The Path to Loss (Approaching Infinity Book 4) Read online

  “We are done playing, Raohan La,” Jav said over the Godsorts external speakers. “It’s not my blood this machine drinks, but the blood it wants is plentiful.” Almost in a whisper, Jav said, “High Formation.”

  The pumps activated, the Kossig Engine responded, the green lights flared and Jav was a god again.

  Raohan La dropped down to all fours, his bones shifting under thick, leathery skin to accommodate his original quadrupedal orientation once more, and charged Jav in the Godsort. Just before contact, Raohan La sprang cat-like, his bones shifting once again to make him bipedal, and he grappled with the Godsort. Genuine surprise at the dyna sore’s speed cost Jav his chance to evade. Carried by momentum and then by Raohan La’s substantial weight, they crashed to the ground, machine pinned by reptile.

  Jav felt the probing fingers of Raohan La’s mind, but he felt them through the Godsort’s impregnable psychic defenses. Despite his powers, lack of leverage prevented him from altering his position. But only temporarily.

  Letting Raohan La focus on a hopeless endeavor, Jav took advantage of his concentration, which amounted to distraction, and used Approaching Infinity to deliver a head butt, brow to brow. Raohan La’s eyes bugged from their sockets, then rolled up to whites. Jav could feel the other’s muscles go slack, slid out from under, and got to his feet in one swift, fluid motion, which finished with him gripping Raohan La’s head in one hand with vice-grip fingers.

  Guilt began to bleed into his thoughts. High Formation took away all challenge, all sense of fairness. But then, there was no fairness, not anymore. They were dead now, like the rest. Somehow he sensed that the girl in the fortress had stopped breathing, had gone peacefully despite the assault upon her and her quarters. The girl with the red hair and eyes—they’d been so sad, those eyes—she’d gone less peacefully and the image blasted through the otherwise empty halls of his mind.

  Jav squeezed, producing a sharp, echoing crack, released his grip only slightly for a split second to pair his hands for the Kaiser Claw, and then twisted his hands in a blur of motion so that left replaced right and nothing remained between them but the deafening sound of destruction.

  The stalk of Raohan La’s neck fountained briefly to produce a red plume, then swayed along with the rest of his lifeless body to fall heavily to the ground.

  Jav surveyed the scene. There were few dyna sores left, but they were mostly preoccupied with a variety of graphic maladies that made any action on his part moot. Most of his friends were accounted for. The man in the armor with the big ego was beginning to stir. The wooden man with the awful writhing thing in his back was still tending to some of the more resilient dyna sores with his puppets. The sickly giant was using his electricity to rebuild himself. He turned and stared at the fortress, which seemed to stare back with a single angry eye of green light. With his rage somewhat abated, he was overwhelmed once more by the profound sense of loss that had come to define him. He hadn’t forgotten his promise to the girl with the red hair, though. What was her name? Surely he’d known it.

  He set off for the fortress, ready for one last sortie in his borrowed Godsort.

  He paid no attention to the men swarming over the greensward towards the Palace, and many were crushed under foot or swept away bodily by his passage. Corpse and puppet soldiers could meet any threat they had to offer.

  Upon reaching the fortress, Jav started pulling more concrete away from the rim of the hole he’d made earlier. He tried to be careful not to disturb the already ruined quarters where the body of the girl with the doorway eyes lay inert. He was pretty sure that her remains wouldn’t survive what he had in mind to do, but he couldn’t help himself. Chunks of concrete rained down all around him until he had a way into the structure. There were two more partial walls to contend with, but once through them, he found himself in an indoor garden, at the center of which was the source of the green light.

  It was mesmerizing and, Jav realized in a moment of singular clarity, dangerous. The girl had said so, but now he understood. He felt a familiar gnawing sensation in his guts and knew that the light would kill him from the inside out if he didn’t do something about it soon. He vaguely wondered at how he’d managed to fend off its effects this long. Having a tiny version of the death generator at his back probably wasn’t helping, either, but it wouldn’t matter in a few moments.

  Jav in the Godsort stood before the generator. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in a vain effort to block the damnable vision of the exploding girl. When his eyes opened they were hard and cruel. He stretched his arms out before him at a slight downward angle so that his hands, fingers splayed, were one over the other, left over right. As he pushed, the ground beneath the generator broke apart as if tilled by an invisible plow. The apparatus canted slightly, but then rose into the air following the motion of Jav’s rising arms, until it hung suspended.

  Jav looked down the barrel of his steely arms with the green light virtually between the palms of his hands. His calculations were brief, but sure. He pulled and pushed with explosive force, reversing the positions of his hands, and bringing blinding, white oblivion.

  3.5 LOSS

  10,900.097

  Witchlan stood in the Emperor’s chambers. It was dark save for the holographic screen which hovered in the middle of the room between him and the great sallow visage of the Emperor.

  “It is as anticipated, Minister,” the Territorial Planning Director said from the screen. “As previously discussed, the radiation was converted to a variety lethal to the native population, but one somewhat less so to Vine fiber. All survey teams report back the same. All indigenous life here on Planet 1607 has been extinguished and likely suffered instant death at the time of the pulse.”

  “Thank you, Director.”

  The screen went dark but was already flashing to indicate a pending connection.

  “Yes?” Witchlan said, but he already knew what the Medical Director had to say.

  “You wanted to be informed of any change in General Holson’s condition.”

  “Yes, Director.”

  “He’s awake, but only semi-lucid so far, as is consistent with cases like his.”

  “And his physical condition?”

  “The burns and lacerations have healed, but the latter have left a whole new map of scars over ninety percent of his body. His strength appears to be undiminished. He shattered the medical tank on waking.”

  “Thank you, Director.”

  The screen went dark again, but remained in place. Witchlan folded his arms and stared through it for a moment, lost in thought. Finally he reached out a spindly finger and worked the holographic controls at the bottom right of the screen.

  A video recording began to play and then looped repeatedly. Witchlan folded his arms again and watched the Kaiser Bones run off Jav’s body like jelly, watched him erupt with and become enveloped in blue light—familiar blue light—just prior to the giant robot’s hands closing around him.

  Jav Holson should have died then. It would have made things easier, poetic even.

  This system was home to five other planets, all uninhabited. They could spend some time here, recover at their leisure. They could afford to do this and do this with no sense of urgency because The Place With Many Doors was now within reach. One more trip would bring them to their goal and true, unadulterated freedom. But a contingency for Jav Holson had to be established. The blue light signalled a return to what he was before the Empire, and they couldn’t have that.

  The holographic screen went dark a third time and Witchlan’s body sagged. His hands dropped lifelessly to his sides, his head drooped. It was as if he were assaulted by a sudden onset of narcolepsy. In time with his abrupt slumber, though, was the kindling fire of life filling the space behind the Emperor’s carved features.

  Now the holographic screen became active on its own. Several minutes passed before someone appeared upon it, facing the Emperor.

  “Yes, Lord Emperor,” the man said.
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br />   “Cov Merasec. Your training roster is rather limited these days.”

  “Lord Emperor?”

  “I have a proposition for you. And perhaps a new trainee as well.”

  TO BE CONTINUED. . .

  SHADE DOSSIERS

  Salton Stoakes

  General, 19th Generation, Retired

  * * *

  Category: F-Gene Fighter

  Discipline: The Longsword Knife, Secret Sword

  Height: 165 cm

  Weight: 70 kg

  Gravity Rank: 25

  RPP: 1,750

  RMP: 100

  Birthdate: 9,794.356

  Artifact: Suicide Knife

  Artifact Rank: 20

  Dark RPP: 35,000

  Dark RMP: 2,000

  Active Dates: 9,850-10,350

  Residence: 1026

  While Dark with the Suicide Knife, Stoakes is sheathed in shadow and seems to possess little substance; he is more like a dark, animate mist, though he is in fact solid at his core. In this state he weighs a single kilogram and can float given strong enough winds or thermals.

  Though Stoakes is an accomplished, self-taught fighter, the Suicide Knife has the ability to capture the image of up to 20,000 individuals in the Midnight Mirror, the reflective surface of the dark blade, and subject them to mass suicide. When an image is recorded upon the Midnight Mirror, Stoakes stabs himself to have the effects dealt to the reflections’ owners.

  The Knife provides other powers that, combined with Stoakes’s skill, have made him quite useful to the Emperor as a covert operator, even in his retirement.

  Jav Holson

  First General, 21st Generation

  * * *

  Category: F-Gene Fighter, Superior Grade

  Discipline: 18 Heavenly Claws

  Height: 172 cm

  Weight: 73 kg

  Gravity Rank: 30

  RPP: 2,190

  RMP: 500

  Birthdate: ??,???.???

  Artifact: Kaiser Bones

  Artifact Rank: 20

  Dark RPP: 43,800

  Dark RMP: 10,000

  Active Dates: 10,682.031-Current (replaced Karlan Farsal)

  Residence: Root Palace

  Jav was the Block 2 champion at the 10,688 Artifact Competition. He won the Kaiser Bones, and thus replaced the ailing Ritual Mask and removed the imminent death sentence that came along with it.

  While Dark with the Kaiser Bones, Jav looks like a stylized skeleton, with the actual bones providing excellent protection. The space between the bones is inky black that seems like animate “nothing” and offers somewhat less protection. Besides the standard augmentation, the Bones enable Jav to animate and control up to 20,000 skeletons, making them rise from their graves and fight on his behalf. He can sense bone matter, “feeling” it as well as “seeing” it through earth or flesh and blood. The Bones also make Jav exceptionally resilient in that they respond quickly to physical damage, rebuilding and restoring tissue at a fantastic rate.

  Though Jav’s original Artifact, the Ritual Mask, remains intact, it has not been accessible to him since the events on Planet 1406 involving Garlin Braams.

  Raus Kapler

  General, 21st Generation

  * * *

  Category: Psychic

  Discipline: Electrokinesis

  Height: 246 cm

  Weight: 230 kg

  Gravity Rank: 10

  RPP: 2,300

  RMP: 2,900

  Birthdate: 10,533.124

  Artifact: Resurrection Bolts

  Artifact Rank: 20

  Dark RPP: 46,000

  Dark RMP: 58,000

  Active Dates: 10,689-Current

  Residence: Root Palace

  On receipt of the Resurrection Bolts, Raus Kapler’s skin color underwent a permanent change. His skin is now pale and seemingly translucent, revealing a gray or even greenish hue beneath. The Resurrection Bolts are visible as smooth metal circles on either side of his neck until he goes Dark, when the Bolts extend out beyond his skin. When Dark, his skin darkens further and more metal bolts rise up along the lengths of his arms and along his spine.

  The Bolts enhance Raus physically, as is the case with all Artifacts, but they significantly increase his ability to produce electricity to both heal and destroy. His ability to stimulate regeneration of lost tissue makes him one of the most resilient Shades ever produced, though his power is not on par with that of Lor Kalkin. The Bolts also enable him to infuse the dead with a portion of his power, bringing up to 20,000 corpses back to a semblance of life, and which he alone can control.

  While not as focused or well-developed as Jav Holson’s ability to sense bone, Kapler is able to “feel” the presence of likely raw materials for his power, if only vaguely.

  Icsain

  General, 21st Generation

  * * *

  Category: NA

  Discipline: NA

  Height: 190 cm

  Weight: 140 kg

  Gravity Rank: 50

  RPP: 7,000

  RMP: 7,000

  Birthdate: Unknown

  Artifact: Relic Cords

  Artifact Rank: 20

  Dark RPP: 140,000

  Dark RMP: 140,000

  Active Dates: 10,690-Current

  Residence: Root Palace

  Icsain does not undergo a physical change when he goes Dark. While not technically a psychic himself, his intellect and ability to simultaneously calculate multiple probabilities give him an exceptional defense against psychic assault. They also enable him to exploit the Relic Cords in a way that Karlan Farsal never could. With the Cords, Icsain can control up to 140,000 individuals and need not focus on any single one or group after a set of instructions has been given. With instructions, any being under the control of the Cords will complete assigned tasks, using limited critical thinking skills to accomplish the required goal or die in the attempt. Once the goal has been accomplished, the being under control will wait idle for further instructions.

  Gilf Scanlan

  General, 21st Generation

  * * *

  Category: NA

  Discipline: NA

  Height: 175 cm

  Weight: 150 kg

  Gravity Rank: 15

  RPP: 2,250

  RMP: 2,000

  Birthdate: 10,624.060

  Artifact: Creation Cogs

  Artifact Rank: 20

  Dark RPP: 45,000

  Dark RMP: 40,000

  Active Dates: 10,691-Current

  Residence: Root Palace

  Among Shades, Gilf Scanlan is perhaps unique. Though he is possessed of a vast and creative intellect, he has the RPP and PPP of a normal. Because of his inherent human weakness, the Creation Cogs have permanently altered Scanlan so that he is Dark at all times and cannot revert to his human form. He sees no downside to this and has already taken steps to further augment his physical form to close the gap that remains between himself and other Shades.

  From the monocle covering his right eye, Scanlan can direct a beam of sorts, which gives rise to intricate clockwork machinery which adheres to any design principle he can imagine. He can create incredible volumes of this machinery, spraying it into place with the application of the beam. Even after the immediate influence of the beam has passed, the machinery continues to exhibit startling organic properties, growing to completion.

  Forbis Vays

  First Specialist, Titan Squad

  * * *

  Category: F-Gene Fighter / Psychic

  Discipline: Single Element Ghost Sword / 20% Physical Augmentation

  Height: 180 cm

  Weight: 80 kg

  Gravity Rank: 25

  RPP: 2,000

  RMP: 1,000

  Birthdate: 10,663.015

  Artifact: Titan Star

  Artifact Rank: 22

  Dark RPP: 44,000

  Dark RMP: 22,000

  Active Dates: 10,688-Current

  Residence: Root Palace
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  While Dark, Forbis Vays is clad in a gleaming suit of angular armor that will conform, to some degree, to his will to temporarily adapt to circumstances. Along with its excellent defensive properties, the Titan Star also provides a potent weapon, the Titan Saber, which is housed within the helmet, its hilt forming the distinctive horn rising up from the forehead.

  When Vays invokes his psychic ability to augment his physical characteristics by an additional 20%, his armor undergoes a physical change in order to release the power.

  When sufficiently enraged while Dark, Vays gains access to the Grudge Star, a devastating attack that crucifies his opponents and subjects them to six explosions, the intensity of which are determined by a combination of the degree of his indignation and his composure in the face of that indignation.

  Brin Karvasti

  Specialist, Titan Squad

  * * *

  Category: Psychic

  Discipline: Suggestion/Compulsion

  Height: 157 cm

  Weight: 45 kg

  Gravity Rank: 5

  RPP: 225

  RMP: 4,200

  Birthdate: 10,664.304

  Artifact: Dharma Engine

  Artifact Rank: 18

  Dark RPP: 4,050

  Dark RMP: 75,600

  Active Dates: 10,688-Current

  Residence: Root Palace

  Brin’s Artifact becomes visible at her back when she goes Dark, but otherwise she doesn’t change physically. She has the innate ability to make people do what she says. In general, her victims must be able to hear her voice, but she is able to transmit her power, chaining it between minds when they are in close proximity to one another.