{"id":140483,"date":"2025-09-22T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/?p=140483"},"modified":"2025-09-23T05:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T05:09:11","slug":"world-hunger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/?p=140483","title":{"rendered":"World Hunger"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\nWorld Hunger<\/font><\/font><\/h1>\n

\nby Mark Manifesto<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\nSheets of poison smoke hung over the night sky. Trails from the crumbled skyscrapers. Faint alarms. Most had died out. Staring from overtop the metropolis, Hector tried not to think of the lives beneath the burning steel, generations which had erected these towers, towers cleaved in less than an hour. A world taken in less than a day.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe planet shook under the Obstinought\u2019s step. It was his own. All ten thousand feet of the titan. The flesh over his bones, the eyes through which he stared out of Thesakles\u2019 visor, they weren\u2019t really him. The suit was.\n<\/p>\n

\nAdmiral Booker called over the radio, \u201cOne last wasp, Thesakles.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nSoaring in from northern clouds hummed a mammoth battleship. His greataxe carved through the streets as he dragged up and over his back.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cQuellcannon,\u201d Hector commanded.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe quiverholster rotated. Power inputs attached from wrist to rifle. Missiles flared out from the ship in rounded arcs, a great plague of fireflies. He doubted they\u2019d darken the hull.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe slid the power control near the trigger. Three percent. A red glow illuminated the rifle\u2019s core. With crosshairs on the ship, he felt a sudden fit of asphyxiation, panic and self-loathing. He reminded himself of the billions of Unus Animus citizens waiting in orbit, exiled from a world turned desert. Pauci pro multis. A few for the many.\n<\/p>\n

\nHyllan had its time.\n<\/p>\n

\nHundreds of fiery plumes burst over the hull. He squeezed the trigger. Unholy thunder roared and a colossal pearl of red energy cleared the city\u2019s smoke. Like a fist through wet paper, the ship erupted.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector looked over the apocalyptic landscape. Gauges read that he\u2019d only used twenty three percent of the suit’s battery over the course of the day. The casualty estimate bore too many commas to conceptualize. Acid licked sharply at the lining of his stomach.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHell of a job, Thesakles,\u201d Booker called from the ship. He looked up to the celestial gray sphere in orbit. \u201cHyllan\u2019s down for count.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c…\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSteak on me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nA firmament quivering roar rolled from the jets on Thesakles\u2019 back. Buildings below seared and boiled as the mecha rose towards the stars.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nArms at his back, eyes on the Harvester ships descending upon Hyllan, Hector\u2019s mind ventured towards places he wouldn\u2019t let himself dwell. Booker finished reading the report and tossed the tablet onto his desk.\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a time when Hector didn’t worry about the results. \u201cSir?\u201d he asked, fingers running over the input jacks atop his hands.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNothing I haven\u2019t seen,\u201d Booker said. Deep wrinkles scored his ebony cheeks. Dark oysters swelled beneath his eyes.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo I\u2019m stable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAs anyone. They\u2019re going to boost your prescriptions. More SNRI for the fits and PPI for the ulcers,\u201d he said, sitting on the end of his desk. For a man who hadn\u2019t undergone the Pilot Surgeries\u2014 and pushing 197 years old\u2014 he was a unit.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHow\u2019d it feel to get back in the suit?\u201d Booker asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector\u2019s gaze turned to the sun and Thesakles before it, a spiraling cone of light siphoning the star\u2019s combined energies into its core. Sharp thorns ran from shoulder to knuckles, hips to ankles. Its crimson alloy drank the light.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI didn\u2019t think about it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker grinned and shook his head. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s time I had the med team hollow me out too.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nPeople genuinely thought that Pilots couldn\u2019t feel.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAnything useful we should know?\u201d Booker asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe air and water have dangerous amounts of heavy metal. A lot of microplastics in the soil. Regardless of its size, I\u2019m guessing the next two planets might provide more in the way of untainted resources.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nA sharp buzz sounded from the door. The security monitor in the corner showed Dr. Lanna Ross, tablet in hand, foot tapping anxiously. She buzzed again.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker sighed. \u201cKeep your head together, Kid.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe remembered the term as pedantic in his younger years, but at seventy-two, he didn\u2019t care.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe steel door slid open, and without a second\u2019s pause, Doctor Ross stormed forward. She held her tablet up like a second coming of the commandments.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSee!\u201d she said, pushing her glasses and pulling her loose trousers up. Her hair poked like straw out of her ponytail. \u201cI told you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMost likely,\u201d Booker said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThis time near it was at the center of the Paramecium Galaxy. Last week in the Sculptor Dwarf. So either there are multiple of them or it can jump. Organic wormholes. Quicker than ours. Look,\u201d she said, handing him the tablet.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector turned to leave.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCaptain Thorne, can you tell me what you see?\u201d Booker asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe image showed a blurred image of a large cylindrical formation floating through space, surrounded by small asteroids, and hovering before a blue planet. Next showed it nearer, the last showed no planet. Ross glared in the abominable manner he\u2019d become accustomed to at advisory panels.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m not an astronomer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked,\u201d Booker said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI see a large and irregularly shaped asteroid, surrounded by smaller ones. Then what looks like a planetary devastation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you serious?\u201d Ross asked, almost knocking her glasses off as she palmed her face. \u201cAn asteroid that size would be round, held together by gravity. And it couldn\u2019t change direction, look at the frames! And these ones from last week. And these ones from two months back! Don\u2019t be ridiculous.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAs ridiculous as an interstellar, planet-eating leviathan, with symbiotic insects? We\u2019ve been crossing stars for nearly three thousand years, Lanna, and not once have we seen one of these things. You\u2019re making a wild leap.\u201d Booker stood and stared down his nose. \u201cAnd more importantly, I told you to stop wasting satellite time on personal projects when your job is to tend to the Obstinoughts. We\u2019re still behind on Deianira\u2019s core systems, and I\u2019m waiting for a damage report.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nShe tried to match the heat in his gaze. \u201cThis isn\u2019t why I joined.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDismissed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nDown the stainless-steel halls, past communications rooms, and labs, the phantom reverberation of Thesakle\u2019s ax through Hyllan\u2019s Planetary Capitol Building sent a shiver through Hector\u2019s forearm. Flashes of incoming missiles played in the periphery of his sight. Splattered bodies that could hardly be made out.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCaptain Thorne!\u201d Ross called, running down the hall.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYes?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nHunched over to catch her breath, she said, \u201cYour psych evaluation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis heart sped and eyes turned furtively. \u201cI\u2019m tired, Doctor.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s my job to make sure our Obstinoughts and their pilots are in working condition.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThesakles is fine.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe always is.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… What do you want?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTo discuss your future.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nFifty years of service, thirty at the helm of humanity\u2019s greatest sword, and now a small case of regret was going to ruin him? \u201cCan we have this conversation in private?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nRoss\u2019 office was adorned like most of the research and maintenance team. Monitors, files, VR systems, fidget toys, and a hologram table.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to stand at attention,\u201d she said, taking a seat and gesturing to him to do the same. \u201cSuit yourself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you going to recommend my dismissal?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNo. I want to discuss the dismissal of the Conquest program.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis brow furrowed. It was like discussing the end of public education.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe continued, \u201cHave you ever thought about how ridiculous this system is?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTo live is to consume.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTo live is to learn.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis jaw tightened in defense of many things. \u201cThere are over five hundred trillion Unus Animus citizens spread across a hundred worlds. How else should we provide for them?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cFor starters, taking care of those worlds.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cEasier in theory.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cEasier than relocating a population every few years.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou should talk to someone who can help.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI am.\u201d She sighed and rubbed circles in her temples. \u201cFor deeply troubling reasons, people look up to Obstinough pilots, yet you, your colleagues, and predecessors only use your celebrity to sell bullshit.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe pension isn\u2019t great.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe pension isn\u2019t the problem\u2014 and there\u2019s a reason most don\u2019t live to see it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe crystalline memory flashed of his father slumped in his office chair. Blood on the wall, a half-finished note. He cited the Unus Animus motto, \u201cPauci pro multis.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is that if you endorsed alternative means of resource allocation, alliances, or maybe even just sustainable living instead of Dunbar\u2019s Discount Imitation Shrimp, maybe we wouldn\u2019t need to decimate half a dozen planets a decade.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of the main reasons he\u2019d joined the military is because it was\u2014 on the surface\u2014 supposed to be simple.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou overestimate how much people care about us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAnd you haven\u2019t estimated it at all. You might try to look like teflon, but you\u2019re breaking. You have been since the last Conquest. Your liver\u2019s proof.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe squeezed irritation through his wrists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s my job, Ma\u2019am.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nToo flustered to speak, she snarled, \u201cIt won\u2019t last forever.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe nodded and looked to the textureless steel floor. \u201cAm I excused?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m not a commander.\u201d She rolled her eyes upon seeing him still there. \u201cYes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThank you. And good luck.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe meant it.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nThe steak almost tasted real, but lab-grown meat was always a bit off. They couldn\u2019t replicate the flavor of digested grass. It was close enough.\n<\/p>\n

\nUtensils clicked over plastic plates. Beyond the window of his room, the expanse of space struck him as black and beautiful as the first time he\u2019d left Themis. Had it not been for the sudden stall in the hologram, a part of him might have gone on thinking Olivia was really there. She\u2019s getting big, he thought. Puncture drive or not, wormholes still took time to navigate.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHow old are\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThirteen,\u201d Olivia said, without looking up. She was beginning to look like her grandmother, a child of the sun.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c\u2026 Six years,\u201d he said, taking a bite. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that long for me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer lips tightened. \u201cI know.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHow\u2019s your mom?\u201d A phantom pain flared in his ribs from where the hydrogen bomb had detonated.\n<\/p>\n

\nOlivia shrugged. \u201cFine. Out with James.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe fork bent as he imagined \u2018James\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo how much longer until you\u2019re back?\u201d she asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… I don\u2019t know. Maybe half a year. For me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTry not to miss my wedding.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI told you, you\u2019re not allowed to get married until you’re fifty.\u201d She never could tell when he was joking. \u201cI\u2019ll be back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nOlivia pushed her tofu around. \u201cThey\u2019re starting on your monument soon. Congress wants it to be ready for you when you get back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nPride swelled in his chest, but washed away in seeing it wasn\u2019t shared.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHopefully it turns out better than grandpas\u2026 Did they scrub the graffiti?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYeah, but it\u2019s back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector wondered if he would\u2019ve just overdosed like most pilots, would he still get the nightmares?\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDo you think you deserve it?\u201d Olivia asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nChemically dampened emotions and all, the words left his ears ringing. \u201cIf they say I do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDo you ever have thoughts of your own?\u201d she asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI try not to.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThey\u2019re not useful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThat\u2019s a terrible reason.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut it\u2019s mine.\u201d He moved the pieces of red dyed meat around his plate. \u201cDo you still like sprinkle pancakes?\u201d Hector asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI don\u2019t eat breakfast.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe gestured to her plate. \u201cYou don\u2019t eat dinner either.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019ve got a date later.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nWhite rage buzzed in his ears, the sort he felt in swinging his greataxe, in remembering scores of soldiers whose intestines painted the battlefields of his first deployments, in pleading with God.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou can\u2019t go on a date,\u201d he said, resolutely.\n<\/p>\n

\nWith how skinny she\u2019d become, Hector saw every sinew of her jaw tighten. \u201cYou can start telling me what to do when you pay child support.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI sent your mom the money. There must have been a problem with the connection.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nShe smirked and looked his hologram up and down. \u201cIt seems fine to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nSomething inside of him wanted to throw the plate, to smash the apartment and shout how she needed to listen to her father, to level planets, but instead he sat there staring at the synthetic steak.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI gotta go, Dad. I\u2019ll talk to you\u2026 whenever.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nWithout the hologram, the room went dark. His eyes fell shut. Two more planets.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nThe titanium staff blurred past his face. A genuine spike to his heart rate. The kid was fast.\n<\/p>\n

\nThesakles and Deianira stood opposite the green valley, an orange sunset catching dully on her black alloy. Even in its virtually simulated form, Vera\u2019s Obstinought was something. Thinner, faster, the primary alloy almost two times stronger than Thesakles, devoid of the wicked-looking spikes which covered his, outfitted with two small quellcannons on both arms instead of the oversized rifle. A good decision, practical and efficient. Throughout his tenure, he\u2019d never once taken his quellcannon over thirty percent\u2014 theoretically couldn\u2019t even take it over ninety without risking detonation.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Obstinoughts circled, weapons at the ready. He didn\u2019t give advice during training.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe led with a jab\u2014he knew she would. A dash off-center and he swung his ax. The blade cleaved through her elbow and buried into the ground. Sparks flared as she stumbled. Even through the pain, she managed to hold onto her weapon this time.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector pressed the attack and tasted the blunt kiss of her staff upside his cheek. Pain pulsed through his teeth and brought to life something within him. He ducked, swung, caught an edge into her midsection, spun, and buried it in her spine.\n<\/p>\n

\nSuddenly, his balance was gone, swept at the ankle. He crashed on his back, and she mounted. A steel fist pummeled his face and sent stars through his vision. Vera raised a hammer fist, and overhead a spear formation of bombers shot past. Before she could look, the nukes burst over her back. His hand caught her neck, and with a jet\u2019s surge, he drove her up to the sky. A moment of frozen clarity at the apex of the arc before he slammed her back to the earth. Vera\u2019s screams carried through the VR room as she watched his soul descend upon her face. The cockpit crumbled.\n<\/p>\n

\nHaptic feedback cut, the virtual display disappeared, and he was back in the simulation room. The hardlight suits evaporated and he dropped to the illuminated floor. Vera pushed herself off the ground, blood running from her nose, bright against her dark skin.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou alright?\u201d Hector asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe nodded and caught her breath.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t see the bombers. Were you paying attention to the radar?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nVera shook her head and placed her gloves on the chargers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIncorporate your cannons.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nShe sighed.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWatch the midsection. And use the pattern recognition software.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer lips sealed without a crease.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDon\u2019t assume because someone\u2019s down that it\u2019s over.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c…\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNever leave your weapon.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAlright!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector froze, a quick spike of anger, but he let it go. Regardless of the Pilot Surgeries, she was young. He couldn\u2019t have handled all this at twenty-eight. He struggled in his fifties. It was one of the reasons he suggested her rejection.\n<\/p>\n

\nHer head fell. \u201cSorry, Sir. I just feel like I\u2019m letting you down.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe squeezed her shoulder. \u201cIt\u2019s not just you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nIt didn\u2019t provide her the comfort he\u2019d hoped.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe get better with time. Keep your head clear and focused,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHer lips tightened into a faint line. \u201cHow do you do it?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2026\u201d His breath sped as he thought of fire and blood. \u201cI try to remember why we\u2019re doing it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI hope I can be like you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe muscles of his throat tensed. \u201cIt\u2019d be better if you weren\u2019t.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nEach jack, sealing into their input down his back, arms, and legs, took his breath away. The neurocaster connected with Thesakles\u2019 control system. His eyes fluttered and their vision became one.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201dClear the hangar!\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nA great exhale sounded from the station\u2019s doors as they opened to the void. Before him shone a blue green marvel, perfect as the pictures of Earth. Thesakles\u2019 engines roared.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBe careful down there,\u201d Admiral Booker said over the radio. \u201cEstimates show some of them might be bigger than we thought.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHow much bigger?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTwo thousand feet at most. But they\u2019re dumb. Wild. Like putting down steer.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cVera, are you watching?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYes, Sir,\u201d she called.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cKeep the footage, I want to review after.\u201d The locks on Thesakles\u2019 wrists and ankles released. He spared a glance towards Deianira off to his right, mostly constructed. The future.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe jets thundered as he soared towards the planet. Face first through the vacuum, he felt serenely weightless, then the atmosphere\u2019s crash. Heat glowed over the suit, streaming flames in his wake, the gauges flashed a light yellow. Pulled by the planet\u2019s heavy gravity, he descended over the \u2018Queen Nests\u2019, a green crescent archipelago.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe air tore before him. Sparks flared off the visor. He lowered his feet, fired the jets, and crashed into the shallows. The connected islands bore a mix of round and sharp peaks, lush greenery and golden sands. The greataxe sang as he slung it over his shoulder.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI don\u2019t see them,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker said, \u201cTry switching to thermal sights.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nNothing.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThey\u2019re cold blooded, Sir,\u201d Ross said.\n<\/p>\n

\nSomething grasped his ankle, a massive tentacle wrapping from the depths. Without thought, he cleaved. A sea of umber blood sprayed as the feeler writhed. It sloshed white back through the water and there arose an uneasy silence. Then a resounding explosion from the sea. A horrid monster, bipedal and coral-carapaced with a sprawl of spiked tentacles and a fishlike head devoid of eyes. Brown, needle fangs flashed within its wide maw.\n<\/p>\n

\nA trio of tentacles shot forward and he cleaved at an angle. A high-pitched squeal rang as they splashed to the ocean. He stepped forward and pulled back, but from the other side of the mountain, a tentacle wrapped the ax\u2019s neck. His leg ripped out from under him and with a hard crash, he found himself looking up to gnashing teeth. Caught by the neck, drool poured over the visor. His arm trembled against its hunger, and all around, sprouting from the depths, dozens more.\n<\/p>\n

\nFear flashed white through his heart, a lifetime of regrets and hopes all before him. Mission control blared in his ear. Only Vera\u2019s voice rang clear. \u201cGet the hell up, Sir!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis fingers clasped hard and he opened his mouth. Sonic waves at two hundred decibels rolled in a reverberating screech. It reeled and screamed, tentacles flailing, blood dripping from its ear holes. Feet to its chest, Thesakles\u2019 jets fired and sent the thing soaring as he shot to his feet. The creature opposite the island charged and his ax buried deep into skull. His surgically dampened fear turned into black rage as he ripped it loose and split the handle. One in each hand, he scanned the encircling colossi. He ground his teeth and let them come.\n<\/p>\n

\nRazor tips through carapace and flesh. Cleaving head from neck. Spilling miles of intestines. Alarms sounded with returning blows. The sharp pain of teeth in the shoulder and spiked tentacles wrapping around the arms. Hector roared through each swing, each fist, each knee and relished the shattering of bone.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe sea stained dark and murky, Thesakles stalked over the last, whimpering and pulling itself forward on stub tentacles and a single leg. Seething breaths fueled his temper. Over a bay of mangled corpses, he raised both axes and screamed. The clouds parted and the edges buried into the bedrock. Waves rolled. Then peace. Hector caught his breath and looked around.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAny sign of the Queen?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nRadio silence.\n<\/p>\n

\nSeismic vibrations shook the archipelago. The water seemed to be boiling. Evermore violent, he stumbled and the mountains broke from the sea. As the ground fissured below and the waters surged, Thesakles gathered himself and took to the air.\n<\/p>\n

\nAloft below the clouds, he watched the archipelago bend. Seven others emerged from below the surrounding waters, rising until they took shape. Fingers of a mammoth hand which forced a body up from the tectonic plates, a porous rock behemoth, dripping magma, water, and bathed in steam, a thing which dwarfed him as it rose ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred thousand feet. Water rushed to fill the vast cavern of its vacancy. Hector\u2019s pulse raced on the monitor. He forced himself to breathe. These are what the humans of Earth had talked about when they posited gods.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cShit,\u201d Booker said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector clasped the axes back together, secured them within the quiver holster, and took up the quellcannon. Solar heat flared red through its core.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPower estimate?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nAfter a moment of deliberation, Ross said, \u201cMaybe thirty eight percent.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis thumb slid the lever to forty. The titan\u2019s roar shattered the clouds in visible sonic waves. It was like someone had fired a .45 inside his head. Blood dripped from his ears and the world spun. Hector leveled the rifle and peered through the sights as the creature reared a fist the size of a state.\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was something divine about the moment.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you sure we have no reason to keep this thing alive?\u201d Hector asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cUnless you\u2019re opening a zoo,\u201d Booker said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector exhaled and, with forced mental effort, pulled the trigger.\n<\/p>\n

\nRed light cut a gaping hole through the center of its tectonic chest and fired out the atmosphere. Fissures rippled from the impact and widened. Massive boulders crumpled to the sea and cast rolling waves out to the horizon. Hung within the clouds, Hector pondered cosmic reckoning.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWell done, Thesakles. Four more nests before dinner.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe last of its cries faded as it toppled and a cramp seized his stomach.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou hear me, Thorne?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… Copy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nHector watched the video with crossed arms, the crimson titan ducking under the massive claws of the Western Hemisphere\u2019s Queen, catching its stinger, ripping it from its socket, and burying it into the spawn behind him. Miles of jungle fell with each step. Thesakles turned and, with a closed fist, compacted the Queen\u2019s wolf-like snout into its single eye. The shadow sensation of the impact echoed through his forearm.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPause,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe video froze and Vera looked to him coldly. He doubted he really needed to point any of this out, but he figured it was his job.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe problem?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t see the one behind you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNo, my feet were too close together. Always be thinking about your center of balance. It needs to be instinctive. That was twice in one day that I got taken down. In Type One Societies, even half of Type One, you get taken down and the next thing you know you\u2019re looking at an orbital strike.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nShe nodded and the video proceeded. Thesakles crashed on his back, caught the massive cyclops wolf\u2019s face as it plunged for the bite, and ripped its jaws in two.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cExpand your peripherals, any motion is a threat, any irregularity is motion.\u201d Hector rolled out the pain in his shoulder.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSir,\u201d Vera said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have to do this right now. You\u2019re hurt. We can pick up tomorrow.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s easier while the memories are fresh.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThey watched in silence as he hacked the last of the Queen\u2019s spawn into pieces, but eventually her silence became unavoidable.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong,\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe raised her chin. \u201cNothing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDon\u2019t waste my time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… I\u2019m just starting to feel it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou\u2019ve still got a while. After this leg, it probably won\u2019t be another five years until the next Conquest. And even then, they probably won\u2019t choose you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe knew full well that sitting on ice didn\u2019t make the inevitability any easier.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector paced his office and looked to the shimmering blue planet below. A dozen ocean pumps were already protruding through the atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s normal to be scared. But when you\u2019re in the suit, it all goes away.\u201d He leaned on the cold glass. He wanted to be honest. \u201cIt\u2019ll haunt you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhich part?\u201d A slight glimmer played off her eyes. She knew full well. \u201cBut we have to.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe nodded.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo what do we do?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector felt his lungs locking, vision beginning to shake, the hooded presence of dread over his back. His hand dove into his pocket and fished through the pill canister. The SNRI tablet ground into bitter powder between his teeth. It didn\u2019t kick right away, but the taste brought about a pseudo-somatic response.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe jumped to Vera\u2019s hand on his back. Her voice broke the white noise. \u201cSir?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe drew a long breath. \u201cI\u2026 you\u2019re right. Let\u2019s pick up tomorrow. Simulation room at nine.\u201d It wasn\u2019t necessarily the dread that angered him, but her worry.\n<\/p>\n

\nBefore she left, she asked, \u201cI know it\u2019s not required, but will you be there for my first Conquest?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nJust the thought sent the room back into a pulse. \u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe doors sealed and he chewed another two tablets. The shakes remained. Stories of Ragnarok echoed from his childhood. He turned away, unable to watch the planet anymore.\n<\/p>\n

\nThrough the halls, he wandered without purpose. Most were empty at the late hour\u2014 and on the heels of a successful day. He wished some of the writers on the station could have seen Gorgeous in person. No doubt they\u2019d witness the video, or at least parts\u2014 the military only released bits\u2014 but it wasn\u2019t the same as seeing it in person.\n<\/p>\n

\nAs he passed the mission control, he noticed the red lock on the door\u2019s display. Curiosity reared its head. The only occasion for it to lock was in the event of intruders\u2014 but the alarms would have sounded long ago. Hector tapped his neurocaster into the panel and ventured through the ship’s archive. Within the emergency files he found the code.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe door opened to an empty room. Just one person on the rightmost communication console, Dr. Ross, headphones over her ears, the monitor\u2019s blue glow illuminating her pale features. His eyes narrowed.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c\u2014 You have to prepare whatever defenses you can,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe crept silently around.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI know\u2026 I\u2019ve seen your planet\u2019s schematics\u2026 I helped map them. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe paused and probed into the system. The opposite line was connected to a distant radio number, galaxies off, ESO 151-41. A cold hand pressed into the base of his spine. It was coming from Kroan. The last planet of the Conquest.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBy the time you see us, it\u2019ll be too late. At most you have two weeks.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe heard the frightened radio operator, \u201cPlease, we can\u2019t fight. Our society hasn\u2019t even reached the nearest planet. Whatever you want, take it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nRoss shook her head. \u201cEven if a planet surrenders, it\u2019s the military\u2019s belief that uprisings are inevitable. For resource acquisition, they don\u2019t move in until the global population has dropped to twenty percent.\u201d She choked out the last bit, \u201cAnd for Kroan, they want more than your resources.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe plan is to use the planet for relocation. They won\u2019t leave anyone alive.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nA long measure of radio silence elapsed. Hector\u2019s mind ran incomplete circles. His duty, trillions of lives, a career of service. Sweat dripped coolly down his neck hairs. Ross turned and let out a muted scream before covering her mouth.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you okay?\u201d the Kroan operator asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPlease, we can live together. We have space. We\u2019re peaceful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nRoss\u2019 eyes glittered in terror behind her glasses.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere are over five billion people here!\u201d the operator said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector felt himself growing weak in the knees.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… Thorne.\u201d she whispered.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe closed his eyes and turned towards the door.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d Ross called, tears in her voice.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTo my room.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you going to\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis feet moved by themselves. The door sealed. It felt as if his brain was going to explode.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nHector sat at the end of his bed, the lights low to ease his pounding migraine. Sweat soaked his undershirt and briefs. The dial tone continued to ring sharply as he watched the old video of Priam Thorne and the unstoppable Hyperiues tearing through the secondary capital of Panth. Felled skyscrapers at his feet, airships fleeing, surrounded by a half dozen of the planet\u2019s own defense titans\u2014 rudimentary versions, perhaps three hundred years behind Hyperiues, each a good four thousand feet shorter. The video swiveled to catch the charge of the incoming mecha. His father\u2019s greatsword glinted. Sparking halves added to the city\u2019s debris. The others charged\u2014\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dial tone broke and a full-size hologram of his mother appeared in the room. Hunched in her wheelchair and wrapped in a swaddle of white blankets, she looked over her shoulder and spoke with one of the home\u2019s assistants in a confused and irritated tone.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMom,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe squinted her eyes and said, \u201cHello?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s Hector.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer expression turned in perplexity. She looked back to the attendant for confirmation. Maybe this was justice paid forward on behalf of him and his father. Dementia at her age? Barely over a hundred?\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhere are you?\u201d she asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOn deployment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nA small measure of recollection seemed to click. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYeah\u2026 yeah.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAre you visiting soon? Jolleen keeps asking why I don\u2019t have visitors.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector sucked on his teeth.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cShe stole my boyfriend, you know.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDon\u2019t tell me that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThen who am I going to tell?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector\u2019s reddish-brown hair fell over his face as he pinched his eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Not me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhy\u2019d you call then?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nA question he still hadn\u2019t answered himself. \u201cI wanted to ask you about dad.\u201d He sighed. \u201cDid he ever have regrets?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer eyes glazed in rumination of the past. \u201cEveryone has regrets.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI mean\u2026 when I was growing up, he was Superman. Untouchable. Sure as steel. But the more I think about it, the more I realize I never really knew him.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOf course you knew him. Don\u2019t be ridiculous,\u201d she said, hands shaking over her knee.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe used to tell me that what he went through was a small price compared to what Animus received. I assumed he meant the pain. The synaptic and somatic issues.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer eyes squinted in remembrance.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI didn\u2019t even know he was on drugs until I joined the infantry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c…\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector scratched his browline. \u201cHe was so big. Every time I imagine him, he\u2019s blotting out the sun. But I think the shadows hid his face. When I found him in the office, outside of the hole, his eyes\u2026 I\u2019d seen them like that before. I think if I paid attention, I would have known he was crying.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… A rock never cries.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe felt a fracture through his heart. \u201cThey just break.\u201d Hector thought of the question. \u201cSo the answer\u2019s yes?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhen am I going home?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe paused for a long while, the cramp in his throat too painful to speak over. \u201cI\u2019ve never asked you about it, but his note, what do you think he meant? \u2018The dying of light\u2019.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe words struck an electric and melancholy chord. Upon trembling lips, she whispered,\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAnd you, my father, there on the sad height,\n<\/p>\n

\nCurse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.\n<\/p>\n

\nDo not go gentle into that good night.\n<\/p>\n

\nRage, rage against the dying of the light.\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nHer teeth broke into a quick chatter and tears loosed down the lines of her cheeks. As he stared at the still frame of his father\u2019s Obstinought on the screen, indomitable over the felled city, he asked himself, then why did he?\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nWhispers rang around the round conference table, fleet advisors in gray uniforms, the windows sealed over with titanium, beyond it, the streaming colors of torn spacetime as the station soared through the belly of the wormhole. The shine of the stainless-steel room worsened the harsh beat of his headache.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe shared a glance with Ross, whose eyes danced furtively over the table. \u201cA bit early for the final tactics review,\u201d Vera said. \u201cWe\u2019re still a week out from Kroan.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe ecologist to her left said, \u201cIt\u2019s about the station that got taken out a few days ago. They\u2019re probably calling us back to the Capital.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAttacked?\u201d she asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThey don\u2019t know. No SOS made it out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nVera looked to Hector for confirmation. He tried not to fall into panic. The doors slid open and the room quieted. Admiral Booker\u2019s thick soled bootsteps pounded around the table. With sunken eyes, he scanned the room.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThis job isn\u2019t easy,\u201d Booker said, in a conflicted voice. After a long pause, he continued, \u201cBut we didn\u2019t fall into our positions by accident. We all knew the cost.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nVera sat up, trying to look resolute. Hector squeezed a fist to fight the shakes.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker continued, \u201cBefore we make a station-wide announcement, I wanted to inform you that last week there was an unauthorized use of the ship\u2019s Puncture Drive. Someone made radio contact with Kroan. There\u2019s no transcript, but I think the purpose is obvious.\u201d He let the fact soak in. \u201cFirst Degree Treason.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nFurrowed looks of disbelief rounded the table.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMaybe it was one of you, maybe it wasn\u2019t, but the truth will come out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBeads of sweat shone on Ross\u2019 forehead.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have to remind you that a crime like this could result in the death penalty, but I\u2019m telling you now because I want to give whoever did this a chance. If they come forward, I\u2019ll fight on their side to lessen the sentencing, but if we have to root them out, there\u2019s nothing I can do.\u201d He didn\u2019t seem to take any pleasure in the room\u2019s discomfort, but he didn\u2019t ease it either.\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of the Heads of resource acquisitions asked, \u201cDo you have any leads?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis gaze passed over everyone, but Hector noticed a slightly longer pause on Dr. Ross. By the flush of her cheeks, she noticed too\u2014 and at least a few others.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m not at liberty to\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe didn\u2019t think. Didn\u2019t plan. The words took form by themselves. \u201cIt was me, Sir,\u201d Hector said.\n<\/p>\n

\nA strange sensation overcame him, cold on the inside, hot on the out.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Admiral\u2019s jaw fell slightly ajar before sealing it tight. \u201c… Thorne.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI take full responsibility, Sir.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker\u2019s eyes narrowed into glittering black marbles. \u201cWhy?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou\u2019ve seen my psych report\u2026 I couldn\u2019t take it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nGazes turned between them.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector continued, \u201cThey\u2019ve offered their surrender and authorized full use of their planet. Annihilation isn\u2019t necessary.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nTides of pain and betrayal pulled at the Admiral\u2019s expression.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t change anything.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIn the history of the Conquest program, only four planets ever revolted. Four out of the hundreds. It\u2019s not right that because of them, we annihilate the rest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThose uprisings spread to other colonies.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTheir sins shouldn\u2019t damn the universe.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt\u2019s not on us to determine what\u2019s right and wrong, Thorne.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMaybe, Sir. But I did it nonetheless.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nAround the table, eyes bounced back and forth. He didn\u2019t have to look at Vera to feel her anger. Didn\u2019t have to spare more than a glance to see Ross\u2019 guilt.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNine planets, Captain, and here at the end of your service, you turn your back?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector thought of burning cities, crumbled mountains, and beautiful species brought to extinction or held underfoot while Animus drained their oceans and carved the gold from their cores. \u201cPauci pro multis\u2026 but five billion isn\u2019t a few.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Admiral pinched his eyes. \u201cYou let me down, Captain.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my intention.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cShould I call security?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector stood calmly and advisors around the table recoiled in fear. \u201cI can walk myself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis steps were the only sound. The halls, the comms rooms, the offices, mess halls, R&D labs, a great machine. He wondered what was one part less.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nThe cell was purgatorial white. Headache inducing. Hector sat impassively atop his cot and stared at the wall, contemplating how Olivia was going to take the news. Her mother, his mother. The empire. He told himself he shouldn\u2019t care.\n<\/p>\n

\nDays were hard to quantify. He guessed it\u2019d been six. What did it say that Booker had been his only visitor? Hector didn\u2019t blame Vera. Had the same happened with his mentor, he likely would\u2019ve turned his back too.\n<\/p>\n

\nGiven today was her first drop, she didn\u2019t need any more confusion.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector paced toward the glass and noticed the guards at the end of the hall listening to their radios before disappearing through the sliding doors. He imagined Vera\u2019s prep, how nervous she must be. He wished he could be there, wished he could be proud of her. He was.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe paced back and looked into the security camera. If not for the signal blockers, he might have streamed the mission feed through his neurocaster. Be safe, Kid.\n<\/p>\n

\nA knock sounded on the glass. He turned to Ross, haggard looking, eyes swollen behind her glasses, mostly bone.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSorry it\u2019s taken so long,\u201d she said. \u201cBooker\u2019s had people watching me around the clock. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s convinced.\u201d Tears glittered over her eyes. \u201cWhy\u2019d you do it?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m at the end of my line, Doctor. Whether I spend my life in a cell or a one room apartment doesn\u2019t make much difference.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut it\u2019s not right.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI haven\u2019t done much of that in my life.\u201d He sat and braced his chin with his fists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI assume you know what today is?\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhen are they sending her out?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWithin the hour.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI imagine Booker\u2019s having an aneurysm wondering where the System\u2019s Chief is.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nShe didn\u2019t see any humor in it. \u201cThorne, you\u2019re the first pilot to ever step down. You\u2019ve started something.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nStep down? \u201cDon\u2019t be dramatic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPeople are talking.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSeems like things are normal.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDon\u2019t be stupid!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat do you want from me?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cConvince the kid not to go. She\u2019ll listen to you. Save those people down there.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cShe\u2019s being deployed in an hour, Ross. This has been her dream for a long time, she won\u2019t just abandon it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI saw her evaluation. She\u2019s not even close to ready.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nNot even one drop and she was already breaking.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cEven if I did, there\u2019s always another,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOne pilot turns to two, two to four\u2026 who knows what happens next.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector stared at the floor, his body feeling like iron.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIf not for Kroan, think of the kid.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe imagined Olivia stomping on societies\u2026 and in time tying a noose in an empty home. The glass slid open. Neither said a word.\n<\/p>\n

\nFace down through the halls, past the whispers, they ascended the station to Ross\u2019 office. She slid into her chair and hurried into Deianira\u2019s system. A feed of the hangar came to life on the monitor. Deianira and Thesakles side by side, the final locks coming off her wrists and core charging a bright blue. A pressing wave of guilt overcame him seeing Vera wired into the Obstinought, a steel look of death about her.\n<\/p>\n

\nRoss handed him her headset, and the words flowed from his chest. \u201cKid,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHer head turned, a sudden expression of panic.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCaptain?\u201d Vera whispered.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker\u2019s voice cut through, \u201cIs that Thorne?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHector said. \u201cI know you think you have to do this, that you can\u2019t throw away all the time it took to get into that suit, but you have a choice.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker shouted, \u201cIs he out of his cell? Find him!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI fell for it too, Vera. We were raised to think this is the only way, that our survival is the only thing that matters. But I promise you, the only thing that matters to all those people down there is whether you drop.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker interrupted, \u201cCaptain Kassian, you have a job, your responsibility is not them. We\u2019ve got a billion people on this station without a home. We owe it to them<\/em>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere\u2019s more to this than numbers,\u201d Hector said.\n<\/p>\n

\nA long silence held sway over the radio. Vera\u2019s head fell in solemn consideration. She whispered, \u201cUnus Animus.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer jets fired and, in a face first dive, the Obstinought shot towards the blue surface of Kroan. Existential dread gripped Hector\u2019s spine. Divergent worries rendered him into ice. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard Ross\u2014\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThorne\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nSecurity footage showed soldiers racing down their hall.\n<\/p>\n

\nPain flashed through his gritted teeth. \u201cCan you deploy Thesakles from here?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nHer expression was stern and unquestioning.\n<\/p>\n

\nHector stepped into the hall and eyed the incoming three, clad in ballistic armor, brandishing black stunner sticks. With a deep exhale, calmness overcame. A left step from the first swing and a front kick to the ribs which toppled two. He caught the arm of the third, and with a backhand cracked his jaw. His feet pounded down the hall, around the corner, up the elevator and before another group of three. They met his gaze with glittering fear and stepped aside.\n<\/p>\n

\nBreath cool and even at his sprint, the upper hangar doors opened and he ran the top platform towards Thesakles\u2019 crown. Technicians parted, in fear, confusion, and with a few smiles. Booker\u2019s voice rang through the speakers\u2014\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDon\u2019t make this any worse on yourself, Captain.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Sir,\u201d Hector said, vision unifying with Thesakles\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

\nRoss spoke over him, \u201cAre you good?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cLet me out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe locks released. Alarms rang and the technicians ran towards the exit. Thesakles\u2019 jets fired. Adrenaline flooded his veins, tightened his muscles, and filled him with a sort of purpose he hadn\u2019t felt since he was a young man.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe hit the atmosphere with a burning crash. Face first through the clouds, he followed Deianira\u2019s descent upon an island metropolis. The towering Obstinough stood over the post-industrial city, frozen, staff in hand, and staring at the masses below. Just in landing, she\u2019d already taken out twenty square blocks.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker called on the radio, \u201cI know this is you, Ross. Drop open your door and we can discuss this before things escalade.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSorry, Admiral\u2026 I\u2019ve made my choice.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThesakles\u2019 jets shook the air as he slowed to a low hover over the city.\n<\/p>\n

\nDeianira\u2019s visor shone gold against the sun at his back. Neither spoke. He hoped that the agency of presence might illuminate his plea.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou\u2019re a traitor, Sir,\u201d Vera finally said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIf it means saving you from hell, fine.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat about our people?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere\u2019s more than one way to survive.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut it\u2019s ours.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… Prove it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer visor flashed as she scanned the cityscape. Fingers tightened along the staff. Over the radio, Ross whispered in a wary voice, \u201cThorne, I\u2019m getting some strange signals in the solar system.. Gravitational disturbances.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cKroan defense systems?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNo, they don’t have the technology to affect spacetime like this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThen what is it?\u201d he asked, anxiety rising from the kid\u2019s silence.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cA wormhole.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis head throbbed in harsh beats. \u201cLet Booker know. Vera, they\u2019ve already surrendered.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nBlack dots appeared through the clouds on the horizon, aircrafts in spear formation. Vera whispered through her teeth, \u201cYou\u2019re wrong, Sir.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHer quellcannons charged blue. Duty and sorrow wrestled a knot in Hector\u2019s heart.\n<\/p>\n

\nI\u2019m sorry.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a forward dive, he grasped her wrist and throat and pulled her through the air. Her foot caught the edge of a tower and a cloud of debris crashed on the city. The cannon\u2019s blue beam fired into the atmosphere. Hector squeezed tight, soared over the coastline, and heaved her into the ocean.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe landed on her feet and he crashed before her. A hail of bombs burst over both hulls and sea. They recoiled to fire while the jets ripped eastward.\n<\/p>\n

\nBooker cut through, \u201cCaptain Kassian, your mission now is to capture the prisoner and return our property.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe ocean\u2019s breeze rang swift and cold.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCopy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nDeianira\u2019s staff whirled into an offensive position. Hector\u2019s eyes fell shut in resignation and he split the ax in two.\n<\/p>\n

\nShe rushed first, a jab\u2014 no, a feint. He stepped left and into the blow. Pain flared through his cheek, yet through it, he caught sight of her swinging for the leg. He lifted over the sweep and planted his alloyed sole into her face.\n<\/p>\n

\nDeianira crashed through water, a fracture in the visor and a tidal wave around. Instinct called to strike the heart, but he froze and found himself looking at the charged barrel of her cannon. Ducking the first, the second burned into his chest and sent him airborne. Pain flared as he bounced. Staff overhead, she charged and he crossed his axes. Almost too fast to register, her knee cracked his chin. Alarms sounded as the visor fissured. His back hit hard within the bay.\n<\/p>\n

\nOnce more he was looking at the butt end of her staff. She plunged for his heart and he rolled\u2014 not quick enough. The end tore through the ribs and pressed a wave of agony. He ignored the pain, kicked her ankles, and in her stagger, fired off his back. Up into her chest, he drove her into the sky and back to the sea.\n<\/p>\n

\nHer breathless gasp pressed needles into his heart. \u201cVera\u2026 please. Enough\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nIn his peripherals, he caught sight of a blurred green missile. A thought-wrenching impact blasted his heart. He soared off his feet, the blow like a bull\u2019s horn. Alarms and white noise filled the cockpit. Internal defense systems activated to extinguish the fire around the core. From his belly, he saw on the horizon a black warship. Enhanced vision showed a large DEW, a rectangular particle beam repositioning for the next strike.\n<\/p>\n

\nPain pulsing through his ribs, he watched frozen as Deianira raised her arm and fired. The short beam sliced over the curvature of the planet and a resounding plume of flame and water rose into the air.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou see, Sir. There\u2019s no such thing as surrender\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe ax tore through her elbow. He spun and wrapped the handle around her neck. Conflicted tears stung his eyes. Her breathless cries rang in his ear. Then he was hurling over her shoulder, thrown at the hip. As he crashed, he knew what she was going to do. Always quick to sprawl, to dive into a grapple, to drop her weapon\u2014\n<\/p>\n

\nDeianira tore his ax away, and in frozen moments, he watched its head fall upon him. Agony flashed white through as the blade cleaved through his shoulder and lopped his arm. Hector grasped at the phantom pain and roared over the alarms.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYield, Sir,\u201d Vera said, the cannon aimed at his face. His gaze turned between her, the city, to the moon-sized station in orbit. Maybe he was wrong. For her sake, he hoped he was.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a perplexed voice, Booker called on the radio, \u201cWhat the hell is that?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThere was no excitement in Ross\u2019 response. \u201cI told you.\u201d Video from space streamed into Thesakles\u2019 cockpit\u2014 given her pause, he figured Vera was watching the same. Near the dark end of the solar system, small ripples in space showed over distant stars as a white hole grew from the abyss. No sound carried through the vacuum, but could it, he figured it might shatter an atmosphere. Slithering through the blackness, larger than anything he\u2019d ever dreamed, an eldritch leviathan. Head wide as a sun with thousands of horrid eyes, pale as death, and bearing hundreds of lipless mouths, the most prominent at the front, a gaping baleen maw large enough to fit all of Kroan.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe smaller mouths opened, and through the fangs merged an army of silver, winged spiders\u2014 by satellite measurement, the size of hundred story skyscrapers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cRoss, what the fuck is this?\u201d Booker asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI told you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI understand that! What is it doing?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen, the symbiotes go first. They seek out biological fuel and the main body takes everything else.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat do you mean everything else?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPlanets, space stations, anything.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nAlarms blared over the radio. Booker called ships to the ready, defensive formations. Everything they had. Deianira looked between the city and blue skies above, shaking in the knees.\n<\/p>\n

\nThrough pain in his shoulder and chest, Hector pushed himself up on one arm. They shared a silent glance. Vera handed him his ax and fished her staff from the sea. There was a lot he wished he could say. Side by side, they soared towards the heavens.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe video showed as the spiders shot through the solar system towards the station. White Animus ships emerged from the hangars like bees from a hive. Into the abyss, Thesakles and Deianira picked up speed. Shouted orders carried over the radio, estimates on numbers, maybe a thousand of the creatures against five hundred ships. Questions of how effective the particle cannons would be. Questions of retreat. The clear answer that there wasn\u2019t enough time to open a big enough hole.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSir?\u201d Vera asked. \u201cOrders?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cKeep them off the stations.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat about the big one?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe eyed his battery, bleeding with his wounds, twenty percent. The sun burned red and forty million miles off.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cRoss,\u201d he asked, \u201cCan you puncture a small hole for me?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cYou\u2019re leaving!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI need to get to the sun.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c… I\u2019ll have it ready in ten.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe two picked up speed as in the distance, green bolts converged on the creatures, sprays of silver blood and carapace shot through space, quick plumes of flame which quickly extinguished as the spiders shouldered through. Their path was clear, those billions of beating hearts on the station.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe first wave crashed around the station. With spiraling razor maws, they burrowed into the titanium. Thesakle heaved his ax, and swift with his momentum, cleaved a chittering beast at the stomach as it raised up. Silver blood sprayed, and he landed\u2014 secured by electromagnetic soles.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe creatures turned, and scuttling on ten legs, met his charge. By the distant rays of the sun, the ax\u2019s head shone bright. Wide swings over the top and around the side, legs and carapace drifted through space.\n<\/p>\n

\nA maw of spiraling teeth like living garbage disposals shot from his blindside. He raised his arm for cover, but the horrid face crashed against a titanium staff. Deianira and Thesakles\u2019 drew back to back, weapons ready as the things surrounded.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAdvice?\u201d she asked.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI was going to ask the same thing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHalved bodies, still twitching, carried around Thesakles\u2019 ax. Mangled heads spouted silver life, crushed under the force of Deianira\u2019s speed. They spun, hacked, and split. Defensive forces circled back. Green blasts scored their carapace. Through the cosmic detritus, the leviathan neared, eyes turning the system over, slithering across space in a slow S. His panic was broken by a firm swing which shattered the back of a charging spider and sent it drifting.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThorne!\u201d Ross said.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe turned to the rippling space before the station and the white event horizon around the wormhole. Dienaira\u2019s staff whirled overhead before cracking two creatures. Something grave inside him reared its head.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cCaptain,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\nVera looked back.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI didn\u2019t mean to let you down.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe\u2019ll talk about it later.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cTrust yourself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nCaught by the gravitational tide of the event horizon, his frame elongated, time stretched, and through the short passage, the colors of space twisted like taffy. He shot forth from the hole, face to face with the blazing red sun. A quick thought passed of how\u2014 even at ten thousand feet\u2014 small he was. He turned and brandished his cannon. The rear core access opened and, like a deep inhale, began swallowing a stream of solar tendrils.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cDrop intake blocks,\u201d he commanded. \u201cMaximum power absorption. And funnel all energy directly into the quellcannon.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis thumb slid the power up to one hundred percent. Blinding red energy flared through the power lines and into the cannon. Sparks burst from the mangled shoulder and ribs. Heat mounted in the cockpit and a cautionary voice spoke, \u201cEnergy systems unstable, life support systems compromised, multiple fires detected in the core, emergency escape pod ready for deployment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nSweat burned his eyes. He slung the barrel over his mangled shoulder and secured it in place with his chin. Down the sights, he set his aim on the ghastly pale leviathan, baleen spread, nearly in reach of the station. Through the darkness, he saw the bright flares of green particle beams, spiders racing over the surface of the station, blue flashes, and a spinning staff.\n<\/p>\n

\nHis head spun within the overwhelming heat. \u201cCore in critical condition. Emergency escape recommended.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe rifle burned bright, surging and crimson. The trigger pulled easily. A vast beam soared, the circumference of a planet, rippling with electricity at the speed of light. He fired backwards against the force. A boiling sun seared his back and cracked the cockpit displays, yet he held the trigger through. Jets fired to counteract the force, a weak struggle against its strength and the sun\u2019s gravity. Sweat slicked his face. He felt his skin sizzling. No longer could he hear the alarms over the terrible shaking of the cockpit. Lights flashed him senseless. He closed his eyes to the blinding rays of the sun behind. Each breath brought in less. He forced one eye open, needing to know if it hit.\n<\/p>\n

\nBut the alarms went silent. All he felt was the sudden force of the quellcannon\u2019s explosion, then spinning flight. Hot and cold, the vacuum suck through the shattered visor, soaring within Thesakles\u2019 dismembered head. Vertigo and an airless hull proved the final nail. He closed his eyes and thought, I didn\u2019t go gently\u2014\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\nHector sat numbly in the wheelchair, staring at the faux-pine desk. Around him, the frenzied talk of reporters, congressmen, and protestors on both sides washed into nothing, it was nothing, not compared to the pitch of the sun swallowing his second body, the world devouring quake, and utter quiet which followed. As he\u2019d closed his eyes to that black night, he\u2019d been ready. But the living weren\u2019t done with him.\n<\/p>\n

\nA sudden pain flared through his right leg. He grasped at it with his right hand. For a moment, it felt like something was actually there, not just an empty pant leg and armless sleeve. A camera flashed on his right, a perfect shot of all the burns.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Head of Congress banged her gavel and a restless silence came over the chamber. She put her glasses on and asked, \u201cCaptain Thorne, before we dismiss for today, is there anything you\u2019d like to say on behalf of your defense?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked through public seating, hoping to spot Ross or Vera, maybe his daughter, but there were too many faces and they all looked the same.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI freely admit my actions. I warned Kroan in advance, I broke out of my cell, hijacked Thesakles, interfered with a mission set on behalf of all Animus, and in turn caused the destruction of a major military asset.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nSilence. It seemed she wanted him to plead but they already knew his actions had led to the leviathan\u2019s destruction, that he\u2019d protected the station, that\u2014 for five minutes\u2014 he\u2019d given his life.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo why, after over fifty years of service and four and a half Conquests, did you choose to betray your people?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHis gaze fell to his burned left hand. For a moment, he saw Thesakles\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSince I was in diapers, I always imagined saving something. We say the few for the many, but there was a time when we were the few. For millennia humanity did what it had to in the name of survival, but we\u2019ve become complacent, blinded by tradition and fear of destruction. Maybe I\u2019m wrong, but I couldn\u2019t damn another planet for the sin of those past. The lives on Kroan, like all those I took before and all those in this room, deserve a chance. If we only look back on betrayal, that\u2019s all we\u2019ll ever know. Scared species running from life\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nHe looked around the room, unsure where he was going. He heard his father\u2019s voice and echoed out his mouth, \u201cThere\u2019s beauty in every world and every soul. Do what you must with me, but for your sake, I pray that you see that there\u2019s no end to this stomach.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe congressmen and women around the hearing stand shared perplexed glances.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIs that it?\u201d the head congresswoman asked.\n<\/p>\n

\nMaybe one day they\u2019d go back for Kroan. Maybe he was a traitor. But he was only in charge of one man. Who knew what that really meant.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe nodded. \u201cI doubt it. But it\u2019s all from me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nMark Manifesto is a writer, teacher, father, and lover of stories. He\u2019s been writing fiction, essays, articles, and poetry the past seven years. He studied Environmental Science, Business Administration, Religious Studies, and Classic Literature at Saint Mary\u2019s College of California. He currently lives in the Bay Area, and should you want, you can find his work published across multiple journals including Freedom Fiction, Pikers Press, Altered Reality and Guilty Crime Magazine.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Hunger by Mark Manifesto Sheets of poison smoke hung over the night sky. Trails from the crumbled skyscrapers. Faint alarms. Most had died out. Staring from overtop the metropolis, Hector tried not to think of the lives beneath the burning steel, generations which had erected these towers, towers cleaved in less than an hour. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107977,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20142],"tags":[20143],"class_list":["post-140483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-54-winter-2025","tag-the-colored-lens-54-winter-2025","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/107977"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140483"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140573,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140483\/revisions\/140573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}