The last shard of sunlight fractured across her prism sword as she stood on the glassy dunes of Falloran V, her crimson cloak rippling in the kinetic breeze of the dying desert moon. Commander Tahlia Veyra, a figure of both elegance and warlike intensity, surveyed the horizon with narrowed eyes. A twin-star system spun low in the sky, its binary suns throwing an apocalyptic glow across the endless expanse of sand and jagged crystal formations. Behind her, the remnants of her unit, barely alive and heavily adorned in tattered cobalt battle armor, waited with their pulse-axes humming faintly against the suffocating silence of impending doom.
“This is it,” she said, her voice sharp and unyielding. “The Obelisk lies beneath the sands. Activate the Resonator.”
Sergeant Lio Senn, tall and wiry with a mechanical arm that clicked faintly as he moved, hesitated before responding. His cybernetic hand grasped the Resonator cube strapped to his chest. Around him, the air shimmered with heat distortion, yet the cold fear emanating from his flesh-and-blood teammates was palpable. “If we use it, Commander, it’ll deplete all auxiliary power reserves. We—”
“Do it,” Tahlia snapped, her gaze locked on the dunes as though she could peer through their surface with sheer willpower. The faint scars streaking her olive-toned skin caught the light as her jaw clenched. She shifted the elaborate insignia clasp tightening her cloak—a brilliant ruby pin shaped like an eagle mid-flight, a symbol of the fallen House Veyra. “We’re not leaving until the Obelisk is ours. Do not falter.”
A Fragmented Past
The slicing sound of the Resonator igniting threw Tahlia into a memory. It was not crystal dunes or moonscapes—it was the throne room of the High Citadel of Zyrath. Lush green banners hung alongside cascading waterfalls that tamed light into prisms, just as she had once been tamed. She had been fourteen, wearing the metallic-blue diplomatic garb her mother had hand-tooled, standing behind her father as House Veyra pleaded for clemency. “Mercy,” her father had said to the robotic-faced Dominion Council that ruled the neighboring systems. They had replied with extinction.
Screaming children. Blazing star fleets. A gaping hole in the fabric of her heart.
She thrust herself back to the present to suppress old pain. The Resonator’s pulse made the sand peel away, revealing the arched mouth of a crystalline cavern. Ghostlight poured out, casting her cobalt-colored armor and matching thigh-high boots in iridescent hues. She tightened her grip on her prism sword, the swirling neon colors within its transparent blade responding instinctively to her emotional state.
The Descent
As the team descended into the cavern, the air grew thick with moisture, a strange contrast to the arid deadlands above. The interior of the cave was nothing short of majestic; crystalline walls refracted the light from their helmets, creating ephemeral rainbows that danced like specters. Tahlia’s boots crunched against shards on the ground as she surveyed the space, her cape brushing against the jagged edges of the crystal walls.
“Commander, do you feel that?” Senn asked, his usual stoicism betrayed by the tremor in his voice.
Tahlia stopped. It was faint, nearly undetectable—a resonance, deep and guttural, thrumming through the crystalline structure surrounding them. “The Obelisk is waking,” she muttered, her voice echoing softly. Her chest tightened with anticipation, the weight of their mission growing heavier.
The group rounded a corner, and there it was. The Obelisk rose from the cavern’s center like a god made stone. It pulsed with dark energy, its surface etched with glowing glyphs that defied translation. The air grew colder, tinged with the scent of ozone and the taste of metal. Tahlia’s breath quickened as her heartbeat synced with the pulsations of the ancient artifact.
Betrayal in the Shadows
“Prepare the uplink,” she commanded, but the moment the words left her lips, the sharp click of a weapon charging made her freeze. Slowly, she turned. Sergeant Lio Senn aimed his plasma rifle at her chest. The other soldiers stepped back, shock written across their exhausted faces.
“I’m sorry, Tahlia,” he said, his organic eye gleaming with guilt while his cybernetic gaze remained resolute. “We’re all tired of this quest—of dying for your vengeance. You’ll hand over the Obelisk to the Syndicate. They promised amnesty for us… for you too, if you surrender.”
Her gaze burned into him. “You think the Syndicate will spare you? They’ll gut you the moment you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
“Maybe. But it’s a risk I’ll take.”
The betrayal stung, but there wasn’t time for regret. The cavern walls seemed to groan, the glyphs on the Obelisk flaring with otherworldly fury. Tahlia’s prism sword ignited, its colors blazing with a life of their own. “You’ve underestimated me, Lio,” she said softly before lunging.
The Dance of the Prism
The cavern erupted into chaos. The prism sword deflected bolts of plasma fire as Tahlia moved with uncanny grace, her cloak swirling like liquid flame. Lio’s mechanical arm blocked a strike, the sound of metal grinding against crystal reverberating through the space. Sparks flew as she pressed her attack, forcing him closer to the edge of the chamber where the Obelisk loomed.
The remaining squad hesitated, torn between loyalty and survival. Tahlia’s voice rang out over the cacophony. “Anyone standing with him will face me. Decide now.”
They dropped their weapons. Lio scowled and activated his arm’s energy shield, but it was already too late. Tahlia’s blade cleaved through the mechanism with surgical precision, sending him crashing to the ground.
Breathing hard, she turned to the Obelisk. Its energy had reached a crescendo, filling the chamber with a deafening hum. Clutching her sword, she raised it high and drove it into the artifact’s heart.
The New Dawn
Light exploded, bathing the cavern in a kaleidoscope of colors. Tahlia felt herself engulfed by its power, her mind awash with visions—stars being born, civilizations rising and falling, and, finally, an ancient promise of hope. When the light receded, the Obelisk was gone, leaving only a faint glow embedded in her sword.
She turned to her team, their faces illuminated by the remnants of the brilliant display. “We’re not done,” she said, the weight of their collective survival etched into her voice. “But this—this is a beginning.”
As they ascended to the glassy dunes above, the twin suns were rising, painting the horizon with the promise of redemption. Commander Tahlia Veyra adjusted her crimson cloak, the ruby insignia gleaming defiantly in the morning light. Somewhere, on another dying world, another battle waited—but for now, they had won.
Genre: Science Adventure
The Source…check out the article that inspired this amazing short story: Bold Cosplay Inspiration at Rose City Comic Con 2024: From John Cho to ‘Our Flag Means Death’
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