Lion and the Fire

By Steven Lake

Caught in the crossfire between two of the greatest forces in the galaxy, the Yigzan people and their guardian lions are drawn into an epic final battle that will change their world forever. But through this darkest hour they will gain a new life, and an ally they never expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Lake
• Release date: May 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301744381

Steven Lake

Steven Lake is a prolific author of many, many books, stories, articles, and other literature spanning a period of over twenty years. He began his long writing career in 1992 while serving in the US Army and has worked continuously to improve his craft to the great art it is today.

Book preview

Lion and the Fire

By Steven Lake

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Steven Lake

Prologue

A sleek, gray starship, about the size of a small closet, leapt into a binary star system on the edge of the galaxy and pulled to a stop near the planet of Braisail. It then opened up like a gigantic lobster claw to reveal a football shaped object within. A moment later it launched its payload towards the planet, turned and then jumped out of the system in route back to where it'd come from. The football shaped object it'd left behind soon entered the atmosphere and quickly descended towards the surface with incredible speed, gradually heating up to a brilliant, white hot glow as it plowed through the ever thickening air. At about forty thousand feet it transformed into a large, graceful, silver colored bird much akin to a tabion. Small repulsion engines on its back quietly spooled up and came to life as the tabion like machine rapidly slowed its descent. Eventually, upon reaching five thousand feet, it pulled up gently as it leveled off and settled into a slow, lazy glide across the countryside. As it did, it's eyes swept back and forth across the land below it in a very calculated, almost methodical search pattern. Yet, despite the powerful engines on its back, it didn't make a sound.

As it studied the land below it, the machine's eyes picked up every tiny little detail around it in near perfect clarity. In fact, they were so powerful that it could even read the fine print on an insurance policy some nearly two miles away. The tabion like machine continued its search over many hundreds of miles, sweeping back and forth for hours on end until its eyes caught sight of a golden shimmer in the prairie directly below it. Seeing this, the machine immediately turned off its engines and began a slow, spiraling descent to get a better look. It soon spotted a pair of lions laying lazily in the prairie grass as they enjoyed the warm noonday sun and a soft, gentle breeze that danced playfully across the plain. Realizing it'd found what it'd come for, its body shimmered slightly and then transformed into the spitting image of a tabion, feathers, colors and all. If one didn't know better, they could easily have mistaken it for the real thing. It soon came to rest in a tree not far away from the lions and studied them in great detail, its eyes zooming in and out as it tried to determine if they were the ones it was looking for. It eventually determined that, while they were indeed lions, they weren't the ones it'd been sent to find. So it again climbed high into the sky and continued its search.

Chapter 1

Breakman sat in a dimly lit corner of his personal laboratory and studied the small, rusty body of his scout spider as it lay before him. All around the room his other spiders milled about, anxious to see what would become of their now departed comrade. Breakman flipped down his magnifying goggles and studied the little droid's outer shell. Even though his cybernetic eyesight was good, he liked the extra added features and magnification the goggles provided. Especially given that he needed to get inside his now dead scout spider and retrieve whatever data from it he could. Most importantly, he needed to find the location of the ship that Psial had left for him. However, despite how anxious he was to get at that information, he was initially unable to do so. In fact, it'd taken him nearly thirty years to advance his technology far enough to where he felt comfortable with attempting such an ambitious effort. He knew that, one mistake and everything could be lost. So he didn't want to take anymore risks than was absolutely necessary. Cautious not to move too quickly, for fear of damaging any fragile components within, he carefully examined the spider's body and took note of every little detail on its surface and the condition it was in. He was amazed at how well it'd held up over the past twelve centuries. However, at the same time it hadn't survived half as well as he'd hoped. Despite having been stored in a place with almost no oxygen or moisture to speak of, the amount of rust on its body was considerable. In fact, it was worse than he'd hoped, and yet far better than he'd honestly expected. The only thing he could hope for now was that it's memory core would still be intact and, more importantly, functional.

Kinda wondered how that alloy would hold up over the long haul. I guess I've got a bit more work to do on the formula, he thought.

He chuckled slightly.

"Then again, it has lasted the better part of thirteen hundred years with only minor degradation, so I can't complain too much. Even so, I still need to tweak the recipe a bit more."

He studied the spider for several minutes longer before picking up a small tool off his workbench and beginning to pry at the edges of the outer shell. As he did, one of his spiders walked over to him and studied its dead friend with quiet reverence. Breakman reached up and stroked the spider's head making it squeal and coo in delight as it pressed affectionately against his hand. He then put down his first tool, and then reached over and grabbed a different one with a much finer edge and used it to continue prying at the edges of the spider's upper shell. Despite all of the accumulated rust across its body, the cover popped free with surprising ease. He then gently lifted it aside to reveal a very sad scene inside. The little spider in front of him moaned in dismay, and then took the cover from his father and moved it to the side. Breakman studied the internals intently for several moments before carefully beginning to disassemble the circuitry. Or at least what remained of it. Eventually he found a small, pencil shaped object deep inside the spider's body that was both rusted, and covered in a sickening yellowish paste. It was the spider's nuclear battery. Breakman carefully grabbed it with a pair of tweezers and drew it up to his face as he studied it in great detail.

Yeah, that's pretty much shot, he muttered.

He then leaned over and passed it in front of a nearby radiation detector. The device didn't react to it or give off anything more than the steady click, click, click it had before. The spider's nuclear battery was completely inert. Breakman grunted lightly in frustration.

It looks like the little guy sucked his power cell as dry as they come. I guess that's what we all have to look forward to some day when ours run out, he thought.

He set it down in a small metal dish on his workbench and then continued slowly pulling apart the rest of the spider's internal workings. Eventually he found what he was looking for. He carefully worked his tools into a socket on the master circuit board and dislodged the core memory module. Everything his spider would've seen, heard and knew was stored on there. He gently picked it up with his tweezers, and made his way across the room to a special machine he'd built to analyze the chip. He set it into a tray below the primary scanning head and activated the machine. It immediately began scanning the chip. But, much to Breakman's displeasure, the chip didn't respond. He pursed his lips in thought as one of his spiders climbed onto his back to get a better view of what he was doing. Breakman then tried another, more intrusive test of the chip. Still nothing. He continued to play with the settings on the machine for nearly an hour, doing his best to coax anything he could out of it. But eventually he gave up. It was too far gone. He grunted in frustration.

Great. Now what?

The spider on his shoulder chirped at him. Breakman snorted.

Don't you think I've considered that? he replied.

The spider chirped again. Breakman frowned and gestured to the machine.

What do you think this is for!? he replied.

The spider crossed its two front arms and gave out a perturbed chitter. Breakman took the spider off his shoulder, set it down on a nearby workbench and then waved a finger at it.

Oh, don't you get fussy with me, young man! he barked.

The spider then began gesturing wildly at Breakman as it whistled and tweeted its frustrated, angry reply. Breakman couldn't believe the attitude he was getting from the little droid. But just as he was about to again scold the little spider, it said something that made him stop. He then crossed his arms and studied the little spider curiously.

Ya know, I hadn't thought of that. Do you think it'd work?

The little spider nodded. Breakman cocked his head slightly.

Well, I guess it can't hurt to try. I mean, if nothing else it might give us more than what I've been able to get so far.

The little spider smiled.

Segarg stood on top of a tall pinnacle of rock on the edge of the Northern Mountains and stared down at Tgegani and his siblings as they lay quietly in the grassy foothills below. It wasn't unusual for them to come up here during the summer, as it was one of Tgegani's favorite places. But they usually only did that in the summer when it was warmer. It wasn't because of the cold that they'd stay further south, but rather the often generous amounts of snow that covered the mountains in winter and early spring making them near impassible. However, this year was different, as spring had been unusually warm, and as such most of the snow that normally covered the Northern Mountains had already melted away, leaving the foothills, and their grasslands, open to travel. As Segarg contemplated this, Regnig, his first in command, appeared next to him. He soon spotted the lions laying in the prairie below and hissed spitefully at them. No matter how many times he saw them, his deep seated hatred for them boiled up within him. He then turned and noticed Segarg's expression of muted contemplation.

What's eating your evil little brain today? he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Segarg turned his head slightly and glared at him. Even though Regnig was his executive commander, he hated him with a passion. If he could've found someone better, he'd have fired Regnig long ago. However, so far he'd had little success in finding another sufficiently qualified replacement, and that bothered him because, if Regnig was the best that Negago's army had to offer, they were in a lot of trouble. Eventually he turned his gaze back to the lions.

Those lions down there: The proxies of Meshua. For over sixty years they have kept this planet safe, and were even instrumental in several events in their planet's past, as well as among the stars. They're partially to blame for our current predicament. If it weren't for them, it's possible we'd have conquered this planet long ago, and much of the galaxy as well. Instead, we cling to a few scattered victories amidst a mountain of defeats. As it stands, time will run out for our master long before he is able to achieve victory, if that is even possible anymore. As such I fear the war is already lost, and we now have only to wait for our justified eternal punishment in Verok.

He grunted slightly.

It makes me realize how foolish I was in choosing to side with Negago. If it were possible for me to reject my allegiance to him and return to Meshua's service, I would. But I've chosen my path, and it is an irreversible one. Even so, I now consider every day what things I might do to make amends for my many mistakes, as well as the multitude of evil I have done over the millennia. While it may never make full restitution for all my evil deeds, if it aids me in making penance for even a small portion of what I've done, then I will be satisfied.

Regnig gagged in surprise.

That kind of speech is treason! How dare you speak against our master like that!! Do you know what will happen if he hears about this? he roared.

Segarg growled angrily as he glared at Regnig.

Tell him if you wish. What is the worst he can do? Torture me and cast my miserable soul into the bowels of Verok? You fool! That is already our fate! There is nothing he can do to me that I will not already suffer, be it in two minutes from now, or two millennia! Therefore I do not fear his wrath, for my torment is soon upon me, and well as is yours. So let him do his worst. There is little he is capable of doing to me that I have not already prepared myself for.

Regnig hissed and growled angrily.

You traitor! You will regret this action!

He then vanished. Segarg grunted.

Tattle all you want. It changes nothing.

He then turned his attention back to the lions and studied them intently.

Even though my fate is sealed, I will do all that I can to make penance for my actions. If nothing else, it will make my time of punishment more tolerable knowing that for once in my long, miserable existence, I actually did something right for a change.

Breakman stood in a corner of his molecular research laboratory and watched as several of his best scientists operated a specialized scanning device nearby. It was designed to scan any object and reveal its component elements and internal physical structure all the way down to the atomic level. He hoped beyond hope that it would be able to pull something from the memory chip that he couldn't.

Any luck? he asked.

But the scientists said nothing. They simply sat quietly and watched as a gigantic holographic image of the memory chip was slowly assembled in front of them layer by layer, piece by piece. Eventually the virtual chip was completed and the men immediately set to work undoing over a millennia of damage, decay and degradation. After hours of hard work, they eventually finished. Even so they were disappointed with the results.

That's the best we can do, sir. We've imaged the chip as you asked, and removed all of the damage we could. But I don't think we were able to do enough to make it work again, even in virtual form, said the scientist.

Breakman walked up to the hologram and tried accessing the holographic chip as though it were the real thing. Under normal circumstances it'd work like a charm. But he got no response from it. He took the gigantic holographic chip in his hands and began playing with it, pulling it apart piece by piece and layer by layer until only the naked circuitry remained. He then studied the gates, pathways, and everything else in the chip. He soon set about repairing any broken leads, bad gateways, or other problems in the chip's circuitry that he found, even if his own people couldn't. Eventually the chip responded, much to the pleasant surprise of the scientists. Breakman then reassembled the holographic chip and began to resurrect all of the data files trapped on the ancient memory chip. Satisfied he'd retrieved all that there was, he sent the data to a computer in his office.

Thank you, gentlemen, I owe you one, he said.

The head scientist waved dismissively.

No sir, it was you who did most of the work getting it functional again. We only imaged the chip and removed the most common problems. Without your expert knowledge and skill we'd never have made it work again, he said.

Breakman smiled and shrugged.

Hey, whatever works, works, right?

The men all nodded. Breakman then turned and made his way down to his office. Once there he activated the local holographic projector, opened the data file containing the contents of the chip, and began to examine it. What he found disappointed him. Aside from a few operating logs and core data files, the chip was completely blank. Not only was there no usable data, it appeared as though a large number of files had been deleted prior to the spider going offline from lack of power. Some of the missing files included the extensive operational logs his spider had recorded during its time in the past. He wondered if the loneliness, isolation or possibly even low battery power it would've encountered towards the end of its life might have played a role in this.

There was also the chance that Psial may not have remembered to leave information with the spider on the location of the ship as he'd promised Breakman he'd do, assuming he'd left one at all. Given the situation among the stars just before they'd returned, anything was possible. This presented him with a real dilemma. If the ship was there, he'd have to hunt for it the hard way. But that meant going up to both moons and spending months, if not years, searching for it. He only hoped that all of his work and planning wouldn't turn out to be for naught. He really wanted that ship. But that was the least of his worries. His first problem was getting to the moons as manned space flight had never been a top priority of the Yigzan, and thus it lagged far behind other space technologies.

This was because the scientific community felt that such risky endeavors were unnecessary with so many mechanical volunteers available, willing or otherwise. So long as they could send probes or drones, no Yigzan lives had to be risked. Knowing this he wondered if there was some way he could send out probes instead to do his searching for him. At least the space agencies would approve of that, especially if he footed the bill. But even then, finding one tiny ship on the surface of two vast celestial bodies would be the most epic case of a needle in a haystack in all of history. Especially since he would be starting out blind, as he wouldn't have a set of coordinates from which to start, and thus would have to guess where best to look.

This was mostly because, wherever the ship was, Psial would have hidden it well, not just from his own people, but also any space pirates or other less scrupulous parties who might stumble onto it by accident in the many centuries it would be hiding on the moons waiting for them. If only he had some kind of clue to start with, or a hint, or a tip, or...or maybe there was. Just then a thought crossed his mind. Ibara had mentioned that the walls of the room where they'd found the spider were covered with ancient writing. He wondered if that might be where the message was hidden. If nothing else it wouldn't hurt for him to look, even if it turned out to be a dead end.

A piercing, terrified, blood curdling scream rose up from a black, obsidian colored room that opened out into a dark, tortured hallway filled with fire. Regnig, ever cautious to approach his master with fear and respect, stood just outside the doorway as another larger demon stood guard by the door to prevent anyone from entering. The grin on the guard's face said it all. Negago was torturing another soul, and by the sounds coming from within, he was enjoying his work. Whoever it was, he'd likely done something extremely grievous to warrant such special attention. Typically, the duty of tormenting and torturing was left to the other demons to undertake. But certain individuals, ones who'd gone above and beyond all others in their evils, got regular, personal visits from Negago himself, the chief of all tormentors. Soon the screaming stopped. The smile abruptly disappeared from the guard's face a moment later. It wasn't long before Negago stepped out of the room. As he did he handed a particularly painful looking torture device to the guard.

Continue his punishment. I want no letup in his suffering, he hissed.

The guard bowed.

As you wish, my lord, he replied.

He immediately slipped inside. A moment later the screams began again. Negago cackled with delight. He then looked down at Regnig and glared at him.

What is it? he hissed.

Master, I must regretfully report to you that Segarg has betrayed you and joined sides with your enemy, Meshua, said Regnig.

Negago backhanded him, smashing the winged demon into the wall so hard that it cracked.

Liar! He is my most faithful servant, and would never betray me! he roared. He shook a bony finger at Regnig, and said, You have desired his place for many, many millennia. But you will never have it, ever! I have chosen Segarg as my chief captain because he is the only one I can trust with absolute surety. You have yet to earn such an honor, nave.

Regnig glared at Negago and growled. He then pulled a small crystal from his tunic and threw it at the dark demon king. Negago's eyes exploded with fire as he snatched it from the air. But as soon as he touched the crystal, the very thoughts and memories of Regnig poured from its crystalline depths and into his mind. Everything that Regnig had seen, heard, felt, smelled and tasted was recorded on that crystal in perfect detail, allowing Negago to experience, in detail, everything that Regnig had during the brief time in which the crystal had been recording. Negago watched first with curiosity, and then with seething rage, as the moments of Segarg's betrayal unfolded before him. His eyes soon erupted again with fire as he growled and crushed the jewel to powder.

The fool, he hissed.

It is as I have told you, master, said Regnig.

Negago growled bitterly.

Of all within my employ, to have him betray me, and at such a time as this, it makes me burn with rage towards him, desiring within myself to rend his soul to pieces in punishment for what he has done, he hissed.

What should we do, master? asked Regnig.

Negago looked down at him spitefully, his eyes burning brightly with flames, and then sighed in the most frustrated, disappointed way.

It would seem that I have no choice but to make you my chief general. Therefore, from this day forward, you shall command all of my armies in Segarg's stead. However, understand that this is only temporary, said Negago flatly.

Regnig became giddy for a moment, and then paused.

Only temporary? he asked in confusion.

"I chose Segarg as my chief general for a reason. He is wise, crafty, and superior in every way to any within my legions, including you. Though he has not told me of any plans he may have, I suspect that this is not as it seems. I believe his actions may be part of a secret plan to open a pathway to victory for us over our enemies by pretending to go rogue, and then becoming one of them. Such would be his style, as he has moved secretly like this before, and won many victories for me in the advancement of my kingdom. Thus I believe he is doing so again."

A dark, seditious smile grew across the dark demon lord's face.

So if he is moving as I suspect he is, then his plans, and his seeming betrayal of me, will work greatly to our advantage. With him deep in the enemies camp, our ultimate victory is almost certain. Regnig, prepare our forces for war! With Segarg leading the way, we will bring down Meshua and his armies to defeat!

Regnig hissed greedily.

As you wish, master.

Ibara looked up from his desk in curiosity as Breakman walked in.

Ah, brother! What brings you here? he asked happily.

I need a favor, chief. Remember that chamber you found my spider in?

Yes, I do. I was just working down there the other day. Why do you ask?

I need a look inside.

Ibara pursed his lips slightly.

Are you looking for something? Perhaps a missing starship? he asked.

Breakman was surprised at this.

How'd you know? he asked.

Didn't you mention to us that you'd asked Psial for one? Since you're coming to me I can only assume that you haven't found any clues to its whereabouts as of yet.

Breakman crossed his arms and studied the lion.

Alright, fair enough. I'll give you that. So what do you know about the chamber?

Why do you want to know about the chamber? Do you think it has the answers you're after?

Well, since my spider's memory banks were empty, the chamber or Tgegani's medallion was next on my list of possible places to look.

Well, the medallion is a dead end. I can verify that myself as I've been through it top to bottom and it's yielded nothing. The medallion is indeed what it appears to be and nothing else. The chamber, unfortunately, isn't much better.

What do you mean?

"Well, it's pretty