The Southern Calt pt. 6

Now equipped with the truth, Akashi has a slew of difficult choices ahead...

Celie and Saquoa weren’t far from the elevator when Akashi found them. 

“Is the path clear?” Celie asked. He nodded. Somewhere along the way, Celie had lost her rifle and caught a small scrape along her forehead. He was sure there was a story to it, but he didn’t think to ask.

“You look like you went through hell, Pace.” Saquoa announced in a raspy, tired voice. Akashi nodded again. Saquoa took him by the arm, steading herself. “Are you okay?”

“Let’s just move.” He replied. He felt a deep rage bubbling inside of him for her, but he felt a pang of emotion he couldn’t quite place that told him he still owed it to her and everyone else lost to this war to get her out. Akashi pushed his rage deep inside and helped Saquoa. He would have time later to figure out what to do with his feelings. He and Celie began to carry her along as fast as they could. They retraced his steps until they made it to the hall leading up to the elevator lobby.

“The door to seal the flooding was compromised.” Celie announced. “We got it to close, but it can’t hold the pressure. It’s leaking, but it bought us some time.”

“That’s okay, we don’t need much. The elevator’s around the corner.” Akashi replied. Celie shared a look with him, then looked at Saquoa. 

“Wait, the elevator… the door… boss, how did you -”

“Gods… what happened here, Pace?” Saquoa gasped, drowning out Celie. They rounded the corner into the bloodbath. The klaxon rose in Akashi’s ears again as he returned to the scene. It felt strange to him how little he felt at that moment. He was numb to the scene, his only focus was the way out just ahead. 

“It’s hard to explain… but when we get to the surface… I need you to trust me.” He spoke through the alarm.

“Trust you? What’s going on?” Saquoa demanded.

“I made a deal with a soldier I met down here. He’s giving us safe passage.”

“In return for what?” She pushed again.

“That’s not something you need to worry about.” Akashi replied. Celie looked conflicted - confused.

“No, I think it is. I am your commanding officer and what you’re describing is treason, Pace. Tell me, what deal did you make?” Saquoa’s fist tightened around Akashi’s shoulder. He breathed in then out so loudly that it echoed off the tunnel walls.

“I agreed to tell the people of the collective about the ocean. That the war was started by us all along.” Saquoa went silent. Celie’s eyes flickered to rage towards Akashi, but it quickly passed into confusion. 

“Well, that’s just wrong… they were the rising threat… they started the war.” Celie said. “And what ocean? We’re in a desert, Pace.” Akashi laughed. Saquoa glared.

“We’re surrounded by an underground ocean. The entire desert barren is made up of it. If I knew how to open these damn walls like Rae-Lynd, I’d show you.” Akashi banged on the wall paneling then continued, “According to them, we started this whole thing to steal their water.” He sighed. “I’m not sure I know who the good guys are anymore after this.”

“We are.” Saquoa interjected. “And we’re in this war regardless. Now isn’t the time to ask questions.” They passed the dead insects body. Celie stopped to inspect the monsters they had ran from in the depths of the tunnel.

“You killed this thing?” She asked. Akashi nodded.

“It was a servant of Rayyan. Summoned to protect them from the invaders. From us. Summoning must’ve gone wrong though because it went berserk and started killing everyone.”

“I’ve heard that can happen.” Celie replied. “Summoning from other realms is dangerous. Just because they serve your god, doesn’t mean they serve you.” Celie’s thoughts began to drift again. “It isn’t like the collective needs water as far as I ever knew… why would we take theirs?” She asked.

“That’s enough of that, soldier.” Saquoa snapped. Celie glanced at her commander, but changed the topic,

“Well, this is it. Call it.” Celie said to Akashi. He reached out and pressed the elevator’s call button. While they waited, Celie looked about the room, “A bloody afterlife awaits us for what we’ve done in the name of the collective… should Rayyan stand to punish us.”

“I guess we’ll find out the day we die.” Saquoa mumbled.

“We won’t be doing that today.” Akashi added. The elevator doors opened. It was oddly smooth for how destroyed the walls surrounding it were. The squad struggled into it and pressed the button to go to the surface. With a lurch, they began their ascent. The doors were transparent, allowing them to see beyond the tunnels as they began to be surrounded on all sides by water.

They rose through the ocean, watching creatures wander through the water. Celie stared in awe. “A whole ocean…” Saquoa shifted with discomfort. The higher they rose, the darker the water became. Soon they saw nothing but the darkness. Then they began to see rock which soon mixed with sand and gave way to a metal structure. 

The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors slid open. On the other side of the doors was what Akashi thought might be an operations hangar. It was filled with computer stations and munitions. Mixed in between were sorcerers attempting to bless software, and mechanics tinkering with mechanics. There were strange vehicles being blessed by holy sorcerers that looked like insect shells on top of treads with handlebars. Closest to them were collections of bombs glowing with a strange arcane energy. This must’ve been how they made the bomb of Brends. He stared in confusion, but Celie began to explain,

“They imbue the bombs with an imprint of a soul lost to the sands. Then they lure them in… I don’t know how it works but I can…” She trailed off. When Akashi glanced at her, her face was contorted and her eyes had a preternatural glow. It slowly faded as she blinked it away. She looked at Akashi as though she was waiting for him to say something, but his attention was drawn away. In the distance a group of soldiers watched the squad with uncertainty. Among them, Akashi saw Rae-Lynd. Akashi gave him a nod and a smile. Rae-Lynd gave the rough approximation of a smile, but he seemed nervous. Unsure. Celie watched the exchange with curiosity.

“So is that the one you made the deal with?” Akashi nodded,

“He spared my life. Then I saved his. He didn’t deserve to die. None of us deserve this.” Saquoa grimaced as Celie and Akashi continued carrying her out.

“We could take them by surprise…” She whispered. “We could destroy this base. Like that.” She tried to snap the fingers of her hand on Celie’s shoulder but the sound was lost in the noise of arcane tinkering in the hangar. Akashi ignored her and continued carrying her along with Celie. He looked at Celie. She didn’t seem moved by her commander’s words. 

As they walked through the hangar, the far wall opened, revealing the light of the outside world. Behind them, dozens of soldiers stalked them carefully, waiting for them to slip up. Akashi looked back. He could see that Rae-Lynd had the grip of a stranger on his shoulder. They were waiting to see if he made the right choice too.

“Let’s play it cool. We’re almost out of this.” Akashi directed his words at Celie. Celie nodded in agreement. Saquoa shook her head.

“I’ll have you executed for this, Pace.” Saquoa seethed. The sky became full in their faces as they passed the threshold. It was a crisp, cold morning in the desert. The heat hadn’t begun baking the sand yet and the sky was clear and blue with streaks of cotton candy pink and crisp orange where the sun was forcing its way into the sky. Akashi glanced behind them and saw the soldiers scrambling back towards the elevator. He assumed they were beginning tunnel evacuations. The hangar doors closed with a loud mechanical crunch as it slammed into the sandy ground.

“By the way, my name’s Akashi. Akashi Pacè. And I just saved your ass. Maybe put that in the official proceedings before you put the bullet in my head.” Akashi raised his voice above a whisper as he looked out on Astra. “I’ll tell the truth at the end of a rifle if I have to. Clearly, you haven’t been, have you, commander?” Saquoa didn’t reply. He continued shouldering her alongside Celie, traveling across the desert. 

Something in him wanted to leave them behind. Wanted to run. The only thing that stopped him was the doubt on Celie’s face. He knew she was close to understanding. That she had seen what he had, and she knew just as well as him that something was wrong. He looked at her, trying to plead with his eyes. Trying to beg her to stay by him. She seemed loyal - fiercely so - but maybe, just maybe she would see everything he did and know to do the right thing - what he thought was right. 

With difficulty, they climbed a large dune then began descending down the other side. As soon as they were out of sight of the hangar, Saquoa broke away from Akashi and Celie. Celie moved away from her, giving her space. She limped a meter or so away and put a hand to her ear. They heard the faint click of her earpiece activating.

“I thought we were being jammed…” Celie mumbled.

“Didn’t stop my rifle from transmitting data.” Akashi glared at Saquoa.

“Commander Den? Saquoa here with Alpha recon. Confirmed, mission complete…” Saquoa turned away from Celie and Akashi and continued speaking. She lowered her voice, but the two still heard her. “Requesting pickup with a full security detail and - negative. No. No sir, I -” Her shoulders dropped. “With all due respect, I’ll die out here if you - No. No, I understand. Was the data transmission complete at least? Perfect. Final rec to complete the bombing run after we are minimum safe. Saquoa out.” She turned and faced her squad. Celie glared with an uncontrolled rage Akashi hadn’t expected to see from her. Saquoa sighed, blind to Celie’s anger and pulled her hand away from her earpiece. “Well, we’re on our own.” 

“What was that about, boss?” Celie asked.

“Classified, soldier.” Saquoa replied. Akashi laughed. “Something funny, Pace?”

“No ma’am. Sounds to me like you just got left behind, that’s all.” Saquoa glared.

“Don’t worry, Pace. I’ll escort you back to the Calt myself and throw you in a prison camp in Sant until your execution day. Celie, remove that firearm from his person.”

“Well…” Akashi grumbled. He could feel the remains of the dead heating up in the rising sun on his skin and uniform. He felt sick. This all had to be worth something. It all had to matter. He looked at Celie. “You gonna come and take it?” Celie stepped forward and put her hand on the revolver. She tugged it out of his utility belt and tightened her hand on the grip. She gave Akashi a stare filled with rage that he couldn’t parse out, then she gestured with her head for him to step away.

“I’ll handle it.” she signed between them. Saquoa raised an eyebrow, the concern palpable on her face.

“Celie, escort the prisoner. I’ll be able to walk fine on my own.” She demanded. Celie looked between the two, then pulled back the hammer of the revolver.

“No.” Celie whispered, “No I can’t.” She glanced at Saquoa, “Can you believe what we saw down there, boss? What we heard? They let us leave without killing us. They didn’t want to hurt us. They didn’t try to get us. Why do you think that is?” Saquoa was staring off at nothing in particular, fidgeting with her earpiece like she was trying to pick a signal back up or make a call. She didn’t answer Celie. “Boss?”

“”Huh?” Saquoa snapped to attention. “No… no I can’t… I can’t believe it.” Celie was glaring at her.

“Can’t believe what we went through, or can’t believe they left you out here?”

“What are you talking about, Celie?” Saquoa turned to her, startled.

“Answer the question.” Celie responded. She squared her shoulders to Saquoa. Akashi felt a faint rumble all around them. Saquoa looked at Akashi. He hadn’t moved, he was just watching. “Is what Pace said true? Have we been fighting to steal these people’s water?”

“How the hell would I know? I’m not part of command.” Saquoa was taken aback. As though this was the first time she ever noticed any doubt in Celie.

“Bullshit.” Celie spat on the ground. “I am not part of some conquesting army. I was told I was protecting my home. My people - what's left of them.” She took a step to her commander, “So what is it then, ‘boss?’” 

“Nothing you need to worry about, soldier.” Saquoa became indignant and took a step away from Celie. She squared her shoulders and straightened her spine, showing her height and authority over Celie. A low growl pierced the air around Celie, making Saquoa hesitate in her confident bluff. Akashi took a step further away from them both.

“If you spout that at me one more time I swear to the gods above, below, and all around us that I’ll -”

“You’ll what?” Saquoa sneered.

“I’ll - I’ll…” Celie let out a scream as she raised the revolver to Saquoa. The ground around them began to shake and the sky turned a deep purple. Swirls of energy began to pour forth from where Celie stood. The air went cold. She raised her hand and stone began to form from the air. Celie’s face had turned the color of the sand. Her eyes had the same strange preternatural glow Akashi had seen in the hangar. Her body was vibrating uncontrollably, except for the steady hand holding the revolver. At first, Akashi couldn’t help but think he’d never seen anything like this before, but then he remembered a moment in time. Something he couldn’t forget. 

“You’re a sorcerer…” Saquoa gasped.

“It doesn’t matter what I am!” Celie snapped. The ground shuddered. “I’m here to protect my - my home! My people! Tell me why we’re bombing people for water? They’re just people protecting their home! We killed a creature from the realm of the ancients! A scared creature! The ancient gods won’t smile on us!” Celie’s finger began to tighten on the trigger of the revolver. Saquoa tried to step forward, to reason with her.

“I-”

“Enough!” Celie screamed, cutting her off. The stones flew towards Saquoa. They phased through her arms at first, then stopped short, encapsulating them in stone. The force threw her down into the sand. The ground around her hardened, trapping Saquoa in stone. Celie was breathing heavily, unable to fully control herself. “You were always a good commander. But a good commander doesn’t mean a damn thing if you’re a monster. You lead us in a slaughter. You just didn’t think you were expendable like us!” Celie shook her head vehemently, her mind reeled as the world crumbled around her. “You broke me, commander… but let me tell you this - this one thing - you won’t break me again.” Celie’s hand tightened on the revolver as she prepared to take the shot on her commanding officer. Sweat began pooling around her forehead. The world around her shook and pulsated. She could feel herself crossing between realms, feeling the magic of the ancients. She took a deep breath in, and as she breathed out she squeezed the trigger - something stopped her.

A hand met her forearm and gently cradled her arm. Akashi carefully moved her aim away from Saquoa. He put his other hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “We’re not them.” He said. “I’ve seen - I’ve seen this moment before. I’ve lived it a million times. The person on the other end was never this awful, but…” Celie turned and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes flickered between the strange glow and her natural brown gaze. “We’re not them.” He whispered. Celie shook her head. He wasn’t sure if she was disagreeing with him or if she was feeling a flood of emotion. He just hoped she couldn’t see the terror on his face. The world could be on the verge of ending from whatever power she had hidden, but all he could do was try to speak to her. Try to get through to her. 

Celie dropped the revolver. The sound of it crunching into the sand made Akashi breathe a sigh of relief. He smiled so wide it hurt his chapped lips. The world stopped shaking. The sky returned to its former color of a vibrant clear blue just beyond a sunrise. Everything in the desert was as it should be. Celie wiped her brow of sweat and looked down at the ground. 

“I’m sorry Pace - Akashi. I’m sorry. I promised myself I -” She shook her head. “I promised myself I’d never lose control.”

“You didn’t. She’s right there. Everyone’s fine.” Akashi looked to Saquoa. She was still pinned in the sand by the stone, her arms fully encapsulated. Celie matched his stare.

“You almost had me.” Celie said to Saquoa. “All those months in the mountains… I trusted you with my life. Now I know the truth.” Saquoa only stared at her in terror. She trembled where she wasn’t restrained and when Celie stepped towards her, Saquoa began trying to kick away fruitlessly. Akashi bent down and picked up the revolver.

“Let’s get out of here, Celie.” He said as he tucked the revolver back in his utility belt. Celie nodded in agreement.

“I wonder if your friends in command will be nice enough to save you from your fate.” Celie said. She turned away from Saquoa, leaving her trapped in the stone. 

“Pace! Soldier - Akashi! You know she’s being irrational! You can’t leave me here! We got out of those tunnels together - we did it together!”

“We just made our way through an entire enemy tunnel network made entirely underground to protect their water…” Akashi replied. “All I’ve seen for however long we were down there… you’re part of this. Command and up. You all did this. You’re all going to pay for this. And we’ll make sure of it.” He turned and followed behind Celie. Saquoa screamed after them, her voice was lost in the wide sky of Astra. Soon she was far behind them. Akashi knew he wouldn’t forget her. What she did. What they all did. He knew there was only one way to rid himself of the guilt. He had to keep his promise. He had to expose the whole thing.

.

.

.

They made it a great distance across the desert, their bodies barely held on as exhaustion and hunger overtook them. When it became too much, Celie picked a spot. By then the sun had fallen low and the desert grew cold. She raised an infernal flame from the darkness, and sat down by it, warming herself. Akashi joined her with hesitation. He smiled at her when he realized the fire was no different than any other. The only difference was there was no source. It seemed to come from the air itself. Akashi looked at her with curiosity.

“So, what are you?” He asked. Celie glared at him. “I’m sorry - is - is that offensive?”

“Well I don’t know, what are you?” She replied. 

“I - I guess I’m just a guy.” Celie shook her head.

“Then I’m just a woman, aren’t I?”

“A woman who can… conjure things. Sorcery, right?”

“Sorcery because I can pull my power from the realm of the ancients, yes.” She replied. She reached into a pocket on her fatigues and pulled out a pill. “You got a ration pill?” Akashi shook his head and Celie passed him one. “This should cover us until we’re out of the desert. After that… we’ll have to figure something out quick.” Akashi nodded and took the ration pill. 

Akashi knew the pills well. He used to suck on them during long overnight watch shifts. A full day's caloric allowance in a sour chalky tablet. He popped it into his mouth and felt the familiar fizz that followed. He pushed it into one of his cheeks and brought his hands to the fire.

“I thought Sant was a magic free city-state.” Akashi said.

“It is.” Celie replied. “They didn’t know. No one knows. You have to promise me now: You tell no one about this, got it? The only person who could know now is Saquoa and if we succeed… what she knows won’t matter.”

“I promise.” Akashi said with a wry smile. He had been making a lot of strange promises lately. “Now, how are we going to do this?”

“We need some sort of proof if we’re going to take this back to the people. Some sort of - your rifle scope! Wasn’t it transmitting everything?”

“Well, sure, but I lost my rifle. The data’s gone.” Akashi said, disappointment in his voice.

“You’re right, but…” Celie smiled. “... all transmissions route back to the frontline commander. If we went back into the Calt, we could get a hold of the transmission from the head of command’s datapad.”

“Gods above, you’re right.” Akashi gasped out. “But if he has the data transmissions then he knows that we know. We’ll be a target the moment we’re in the mountain pass.” Celie nodded in reply. She laid back in the sand.

“Then we better get some rest. We’ll only get one shot at this.”

---

Hey friends, thanks so much for reading! Part 6 leaves us with a lot of big reveals and a whole new direction and goal in mind. I’m so proud of this and have had so much fun working on it. I won’t be the one to say it’s good - that’s for you to decide, but I will say that I’m full of joy publishing this weekly. I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am and stay tuned for part 7 next week.

Also, a little housekeeping note for the curious: After The Southern Calt’s completion, I will be introducing Marrow Chronicle, an intermittent episodic story that I’ve been working on in the background between updating parts of this. I want to release episodes of it in between larger projects so it won’t be something that comes out often. If a lot of people like it enough and there is a demand, I may post it more often, but we’ll see.

I’ll also be releasing a 2-parter called The Master Protocol that acts as an epilogue of an old story, The Trial of Isolation and a bridge into some later work in Astra.

I’ll also be writing an entry for the Wicked Writing contest, and possibly another writing contest over on Instagram, we’ll see about that.

Lastly, I still intend on releasing The Dragon Mother’s Chosen in the world of Astra, but that has become a much more complicated and technically difficult story for me than I expected so it’s currently on the back burner while I focus on other ventures.

One final thing, in the coming weeks I’ll begin editing a third draft of my full length novel in the world of Astra. The working title is Corruption (My title game is weak). I would love to be able to share that with you at some point next year, but we’ll see how that goes. I’m on the lookout for all the things that writers need to make a good book, so maybe stay tuned for that and see if I find them all. Just know that does exist and I’m really excited to continue working on it!

Thank you as always for reading along and enjoying my nonsense. This has been something that I feel has vastly improved my writing, helped me make so many new connections, and become something I look forward to on difficult days.

Until next time!