Awakened Horror, page 1
BOOK 2 | THE FORGOTTEN SAGA
AWAKENED HORROR
Quill Holland
ScorPress Publishing
Content Warning:
Awakened Horror is intended for mature audiences and includes scenes with sexual material, violence, and offensive language which some readers may find distressing.
Copyright © 2023 Quill Holland.
Quill Holland asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN: 978-0-473-67695-7 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-473-67696-4 (Epub)
ISBN: 978-0-473-67697-1 (PDF)
Cover design by Cover Creator UK
Map design by Dewi Hargreaves
Editing by CA Proofing
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Published by ScorPress Publishing, New Zealand.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
Prologue: The Approaching Menace
Chapter 1: An Uneasy Peace
Chapter 2: We’re on a Diplomatic Mission to Akka
Chapter 3: An Uncanny Resemblance
Chapter 4: A Show of Force
Chapter 5: A Good Offence
Chapter 6: Akka’s Fall
Chapter 7: Live to Fight Another Day
Chapter 8: Man in the Mirror
Chapter 9: An Uneasy Alliance
Chapter 10: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 11: The Battle for Gaia – Part 1
Chapter 12: The Battle for Gaia – Part 2
Chapter 13: A Hail Mary
Chapter 14: Perhaps We Are More Alike
Chapter 15: When Guilt Leads to Good
Chapter 16: All’s Well that Ends Well
Epilogue: Fear What the Weapon Was Built to Kill
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Acknowledgements
Also by Quill Holland
About the Author
“Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.”
– Alfred Armand Montapert
Prologue
The Approaching Menace
2157, Common Era – Space, Beyond the Outer Rim
Transmitting into the vastness of space is problematic, not only because of its infinite size but also because we do not know what could be out there in the darkness, waiting and listening for a signal. Perhaps, somewhere in that vast expanse, there are alien civilisations, intelligent space-faring creatures, or self-aware machines seeking everything from connection to conquest. Pity the race that unknowingly calls forth something from the void, for the outcome could be disastrous irrespective of their intentions.
Humankind is one such race that has summoned something … dreadful. Unbeknownst to them, their transmissions had travelled across many parsecs and arrived at the heart of an interstellar graveyard. An ancient and powerful construct lay dormant in the centre of that floating cemetery, until the signals roused it from its slumber. Its systems turned back on and reignited its mission: Detect Theta waves. Find the source. Destroy it.
The machine’s gigantic computing system identified the signal’s origin. With the route plotted, its powerful engines burst into life, ending their millennia of inactivity. As its massive structure gradually shifted, the machine was forced to traverse through the decayed remains surrounding it, an orbiting prison crafted from the remnants of its long-ago foes. Many races had sacrificed themselves and their vessels to anchor the machine away from their home worlds.
But now, the distributed Faraday cage crumbled beneath the machine’s mighty hull like bergs against the bow of an icebreaker. If there had been an atmosphere, you would’ve heard metal sheering and superstructures cracking, but the machine’s journey was silent as it ploughed ahead through everything from the smallest interceptors, no bigger than a large van, to the largest battleships and dreadnaughts, bigger than entire continents. Once clear, it engaged its warp drives and began its expedition across the void.
It flew past stars and planets for years, passing through asteroid fields and nebulas, consuming a few to replenish its war-ravaged body, readying itself for its next fight. The signals that had awakened the machine had long since disappeared, so its exact destination was a mystery, but the machine relied on the trajectory it had calculated. Now, there were new signals, which meant living targets were in range. It surely would’ve been joyful if it’d been capable of emotion, but this mechanical menace was one of precision and logic, incapable of feeling anything.
As the new protocols kicked in, the machine’s engines reduced power and exited warp. It would slowly approach its prey, assess their capabilities, and prepare its countermeasures accordingly. Its sensor array scanned the world on its horizon, learning what it could about this young space-faring race, self-designation: Humans.
They had advanced far beyond their age, and the machine immediately recognised aspects of their technology as deriving from Khel engineering. It was unconcerned as it noted this discovery; it had already destroyed the Khel civilisation, and now it would destroy humanity, too.
Chapter 1
An Uneasy Peace
2157, Common Era – Planet Gaia, Outer Rim, the Republic of Humanity
They say you go through life blindly if you don’t think about the consequences of your decisions, usually causing more harm than good. I couldn’t recall who said it or where I had heard it, but I knew they were right. I was all too aware of the fallout of my decisions.
That’s why I set aside the first few minutes of every day for self-reflection. Knowing which tree my apple fell from, I was painfully aware of its shadow. I’d had many responsibilities thrust upon me that I had never asked for, and it was vital that I did right by those duties. So, I repeated a mantra to myself daily because of those very obligations; a reminder that my choices affect others, so choose how those choices affect them. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to maintain perspective on my actions.
I made this promise out of deep remorse for times when I had been more careless; times that felt like two different men living two separate lives. Those memories clung to me like an odour I could never scrub off. In my reflection, I saw a devoted father and husband, a hard-working farmer, and a wise and just governor. But when anyone else looked at me, they saw something different … someone different.
When they looked at me and saw Tynan Khidar, I could always feel the echo of the physical and psychological wounds he and his Empire had inflicted upon them. Even those that saw me as Raith didn’t see me the way I saw myself; they saw the man who’d brought about a new period of peace and prosperity by shattering the Empire with one pull of a trigger, erasing memories and faltering allegiances. Many had paid a high price for that peace though, suffering from painful side effects from the mind alteration which included unbearable migraines and the loss of one or more senses.
When I looked in the mirror, and was honest with myself, I could see both men staring back at me. I traced a finger over my receding hairline and the growing number of creases that reminded me that this face had spent 33 years under Tynan’s control but only seven under my own. The halo of scar tissue around my head seemed to grow more visible by the day, a token from the event that had brought Raith into this world. My pale skin and the dark circles beneath my eyes were physical manifestations of my restlessness and inner turmoil.
Sunlight filtered through the bathroom curtains and flickered across my face, signalling that my morning reflection was nearing the end of its allotted time. The bathroom window opened automatically, allowing fresh morning air to circulate. A squeal of laughter floated through on the breeze; I walked over and peered below. Tynan’s daughters – I caught myself – my daughters were playing below, and my youngest, four-year-old Emma, laughed as her older sisters, Adanna and Winona, showered her with affection. They both enjoyed doting on their younger sibling and did so whenever they spent time at the farm. Despite the girls being too old for traditional custody agreements, their mothers had aggressively argued for a shared custody agreement weighted towards them, which was understandable, given my past. Unfortunately, it meant that I only got to see Adanna and Winona every third week, spending the rest of their tim
Still, I’ll take all the time I can get. I’ve already missed so much of their lives.
Movement in my peripheral drew my attention away. I focused on the nearby field where the blades of wheat brushed against each other but nothing else moved. As I started to turn away, the movement came again, but this time I spotted the culprit. There was Ichirō, my son, moving through the rows of wheat, his face filled with sorrow and his eyes downcast. He was 18, on the cusp of adulthood, and yet so unlike his older sisters – I often wondered if I could ever lessen the differences between them.
I turned back to the mirror and noticed the weariness in my reflection. Was I a decent father? Was I providing my kids with the life they deserved? The self-doubt was a constant presence, a dull ache in my chest, that made my thoughts sluggish. I exhaled heavily and my shoulders drooped with the weight of my thoughts. If I could only rest soundly, the fog in my mind would clear. I reached out, turned on the tap, and felt the cold-water rush over my hands as I cupped them beneath the stream. I splashed the water over my face and enjoyed the refreshing coolness that cleared away the lingering fog.
A friendly chirp signalled the awakening of a friend.
“Good morning, Bitsy,” I said as the Arachnobot scuttled across the sink.
*Good morning, Raith!* read the message on Bitsy’s screen. *Would you like to see your morning notifications?*
“That would be great.”
I glanced at Bitsy’s screen, watching notification after notification roll by, and heaved the second sigh of the morning.
It’s going to be a long day.
[)
I ambled into the kitchen as Amorina placed a pot of creamy brown-sugar-porridge on the dining table.
“Morning, honey,” she said as she smiled at me. “Can you call the kids, please?”
I nodded and moved towards the open back door. “Kids! Breakfast is ready!”
A few moments later, Emma rushed in and made a beeline for the table.
“Ah, ah,” Amorina snapped playfully. “Scrub those hands, you dirty rascal!”
“I’m not a dirty rascal, Mummy!” Emma insisted as her sisters entered the house.
“You are when your hands are dirty, sis. It’s easy to fix though – you just need to wash your hands before eating!” Adanna said as she quickly guided Emma towards the sink.
I sat at the table and caught Amorina as she glanced at me.
“I washed my hands upstairs – promise!” I held them out so she could see them with a cheeky grin spreading across my face.
She nodded and turned back to watch her daughter’s efforts.
My mother sat at the head of the table, and as I glanced at her, I felt a pang of guilt at the blank expression she wore, her eyes staring off into the distance. She was my most personal reminder of freedom’s high price, and every day the sight of her brought forth the memories: how the first few months seemed like an easy victory … then the reports came in of people who’d lost their vision or hearing, or those crippled by migraines. Still, I thought it was a bullet we’d dodged … until mother was bedridden by a headache. I shook my head and swallowed to clear a lump in my throat that wasn’t there.
“Where’s Father?” I inquired of the room.
“I’m here,” he replied as he came up from behind. “Just forgot to grab your mother’s pills.”
Father performed the same process daily to get mother to take her medicine. I watched him place the pills in her mouth then move a glass of water to her lips and slowly trickle some inside. The tenderness in his voice was unmistakable when he would whisper for her to swallow and massage her throat to coax down the pills.
It was a tortuous process to watch, and even now, a suffocating weight had grown in my chest. But I didn’t want to become indifferent to the endless suffering of people like my mother. I did what I could to remain sympathetic to their anguish, for the mass conversion had affected many people terribly; her circumstances were among the worst I had seen.
My choices affect others, so choose how those choices affect them.
“Ichirō! Breakfast is ready! Come and eat while it’s hot, please!” Amorina’s call pulled me out of my introspection, and a few seconds later, Ichirō sauntered into the house and headed straight for the table.
“Wash your hands first, please, Ichirō.”
Ichirō ignored Amorina as he reached for the porridge ladle and scooped a generous portion into his bowl.
“Ichirō, listen to Amorina, please,” I urged quietly.
“Why should I? She’s not in charge of me. She’s not my mother.”
I resisted the urge to sigh and braced myself for what was to follow. The parenting advisor had taught us consistency is critical, but that didn’t make enforcing it any easier.
“We’ve been over this before, Ichirō.”
“Yes, we have been over this before!” Ichirō snapped as he knocked his bowl aside. “She’s not my mother because you killed my mother!”
He stormed outside, and an uncomfortable silence filled the room. No one was brave enough to break it. To ease the tension, I reached towards the spilt porridge, but Amorina stepped forward with a cloth before I could start the cleanup.
“I’ll get that,” she said, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. “Why don’t you go and check on Harvester 42 for me. It’s broken down again.”
I glanced at my wrist where Bitsy’s display showed my next appointment. “Sure thing. I’ll look at it when I have a moment.”
I grabbed a mug and poured the freshly brewed coffee. Bitsy buzzed and I glanced down again. *Meeting postponed until 12:30.*
I let out yet another sigh. “In fact, I’ll check it out right now.”
[)
The smell of oil and hay filled the air as I entered the barn. I shut the door behind me, traded my mug for a tablet, and ambled over to Harvester 42. Gaia and the other colonies in the Outer Rim depended heavily on second-hand machines from the Inner Rim worlds, where advanced models had replaced the machines we received. As the colonial machines were outdated and prone to breaking, they required regular maintenance, and if there was nobody in the area to help, it could take up to a year for someone to come from Earth.
“Let’s investigate what’s happening with you, old girl,” I said as I removed an access panel on the side, grabbed a diagnostic cable, and plugged it into the tablet.
The tablet could effortlessly access data from the harvester’s logs, and a few moments later, a notification appeared on display.
*Harvester 42 System Reports 1 Unidentified Fault*
I sighed and started a manual log analysis. As the tablet trawled through the harvester’s data, I glanced at one of the barn walls and felt my heartbeat quicken.
No, focus.
I returned to the tablet and concentrated on the progress bar, watching the interface pulsate. After a few minutes, the bar grew by one percent. The weight in my chest tightened, and I glanced at the barn wall again. The analysis would take a while, so I had a window of opportunity.
I placed my tablet on the harvester and strode over to the wall. After a final check to ensure no one was in sight, I rapped my knuckles against the wall four times. With a quiet hiss, the section before me moved inwards and slid aside, and I stepped into the revealed passage. The wall panel slid back into place with a hollow thud behind me as I descended into the musty room beneath the barn.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the lights activated and illuminated the years of work displayed on the room’s corkboard and whiteboard-covered walls. Each time I returned here, I’d recall how my nightmarish obsession began; how one night, I’d had a terrible thought: did Tynan ever consider that his Empire could be overthrown? And if his intuition had expected this event, had he done anything to prepare for it? That one random thought robbed me of the few months of peace I’d been granted after the successful removal of the last vestiges of Tynan from my head.
