Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 47: Leon

I’m on a hill. The grass is a deep shade of green. It smells sweet as the wind kicks it up. I breathe deep and there’s a sense of peace that I haven’t felt in a long time. I open my eyes and see a figure standing several feet away on the edge of the hill. I see her long hair blowing in the breeze underneath a white, brimmed hat. A navy-blue ribbon wrapped around it. I feel myself give a smirk and I walk beside her. I look down and see myself grabbing her hand. I look up and realize that it’s Stella staring back at me. I smile wide. She does the same as she leans in close and kisses me. I close my eyes, embracing it. As our lips part, I open my eyes and see a very different portrait of a person standing in front of me. It’s no longer Stella, but Katie. Fully grown as she was while the vaccine was running its course. Long black hair flowing in the wind. Pale white skin almost like that of white ash. I feel a fear grip me and before I can react, she places a hand on my face and smiles.

“It’s alright my dear. You and I have had our little dance. I’ll admit that I’m disappointed that another one has gotten away,”

She stares out into the horizon. A sphere rises up into the sky and Katie reaches out to it. She looks back at me, a more sinister expression paints her face.

“I want to show you something love,” She says before snatching me by my arm as we jettison into the sky, careening towards the sphere.

As we grow closer to the object, I realize that it’s a planet before breaking through the atmosphere and landing on to the terrain below. The land is familiar, yet foreign at the same.

I look all around “Is this...Earth?”

Katie chuckles “Not at all. This...is the land of the green children,”

I tilt my head in confusion “Green children,”

“You would call them Sekrid. That is what their name means.” She explains.

I nod while taking another look at my surroundings.

“I want you to do something for me Leon,” She says breaking me from my curiosity.

My eyes snap to hers.

“Why would I do anything for you?”

She smiles small and strides over to me, coming inches from my face.

“Because...you’ve grown attached to me Leon. Like it or not, you found it difficult to bury that knife in me while you laid on that table,”

“That wasn’t real! And neither is this!” I say turning away, waving a hand up.

As I turn, she appears right back in my face. I jerk my head back, startled.

“Oh, you have so much to learn love. I. Am. Real. Just...up here,” She taps my temple with a finger.

I only grow more confused at the statement. Katie waves a hand and turns away, lightly walking across the rich dirt below our feet. She turns back to me. She gives me a look of love...or lust, of which I cannot tell. And like a flash of lightning she returns to me. I freeze as she wraps her arms around me, pulling me closer to her face...her lips. My face flushes, feeling oddly embarrassed at the moment. I divert my eyes, ignoring the queer attraction I feel for her.

“Oh Leon...”

She takes a finger and traces it down my jawline, underneath my chin, holding it there for a moment before returning it around my neck.

She smiles, this time showing teeth that are surprisingly normal as compared to my father’s visions of her.

“There’s really no reason to be embarrassed. I’m quite flattered to be honest. I wasn’t sure whether this form would be attractive enough,” Katie says smiling even wider.

I feel as though my eyes are drawn to hers and I nervously return them to her gaze. Though there’s a part of me that hates her with a fire that burns brighter than the sun, another part of can’t help but notice her beauty. A part of me that I can’t control that’s yearning to embrace this beauty. It becomes hard to hold back as I stare into her bright silver eyes gazing back into mine. She leans in closer. I can feel her warm breath on my face now. I can’t keep myself from leaning in with her. That part of me yearning for her lips to touch mine. As they do an electricity flows through me that is indescribable. The entirety of my mind starts to derail as I see all of my thoughts rush out and all of her thoughts rush in, projecting on to the back of my eyelids as if I’m watching a television show. I see the Sekrid home world...Argalia. The planet is crumbling under a blood red sky. A massive dark creature floating above it, blotting out the sun. There’s a substance pouring from it and floating to the ground below. I witness twisted versions of the Sekrid people running all about, letting out murderous screams before tearing those that weren’t changed apart. Buildings crumble around me. I can no longer stand to see the devastation and force myself to shove Katie away. I stumble a few feet away from here, placing my hands on my knees, breathing heavily. Katie walks to the front of me and lowers herself to her knees. She takes my face in her hands, her face welled up with tears of remorse. I bring myself down to her level.

“I know that must’ve hurt love,” A visible tear falling from her face.

“What...what was that,” I ask, fear still gripping me.

Katie gives me a small, earnest smile, wiping involuntary tears from my eyes.

“Lovely, that’s what I want you to do for me,”

I look at her breathless and horrified. Katie stands and walks several steps away from me. I stand up and wait for her to say something as she stares out into the scenery of the planet.

“Argalia was supposed to be mine. It was on my list Leon. It was time for it to be taken. The planet was ready and marked,”

“Katie...”

“My name is not Katie!” She says as she whips back around to face me, black has now returned to her eyes.

Rage paints her face. Her eyes fade back to silver as she regains her composure. She returns to me.

“That little one was very useful I will admit. But she was merely a vessel for spreading my influence,”

“Who...are you then?”

She smiles once more.

“In due time you will know love. I can’t give everything away can I. I simply want you to do this: Find the sword of the Great Failure. And then smash that which holds the rest of me,”

Before I’m able to respond she flashes back to my face. She places one more kiss upon me and I feel as if I’m launched like a rocket back into blackness before finally coming to consciousness.

A hand is shaking me. A face staring at me with concern. My vision is blurry and I blink a few times before focus returns.

“Hey. LT. Are you alright? You were talking pretty heavily in your sleep.

I realize that it’s Ryback speaking to me. I give a few glances around, noticing that it’s just Ryback and I in the cell. I sit up. A wave of pain washes over me from my ribs and I almost don’t make it all the way up due to the intensity. Ryback stares at me. Disbelief and concern are painted on his face.

“Man...I can’t believe they did all of that to you. You look like hell man. At least they had the common decency to make sure that gash on your face won’t look too terrible when it heals,”

He hands me a mirror. I stare into it. I raise a hand and begin tracing the various bruises and swelled areas on my face. I reach the large laceration that creates a break between my eyes and the rest of my face. I wince in pain as I touch it. I notice based on the look of the wound that alpha-gel had been used on it to promote faster healing and significantly less scarring. I can’t help but chuckle as I lower the mirror and look at Ryback.

“I don’t know who’s going to kill me worse, Stella or my ma,” I say.

Ryback looks at me for a moment before laughing and shaking his head. He takes a seat on the lightly padded bed on his side of the room.

“Where are the others?” I ask.

“Well fortunately, shiny arms out there hasn’t come for them yet. They’re in the cell just next door. Can’t talk to them though, these are sound proof rooms,”

I give a simple nod in acceptance.

I take the silence to ponder the dream I had. I replay the words she told me to remember. I replay them over and over until my concentration is broken by the cell door sliding open. I look up and notice that the Sekrid woman is once again standing in the doorway.

She looks at me “You. Come with me,” She says curtly.

She continues to stare at me in waiting. I try my best to move in a hasty fashion but the pain is nigh on unbearable as I lift myself into a standing position. I begin to walk, every step sending shockwaves of pain through my ribs. I follow the Sekrid woman down the hallway, making a left and another left. The hallway opens into a training area where Sekrid soldiers are performing various different training routines. She leads me to a metal staircase that climbs to a large box suspended in the air. We stop in front of a door and she knocks. I hear a word or two in the Sekrid language and the woman presses a button, causing the door to slide open. We enter and my eyes meet with the face of Rin’Gal sitting at a desk with his face down staring at a tablet device. The woman stands beside a chair and motions a hand towards it. As I sit down, she takes her leave of the office. Without looking from his study, Rin’Gal presses a button on his desk and the windows frost over, barring any prying eyes from staring in. Rin’Gal finally places the tablet down and looks at me.

“Leon...or is it Lieutenant now? First, I would like to apologize for what was done to you. The doctor has a tendency to get carried away when he does not get what he wants. And personally, I do not like the idea of placing a person in a chair and committing violence upon him while he is unable to retaliate. But my orders are my orders,”

“What are you doing here Rin’Gal? Aren’t you high ranking in your military?”

“I was. Until I did not permit myself to kill all of you when you helped me. Instead, they sent me here to earn my place back,”

“If I would’ve known you were the one commanding this post, I wouldn’t have gone in like I did. You actually have the intelligence to sniff out my plans,”

“There’s no point in regretting now Leon. You erred in your plans as most young commanders often do. And now you are paying the recompense for those plans. Face them with dignity,”

I meet Rin’Gal’s eyes with a sneering glare. I divert my gaze and give a quick exhale, staring around the room.

“So, is this the part where you tell me you’re going to have to execute me?” I ask in expectation.

Rin’Gal leans back in his chair, raising his hands in front of his face, interlacing them. “Quite the opposite actually. You’re an important person to my people Leon. You’re a rather large piece of collateral in the event of your father coming for you. Which, is very likely to happen if you are killed. There will be nothing holding back his rage at that point. And I have witnessed his rage in years past. No, I have been ordered to send you to my home world where you will reside as a political prisoner in the case that our planet be in jeopardy,”

A flash of Katie and her words quickly go through my mind.

She knew. But...how? That could only mean...

I shake myself from my thoughts and look at Rin’Gal.

“What about my men?”

“Your men will not be going with you. They will continue to be held here,” I close my eyes and breathe deeply, knowing the certainty of their fate without stating it.

“When do I leave?” I say staring at the floor.

“Two days from now. And that is in your Earth days,”

I continue to stare at the floor, simply nodding my head in acceptance.

“There is one more matter we must speak of Leon,” Rin’Gal says.

I notice the remorse in his voice. I stare back into his eyes in anticipation, remaining silent.

“What I did...stopping Doctor Hall like that. That was a sign of weakness to my people,”

I scoff “Of course it was,”

“You don’t understand the gravity of that action Leon. Given my past with all of you six months ago...my men have begun to doubt me. And before I ask you what I need to ask of you...I wish to explain to you why I need to remain in my position,”

At this point Rin’Gal presses another button on his desk and a slight high frequency sound rings through my ears before all ambient sound flowing through the room goes silent.

“Is there any remaining Sekrid history on your planet Lieutenant?” Rin’Gal asks, his voice seeming brighter and clearer than before.

I think for a moment. “Well, I remember hacking into some really old archives once back when I was in the academy. It’s a really different picture of the Sekrid than what I learned, so I didn’t really put much stock into it,”

“What was it that these archives stated?”

“It said the Sekrid were once peaceful people centuries ago. That even though you did have technology, your hearts always lied in the forests. That you were...children of the green,”

A smile finally breaks the stone of Rin’Gal’s face.

“What you read was no lie Leon. That was my people long ago. There are very few of my people left that still believe the old way. Many years ago, I did not believe them myself. Until it was revealed to me with my heritage. Leon...what I am about to tell you is very sensitive and must be repeated to no one. It also may be a hard truth to hear, for no man wishes to believe the follies of his own people. But you must hear it. For your role in this is perhaps greater than anyone’s to play,”

I stare at him, narrowing my eyes.

“What are you talking about Rin’Gal?”

“I remember back during our travels your mate; Stella was reading a book about a figure in my people’s history. Before my people became what they are now. That story was considered a holy text among them. Though now it is considered a cautionary tale against allowing your feelings to become priority to one’s self. That legend...was the reason for all of this. The wars, your society changing as well as mine. That story unleashed a centuries long war because your people couldn’t leave well enough alone,”

“That’s not true! I know how the war started. It was during Earth’s first exploration in to the fringe planets of the galaxy. Planet Veritas. That was after the UEDF had been petitioning the Sekrid people for non-aggression for close to two years. They released updates on the situation weekly to all the colonies and the home front. I listened to all of those recordings. That whole conflict is what sparked the Evolution Wars. The Sekrid are what forced Earth to rapidly begin developing new weaponry to compete. It’s what led the UEDF to become the galactic peacemaker that it is today,”

Rin’Gal remains still and silent.

He finally speaks “Ironic they should call that planet Veritas. For it was the basis of a lie Leon. Yes, my people were the first to draw blood. But this...”

Rin’Gal tosses his tablet into my lap “Is the real reason we went to war,”

I stare into the screen. At first, I’m unable to make out what I’m looking at. As my brain begins to comprehend, the disbelief grows with it. I realize that I’m staring at a massive creature, one larger than anything I have ever seen before. Not a drawing, not an illustration, a full-fledged, high resolution photo of it.

“What the hell is this...?”

“That...is Crinza. The world eater,”

My head snaps up to stare at Rin’Gal. I’m rendered speechless at the truth

“My people have long forgotten that Crinza was the whole reason we began fighting yours. To them, humans are now simply a blight on the galaxy. An insect meant to be exterminated. This is because we have forgotten our roots. We were so preoccupied with developing and fighting, that soon war became the only thing we knew. And thus, we became the militaristic society that we are,”

“Why Rin’Gal? Tell me why,” I say with clenched fists.

“When your people first came to Argalia, we were very friendly with each other. We traded many things. Most of this progress was made through the efforts of the scientist who translated the legend, Patrick Erickson. He was fascinated with us. And in turn we were fascinated with yours. He taught our first peoples to speak your language. It took him some years, but he finally convinced our mystics to allow him into their temples of Kal’Za. To be clear, we did not see him as our God. Rather, the one who stood for everything we aspired to be. Much like your...what was it...Jesus, to your people. In visiting these temples, Doctor Erickson discovered all things related to Crinza and Kal’Za. We provided him with a copy of our legend. After translating and reading through it, the Doctor found that he was reading a near anatomical description of the beast Crinza. This disturbed him. And so, he returned to our mystics and pried for more information. Though they were reluctant, Doctor Erickson finally convinced them. The mystics provided him with drawings that fully detailed the creature. The drawings were said to be done by Kal’Za himself and were quite precise. He then asked if the mystics knew of the location of Crinza’s husk. It is said for those who still believe that the mystic should have cut his own tongue out at this moment, for he had given too much to an outsider. But alas, he did not and allowed himself to speak the unspeakable. After Crinza was reduced to a husk by Kal’Za, its body was dragged into the darkest space our people knew of. We took it as far as our ships allowed us at the time. The Great End is what it was called then. Of course, we know it now as a black hole. We had hopes that eventually the black hole would capture Crinza’s husk and destroy it forever,”

Rin’Gal takes a moment of pause. He breathes deeply before standing from his desk and traversing his office. He reaches a small table on the far end of the room. I finally take notice that there is a knife on the table. It’s seated on what seems to be a showing stand fitted inside of a bowl. Rin’Gal eyes the blade before lifting it from its rest and examining it.

“Unfortunately,” He continues

“That is not what happened. Somehow, for reasons we could never understand, Crinza’s husk stood unaffected by the force of the black hole. And so, since Erickson was a military contracted researcher, your leaders eventually came for what they felt was due to them. Being the man that he was, Doctor Erickson tried what he could to hide his research. But to his dismay, his obsession was his downfall. Once Erickson discovered Crinza, it was all he could write, think, dream...about. He had no other research to give to his superiors and thus, Crinza eventually ended up in the hands of your people. The war started because the Sekrid did everything they could to ward you humans off from the beast. But your leaders were only interested in preparing for a different kind of war. Their motives became clear to us. It wasn’t cooperation and alliances they were after. Your people were after nothing but power. To conquer the galaxy not unite it. And they planned to do it through the guise of friendship. But once another people disagreed with their ways, then they twist them in to the enemy. Seeing this and being backed into a corner, my people had no other choice but to lay down that they would go to war if Earth did not cease their folly. Your leaders feigned acceptance and while our backs were turned, they stole Crinza’s husk like a thief in the night. That is the truth Leon. All of that I know,”

I stare at the floor. Trying what I can to comprehend that everything I learned.

Everything...was a lie. And absolutely no one on my planet knows it.

I slowly and painfully lift myself from my seat and trudge my way over to Rin’Gal. I stare at him for a moment, he remains silent, a curiosity is in his eyes as to what my response will be. Everything seems to be running through my mind like a whirlwind as I fit the pieces together. I wonder if my parents know about this. But then I don’t care. I don’t care about any of it. My thoughts cease. Quiet looms in my mind as I reach a conclusion.

I finally speak “What was it you needed to ask me?”

I notice a smirk stretch across Rin’Gal’s lips as he understands my decision. He looks at his knife once more.

“As I said, I need to remain in power. To earn my place back among my people. I have a plan to change things in my society. To help them remember who they are. For that I need the ability to move things from a distance in a position that no one will suspect me. And in order for me to gain my place back Leon, I must show them that I can be trusted. Or at the least feared enough that no subordinate would dare come against me,”

“Just tell me what it is already Rin’Gal,” I say staring into the bowl of the display stand.

“I need a piece of you,” He says bluntly.

My eyes snap to his.

“Not an ear. Not a finger. Something significant. Something that hinders you,” He continues to explain.

A silence follows and I think on what he says. My heart pounds in my chest as a decision comes to mind, knowing that I’m literally giving away a piece of myself. I stare at my left hand, opening and closing a fist, rotating it around for the last time. I stare at the display stand once more and finally realize that it’s not one at all. It’s a sacrificial dais.

Without saying a word, I place my wrist on to the cold metal arch that protrudes from the bowl. I steel myself

“Make it clean through the joint at least,”

“Very well,” Rin’Gal says.

Rin’Gal runs a finger across the edge of the blade softly. A sliver of glowing blood runs down it.

“Be honored Leon Blake. This dagger belonged to my ancestor Kal’Za,”

I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Now you understand my place in all of this. And be comforted by the fact that you will hardly feel the blade pass through your flesh. There will only be the pain afterward,” Rin’Gal states almost with pride as he places the blade on my wrist.

Taking aim. Heraises the dagger nearly above his head. I hold my breath in anticipation. Thepause feels like an hour. I stare at my hand, clenched in a hard fist, whiteknuckled as Rin’Gal’s blade comes down on to it with an audible shhhinnnk...