Lion and the Fire: Land of the Lions, #4

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

Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

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 around, and then jumped out of the system in route back to where it'd come from.  The object it'd left behind then 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.  Small repulsion engines on its back soon came to life as the machine worked quickly to slow its descent.  Eventually, upon reaching five thousand feet, it pulled up gently and leveled off as it settled into a slow, lazy glide across the countryside.  Yet, despite the powerful engines on its back, it didn't make a sound.  The bird like machine then began to study the land below in great detail, including sights, sounds, and even the voluminous radio traffic that saturated the air of the planet.

The machine continued doing this over many hundreds of miles until it caught sight of a golden shimmer in the prairie beneath it.  Seeing this, the machine immediately turned off its engines and began a slow, spiraling descent towards the ground to get a better look.  It soon spotted a pair of lions that lay quietly in a patch of green prairie grass that swayed gently around them as a lite breeze softly caressed their bodies.  Realizing that 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 any better, they could easily have mistaken it for the real thing.  The tabion like machine 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 or not.  Eventually it 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.  Several of his other spiders quietly milled about around him as they anxiously waited to see what would become of their now departed comrade.  Breakman flipped down his magnifying goggles and then studied the little droid's outer shell.  Even though his cybernetic eyes were good, he liked the added features and magnification that the goggles provided.  This would prove important as he worked to open up his now dead scout spider and retrieve whatever data he could from within it.  Most importantly, he needed to find the location of the ship that Psial had left for him.  At least he hoped that Psial had.  If not, then it would greatly complicate things.  Even so, despite how anxious he was to get at that information, he was still unable to do so.  In fact, it'd taken him nearly thirty years to advance his technology to a point where he felt comfortable with attempting such an ambitious effort.  He knew that, if he made even one mistake, everything he'd hoped for 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 of the fragile components within, he carefully examined the spider's body and took note of every little detail on its surface, as well as the condition it was in.  He was impressed at how well it'd held up over the past thirteen 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.  So the only thing he could hope for now was that it's memory core would still be intact and, more importantly, functional.  Or, if not even that, then at least recoverable in some way.

Kinda wondered how that alloy would hold up over the long haul.  I guess I've got a bit more work to do on that 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 quietly studied the spider for several minutes longer before retrieving a small tool from his workbench and gently prying 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 put down his first tool, and then reached over and grabbed a different one that had 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 disassembling 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 yellow 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.  To his surprise, 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 spent, and 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 the battery 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 spider's core memory module.  Everything it 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 down in a tray just below the primary scanning head and activated the machine which immediately began analyzing the chip.  But, much to Breakman's displeasure, the results were extremely disappointing.  He pursed his lips in thought at this 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.  The results this test produced were no better.  So he played 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 just too far gone.  He grunted loudly in frustration.

Great.  Now what? he muttered aloud.

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 exclaimed.

The spider crossed its two front arms, and let 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 chirped its frustrated, angry reply.  Breakman couldn't believe the attitude he was getting from the little droid.  But just as he was about to scold the little spider again, 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'll work? he asked.

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 to work with than what I've been able to get so far.

The little spider smiled.

––––––––

Segarg stood atop 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 to see them in this part of the land from time to time, as it was one of Tgegani's favorite places.  But they typically only did that in summertime when it was warmer.  And it wasn't because of the cold weather that they stayed away from there during the winter months.  Instead, it was the generous amounts of snow, that covered the land during that time, which made them nearly impassable.  However, this year was different, as spring had come early, causing much of the snow, that normally covered the Northern Mountains at this time of year, to melt away, leaving the foothills, and 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.  He then turned and noticed Segarg's expression of muted contemplation.

So 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, Segarg hated him with a passion.  If he could've found someone better, he'd have replaced Regnig long ago.  However, so far he'd had little success in doing that, which bothered him, because, if Regnig was the best that Negago's army had to offer, other than himself, then they were in a lot of trouble.

Those lions down there: The proxies of Meshua.  For over ninety years they have kept this planet, as well as the galaxy, safe, both in the present, and the past.  They are even partially to blame for our current predicament.  If it weren't for them, it's possible that we'd have already conquered this planet long ago, as well as most of the galaxy.  Instead, we cling to a few scattered victories amidst a mountain of defeats.  As it stands, time will run out for us long before we are able to achieve victory, if that is even possible anymore.  As such, I fear that this war against Meshua is already lost, and thus we now have only to wait for our eventual defeat, and 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, as is yours.  Even so, I now consider every day what I might do to make amends for the innumerable evil that I have done over the millennia.  And, while I may never succeed in making full restitution for everything that I have done; if it allows me to make penance for even a small portion of that, then I will be satisfied.

Regnig gagged in surprise.

That 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!  So there is nothing he can do to me that I will not already suffer, be that two minutes from now, or two millennia!  Therefore, I do not fear his wrath, for my torment is soon upon me, as well as is yours.  So let him do his worst.  There is nothing he can inflict upon me that I have not already prepared myself for.

Regnig hissed and growled angrily.

You traitor!  You will regret this action! he screamed.

He then vanished in a flash of fire, and was gone.  Segarg grunted at this as he glared at the place Regnig had once stood.

Tattle all you want.  It changes nothing, he said with quiet anger.

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 judgment 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 peer into 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 finished.  Even so, they were disappointed with the results.

That's the best we can do, sir.  We've imaged the chip down to the atomic level, as you've asked, and removed all of the damage that 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 image and tried accessing the holographic chip as though it were the real thing.  Under normal circumstances it would've worked like a charm.  However, 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 carefully studied the gates, pathways, and everything else in the chip, and 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.  After much hard work the chip finally 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 that he'd retrieved all that there was, he sent the data to a computer in his office.  After this he turned to the scientists and nodded approvingly.

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 operating logs his spider would have 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, 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 then meant traveling 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 cybernetic volunteers available to do the job, willing or otherwise.  So, as 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 the 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 lacked 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 during the many centuries it would be sitting out there waiting for him.  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 told him everything he needed to know.  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 souls was left to the other demons.  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 at this 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 opposing 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 chose 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, that had been recorded onto it, poured from its crystalline depths and into his mind.  This allowed him to see, hear, smell, taste, and experience everything that Regnig had in perfect detail.  Negago watched this curiously for several moments before crushing the jewel to powder.

It would seem that I have no choice but to make you my chief general for now.  However, understand that this is only a temporary promotion, said Negago flatly.

Regnig became giddy for a moment, and then paused.

Wait, 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 has made, I suspect that what we have seen is not as it seems.  I believe his actions are part of a secret plan he has devised to open a pathway for us to victory by pretending to go rogue, and becoming our enemy.  Such a thing would be his style, as he has moved secretly like this before, and won many victories for me in the past by doing so.  That is why I believe he is doing it again."

A dark, seditious smile then 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? said Breakman.

Ibara looked at his brother curiously.

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

Breakman frowned.

Well, if you're able to, I need a look inside.

Ibara pursed his lips slightly.

Are you, perhaps, looking for a missing starship? he asked.

Breakman was surprised at this.

Yeah, I am.  How'd you know? he asked.

Didn't you once tell us that you'd asked Psial for one?  So, since you're coming to me now, asking to see the inside of the chamber, I can only assume that you haven't found any clues to its whereabouts from your old spider.

Breakman crossed his arms and studied the lion.

Unfortunately, you're correct.  All my work so far has come up empty.  That's why I'm curious about the chamber.  How much do you know about it? he asked.

"A lot, actually.  But why do you want to know?  Do you think it has the answers that you're looking for?" asked Ibara.

Breakman frowned slightly.

Yeah, kinda.

Ibara gave his brother a bemused, incredulous grin.

Well, if you must know, what is down there will be of no use to you.

Breakman furrowed a brow.

Why do you say that?  Wasn't there writing on the walls? he asked.

Ibara nodded.

There is, but none of it is about your starship.

Breakman frowned.

Then what'd it say? he asked.

Ibara grinned.

Would you believe it didn't say anything?

Breakman cocked his head in confusion.

What do you mean?  The walls were full of writing.

Ibara pursed his lips.

They are.  However, everything that's written in there is just gibberish.

Gibberish? said Breakman in confusion.

Yes, it appears that the writing we saw was merely placed there to give the chamber the appearance of being an authentic royal tomb, or even perhaps a ceremonial chamber, constructed by our ancestors many centuries ago.

Breakman was puzzled by this.

To what ends? he asked.

To hide the chamber's true purpose.

From who?

Ibara grinned.

I would have to assume that it would be anyone who wasn't us.  If you remember correctly, it was hard enough for us to deal with the blow back that came from finding your spider, the medallion, and that statue down there.  Imagine the additional headaches we would've faced if that writing actually said something.  So I think he did it that way, in order to protect us, knowing that our people would likely react very poorly to such a shocking revelation.

Breakman grinned.

Ya'know, that does sound like something Psial would do.  However, are you sure that what's written on the walls isn't some kind of code?  I mean, Psial had some pretty smart cryptographers.  So I wouldn't put it past him to put something on that wall that only we could decipher based on something only we would know.

Ibara pondered this briefly.

That's entirely possible.  But even if it is, I'm not too eager to go around advertising that we're looking for code breakers.  Especially given that it might tip off the wrong people to the fact that there's far more to that chamber than we're letting on.

Breakman frowned.

Yeah, I know.  I've been doing my level best to keep that quiet as well.  But somehow people are still hearing about it, which is going to cause some major issues for us in the future if we don't keep a better lid on this.

Ibara nodded.

"Agreed.  But I'll leave the details of that to you.  After all, political cloak and dagger is one of your specialties.  So I trust that you'll keep this nailed down as