A Glimpse of Light

Introduction



Kall was a planet rich in rare woods and minerals. In the year 2250 Davidson Star was sent to the planet to acquire these resources for the Empire. However the Chief Sykol, displeased with Davidson's six month silence, decided to use a trio of assassins he called the Imperial Trinity to apply pressure to the Kalli people.

The Imperial Trinity were a Sykol experiment; they were an attempt at developing living, breathing weapons. The program began with 12 children, all boys, bred to be emotionless and without conscience. The start was rough because most of the children developed excessively violent tendencies and were "terminated." In the end, three remained and they grew into ruthless, efficient killing machines. Growing up the three were never given names, but upon their commissioning they were assigned the names of ancient mythological figures: Apollo, Ares, and Hades.

Apollo was a lover of knowledge. When he wasn't training, he was reading and especially reading about philosophy. Through his studies he developed a code of ethics: life must be taken as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Ares was a lover of the fight. If he wasn't training, he was planning his next training session. He was dumb as a stone, but his physical strength and abilities were unparalleled anywhere.

Hades was basically the anti-Apollo. While Hades and Apollo both had an intellect that rivaled even the Sykols, Hades was a sadist and attempted to inflict the maximum pain possible on his prey.

Very few were even aware of the existence of the Trinity; even the Emperor was unaware of them. Their purpose was to silently, quickly eliminate anyone the Chief Sykol deemed to be a threat to the Empire. They were so good that what little was heard of their missions were considered ghost stories.



The Assault Begins



Apollo sat staring at his armor hanging on the wall. The armor consisted of a black jumpsuit made of tear resistant material, knee pads of high density polymer, and a black breast plate made of a special alloy he didn't know the name of. What he did know was that, despite its weight, it was easy to move in and did an amazing job of deflecting plasma rounds.

After taking a slow, deep breath Apollo replayed the briefing with the Chief Sykol in his mind:

Your orders are to hit the planet like a plague. We want maximum casualties to force a surrender. I know usually we reserve that mass casualty missions to Hades, but because of the difficulty of the terrain on Kall we need all three of you.

You each have maps on which are marked the suspected Kalli base camps. Apollo, at sunset you move out in search of the Kalli base camp. Ares, you move out two hours later by a different route. And Hades, you move out two hours after Ares. Now go prepare.

His eyes narrowed, 'Something seems off about this mission,' he thought to himself.

That didn't matter, however, because it was about time to leave. Apollo changed into his armor; then he stood and checked himself in a mirror. Looking at the Imperial seal burned into his breastplate over his heart, he thought 'I wonder why they bothered putting that there if we're supposed to be a secret? Imperial vanity I guess.'

Grabbing his plasma sword, Apollo knelt and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure he believed in a god but he made it a point to pray before every mission. "God, I'm sure that, if you're there, you're not a fan of this mission. If you can, forgive me for what I will do and receive the spirits of those I end." When he finished his prayer, Apollo stood up and made his way into the Kalli jungle.



The Encounter



Apollo slowly made his way through the trees, stopping every few minutes to listen. In the distance he heard what he thought were screams. 'That's odd,' he thought. After listening for only a moment more, he was sure what he heard were screams and quietly sprinted toward the sound.

When he got close enough to see, he hid behind a bush. He saw four people: three Imperial soldiers, and one Kalli woman. The two soldiers closest to him were laughing while watching the third. The third soldier was wrestling with the woman trying to pin her down; she was obviously unwilling.

'Bad form,' Apollo thought. 'I guess discipline isn't a quality of these soldiers.'

Activating his plasma sword, Apollo came out of his hiding spot and moved toward the closest two soldiers. They turned only to see the green flash as he cut them down with two quick slashes.

Upon seeing his friends fall, the third soldier ran to get his plasma rifle. However, Apollo beat him there and kicked the rifle away before burying his right knee in the soldier's stomach, dropping him like a peasant before his king.

Struggling to catch his breath, the soldier asked "Who are you?"

"Death." Apollo raised his plasma sword and with one swoop ended the soldier by removing his head.

Turning his attention to the Kalli woman, Apollo started walking toward her. When he got to her she was on her knees, tears rolling down her face, saying repeatedly "Thank you stranger, thank you."

Apollo tightly gripped his plasma sword before shutting it off. He could hear rustling in the bush around him and knew he was being watched. 'How many are out there?" he thought. After placing his plasma sword back on his belt, he slowly scanned the area around him, paying no attention to the crying woman or her gratitude.

'There!' He could faintly see a humanoid shape that didn't quite blend in with its surroundings. Hearing movement at a nine o'clock position from him, he narrowed his eyes as he braced himself for an attack.

Sure enough an over eager opponent charged. Apollo gave him enough time to get just about an arm length away before turning. When he turned, he quickly and firmly grabbed his opponents wrist and used the attacker's own momentum and a shoulder throw to get him airborne. Once the attacker was airborne, Apollo violently jerked him back to the ground with a thud that created a small dust cloud. Knowing that the landing had likely bruised a rib, Apollo placed his right foot on the Kalli man's chest, and after drawing his plasma sword again, placed the plasma blade just close enough to the man's tan face for the heat to make him extremely uncomfortable.

"Come out! All of you!" ordered Apollo.

Six more Kalli men stepped out of the jungle. One man, who was obviously older than the rest came the closest. "Why did you attack me?" Apollo asked.

Pointing to the Imperial seal on Apollo's chest, the older man said, "You wear the symbol same as soldiers."

Apollo coldly replied, "I am not like them."

The man under Apollo's foot groaned in pain. With a sense of urgency the older man said, "We see. You let go, please?"

Quickly glancing down, Apollo shut off the plasma sword and then stepped away from the downed man.

Apollo began weighing his options: should he terminate these Kalli, or see if they lead him to more?

Then the older man asked, "You know Philagapon?"

Placing his plasma sword back on his belt, Apollo asked, "Philagapon? Is he Davidson Star?"

"Yes, Davidson." replied the older man.

'Hopefully wherever Captain Star is will be a population center,' Apollo thought. Then he asked, "I need to see him. Can you take me to him?"

The older man thought for a moment, then after looking at the woman, answered "Yes. We lead to Philagapon." After signaling two of the other men to carry their wounded comrade, he motioned for Apollo to follow him.



Meeting Davidson Star



The older man led Apollo through the jungle; neither of them said a word, or exchanged a name. Apollo preferred not knowing the names of his prey anyway.

After three hours of marching through the jungle, they finally arrived at a camp. Apollo locked eyes with a man standing near a fire in the middle of the camp; he barely recognized the man because of the beard he had grown. "Captain Star!" Apollo called out.

After Davidson made his way across the camp to Apollo, he examined Apollo's unusual black armor, and the odd Imperial seal on the breastplate. "Do I know you?"

Apollo coldly replied, "You may have seen me around the palace a few times, but I'm sure you don't know me, or who I am."

"I know more than you think," Davidson responded with a smirk. "Sykols don't keep secrets nearly as well as the Chief likes to think. I know, for example, that you are one of three 'soldiers' responsible for many of the ghost stories I hear told among the soldiers in the regular army."

Apollo smiled, which was a rare sight. "Now Captain Star, I am well aware that our tales are popular among your Imperial Guard as well."

Davidson drew a deep breath, and then released it slowly. After a pause he said, "Unfortunately. Nonetheless, I am curious as to why you're here."

Apollo's response to Davidson's implied question was to glance at the Kalliphi around them.

Davidson nodded in acknowledgment and, turning to the old man, said "Could you excuse us please? When need a few moments to discuss off-world matters." The Kalliphi obeyed and within moments Apollo and Davidson were alone. "Now, explain to me why you are here?"

Apollo thought for a moment about whether he should even answer the question, or just carry on with his mission and start taking out the Kalliphi in the camp. However, Captain Star did technically out rank him. "The Chief feels that you're taking too long to solve this problem, so he sent us to 'encourage' the Kalliphi."

Davidson's eyes narrowed. "Us? Plural? I thought you guys worked individuals. Are all three of you here?"

"Yes, we are all three here."

"The 'sleeping massacre' on planet 17, was that you guys?" Davidson asked.

"Yes. Specifically, that was me."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. It is our protocol to work alone. We've never even trained for a joint operation."

Davidson's face grew pale, and his stomach twisted into a knot as he thought: 'I'm in the presence of a real life monster.' Then he asked, "If you are capable of that alone, why send all three of you?"

Sensing Davidson's uneasiness, Apollo responded "I think you ask because you hoping it isn't what it is. Just think simple multiplication."

"You can't do this! I'm close to a compromise, and this sort of thing will only undermine everything I've worked for so far! The ticket to getting these resources rests with the philosophy of the people of Kall." Davidson passionately exclaimed.

Davidson's use of the word 'philosophy' pricked Apollo's ears. "What philosophy?"

"The people follow a philosophy they call eisos. 'The made must live with the made.'" Davidson told him.

"And this philosophy presupposes a maker?"

"Yes," Davidson explained. "Basically, they believe that, because God made people and nature, they must live in harmony with nature. I am trying to explain to them that even those from outside of this planet are 'the made.' And that eisos can, and should, be applied to relations with off-worlders."

There was silence; the two men locked eyes while Apollo pondered this idea. 'Eisos seems superior to the Imperial idea of controlling everything,' he thought. Then Apollo stated in a matter of fact manner, "There can never be eisos while the Trinity exists."

"The Trinity?" Davidson wondered aloud.

Apollo grinned. "Oh, you don't know the name of my little group? Anyway, I was just saying that my group is the anti-eisos. Our whole purpose for existing is to slant balance and harmony in favor of the Empire. We need to eliminate the Imperial Trinity."

Davidson reeled. "What are you saying?"

Apollo looked to the sky. It had been a little over four hours since he had left. Ares and Hades were both hunting by now. "I want to help you, to apply eisos beyond this planet. But we have to eliminate Ares and Hades, and soon."

"I take it that Ares and Hades are the other two. Who are you?" Davidson asked.

"Apollo, but we really need to hurry. The other two are out hunting by now. I'm going to some help from you and some of the Kalliphi."

"What do you need?"

"I need what any hunter needs when hunting a predator: weapons and bait."

Davidson and Apollo jogged back into the heart of the camp, and Davidson gathered a group of young Kalli men who were willing and able to fight. When the group was gathered, Apollo addressed them: "Okay, we have a lot to go over so pay attention. The plan is to..."



The Showdown



Sitting in a tree, Apollo watched the ten Kalli men comb through the jungle about 50 yards in front of him. Judging by the pace he had moved, he figured Ares should be sweeping through this area of the jungle within the next 15 minutes or so. Apollo took a brief moment to evaluate his equipment, particularly his plasma sword. If any of the Kalliphi were going to survive, he would have to be to get to Ares fast, and take him down as quickly as possible.

Like Apollo had predicted, Ares attacked hard and fast. In a flash Ares knocked one Kalli man to the ground, and raised his plasma sword to finish the job. Before Ares could complete the fatal blow, Apollo knocked him to the ground with a well timed front kick to the back of the right knee. Then Apollo sliced down with his plasma sword, but Ares blocked and sweep kicked Apollo's feet.

Apollo landed on his back and instinctively rolled, just in time for the slash of Ares' blade to miss, and recovered to his feet in an on guard position.

"What are you doing Apollo? This isn't training; this is an op!" Ares barked.

"I'm doing the right thing," Apollo responded as he thrust his sword at Ares.

Ares parried the attack, and countered with a downwardly angled slash.

In one fluid motion, Apollo deflected the blade and spun 360 degrees with his sword extended, grazing Ares on the back of the thigh.

Ignoring the pain, Ares retaliated with a quick combination of slashes and thrusts. Apollo blocked and parried each attack, but wasn't prepared for the side-kick that drove him into a nearby tree, knocking the wind out of him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ares drew back his sword and prepared to swing it through Apollo.

However before he could, nine Kalliphi tackled him to the ground. The old man quickly ran over and kicked Ares' plasma sword away; then ran to help Apollo up.

When Apollo caught his breath, he looked up just in time to see Ares break the neck of a Kalli man. Determined not to let another one of the Kalliphi die, Apollo activated his plasma sword and charged. Taking advantage of the fact Ares back was turned, Apollo swung his sword through Ares' neck; the body dropped and the head landed beside it.

Before Apollo had time to evaluate his victory, he was falling to the ground. He had enough time to see that Hades was his attacker; then Hades kicked him in the face.

As far as Apollo could tell the world was spinning; he couldn't control his movements well enough to fight Hades while his breastplate was being removed. Once the breastplate was off, Hades slammed his foot down into Apollo's abdomen, knocking the breath out of Apollo again. Gasping and fighting to catch his breath, Apollo noticed the Kalliphi running away. 'Good,' he thought. 'It shouldn't be much longer.'

"You know, I'm actually pleased you turned out to be a traitor and killed Ares. I've been plotting ways to kill you both for a while now. I figure with you two gone, more missions for me. I'm so much better at them anyway." Then Hades kicked Apollo in the stomach again. "Any last words?" he asked as he activated his plasma sword.

"....You.....are....so......" Apollo said, fighting to breath.

"What? Awesome? Amazing? I know." Hades grinned.

"....no......predictable....."

Suddenly they both heard the high pitched whine as the charge on Apollo's belt activated and armed. Hades eyes went wide, and his grin faded. Now Apollo was the one grinning. Then with a flash of light, and a small mushroom cloud, the Imperial Trinity were no more.