Caelum

I sagged in front of the screen with file 24.001 in my hand. According to the notes embedded within the previous file, this would show me exactly what happened to those two boys. Were their deaths caused by Fire Wolves or was it something more sinister? Whispers of assassination ran through the masses as tensions rose between the Martian government and the Consortium. Before I could pop the disk into the computer, Gard rolled into the room. My robotic sidekick was like a faithful bloodhound lately, leaving my side only if he must.

“Nathan, it is time for us to go.”

I sighed. “Can you give me a few minutes?”

Embeth appeared in the doorway. “Unfortunately there is no time. We have to leave before Royal Command collects and rallies their scattered forces. We must take advantage of this moment.”

I felt the walls close around me. We had to leave, but I lamented leaving these tomes of history behind. The High Prince, just to spite me, would burn the Archivist Library to the ground. Embeth thought the idea ludicrous but I suspected otherwise. I exposed his Consortium as a fraud and he vowed revenge.

“I know,” I acknowledged. “I don’t have to like it though.”

Embeth dropped his hand on my shoulder. “Nobody likes it, Nathan. The events unfolding since that day appeal to no one. We have lost too many and come too far to look back now.”

I scooped up all the files I could carry and dropped it into my pack. With a sympathetic nod, Embeth led me out of the Library. Once outside, the bright suns contrasted the dimly lit room and briefly blinded me with their glare. Despite refraining from looking skyward, Caelum’s two suns pounded my peripheral vision and forced me to look at the ground until my eyes adjusted. After they cleared I looked around and immediately regretted it. Inside the confines of the Library I felt at ease. The wealth of knowledge provided a security blanket which allowed me to escape reality, even if only briefly. When I looked up, reality punched me in the gut.

Embeth’s forces were gathered around the library and had begun boarding the many scout ships that littered the Library’s grounds. Flying beyond the clouds were several DFS class warships, providing a shroud defense against any hostile forces that may have lingered behind. Bodies were strewn around the courtyard. Some were the High Prince’s forces, others were Embeth’s. I recognized some of their faces, but forgot their names. During these times I am thankful they are forgotten. The pain of remembrance is sometimes too much to bear. Dead faces linger far longer than those of the living.

“It’s time,” Embeth muttered.

I followed him aboard the nearest scout ship with Gard in tow. There were more dead faces yet to come.

-Nathan Chambers