The Legacy of the Lioness Read online

  “Captain, all of Kodiak and Soran’s men have been eliminated,” Xena said. Luther slowly raised up.

  I could hear grumbles and grunts nearby. I stood up and noticed two men fighting near the mountainside. It was Kodiak and Soran. Both were bloodied as they fell to the ground, rolling back and forth as they furiously punched one another. It seemed like an even match. Despite Kodiak age, his cybernetic origins seemed to assist him against the much younger Soran.

  Roman and his men cautiously appeared from behind the Warden’s statue. Luther looked at him. “Our quarrel was not with you Roman, nor any of the nomads you serve, only with this filth that plagued your people,” Luther said, gesturing his hand toward Soran and Kodiak like a couple of boars waddling in the snow.

  Leo ran back to Kodiak’s jeep.

  “Where’s he going?” Neona mumbled.

  Leo returned, handing each one of us our swords. “When they took our blades, I was careful to watch where they put them,” he replied.

  “Good work, Leo,” Luther said.

  Roman approached Luther. “I need you to be honest with me. What really happened to General Haik and all those men?” he asked, lowering his voice.

  Luther gazed toward Kodiak and Soran as they continued fighting. “Those two are responsible. They shot down General Haik and his men. They never saw it coming. I saw it with my own eyes,” Luther answered.

  “I suspected something like that,” Roman said, shaking his head. His soldiers rushed toward Soran and Kodiak. They began kicking them while they were down.

  “Agh!” Soran called out.

  “That’s enough!” Roman shouted. “Get them up on their knees, now,” he added. The guards hoisted the men up, holding rifles to their heads. Kodiak smiled, revealing a mouth full of blood that trickled onto the snow.

  Kodiak shrugged. “I never liked you personally, Soran. But you had influence over the men, and that’s the only reason we were a team. In the end, I find out you were in love with the Warden’s memory. You’re a child, unable to see past your emotions,” Kodiak said, panting heavily.

  “And you were never a real nomad. You’re an imposter, you only wanted to use us for your feud against the Ghosts of the Red Army,” Soran accused.

  Roman stepped forward, looking down at them in disapproval. “I wonder, what would the Warden say if he were here now, to see the colony he built turned inward on itself? Look around you at the remains of the men that followed your orders. They died for nothing. The same is true for General Haik and his soldiers, left to rot far away from home, for nothing. Here’s the deal—you two can continue expressing your senseless rage until one of you dies, and the victor can wander the wasteland, banished forever from our gates,” Roman offered.

  Soran’s eyes widened as Kodiak immediately punched him in the nose. The nomad soldiers backed away and formed a circle around them. Kodiak got on top of Soran quickly, choking him. I glanced at Luther as he crossed his arms, watching.

  Soran used his legs to spring Kodiak upward, rolling him off. Kodiak scrambled away as they both stood up. Soran lunged at Kodiak, clinching him around the head with his forearms, kneeing him in the stomach and chest.

  Kodiak gasped for air and dropped to a knee. He pulled down on Soran’s left arm and bit into his wrist in desperation. Blood gushed from the bite, spilling onto the snow as Soran yelled in agony. He crawled away from Kodiak as he held the wound. “You fucking animal, you bit me!” he shouted.

  Kodiak stood up and wiped his mouth covered in Soran’s blood. He chuckled then stomped on Soran’s back, knocking him flat onto the ground. He turned over on his back as Kodiak picked up a large rock and mounted him, bashing at his head using both hands.

  Soran threw up his arms in defense, but Kodiak’s strikes pushed past them. Soran squirmed and yelled as he attempted to get up. His legs kicked violently as he attempted to move, but a strike landed clean on his temple, knocking him unconscious.

  Kodiak continued smashing his head until his skull cracked. Steam vented from his head as the skull split open, revealing mushy pink and red brain tissue. Kodiak continued bashing him as blood flung up, covering his face and body. After several seconds, he stopped, breathing heavily as he pitched the rock aside.

  Kodiak wiped the blood from his hands on Soran’s coat. He stood up slowly and shrugged. “Looks like I still got it, huh Roman?” he asked, smiling.

  Roman stepped forward. “Kodiak, you are hereby banished from our colony forever. You will not be harmed by my men,” he said hesitantly. Kodiak began to stumble away.

  “Kodiak,” Roman called out. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at Roman.

  “My men will not harm you, but I suspect that if the Legion Knights see your crimes as punishable, they will enforce them according to their own law of the land,” Roman explained.

  Kodiak’s eyes widened. “What? Roman! Wait. You s-said I could leave, that I would be allowed safe passage—”

  Roman threw up his hands. “My men will not harm you, but I will not engage the Legion Knights either. Like you said, the last thing we want is a war with the Legion,” Roman cracked a smile. “How does it feel, Kodiak? You thought you’d just walk away? It’s confusing isn’t it, the sting of betrayal? I’m sure General Haik and his men felt the same way when you shot them down like dogs,” Roman said.

  I glanced at Luther as the four of us all turned toward Kodiak. We marched the old cyborg down slowly and surrounded him.

  He put up his hands, backing away as he showed us his palms. “Hold on. I never wanted war with the Legion... I-I tried to save you, Knights. You heard what I said to Soran in your defense!” Kodiak pleaded, pointing at Soran’s corpse.

  Kodiak dropped to a knee as Leo stepped out in front of us, glancing over his shoulder at Luther. I turned toward my husband as he nodded at Leo. “End it.”

  Leo ignited his sword and held it close to Kodiak’s gruesome, bloodied face. “Leonidas, I can serve you the same as I did your father. You know I have use. Don’t do this. If you let me live, I won’t tell Roman that you helped me kill General Haik,” Kodiak leaned in and whispered.

  “You forced this on yourself and us. We never wanted to be involved with your scheme to begin with,” Leo replied.

  “You know damn well why the Engineer went along with my plan. He killed your father, our Warden. The Engineer was only covering up the truth to protect his people,” Kodiak said.

  “And so am I,” Leo replied, raising his plasma sword above his head.

  Kodiak reached out toward the nomads as his hands trembled. “Roman! The Legion Knights, t-they helped—” Leo slashed downward as Kodiak raised his arms to cover his face. The plasma sword sliced his arms off at the elbows, cutting him straight down the middle of his face and all the way to his crotch, slicing him in half. Ash filled the air as the smell of burnt flesh singed my nostrils.

  Roman and his nomads slowly stepped toward us. They glanced at Soran’s corpse before approaching Kodiak’s remains.

  Roman turned toward Luther. “Kodiak and Soran weren’t expecting to see your anti-aircraft tank. How did you do that?” he asked.

  Luther glanced at Xena as Neona removed the chains wrapped around her. “To my surprise, our android remotely guided it here.”

  “I considered that as a possibility. Engineer, while no one can deny your machine saved my life and the lives of my men, and thwarted Kodiak and Soran’s aspirations of power, we will be forced to elect a new leader now. I cannot promise he won’t march our troops to the Legion’s gates. The Warden’s death, while justified by Legion law, was a tremendous blow to our people. We loved him, myself included,” Roman warned.

  Luther turned toward us. He gestured us in the direction of the AA tank. He faced Roman. “The last thing I want is a war between our two colonies. But understand the decision to execute the Warden falls on me alone, and whoever your new commander is, it’s your duty to make him understand that. No more innocents have to die from either side.”
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  Roman frowned. Luther turned away from him as I climbed atop the AA tank. There wasn’t much room to stand. Neona and I were beside each other on a small step as Luther climbed up on the opposite side.

  Leo stopped ten meters from the tank, looking at it. “There’s still enough room, Leo, here,” Luther said, gesturing beside him.

  Leo glanced over his shoulder at Roman. He faced Luther. “I’m not going with you,” he lowered his voice.

  “What?” Luther plopped back down into the snow and stepped toward Leo. Luther glanced at me before facing him.

  Luther sighed. “Leo. You’re not thinking clearly,” he said.

  “Respectfully, sire, but I’ve never felt more clarity, I belong here. You heard Roman, my father wanted to me take command after he was gone,” Leo said.

  Luther stepped closer, pointing at Leo’s chest. “Listen to me. You’re Legion. I understand the need to fulfil your father’s wishes, but you must understand that circumstances have changed. These men could kill you simply out of association to me and your father’s death. Don’t. Do. This.”

  Leo shook his head. “I just realized something. My father knew you would kill him one day for his crimes. I never knew why he had that look on his face before he died. I know now. You’re right, these men might kill me, but how many times have I almost died before in the pursuit of justice and peace? How many times have you almost died to retain your command? If anything, you taught me that it’s all worth it. The risk to lead with honor. These men are my father’s men, and if there’s something I believe, it’s second chances, just like the Legion and the nomads deserve a chance at an alliance. I alone can make this possible, not just because of who I am, but because of who you’ve helped me become.”

  Luther slumped his head. “Leo, p-please,” Luther pleaded. His powerful voice faded as emotion overwhelmed him.

  I stepped off the tank and stood next to Luther. I bit my lip looking at him. “Leo, even if they accept you into their walls, you’ll constantly be in danger. All it takes is one nomad with the will to act. This won’t be easy,” I said.

  Leo stepped toward me. “I understand that. But someone once told me that I would know when it was my time to step forward and rule. You were that someone, remember?” he asked me.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to take this sort of gamble, Leo,” I replied.

  “Neither was I, but it’s always a gamble. But the reward of potentially uniting our two peoples is worth it. This is my time. I thank you both for your counsel and leadership,” he said, meeting eyes with both Luther and me.

  Neona trailed behind us. She stepped toward Leo, putting her arms around him. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “You’ve made your mind up, brother?” she asked softly.

  “You know me,” he grinned.

  Neona nodded. “I do, and that means there’s no talking you out of it. The Elders saw something so special in you to lead the Legion, and so will the nomads. Show them, Leo, show them the man we were all ready to follow,” she lowered her voice. She sounded like she wanted to cry.

  “I will, little sister,” Leo replied. He touched her jaw and grinned as Roman approached, crossing his arms as he stood behind Leo.

  Roman put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t help but overhear your comrades’ advice. I can say without question their concerns are warranted if you decide to stay here. But, your decision to obey and fulfill your father’s wishes despite the threat of danger will be recognized by our people. Quite courageous.”

  Luther held his stare at Leo for several seconds. He turned away without a word. “Um, Luther?” I muttered. I did a double take as Luther stormed toward the tank. I stepped toward Leo as he watched Luther walk away. I hugged him tight. “He didn’t even... say goodbye?” Leo muttered.

  I glanced at Luther. “He’s hurt, Leo. I don’t think he saw this coming,” I said.

  Leo’s eyes glossed over. “I’m hurt too, but, not even a goodbye, after everything we’ve been through?”

  “Legion knights, we leave immediately!” Luther roared.

  I looked up at Leo, gazing deep into his hazel eyes. I wondered if it was the last time I would see him. “Leo. Thank you, for everything. You trusted me before anyone else in the Legion, and I’ll never forget that,” I said.

  He took in a great breath as he turned his attention away from Luther. “Victoria, safe travels to you,” he replied. He grinned with his eyes full of tears. I smiled back at him before turning around. I marched toward the AA tank.

  Xena’s head was sticking out of the tank’s hatch as she watched me climb aboard. “Captain,” she said, handing me my helmet.

  “Thanks, Xena,” I said, wiping my cheeks before donning my helm.

  Xena stared at me as I settled in for the trip down the mountain. “I’m in agreement, Captain, the chances of Knight Leo’s survival here are—"

  “Xena. Just get us to the Mauler. Please,” I cut her off.

  “Understood. On the way, Captain,” she replied. Xena turned the tank around and headed slowly down the mountain. Luther never once looked back toward Leo. He kept his back to the nomads. He didn’t even glance at me, keeping his head pointed down at the Mauler as the moonlight shone down on him. His body rocked back and forth as we descended over bumps in the road.

  Halfway down the mountain, Luther collapsed, burying his face in his hands. “No.” he muttered. He panted heavily as I reached over and touched his arm. “Luther,” I whispered softly.

  “I’ll never see him again,” he wept.

  “We don’t know that,” I said.

  “I do! And I gave him only one path—absolute loyalty to the Legion. Now look. He was forced to watch his father die to uphold the law of the only thing he ever loved. Now he’s forced to give that up, sacrificing himself just for a chance to prevent war between our colonies in a desperate act to unite us because I killed his father! I molded him into a soldier, and he’s carrying out that duty to his grave,” he said.

  “Luther! Then, so be it! So be it. You, I, or any of us would die for that opportunity, He’s the Warden’s son, and if anyone is able to prevent war between our colonies, it’s him. Let him do what he was born to do. You, the Elders, and most of his peers all saw him as a natural leader—”

  “For us. Not the nomads. He’s ours, Victoria, he was supposed to take my place!” Luther shouted.

  I pointed back up the mountain. “He is, Luther. If he can extinguish vengeance in the nomads’ hearts, then he’s doing exactly what you’ve always done, protecting the Legion. It may not be the exact way you have, but it’s in his own way. Let him,” I said.

  Chapter 8

  NEARLY AN HOUR LATER, back at the Legion...

  Luther called all the knights and soldiers to meet in the Great Hall. I had not been there since the Elders had been slain.

  Neona and I walked side by side through the hall as we did the first time I was here. As I passed each Legion commander’s frozen statue, I couldn’t help but think none of them had witnessed such dire circumstances in the Legion’s history. The Moderator was not only a risk to the Legion, but humanity.

  Since Xena uploaded Titan’s virus into the android network and crippled their fleets, the Moderator likely viewed humanity as a genuine threat again.

  To add to that, there was no Mave option for humans anymore. As much as we despised the Architect, her vision for humanity bought us time. She promised the Moderator she could convert us to cybernetic slaves, but she failed. Now, we had no bargaining chip.

  Luther and Knight Renheart stood in front of a large map as we gathered just before the staircase that led to the knight’s middle chamber, just below the Elder’s upper chamber. There was plenty of space on the ground level for everyone to spread and see the map. Neona and I were two of the first to arrive, but within seven minutes, two or three hundred more soldiers and knights had formed up behind us.

  There was a certain energy in the room, excitement mi
xed with worry. I gathered most everyone in that room had no idea the Moderator was coming.

  Renheart stepped toward the center of the crowd that formed a U shape around him and the map. Renheart was holding a large pointer in his hand. “Ladies and Gentlemen, knights and soldiers, welcome to the Great Hall for those of you haven’t been here before. Several of you are new. Most of our Legion commanders are depicted behind you as statues. Some of them weren’t great leaders as you know, and often, the reasoning behind their failures was an inability to plan for the future,” Renheart said, scanning across the crowd.

  Luther walked up beside him. “The reason you’re all here is because we’ll be conducting a Legion-wide drill to test our effectiveness against an incoming threat. This is be an all hands evacuation that will assess our ability to pack up and go to several temporary safe zone locations, quickly and effectively,” he said.

  Neona glanced at me and shrugged. Disguising the threat of the Moderator as a drill wasn’t a terrible idea.

  I gathered one of the reasons behind this tactic was to avoid panic. If we told the population the truth, the likelihood that people would follow orders to the letter was unlikely. The Moderator already knew where the Legion was, we needed the bulk of the population to go someplace else, temporarily at least.

  If we revealed the Moderator’s intent, I could imagine some people attempting to flee and go it on their own. This would give the Moderator a smoke trail of migrating refugees to track down our secret locations.

  A young female soldier stepped forward. She had dark brown skin with sky-blue eyes. I noticed she had a slight limp. “My lord,” she said, looking at Luther. She seemed nervous under her confident upright posture.

  Luther nodded. “Do you have a question?” he asked.

  She looked down before holding her stare at Luther. “There have been many rumors as of late about an incoming threat, are we to believe now that these rumors were false, and that you and your knights have been planning a drill all this time?” she challenged. I noticed she had a faint British accent.