amy sighed. She pulled her watch off and offered it to Amber. The doctor flipped
through the screen on her watch and selected a video, turning it on. A hologram of Lance
flickered to life.
His hair was only a few inches shorter than it was now. Weariness overwhelmed his face
as dark circles around his eyes contrasted starkly against his pale skin and green irises. The
hologram ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the camera with bloodshot eyes.
“If you’re watching this, it means you’re in relapse,” the hologram said. “It happens
every few months now; almost everything since after the accident just seems to go. Things have
gotten better. It used to be every day or two that our mind would reset, but with the information
gathered from her research in stabilizing Chadavia, Amber’s been able to help us mend our
mind.”
The hologram paused for several seconds. He reached off screen before returning with
Valdivia’s pink helmet. His features twisted in pain as he fought back tears. They rolled down
his cheeks as he shook his head.
“There’s nothing you could’ve done... it’s not your fault. There was just no way to save
them,” the recording added. “You’ve been with Amber for a year at the point of recording. They
just thought it might be easier coming from you.”
The hologram cut off. Lance bit the inside of his cheek. Amber handed Amy her watch
back. Lance lay back down, flicking his thumbs as he did.
“How often do I have to watch that?” Lance asked.
“This is only the second time since you made it,” Amber replied as she rested her hand on
his chest and looked down at him. “I’m so sorry that you have to relive this over and over again.

We are getting close to full integration, and when we do, there won’t be a need for that recording
anymore.”
“And we still haven’t given up on your brother,” Amy added. “We’ve been scouring the
entire system since we got you out of there. We’ll find him.”
Amber looked over at Amy and nodded toward a bend on the beach.
“There’s a lot of tidal pools over there that Chadavia might like, if you want to show
him,” she suggested.
“I love tidal pools,” Chadavia said as he stood up.
The Jarog practically pulled Amy off the ground before charging toward the bend in the
beach, his tail whipping this way and that in excitement.
“You had to mention tidal pools,” Amy muttered with a shake of her head.
Amber shrugged. As Amy and Chadavia vanished out of sight, the doctor turned her
attention back to Lance.
“I love you,” she whispered as she moved toward his head, gently running her fingers
across his cheek. “And I’ll never stop doing everything in my power to get your short-term
memory back, or your brother, or any memories you might have where he is.”
Leaning down, Amber delivered a gentle kiss to the captain’s lips. Electricity surged
through his body as he returned her kiss. Leaning up, he gently cupped her face with one hand as
he deepened the kiss.
Lance’s heart raced. He lay back on the towel as Amber straddled him. She ran her hands
over his body as he gripped her sides tightly. Breaking the kiss, the captain leaned back. Amber
was in the same position Valdivia would end up, each time they’d spar.
“You almost had me,” he whispered.

Confusion overwhelmed Amber’s flawless features as her head tilted to one side.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“‘You could’ve done’... ‘you’ve been with Amber,’” he quoted from the recording
before placing his hands on her smooth thighs. “But most importantly... I’m a Bright Eyes;
they’re blue, not green.”
Lance bucked his hips up, kicking his feet toward his head. Wrapping his feet around
Amber’s face, he pulled her to the sand with all his might. As she hit the ground, she shattered
into a million fragments of light.
Instantly, the world around him vanished. As he stood up, he looked around the empty
void that enveloped him.
“What is this?” he snarled, clenching his fists.
“How did he break it?!” Jacob’s voice echoed through the void.
“I don’t know. We had almost complete integration to his synapse,” another male voice
replied.
“Well, put him under again!” Cecil demanded.
“You can’t,” Amber cut in.
As she spoke, the void gradually faded into a lab. He was bound to a table with dozens of
wires and tubes attached to him.
“You’re my right hand; you don’t have the authority to order me!” Jacob Cecil snapped.
“You’re right, I don’t, but I’m the best medical professional you have in this facility,” she
countered. “His mind is unravelling. If you don’t give it time to recover between integrations,
it’ll come apart completely, and best-case scenario, it’ll kill him. Worst case, his brain will turn
to mush and he’ll be nothing more than a drooling pile of meat... Either way, no use to us.”

“Uh, guys,” the second voice cut in as he noticed Lance staring at Jacob and Amber. “Is he supposed to be awake?”
“With what we gave him, it’s not possible,” Cecil replied before making eye contact with
Lance. His eyes widened in shock. “Put him under!” Amber walked over to one of the tubes connected to his arm. She injected something into
it. As she did, Lance passed out....