Heroes
The second in the elexion short story series. I have a few more completed ones, and even more are in the works.
Am I truly a hero? Have I ever been a hero at all? For the hundreds of years that I have lived, I have saved millions, but killed billions. Is that really what a hero does? What am I, truly? I am not sure. All I know is that I think, I exist, and I fight. Galactic year (GY): 6620 alliance year (AY): 220 earth year (EY): 2020 After the last battle against the majority of the surviving members of the imperial army, I traveled the universe of universes, establishing alliance outposts, ushering in new planets, defending from threats that those I was defending had been powerless against for as long as they could remember. Suddenly, six years later, I was called back from my wanders for more than my customary 3 week return. 1 year ago, a new political group had established itself, a group that, while apparently very plainly stated in their purpose and goals, was very mysterious in its methods and processes. While the alliance government watched warily, they slowly gained political power, rising up to be one of the most influential parties in the alliance. Suddenly, 3 hours ago, they had declared war on the alliance. The party was discovered to be backed by an imperial officer, who now aimed to take the alliance as his own. The oher immortals, all 20 of them, had been called to defend various planets and installations. Meanwhile, I was to strike at their heart, and capture the officer dead or alive. I was going to be dropped from an alliance fighter in high orbit with a pressurized suit, then come down through the upper atmosphere of kanotan, the planet their base was on, with nothing but a heat resistant canvas between me and a 5 mile fall. Easy. It took them 2 hours and 45 minutes for them to find me and 10 minutes to brief the immortals. By the 3 hour mark, I was jumping out of the fighter. I angled myself like a hawk, decreasing air resistance and greatly increasing acceleration. The pressure, at this point phenomenal, would have normally killed a regular human in an instant. Luckily, I was far more than human. The air friction increased as I entered more and more concentrated air, but instead of deploying my heat shield, I drew on the friction, turning heat energy into physical energy, which I stored in my suit and in my body, hoping that I could imbue enough of it before I pulled off the maneuver I was planning. Mere yards from the steel and stone surface, I rotated my feet down, and released all the energy I had gathered in one attack. "shockwave!" My soul fire flared into existence, producing a huge, roiling wave of energy that slammed through the thin strip of air that lay below me, cracking open the base like an eggshell, revealing the panic stricken officers and soldiers inside. The soldiers fired, and the officers started keying in defense protocols. Those were the last things they ever did. In mere minutes, I had cleared the room of enemies, and reported back to the fleet in orbit around zarakus, the second life-supporting planet in this star system. The alliance army was at the site in 3 minutes flat, setting up a base of operations in preparation for the long, taxing battle we were about to face. I took no interest in such proceedings. I had seen them many times before, and besides, I had an objective to complete. Retake kanotan for the alliance. As soon as the base of operations was complete, I and the other 20 immortals gathered our specific forces, soldiers that each of us had hand picked for service under us for power, loyalty, honor and courage under fire, and we all chose specific strike targets. We were vastly outnumbered, so we had to begin with surgical strikes that tested the enemy's defenses, their willingness to hold ground, and their general moral. We found out, through these methods, that while the enemy was armed with numbers and an almost fanatical devotion to their cause, their inexperience in battle would often lead to their downfall. This was a conclusion that I drew, to the rest of the immortals, with a certain grim satisfaction. I knew that I could easily outmaneuver them on almost any battlefield, as long as I didn't resign myself or my army to an open battle, but kept them guessing by attacking from seemingly random directions, then disappearing into the lush rainforest climate that covered most of the main continent, keeping them chasing ghosts in the fog and rain, then cutting their supply line and finishing them off. The plan was accepted unanimously by the other immortals, and we set to work with our men working out how to make it work. Unsurprisingly, the soldiers suggested many different things that would work very well. Holograms, decoys, feinting blows, and other trickery, all of which we gladly agreed with, even working alongside them to prepare our plans. This is why immortals hand pick their soldiers. Only the best and the brightest of the elite followed the immortals into battle. Through recon, both satellite and ground, I and the other immortals found that the enemy had established a series of fortresses, spread across the surface of the planet in a reckless manner. All of them were too far away from each other to send reinforcements to each other in a reasonable amount of time. It was lucky for us that it was this way, because it made it that much easier for us to make our move. I presented and outlined a strategy, in addition to the tactics that had won many skirmishes with our enemies larger army; a fort hopping campaign. The first few would be attacked in full force, but left relatively intact. After capturing these, we, the immortals, would leave our private armies to defend them, and move on to a list of other forts, finally all meeting in one final devastating attack against their main base, a huge concrete structure in the center of the continent. The strategy was accepted, and we were moving by nightfall. When I reached my target, I ordered my men up and over, using magnetic gloves and boots to scale the smooth metal walls. I assassinated a guard, throwing a dagger through his heart from 20 feet away, then retrieving it and moving on. I split my army up, giving them objectives and assignments. By the time they realized we were there, it was too late. The alarm rang for only a minute before we had cleared the place and turned it off. I arranged defenses, set up guards and placed gun posts before moving on to my next objective. Occasionally, when the soldiers saw that they had no chance (mostly after I blew 50 foot gaping holes in their walls) they would surrender. I called for evac for them. Unfortunately, not all of them had the sense to surrender. I killed many that night, and dawn saw the immortals, all 21 of us, moving in on the final objective. We met near the front gate, all moving silently and fluidly. I drew out my beretta 50 cal sniper, making my way to a nearby ridge, fitting a suppressor on it as I did so. I was going to provide cover fire, along with 3 other immortals. I lay down on a ridge, my rifle barrel the only indicator to my location, and not a very good one at that. I watched through the digital scope fitted on the top of my sniper as the immortals assassinated guards. I covered them occasionally, shooting survivors that went for the alarm. The second the walls were clear, I put away the sniper, drew my sword and my MAC-10 and moved in on foot. Then, together, immortals on every part of the walls hit the alarms. The soldiers stumbled out of their barracks, trying to enact what would have been a very efficient defense plan had the breach alarms not been coming from all directions. I smiled. This was going to be easy. Eliza, #19, and me we're the first two on the ground, cutting down soldiers as they attempted to rush us in ragtag bands. I stepped in and shot a soldier over her shoulder, and she nodded to me. "there's too many to kill with conventional weaponry." I yelled. She growled in agreement, a displeased expression spreading across her face, the white tips of her canines showing through the grimace on her muzzle. Suddenly, inspiration struck me. "i've got an idea." She looked at me. "them?" I glanced over, then hurriedly turned my attention back to the crowd of enemies. I grimaced. "do you have a better one?" She stabbed an armored trooper. "not really." "cover me." I said, and drew back. Quickly, I summoned the scythe of the grim reaper, the red and black staff and blade appearing in a burst of black-veined soul flame. I held it in my hands, the energy of eons flowing through me. I ignored it and pushed deeper, seeking the souls I knew where there. I made momentary contact with them, then drew back. I knew that would be enough. Black figures began to form around me. I drew my sword, keeping the scythe in my left hand, remaining in contact. The other grim reapers, those that had come before me, formed around me, their white soul flames flaring into existence around them, causing my soul flame to flare in response. They hesitated for a moment, then all four of them, and me, lept into the thick of the battle, driving off the overwhelming forces that we faced. The scythes and my sword moved quickly, slicing, severing and destroying, dealing mortal blows wherever they landed. Occasionally, sheathed my sword, then thrust out my hand, shouting "shockwave!" and drawing on my reserves of power. The drain was noticeable, but worth it, as a huge blast wave destroyed the front few ranks of soldiers, shattering bone and bursting organ. It took hours of fighting, but by high noon, the enemy was defeated and routed, and we had won. I traced my index and middle fingers across the keen edge of the scythe, and the other grim reapers faded out of existence, returning to where they resided, a place I had visited, but would never live in. Eliza came up, her battle armor stained red, much like mine. "so." I said "another victory." she looked at me, but I looked away and sighed. "I'm tired. That took a lot out of me." We could talk later. Now, though, I needed rest, because I knew I had a busy couple of weeks ahead re securing kanotan. It did take 2 weeks to repair and re secure, but at the end of it, I was able to go home. This time, something different did happen. Eliza came with me.
For all the people I have saved, and all the good things I've done, I am no hero. I am a soldier, with a soldiers heart and soul. I was born as nothing, a blank slate, then i became a human, only to abandon that title for much, much more. For how can I claim to be human, yet to have lived hundreds of years, yet look only fifteen? Human is something I'm not, and neither am I a hero. I have no claim to either of those titles.