Tacion Read online

  Tacion

  by C.R Corbin

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  More About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  The night was long and the winter frigid, he had no idea why he had come back here of all places. Perhaps it was as they had all told him, that he was going to be doing a lot more than he was already accomplishing within a few days or weeks. He would be venturing on some grand quest or something like that, they were vague on the briefing. All he knew was that his brothers were sent to similar locations, they were all colder, more calculated and intelligent than he was. Even little Stephio, with his rather lithe and slim body was now developing into the warrior that he was always meant to be. Some sort of paragon or something of the sort.

  He didn't know, his brothers kept their own journeys rather guarded. As if they were all personal secrets that they would all share with one another once this was all done. Once the winds spoke the name of his people again. Then they could all rest and inform one another of what had happened.

  But for now he was just a man, not a king, not even a prince. The empire that they once had was now done, it was over. They were all gone and there was nothing that could be done to bring them back except for venturing out and finding the women that would be serving as their mates.

  Five planets, five worlds to venture to and five girls to save.

  This was a game that he was familiar with, the thrill of war and the harshness associated with it. He would be visiting the ice planet of Ikui, a world where the people were trapped inside for years on end, only to see sunlight occasionally. Word was that they lived underground, and others said that the population had lived in these clear bunkers with large domes of glass. No one was ever permitted to leave, it was one of the major footholds of the enemy of his people. A dangerous race of machines that had somehow fostered enough power in these stars to spread their malevolent shade onto the rest of the galaxy. Soon they would come for that small planet where these women came from, a blue world far from here that was oh so fragile, oh so delicate. He swore that it would not come to that, he would stop them before they even approached that realm.

  But still, there was the matter of saving these women first. He had to contend with that before he could have any delusions as to whether he could stop these bastards from truly consolidating their tyranny.

  And so he sits there in the temple, waiting for the rest of his brothers to approach him from the trees. The crown of greens around the mountains around here were only inferior to the sheer amount of white snow around him. He shuts his eyes as he hears his kinsmen approaching. He could discern the sounds of their movements from anywhere and here they were.

  "Brothers." He calls out, his voice was far gruffer and far more unrefined than other members of his family. The bloodline started and ended with the five of them. Five men whose entire legacy rested on these missions, whose people's survival depended on them succeeding.

  There was no pressure at all, none at all.

  One emerges from the shadows, the first noticeable feature being his glowing blue eyes, the second being the large black horns emerging from his head, emerging from a large bushel of black hair, then the purple skin that hugs his muscles underneath a rather thick garb of cloth.

  "Surprised that you got here first. Inogi." The man quips, that was his childhood name, he went by a different one now. There was no one that would crumble at such a childish sounding name but they would surely feel the weight of his true name now. He still resented the fact that it was used so often despite this, it was in a brother's nature to tease however and his family was no exception despite the great weight of their mission.

  Inogi shakes his head, "Tacion, not Inogi. I'm more surprised that you even remembered that there was a meeting going on knowing the size of your brain you dolt."

  The first brother shakes his head, "No, no, no, don't talk down on me runt. You're the dumb one out of all of us."

  Tacion smiles, "Why are you talking to yourself? Have to remind yourself of your idiocy daily?"

  "Hmph."

  "You two are both idiots." Muttered another figure who had been sitting on a little perch near the top of the temple.

  His skin is noticeably darker, although not completely devoid of color. There was a slight blue tinge to it. He eyes the two bickering siblings below him and smiles fondly, although his eyes do roll. Tacion looks upwards and smiles, it was the wisest of all of them.

  "Luron."

  Luron dips his head, the dirge of his horns flowing perfectly in the steady stream of snow that was now falling on all of them. This blizzard had beset upon their temple just a few days ago, perhaps it conveyed some sort of purity to the situation, granting all parties involved a new beginning

  A chance to begin anew that wouldn't be associated with the wars of old, that wouldn't be associated with all the days of working as mercenaries for other races. This was a fresh start after all and they would use the chance well and do well in the name of their forefathers.

  "Luron is right, you all are like children, truly." Stephio states as he steps out, a large black cloak obscuring his pale blue body, his white hair and red eyes perfectly blending in with the environment. The runt has changed quite a bit, no longer was he so frail and small, that medicine had done wonders to him. He still had that brain though, and that same foolish naivety that the siblings both coveted and resented at times.

  And the last of them emerges, the oldest, the firstborn. In his white cloak he emerges from inside the temple, stepping out onto the porch where they were all gathered. They had all agreed to meet back here once the mission was finished with. Tacion just wondered if they would all keep to this promise.

  Each of the realms that they were being sent to, were ruled by their own emperor. Machines that thought of themselves as gods and that could control the elements with a special connection to the world that was embedded within them. A god of war, thunder, the sun, death, and a goddess of life.

  They all ruled over the worlds with an iron fist and weren't afraid in the slightest to display their power for all to see. That would be what the brothers would have to contend with.

  The firstborn, Yirin, speaks, "Brothers, come, it is time." He states.

  And as the prophecy states, five venture in to face their destinies in the form of these glass orbs seated inside the depths of the chambers. From there on they would have to contend with whatever dangers that would face them all.

  Tacion grabs the handle of his sword a bit tighter as he steps forward. His fists clenched as he watched the shadows of the temple greet him.

  And down into the depths they venture to face whatever would be coming to them.

  #

  CHAPTER TWO

  There was the distinct smell of something akin to chlorine in the air. When her mother signed up to immigrate to the world of Ikui she didn't know that a machine would come to rule the entire place one day. She did know, however, how cold it was going to be.

  And right about now Nicole was cursing her mother's lack of foresight. If she could have chosen then she would have gone to a tropical world, she detested this frigid air and this sterile smell. It almost drove her to feeling nauseous some days.

  But alas, that was her life. To mop up and to make sure that the facility w
as spotless. If she faltered in anyway then the droids would surely have her head. It was harsh, unforgiving work but it was the most a girl could find in this world. And since there was no way to escape these underground cities and frigid glass bubbles she was stuck. A girl frozen in status, and perhaps even in time.

  For what concept of time was there without some sort of aspiration or some sort of event to look forward to? The answer was, of course, nothing. There was nothing to look forward to.

  "Fuck." She mutters as she accidentally plunges the towel into the bucket a bit too harshly. The droids could clean up the flooring easily enough, it was getting to the nooks and crannies that took a bit more work. That was where the humans came in, that was where she came in to do all the dirty work. With her hands covered in chemicals and her brown hair swept back in a messy bundle. She slides her towel across the steel and hopes that she will get it done soon. She knew that it was just a fantasy of course, there was no venturing away from this word, not unless she died.

  And she couldn't do that, she had people she still had to care for. Her little brother and her best friend, there were some that were relying on her, chains that tied her down to this still world.

  "Worker #5493, you've received a new order." Said a voice over her device.

  She turns and sighs, letting her arms rest against one of the metal monstrosities that she was tending to as she stares at her device with a bit of resentment. The voice was as it always was, cold and sterile, but never did it seem crueler than the present.

  There were some days where she wanted to chuck her tools against the wall but she understood that doing that would inevitably accrue fees and perhaps even cause her to lose her job. That was a possibility that she couldn't afford at the moment.

  And when she walks home that night after scanning her card against her workstation in order to procure a few measly credits. She ventures through the long metal halls along with the rest of the workers after getting out of the maintenance corridors. Some of the men leer at her but she ignores them, they were all simple brutes anyways. There was no chance of her attracting a decent man down here, not simply because there were none. They were rare but they could certainly be found if one worked hard enough at it, it was more so because she was the most homely of all the women.

  But she didn't care, her self-esteem was far less important to her than coping with the dour atmosphere. The machines cared not for her appearance so why should she pay any mind to it anyway? It was all a mess.

  "She was so dumb today. Like of course you have to put the cleaning fluid on first! Were you raised in the depths or something?" Katie muttered and her hands waved wildly in the air. She was complaining about something again, probably one of the new girls that had just started. They were indeed naïve and a bit foolish but Nicole had far more patience for them than Katie did, perhaps it was because she had a younger sibling and knew how to deal with it whereas Katie was an only child.

  Sure sometimes her little brother drove her mad but there wasn't anything that she wouldn't do for him. He was quickly growing into a man and was growing more independent every day. Their parents had died only in the last couple of years and the growth that he displayed made her a proud sister.

  And despite that pride there was nothing that she could do to assuage his grief at having been stuck here, at having been left by their parents. There was nothing that could be said that could dull that pain, the pain of knowing that you were here for all of time.

  "But it's all over now. I think she's getting shipped off to the lower decks so I won't have to deal with the new recruits. Kind of a good thing for me I would say at least. How was your day?" Katie asked her.

  The crowds of soot-covered men and women gathered in the metal hallways, squeezing through to get back to their quarters through the underground rail system that was reserved for workers. Nicole and Katie were still at the back of the line, it would be at least another hour until they were able to return home. Usually Nicole would say very few, not because of some detestment of her friend but simply because of the exhaustion associated with the day.

  Today was a good day for her though, good enough to entertain her friend for a moment at least.

  Nicole sighs, "Well I think they're gonna give me another unit to clean. It might help give me a bit of extra cash. Not nearly enough to do anything substantial with but at least I might get to buy better food you know what I mean?" she speaks softly, her hands picking at the tattered garbs that adorned her body. Their dull tan color blended rather perfectly with the chipped painted pattern of the metal below her.

  Everything here was so industrial, so devoid of life. Then again there wasn't that much that lived on Ikui anyway besides man-eating beasts so that was no surprise. It would be nice to get away from here, to fade back into a planet that was like the old Earth or even the planet of Set with its harsh deserts and storms. At least there it was warm, at least there you didn't have to worry about putting on several layers every time you wanted to go somewhere.

  Humanity had thought of Ikui as a place where there might be some value. Not due to its atmosphere or its environment of course but more so due to what laid in the earth itself. Large reservoirs of minerals made their home here and that meant money for human investors. It was only when a strange computer virus embedded itself into one of the systems here that things began to go awry. People dying in strange accidents, the leaders of the place suddenly falling to madness. The government shut down the colony altogether not long after. It was a mystery why humanity had abandoned this place but the mystery was short-lived as the virus made itself known.

  It was a vanguard of what was to become. Of the machine that eventually proclaimed itself ruler of this planet. It was not cold and sterile as humanity had once thought a mechanical ruler would be, it was fiery, ill-tempered, and wildly unpredictable. In that mess of metal and fire he reigned this place, the ice claimed humanity long after and we were all driven underground after he had consolidated his control. The horrors that followed were unimaginable. Monstrosities that could only be thought of in dreams emerged from the darkness.

  And the world was torn asunder.

  Nicole shuts her eyes and rests her head in her hands as Katie continues to speak. This was how their stories usually went, with Katie speaking and Nicole simply listening. The two were utterly opposed in their nature but there was some sort of commonality there that kept the two of them together. There was something there that tied the two of them to one another, an invisible commonality that only they knew of.

  Nicole's thoughts traveled back home to her brother, a young man at this point, well by her standards at least. He was only 14 but she saw a great deal of maturity in him, she was about 22 so the age gap wasn't that substantial. Not to the point where they would be distant from one another or be unable to share the bonds of siblings. No they were close, and Nicole dreaded the day when her brother grew up to become just another worker.

  The boy had potential to do something else, he had skills.

  The train whizzes past massive walls of ice and steel. The metal down here was painted a slick black color and the paint was chipping off at spots. There was some rust but not to the point of dilapidation. After all the "god" of war did like to have his facilities retain some semblance of dignity. Ice melts and freezes over and over again in a cycle, the metal creaks at night and sometimes scream, causing many residents to lose sleep. The most wealthy of the humans got to live in the bubbles, they didn't have to dwell underground. They got to see the outside world and had heat delivered to them but beyond that there was little that was luxurious about their existence.

  They simply got to see the sunrise, the lower classes did not receive such an honor. Only surface workers got to see it occasionally. To compensate for the lack of sunlight the droids often handed out Vitamin D pills and installed artificial lighting underneath, that kept most sane.

  Some went mad however, and had to be disposed of. Like Nicole's parents.


  She clutches her knees a bit tighter when she thinks back to that day, that was a memory that she would rather not revisit at the moment.

  "Come on, station is coming up." Katie whispers to her as the cold metal door slides open to let in a burst of warm air and they both breathe a sigh of relief.

  They were home now.

  The two of them immediately begin to walk through the tunnels, their hands sliding along the red metal posts while the vehicles dash along their tracks. Down here everything worked by rail as there was no road system to accommodate any vehicles due to the sheer size restrictions. They didn't really care about lacking cars, if you asked them they would have preferred this. A vehicle would have spewed out too many emissions and would have been too noisy. This suited them just fine, the high pitched whir of a train brushing past their cheeks as they congregated in crowds of destitute people walking along the sides. They had to stop by the grocery store today, there was food to buy and they had both just gotten paid.

  "I hope it's not worms that are on sale again." Katie laments.

  Nicole grins, "You really are too picky to live here you know that?"

  "It's not that....ok maybe it is that. They just fucking gross me out." Katie whines.

  "So do most things we eat down here, just have to get used to it I guess." Nicole states in a matter-of-fact fashion before the door to the market open.

  There was not a lot in the way of produce nor luxury meats for that matter, there were simply cans of underground fungus that could be consumed alongside bags of grain and flour. Nicole had her eyes on a specialty canister of chocolates today, she had been saving up. Normally she would have kept that money around for emergencies but with her brother starting work soon she thought it best to celebrate.

  The tin clearly said: "Made on Mars", if it was from the Earth system then it would definitely be worth the money.

  "I don't know what I should get. Maybe some more rice, I think I'm running low but I'm not even sure." Katie mutters