Chaos aternus the aterni.., p.29
Chaos Aternus (The Aternien Wars Book 10),
p.29
“No place like home, eh buddy?” Carter said, rapping his knuckles against JACAB’s spherical shell.
The gopher stopped singing, then scowled at Carter, hands pressed to the equivalent of his hips. He warbled something at him. It took Carter a moment to decipher, though, from the aggravated tone of the sounds, it wasn’t complimentary.
“This was never your home because I abandoned you on the Galatine, remember?” Carter said, translating the words out loud.
JACAB nodded, then blew a loud raspberry at him.
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Carter grumbled, scowling right back at the bot.
JACAB warbled, “No…” then blew another raspberry and flew ahead of Carter, resuming the merry tune that had gotten stuck in the bot’s circuits.
Carter rolled his eyes and continued down the driveway. His truck was still parked in front of the garage, covered in dust, dead leaves, and bird droppings. He scowled and peered into the tree above his parking place, spotting a group of roosting wood pigeons. They cooed loudly as if taunting him, and Carter narrowed his eyes.
“Pigeon pie for supper, I think…” Carter said, already trying to work out the best way to shoot the birds off their perch.
JACAB hovered up to the truck, bleep-tutted, then warbled something vaguely threatening at Carter.
“No, I’m not expecting you to wash it,” Carter said, resisting rolling his eyes this time. “I have other bots to do that job. Bots that do what they’re told.”
JACAB blew another loud raspberry at Carter, then flew away to continue his inspection of the grounds and outbuildings.
Carter was about to head up to his cabin door when his senses spiked. He grabbed the handle of his cutlass, which was sheathed in a leather scabbard hanging off his belt and spun around. A Morsapri ‘death hog’ was watching at him. The beast had stomped out of the woods, fearless as a lion surveying its kingdom.
There was good reason for its boldness. The Morsapri was a colossal six-hundred pounder, standing well over five feet to the shoulder. A broken tusk and mottled scars across its flanks hinted at old battles with lesser bulls. Carter suspected the beast’s opponents had suffered far worse outcomes.
“You’ve gotten big without me here to hunt you,” Carter told the monster.
The Morsapri snorted plumes of hot breath into the air. Carter drew the blade an inch out of its sheath and prepared to fight the beast, but instead of charging, the Morsapri bowed its head low before turning and strutting back into the woods. Each thump of its hooves on the ground sounded like the beat of a timpani drum.
Carter huffed a laugh and released his cutlass. “Fine, I’ll stick to pigeon pie instead. Besides, I think my hunting days are over.”
Carter unlocked the door to his cabin and pushed it open. The hinges creaked, and he was greeted with a waft of stale, cold air that smelled damp. Gathering some wood from his log store, he started a fire in the hearth, grabbed his cast-iron kettle, and walked outside to the well. Pumping the water until ice-cold and crystal clear, he filled the kettle and hung it over the roaring flames.
Setting his sword and backpack down on the sofa, Carter went to his old record player in the corner of the living room. He blew off a thick layer of dust and switched it on. Sifting through his extensive collection of vinyl LPs, Carter stopped at Ludovico Einaudi’s Nuvole Bianche. It was one of his favorites, a beautiful piece of music, heavy with melancholy but interwoven with soaring melodies evoking joy and hope. It reflected how he felt.
Carter threaded the disc over the spindle in the center of the turntable and pressed the ‘Start’ button to activate the player. The motor began to spin, and then the tonearm swung across the disc and slowly lowered the needle into the grooves. The click and hiss of static were soon replaced by the haunting opening piano notes of the piece.
Carter turned up the volume, then dug a dusty old suitcase out of a closet and placed it on the sofa. He opened the suitcase and transferred his Aternien battle uniform into it from his rucksack, smoothing down the lustrous fabric with his fingertips. The only other item in the rucksack was a box containing a golden feather of Maat - a gift from the Queen. He opened the box and gently touched the ornament. His skin tingled with electricity, and he could feel heat radiating from the feather as if it were alive. Closing the box, he placed it in the suitcase beside his uniform.
JACAB then entered the cabin and hovered beside him. The bot had finished his inspection and was now at a loss for something to do.
“I’m not sure what else to pack,” Carter said. “Any ideas?”
JACAB shrugged, then warbled, “Underwear. You always need underwear…”
Carter laughed. “Not always. I intend to fly the Orla Raeb butt naked.”
JACAB recoiled from him, his red eye narrowing as his circuits tried to compute the probability that Carter might be telling the truth. Carter let the bot stew over the problem. Then, his senses suddenly sharpened. JACAB sprang an antenna from his shell before spinning to face the open door. The bot had detected a presence, too.
Carter drew his sword and held it ready, expecting a squad of Medjay warriors to come charging into his home. Instead, he found Carina standing on the threshold, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded casually across her chest.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Carter asked.
“Nice to see you too,” Carina replied, shooting him a familiar smirk. “Can I come in, or are you planning to run me through with that cutlass?”
Carter snorted and sheathed the blade. “That thought has crossed my mind more times than I care to number.”
Carina pushed herself away from the door and strode inside the cabin as if she owned the place. KACEY flew inside, and JACAB warbled with excitement and happiness. The two bots clasped metal hands and spun in a circle like a merry-go-round before zooming out of the door.
“See, that was more the kind of reception I was hoping for,” Carina said, hooking a thumb toward the escaping robots.
“Then you’ve come to the wrong cabin,” Carter replied, grinning.
Carina rolled her eyes at him, then became distracted. She saw the kettle hanging over the fire, steam gently billowing from the spout. Then she focused on the music, her pained expression suggesting she was familiar with the tune but couldn’t quite place it.
“Something wrong?” Carter asked.
“No, it’s just that I’m getting a funky sense of déjà vu,” Carina replied. “It’s like I’m remembering a dream. The kettle, the music, it’s all weirdly familiar, like I’ve seen all this before.”
Carter considered this while massaging his wiry beard. The past, present, and future had become somewhat blurred over recent days. He, too, had seen events before they’d happened, or at least versions of those events. This had forced him to question whether his choices had ever truly been his to make or if everything that had happened was part of a larger plan, the orchestrator of which remained unknown.
“Then perhaps you can tell me what happens next because I don’t have a clue,” Carter said. He closed the lid of his suitcase and walked up to Carina. “I thought I knew what I was doing come back here. Instead, I feel lost.”
Carina smiled, closed the door, and headed over to the fire. “For starters, how about some tea?” she said, picking up the kettle with her bare hands.
Carter grabbed a couple of mugs from his dresser and a teapot and set them down on a side table. A variety of peppermint grew near the riverbank close to his cabin, where the mix of sunlight and moisture was optimal. He found a container of the dried leaves and shook some into the pot.
“If you’re here, who’s in command of the Galatine?” Carter asked as Carina filled the teapot with hot water from the kettle.
“I always thought Brodie would make a good captain, so I gave him the job,” Carina replied, replacing the kettle over the fire.
“You gave him the job or placed him temporarily in command?” Carter asked.
“The Galatine is his ship now, at least until Cai trains up a new generation of Master Officers,” Carina said. She swirled the pot to help the tea steep. “I’m done wearing the uniform, at least for now. I have a different kind of adventure in mind.”
Carina poured the tea, then handed one of the mugs to Carter before taking the other herself. The sweet aroma of peppermint filled the space between them, refreshing like a clear winter’s breeze.
“What adventure did you have in mind?” Carter asked.
“Me and you, of course,” Carina replied. There was no smirk, no eyebrow raise. She was deadly serious.
“But I thought I was just an old goat to you?” Carter replied, still half-expecting Carina to turn the situation into a prank.
“A dirty old goat,” she corrected him with the hint of a grin. “But I’ve gotten used to having you around. I don’t like it when we’re not together.”
Years of snarky banter and rib-teasing japes had conditioned Carter to make light of their interplays, but this time, he didn’t struggle to answer Carina sincerely.
“I feel the same way,” Carter replied. “I had worried that you didn’t need me anymore.”
Carina laughed meekly. “I always worried that you never really needed me at all.”
Carter placed his mug on the table. He smoothed a few loose strands of hair away from Carina’s face, then held her shoulders.
“I never knew I needed anyone until I met you,” Carter said.
Carina smiled, but it was a smile unlike any Carter had seen from her before, warm and full of affection. Or, perhaps, he had seen it before and hadn’t realized it until then.
“So, what do you say we give it a try?” Carina said, setting down her mug and pulling Carter’s hands into her own. “What do you say we give us a try?” She looked away, down to the dusty wooden floorboard at her feet. “Unless the God-Queen of the Third Dynasty of the New Kingdom gave you a better offer, that is? I saw you two together at the ceremony.”
“Monique did give me an offer,” Carter admitted. He felt Carina tense up, felt the sick feeling swelling inside her as if they were one body. “But it wasn’t a better offer,” he added softly.
Carina’s eyes returned to him, and the smile returned too. He wondered how he’d not noticed it until then.
“Good,” Carina replied crisply. She kissed him gently on the lips, lingering a while, before pulling away and dropping herself into Carter’s favorite armchair by the fire. “So, honey bunny, what’s for dinner?”
Carter laughed and shook his head. “How about roast Morsapri?” he suggested.
Carina scrunched up her nose. Then her face lit up, and she sprang out of the chair. “I have a much better idea,” she said.
“I doubt that,” Carter replied. The air of mischief had returned.
“How about we go out for dinner?” Carina continued, heading to the dresser and rummaging through drawers for Carter’s truck keys. “I hear that the Red Hog does a great burger.”
Carter snorted. “You know damned well that it doesn’t. You’re just looking for another bar fight.”
Carina shrugged nonchalantly, then jangled Carter’s truck keys in front of his nose. “Maybe it’s gotten better?” she said, throwing open the door. She was halfway out before stopping abruptly and looking back. “Are you with me?”
Carter strode to the door and offered her his arm. “I’m with you, Carina. I was with you from the very beginning.”
Carina linked her arm with his, and together, they walked outside. She brought the truck around the front, and Carter grabbed the door handle. He paused to look at his cabin, smoke belching from the chimney, a flickering orange light filling the rooms. All of a sudden, it did look like home.
Pulling open the door, Carter slid into the seat beside Carina. She kissed him again, then drove down the stony driveway and onto the winding road toward Ridge Town and a new beginning.
The end.
EPILOGUE
A swirling energy vortex appeared in the desert, and the Aternien Goddess and Queen stepped through the portal. Alone, she walked across the coarse sands and entered the buried remains of an ancient city, which had long since turned to ruin. Ahead of her was the Pyramid of Maat, or what remained of her once majestic temple and palace.
Monique Dubois paused to take in the world that had been her home and home to generations of her people for millennia. The toxic wind swirled around her, catching her cloak and causing it to flutter like the wings of a startled bird. Sand clung to her boots. She knelt and scooped the material into her hand, letting it tumble through her fingers.
She detected silica, feldspar, mica and other minerals, but mixed into the sand was something more. Though there were only traces of compounds like hafnium, graphene and polymeric materials in the sand, Monique could still feel the presence of the souls she had lost. She could still sense the millions who had perished in the city and become entombed there, like the Pharaohs of old.
Dusting her hands, she continued into the ruins and stopped before the great pyramid. Only the upper half of the monument was now visible, the rest buried beneath five thousand years of rot and decay. Monique aimed her War Spear at the walls and fired, using the weapon’s crystal-infused power to tunnel an entrance into her former palace.
The Queen had not expected to set foot inside her temple again, and she did not want to now, but the Pyramid of Maat contained something she needed. Monique entered the royal palace and worked her way toward the Queen’s chamber. Like the rest of her ancient city, it was a relic ruined by age and violence, but the memory of it was still fresh in her mind despite the years.
Searching the chamber for the secret hiding place she had built millennia earlier, she found the Vault Stone and pressed her fingers to the surface. Each touch produced a glowing Aternien hieroglyph, the pattern known only to her. Stepping back, the Vault Stone rumbled, then slid back and to the side, revealing a small chamber. Unlike the rest of her ancient city, it was free from dust, preserved just as she’d left it.
Monique sighed heavily and then reached inside. Her hand touched the soft linen bag she had placed there long ago. At that time, she had intended its contents to remain hidden for eternity, but fate had deemed otherwise.
Removing the bag, she untied the ribbon and then poured out the contents. Two small orbs fell into her hand. An ethereal mist swirled inside them, like an angry storm viewed from orbit. One of the orbs contained the soul of Markus Aternus. The other imprisoned the soul of Nathan Clynes. They had been preserved in order to maintain the cosmic balance, and for millennia, there had been peace. Then, another force had risen to destroy everything Monique had fought for and built. She shook her head, ruing the irony that she might need the help of her most bitter enemies to restore that balance once more.
The fizz and crackle of energy portals being formed stole the Queen’s focus, and she hurried out of the chamber and back to the surface of her dead world. Vortices were opening all around her. Behind each, her enemy lay in wait, ready to pour through and attack. She wanted to stay and fight them, but it was not yet time.
Instead, the Goddess and Queen of a dead empire planted her War Spear in the sand and sang a spell into the poisonous air. She opened a portal, stepped into the maelstrom, and vanished.
THE END. FOR NOW…
Carter Rose and Carina Larsen will return…
ALSO BY G J OGDEN
Kindle Storyteller Award Winner 2023
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
G J Ogden is a proud recipient of the Kindle Storyteller Award and has written over 45 sci-fi books that have garnered over 15,000 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.
I’m a physics graduate and a former technology journalist with a lifelong love of anything nerdy. From Firefly to Farscape, Star Trek, and everything in between, sci-fi is my bag. I’m also partial to a bit of sword and sorcery heroic fantasy. Conan! What is best in life?
On the rare occasions I’m not writing, I’m usually getting whooped in games of Warhammer 40K by my son. Unless I’m playing Adepta Sororitas. Then I win.
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G J Ogden, Chaos Aternus (The Aternien Wars Book 10)
