. 01

Chapter 2

It's Nothing Personal, It's Only Revenge

Alex's psyche was brought back through space and time, years before he ever existed to bear witness to the events that would forever shape his life. It was exceptionally quiet that day in Trifa, the capital of Kalryn. The Savant members were deciding whether or not to go on a salvage mission to the late Zenakuu Empire to confirm casualties. It had been twenty years since the last communications with Zenakuu had ended, and there were no signs of recovery. The planet essentially went black. During the meetings, city hall was always heavily guarded, which proved to be a lackluster job for the highly trained military personnel. These soldiers were equipped with kinetic-imbued swords for close-range combat and small powered plasma rifles in case of intruders, but the only action they ever really saw was keeping out kids who liked to hang around.

Jeramine was one of the soldiers patrolling the top of the building. He began dozing off when he was awoken by a rumbling. As he regained his balanced, he horned in, "Tremor!" He jumped from the top of the building and regrouped with the rest of his team.

Another soldier, Henarai, looked up. "What the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed skyward to a colossal black spaceship entering the Kalryn stratosphere. At closer look, the object was unmistakably a Zenakuu ship; confusion overwhelmed the Kalryn guards, as they had never witnessed an attack on Kalryn before.

"Impossible. Zenakuu was wiped out. What is going on here?" Jeramine wondered aloud.

Soon, the warship began its assault on the vibrant capital. Bombs started dropping like hail, and gunners began shredding the capital with Zurekium bullets eviscerating anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the crosshairs.

The tall, plate glass windows of city hall were the first to shatter. Rows of them stretching the length of the building shattered into a million pieces, leaving the once-elegant silver silk drapes that covered them tattered and unsightly.

The small group of soldiers who initially guarded the building now hid for cover behind it. "Call Rayvaar right now and counterattack immediately," Jeramine ordered. He was the acting commander of a small group of guards for good reason. He was proficient in all manners of weapons and tactics, kept a cool head, and excelled at combat training.

"Yes, sir. I will reach Rayvaar and the Captain," responded Shielza, the communications expert in the group.

A telepathic link was sent out to the head Savant Rayvaar. "This is Shielza of the Savant guards. We are under attack by a Zenakuu warship. One was reported, but there could be more, sir. Please get to the panic room with the others at once."

"Understood, Shielza. Thank you, and good luck out there. Rayvaar out." After signing off, Rayvaar turned and announced, "Councilmen, I just received word that Zenakuu has attacked. We need to move to the panic room."

"Rayvaar, what of the citizens of Kalryn?" someone asked.

"We will launch a counterattack, but at the moment, there is nothing we can do for them other than pray they can find refuge, Hartell. If your loved ones are near, bring them quickly, but we need to survive this attack."

"Of course," the man responded.

The Savants rushed down the long corridor, which was lined with elegantly hand-woven tapestries and paintings of the founding forefathers. They scrambled for the panic room, as the building was falling down around them. While some could call their actions selfish, the Kalryn always thought strategically, and the Savants dying would no doubt be considered checkmate.

"My daughter," Rayvaar said. "Has anyone seen my daughter?"

Rayvaar's daughter Shyra was never around when she was needed.

The Savants members all made it into the panic room safely, but Rayvaar was not satisfied. "Shyra, where are you?" he called to his daughter telepathically.

"Father, I am fine," she responded. "Your guards messaged the captain on the first recon infantry and air force, and I am boarding a plane now with Jeramine to fight these savages back to the hole they came from."

"What! Shyra, I forbid it. That boy is going to get you killed. You must get to the panic room at once! That boy always has trouble following him."

"I am well aware of your displeasure for him," she answered, "but I love him, Father. He will keep me safe. You have to stop treating me like a child. I can make a difference out there; no one has my level of focus and my kinetic abilities." With that, Shyra set a mental block to her father's brainwaves. I am sorry, Father, but I must do this, she thought to herself.

"Shyra, close the hatch. We have to get going," Jeramine said.

"I am coming." Shyra took a deep breath and kissed the locket Jeramine had given her during their courtship for good luck. The doors on the fastest two-man flying craft available in the Kalryn airbase closed and prepped for flight. It was difficult to hold herself together, but if she was to die, she wanted to be by her love when it happened.

The Zenakuu ship bombarded the remaining parts of the once regal city hall into rubble. It was no match for the raw power of Zenakuu engineering. Luckily, they built the panic room underground and about a mile away from city hall.

"This building is not giving us significant cover, Kipshiro," Henarai said. "We have to move. We are sitting ducks here."

"Agreed, but Jeramine told us to hold our position," Kipshiro said.

"Well, Jeramine left to find Shyra. It is just you, me, and Shielza out here, and I intend on living through this."

"I hate to say it, but you are right," Kipshiro agreed. "We can head for those trees over there and stay low." The three-man team hunched over and traveled fast while rocks and debris flew past their heads.

"Air support should be here soon, along with the Calvary," Shielza said.

"The military base is thirteen miles west. If we make it there, we can gear up and fight back," Henarai said.

"Good idea, Hen, but it is a wide-open field between us and the base. We will be spotted for sure."

"Do not worry about that. I have an idea. Just be ready to go on my mark, and you better move your ass too." Kipshiro ordered.

The Kalryn people had an ace up their sleeves, however, a kinesis of their own—their signature lygokinesis, the ability to use one's mind to create pure energy into whatever object they wanted. With lygokinesis, the Kalryn race could create psionic force fields, enhanced weapons, and various kinds of devices to help them in war situations.

Kipshiro strained to send half of his lygokinetic power through his gun and the other half to shield his body. "Go now!" he yelled as he jumped out in plain sight. He lined up his sights on the massive ship as it was pounding giant rounds into civilization. With every round that went off, the ground shook, which made lining up his sights hard, but he was aiming for something big and hoped not to get killed before he could fire at least one shot.

The barrel of his weapon grew brighter and brighter with his power until finally he released the bullet satiate with lygokinetic energy. As the bullet left the barrel it left behind a trail of celestial light, but he knew pretty light shows would not win that war. Kipshiro fell to the ground, but heard jets and other aircraft whizzing over his head. He felt a sense of relief, as he knew backup had finally arrived. The bullet flew true and hit its target; the lygokinesis inside exploded and created a crater in the hull of the Zenakuu ship. Smoke poured from the vessel as the occupants abandoned ship, some in escape pods that jettisoned out from every angle and others by parachute. Kipshiro tried to get back up, but he lost sensation in his body. He struggled to turn his stiff neck away from the blinding rays of the sun.

His pupils dilated, and he couldn't handle the bright light anymore. The mental strain was too much for him, and Kipshiro entered the early stages of a brain aneurysm; nausea intensified as his vision blurred. The others turned back, but it was too late to save him. Kipshiro felt a heavy pop in the back of his neck, and blood filled his skull until he met death. He honorably sacrificed himself for the sake of his team. The skies soon filled with not only Zenakuu but other races from the shared solar system. The fighter pilots who flew by couldn't comprehend why other worlds were helping the Zenakuu, but they did not have the luxury to stop and think.

Shyra and her betrothed Jeramine caught up to the Zenakuu warship and realized that it was dropping out of the sky. The Kalryn Air Force was broadcasting a chance to surrender to the Zenakuu, but as the enemy parachuted down, they opened fire.

"The audacity. We offer to spare their lives, and they shoot at us? They are truly deranged. Open fire on the survivors!" Jeramine ordered.

The Kalryn pilots sprayed plasma rounds and effectively annihilated some of the falling troops. A few dozen soldiers made it to the ground; some were caught up in the sparkling trees, while others with bullet-riddled parachutes landed too hard to survive the impact. The small portion that did make it formed a tight group and remained tactical. The Kalryn infantry followed up at the landing site and lay to waste the remaining Zenakuu soldiers, losing a few good men in the process. Jeramine and Shyra's plane approached fast, but as they flew over the battlefield, they only saw the crashing warship

"Is it over, Jeramine?" his fiancée, Shyra, questioned. The Kalryn military infantry rushed in and secured the battlefield, making sure all assailants were taken care of. The patrolling was almost over when they heard another shattering rumble, the second one that day bestowed itself upon Kalryn.

Jeramine heard the sound and remarked, "That is the same rumble that woke me earlier. I have to let the other fighters know."

Jeramine broadcasted the telepathic distress message: "First recon air deployment, we have a possible second warship entering the atmosphere. Be ready to defend."

More warships came in through the troposphere, crashing through the skies. They were all fixed on Trifa, the capital of the Kalryn—a very bold move.

The blackness of the dreadful Zenakuu warship entered the atmosphere, eclipsing the sun and shading the battlefield. Several squads of the Kalryn Air Force fell into a V formation and flew toward the enemy to engage.

"Okay, men, give them hell!" Jeramine shouted over the open communication channel. The men used their fighter crafts to spring their counterattack on the descending ship. Jeramine and Shyra headed the pack. The warship's main weapon activated with a small glint of light. The only one who saw it fast enough was Shyra herself, and she immediately shielded the plane she was in with a lygokinetic barrier. With not enough time to react for the Kalryn Air Force, the main Zenakuu cannon fired. A purple beam of unfamiliar plasma shot down and disintegrated everything in its path except Shyra, Jeramine, and the protected plane. The mental strain of guarding the plane rendered Shyra unconscious.

"Shyra, talk to me. Are you okay? Your father will kill me if I do not bring you back safe. Dammit!" Jeramine tried to patch himself through to headquarters. "Field Officer Jeramine to base. First recon and air infantry has fallen. Requesting backup. There is another Zenakuu warship."

Jeramine started heading back when the third Zenakuu warship dropped down in front of his airspace. Jeramine bled the speed and slowed down to a slow hover.

"Mayday, Mayday, there is another Zenakuu warship descending. Requesting to bring out the Chrentex squad into battle."

"Request denied, soldier," came the response. "We cannot risk losing a single Chrentex at this stage in battle."

"But, sir, the enemy has developed a new weapon. It took out the entire air force in one attack."

"Captain, sorry to interrupt," Henarai cut in, "but I have seen this weapon, and he speaks the truth. My Communications Expert, Shielza was annihilated, from the blast. It can wipe out an entire base with ease. I cannot comprehend your decision to not deploy the Chrentex, we need to end this fast, sir."

"Well then it is a good thing comprehension is not a requisite of compliance. What is your name, soldier?"

"Sir, Lieutenant Henarai, sir."

"Solider, where are you?"

"Sir, I am behind enemy lines. We need the Chrentex; it is the only way to assure victory."

Brigadier General Kai-neth paused for a moment. The Chrentex were the planet's greatest military assets—elite super soldiers—and he didn't want to risk losing even one. But if he didn't turn the battle around, there would be nothing left to defend.

"Sir!" Henarai yelled out again.

"Very well, Lieutenant. We will deploy them immediately."

"Thank you, sir." Jeramine ended transmission. Jeramine knew full well what deploying them meant; they could easily change the tide of this war or seal its fate. He'd never seen the Chrentex in real life, but he remembered what he'd read about them in the history books.

The Chrentex carried equipped assault rifles that linked to their battle suits. The suits, being very high-tech, powerful, and dangerous, were weapons of mass destruction that no other Kalrynian could handle and were actually connected to each soldier's cerebral cortex and, subsequently, his brainwaves. Chrentex were chosen at birth and trained for combat from a very early age.

The suits covered their entire bodies from head to toe. Their helmets were very plain with small blue circles centered on their forehead that connected to the smaller blue circles on their hands, which generated and fired lygokinesis and magnified its destructive power tenfold. There were two ocular lenses that analyzed the battlefield to determine who were threats, heart rates of the surrounding area, and a complete heads-up display. The lenses also provided infrared, X-ray, ultraviolet, and night vision, depending on the soldier's selection. The Chrentex had perfected these suits and every aspect of lygokinesis, which is what made these fighters so rare and so valuable. Armory was integrated into their suits, and just by thinking of a weapon, a Chrentex could access that weapon. It would fold out and build itself around the user's hand, ready to fire.

The two warships were relentless as they decimated Kalryn's cities. The explosions painted skies black as they filled with smoke. Heaps of rubble and twisted metal fell from the buildings that until just yesterday had gently kissed the skies. The death count continued to rise, and there was no foreseeable end to the lives lost. A Kalrynian drop ship flew over, harboring the elite military advanced Lygokinetic soldiers. Zenakuu landing vehicles came to eliminate any threats on land and fighter jets to take care of any airborne threats were deployed from the warships. Now, Zenakuu ruled the sky and land. The Kalryn drop ship hovered above the Zenakuu warship just long enough for the five silent and powerhouse-like Chrentex to jump down and land on its outer hull with thunderous force before the drop ship was shot down.

These elite soldiers also had a bottomless supply of kinesis, though the power came with a high price. Chrentex exchanged their incredible power for the length of their lives, shortening their life spans each time they used the battle suits that were permanently lodged into their brains. It was a double-edged sword, so to get the most out of the warriors, they were kept in cryogenic stasis. The life of a Chrentex wasn't glamorous at all, and even though it was considered to be a great honor to serve as a Chrentex, parents often wept uncontrollably when their infants were selected for the program.

With these fighting machines on Kalryn's side, it was clear which nation possessed the greatest soldiers. The five Chrentex were now on the top of one of the warships; they blasted a hole through the roof and jumped inside. The leader, who was codenamed Unum, led the rest to a passage through the ship. They ran down a long hallway and then turned a corner and faced a room full of Zenakuu and other planetary races armed to the teeth with ballistic weapons. Unum charged his Lygokinetic energy, and the blue circle on his helmet started to spin faster and faster. As it spun, it grew bigger and emitted a two-dimensional azure energy circle in front of him. In a flash, his helmet shot a stream of lygokinesis that ricocheted through the room, killing all enemies so efficiently that he seemed to control the beam's route with his mind.

The Chrentex never spoke. In fact, nothing could be heard but the thud of bodies hitting the floor. They communicated telepathically, and the five of them were always in each other's minds. Unum guided the rest of them in a single file line—Unum, Duobus, Tribus, Quattuor, and finally Quinque. The five readied their rifles simultaneously as they marched down the passageway. Their lenses analyzed the entire craft and guided them to the control room to bring the ship down. They took out Zenakuu after Zenakuu, as well as any other species in their way. The Chrentex displayed no feelings; because there was no room for emotions in war, they were like heartless machines.

In passing, other planetary warriors on the ship who had heard tales of the godlike Chrentex dropped their weapons immediately. In the control room, however, Admiral Jassal of the Zenakuu invasion party was ready. When the Chrentex reached them, he had a squadron of soldiers with their guns aimed at the doors. Unum turned on his X-ray lens and saw the horde of trigger-happy soldiers guarding the main deck. The five each charged up all three of their lygokinetic generators for a total fifteen shots. They waited until fully charged before Quattuor and Quinque kneeled, while the first three remained standing. They pointed their hands at the control room where twenty-five Zenakuu soldiers waited and blasted the entire room out of existence, leaving only the doorway the five stood behind intact.

Jeramine flew by the falling warship and patched through to the base "Sir, another warship is going down," he reported.

"Damn, those Chrentex mean business," the captain said.

"Yes, sir, but we still have another one. Let the Chrentex take down the last ship," Jeramine said.

"Negative, solider, they are needed on the ground. I am bringing them back down. Send the air force to finish the job."

"Yes, sir. Alright everyone, you heard the captain. Now get it done." The full force of the Kalryn Air Force lifted off to attack the remaining Zenakuu warship.

Jeramine touched down his plane back at base and handed over the still unconscious Shyra to the medical bay. He kissed her on the forehead and promised to be right back. He quickly sprinted back to his fighter craft, fired up the thrusters, and took off. Several carriers and turbo jets took flight and made their way toward the Zenakuu invasion party. The ensuing dogfight was bloody and brutal. One by one, most of the Kalryn Air Force was shot down by the superior Zenakuu pilots.

"I need three planes on my six. We are going to wrap around and out flank them." Jeramine took control and planned on finishing the fight.

"I will be your wingman today," stated a mysterious voice.

"Adel, is that you?" Jeramine asked.

"Who else would be crazy enough to cover your ass in the midst of all this?"

"It is damn good to hear you, man. I was not sure if you made it out."

"Save the tears for later. We have a battle to win."

"Copy that. Everyone stay tight and watch each other's backs," Jeramine responded. As the squadron drew closer to the warship, they did all they could to not get blasted out of the sky.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Adel shouted. Heavy machine guns sprayed the sky, and missiles flew through the air, anxiously searching for targets. The remaining squadron was the academy's best and shot down a dozen enemy aircraft before a missile finally connected with Jeramine's plane.