Fragment of Destiny

The low hum of an enforcer skimmer cut through the silence like a siren. Tess fought the reflexive urge to hide. She would let them find her tonight. Moments later the skimmer, only a hazy outline in the dark, set down a few feet in front of her. A tall figure in the gray and red of the enforcer’s military stepped from the vehicle. Light from a micro heads-up display flickered under his left eye as he examined her.

“Tess LaBou, are you ready?” The enforcer asked his tone was all business.

She had been ready for weeks. Yet there was a weight of finality to the question that sparked futile anxiety. Up until she stepped onto the skimmer, she could walk away. She could flee from the trial like a coward if she wanted. The thought disgusted her. She would rather die than be a crystal-less.

“Yes, sir,” Tess said, placing a fist over the Imperium crest on her uniform.

"Good then load up."

Inside the skimmer, Tess found a seat beside a nervous looking girl whose eyes seemed to be drawn to the black beyond the hatch. As the hatch shut Tess saw hope vanish from the girl’s eyes, and fear take its place. Tess wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine but stopped herself. Everything wouldn’t be fine, not for everyone.

“Don’t waste your sympathy on that one. She shouldn’t even be here.”

Tess glared at a boy seated across from her.

“She failed her final.”

That would explain why the girl was trembling, but if she failed her final, why even take the trial? As soon as Tess thought it, she knew the answer. Better to die trying.

“How do you know she failed? Was she in your group?” Tess asked.

“The same way I know you passed in record time; but still slower than me.”

Her eyes narrowed, there were only two students who completed their final before her and this was not the head instructor’s son.

“Elroy Grimwald,” Tess said suppressing a snarl.

“So, you do know who I am.”

“Two minutes. Two god damn minutes, that’s all you got on me.”

A smirk creased Elroy’s face and he pushed his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Fifty Hallo’s says I beat you by more than that this time.”

“One hundred Hallo’s and those fancy glasses of yours.”

Elroy delicately took the glasses off by the temples exposing purple eyes. “I’d hate to part with them. Good thing I won’t have to. I doubt you have anything near as valuable as these glasses, so how about we stick to money.”

Screw the glasses. He had just shared something with her that was worth much more. But why? Unlike Samuel who had garish yellow hair and a pale complexion Elroy only held the unmistakable Halsinion eyes. She would never have suspected him to be a halfer had he not shown her.

“Just money then,” Tess said.

The now full skimmer came to a halt, causing a heavy silence to descend on the cabin. A moment later the back hatch opened and a murmur swept through the air. Behind a tall chain link fence covered in razor wire, a fleet of dusk blades waited. The sleek crafts were even more majestic up close.

“Everyone out, move, let’s go!” An enforcer yelled over the com system.

Outside rows of skimmer stretched off into the darkness each pouring students like grains of sand into a funnel toward the main hanger. Inside students bunched into scattered clusters milling about as they waited for the rest of their group to arrive. Most already had their survival pack and jump gear. Those that didn’t swarmed a towering heap of packs that was being metered by only a hand full of enforcers.

“Name and ID number?” The enforcer asked when at last Tess pushed her way to the front of the mob.

“Fifty-two, Tess Labou,” Tess said taking a pack from the mound and slinging it over her shoulder. It was funny, at one time she would have considered a pack like this heavy.

“You’re with Jr. Parkson. Northwest corner,” The enforcer said pointing to the opposite wall near the mouth of the hanger.

Turning to go she nearly tripped over the next student in line.

“Sorry…” Tess said as strong arms caught her.

“I never took you for a clumsy one,” The student said, his voice too familiar.

Tess couldn’t help but smile. Even though it had only been two days since the final, it felt like a reunion bumping into Samuel now.

“Sorry Samuel didn’t mean to try and run you over,” Tess said as she waited for him to get his supply pack.

“Just make sure you are more careful when you get out there. Wouldn’t want you falling off a cliff or down a hole,” Samuel said as they made their way towards the mouth of the hanger.

“Damn, it’s about time you two showed up,” Brian said as Tess and Samuel approached.

“It’s not like I had a choice. I got picked up when I got picked up,” Tess said rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, they just knew you were always late, so they went and got you last.”

“I saw a few people looking through their packs; it would be a good idea to know what they put in these things if our lives are depending on them,” Samuel said dangling his pack by a finger.

“Demetrius beat you to it,” Parkson said and pointed to Demetrius to give the team a rundown of the contents.

“There are several lengths of rope, a survival knife, food and water, water purification tabs, a tarp, striker, scalier, and of course the parachute.”

Tess frowned, at the few pre-filled bladders. “That’s not a lot of water if we get stuck out there for a while.”

“I am confident that all of you will be able to find water as you need it,” Parkson said eyeing the fleet of dusk blades.

Suddenly a voice boomed over a loudspeaker silencing the hanger. “All team’s forum up and get ready to board!”

“You all will be in that one,” Parkson said pointing to the first dusk blade on the left side of the airfield.

With a roar like the blazing firestorm and wind like a second winter maelstrom, the entire fleet came alive. Tess raised a hand to shield her face against the wind as it whipped her hair like streamers behind her. Hunkering low she followed Parkson onto the tarmac.

Crossing the portal into the cabin there was immediately a tangible stillness. With the bulky survival pack, Tess was both literally and figuratively on the edge of her seat. When everyone had boarded Parkson saluted, before sliding the door closed. It gave a metallic clink that pierced even the roar of the dusk blade.

Having never flown before she had not realized how bumpy a dusk blade was compared to a skimmer. The constant jolting suddenly stopped and a disturbing stillness settled on the cabin as they leveled off.

The moments that followed were so serene that even Brian kept his mouth shut. Then the night sky burst to life in a brilliant flash as golden streaks shot in every direction forcing Tess to shield her eyes. Blinking away spots Tess watched the massive cyclone of the ascension storm grow until it filled the sky. Flares of shimmering gold shot from the purple storm that dominated the horizon. Then the moment of stillness ended. Shock waves ripped through the dusk blade so violent Tess thought it a miracle they did not fall out of the sky.

“All right, we will be over the storm in ten seconds. Everyone check your straps,” The pilot yelled. A moment later the door opened and a wild wind and swelled inside the cabin causing the dusk blade to shudder as they momentarily drop altitude.

Tess had been so eager to be first when boarding that now she would be the last to jump. Silently she pleaded safety over her friends. Demetrius was closest to the door. Tess had watched him jump countless times in the simulator, but seeing him swallowed up by the storm dredged up fears she thought long buried. It was comical in a way. She felt excited about the prospect of her trial despite its peril, but when it came to her team, her friends, she was terrified.

At last alone in the cabin, Tess slid to the edge and peered down into the cyclone. Taking a breath, she stepped from the craft. Instantly she was spinning out of control in a complete free fall, wind whipping at her from every direction. Dispelling the momentary fluster, she carefully brought the nauseating spin to a halt.

In front of her, the dusk blade rapidly faded as it became just another black smudge among the stars. A wave of warmth washed over her as she carved a trail of light into the mist with streaks of flashing gold following in her wake.

A moment later brilliant sunshine burned away the mist followed by a sickening stillness that hung thick around her. Below, everything was misshapen as if seeing the world through a curved lens. Even without pulling her chute she felt like a feather slowly drifting to the ground. Despite the apparent speed of descent, she reached for the ripcord anyway. Better to use the chute and not need it. That would be a hell of a way to die if this turned out to be an illusion.

Tess pulled the cord but instead of the expected jolt, she felt nothing. Straining to see behind her Tess watched the tightly packed ball of her parachute as it hung limp in the air nearly frozen in time. Looking back the ground was now nearly upon her at no more than twenty meters away. Fear shot through her and she braced herself for a hard landing. It didn’t come. The ground only meters away seemed now to approach at a snail’s pace. Confused Tess looked, back to her parachute, it was now fully extended and in the process of blossoming open. Returning her gaze to the ground she smiled. She was half as close as she had been a moment ago. Once more she looked away then back and her feet were nearly touching the ground.

The instant she touched down the time dilation effect ended covering her in a partially deployed parachute. Digging herself from under the wadded nylon Tess froze. Everything around her felt off, it was all too perfect. She stood in a grassy meadow dotted with flowers. Tall trees hedged the shoreline of a pristine lake with story-book-green hills stretching across the horizon. Above the sky was crisp blue without a single cloud. Worry dangled like a loose thread in the back of her mind. Never once in her training had the simulator taken her to such a hospitable environment.

Looking at the mess of nylon and string at her feet Tess nodded to herself. It was still usable, and despite her current surroundings, it would be foolish to simply cut it loose and move on. Mindlessly her hands got to work untangling the lines and refolding the chute.

By the position of the sun, Tess was confident she could make it to the hills beyond the lake before nightfall. From there she could get a better lay of the land.

After several hours of steady plodding, Tess found her determination beginning to waver. She should have been nearly at the feet of the hills yet they looked even further away than when she had started. Looking back Tess felt a tingling sensation wash over her. The meadow she had landed in was gone. Where it had butted up to the lake was now an unbroken line of trees stretching all the way to the hills on the far side. Biting her lip, she rubbed a hand over her face. Shit, even the sun hadn’t moved.

Slinging her pack down at the base of a tree along the water’s edge Tess began to unfasten her boots. She had been walking so long and the water was too perfect to pass up. A cool dip in the lake would be just the thing to help her relax and come up with a new plan.

The moment she touched the water a soothing calm washed over her stripping away every ounce of frustration and anxiety. Taking a seat with her back to a tree she closed her eyes and let her feet soak in the temperate water. For the first time in her life, she felt completely at peace doing nothing.